The end of NaBloPoMo

Wow, here we are. The end of the 30 day blogging challenge. Never thought I'd last a day...let alone 30! I'm feeling mighty proud and accomplished I must say :)

You probably don't know this, but this blog was created as a requirement for a social media marketing class. The assignment required us to start a blog and make at least 1 post/week. I had only been blogging for a few weeks when I decided to participate in NaBloPoMo. I wasn't sure if I'd last, but I thought it would be a good way to break myself into the world of blogging. One day turned into two, two days turned into ten, and next thing you know here we are at day 30, and I proudly have 30 consecutive days of blogging under my belt. Huzzah!

The greatest thing about this experience had to have been the people I've been able to connect with. I've met so many wonderful people, from all walks of life. People from all around the world. I've been so blessed by everyone's encouragement as well as the personal stories that other bloggers so bravely share with the world. You all have been such a blessing to my life and I want to thank you for hanging out in my little corner of the blogosphere :)

So what's next? Well, I found out that I really love blogging, so I plan to stick with it. But, I will say this: as much as I enjoyed blogging every day, I think I'm going to take a break for the holiday. I'm in the middle of finals and in a few weeks it'll be Christmas, so I think this is a nice time to relax and get ready for the new year.

I'll still be blogging in December, it just won't be every day. Oh yeah during my time "off", I'm planning on learning some HTML so I can spruce up my blog a little bit. If you guys have any thing you'd like to see me add, please let me know.

You guys rock :) Talk to you soon!

Jennifer

Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!

Right now, I'm in class and thought I'd be able to hang without eating. Even though I get out late, I thought I'd be able to hold off on eating until after class.

Well ladies and gentlemen....IM OFFICIALLY STARVING. I've got no change to go to the vending machine, no snacks (I ate my trail mix already) and I have an hour and a half left in class. While digging around in my bag I found a cookie that someone gave me about 2 weeks ago ( I was happy I didn't give into temptation) and I'm totally going to eat it. God bless the dear soul that gave it to me, LOL. I know its gross, but it'll be our little secret....right :)

Well back to class I go....have a good night everyone.

Reaching my 5% weight loss goal

At last night's Weight Watchers meeting, I found out that I reached my 5% goal. Basically, this means that I've lost 5% of my starting weight. While I know this is a great accomplishment, I can't help but have mixed emotions about it.

On one hand, I'm loving the fact that I'm making great progress, especially since I haven't followed the program as well as I should. With the stress of school and work, along with my foot injury, I see this 5% goal as an absolute blessing from above.

BUT then...negativity starts to creep in and I tell myself ,"5% means nothing when I have over 100 pounds to lose." I feel like I'm one of those cartoon characters with God on one shoulder and the devil on the other, struggling to determine which voice I'm going to listen to.

So what's the solution? It's easy to say I should ignore the negative thoughts, right? BUT, I think that's being unrealistic. The fact of the matter is that I do have over 100 pounds to lose, and that's something that I never want to lose sight of. I think the key is to not allow myself to focus solely on the amount of weight I have to lose. I have to learn to celebrate the small victories both on and off the scale, so that I don't become discouraged and quit like I've done so many times before.

Anyone out there share a similar struggle? What are some things you did to work through the negative thinking?

Did I really lose weight during Thanksgiving?

Today I had my Weight Watchers weigh in and I lost .8 lbs. Hallelujah!

Generally, I wouldn't be excited about losing anything under a pound, but my goodness, this was a loss during Thanksgiving. Out of all my years of dieting, I don't think I've ever managed to lose anything around the holidays. I'm speechless.

What makes this loss so exciting is the fact that I made a plan, stuck to it and saw the fruits of my labor. I made "loose" goals for myself that allowed me to enjoy my favorite foods, but NOT stuff myself on anything. I made certain tradeoffs last week that were key to my success. If I decided to have cake one day, then I wouldn't have mac and cheese. If I decided to eat rolls, then I'd pass on the mashed potatoes. At the time it felt difficult, but in retrospect I was satisfied at every meal, and never felt deprived.

Last week, I began to understand the importance of making smart choices. I allowed myself to feel satisfied, but not stuffed. I allowed myself to eat and enjoy what I wanted without beating myself up for it. These things seem small, but together they had a tremendous pay off...and for that, I'm truly Thankful =)

This boot was not made for walkin'

Today I got the results from my MRI and it turns out that I have a tear in my Achilles tendon. This explains a lot. I've still been in a ton of pain, so my doctor has me wearing a walking boot. While wearing a boot is not the highlight of my day, I am excited because I think the boot will get me on the road to recovery. I'll have to wear the boot for 3 weeks, then after that hopefully I'll be in better shape. I'll keep you posted.

One thing I will say is this: wearing the boot is not comfortable, and I notice that I have to put a lot more thought into doing the normal, everyday things in my life (walking, thinking about where I park, etc). I do think that things will get much easier once I get the hang of "boot walking"though. We'll see.

You ate it. Get over it. Move on.

A good rule of thumb for holiday eating

I worked so hard to get the weight off, and this weekend I ruined everything.

I shouldn't have sat around watching football for that long without working out.

Did I really drink the entire bottle?

I can't believe I ate that much!

If any of these phrases sound familiar, you're not alone. For those of us who are actively working on staying healthy and losing weight, Thanksgiving can be a deathtrap. Many of us feel that we've worked hard all year, counting calories, portioning out foods, killing ourselves at the gym, only to have our efforts squashed by one day (or, perhaps one weekend) of eating. For some, this weekend is enough to completely give up on losing weight until the new year rolls around. For those of you who are struggling to rebound from what you did (or didn't do) this weekend...here are a few tips to keep you moving forward.

• Get over it: Sounds harsh I know, but at the end of the day we can't change our past behavior. I love the phrase on the coffee cup above because it sums up what we should do to keep ourselves on the right track. Whatever we ate has been eaten, and there's not anything we can do about it. At this point, all we can do is face it, own it and move on. Remember, Thanksgiving was just one day, and I don't care how horribly you ate, one holiday will not be the death of you. Be encouraged =)
• Toss the leftovers: As hard as it might be to get rid of Aunt Sally's pumpkin pie, can you really withstand that temptation? If you're serious about getting back on track, then getting rid of everything that tempts you might be the way to go. If trashing food is too painful, then consider freezing or storing it in someone else's fridge. This might sound a bit extreme, but for those of us who can't say no to a caramel glazed poundcake (oops, did I just say that) this tip can be a lifesaver.
• Don't beat yourself up: Whatever you did, please don't beat yourself up for anything you ate. Thanksgiving is a holiday that is all about enjoying good food, with good friends and family. Hopefully you enjoyed yourself and created memories that will last a lifetime.

Tomorrow is a new day, so don't ruin it by letting any Thanksgiving guilt hold you hostage. Have a great Monday!

Vacations are the best stress relievers...ever!

Sigh, well it looks like my Thanksgiving vacation is drawing to a close. I had such a nice and relaxing time with my family that...I really don't want to go back to my normal life, lol. But alas, all good things must come to an end.

Looking back on this week, I learned the importance of taking time out to rest. These days, we all have so much going on that I think we have a tendency to overlook taking care of ourselves. Well, at least I know I'm guilty of this. Lately it seems like I've been there for everyone except myself. Work is important. School is important. Listening to others is important. But at the end of the day, I don't leave enough gas in the tank to take care of my own needs...and quite frankly, I think it began to show.

Before my vacation, I felt overwhelmed (and frankly, a bit unmotivated) by things at work, school and in my life. I definitely felt burned-out emotionally, which had an effect on my attitude and my ability to stay positive. Today, post vacation, I feel refreshed and revitalized. Even though things are the same at work, school and in my life, I now have more energy to face things head on (and with a good attitude).

To all my blogging buddies, if you've been a little overwhelmed lately, I encourage you to take some time off (if possible). Do what you want to do, spend time with people you enjoy, and take time to make yourself happy. I guarantee that it'll pay off in the end. =)

NaBloPoMo is almost over

This month I signed up to participate in National Blog Posting Month (aka NaBloPoMo) http://www.blogher.com/blogher-topics/blogging-social-media/nablopomo.

Basically, NaBloPoMo required that all participants commit themselves to blog everyday for the month of November...yes everyday...rain or shine. When I initially signed up, I doubted that I'd even last a week. But, I'm happy to say that I've lasted the entire month. Looking back, there were a lot of things I learned about blogging, but perhaps the most important lesson I learned was not to doubt myself. I think I mentioned in an earlier post how I have a tendency to count myself out of things before I even begin. I   mean, if I don't believe in myself, why should anyone else, right?

Anyway, I don't have a clear plan to "fix" the negative self talk that I so frequently do, but I am so ready to throw it out for good! One thing that I think will help is to continue to set goals for myself so that I can work on retraining my mind. I plan to focus on this area quite a bit in 2013.

Hang in there NaBloPoMo bloggers...one more week to go!!!

I can't believe I didn't eat like a pig today!

Earlier this week, I set a few eating goals for Thanksgiving:

1) include a green salad with my meal (to help cut my appetite)

2) to eat the foods I really love (Mac & cheese, yams, carrot cake) until I'm full (being STUFFED is not allowed)

3) measure out small portions of those foods I can have anytime of the year (mashed potatoes, bread, ice cream, etc)

I'm happy to report that I'm really proud of my eating today. The only goal I didn't meet was to eat a green salad with my meal (I made it, but decided to eat greens instead). But, I ate what I wanted until I was satisfied, and not FULL. I also ate really small portions of the things that I didn't really want as bad as the turkey, mac and cheese, etc. I think this is the first time I didn't get overstuffed. It's also the first time I didn't have a second and third plate. I'm really happy with myself.

Now, I did overdo it on cake today, but even with that I stopped eating when I was satisfied. Not sure how this will show up on the scale next week, but it felt good to prove to myself that it's possible to eat reasonably during the holidays. Hurrah!

Wishing everyone out there a happy and blessed Thanksgiving! I hope your day was filled with food, fun, friends, and family.

Just checking in

Hey Everyone!

Today was a low key day. Last minute prep for Thanksgiving. Found out today that I didn't have a cake pan for my mom's famous carrot cake. For shame! Luckily we were able to pick up a pan at the grocery store, so all wasn't lost. Thanksgiving was saved after all!

This morning I had an MRI on my foot. Glad that my Dr. recommended that I have it done. I've been in so much pain over the last two weeks, that I'm concerned that there might be something pretty nasty going on in there. I'm grateful for my friend who called me tonight just to pray for me and my foot. That really made my day. Thank God for good friends =)

Setting eating goals for Thanksgiving

Today's Weight Watchers meeting left me with a lot to think about. With Thanksgiving just a day away, it's definitely time for me to reevaluate my plans for holiday eating.

One thing that my leader mentioned was making trade-offs between what you have to have, and what you can do without. Basically she stressed the importance of focusing the balance of our points on those foods that we love and can only have once or twice a year versus eating everything in sight, just because it's there. Great idea right?

So my new plan is to 1) include a green salad with my meal (to help cut my appetite), 2) to eat the foods I really love (Mac & cheese, yams, carrot cake) until I'm full (being STUFFED is not allowed) and 3) measure out small portions of those foods I can have anytime of the year (mashed potatoes, bread, ice cream, etc).

My goal for Thanksgiving is to enjoy the special foods that I really like, but not overstuff myself just because food is all around me. Anyone else out there have food related goals for the holiday?
Wish me luck :)

Is Jessica Simpson a good spokesperson for Weight Watchers?

Jessica Simpson in her Weight Watchers commercial

Every time I go to my Weight Watchers meeting and see Jessica Simpson’s face, I’m annoyed. Not because I have anything against her as an entertainer, but my annoyance is rooted in how she as a spokesperson perpetuates negativity toward overweight women.

If you didn’t catch her commercial, here’s a quick recap. Basically, the commercial is 30 seconds of a close-up of Jess’ fluffy face as she talks about “eating real food in the real world”. Yes, that’s right, all we ever see is a close up of her face. We never see her entire body, just her pretty face. This, to me, is problematic.

In my opinion, this commercial isn’t about selling a weight loss solution, nor is it about motivating women to lose weight. Unfortunately, the commercial is more about hiding a body that does not meet the world’s pre-defined standard of beauty. Not showing Jessica’s body implies that there is something that needs to be covered up…something that she’s not proud of…something that she is not comfortable with the world seeing. Many of us on Weight Watchers already have our own body image issues, so seeing this commercial certainly doesn’t help us change our negative thinking.

What makes Weight Watchers so special is that while it teaches you to make lifestyle adjustments for weight loss, they also do a great job encouraging members to embrace the “skin that they’re in”. Any member that is ashamed or discouraged by their body always receives loving encouragement that helps them accept who they are, and where they are at the moment. Hiding a “less than perfect” body is not part of the Weight Watchers philosophy, so unfortunately the Jessica Simpson campaign does much more harm than good.

I realize that the commercial was done to preserve the Jessica Simpson brand, and I’m sure if I break this down from a marketing standpoint, it makes perfect sense. I still wish that Weight Watchers would have selected a celebrity that was willing to be open and transparent about their weight loss journey from beginning to end. In my opinion, this would have made a huge impact on women nationwide, regardless of whether or not they are on the program.

Oh, this just in. Jessica has lost 60lbs, and has just finished shooting a new Weight Watchers commercial...AND, I’m assuming that you’ll be able to see her entire body in this one.

Coincidence…I think not.

Check out this image from the set. Jessica is the blonde on the far right.

On the set at Jessica's new WW commercial

Weekend Check-in

This photo pretty much sums up the way I felt all weekend. I've been up and down, popping my meds and icing my foot all weekend. I'm considering going to get my MRI earlier than scheduled, just because I'm getting a little frustrated with the pain. I'll chat with you all tomorrow. Goodnight!

Family visits and painful feet

It's a cold, rainy day in Southern California, but the weather isn't keeping my spirits down. Tonight my mom gets into town, and I'm really excited to see her. It's funny because I'm looking forward to doing things with her that in the past I never really cared about (grocery shopping, cooking, etc). I guess absence really does make the heart grow fonder.

On a slightly "bummier" note, my foot (actually, my Achilles tendon) has been really flaring up lately. Went to the doctor yesterday and he basically gave me the same treatment as before (anti-inflammatory meds as needed, icing twice a day, and no flat shoes (not even around the house)). He also told me that if the pain continues, I will have to have an MRI, and may have to wear a walking cast until we can get the pain and inflammation down. The cast isn't the most exciting news, but at this point I'm willing to wear it if it will get my foot on the road to recovery. I'll keep you guys posted. Enjoy your Saturday!

I still have a lot of work to do

My favorite T-Shirt is still too snug!

This weekend is the big USC vs UCLA game! Every year on the Friday before the big game, I wear my "Beat UCLA" T-Shirt (see above). Now, when I bought the shirt (about 2 years ago), it was a bit snug in the stomach area, but since I only get to wear it once a year I bought it and told myself "this time next year, this shirt will fit much better.

Well, I put the shirt on this morning and was bummed out to see that it was still snug. Just a reminder that I still have LOTS of work to do.

Go Trojans!

Focusing on family (not food) this Thanksgiving

I'm so excited about Thanksgiving that I can hardly contain myself! This is the first holiday that my family will spend together since my mother retired and moved to Georgia. Even though she and I talk (and text) daily, there's nothing like being able to spend some good 'ole quality time together and I'm really looking forward to it!

This will also be the first Thanksgiving where she and I are both on Weight Watchers together. As a matter of fact, she has lost 31 lbs thanks to eating right and counting points at every meal. I'm so proud and excited for her. At 63, she continues to prove that age is no match for hard work, will and determination...she's truly an inspiration.

I also think that because we're both on the plan, we will be much more mindful of how much we eat. Food has always played a major role in how we spend time together. Whether we were enjoying an afternoon out shopping, or at home watching football, food was ALWAYS in the mix. This holiday, I hope that the combination of us both being on Weight Watchers, along with not seeing each other (for a while), will shift our focus away from the lure of overeating, and on to enjoying the holiday together as a family. I'll keep you guys posted =)

Weddings are the best motivaton for weight loss

On Monday, I received a "save the date" for a wedding taking place in March, 2013. I'm really excited for the couple, and I must admit that I've been looking forward to this event for quite a long time =)

Soooo, even though I'm a chicken when it comes to goal setting, I'm considering setting a weight loss goal between now and the joyous occasion. The goal will be to lose 40 lbs by the wedding (end of March). Even though I'm not in the wedding, I think the event will be a good way for me to get re-motivated, and give myself something to look forward to.

After doing the math, I will have to lose roughly 10 lbs a month. Definitely a challenge, but I think I can get pretty close if I put forth my best effort.

Has anyone ever set a weight loss goal that was centered around an event? Was it a good form of motivation? Did you keep the weight off?

Tough gain

Short post tonight guys, but I wanted to stop by and give a Weight Watchers update. I weighed in tonight and found out I had gained a whopping 1.4 lbs. Yikes! I'm definitely not happy about it, but I can't say that it comes as a total surprise either. Lately I've had a terrible sweet tooth and have eaten way too much candy, sweets and ice cream. Even though the sweets I've indulged in have been low cal/low fat, those things still add up over time.

Luckily, I'm out of all of the tempting foods, so I should be in a much better position come next week. Thanks for listening guys. Talk to you tomorrow!

Stop that stinkin' thinking

Yesterday, I spoke to a good friend who told me she was challenging herself to read the entire Bible...cover to cover...everyday until she finishes it. AND wouldn't you know that she kindly invited me to do the same.

I know that for some, reading the Bible is not exactly the most exciting activity. But, for me, reading it in its entirety is something I've wanted to do for quite some time. As I thought about how great of an accomplishment this would be, I immediately began to talk myself out of it. Yup, before I even got started, the negative self talk began:

"You can barely read the Bible as it is, soooo, how do you think you'll be able to read it everyday?"
" You don't like reading PERIOD, so why would you try to do something you don't enjoy?"
"You're too busy to commit to something for that long"

....and so on and so forth.

Making this decision called attention to some negative thinking that's been holding me back in life. It's like, even though completing this goal would be a fulfilling and enjoyable accomplishment, I won't even allow myself to TRY to do something that would make me happy. How could I treat myself this way? Do I really think so little of myself that I won't do things that I enjoy? Is comfort and familiarity more important than my happiness? Something has got to change.

I wish I understood why I function like this, but my guess is that it's much easier for me to talk myself out of doing something rather than trying something new and failing at it. As much as I hate to fail, I'm starting to think that the only true failure in life is the failure of not trying at all.

Well, I've got to cut this post short folks...the first three books of Genesis are calling my name =)

Weekend recap

So Friday night I made a few food related goals that I wanted to accomplish this weekend. The goals were to:

1) Stay within my allotted Weight Watchers points the entire weekend, and

2) To track/journal everything I eat this weekend.

Sadly, I didn't follow through with either goals. I'm not entirely sure why I didn't follow though with what I set out to do, but I guess the bottom line is that I didn't put forth 100% effort into either of them. Fortunately, the weekend wasn't a total wash, but my trip to Souplantation and having pizza for dinner (plus dessert), really set me back. Luckily, tomorrow is a new day, and I'm feeling motivated enough to keep trying and moving forward.

Thank you again to everyone that reads my blog. You all mean more to me than you'll ever know =)

Sometimes the smallest things can go a very long way

Today I had a great time at the USC (University of Southern California) football game. It was the first game I'd been to all season, and the crowd, weather, and experience was just perfect. On top of all of that, the Trojans won, which was the cherry on top of a pretty cool day.

There was one thing about today that was really special to me. Interestingly enough, it had nothing to do with football but had everything to do with my happiness.

This morning, I decided to do something a little different by taking public transportation (aka the metro train) to the game. This was truly one of the best ideas that I've had in a long time. The ride was cheap, quick, clean and convenient. I know that there's nothing special about taking public transportation, but for me it was a huge stress reliever. I'm not sure why, but lately I've been so frustrated by the traffic in L.A., that driving has just been draining and overly stressful to me. Riding the metro allowed me to relax and added a level of peace and enjoyment to my day that I wouldn't have experienced if I didn't step out of my comfort zone and do something small for myself.

Today I put my own health, needs and happiness first. I didn't let any preconceived opinions, fears, or hang-ups keep me from doing something that would make me feel better. This was a big step for me, and taught me a lot about the importance of self-care. Actually, the experience taught me that self care doesn't have to take a lot of time, effort or money. Sometimes doing the smallest things for ourselves can go a long way. Hopefully, this post will inspire you to do the same.

Making the most out of the time I have

It's Friday night! The weekend is here and I'm ready to partay...unfortunately, I don't have any plans tonight, so it looks like I'll be spending this this evening hanging out at home.

Strangely enough, I have a crazy amount of energy tonight. Since I'm really not interested in doing homework or reading, I decided to do something wild and crrraaazy with my time! Now brace yourselves. Are you ready to hear what I did? Wait for it...Wait for it....

Tonight I decided...to...cook...not just one meal, but enough food for the majority of the weekend.

Pow there it is! Exciting right, LOL!

I decided to cook for a few reasons:

1. I was hungry and didn't want to spend money on dinner tonight
2. I had some produce that I needed to cook before it spoiled
3. I want to make better food choices this weekend  

This week I felt the effects of not planning my meals in advance, and I want to make it easier on myself to make healthy food choices all weekend long. On weekends it's really difficult for me to stay on program. I'm not sure if the lack of a structured routine causes me to slip up or what. I do know that my goal this weekend is to stay within my Weight Watchers points and to track (journal) all of my meals  (I've gotten a little lax with the tracking, so I need to get back to it before I get out of the habit completely).

Well, I've got to check on my sweet potatoes (baked sweet potatoes (plain, not candied) are a wonderful snack or side dish.) Have a great night everyone, and I'll keep you posted on my progress!

My one month blogging anniversary

In general, I'm not very good with celebrating the small victories, so today's post is dedicated to celebrating the small stuff.

This morning I looked at my calendar and realized that today is my one month blogging anniversary! To top it off, in my first month I've had over 400 visitors to my blog. This might seem like a small number for some, but when I started this blogging journey I never imagined I'd get 10 people to visit my site, let alone 400. This has totally made my day!

I'd like to thank all of the readers that have visited my site, tweeted about it, left comments,and have shown me love during the past month. You all have been a tremendous blessing in my life and I feel so fortunate to have connected with you. Thanks for giving me the motivation to continue blogging! You guys rock!

Success and planning go hand in hand

I have officially adopted a new mantra:

Proper planning puts us in a better position to make healthier food choices.

So what do I mean by this? Well, using myself as an example, I work full time. In addition to working, I'm also in school and attend classes 2 nights a week. Because I know that I don't have time to stop for dinner on my school nights, it's important that I pack a meal that I can eat on the way to class.

Well, that's a great idea, and it works beautifully when I actually do it. But, today was one of those days where I just didn't have time to do anything extra. I had no dinner, nor did I have any snacks to tide me over. By the time I left work and got to my car, I was officially starving.

On my way to class, the only thing I could think about was food. I let myself get SO hungry, that I just wanted something quick, filling, and delicious. In times like these, fast food always gets the job done, right?

Well today I'm happy to report that I fought the urge to stop at the drive thru, and won. Even though I had to stop for dinner before class (which made me late by the way), I was strong and opted to have a Japanese beef and veggie bowl. Now, I'm not saying this was the absolute healthiest food I could have eaten, but it was a much better choice than a burger and fries.

Planning has been a recurring theme in my life lately. Tonight I realized that my lack of planning put additional stress on my body that it really didn't need. Not packing a meal made me wait entirely too long to eat. Waiting too long to eat made me too hungry. Being too hungry made me vulnerable to eating fattening foods because they're quick, easy and available. AND on top of all that, my lack of planning made me late to class, which is never a good thing.

The moral of the story is this: even though I made a relatively decent food choice, my lack of planning created a snowball effect that made making this decision much more difficult than it needed to be. What are some ways you can plan better to ensure your weight loss success?

Weight Watchers Weigh-in Update

Super short, super late update (my apologies), but I did want to report that I attended my Weight Watchers meeting tonight and lost 0.4 lbs. This brings my total weight loss to date to 13 lbs even. I'm feeling good about this loss, but the bigger victory was me stepping up and owning the week that I had and the choices I made. This was great progress for me, and I'm learning to celebrate the small victories on this long journey.

Weight Watchers Weigh-in (ain’t nothing to it but to do it)

Tomorrow is my official weigh-in day, and based on the way I ate this weekend (see previous post), I’m not looking forward to it. However, this time around, I promised myself that no matter how “good” or “bad” my week has been, I’m stepping up and facing it, despite what the scale may say.

In the past, I’ve always allowed myself to skip my weigh-in if I thought I’d gained weight that week. I now realize that by skipping meetings, I never forced myself to face the reality of the choices I made. Because losing weight is all about choices, my success hinges on understanding how my choices affect my progress. So with that ladies and gentlemen, I choose to keep moving forward, and will be a-steppin up on that scale tomorrow night.

Weekend Eats

I’m pretty disappointed with my eating this weekend. Not only did I eat WAY too much candy, but I don’t think I ate anything green the entire weekend. I did have a few decent meals here and there, but I definitely went overboard with my snacking which was no bueno.

The issue comes down to poor planning on my part. I know from past experience that having an idea of what I’m going to eat generally keeps me on track. Unfortunately, I failed to think the majority of my meals through (beforehand), which was problematic for me.

So with that, I’m headed into this week with a plan. I’ll be cooking on Monday and Tuesday of this week, and using those leftovers for lunch and dinner for Wednesday and Thursday. I’m looking forward to getting back on track. I’ll keep y’all posted =)

Lower calorie candy options (for chocolate lovers only)

I’m always on the lookout for a healthy and delicious snack…well because…I love snacks. I love chips, candy and fruit juice, so whenever I can find "healthier" options, I’m a happy camper.

When I crave chocolate (which is all the time) my go to choices are the Skinny Cow Dreamy Clusters, and the Milk chocolate Heavenly Crisps. Both are solid choices if you’re looking for candy that tastes like the real thing (aka-doesn’t have that artificial sweetner/diet aftertaste).

The Heavenly crisp bars are 3 Weight Watchers points per bar, and the Dreamy Clusters are 4 points per bag. Give them a try, and let me know what you think. And oh yeah, good luck trying to eat just one, lol.

http://www.skinnycow.com/products/detail.aspx?id=30

*Note: I am not affiliated with the Skinny Cow brand, nor have I received any compensation from Nestlé USA for this review. This post was written with the sole purpose of helping my health conscious readers find a healthier candy option.

Eating healthy at Chipotle

Chipotle is one of those places where the food is hella good but super fattening. Whenever I eat there, I  prepare for the “feast” by telling myself “OK, I’m having this burrito today, but tomorrow I’ll be on it”. Even though there’s nothing wrong with treating yourself (every now and then), I wanted to find a go-to item that was calorie friendly but didn’t make me feel deprived.

Introducing the Chipotle Salad

The Chipotle salad is a tasty and filling alternative to your standard burrito. BUT, what sets it off is the dressing served with it. I’m not sure what they put in that vinaigrette, but it’s incredible. Unfortunately, the dressing has a TON of calories, which can blow your entire calorie (or points) count for the day. Below is my lower calorie version of the salad. I get it everytime I go to Chipotle and I love it…I consider it my “healthier” splurge for the day.

Give it a try, and let me know what you think.

Build your salad with the following:
Lettuce
Black beans
Fajita Veggies
Barbacoa
2 scoops of mild salsa
Extra lettuce
Guacamole
(No cheese, or sour cream.-the 2 scoops of salsa add extra flavor and kick so you really don’t miss them anyway )

Enjoy!

Watchers points: 12 (8 points without the guacamole).

Check out Chipotle's nutrition calculator http://www.chipotle.com/en-us/menu/nutrition_calculator/nutrition_calculator.aspx for specific info.

October Weight Watchers update:

During the month of October, I lost a total of 5.6 lbs for a grand total of 12.6 lbs down! Boy, does it feel good to break the 10-pound mark! I'm definitely pleased with my progress this month, especially since it was a pretty stressful one for me. On top of the stress from work, school, life, etc., I injured my achilles tendon, which was (and still is) pretty painful, and put a major damper on my exercise goals for the month. Fortunately, I received some meds and a treatment plan from my doctor, and I hope that I’ll be back to normal in the next 2-3 weeks.

The beauty of my injury is that it reminded me of the importance of eating right. Even though I did minimal exercise last month, I still managed to lose a decent amount of weight because I was disciplined about what I put into my body. Now, that doesn’t mean that I ate perfectly (I had an incident with some pizza a few weeks ago that we wont discuss here, lol), but it does mean that I stayed mindful about what I ate, how much I ate, and why I was eating it. I also wrote down (tracked) everything I ate at each meal. Tracking my meals also included weighing and measuring my foods so that I had an accurate account of the amount of food I was eating. Even though I HATE tracking (who wants to measure how many almonds they ate in a sitting, or how much creamer they poured in their coffee), it was helpful to see exactly how much food I consumed in a day. Not only did tracking keep me accountable to the Weight Watchers plan, but it also gave me great insight on my eating patterns/habits. These insights are super valuable as they allow me to pinpoint food related patterns/behaviors that hinder my progress.

Thanks to all my twitter and facebook peeps for your support! Y’all are the best!­­

Goals for November:
• To journal/track everything I eat, every day, at every meal

• To incorporate vegetables in my lunch and dinner (everyday)

• To blog everyday

• To exercise twice a week (depends on my doctors clearance…starting the week of 11/17)