It was something like a miracle...it was a shock; an enigma not to be believed- but it did happen. And I have witnesses to prove it.
I stepped on the scale with trepidation, the sins of the past week permeating my mind like a red hat tossed in with the white laundry; but what I was expecting didn't happen, in fact, I could hardly believe what that little counter-balance was telling me.
The soft clunk sound as the counterweight said that I needed to move the larger counter-weight down to the next level. And then shift the smaller weight down another notch.
Yes folks, it's true! The scale revealed my new weight- and it was no longer in the three-hundreds! I am now a slender two-ninety-nine!
That is a total loss of twenty-one pounds- YAY!
And I think I worked off another pound just jumping up and down in celebration after I got off the scale! This is the first time in over seven years that I have been under three hundred pounds. Call Guinness! (the world record people, not the beer people, please!)
First goal reached. Next goal: 275 lbs.!
I took the kids to the pool the other day. We walked a mile to the pool, and I spent three hours turning into a pink raisin (and eventually a red one), doing laps and playing with the kids. I slept really well that night and had some lovely muscle aches in the morning, so I know I worked out- even without the gym!
I'm also having more greens at mealtime, to make up for all that pasta last week. Not that we can really 'make-up' for our past discrepancies,but you get the idea. I just wanted to get back on track. We had a lovely chicken Cobb salad! Here's the recipe:
Beth Brubaker's Chicken Cobb Salad
Two chicken breasts, fat trimmed
Montreal chicken seasoning (I used GrillMates from Sam's Club)
Olive oil
1/3 cup Real bacon bits or 6 slices of bacon, crumbled
1/2 to 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 boiled eggs, diced (use and egg slicer and after first cut, turn 1/4 turn and cut again- instantly diced!) It's best to boil eggs the day before and chill before dicing.
Four handfuls romaine lettuce
Four handfuls fresh spinach
1/4 cup Italian dressing
Large bowl with lid to toss salad
Season chicken breasts and set aside. Cook bacon and set aside (if needed). In a medium skillet, add about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and set onto medium high heat. When hot add chicken breasts, and if possible cover with a large pot lid that covers the pan (this helps it cook a little faster and keeps it juicy). Do not press chicken! After five minutes, turn chicken over and cover for another five minutes.
While chicken is cooking, dice and crumble bacon and eggs into a small bowl. Set aside and shred cheese, if needed. When chicken is done (test with a fork in the thickest part of the breast- any serious resistance or pink juices means it's not done yet- juices should be clear), let cool for about ten minutes in pan juices.
Add lettuce and spinach into a large bowl, then add cheese, bacon and egg. Slice chicken breasts across the grain as thin as possible (not chunks), and add to the large bowl. Add Italian dressing to the mix and cover the bowl tightly, shaking vigorously to coat and blend. Open bowl and serve immediately.
This should serve four large salads, or six smaller ones.
This must be made fresh! Leftovers or making the day before will make the greens wilt and lose their crunchiness and the cheese will lose firmness and turn gooey!
I'm going to have this for lunch today as well- it's SO good! I hope you'll try it and let me know what you think.
I'm keeping my chins up for a thinner future! I hope this post has inspired you. God Bless, and have a great day!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
The Scale Melted
I don't know where you live, but here it's been a heat index of over 100 degrees- in some cases 115! So I wound up not going to the gym Friday OR Monday. Humidity that would shame an ogre's armpit is not something I want to ride my bike in!
If I had a scale, it probably would have been a puddle of plastic and springs, but since I go to the gym to get weighed...and I didn't go back yet...well, let's just say I might be thinner. I have no idea.
This was a tough week, because I had to make quick meals and stretch them out, so there was a lot of pasta being used. And if I didn't have at least a little of it, I would have had to eat the table. So I went for the lesser of two evils. Besides, I don't like the feeling of wood splinters getting stuck in my teeth!
I didn't have a lot mind you, but I can definitely feel a difference after a few days of eating it. I hope I lost, but I won't know until I bike my hind-end over to the gym tomorrow. The weather report says little humidity, so I might just survive the heat better.
As for me and mine, I plan on taking them to the pool to get a little exercise. It's a mile-long hike to get there, and we'll spend about three hours turning into pink raisins. Then we'll either walk home or get a ride, if my husband is home from work by then. Either way, the kids and I will sleep much sounder tonight!
I'll keep you posted as soon as I weigh myself. And tonight's dinner will consist of rice instead of pasta!
If I had a scale, it probably would have been a puddle of plastic and springs, but since I go to the gym to get weighed...and I didn't go back yet...well, let's just say I might be thinner. I have no idea.
This was a tough week, because I had to make quick meals and stretch them out, so there was a lot of pasta being used. And if I didn't have at least a little of it, I would have had to eat the table. So I went for the lesser of two evils. Besides, I don't like the feeling of wood splinters getting stuck in my teeth!
I didn't have a lot mind you, but I can definitely feel a difference after a few days of eating it. I hope I lost, but I won't know until I bike my hind-end over to the gym tomorrow. The weather report says little humidity, so I might just survive the heat better.
As for me and mine, I plan on taking them to the pool to get a little exercise. It's a mile-long hike to get there, and we'll spend about three hours turning into pink raisins. Then we'll either walk home or get a ride, if my husband is home from work by then. Either way, the kids and I will sleep much sounder tonight!
I'll keep you posted as soon as I weigh myself. And tonight's dinner will consist of rice instead of pasta!
Monday, July 18, 2011
One Step Back, Two Forward!
The title is a twist to the old saying; The original is just too negative for my taste!
This week we had to test recipes for funnel cake to sell at our yard sale, and of course, I had to test it as well- it was a moral imperative. Okay, maybe not-so-moral, but you get the idea. That and the super-special thing that happens to all females of the species once in a while that makes up blow up like a whoopee cushion showed on the scale this week.
But only a little. I gained a pound.
In perspective, a pound isn't really a lot for me- most times I gain at least five during the monthly event, not to mention the recent consumption of a lot of freshly made funnel cake. With powdered sugar sprinkled liberally on top. But that pound is still sitting there, waiting for me to do something about it.
So I did.
I went to the gym today for my regular workout, and found out as I was working on one of the machines I use to tighten belly muscles (aka 'abs', which are more like 'flabs' at the moment), that I was doing the exercise completely wrong. The instructor showed me how to do it right, and wow, what a difference! Now I hurt in a whole new way I never knew I could!
But it's a good hurt, if you get my drift. Muscles that ache a little are growing- it's when they begin to really hurt that you have a problem! One step back, two steps forward! I'm not giving up, and neither should any of you who are trying to lose weight too.
There will always be some ups among the downs, but if you're consistently going down and have very few ups, you're doing well. Especially when you stop eating funnel cake. No one is perfect, and neither will your journey down Weight Loss Way be either. In fact, I think those little plateaus make me more determined to get past them!
God bless! Don't forget to lick that powdered sugar off your fingers and go, go, go!!
This week we had to test recipes for funnel cake to sell at our yard sale, and of course, I had to test it as well- it was a moral imperative. Okay, maybe not-so-moral, but you get the idea. That and the super-special thing that happens to all females of the species once in a while that makes up blow up like a whoopee cushion showed on the scale this week.
But only a little. I gained a pound.
In perspective, a pound isn't really a lot for me- most times I gain at least five during the monthly event, not to mention the recent consumption of a lot of freshly made funnel cake. With powdered sugar sprinkled liberally on top. But that pound is still sitting there, waiting for me to do something about it.
So I did.
I went to the gym today for my regular workout, and found out as I was working on one of the machines I use to tighten belly muscles (aka 'abs', which are more like 'flabs' at the moment), that I was doing the exercise completely wrong. The instructor showed me how to do it right, and wow, what a difference! Now I hurt in a whole new way I never knew I could!
But it's a good hurt, if you get my drift. Muscles that ache a little are growing- it's when they begin to really hurt that you have a problem! One step back, two steps forward! I'm not giving up, and neither should any of you who are trying to lose weight too.
There will always be some ups among the downs, but if you're consistently going down and have very few ups, you're doing well. Especially when you stop eating funnel cake. No one is perfect, and neither will your journey down Weight Loss Way be either. In fact, I think those little plateaus make me more determined to get past them!
God bless! Don't forget to lick that powdered sugar off your fingers and go, go, go!!
Monday, July 11, 2011
When to Say No
Sometimes there are tough decisions to make. Not going to the gym today was one of them. Why?
Because I needed to ride my bike to get there, and there's a 100 degree heat index outside. Hot, humid, and sticky- I'd have to ride through all the lovely stuff to get to the gym. Personally, when the radio stations are telling you to stay inside, it's generally a good idea to do so. Especially when I'm humidity intolerant. I melt when it's humid!
So today I'm staying home, but keeping busy!
I weighed myself on Friday, and was down another pound! Now I'm 304- just four pounds away from my first target goal- WOOHOO!
I want to keep it that way, so I'll be back at the gym mid-week. I'm not going to make staying home a habit, but I'm not going to risk killing myself via heat stroke either. You have to know when to say no.
God bless!
Because I needed to ride my bike to get there, and there's a 100 degree heat index outside. Hot, humid, and sticky- I'd have to ride through all the lovely stuff to get to the gym. Personally, when the radio stations are telling you to stay inside, it's generally a good idea to do so. Especially when I'm humidity intolerant. I melt when it's humid!
So today I'm staying home, but keeping busy!
I weighed myself on Friday, and was down another pound! Now I'm 304- just four pounds away from my first target goal- WOOHOO!
I want to keep it that way, so I'll be back at the gym mid-week. I'm not going to make staying home a habit, but I'm not going to risk killing myself via heat stroke either. You have to know when to say no.
God bless!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
On the Downhill Run
No, I haven't been running (it's too dangerous for me and the passers by to be doing that yet), but I have been going downhill- in weight, that is!
I stepped on the scale and it told me I am 305- that's a pound and a half down, folks!
This week I spent some grocery money on greens. Nice, dark greens like spinach and romaine lettuce, as well as mixed greens. Good stuff, if a little bitter at times. I have to find out which particular green is responsible for that. Bleah.
Lunches consisted of turkey salad on greens, and we did wraps twice this week stuffed with it too. Did you know you can feed a family of four with a single chicken breast? We are usually big eaters here (especially my 13 year old son, who is now taller than me), but I've never thought we'd be satisfied with a quarter breast each. We might have wraps more often! It certainly stretched the meat a lot more- And I had enough chicken leftover for another meal because I'd made two breasts!
But that's really the point, isn't it? To eat when satisfied, not when the plate is empty. My daughter didn't even finish hers, and I didn't make her either. 'Finish your food' was a mantra many moms chanted when we were kids, and our plates were always filled near adult-size portions. I try not to do that with my kids, and she hardly ever finishes off her plate. My son, however, can finish it off, have seconds, and then eat the plate, and part of the table if I let him! I'm learning that I need to feed him more for his survival, but two helpings is his limit. He's got a lot of muscle and very little fat, so I know he's burning it off, just like his dad. Darn it all....they have metabolisms like rabbits on sugar!
Part of me is glad that the freezer died. I've learned to cook with less, to stretch out the meals, and that salad/greens with a meal will fill you up. My son is still a veggieholic, but he's the only one. the rest of us like seeing salad and veggies on our plates, and I intend to keep it that way!
Vegetables stretch just as much as starchy stuff- it just costs a bit more. But the trade is totally worth it! I've cut down on potatoes and rice (just a little) and have also realized that I need to cut down on sugar as well. Not cut out, not switch to artificial sweeteners (have you seen the chemicals in those? Most are other forms of sugar!), but just have less. The real thing is always better than the processed stuff!
I'm also doing more cardio. I went to the pool with the kids last week, and it was awesome! I had a great workout (especially when my son was trying to catch me), and I took walks in the park with my family during the week. Not only was this great for me, but we had time away from our hectic world for a while. This is the stuff our kids will remember us by, not me letting them play the computer!
I will keep you posted of my progress- I hope to be closer to 300 by next week!
God bless, and I hope to hear of your successes as well!
I stepped on the scale and it told me I am 305- that's a pound and a half down, folks!
This week I spent some grocery money on greens. Nice, dark greens like spinach and romaine lettuce, as well as mixed greens. Good stuff, if a little bitter at times. I have to find out which particular green is responsible for that. Bleah.
Lunches consisted of turkey salad on greens, and we did wraps twice this week stuffed with it too. Did you know you can feed a family of four with a single chicken breast? We are usually big eaters here (especially my 13 year old son, who is now taller than me), but I've never thought we'd be satisfied with a quarter breast each. We might have wraps more often! It certainly stretched the meat a lot more- And I had enough chicken leftover for another meal because I'd made two breasts!
But that's really the point, isn't it? To eat when satisfied, not when the plate is empty. My daughter didn't even finish hers, and I didn't make her either. 'Finish your food' was a mantra many moms chanted when we were kids, and our plates were always filled near adult-size portions. I try not to do that with my kids, and she hardly ever finishes off her plate. My son, however, can finish it off, have seconds, and then eat the plate, and part of the table if I let him! I'm learning that I need to feed him more for his survival, but two helpings is his limit. He's got a lot of muscle and very little fat, so I know he's burning it off, just like his dad. Darn it all....they have metabolisms like rabbits on sugar!
Part of me is glad that the freezer died. I've learned to cook with less, to stretch out the meals, and that salad/greens with a meal will fill you up. My son is still a veggieholic, but he's the only one. the rest of us like seeing salad and veggies on our plates, and I intend to keep it that way!
Vegetables stretch just as much as starchy stuff- it just costs a bit more. But the trade is totally worth it! I've cut down on potatoes and rice (just a little) and have also realized that I need to cut down on sugar as well. Not cut out, not switch to artificial sweeteners (have you seen the chemicals in those? Most are other forms of sugar!), but just have less. The real thing is always better than the processed stuff!
I'm also doing more cardio. I went to the pool with the kids last week, and it was awesome! I had a great workout (especially when my son was trying to catch me), and I took walks in the park with my family during the week. Not only was this great for me, but we had time away from our hectic world for a while. This is the stuff our kids will remember us by, not me letting them play the computer!
I will keep you posted of my progress- I hope to be closer to 300 by next week!
God bless, and I hope to hear of your successes as well!
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