NEW BLOG!

Like I mentioned, I need a change.

2008 was a rough year in many ways.

I need good karma so the new blog address is www.feelfine09.blogspot.com .

No posts yet.

I am taking today to decide on the direction I want it to take.

You will have to check it tomorrow to see what I decided.

New Blog???

So now that I am back blogging here, I realize that 2008 is almost over and I don't feel like I reached my goal of "Looking Great in 2008". Being Pregnant 9 of the past 11 months hampered my progress. I think I need to change my name. I am giving it some thought and will probably transfer to a new name come the new year. I will keep you posted.

Lost in Translation

My mother-in-law and sister-in-law have been staying with us since mid-October. They came to stay to help with the baby. It has been awesome to have them around to help out with the house and the kids. They are from South America and don't speak English and I don't speak Spanish so communicating is hard and I am pretty dependent on my husband translating.

Well, in starting to count points, I bought a few low point options for myself while buying regular for the rest of the family. This includes light bread and carb balance tortillas. These are quite a bit more expensive and with feeding two extra adults, I felt justified in this. One of the reasons that these items are lower in points is that they have more fiber than their original counterparts.

The morning after I bought them, I noticed that everyone was using it for toast when I came down in the morning and the already shrunken loaf was half gone. I was frustrated but also knew that I never explained the difference so had no right to be mad. I asked my husband to kindly explain to his mother that it was my bread and she was welcome to the other loaf at a later time so she didn't think that I was mad at her. He told me to write my name on it, but I don't think I should have to do that because I am no longer in college and I am in my own home. He didn't know how to bring it up until the opportunity presented itself yesterday afternoon.

For Sunday dinner I made black bean enchiladas. These are delicious and one of my favorites. I will have to post the recipe here. They are made with flour tortillas and so I made a small loaf pan for me with the carb balance tortillas and made a large pyrex full for the rest of the family. Of course everyone wanted to empty the small pan first so that we could clear the dish and I had to tell my husband to explain that they were made with different tortillas and that those were mine. I explained that the tortillas had more fiber and I was trying to add fiber to my diet. Also, to stay away from my bread. (I haven't mentioned WW to them. They are both under 100 lbs so weight is not really something we have in common.) My husband translated to them. They looked and me an started giggling. I asked him what he said. He said something to the effect that I needed to eat those ones because they had extra fiber and that I was trying to get extra fiber because I was constipated.

NICE HONEY!!!

Not really the reason that I am looking for high fiber items. More along the lines that they are more filling and lower the points on standard things.

OH WELL!!!

Well, now they know to not eat my stuff and maybe I can hide out in the bathroom to read a book or something and they won't suspect I am just ditching out. They will think the fiber is working its magic.

Resolute

So I'm back at it again. I tried to jump back into WW a week after my son was born only to return to my meeting and find that my leader had left WW. So disappointing. The new lady was not very good and less than motivating so I haven't gone back. I tried counting points that first week but only last 3 days and that turned into a 6 week mess from Halloween to Thanksgiving.

All I can say now is OH WELL! and move on. Last week I read a post that Roni of Roni's Weigh had about how Dec. 1st was a great time to make new resolutions and you don't have to wait until Jan. 1st. Well, it got me thinking and I decided Dec. 1st was a perfect time to recommit. It was a Monday, beginning of the week and month and 6 weeks out from delivery, so it seemed like a good place to start.

It was. This past week has been great! It had been easy to refocus and get back on track. I stayed on plan and wasn't hungry at all. I lost 5.6 pounds. YEAH! (I know that a lot of it is water that I was holding onto, but I am still happy with the number.) I am weighing in at home for now. I have checked out the meeting schedule and I am having a hard time finding one that works. I am still pretty disappointed that Linda left WW.

Here's to another week and a fresh start. I need to keep my focus this week because my husband is having surgery and will be laid up for a week or so. When he is around during the day I tend to eat a lot worse. Why is that? That needs to change this week.

Coming Clean

Well, I know that I have been MIA for a long time now. A lot has happened!

I am 6 months pregnant!

It took me a long time to wrap my mind around. I felt like I was so on-track with WW and this change derailed me. I was really good with my eating for a while but didn't do a great job tracking on doing anything on the computer being so tired.

In June and July, our family went on a huge road trip. We visited my family for a few weeks and then made a stop to visit friends in Vegas and then finished up in Southern California at the beach. While it was a fabulous trip (which is all documented on my private blog), I threw everything I had learned and had been doing for the past few months in exchange for temporary enjoyment. I came back 15 lbs heavier and learned my lesson. (In 6 weeks!) YIKES! This is all I wanted to put on the wntire pregnancy.

This past week, I have gotten back on track. Making mostly core choices, drinking lots of water, eating lots of fruits and veggies along with ample protein and dairy. I am pretty proud of myself. At this point, there isn't too much that I can do to undo my trip damage because of baby but at long as I make good choices I have decided that I am going to be OK with the number on the scale.

I have also gotten back on track with exercising and doing better than I have done since I started WW. I am following the Body for Life suggestions loosely. I am walking 3 days a week for 30 minutes and keeping my heart under 70% of target. I also have been light weight lifting 3 days a week. I am keeping it really light but it feels great just to be moving and it is about 15 activity points a week.

Even though I am not really paying attention to points, I am back to tracking on the online tracker. I loved using this before and I want to have the habit because I plan on returning to my WW Meetings as soon as I can after baby, before Thanksgiving. I know that I am going to need the support during the holidays, especially since my MIL will be here cooking for us for the 2 1/2 months after baby is born.

So there it is! My purge! It is off my chest.

I feel like I am back. I have some new discoveries lately that I have been itching to post about. I also need an outlet to go to besides my husband because while he listens, he doesn't really want to hear about it.

Oatmeal Waffles

Oatmeal Waffles

2 c. evaporated skim milk

2 tbsp. vinegar

2 c. whole grain oats

2 eggs, separated

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

6 tbsp. canola oil

1/3 c. whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Mix milk, vinegar and rolled oats. Soak overnight in cold place.

Add egg yolks. Beat. Add oil. Stir in flour sifted with soda, baking powder, and salt.

Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites.

Pour batter into a waffle iron.

Makes about 16 waffles.

I know that the whole wheat flour is not Core but if your recipe makes 16 waffles, you can eat up to 4 waffles and still be at 0 points. 5 will put you over the edge to 1 whole point. I find that a serving of 2 waffles is perfect. They freeze well. Just microwave for 45 sec and pop in the toaster if you like them crisp.

Soaking the oatmeal overnight really breaks it down so that they have a texture close to a regular waffle. You can probably substitute applesauce for at least some of the oil, if not all of it, but I haven't tried it yet. It is a good way to get in your healthy oil. Each waffle would have about 1 t of oil in it if made with the recipe above.

Both my toddler and my husband love these. They are a tough crowd to please, especially my husband. Hope you like them too!

Update

So here's the quick update.

The first 2 weeks of core I lost a combined total of 5.5 pounds. All together, I am at a total loss of 31.6 ponds. It feels great to pass the 30 lb mark. I don't think that I posted but last week I hit my 10%. Yeah! That feels awesome!

I am still liking Core and loving not counting as much.

I saw a picutre of my posted on a friends' blog and was not repulsed. This is a big step forward. I usually cringe upon seeing pictures of myself. I can see the difference in my face.

I also found an awesome waffle recipe made out of oatmeal that I will post soon. My husband even liked it which says a lot. He is funny about new recipes.

Baked Oatmeal

Since starting Core, I have had to search for new recipes to fit the plan. I was craving waffles so I went off in search of a recipe that used oatmeal instead of flour. I found one but it has to soak overnight and so that wasn't an option for breakfast this morning.

This Baked Oatmeal recipe was one that I found at halfmysize.com. I immediately whipped up a batch and threw it in the oven. It turned out exactly as I imagined it. I mix between a muffin and a cookie. I entered it in the recipe builder and it is 3 pts a serving for flex but all ingredients are Core. Yeah!!! Each serving is huge, 1/6 pan. I ate it hot. It would be delicious with baked apples or other warm fruit on top and maybe 2 T. of Cool Whip Free on top. I am letting the pan cool and I am going to bag up the rest for snacks or breakfast on the go.

Also, my daughter loved it. She ate 1/2 piece all by herself. It is nice when your kids will eat what you are eating. Now if I could get my husband to do the same.

I'm done!

That is...............I'm done counting.

I switched to CORE and so far I am pleasantly surprise how much I love it.

Not what I expected.

I was really nervous that I would over-eat.

I was so hungry on flex and kept going over my daily and weekly points.

I have still been tracking online and just added up the points for the past two days and I am still in my point allowance.

But I am not so hungry.

I guess better quality food helps. I don't think that I noticed how much junk I was still eating.

I am also learning to listen to my hunger/full signals better. This is something that I have been really bad about in the past. I have noticed that I have been eating past full just because I had the points.

I was also getting really bad at tracking. Now I just pick something on the list.

My husband is trying to be supportive but not as supportive as he was on flex. He doesn't trust my full meter. I also think that he is a little frustrated that my number is going down while his is the same. We both gained weight with the baby. My number is still much higher than his. I know that when he puts his mind to it, it will come off fast. He is fortunate that way. Hopefully, he gets back to being supportive.

By the way (If there is anyone still reading after a month of blog boycotting.) I hit the 25 lb mark and was only 0.6 away from my 10%. I didn't have a good week last week, hence the change to CORE to refocus me, so I didn't weigh-in. Couldn't stomach a gain written on my card. Used a no-weigh pass and just attended the meeting. Glad I did! The meeting was great and remotivated me. Linda, my leader is great!

Peeked at the scale and it is moving in the right direction. I think I was retaining some water because of poor eating.

Lost a Big One!

Well, it has been too long. I am sure that some of you are thinking that I fell off the wagon. Happy to say that I am still going strong. I also realized that I haven't posted my weight-loss for the past two weeks. Last week I lost 2.6 lbs! Yeah! I was pleasantly surprise. Wasn't really expecting a big loss because I haad been so hungry all week and so I stormed through my WPA with no shame. I lost 1.4 this week. Not a big loss but I am definately happy about it. It was a party-full week. Friday we had a going-away BBQ for friends, Sat was my daughter birthday party, Sun was the leftovers from the birthday party, and Thurs was Valentines. I went over my WPA before Sun was over but exercise self-control for the rest of the week.

All said and done, I have lost 20.4 lbs since Dec. 28th. I am pretty happy about that and I am approaching two milestone, 10% and 25 lb star which could potentially happen the same week. It feels good to pass the 20 lb mark. I am pretty proud of myself. still have some baby weight left but I am 20 lbs closer than I was a month and a half ago. The fish above is 20lbs. Can you believe it? It is huge! My friend Em said that her WW leader told them to carry around a 10 lb bag of potatoes at the grocery store and you will have a true appreciation for every 10 lbs you lose. I can't imagine carrying around one in each hand, but yet, that is what I was essentially doing all of the time. YIKES!

I have some catching up to do on blogging so hopefully when you check back this week I will blog about the cookies and ravioli I made for Valentines Day and the circuit training I did last week. It kicked my butt.

By the way, if you want to see what you "fish weight" just type in __ lbs in http://www.images.google.com/. I think you will be surprised. TB, I put in 80 just for you and here it is. Wow, you should be very proud. Can't wait to see your "big one"!!!

It doesn't taste like a grape...

Tonight I have been ravenous. So hungry and out of daily points. I had two bowls of soup for dinner and I think that I overestimated the number of points in a bowl. I wanted to be on the safe side. Regardless I was left not satisfied after dinner. I sucked on a couple of Sugar Free Jolly Ranchers. That did work. I really wanted to dive into the M&Ms hidden in the back of the cupboard but I used my better judgement and went for a grapefuit instead. I peeled it like an orange and sectioned it out and peeled the membrane off each peice as I ate it. I put a lot of work into it and it definately made it last a long time. All said and done, my mind was still on the M&Ms and rather than try and distract myeself further, I gave in and measured out 2 Tbsp of those little peices of chocolate deliciousness. I ate them slow and handed the rest of the bag to my husband. He finished the bag and now they are done with and out of the house. The grapefruit was delicious and I am glad that I turned to it first even if I gave into temptation in the end. A month ago, I most likely would have polished off the bag by myself. Here's to improvement.

My Pet Fat

Who has heard of or seen these?

Not I, until this week.

As you know, I only lost 0.6 last week and was initially disappointed. That was until I was looking at blogs one day and came across this posting. It totally changed my attitude. Heather, who runs http://www.thewwchick.com/, helped me to see that losing anything was something.

I was telling a friend about the post and the gross little visual that was pictured there and she said that her WW leader had one too. "My Pet Fat" So I looked them up. A not so little mountain of fat. 1 lb. Who knew 1 lb could be so big. Then I started imagining these little jiggly mountains taped all over me. YUCK! I am suddenly very satisfied with just 1 lb a week. 1 less attached to my hips or my stomach.

Well this week I lost 1.2. While a few weeks ago that would have seemed like nothing, this week I am pleased with myself and I am excited for another loss next week. Even if it is just a pound.

How many did I eat?

I made these yesterday. Every other week we meet with a few other families from church for Family Night. I was in charge of the treat yesterday. I have had a package of M&Ms for a while now and thought that it would be fun to put them in the cookies instead of chocolate chips. Last time I made these cookies I ate two. The first fast without tasting it and the second one I savored with a glass of milk. I realized that while I like the cookie, my favorite part is the M&Ms. Yesterday I mixed up the batter and reserved 10 M&Ms for myself on the side. I ate those 10 M&Ms while I was baking the cookies. Counted the points for them too. After eating the M&Ms I was over the temptation of the cookies. I brought a plate of them for Family night, I sent another dozen to work with my husband this morning and I have a dozen that I am going to drop by the new neighbor's house this morning.

So I am proud to announce that as far as cookies go............I ate ZERO!

Getting Over Disappointment...

-0.6

That's all!

To be honest I am a littl frustrated and the only thing keeping me going is that this morning I was able to wear a pair of jeans that I hadn't worn in quite some time. I guess that I am losing inches which is good.

TOM was this past week and even though I stuck to my points, I wasn't very good at meeting my healthy guidelines. Guess I learned from it and I am going to try to stick to it this week.

One good thing is that even though it was a small loss it was enough to put me over the 15 lb mark so I was able to get another star. That is 3 now. Yeah!

Food Find - Morning Star Farm's Spicy Black Bean Burger

A few weeks ago, we went to Chili's for dinner. I ordered the black bean burger and LOVED it. However, I am not one to pay $9 for a burger and some steamed veggies when I can do it at home for much less. (To be honest, I didn't even eat the steamed veggies. That is something that I don't like very much at restaurants. They are always cold by the time I get around to them.) I picked up a package of these Morning Star ones at the store along with Nature's Own Whole Wheat Sugar Free Hamburger Buns. The Bun is 2 pts and the patty is 2 point. Four points for a burger is so good, especially when they are as delicious as these are. If you are apprehensive about a veggie burger, try them anyway. They are so worth it.

Contest

So Roni at Weight Watchen is doing another contest and I decided to enter. This scale looks awesome and I know I could put it to good use if I magically win. Here's to hoping anyway!

Check out Roni’s new contest! I can win a Nutrition Smart Scale from Eat Smart and so can you! Click here for details!

Did anyone else enter?