A Perfect Month of Workouts

I had a fantastic weekend with hubby home! We spent the whole time together and I enjoyed every minute of it. I was sad to see him leave again this morning.

For breakfast, I had 2 slices of peanut butter and banana toast with 1 cup of 1% milk for 8 points.

I spent the morning catching up on some blogs, doing laundry and other chores around the house instead of going back to bed. I wasn’t so tired this morning and it felt good to get some things done!

Hubby got to stop for a minute on his way out of town, so I got to see him again and get one last kiss for the week. But then I had to say goodbye all over again and that’s no fun!

For my first break, I had a green smoothie (usual) and 100 calorie Kettle Corn for 4 points total.

For lunch, I had whole wheat pasta with chicken and spaghetti sauce with a side of green beans for 8 points. I also had a glass of iced tea.

And for a sweet ending I had a Ghirardelli Dark chocolate with strawberry filling square for 2 points.

On my last break, I had 2 Cuties clementines for 0 points.

And brought back a cup of Duchess Grey tea for 0 points.

It was a long, busy day at work today and I was happy when 5:00 came!

For supper, I had a cheese and chicken quesadilla with avocado for 9 points.

And for dessert, I had FF/SF chocolate pudding topped with about a cup of fresh strawberries for 2 points.

That leaves me with 1 point left for the day.

After supper, I cleaned the house. And you can bet I count this as activity! It took me 1 hour and 25 minutes and I burned 387 calories. Nice! I try to keep moving and sometimes just stop cleaning to dance to a good song. Yes, I’m a nerd!

And by the way, I had a perfect month of workouts in February! My goal is to workout 5 days each week- and I did!!

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE organized blogger 5k’s. They give me the inspiration to run a 5k and get some activity in. And guess what? Vegan Chick Pea is hosting a St. Patrick’s Day 5k! How fun!! Make sure to check it out! I will definitely be participating and I hope you will too!

Sandwich Thin Pizzas- 4 Points Plus- Recipe Week 8

Ingredients:

• 1 sandwich thin
• 1/4 cup Spaghetti sauce
• 1/4 cup 2% reduced fat shredded Mozzarella cheese
• Any toppings you want- remember veggies are free!

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Separate the sandwich thin and place them top side down on a cookie sheet.
3. Spread 1/8 cup spaghetti sauce onto each sandwich thin half.
4. Sprinkle 1/8 cup Mozzarella cheese on on half.
5. Add toppings.
6. Place in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and slightly browned.

You can eat both halves of the Sandwich Thin Pizzas with cheese and veggies only for 4 points. Make sure to add the points for any meats or other toppings. These are delicious and a great low point option when you’re craving pizza!

Shopping These Days

Shopping is different now that I can fit into regular sized clothes. I no longer HAVE to go to the back corner of the store next to the maternity clothes to look at the plus sized clothing. I can still fit into the smaller sizes of the plus sized clothing, but I have more options now.

Before I started changing my lifestyle and losing weight, I would buy WHATEVER I could find that would fit me. And looking at the clothes I wore, I feel like I dressed like a middle aged woman, probably because that’s all that was available to  me! And I’m embarrassed, quite frankly. A 25 year old should not dress like she’s 50. I tried to dress stylishly, but let’s face it- whoever designs plus sized clothing feels that larger women want to wear baggy tents, bright colors, floral print or they want to show off their cleavage. Honestly ladies, how easy is it for you to find a shirt in the plus size section that isn’t low cut? Not very!

Today, it’s different and I’ve found that when I shop, I rarely buy anything. It’s not a matter of being thankful I found something relatively cute that finally fits me so I have to buy it anymore. I have options. And there are SO many options. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed. There are these stores full of clothes where before I had to shop on two or three racks. It’s different. It’s something I’ve never really experienced before. I’m finding that I will find new stores that I love to shop at. Gone are the days of only being able to shop at Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Cato and Wal-Mart.

Losing weight changes so many things. My body is changing. It feels different on me. But it’s still me, just a new me. And as I try to find clothes that fit this new me, I have to ask myself, what is my personal style? When I shop, I can finally ask myself, “Is this me?” and if not, I can put it right back on the rack knowing that I can always find something else. What is my style? It’s about time that my own style and personality showed for real. Gone are the days of desperation shopping. This is just the beginning, and it will take more pounds lost to be able to fit into the clothes at ANY store I shop at, but the options are starting to open up!

This is all new to me. I’m both excited to have more options and overwhelmed at the same time. I’m just glad that when I go in most stores, I can buy more than just the shoes and purses.

Finally Friday!

I woke up a little more chipper this morning because Hubby was coming home today!

For breakfast, I had 1/2 cup each of Cheerios, Fiber One, blueberries and 1% milk for 4 points.

For my first break, I had PB and Banana toast for 2 points.

I also whipped up a green smoothie, the usual kind with 2 oranges and 1 cup of spinach for 1 point.

For lunch, I had the last of the leftover ham and cheese casserole and squash for 6 points. I also had a glass of iced tea.

For dessert, I had FF/SF chocolate pudding with a Cool Whip for 2 points.

I got off of work a couple of hours early- which was awesome because Hubby was almost on his way home by that time! I was so happy when he got home!

I ate 3 mini-sugar cookies that hubby brought home. You can’t tell in the picture, but they are actually small. 4 points.

For supper, I made an Italian meal. Schwann’s cheese stuffed pasta with alfredo and spinach, chicken with cheese and marinara and green beans for a total of 13 points.

And for dessert, I had vanilla ice cream topped with strawberry syrup for 5 points.

That puts me at using 3 weekly points today.

Now for some quality time with hubby!

Have a great weekend!

Tomorrow!

For breakfast this morning I had oatmeal with a sliced banana and a little peanut butter along with 1 cup of 1% milk for 8 points.

And then it was off to school! I’m glad that I’m done for the week.

On my way home, I snacked on baby carrots for 0 points.

For lunch, I made a BBQ chicken quesadilla along with avocado and baked BBQ Lay’s for 11 points. I was craving the chips today.

It was DELISH! I also had FF/SF chocolate pudding for 2 points.

This time with hubby being gone has been harder than the last time. I don’t know why? Maybe the first week is the hardest. I keep catching myself wanting to eat, knowing that I am just wanting to eat to try to fill an emotional void. I KNOW that I want that full fat brownie with frosting because I am missing hubby. I guess that’s the key thing. If I can recognize it, then I can stop it. I have not had the brownie w/ frosting, BTW.

Before signing in for work, I made some Duchess Grey tea for 0 points.

I got to sign out of work about 15 minutes early, which was nice! I decided to work out right away to make sure I fit it in for the day. I have been looking for my workout dvd that came with my fitness ball and I finally found it today! So I did that workout. WOW- it’s a killer! It was 30 minutes long and I burned 143 calories. My muscles were sore and shaky when I was done!

For supper, I had one of my favorite meals. Whole wheat pasta with alfredo, teriyaki chicken, tomato, and broccoli for a total of 11 points.

Yummmm! I love that stuff!

For dessert, I had banana soft serve for 0 points.

And then it was time to write a paper for school. While I worked on my paper, I sipped on Decaf Dark Chocolate Truffle coffee for 0 points.

That took me a couple of hours but once I start writing I get lost in it. I really do love writing papers and researching. Sometimes I dread getting started on it, but once I’m started- I could write for hours on end. I guess that’s why I’m an English major. I just hope I can find a job I love when I graduate!

I still have 2 points left for the day. I might eat a small snack and watch an episode of something to relax.

I am so excited because hubby comes home tomorrow!! There is a light at the end of the tunnel. I will try not to think about him leaving again on Monday…!

Hungry Wednesday

This morning I weighed in at 210.8, which is a .2 loss for the week. That doesn’t even make up for my gain last week. I had a really good week this last week so I was a little disappointed, but a loss is a loss and it’s better than a gain. Total lost is 77.2 lbs.

For breakfast, I had a slice of light toast topped with peanut butter and a sliced banana along with 1 cup of 1% milk for 5 points.

I was hungry by my first break, and decided to try something different. I took a serving of Ak-Mak Whole wheat crackers and spread with 2 Laughing Cow Cheese wedges on top for 4 points.

I also made a green smoothie: 2 oranges, 1 cup of spinach, for 1 point.

For lunch, I had leftover ham and cheese casserole and squash for 6 points.

And I had a No Pudge! Brownie for 3 points.

On my last break, I had a sore throat and wanted something cold on my throat, so I had a Weight Watcher’s Dark Chocolate Raspberry bar for 2 points.

I don’t know what was up with me, but I will be totally honest. I just wanted to eat. I ate a couple bites of different snacky items. I think this was emotional eating for a variety of reasons. I will estimate this as 3 points. That’s behavior I cannot get started!!

So to try to stop with the mindless snacking, I had a 100 Calorie Pack of popcorn for 3 points.

For supper, I had a egg white omelet with ham and cheese along with a bowl of strawberries and blueberries for 5 points.

I also had a glass of orange juice because it just sounded good. I hardly ever drink orange juice anymore and couldn’t believe how SWEET it tasted it- almost made me sick! 3 Points.

After supper I jumped on the bike for 30 minutes and burned 102 calories.

I used 1 weekly point for the day.

We’re over half way through the week! Yay!

Grocery Shopping Tuesday

For breakfast, I had a Banana Nut VitaTop and I spread Whipped Honey Nut cream cheese on top. I also had 1 cup of strawberries and 1 cup of 1% milk for a total of 7 points.

Before leaving for school, I whipped up my green smoothie (2 oranges, 1 cup spinach) for a total of 1 point.

School went pretty quickly today. The first class was pretty controversial- that makes things interesting!

I planned ahead and packed my lunch today. I had a sandwich on light bread with ham and a blue cheese Laughing Cow cheese wedge along with Baked BBQ chips for 7 points.

I also had 2 Cuties clementines for 0 points.

I ate lunch in the car and then ran in Kohl’s because I had a coupon. I couldn’t find anything for myself, but I got hubby this very nice dress shirt for .86 cents! I am a bargain shopper.

And then it was grocery time. I got lots of goodies today! I love that Strawberries are less than $2/lb. now!

I had a craving for something sweet, so I grabbed a Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg for 5 points. This was SO delicious! It’s been forever since I’ve had one of these!

I was hungry in the afternoon, so I had a banana for 0 points.

For supper, I made a salad: lettuce, baked salmon, tomato, avocado, mushrooms, walnuts and light ranch for a total of 9 points.

I also had a slice of light toast topped with whipped chive cream cheese for 2 points.

For dessert, I had FF/SF vanilla pudding with a little Cool Whip for 2 points.

After supper, I knew I had to get a workout in, but didn’t really feel like doing anything. So the plan was to read for school while I biked, but I’m not really liking the novel we’re reading right now, so I ended up calling my sister instead. That made the time go much faster! I biked 30 minutes and burned 120 calories.

I have 1 point left for the day! Just enough to have a fruit smoothie later on tonight. I’m thinking the Strawberry, Banana and Mango smoothie sounds PERFECT.

Tomorrow is WI day- I’m not sure what to expect based on the scale, but I do know that I have done SUPERB this week with eating and exercising. So I know I’ve done my best, and that’s all that matters!