Lacy's Losin' It!

My husband passed away

2017-12-19T14:08:00.000-08:00

My husband passed away on September 26, 2017 and my life has changed in many ways.

I have been on my journey towards better health for years now and it never gets easier, I just get better. Small changes over time become habits. I learned my body doesn't react well to gluten, so I cut it out. I learned that certain foods cannot come into my house because they will be consumed too quickly, so I stopped buying them. I learned that even though I can make changes to my eating habits I still need to move my body and build lean mass, so I purchased a year membership to an amazing fitness center.

Only one of those changes happened after my husband passed away.

Many people reached out to me after my husband passed away, offering condolences, offering help, and sharing wonderful stories about my late husband. One day a surprising text came through. It said something along the lines of "Rookie Davis wants to contact you and your son, can I give him your number?" I of course said "Yes!" A whirlwind happened and my son was a MLB player's special guest at Reds Fest. A beautiful story was written about the time my son spent with Rookie. https://www.mlb.com/reds/news/reds-rookie-davis-befriends-fan-after-tragedy/c-263702878 Beautiful pictures and tweets that my husband shared were added, including this one from June 2017.

Then, I made a mistake. I scrolled to the bottom of the page and read the comments and found this.

Wow...just wow. The audacity people have to make assumptions about another's life is truly astounding! I will admit that it isn't the most flattering picture, but I had lost 50 pounds in this picture. I was feeling good about myself. I was on the track to health once more. Nothing could bring me down. I was passing up treats, eating all of the veggies I could stand, and making an effort to make myself feel better. The person who wrote this comment doesn't know that I am now working out 2-3 times a week, that I used to weigh almost 75 pounds more than what I did in that picture, that I am making an effort to better myself, and how sad their words made me feel in that moment. They have no right to assume anything about my life. The article was about the kindness that was shown by Rookie Davis to my family and they said nothing about that.

I started to comment several times but I know that this person doesn't deserve a response. "Don't feed the trolls." There were a few commenters that came to put this person in their place and tell them how inappropriate their comment was.

You can be working so hard on your life and then it feels a brick wall gets dropped right in front of your face.

Does what this person said change anything about my current path? Absolutely not. Their comment probably would have had the opposite effect on me had I not already been making changes. I would have ran to a bag of Doritos and a pint of ice cream to drown my sorrows. No, tonight I am working out. Hopefully I can throw something really heavy and pretend it is hitting them in their troll face. #sorrynotsorry

I slipped, and kept slipping.

2016-10-12T13:06:00.002-07:00

Do you ever look around and think "This isn't fair" or "Why do other people have easier lives than me?" I did, a lot. I kept telling myself that it wasn't fair that I had to struggle to lose weight. I had to struggle while tons of people were able to cruise through their lives without struggling with their weight. I decided to eat, and eat, and eat, and EAT. I would eat whenever I wanted and whatever I wanted. I gained back SO much weight. Folks, I was at 393 lbs! How did I not learn? Yes, I may struggle with my weight, but others may struggle with things that I don't. We are not all made equal. Our bodies are so incredibly different.

At the end of June 2016, I decided to make a change. I was tired of only wearing stretchy pants. I was tired of being tired. I hid from the camera. I was done. I was done being a binge eater. My emotions didn't need to be "fixed" with food. No. More.

I decided it was time to try an elimination diet. I had some issues with plantar fasciitis that I thought may be caused by gluten intake. Once I was done with my elimination diet, I started to add back foods to see what they did to my body. I learned that beans and gluten are not good for me. So, I won't eat them like I used to. It's just that simple. I will allow myself to eat them occasionally, because I never want to tell myself that I can't have or do something.

Since the end of June I have lost nearly 40 lbs with only changing my diet. I am going to start incorporating exercise this week(hopefully tonight). I wanted to make sure that I could be confident in my diet before I change anything else.

With the changes I have made in my diet, I have found that I can control my binge eating. I may look like a crazy lady talking to myself, but I do it. Some days, I have to remind myself to eat. Food is no longer in control of my brain. I am. It is so freeing to know that I can control my eating. I can't say that my eating has been perfect these last few months, but that's okay. I am human. I can say that anything I have eaten that is "off-plan" has only been eaten in small amounts. 4 months ago, I would have eaten all that I could get my hands on.

I can do this. I am doing this.

Here I go again

2013-01-12T07:57:00.002-08:00

I am back on Weight Watchers as of today. I got off track with my weight loss and what I needed to do to lose weight and be healthy. I am sad to say that I am at the same weight I was this time last year. I had lost about 30 more pounds but somehow added them back on(yikes!). I was doing great, losing weight like I should, even went to a plastic surgeon to see about getting some of my excess skin removed(gross I know). I went through all the hoops, lost some more weight, sent off info to insurance, and waited. Insurance sent me a letter a week later and said that they wouldn't cover my surgery. It was a big blow. Something I worked so hard for, without weight loss surgery, was taken away from me so quickly and so coldly. I know it is an insurance company but I also know that sometimes insurance covers weight loss surgery so in my head I didn't understand why they would deny my surgery. I think that this caused my problems. I was sad and felt as though the whole weight loss wasn't worth it. Why lose all the weight if I still have all of the skin hanging there to remind me that I used to weigh over 400 pounds?!

But here I am, back on track. I am doing this for me! I want to feel good about myself again. I know that I can't afford to get the plastic surgery I want done now, but maybe in the future I can get it done. I guess, in a way, the skin is there to remind me of what I used to be. It is a huge sign yelling at me not to let myself go again.

Here we go, again. :-)

Current weight : 261
Next Goal : 250

Feelin' Good!

2012-02-29T11:42:00.000-08:00

I am feeling so good lately. I feel like I have overcome all of the roadblocks and motivation issues that I could have had and it is really good. This blog is great for my motivation. I love going back and looking through blogs and seeing what I weighed and when. I noticed that I have lost over 100 pounds since my February 21 blog! Isn't that crazy?! I am so proud of myself for sticking with this and losing the weight without having lap band or gastric bypass surgery. When I was heavy, I always had that option in the back of my mind, but I knew I couldn't afford it and I didn't like the idea of having surgery. I just know my(old)self too well. Even if I did have the surgery, I probably wouldn't have changed my eating habits and it would have been useless. I still go out to eat with my husband(never a drive-thru though) and eat delicious food. My brain just kicks in and I find what I can eat without it costing 1000 calories or more. I have a few favorite meals to eat at different restaurants that won't ruin your caloric intake for the day

1.) Paradise Chicken Salad at Applebee's - This salad is AMAZING! I absolutely love it. It has grilled chicken, pineapple, and apples mixed with greens. It is only 340 calories! Including the dressing! (I just looked it up on their website and it doesn't list it..I hope they still have it!!)

2.) Skyline Chili - Vegetarian beans and rice bowl - It tricks my brain into thinking it is having regular chili but it is way less in calories. It only has about 320 calories (I put about 1 tbsp of sour cream in mine) and it is seasoned with the same seasoning in the chili spaghetti.

3.) Subway - Did you know that Subway has salads?? I recently found this out! Any 6" sub can be turned into a salad! I love the oven roasted chicken. I opt for the Fat Free honey mustard and tell them not to put a lot of cheese on it and its delicious!

My husband likes to make fun of me for always ordering a salad but I know that they are usually the best bet going out. I get the dressing on the side so I can control how much dressing goes in and even though I love croutons, fried chicken, and lots of cheese on my salad I just substitute. The salad still tastes great and I don't feel guilty about eating it.

I do get discouraged from time to time. The scale doesn't budge and I am doing everything I should be, so I stop pouting and take a look back and see how far I've come. I notice that I lose about 10 pounds a month and that is AWESOME. One week with no loss(or gain) won't hurt me! I just need to keep exercising and eating the right amount of calories and good for me foods!

Weight today - 248.6!

Next Goal -240

New Year, new lifestyle'

2012-01-18T06:37:00.000-08:00

I have really been horrible about updating. Almost seven months have passed and quite a bit of weight has come off. I still am going to Zumba class 2-3 days a week but I am no longer with weight watchers. I had great success with the program but I wanted to do the diet portion on my own without having to calculate points. This way, when I reach my goal weight, I will be ready to maintain my weight without having to pay a monthly fee. I found this app for my iPhone called MyFitnessPal and I am loving it! I plugged in my numbers, age,height, weight, goal weight, and it told me the amount of calories I should be eating a day to lose weight. I track what I eat and what excersise I do. It even has a handy barcode scanner for easy tracking! Before I found this app I tried food journaling, I found myself havin under 1000 calories a day but no budging on the scale. I now know that eating too little calories can be as bad as having too many. The scale has moved in my favor and I'm back on track! It's a great feeling to be doing this without a "program."

Last blogged weight : 319.6
Current weight : 261
Next goal : 250

Crazy Happenings!

2011-06-15T08:15:00.000-07:00

So, like usual, it has been a while since I last wrote an update. Some crazy things have happened since my last post. A tornado went through our town! Everyone is alright but my house looks like a machine gun went crazy on it! We had the insurance adjuster out late last week and had an appointment with a contractor yesterday. Things seem promising and I hope everything works out without any headaches. The adjuster said that the roof needs replaced and the contractor saw that our carport had hail dents in it so that will need replaced also. Nothing like moving into a house for a few months and getting a brand new roof, siding, and carport. I am not looking forward to the insurance hike that will surely happen.

Onto my weight loss journey. Things have been great! I did hit a plateau for a couple weeks but I added a lot more veggies to my diet and ended it. The key to beating a plateau is to step back and take a look at what you're doing. In my case, I realized that I had been eating within my WW points but the choices I was making were not the best nutritionally. I was off to the grocery store and hit up the produce section. Fresh green beans, grape and cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, lettuce all filled up my cart. I even tried asparagus(I am not a fan as of yet, I am going to give it another shot though). I would have easily been able to fill my cart with fruits but they are usually loaded with sugar and as much as I love it, I know it isn't the best for me.

I have been making a bigger effort to get active. Zumba classes are offered to me Monday-Thursday and Saturday. So I should be able to get in at least 2 days worth of sweat inducing dancing.I know I have said this a million times but it is SO much fun.

I am getting dangerously close to hitting a major milestone in my journey, 100 pounds lost. As you have read in my first post I never got an accurate reading of how much I weighed when I started, but I believe around 416 is a good estimate. I am sure I lost at least 10 pounds at the beginning. I weighed myself this morning and *drum roll please* I weigh 319! I am so close to being in the 2's! It sounds ridiculous to be excited to be in the 200's but I guess from where I started it is a major accomplishment.

Weight Today : 319.6 :-)
Next Goal : 309
First Major Goal : 299

Quick Update

2011-05-17T08:16:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that it has almost been a month since I last posted...a MONTH! So let me update you all.

I haven't had any set backs(yay!) and have steadily lost about 2 pounds per week. Even with the steady weight loss I am coming to the realization that I won't be meeting my goal of being 300 or less by June. I am a little disappointed but I am the only one to blame. I have been really good with my diet but have not been so good with exercise. I'm pretty sure that I could have met my goal if I had exercised more.

On to more upbeat things, I know I have mentioned this before but Progresso light soups and campbell's select harvest light soups are FANTASTIC for dieting. Not only do they have tons of veggies but usually you can have the entire can for 4 WW points! I prefer the taste of the progresso light soups to campbell's but if they are on sale, why not? I know with WW you are supposed to use ALL of the points they give you but the last few days I have left about 10 points. I don't feel hungry at all I just don't want to feel over-full so I don't eat the points I don't want to.

I hope you all had a great Easter and Mother's Day. I know I did! I didn't deprive myself but I didn't let myself go overboard. That is pretty much the only way to stick to a diet. You can lose a lot of weight by eating just veggies but eventually you will crash and gain the weight you lost plus some.

I am going to try to keep you all updated on a more consistent basis. Keep me accountable!!

Weight Today - 326 (boomshakalaka!)
WW Goal - 325.2
Next Self Goal - 319

Prepping my brain for Easter

2011-04-19T08:46:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you all, but I LOVE holiday food. The homemade noodles, mashed potatoes, rolls, and all the other things that are good. Since I started my weight loss journey I have made it through Thanksgiving and Christmas with no weight gain! I thought I would give you some tips on how to enjoy the holiday foods but not feel horrible about what you ate.

1. Don't tell yourself "no" too much. Sure you can have noodles, but only have a small spoonful. If you get full before your plate is clean, then quit eating. Just because your momma said to clean your plate when you were little doesn't mean she wants you to do it now!

2. Drink plenty of water. We all know that we should do this, but it really does work to help keep those hunger pangs at bay.

3. Fill your plate with veggies and eat them first. I have been doing this with any meal I eat lately. If you eat the veggies and drink your water then your stomach gets pretty full(but don't fill it too much, you want room for the good stuff!)

4. Say "no" to second helpings. We all have those people in our family that wants us to get some more food and says that we didn't get enough to eat. You alone know how hungry/full you are and you are the one accountable for your weight. No one will be offended if you don't get seconds, I promise.

5. Eat slowly. I know the food is DELISH but that doesn't mean you need to shovel it in! Take a minute to actual taste your food. Savor every bite! If you do this you won't feel deprived at all.

6. Let the dinner host know you are on a diet, sometimes they will make healthy changes to their cooking. If you are the one preparing the dinner then substitute some low fat/low calories ingredients for the regular ones. No one ever notices and it is good for everyone. If you are making mashed potatoes consider making them with half mashed cauliflower. So good!

7. If it is nice enough go for a walk afterward. It not only burns calories but it is also great for bonding with your family.

I hope these tips help you. Holidays don't have to be stressful when it comes to dieting. You just need to keep your brain in the game!

Weight today - 337.6 (can you believe I started my blog Jan. 4 at 373??)
Next Goal - 329 (getting close to my first big goal!)

Busy!

2011-03-28T20:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry everyone, I have been so busy the last few weeks that I haven't had time to post an update. My husband and I just bought a house and we have been moving/decorating like crazy. We still aren't done but we are getting close. We will probably start painting once it is nicer out so we can open the windows and let the breeze in.

Anyway, I recently had an appointment with my family doctor just as a regular checkup/more refills on my thyroid medicine. He noticed that my blood pressure was a tad high (140/70 ) so he added more tests to do with my regular tsh level blood work. Yay. I had to fast the night before and they took 3 vials of blood. They are checking my cholesterol, sugars, and of course my thyroid.

Even though I have been eating pretty well and have lost plenty of weight I could still have some problems with what I eat. I was watching Ellen last week and she had the author of "Veganist" on. She said something that blew me away, that 1 egg has as much cholesterol as big mac! I usually don't pay too much attention to those sort of things but I was trying to figure out why I eat eggs in the first place. I mean, I love omelets and scrambled eggs with cheese but really any egg substitute could do the trick. I really don't even like the taste of eggs but they are an easy breakfast so I would eat them. I went into the fridge and was looking at my skim milk and it too has cholesterol. Really?! So off to Whole Foods I went. I was a woman on a mission. I bought some of my favorite almond milk and some meatless chicken nuggets and other delicious-ness-es. I once tried to become a vegan and was unsuccessful. I feel like I jumped into it way to fast instead of letting myself slowly acclimate to the new lifestyle. I am starting out with a few small changes ,like the milk for instance, so I don't get overwhelmed by the newness of it all. I don't know if I can do a complete switch to a vegan lifestyle, but I feel like I can do pretty well at eating more meatless options. I am in LOVE with Quorn chik'n nuggets. Chace likes them too! They are the closest to a real chicken nugget(in my opinion).

I started my small changes today and was excited at how well my body reacted. I feel more energetic and not so blah. I switched out my skim milk for vanilla almond milk (so good!) and had chik'n nuggets for lunch. I have a few more products in my freezer to test out, but so far so good. Oh and I found a dairy free yogurt I like that doesn't taste like mush, Whole Soy yogurt was the best so far. Only a small soy aftertaste but from the rice yogurt I tried it was a MAJOR improvement.

It has been over a week since I have weighed myself(no scale!!) but I will update with my last weigh in info.

Current Weight(ish) - 346
Next Goal - 339

Still going strong!

2011-03-10T07:10:00.000-08:00

I just thought I would give you all a short update of my weight loss. We are moving into our new house today and we don't have our internet hooked up yet (eeks!).

I have been really pleased with the results that I am getting from Weight Watchers. I lose about 3 pounds/week and get so excited when I watch the numbers drop. I have been slacking on the exercise part of the plan so I'm sure I would lose more weight/week if I started doing that again. Lucky for me, the new house is only, maybe, a block from where I go to Zumba! Hopefully I will start going again.

If there are any of you that are wanting to try Weight Watchers but are skeptical I would recommend trying it anyway. They have a plan where you get so many weeks free and you can cancel at any time. Just try it!!

Current Weight - 348
Next Goal - 339 (I love seeing my goal weight go lower and lower!!)

D-Licious Chicken Parmesan Tenders

2011-03-02T18:53:00.000-08:00

I thought for an update I would give you all a recipe that I tried out recently that I thought was amazing. I was really in the mood for chicken parmesan, you know, breaded chicken covered in sauce and mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese. Anyway, I went searching on the Weight Watchers site and found this beauty.

Chicken Parmesan Tenders

Ingredients


	1 spray(s) cooking spray
	1/2 cup(s) seasoned bread crumbs, Italian-style
	3/4 oz reduced fat parmesan cheese, finely grated (about 1/4 cup)
	1 tsp garlic powder
	3 large egg white(s)
	1 pound(s) uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 24 thin strips
	1 cup(s) marinara sauce, heated

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a 9 X 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
Combine bread crumbs, cheese and garlic powder in a small, shallow bowl. Whip egg whites until foamy and place in another shallow bowl. Dip chicken first into egg whites and then into bread crumb mixture to coat thoroughly. (Note: You may use boneless, skinless chicken tenders instead of chicken breasts, if desired.)
Place chicken tenders on prepared pan and bake until crispy, about 25 minutes. Serve chicken with warmed sauce. Yields about 6 chicken tenders and 1/4 cup of sauce per serving.

I also cooked up so whole wheat penne pasta and put some of the marinara(ragu) on that as well. So simple. So delicious.

With Weight Watchers they only have you weigh in once a week, but I weigh myself daily and was pleased to see that the number went down! Last week I lost one pound, kind of a downer but being a girl will mess with water retention and what not especially when mother nature loves you. Anyway, I just want to keep positive and celebrate every single success, even the 1 pound-ers. That is 1 more pound closer to being healthy!

Weight Today : 352
Next goal: 349

Weight Watchers

2011-02-21T19:40:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the long amount of silence from my end!! I have had some struggles with my weight loss since I last wrote.

If I remember right, last you all knew is that I lost 6 pounds over the course of a weekend, well, I had gained 3 of those pounds back! I let my eating habits get away from me and I started grazing the kitchen snack pile more and more. After seeing the success that my sister has had with her weight loss, and of course Jennifer Hudson, I decided to join Weight Watchers last Monday. I started at 362 and they gave me 57 points to use per day. I love that they have an app on my phone that I can use to calculate how many points are in certain foods and I also love that they have a restaurant listing! I believe Weight Watchers is magic, really. I lost 5.5 pounds last week and ate WAYYY more than I had been. Most nights I had about 9-12 points left over so I would eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with some cheese curls...you read that right CHEESE CURLS! I am doing the online program and so far have been holding my self accountable for every little thing that goes in my stomach. I really don't exactly how Weight Watchers works, but I love that it does AND that it is so easy to follow. I really recommend this to anyone that is having problems with weight loss. Also, a tip for those who plan to start, make sure you eat ALL of your points. You can! I also found a great baked macaroni and cheese recipe via Weight Watchers, it is so good, my husband and son absolutely love it.

I think that is enough praise for Weight Watchers tonight, but seriously, it rocks!

Weight Today : 355.5 (wahooo)
Next Goal: 349

I've made some changes..

2011-01-31T19:42:00.000-08:00

I was a little frustrated with my lack of weight loss this past week, so I decided to make a change. I decided to cut my calorie intake back, WAY back. I started this on Friday and weighed in this morning and I lost a total of about 6 pounds over the weekend, SIX POUNDS!! How did I do it? Well, here is a quick rundown of an average day of meals:

Breakfast:
3 Egg Whites (scrambled)- approx 15 calories/egg white
1 piece of whole wheat toast w/ spray butter - 50 calories

Lunch:
1 cup of Progresso Light Soup - around 80 calories(depending on which you choose)
1 wedge of Laughing Cow Light cheese - 35

Dinner:
Repeat Lunch!

Snacks:
I had a snack between breakfast and lunch(if needed) and between lunch and dinner. I either had half of a Fiber Plus bar (60 calories) or a wedge of cheese with crackers.

I am so excited about my weight loss this weekend! I tried to stay under 1000 calories/day but as you can see, some days were under 500 calories! This may seem extreme(and it really is) but I wanted to see if I had enough willpower to do it, and I do! I don't know if this would work on a long term basis, I have seen online some plans that run 12-24 weeks doing something very similar to what I'm doing. I couldn't have so few calories for a week straight, but I believe that if you let yourself have one day that you eat a little more than the other days, while still staying under 1000 calories, this may work. We will see if I can stick to this!

Weight Today - 359 !!!!
Next Goal - 349

I'm in a rut!

2011-01-27T06:47:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the lack of posts lately. I started a part time job and haven't given myself time to blog, or exercise, or really pay close attention to what I'm eating.

I haven't lost anymore weight. I didn't go to Zumba Tuesday night. I am trying to motivate myself to go tonight though! I work nights mostly and I find that I don't really have time for dinner and my last snack of the day. The problem is that I don't pay attention to my stomach and then I clock out and realize that I didn't have anything to eat in the 5 hour span I worked, not so good. I even brought something to eat!

I received an email the other day for a free week at Curves. I keep seeing the commercials for their Zumba circuit and really want to try it. My local Curves, however, doesn't have it, yet.

I also canceled my order for the Carb Lovers Diet, it said it would take 2 weeks to get here...TWO WEEKS!! I am not patient enough to wait 2 weeks for a diet book. I do have the Biggest Loser cookbook in my storage unit, I may have to go dig that out and give that another shot. You all know how much I love/envy the Biggest Loser!

So here is to a new re-start! I need to keep myself motivated and start really caring about my body and health. I have done this before, I lose then I quit. Doesn't quite make sense, you think losing would motivate me to keep going but since I am so overweight it is hard for me to notice the results of my hard work.

Here we go..again!

I love carbs!

2011-01-22T09:29:00.000-08:00

I have a slight love affair with carbs. I have been told by society that carbs=baaaaaaad. I feel like I am sneaking around with carbs, cheating on my healthy food. Apparently, society lied! I was watching the Rachael Ray show the other day and was surprised to see a book featured call "The Carb Lovers Diet." I was intrigued! The writers were on and were saying that you just need to eat the right carbs. There is a carb called "resistant starch" which resists digestion and acts like fiber. Fiber!! We all know that fiber is good for us and we should be eating more of it. I haven't bought this book, yet, but I plan on doing so tonight. They also say you can lose about 6 pounds in the first week on this diet. That is a pretty impressive claim, especially when carbs are involved. While featuring their book on Rachael Ray, they did say that you need to go with whole grains and greener bananas(which I love both) so you can't really go crazy with the white pasta, though I have found that I love whole grain so much better.

I am going back to work on Monday. I am excited to be able to get out of the house for a few hours and interact with someone who actually can say a full sentence, but I am also nervous about where I am going to work. I will be working at a restaurant and have worked at the same restaurant previously and I know how hard it is to resist the food, especially when you get a discount. I think I am going to start drinking shakes or something simple for my meals while I work and bring something healthy to munch on. I hope I can continue my success and resist the mac n cheese!

Current Weight - 364 (whoohoo!)
Next Goal - 359

Zumba and Cookies!

2011-01-19T11:36:00.000-08:00

I went to Zumba last night! Oh, how I forgot how much I love it! Great music, fun dancing, and you sweat like crazy but don’t even care because you are having fun! I have read that you can burn up to 1000 calories per hour doing Zumba, 1000! That is another reason why I love Zumba so much. I am lucky in the fact that a local church has the classes 3 times a week and it is a free will offering. So much cheaper than going to the YMCA. I remember the first time I went, I was about 60 pounds heavier and I didn’t know how I was going to make it through class. My leg started to go numb and I had a hard time walking back into my house. I remember thinking that something must be medically wrong with my leg. I would always blame something else on my aches and pains and never my weight. It took me losing the weight to realize that my weight was the problem, seems backward right? Sure I get sore and tired after going to Zumba, but this a good sore. My muscles are toning up and fighting off the fat (thank you muscles!). Zumba isn’t going to be for everyone but I think it’s worth giving it a try, you should go at least twice to find out if you like it. It does take time to learn the dances and moves and you may be nervous about the first class, thinking you are going to fumble around and people are going to stare at you. They won’t even notice if you are messing the dance up because they are watching the instructor the whole time!

Okay, now I’m going to move onto something sinfully good, chocolate chip cookies!!! You may be wondering how I can eat chocolate chip cookies on a diet and not feel guilty about it. Well, if I stuck to the normal recipe I would feel guilty, but I have found ways to tweak ingredients to make them healthier. No chocolate chip cookie is ever going to be “good” for you but these are so much better and I let myself eat 2 or 3 as a snack. I am going to warn you now, there are ingredients in these cookies that you wouldn’t think to put in as well as ingredients that you may think are missing. Just try these and even tweak them!

A Better Chocolate Chip Cookie

½ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ¾ cup of flour (I use whole graham whole wheat)
¾ cup of applesauce (Sometimes I use grated zucchini or pear puree)
½ to ¾ cup of chocolate chips(depending on what you like)
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 320°. Mix the sugars, applesauce, and vanilla until well combined. Sift in flour, salt and baking soda until mixed through. Fold in the chocolate chips. The mixture will be a little thicker than a normal chocolate chip cookie recipe, but they don’t spread out like the normal version.

Lightly spray 2 cookie sheets and drop by rounded spoonful(or cookie scoop if you have one) onto the cookie sheets. Put both sheets in the oven on separate racks for 6-8 minutes. Switch racks and turn the pans and cook for another 6-8 minutes. Cool, then eat!

You read the recipe right, no oil, butter or eggs! I have tweaked that recipe so many times using granola, oats, cinnamon and different amounts of the ingredients. I recommend you do the same and make them to your liking. Cinnamon is a great addition to these cookies, it gives them a hint of something different. So good!

Have you ever tried making a not so healthy recipe, healthy? How did your experiment turn out?

It's been a baaaaaaaad week for dieting!

2011-01-15T07:06:00.000-08:00

It has been a few days since I last posted and to be honest, I am a little ashamed at my lack of weight loss this week. I have maintained my weight but nothing extra has come off. Hurumph! My husband and I have been trying to buy a house and it looks like it is going to work out *crosses fingers*. I haven't spent too much time worrying about my diet OR exercise so it isn't a shock to me that I haven't lost any more weight. Also, certain womanly things happen that make your body crave carbs like none other don't help! I'm not going to blame anything on my unsuccessful week, except myself. I hold myself accountable, plain and simple.

To rectify my mistakes I am going to reinstate my attendance at the local Zumba class. I love to exercise with the ladies there and it is just so easy, because you are dancing!

Don't think that one bad week breaks a diet and exercise plan, you just need to work through it and never give up! Most likely, if you give up, you will make horrible decisions and be even more angry with yourself.

Weight Today - 368(still...)
Next Goal - 359
Mid Goal - 300 or less by June!

Give Yourself a Break!

2011-01-11T07:10:00.000-08:00

I know that most people think that taking a day off from diet and exercise is a bad idea, and it can be if you have the wrong mindset. Over the weekend my husband and I went to Applebee's for "date night." I wasn't on my best diet behavior but I still ended up losing weight over the weekend. I think that if you deprive yourself of what you are wanting you will never succeed. The cravings will get more intense and you will finally cave and possibly binge. I let myself share and appetizer AND dessert with my husband. I also didn't even order off of the diet menu or even get a salad! I probably could have lost more weight if I hadn't let myself eat what I wanted, but in the long run it probably saved me from gaining all the weight I have already lost back! Now, I'm not saying to go out and eat pizza and Doritos every night because you want to, that isn't the point. The point is to give in to your cravings every once in a while and not worry about it. You will be surprised with yourself when you only eat half of what they bring to you and only take 3 or 4 bites of the delicious maple blondie(drool)! You still need to listen to your stomach and know when it's full. You don't want to feel miserable!

Taking a break even works with exercise! Working out 7 days a week sounds great in theory, but your body can get overworked. You need a day off to let your muscles recover and rebuild. I try to get in a 30 minute cardio workout at least 3-4 days a week. I am wanting to start going back to Zumba class twice a week as well. Zumba is such a fun way to work out! You sweat like crazy but you are having fun, so you don't even notice until it drips down your face.

What are some things that you "break" your diet for?

Current Weight - 368
Next Goal - 359

New Year, New Fitness Trends

2011-01-07T14:25:00.000-08:00

With it being the beginning of the New Year, many of you probably have made a resolution to lose weight. Your resolution could range from a few pounds to hundreds of pounds or even just to make better, healthier decisions. I was watching the show “The Doctors” today and they had a segment on the new fitness trends for 2011. Some of the trends looked like they would work and others were insane (literally!) I am going to pick out a few that stood out to me:

Kymaro Rhythm Rocker- It looks like a stool with handles off to the sides and you sit on it while bending your core muscles. The infomercial claims, with a 30 day money back guarantee, that you can lose 7 pounds in 7 days. I don’t know. I think I would fall of off it and it looks like they got the idea from a broken computer chair, haha! I can see how moving your core like that would exercise your abdominal muscles but I don’t think that I’m completely convinced.

The Fitness Trampoline- This one we have all seen. A miniature version of the big trampolines we all have bounced around on when we were kids, marketed as fitness equipment. They say that 10 minutes of working out on the trampoline is equal to 33 minutes of running. This one I can believe. I remember how much work it was to get bouncing on the trampoline and I was exhausted, sweaty, and tired when all was said and done. I would think that this would be better than running when it comes to your knees and joints.

The Insanity Workout- This is truly something I could not make myself do. This is a set of workout DVDs that push your body to its max and even further in 60 minutes. I definitely do not have the will power for such a workout (I can barely make myself work out) let alone push myself to beyond my limit. If you do have the willpower I do believe this will work. The high intensity workout keeps your heart pumping and the sweat pouring. You just have to get yourself to do it!

What do you think about these fitness trends? Have you tried any past trends? Or are you chomping at the bit to try one that was listed?

Weight Today - 369 (I made my short term goal!)
Next Goal - 359

For more trends and information go to http://www.thedoctorstv.com/main/show_synopsis/664?section=synopsis

Diets and Colds

2011-01-06T13:22:00.000-08:00

I have come down with a cold! Swollen glands, draining sinuses, and lack of energy. Blah! Along with a cold, I’ve noticed that I have a loss of appetite. My stomach never growls and I could probably go without eating, but that is NOT good for weight loss. My dear sweet husband wanted to get my usual sick supplies: lemon lime soda, chicken noodle soup and crackers. I was quick to tell him "NO!" As much as I love those sick foods I simply cannot have the soda and I usually eat way more crackers than necessary. I did, however, send him to the store for some Progresso Light soups. I have never tried them before and was afraid that they would taste bland and be mostly broth. Boy was I wrong! I tried the Italian Style Meatball version for lunch and it was full of big chunks of veggies, penne pasta, and cute little meatballs. Alright, I will stop sounding like an ad for this soup, but it is REALLY, really good!

Now, if you are like me you may think that half of a can of soup isn’t enough to fill you up. It wasn’t for me, but with only 80 calories per serving, you have plenty of room for having things on the side. This was my lunch:

1 cup of the Progresso Light Soup -    80 calories
1 piece of whole grain whole wheat bread - 110 calories
3 or 4 sprays of Spray butter for bread -       0 calories
1 Babybel light cheese -                              25 calories

                                                       = 215 calories

I think that is pretty fantastic! This meal also hit my carb count on the nose. I may repeat lunch for dinner!

I also want to go back to why I said no to soda. One day I decided to scan the back of a regular soda can to see how bad it really is. One of my favorite sodas was Cherry Coke. When looking at the calories, sugars, and carbs it quickly became my enemy, 150 calories, 42 carbs, and 42 sugars! It has more carbs than one of my meals! Even diet sodas make me question if they are really “ok” for you. They are made from chemicals and things I have problems with putting in my body. There are also studies that show that the artificial sweeteners don’t really fool your body. Your body figures out it didn’t get the calories it thought it did and it starts craving the calories it missed out on with the diet soda. So basically your body retaliates and makes you eat more. Not good. I know some people that can’t switch to water overnight like I did. And I’m not trying to say that you should. I just want you to be aware!

I think a nice mug of unsweetened green tea is calling my name!

Weight Today - 371 (a few tenths away from 370!)
Next Goal - 369

Easy Snack and Weight Loss Update

2011-01-05T20:09:00.000-08:00

I mentioned in my last post that I snack 3 times a day and I wanted to share with you all an easy and healthy snack that I really enjoy. The only ingredients that you need are almonds and dried cranberries! I put 1 ounce of lightly sea salted almonds and 1/6 cup for dried cranberries in a little zipper snack bag and shake until combined. I don't know what it is about the combination that I love, I'm sure it has something to do with the sweet and salty! Mmm, too bad snack time is over!

I decided to step on the scale today to see how bad my weight had gotten from spending the weekend with relatives to celebrate Christmas and the New Year. To my surprise, I lost 2 more pounds! I don't know how I did it, but there it was! It just goes to show that eating 3 meals with 3 snacks really works(even if the snacks are the best choice *cough* peanut butter and chocolate buckeyes *cough*). Too bad you can't lose weight vicariously through the contestants on biggest loser, drat!

Weight Today : 371
Next Goal: 369

Here we go!

2011-01-04T20:01:00.000-08:00

I just finished watching the new season of "The Biggest Loser" and with every episode I watch I feel a little disappointed in myself. I know that it isn't realistic to expect to lose 15+ pounds in a week, but I wish I could. I don't have the time or enough energy to even try! I have been working out 3-4 times a week with fair results but the task I have put myself up to seems like it will take forever!

Let me give you a little bit of my back story. I have never known a day in my life that I have been at a normal healthy weight. I don't even know how or when my struggle with my weight started, I just know that it is a BEAST that has fought back with a vengeance. I remember getting teased as early as 4th grade by a kid named Frank. I had a great way to deal with Frank, sit on him. I remember getting in trouble(Frank got in trouble too) and I didn't feel ashamed. It felt great to have faced my bully. I don't remember ever going on any diets at the time but my weight just kept climbing higher and higher as time went by. Many years passed, many good intentions came and went with no result. At my first heaviest I weighed 381 pounds. I remember going to the doctor for a checkup and telling him that I have been trying to lose weight with little results(and little drive.) He decided to run some blood work to see if there was something else causing me the difficulty and said something about my thyroid but saying that it probably wasn't the issue. I remember getting a call saying that I need to go back in to talk with him. I remember being nervous, diabetes kept creeping in my head. He sat me down and told me that I have a disease called hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism basically means that the thyroid gland doesn't make enough thyroid hormone, which regulates your metabolism. They started me on medicine and they had to keep increasing my dosage until they got it right. I remember starting 50mcg and I am now at 250mcg. I started to lose some weight, but nothing substantial. Around that time my sister asked if I wanted to got to Thailand and vacation for a couple weeks. I remember feeling anxious about getting on an airplane and having the seat belt fit. How embarrassing it would be for the flight attendant to have to bring me and extender! I said yes, but took action regarding my weight. I ordered NutriSystem and when the UPS man dropped off that giant box I yelled out "Thank you!" as he drove away. This was my start, this was the first day of the rest of my life. I lost about 80 pounds in the course of 6 months. I hopped on a airplane and the seat belt fit! YES!

That same summer I met my husband. I fell in love instantly and I got comfortable. I started eating whatever he ate and didn't even notice my weight climbing again. After a year and a half of being together I decided to start another diet. The pounds started dropping again and then I learned I was pregnant!! We were trying to get pregnant so it wasn't a shock. I worried about how my obesity would affect my growing baby. After I gave birth to a healthy son my diet went out the window again. I started eating whatever I could grab in my "free time." My husband and I had to make some tough decisions and moved in with my parents. As stressful as the move was, it was best for us. One night I stepped on my mom's digital scale and it came up with an error message. I was in denial and just kept thinking that there is something wrong with the scale. This happened for a few weeks. My mom invited me to go to a Zumba class with her and I loved it! Finally, a workout that I like! I finally got the scale to work after a few weeks of Zumba and I was shocked to see the number..406 pounds...406!!!!! I felt horrible, ugly, disgusted, defeated, sad, angry and I cried. I never thought I was that heavy. I didn't think that I looked that heavy when I looked in the mirror, but there it was...406 pounds. My life changed that night. I started working out more often and I made myself diet.

I learned that breakfast is an absolute must. It gets your metabolism started and sets the mood for the rest of the day. I used to struggle with eating that early, I was never hungry and I figured I was saving calories not eating it. Everyday I eat 3 meals and 3 snacks. It is so important to keep your metabolism going. I watch my carbs, trying to stay close to 30 carbs per major meal and 15 for snacks. Following this diet and exercising I have lost over 50 pounds. I can't be positive on the exact number but I'm sure that it's close.

My goal with this blog is to help me be accountable for what I eat and what I do. I make a small goal for myself, usually to be at the next lowest 10 pound range, a medium goal, to be under 300 pounds by June, and a long term goal, to be around 150 pounds and keep the weight off. I hope you all can give me words of encouragement and maybe even take something from my blog.

There is more to come, and hopefully less of me!
Weight today : 373
Next goal : 369