Breakfast of Champions

It's starting to get a little warmer here in West Texas. Even though it's like 50 degrees as I'm typing, it's supposed to reach 85 degrees by this afternoon. It's still really cool at night and in the mornings, but the afternoons are nice, if the wind's not blowing. I think that's called Spring, y'all.

Since it's been warmer, I've been craving milk shakes. Particularly one from here. Because they are really, really good.

But, alas, milk shakes are not practical for my little weight loss venture. So I started searching the Weight Watchers sight for smoothie recipes. I found one named Chocolate Covered Strawberries. It sounded wonderful, but when I went shopping for the ingredients, I could only find two of them: ice and strawberries. Oh, and milk. So I improvised. And here is what I came up with.

Jenni's Chocolate Covered Strawberry Smoothie
1 serving; 2.5 pts per serving

Gather these ingredients:

1 blender

6 oz. ice

1/3 c. skim milk

6 oz. WW Boston Creme Pie yogurt

6 med strawberries, hulled

2 tbsp Ovaltine

(If you want, you can substitute vanilla yogurt. It still tastes great, but if it's not WW brand, you'll have to refigure the points.)

Dump it all in the blender. I like putting in the ice first so it gets good and . . . blended. I also use the liquefy setting (the highest setting I have) because I don't like ice chunks. It ruins the effect I'm trying to achieve which is "milk shake" and the chunks get my straw all stopped up.

Pour it in a large glass. I chilled mine in the freezer for about 10 minutes because that's how they do it at the old fashioned ice cream parlors. The recipe makes about 14 oz. which was the perfect size for my breakfast this morning.

A New Favorite

Over the Thanksgiving holidays. . . I know, it's been a while . . . I was reading one of my favorite magazines All You. Try to get past the title and see that it's cheap and inside it has great tips and advice for all things woman. And not the supermodel, airbrushed, perfect homemaker, supermom woman. These pages have little tidbits of golden advice for the everyday, I have no time, I'm a few lbs overweight, but I still like to look pretty girl like you and me. And just so you know, All You isn't paying me a penny for all this love. I'm just doing it out of the goodness of my heart.

ANYWAY, over the Thanksgiving holidays I came across this recipe for chicken strips. The recipe is very simple and quick and easy on the Points. My family loves it and I've added it to our dinner menu because an entree that all 6 of us will eat just doesn't come along every day.

Crunchy Chicken Strips from All You
Serving: 2 strips Serves: 4
per serving: 192 cal., 1 g fat, 1 g fiber

1.25 lb boneless skinless chicken strips
1 egg white beaten
2 1/2 c corn flakes
1 tsp seasoning (the recipe suggests poultry seasoning, but I can't stand that stuff, so I use something bbq flavored.)

Toss strips with egg white. Place cornflakes and seasoning in food processor and blend into crumbs. Dredge chicken in crumbs, shake off excess and place on baking sheet lightly coated with cooking spray. Spray chicken lightly with cooking spray and bake at 400 degrees for 12 - 15 minutes or until chicken is golden brown and cooked through.

We had this last night and every person in my house cleaned their plate without complaining. It was a Valentine miracle.

Do you like my fine china? I'm just keepin' it real girls. That's the way we roll around here.

The Headlines

So, there are some big stories developing here at the Hairdryer household. The headline, of course, is Halloween. Remember what I said about how I was celebrating Halloween yesterday? Remember the short PTA meeting? Well, it turned out to be not so short. Anyway, that gave me 30 minutes to get home, get the kids dressed, clean out the back of our van for "Trunk and Treat", and get to the restaurant where we were meeting friends for dinner before the Halloween festivities.

Not included in that list of things to do was take pictures. It just slipped my mind. So the kids and I just got back inside from taking the Halloween: Morning After photos. Brooke was a good witch, Bubba was a football player (in this picture), and Mary TuTu was Sharpay.

I think Bubba is in a weird place when it comes to Halloween. He is making the change from buying the same costume 200 other boys will be wearing off the rack at Walmart, to coming up with an original idea and piecing together a costume with random stuff. This year he wanted to be the Jonas Brothers and dress up with his cousins. The problem with that is that out of the 3 Halloween events he was attending, only one of them included his cousins. So we spent his Halloween costume allotment on the Jonas brothers outfit.

At the other two events, he chose to dress up as a basketball player at one, and a football player at the other. So, it was anyone's guess as to which person he was going to be this morning when I announced the morning after pictures.

In other news, as of this morning, I've officially lost 40.2 lbs! It's taken me a little over 6 months, but the pounds are gone forever! I'm about 6 lbs away from what I weighed when we found out I was pregnant with Bubba. That weight is another huge goal of mine, but I'm still about 20 lbs away from my ultimate goal.

And lastly, in sports, in case you haven't heard, the biggest college football game in the nation is happening this week in Lubbock. Number 7 Texas Tech is playing #1 Texas tonight. Thanks to a wedding that my parents are attending this weekend, and some good friends that are willing to spend the evening with our kids, Honey and I are going to be there to see this HUGE game. Oh, I'll be writing more about it Monday.

Have a great Saturday!

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween, friends! I hope y'all have a fun, spook-filled day! I, myself, am celebrating by limiting myself to one, hopefully very short, PTA meeting this afternoon. After that, we plan on meeting some new friends for dinner before we head to our church's Trunk or Treat. I'll post some pics of the kids tomorrow.

I've been doing Weight Watchers for a little over 6 months now. Tomorrow is my official weigh in day, so I won't tell you how much I've lost, but I will say that it starts with an "f" and rhymes with shorty. If you figure it out, keep it to yourself, we don't want to ruin the surprise for everyone!

Anyway . . . my point this morning is that since starting the weight loss journey, I've become very aware of how much my world revolves around food. Especially at the holidays. And Halloween? It's pretty much a holiday that you can't do without candy.

If you know me well, you know that I don't respond well to someone telling me I can't do something. So, I was on a mission this month. I tried really hard all month to give only gifts that didn't involve candy. My secret pal at work and the people that I Booed at work all received gifts that didn't have anything to do with candy. I know, I'm a rebel.

I thought I'd share with you one of my more creative gift ideas, in case you're as sick of the candy as I am.

These are the gifts I sent Bubba to school with this morning. He has two teachers this year and I love them both. Once again, God was faithful and matched Bubba with the perfect teachers. (His principal, Mrs. E, also had a hand in making such a perfect match.) Anyway, we were at Target this week and I picked up some cute plates, napkins, and cups. I wrapped them all together and attached a note that said,

"It's no trick, treat yourself

to a dishes-free night!

Happy Halloween!"

I know I would LOVE a night with no dishes, and I figured they would too. It's not something that I would normally buy for myself, but would love to have. I think those are the best kind of gifts. If you were really in to it, you could add in some plastic ware and a disposable casserole pan. But I was on a limited budget.

So now it's your turn. What are some of your non-candy Halloween gift ideas?

. . . Um . . . Excuse me . . .

I weighed in this morning. I was prepared for not good. It was the whole San Antonio, first day of school, nachos at Chili's thing that had me worried.

I lost 2.2 lbs. For a grand total of 30.2 lbs!

Someone do the happy dance with me!

I'm officially half way to my goal. I hear the second half's a doozie. I'm totally ready.

Bloggy Book Games and Food

The next leg of Bloggy Book Games 2008 is underway. Skizzer is en route to Tamara's place, Variety is the Spice of Life. I'll post giveaway details when they come available. If you're curious about what's going on with the game, check my sidebar for the latest...



In other news, it was pay day here, so I did some menu planning. Instead of sharing my whole entire list of options, I thought I'd share a few recipes that we'll be eating for dinner some time over the next 2 weeks. I'm even going to include the nutirtional information for each recipe, for those of you that care.



Chicken Salad
7 servings, 1/2 c. each
174 calories, 7 g fat, 1 g fiber per serving

2 2/3 c. shredded boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/2 c. fat free Miracle Whip
1/2 c. pineapple tidbits, drained
1/2 c. grapes, halved
1/3 c. sliced almonds
1/2 c. reduced fat shredded cheese
2 tsp. lemon juice

Combine all ingredients. Chill and serve with your favorite bread as a sandwich or alone with a side of fruit.





Green Chicken Enchiladas
12 enchiladas
222 calories, 9 g fat, 1 g fiber per item

12 Mission corn tortillas
24-36 tbsp shredded, boneless, skinless chicken breast
12 tbsp reduced fat shredded cheese
8 oz. Velveeta Light
2 c. skim milk
4 tbsp flour
4 oz. green chili
4 tbsp light butter

In 1 tortilla, place 2-3 tbsp chicken and 1 tbsp cheese. Roll and place in baking pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and milk until clumps are gone. In a medium sauce pan, over medium heat, combine milk/flour mixture, Velveeta, chili, and butter until melted and warm. Pour over enchiladas. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 min or until bubbly.


Chicken Pile On (I've posted this one before, but it's really easy and really good.)
9 servings, 2/3 c. each
157 cal, 2 g fat, 6 g fiber per serving

2 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can Mexican corn
1 can pinto beans
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can green chili
2 cans chicken broth (you can use fat free chicken broth, but it doesn't change the WW pts value)

Place frozen chicken breasts in a crock pot. Pour remaining ingriedents over chicken. Add water if desired. Cook on low for 8 - 10 hours. Shred chicken once it's done. Serve as a soup or as a topping for nachos. It tastes wonderful with a few tortilla chips and some cheese sprinkled on top. (Just be sure to add the pts for the chips and cheese if you're a WW girl.)

Have a great weekend!

Update

Guess what?

Yep! It fits! We're gonna call this my "during" picture. I'm officially down 25 lbs.

This is my before picture. Wow, 25 lbs makes a difference.

Weight Watchers 101: A Day in My Food Life

I know y'all are on the edge of your seats, waiting with bated breath for me to tell you what I'm eating today. Today is going to be a "typical day". We aren't eating out, we aren't attending a party, although we may have some friends over, and we aren't running errands, which always results in a stop at the Sonic during happy hour. So, I am completely in control of what I'm eating today. It's a typical day.

I use the term "typical day" loosely because "typical" would imply that these days happen more frequently than the "a-typical" ones. I'm not really sure that's the truth. We go through periods of time where we eat out more than we eat at home. We have seasons where we attend parties, and potlucks, and get togethers more often than not. So, to be more accurate, here's what I might eat on a day that we have nothing going on and I am at home most of the day.

To give you non-WW friends a little background, I am allotted 23 points per day feed my body. WW figures this for me, and it is based on my height, weight, gender, and activity levels during the day. So, yes, as I loose weight, I loose points.

At first I didn't think that loosing 1 point would be that big of a deal, but, sadly, yes, it is. It's a huge deal. It's the difference between one or two rolls at dinner. It's the difference between a sweet snack in the afternoon or a piece of fruit. It's the difference between chips or carrot sticks at lunch, one cup of coffee or two in the mornings. One point makes a difference.

On typical days, I've been known to plan, first thing in the morning, what I'm going to eat for the whole entire day. I spend 5 minutes in the morning planning and eliminate the what's for dinner blank stare. I also usually have the same thing for breakfast and snacks every single day. Surprisingly, I don't get bored with this. It's simple, easy, it works for me, it saves time.

So, here's what I plan to eat this fine typical day:

8:00 am Breakfast: (2.5 pts)
12 oz. half-caff coffee
1/2 tbsp vanilla creamer
3/4 c. Fiber One Original
2/3 c. skim milk

10:00 am Snack: (1 pt)
6 oz. WW yogurt or Dannon Light and Fit yogurt

12:00 Lunch: (4.5 pts)
Hot Sandwich - toasted English muffin, turkey deli meat, WW reduced fat shredded cheese
1c. zucchini stir fried in 1 tsp olive oil and seasoned with Mrs. Dash
Baked Lays
Hostess 100 Calorie Chocolate Cupcakes

3:00 pm Snack: (1 pt)
1 lg peach

6:00 pm Dinner: (12 pts.)
1 roasted chicken leg
Alexia roasted potatoes
green beans
1 reduced fat crescent rolls
1 Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich

If you do the math, you'll see that I have 2 pts left over for the day. This allows me to have something extra at lunch or this afternoon if I'm hungry. If I don't use it then, I'll have a couple of extra potatoes or another roll at dinner.

On top of all that food, there's the water. Lots of it, 48 oz to 64 oz. to be exact. On the days that I exercise, I have usually consumed all of my daily water by lunch. An average water day for me is 80 oz. I usually drink de-caff iced tea or Crystal light in the afternoons and evenings. When I'm at Sonic I order iced tea or very rarely Diet Dr. Pepper. Liquid consumption is not hard for me. Cutting out the Hostess cupcakes and Skinny Cows, well, that's another story.

It's here that I feel the need to do a little housekeeping. "POINTS" are a registered trademark of Weight Watchers. They are very protective of their point values, how many points one person should eat, and how to figure the point values of specific foods. They have this right because they have spent tons of money to develop this system, and it really would be considered stealing if you tried to use their stuff and not pay for it.

On their website, Weight Watchers asks you not to post specific point values and I want to respect that. If you are a WW member, you know how to figure these yourself. In an effort to help you understand my journey, I've come up with the compromise above. Which is why I gave you the point values of each of my meals as a whole, but nothing about specific foods.

In the future, if I post recipes that I use while following WW, I will try to provide the nutritional information. If you're a WW member, you'll know how to use the NI to find your points values.

So there you go, a day in the life. Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Advice? I'd love to hear it. Leave it in the comments section or find my e-mail address in the sidebar.

Weight Watchers 101: Activity Points

For me, Weight Watchers is all about learning how to take care of yourself. The program is based on points. Each day I am given a number of points that I must eat. These points represent the amount of food I must ingest to loose weight at a healthy pace.

Every food is assigned a point value, so when I put something into my mouth, I must subtract the corresponding number of points from my daily allotment. Daily points are not optional, you must eat every point every day.

In addition to daily points, you have the option to earn activity points. That means when you exercise, you earn points that you can add to your daily allotment, giving you more points to eat that day. Earning activity points is optional, as is eating them. The program is set up to work so that you loose whether you're exercising or not. But, your loss might happen more slowly, and it's harder to maintain your loss once you've reached your goal without exercise.

I love the simplicity of the program. It's teaching me a better way to eat while also addressing my lack of physical activity. The minute I signed up, I began learning a new pattern of eating. Since week 2 on the program, I've tried to establish a habit of exercise in my life. It's a two pronged attack. I'm counting on these two new life patterns to cause me to loose weight and to be able to keep it off once I've reached my goal.

I'm really in this for the long haul. I know that I'll always be adhering to Weight Watchers in some form or fashion. It has to be a lifestyle for me. If it's not, I'll get fat again. And this girl ain't goin' there agin.

Along the way, I've stayed pretty steady on the eating plan. The exercise has been a challenge for me though. I've never enjoyed exercise, of any kind. I wasn't athletic growing up. Oh, I tried tennis in high school. It was fun, and I lettered, but only because my coach retired and she wanted to be the one to give me a letter. I'm pretty sure new coach got a great laugh when he saw this varsity letter man play for the first time.

And then one semester, while I was in college, I went rollerblading 3 or 4 times a week. It was fun, but mainly because we went at like 11 pm so there was no sweating involved. And there were guys. A girl will do just about anything for guys, right?

So this exercising? It has been a radical change for me. It's evolved as I find a way to fit it into my life. But here's how the last week has shaped up. I think I've found a balance that I like. It's got some variety and doesn't require me to wake up at the crack of dawn so I can get it over with before the other adults in the house leave for the day. We'll see how it goes.

Sunday: rest, no formal exercise, but we try to swim or ride bikes as a family, I don't usually count this informal activity towards my activity points

Monday: 30 min walk/jog

Tuesday: 25 min pilates video

Wednesday: 30 min bike ride

Thursday: 30 min walk/jog

Friday: 30 min walk/jog

Saturday: 25 min pilates video

I'm trying to build up to be able to jog for 30 mins straight. Right now I jog about 10 and walk about 20. I've come a long way in my weeks on WW. When I started, I could barely make myself walk 1 mile in 20 min. Now, I can walk 2 miles in 30 min.

It's a process, just like learning how to eat. I've just decided that I'm in no hurry. There's no deadline. I'm just doing my best and pushing myself a little more each week. One step, one bite, one ounce at a time.

You gotta have goals

To continue celebrating the fact that I've lost 20 lbs! (thankyouverymuch), I'm going to let y'all in on a little secret. It's not something I'm normally comfortable discussing, because, well, it's one of those things that if I put it out there, you'll know that it's a goal of mine. So you'll be expecting some results, and despite my recent success (of losing 20 lbs!), I'm still not positive I'm going to succeed at this whole weight loss thing. I know, I'm being SUCH a girl about this, but that's just where I'm at.

Also, I need this public forum to give me some motivation. Because if I put it out there, I have to follow through, right? This'll give me some fresh motivation. I haven't been exercising lately, well, other than chasing 3 kids around and working in the yard. But that doesn't count as exercise, because I did those things before and I still got fat. I need to start walking again and I think I've found a way to make it happen.

A couple of times this summer I've found some really great clothing sales. Usually when I find these sales, I can never find anything in my size because there are only size 2s left, and hello?, who wears a size 2 anyway? That's why they're on sale . . . no one will buy them because no one can wear them.

But two particular times this summer, I've found some cute things. They weren't technically my size, but maybe one size smaller. One blouse I found back in the middle of May. When I put it on, I could get it around me, but it looked too small. You know? But the sale was buy one get one for 99 cents! How could I resist? So I reasoned, it's only 99 cents. I think I'll buy it and make it my goal shirt. By the end of the summer, I want to be able to wear this shirt.

Well, about 3 weeks ago I started wearing it. I'd hit my goal, and it felt great! Now the one I bought at full price is too big. So by my way of thinking, I paid full price for the goal shirt and only 99 cents for the shirt that fit at the time.

It works out in my mind, anyways.

So a few nights ago, Honey and I were shopping for a new grill, and I came across another great sale. What's great about this story is that previously, I'd never been able to buy much at this particular store because even their biggest clothes didn't usually fit me. As I approached the $4.88 rack, I was immediately drawn to this skirt. I checked the size. It's not my size, but I reasoned that it's probably just one size smaller. I continued to look for a shirt to match it, and I found one, a size down, on the $4.88 rack.

For those of you keeping score at home, that's one goal outfit for $10.22. I totally bought it.

I got home and tried it on, just to be sure I was being realistic, and was delighted to find out that, yes, indeed, if I sucked it in, I could get the clothing on my body. But it was in no way comfortable, nor could I really, you know, breathe. Just the perfect fit for a goal outfit.

I fully plan on wearing it just as soon as I comfortably can, even if it isn't until December. (Hey, I've got a coat.) But if I want to wear it any at all this summer, I've got to get off my hind end and start walking. Think skinny vibes for me.

Your Attention Please!

I've been having some weight intervention in my life over the past 13 weeks. I just wanted everyone to know that

I've officially lost 20 lbs!

20.8 to be exact, but who's counting? This is a big milestone for me because my first big goal was to loose 10% of my body weight. This weigh in put me over the top for this goal. So join me in doing the happy dance!

Here are some things I've noticed after losing my first 20 lbs:

1. I still have shoulders. And collarbones. And if you look real close, you can see them. Cat, my roommate in college, called this look "the sexy neck". I'm up for anything that qualifies me as sexy.
2. My wedding rings are too big. Last summer, I decided to give up the dream of ever being skinny again, and I had them re sized. Now my fingers are shrinking. I'm going to wait it out though until they stabilize, I don't want to keep sizing and resizing...
3. I don't mind wearing my hair pulled back in a baseball cap or in a ponytail sans the cap. I used to shy away from these hair styles because I didn't like the way it drew attention to my chubby face. But, now, when I put it up, I'm startin' to like what I see. And recently Honey was on a business trip and brought me a sassy pink Boston Red Sox hat. I love it!
4. People are starting to notice. I know this is awkward with girls because everyone knows weight is a sensitive issue with us, and some people are afraid to say anything because you don't know how we'll take it. But more and more friends are telling me that they can see it, and if they're unsure about telling me, they tell Honey. It makes my day when someone tells me they can see a difference.
5. It's getting easier. The eating part anyways. The exercise part is hard for me right now. I've never felt deprived or like I can't have something. I just know how to make better choices. It's also easier to say "no" when I really don't need it.

So my next goals are:

• Get with the exercise! I've got to get going with that again if I'm going to consistently loose and keep it off once I'm done losing. I need to start that habit now and not wait until I'm in maintenance mode.
• Loose 10 more lbs. I'm taking it 10 lbs at a time from here on out.
• Concentrate on making the most of the calories I eat. I really need to make sure I'm eating protein and veggies. Right now I feel like I'm eating a lot of low-cal filler foods. As I loose weight, my calorie intake has to go down to maintain losses. I need to start packing in the good stuff now and make the most of the calories I can have.

Thanks for listening! Have a wonderful weekend!

six weeks. . .

I FINALLY made it to my first goal of losing 10 lbs! FINALLY! Oh, OK, it didn't take me that long, but it sure did feel like an eternity for me. At first I thought that 10 lbs wouldn't make that much difference considering how much I want to loose. But to prove that 10 lbs can make a HUGE difference, here is a list of a few little things that I've noticed since dropping my first 10 lbs.

• I used to be an awkward pants size, right in between 2 sizes. Some brands I wore the smaller size and some I needed the bigger. Now, I am an actual size! And it's the smaller one! I can pretty much pull my size off the rack and know that it will fit me. I've donated all of my bigger size pants because we ain't goin' there agin.
• All of my shirts fit so much better. Some that I'd grown out of I can wear again! The sleeves aren't tight around my arms like they were. I'm having fun going shopping in the back of my closet.
• When I step out of the shower and wrap my towel around me, it goes all the way around!
• I have substantially more self confidence.
• I am excercising more than I ever have in my adult life. I won't go so far to say that I love it, but it does inspire me. On the days that I excercise, I have an easier time staying on plan. I feel more in control. The days that I skip the workout, I feel off all day and I find that I am tempted more often.
• The power of positive thinking is overwhelming! I made up my mind that I am going to do this and do it well. I will succeed. I simply will not allow negative thinking to de-rail me. I am more stubborn than a few negative thoughts!

So there you go, my motivational speaking for the day. Everyone have a great weekend!

The Dark Side

So, I've been keeping a little secret from y'all. Well, all 2 of you that I haven't already told. Because I'm about as good as a 4 year old at keeping secrets. Five weeks ago I started Weight Watchers.

Yes, I know, some of you think I've joined the Dark Side. However you feel about it, that's great, but it's working for me. And from time to time, I may blog about it. Because right now? At the beginning of this exploration into the great unknown? Learning how to take care of myself in the food department is a bit distracting. In fact, I would use the term all-consuming.

I had a pretty good idea about how the program works, so I chose to join online. Because, contrary to what you might think about the way I air all of my laundry right here on the world wide web, I'm a pretty private person. At least when it comes to my weight issues. I want to be in control of which person knows what details. The idea of going to a meeting just isn't my thang. So one early Saturday morning, I jumped in online with both feet, and I've haven't looked back since.

I'm loving it! It really isn't rocket science. For me, I've realized that I know much more about a healthy lifestyle than I thought I did. Call me crazy, but for the longest time I thought there were these great diet tips that I just wasn't privy to. I kept watching the news and reading magazines hoping to pick up on the golden nugget of truth that would make me drop a few pounds.

Over the past few weeks I've learned that there really isn't some great mystery that only skinny people know. I just needed something to get me to doing all of those healthy things I already knew at the same time and with some consistency. I'm watching, meaning literally writing down and being very aware of every bite I take, what I eat. I'm stopping when I've had enough. I'm weighing my options and making choices about the food I eat instead of just eating everthing I'm in the mood for. I'm making decisions to be more physically active.

This journey has already made me a better person. Along the way, I've become so thankful for the life that I have. I have a wonderful husband, 3 beautiful, healthy kids, enough money to pay the bills, and good friends to share it all with. My life isn't nearly as stressful as I tell myself it is as I put away the sugar cookies and brownies. I don't need to reward myself with a whole entire basket of chips and queso to know that I'm a good mom. And even if I don't feel like cooking, I can still eat at my favorite restaurants and have my favorite foods, just a little less of the food than normal.

And slowly, my normals are changing. My attitude is brighter and my taste buds are adjusting. It's a process, but I'm in it for the long haul.