As the kids so eliquently put it.... Grrrr!

What frustrates you?  What shortens your fuse the fastest?  Or what discourages you most quickly?

I'll tell you that what is frustrating my at this particular moment is the fact that I let it all come back.  I sat around on my ass and did nothing while over 55 pounds crept back up on the scale (and rather quickly I might add, so I sat back and vigorously did nothing).  I'm frustrated that I back in a size 20 and I'm frustrated that my arms jiggle.  I'm rather pissed off that my back hurts most days and that I can't really bend over well to tie my shoes.  I'm angered that it's so expensive to eat healthier and the bottom line at the grocery store only exacerbates that anger.  I hate that the things I've taught myself to love to eat over the years aren't the right choices.

I don't want to go on and on like some Willy Winer, but man... I am just frustrated right now.  And dissappointed in myself for allowing it to happen.  I think this is coming out right now because it's the weekend.  The 2 days that I have the hardest time not eating until I am sick.  I like to stay up late on Fridays and Saturdays, but have a hard time not munching and munching and munching during the process.

I have got to get over this... I have got to find a way to stop these bad habits.  Mind over matter right?  *sigh*

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

This one was good too!  and super easy to make too.  I think I spent a total of 20 minutes on preparation.  10 in the beginning and 10 just before serving.  This recipe made 9-10 cups of chili and they were 6.5 points per serving!

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili
1 onion, chopped

1 16-oz can black beans 1

1 16-oz can kidney beans 

1 8-oz can tomato sauce 

10 oz package frozen corn kernels 

 2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes w/chilies 

1 packet taco seasoning 

1 tbsp cumin 

1 tbsp chili powder

 24 oz (3-4) boneless skinless chicken breasts 

chili peppers, chopped (optional) I didn't use

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro I mixed in the crock pot at the beginning

Combine beans, onion, chili peppers, corn, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder and taco seasoning in a slow cooker. Place chicken on top and cover. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Top with fresh cilantro.

You can also try it with low fat cheese and sour cream (extra points)

first major variation

I'm sitting hear this morning feeling guilty because I splurged last night... first time since I started this journey that I really fell off the 'wagon'.  Stupid peanut butter M&M's.  I KNOW I ate more than one serving, but they were soooooo good. 

I been doing this now for 2 days short of 3 weeks, so some things are starting to become habit.  I have been trying to be prepared for such cravings, but I didn't do such a good job last night.  It's always been the late night Fridays and Saturdays that have been the hardest for me.  I'ts like I'm awake for a 4th meal....

This is something that I will have to continually work on.....

Day Nineteen

Special K with nonfat milk - handful grapes
Coffee with creamer
banana
Chicken, romiane lettuce, moz cheese, croutons, with Italian Dressing
1/2 banana
baked ziti
WW yogurt and Multi-grain snacks

Planning for the Superbowl

Altho' I am not a Football fan and don't plan to watch the SuperBowl I know that I outnumbered and thought I would quickly share this link to a good amount of healthier recipes for superbowl snacks.  It's the same place that I got the quesadilla recipe the other day...

Gina's Skinny Superbowl Recipes

I may post some of these later, as I end up trying, but the big game is Sunday!!!  and we need recipes NOW, right?

Day Eighteen

Special k with nonfat milk
coffee with creamer
a handful of grapes
Quesadilla with sour cream
Honey Nut Cheerios with nonfat milk

Yummy Quesadillas

THIS was a good recipe... even the boy liked it.  I found a fantastic new blog with what looks like LOTS of good recipes that I am going to go on trying.  The only changes I made to this one were due to available products.  The 'cooking' process for this is well explained and very simple, too.... leaving room to 'custom' make for different members of the family... Kyle's had only cheese and chicken, while Chris' I could add jalepanos to it and not mess with the kids.

The seasoning of this chicken I will CERTAINLY use again... it would be great in a wrap or on a salad... VERY tasty sitting next to your favorite veggies, too!

Chicken Quesadillas (click link for original recipe)

           16 oz skinless chicken breast, fat trimmed

·         cumin

·         oregano

·         garlic salt

·         fresh pepper

·         cooking spray

·         1 small onion cut into strips

·         1 bell pepper (red or green) cut into strips

·         1 clove garlic, minced

·         1 tbsp oil

·         2 cups shredded non fat cheddar cheese
        
        1 small can of green chiles

·         10 Non fat flour torillas


Slice chicken breast in half so you have 4 cutlets. Season chicken generously with salt, pepper, cumin, oregano and garlic powder.

Lightly spray a skillet on medium heat with oil or if using a grill, grill chicken until cooked on both sides. Remove from heat and cut chicken into strips, set aside. To the skillet, add 1 tbsp oil and cook onions and peppers, season with salt and pepper. Cook about 2 minutes, add garlic and continue cooking until vegetables are soft being careful not to burn the garlic. When cooked, set aside.
Heat skillet on medium heat and lightly spray with oil. Add tortilla, top with cheese, chicken, onions, peppers, and pico de gallo or avocado-mango salsa. Top with the other tortilla. Cheese should be melted and the bottom of the tortilla should be golden brown. Put a plate on top of the quesadilla to flip it over onto the plate. Then slide the other side onto the skillet. Cook another minute and remove with a spatula. Cut into wedges and serve with sour cream if you wish

my counts with the ingredients that I used were 11 points each quesadilla....  They were very filling.  I ate mine with 2 Tbsp no fat sour cream (which added 2 points but was worth it)  I also included some salsa on top...

Day Seventeen

Special K with nonfat milk
jello with peaches
Smart Ones three cheese ziti maranara
clementine
Taco Bell Steak Fresco Burrito Supreme and Spanish Rice with Dt Mt Dew
multigrain snacks
Bowl Honey nut cheerios with milk

Calories, Calories, Calories... Dr. Shattuck tells me to count Calories...

So far my exercise of choice to burn extra calories has been swimming and man, I am sore today!  I think it's doing the trick, plus it's fun and refreshing...  Everything that I have found online says that I should be burning between 600 and 650 calories an hour moderately swimming.  What more could you ask for from an exercise that has such low impact. 

I found a website that helps you calculate what calories you need in order to just live each day.  You simply enter your weight, sex, height, and age and the calculator gives you a number of calories to maintain each day along with a breakdown of sorts.  If these numbers are accurate... I must have been eating a horrific amount of calories daily to maintain the weight I am AND gain.  This site is claiming I need to take in 3500 calories MORE than I burn in order to gain a pound.  Yikes! 

Daily Energy Expenditure Calculator

Calories Burned Estimator

On WW watchers I am not counting caleries per se... the calculcation includes protien, carbs, fat, and fiber... and since calories come from these things I am in a sense watching my caloric intake.

All that said... all that information googled... whether it's fact or fiction... I do know that the way I've been eating the last few weeks ain't bad at all and I don't feel like it has taken a huge amount of effort.  It hasn't been hard, I just need to be conscious of what I am eating and when.  I've had to take stock in my emotional/boredome eating... and make sure that I am not inhaling my food instead of savoring it.

Keep on keeping on....

Day Sixteen

I shall go swimming... three times a week come sleet, rain, snow, or blizzard winds.  The kids and I braved the weather today and went to the pool.  Man... It's cold... that wind, yuck!  Glad I went tho' cuz the knee I banged up yesterday was ok in the pool.  At first I didn't think I would be able to tread water, but it loosened up just fine.

Special K and nonfat milk
Lean Cuisine Ginger something Chicken and 8 oz VFusion
1/2 banan and grapes
Beef Stroganof
WW Ice-cream Sandwich

Beef Stroganof

So far I am batting a thousand... here's another recipe that is making it to the recipe box....  It's got a teany bit of bite to it but everyone (even Kyle) seemed to like it just fine.  I've copied an original recipe from 'somewhere on the web' and made the changes/suggestions that I would do/did....

Yay!  I need to find one for tomorrow...

Beef Stroganof

3 ounces wide egg noodles
10 ounces lean boneless beef loin, cut into 1/2" strips
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
2 cups small whole white mushrooms, Cut of stems (I would slice next time...)
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon reduced-calorie tub margarine
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 cup low-sodium beef broth (really look for the low sodium or cut back on the salt)
1 teaspoon prepared mustard (I used yellow)
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (I used 'pre'-ground)
1/4 cup light sour cream
4 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs, to garnish (optional)
Directions:
In large pot of boiling water, cook noodles 5-6 minutes, until tender; drain, discarding liquid.
Set aside; keep warm.  (I boiled the water and cooked the noodles just before starting the sauce... I mean how do you keep egg noodles warm with out them clumping up?)
In medium nonstick skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat, stirring frequently,
3 minutes, until no longer pink. Remove beef from skillet. Wipe skillet clean; set beef aside.
Spray same skillet with nonstick cooking spray; heat. Add onions; cook over medium-high
heat, stirring frequently, 7 minutes, until golden brown. Add mushrooms; cook, stirring
frequently, 6 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove vegetables from skillet. Wipe skillet
clean; set vegetables aside.
In same skillet, melt margarine.  Combine flour with beef broth (I shook in a covered container) and pour a little in the margarine.  Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until bubbling. Continuing to stir, gradually add remaining broth and mustard, paprika, salt and pepper; cook, stirring constantly, 4 minutes, until mixture is thickened. Stir in sour cream.
Return cooked beef, onions and mushrooms to skillet; stir to coat. Cook, stirring frequently,
until mixture is heated through.
Divide warm noodles evenly among 4 plates; top each portion of noodles with one-fourth of
the beef mixture. Serve garnished with parsley.

Served 4 with 3/4 cup of beef mixture - 7 points
egg noodles... per package... mine were 5 points per serving.

Day Fifteen

Special K cereal with milk
coffee with creamer
banana
Lean Cuisine (Szechuan-style stir fry w/shrimp)
clementine
leftover steak and onion with corn and mashed cauliflower/turnips
butterscotch pudding and a banana

BMI... Who makes up these numbers?

Have you ever taken a really close look at the BMI charts and numbers?  Man, those things make me shiver.  A shiver somewhere between disgust for myself and disbelief.  Somehow I just can't believe that a person my height weighing in at120 pounds (which by the way is what I'd have to loose to weigh 120 pounds) is considered 'normal'.  The only me I can picture at 120 punds would be a carbon copy of Ally Mcbeal with my skeletal face attached.

As you can see NOT a pretty picture...  I mean nothing wrong with being that skinny in a healthy way I guess, but a little meat on the bones is more attractive isn't it?  (and don't think I'm suggesting that looks is why I am doing this)

I just can't get a handle on this BMI thing and why 'they' think these number are right?  What I found out about myself is the following:

(going with the scale at home)

Started at 38.71

Today I'm 37.8 (so I am headed in the right direction)

These numbers are considered class 2 Obesity... In order to get to class 1 Obesity I need to get down to 223 which is a completely acheivable goal.  To be considered Overweight I need to get down to 191 which is where I was last time I fell of the low carb wagon and still completely doable.

Two years ago my end goal was 175.  (Incidentally that's less than I weighed at my wedding)  Now I see that the BMI people say that my high end goal for a 'healthy normal weight for my height' is159!  Holy bologna!  I haven't weighed that since like Jr High maybe?!!?!?!  Are they insane!  Or as I say..."They need to pass that crack pipe they are smoking, cuz ... well...."

Anyway, that's pretty far down the road for me and I will just see what happens as I get closer..... oh yes.... I WILL get closer.  Take a look at the BMI calculator I attached at the bottom of the blog... where do you stand?

Second Weigh In

Well folks... it was time for the second weigh of this journey of mine, so I went through my morning routine and hopped on the scale to positive results!  Nearly another 2 pounds.  Again, not a landslide, but still consistency is the goal here.  Most all of the buzz I hear is that 1-2 pounds a week is what the aim should be, so yay! for me. 

Man, It's early and I'm hungry.... Where's the cereal?

Day Fourteen

Special K with milk
fresh pineapple
ground steak and onions, mashed turnips and cauliflower, sweet corn.
butterscotch pudding, multigrain rice cakes

Veggie recipe called White on White...

In an effort to increase my intake of veggies I tried a recipe from a Veggie Venture called 'white on white'.   Of course I modified a little cuz I would be wasting if I made the whole recipe at one time...

Basically it's mashed Turnips and Cauliflower and it wasn't bad.  I added garlic salt and replaced the butter with that butter buds sprinkle stuff.  Looks a lot like mashed potatoes.

1/2 head of Cauliflower
2 med turnips
2 pinches basil
1/8 cup no fat half and half
basil leaf
lemon slice
garlic salt to taste
butter buds to taste

Boil water (enough to cover turnips and cauliflower)  add turnips, cauliflower, lemon slice, and basil leaf and boil until tender.  Strain and return to dry pot.  Mash to desire texture, adding basil, half and half, garlic salt and butter.  Return to heat to cook off excess water.

If you've got a decent food processor and don't like lumps at all... puree the turnips and cauliflower before returning to pot.

I think next time I might ignore the basil and try other flavors.  I had to buy that for this recipe and I am not sure I am a big fan of it, but it wasn't gross or anything.  This recipe helped me get 2 serving of veggies in for only 2 points!!!  the big plus is that it wasn't hard and I kinda liked it.

Day Thirteen

Pretty uneventful day... ending with a smaller foods list today because I opted for an old fav for dinner that almost put me over my points.  Had a moment this evening when I had to remind myself not to eat a snack because I truely wasn't hungry... just had a craving.  Made it through it tho' and I am headed off to bed. 

See you in the a.m...

special K cereal with non fat milk and a banana
turkey and lettuce sandwich on whole wheat bread with veggie chips
blueberry angel food cake
dreamfields pasta with alfredo sauce