Weigh-In Always Comes So Fast

It seems like my last weigh-in was just a couple of days ago, but alas, another week has already flown by! I don't really know how I'm feeling about this weigh-in. I've been tracking and drinking lots of water, plus workout out of course, but I can't get a handle on how I think I've done. Usually I can kind of tell, but today I think it could go either way. I think I'm getting sick (I have the stuffy/runny nose and sore throat) so I'm sure that may be why I'm not feeling on top of my game. I can definitely feel my hard work. My stomach is feeling a little tighter as are my legs. I'm currently sore from a week of doing a variety of new exercises so at least I can feel good with that aspect of the week. I am keeping in mind that Easter did happen, and while I am pretty proud of myself for staying away from the candy, I did splurge a bit and treated myself to some delicious food.

Overall I'm going to be optimistic about the outcome of tomorrow. I feel like even though I let myself indulge a bit on Sunday there has been enough time for me to recover from it. Think of me tomorrow morning around 10am as I step on the scale! As my mom always tells me "skinny thoughts!" haha.

Cooking, Cooking, Gone

This week I bought a new cookbook called Fresh, Fabulous Fast. It is a Weight Watchers sponsored cookbook that contains "130 recipes all under 30 minutes". I'm really excited about it because, for one I love cooking, and also because being on the go/busy all the time makes it hard to cook a real meal without it getting late.

Making grocery lists and going to the store are among two of my favorite things so today I sat down and went through it and decided on a few things I'd like to try out this week. The menu for this week includes: Greek Chicken with Peppers and Pasta, Chicken and Broccoli with Black Bean Sauce, Caramelized Risotto with Chickpeas, Grilled Lamb Koftas with Yogurt-Cilantro Sauce, and Mixed Berries with Honey-Caramel Sauce. (yes I PROMISE that all of these things are healthy!) I'm really excited to try some new things and experiment a little more.

Tonight I tried the Greek Chicken with Peppers and Pasta. It was delicious and light yet hearty all at once! While according to the book it should have only taken 15 minutes it took me about 20-25, but that's still pretty speedy. Here's the recipe!

Ingredients
8 ounces whole wheat penne
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 sweet onion, halved lengthwise and sliced
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
1 cup sliced pepperoncini
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons chopped oregano

Directions

1. Place pasta and salt in large skillet (I actually just used a pot); add water to cover. Bring to boil over high heat; cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally. about 8 minutes, then drain.

2. Meanwhile, spray large skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 3 minutes. Add chicken, pepperoncini, and red pepper, stirring often until heated through, about 2 minutes. Add pasta and oil, toss until combined then add in feta.

Serving: 2 cups, 8 WW P+, 312 calories.

I am undecided about what I want to fix for dinner tomorrow, but I hope it's as easy and yummy!

Setting Goals

I haven't really shared where I hope to be as I progress on my weight loss journey. To be honest, I don't really think about it that much. I'm realizing more and more that, while it is an amazing feeling to see the numbers on the scale go down, the other changes happening to my body are great as well. My rings are getting looser, my jeans fit a little better, and I can see my face thinning out. All of these are not things that are reflected directly on the scale, but they are still victories. I am also noticing changes and improvements in my fitness level. I can now power through workouts that in the beginning made me feel like I was dying. In deciding on setting goals I kept these and other non-scale victories in mind. So, I have broken my goals into scale and non-scale goals.

Scale Goals
10 % goal: 180 (-19lbs)
1st goal weight: 160lbs
2nd goal weight: 135lbs

Non-Scale Goals
shirt size: Medium
pant size: 8 or 6
short-term fitness goal: run for 10 minutes without stopping
long-term fitness goal: participate in a 5K

For my scale goals I really had to think of what's plausible for me. Weight Watchers set both my 5% goal (which I've already reached) and my 10% goal. The last two I made on my own. I hope to reach my 10% goal by May 14th. As for my 1st goal weight, I'm really taking it week by week. I think it would be do-able to reach the 160 mark by mid August. That would mean I would need to lose 27.2lbs in around 4 months. That's 1.7lbs a week for 16 weeks (still with me? haha). With the average amount I've been losing per week it is a very reachable goal. As for reaching 135lbs that may be a few months after, or a year from now. Either way I'm fine with it. 135 would be my absolute goal weight, as that is considered the healthy weight for my height. I really more than anything want to stick to a healthy lifestyle and lose weight in a healthful manner. I'm not going to obsess and try to speed the process up. When it happens it happens.

As for my non-scale goals they are more for the long-term. The size of shirts I normally wear are usually larges with some mediums sprinkled in. I would like to be able to just wear mediums all the time. Ideally I'd like to be around a size 6 for my pants. I have big hips and curves and I know those aren't going to go away, nor do I want them to. With that in mind I think being a size 6 or even an 8 would be wonderful and is probably right on target for what is plausible for my body type. The biggest feat will be reaching my fitness goals. I really hate running. It wears me out, makes me winded and makes me feel like I'm going to collapse. However, this is exactly why I want to make running both of my fitness goals. I think if I really push myself and start with baby steps (maybe something along the lines of a Couch 2 5K - C25K program). I know that I'm not going to be sprinting down the block anytime soon, but they will be nice goals to reach.

All in all the biggest thing I'm keeping in mind is that goals are just that, goals. They are not things I need to do right this very second. I need to work towards them and be smart in working to achieve them. With that in mind I know I can keep plugging along to get to where I want to be.

A Quick Update

I've been really busy lately, but I haven't been slacking in my WLJ by any means! Here's just a quick idea of how I've been doing over the past week.

Workouts: I upped my workouts to 4 for the week. Each one was 30 minutes or longer and I switched it up between dance, cardio/aerobics, and strength training. I also finally got around to getting my bike out and riding for about 40 minutes two nights in a row. I plan on trying to get a decent bike ride in every night I can from here on out.

Eating: I didn't really cook much this week. My groceries have run out for the most part, so I'm trying to use up what I have left before venturing out for a more lengthy shopping trip. I did make this for dinner on Monday night, and it was pretty delicious. I honestly can't remember if I made anything new on Tuesday or not. Wednesday I went out to eat with a couple of friends, but I did really good, getting a little marinated chicken breast with steamed broccoli. Thursday I made a taco salad and Friday I resorted to Subway because nothing else seemes appetizing. Over all I think I did well. I've been converted to egg whites after being afraid of them for so long and honestly I think I prefer them. I also tried to eat a lot of fruit and veggies because I definitely slacked in getting them in as much as I could have the previous week.

Water: I really struggled getting a lot of my water in for much of the week. There were a couple of days where I know I got in 100 ounces easy, but others I wouldn't be surprised if the number was more around 40-60 ounces. I know getting as much water as possible in is important, but sometimes I just can't get myself to even sip on it.

Tracking: Basically, I'm still super into tracking. I don't even put anything into my body without tracking it first. I make a point to stay on plan and don't want anything to get in my way of that. Although I haven't been tracking my Saturday's because I treat them as "cheat days" (but I'll go into that in a later post).

With all that touched on I also want to give a quick glimpse of where I currently am.

Starting Weight: 199lbs

Last Week's Weight: 189.8lbs (+.8lbs)

Weigh-In: -2lbs

Current Weight: 187.8

Total Weight Loss: 11.2lbs

This week should hopefully be a little calmer, so I hope to actually devote a little time to some more in-depth posts!



The First Letdown

Weigh-in for the week has come and gone and much to my surprise, I was up .8 pounds. I know it doesn't seem like much, but I was extremely upset to see a gain after a month of incredible loss. I was so angry with myself that I began crying right in front of the nonsuspecting woman that weighed me in. While I was angry, I also had to take a few things into consideration from the week.

For one, it was my "time of the month". So as with most other females I was bloated and retaining water like crazy. Weight gain is common the week that a woman is on her period and it will disappear almost as soon as it's over. Another factor could have been the fact that I started to do more strength training in my workouts. Usually I do Zumba or some form of dance-based workout to get my exercise in. In doing more strength based workouts you are working the muscles harder which, while it's really good for your body, can cause you to gain a little weight because you may gain muscle mass. I also went out to eat with my dad this week to a bar like place with virtually NOTHING incredibly healthy. I tried to do good and got a salad there, but of course it had tons of ingredients and extras (but it was so good!). All of those things considered I know I did the best I could this week.

In order to make sure I lose in my next weigh-in I just need to focus on me and what I need to do. I've already come a long way and I'm ready to go even further! I know I'm capable of staying on track and with a positive attitude and the ability to look at my first disappointment and chalk it up to a learning experience I'm going to do better this upcoming week!

Cheeseburger Pizza

I stumbled upon this delicious recipe over at Emily Bites, a food blog started by a girl (Emily) who comes up with her own healthy recipes and also showcases some creations from other food bloggers. There's everything from salads to cupcakes and it all looks so good! For this week I planned out a few meals I wanted to tackle and her cheeseburger pizza was one of them.

The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:

Boboli 12” Whole Wheat Thin Pizza Crust
3 Laughing Cow Light Queso Fresco & Chipotle Wedges
3 oz cooked 95% lean ground beef (I browned mine with McCormick Hamburger Seasoning – highly recommended!)
2-3 Grape Tomatoes, chopped
1 Scallion, finely chopped (green part only)
1 T Ketchup (that’s what mine worked out to be when I squirted the ketchup bottle back & forth across my pizza a few times – I did it first holding a tablespoon underneath to check)
1 T Yellow Mustard (mustard comes out in a thinner stream so it works out to be less)
¾ c reduced fat 2% shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450.
2. Spread Laughing Cow wedges evenly across the top surface of the pizza crust, leaving at least a ½ inch edge around the outside. Sprinkle the ground beef evenly over the top and repeat with scallions and tomato pieces. Squirt ketchup in a thin stream back and forth about 4 times (8 lengths total) over the width of the pizza. Repeat with mustard going the other direction, crisscrossing the ketchup (I went back and forth 2 extra times to cover the same area because the stream is thinner than ketchup). Finish the pizza by sprinkling the cheddar cheese over top.
3. Place pizza on a foil covered baking sheet, a pizza stone (my preference) or straight onto the oven rack (depending on how you like your crust) and bake for 8-10 minutes.
The recipe says it yields 6 slices, which mine also did, but I'm sure if you wanted to do squares  that would be fine too. It has 210 caolories per slice and for those following WW it's 5 points a slice.
 

It was so good and so filling! I liked it so much I warmed up 2 slices for dinner last night. I definitely reccomend it, as well as checking out Emily's blog!

Reaching my first goal, and putting the scary numbers out there

Over the weekend I came up on my 1 month "anniversary" of joining WW and with it I reached my 5% goal! I was ecstatic! I've worked so hard and really followed my plan and listened to my body. It's a wonderful feeling to see all of that hard work paying off.

With reaching my 5% goal I feel like I may be ready to share my stats. Right after my initial weigh-in I was super embarassed of what my weight had become and that I didn't realize it had gotten out of control. I think a lot of it has to do with that fact that my body hasn't really changed. Sure I saw some changes, but my clothes all still fit and I'm the same size I've been since high school. So, this made it harder to really focus on the weight gain. Here are the numbers so far...

Intitial weight: 199lbs.

5% goal: -10lbs

10% goal: -19lbs

current weight: 189lbs, and currently at my 5% goal.

Even typing those numbers makes me cringe and I'm currently having a bout of anxiety about pushing the "Publish Post" button. But, in order to make this blog a true part of my weight loss journey I think it's important to put the numbers out there.

Now that I've lost 10 whole pounds I'm even more determined to work harder to achieve my 10% goal this month! I really think it's do-able so I'm going to go at it full force!