Progress Photo Update!

It's been almost 2 months since my last Progress Photo. I took one today, but as a forewarning, I haven't done stellar these two months, but I know I will get back on track. I have only lost 6.2 lbs in the last two months. It is still a loss, but a definite slowdown from my previous loss. I just need to take it as a learning experience and get back on track!

The photos on top are from January 1st.

I wasn't sure there was a difference, but seeing these pictures I can see there is one :) I know it might seem silly to take photos so often, but for me, seeing a physical difference really motivates me to keep going!

Cha Cha Cha Cha Changes

I hinted a while back that I had made some changes in our living room layout. I (no joke) finally got my house clean enough to take photos to show you the changes.

We moved the couch to the other side of the room, with about 4ft of space behind it for the fireplace and the door. Now we can actually feel the fireplace when it's on.

Also, we bought a new cover for our couch, so this one is not home dyed, but from Ikea.



We also purchased an ottoman that we bought a cover to match our couch. We love having a place to put our feet up.



We moved the TV so it sits on the wall that is across from the couch.

We really like the new set up. The living room feels more defined, and it opened up the space to add a desk and office area. It makes the space feel more open in general.

Any big, or small, changes taking place? I have always been restless about the location of furniture, so I am sure this isn't the last place it will all be. :)

Dishwasher detergent update

Well I hate to say it, but I guess not all things are meant to be DIY'd. I have officially given up on the dishwasher detergent I made in November. It seemed like a great idea at the time, being on a DIY high from my laundry detergent. I had some trouble with it hardening and that's when I put it in the ice-cube trays to mold it.

Fact is, it didn't clean like I wanted it to. It left my dishes dingy and not completely clean. I had to rewash things and my cups had rings. I am sure they were "Clean" but they weren't clean enough for me. So I broke down and bought store detergent.

I am all about keeping it real, so I thought I should let you know. If you made the dishwasher detergent from my tutorial, what do you think of it?

On the topic of household cleaning agents, I still LOVE my laundry soap! It cleans really well, it smells great and it doesn't make me itch, like a lot of store-bought detergents! We still have a TON of it left and I am sure it will last us almost forever.

Have you ever tried something and then 4 months later you realized it was a bad idea? what's your experience with homemade cleaning agents?

Week 21- Finally!

Well it looks like I am back on track! I have been really trying to focus on tracking and making smart choices and it is finally paying off. I stepped on the scale at my weigh in on friday and I was down 3.2 lbs! I lost what I gained back PLUS another 2 lbs! I am so happy to be back on the right track. I need to keep up the momentum. ALSO, last week we had our family Biggest Loser final weigh in, and I didn't quite make my goal, weighing in at 261.5, 1.5 lbs above my goal weight. BUT nobody met their goal so we extended the deadline to March 1st. After my weight loss at my meeting, I stepped on the official weigh in scale (at my mother in law's house) and I met my goal today!! I weighed 259.5!!! I was so excited! I have 2 more weeks to keep going before the official weigh in, so I am hoping to keep going down!

 

DIY Valentines Day

As you know, it's Valentines Day! Grab your sweetie and spend way too much money on useless gifts make the most out of a day about love! If you are like me, you would rather do something yourself than buy it from a store. I LOVE chocolate covered strawberries. They are my favorite thing about this time of year. But when I see a pack of 4 chocolate covered strawberries at the grocery store for $16.99, I want to cry! That is why I am gonna show you how easy it is to DIY these lovelies. And just think about how much more meaningful it would be if you make dessert for your valentine, rather than buy it!

 

What you will need:

Strawberries

Chocolate Candy Coating

White Chocolate Candy Coating

 

1. Wash all of your strawberries and dry them with a paper towel.



2. Melt the chocolate in the microwave. The kind I bought (kroger brand) comes in a microwave safe tray that you just pop in the microwave and stir. SO EASY!!

3. Dip the strawberries. Hold by the green leaves and try to cover most of the strawberry with chocolate.



4. Let the coating harden. Because it is designed for this, it will harden at room temp in about 5 minutes. You could enjoy them now, but if you really want to impress your valentine, melt white chocolate and drizzle.



5. That's it! Wait a few minutes and you can put them on a pretty plate and surprise your valentine :) Or you can bag them up and take them to your coworkers. Or you can eat them all by yourself :)

I don't know what it is about dipping strawberries in chocolate that makes them so juicy. These are delicious. I would know. I just ate 4 of them writing this...

Weight Watchers Trackers

In an attempt to become more accountable to tracking, I have been posting my tracker to my blog every night (or the next day...) on the page "Weight Watchers Trackers". So far it has kept me tracking for almost a whole week! I plan to delete them once a week so there is only one week on there at a time. Check them out if you are curious about what I eat.

Measurement Update

I just realized I haven't updated my measurements since November! I figured I might as well do that!

Measurements:

Starting Measurements:

Arms: 17 in

Hips: 53 1/2 in

Bust: 53 in

Waist: 51

Dress size: 24

Thigh: 32

February 8, 2012

Arms: 15 1/2 in

Hips: 49 1/2 in

Bust: 46 in

Waist: 43 1/2 in

Dress Size: 20/22 - I just bought an 18/20 from Lane Bryant! I am closer to the 20 tho.

Thigh: 28 in

Total Loss:

Arms:  -2 1/2 in

Hips: -4 in

Bust: -7 in

Waist: 7 1/2 in

Dress size: Down 2 sizes!

Thigh: -4 in

Total Inches Lost: -25 in

Holy Moley!! Awesome!

I also need to take a February Picture, so I will do that in the next week ish. :)

Super Bowl Snacks!

Yes, I know the Super Bowl was sunday... I missed the boat. But frankly, I wasn't expecting to do anything for the Super Bowl, so the fact that I made snacks was a shock to me too. See, Andy and I don't have Cable. We don't get normal TV so we didn't watch the Super Bowl. We were in a football mood, so we turned on our latest favorite show on Netflix, Friday Night Lights, and cooked up some yummy snacks! We made Skinny Jalepeno Popper Dip and Pudding Pops!! YUM!

Skinny Jalapeno Popper Dip

 

2 8oz Packages Fat Free Cream Cheese

1/2 C Fat Free Sour Cream

1/2 C Low Fat Cheddar Cheese

3 large Jalapenos

1/4 C Plain Bread Crumbs

Preaheat Oven to 350

1. In a mixer, cream room temperature cream cheese and sour cream till smooth.


2. Add in the jalapenos and cheddar cheese and mix until combined.

3. Spread into an oven safe casserole dish.

4. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top.

5. Bake for 30 min or until center is warm.

Serve hot with chips, or like we did, with mixed veggies!

Total Points Plus: 18 (for the WHOLE thing!) only 1 point+ for almost a 1/4 cup of dip! YUM!

Poor man's Pudding Pops

 

1 box sugar free Instant Jello Pudding - Chocolate

3 C light soy milk

Dixie Cups

Popsicle Sticks

1. Mix the pudding mix and soy milk until the pudding mix has dissolved.


2. Pour into Dixie Cups.


3. Place in the freezer. After about an hour, put in the popsicle sticks.


4. After at least 6 hours freezing, devour!

Points Plus for each pudding pop: 1! So go ahead, eat as many as you want!! :)

New Obsession

I have a confession. I have a new obsession. One word. Polyvore.

Polyvore.com  is an amazing website where you create virtual outfits. You choose from a huge database of pieces, like shirts, pants, shoes, etc, and put them together into outfits. It is an awesome tool to nail down your personal style and to find things that go together that you can buy in real life. I have spent a few hours playing around with it and here are the outfits I have made!



This outfit really defines my casual style. I could wear this any day of the week, but I see myself running errands on the weekends in this.



This is another example of a weekend look, but it's also dressy enough if I needed to pop into work. I am just obsessed with those flats!



I love this look for a date night. I could wear this to dinner and a movie, or even out to a play. It's cute and casual, but fancy enough to go out in. (I am obsessed with that bag!!)



I can not wait to lose enough weight to wear boots! I love this look and I want it now! lol



This is a perfect work outfit! Comfy and classy. Obsessed with those shoes!



This is a fancier work outfit, but still comfy and classic. I love the neutral colors with a pop.

The best part of Polyvore is that I have really been able to nail down my personal style. I have noticed I am a bit too casual with my work wear. We are allowed to wear jeans, but wearing them every day with a t-shirt is probably too much. I still dress like I am in college, and while that is what I have, it's not really appropriate anymore. I am trying to slowly expand my wardrobe, and this gives me a place to start, and a better idea of my personal style.

I encourage you to check out Polyvore and experience the awesomeness.

Weigh in update

Well, I did it again. I gained. I am not sure why, but it is really bothering me. This week we tried to do simply filling, eating only power foods. It is not the way to go for me. I do well on weight watchers because I can work within the program. It is VERY livable. If I want a sweet treat, I can have one. I track it, and I pay for it, but I can have it. I have tried so many diets. The fatal flaw, for me, in every single one, was that I was restricted. I couldn't have sweets, and therefore I wanted them SO BAD! It was purely a mental issue, and it is what caused me to fail so many times in the past. Doing simply filling brought those feelings back. I felt deprived and I wanted sweets. I ate carrot cake.

I decided that Simply Filling will not work for me. I like that it is an option, and I think for some people it would be great, but for me, it doesn't work. So I take my second gain in a row, 3rd in the last 19 weeks, and I am stepping back and reassessing the situation. What am I doing and not doing to make this happen. Truthfully, I haven't really been tracking. I can honestly say I haven't tracked a thing since the new year. I know I need to start tracking again. I need to go back to the basics and really start paying attention to what I am eating.

I have also not been on the treadmill this year. That is a horrible truth, but one none the less. I have been trying to walk more, but I need to really get on track with my activity.

I don't know what the magic combination is, but I need to find it. I did this to lose weight and be happier, and gaining is not something I want to happen. I am so close to my goals, I can almost taste it. It's crunch time.

Truly Angel Chicken

While browsing Pinterest for new recipes to try, I found this recipe for Angel Chicken, recommended by a WW buddy of mine. If you read my post earlier this week, you know I am trying to eat Simply Filling. Looking at the ingredients for this recipe, I noticed I can't have a lot of the ingredients... It includes cream of mushroom soup and cream cheese. Two things I love, but they are not power foods... So I improvised. It turned out delicious so here is my recipe for Truly Angel Chicken:

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts


• 1 can light chicken broth


• 1 package dry italian dressing seasoning mix (by the ranch mix)


• Angel hair pasta


• 1 tsp Olive Oil


• Salt (to taste)

The steps are super easy!

1. Place the frozen chicken breasts in the crock pot with the can of broth and the italian seasoning. Set on low and cook for 7 hours.


2. Cool the angel hair pasta to your desired doneness and toss in a tsp of olive oil. Add salt to taste.


3. Eat with the chicken.

This was delish! Even without the cream of mushroom chicken and cream cheese. Truly angelic chicken :)