Monday, Oh Monday…

This whole Mono thing is getting kind of old. Today was loooong, plus I walked home.  Me=Exhausted. 

We had homemade pizza for supper and I had an extra piece.  This put me well over my calorie allowance, so even though I just wanted to go to bed, I burnt off those pesky extra 147 calories by hopping on the elliptical for 20 mins.  Yah! Take that Mono!! My motivation to lose the rest of this weight has been at an all time high lately, so there’s no point in sabotaging myself now that I’ve been back on track for the past few weeks. :)

Got a few shouts to do tonight -

• First off, my good friend (and bride to be!!) Holly was down 4 lbs this morning!! Whoot, you rock!!!
• Lynn (no not me! hehe) has just started food blogging, check her out now!
• And, The Hubby has decided to get back on track with his journey to better health.  Show him some love here! (This makes me SOO happy!!)

In other news, Hubby’s fav rocker in the entire world has decided to grace Halifax with his presence this coming September.  Yup, Marilyn Manson is coming to town and I’m going.   I’m not sure how well I’ll fit in with the whole crowd (seriously, for those who know me, can you picture it?! LOL) but am totally going just to see how happy the concert is going to make J.  I read the news online during lunch today and was so excited to call him with the good news.  I was literally bursting with excitement for him.  I’m such a dork! :)

My eats were pretty boooring.  Sorry guys.  Breaky was a thick (read: 200 calorie!) piece of fresh whole wheat toast with organic peanut butter & apple butter.

 
I had this sad little peanut butter oat cake for a snack when the belly started grumbling around 10.

Lunch had a very farmer’s market feel to it…yummy salad that included spinach, mushrooms, cucumbers (yes, I still put them in my salad even though I’m SO sick of them.) and BEETS!  Beets freakin’ rock.  They are so sweet and make me teeth feel like I just brushed them, kinda like an apple.  Know what I mean? ;)

 

Along with a veggie sammie.  Sorry my batteries died and this was the only pic I managed to take.  Just a small homemade, whole wheat hot dog bun smeared with light cream cheese and topped with tomato slices & spinach.

Enjoyed 1/2 cup of fresh cherries before my walk home this afternoon.  Mmm. Summer rocks for all this wonderful fresh produce!

 
Well you already heard about my pizza fiasco. (Note to self: If you don’t eat pizza at all these little incidents would never happen.  Bah, what is a world without pizza though?)

I made another batch of Jenna’s dough and got 3 crusts out of it. (Pizza for our lunches this week since I didn’t get any cooking done this weekend.) 

Mine was topped with the usual red, green & orange bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, old cheddar & feta cheese. 




I’m officially off to bed.  Nite!

Food Health-Biting The Bullet

This post could be negative, going over my failures at recent weight loss attempts. Instead, I’m choosing to make it positive.  I rock because:

No matter what, I NEVER give up. I’ve lost over 95 lbs by making lifestyles changes that have stuck.  Going back to the “old” me just isn’t an option because I don’t know that girl anymore.  The new, improved me is educated, knows what she wants and is doing what it takes to reach her goal.

That being said, the mojo just isn’t what it used to be.  Life happens, weight loss stalls.  Sometimes I feel like I’m too “into” it all.  Calories, sodium levels, exercise.  On occasion there’s enough going on inside my poor head to make the world spin.

So, I’m taking a step back and trying not to put so much focus on it all.  I already make healthy choices the majority of the time and I enjoy exercise, so there really shouldn’t be a problem.  I will succeed, and you know what? There is no deadline.  No deadline means nothing to worry about, nothing to stress over.   

Simplicity.  Which is why I re-activated my Weight Watches Online account this morning.  I need to give myself a break, see how far I’ve come and finish what I started at a pace that I enjoy.
 

This morning when I woke up, the sun was shining and I could feel the cool breeze coming from the patio doors.  Definitely has a Fall feel to it.  My favourite season is fast approaching! I love the cooler weather with beautiful sun, the crisp brightly colored leaves, apples, pumpkins & squash and Thanksgiving.  I’m hoping that next Fall we can take a road trip down through New England. 

Breaky was an opened-face egg sandwhich.


One egg fried in a tsp of olive oil on a slice of Ezekiel toast, organic baby spinach and topped with 10g of melted old cheddar & sliced tomato.


Along with some lovely Just Us (with organic sugar & splash of organic milk) and a juicy peach.



Didn’t get a chance to blog last night because I was too busy making these sinful treats for a wedding shower that I’m attending.


Chocolate Skor Cupcakes.  Recipe compliments of ZestyCook.  I admit to having a taste last night and they are heavenly!  According to my math they clock in around 300 calories each.  Good thing they are leaving my house today! ;)


 

Oh and I got our Supper prepped in the fridge.  I used this Balsamic Maple Pork recipe as the marinade (instead of cooking as the recipe directed) and am going to let the pork loin soak all day.  Going to be awesome grilled!

 
I’m off to tidy the house and get ready for the Wedding Shower.  Later!

Local Love

Good Evening Bloggies, long time no chat! What a busy week for this household. Thankfully, it’s wrapping up quite nicely and I’m looking forward to the weekend.

I’ve got some exciting news – Life, Health & Fitness is now being streamed in the “Life” section of Haligonia.ca.

It was a big decision to make because being published on a local site kind of takes always from my anonymity. However, the whole point of my blog is to share my experiences with others, so why not locals as well? Thanks again to the Haligonia.ca, I really appreciate this opportunity!
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This evening the Halibloggers were supposed to go for our first group run. You know in preparation of the Santa Shuffle 5K that is a mere 2 weeks away. Yup, sometimes the schedules just don’t work out the away we want them to.

In anticipation of the run, I had a bite before I left work. For some reason I’ve been craving egg salad lately, so……


Bodywise WW Bagel with organic baby spinach, spread with the egg mixture – 1 egg, 1 tbsp of the best light mayo ever, diced chives and various seasonings. YUM and the perfect amount of carbs and protein to fuel my workout.


We agreed to met up at Starbucks beforehand and as usual I was a tad early. Not to worry, I managed to snag a comfy chair and had the crackberry and a short dark roast to pass the time. :)


In the end it was just me, Jaime and Tash who hit the pavement. Ang had planned to go but got held up at work. Lex and Farm Girl had previous commitments. We started off with a brisk walk down Spring Garden, then ran intervals for the next 45 mins or so, throughout the South End. It was a beautiful crisp evening, hard to believe it’s almost December. I haven’t done a lot of group running and have to say that I really enjoyed it. It’s nice to be out working up a decent sweat while spending time with good friends. Thanks for tonight girlies :)

On the WW’s front I’m doing okay, this week as been really busy which has resulted in a lack of “me” time. Read: lack of work out time. I’ve stayed within my points, used all of my WAP and most of my APs so we’ll see what the scale says on Saturday. I have a feeling that I won’t have much of a loss but I’m okay with that because the last 2 weeks I’ve had great results. I am finally back to where I want to be in terms of focus/motivation AND I’m back to running on a regular basis. Really don’t have much to complain about.

I will be checking in with everyone shortly, sorry for the lack of comments this week.

Back in Business

I’ve had a seriously great 2 days! I AM BACK 1000% and does it ever feel good. I am happy, happy, happy! :) From previous experience, I know exactly what I need to do in order to have a successful week staying OP.

GET ORGANIZED!

So that is what I spent the day doing. I am ready to take on this week, full speed ahead! I can’t wait to kick butt on the scale this coming Saturday!

I`m getting back into the habit of making all our lunches for the week on Sunday. This makes my mornings much easier and staying on track easy peasy!

I decided to added some veggies to the Mac `N Cheese casserole by creating a Roasted Red Pepper version. I`ve never roasted red peppers before; its so simple and they tasted amazing. Click here for directions.

I also experimented a bit more and made a fantastic batch of muffins. Orange POM Muffins to be exact. Yum


I want to thank everyone for their positive feedback and supportive comments on yesterday`s post. I am in this for the long haul and you will see me get there, promise! :) I took some pictures before heading off the WW Meeting, forgot all about them. So here are my official `fresh start`before pics. Excuse the tight running pants ;)

The Day Has Arrived

Happy Halloween!!!

This evening we’re having Holly & Dean over to watch a bunch of scary movies while we pass out treats to all the kiddies. I’m kinda excited! hehe.

What plans do you guys have for tonight? I’m hoping to see some fun costumes appear in blogland soon!

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My top secret plan will be put into action in just a few short hours. Full details this afternoon! I’m a bit nervous so that explains the early morning blogging. Am very lucky to have such a wonderful and supportive friend who is part of this plan too. :)

In regards to yesterday's post, I want to thank everyone for their comments. It’s really nice to hear that people appreciate my honesty and struggles. When I write a post it’s 100% me and it’s my hope that others can relate.

So life in general has been good great!

As most of you know, I really enjoy graphic design and social media (LOL, who doesn’t enjoy some type of social media these days?) I’ve recently had the opportunity to take on some part-time work in that field; my evenings have been spent setting up Tweets (Check out Twuffer, it’s a great tool that allows you to set up tweets to post at a later date/time), creating Facebook pages, blogs and email newsletters. Right up my ally!

My full time job is quite rewarding though and definitely not something that I’d leave, but some part time work that doesn’t feel like work can’t hurt! :)

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I was lucky enough to get two wonderful surprises yesterday afternoon. Fridays + surprises = best combo ever!

The first was news that I won a Bodum French Press from a contest being held by Things To Do For Two. I was so excited to found out that I’d won. I never win anything and it totally made my afternoon. If you have a moment check out their site – it’s a Nova Scotian couple that blogs about fun and budget friendly things to do together. Thanks again TTDF2, can’t wait to get it!

And to top it off, I got another lovely surprise when I opened my mail box. A nice note from Cat (& b/f!).


And last but not least, if you follow me on Twitter you’ll know that I spent Thursday evening baking tasty Brownie Bites for the Bank’s charity bake sale. I made them both iced and plain, sprinkles all around! The only way I can even get away with saying these are calorie friendly is the fact that they are small, ie: portion controlled. Too bad ya can’t just eat one! ;)


There was so much batter that I had enough to send hubby off with loads for his bake sale and still take a tray full into work to share with the guys. All I can say is glad they are out of the house!

Burger & Fry Kinda Night

Want to give a shout out to Jenny, who was down 1.4lbs at her WI today. Awesome work chickie! Still waiting to hear Janna’s results, crossing my fingers for her!

I must confess that I did have a minor slip up this afternoon, nothing that a few WAP can’t handle though. :) I was hungry and craving something sweet after my walk home and ended up making a tortilla roll-up with a tbsp of cream cheese and a smear of chocolate frosting that has been hiding in the fridge. It was good; counted for in my handy journal (4 pts) and I’ve put a stop to this by getting rid of the temptation.


I know, nasty shot of the garbage can, but you get the point. Oh and for the record, the take out container is hubby’s. :) Feels good to write all this out though, think this helps with the behaviour modification.

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So, Is anyone else glad Wednesday is a holiday? Breaks the week up quite nicely IMO. Tomorrow night I’ve got a date with my Mom! I won tickets from The Coast to see the film Coco Avant Chanel so we’re making it an evening out with dinner beforehand at The Peppermill. Being the good little Weight Watcher that I am, I’ve already decided on the spinach salad and grilled chicken. Watch for a review of the dinner and the film. :)

Speaking of dinner…..on tonight’s Supper menu is one of my fav meals of all time. I only discovered black bean burgers earlier this Summer and now they’ve become a weekly staple in our household. Even the hubby, who is a tad picky, loves ‘em!


The burgers are made with organic black beans, mixed bell peppers, onions, BBQ sauce, flour & seasonings. There is no real recipe, you can use whatever type of beans you want and throw in whatever chopped veggies & seasonings you have on hand. I got the ratio amounts of beans:flour from Kath. On occasion, I have used breadcrumbs instead of flour too and it worked just fine. Oh and Frank’s Red Hot Sauce is great in them!




I’m a huge fan of the Weight Watcher’s Hamburger Buns, I think it’s the cornmeal. hehe. Topped my burger with some yummy old cheddar, ketchup, mustard, tomatoes and baby spinach. Sides of cucumber & McCain SuperQuick Fries.


Plans for the evening include a date with my elliptical machine and my DVR’d Gossip Girl episode. I’m excited about exercise again and am glad to be out of whatever rut I was in. :)

Hope you all had a wonderful start to the week!

The Perfect Saturday

Morning Bloggies! Yesterday was GREAT! The perfect Saturday. It was a gorgeous day out, I got in a great work out with some awesome friends, there were good eats, Starbucks and a loss at my WI. Honestly, what more could a girl ask for? :)

First and foremost, I want to say how proud I am of my friend Holly, who came and joined WW Meetings with Ang and I. It’s going to be great to have yet another person there for support. Holly has a blog, “One Day At A Time,” so if you have a moment you should stop by and check her out!

If you follow me on Twitter you already know that I weighed in at 196.0, which is a loss of 3.8 lbs! I’m so addicted to my crackberry and of course, had to tweet my results right away. Tons of wonderful people sent me some love after posting my results. Thanks so much everyone! I’m pretty pleased with the results, not too shabby for my first week at all! As I mentioned yesterday, my goals for this week are to stay focused on the plan, earn at least 20 APs and make sure to get my oils & dairy.


Snagged a 3 Month Planner.


Our meeting was packed! I don’t think there was another seat available. This' week’s discussion was all about sustaining motivation and how to stay on track.


This topic was really fitting for us. We’ve just made the change to meetings and have begun re-focusing on efforts, so the motivation is quite high. There was a lot of talk about how to stay focused long-term, what strategies/tools everyone used etc. Some people made it a game, others just too it one day at a time. Before the meeting started, Terry (our leader) asked both Angie and I , if we wouldn’t mind sharing a bit with the group. I was a bit nervous, you know a room full of 60+ people and all, but just reiterated how motivating it can be to see real changes to your health. I explained about my previous bad health and how I’ve managed to take complete control over the diabetes, blood pressure etc. We both took a moment and explained how we’ve managed to develop the most awesome support system ever, that being the blogs. There were some questions about that and I gave out a quite a few stickies with our blog addresses. If you’re a WW Meeting visitor, hello and thanks for stop by!!

Terry left us with very fitting quote from Deepak Chopra

”The easiest way to get what you want is to help others get what they want.”

That quote sums up exactly what we’re doing here in blogland. We’re out supporting, encouraging others to succeed in hopes of succeeding ourselves.. I don’t think we can go wrong.

After the meeting the three of us headed over to my old gym, where we met Jaime for a work out. I got in a 25 mins run on the hamster wheel (4 warm-up, 20 running, 1 cool down) and some stretching. I miss my gym, I know I’m lucky to have cardio equipment at home but there’s something so inspiring/motivating being around others working out and pushing themselves.

So…. can you take a wild guess at where Ang, Jaime and I ended up afterwards? LOL, I don’t think any G2G is complete without a trip to Starbucks for a good gab session. ;) I was still quite warm from the work out and opted for an Iced SF Vanilla Americano. (I added a splash of non-fat milk afterwards). YUM, it the spot and was 0 Points. Usually I try to stay far away from artificial sweeteners but every once in awhile I make an exception.




It was well past lunch time when we arrived back at Angie’s place, so we immediately set out in the kitchen to whip up some healthy eats. You know there was a bigass salad involved! :) Greens, red onion, pom seeds, honey crisp chunks, carrots and beets. Dressing was a blend of evoo and the BEST BALSAMIC EVER!!!! Check out Little Miss Martha here, hehe:




We also made a tasty curried tuna salad sammie. Easy combo of canned tuner (as I call it) mayo, carrot, onion, garlic powder, pepper & curry powder.


This whole meal was only 8 Points AND It was tasty, healthy & filling! The perfect way to re-fuel. YUM!



We spent the afternoon on the laptops messing around with layouts in hopes of finding the perfect re-design for angiealltheway.com. This is quite the process so there’s nothing to show yet but we’re working on it. The day quickly turned into night without me even really noticing. We did spent a great deal of time laughing. Poor Mr. Angie had to suffer through it all, luckily he’s a pretty good sport about all our crazy blog/weight watchers stuff. :)

For Supper, I was excited to try a few new things!

My first POM Spritzer – yum! This would be excellent with vodka.



The other being our main eats, which were “Calorie Smart” pizza from Pizzatown. (Calorie Smart pizzas are made on ww tortilla shells instead of regular dough.) We ordered two different ones to share:

PT Tex Mex - Salsa Sauce, Grilled Chicken Breast, Banana Peppers, Red Onions, Green Peppers, Shredded Mozzarella and Cheddar Blend.

Western Steak - Famous Pizzatown Sauce, Bull’s-Eye BBQ Sauce, Sirloin Steak, Red Onions, Green Peppers, Sliced Mushrooms, Shredded Mozzarella and Cheddar Blend.


Point-wise we figured 12 in total - 4 for the tortilla, 4 for the meat and 4 for the cheese. These were both fantastic but The Western Steak was my favourite. Yum, yum!


Yup, that wraps up my Saturday. Thanks to everyone who made it so great! :)

This morning I have a few things to take care of for a friend’s blog and then I plan to spend the afternoon in the kitchen….stay tuned!