Weigh Me Monday

1/24/11: 271.0

drum roll please....

1/31/11: 269.6

Total Loss: 1.4 pounds

I'm digging this! I'm doing much better nutrition wise, with the occasional splurge. Working it out with Jillian and The Biggest Loser. I CAN DO THIS!!!!! My goal for this week is to get some more workout's in. Three is nice in one week, with all of the laundry, dishes and chasing of the children. But I'm getting into my Jillian time. <3

Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes

Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes

I'm a twice baked tater lover...fat loaded, full of cheese and sour cream tater lover. Unfortunately there's no room for that in my life anymore. So suffice to say I've found a reputable replacement. I like the uniqueness the beef brings to it. I also like that you're getting a serving of veggies between the potato and the broccoli. It was lacking that yummy extra cheesy flavor, but that's okay it totally rocked as is.

 

I give it four out of five apples. 

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Tortellini Primavera

Tortellini Primavera

Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum. I don't think I can say yum enough. I'm a meat and taters kind of girl, it's how I was raised. I never thought a non-meat meal could be so yummy. For the tortellini I grabbed some Buitoni Cheese & Roasted Garlic Tortelloni, because I couldn't find frozen tortellini at the store and it was late, well that's another story. I also used a bag of frozen Broccoli Normandy for the veggies. I think the only thing I will change next time is adding more garlic, but I am a garlic lover. Even Baby Girl & Baby Boy chowed down on the tortellini, so you know it's good.

I give it five out of five apples. 

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30 Day Shred ~ Day 2

So yesterday should have been day two but I wussed out. Wah, Wah cry baby, right? When I said Jillian literally kicked my butt, I meant it. I am.so.freaking.sore. So tonight my friend in NC, Alison, ran out and bought the DVD since we recommended it. She was super impressed and said she loves it. That was all it took to kick my butt in gear. I broke out the DVD, which arrived today, and took another butt whooping from Jillian. Eight more days and I'll evaluate if I need to move forward to level two.

And I still cannot find my hand weights, ugh.

 

Balsamic-Glazed Roasted Chicken

Balsamic-Glazed Roasted Chicken 

My oh my, where to start? First off this recipe gives you an entire piece of chicken for a serving...that's a LOT of protein. I personally wasn't too hip to the smell of the red currant jelly or the balsamic vinegar. But I must say, OMG, when you put the two together for a glaze, watch out because there will be a taste explosion in your mouth. I couldn't believe the herb taste, courtesy of the thyme, yet a burst of sweet fruitiness. I also paired it with Green Giant's Healthy Colors Valley Blend veggies. We'll definitely be making this yummo dish again.

I'm also going to start including the nutrition facts for the recipes to give you an up front look and then you can decide if you want to access the recipe from the link provided below the meal picture.

  

^1 serving = 1 breast^

I give it five out of five apples.

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30 Day Shred

Uh, yeah. So my friend Katie said that she uses Jillian's 30 Day Shred. Cool, I can do that! So today I bought the DVD, but it won't be here until Wednesday, BUT I received the video on demand through Amazon for free. I of course took advantage of this tonight. Let's just say, this fat girl had a hell of a time keeping, but I managed. Jillian literally just kicked my butt. Woot!

Day one of the 30 Day Shred is in the bag and I'm feeling great, whooped but great. I kind of want to chronicle my journey using the shred. So:

1) Holy cow my endurance is in the crapper.

2) My knees pop worse than a 100 year old.

3) I can't do a jumping jack to save my life.

4) My thighs are so fat my feet can't kick my butt.

5) I can pretty much manage and work through the modified versions of the circuits, but I'll be glad when I have more strength and endurance

6) I cannot for the life of me find my hand weights so I may have to see about getting another set.

Off to hit the shower and hopefully catch some zzz's!

Snacks and Ramblings

Athenos Roasted Garlic Hummus and Stacy's Simply Naked "Nothing but Sea Salt" Pita Chips

First off I have to say that I used to think hummus was nasty. I couldn't get past the grit. In my defense I was pregnant when I tried it. Now I think it's scrumptious. Which leads to my next problem, I eat too much of it in one sitting. Usually I just bring the bowl with me, snag pita chips out of the bag and eat until I *think* I've eating one serving. BIG MISTAKE. I'm pretty sure I've been eating a quarter of the hummus container and most likely a half a bag of pita chips.

Secondly the hubby and I buy in bulk at Sam's, meats included. We usually buy around ten pounds of ground beef and six or eight pounds of ground turkey. In this past we used this dinky 2 cup food scale to measure out two pounds of beef at a time to be put in freezer bags. That took forever.

So between our need for a quicker method of measuring our meat and the necessity to ensure I'm only truly eating one serving of snacks/foods I snagged a fabulous new tool. A manual food scale! I picked it up at Target for $5 and it weighs up to 11 pounds, SCORE! I have been drooling over digital food scales, but I cannot justify spending $50 bucks on one. Sure the manual takes up a little more space, but for the price I had to buy it. I do not regret it at all.

So instead of my normal half a bag of pita chips and quarter container of hummus, I measured out 2 tablespoons of hummus and weighed out 2oz of pita chips. Yeah, it was very obvious I had been over doing it. Which leads me to the whole "you don't need to count calories" method of weight loss. I truly beg to differ. I'm sure it's different for every person, but I've already proved to myself that if I'm not keeping a food diary and I'm not measuring out what a serving is, I cannot do this. When I do squeeze in time to eat on the no counting method, I overeat terribly. This weekend was absolute proof of it.

We ate out at SONIC, I love that place, but it did not like my new healthy habits. While I agree it's okay to splurge every now and then, what I did this weekend was probably more of a cardinal sin. My hubby surprised me with a box of Girl Scout's Thin Mints (absolute heaven), I'm sure you can guess the entire box is gone. So, yes, I NEED measurements to be my friend, if only for now. I'm still in the baby stages of my life long healthy habits change and I cannot afford to "think" that I'm eating the appropriate amounts if I'm not.

I also must make a mental note to myself, apple juice is an "okay" substitute for orange juice when you're out of o.j. and in dire need of a fruit smoothie. It's just not as sweet, so start buying a gallon versus the tiny individual bottles of orange juice, mmmkay?