OMG!

I am so busy, it's been insane. One big trial over, another starting this Wed. But I am still cooking along on WW and have lost 12.5 lbs. total so far!

I just need more time so I can update my progress. One week I stood still. One week I gained a little, but last week I more than made up for it and got back on track. YAY!

A Review of Week 2

Two more pounds lost!

I can safely say that I never thought I'd buy a pull-up bar. You know...one of those things that you hang on and can do pull-ups or chin-ups with?

Life is full of surprises though and we have one now! And a full set of resistance bands so that I can follow the DVDs for P90X.

If you have not heard of P90X, it's a very intense workout program that you do straight for 90 days. There are 13 workout DVDs and each day you do a specific one according to the schedule. It has a good balance of cardio and resistance training to build muscle and do cardio at the same time. If all I did was lose weight, I still would not be toned and firm in the end. Just smaller and squishy. Plus, building muscle increases the rate of fat loss and helps speed up metabolism. I've decided I want to have it all. Weight loss, lean muscles and truly better health. I know that takes some exercise and work so I'm going to give this a try!

Here it goes!!!

8.5 lbs lost, 91.5 lbs. to go

Repeatable Recipes

Another great week of food came and went. These are the recipes we really liked from this past week. I am going to have to start taking pictures of each entree....

Crock Pot Lasagna

1/4 lb. ground sirloin

1/4 lb. ground turkey

1 cut fat free cottage cheese

1/2 cup low fat mozzarella

1/4 cup parmesan

2 1/2 cups marinara sauce

1 1/2 tsp. oregano

1 1/2 tsp. basil

8 oz. package of egg noodles

1. Brown the beef and turkey and mix with the marinara sauce, basil and oregano.

2. Cook the noodles and toss with the parmesan and mozzarella.

3. Put 1/3 of the meat sauce in the crock pot.

4. Layer in 1/2 the noodles.

5. Layer in the cottage cheese.

6. Add 1/3 meat sauce.

7. Add remaining noodles.

8. Add remaining meat sauce.

9. Cover and cook on low for several hours.

This recipe make six servings that were each 6 points.

White Chicken Chili

1 tbsp. olive oil

3/4 skinless bonless chicken breast, cubed

1/2 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups chicken broth

2 15 1/2 oz. cans of white kidney beans

1 tsp. dry mustard

1 tsp. dry cumin

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

fat free sour cream

lowfat cheese to put on top

salsa for the top

1. Cook the chicken in the olive oil and put the cooked chicken in the crock pot.

2. Add the garlic (and onion if your not married to my husband) to the skillet to cook for about five minutes.

3. Add the onion and garlic to the chicken in the slow cooker and add in all of the other ingredients except the sour cream, cheese and salsa.

4. Cover and cook on low for several hours.

5. Scoop some fat free sour cream on top, a scoop of salsa and a 1/4 cup of shredded cheese.

The recipe made 4 servings. Each serving had 6 points, plus the points for the fat free sour cream and the cheese.

Shrimp Burrito

I made the ingredients for this recipe and then weighed the shrimp out when I assembled my burrito.

1 large flour tortilla (3 points on it's own)

2 lb. shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails off

1 cup salsa that has been refrigerated

2 tbsp. fresh cilantro

1/2 jalapeno, minced

1/2 tablespoon lime juice

2 tsp. ground cumin

2 tsp. paprika

2 tsp. olive oil

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

cooking spray

1. Preheat the broiler.

2. Toss the shrimp with the cumin, paprika, oil, salt and pepper.

3. Put the minced jalapeno on as much of the shrimp as you want super spicy (in my house that is half). Spread it on a pan and broil for about five minutes until they are warm.

4. Add the cilantro to the salsa, mix it together.

5. Microwave the tortillas.

6. I assembled a super big burrito with 6 oz. of shrimp (3 points), plus salsa (0 points) and the tortilla (also 3 points).

So this made one big 6 point burrito. The flavor was outstanding and this was a definite hit for my whole family.

Repeatable Recipes

Last week we tried several new recipes. Some that were so-so, some that we'll definitely make again. To keep track of our family favorites, I'm going to post the recipes that we need to repeat.

Part of the challenge I face is that I'm not only cooking for myself. I also have my husband and an 18 month old who eat the same dinners I do. Since this is a lifelong plan and not just a diet, it's important for me to find recipes that all three of us enjoy.

Mexican Meatloaf

Cooking spray

1/2 lb. ground beef

1/2 lb. ground turkey

2 large egg whites

2 oz cornbread stuffing dry mix (approx. 1 cup)

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

4 oz. green chili peppers

8 oz. can enchilada sauce

1. Mix everything except 1/2 the enchilada sauce.

2. Shape into an oval.

3. Cook for 1 hour at 375.

4. Pour on the rest of the enchilada sauce.

5. Cook for 5 minutes.

The recipe makes 6 servings. Each serving has only 3 points.

Pea Soup

1 can of green beans, drained, rinsed and refilled to the top with fresh water

1 can of yellow wax beans, drained, rinsed and refilled to the top with fresh water

1 can of asparagus -- as is

1. Combine all three into a blender or food processor.

2. Heat up as much as you'll eat.

How easy is that??? And the best part, it's 0 points!! I added 16 turkey pepperoni that I cut up into small pieces to give it some protein and kick. The whole bowl of soup was only 2 points!

It's funny because there are no peas in the soup, but it tastes really good!

Turkey Chili

1 lb. ground turkey

1 chili packet from the grocery store (or your own combo of chili spices)

1/2 onion, chopped (optional -- my husband can't take the onions)

1 large can of tomato sauce (29 oz.)

1 can of kidney beans (15 oz. can) -- as is -- don't drain or rinse

1. Cook the turkey.

2. Mix everything in the crock pot.

3. Cook and simmer.

This recipe makes 6 large servings and each serving is 6 points. I add on some lowfat mexican cheese which adds an additional point.

Southwest Chicken

2 15 oz. cans of corn

6 chicken breast halves

16 oz. salsa

15 oz. can of black beans

1 cup low-fat mexican cheese

1. Pour 1/2 the salsa at the bottom of the crock pot.

2. Place the chicken on top of the salsa.

3. Dump the rest of the ingredients on top.

4. Cook in the crock pot.

5. Top with low-fat Mexican cheese.

This recipe makes six servings and has 7 points per serving. We also ate it with brown rice which was pretty good to mix in. The recipe turned out slightly soupy though. Next time we have to use a chunkier salsa and I'll have to try draining the beans and corn better. I was surprised that my daughter and husband quickly named this a favorite meal.

Bring on the Week!

We will be ready for dinner every day this week!

Today was a jam packed morning. I sat down with the cookbooks and picked out recipes that I could make in advance to plan out dinner for every day this week. After breakfast, Randy, the girls and I headed to the grocery store and bought all of the ingredients and I spent some time cooking this afternoon. Our fridge is now packed with serving size containers for quick and easy things, as well as some recipes that need to be popped in the crock pot.

I managed to bake some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies as well. They were really easy to make and I LOVE them!

The recipe is simple: one box of carrot cake mix, 3/4 cup chocolate chips and 1 15 oz. can of pumpkin.

1. Mix it all together.

2. Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes.

It makes 48 small 1 point cookies or 24 large 2 point cookies. They turn out really moist and have a cake-ish texture. I didn't realize how much I would like them. Here are some pictures...

I will definitely be making them again. I had four 2 point cookies today, but they were well worth it!

A Review of Week 1: Success!

Well, week one flew by. I followed the plan. Tracked everything I ate. Counted my points. Drank enough water. Tried some new recipes. And it worked. I'm down 6.5 pounds!

I definitely had a great week for a number of reasons. The first is because my dear friend Kelly (and the best nanny I could ask for to watch my girls) introduced me to really low-point foods that helped tide me over when I needed something to eat. And they involved chocolate -- what could be better!!

Vitamuffins and Chocolate Fiber One bars were crucial to this week's success. Each bar or Vitamuffin is only one point and both are super tasty. The Vitamuffin is just like the top part of a chocolate muffin. It's loaded with chocolate chips and definitely does not taste low-cal or low-fat like you would expect it to. They are at Costco in the frozen section. The Fiber One bars are from any grocery store. They also are pretty filling and give you that yummy chocolate taste without all of the guilt since they are also only 1 point.

Later I'll post the new recipes that we really liked so I can keep track of good ones for future weeks of success. This week we really enjoyed turkey chili, southwestern chicken, mexican meatloaf and garlic chicken with broccoli. Next week we will be trying potato chowder, crock pot lasagna, white chicken chili, cranapple chicken, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and fake pea soup.

6.5 lost so far. 93.5 pounds to go.

Day One -- September 25, 2010

Okay, here I go. Starting on my new mission and working on my new goal. A lofty one I will say. I am going to lose 100 lbs. and document my journey as I go.

I have been successful in reaching all of my goals in life so far. Why should this be any different? Academically, professionally, personally and in every other aspect of life, I pretty much rock. But weight loss has always been a struggle for me. And now, I've just given birth to two gorgeous daughters and I've found myself at an all time high weight (aside from my final pregnant days). Now that I have my daughters, I'd like to be around to enjoy them. The other day I had a thought. I love my daughters far more than I love food. So it's time to make some changes!

I'm not one of those people who can just eat better or start exercising and have success. For me it takes a lot more and it has to be all or nothing. So to start, I've joined Weight Watchers. I started Saturday and I'm tracking my points all over the place. My babysitter has been going with her daughter and they inspired me to come join them. I've done Weight Watchers before and really liked the program. This time I have an added support system since I have people to hang out with at the meetings and people to go eat with after the meetings! Evidently there is a very good restaurant right next door and on Saturdays, everyone goes to enjoy their menu of yummy foods with the points precalculated and listed on the menu.

On my first day, I really made sure to start at an all time high. One of the girls asked me, "Shannon, do you really want your shoes on when you weigh in?" You better believe I did. If we're going to do this, we're going to do it right. Start off at an all time high. I'll wait until I'm desperate to see pounds coming off to take off my shoes...and my sweatshirt...and my earrings, etc. Why waste all those good tricks on the first day?

Today I went grocery shopping and put together a great menu for the week. If the recipes turn out good, I'll post them, points and all. Tonight we had Southwest Chicken. Tomorrow is Turkey Chili. Wednesday is Mexican Meatloaf. Thursday is going to be Garlic Chicken. Friday...it's leftovers baby.

Okay, here's my first picture. We have to have pictures to track the progress, right??

All right. Here it goes. 0 lost so far. 100 pounds to go!!!!