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Iced Coffee....

O.K., those of you that know me well, know that I'm all about a good cup of coffee (and sometimes even a bad cup will do). I can live without soft drinks, ice cream, cookies, chips...but I wake up thinking about coffee. As much as I love coffee, I am frugal enough that I can't bring myself to purchase coffee on a routine basis...sometimes I am known to splurge, but usually disappointed that I spent $2-5 on something that I could have made just as well at home. I have worked hard recently to cut back on my caffiene consumption. I usually have 1-2 cups of coffee in the morning, 1 cup of coffee in the late afternoon (that's my equivolent of "tea time"), and an occassional cup in the evening as I wind down (I know that's strange, but I'm immune to the effects of caffeine). It has been brutally hot in Florida. We just returned from 75-85 decree weather while on vacation in North Georgia and was greeted with 95-100 degree weather here....that alone has assisted with decreasing my coffee intake. This morning I only had 1/2 cup of coffee, went for my morning jog/walk session, then ran errands. When I returned from my errands, I craved a cup of coffee, but just couldn't bring myself to do it in this heat, so...I took the coffee left over from this morning, poured it over a cup of ice, added one packet of Stevia and 1 packet of vanilla creamer and ....Wha La! I've got a near perfect cup of iced coffee that didn't cost me anything, assisted me with using left overs, and in the Weight Watcher world is only 1 point!

New food finds and other random bits of wisdom.....

Every day is a struggle with my weight....I'll go weeks where I eat what I should and work out faithfully then BOOM! I fall off the wagon just that quick. I have not been to the gym going on my second week now. I became concerned when the gym suddenly became my god....everything seemed to revolve around it. I became even more concerned when I noticed I would go throughout my day worrying more about what I ate and how often I exercised than meditating on the Word of God. Anyway, I've always said, "If you want to lose weight, watch how skinny people eat...". I ran into a friend and fellow blogger at the beauty shop recently and she said that someone told her, "Don't eat unless your hungry". (Thanks Barb!) She took that advice and has since lost 3 pounds. We know these things, yet don't do them. I recently watched a co-worker who is in very good shape as she snacked. You want to know what she was snacking on? Boiled edamame and citrus fruit. Thanks Neila!) So, this week...I am attempting to just rethink how and why I eat like I do. I have gone back to simpler exercising...(i.e., walking/jogging around the local park track 30 minutes versus an hour of Zumba).....once I can balance life better, then I'll do more exercise. Here are some really neat food finds:

Edamame (soy beans) - found in the freezer section at your grocery. If you buy the ones in the shell and boil them 10 minutes in salted water you can pretend they are boiled peanuts (don't knock it till you try it). Plus they are good for you. (1 point for 1 cup)

Steel Cut Oat Meal - Many people shy away from this type of oatmeal because it lacks flavor and can be difficult and time consuming to cook. It is packed with nutrients and is very filling, plus I hear that it lowers cholesterol. To cook, put 1/4 cup in a bowl, add 1/2 cup boiled water and stir, cover your bowl with a plate and let it sit for 5 minutes, then pop in the microwave for 30 seconds. Add 1/4 cup of your favorite granola and you have a great breakfast cereal. (2 points without granola, 4 points with granola)

Turtles - place mini pretzels on a baking sheet and top each pretzel with 1 pc of Rolo candy, bake in 200 degree oven x 2-3 minutes, when out of oven, squish a pecan halve down in center of softened Rolo candy on top of pretzel and let it cool (1 point each)

Still on the journey....but at a slow pace!

I'm still on the journey with my weight loss efforts but at a slow pace. I've only lost 9 lbs since January. When I was younger, I would have lost that in the first week. This slow crawl toward my goal is not a mystery to me though. I know what I have and haven't done toward this effort. For instance: not exercising, occasional binge eating, late night snacking. So, I know these are things that I need to change.
While portion control is important in the WW world, equally important is eating filling foods. In our culture we are overwhelmed with a plethora of processed foods to choose from. I have been fighting a battle for 9 years with my gastrointestinal system, so in an effort to curb or at least minimize these problems, I have eliminated some foods altogether and have minimized as many processed foods as possible.

For instance:
- I traded Stevia for Spenda several years ago when I noticed that I had abdominal bloating and discomfort. If you aren't familiar with Stevia, go to www.stevia.com
- I build my meals around fruits and veggies, instead of meats. We have a great little fruit/veggie place now that is affordable and fresh...this allows me to buy fruits/veggies every 2-3 days so that they won't spoil (the name of the place is "Main Street Market")
- If I eat processed frozen meals, or snacks, I try to stick with Kashi products which are supposed to be more whole grain/less processed.
-I cut out diet cokes, except for an occasional one. I am attempting to drink less coffee but I'm not there yet. Also, one of my future goals is to cut out flavored creamer (which has probably been a big contributor to my coffee addiction).
-I am drinking quality hot teas on occasion.
-I am doing some kind of exercise everyday that I don't work, except on Sunday.

This will be a life long journey and I've got a long way to go. If anyone has ideas or suggestions, please send them to me. I welcome any advise that I can learn from!

Marvelous Monday.....

Whew! Thank God the March Birthday's are over! I couldn't wait to get to the gym and do some Zumba this morning to work last night's cheesecake off! O.K., great news for you Baker County people, the Saturday Weight Watcher's meetings will start meeting at Anytime Fitness beginning Saturday, April 4th. Also, the gym is trying to implement a Saturday afternoon Zumba class. For those not familiar with Zumba, it is a high energy dance class and it burns anywhere from 5-7 WW points (depending on your weight)! Also, if you do not want to sign up for a lengthy membership with Anytime Fitness, you can pay $5 for the day and attend any classes, plus use the equipment. This is a great deal for those that are non-committal (like myself).....
My goals for the week are:
1) Drink Water
2) Write it is I bite it
3) Stay on plan
4) Eat less processed foods
5) Attend the gym on my days off (except for Sunday)

Hope you have a great week!

"Whine about it" Wednesday

O.K., this is your one day of the week to have the opportunity to "whine" about something! Then...NO MORE...because the rest of this blog is devoted to being completely positive. I need to vent about my coffee maker. I bought this coffee maker about a month ago, replacing an older version of the same. I don't know what the deal is but none of us can perfect the perfect cup of coffee.....Mike tried it, then I did, then Seann....not sure if it's the coffee or the coffee pot or the coffee "makers"....all I know is I miss a good cup of coffee and I'm mourning over it!

"Try It" Tuesday

O.K., yesterday went well....I accomplished all my goals for the day...I know me though...I have to be careful not to pat myself on the back too much for small victories or I will be tempted to celebrate with food. I was going to call this "Tempting Tuesday" and discuss what tempts us (in the food world). The word tempt has such a negative connotation though, so I ended up with "Try It" Tuesday. So this is the challenge I propose to you:

Try something new today or try something period (whether it's new or not)....Try a new food or a new exercise, or something to distract you from the food world...(i.e.,, calling a friend, writing a poem, sending a love note to your husband, etc.)

I haven't decided what I am going to try today but I will write about it later and tell you whether it was good, bad, or otherwise.

Some great food finds that I stumbled upon recently:
1) Ezekial bread....pricey but no one in your house will eat it but you. It's not that it taste bad, it just is alot heavier than regular bread and it's so healthy....made from bean sprouts...also very filling. You can find this in the frozen food case at most grocery stores. You must keep it in the fridge because it can spoil quickly.
2) Almond milk - sweeter, healthier, and less calories than regular milk.
3) Single serve coffee creamers - keeps you from turning your coffee into dessert coffee.
4) Hummus (this plus a slize of Ezekial bread makes a complete protein and is very filling).

Please let me know if you have any new food finds.

Marvelous Monday ....this week's goals

I weighed on on Saturday and had lost another 2 pounds....then went to a wedding shower Saturday and ate 2 pounds of it back. Here I am, Monday morning just makes me feel refreshed and like I can accomplish all my goals! My goals for this week are simple:

1) If I bite it, I write it
2) 20 jumping jacks & 30 min of walk 4 days this week
3) Completely chew one bite before I put another in my mouth
4) Drink 64 oz water a day

Sounds fairly simple for now...we'll see!

Small Victories!

On Saturday morning I weighed in at home, knowing that I would work a 12 hour shift all day Saturday. Saturday is usually my "free day" because it is my "weigh in" day. Anyway, I was so excited, I had lost 3 pounds and had managed to stick to my three goals for the week (Drink water, walk 3 times that week, write everything down that I ate)...
I arrived at work and in walked one of our physicians with a huge box of Krispy Kreme heart shaped donuts, plus some blueberry cake donuts (one of my favs).....I was in the middle of shoveling a spoonful of Kashi cereal into my mouth when he arrived....
I finished my cereal and busied myself with mundane task (we had a slow day)...meanwhile, I kept eyeballing that box of donuts. After an hour or so, I decided that I would eat half a donut slowly with a hot, fresh cup of coffee....I did and savored it.
So, yes, today I am celebrating the small victory that I only ate half and not 2 or 3 of them! Does any of my Weight Watcher buddies have any small victories to share from this week?

I slept through Weight Watcher's on Saturday.....

O.K., I'm more than a little embarrassed about this one! I'll be so glad when the cold weather is over! Or maybe not.....after all, it is my excuse for everything that I don't do now! For instance, I can't walk because it's too cold outside, I didn't go to Weight Watcher's because my bed was so warm and it was too cold outside....I'm sure you get the point. Anyway, I slept through Weight Watcher's and everything was down hill from there! Mike and I went to eat with some friends Saturday night who cooked a spread like you wouldn't believe. They had been watching food network and were trying out some recipes on us....none of which were on Weight Watcher's. Then when I got home Saturday, I cooked for a family gathering on Sunday...went to the family gathering, ate...ate....and ate some more.....at this point I'm feeling like a major failure...BUT alas, Monday morning rolled around and my new found WW buddies were sending me emails to see how "weigh in" went on Saturday, I confessed my sin....they built me up, cheered me on...etc....and so since Monday I have been back on track with only three goals for the week:

1) If you bite it write it (taken from my niece/BFF/WW Buddy).
2) Walk 3 times this week (2 down, 1 more to go)
3) Drink water!

I have to get through Saturday and I will have met my goals! Thank you accountability partners for holding me to task!

I have Accountability partners! YEAH!!!!

O.K., my neice and BFF (bet you younger people didn't know that I knew that lingo....), coordinated an email between us and three of her friends to hold each other accountable with WW. It couldn't have come at a better time as I have been on the "slippery slope" for a couple of weeks now....not journaling my food intake, not drinking water, not exercising....O.K., I'm full of "not's"....anyway, I feel revived after receiving my first email from Janice this morning to begin this " yet another new", journey! I just love it that life is full of new beginnings!

Back on the journey with a long trek to go....

O.K., I went back to weight watcher's at the beginning of the year and was excited about the new plan called "Momentum". In a nutshell this is trading processed foods for natural "living" foods! So, that said, I have started working on staying out of the center isles in the grocery stores and planning my menus around more fruits and vegetables. We have a great little produce store in our little now called "Main Street Market"....if you haven't been there, I would encourage you to check it out....they have fresh fruits and veggies, many locally grown....AND at about half the cost of the local grocery stores. Also, I purchased a great set of measuring spoons from Weight Watcher's....I intend to measure everything in an effort to promote portion control!