Week 7

   So I do not have a lot of time to type something out, sorry! This week has been crazy busy. However I did loose 4.2 pounds for a total of 9 pounds!!!!! I am so thrilled!!!! Oh my goodness this is so exciting for me. I am only a pound away from my 5% weight loss. Once I get there my roommate is treating me to one of my most favorite places to eat, Izzo's :) :) :)  I actually could have cheated a week ago when my sister offered to bring me Izzo's home from Baton Rouge, but didn't take the offer because I didn't want to reward myself before I had accomplished my goal.

  We started a completely new program this week called POINTSPLUS and  everything is different. I will tell yall more about it next week. This program just started this Monday so once I have about a week under my belt I will let yall know how things are going. Sorry I don't have time to say much more but I promise next week I will talk about some of my accomplishments/struggles from this week. Sorry for all of the :) and ! but if you can't tell I am SUPER EXCITED about my accomplishments this week. 

P.s. That's -4.2 coming off of Thanksgiving week. Guess planning ahead for about 2 or 3 weeks really does help out ;)

Week 5 and 6

So I kind of slacked last week, sorry about that guys! 

Week 5.. -1.8 for a total loss of 6lbs. This was such an exciting week for me. One of the biggest changes that I made was cooking rather than eating smart ones for almost every meal. I was so excited to see this number and so encouraged to try even harder the next week. 

Week 6.. +1.2. This was the dreaded day that I was hoping to never see for a long time, a plus :( Even though I was so encouraged by last weeks weight loss I slipped, A LOT. I didn't really track, and I ate more candy than I should have. It was tough to see that number this morning but it was definitely a wake up call. 

I noticed at one point this past week when I was eating junk that I wasn't thinking healthy, I was thinking diet. I was thinking as I ate the junk "Oh I'll just count it into my points and that will be good and plus I have the extra 35 points for the week." Until, the last time I ate the junk I reminded myself this is not just about weight loss, its about keeping my body healthy and glorifying the Lord. Once I reminded myself of that I became guilty of everything I had eaten. I didn't beat myself up over it, I just picked up from where I was and continued positively. Another big factor was my lack of exercise. I notice that when I do not exercise I eat poorly. This is an encouragement to exercise daily, or at least 4-5 a week. It helps me to make healthier food decisions. It's so sweet to be constantly reminded that I am doing this for the Lord and for my health. It is sweet to see the Lord work in every single aspect of my life, even what I am putting into my body.

 

Something else I reminded myself of this week was what my highest weight was. I have loss 6 pounds since I started weight watchers but 17 total pounds. Before I had started weight watchers I had somehow lost the 11 pounds. I think a large portion of that was when I had gotten sick the week before and couldn't eat for 3 days. And what I did try to eat or drink did not stay down. However, I lost a total of 17 pounds and that is something to be so proud of, and believe me I am very proud!!! :) I was wondering how I felt so good loosing only 6 pounds but when I realized that I lost 17 it all made sense. This has definitely encouraged me to continue this journey to being healthy. 

One last thing. One of the weight watchers members that went to the same meetings as I did passed away last week. Please keep her family in your prayers. She was such a sweet and happy lady!

Italian Sausage and Pepper Pasta

Here's a new recipe I found on the Weight Watchers website and decided to give it a try. Man oh man was that a great decision! I absolutely LOVED it :) So I wanted to share it with everyone just in case yall ever wanted to try it out. I used bell peppers instead of yellow peppers and tony's instead of the red pepper and also forgot the basil. It has 6 servings, which will be great to keep for throughout the week. After I ate lunch I portioned the rest of it out that way throughout the week all I have to do is grab a bag and warm it up.     I will try to share with yall when I come across great recipes that I really enjoy!    Course: main meals POINTS® Value:    5 Servings:  6 Preparation Time:  15 min Cooking Time:  25 min Level of Difficulty:  Easy   Spicy sausage, red wine and fire-roasted tomatoes come together in this ragout-like sauce. Truly hearty and satisfying. Ingredients 1/2 pound(s) raw turkey sausage, Italian-style, casings removed    2 tsp olive oil, extra-virgin    2 medium yellow pepper(s), cut into 2-inch long thin strips    1 medium onion(s), thinly sliced    1/2 cup(s) red wine    1 1/2 Tbsp minced garlic    28 oz canned crushed tomatoes, fire-roasted recommended    1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or less to taste    1/4 tsp table salt    8 oz uncooked whole-wheat pasta, fusilli    1/3 cup(s) basil, fresh, chopped    Instructions Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, to make sauce, in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, cook sausage, stirring and breaking up meat with back of a wooden spoon, until cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes; remove to a plate. Heat oil in same skillet. Add yellow peppers and onion; cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are lightly colored and crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add wine and garlic; cook until most of liquid evaporates, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, crushed red pepper, salt and browned sausage; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until vegetables are tender and sauce is heated through, about 10 minutes. While sauce simmers, add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package instructions. Drain pasta; return to pot. Add sauce and basil; toss to mix and coat. Yields about 1 1/3 cups per serving. Notes The sauce is also good spooned over rice. Toss in some fennel seeds for even greater flavor.

Week 4

-.8 for a total loss of 4.2 :)
I get so nervous/excited when I wake up on Wednesday "weigh in" mornings. I'm so excited to see the progress but so nervous at the same time. When I weighed in today I couldn't see the scale and she took a little longer to write the number so I got really nervous for a minute, but thankfully it turned out good. 
   The beginning of my week was a little rough. I was staying in my point range but I felt as if I were not eating well. I was saving points and eating some unhealthier things and after a few days I was starting to feel it. It's funny that even though I was eating my points, if it wasn't healthy it was making me feel different. I love the way a change of food and exercise can make you feel. Those days I was eating like that were also days that I was not exercising. Once I started exercising was when I started to truly feel guilty. It's amazing how much food and exercise go together. When I am exercising I crave healthier foods, when I'm not exercising I crave unhealthier foods. I love the feeling of craving healthy food. I tried onions and bell peppers in my salad for the first time this week and loved it! Well I didn't love the onions, I liked the onions but I loved the bell peppers. Now I am trying to game plan for thanksgiving. I know what I normally eat can not be eaten this year. I am so thankful that we have been talking about it in the meetings. By time thanksgiving day comes I will have thought about what I will eat on that day for about three weeks. Hopefully I'll stick to my game plan ;)
   I have been LOVING exercise! I kind of slacked at the end of the week last week, but on Saturday it was on. Saturday and Sunday I did the Biggest Loser bootcamp DVD. Man oh man I am still sore from it. It was much harder when I added the second part (week 3) to it that I had not been doing. On Monday I went to Jenee's bootcamp class at the rec at school. Well that just added to the soreness, but I love her class so much. She is so encouraging and so energetic. She's not one of those instructors who yell at you, she is super sweet which is why I think I am so motivated to work harder in her class. 
I also bought a bike this week :) My roomate Amanda has been having one for a few months now and we  have been talking about me getting one so that we can go on bike rides together. Well Santa came a little early this year and I got my bike this week ;) We rode our bikes to campus and then went pay our water bill and then back to the house and then later to the gym. haha We were so excited that day and just wanted to ride everywhere. The plan is to ride our bikes to the gym everyday, workout, and then ride home. We also want to go to the St. Tammany trace more often and ride along the trace for a few hours. I will probably bring my bike home on the weekends so my mom and I can ride together on Saturday mornings. I am so excited about this new fun way of exercise. 
  The most exciting phone call this week was when my mom called a few days ago. She went to the doctor and the doctor told her that she HAS to change her eating habits and get some weight off. I am so thrilled about this because I have been begging my mom to start weight watchers with me since I have started. I ask her to exercise with me when I am home but she always rejects. Well she totally has a new attitude on things and I am excited to start and continue this life journey with my mom. She is not doing weight watchers, she is doing something else the doctor suggested, but just being on this journey to healthiness together is exciting.

Week 3

Well it's been 3 weeks already! I lost .8 this week which gives me a total loss of 3.4!! That may not seem like much but it is healthy, about a pound a week.The lady at my meeting told me the slower you lose it the easier it is to keep off, so that was definitely motivation! The week was easy but the weekend was hard. I did really well during the week.  Ate right, worked out pretty much every day but then came the good ole weekend. I had a Halloween party Saturday night and I did great until the very end. I got hungry around 10:30ish and gave in. That wouldn’t have been too bad if I wouldn’t have had a bad day Sunday. Haha I went to the Saints game with my parents :) It was a night game so we tailgated all day long, therefore not leaving me many healthy choices. I was so scared to go weigh in on Wednesday but when she told me -.8  I was so excited!!! I thought for sure she was going to tell me plus not minus.

      I can already feel a difference and I love it! I measure my foods now, I grab smaller plates rather than larger plates which helps with portion control, I try to plan ahead, I park further away when I go places so that I have further to walk and if I miss an exercise I feel really bad and ready to go the next day.  I feel guilty when I eat badly, like on Sunday. I want to try to cook more and try new and healthier foods that I may not have ever tried in my life. I don’t crave fast food nearly as much as I used to. I know it has not been that long but I completely changed my mind set about so many things. I feel like it is so mental and before a few weeks ago that was the hardest thing for me to change.  Like I said before this is about glorifying God in ALL things, not just in some things.

My first 2 weeks

So here's the breakdown of my first two weeks.  I have a journal that I have been writing in so here's what's been going on.

Week 1: -2.2
 It was interesting. I lost 2.2 pounds which was so exciting! I have to continuously remind myself of my goal. I have a problem with focusing on my ultimate goal more than on my smaller goals. What I really like about weight watchers is that they help you to set smaller goals along the way. My first small goal is 5%. I am trying to focus more on that. After that it is 10% and so on. It helps and is not so discouraging to focus on the smaller goals than on the larger goal. Through this first week I have to constantly remind myself that this is not just about loosing weight but it is about being healthy and glorifying God with ALL things i do, especially my body. 

Week 2: -.4
   It was a little discouraging to only loose .4 but it was much better than a gain. It was kind of tough. I am having trouble getting all of my points along with all of my healthy oils, and fruits and veggies that I need to get everyday. I went to Angola on that Sunday and wasn't able to eat too healthy. I ran into my weakness, ice cream!!! Man oh man that is the hardest thing for me! I gave in and got some yummy ice cream. Then we had fast food on the way home. I tried to not get too bad of a meal but we were at burger king and their were not too many good choices. My goal for the next week is to stay on track as much as possible, however I know it will be hard because next weekend is Halloween and there is a party Saturday and tailgating all day Sunday and then going to the Saints game, but knowing this now I can plan ahead and stay as much on track as possible.

The begining to a GREAT end :)

10-10-10
What a great day this was. This was the day that I decided that I can no longer live overweight and feel "okay" about it. I sometimes will be sitting and can never get comfortable because my stomach is too big or I can't cross my legs or I can't breathe or I can't be physically active like I want. I am 22 years old and I should not have to be having any of these concerns, I should be healthy! A lot of my dad's side of the family are overweight and they are exactly who I am built like, and over time I have just accepted that and told myself that is how I will always be. When I was younger, I think in middle school, I was sent to a dietitian because I had gained 50 lbs in a year and my doctor was concerned, a few years ago I was tested for diabetes. You would think these things would put up a red flag for me but like I said I just got comfortable and was okay with who I was and how I was living my life. My dad would constantly tell me his concern for my weight but I would just brush it off time after time. Finally on October 10, 2010 I made the decision that this was no longer acceptable for myself. I can no longer continue to dishonor my body and continue to put junk into it day after day, time after time. It didn't just happen on that day, I had been thinking about it for awhile, that was the day it just all clicked and I completely made up my mind. But it is not just about me. God calls us to honor our bodies and I was in no way doing that. I strive my hardest to live my life daily to glorify the Lord and this is another step of doing so. I joined weight watchers that week and went to my first meeting on 10-13-10. I am going to the meetings and using the online tools. I am loving it so for! 3 weeks into it and I can already feel the difference.
I am starting this blog so that I can blog weekly about how things are going and have all of your accountability :) I was just watching a program where a lady had done this and she said it helped her tremendously! So I'm going to give it a try. I am super excited about this journey!! I know it will not always be easy but it will definitely be worth it :)