Powdered peanut butter?

Who would think you could buy a powdered peanut butter?! I never would have even thought it, but it's true and it's pretty tasty.  This was my new product find and I really like it.  I mean who wouldn't for 1 point! Now don't get me wrong it doesn't taste like the processed full of chemicals peanut butter that most people buy.  I have only been buying natural peanut butter with peanuts and salt being the only ingredients so it wasn't too far for me to go to switch to this.  To create the peanut butter you simply combine 2 tablespoons of the powder with 1 tablespoon of water and voila! You have peanut butter!  It tastes just like peanuts, who would have thought.

Last nights dinner was a quick throw together, and sometimes those are the best meals. I used some turkey kielbasa sliced up and sliced some peppers and onion and cooked it all together in a pan. Added a little bit of salt and pepper to taste along with some garlic powder and Italian seasonings. Normally when I make this I add sliced potatoes, but this time I didn't have any and rather than go to the store to buy some I chose to go without. And it was delish!

Yesterday was weigh in day..... And I ROCKED it! I was down 2.6 lbs this week! Considering we had pizza Friday night and Red Robin Saturday I am so happy with my loss. Friday night we ordered from Papa Murphy's and got the delight pizza. Hubby and I have noticed that our choices have changed drastically. Yes we can still go out or order out, but it's the choices we make when we do eat out. The biggest change is our focus. We (hubby and I) have our goals in mind of where we want to be and we know how to get there, we are on this journey together and we will be successful.

Fruits and veggies....who knew?!

So I've made it my goal to incorporate more fruits and veggies into my diet every day. I know that they (weight watchers) say that its essential to get enough in our diets and that we should have some with every meal. I was doing pretty good at that, but the last 4 or 5 days I have really been focusing on doing just that. Today is weigh in day so we shall see just how well that goes. I am pretty confident that its going to be a good day. :) I have gotten on my scale here at home and its looking good so far. Even after going to Red Robin and having a burger, fries and giant beer! And when I say giant beer, I mean the LARGE beer! (I was the passenger). It felt great to have something I was really craving, and it feels even better to be able to lose weight even having indulged. I know that it has helped that I increased my fruits and veggies. It didn't hurt that I was walking quite a bit this weekend as well. I took a hiatus from the elliptical and Zumba this week to give my knee time to rest. But this week it's back to work!

Tired of being the fat girl.....

Yes, I've had a "whoa is me" moment (evening).  I am trying to keep it in check and not let it get to me.  I have tweaked my knee some and I have been looking for a knee brace that will help. I am on the 3rd one. Finally, one that will fit around my thigh (the others wouldn't wrap around above my knee).  So that's a good thing, however it's huge around the knee part and when I walk it works its way down my leg. So I have to stop and pull it up and unfasten it and refasten.... So really how is this going to help or be productive?!  So yes I've been having my own little pity party tonight. I know I am just going to have to make it work, but it doesn't change the fact that it still sucks! If anything it is motivating me to lose the weight.  Even though I wanted nothing more than to get a huge over flowing bowl of fat free vanilla Greek frozen yogurt (we don't have ice cream in the house) and drown it with chocolate syrup, I restrained myself.  First I made a cup of tea (new product, more about that in a minute) and when I still wanted chocolate, I made myself a cup of sugar free hot cocoa (1 points plus).  Between the 2 they really hit the spot.  Not to mention saved me many extra points on junk!  (Yay me!)


When I checked the mail today it looked like Santa had been here! I read in a different blog a couple weeks ago about a wonderful tea.  So I checked it out and all the different teas sounded so good it was hard to choose which ones I wanted to try.  So I opted for the Cocomint Cream, Chocolate Chili Chai, Detox & Aloha Pu'erh.  As a bonus for ordering over $25 I received a bonus tea, so I chose Hot Lips.  Lucky me, when I opened my box there were 3 other samples included! They sent me Santa's Secret, Read My Lips & Alpine Punch.  After dinner hubby and I had a cup of tea.  OMG! They are so good! And they smell out of this world!  I had a cup of the Chocolate Chili Chai (yes, I crave sweets when I am frustrated and upset), it had a delicious chocolate flavor.  Amazing! Hubby had the Cocomint Cream, and he loved it! They are perfect!  Check out David's Tea, you won't be disappointed.

I got another package in the mail, but that will be tomorrow's post. :)

~Kari

MOVE IT!

This is what I have screaming to myself in my head for the past few days.  I have been very unmotivated!  Why, I am not sure.  I still have my goal in mind so it's not like that has changed any.  I think it's Mother Nature being a pain in the rump this month.  I have not given in to any cravings, so that's a huge bonus!  I did not want to get on the elliptical this morning...As a matter of fact I hit snooze until it was time to get up and get moving for the day.  So after hubby got off to work and little man was ready for school I had a little bit of time left over so I got my bootie on the elliptical.

Not too bad for literally dragging my bootie on it this morning.  This time I added resistance and an incline (Yay me!) so I am very proud of myself.

So in my weight loss process I've decide I need to do some research and find out what is going to work for me and my body.  Because as we all know this is a lifestyle change, not just a quick fad and I want it to be a healthy change for me.  Not to mention easy so that I don't feel like I am always killing myself to stay fit.  I Googled Weight loss and body types.  This is what I found for my body type.  The website address is at the end of this so you can take a look for your own body type.  (I am not endorsing or recommending any of the sites or plans that this is referring to, just posting the entire "blurb" that applies to me and my body.)

"The Endomorph
This body type stores fat very easily, and finds it hard to lose the fat. An endomorph often has a sluggish metabolism, and must be particularly careful with their diet. Here are some common characteristics of the endomorph body type:
- Tend to be naturally overweight
- Gain fat easily
- Find it difficult to lose the fat
- Larger around the waist
- Possibly sensitive to carbohydrates (particularly processed and refined carbs)
- Slow metabolism
- Body shape is more rounded or pear shaped
- Often has reasonable strength levels
If you are predominantly endomorphic - you will probably find that diet alone (i.e. diet without exercise) will not be enough to bring down your weight levels. Because you have a slow metabolic rate, it must be boosted with aerobic exercise and weight training.
You will probably need to be careful with carbohydrate consumption (and we are not saying here that carbs are the "enemy"). The traditional American Heart Association recommendations may not be the best thing, as they are typically high in carbohydrates. A balanced lower carb diet such as the Zone diet or South Beach Diet may be best. See our editors Top 5 diet plans for weight loss.
Although it seems like the hardest thing to do - good aerobic exercise in the morning will be very helpful. Unfortunately it seems like a cruel genetic "roll of the dice", that means endomorphs must work so much harder to keep the fat off.  
http://www.freedieting.com/body_types.htm "

So get up and GET MOVING!!
~Kari

Popcorn - NSV

Last night was a blast.  If you haven't played bunco, you should! It makes a fun girls night out! Everyone brought snacks and yea I did bring the egg rolls. I did really well, keeping my eating in check. I purposely didn't eat dinner before going.  I stayed within my points for the day with a few left over at the end of the night. The food was good and the company was great. I think next time I will eat dinner and bring veggies and refrain from the rest of the food. To help eliminate any temptations.

I am so excited I got my fitbit in the mail yesterday finally. I have had a hard time finding something that I like. I tried the body media arm band and didn't care for it. My skin is sensitive as well, and it was irritating my arm. I have also tried the activelink from ww and don't care for it either. Hubby has a fit bit and he really likes it.  The only thing I don't like is now I am entering my foods in two places. But I know if I don't log my foods in ww then I will start slacking and that's not what I want. I know I don't need to log my food in my fitbit, it's more for me to get an idea of how many calories I am actually eating now. So I will try to hold out for at least a few days and log both.

My NSV (non scale victory) for the day: going to the movies and not ordering anything. I did bring in  a 12 oz bottle of diet Pepsi. Normally hubby and I would get a popcorn, but knowing weigh in is coming in a few days I did not want that all that salt lingering in my body!

~Kari

Butternut Squash Soup

1 large butternut squash; peeled, seeded & cubed
1 large apple; peeled and chopped
1 large onion; chopped
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
3 cups chicken broth
3/4 c almond milk
6 oz plain fat free greek yogurt
salt & pepper to taste

In large pot mix squash, apple, onion, brown sugar, broth and spices.  Cover and heat to boiling over medium high heat.  Reduce and simmer about 15 minutes (squash should be fork tender). Using immersion blender (or food processor or blender) to liquefy the ingredients.  Put milk and yogurt in a bowl and add a little bit of the hot soup mixture slowly (about a cup) to temper them so they don't curdle.  Once that is mixed add those ingredients to the pot of soup and stir together.  Heat on low heat until heated through.  Enjoy!

VERY filling soup!  Makes about 8-10 servings.  3 points plus per serving.

Holiday aftermath

Successful staying on track yesterday!  It does help that we don't buy each  other chocolates or sweets.  My neighbor did being over some goodies.  It was very thoughtful of her, but I think I am going to toss them today.  I don't need that temptation staring me in the face everyday, and quite honestly we don't need them. Little man got enough goodies yesterday from school.

No Zumba this week, my cousin and I were supposed to go last night but she had a special event to attend and tonight is bunco! I am excited to play again, this will be my second time. Which reminds me, I need to make something to bring.... something ww friendly of course. Perhaps I'll take some southwest egg rolls..... That's a good finger food and always a hit.

I joined an online weight loss competition/motivator.  It is $25 to enter (you can still join) and you only have to lose 4% to win.  The winners split the pot!  I have 6.2# left to lose by March 9....3 weeks....  I can do this!  Here is the link if you want to join!  The more that join, the more money there is to split!!

TGIF!
~Kari

Commercials and temptation

Commercials can be the death of your diet.  Not only commercials, but commercialism.  Have you noticed that every where you look there is temptation haunting you.  Yes I realize I am writing this post on Valentines Day.  Just thinking of how big businesses have warped this day to be about needing reservations a week in advance, over priced flowers and insanely expensive "cheap" chocolates.  My husband and I don't celebrate Valentines on February 14th.  I don't feel like I need this day with all it's over priced "goodies" to show him I love him.  We don't let it go by un-noticed, I do buy him a card (and the kids).  

You can't even go clothes shopping anymore without being tempted to buy chocolates.  After you spend 30 minutes in the dressing room (hopefully happy with the end results) you get to the cash register only to be staring at a box of small delicious, fairly low priced chocolates.  Which generally are an elegant brand name so that you feel like you are indulging yourself.....  But you have to be careful that you don't over indulge in those tasty little treats.

We all enjoy getting that little something from our significant other.... I just don't believe we should pay for it (by physically over indulging or spending way too much money).  

Happy Valentines Day!

~Kari

A loss is a loss - (Recipe posted)

I know that sometimes it's hard to stay so focused on weight loss when you feel like you are busting your butt and you just aren't getting the results you think you should.  I know that there are weeks like that for me.  This week was one of them.  However, rather than get upset or frustrated because the scale was down .8 I choose to look at it as "I am headed in the right direction".  My knee has been bothering me a bit, nothing painful, but I have a feeling it's holding on to some water and that could be working against me in the weight loss department.  I have also gone from pretty sedentary to exercising 5 days a week.  So I know that has a lot to do with it as well.  I am not going to get discouraged or give up.  Rather I am going to persevere and increase workouts as time goes by.

I have done Weight Watchers more times than I'd like to admit, but you know what...if you stick with it and don't give up: IT WORKS!  Imagine that eating right and exercising will help you lose weight, who would have thought it?! As much as I'd like a quick fix, it's just not going to happen.  I feel that this time is different, my outlook on my weight loss is completely different.  I don't think I ever worked out as much as I have been this time. Even though the scale only reflected a .8 this week, I believe it's just taking some time for my body to catch up with me.  And I am OK with that!  I even bought some ice skates so I can get out there with little man and hubby to do some ice skating....  probably more like fall on my bootie a few hundred times, I will be burning off more calories just trying to get up off the ice than I will ice skating!  LOL

Here's a yummy recipe for you all, we had it for dinner a few weeks back.

Cheesy Chili Mac
1 lb ground turkey
28 oz canned tomatoes
20 oz canned kidney beans
8 oz 2% velveeta
1 1/2 c. wheat elbow noodles
1/2 c mushrooms
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped peppers
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. taco seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste

Cook ground turkey in a skillet, breaking up.  While doing that bring water to boil for pasta and cook the pasta.  Add garlic powder, salt & pepper to ground turkey while it's cooking.  When turkey is almost done add the vegetables then the rest of the seasonings.  When it's done cooking add the tomatoes and beans. Add cheese and then the noodles.  Stir well and enjoy!

Serves 8
7 points plus

Makes a yummy comfort food!
~Kari

Keeping focused

With the fast food chains on every block it seems harder and harder to maintain focus. My biggest vices are sweets and sweet coffee. (I like coffee in general.) This weekend I was reminded just how much I like sweets. Little man is in cub scouts and we have the Blue and Gold Banquet to go to. The competition is to bake a cake! So that's right up my alley since I am a baker by trade. I am loving this idea..... Until the baking begins....  The torture!!  The smell of fresh baked cake filled my house.  This is the reason I have temporarily  put my business on hold.  I need to focus on getting healthy before I can be around the temptation 24/7.  Thank God I have a husband that supports me 100%!

I did succumb to one craving yesterday, hubby and I had an impromptu lunch date at Pita Pit! I used about double the points I normally do for lunch, but it kept me full the whole day.  We had a low point dinner and the most important things, it was healthy and worth every single bite!! I still had enough points at the end of the day to have a glass of wine, I think it was a success!

That is the key, finding what healthy cravings you have, maintaining control, log all of your food and be sure it is worth the points that you are eating!  If you don't love the food and it's a high point food (or high in calories) then you really need to re-think it and decide whether or not it's going to be worth it.

So here are some of pictures of our cake, rules: little man has to help and it has to be 100% edible!

This post is brought to you from my elliptical. (Multitasking at its finest.) Helped me ROCK my time today! (Which coincidentally was a 20 minute workout on here and because I was typing on my iPad my hand kept hitting buttons and erased the time and calories. :( Darn it!  Longest workout yet and no proof!  :)  Oh well.

Happy Weekend!
~Kari

Those are chocolate moose, fish and crabs. :)

Tip Thursday ~ 25 Weight Loss Tips

1. Set realistic goals: 1/2 - 2 pounds a week is a healthy weight loss.
2. Journal: You will have greater success if you are journaling your food. (Take it a step further and journal your mood as well.)
3. Purge junk food: Donate all of the junk food in your refrigerator and pantry to a local shelter, get it out of the house!
4. Visual: Use a goal sized piece of clothing in constant view and an incentive. (I use a little black dress.)
5. Portions: Measure your portions.  In our Super Size society we have lost sight of the real portion sizes.  Read the Nutritional Information and measure.
6. Support: Enlist the help of your spouse, family and friends.  It makes your journey easier with help. Find an online support group, Weight Watchers or Spark People are both good resources.
7. Exercise: I know this is a bad word (to me too), but start off small by just taking a walk.  Every time you take a walk increase it just a little bit and before you know it you'll be walking a mile.
8. Meals: Plan your meals for the week & do your grocery shopping based on your meal plan.
9. Eating: Eat 3 meals a day & small snacks in between.
10. Fruits & Veggies: Be sure to always keep plenty of fresh fruit and veggies on hand.
11. Moving: Buy a pedometer to track how much you really move.  You should be getting 10,000 steps a day! You will be surprised!
12. After 8: Make it habit not to eat after 8 pm.
13. Plates: Get rid of your large dinner plates and start using smaller plates to keep your portions in check.

14. Cut out calories: Make small changes. No soda, sweet drinks & alcohol.  Instead try adding some lemon or lime to your water, or try making some "spa water" by adding slice cucumber or melon to your water.
15. Water: Drink plenty of water, you should roughly be drinking 1/2 your body weight in water a day.
16. Meal time: Put your fork down between bites.
17. Incentives: Give yourself mini goals with some sort of reward when you reach your goal.
18. Spices: Season your food to really taste it.  Don't dip it or cover it up.
19. Table: Eat your meals at the dinner table. Don't stand in the kitchen, sit in front of the TV, in the car or at your desk.
20. Eating out: Have a plan before you go.  Look up the menu online before you leave home, pick what you want and don't look at the menu when you get there. Ask for your salad dressing on the side and ask that the chef use NO oil when cooking your meal, and as always drink plenty of water.
21. Scale: Weigh yourself at the same time of the day.  Your weight will fluctuate with the day.  Weigh yourself regularly - but not too often.
22. Leftovers: Put a serving in plastic ware & label it, that way when you take it out of the freezer you know exactly what is in there. (Label with the nutritional info that you use to track.)
23. Grocery shopping: Don't do it when you are hungry.  Keep a small snack in your purse in case of emergency. :) Stick to the perimeter of the store where all the fresh foods are.
24. Don't deprive yourself: Slip ups happen don't let it ruin the entire day or week.  It's OK to have that treat.
25. Remember slow is good.  Slow and steady go hand in hand and are always a winner.

Giving myself permission

Why is procrastination so darn easy?!  This morning I really wanted to just sleep and not get up to work out.  I did sleep a little longer than I had planned, but I finally did drag my bootie up out of bed.  Got my water, made coffee and grabbed my iPhone and hopped on the elliptical.  I told myself I was just going to do 10 minutes.  (We talked about giving ourselves permission to do things that we would normally have guilt about in this week's Weight Watcher meeting, will touch on this more in a minute.)  So I thought I would give myself permission to just do 10 minutes.  Once I got on the elliptical though, I pushed myself I wanted to get at least the 18 minutes that I had gotten the last time, so that was my goal for this morning.  And you know what, I did it!  (Yay me!!!)
 

I like the idea of giving yourself permission to do or not do something that you would normally feel guilty about.  However, I think the first time that I actually do it I am going to fall back on that on a regular basis and not do things and then I will just be headed in the wrong direction.  I know that my permission would be to not work out.  Let's face it, I am not a huge fan of exercising (really...you thought all this weight just magically appeared didn't you!?) and the first time I give myself permission to NOT exercise I am doomed.  This isn't my first time doing WW.  (I know the program works, and every time I give myself permission to do it on my own, I slack off and gain all that weight back and then some.) So the moral of my story is that I will have to hold off giving myself permission to NOT do something, I believe I will be ok giving myself permission to do something for a shorter amount of time so long as I am still doing it.  Because like this morning the thought of posting a picture of my elliptical to the Facebook Group of a time that is less than the time before.  So I am sure that will be my motivator to get at least what I got the time before!  (That is what I am telling myself!)

And here as promised is my food journal from yesterday.  I had to cut the word morning off the top to show the activity points that I earned.

It's OK to give yourself permission to change things around, just be sure that it's not something that will set you up for failure.

~Kari

Strike a Pose!

I have always felt self conscious about having my photo taken.  Primarily because I have HATED the way that I look in the photos.  I have been chubby my entire life.  I look back on photos of me when I was a kid and yep, the chubby one of the bunch, that's me.  However I would KILL to be the weight I was in high school.  When I look at the photos (the few I actually have from that time period) I think, OMG how did I think I was fat then?!  Granted I was overweight, but nothing like I am today.  The good thing about it, I have the pictures to look at.  But over the last 10 years I don't have very many photos of me at all.  Which makes me sad on one hand because what will my kids have when I am gone?  I want to get past this feeling of "ICK" every time a camera comes out. A friend of mine posted this article on Facebook this last week and it really hit home with me.  Take a minute and read it; especially if you are always avoiding the camera.

Enjoy!
~Kari

Tracking & Exercising Together

Last night when I went to bed I was determined that I was getting up early to workout. I am happy to say that I did it! (Yay me!) And I do have to brag: I am so proud of my hubby!  He got up when the alarm went off this morning and worked out on the elliptical.  He is a huge supporter and it means the world to have him right by my side on this journey with me.  It is always easier to workout when you have a "buddy" to workout with.  My cousin and I bought a Groupon for a Zumba class and we will be starting it on Thursday.  I am so excited about this!  I love Zumba.  I am not co-ordinated what SO EVER, but that's the great thing about it, nobody in there cares or judges you because most of them are learning as well.   

Tracking is another very important key to weight loss and helping to maintain that weight loss.  I am going to start posting my tracking journal to here every day for all the world to see.  Why am I doing this, you might ask.  To keep myself accountable!  Not to mention that if any of you are struggling you will see another example of someone who is struggling right along with you and you will know that it CAN be done!  We will struggle through it and be successful together!  Please feel free to leave comments with a picture of your tracked food or just type it in.  This will push me to get more workouts done because it will show the Activity Points that I've earned as well.  

Here is mine from yesterday. 

Mondays are hard for me because I have my meeting at noon.  I am a little bit superstitious about eating too much before I weigh in, then I find myself starving afterwards.  I have been good about bringing a few snacks with me to eat on my way home so I am not ravenous by the time I get there and just pig out on whatever I can get my hands on.  This has worked pretty well for me so far.  

For those of you who need another motivator I have started a Diet Bet game!  All you have to do is lose 4% to split the pot!  The buy in for it is only $25.  For those of you who'd like to join click here.  This will be a great way to encourage one another!  The game starts on February 18 and lasts only 4 weeks!  

Find that buddy or motivator and GET MOVING!

~Kari

The Big Game: Super Bowl 2013

Today is the day!  Do you have your food choices planned?  If you are going to someone else's house for the big game, stop on the way and pick up a veggie tray!  Just because you aren't preparing the food doesn't mean that you can't have control over it.  You ARE in control over what goes in your mouth!  Be sure to track everything you eat!  That will help you keep your eating and calories in check.  According to Fox News we consume about 1200 calories during the Super Bowl.  That's a scary thought!

Here is a delicious recipe for you to try!  We will be serving this up in our house for the big game!

Southwestern Egg Rolls
1 lb ground turkey
1 small onion, chopped
1 c. canned black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
20 egg roll wrappers

Preheat oven to 400.  Cook turkey and onion in a skillet over medium heat, break into small pieces.  Stir in the spices and continue to cook.  Add beans.  Place egg roll wrapper on work surface in with a corner pointed towards you (like a diamond shape).  Place 2 tablespoons of filling on the wrapper.  Fold the bottom of the wrapper towards the center and roll once, then fold the sides in. Roll towards the top when you have a small diamond at the top use a small bit of water to wet the edges of the wrapper and finish rolling to seal it.  Place egg rolls on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake about 15 minutes and flip at least once to get a golden brown on all sides.

Dipping Sauce

1/2 c. enchilada sauce
1/2 c. fat free greek yogurt

In small bowl mix well.

Enjoy the game, commercials, half time and your friends!  Just don't over do it with you food!  :)

You CAN do this!
~Kari

Wake Up Call

This morning hubby and I were supposed to get up an hour early and workout.... Yea that didn't happen.  (I really need to start setting my own alarm.)  I want to work out before little man gets up and the day gets started, unlike now I drop him off at school and then come home do the dishes and other housework then finally do my work out.  And quite frankly it's just too easy for me to procrastinate and not work out.  So this morning after I dropped him off at school I came home and jumped on the elliptical.  (Yay me!)

The elliptical is in my bedroom, and we have mirrored closet doors and a large mirror over the jacuzzi tub (yes there's a jacuzzi tub in our room) so needless to say seeing myself work out is inevitable!  And it's a HORRIBLE site!  That alone is incentive to keep me moving!  That vision in the mirror reminded me that I have yet to take my "before" pictures and my measurements....  So folks guess what I did after my work out on the elliptical....you guessed it.  Pictures and measurements.  (Yay me!)

I don't typically like having my picture taken and I think that has enabled me to gain so much weight.  As I sit here and type this I see my reflection in the mirror and it's horrid!  I am going to be sure to take LOTS of pictures of myself along this journey so that I NEVER get to this point ever again!  Food is just NOT worth this!  I have an entire person to lose!  Scary thought!!

Be sure to take those "before" pics so that you can remind yourself what you NEVER want to look like again.  It will come in handy when you find yourself tempted in the future.

Here's to getting rid of my 2nd person and never finding "it" again!
~Kari