Weight Loss

So I haven't posted in a while, since then I have been diagnosed with PCOS otherwise known as Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome, which causes a bunch of crazy symptoms, my problem symptom is gaining weight with difficulty losing it. I have started taking meds to help with that among other symptoms such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and I'm considered pre-diabetic. I am once again struggling to lose weight, but since my youngest son was born in August I have lost over 30lbs total. I have a love/hate relationship with diet and exercise. I will do really well at it for a long time and then fall of the wagon. I just have to do this though. I need to be healthier and happier for my children and my husband. I don't want to feel fat and miserable all the time or be depressed about the way I look and frightened when I see myself in full length mirrors or reflection in store windows.(I do not own a full length mirror so it's shocking when I see that.

So I'm just gonna lose being afraid to talk about my weight so here goes. After my son Charlie was born I weighed 209 lbs. I currently am at about 178(until I weigh again this week). I am not following any specific "diet". I was advised to follow the diabetic diet, which I sort of follow but not completely, I do keep my calorie intake for the day between 1000-1200. I eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and 3 snacks every day. I also drink a minimum of 64oz of water daily. On top of that I have several glasses of tea with sweet n low instead of sugar.

But this week I found a website that I LOVE it is: www.myfitnesspal.com if your looking for some extra help you should definately check it out.

I am always looking for tips for losing weight & healthy recipes, so tell me what works for you.

Menu Planning Monday

Menu for this week:

Monday: Leftover Chili from Sunday

Tuesday: Taco Crescent Bake

Wednesday: Pork Chops, Green beans & Carrots
Pork Chops are dipped in beaten egg & coated in italian style breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese mixed together. Then baked at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes or until done. I will steam the frozen green beans, the carrots I used canned & then add about 1/4 cup brown sugar and honey.

Thursday: Leftover Taco Crescent Bake

Friday: Chicken Tetrazinni
1 box Spaghetti cooked, 2 cans cream of chicken soup, 2 cans cheddar cheese soup,

1 lg can chunk chicken breast

Heat soups and chicken in a pan mix all ingredients and serve.

Saturday & Sunday Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes & Corn

For my Meatloaf I use about 2.5lbs Ground Beef 1 envelope Onion Soup mix, 1-2 pkgs of saltine crackers crushed & 2 eggs. Mix all ingredients well shape into loaf and cook covered in a roasting pan with a little water in the bottom for about an hour, then I remove the cover the last 15 to 20 minutes.

For more menu planning ideas and recipes don't miss: I'm an Organizing Junkie

I'm back!

Well, it's been a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time since my last post, and ALOT has changed in my life. I am now the mother of three beautiful children. I had another baby in August of 2009. It was quite an experience. I went in for my scheduled induction and after they broke my water, little Charlie had a prolapsed cord, so I ended up having an emergency c-section to save his life. In the process I almost lost my own because I lost so much blood, I ended up needing a blood transfusion and was confined to my bed for nearly a week. We are doing great now, he is almost 5 months and perfectly healthy, we are going in for a check up later this morning to find out how much he has grown. Now that I am no longer expecting I am back on my Weight Loss Journey. So far since December 30, 2009 I have lost 8lbs, and 2 inches around my waist. I am not on any specific "diet plan" I am just eating consciously and exercising for an hour a day on my new Wii Fit Plus. We are also remodeling or actually reconstructing our entire upstairs. I'll try and post pics later of the "work in progress".

Continuing my Weight Loss Journey

Week 1 back at Weight Watchers was 3.4lbs lost! Tonight will be week 2 back at Weight Watchers. Hopefully I will do half as good as I did last week. I have done well for the most part I think. I did have a bad weekend.

Continuing weight loss journey

Hello anyone who is reading, I haven't been posting lately. I had carpal tunnel surgery in the beginning of September and after recovering from that I hurried to finish getting my School Bus Driver Permit so I could start driving the bus route my kids ride while it was available to me. I finished on September 23rd. I started driving the bus that afternoon after passing my driving tests. I started back to Weight Watchers on Monday of last week. I have not been successful with weight loss on my own, I do not want to take any pills, I didn't need them to get fat, I can get thin again without them too. I tried taking Alli and cannot deal with the side effects of that horrid pill. Not only is it very expensive to keep buying but the side effects or "treatment effects" as they call them are dreadful. So I figure for the past several months I have been paying for those pills so I would put that money towards my Weight Watchers meetings instead. So all that being said tonight was my first weigh in and I lost 3.4lbs!!! Yay for me! I'll post again next week if I can remember!

My Weight Loss Journey Week 7

Okay everyone, as you all know I started this journey to attempt to lose two dress/pant sizes by my sister-in-law Kendra's wedding which is Aug. 30. I have not quite gotten the full two sizes but I have continued to lose weight and will keep it up even after the wedding. Here are this weeks stats I lost another 1.4lbs for a total lost of 9.6lbs. Inches lost are Arm: -1/4", Bust:-0,
Waist: -3/4", Hips: -3/4", Thigh -1"! Yeah for me!!

My weight loss journey Week 6

OK, first off I know I missed last week completely, with school registrations for both children and trying to finish up all my certifications for being a school bus driver, I was slightly busy. So here are the stats for this week. I have now lost a total of 8.2lbs. Measurements are Arm:-1/4" / Bust: -1" / Waist: -3/4" / Hips: -1/4" / Thigh: -0. Well thats all for this week. See you all again next week!!!

Menu for Saturday Aug. 9 thru Friday Aug. 14

BREAKFAST

S-Bacon, eggs n toast

S-Biscuits n gravy

M-Cereal

T-Poptarts

W-Cereal

T-Poptarts

F-Cereal



LUNCH

S-chicken patties on buns w/ french fries

S-garlic bread pizza

M-bologna sandwiches n chips

T-corn dog muffins

W-veggie soup w/ grilled cheese

T-pizza cups

F-dogs in sweaters



SUPPER
S-rosemary chicken w/roasted potatoes

S-Grilled Herb Tilapia w/ grilled potatoes

M-Steaks w/ baked potatoes

T-Grilled Shrimp w/ veggies

W-Herb Tomato Grilled Chicken w/ potatoes

T-Super Grilled Salmon w/ veggies

F-Cumin rubbed grilled pork chops w/ cheesy potatoes

For more fabulous menu planning ideas head on over to Organizing Junkie! http://orgjunkie.com/2008/08/menu-plan-monday-august-11th.html

Making Flubber

Okay, as I have said before I hate with a passion this nasty hot weather. I am babysitting three children plus I have two of my own who are bored, bored, bored inside. I decided tomorrow we are going to do a project. We are going to make flubber we did it with the kids at their fun night on saturday, and I thought the kids would get a kick out of it. First the preacher found the idea on this website: www.omsi.edu/visit/chemistry/flubber.cfm

Okay now the recipe on that page makes an insane amount of flubber so I have halved the recipe, which still makes a large batch of flubber. I use quart freezer storage bags because they are simple and sturdy. You will need two bags for each "batch" of flubber you make, you will also need white school glue, borax, warm water & food coloring to color your flubber.

Container 1: 8oz white glue
few drops of food coloring(I use 20 drops to make
vibrant colors)
3/4C warm water
Mix these ingredients together very well.

Container 2: 2/3C warm water
1 1/2t borax
Mix these together very well & make sure the borax is dissolved in the warm water. Then pour the contents of container 2 into the contents of container 1. Mix well with your hands, squeeze out air if necessary. It will turn to "flubber" as you mix and mix. If their seems to be too much water you can pour some off, but make sure you have mixed well first. I pull the flubber out of the baggy and place in a bowl to let some of the water air dry for a few minutes then it is ready for play! It needs to be kept in a baggy or it will dry out due to the glue in it. My kids love playing with this stuff it is similar to slime only not nearly as ooey gooey and sticky, I would say it is similar to putty only not as stretchy.

P.S. I will post a few pics of this project and the finished result just as soon as I can get my digital camera working again.

Yummy Artichoke Dip

4 oz fat free cream cheese, softened
1/2 C skim milk
1 14oz can artichoke hearts in water, drained
2 1.4 oz envelopes vegetable soup mix
1 garlic clove, pressed
2 T lemon juice
1 8oz container fat free sour cream
grated fresh parmesan cheese optional

Preheat oven to 450*. Whisk cream cheese in bowl until smooth, add milk, whisk again til smooth. Chop artichokes & add them, soup mix & garlic to bowl with cream cheese & mix well. Microwave on high 5-7 minutes or until hot (do not boil). Add in the lemon juice and sour cream and stir well. Pour into an oven safe bowl. If desired grate parmesan cheese over dip & bake for about 13-15 minutes. Serve with warm sourdough or beer bread cubes.

I tried a recipe like this at a friends on saturday, she is a pampered chef consultant and gave me the card to make my own, so of course I changed it to make it lower in fat or "points" for weight watchers. This makes approximately 12 servings of 2T each. I am figuring about 1 point per serving, but I am not a professional weight watchers lady so don't hold me to it. By the way this is incredible and I could never stop eating at just two tablespoons!!!

My Weight Loss Journey Week 4 Pt.2

Okay everyone I weighed this morning and I lost another 3.8lbs for a total loss so far of 6.2lbs Yeah! I deserved it too I worked my tushy off literally!

My Weight Loss Journey Week 4 Pt. 1

Okay this week I took my measurements again on Tuesday like last week and here are the fabulous results. I lost Arm: -1/4" Bust: -1" Hips: -1 3/4" Thigh: -0(This discouraged me until I read an article saying it was the hardest weight to lose, that you had to lose a significant amount of fat in the rest of your body to start working on that inner thigh fat) Waist: -2 1/4" WOW. Hopefully the scale will be nice to me tomorrow as well. See you all again next week.

Menu for Saturday Aug. 2 thru Friday Aug. 8

BREAKFAST
Sa-Cereal
Su-Biscuits n gravy
M-breakfast scramble
T-French Toast
W-Poptarts
T-Cereal
F-Pancakes

LUNCH
Sa-Pizza Snacks
Su-Chicken Tenders w/fries
M-Tatertot Casserole
T-Veggie Soup w/grilled cheese
W-Ravioli
T-Bologna & Chips
F-Fzn. Pizzas

SUPPER
Sa-Brats n chips
Su-Beef Roast w/ potatoes, peas & carrots
M-Meatloaf n gravy, mashed taters & corn
T-Boneless Pork filets w/ mac n cheese
W-Bacon wrapped chicken fillets w/ broccoli & mushroom rice
T-Steaks & baked potatoes
F-Rosemary Chicken w/ roasted potatoes

My Taco Popcorn Snack

1 bag 94% fat free microwave popcorn popped
1/2 pkg taco seasoning
2T parmesan cheese
spray butter

I spray a little spray butter on the popcorn then sprinkle with parmesan cheese and taco seasoning give it a shake and enjoy. It is a quick easy different snack for me. Me and the kids love it!

My Weight Loss Journey Week 3

Okay, I did not do well on the weight loss this week at all! I am not making excuses for myself, I just didn't do well, I exercised regularly and I ate right that is until Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. We went to holiday world this past weekend. Rather than fix supper friday night while we were packing and such we had pizza and breadsticks, need I say BAD, I did fairly well while we were gone over the weekend, but Monday night we weren't even close to ready to go back to normal so we had leftover pizza and breadsticks again. So my weight loss this week was horrid, I actually gained. I have now gained back and have only a total loss of 2.4lbs. Measurements Waist -1inch, Thigh -1 1/4inch, Upper Arm -1/4inch, Bust -1 3/4inch and lastly apparantly I did not measure my Hips properly or my husband measured a different area this week than I did last week because they grew +1 1/4inch which isn't likely compared to the other losses.

Hopefully I will do significantly better this week. I never said it was gonna be easy!! I just wish it came off as easy as it goes on!!

Lack of New Recipe posts this week

I apologize for all the missing recipes and pictures this week. My husband has been working overtime the past few weeks. On a regular day he leaves at 5am and doesn't return home until 5:30pm. The past few weeks he hasn't been returning until 9 or 10pm. Which leaves me to take care of our two little monsters by myself all day. I also babysit three other children during the day. I do have to say I have moved single parents up to a completely new pedestal. I honestly don't know how they do it all! I think I would go crazy if I didn't have any help from DH. I have been known to gripe occasionally about the lack of help from him around the house but man do you ever realize how much they help you by not doing anything but entertaining the kids.

My Weight Loss Journey Week 2

Okay everyone, this week I have been really discouraged. I am only on my second week of weight loss and total I have like 44 more pounds to lose to get to a healthy weight. I am so incredibly focused this time around I have never wanted to lose my weight as bad as I do now. I took all my measurements this morning and weighed. I didn't take my measurments last week, so I don't know if I lost any inches or not(wish I had), as far as weight went I gained 0.6lbs which isn't too awful bad...but when you consider that I have been using 17-23 of my points allowance of 23 points it is very dissappointing for me. I have exercised daily walking at least a mile and the last three days I have started including upper and lower ab crunches and I still gained. I am seriously hoping that it is either muscle gained(ya know they say muscle weighs more than fat) or any woman knows the other reason it "might" be. Lets just hope its one of the too. Until next week everyone, then I can share any inches lost with you too. WooHoo!

Basement

Okay...I would really really like to get my basement all clean and organized so that it could be used for storage. I would post before pics, but honestly I am too totally ashamed to show you what it looks like. It is really awful! I went down there this morning and took a good look around and I am really overwhelmed. I know that I can do it, but man is it gonna be hard. It will be extra exercise for my weight loss which is a plus. I think my problem is there is so much that I just don't know what to do with. There are a ton of old glass jars that aren't worth anything as far as selling them, and they need to be recycled, however there is no recycling center that accepts glass around here that I am aware of.

My Weight Loss Journey Week 1

Okay, I weighed in last wednesday, and I'm posting late. I lost 6.6lbs last week my first week. I did really well on my walking I only missed one day. I was really proud of my loss!

My Homeade Laundry Detergent Recipe

1 Bar Fels Naptha Soap
1 Cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1 Cup 20 Mule Team Borax Soap
1 Cup Oxi-Clean

I shred up the bar of Fels Naptha Soap with a cheese grater into an old ice cream bucket or gallon container with lid, then add in the remaining ingredients, give it a stir or a shake to mix up all the soaps. I put in 1/4 Cup per load and it lasts me at least a month usually. The box of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, Borax Soap and oxi-clean usually last me for several months, as I can never remember the price of each. The Fels Naptha soap I buy at the grocery store it costs me $1.06, Borax soap is usually around $6 a box, washing soda is less than $3 & I believe oxi-clean is around $7-$10 depending on if it is sale or not. As you can see even if you add up all the ingredients to start making it it only costs roughly $20. Compare this to the price of Tide which I was using and having to buy every other week, because I thought it cleaned my clothes better than anything else, this homeade laundry soap gets my clothes just as clean as tide ever did for way less $ and the soaps last me for months.