One small change - June 15, 2013

Pin It Last week's small change was to try and change up my breakfast.  As I mentioned before, I eat the same thing for breakfast nearly every single day (oatmeal, banana, peanut butter).  My plan this week was to try a different breakfast two times during the week.  On Saturday I made myself a delicious omelet with lots of veggies, some Canadian bacon and low fat cheese.  It was yummy, as I suspected it would be.  On Sunday I had Corn Bran Squares with banana and blueberries.  Another nice breakfast.  I learned two things - Corn Bran Squares do not keep me full as long as oatmeal, but eggs do.  The problem is...the omelet took WAY more time to prepare (hands-on prep) than I am interested in spending on a work-day morning.  Lesson of the week: eggs on the weekend, oatmeal during the week.  Small change of the week....done!

Next week I have committed to make a change back to an old habit: tracking.  I have been tracking for the first part of the week and then by late Wednesday/Thursday I stop.  I don't know why, but I do.  For three years I tracked faithfully, but lately I'm falling behind.  This week I will track for the full seven days - no matter what.

My other small change this week is to try and find a new power food.  For those of you are WW members, you know those foods - they have the green triangle next to them :)

Ok, here we go.. another new week with loads of possibilities!

We've broken up...

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As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, it has become necessary for me to break up with the bakery lady at Sobeys.  She just knows me too well and I am not comfortable with that level of closeness - especially when I don't know her name.  So the past two weekends have been... wait for it.... red-velvet-free weekends :(  Sure, I miss my friend at the bakery who knows my "usual", but sadly the fact that she KNEW my usual was an indication of a serious matter that I needed to get hold of.  I did have a "big" treat this weekend (cheesecake), but that's not something that is a) readily available to me and b) an item likely to send me over the edge.  Cupcakes, on the other hand, are a different story.

So I have managed to go to Sobeys two Saturdays in a row and have avoided the cupcake display completely.  I think I will try to go until vacation to have another red velvet.  After my trip to Ottawa, if I have not gained weight, maybe (MAYBE) I will treat myself to a red velvet when I return.

Nothing much to report beyond my two weekends sans red velvet.  Making an old favorite this week (Stuffed Cabbage Casserole) and am considering a Rhubarb Coconut Muffin (snagged some fresh rhubarb from Mom today!)  Will report back on the muffins if they turn out.

Oh, I nearly forgot.  Each week at WW, Fiona asks us to write on the back of our weekly one small change we will make for the week, based on the topic we discussed.  I am going to start blogging about my "One Small Change".  This week's change is to switch up my breakfasts a bit.  For nearly 4 years now, I have been eating (nearly every day) oatmeal with peanut butter and banana (sometimes I go wild and will swap out the banana with an apple... or throw in some blueberries if I'm feeling crazy).  I eat this because it keeps me full, it's low in points (5!) and it's quick and easy.  I do realize that I need t make a change though.  Perhaps I'll try an egg some morning this week.  I already mixed things up on Saturday by having an omelet rather than oatmeal...crazy, I know!  Today's was different too, but I'll leave you with some mystery.  I'll try posting each Saturday on the previous week's "One Small Change"... stay tuned!

Have you missed me?

Pin It A good friend of mine mentioned to me this week that she missed reading my blog.  I didn't realize it had been so long since I'd posted.  Not a lot has gone on since I last posted in March.  Work and life have been crazy and I am still struggling to get back to goal. 

I haven't been to the gym much in the last month or so, but I've been walking my butt off (literally...it hurts...my butt).  We started a pedometer challenge in my office at the beginning of May (I'm on team Scrambled Legs), so I feel the need to walk, and walk, and walk again.  I never realized I had a competitive streak until this challenge :)

Last week at WW, the topic was Dining vs Eating.  We eat to survive (often mindlessly) and dining should be an enjoyable experience and we should be completely present when we dine.  As a single girl, I tend to eat alone most of the time (don't awwww, I like "me-time"!).  A side effect of eating alone is... sitting in front of the TV with a plate on my lap.  This prompted The Great Dining Room Table Challenge (you can see the pictures on my Pinterest board).  I went to the dollar store and got myself some cool (cheap!) dishes and last weekend I set the table for most of my meals (really, you should look at the pics...they look kinda cool!).  I had fun with it!  I found I paid more attention to my meals - both while preparing and while eating them.  I felt a bit special eating at the dining room table off of cool dishes with candles and flowers :) 

This week (again), I was up at WW.  Not 100% sure why, but I am not focusing on that this week.  I made good choices this week, I focused on dining instead of just eating and I also walked the equivalent of a half-marathon (a bit more actually)...not all at the same time - over 4 days.  This week coming I have a lot of challenges (food-wise) to face - a work function tomorrow night and another one on Wednesday night (that involves Chinese food...which I've been craving forever!!!) and I have lunch with a supplier on Thursday.  Those of you who have known me/read my blog for long will know that while losing weight, I avoided eating out.  I do better when I eat at home and avoid restaurants.  This week freaks me out a tiny bit, BUT I have gone into my online tracker for those three days and have pre-planned my days, allowing for my "wants". 

Speaking of people who know me well....  I have a Saturday ritual that I follow.  I go to WW, then I get groceries (sometimes I brunch in between the two).  I almost always get two items with my Saturday groceries:  a red velvet cupcake and sushi (I count the points, don't worry!).  Keeping in mind, I don't always go to the same grocery store (one has better sushi, the other better red velvet).  Well, today I went to Sobeys near WW and went to the baker counter - the lady looks at me and says "Red velvet, right?"  Oh my... my name is Tanya... and I'm a cupcake-aholic :(  Think I have a problem?  I think it must be bad when the bakery person knows my "usual"!!  Oh well.... could be worse I suppose!

I won't make any promises, but I am going to try to write more.  I miss you guys!

You can't look back, you can only go forward

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Picture on the far right was when I lost 100 pounds (2 years ago)

I know I've been rather quiet here in blog-land this year.  This is mainly because I feel as though I've fallen off the wagon and have let people down.  As you'll see from my weight tracker, I am seriously over goal.  It's not that the program stopped working... it's that I did.  I'm still tracking...most of the time...until I get to a point of self-entitlement and then I blow it.  I won't go into details because I was given great advice today at Weight Watchers by Anne Marie - you can't look back.  Look at the total lost as of today (106.8 pounds) and go forward from there.  As of Tuesday coming (March 12) I will be celebrating two years of having lost 100 pounds.  I never would have thought that I would have kept 100 pounds off for two entire years. 

Now for the next several months (not saying how many), I will concentrate on losing the weight I have put on.  I am grateful that I have gotten a hold of this before it became 20, 30, 40 or even more.  I have an arrangement with a good friend of mine who also struggles to maintain and I am hoping we can encourage each other, while keeping each other accountable.

I was reading one of the Weight Watchers message boards on Facebook the other day and someone else posted about how difficult maintenance was and how they, too, had started to re-gain.  Someone said that they had come to the realization that when they first got to goal the compliments poured in at every turn.  For months afterwards you are running into old friends and it boosts you up time and time again when they "notice".  Eventually though, the novelty wears off, the compliments stop coming and real life sets in and people see the "new" you as just... you :)  I think my mistake, and many other maintainers, was not finding something in my own life to replace that euphoria of the compliments.  I'm not sure if this makes sense, but I totally got what this person was saying.  I'm not saying that I want people to continue complimenting me - the problem is with me, not the people around me.  It's something I need to work on.

So onward and upward (forward!).... stay tuned!

On another note, I'm trying Davids Teas in the hopes that the yummy flavours will keep me from snacking on sweets :)

Epicure's Everyday Meatloaf with a twist

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Epicure's Everyday Meatloaf with a twist

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) skim milk
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) dry breadcrumbs
• 3 Tbsp (45 ml) Epicure's Seasoning for Meatloaf
• 2 lbs (1 kg) lean ground beef, chicken or turkey
• Epicure's Sea Salt, to taste 
• Large bell peppers (any colour), sliced into 8 thick rings (about 1 ") (the peppers are the twist!)

 Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375° F (190° C).
2. Whisk eggs and milk in a large bowl. Stir in breadcrumbs and Seasoning for Meatloaf.
3. Add meat and Sea Salt, and mix well.
4. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or tinfoil (spray if using foil!) and place pepper rings on sheet.
5. Divide meat mixture between pepper rings and pat down.
6. Bake approximately 40 minutes (make sure no pink in the middle!)
7. Brush with Epicure's Chipotle Ketchup and, if desired, add cheese and broil until melted.

Delicious!!!!!!!

Un-ribs are...

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Meh...

Here's the after picture, as promised.  Roasted squash and oven fries, broccoli and my version of "ribs".  Overall they are not bad, but unfortunately they've missed the mark with respect to tasting like ribs :(  Next time I might try the What's for Dinner for wings...without actual wings :)

My un-Super Bowl un-ribs

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I was inspired to make these "ribs" by my little brother.  He's done an amazing job of losing weight (way to go little Bro!), but I know he dearly misses ribs.  I am determined to find something close to ribs, but much healthier.  Epicure has a "What's for Dinner" pack called Slow Cooker Stampede BBQ Ribs.  Following the directions on the package, each serving of ribs would work out to 19-22 Weight Watchers Points (wowsers!  nearly an entire day's worth of points!).  I knew I could do something to fix this.  So what is it about the ribs that we all love?  It's the MEAT not the bones, right?  And if your sauce has enough flavour, you shouldn't miss all the fat from the ribs, right?  Sooooo... I used super lean boneless pork chops (sirloin I believe) and trimmed any visible fat from them (just over 2 pounds with of pork).  In my slow cooker I added 2 sliced green peppers and 1 long red pepper, 2 onions and 2 tins of mushrooms (drained), put the pork on top and then mixed up my sauce.  The package directions call for ketchup and since I didn't have any, I decided a tin of fire roasted tomatoes would do nicely.  I made the rest of the recipe according to the package (except I didn't have regular vinegar, so I used cider vinegar :)  Points according to my e-tools, based on 6 servings, work out to 7 points+ per serving!  Not bad eh?

My pseudo-ribs are now simmering away in my crockpot and will be supper tonight with some Epicure oven fries (using my brand new bottle of Pizza Seasoning for Oven Fries....I'm so addicted to this stuff!) and some broccoli.  I will eat this all while NOT watching the Super Bowl....sorry football fans - I've got better things to watch!

Stay tuned folks... I'll upload an "after" photo after supper tonight and will give you my final thoughts on these un-ribs.

Little Bro - if this turns out like I hope, I'll save you some to try out :)  xo

One giant step... and a frittata that Popeye would be proud of

Pin It I took the plunge and went back to Step class tonight.  Overall it was great (I really do love that class), but my feet and my brain REFUSE to connect!  Oh well, there's always next week.  I did realize that I am probably not ready for the super-hard Wednesday Step class though...maybe in a few weeks after I get my "sea legs" back :)

Tonight's supper:

Spinach and Sweet Potato Frittata made in my Epicure rectangular steamer.  I cut up one small sweet potato, chopped about 1 cup of spinach leaves (remove stems) and microwaved them for 2 minutes in the steamer.  While that's cooking, mix two eggs and 3 egg whites with Epicure seasonings of choice (I used Herb & Garlic, 3 Onion and BLT dip mix).  Stir steamer contents and then add egg mixture and microwave again for 3-4 minutes.  Enjoy!  Super high protein meal that tastes great too!  I think it's missing something, but can't put my finger on it yet...maybe some chopped ham or something...  Stay tuned, I'll let you know if I figure it out!

Yet another odd meal combo!

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I have no name for this one yet.  My friend Lisa at WW inspired it and I modified slightly.  Cook spaghetti squash (I use the microwave), toss in the frying pan with some salsa (homemade Epicure Salsa, of course!) and a chopped onion.  I added some Epicure Maple Bacon Sea Salt, Epicure BLT dip mix and a bit of Epicure Mango Curry dip mix.  Sautée for a bit and then toss in a drained tin of tuna (packed in water).  Cook until heated through and then top with 1 oz of low fat cheddar cheese.  It might be an odd combo, but it totally worked!  Lisa used bacon bits when she made hers and she didn't add tuna (not sure about the onions) or the Epicure spices (at least I don't think so!).  I think this would be even better if I used feta cheese instead of cheddar...yum!!

Door number two

Pin It Walking through the door is the toughest part.  I feel like I've said this recently ;-)  Tonight's walk was through the gym door.  First time back since before I left for the UK... over a month!!  I went to Zumba and was SOO happy to see my Zumba buddies!!!  It felt great to be back.  Debating trying a new step class tomorrow night, but I might be dead after tonight, so I might have to wait for my next life ;-)

So tonight I took "door number two" and am officially back into the swing of things...back to WW, back to work, back to the gym...

Just walking through the door

Pin It They say that's the hardest part about going back to Weight Watchers.  Walking through the door.  I have taken this journey "through the door" many times in the past, only my return is usually years after my departure, not just a month.  I walked through the doors at WW yesterday for the first time since mid-December.  It was bad.  Really bad.  But it could have been so much worse.  I was up 8.3 pounds in just over a month.  I'm disgusted with myself, yet proud of myself at the same time.  In the past, I would have not gone back (for years).  This time I knew I had to.  This is just a blip in my life as a Lifetime member of Weight Watchers.  This is a new week and a new year, so I'm back on track and I accept that this will happen from time to time, but I will do everything in my power to stay on track.  My fridge is stocked with good foods and I even through out some perfectly good candy from Thornton's (if you've been to the UK, you'll understand how hard that was!).  Onward and upward (hopefully downward at the scales though!).

If you gained (or think you did) over the holidays or on vacation and are thinking about not going back until you get back on track - please go back.  Waiting to go back until you get back on track is like getting cleaned up to take a bath.  It makes no sense.  If you could have done it alone, you would have done it years ago.  Suck it up and just do it :)

Confessions of a chocoholic (yes, shopoholic too)

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Me at the Eiffel Tower in Paris...obviously!

I am officially back from vacation now and today was day two back to work.  I think I'm suffering from the post-vacation blahs...blech...can I go back?

I had a good vacation. It was great to spend time with friends, be away from the everyday and to relax.  I did some touring (Paris...oooh la la), did eating (LOTS OF EATING) and really did relax.  I'm always sad to leave my friends there, especially my buddy (some of you know her as Anonymous Ann).  It's OK though....I'll be back :)

I won't go into details on my bad eating, but I'll just tell you it was bad.  Very bad.  And completely my own fault.  For some reason when I'm on vacation I develop this awful sense of entitlement - as though I deserve to eat dessert every single day...as though I deserve to have that Starbucks muffin with my coffee... I don't do that at home so there really is NO reason I should be doing this away.  Believe me when I tell you that I was not coerced into it either.  That's it.  Story closed...  the scales will tell the true story on Saturday at WW when I have to pay the piper.  I am moving on and will get back on track.  It might be a significant gain, but it's by no means ALL of it, so I will recover.  I have to...I bought nice clothes in England that I still have to fit into!

I had grand plans to jump back into healthy eating and working out as soon as I landed back home.  The healthy eating has been a success (a minor slip-up, but I DID track it and I DID have the points available to cover it), but after two days back to work, I have still not hit the gym.  Missed step last night and am going to have to miss zumba tonight.  I'm just too doggone tired!  I will give myself this week to get the eating under control and to get over the jet-lag.  Next week - no excuses!

In case you missed last night's post, you should check it out - I made cauliflower pizza crust!  Yum!