Black Clouds Have Come

I join millions of others in the unemployment line..

Smoking

I have decided to give a go at quitting smoking...again! I am starting to feel like I am on a health craze or something or maybe because a birthday freak out is coming. I always get antsy around my birthday, I don't like getting older.

I haven't gone to the gym for quite sometime and it looks as though it will be another couple of weeks. I finally got to the doctor after 2 weeks of knee pain to find out I have a problem with my meniscus and what is called a Baker Cyst. So the doc prescribed an anti inflammatory and I need to go back to see him in 2 weeks. Hopefully it will be better. Until then, I guess I am stuck with upper body workouts and making sure I stay focused with Weight Watcher's.

Oh, back to the smoking thing. I think what triggered it is that I think back to the struggle I have at the gym. It is hard to be a smoker and the try to do cardio. Sometimes I feel like I am going to die, my face is beat red and I get some looks. Scariest part, next year (2010) I will have been smoking for 20 years..hmmm.

Yummy!

At Saturdays meeting our regular meeting leader was not there but her replacement was just as good and quirky as she is, so it kept the meeting interesting. It is a possibility that I may switch my times because going at 10 in the morning is just to late for me. So I gained some insight on a new leader.

During out meeting she was talking about this nice 2 point snack she makes with her kids. It sounded so amazing that the whole room was quiet and intrigued. When she was done explaining how it was made you wanted to leave and go home and make it right away. That is just about what I did!!

As most of you know, I love to share tips and ideas, that is what I am going to do right now with the awesome little snack.

I don't know what it is called, besides YUMMY..

1 box of cake mix, any kind, what ever you like. I used Devils Food cake
12 oz of diet soda, any flavor. I used Waist Watcher Vanilla Cream ( I know it sounds weird)
Pour the cake mix in a bowl and SLOWLY add the 12 oz of diet soda and mix together.
Tip: Don't knock it till you try it!
Get out your regular size muffin pans, the pan that makes 12 muffins, you will need 2 pans.
Divide the cake mix into the muffin pans. I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup to divide the mix 24 ways.
Bake in the oven according to the box, less 5 minutes.
When finished take out and let cool. Individually wrap them and place in freezer.

When you are ready for your snack, take a Weight Watcher's Chocolate Mousse Bar (1 point) and unwrap and place in a bowl. Pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds(just long enough to get the stick out) Add a couple of TBS of Fat Free Cool whip and mix together. Now take one of the little cakes you made, unwrap it and cut it into pieces. Mix the cake with the ice cream add a little dollop of Cool Whip for the top and there you have a nice little 2 point treat.

Tip: If you don't want to make the cake you can but the Weight Watcher's 1 point snack cakes. I suggest making the cake. I find the Weight Watcher's snack cakes to be dry, these homemade ones are far from dry.

You can also add a few berries to this. As we all know it takes a lot of strawberries to equal a point. Just grab a few, slice them up and now you have a sundae!

What A Shock

So yesterday was weigh in day and I couldn't wait to get there. See, I have a scale at home but since rejoining Weight Watcher's I ask my husband to put it away so I would not be able to get on it and check my progress during the week. That always had led to sabotage for me in the past and this time I planned not to do that. So with no available scale at home, I have been relying on the way I feel and I had felt great all week.

Yesterday I wake up, thanks to Emmit the cat, at 4:30 in the morning. Ugh, My meeting is not till 10 am, what am I going to do? I managed to keep myself busy for a little while and before I knew it, it was time to hop in the shower and get ready to leave. On my way to my meeting I started to doubt how much weight I had lost. With my knee not being 100% I had not time in the gym. How annoying, my gym membership card just sitting there on the tv stand taunting me. Is it possible that I will lose a good number with out exercise? When I got to the meeting I decided that I didn't care what I lost, as long as I didn't gain for a 3rd week in a row. As far as I was concerned I had no reason to gain, I followed the program to the T!

Waiting in line, isn't that the hardest thing to do? Finally it is my turn, I kick off my shoes, hop on the scale, close my eyes and prayed for the best. Finally I hear her say"Got it" and I get off the scale and I get a very mellow and matter of fact "Wow, you did great." Yea, I thought and I asked "Well, how much is great?" The chick weighing me in says "8.2, you lost 8.2 this week." HOLY COW... 8.2 and that is the best you can give me for excitement, I thought to myself. That is a huge amount of weight to lose but I needed it, after gain of 2 and then anther 2.2 I was feeling a little down. So I did what I set out to accomplish, lose the 4.2 I gained back and with an added bonus of another 4 lbs gone!

SWEET

I Feel Confident

I have a really good feeling about this weeks weigh in. I hate to jinx myself but I just feel lighter and I really managed to stay on track this week. Did not over do it or eat more that I did not track, I just followed the program and hopefully it will pay off! (I am pretty sure that it will)

I wasn't able to go to the gym at all this week. Between my cold and my knee, it just wiped my out. I hope my knee gets better soon, if not then I will be off to the doctor to see what is going on. One good thing is it hasn't gotten any worse. Maybe by Monday I will try the gym....

Cut Your Portions

* If you're at home, use smaller plates. This creates the illusion of eating a bigger serving. (I personally do this one)

* If you're at a restaurant and you know the portions are going to be huge, ask the server to put half your meal in a doggie bag before it even hits the table. This saves you money as well as unnecessary calorie overload. If the server can't (some restaurants the server brings you the container for you to do yourself) ask for the doggie bag to be brought with your food.

* Share an entrée with your dining partner.

* Make a new rule for yourself: Always leave something on your plate. This reminds you that you are in control of the food, not the other way around. You don't have to clean your plate like mom said you do!

I Think I Am Back..

Another successful Weight Watcher's day! 2 days in a row, that is a good thing. We had Chinese for dinner last night and I opted for the chicken and broccoli with white rice. Low points, very filling and because I measured it out I have left overs for lunch today! Yeah me!

I think the gym will be a no go for a couple of days, sadly. I hurt my knee yesterday, at first I couldn't figure out what I did and then this morning it dawned on me. I was shoveling the rest of the snow off my patio and maybe I did it then. I guess a Seattle injury lawyer is out of the question! Why? Well first off I don't live in Seattle and secondly, what am I going to sue myself??? I will have to find other ways of trying to get some exercise in...any ideas?

I also go back to work today after not being there since 12/24...I don't mind cause being home can get very boring. If they lay me off on a permanent basis I am not quite sure what I will do, besides go crazy!

It is almost time....Here is to another on track Weight Watcher's day...

Things Have Been Tough....Very Tough

So this week wasn't very good. I basically sat on my ass and did nothing and I mean nothing! I barely followed Weight Watcher's and I didn't go to the gym!! I am not quite sure why but I didn't. So it didn't come to any surprise that I was up another 2.2 lbs this week. I ate what ever I felt like and did it without any care... I think I snapped out of it though, yesterdays weigh in was sort of a wake up call. I have already hit the gym and yesterday I tracked everything I ate and drank! Besides that, I stayed with in my points allowance. I am proud to sat I am back on track eating healthy and cooking healthy (healthy grilling instead of frying) .

I guess part of it is my husbands fault. I mean, he doesn't make me eat the food but he to wants loose about 50 lbs. That is great and all but dam it, help me prepare the meals. Weight Watcher's is time consuming and when you tr to do stuff for 2 people it is not easy. I don't think he really appreciates it, he is just happy that someone else besides himself is making his lunch. BUT I have decided that I will no longer be the only one to prepare meals, he is going to have to pitch in as well. Eventually I will blow up like a bomb if I keep doing it all. It really kills my motivation when I have to worry about what he will or will not eat. Screw it, I joined for me so if he wants to lose weight he will have to do it for him!

GEEZZ..I feel a little bit better!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!