It's a wrap

I brought grapes (1pt) to work for a snack.  I also brought cottage cheese but I didn't get a chance to eat it, so I brought it home and saved the points for dinner.

For dinner I made a taco/wrap.  I used one Fold it ( made by the same company as flat outs - which I love; the whole wheat ones are loaded with fiber), leftover taco meat ( lean ground beef with taco seasoning), cheese, spinach, tomato, sour cream and taco sauce.

1/3 cup meat- 3pts, 1/8 cup reduced fat colby jack cheese -1pt, 1 tbsp reduced fat sour cream (1/2pt), 5-flax fold it -1pt, spinach and tomato -0pts, and taco sauce -0pts.

Today's total 24.5 pts. I am allowed 25.  I went for a 30 minute walk after I ate.  I was hoping to do more, but I didn't get home from work until 8.  By the time I ate it was 8:30 and I don't like running on a full stomach.  I know excuses, excuses right? 

Mid thursday check in...

Today Breakfast at 7 am was a slice of homemade Multigrain bread (2pts) with 1 tbsp of peanut butter (2 pts), a banana (2 pts) and a glass of skim milk (2pts).

Around 10:30 I had an apple on the way to the park.

I made a salad with spinach, tomato and green pepper. (0pts)  I tried a new dressing - Newman's own Lighten up Lime Dressing ( 1tbsp - 1pt).  I wasn't very impressed.  It was a little too limey for me.  I think I'll use it for a chicken marinade for tacos or something.

For lunch at 12:20 -I had my salad (1 pt), 1 cup of black bean couscous (5 pts), 1.5 cups strawberries (1 pt) and a glass of skim milk (2 pts).

I was really hungry by lunch time. I don't usually have just toast for breakfast because it doesn't fill me up.  I have had about 48 oz of water so far today.  I have to work from 3-7 today, so my plan is to get my workout in after work.  I hope you are having a good day!

What did I say about Thursdays?!...

I knew my weigh in wasn't going to be good this week.  I said it earlier... that it didn't matter, that I had a good weekend, that I didn't track, etc... Well it DOES matter.  In the long run I am trying to lose weight.  If I keep having days, weekends, weeks where I don't care... then I will never get there.  I DO CARE.  That is why I am doing WW, why I am blogging, and why I opened up about my weight.  I DO want this to be over with once and for all.  I gained 1.4 lbs this week. Blech.. I keep gaining and losing the same 2 lbs.  Enough complaining....

Today's fat class was about Thermodynamics...  Calories in vs Calories out.  You have to burn enough calories to earn a deficit to lose weight.  Simple right?  I always eat all my activity points.  I am going to try to change it up because it is not working for me.  I am going to just try to stick to my daily points allowance and only use some of my flex points if it is really necessary or worth it.  My challenge for this week is to blog everything I eat.  I will try to take pictures of my food when possible.  Maybe this will help me be accountable.

Thought for the day.... Have you done any activity yet today?  At least 30 minutes is recommend on most days... What will you do today?

Branching out..

Ok, so I am going to branch out a bit and let some people in on my blog.  I need to be more accountable to get this weight off.  I figured that if I let more people know about what I am doing then maybe it will help me.  Maybe others can learn something from me as well.  I really have enjoyed keeping this blog for the last month and a half.  I think it would really help me if I knew that I had more than one (Hi Michelle!) reader.  So if you like what you see please leave me comments and keep me motivated.  I am very nervous about letting people I know in on such personal information about me (mainly my weight), but I know it will help me in the long run.  So... Welcome!  This is me, take it or leave it.

Yummy Black Bean Couscous

I made this for lunch today.  It makes a ton, so I guess I'll be eating it for while.  It is very yummy and filling for only 5 points a cup.

Black Bean Couscous Salad
From Aunt Tricia
5 pts per cup

1 cup uncooked couscous (I used whole wheat)
1 1/4 cup chicken broth
3 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 T. Fresh lime juice
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp ground cumin
8 green onions chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chipped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup frozen corn kernals, thawed
2 cans black beans, drained (I used 2 cups cooked dry black beans)
salt and pepper to taste

Bring Chicken broth to a boil in a 2-qt or larger sauce pan and stir in the couscous.  Cover the pot and remove from heat.  Let stand for 5 min.  In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, vinegar and cumin.  Add green onions, red pepper, cilantro, corn and beans.  Toss to coat.  Fluff the couscous well, breaking up any chunks.  Add to the bowl with the vegetables and mix well.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve now or refridgerate until ready to serve.

Beautiful weekend!

It has been GORGEOUS here the last 2 weeks.  I am love, love, loving this weather.  This was probably the best memorial day weekend I can remember.  We didn't even go anywhere but it was still awesome.  We completely enjoyed the weather and our pool this weekend.  I didn't totally keep track of my points and food intake and I didn't get in enough workouts but I am okay with that because I had such a great time.  I could totally tell by yesterday though that my body was needing some healthy food and to get my heart pumping.  I love that I am paying attention to my body and it's needs and listening.  It makes all the difference in the world.  Remind me of that when I weigh in on Thursday when I am disappointed in the results....

On another note I had a fun surprise today.  I used to have this amazing aesthitician that I went to at a day spa here that closed down a couple years ago and I have been missing her.  I even looked her up on the internet and facebook trying to find where she went.  I haven't been able to find her.  Well today I found her!  She works at a salon close to my house that I haven't been to in awhile!  Oh Happy Day!!

I love thursdays

This is my weigh in day.  I especially love it if I know that I had a good week, but mostly love it because I get up earlier than normal and have some extra time to myself.  I get up at 5:45 and go to my WW meeting for 6:15.  It is over by 6:45 and I am usually home by 7.  I then can go for a run with my doggy and if I am really lucky still have a few minutes to eat breakfast alone.  This morning I had to go to a meeting at work for 7:45 so I didn't have time for a workout.  I did my workout this evening at 8 pm instead.  It was still wonderful, but not the same.  I love working out in the morning because it's done and I don't have to think about when I am going to have time for it the rest of the day.  I don't dread working out, I actually like it.  I just like getting it done right away so I can go with the flow the rest of the day and not stress about fitting it in.

About my weigh in this week... I am down 2.4 lbs.  I know I should be excited about this, but it is hard.  I did really well this week with points and activity.  It just stinks that I missed a couple weeks and I should be much lower by now.  Oh well.  I am going to take it and keep on going.  I would love love love to have another good week and be down 10 lbs.  I am going to keep my fingers crossed.  My next goal is to be at or under 165 by 4th of July.

I was organizing and getting rid of some papers today and I came across some old weight charts of mine.  The earliest weight I found was from 2003.  I weighed 155.  From then I flucuated to 170 in 2008.  I weighed 158 in October of 2004 at my wedding.  I think I was around 155 when I ran my marathon in April of 2006.  I was 170 when I got pregnant in May 2007.  It's crazy to think it has been 7 years of me trying to lose weight on and off.  How sad.  I really hope  am going to kick this once and for all.