Rainy Day Blues

I'm not walking today. It's pouring the rain down out there and after 4 days straight in the first week my "personal trainers" (Cara and Cammy) tell me that I should start off slow and take a day off here and there. I never thought that I'd be disappointed that I'm not walking today, but I am.

I stupidly stepped on the scales this morning instead of waiting until Wednesday. Since I used to weigh in on Mondays and just changed it for this week I was curious, I must be a cat at heart. It showed me up a pound and a half which is really disheartening BUT I have only used 3 of my flex points and 1.5 of my exercise points this week so I know I've done really good. Guess exercising sometimes puts weight on, I dunno. What I do know is that I FEEL BETTER! I'm not as listless as before and really glad for more energy.

Oh, woe is me. I couldn't help myself. Was getting some yarn out of the plastic bin I keep it in and my supply is dwindling. Got caught up in movies yesterday and that's when I crochet the most. Well, I just had to go online and order more yarn. Then after I clicked "complete order" I remembered some colors that I had planned to order and didn't. Oh, well, will have to wait until next time.

Was going to hit the grocery store today because I'm out of salad stuff, "OH, NO." But I remembered that I have an appointment tomorrow to get the doggies bathed and groomed and no since wasting the gas today since I'll be going right by the grocery store tomorrow anyway. We don't have garbage pick up here on the mountain and I have to take my garbage to the dump myself and I need to do that tomorrow too. I think that's the only reason I need a man around the house, I hate that chore. Well, maybe I could think of few other reasons but none so dire that would make me go out and look for one. I just can't see myself starting the dating scene. ARGH! I'd have to find one on a diet because I WILL NOT CHANGE MY COOKING HABITS for any man. Now, that's a commitment, ain't it?

Some Friends?

It just dawned on me that I didn't give proper credit for the recipe yesterday and I think I should. I got it from a TV program by Graham Kerr and he used shrimp as the meat. As I prefer the taste of shrimp alone I substituted the chicken and have (in my fatty life) used beef.

The walk went well this morning but I've ordered myself an MP3 player so it won't be so boring and I'll have more to occupy my mind than counting laps. I lost count this morning but had been checking my watch so I knew about when I would have the proper length in so I did that and added a couple of minutes. I now have a plan. I'm going to continue what I'm doing for one week then increase it by going down a circuitous route of my driveway. It's actually circular and one part is steeper than the other so I'll go down the steep part and back up the less steep part. I'll do that for a week and reassess my plans. Ain't it grand to have a plan?

A friend has asked me to go out to dinner with her tonight but I have declined. There just isn't any restaurant in this area that doesn't fry everything in lots of grease and I'm just not ready to sabotage myself right now. She's rather upset with me and keeps telling me that one night won't hurt but obviously she isn't as committed to her diet as I am. She's only lost 12 pounds in the last year and can't for the life of her figure out why it is so slow. I keep trying to tell her that eating out the way she does and where she does and the iced tea she drinks with 4 cups of sugar to the half gallon isn't the way to lose weight. And she keeps saying, "but I eat smaller portions." I've tried to get her to do what I'm doing but she just won't. She also fries everything in an inch or two of grease. She has high blood pressure and cholesterol problems and just can't understand why. She's rather hard headed and won't listen to me at all. The last time I went to visit her she jumped my case about my baggy clothes. Now I do have a couple of shirts that fit nicely but just bumming around I don't use them. I'd have to wash every other day to keep them clean. And going to visit her is bumming around in my book since she is just across the road from me, why dress up?

I've stayed off the scales this week so I have no idea what they will say come Wednesday. I'll just have to wait and see. I know I've stayed on program and only used 1.5 of my flex points so far. I just made the strawberry pie and am really looking forward to a piece after supper. I stupidly forgot to buy the FF Jello so had to use some regular. It will only increase the points to 2 for a slice so that will just have to do.

Hope you all had a great Saturday and will have a wonderful Sunday.

Day 2 and a Recipe

Thanks Cara, Donna and Cammy for the encouragement and the ability to roll out of bed (yeah, I rolled this morning) and get out there and do it again. My little girl sent me flowers for starting the exercise regiment! Virtual flowers but what the hey, Mom's appreciate them too and these won't wilt. As a matter of fact they are on the fridge as a reminder. I did the required 22 laps today, so that was a mile. And I have a blister on the bottom of my middle toe now. Think it must be from scrunching the toes. I usually wear clogs and guess the toes didn't realize they were in sneakers today.

I was so excited yesterday that I really wanted to go out there and do it again but since it was my first time I thought it best to just wait until this morning. The legs were a bit wobbly most of the day. But it was invigorating. I thought to myself, "OH, NO, these bloggers have turned me into a junky." I really felt energized until late afternoon and the system crashed. It wasn't so easy this morning but since I have confessed starting I can't stop now or you will all know about it because try as I might I wouldn't be able to keep my big mouth shut. I'd let it slip that I had bakslid. Thanks girls :o) for keeping me going.

The doggies followed me around about once then sat in the middle of the driveway and just watched. They really think I'm crazy, you know. They get plenty of exercise on their own. When I let them out in the mornings they are usually nowhere to be seen for at least an hour and sometimes 2-3. They head for the woods and sniff out any creatures that may have roamed during the night, I guess.

I didn't do so good yesterday on my eating habits. Well, I only dipped into my flex points by one but I had to eat a salad last night while watching TV because I was really hungry. Reminder to self, "Plan better today." Well, the plans are in the making. I've taken out a chicken breast to thaw because I'm having Chicken Paella tonight (and tomorrow night since one breast makes enough for two meals). Here's the recipe:

CHICKEN PAELLA

Lightly brown chicken breast in 1 TBSP olive oil.
Slice 1 onion and 1 sweet green pepper over chicken.
Add 2 cloves garlic chopped.
Cover with diced tomatoes. (fresh are the best but I am using canned).
Place lid on skillet and simmer until chicken and veggies are done.
Remove lid and place a layer of mozzarella cheese on top.
Replace lid and simmer until cheese is melted.

I used to serve this over rice for my hubby (hence the paella) but now I just eat it without the rice to cut down on the carbs. This recipe is 6 WW points for one serving because I use the REAL cheese since the fat free doesn't melt very good so you can be the judge and change it accordingly.

Hey its a 30 minute meal! So you working girls can fix it quick after work.

Changes

Well, I've had the dogs upset with me. I changed the living room around the other day and Mikey (who only has only one eye and it's the bad one) has had a hard time finding the couch. He doesn't know where he is supposed to lie down now. Of course he has a doggy bed that he and Taz share but when I let them in the house after changing things around I had something laying on it and he was really upset. He finally found it and I cleaned his bed off so now he isn't so mad at me. Sometimes I forget that he can't see so well and do stupid things. One time some friends were visiting and had come on their ATV and left it in the middle of the driveway. We were all outside and the humans were setting on the porch when the dogs heard something and decided to run at all-out-high speed and Mikey was just sure there was nothing in his path until he hit the tire of the ATV and did a back flip. I went ballistic thinking he'd killed himself or broken his snout but he just got up and shook it off and kept going. Now when someone comes to visit I make sure nothing is parked in the driveway while we are all outside.

I really had the munchies yesterday and was hungry all day. Don't know how I managed to keep within my points but I did. Even though I'm on the other side of menopause I think my body goes through some of the PMS stuff that you youngsters go through. I get grumpy once a month and get the munchies once a month but thank goodness I don't have to put up with the rest of it. I've served my time. :o)

I think I'm going to have to hide my scales so I don't' have to walk past them everyday. The temptation is just too great to step on them and see what the progress is. Every day until today (since my weigh-in) I've shown a gain. And that's discouraging. Finally this morning there was a loss. Now I feel better!

Melancholy & Muffins

Had a pretty bad day yesterday. Oh, I stayed on my diet, but I was really down. It seems that when I'm down my brain shuts down too and it tells me to sleep. So I napped on and off yesterday. At least I wasn't eating which I did a lot in the "olden" days. One of the things that got me down is the day before, I found out that all the skin that is drooping from this weight loss isn't going to firm up again. Since I'm 61 not 21 or 31 or...it just won't go back to the way it was. Oh you wonderful young people out there that are doing this be thankful. Your skin is still elastic enough to firm up again. On the other hand mine won't unless I want to get it cut off when I finally lose 108 pounds. Have you seen the movie "Click?" Well I guess that's what I will get to do with my belly skin too. And not to mention my face and the double chins that I have. I'll probably look 80 instead of 62 when I'm finished and that is a depressing thought. Uh Oh, here I go again. Nope, not going there. But it did occur to me to just chuck this diet thing and get fat and non wrinkled again, then I dashed that thought and got on with it.

On a lighter note I have a new recipe for you. It's called 6 Weeks Bran Muffins and they are really yummy. They are only 2 WW points (with Splenda and 3 with sugar) a muffin and those of you out there that aren't on weight watchers they are probably around 100 calories each. They are called "6 Weeks" because the batter keeps in the fridge for up to 6 weeks. The original recipe made 8 dozen so I cut it in fourths since there's only one of me and it was supposed to make 2 dozen but I found that mine only made 1 dozen and that was enough for me (so if you want more than 1 dozen you will have to increase the recipe). I cooked the entire batch and after they cooled froze all but 2. They freeze really well. All I did was take one out of the freezer and placed it in the microwave on defrost for 30 seconds and they were just like coming out of the oven. They are best warm but they aren't shabby cold either. Now the recipe calls for bran cereal and that is the way I will type it but I substituted the second bran cereal with "Special K" because I don't need the extra bran in my diet since I don't have problems going to the potty. Enjoy!

1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup Post 100% Bran Cereal
1/4 cups + 1/2 TBSP solid Crisco shortening
3/4 cup sugar OR 1/4 cup + 2 TBSB Splenda
1/4 cup egg beaters
1 cup low fat buttermilk
1 cup Kellogg's All Bran Original Cereal
1 1/4 cups self rising flour

In a small bowl, pour boiling water over the 100% Bran, set aside.
In a larger bowl, cream the shortening and sugar (or Splenda).
Add the egg beaters and buttermilk and mix well.
Add the Kellogg's All Bran.
Add flour and mix well.
Fold in the soaked 100% Bran.
**Fill Pam sprayed muffing tins 3/4 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 14 to 18 minutes, until tops of muffins bounce back when poked with the finger.

They make a really nice addition to breakfast instead of toast and jelly. I used to make these when my girls were little. I'd keep the batter in the fridge and bake them fresh ones in the mornings. I didn't know then that they freeze so well or I'd have tried that. Course when they were real little there weren't any microwaves and when they first came out I surely couldn't afford one.

Mornings

Wow, I hate mornings (especially after only 4 hours sleep). And afternoon naps. I layed on the couch yesterday afternoon reading a book and woke up an hour or so later with the book still opened. This made for a late night last night. My usual time to "lay me down to rest" is around 1:00 am but last night I had to make myself go that that room with the big bed in it at 4:30 am. Of course when I stay up that late I get hungry and last night (or I should say early this morning) was no different. I couldn't think of anything so, yup, I got into the Doritos and salsa. I know those things are bad for me in a lot more ways than I want to know but they do satisfy that urge and I only ate 11 of them. I think that is the only food that I've held on too from my fatty days. I just can't let them go. Like I've said before I'm not addicted to sweets but to salty stuff. Oh, to just set down with a bag of Wise Potato Chips again...but alas I know I can't (I still miss them though). I even tried to kick the Doritos thing with a salad with Free Catalina and it still didn't satisfy that urging. I think I just need that taste because sometimes after a sandwich (where I used to eat a half a bag of Wise Potato Chips) I'll pick the bag of Doritos up and just take out 3 and munch really slowly and that satisfies that craving too. So maybe if I keep the willpower in check they won't hurt me too much. And I am still losing. And I do add them to my points.

I had someone jump my case a couple of weeks ago about my sleep habits. She said that studies show that a person that doesn't go to bed before midnight doesn't lose weight. Anybody know anything about that? I may go to bed late but I usually get my 8 hours of sleep in (except for last night). I've always heard that every person has a different circadian cycle and this is mine.

I have a niece that comes to visit once a year and always brings 3-4 bags of chips with her. She'll set down and eat half a bag then go out and walk my driveway (the driveway from hell) a few times so she can have some more. She's always working on losing weight and never seems to get there. Gee, I wonder why? She didn't come to visit last year because she was moving into a new house around that time and I wonder what she'll do this year when she comes and I cook sensibly instead of the way I used to cook? She loves my vegetable beef soup with a big chuck roast in it and I don't make that anymore. I'll have to make her my cabbage soup with beef broth instead (that recipe to come later). She hasn't seen me since I lost 50 pounds so maybe I can motivate her. Wouldn't that be something?

When I was growing up in my teen years my parents owned a grocery store. Not a big chain but a "Mom & Pop" kind. It was good sized though. So needless to say we didn't have to pinch pennies when it came to groceries. Mom always brought home the best brand name stuff and we NEVER had margarine in the house, always REAL butter. Therefore I never acquired a taste for margarine. I've always eaten REAL butter. Well, since on WW I can't have the REAL stuff anymore and I've really been down about that. Then I discovered Land O Lakes Light Butter Spread with canola oil. You know I haven't had the real stuff in a long time (only the yucky margarine) but I think it tastes pretty good. At least close enough to the REAL stuff that I'm happy to stick with it when I get down there in the land of thin. So if you haven't tried it now's the time.

Strawberry Pie

I'm really new to this blog stuff and it may not be proper to post more than one a day but I just couldn't resist. Like the sub-title says this is ramblings and recipes and I just couldn't wait until tomorrow to share this one with anyone out there that may read my blog. And since strawberries are in season in my neck of the woods next month here goes.

Strawberry Pie (Preperation time only 15 minutes)

1 1/2 cups water
1 package Fat-Free/Sugar-Free Strawberry Jello
1 package Fat-Free/Sugar-Free "Cook & Serve" Vanilla Pudding (it must be cook & serve)
2 cups strawberries
1 graham cracker crust (store bought)

Combine Jello and pudding in a sauce pan.
Add water and mix.
Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until mixture becomes transluscent and thick.
While mixture cools a little, cut up strawberries into the pie shell.
Pour Jello mixture over strawberries and refrigerate until cold. (about 2 houors)
Add a dollop of Cool Whip Free and enjoy.
WW points=1 for 1/8 of a pie.

A Small Accomplishment

I lost a half a pound yesterday. (Mondays are my weigh-in day) I was pretty disappointed since I'd lost 4.5 last week. I was really good and only dipped into my bonus points by 5. Then I got to thinking that the big loss last week was probably why the little loss this week so now I'm happy about it.

To get you up to speed. I do WW on-line instead of going to meetings. Since I'm from a small town whose population is under 300, when I started WW there wasn't a meeting in my town and I had to go to the county seat to join and weigh-in. This was a bummer since the only meeting was Monday evenings at 5:00. I didn't want to eat anything before I went (I'd only have breakfast and lunch) and was pretty hungry once I got through with the meetings. Then to top it off that's the town where I do my grocery shopping so I'd always stop on the way home and pick up what I would need for the next week. By the time I was in the grocery store my stomach would really be kicking up and sometimes I'd get the wrong kind of stuff because of the hunger and cravings. If I tried to grab a bite of something before the shopping I'd invariably eat the wrong things and then feel guilty. I was so committed to do this that I just decided going to a meeting was just too frustrating for me and the leader wasn't that much of a help anyway. So I switched over to the on-line WW. Bought myself a digital scale and all.

This really works for me. I have to face the computer on Monday mornings now instead of a person to weigh me in and to me they are just the same. And it's much cheaper. Remember, I have gone through this before with WW in the late 60's and have heard most of the rah..rah speeches before. I rely on Cara for my interesting tips which she provides regularly for me (see her latest blog on "Red light-Green light"). My leader didn't have a bunch of little tips just lectures. Cara says she couldn't do it without being accountable to someone on weigh-in days. Maybe it's my age or stick-to-itiveness that keeps me on the straight and narrow. My mind is in the right place this time.

Everyone was telling me in the beginning to set little goals for myself like treating myself to something special when I reached a certain weight. I did that and was looking forward to a new style of clothes (that I couldn't wear as a fatty) or a little trip to somewhere special then I saw a commercial for the new Snickers Dark Chocolate. Snickers are my all time favorite candy bar and dark chocolate is just awesome so I set that as my 200 lb goal. I bought it a couple of weeks before I was down to 200. It haunted me! When the day came that I was 200 exactly I picked up the Snickers and looked at it for a long time. Then I checked the label and found that it wasn't that much in points, only a meal's worth. I think I even talked to it a little and then put it away and eventually gave it away. I decided that it just wasn't worth it! Aren't you proud of me? My mind really is in the right place. I'm not much of a sweets eater. Oh, I enjoy them once in a while and while on the easy trail of weight gain I had sweets on a regular basis but didn't crave them like some do. I do enjoy chocolate and dark chocolate especially so I bought myself a bag of dark chocolate kisses and figured the points and found that I could have 3 for only one point. Now some of you would say that they couldn't eat just 3 and in my earlier days I probably couldn't either but now if I want a little chocolate I know I can have it and I usually space them over a day's time. ARGH, have you seen those Warm Delights commercials? They make you feel like if you don't have one your aren't a woman. That they are the most wonderful thing to make you beautiful and so good for you in every way. They used to haunt me too but now they just turn my stomach. Some people complain about all the weight loss commercials on television and they are stupid and most misleading but at least in that time slot they aren't advertising all the decadent food that is sooooooo bad for us, so they don't bother me anymore.

Oops, time for another chicken salad sandwich, bet you wish I'd run out don't you.

That's a Bunch of Chicken (Salad)

Yesterday I had a real blond moment. I decided to make myself some chicken salad for sandwiches this coming week. I boiled 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts and meant to save one and a half out to give to my little dogs as a treat for their supper for the next couple of days. Before I realized what I was doing I had chopped all three and added all the ingredients. Then I proceeded to measure out what I had made and found that I had enough for 20 sandwiches. ARGH! There is no way I can eat 20 sandwiches before it spoils. Wonder if the dogs will eat chicken salad with celery, onion and light mayo in it. I'm sure going to try them out tonight. Hey, 1/4 cup of the chicken salad is only 2 points on WW! If you try it on one slice of reduced fat wheat bread you don't even have to count the bread as a point. And if you want a whole sandwich it is only 3 points in all. It sure is tasty and easy to make. My recipe (for a smaller amount) is below.

1 six oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast (boiled 'til done)
1/4 medium onion
4 stalks of celery
1/4 cup light mayo

Place the chicken in a food processor and pulverize. Add the onion and mince until half pulverized. Add the celery and pulse until chopped medium fine. (you can always chop the onion and celery by hand but why bother if you have a food processor).

Place all the chopped ingredients in a bowl and add the mayo. Mix well.

This sandwich is tasty with tomato on it. And I like mine toasted.