Honesty

Hello my friends, I'm embarrassed to say that I have gained weight :( It's crazy that I didn't notice I feel good, but Saturday I went to put on my jeans and it was not good, then to see what the real damage was I got on the scale...yikes 145. I realized that I must have been living in the famous state of Denial. Denial because I really thought I was doing good except for little cheats here and there because I just plain wanted them and I thought I deserved them. Since I haven't been fully plugged into the bfc community lately I was a little out of touch with what I was really up to. Well, I had the "come to Jesus" talk with myself over the weekend and I decided that I need to get back to purposeful, mindful eating. I've also started food journaling again, if it goes in my mouth I have to write it down, doing that really makes me aware of what I am really up to.

I am glad to be out of denial, I plan to be more plugged in by blogging and commenting on others blogs. I am journaling my food and I am taking advantage of our new gym membership. I feel actually kinda refreshed to have had this epiphany about myself and my plan to lose the extra lbs and get back on track.

I am not discouraged or depressed about the extra weight, I am committed to getting back on track and figuring out better ways of making this work long term. I turn 30 in January and I've been doing a lot of thinking about where I want to be then and how to get there.

If you have been living in a state of denial like I have, it's ok...just pick yourself up and start again. Start being mindful and intentional about what you put into your mouth. I will be more faithful in posting about my journey to getting back on track, together we can do this.

Thank you everyone for the nice comments on my last post, Kim I would love to know how you make greek yogurt :)

Hello everyone, can you believe June is here, where did May go? May was a good month for us, the bank did not accept our offer on the house (which is fine becasue we gave them a low offer to see what they would say) but we accepted their counter offer :) :) :)  Sometime this summer we could be in our first house :) Last week was my last body fit and zumba classes that I took through the parks and rec program :( Hubby and I decided that since I have come to love the group exercise classes it would be more cost effective to join a gym. Last weekend we became members at our local YMCA :) I have already taken two zumba classes and I look forward to trying out more classes. This is the first time that I have worked out in a gym since hubby was in the Marine Corps and I worked out on base.

Hubby and I have been having a more of a cold cereal version of the make ahead oatmeal smoothies I talked about recently.
327 calories, 26.5g carb, 2g sugar and 7.9g fiber.
1/4c old fashioned oatmeal
1c unsweetned coconut milk or almond
1T chia seeds
1T whole flax seeds
1T barleans
1/4c Trader Joe's 2% Greek style lowfat plain yogurt

I love Trader Joe's Greek Style 2% lowfat plain yogurt. It has the lowest ammount of sugar that I have found in plain greek yogurt. For one cup it has 5g sugar, 9g carb, 24g protein and 160 calories. I often just use 1/4c or 1/2c at a time for even lower sugar. And for 16 oz I paid $2.79.

I guess that is all for now, I hope eveyone is having a nice weeknd. P.S. this is my 300th post :)

Pinterest Party

Good morning everyone and Happy Hump Day :) I was glad to share the make-ahead smoothie recipe that I found on pinterest. I love having food ready so that I don't  have to worry or make a big mess in the mornings. Yesterday I instead of a smoothie I had more of a breakfast pudding. Monday night I put almond milk, chia seeds and a little oatmeal in the food processor, I added a squirt of strawberry banana barleans, and a scoop of whole flax seeds, I ate it with some redi whip and two slices of lemon coconut bread. Yum :) Hubby and I talked about adding some protein powder to the smoothies/pudding...the options for these smoothies/puddings are endless.

Last night my Bible Study girls and I had a Pinterest party, everyone brought food from recipes found on pinterest and some girls brought crafts. It was so FUN. I brought mini caprese bites that I made with mini heirloom tomatoes, basil and mozzarella all from Trader Joe's. One girl brought a bird house craft to do, another brought tissue paper to make flowers which she is making for centerpieces for a friends wedding, and another brought fabric to make flower hair clips. The night was a huge success and I hope to host my own Pinterest party when we have a house of our own.

Hello everyone, Happy Monday :) It's a beautiful rainy day up here in my neck of the woods. Thank you for the feedback on my question about allowing friends/family to read the blogs and your opinions about sharing personal information. I have decided that I am comfortable with what I share, but I will remember to be cautious in what I say.

This weekend I made some lemon coconut flour bread which delighted hubby since I haven't made it in awhile. Our local health food store Huckleberries had their quarterly sale on their natural living section, so I picked up some strawberry banana barleans and the lemon barleans for my Mom. The past several days I have been making a recipe I found on Pinterest :)  From the yummylife.com make-ahead oatmeal smoothies. It's a wonderful idea, used the recipe for strawberry banana as a starting point

make-ahead smoothies from theyummylife.com

Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Smoothie from theyummylife.com:

1/4 cup uncooked oats (old fashioned rolled oats recommended; do not use steel cut oats)

1-1/2 teaspoons dried chia seeds

3/4 cup skim milk

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup low-fat yogurt (Greek yogurt recommended)

1/2 cup fresh quartered strawberries

1/2 cup fresh banana slices

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-2 teaspoons honey, optional (or substitute preferred sweetener)

Here is what I did:
1/4c uncooked old fashioned oatmeal
2 T chia seeds
3 strawberries
3/4c unsweetened almond milk
3 fresh strawberries
a squirt of barleans strawberry banana

The options on the make ahead smoothies are endless...hubby is very happy that I have started experimenting making them. He was especially happy when he woke up late on Friday and as he was rushing out the door I handed him a smoothie and a lunch.

Hello everyone, sorry I haven't posted in awhile my mood has been much better I've just been busy with the usual stuff. The other week my Mom and I were having a discussion about my blog, she thinks I share too much personal information and it might come back and haunt me later, she also dislikes facebook and texting. (this is not a dig on my Mom in any way) Since she feels that way I have asked her to please not read my blog, she agreed not to but she thinks she should be able to because it is on the Internet and available to everyone to read. This discussion all started because back in Feb or March I said that "I had fallen off the wagon" referring to falling off the bfc wagon not referring to the alcohol wagon. So that makes me wonder how do you guys feel about sharing personal information on your blogs? And how do you feel about those close to you in your personal life reading your blog?

Lately I realized that the group dynamic is really helpful for me. I love this blogging community and I recently discovered I love taking group exercise classes. I personally think the group dynamic is a big part of why WW is so successful. The bfc/ft is successful for myself and hubby when we stick to it. I'm sure you know what I mean about that. Having chips around is just asking for trouble for us. We have decided to be extra good until the end of hubby's school quarter in the middle of June. Extra good for us means no beer for hubby or wine for me. We are not giving these things up because we have a problem, it is that we want to be extra mindful in our eating and when you cut something out for a time or cut back we have found that to be helpful.

Things are good up here in our neck of the woods, the weather has been beautiful and I love seeing the trees and flowers in bloom. We are hearing good rumblings about our house, nothing official to share yet, just things are moving in a good direction :) On Saturday I was at the mall trying to exchange some work shoes and I decided to pop into Bath & Body Works to see if they had any deals....boy howdy they had their large candles on sale 2 for 1. My hometown Spokane, WA is also known as the lilac city. There are tons of beautiful fragrant lilacs in bloom all over right now. Lilacs have a strong but lovely scent, but often when their scent is manufactured it smells terribly. The slatkin & co. candle that I bought at Bath & Body works is delicious. I also purchased a coconut candle that smells like summer. :) Have a wonderful day.



Hello everyone, sorry it's been a week since I last posted. Last week I was in a terrible mood I think it was a combination of pms and the full moon. Whatever you want to call it I was cranky pants. Anyway I want share some of the delicious things I have been making.
I made a double batch of the turkey pumpkin chili in the crock pot from skinny taste at hubby's request. Lately I have been making it with Italian turkey sausage and that adds some nice spice. We put several containers in the freezer which is perfect for hubby's lunch on days that we don't have leftovers.


Chicken stir-fry with quinoa (left) Katie's meatball broccoli quinoa delight (center) turkey pumpkin chili (right)

6g of sugar for the whole jar.

I made a delicious new dish this week that is a keeper in my book :)
"Katie's Meatball broccoli quinoa delight"
 First I made meatballs based off a recipe from allrecipes.com "meatball nirvana" This is my version:
1 lb extra lean ground beef
1 tsp. powdered garlic
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 T. worcester sauce
1/2c panko instead of bread crumbs
1/3c  unsweetened almond milk.

Preheat oven to 400, mix all ingredients until blended, form 1 1/2 inch meatballs placing on a baking sheet. Make sure to use a baking sheet with raised edges or else the grease will run off your pan and make a big mess in your oven, I learned this the hard way. I personally use a pampered chef baking stone. Bake meatballs for 20-25
While my meatballs were baking I steamed several heads of broccoli and their stalks I added a cup of cooked quinoa and  a jar of trader joe's pomadoro pasta sauce which has 1 g of sugar per half cup which comes out to 6g of sugar for the whole jar. I then combined the broccoli, meatballs, quinoa, sauce and lots of fresh basil and let everything simmer for several mins. I served it topped with more fresh basil and mozzarella cheese. Delish.

Mini Crust less Quiches:
Last night I made crust less mini quiches, so easy and delicious. I thawed and drained a box of chopped spinach, cooked some turkey breakfast sausage's, added some bacon, fresh basil and ricotta cheese and eggs. After every thing was mixed I sprayed my muffin pan with pam and spooned the mixture in. I baked it at 350 for about 45 mins. Depending on your ingredients it doesn't always take that long I set my timer for 25 mins but when I put a butter knife into them they weren't done yet.

Balsamic Vinegar stir fry with quinoa:
Last night I also made a delicious green stir fry. I sauteed asparagus, kale, celery, broccoli and portobello mushrooms in olive oil. I then added fresh garlic, garlic salt and balsamic vinegar. I topped it off with leftover pork chops and quinoa, I portioned it out and...bam lunch and enough to freeze for a later date.


Left mini quiches, Right quinoa stir-fry

Hello everyone, what a refreshing weekend :) So many good things are happening I hope I remember to share them all. First of all I walked to work for the second time on Friday, it feels good to get out and enjoy the beautiful spring sun before work. Friday night we had dinner at my folks, we had taco salad which was delicious. My Dad is still doing the fast track and he looks great, he doesn't want me to share how much weight he has lost but I am very proud of him. My Mom won't be doing another zumba class with me because she is going back east to help my great aunt move. My Mom is such a sweet heart and I am very blessed to have her as my Mom.

Saturday I gave our apt a good cleaning, took a long nap went grocery shopping with hubby and got some new sunglasses. I have been looking for sunglasses that cover more of the delicate skin around my eyes. Hubby and I had another taco salad. Today we went for a long walk which was really nice I love how everything is starting to pop. Weight wise I haven't gotten on the scale lately but I put on a pair of jeans that I haven't worn for awhile because they had gotten too sung...and holy moly they fit :) yeeehawwww:)

Foodwise I am mostly doing the fast track and I feel this works for me. I am exercising more and still drinking less, I feel good about what I have been up to in April. Hubby and I are taking a financial class at our church by Dave Ramsey called Financial Peace, we are so blessed by what we are learning. His premises are simple save, don't spend money you don't have and budget. He breaks is down in a bunch of baby steps. That way of thinking is really helping me in how I view diet/health/exercise. Our class is literally right after work so I have been working on having food available for us to eat so we don't get fast food or go hungry. Tonight I made a crutsless quiche, and a broccoli, spaghetti sauce (low sugar from trader joe's) and meatball dish for us to have for dinner and lunches this week. I feel like this week is off to a good start already. I will let you know how my quiche and broccoli dishes turned out and if they are keeper recipes I will post them. I hope everyone had a nice weekend :)

I love how this blog community is growning

Hello everyone, I love how this blog community is growing I love finding new blogs or blogs that are not new but just new to me, to learn from and to provide support and encouragement :)

Today I started to to journal my food again, I would have started yesterday but honestly I kinda forgot. My food has been good Sunday I made a delicious veggie soup with quinoa and chicken, Monday I added to it with spinach, baby bok choy and mushrooms. I love soup!!! I was inspired to make it after reading an article in Women's World about a new version of the cabbage soup diet. I've done the cabbage soup diet in the past and I actually liked the soup but it was hard to stomach morning, noon and night. Soup can be such a filling and satisfying meal and if it is low in sugar and sodium it's great for weight loss.

For this soup I sauteed a little onion and garlic, 1 carrot, savoy cabbage, 1 tomato, daikon radish, broccoli and asparagus. I then added water and a little sea salt, powdered garlic, and fresh basil. Then I added leftover quinoa and cubed chicken. The next day I added baby bok choy, sauteed mushrooms and a package of frozen spinach, more fresh basil and fresh Italian parsley.

100 calories, 16g carb, 5g protein, 5g fiber,1g sugar

I tried a new veggie burger for lunch today it was a nice addition to my veggie soup with chicken, I used a flax muffin and 1/2 avocado for a sandwich, it was yummy and I only ended up eating half. This burger has a nice flavor and is not very spicy at all.

I think I have shared before that I struggle being productive in the morning, this is an area I am working on  and I am happy to say that I did a good job this morning. Last night before bed I made a realistic list of things that I wanted to accomplish before work: exercise, Bible study, and doing my breakfast dishes before work. This morning I did a 20 min zumba ab workout, eventually I would like to work out more in the morning but this is a realistic start for me. Yesterday was my zumba class that I take with my Mom, I LOVE it and I want to do more. This is the first exercise class I have taken, I was always held back by my own insecurities to ever take anything before. I am so glad that I went out of my comfort zone to take this class because I love it! I have to say I even tried zumba because Kay talks about it on her blog, I was curious and wanted to see what all the hype was about. Happy Tuesday :)

Making this weekned count

Hello everyone, this past work week was a busy one for me I currently have three after work evening commitments, zumba, bible study and a fincial class with hubby. So I was very grateful when Friday rolled around, I recently realized that I have been treating the weekends like they don't count food/drink wise. In my head I know that they are the same as any other day but lately hubby and I have been going out to eat more on Fridays and when we go out to eat it is easier for me to cheat and eat higher carb and sugar items. I think that is because when I make food at home I know how it is prepared and how much fat/sugar/salt is in the meal. I need to be more purposeful to eat good when I eat out because little cheats add up to big cheats and bad behaviors. Another thing about the weekends that we are working on is our alcohol consumption, I feel hesitant in talking about this because I know my Mom sometimes reads my blog and she commented on it the last time I talked about it. Anyway, lately we have been having about two extra glasses of wine at a time and it is getting in the way. So for now I am committing to not drinking and getting back to the basics, focusing on food journaling, and low sugar and better carb eating, and being consistent with my exercise.

Last night we had a delicious salad for dinner with a dressing I made with a little greek yogurt, vinegar, olive oil, chives and oregano, I put everything in the food processor and it was delish. After dinner we were productive instead of sitting on the couch enjoying wine and a movie, I cleaned/organized my closet (a big thing for me because I hate doing it) and hubby worked on organizing his study room.

It feels good to treat this weekend like it counts right now instead of my usual wine on Saturday I am enjoying green tea and hubby is in the study working on homework. As I reflected on 2012 so far I realized I had gotten lax and straight up lazy with some of my habits. Starting with the superbowl hubby and I lowered our guard and ate and drank too much causing both of us to gain weight, once I had to reckon with my weight gain I vowed to do better in March, and I mostly did except I was still treating the weekends like they didn't count, and it has truly only been in this last week that I have realized that I need to start treating the weekends like they count or I will never make the progress I desire. I guess that's all for now, I hope everyone is having a nice weekend :)

Happy Easter

Happy Easter, thank you for such wonderful comments on my last post, you guys are so awesome!!! It feels like a lot has happened since I last posted, Thursday hubby and I celebrated our 4th anniversary we joke that it has been four LONG years, being able to laugh with each other and at each other is a wonderful part of our relationship.

Today we had a nice day with my folks after church we had a ham and quiche brunch, my Mom made a quiche with almond flour that was delicious, and no one could taste a difference. Almond flour is defiantly a keeper in my book, yesterday I made two almond flour pizzas which turned out so yummy, I only put 1/2 tsp of salt in this time instead of 1 tsp. I still love coconut flour but it doesn't seem as versatile as almond flour because everything has a coconut taste to it.

I am looking forward to my second zumba class tomorrow with Sandy. Did I mention that my Mom and I are going together, It's fun that we are trying this together. Hubby and I are still working out together, but it is getting a little challenging now that he is back in school, but it feels good every time that we make the time to do it because we want to be healthy in shape people, and we don't want to keep using the excuse "we don't have time" because our lives will only continue to get busier and there will never be a time that is the "perfect time" to exercise.

Kay said something that really inspired me on my last post " I really think we all do better when the BFC is forefront in our minds. Blogging, reading the blogs, getting inspired...they all go together" Amen to that! I have been thinking a lot about being purposeful and mindful lately concerning my diet/fitness. I realized that I do my best when I am really plugged into this community, I really think being able to share, encourage and inspire is what helps us to be healthy and to get to where we want to be weight wise.

Hello everyone thanks for the great comments, I really appreciate your feedback. I agree with Diana I don't really like Conda she comes across as controlling and bossy. It felt so good so share with all of you how I have been struggling and the steps I am trying to take to get back on track and to basically find  good healthy habits and a good groove. I was looking at my posts and during the time that I was struggling in Feb I hardly posted...I guess I didn't want to share what was happening that made me turn to high carb food (mostly the initial stress about putting an offer on the house....fyi we still haven't heard anything new) Any way I should have been sharing more because this community is so helpful, being able to share involves success and struggles.

Anyway I want to let you guys know that I appreciate your constructive criticism, I am really helped by your honest insights. So please feel free to offer your insights and don't worry about offending me. Helen, your comment was great and I appreciated your take. Tonight I heard something that made me think of our blog community...we can't see the blind spots in our lives, and we need others to point them out for us. So, friends please help me to see my blind spots, because I want to reach my goals of being overall healthy but also having a strong core that has minimal belly fat.

On a different note I am also excited to be able to wear sandals again :) I also found a zumba class through the parks dept that fits into my work schedule...Yay! Last night was my first time and I loved it. I got a better workout from the class than I do at home when I do it by myself. No wonder zumba is so popular it's fun and you don't feel like you are working out.

Hello everyone, March just slid on by didn't it? I didn't make as much progress as I wanted to (the scale doesn't say what I want, and my jeans fit better but not the way I want) But I have no one to blame but myself, only sometimes I was really good about portion control, exercise basically the usual offenders. Hubby and I have started watching the Biggest Loser together, and boy howdy this season is really speaking to me. In case you don't watch this season's theme is "no excuses" each week they tackle some of the most common excuses for not taking the appropriate steps to being healthy. Watching it shines a bright light on all of my excuses, some of my personal favorite excuses: I deserve to eat ___ because I never do, I had a stressful day and I need/deserve a glass of wine, I can make up for my lack of exercise or good eating tomorrow, I'm too tired to get up and work out in the morning or after work" Do any of these sound familiar to you?

Exercise is a funny thing isn't it? I am thankful that I have a hubby who shares my feelings on health/wellness. We want to be healthy fit people and hopefully by good habits we avoid having heart attacks that run on both sides of our family. I have been thinking about Diana's question about Tracy Anderson the past week, in some ways she is like Jorge because her workouts are unconventional, she works your larger muscle groups to exhaustion and then works the smaller accessory muscle groups. I know a lot of people are critical of her but I really enjoy her workouts. I recommend her Method Mat Dvd, because it involves minimal equipment (a chair and small hand weights) I don't dread it and I haven't gotten boared by it. And my hubby who knows much more about fitness than I do thinks it is a good workout. So that's my two cents on Tracy Anderson's Method Mat workout.

On other news life is good, things are starting to green up around here and I am looking forward to the Spring flowers. On Saturday we had a homemade pizza night at my folks I made the almond flour pizza for the first time and everyone thought it was tasty. I tried to take a picture of it with my new phone, but I didn't know what I was doing and I ended up taking unflattering pictures of myself and videos. LOL, I am hoping to figure things out so I can more easily take pictures to add to my blog. I guess that is all for now I hope everyone is having a nice first week of April :)

Happy Spring

Hello everyone, Happy Spring!!!! This past week has been a good one for me and I am excited to share. One of the biggest things that I accomplished this week was exercising every day with my hubby. I was having a hard time finding the motivation to exericse and the discipline to make it happen, and honestly I was full of excuses as to why I didn't. I realized that my pride was getting in the way of asking for his help, I felt that I should be able to get it done on my own. We did Tracy Anderson together this week and holy crap it was so much harder doing it with him because he pointed out that I wasn't doing a lot of the exercises properly. His criticism even though it was constructive was hard to take and I found myself getting pretty defensive. I never thougth that this would be something I would struggle with. I am trying to be less prideful and to recognize that asking for help is not a sign of weakness, and it gives more opportunity for growth. On my March goal poster I have some slim down tips that I cut out of a magazine to help motivate me, one of them is "use the buddy system: friends can be accountability partners for you- use them! Support each others goals"

Sorry it took me so long for this post, I started it on the weekend, but for some reason it took me forever to finish it. Life is good over here, hubby is on Spring break and we have been having much needed fun together. Saturday and Sunday we got some really nice walks in. Sunday was the most beautiful day we have had so far all year and it felt divine to get an iced americano and enjoy a walk. I hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday :) lots of love to everyone :)

This is something I found on pinterest, talk about motivation :)

Baby Steps

Hello everyone, my blog is under construction, I came to the realization that I need a change. I also need to change my approach to diet/fitness. I need to stop making excuses and I need to sit down and plan for my short term and long term goals, and make a list of the baby steps I need to take to get there. My March goal poster was a good start, but it got me thinking that I want and expect more from myself.   Last week I did ok in my diet and fitness, but frankly I drank too much wine to really see a difference, so I have some ideas for how to be more successful this week.

This Week:

• I asked hubby to exercise with me in the morning, because I have been having trouble finding motivation to exercise before work. To get the fit/toned healthy body I want I know I need to consistently exercise.
• To continue to take the stairs at work on breaks
• Eat lots of green veggies/ green soups.
• Stop using watching tv shows on hulu as an excuse not to exercise, read, and blog.
• To stay connected with my bfc friends via the blogs and fb's bfc page.

My goal poster is awesome :)

Hello everyone, sorry I wasn't on the blogs much last week my computer is having some problems, I got a virus but hopefully hubby can fix it for me. I am loving my goal poster it's it is helping me to get back on track with consistent diet and exercise. I didn't get as much exercise in as I wanted hubby and I were both tired last week and we had a hard time getting out of bed, but I did get two good days in. I have also started doing the stairs at work on my lunch break.

• Last Sunday the scale was 139.5 yesterday it was 136 :) Several changes helped me to lose weight this week, First of all I hubby and I went back on the fast track, chips were a big contributor to our February weight gain. I tried to drink a ton of water each day and for flavor I added cucumber and lemon slices.
• I made a weight watcher veggie free inspired soup with a little onion, garlic, asparagus, spinach, celery, and kale and low sodium chicken stock. I added chicken or shrimp for protein.
• I started doing the stairs at work on my lunch break. I was inspired to do that when I saw in a magazine that Jordin Sparks from American Idol used stairs to help her get started on her 30 lb slim down :)
• I ate the flax muffin for breakfast with some eggs, turkey sausage and I had one for lunch with my soup.
• And I ate only the food I brought to work and didn't nibble on any wheat thins or cheeze-it's.

Goal poster

Hello everyone, I'm sure it's no big surprise but February was a little rough for me I fell off the wagon and I gained about 5 lbs :( I ate way too many chips, and I didn't watch my portions, drank a too much wine, yada, yada, yada. I think I allowed myself to emotionally eat and drink because I had been doing good and I thought I deserved it, and the more I did it I lost sight of what was once in awhile became too frequent. I am annoyed with myself 5 lbs means my jeans don't fit the way I want them to and that really irritates me. Don't worry I'm not having a pity party I thought about my bad choices and I came up with a plan to help me get back on track.

As you can see I made myself a goal poster for March, I bought several health/fitness magazines and cut out pictures and words to inspire and motivate me. I made a calender where I plan to write down my exercise and on the back I plan on tracking my food. I am excited and motivated!!! I am glad to be back on the wagon, and back to our blogging community :)

Concerning our house I don't have a lot of news, the house is in short sale so the bank can take as much time as they want before they review our offer and get back to us. This is a little frustrating but we are optimistic.

 

Hello everyone, sorry I have been a little MIA lately, I've been a mixture of busy and also just plain lazy. Last Tuesday hubby and I had a lovely Valentines Day, hubby cooked us steak, shrimp and asparagus and we enjoyed some delicious red wine. We decided that we need to be a litttle more disciplined about our red wine intake because we both put on several lbs the past several weeks to to wine and carb indulgence. I have decided to stop weighing myself for awhile because I found I was getting obsessed with the number on  the scale. Right now I am focused on healthy bfc/ft eating and exercise, and lots of water.

I just wanted to make this a quick post to let you know that I have not fallen off the wagon. I took time to re-focus on my eating and exercise. I saw this picture on pintrest and it is so motivational to me I had to share it with all of you. I will write a more detailed post in the next several days and I will share some pics of the flax bread/muffins I have been making for breakfast. (I don't want to bother hubby with putting the pictures on the computer tonight because he is busy with homework)

Big hugs to everyone, and special thoughts to my friends who are going through tough times, I am sending you lots of love from Washington State :)

Reckoning day after Super Bowl

Good evening everyone!!! I had a really nice weekend, Friday night hubby and I had a nice pork chop salad and some wine and watched Top Chef, Saturday while he did homework I went over to my folks and did laundry and hung out with my Mom and Sadie dog (my Dad was out of town visiting his brother) My Mom and I had some nice conversations, I told her more about our dreams for getting a house and once we have a house getting a puppy and eventually having babies. My Mom is such a neat person, you guys would really like her. She and my Dad are doing the FT, she has lost 2 lbs and my Dad has lost 15 lbs :) My Mom doesn't really need to lose much her goals are similar to mine she wants to slim down and tone up. We have very similar bodies.

Today was my weigh in day that's counts and thankfully it was better than I expected, 135.5 lbs this week compared to 133 last Sunday, but during the week I was between 135-137 lbs. So all in all I gained back 2 lbs of the 3 lbs I lost after the holidays...but I am looking at it as  a glass half full kinda thing rather than glass half empty. What I could have done better was eaten less carbs Superbowl Sunday because I drank red wine and ate chips and dip (I know I ate more than a serving of chips and a serving of wine) and during the week I polished off a bag of chips without thinking. I think the morale of my story is it is important to pay attention to portion size of high carb things like chips especially since they slide down so easily, I think that is a big reason I try not to keep them around. it's way to easy to eat too many before you realize what you have done. And chose between drinking red wine or eating chips or other carbs, not both at the same time.

As I said in my last post I am back on track and I am getting enough fiber in, my #2 problem is also back on track. Hubby and I have been eating a lot of flax seed muffin/bread things things that I first saw in Minichick's blog. We have been taking 1/4 c ground flax meal, 1 egg, 1/4 tsp baking powder, a small amount of melted coconut oil or butter, mixing everything in a dish and then using a spatula to spread it onto a salad plate and baking it for 2 mins. the result is a delicious flat piece of flax bread that I have been using for breakfast or snack. Sometime this week I will try to share pictures.

I hope everyone had a nice weekend, I have lots of love and appreciation for all of you :)

Makes you think

Good morning everyone, I saw this on pintrest this morning and I wanted to share it with everyone. I  love this visual with the sugar cubes next to the food items it really helps me to envision the sugar in food.
Life here is pretty exciting, we put an offer in on the house we love and the owners accepted it, now we are waiting for the banks approval because it is a short sale. One of my co-workers had a beautiful baby boy this week and another co-worker is adopting a baby boy who is due any day now. I just turned 29 and now I feel ready to start preparing to get pregnant. I am excited I am going to start making some goals to prepare and I am going to make a goal chart. We are thinking of trying next year because hopefully we will be in a house and hubby will be more in the middle of school than at the beginning.

In my last post I said I thought I did pretty  good at the Superbowl party, well I think I ate a ton of salt because the scale was up 4 lbs on Monday :( It's been going down every day but man it has been annoying. I also realized that I have been slacking on fiber because my #2's haven't been that good lately, so I've started tracking everything again. I think if things don't fit the way you want it's time to go back to the basics, keep it simple and keep track of what you are doing and make adjustments accordingly. My rule of thumb jeans still don't fit the way I want them to but I know that with keeping track of what I am eating and my exercise I will get there soon. Have a wonderful Friday everyone :) TGIF

Superbowl Sunday

Hello everyone I hope you had a nice superbowl Sunday if that is your cup of tea. Hubby and I went to a party and I feel good about what I ate I mostly had some chips and guacamole and some red wine. It helped that we had a hearty chicken salad before we left the house and when we got there I visited and then sat down away from the food to watch the game with my water. Shortly before halftime we sat down with our realtor and signed papers for an offer on the house we saw the last week. Please pray or think good thoughts, this would be an awesome house for us.

On Friday we went out to dinner at Applebee's and I was disappointed that I couldn't find any of their foods from the BFC Quick Meals book on their menu. I ended up getting one of their under 550 c dinners with steak and shrimp and broccoli and potatoes. Everything was tasty except the broccoli boarder lined on raw but I didn't care after eating my steak and shrimp.

Life is good up here, except for having some chips today I have mostly been doing the ft, the scale today was 133 :) But I'm not super focused on a number, I know how I want to look and my clothes to fit. Have a wonderful new week tomorrow :)

I love my new BFC Quick Meals Book

Hello everyone, I have the most wonderful news to share, today hubby and I looked at a house that would be so perfect for us. The neighborhood is great it's only several houses down from a nurse I work with and she says she loves living there. It has three bedrooms, two baths, a finished basement and a two car garage, and we like the schools available. To my friends who are familiar with my area it's near Manito Park which we love. We really hope that this house works out for us, we didn't see any big problems with it today but obviously we would need to have it inspected and learn more about it. The biggest problems that we saw were cosmetic, the inside and outside could use a good paint job. One of the bedrooms is lime green, I don't think that I could sleep in a lime green room, but no big that's an easy fix.

Last week I bought the Belly Fat Cure Quick Meals at costco for $11.59, which is a much better price than walmart's $17 I saw the other day while picking up a prescription. I have to admit I was skeptical of the quick meals book, I thought Jorge was just trying to make more money.  I love that Rosalie is featured in this book on pg. 11 I have lots of love for Rosalie, she has helped me stay on the bfc wagon :) Big hugs Rosalie, you rock!!! I think this will be really helpful to me when I eat out. For Christmas we received a gift card to Appplebee's, the asiago peppercorn steak on pg. 27 looks delish. I think this will also help me to make better choices as arby's and subway. I really wish PF Changs was included in this book, we also received a gift card there and it seems a lot of their stuff is carby or in sauces that seem to be filled with sugar. I haven't eaten there since starting the bfc. Has anyone eaten there since doing  the bfc/ft? If so what did you get?

So far the weight I lost before and during the  Fast Track Detox Diet by Ann Louise Gittleman  is staying off, each morning I weigh between 133-134, I don't know about hubby I know he doesn't weigh every day but he is looking good. In response to Dawn's question I didn't buy a lot of supplements, I've done this before so I already had the hydrochloric acid for the sequel, and besides making sure I had enough of the veggies she recommends I just bought dandelion tea to supplement the pre-quel. Dandelion tea may be good for the liver but it tastes nasty, and do does dandelion greens. Hubby told me tonight that he has had more energy since doing the fast and I agree, my mornings have been much easier and I don't feel so tired all the time. P.S. during the detox I didn't add orange juice to the cranberry juice because I didn't have one and I didn't want to make a special trip for it, I just added an extra lemon (plus I think not having the extra sugar from the orange was good since I try to eat low sugar  even fruit sugar on the bfc)

Hello everyone, sorry I have been a bit of a blogging bum lately sometimes I just get in a funk and I feel I have nothing to say. But I do have good news I have lost some of my holiday weight :) Hubby and I decided to do the Fast Track Detox Diet by Ann Louise Gittleman, the author of the Fat Flush Plan. It is a one day detox but you spend the week before preparing for the detox. You avoid caffeine, chocolate, dairy, alcohol, processed food, excess fat and wheat products. You prepare by eating veggies from the crucifer family, green leafy veggies, sulfur rich foods, liver healers, fiber such as flax or psyllium and lots of water. And for three days after the detox you eat the same way.

Last week before starting to prepare for the detox: me 136.5 hubby: 183.5
Day before detox: me: 134.5 hubby 179.4
The day after the detox: me: 133.5 hubby:177.0

I feel wonderful, my mind and body feel fresh and clear. This one day detox was just the thing I needed to shake things up and to rid my body of some toxins. My next plan is to do the ft for awhile and continue to exercise consistently (I have been doing wonderful this month, and being able to look at all my stickers in my day planner is very helpful to me)

Hubby and I are now proud owners of our very own scale, which makes it nice to have consistent weigh in times. I hope everyone is having a nice start to their week, I want to give my new followers a shout out, thanks for deciding to follow my blog I hope I don't disappoint you :)

Exercise

Hello everyone, thank you for such kind messages. My roses are still going strong, I trimmed them the other day and put them in a square vase it's fun to mix things up. I got them from Safeway, I don't know why but Safeway roses always last the longest. This new year (2012) I am trying to be more consistent about my exercise, I really believe with the bfc and consistent exercise I can have a more toned body and hopefully a flat tummy. This year I have been keeping track of my exercise in my pocket sized day minder. My Dad has been buying me these day minders for years ( I don't have a smart phone to keep track of my calender). Each day I write down my exercise and then I put a sticker on the month page. It is very satisfying to look at the stickers.

In regards to exercise I used to be a total gym girl, I loved the bike, the elliptical and the stair master, I also used the machines and free weights. When hubby was active duty Marine at Camp Pendleton I LOVED working out on base, the gym was huge and they had lots of equipment to chose from, I especially enjoyed the tread climber which looks like  a treadmill split down the center. I wish I was doing the bfc when we lived down there because I know with the amount of exercise I put in I would have looked and felt great. While we were down there I ate a lot of foods that I thought were healthy, which I now know were really full of sugar, and I was never able to get below 143 lbs.

Now that we live back in our hometown and hubby is in school we are focused on saving money, so most of my workouts are at home these days. In response to a question from Angie: I have never taken an official zumba class, hubby and I have a program on our computer's called vuze which allows us to download some movies, tv shows, and some exercise videos. I have the zumba cardio party, and a 20 min zumba workout. I love them!!! At some point I would like to get more zumba dvd's. I especially love that I can do them in my living room and no one can see how hard I struggle to shake my hips :) I know Kay has the dvd's and she likes them when she chooses to do them at home.

I have also been doing Tracy Anderson's dance cardio and method mat that I got off of vuze. I love Tracy she knows how to kick my butt, hubby even likes her method mat workout. At some point I would love to get some of Tracy's dvd's especially metamorphosis. If you are curious about Tracy Anderson check her out on youtube, she had whipped Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna into shape.

 Long story short, I have decided to made 2012 the year I make the biggest effort to tone up and slim down  using the bfc/ft and all my exercise tools I already have. I really want a slim tummy, I have never had one, I have always had a little poochie ( the fat below your belly button).

One Year Anniversary on the BFC: down 10 lbs

Celebration roses

Hello friends, January 10th was  my one year anniversary on the BFC, whoo hoo!!!! I started this post on the 10th, but I had a hard time finishing it.Instead of treating myself with food I bought a bouquet of pink roses to celebrate. In the beginning I really didn't think it would work and I would not be able to stick with it. The beginning was very hard for me, it took awhile to get the hang of things, I was very discouraged until I found Rosalie's and Amber's blogs and video's on youtube. I kept a journal for about the first month until I started my blog and got a job, it's fun to look back and see what I struggled with and what I learned. I am going to start journaling again because I love how it can be a safe place to vent, and it helps keep me honest about how I am truly doing.

I heard about the bfc from my Mom who heard about it from her Naturopath who has lost 30 lbs herself using the bfc. I think there is a lot of good in a natural approach to health care so when her Dr. recommended it that helped me to find the bfc credible. I think it is important to feel that whatever diet/exercise program you are doing is credible. There are a lot of people out there that are willing to make a buck on anything.

Here are some things that I have learned on the bfc:

• Don't give up
• Chose your fats and proteins wisely, just because you can eat bacon and cheese doesn't mean you need to go hog wild with them.
• Remind yourself that you are trying to eat "better carbs" not just "low carb"
• Tailor the bfc to a way that works for you and your family.
• Try not to eat too many processed foods they are full of sodium and other preservatives that are not good for us.
• Use your crock pot more or make freezer meals so you don't have to eat bad because it is easier.
• Learn to love low sugar dark chocolate...I know it's not the same as a delicious piece of milk, but when it has lower sugar is has more of the good cacao which is healthy for us.
• Be willing to try new things, you might actually love them. Bfc friendly products I have tried: barleans, clemmy's, chia seeds, coconut flour, almond flour, stevia, truvia, ezekiel bread, Jay Robb's protein powder, unsweetened almond milk.
• Revamp old recipes to make them bfc friendly and be willing to try new ones. I love the stir-fry recipes in the original bfc.
• Make friends who are doing the same plan, I have met so many people on the blogs that I respect and appreciate. I think that is why weight watchers is so successful, going to meetings and connecting to others with a shared goal is a powerful tool to help you stick with your goals.

I love the bfc and I want to continue to get better at eating low sugar and better carb and learning how to deal with food bullies in a better way. I lost 10 lbs and several inches from my waist and hips, I am hoping this year that with exercise and the bfc I can have a more toned body with a flat tummy :)

1 year on the BFC

Hello everyone, I feel like I am still struggling to back into the daily routine after the holidays. I weighed myself on Friday and I am only up three lbs for the whole holiday season!!! I am so excited that it is not the usual 10-15 I have gained in the past several years. Last week I took the sweets that we were given to work for my co-workers, everything was a big hit and I am relieved not to have the sweets around to tempt me.

Last night we went to my work holiday party at the Davenport which is a beautiful hotel. We had soo much fun, I drank some yummy red wine, had a delicious meal, only two bites of the dessert and I danced my butt off. I wish I had a picture to share but we never got around to asking anyone to take our picture.

My heart hurts for Pattie and her family and like Kay I feel a little weird prattling on about my life when they are dealing with such heartbreak. Life is truly precious, I've been thinking about that a lot the past several days. My hubby has a tattoo on his forearm that says "death is certain, life is not" We don't know how much time we have here, and it's important to take care of ourselves.

Happy New Year Part 2

Happy 2012 everyone, I hope you had a wonderful New Year's Eve. Hubby and I stayed the night at the in-laws and we enjoyed a nice bfc approved breakfast with the family this morning. We had egg sandwiches with Rudi's english muffins,  low sodium bacon and of course lots of coffee. We had fun, hubby's Grandma is visiting from CA, and we lounged around in our p.j.'s watching football. I married into a big football family, so I had to get on the football wagon.

As I think about the New Year I hope to continue to get better at the bfc I don't want to fall into the mindset that I can relax on the bfc because I am in a good place with my weight. It's important to learn to take care of ourselves with out emotional eating. I want to become a better blogger because it is helpful to me and I want to be able to be a source of support and encouragement to any who read my blog. I want to be better about taking pictures of delicous bfc breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks to help inspire others and to remind me of all the yummy things that we eat on the bfc when I feel discouraged and want to dive into a bowl of pasta. I also want to make some videos, because I love it when the other bloggers post videos and I have found them tremendously helpful. Hubby and I plan to sit down and discuss our goals for 2012 and come up with a game plan on how to get there. We have never done this before so it will be new territory for us, but I know it will be good having a plan and goals is always good. I think we will even take a play from Sherri's play book and make a goal poster.

The past several days I have been eating more salty foods than usual and I want to share a recipe for water that helps with bloating. Sassy water named after Cynthia Sass one of the authors of the Flat Belly Diet (which has a lot of good info about healthy fat helping us to lose belly fat).

• In about 8c of water add, fresh sliced ginger, 1 medium cucumber peeled and sliced, 1 medium lemon, and around 12 mint leaves (I often leave the mint out because I think it tastes better without it) Chill all the ingredients in the fridge overnight and in the morning you will have a refreshing drink to help you get rid of bloat.

I hope everyone is having a nice New Years day, keep it low sugar and better carb and you will feel better tomorrow. Lots of love and big hugs to everyone :)

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone!!! 2011 is almost over and we are at my in-laws MIL and Grandma already went to bed, so I thought I would check in with my blogging buddies. I am so excited about Sherri's idea for a goal poster, I told hubby about it and I think we are going to make one. I am so happy to share that this is the first time in a long time that I am going into the new year feeling good about my weight. I don't know what my official year end weight is but I feel good and I am happy with how my clothes fit.

My Mom told me yesterday that she and my Dad are going  to do the bfc, whoo hoo!!! I hope they really go into it with open minds and give it a  fair shake. She told me she gained 5 lbs from Christmas goodies. One thing that really helped hubby and I this year was not having any Christmas cookies around. The things we were given are in a bag by the door to be taken to work. This holiday season I ate only two of my favorite holiday cookies, 3 peanut butter balls, and about three pieces of homemade candy. This is big for me, in the past I ate a ton of everything.

Here are some things that helped my to be successful this holiday season:

• Red wine instead of beer or sugary mixed drinks
• Having no Christmas goodies around
• Celestial seasonings holiday teas with whipped cream
• My peppermint coffee instead of starbucks peppermint mocha
• Exercise even if it was for 20 mins at a time
• Lots of water
• Looking at last year's holiday pics
• Having enough healthy food to snack on at work
• Reminding myself that I need to stick to the bfc and not slack off because it is the holiday season

Happy New Year Everyone!!!! Big hugs to everyone!!! Let's make 2012 a wonderful year with lots of success stories.

Merry Christmas

Hello friends, I hope everyone is having a happy holiday season. We had a lovely Christmas, and Santa was very good to me. Some of my favorite presents were:  Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook and a set of holiday coasters that our Mother's made for us at a pottery painting place. Todd and I are very blessed to be able to have both sets of folks here in town this year (his parents lived in Philly the last four years)

I received a nice compliment from  hubby's cousin who is more like a cool aunt to us, she told me that I had lost weight since I saw her in the summer and that I looked really good. :) :) :) I think one of the big things that has helped me is drinking less beer, I mean way less beer. Which was hard for me to let go of,  but now that I feel good where I am at it's easy to pass up.

I feel good about the little indulgences I had over the past several days, and I am only up 1-2 lbs :) 1-2 lbs is much much better than 5-10 lbs that I have put on the past few years. I have my holiday work party coming up Jan 7th so I am really feeling motivated to eat belly good and to exercise. I have lots more to say, but it's getting late and I work early tomorrow, big holiday hugs to everyone :)

Hello everyone, can you believe Christmas is right around the corner? It doesn't look like it is going to be a white Christmas around here which is a bit of a bummer. I feel like my mood is up and down on one hand I feel better physically going into the holiday season lighter than last year and determined not to gain weight, and on the other I feel down with the dark cold weather and I just want to nap until I feel better. I mostly think it's a combination of the weather and hormones. I feel better when I remember to take my vitamin D supplement and I exercise.

labor of love modge podged presents

I am loving the peppermint chocolate coffee, I have even put peppermint extract in my candy cane lane tea, I really feel that the coffee and teas are helping me not to over indulge. I took Thursday and Friday off work so I could enjoy getting ready for Christmas, I drank a ton of peppermint coffee watched Christmas movies and wrapped presents. Actually this year I modge podged my presents, so hopefully they can be re-used next year. That wasn't my intent in doing it in the first place it just sounded fun, and it was very enjoyable and relaxing. I think it's good to find things to do to get in the Christmas spirit that don't involve sugary foods.

Hubby and I bought a bunch of presents this year at World Market, I found a new low sugar chocolate bar that I LOVE. For $1.99 I got a delicious dark chocolate bar that has 2g of sugar for the whole bar!!! :) You have to try it,  I think it has a wonderful texture and taste.

Life is good, hubby and I looked at out first house yesterday :) it won't be a good fit for us but it was exciting to look. It's never a good sign when the house next store has a small bus, vw bug and trailer in their back yard. I hope everyone is having a wonderful week, stay away from all the yummy sugary goodies you won't regret it :)

Delicious. You must try it :)

Don't worry I didn't fall off the wagon

Hello friends, sorry I haven't posted in almost two weeks, December is flying by. I am happy to share that I am 99 % done with my Christmas shopping and last night we started wrapping Whooo Hooo!!!! I was feeling stressed about what to get and shopping. This year hubby and I are really trying to show our parents how much we love and appreciate them this year we will be having Christmas Day dinner at my in-laws with both sets of folks :) I am so blessed by my parents and hubby's family. My parents are good people and they love love love my hubby for which I am so thankful. My in-laws are awesome, and I'm really glad they get along with my folks.

I hope everyone likes my new pics, I feel they are a good reflection of where I am at now and where I came from. Last Monday we went to the Davenport to see the Christmas Tree Elegance with my folks I felt really good about how hubby and I looked. I am wearing my seven jeans that have been sitting in my closet for two years, and hubby is wearing the sweater he got last year for Christmas that didn't look good then because he had a chubby belly.

When I look at our Christmas pic from last year I remember how bad I felt about myself and I am so thankful that I started the belly fat cure in January to stop the cycle of gaining weight and feeling bad about myself. Sometimes I find myself thinking I've only lost 15 lbs and that's not a big deal, but when I look at my before pictures I realize those 15 lbs have made a big difference in how I look and how I feel about myself.

Saturday hubby and I went to Starbucks before heading to the mall for some shopping I ordered a peppermint mocha which is my favorite seasonal holiday drink, I haven't had one since last Christmas. I ordered a tall with the sugar free syrup (even though I'm sure it was made with fake sugar) the drink was still probably not very belly friendly, and it wasn't as good as I remembered. My peppermint coffee drink I make at home is much better. In my special 16 oz holiday mug I add 2 packets truvia, 1 T ghiradelli unsweetened cocoa, 1/4 tsp peppermint extract and finish it off with whipped cream. It is delicious and very belly friendly. Next time I go to Starbucks I will get my usual americano with cream and I will know that I am not missing out by passing up a peppermint mocha.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday, whatever you are up to keep it belly friendly you won't regret it. :)