Mamavation Monday -- A body in motion stays in motion

“This post is sponsored by Radiantly You and Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway”

Whooops! I forgot to post over the Memorial Day weekend. So I have lots to catch up on. For starters, I lost 2.6 lbs this week! It's both good and bad, since I keep gaining back, then losing more. Stupid medication. Since being on the Metformin, I'm down 4.8 lbs total. However, I've been feeling "funny", similar to when I had gestational diabetes. So I started taking my blood sugars--fasting inparticular. I've been testing in the 130's, and for those that don't know anything about blood glucose, a fasting of 110 is considered diabetic. So the stupid Metformin has apparently given me diabetes. Joy.

Needless to say, I have a doctor's appointment now. I'll probably find out that I don't really have PCOs. Who knows though. I don't have an M.D. after my name.

Today I had a big breakthrough though. I actually worked out. For the first time in a long time. And it felt good. Really good. So I'm going to continue to make a concerted effort to stay in motion.

Goals for this week:

Be mindful of carbs and portion control (try and keep blood sugar under control until I get to the Doc)

Stay in motion

Up my water intake

Drink more green tea (it's good for you, and for whatever reason it makes me feel fuller and eat less)

I'm also going to be taking part in the Mamavation Virtual 5k June 8th and 9th! I love taking part in this annual event. Have an excellent week!

Mamavation Monday - 2 steps forward, 4 steps back

So this week has been good and bad. On the good note, I lost 4 lbs. Woot! Apparently, the medication that my doctor put me on is working. Hurray. Which was a surprise, because I didn't quite eat nearly as well as I should have this past week.

In other news, this week has been one of the worst weeks in my life. I found out that I won't be receiving the scholarship that I thought I was going to be getting. I was sure, so not to get it was particularly devastating. Then my catalytic converter blew on my car, and while I was driving it to the dealer to get it repaired, the car broke completely. Bummer. It's only got 50,000 miles on it! Turns out it was my engine's coil pack, that went bad. But of course, there was lots of other stuff wrong. So I got a loaner. Well wouldn't you know it, someone hit me in the dealership's car. My first accident ever. I have a $1k deductible. Little Man and I are okay, though. Oh, and to top it off, my 3 year old has an appointment with a specialist, to be evaluated for surgery. Worry. Worry. Worry. I can't stop.

So by tomorrow, when I pick up our car, our entire bank account will be drained. :( But at least we had enough to cover this craziness. Ugh.

So the long and short of it is, since last night (I weigh Thurs.), I've had an awful lot of alcohol and chocolate. Like a ton. Which is not the best choice, but it happened. I woke up this morning, got right back at it, and ate my egg, and piece of fruit like a champ. Then I had a healthy lunch. And I'm on track again. It's nice to have been able to rebound. Am I happy? Hell no. Am I flat broke? You bet. But I'm not going to let that dictate the way I want to look in the mirror, and how I want to feel.

Here's to a better week this week, and I hope you all have great weeks too!


This post is sponsored by Simple Self Defense for Women and Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway 

Mamavation Monday-Hormone Hell

This week has been one heck of a roller coaster. As you may have read in my previous posts I've been having problems with my "hormones". Well at least that's what the OB is telling me. I've been exhibiting almost all of the symptoms of menopause with no relief. I've been having PMS for the past week and a half, crampy, crabby, exhausting, achy, hunger. So my poor eating habits have blessed me with a 0.4lb gain this week. I'm hoping to see a dramatic loss next week, because with all of this I'm resembling a water balloon as well.

It's just stupid. Can I tell you how much I hate this? How am I supposed to EVER have another kid when I'm not having monthlies? It's irritating. So irritating that I called the OB with a status update this morning.

After I was told that my NP that I see is on vacation until next week, the actual OB called me back three hours later and told me that she wants to see me ASAP tomorrow. So MAYBE I'll find out something. After 6 months of this though, I'm not going to hold my breath.

On the bright side, I've been "stay-cationing" this week from work, so I've been getting a TON of stuff done, and on top of my workout, we've been taking long family walks in the evening. We didn't get to go tonight--we live in a rougher neighborhood and my hubby was scraping and painting the garage all day--and my little guy cried. I didn't realize that he liked our new routine that much!

This week's goals:

1. Keep on being as active as possible.
2. Eat as healthy as possible even during the cravings.
3. Keep taking one step at a time.

Weight-loss to date:
Starting Weight: 192
4/27: 189.2 (Loss of 2.2)
 5/7: 189.6 (Gain of 0.4)

Wishing you all a great week!

Mamavation Monday- On time and Good News!

Check it out ladies! I'm on time this week! Must be because I finished my final, final exam for the
semester and handed it in yesterday! WOOT! *High Fives* all around for that! I'm so ready for summer, this semester was completely draining, well one of the two classes I took was, and if for some reason if this post makes it to some Wayne SLIS faculty, it wasn't yours Professor Jen. :)

This semester is coming to an end at the perfect time, and thinking back, not having the funding to continue through the summer was a blessing in disguise. By taking the summer off, I'm able to reestablish my healthy habits that I keep striving toward, but time always seemed to get in my way. Time can no longer be an excuse! Aside from work, I've got time, and a whole lot of it, through the end of August.

Last week, I rejoined Weight Watchers. And I'm happy to report, I LOST 2.2 lbs this week! SCORE! And the loss has only motivated me to keep going, even though I'm majorly PMS chocolate hounding this week. Skinny Cow chocolate is about to be a lifesaver here. So, I'll continue to keep track and keep counting my Points, as one of my summer goals.

The other goal I have is to get back on the workout wagon. I need to make exercise a habit. They say that it takes 17 days to develop a habit, but for some reason I give up, take a rest, or just generally stop doing my exercise routine around day 14. So I'm determined to push through and make time for exercise. I know that it's got to be a habit by the time fall rolls around, since I'll be in school full-time, parenting full-time, and working part-time, or I just won't make the time to do it.

I also have to start drinking water again. It's been really hard as of late, because even though I've never been a soda drinker, or anything else but water for that matter, I just haven't been particularly thirsty, so I don't have the cue to drink. So I'll work on that too.

So-

• Keep journaling my food (on both good AND MISBEHAVIOR days)
• Make excercise a habit
• Work on water

These are my goals for the summer (Monday APR 29 - AUG 26).

Starting Weight: 192
4/27: 189.2 (Loss of 2.2)

^^I'm also going to start doing this for accountability! :)

#Mamavation Monday--Baby Steps

Alrighty peeps. This past week, and my official re-induction into the Sistahood week (woot), has been focused on baby steps. When I first asked Leah for advice on Twitter before coming back, she said,

"Leave your shame in yesterday. Take small steps today. Pledge to #mamavation. start small, baby steps making lasting changes."

And last week, Kia reaffirmed this. So for my baby step this past week, I've been drinking water. Half my body weight per day, I've rounded this up to 100oz. and I'm doing it. And the best part is, I feel GOOD about doing it--besides having to pee all the time.

As a reminder to keep taking baby steps, I bought myself a ring.

It reads "The journey of a thousand miles, starts with a single step."

I thought it was a perfect reminder of the journey that I'll be on for the rest of my life, take baby steps.

So this week, my baby step is to eat clean. Ditch the crap, and work on resetting my hormones. And as I have learned, food is one of the easiest ways to reset them. I'm reading "The Hormone Diet".

As some of you may or may not know, last December (2012), I was told I was in menopause by my primary care doctor. I went in complaining about my horrific night sweats and continued fatigue, and ended up having tons of bloodwork done. My bloodwork came back with ZERO FSH, ZERO Estrogen, and a SMIDGE of LSH. I began to question if I even actually counted as a woman anymore. Did I mention? I'm only 26!

From there, I was referred to my OB/GYN, who immediately took me off birth control. Apparently, sometimes birth control can suppress your hormones so much that it will lead to menopausal symptoms. Now, I'm stuck waiting. My OB won't recheck my levels until after two cycles (I'm waiting on cycle two), to make sure that the synthetic hormones are out of my system. However, the night sweats still haven't gone away, so it will be interesting to see if I really am in menopause. Which horrifies me, because I want to have another kid. Bad.

So this week, I'm going to be eating clean. For me, and for the potential to have babies in the future. Oh, and I'm going to continue to drink massive amounts of water. :)

Mamavation Monday - Feelings of Failure

About 2 weeks ago, I hit a big milestone at Weight Watchers. I lost 10% of my body weight. It was a big deal for me. So big of a deal that I celebrated by ordering pizza. Probably not the smoothest of moves, but I did.

The only thing is, ever since that day I've been depressed. Almost like I am sad to see 10% of myself go. And with that depression, I've eaten every thing in my path, and then whatever else I could find. So much so that as of last Thursday I was up 4.6 lbs. Even through the #2weekchallenge, though I was working out, I was chowing down. Thus, I only had a meager loss of inches and pounds. And I'm dissappointed in myself.

But today I made a decision. I'm starting over. I'm committing to 30 days of consistancy. Today I've eaten better than I have in the past 2 weeks, and I also worked out (I've been slackin on that since the challenge ended). I'm commited to finishing Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 even if it kills me (it almost did today, my legs are on FIRE!). But 30 days, what's thirty days, right? I'm going to pull this off. I have to.

Wishing you all a great week!

Mamavation Monday- Return from being MIA

This past week, I lost another 1.2 lbs, taking me up to 5.2 pounds down since the last time I posted. Which was, a while ago. For a total of 26.2 since I joined Mamavation.

Things are still crazy, people are still sick/recovering in my family. January ended with ALL of us catching Norovirus. AKA, the virus from hell. For almost an entire week someone was in some sort of Gastro distress. Leading to me taking the baby to the hospital while I was still rocking a 103 fever, and my husband was stuck at home throwing up with diarrhea. This was the timeline:

Thursday: Lil Man throws up, a couple times--thankfully it was after Weight Watchers and the grocery store.
Friday: Lil Man appears to be doing better.
Wee Hours of Saturday Morning: I start throwing up so long and hard that I rupture almost all of the capillaries in my face.
Saturday Early Evening: Lil Man starts puking like something out of the exorcist. Husband tells me he's starting to feel crappy.
Saturday Evening: Baby ends up in hospital. See Photo
Sunday Night: My mother in law who drove Lil Man and me to the hospital so I could attempt to catch his vomit, starts throwing up.

It was insane. Thankfully we've all recovered well. AND it helped me lose 4 pounds that I didn't put back on. Score! This week, I'm hoping to reach my goal of losing 10% of my body weight at weight watchers. I've been trying to get that darn keychain for far too long now! And if I lose at least .6 this coming week, I'll make it!

I'm also in for the next round of the Two Week Challenge. This is my third challenge and I'm ready to win one of those prizes! Here are my measurements as I start off the challenge:

Weight 163.8 lbs
Waist 35.5 in
Hip 41in
Thighs 24 in on both
Arms 13 in on both

But now it's time for.....you guessed it!

The Mamavation Question of the Week sponsored by us, Mamavation!

What is your favorite way to relax?

My favorite way to relax, is to literally pretend I'm dead. Seriously. I'm not trying to be a creeper, my favorite way to relax is in Corpse Pose! For me, Corpse Pose is the most relaxing thing I can possibly do. Here's why:
1. It's time to myself. No kid. No hubby. No one to drive me insane.
2. I get to focus on my breathing and just slooooooowwwwww down for once.
3. While in corpse pose. I tense my entire body, and then release one muscle group at a time. It feels amazing, heck, almost orgasmic. And then I lay there in bliss after all of my muscle groups have released.
4. It's ten minutes of my time, where I get to be outside myself. Outside of my brain, that is incessantly running. Time when I give up on thinking (so don't interrupt me, I can't be held responsible for any actions I could potentially take against said intterupting party).

Wishing everyone a fabulous week and best of losses to my fellow challengers!

Mamavation Monday--Feelings of Discouragement

I'm starting to get discouraged, and yes, a little pissed off. I've been doing Weight Watchers (again) since October and I've only lost 11 pounds. And I've followed the program precisely. This week when I gained .8 lbs when I weighed in, I was LIVID. I was (insert multiple expletives here) kind of pissed. I had another perfect week, complete with more (cardio) workouts. My 25 year old body should be a fat incinerating MACHINE, not deceiving me...WTH.
This is about the 5th time this has happened to me since October.

(Up on Soapbox)

I'm giving up on Weight Watchers, on giving up on PointsPlus values, I believe it's a sham. If it helps you, that's great--I'm all for people losing weight, however, I believe WW is a money making machine more than helping people put up numbers.

Here's why, The PointsPlus program does NOTHING to back the scientific fact of: a calorie, is a calorie, is a calorie. They are declaring fruits and veggies to be "FREE", implies that it doesn't make a difference how much you eat of them. AND good old WW is doing little to encourage proper portion sizes--because, yes my friends, that pear you just ate can make you gain weight just as much as a candy bar, if you are eating too many calories. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard "eat a much as you want" when it comes to veggies and specific (lower carb) fruits at my meeting.

So, I'm done. I'm using a combo of MyFitnessPal to track my calories--including those of fruits and veggies, and my BodyBugg to see how many I'm burning. Aiming for a deficit of 1,000 calories per day. And I'm working out at least 30 minutes a day 6 days a week with a mix of strength and cardio.

I'm not doing a mid-challenge post, because I'm hoping to be blown away next Monday. I need some sort of big progress marker to keep me going.

(Step Down from Soapbox)

It's time for the Mamavation Question of the Week! This week's question is brought to us by The Chia CO!

What are your latest healthy food discoveries?

Hum. This one is hard, I've been eating the same stuff a lot lately, and I haven't ventured much out of my comfort zone because I know exactly how many calories I'm consuming. However, the biggest healthy food discovery I have made lately is less of a food, and more of a food website, with TONS of healthy and low calorie recipes. It's Skinnytaste.com. This site has AWESOME recipes. I've tried a few and they were raves: The Spinach Roll-Ups, Roasted Green Beans, and Baked Potato Soup. For those of you who are doing Weight Watchers, it even has the old points and the new points plus values listed for you. (Not that I care! LOL!) If I had one healthy eating website to recommend, besides Mamavation of course, I would say SkinnyTaste hands down, 110% that Gina chick really knows what she's doing! :)

Wishing you all a fabulous week of losses! Even the Weight Watchers members! :)

XoXo,

Lisa

This post is sponsored by The Chia Co and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway hosted by Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women

Mamavation Monday--Two Week Challenge Part Deux

Hey everyone! I hope your holidays were fabulous! Things have been really crazy over here, for starters my Grandma-In-Law and one of my primary babysitters for the baby was diagnosed with colon cancer, then my husband's former step-dad and brother-in-law's father had a stroke. The baby puked all over the place on New Years Day, getting me sick afterwards. And my pregnancy was a false alarm, I had a chemical pregnancy (the technical term for an early miscarriage) and am no longer pregnant.

Happily the one thing that has stayed consistant in my life has been my quest to shed the extra pounds. Since my last post, I lost 2.8 lbs the week before last, and last week I lost another 1.6, for a grand total of of -4.4 lbs the past two weeks and down 21 since I joined Mamavation. This morning I even went from the fifth notch, to the sixth notch on my belt! Woot Woot! This week, my goal is to break the 170 lb barrier that I've been beating my head up against for the past 11 months. I'll see you on the other side next week!

I'm excited for the this two week challenge, doing the one before Christmas put me in a good spot for the holidays, and I'm ready to be in an even better place to start the new year! Here are my starting stats:

Weight: 170.4 lbs.
Waist: 36.75 inches
Hips: 41.75 inches
Legs: 24.25 inches
And just for giggles, Arms: 13.5 inches

Good Luck to all of my fellow challengers!
But enough about me, It's time for the Mamavation Question of the Week!

This week's blogging carnival and MamavationTV is sponsored by Budhi Skin Care. They ask:

What do you find most challenging in skin care?

The thing I find most challenging about skin care is finding the right product for my skin type. I have skin that can't make up it's mind. And last time I checked NOT ONE bottle of product is labeled for "indicisive skin". Let me explain, one day I'm oily, the next day I'm dry, then I have acne and blackheads, and on top of all that I have rosecea so I can be sensitive, sending me right back to oily, dry, or acne.

Vicious, annoying, cycle.

So finding a product(s) that will balence my skin, that ends the vicious cycle is the most troublesome, and hard to do

Wishing you all a wonderful week of losses!
~Lisa

Mamavation Tuesday. AGAIN.

Well. I unpacked the scale this morning. Eeep. Moving and eating like I've been starving for the past 25 years of my life has apparently made me gain a CRAP TON of weight. Ugh. About 9lbs to be specific.

I'm praying that most of the weight is water weight. I'm coming off my monthly visitor, and am praying to God that the weight miraculously melts off this week. I'm in need of a miracle hardcore on this one.

The next step after unpacking the scale, will be to unpack my weight watchers materials. I need my points calculator, pedometer, and tracker really bad right now. I have to get back on track. And I have to do it now. Wish me luck--both on the weight loss, and on finding my weight loss materials burried in boxes.

It's Monday, Monday, Monday!

Another week has passed. And now I'm another 2 lbs lighter. Apparently, I dropped most of what I gained back last week. THANK GOD.

But, things are starting to get weird. I've been getting better at tracking my food, though I will admit that I'm not being quite perfect. I just can't keep my darn mouth shut when it comes to eating sweets at night. 

This phenomenon is not weird unto itself. Particularly, for me. It's the main reason I got fat in the first place. What's weird, is that I started getting headaches after I ate some snack size Oreos, or a spoonful of frosting. Turns out, the headaches were from my bloodsugar being high. Ugh. So now I'm going to have to start eating for diabetes again. And lose enough weight and be active enough until blood sugar is no longer a problem. I was never diabetic, except when I had gestational diabetes.

Which leads me to my next conundrum. The case of the missing period. I'm a little too young for menopause, so this is particularly disturbing. But every pregnancy test I've taken is negative, so I might be in for something particularly crazy. I think it might be time for a trip to the doctor...

Mamavation Monday--On Tuesday--With An Air of Defeat

Just a short lil check in. I'm losing my mind this week, since summer reading registration started at work. This past week I really watched what I was eating. REALLY. I watched my portions, made only good food decisions, but I didn't track my calories, or points+. BIG MISTAKE. I gained back another 3 lbs! AND I worked out 5 out of 7 days. I was really defeated after my weigh in.

BUT I'm writing down everything I put in my mouth this week. AND I'm working out. So there's got to be a light at the end of this weight gain tunnel. At least I hope there is.

Mamavation Monday-What the hell is wrong with me?!

Happy Mamavation Monday All! I'm super excited this week because I lost 0.2 lbs! Which is a major feat for me since I've been gaining the last couple.

BUT I FINALLY have my head back in the game! And for me that's darn near the whole battle.

I'm at the point where I think I know everything about healthy eating, and exercise. Calories in vs. Calories out. Whole Grains. Lots of fiber. Even more water. Fruit and veggies. Lean protiens. Move your ass.

It's just that my biggest problem is actually doing it. I love the bad stuff, and I have to get back into the balance of "Yes, I love the things that are bad for me, but I love myself more than that". And I want my husband to want me more than I want that damn piece of cake. And I'm there. Again. The only problem is that this is a repetitive cycle that I need to break.

Prior to getting my head back in the weight loss game, I made a mental revelation this week. Every time, I reach a major weight loss milestone, usually every 5 to 10 lbs depending on my motivation, that I reward myself--WITH FOOD.

With every milestone, I get the "screw-it" mindset. I'll have Pizza, Chinese, Mexican, or (Insert other non-friendly food here) because I've earned it?!? And I justify that meal with "I'm not going to gain all that I've lost back with one meal".

But, that one meal, turns into many more. Which sends me back into a "bad food" addict spiral, and I eat and eat and eat until I've gained back at least half, sometimes more, of what I just lost! What the hell is wrong with me? And the sickest part of this cycle is that even though I feel like I know every thing there is to know about diet and exercise, I don't know how to fix this cyclic self-sabotage that I keep embarking on. (If you've won this battle yourself, please share your insights with me, I would greatly appreciate it!) When, I figure out how to fix this within myself, I will definitely let you all know my secret.

But now it's time for....

The Mamavation Monday Question of the Week by Omron Healthcare!

What gaps in your nutrition knowledge do you want to fill?

Hummm...let's see. This is a hard one! 

.......Thinking .....................

......................Thinking.......

My "staple" veggie

For me, the biggest gap in my nutrition knowledge is vegetables. I don't particularly like them, so I typically only eat green beans. Well, yeah, I guess in all seriousness I ONLY eat green beans, mostly out of a can, but sometimes frozen. I could eat potatoes and corn all day long, but I count those as starches-not as veggies. When I've tried to cook veggies in the past, well anything other than green beans, they usually turn out mushy, flavorless, and green. I can live with the green, but is there a "best" way to cook veggies so that they actually taste good and retain their nutrition? What are the best ways to season them, so that they don't taste nasty? And finally, is there a "best" veggie for you, I assume it isn't the green bean, particularly a canned green bean. :)

Wishing you all a wonderful week! Can't wait to look at every one's fitcation pics! I've already snuck a peek at a bunch on Facebook! If we aren't friends, we should be!
 

**This post is sponsored by Omron Healthcare and I’m writing this to be entered into a Omron Go Smart Pedometer giveaway hosted by Mamavation**

Mamavation Monday-Cough. Sneeze. Hack.

This week has been a little on the rough side.

Let's start with the good news. I lost 0.2 lbs this week. Whether it was from actual work or cutting my hair off, I'll never know.

BUT.

A serious victory occured yesterday. I FIT BACK INTO MY PANTS FROM HIGH SCHOOL! And I'm excited. Can you tell?

Despite my victory, I've been horrifically sick this weekend. I have a sinus infection from hell. Coughing, sneezing, sandpaper thoat, green goo, fever--I'm having my ass handed to me. Needless to say, I haven't been moving as much as I should, since I can barely breathe when I'm sitting still.

BUT- yesterday I walked 3.5 miles, in the hot sun, barely breathing, with a fever of 101.  I made a promise that I was going to do a 5k on May 22nd to complete the Walk-It Challenge for Weight Watchers. And though I didn't drive 45 minutes from my house to do an actual race, I still did my 5k--and then some. So take that sinus infection.

Anywhoo...

The Mamavation Monday Question (brought to you by GruntStyle) of the week is:

What keeps you from having healthy snacks on hand when you are out of the house?

I have a hard time keeping healthy snacks on hand while I'm out and about because most of my snacks are parishable. I favor string cheese and cut up fruit, which I prefer cold. But I don't feel like dragging around a humongo cooler just to keep some pineapple rings and a string cheese cold. Blah.

I know there are more portable snacks out there. Like nuts and granola, but they tend to have higher calorie counts so I tend to stay away from them. I like it when the scale goes down--so a calorie, is a calorie, is a big ol' fat creatin' flippin' calorie. :)

I'd love to know if you guys have any suggestions of portable snacks for me! I get bored easily and love to try new things to switch it up. So get at your girl! :)

Wishing you all a most wonderful week.

Also, if you could say a prayer, do a dance, send up good ju-ju, whatever you do, my husband got called back for a second interview for a job we desperately need. So here's hopin' and prayin'! Thanks!

Thankful Thursday- Happy Cinco de Mayo Hungry Girl!

One of the people that I am most thankful for on this beautiful Cinco de Mayo is Lisa Lillien, aka Hungry Girl. For those of you that are unfamiliar with her, she is the Goddess of Low Cal eats! She's written multiple cookbooks, has a tv show on the Cooking Channel and her super-famous website Hungry-Girl.com where you can sign up for a free daily e-mail! Not to mention she is super cute! I just love her!

While looking for a Crock-Pot recipe tonight, I decided to take a look through Hungry Girl's newest cookbook (I've practically been living out of it lately)-- 300 Under 300: 300 Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner Dishes Under 300 Calories.

I flipped to the Crock-Pot section and it was like angels descended from heaven. I stumbled upon the recipe for "Outside-In Turkey Tamale Pie" on pg 312. Not only is it a set and forget recipe, it's festive for Cinco de Mayo! So I rushed into the kitchen to get it cookin', before I had to head off to work.

The Recipe
1 1/4lbs raw lean turkey
3/4 c yellow cornmeal
1 c ff chicken or veggie broth
1 14.5oz can of diced tomatos with chilies
1 small onion-chopped
3/4 c sweet corn
1/2 c canned red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (I used Northern White Beans)
1/2 c sliced black olives, drained (I left these out, since I'm not the biggest olive fan)
2 t chilli powder
1 t cumin
optional toppings: ff shredded cheddar, ff sour cream

Step One - Brown the ground turkey.

Step Two- Combine all of the other ingredients except for the cornmeal and broth in the Crock-Pot.

Step Three- While the turkey is finishing up, mix the cornmeal and broth together and let sit for 5 minutes.

Before you fire up the crock (7-8 hrs on low), mix in the cooked ground turkey and the cornmeal/broth mixture. It will look like this.

I meant to take a pretty "done" picture of the dish in the crock-pot. But the hubby was hungry and dug in before I could. So here's a pic of it in the bowl, note the tiny bowl to the left, I added some more corn, and due to the dish's mild spiciness, decided that my 1 yr old son would be sharing in mommy and daddy's dinner as well.

As you can see I also opted not to use any of the optional toppings-the recipe was so good that I ate two servings, at six points+ per serving it's pretty weight watchers friendly as well, even if you end up eating 12 points+ worth. :)
Lil P also really liked this dish.

My family gives this recipe 6 thumbs up--or two thumbs up per person, if you're not math savvy. Thanks for a great dinner Hungry Girl!

Don't forget to pick up a copy of 300 Under 300 for this awesome recipe and many others! (Shoppers secret-Amazon has it for the cheapest price--click here to pick up a copy)

It's Just Another Manic (Mamavation) Monday

Whew! I don't even know where the weekend went, but nevertheless, here we are--another Mamavation Monday.

I bumped my weigh in day up a day this week--I'm going to start weighing on Saturdays, because that's the day I've switched my Weight Watchers meetings to so I can start attending church services at the new church I've discovered.

That said- I LOST 0.2 lbs this past week! It's just a teeny little loss, but after I dropped over 3 last week, and over 5 the week prior, I'm not going to complain. Particularly after my hardcore Easter food bender, which I'm sure despite my workouts spent it's time catching up with me this past week.

This week, I've had some identifiable pitfalls and some small successes. We'll start with the good news.

Good News
At my WW meeting this past week we had a Hula Hoop demonstrator come in to introduce us to "Hooping" as a way to spice up our excercise routines. She said that the American Council on Excercise (or some other prestigious organization that sounds something like that), endorses hooping as as effective as a group excercise classes, like kickboxing! So naturally, I had to buy one of these hoops from Tammy Brenner. I got this super sweet collapsable "infinity" hoop made by BodyHoops from her. It's hot pink! Woot! Anyways, I used to hoop when I was a kid, and didn't realize just how hard it would be as an adult. But the more mistakes you make the more calories you burn right? But after about a half an hour, I got the hang of it--AND IT IS SO FUN! Not to mention, my husband thinks it's hot. He started playing Shakira's Hips Don't Lie while I was doin' it last night! But the best part is that I now have a fun activity that I can do while I watch TV - DWTS tonight!
If you want to look into hooping, or get a hoop yourself here's the link to BodyHoops.

Bad News

Saturday night, after I weighed in, I decided to watch Life As We Know It, you know, that movie where Katherine Heigl inherits her dead best friend's daughter. Yeah, well, I cryed through almost the entire movie. The problem was that I sat down to watch it, with a bag of pretzels and a bag of 50% off Reese's Peanut Butter Bunnies. Emotional eating at it's best. I'll be using my Hula Hoop to work off those bunnies-that's fo' sho!

And now for the Mamavation Monday, Question of The Week!
How do you reward yourself after you have worked hard towards a goal? Do you have any pampering rewards thought out for future goals?


Okay, Leah will probably kick me for this one, but I usually reward myself with food. Cake for being another year older, dinner for an anneversary, rewards almost always seem to revolve around food. But I'm working on that.
 
I don't have any pampering rewards thought out for future goals--money is really tight and hubby just took a pay cut. AGAIN. So I'm giving up myself for the security of my family--moms know what I'm talking about. However, I'm planning on hitting the down 15lb mark this week! I'm determined to earn that badge (I guess that's a reward in and of it self right?)! But if I won an Eco Ethical Skincare basket by Tilvee that would be an excellent reward for 15lbs down! ;)
 
**“I wrote this blog post while participating in the Mamavation Blogging Carnival for a chance to win a Eco Ethical Skincare Basket from Tilvee**

Mamavation Monday--Shout Out!

Happy Mamavation Monday All! Now that Easter has passed, how'd you do? We're you able to stay on track? I half stayed on track. Saturday was the first of two Easter dinners, AND my birthday. I did extremely well. My portions were all under control, and I had ONE cupcake. Which, has been next to an impossibility in the past.

Then, dun dun dun, Sunday I had Easter at my mother in law's. And I just could not stop eating. I probably ate enough for the whole week. However, she knew that I was watching what I was eating and made mostly healthy options. So even though I overate, it was healthy. I had 2x the portion of prime rib that I should have, and took a second helping of cheesy potatos (both were of a restricted portion size), and ate 2 pieces of angel food cake instead of one. But--I am back on track today. And that's the most important thing, I fell of the wagon, and hopped right back on. That's becoming the most valuble lesson I am learning on my weight loss journey, that just because I screwed up once, doesn't mean I'm screwed forever. Just get back to it.

That said, this week I lost 3.1 lbs! I wasn't expecting to lose that much after such a huge loss last week, but nevertheless, it was a pleasent suprise! Looks like all my working out is starting to pay off!

But I have to admit, I couldn't do this without my husband. He is my biggest supporter. He helps me make smarter choices, and doesn't complain about my huge grocery bills with tons of fruits and veggies. He understands that I need "special" treats hidden from me, so the cookies on the countertop don't sit there mocking me until I have to devour the whole package. No to mention, he takes care of our son so that I can get a workout in--or we'll workout as a family and go for a nice long walk to wind down for the day. He gives me high fives and hugs when I've had a good week, and asks me questions when I've had a bad one--to help me evaluate where I went wrong and how I can get back on track. He's the greatest.

Wishing you all a wonderful week, with lots of calorie burning to get those Easter dinners off our bums!

**Note: I wrote this blog post while participating in the Mamavation Blogging Carnival for a chance to win My Trainer Fitness 100 Calorie+ Workout featuring MizFitOnline from Mamavation.” at the end of your post if you enter the blogging carnival.**

It really is a HAPPY MAMAVATION MONDAY!

Okay, so I have some GREAT news to share! After more than a month of struggling to get back on track. I got back on the WeightLoss Wagon this past week. I LOST 5.2 lbs! Ow Ow! Yeah, I'm more than a little proud of myself. :)

Getting back to it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, I just took it one day at a time. And that's what I've got to do. Stop focusing on the huge 40 lbs or so I have left to lose, and just count each day as a success.

It also helped that I revived my Yoga Booty Ballet routine. I got a little bored with TurboFire--I do it for too long without switching it up--and needed something new. And apparently my metabolism did as well. I've also been training for my first 5k.

However, I can't let myself slide back into bad habits this week. Saturday is my birthday, and cake is my trigger food. Once I start, I can't stop. Little Cake Crack Monkey, that's what I am. For Reals.

Then, the next day is Easter. And if I don't watch my portions I'm going to be in big trouble, so that's going to be a big goal of mine, particularly since I can't control the menu--we're going to family's, where inevitably there will be more cake in honor of Easter and my birthday.

And Monday, all of the Easter candy will be marked down. So I've got to barricade myself in the house. No Target runs for me on Monday. No Siree.

Wish me luck! I hope you have a wonderful week!

Mamavation Monday--When to work out.

To workout, or not to workout? That is the question. I think every mom on the planet has some part of their body that they are unhappy with and would like to change. The only problem, we know that in order to change it, we must get active and workout. Ugh! And who has time for that?!?

YOU DO! Schedule your time! That's what I have to do. It's the only way I'm able to guarentee that I get my workout in. My workout time is when my son is napping. I get an hour and a half to myself to get my sweat on.

When my son is napping is the best time for me. It may not be the best time for you. I like to workout in the mid-morning (that's his nap time). I've eaten breakfast. My food has had time to settle. The sun is out, well, most of the time. And usually, there's nothing on TV anyway, so my distractions are weeded out.

You know yourself better than anyone else, and you are the only one that knows what's best for you! I know that if I don't workout in the mid-morning during my son's naptime, that working out is just not going to happen that day. Sure, I might be able to take my son for a walk in the stroller, but my workout is not going to be anywhere near as intense as it would have been had I worked out by myself in the morning.

And who doesn't want to get maximum calorie incineration in minimum time!

What's funny, is I know these things. I know that I have to schedule my workout during my optimum time. But I haven't been as good as I could have been this past week. I didn't work as intensely as I should have and I ate some things that I know I shouldn't have. And I've maintained my weight this week. Which, is better than gaining but still unacceptible in my eyes.

And I can't preach finding your optimum workout time and scheduling it if I'm not doing it myself. So that is my goal for the coming week. Schedule my workouts, and when I'm doing them, DO THEM!

***This post was in response to the question:
What time of day works best for you to be active? How do you make sure you stick to those planned workouts?***

Will You Be My #DinnerDate?

On my twitter feed, I try very hard to tweet out a new or different dinner recipe for everyone to try on a daily basis. It so important when you are trying to lose weight to keep your meals fresh. If you don't, chances are you are going to fall off the wagon for one simple reason; YOU'RE BORED! So I thought I would share some of the different ways I keep my meals exciting.

Meat- Let's face it. Chicken every night is boring. Fish every night is boring too, as well as beef, pork, or whatever other protien source you are using. To switch it up, I focus on the marinade. I use Lawry's 30 Minute Marinades a lot. They have a HUGE variety of flavors, and they aren't too bad for you either. I can now eat chicken 7 days a week (if I want to) and not get bored. One night I'll have Lemon Pepper, the next Hawaiian, the night after that Szechuan BBQ, the list goes on!

Produce- Spice it up. I keep fruits and veggies tasting new by changing the way I prepare them. I steam, grill, boil, and bake most of the time. But I also season the fruits and veggies, I prefer to get spices freshly ground whenever I can (I have a local place that I like to buy from). Fruit I mainly use cinnamon or nutmeg, but for veggies, anything goes pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chilli powder, cumin, they are all good! But I do try to go light on the salt.

Whole Grains- I buy a couple different kinds of high fiber cereal and cycle through those. And for bread, to switch it up, I top it with different things. Low sugar or sugar free jam and PB2 peanut butter are two of my favs. But I also have been known to use spray butter on my toast.

Water- Water is one of the things I get most bored with. So I change it up by adding a lemon, lime, or orange slice or two for a citrus kick, A slice or two of cucumber to give a fresh cool taste, Green tea for some added antioxidants, or if I'm really craving some juice, I'll use some Crystal Light.

I hope these ideas help prevent you from becoming bored with eating healthy. Also if you would like to join in the dinner conversation, just use the hashtag #dinnerdate on Twitter to share what you are having for dinner! The hope is that it will encourage healthy eating and help us avoid dinner sabotage! Because for most people, dinner is often the largest meal of the day, let's make it healthy!