Trials of a Long Haired Girl

Happy Monday friends!   So many things we didn't use last week and need to make this week, but a lot of it I can prepare meat on the side and put it into only part.   We had a "family meeting" to discuss with my daughter the fact that I need to be able to cook some meat.   As she has made this decision to go meatless, I just really wanted to discuss with her before just fixing meat.   I told my husband that I will likely make it and freeze it in smaller amounts so we could pull it out if we want to use it for something.   Our plan for meals this week will look a little like this: -         Smothered bean burritos -         Roasted veggie bowl with quinoa -         Spaghetti and zero point marinara and salad -         Taco Salad -         Macaroni and cheese and veggies - ...

Happy Friday friends!   How has your week gone?   Mine?   Overall, I think pretty well.   I feel like I’m making some good choices and focusing on eating within my SmartPoints and focusing on the lower carb options.   I am not sure I will have an opportunity to weigh in on the official scale this week but we’ll see what I can work out.   I am feeling very positive about what’s going on with me.   I was reminded Thursday morning of how much more accountable I feel when my husband and I are working out together.   I was really struggling to get out of bed and my sweet husband said “aren’t we going for a walk?”   UGH, I really just wanted to stay in bed and we got a later start, but walk we did.   Honestly, some days are easier than others.   At the beginning of July, I was super motivated.   Then with the back troubles, not sleeping, etc. I felt a little overwhelmed by life getting in the way.   Here’s the thing, I refu...

Happy Thursday a/k/a Friday eve friends!   Wow!   Is it just me or does this week seem to be flying by?   After watching some vloggers that I follow on YouTube move more toward low carb and remembering that my cardiologist told me that I should focus on eating lower carb to help with my weight loss.   For the most part, I don't eat a ton of carbs, but looking back, after my cardiologist said that, I noticed I started incorporating more carbs into my meal plan.   Not that it isn't allowed with WW but I have realized that I'm not doing as well as I would like.   For the time being, I'm going to focus on lowering my carbs daily.   My hope is that it will kick my weight loss into a higher gear until I can get my workouts back fully under control.   I know I want to start strength training again as well, but it's going to take me a minute to get everything to line back up. Tuesday night, I prepared a low carb breakfast casserole.   There i...

Happy Wednesday a/k/a Hump Day friends!  How's your week going?  I do have a recipe to share, but I have to tell you, Monday did not go quite as I'd planned.  I was exhausted, it was a rough night with the CPAP so I felt like I hadn't slept well.  DH and I agreed we would go "out" for lunch.  Well, my choice at the deli in our building was not a great choice and used the remainder of my points for the day.  So I started plotting and planning what I would eat for dinner...DH thought he was going to have to work late...so I offered to bring him lunch.  As this week is so busy, with a Bible Study beginning Tuesday night with EndTimes Ministries , then our regular Wednesday night service.  Given that, I knew I had to get shopping done on Monday night.   Now for the recipe.  Have you seen those CeCe's Veggie Co. Noodled (spiralized veggies) and more recently Riced?  I purchased the CeCe's Veggie Co. Riced Organic Veggie Medley ...

Happy Tuesday!  Today's Tuesday talk is a topic that I know I have struggled with for many years and it is such a great reminder for me - Body Confidence.  Yep, I said it.  I have absolutely struggled and can remember calling myself fat for years.  Here's the thing, when I was calling myself "fat", I was smaller than I am currently.  It wasn't until I originally started WW before my DH and I even started dating that I really realized that I needed to change the way I talked to myself.  I am blessed to have some fantastic people in my life who remind me that I am unique and I need to be thankful for the "me" that God created.  I try hard to focus on the more positive self talk.  There are some parts of my body that I'm not entirely happy with, but I am focusing on things that I can do.  I wish my arms were in better shape...as I was moving my arms last night and noticed that my arms were waving back, I was not entirely happy about that....

Happy Monday friends!  I feel a little bit like a kid in a candy store this week with my daughter gone.  I'm not trying to come up with meatless meals that we can have all week.  With that in mind, the menu for this week may change without notice.  The plan thus far: - Hamburgers and fries/tater tots - Chicken Fajitas/refried beans and rice (not sure if this will be cauliflower rice or brown rice) - Hamburger Stroganoff/salad - Spaghetti with zero point marinara, chicken meatballs, salad and garlic bread - Breakfast for dinner The end of the week had me a little out of sorts.  I had my appointment with the medical company delivering my CPAP machine.  I started on Thursday night and I can tell you it's a bit of an adjustment as I've never really slept with one before.  This year I am determined to take care of me and this is all part of it.  Also, because of my tiredness and back pain, I didn't stick very well with the challenge this week...

Happy Thursday a/k/a Friday eve, friends!   Hope everyone has had a great week so far!   I was reminded earlier this week just how important it was for me that I roasted those veggies over the weekend.   We had a very rough night dealing with insomnia.   If you have never dealt with insomnia, be grateful!   Quite honestly, if I hadn’t prepared some roasted veggies and had some chicken that I had purchased pre-cooked, I likely would have ordered out on Tuesday.   If I’d ordered out, it most likely wouldn’t have been on plan.   I have really been trying to stay on plan so the fact I did some prep saved me time on the back-end, not to mention calories!   I think we can all agree that there are times, like when we are tired, that we would be more likely to go with whatever is convenient.   For the coming week, I will be trying to focus on using the items in my freezer.   Do you do that periodically?   If you do, how often do you...

Happy Hump Day friends!   We made it to the middle of the week!   I tried a new recipe this week and it was delicious!   I made something that I would have never tried to make years ago…I made eggplant parmesan.   It was baked so a little healthier.   As always, I thought I had all my ingredients and I hadn't really used my panko in a while and I didn't have quite enough.   We made it work by crushing some garlic croutons.   I feel good about how it turned out though and we're excited to have it again.   I used this recipe from Delish.   I did substitute the Trader Joe's Lite Mozzarella and I tried not to overdo it with the cheese.   It turned out to be 8 Freestyle SmartPoints.  I served mine with grated zucchini.  My son, who is allergic to zucchini, had his with spaghetti squash and my husband and daughter has rotini because  I didn't realize I was out of spaghetti.  Hopefully you will get it a try if you like ...

Happy Tuesday friends!   How's your week going?   For this week's Tuesday Talk, let's talk about Fats.   I don't cook with a ton of oil, I do like to spray my veggies with olive or avocado oil before I roast them.   There's so many great options for adding some healthy fats into our diets.   I love to add a little avocado to my smoothies or to my veggies bowls.   I also love adding some sliced olives to my salads.   I also love to snack on some nuts, although, those can add up calories and points-wise.   I know that fats got a bad wrap for years.   Flashback to Susan Powter and the low-fat craze in the 90's.   Although, let's be honest, she wasn't completely on the wrong track when she said "read the labels, read the labels"!   Those are some great things that we should all take to heart even now.   Fats can be such a confusing topic and I can't honestly say that I'm 100% on top of it, but I am a firm believer in everything...

Happy Monday friends!  How was everyone's weekend?  I am so excited for this week.  I feel like I've set myself up for success.  Breakfast options this week, eggs and smoothie bowls.  Lunches will be veggies and chicken and salads.  I have lots of roasted veggies so I'm excited about this week.  Dinner plans for this week: • Veggie Bowls with quinoa; • Smothered Bean Burritos; • Cauliflower Tikka Masala; • Salad (originally taco salad, but I forgot to get Catalina Dressing); and • Pizza Bubble Up casserole.   Last week's meals were: Monday - Fettuccine Alfredo (I used spaghetti squash), Caesar salad and garlic bread; Tuesday - Macaroni and Cheese (From a box); Wednesday - Subway; Thursday - Burger and fries (in the air fryer); Friday - Pizza from Pappa John's. Saturday - Eggplant Parmesan (I had mine with zoodles) and salad. 

Happy Sunday morning friends!  I hope everyone had a fantastic Saturday!  I woke up super early on Saturday morning, but decided to take advantage of it.  I went to weigh-in and then my sweet husband and I enjoyed breakfast together.  I am down a pound this week.  While it might not be as much as I might have wanted, but I'm preparing for success this week.  I decided that while Sprouts had organic cherries on sale, I'd go early to make sure I got some.  I also got lucky and found some organic Brussels sprouts for roasting.  I also got some romaine lettuce for salads for this week.  I also made a Trader Joe's run and purchased some lite cheese blends along with some spinach and Cole slaw blend.   I feel positive going into the new week.  I have to say that I really love when the creative juices start flowing.  I draw ideas from different places.  I feel like we're going to all have a good week because I've got a p...

Happy Friday friends!   I hope everyone has had a great week and is looking forward to a great weekend!   No major plans for me but hoping for some family time and some meal prep time.   I definitely want to be prepared for the coming week.   I finished my round of Prednisone on Monday and started a new allergy nose spray on Tuesday.   Hoping that it gives me some relief.   In continuing with my July challenge goals: ·          I am going to workout 3 times a week for 20 minutes; ·          Drinking 90 to 100 oz of water; ·          Focus on less processed foods and more whole foods; ·          Track my food; ·          Take 30 minutes to do something that I enjoy; and ·          Journal/Blog. For th...

Happy Thursday a/k/a Friday eve friends!  How's the week going for you?  Mine is going pretty well thus far.  I feel like pre-tracking and making my lunches the evening before has definitely been helpful.  While I didn't get as much done as I wanted over the weekend, I was determined especially with the July challenge helping me stay motivated.  I saw another YouTuber that I watch from time to time talking about something that I know I need to focus on, which is not just splurging on the weekends.  In the past, that has really been my weak point.  My hope is that after really trying to focus on the July challenge this month that I will break that habit and it will be a little easier to continue with my focus.   I have been looking back at how different things were when I originally started this weight loss journey.  Back then, I was really focused.  I wanted to lose weight and used that momentum to help me do just that....

Happy Wednesday a/k/a Hump Day!  We're halfway through the week.  I don't recall if I shared it or not, but on Father's Day, I opted to make a cake that popped up in my Instagram feed that seems to be a WW favorite.  It is a 2-ingredient cake using an Angel Food Cake as the base.  The one I made for Father's Day I used a can of crushed pineapple.  I really enjoyed it but it was a bit sticky.  After some searching on Pinterest, I saw multiple pins for more 2-ingredient cakes using pie filling as the second ingredient.  So, at the request of my son, I made the 2-ingredient cake using strawberry pie filling.  It got puffier than I anticipated and, if I'm honest, I didn't read the recipe that I found on Pinterest very well.  I did not realize that it made more than a dozen.   Ultimately, I wound up making 2 donut pans and a dozen cupcakes in the muffin pan.  The  recipe  I originally looked at said it would ...

Happy Tuesday friends!  I hope everyone had a great Monday!  Today I wanted to take a minute and talk about something we all need to focus on from time to time.  Yep, I mean activity.  I know not everyone needs to workout in order to lose weight.  For your overall heart health, I do think that it’s an important part of the plan.  How do you get started?  Sometimes it’s as simple as setting a goal for yourself of working out for 5 minutes or 10 minutes, something that you can attain.  Do you have hobbies?  Things you like to do that you don’t do often?  For me, that was dancing.  I loved to dance and then I found Zumba. It didn’t feel like a workout to me.  Much the same way that Jazzercise did not feel like a workout to me.  These days mostly I walk because it’s easier on my body with my back issues flaring up.  Focus on things you can do such as walk around your house during commercial breaks, while brushing your t...

Happy Monday friends!  Hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful weekend!  Overall, it was a good weekend for me.  I am a little disappointed that I didn't have a loss on the official scale, but I am not going to let myself get too upset about it.  Things that happen this week that might have contributed to not seeing a loss...I was put on Prednisone again this week and with the added workouts with the challenge, I think I may be retaining water.  Either way, I know the loss will come.  I am moving more, I'm eating better, so the loss will come.  Our meals are going to be "Italian" heavy this week, but hopefully we'll enjoy them all.  1. Eggplant Parmigiana and salad; 2. Fettuccine Alfredo (I'll have this with zoodles or spaghetti squash), likely with salad and garlic bread; 3. Bean Burritos; 4. Veggie Plates with biscuits; 5. Burgers or hot dogs. I got some family time in on Saturday and will likely be heading north again this coming Saturday....

Happy Friday, friends!  Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!  We had a great one.  I still got in a workout and enjoyed some family time.  The July challenge that I joined with Jess over at Journey to Healthy on YouTube has helped a ton with my level of motivation.  Focusing on that blue dot is even more important this month than it was originally.  I don't want to say it's the end all, be all, but I'm also focusing on getting in more fruits and veggies this month so that's going to help me as well.  I am proud of the fact that while everything didn't go exactly as planned, we rallied and ate some good food and I stayed within my blue dot range.  That's 4 days in a row and includes a holiday!   Because it was a holiday, my sweet husband and I waited until the evening before heading for a walk so we could "sleep late", which isn't really late for a lot of people, but we slept until around 6:30 or so and since he wanted to paint, we...

Happy Independence Day friends!  I hope you are getting to enjoy some family time today.  We're going to have a family cookout.  I doubt that we go to watch fireworks as a family, but I'm just glad we'll have some time together.  Fun memory from before Mom passed is spending the 4 th in her front yard under the pecan trees watching the Denison fireworks display.  I can remember one from shortly before my husband and I got married.  So many fond memories of that house and time with Mom and my family.  I think that the allure of going to Mom's is that we could see most of the fireworks because she was only blocks away from the location of the display and we didn't have to deal with the crowds.  We often had friends and family that would come over and share a seat in the yard.  I am simply not a fan of crowds anymore.  I will suffer through when I have to, but I do not like it. What traditions to you have?   

Happy Wednesday a/k/a Hump Day friends!  If you are like me, there are many that like the convenience of smoothies for breakfast.  I was a big fan but found recently that they were not keeping me full as long as they once did.  I really enjoyed the smoothies and they were a great way for me to get my collagen peptides along with some fruits in my diet.  Since they were not keeping me full, I decided I needed to find another way to make this happen.  Honestly, I didn't research it much to find recipes or anything, I just got creative with what I had on hand.  Not your typical recipe as there is no cooking to it, but here's my variation on the smoothie bowl:  1/2 cup of fat free Greek yogurt, half the serving of the frozen fruit that my husband bought me for my smoothies from Costco, 1/3 tablespoon of each ground flaxseed and chia seeds, 2 scoops of Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides.  It isn't overly pretty to look at, but it is filling and tasty....

Happy Tuesday friends!  Today we're going to take a minute to discuss something that, if you have been on this journey for any length of time, you have probably experienced and that is dealing with setbacks.  This really sort of goes along with last week's topic about the all or nothing mentality.  There are times that we feel we have set ourselves up for success, but then we give in to a few more chips or we have a dessert or we have something that is a little higher in sodium and wind up with a gain.  Or sometimes you do everything right, but your body just doesn't want to give up the weight at that weigh in.  What we need to do, however, is not throw our hands up and say well this is a bust and I'm never going to make progress. It can be easy to beat ourselves up and not focus on what we need to do to move forward.  We each need a game plan, no matter what our journey is, to move forward.  No matter what happened that got in the way of our g...

Happy Monday friends!  While it's very similar to what I've put down the past few weeks, I'm yet again putting a meal plan in writing.  As I may have mentioned before, I normally make a meal plan and then figure out what I'm in the mood for or can prepare easily with what I have meal prepped or what we have going on that evening and I can fix easily given what's going on that night.   Meals this week: 1.      Make your own Bean Burritos. 2.      Quinoa veggie bowls. 3.      Veggie plates. 4.      Fettuccine Alfredo with Broccoli (I'll likely do either spaghetti squash or zoodles with mine) and garlic bread. 5.      Sandwich night (this night I will likely have a wrap and a side of veggies). 6.      Make your own salad "bar". What's your plan for the week?   Are you going to plan your day the night before with me? ...