Deliciousness!

Breakfast of champions? I say YES! This was my creation with my new Fiber One pancake mix. The first time I tried the mix I followed the directions on the box. They were yummy...The second time I made the pancakes I used a trick from one of the bloggers that I follow. I whipped 1/4 cup of egg whites to stiff peaks and then folded them in to the batter (made as directed). I then added blueberries! TASTE explosion! These were so good. Plus the egg whites bulked up the pancakes so I got 4 huge pancakes when I normally would get 3 medium sized one. The blueberries added a fun texture and sweetness along with my sugar free Maple syrup! Repeat? ABSOLUTELY! I think that I ill try Strawberry pancakes this weekend. The second best part of these pancakes (because let's be serious...the taste is the best part) is that they are only 6 WW plus points (one extra point for the sugar free syrup, for a total of 7). My microwavable, tiny, delicious, yet not satisfying Jimmy Dean sandwiches are 7 also...come on even the microwavable Smart Ones breakfasts range from 5-7!

I found another recipe for Meatloaf burgers that I am going to try tonight, though I will be using ground turkey in place of the beef (one it is healthier, two it is all I have...). I sure hope I have Worcestershire sauce...maybe I should stop at the Grocery Store? Will the burger be as satisfying on a SaraLee thin bun, or should I pick up some real buns (low fat, high fiber...of course). I will also be making some butternut squash fries! Stand by for epic deliciousness!

Th will power of an ant...

So, after my weigh in on Sunday I made a choice...I would only weigh twice a week! That lasted until this morning. For some reason during weight loss I love to see that scale move. Even if it is down .2 or 0 or up .2, I like the movement and motion. Luckily for me, I was down this morning, so it didn't put me in a funk. I don't know why I get in these stupid funks; however, knowing that I do, I should just forgo the scale...right? Well, every morning that scale is like a pat on the back saying "Great Job yesterday Lauren, Keep it up!". It is so much easier for me to stay on track when I am getting that slightly schizophrenic encouragement every morning. Does anyone else experience your scale talking to you in the morning before that first cup of coffee...No? well, me being slightly psychotic shouldn't be of any great surprise!

Anyways, I am kicking butt and taking names this week. I have been eating a good amount of fresh fruits and veggies and getting in some nice lean protein along the way! And don't forget dessert!!! When did I become a dessert person? I never used to be...I mean don't get me wrong, I loved dessert at restaurants and those enjoyable stops at DQ for a blizzard when Mom picked me up from Kindergarden or those late night runs for a Braums banana split because Dad has a sweet tooth...but all of that aside, in my adult life, I have never been a huge sweet person...Well that has changed. My late night (and by late night I am doing good to push 9pm...) dessert fix sets me up for a great next day! Now sometimes dessert is a delicious Smart Ones Sundae, sometimes it is a popsicle, and sometimes is is a warmed piece of fruit with cool whip...but regardless, I love my nightly dessert! I'm not sure where this post got off track...but it did...drastically

What I am trying to say...I think...is that things are going really well. I have really gotten in a groove with the Weight Watchers Points Plus system, yet I am still incorporating everything that I learned with Slimgenics. This may be why my weight is coming off so quickly now, much quicker than it ever has. I think that the key to any "lifestyle change" is finding out what works for you. For me, I like to graze all day. I have a set breakfast and occasionally a set dinner, but for the most part I just eat small snacks all day long. This seems to work for my body. Another thing that I have noticed is that it works for me to eat a lot of fresh veggies and fresh or frozen fruits with lean protein and then the indulgences. The way that WW works allows me this since my "lunch" salads are usually around 3 or 4 points total...today's is a whopping 6 because I splurged with some dried cranberries, roasted walnuts, tilapia, and fat free thousand island dressing. However, I also know that when I get home from class I have some chile rellenos thawing in the microwave and a Weight Watchers Sundae calling my name! This is the joy of combining plans that work to your individual specification. I can eat healthy, but I can still have frozen dinners.

Work is chugging along nicely, all of my holiday weight has been packed away with my tree and nativity scene, and I am enjoying our short burst of nice weather here in Colorado!

...am I just rambling to myself?

Not Hungry?

This is a rare an odd thing for me to say; however, since I have been back in Colorado, I have not been hungry. In the mornings I have been waking up and eating some sort of breakfast sandwich (a Smart Ones, Jimmy Dean Delight, or a homemade one). Then I am off to work with a fruit smoothie in hand for a snack; a lean pocket, Amy's light burrito, or some other microwavable goodness in hand for lunch; and a bar or crunchy snack for the afternoon. I am following Weight Watchers and trying to keep to my 26 points each day so that I can loose my holiday weight quickly. So with all that I pack, I usually leave 7-8 points for dinner. Now, since being home, I have not gone to the grocery (thus the immense amounts of frozen foods and not fresh veggies/lean protein like I usually stick with). Anyways, so I eat my delicious breakfast sandwich (around 630am) and head to work. By the time I leave my fellowship and head to work (around 11am) I have not been hungry enough to drink my smoothie. I then tend to get caught up in work and drink my smoothie slowly throughout the afternoon (between noon and 1 or 2pm). And let me tell you, it is a yummy smoothie (frozen fruit blends and Almond Milk...though one of my good friends here is Denver taunts me with her delicious smoothies made in her Vitamixer, complete with carrots, kale, bananas, and all over deliciousness...I only wish my blender was this cool, or that the Vitamix wasn't so expensive. If I put a carrot in my blender it would not only die, it would kill me! :sad face:). Anyways, by the time I get off of work or head to class I eat my lunch (4 or 5pm, depending on the day) or just have my snack, depending on how I am feeling that day... Long story short, I seem to eat 2/3 of my food after 4pm. From everything that I have read, it should be the opposite.

So, today, I decided that I was going to eat 2/3 of my food before 5pm when I get off of work. I started my day off making a egg sandwich. I didn't have any kind of deli meat or sausage so I used a veggie burger patty. Maybe that was my mistake. The sandwich was delicious and filling. I wanted to eat lunch around 10:30-10:45 so that I wasn't eating AT work right when I got there, it just seems weird to me. Well, I went downstairs from my fellowship to grab a chef's salad (only 6 points plus, plus one point for the lite Italian dressing). By the time I got back up to my office I was SO not hungry. And come on, it had been like 4 hours since I ate breakfast...Well, I ate the salad to try and keep to my goal of eating 2/3 of my food before 4pm. Now, I feel full and not happy. I look in by bag at the two snack I brought (usually I am CRAVING them and have to keep them hidden so I don't eat them all right away) and I am repulsed by the thought of eating them.

I don't know what is going on. Maybe my body is finally detoxing from the disgusting amount of food that I ate over the holidays, and maybe I am just going crazy (or both...). I am supposed to eat all of my points for Weight Watchers, but there are some days that I just can't. The other day I didn't eat lunch because I just wasn't at all hungry, therefore I had like 16 points left at dinner. So that night I had a Chick-fil-a sandwich for dinner, then made popcorn. I was going to have a dessert to help get my numbers up, but I just couldn't do it. Therefore I ended the day with 5 points left over...thats just wrong!

Has anyone else ever experienced this?

So far, So good

So, I have been hitting Weight Watchers again to shed the holiday pounds that I gained. It is going really well and I am really enjoying having a routine again. I was down to 140.6 this morning, so that was encouraging. Only 10-12 lbs before I hit my goal! I know that I can do it. I just hope that my momentum keeps up and I don't stall out at 136 again, and again, and again. It is very encouraging that my whole family is also doing weight watchers, so we can share tips and tricks along the way.

School is gearing up for another rousing quarter. I am not very excited about any of my classes. I think that they will be fine, but I wish I was EXCITED about them. I guess I will have to act excited and hope that my body is tricked into actual excitement...here's to hoping! I think the main downer is just that I don't like going home at night to do homework. For so long I had a job that allowed me to do homework while at work, so I never had to actually DO homework. Now, I have an amazing job that I love and keeps me busy, therefore limiting my free time to do homework. Therefore, there will be more homework. I guess I now know where my time on Saturdays will be spent...at my kitchen table reading and writing...woohoo. Additionally, I have a ton of work to do on my capstone project, yet I can not get motivated to do any of it...Why?

On a better note, Mom and I are starting a bible study about the life of Paul this week. We are going to chat every Sunday night and use it as a mother/daughter bonding time for the two of us. I am very excited about that! I really want to get in the habit of setting time aside each night to work on my bible study. I am also going to start going to mass again and try to find a church where I can get involved in the social fellowship and the spiritual ceremony again. I am currently waffling about whether I should return to the Catholic Church or whether the Episcopal Church is more in my line of thinking and beliefs...so yes, I am just full of spiritual searching right now! Luckily, I have an amazing mother who is willing to help me on my journey!!!

A Fabulous Trip

Well, I am back...I know that I have been MIA for a while. I had ever intention of writing while I was out of town; however, I just didn't. So...oh well! I had an amazing trip, though I am excited to get back into my daily activities. To begin, Shane took all of his top honors at graduation. I could not be more excited for him. He was top in academics, shooting, and overall shooting/defensive tactics! He started his job and is doing so well and really seems to enjoy it. If nothing else, he is doing well in the eyes of his supervisors (which is ALWAYS good!). After his amazing graduation session, we had a fabulous week relaxing and spending time together. Additionally, I spent a ton of time with his mother (Donna) baking and cooking and laughing in the kitchen. The down side...the sugar! OH THE SUGAR! We ate a ton of sugar and sugar cookies!

After Virginia, I was off to Texas. I had so much fun spending time with my aunts, seeing my cousins, and most of all seeing and spending time with my mom, dad, and sister. Christmas was great and so was our Family Reunion New Years Party. Something was weird though, the whole thing did not seem like Christmas to any of us. I felt more like I was going through the holiday motions rather than celebrating a holiday. I don't know...it is just weird. Overall, however, it was a fun and enjoyable holiday season. Well, negating the almost 10lb weight gain...

So now I am home. It feels good to be home and I am enjoying spending such a great time with my four legged family. Remy was happy to see me and is now laying on my feet. Kieren is a total pur box and is resting his head on my lap as I type. I went and saw Trinity and she seems fat and happy. I will take some time later today to go groom and love on her. I have so much to do, yet I can not get motivated enough to really gear up. Therefore, I have decided that I need to spend today as a relaxing, chill day. Beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, January 3, 2012 I will be going full steam ahead. This will include:

1. Drafting a new Capstone Proposal (I changed my topic...again)
2. Working hard at my new job in order to assure a promotion and full time appointment
3. Starting my next to last quarter of school
4. Cleaning my house
5. Unpacking all of my suitcases
6. Taking down my Christmas decorations

This will take place each evening after work as well as a majority of the day Saturday and Sunday evening. I say Sunday evening, because also starting this weekend I will be joining a church and trying to get more involved in my community! I hope all goes well.

Leavin...on a jet plane!

I am 24 hours away from my fabulous trip to Virginia and then on to Texas. I am so excited that I can hardly stand it! I have to work all day today but then I am headed home to take Remy to the kennel, clean the house, finish packing, and head to bed early! My flight leaves at 6:45am and I am not sure I will be able to sleep. For one, I always find it weird sleeping in my bed without Remy. Second, I am so excited to see Shane and celebrate his graduation and his family. Thirdly, I can't wait to see all of my family back home in Texas!

In other news, word of me getting another promotion at work (before even starting the one I just got) is increasing. My boss increasingly mentions me moving up and my place in the department. I am so excited! Yesterday I interviewed a guy to replace my old position and he was great! I think that we have such an amazing team and I would love to keep working with them in a full-time managerial capacity! I only wish the job was in Texas. That is what makes this so hard...I want to move back to Texas and be close to family and friends and yet I love my job and I love being in an organization that has total faith in me, my ability, and my visions for the future. dilemma... Grant it, nothing is certain and I may not get the job or I may find the absolutely perfect job in Texas that makes me want to run as fast as I can from Denver. Time will tell, though I am not good at the wait and see...

le sigh...

So I am back to the old game of hippity hoppity on the scale. Before you say anything, yes I know all of the "don't weigh every day, your bound to fluctuate" "Its water weight" blah blah blah. Yes I K-N-O-W this information, but do I listen? Obviously, not! Instead of listening to this nagging voice in the back of my head telling me to put the scale away except for weigh in days twice a week, I am frustrated by the ups and downs that I see on a daily basis. Why is this? I honestly have no idea. I have this compulsive need to weigh myself (probably comes from 24 years of being overweight...psh but who's counting?). I know that everyone thinks that I look amazing and need to stop trying to loose weight; however, I would REALLY like to get to 130 before I just worry about not gaining it back. Why 130? Well, this would put me fairly close to the middle of "normal" on the BMI chart. Where I am now, depending on whether today is a hippity or a hoppity I am normal or overweight. I DO NOT want to be over weight any longer. It is as simple as that. I am not obsessed with the number, my looks, or the art of loosing weight. I AM obsessed with not being "overweight".

Many of you may return with, "So get your slightly-overweight-depending-on-the-day ass off the couch and exercise!". Eureka, because I haven't heard THAT before! While exercising seems like a no brainer, I have hit several obstacles. 1) There is snow and ice EVERYWHERE 2) My membership at the DU gym has been cancelled because I am not a "full-time" student (even though I am) 3) I can not afford a different gym, or even DU's gym 4) My apartment is not conducive to high movement exercise videos 5) I hate exercising...While number 5 may not technically count as a good excuse, it is one I use often. I know that I should break out the Wii and at least do some step aerobics or something each night, but I just hate it so much! Though, my ready for bed at 8pm mentality is probably screaming that I have plenty of time to do what I need to do...Goal for tonight...Wii...