Weight Loss Update 8/23/09 - 8/29/09

I had a gain of 3.6 pounds this week.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. I started off good at the beginning of the week. I worked out four days in a row, alternating between cardio and strength training as usual. Trying to incorporate some of the Turbulence Training I talked about last week.

Then I just lost steam. I began to cave in and indulge in one too many cravings and I didn't exercise for the remainder of the week. At the time I didn't think the extra calories would amount to much, but over the course of three days, they obviously have. If I can't drop below 230 pounds, how will I ever maintain my goal weight of 170 pounds? I don't know the answer to that question, but I need to move on and do better this week.

I need to do some soul searching and find out why I still give in to the cravings from time to time. It's very hard for me to just have one of something. I'm beginning to think I will just have to cut out those trigger foods altogether...something I was hoping I wouldn't have to do.

Since I like to leave a post on a high note, I'll post the inches I have lost over the last 10 months.

Total inches lost since November 2009

Upper Arms 1" each
Waist 7.5"
Hips 7.5"
Thigh 4" each

That's a total of 25" lost over my entire body!! WooHoo!

Recipe - Mexican Lasagna

Print a 3x5 card version of this recipe by clicking here.

Makes 4 Servings

~ 5 whole wheat lasagna noodles, pre-cooked
~ 1 pound lean ground beef
~ 1 medium onion, diced
~ 1 can (16 oz.) fat free refried beans
~ 2 teaspoons dried oregano
~ 1 teaspoon cumin
~ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
~ 1 tub (16 oz.) fresh salsa
~ 1/4 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese
~ 1/4 cup shredded reduced fat mozzarella

Garnish with fat free or low fat sour cream, sliced black olives, guacamole and fresh cilantro.

Cook lasagna noodles according to the package directions. While the noodles are cooking, saute the onions with the ground beef in a separate pan. Cook until meat is no longer pink and juices run clear. Drain the meat mixture and then add the refried beans, oregano, cumin, and garlic powder to the meat and onions, stirring until well blended and warmed through. Remove from heat and set aside.

Spray a glass 9x5 loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. Cut about 2-1/2 - 3 inches off each lasagna noodle so that the noodles fit inside the loaf pan. Lay two long noodles, side by side in the bottom of the dish. Spread 1/3 of the meat mixture over the noodles. Add the next layer of noodles using the pieces you cut off and one long noodle and repeat with another layer of the meat. Finish off the pan with another layer of noodles and meat and then top it all off with the whole container of fresh salsa.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, covered with aluminum foil. Remove the lasagna from the oven and sprinkle with the shredded cheese. Return the dish to the oven and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes, uncovered, or just until the cheese has melted.

Wait 5 minutes before cutting and serve with the garnishes I suggested above.

I think it's really important to use fresh salsa in this dish as jarred salsa is way too salty and the fresh salsa just has a much better taste. If you decide to use ready to bake lasagna noodles, you will need to mix one cup of water with the salsa before you pour it over the whole thing so that the noodles have more liquid to soak up. You will also need to increase the cooking time to 45-55 minutes.

Weight Loss Update - 8/16-8/22

Sorry for the late post. Our home computer is in the shop and it's been hard to get online and update everything. I guess I should really get a laptop so that when this happens again, I won't be dead in the water. I hope it turns out to be an easy fix. This is the first time I have ever had to take my computer in to be fixed. In the past, it's always been a minor problem I could fix myself or the computer was too old to bother with, so I would just replace it. This computer is not even two years old, so I thought it would be worth trying to fix. Luckily, I've been pretty good about backing up our files. I will probably only lose a few high resolution photos if they have to reformat the drive. I still have duplicates on Photobucket, but they are lower resolution. Wish me luck.

At weigh in on Sunday, I lost 1.7 pounds. I'm happy but then hesitant because I know that next week I'll probably just gain it back. I am trying not to focus on the number on the scale so much, but it's hard to break those old habits, and that number does have some significance. I also still worry if the scale is accurate and I recently read that your weight can fluctuate as much as 5 pounds in one day....not very encouraging. I always weigh myself in the morning, before I have eaten or drank anything, but the time can very slightly every week. But all in all, I feel like I am weighing myself at a good time each Sunday.

I had intended on taking measurements on Sunday as I know that is really the better indication of my weight loss, but I never got around to it. I will be sure to take them this week. I did notice that visually I feel like I am noticing a small change in my stomach after weeks of fluctuating up and down on the scale. I feel good about that. I hope that is true, because I just got rid of the last of my fat clothes today so there is no room for me to gain even 10 pounds anymore. I hope that gives me added motivation to stay on track.

I just began a new set of workouts called Turbulence Training. I signed up for their free newsletter and am doing the sample workout to see if it might be something I can stick with. I must say this workout is difficult for me although it's essentially a beginners workout. I couldn't even complete all the reps the first time and didn't even attempt it yesterday like I should have. My heart just wasn't into it and I let other distractions get in the way of me working out yesterday. I feel like I've been doing pretty well with the strength training I've been doing so far (Sparkpeople workouts), but I don't think I have been pushing myself enough. It's been incredibly hot and humid these last two weeks which has not made working out fun, but I know that's just another excuse.

I watched some videos on YouTube today of other Turbulence Training workouts and I don't even think I could attempt them. I was really hoping I could do this program as it seems to be a pretty effective system, with no long hours of boring cardio involved. I guess I am still struggling to find a program that I can actually stick with, so am open to trying out all kinds of exercise routines. But I highly doubt I will invest money and buy the full program unless I can master this sample workout and at least perform some of the exercises I am seeing on YouTube. If you want to see for yourself, just type in Turbulence Training in google or over at the YouTube site.

I told you last week that I was going to track my food again on Sparkpeople to see if overeating had been causing me to gain in the past few weeks. Though I lost 1.7 pounds by tracking my food this past week, I do not think I had been over-eating in previous weeks. I eat pretty much the same kinds of things each day. I've also been careful to not eat unless I am hungry, so I highly doubt I was going over my calories each day.

What I really want to do is break the 230 pound mark. It seems like I just can't break that number on the scale, but that is what I am shooting for next week. Weather is supposed to be much less humid this week and temperatures will be in the lower 70s, so it will be beautiful to do some workouts outside for a change of pace.

Weight Loss Update 8/9-8/15

I don't understand it. I worked out almost as hard this past week as I did the week before and I gained 2-1/2 pounds. I just don't get it. So now I am back to tracking my food again, on paper. Well, not exactly on paper, but I'm logging everything I eat on Sparkpeople.com. It's such a pain in the behind, but I guess I'd better do it to see if the food is the culprit. But honestly, I don't think it is.

Now I wonder if my scale is off. It is unusual to lose that much in one week, so maybe I really didn't lose six pounds last time. Who knows. My clothes still fit good, and maybe I have been gaining more muscle. Yes, that's it. I've gained more muscle and muscle weighs more than fat...LOL.

I had 145 minutes of aerobic workouts last week, again being about half walking and the other half Taebo. According to their calculations, I burned 1394 calories for the week. I will try to up this amount this week as much as possible, but the heat is not making it fun. I did not work out with the free weights this past week, but I did do a session with the balance ball, which was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I really tried to concentrate on the movements with Taebo so that I would work my muscles more effectively.

On Sunday, we went to a big Antique show and it was so hot and humid, I was not enjoying myself at all. We only stayed two hours. I wonder how many calories I burned just walking around there...probably more water weight from sweating than anything else.

The other day I came across a photo of myself and Gary and almost cried. We looked so awful. Very bloated and very unhealthy looking. The photo was taken in October 2008, just a few short weeks before starting Weight Watchers. My aunt and uncle were in town. I don't get to see them often, and now I am almost embarrassed that they had to see us that way. I'm sorry, but I just can't bring myself to post the picture here. At least not just yet. It's too painful for sure. Gary said jokingly that the camera adds ten pounds. I think it added a whole damn person. I will definitely refer to the picture often, just to make sure I never look that fat again.

Recipe - Spicy Curried Chicken

This is a great recipe to use up already cooked chicken. If you don't have chicken already cooked, it's easy to cook up some cubed chicken breasts while you are sauteing the green peppers and onion.

One word of caution. This recipe is a little on the spicy side. I like spicy food, but not food that is too hot, and I really enjoyed this recipe. If you do not like spicy food, you may want to omit the cayenne pepper altogether and reduce the curry powder by half to start.

This recipe is low in calories and fat and has a decent amount of fiber per serving as well, so it's a great dish to serve over egg noodles or rice for a more filling meal.

Print a 3x5 card version of this recipe by clicking here.

Makes 4 Servings

~ 2 medium green peppers, chopped
~ 1 medium onion, chopped
~ 2 teaspoons Olive Oil
~ 1 garlic clove, minced
~1-1/2 teaspoon curry powder
~ 1/2 teaspoon cumin
~ 1/2 teaspoon salt
~ 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
~ 1/4 teaspoon paprika
~ 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
~ 2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
~ 2 cups cubed cooked chicken breasts
~ 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Saute green peppers and onions in oil until tender, but before they begin to turn brown. Add curry, garlic, cumin, salt, ginger, paprika, and cayenne. Saute 1 minute longer. Add tomatoes (juice and all) and chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 8-10 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and serve.

1-1/4 cup = 1 serving

Tastes great over egg noodles or white rice.

Success! Weight Loss Update 8/2 - 8/8

I am happy report that I lost all the weight I gained two weeks ago! That's almost 6 pounds in one week. I can attribute it to the fact that I exercised nearly every day. But I wasn't crazy about it. I just did a little something each day.

I strength trained three days, like I normally would be doing. That takes about 30 minutes each of those days. My goals for cardio workouts each week is 90 minutes (about 30 minutes each day). I actually performed 210 minutes of cardio over the whole week. My cardio workouts consisted of several days of walking, usually lasting between 40-45 minutes each time and two days of Taebo which lasted 30 minutes a session.

If the calculations on Sparkpeople.com are correct, then the calories I burned on cardio alone amounted to 1630 calories, nearly double my goal for the week. And that doesn't even take into account the calories burned during the strength training exercises.

I am a firm believer that you can combine strength training and traditional cardio workouts into one. Taebo is actually a good example. If you really pay attention to leg placement and work hard at holding in your stomach and really holding each muscle group that you are working out, you will strength train at the same time. In my traditional strength training workouts, I do a lot of floor exercises as well as working with hand weights and resistance bands. Since I go from one exercise to another, with no lag time in between, I work up quite a sweat and know that my heart is getting a workout as well.

Now, can I keep up with this pace on a regular basis? Not sure. But I will certainly be more diligent in working out each week since I know what it can do for me.

Additional Uses for Pesto

I posted a Basil and Garlic Scape Pesto recipe a little while back and just wanted to share some other ways I have used the pesto since then.

In addition to the Pesto Couscous and Creamy Chicken Pesto Penne recipe I posted recently, I've added it to a lot of dishes.

- Add to rice after cooking. About 1 tablespoon for every two servings of rice.
- When baking chicken, lift the skin and spread it under the skin. Cover back up with skin and cook until chicken is done. Discard skin before serving.
- Add 1-2 tablespoons to one pound of ground beef, form into four patties and grill as you would normally cook a hamburger. Put the hamburger on a bun or slice of Italian bread. Top with marinara sauce, and shredded mozzarella. Broil for a few minutes until the cheese is melted for a nice twist to the same old boring hamburger.
- Add 2 tablespoons to your regular tomato based pasta sauce before serving.
- Spread a couple of tablespoons on a pizza crust before adding your favorite toppings.
- Spread onto thin slices of lightly toasted Italian bread for a great appetizer.
- Serve it as a dipping sauce with a grilled steak.

So you see, pesto is so versatile it can be added to many dishes. If you are not sure if it will go well with your recipe just ask yourself this. Will garlic make it taste better? Will basil make it taste better? If the answer is yes, it's an easy way to add flavor since the pesto is already made. So never fear...you can make up a small batch of pesto and not be worried that you won't use it up before it starts to spoil. Remember, you can store pesto in the fridge for 2-3 weeks and it can be frozen for up to 6 months without losing much flavor, but fresh is definitely best.

Rededicated

As my follows may know, I've been struggling since June with being motivated to exercise. This morning, I had had enough.

I woke up at 6am and decided to get up. I checked my e-mail and puttered around the house. I decided to weigh myself. Tomorrow is officially weigh in day, but I had a sinking feeling, and it was confirmed by the number on the scale. I have gained 4 pounds since last Sunday. You may have noticed that I didn't post about last week's progress. I was depressed because I had gained 2 pounds last week and now another 4. That's 6 pounds in two weeks. What am I doing? I should be exercising!

I grabbed a plum, a hand full of blueberries and a few almonds and downed a tall glass of water and got to work. I did my strength training exercises that I found on Sparkpeople.com even though it was not technically a strength training day. I have it set up for Friday, Sunday and Wednesday, but since I haven't done it in weeks, what did it matter now. That was a good workout, so I decided to go ahead and take a walk around the block. I did two miles in about 40 minutes. I felt I could have done more, but I didn't want Gary to get worried since he was still asleep when I left. So I cooled down with some stretches and felt great.

Gary had just gotten up, so I fixed our breakfast and now I am feeling energized for the day. I was thinking why it's been so tough for me to stay motivated these last few weeks. I think it may have something to do with how relatively easy it's been to lose this weight so far. I really haven't work that hard to lose the first 60 pounds, so I was taking it for granted that I could continue to eat well and still lose weight.

Wrong! I need to exercise and hopefully this little set back will give me the push I need. Wish me luck on weigh in tomorrow. Maybe it won't be as bad as what the scale said this morning.

Have a wonderful weekend everybody!