I heart Body Pump!

I haven't done Body Pump in over a year because we moved to a new area that didn't offer it. But just recently a good friend of mine became the fitness director of a gym here in town and they are bringing it in. I am so excited! She has been doing classes for the people that are going to get certified and she invited me to come do the class today! I forgot how much I love that class! I took my husband with me too and we could barely walk down the stairs after class....quite the workout! The only bummer is they aren't actually starting the classes officially until January. But until then she is going to let me come to all the preview classes. So I'll be able to go at least once a week. Not ideal...but it will work for now. I think I am going to try to do the Shred the other days and maybe get a little walking in. That is my plan and I'm sticking to it :o)

-5.2 Lost!

I just finished my 1st week of being recommitted to WW and I lost 5.2 lbs.! Woo hoo! My husband and I started a biggest loser competition with a few friends. It is being facilitated by another friend of ours who is a personal trainer. It is a 8 week competition that is going through December. My first thought was "know is not a good time with the holidays coming up." But when is a good time right?? It is now or never! The other great help is that my husband is doing it with me. Of course he has about a 1/3 of the weight to lost that I do and he already lost 10lbs. in the first week. Gotta love men and how quick they lose weight! My plan for this week was get the food plan going and next week I am going to add in some exercise. Should be fun!

How many points in all that Halloween candy??

I was just trying to figure out if I have any points left in my day to indulge in a little treat tonight so I searched for a listing of all of the fun size candy bars and how many points are in it. And this is what I found:

HALLOWEEN CANDY POINTS:
3 Musketeers, 2 fun size bars/3.5 pts
1000 Grand, 2 bars/4.5 pts
Abazaba, 1 mini/1 pt
ABC Fruit Chomps, 7 pieces/3 pts
ANDES "Creme de Menthe Thin Mint", 8 pieces/5.5 pts
Animal Crackers, 11 crackers/3 pts
Almond Joy, 2 snack size bars/4 pts
America's Original Bubble Gum 4/1.5 pts
Atomic Fireballs, 1/1 pt
Baby Ruth, 2 fun size bars/4 pts
Big Hunk, mini, 1/1 pt
Bit-O-Honey, 6 pieces/4 pts
Blow Pops, 1/1.5 pts
Bubble Gum, super, 2 pieces/1 pt
Butterfinger, 2 fun size bars/4 pts
Butternut Mini Bar, .75 oz/2 pts
Candy Corn, 22 pieces/3 pts
Caramello, 2 snack size bars/4 pts
Double Bubble Gum, 2 pieces/1 pt
Fifth Avenue, 2 snack pieces/4 pts
Heath Bar, 5 snack size bars/6 pts
Hershey's Bar (plain), 2 snack size bars/5 pts
Hershey's (almonds), 2 snack size bars/5 pts
Hershey Kisses, 8 pieces/5 pts
Hershey Kisses or Hugs 3 pieces/2 pts
Hershey Miniatures, 5 pieces/5 pts
Hot Tamales, 1 snack box/1 pt
Jolly Rancher, 3 pieces/1 pt
Jolly Rancher Mini Stix, 1/1 pt
Kit Kat, 3 (2 pc) snack bars/6 pts
Kit Kat, 1 (2-piece) bar/2 pts
Lemonheads, 1 box/2 pts
Life Saver Five Flavor Candy, 4/1.5 pts
Life Saver Gummi Savers, 2 rolls/2.5 pts
Life Saver Pops, 1/1 pt
M & M (plain), 1 fun size pack/2 pts
M & M (peanut), 1 fun size pack/2 pts
M & M Crispy, 1 pkg/5 pts
Mars, 2 fun size bars/4 pts
Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kisses, 6 pieces/3.5 pts
Maynards Wine Gums, 1 roll/3 pts
Mike & Ikes, 1 snack pkg/1 pt
Milk Duds, 4 fun size boxes/4 pts
Milky Way, 2 fun size bars/4 pts
Milky Way Lite, minis, 5 pieces/3 pts
Milky Way Lite, regular bar/3.5 pts
Mounds, 2 snack size bars/4 pts
Necco Wafers, 1 roll/1 pt
Nerds, 1 box/1 pt
Nestle Crunch Fun Size, 4 bars/5 pts
Now & Later, 3 mini bars/3 pts
O'Henry, 2 fun size bars/5 pts
Peter Pan Peanut Butter Cups, 4 pieces/6 pts
Pumpkin Pop, 1 sucker/1pt
Raisinettes, 3 snack size boxes/4 pts
Red Hots, 1 box/2 pts
Reese's Crunchy Cookie Cups, 2 snacks/4 pts
Reese's Miniature Peanut Butter Cups, 5 pieces/5 pts
Reeses Peanut Butter Bites, 3 pkgs/5.5 pts
Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, 2 snack size/4 pts
Reesesticks, 2 snack size/4 pts
Skittles, 3 pkgs/4 pts
Skittles (regular), 2 packs/3 pts
Smarties, 3 rolls/1 pt
Smuckers Fruit Fillers, bag (5 candies)/2 pts
Snackwells Nut Clusters, 1 piece/1 pt
Snickers, 2 fun size bars/4 pts
Snickers, minis (4 pieces)or 2 fun size bars/4 pts
Spree Candies, 8 pieces/1 pt
Spree Twist, 2 rolls/1.5 pts
Starburst, 3 fun size pkgs/4 pts
Starburst Fruit Chews, 8 chews/3.5 pts
Sugar Babies, 2 snack size pouches/4.5 pts
Sugar Daddy Pops, 3/3.5 pts
Sweethearts (Necco), 1 1/8 oz box/2.5 pts
Sweet Tarts, 2 rolls/1 pt
Tootsie Hot Chocolate Pops, 1/1.5 pts
Three Musketeers, 2 fun size/4 pts
Tootsie Roll, 2 snack bars/2 pt
Tootsie Roll Midgees, 6 pieces/3.5 pts
Tootsie Roll Pop, 1 pop/1 pt
Twix, 1 mini size/1 pt
Twix, 1 snack size bar/2 pts
Twix, Regular Size, 1 (2) pack/7 pts
Twizzlers Pull-n-Peel Cherry Candy, 3 pieces/2.5 pts
Twizzlers Strawbery Twists, 4 twists/2.5 pts
Werther's Original, 3 pieces/1 pt
Whoppers Malted Milk Balls, 2 snack size pouches/5 pts
Wonka Nerds Gumballs, 1/1 pt
Wonka Shock Tarts Gumball, 1/1 pt
Wrigleys Chewing Gum, 5 pieces/1 pt
York Peppermint Patties, 3 patties/3 pts

A yummy fall recipe...

Pumpkin Mousse

1 can Pumpkin (15oz.)
2 sm. pk instant sugar free fat free vanillapudding
2 cups skim milk
1 8 oz. tub Cool whip lite
1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Directions

Mix pudding with skim milk; when set add other ingredients; Chill

Number of Servings: 8

Points per serving: 2

A new day!

Today is a new day! I can start over...I will start over! I am going back to WW meetings tonight...going to take advantage of the free month offer. I have been trying to do this on my own for too long and it just doesn't work. The ONLY way I have lost weight and kept it off is by going to meetings. I hate to admit that...partly pride I guess. But today I am laying down my pride. My plan is to go to WW for the next 3 months...get my "eating healthy" thing down and then come January I will add in a workout regimen. I think too many times I have jumped in head first and tried to do everything perfect. I try to eat right, exercise, count my points and then after a few days I burn out. I need to be in this for the long haul. This needs to be a life long commitment. So for now I will work on the eating thing and allow myself some time to add in the exercise thing. We have a new gym opening in January too that is close to my house. So the timing should be good for that. Well, with that said I am going to go eat my breakfast, drink my water and count my points. And then I am off to a meeting! YAY!

Starting over!

It is true! I am starting over tomorrow morning. The summer has been difficult with all 4 kiddos home but they go back to school tomorrow so I am taking the opportunity to start over! A couple friends and I are going to meet up and weigh each other every Monday morning. We will keep each other accountable and hopefully provide support throughout the week. We are also going to throw $5 or $10 in a pot if we go off program to be won by the person that loses the most weight. We are also going to follow the WW plan and journal. I am excited for the change of seasons and the hope of changing my way of thinking! :o)

A little me time....

I think I am on the come back for the bazillionth time :o) For several months I have been good about eating good foods and tracking but the exercise thing just wont click. I just find it hard to make time for myself when I have 4 kids to take care of, a house to clean, blah blah blah. I know everyone is very busy and it is just a matter of making the time. So today I made the time. I decided to pull out the old Couch to 5K plan and take a little me time. I thought I was about to die after the first little interval but I made it through. I have done this before...I know I can do it again. The only thing stopping me is myself! The other thing I need to work on is loving myself now. I tend to always think when I lose weight...when I fit in a size??, when, when, when. I need to love myself now and enjoy myself and then the change will come. Below are some pics of a recent get together with some friends. Most of the night I worried about what I looked like in my dress next to my thinner friends. What a waste of time! I am so tired of feeling that way. I definitely need to work on that. To realize who I am comes from the inside...and that I am God's creation. Oh it sounds so simple when I type it...if I just get it ;o)

Pushing the restart button...

So I haven't been posting lately...truthfully I have been struggling a bit. When I am going to finally figure this out. With Easter and traveling....I have been a little loose with my points. I finally buckled down this last week which resulted in a good loss but then after weighing on Saturday morning I thought " I can cheat a little." Why do I do that to myself? We were traveling this weekend so I added a full fat iced mocha and several other no-no's to my menu. So hopefully I don't regain the weight I lost next week. Last night I sat down to watch LOST with my DH and grabbed the trail mix...not a point friendly snack. He gently said "It's not too late to count your points and restart" I love him! Let me preface this by saying he never comments about my weight or what I eat. Although, lately I have been sharing my struggles about staying on program. I told him my biggest downfall is not just hitting the restart button....when I fall off, I really fall off. So he was helping me...and you know what after I shoved one more bite of trail mix into my mouth I put it down and stopped snacking. And today I am pushing the restart button!

WI day - 2.8 lbs. gone for a total of 15 lbs. so far!

Hello 230's! I was so excited to see that number this morning. I have been above it for a year or so and it was refreshing. Can't wait to see it get to onederland! That will be so nice! I've been sticking to my food plan but can't quite fit the exercise in. I am pleased that I am losing weight but I know the healthier way would be to combine eating right with exercise and I am just not finding time to fit it in. My favorite way to exercise is in classes. Before we moved to Montana, I belonged to a gym and went to spinning, body pump, body step, etc. and loved it. The problem however is that when we moved we took a pay cut....my husband and I moved here to start a church....so we can't afford the gym membership and childcare at the gym. At any rate, I am still trying to figure out a plan that works best for me. I am going to make that my goal this week. Exercise at least 20 min. day/4 times. I know I can do it...it is a choice! Hope all is well with the other Team Lean members out there!

WI day - 3 lbs. gone!

The scale finally moved a bit....3 lbs. down this week! My new motto has been "slow and steady wins the race!" I have been just reminding myself that even a pound a week would be fine....I am still trying to say that in my head and believe it in my heart. I have been so programmed by who knows what to just want to take the weight off quick. The only problem is it always comes back on! I think the reason I lost a little more this week was that I made an effort to choose my points wisely. Not eat so much pre-packaged WW food and treats. Eat more veggies and fruits. Exercise a little....still struggling with that one. Our family visited last week and they are both marathon runners. On Sunday my brother-in-law ran 20 miles for his training and my sis-in-law ran 6 miles while my hubby and I sat on the couch and watched TV. So I felt like a little bit of a slug. Realizing I will probably never run 20 miles (who knows miracles happen) I still would like to be a little more active. The weather is finally getting nicer so I might try to at least get out and walk with my family a couple times this week. I use to belong to a gym before we moved here and I went faithfully but after we moved and took a pay cut to come here and start a church, we aren't able to join the gym and pay for childcare so I have to be a little more creative with my working out. Well, it's off to eat breakfast...I love Saturdays!

WI day - 1 lb. gone!

Another week...another pound gone. I have to say I am trying not to get discouraged. I know a pound is a pound and if I lose a pound a week I'll be 50 pounds lighter in a year but it usually comes off quicker when I have done WW before. But I am going to stop complaining and rejoice in my progress. Almost 10 lbs. gone...it was 10 yesterday but my body decided to go up a little today :o) Probably shouldn't weigh myself everyday. I definitely need to bump up my exercise this week. That seems to be my biggest struggle right now. Hope all the other Team Lean gals are hanging in there!

Down 10 pounds!

So today isn't my weigh in day but I happened to weight myself anyway (ok...I am a little compulsive about weighing) and I passed the 10 lb. mark. So I had my husband take a pic. I don't now if I can really tell a difference. Being almost 6' tall has it's disadvantages...one being that it takes a little longer to notice weight loss. On the upside....I get more points :o) Anyway, I think I am going to have my husband take a pic for every 10 pounds I lose. We'll call these "progress pics" and eventually I will have my "after" pic that I want (see previous post.) I have been OP (on program) for 20 days now. They say it takes 20 days to build a habit so let's hope :o) I am trying to vary my food a little bit and not get stuck in a rut. I went to the grocery store and tried to find some new things. One thing I found was Bolthouse Yogurt Salad Dressing...I bought the Poppyseed flavor. I had half the calories and fat as regular dressing and tastes yummy. I can't do fat free dressings so I try to find low fat alternitives. I am excited to try their other flavors too. I also bought some salad toppers to give my salad crunch. Southwest flavored for my Southwest chicken salad and Ginger Sesame for my Asian chicken salad. Can you tell I am craving salad right now. With that said...I need to go get my butt kicked by Jilian. I bought the 30 day shred video. The hardest 20 minutes ever....hopefully it will get easier!

Every picture is a before picture....

I have to say I am tired of looking at every picture I take and thinking "That would make such a great "before" picture!" My friend posted these pics to facebook and wasn't too excited to share them with all of my facebook friends (especially the ones I haven't seen in years and knew me almost 100 pounds lighter. I guess looking at them can give me the motivation to make the changes I need to, so other pictures from now on can be "progress" pics and "goal" pics. Some of the pics turned out okay...mainly the ones where it was just a head shot :o) These were taken about a month ago so I have made some progress since then...

WI day - 1.8 lbs. gone!

I weighed myself this morning and I lost 1.8 pounds. I was hoping it would come off a little faster but I am sure my body is confused because I have started and stopped so many times. I also have been great about staying on program with my points but I haven't been exercising....a huge part of the equation I know! So this week I am setting a goal of exercising at least 3 times. I would love to do it everyday but with 4 kids it is hard to find the time. I am hoping to be able to get up with them in the morning and while they are getting ready for school I can do the elliptical or do a workout video. The only problem is I am sure I will get distracted helping them keep on track for the morning. I have found with myself that if I don't work out in the morning it doesn't happen. Does anyone else struggle with this? I need to just make the time and realize that it will make me feel better and have more energy in the long run. Well, I am off to eat breakfast...my tummy is growling!

1 point Peanut Butter Chocolate Haystacks

Just found this recipe on another blog for 1 point Haystack cookies. She has a video of her making the recipe. Maybe you have already heard of them or tried them but if you have not they are absolutely delicious! I actually added a little something to my recipe which made them even more fabulous! Here is the recipe if you want to try some for yourself!

1/4 c. peanut butter
1/4 c. chocolate chips ( I used mini choc chips)
Add both ingredients to a micro safe bowl and microwave for 1-2 minutes until chips are melted.

Mix well and add:
1 c. fiber one cereal

Mix the cereal with the pb and chocolate mixture until all of the cereal is coated. Drop spoonfuls on to cookie sheet. Here is my ingredient I added: sprinkle a little salt (I used ground rock salt) on each cookie while they are still warm. Let them cool on the counter or put them in the fridge to cool or if you live in Montana you can out them on your back deck and they will cool off very quick :o) They end up tasting like yummy chocolate covered pretzels...a little salty and a little sweet! My kids loved them too and my husband has been eating them for breakfast! I am sure you can double the recipe if you want to make more because 9 doesn't last very long! Enjoy!

Still here....

I am still on program....9 days and counting. I have wanted to blog more but haven't been able to find the time. I have been sticking to the program faithfully. Now I need to make the time to exercise. I have a beautiful elliptical sitting in my family room...I just don't seem to make the time to get on. Today I even got dressed as if I was going to work out but here it is almost dinner time and I still haven't gotten on. Maybe it will click one of these days! One major accomplishment for me this week was going to a potluck and being totally in control. I have a friend at church who is doing WW too so we planned before hand, I brought a southwest chicken salad and a WW friendly dessert and she brought yummy chicken cream cheese enchiladas. We both calculated the points so we knew what we were eating and I didn't feel like I was missing out on all of the other food. I was able to come home from the potluck not feeling all bloated like I typically do. I have also been trying to plan my week ahead so I know what to plan for. I am still doing the Wendi plan and I really like it. Last week I had my high point day on Friday, the day before my WI but I still lost weight. I treated myself to Starbucks and had pizza for dinner. I need to go now to put my green chili and chicken enchiladas in the oven. Hope all the Team Lynn people are doing great!

Fruity-tooty!

OK...I am sure this is TMI but since I have started eating healthier (6 days OP now) I have had so much more gas! I am sure it is to be expected filling my body with all that fiber and fresh fruit and veggies that it is not use to but it is getting a little unbearable! Any suggestions out there on what to do. I am sure my body will adjust but I thought in the meantime maybe a little Gas X or an enzyme of some sort to help. Just thought I would throw out that question. Truthfully I hope no one really reads this because it is a little embarrasing :o) But I feel like I want to make this blog (I have another one for family stuff) all about my weight loss journey...ups and downs. So this is me being real :o) Go team Lynn! Hope everyone out there is losing! Tomorrow is my WI day...more will be revealed. If I lose big...then maybe the excess gas is all worth it!

My PB2 is on it's way!

I just ordered some PB2...3 regular and 1 chocolate. I found this stuff a couple years ago and I L-O-V-E it! Unfortunately, they don't sell it in any stores around here so you have to order it directly from Bell Plantation. It is also a little spendy...but worth every penny if you are a peanut butter lover! For those of you that haven't heard of PB2, the reason I love it so much is that it is much lower in calories and fat then the real stuff.....only 53 calories, 2 grams of fat and .5 grams of fiber for every 2 tablespoons. It comes in a powdered form (a little different but you get used to it) and you mix the powder with water. You end up with about 1 tablespoon of actual peanut butter when you are finished mixing. I think it has a great natural peanut butter taste...almost like freshly ground peanut butter. Well, I won't go on and on anymore...I am just a little excited about it. I have been craving peanut butter but haven't wanted to use 5 points for a serving.

As far as the program goes, I am still doing well. 5 days back on the wagon...still journaling, drinking my water and sticking to my points. I am following the Wendi plan, so tomorrow is my big day. I am thinking however about switching to Saturday because I have to WI Saturday morning and I am not sure how that would work. Hope everyone on Team Lynn is hanging in there. I know I feel so much better after eating well...even if it has only been 5 days. For once in this competition I am actually looking forward to my WI on Saturday!

Still on program!

Yea...it has been 4 days and I am still op! I now this doesn't sound like a great accomplishment to some of you but for me it is. Lately I have stopping and starting just about every other day. I have been praying that it would click and I would find the motivation and I have for the last 4 days. Still realizing this is a life long process and I need to take it day by day of course. Every day I have been telling my husband "If I get off program...please remind me that it really isn't that hard to eat within my points." Of course, he will never tell me that because he is great like that...not ever mentioning my weight or weight loss things. Anyway, for today I am happy to be eating within my points. I feel like I have more energy and I just feel better all around when I am OP. Something that has really helped is reading everyone else's blogs and seeing that they struggle with the same stuff. So thanks to all of you in blogland for your encouragement!

Back on the wagon!!

I am finally back after one month exactly. Pretty much went on vacation, came back home, could never get caught up with everything and....ate my way through the stress. I have praying that I would find the motivation this last month and something finally clicked again. Not sure what but I will take whatever motivation I can get :o) So I have been OP for 2 days now. Weighing and measuring everything and using my food journal. That is how I have lost weight in the past and I have found that it is what works for me. I am also using the Wendi Plan which has also worked well for me. I find that it gives me a little variety in that I am eating a different amount each day and not the same 30 points for example. I have also been getting on my elliptical and using the Wii fit to exercise...so much fun! I feel bad that I haven't been much of an asset to team Lynn but hopefully I can add something to the totals these next few weeks. I am going to try to be better about posting...not that anyone is reading this but it helps keep me accountable :o)