Weekly weigh-in 220.6

Dun Dun Dun.....:)    It's that dreaded day!  Or is it??  It's the start of a new chapter and hopefully a lifelong change of a healthier lifestyle with the encouragement of friends and family!  I would like to check in once a week until our goals are met, and then after that, we'll figure out a check in/buddy system for maintenence/fitness etc. 

I started this journey almost 2 years ago.  I stepped on the scale the morning I had Kaelin and it read 270lbs.  When Kevin left for Iraq I was 255lb.  When I joined a gym in December 2010, I was at 251 lbs.  Kevin came home from Iraq in November 2011 and my weight was 196lbs.  That's almost 60lbs in the 12months of his deployment. 

After he was home and we were settling and re-adjusting, the scale would read 201, 204, 208, 215, 218 and where I have been stuck for the last few months at 222lbs. 

Last week I weighed in at 220lbs.  This week I am at 220.6.  A little over 1/2lb weight gain this week.  I made it to the gym only 3 days out of the last 7 and I plan on going again tonight. 

I went to a class called Club boxing circuit. OMG LOVE IT! or hate it too..but it was fun!  I've never been to a class where we actually get to put on gloves and punch and kick the crap out of the bag.  It was so exhilarating.  The part where she made us run back and forth in the gym and then only stop us to make us do jumping jacks? Yeah,that part totally sucked but it was at the beginning and we got it over with!  I've heard rumors she sometimes makes the class sometimes run the parking lot. Not looking forward to that! 

As far as healthy eats, it's been an on and off struggle. I have good days and bad days.  The first few weeks are brutal when reducing caloric intake. It feels like I'm starving!  I've tried to just make smaller/healthier meals and snack. Slowly and surely it's getting better. 

How was your week? 

Starting weight:  222
Today's weight:  220.6

Down 1.4lb

Happy 4th of July

Tasty Tuesday: French Onion Soup

I know it's not exactly soup weather for most of my followers, but I don't think you can really ever go wrong with French Onion Soup. 
I found this recipe on www.cookinglight.com  It is extremely easy and delicious. Oh and did I mention only 290 calories for a 1 cup serving of soup WITH the cheese and bread?  We had it for supper tonight.  It's still isn't "summer" in the Pacific Northwest, so we can get away with soups, and I'm loving it! I can't wait to have a bowl for lunch tomorrow. 

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 4 cups thinly vertically sliced Walla Walla or other sweet onion 
• 4 cups thinly vertically sliced red onion
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar 
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup dry white wine 
• 8 cups less-sodium beef broth
• 1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 8 (1-ounce) slices French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 8 (1-ounce) slices reduced-fat, reduced-sodium Swiss cheese (we used mozzerella)

Preparation

1. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions to pan; sauté for 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in sugar, pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat to medium; cook 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Increase heat to medium-high, and sauté for 5 minutes or until onion is golden brown. Stir in wine, and cook for 1 minute. Add broth and thyme; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 2 hours.
2. Preheat broiler.
3. Place bread in a single layer on a baking sheet; broil 2 minutes or until toasted, turning after 1 minute.
4. Place 8 ovenproof bowls on a jelly-roll pan. Ladle 1 cup soup into each bowl. Divide bread evenly among bowls; top each serving with 1 cheese slice. Broil 3 minutes or until cheese begins to brown.
   
   
   photo & recipe credit

Here I go again...

Remember last year when I lost 50+lbs when Kevin was deployed.  70 total since Kaelin's birth??  Well I seem to have found 20+ back and well that's just not cool, folks.  It's of my own doing!  I'm the only one to blame.  For months I blamed it on Kevin coming home and eating out at his favorite places but it's not his fault at all.  It's only my own.  He didn't put the food in my mouth.  He didn't make me sit on the couch watching t.v. every evening.  He actually encouraged me to go to the gym. I just wasn't "feeling" it.  I would go strong for a week and then lose the groove.  He would tell me it was okay to go, but I somewhat felt guilty (and still do sometimes)  leaving him in the evenings to go to the gym.  I know I shouldn't but I do.  There are other days I am running out the door to get out of there.

I have tried at home workouts and just cannot get into them.  Paying for a gym membership gives that ooomph to get out the door and use the services that I am paying for. 

I haven't been extremely consistent since joining 3 weeks ago. So far I have taken a Zumba class (eh...love zumba just not this particular class...will give it another shot)  ..  Body works plus Abs (ouch..good ouch) and Spin (love/hate and butt ouch the first few times) 

I want to get into a routine with the treadmill/elliptical.  I have tried the couch to 5k and I never make it past week 1.  I am going to try intervals on my own and go from there.  Small goals and my first one is to be able to run a mile without stopping.  Sounds small but I have only ran a mile once in my life in highschool...never since. At this point I can only run about 2 minutes before I need to walk. 

Weight wise:  I am going to make realistic goals. I know it took me months to put it on so it won't come off over night. My goals are 1-2lbs/week, and hoping for 15lb weight loss by August 31st.

To help me keep accountability I am linking up with Mrs. V @ Getting that Glow.   She has been working hard on her own goals and is doing fabulous. 
Weigh ins will be on Friday mornings.  I will be posting on my blog and then linking up in her comment section. 

If anyone is looking for some accountability for weight loss, fitness goals, or even just living a healthy lifestyle, let's all work together and encourage each other! 

Even if you don't have a blog, feel free to leave your goals/accomplishments/or needs for improvements in my comment section. 

Who's with me?

Our Home: Part 1

I am having a blogging block lately, so I'll just share some pictures of our new house!  It's not as decorated as I would like, but I'm lacking inspiration in that department as well.  Would anyone like to nominate us for one of those shows on HGTV where they redecorate your house?  If so, make sure to let them know we're renting and it all has to be able to go with us when we move..no feathers glued on the walls and such!  Oh, and while your at it.  I'm totally in need of a new wardrobe, so start nominating me for What Not to Wear too... 
Ok.  Thanks!
 Oh and PS. I haven't even taken pictures upstairs so don't hold your breath for Part 2 anytime in the near near future. 

Potty Training Update

I have been reluctant to write anything for fear of jinxing myself, but potty training has been going fantastic! 
I had said in my previous post that I was going to start the "next day".  Which I didn't.  It was Kevin's last weekend before he went back to work and we wanted a little freedom to go and see what we pleased and not be stuck inside.
We've been talking for months about "throwing diapers away and being a big girl".  We told her she could pick out a new potty...for the 3rd time, (we have 3 bathrooms, so it's justified...HA)  and then from now she would only be wearing big girl underpants and no more diapers.  She was actually quite excited.  She picked out a simple, pink potty that looked like a frog, and home we went.  We asked her if she wanted to sit on her potty while she played with her toys and she agreed.   We tried for about 30 min and finally she went. Of course we made a huge deal out of it and we danced and played. She chose bubbles as her prize.  We were off to a good start. We put her to bed that night in a pull up and she woke up the next morning dry.  She went again.  Awesome. We chose to still go to church, we put her in a pull up (which she does not like) and went to church.  We were gone almost 2 hours but she didn't have accident and went when we got home. 
She did have 2 accidents/day for the first 3 days and they only happened when she was playing outside.  Not bad at all if you ask me.  Day 4 was awesome.  No accidents, a 2 hour trip away from home, and stayed dry the whole day.
I thought we were on a roll, then she threw me for a loop and had 3 major accidents on Thursday.  We were all a little bummed because she had been doing so great, we had planned on taking her to the zoo on Friday.  We had to scratch that and devise a new potty training plan and be a little more attentive to her needs.  It was obvious she wasn't 100% ready to be in control of it that she needed reminders from us still. 
Thursday evening we decided to take a different approach and instead of waiting for her to tell us she had to potty, we would make her sit on the potty atleast every 90 min- 2 hours and before anything important (i.e. going on a walk, taking bath, going outside to play).  It worked like a charm.  Sure, there wasn't as much pee in the potty but she was going and she wasn't holding to the point of "OMG, I'm going to pee my pants" stage.
Friday and today have been great as well. No accidents day or night. 
We still have times that we remind her to go, but she still takes the initiative to let us know if she has to go too. So far, 7 days of no diapers, the last 6 have been only big girl undewear, not even any pull ups for our big girl! 
Overall, we are super proud of our BIG girl who is doing amazing.  It's been a long road to this point, but the wait was worth it and I would wait til almost 3 again in a heartbeat.

Chicken Taco Soup

Another recipe for you.  First I will post the original recipe (and picture) that I found on Allrecipe.com 
I tweaked ours a bit to accommodate what we had on hand and save us a trip to the grocery store.  We loved the way it turned out and plan on making it again and possibly serving with some rice like the gumbo at Qdoba. YUM! 
Notice the recipe calls for 12oz of beer.  Sounds weird and I was skeptical but it totally works for this recipe.  I did read in the reviews that it tasted great with chicken stock as well. 
First...the original recipe. 

Ingredients - Orignal

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) can chili beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer
• 2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
• 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
• 3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
• sour cream (optional)
• crushed tortilla chips (optional)

Next..my version of the same soup... (my feelings won't be hurt if you choose the original! haha!) 

Ingredients

• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer
• 1 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
• 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
• 3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
• sour cream (optional)
• crushed tortilla chips (optional)
  
  **See not much different. I basically just omitted the chili beans, and left out one can of diced tomatoes, and instead of an 8oz can of tomato sauce, I added a full 15oz can because that's what I had on hand.  **
• Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.
• Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.

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