Where has April gone?...

Holy heck, where did this month go? Seems as if I haven't popped over here to update ya'll on my weight loss journey at all this month. Eek!
So what all has happened in my weight ins in April? Well...

• April 3: 150.8 lbs
• April 10: 155.4 lbs (I blame my getaway weekend with my mom for this gain)
• April 17: 153 lbs
• April 24 (today): 150.6 lbs

As you can see, this month has been a rollercoaster thus far. With the fun times of a scrapbooking getaway with my mom, I gained a lot that week. However, I've been doing well in losing these past few weeks, I think partially to starting Zumba. My one friend just got certified as a Zumba instructor, so I've been taking her class the past few weeks- it is fun, but kicks my butt in its one-hour of booty-shaking dance. lol
I also have come to the conclusion that I love avocado sushi! Read all about at my blog (and other favorites of the week here).

Here's my month thus far of dinners/weight loss, etc. in pics.

 (Tried this- actually pretty good for a weight watchers soup.)

 (Dinner 1 at Scrapbook getaway)

 (Dinner 2 at Scrapbook Getaway)

 (Rocking the yellow and new haircut. Bangs have come back!)

 (Chili's lunch: My most favorite soup in the world- Chili's enchilada soup)

 (Spinach ravioli at italian restaurant with hubs and mom)

 (Co-Worker gave me these to try- Not too bad)

(My new favorite popcorn, along with Boom Chica Pop. So good!)

 (Enjoying a cider on our new patio seating area. These actually aren't nearly as bad for you as beer!)

 (Lunch with hubs at mexican restaurant- I love mexican food!)

 (Oh water, Why can't I enjoy you more?)

 (A typical lunch at work- Diet Dr. Pepper, Green beans, Lean Cuisine and banana.)

 (Day one of our once-a-week 007 James Bond movie date nights- Martini and Sloppy "James" Rotini. lol)

(Last night's dinner- Crock-pot Hawaiian Chicken. So tasty, not too bad for you, and LOTS of leftovers left!)

Anyways, I hope to ramp up the exercise- Zumba, walking, etc. since I'm in that runt of gain, lose, gain, lose- all the same 5 pounds back and forth. We shall see how the next week goes.
-M

Back on the saddle and losing the pounds

yay! I'm down another 3.2 lbs this week, after restarting my weight loss program. I'm basically taking everything I've learned from Weight Watchers: track my points, count my points, exercise, etc. and tada! Weight loss. (I even had some leftover holiday cookies!)

 (No more cookies left in the house- thank heavens!)

I stuck to my 26 points plus (which is what roughly I should be at- I did 27 on some days, since I'm at the point that is between those two numbers) all but one day. Saturday- my day of doom. I would of been perfect if I didn't have buffalo chicken strips and Woodchuck cider, but alas, I was good the rest of the week and it paid off in the end. Best to have your bad day in the middle of the week, so you can work it off later in the week. haha

 (I know- bad bad...however I only ate a small portion of the fries and had my husband's carrots too!)

I only got a little bit of exercise, and it was today (walking with co-workers), so it technically didn't count to my weight in this morning, but I'm hoping I can get a little bit more of the walking exercise in this week. We'll see if the weather permits.

I happily had me some Tuna Rolls from Concerto Fusion (down the road from us). Super low points meal!

I enjoyed Indian Food from Indian Garden in Yardley, Pa. on Monday, and luckily ate well the rest of the day so I could enjoy Chicken Makhani. After having the Lean Cuisine version a few weeks ago, I've been craving Indian food ever since.

I've also found that frozen pineapple is a great zero point snack that has kept me saine in my weight loss reboot. I used to eat frozen mangoes like ice cream, so its nice to try another frozen fruit.

Other than that, been sticking to my variety of lean Cuisines, Smart Ones and Healthy Choice meals while at work. The pesto pasta from healthy Choice I tried this week- it was AMAZING! Delicious!

Lastly, my hubs and I have been in LOVE with our new SodaStream. They have a diet energy drink (tastes EXACTLY like Red Bull) and I love their diet Grapefruit (below). The diet soda is good too, sadly the Diet Dr. Pepper-type doesn't taste the best, but one out of all not good, is great for me.

Well, Happy weight loss all!
-M

Traveling is the most difficult thing to do while on a diet

So I finally got to go to the Craft and Hobby Association Conference in Chicago (semi-vacation). However, let me tell you. That was the roughest I've ever had thus far on this diet- all the food at the airport was either A) bad for you  or B) expensive  or C) both.  Then while at the conference, their food was the same way. I think I ate soup and salads 90% of the time! My mom and I (she is also on Weight Watchers) actually walked to the Aldi's down the street from our hotel JUST so we could pick up some fruit, jello, and fruit frozen bars- so we would have at least SOMETHING on our diet.

 (I drank water the entire trip- except one time I did get a margarita, but other than that, water with lemon please!)

 (3 bean soup. It was good, but after having soup and/or salad all trip, I was glad to get some more sustenance by the end of it).

 (Somehow managed to enjoy vegs and chicken (stuffed with spinach and feta))

By the 4th day of my trip, I was so tired of salads that I broke down and ate pesto tortellini with chicken in cream sauce at this italian restaurant that we got invited to go to with 2 ladies we met while at the conference (they were so sweet to take us! They don't know how much it ment to us). It was so delicious, I didn't care how many weekly points I was wasting on that dish, because it was so good.

 (most amazing pesto pasta!)

Surprisingly enough, when I got home, I weighed in on Friday (my weigh ins are normally on Tuesdays, so I was a few days late) and I had only gained 0.4 lbs. *phew* I'll take less than a 1/2 a pound gained during my trip. I can deal with that. I was fearing it would be worse. Since I dropped down to 26 points plus, I've had such a difficult time having just that- I usually can eat and feel full at 28 points plus. I guess that means I gotta do some more exercise.

(Lunch today: quiche and soup.)

(Co-worker gave me HUGE zucchini from his garden- time to make some yummy foods from it!)

 Hopefully I'll be getting plenty of exercise with practices for our show ramping up in full speed. We open August 9th, so we are dancing pretty much every practice now. (and boy do my calves feel it after dancing in character shoes all day). Here is the promo for the musical. I'm Marian the Librarian (pink top, black skirt).

Stay tuned for another promo (featuring just me singing a part of "Goodnight my Someone". Hopefully this show keeps me in check by exercise, since packing lunches/dinners is very hard with the theater group- we all like to go out to eat after practices and shows. *crossing fingers* for a better week. However I already was bad today- tortellini got me again! Eek!

 (bad bad bad)

Here's to hoping I have a better weight loss week.
later.
-M

Blargh!

Blargh! So this week I officially switched my points to 29 from 30 daily points. I guess my body didn't like that and I only lost 0.2 lbs! That by far has been my worst lost yet. It kind of made me what to cry and beat up my scale all at the same time. I did hit the 33 lbs down total mark, I just wished it was closer to 34 instead. Part of it was hard figuring out the points for my dinner at this one restaurant that we went out with some friends with over the weekend.

 (my Key-lime martini- my one splurge of the weekend)

Over the weekend I cleaned out my closet- purged a lot of clothes that either don't fit, I don't like anymore, etc. I separated my clothes into a few piles: Clothes too big, too small, donating to Goodwill, trying to sell on eBay, and then in the closet goes those that fit. :D Here's the cleaned up closet.

Another thing I have been testing out this past 2 weeks is to try some new dinners. I tried the Healthy Choice Beef Merlot steamer- SUPER AWESOME! I totally would suggest it.

I also tried the Chicken Basil in Cream Sauce with Tortellini by Lean Cuisine, also another fab. dinner. What a big change between the classic Lean Cuisine and these new Chef specials. I tried their Ranchero Beef with Sweet Potato mashed potatoes- wasn't bad tasting, just wasn't big enough to justify 6 points. I think I'll stick with the Chicken Basil.

I am only 4 lean cuisine's away from getting a free lunch box! yay! I love their rewards program. I just have to have them in by March 31st, and then I get a new lunch box. Hooray!

Today I also got my first package from my secret sister weight loss swap- super cute! I got a whole red themed package of crafting goodies and an adorable strawberry card and the most awesomeness of snacks- Skinny Cow chocolate caramel clusters- only 2 points plus a pack! Super amazing and so worth it!

Well, hopefully this week goes better. Already, it has been better with me exercising a bit more (beautiful weather and all) and so far sticking closer to my points. I'm looking forward to my dessert tonight of a Weight Watchers Ice Cream bar. Can't wait.

*crossing fingers* for a good weight loss week.
-M

A little delayed

So I'm a little delayed with my weekly update. So on Tuesday I lost another pound (sadly not 1.4 lbs as I hoped to reach 30) but I better/hopefully will get to 30 lbs down since October next Tuesday.
The hubs and I tried a new recipe on Wednesday night- Skinnytaste.com's Chicken Enchilada Soup. We tweaked a few minor things and also didn't make it in a crock pot, but it still was mighty yummy.
Here is the link to the recipe: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/12/crock-pot-chicken-enchilada-soup.html

(below is my photo of it before I put weight watchers cheese on top)

I'm finally really starting to notice clothes fitting looser this week, as most of my pants are getting loose in the front of my thighs and my behind area...and a little from the waist. I also am comfortably fitting my pretty embroidered coat, so that means I'm doing good.

Of course we had some Chipotle- how could I resist...luckily  get the same thing every time and know the points for it.

Monday was really tough (the day before my weigh) because it was our Pre-Valentine's Day dinner (I worked late Tuesday, so we couldn't really go out to eat). I made sure I saved all of my weekly points for this special dinner, as I was determined to have one of their famous margaritas. The hubs made me a skinny margarita when I got home, but it still is no where near as good as these-

Other than the soup, I haven't tried a whole lot of new things this week, just trucking along. Hopefully I'll hit my 30 lbs down next week, so I can do my closet binge and re-try on my whole closet and my "skinny clothes."
Looking forward to that day. Maybe I'll get a manicure when that happens. lol
Happy Weight Loss!
-M