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

On the right track to weight loss

So this past week went better on the weight loss train- I lost 1.6 lbs. I'll take it. After so many weeks of no loss or gaining, ANY loss is a win in my book.

 Check out my Weight Watchers friendly (shown below) Riesling Grapefruit Mango Spritzer recipe here!

It's been tough- these last pounds I want to loose are a doosy! But I figured out that if I trick myself mentally by allowing myself 30 points plus a day, instead of my allotted 26, I tend to do better. I try my best to not use all 30 and actually only use 26, but I think that the mental psych-out of having the potential to have more points keeps me more on track.

 (got my free Lean Cuisine lunch bag!)

 (This was my bad day of the weight loss cycle)

 (Banana Pineapple Upside-down cake recipe coming to my blog soon- only 2.5 points plus for 1/8 of the entire cake!)

Now I did had one bad meal (bar food!), but thus far this week, I've been pretty darn good on my diet. I even figured out the points for peeps, so I could indulge a tiny bit on some good ol' Easter sugary goodness.

 Easter breakfast anyone?

We shall see what the scale says come Wednesday though.
 Happy Weight loss all!
-M

Hitting the wall of weight loss

Ok. So I admit it. I have not been perfect in my weight loss journey. Luckily however, no one is perfect.
I think sometimes when you are emotional, you are allowed to be bad, provided you are not an emotional wreak every single day. 
This week has been rough- my mother-in-law was admitted to the hospital last Wednesday night, suffering a stroke. She is only 49. Her recovery since then has been slow, and not going as quickly has the doctor's hoped. She is responding, but not as quickly, nor in the ways they want. So I think having a bowl of spaghetti with giant meatballs from the hospital cafeteria is fine, or the giant coffee coollata to keep me awake after spending all day either in the hospital or babysitting my rambunctious nephews. We all are allowed sometimes- so the fact that I didn't gain anything this week is kind of a minor miracle.

I did however start to do some dance work out. I'm finding that I really need to get some muscle on my body, so I'm not just all jiggly. haha. Luckily the Dance Central games have work out modes that tell you how many calories you burned and how long you worked out for. So far I seem to be able to handle 50 minutes of dancing before I feel really tired. I hope to keep up with it. A friend of mine also recently got certified as a Zumba instructor, so once she gets classes going, I'm going to start that.

 (Co-worker brought in cookies leftover from her daughter's Alice in Wonderland party.)

Also, since last I blogged on food and weight loss, we had out 80s Prom Birthday party. I think I rocked my dress, though I'm sure by the end of the night I looked twice my size, after all the sweets I had that night. haha

 (The food spread)

 I did eat some healthy meals though:

But also had the not-so healthy meals out-and-about:

 (In my defense of this one, I only ate half- and had the other half for lunch the next day)

I also had these super tasty, but super bad for you, Irish potatoes my hubs made for St. Patrick's Day, which you can find the recipe here:

 Well, hopefully I can get out of this funk of weight loss and get back into being in shape.
Also, prayers for my mother-in-law would be much appreciated all!
-M

Post birthday wrap up

So I am staying strong at 151 lbs this week. After having a week of "I don't care what I eat because its my birthday," I was surprised I didn't gain.
I mean, I ate some pretty non-diety foods, and lots of it. But I guess there is still part of me that in the back of my mind is saying, "don't do that, don't eat that, don't eat ALL of that." Some of that must of come through. That or I just had a good "scale day." haha
Here's some of the lowdown on the foodies since last I updated.

 Yeah. So, this is soooo not on my diet. But it was free from Buffalo Wild Wings for my birthday. Sometimes you just gotta live a little, or just drool over the picture and not eat it. Luckily, I shared it- I couldn't eat it all.

 My birthday dinner at Bellissimo italian restaurant in Allentown. I was smart enough to only eat a portion of it and got the rest to go. Pesto Chicken pasta- yum!

 Great wine we tasted for my b-day dinner. Shared among 3 of us, so that wasn't too bad.

 My absolute favorite Healthy Choice steamer- pesto pasta with chicken. Can you tell I like pesto chicken?

 Homemade sloppie joe bowtie pasta. Hubs' favorite.

 The most amazing cupcakes known to man- Margarita cupcakes made by my co-worker for my b-day. So awesome!

And lastly, the Rita's in our area has officially opened. I celebrated their season opening with a sugar free mango-peach gelati with slenderita custard. Not bad on weight watchers points, actually.

Hopefully after our big party on Saturday I can get back on track. We've been strapped for cash, since all our spare $ is going to the party, that I haven't gotten a chance to make a good healthy grocery run. What is your go-to healthy food that isn't that expensive?
Happy weight loss!
-M

the Yo-yo of weight loss

So this week I lost 0.6 lbs. (when I hopped on the scale this morning, I lost another pound-but after the rest of the day, I doubt that "stayed," lol).

 (Yellow piggy bank says hello- I see his adorable yellow self every weigh in- as he sits on the shelf in our yellow bathroom where my scale is also, lol)

Right now my weight loss is so Yo-Yo. One week I do great, the next week I do horrible and gain back what I lost. Now, right now I'm hovering back and forth around my original goal weight. I'm having such a hard time getting past that weight. I guess that is ok, since technically it was my goal, but I still have that last 10-15 that would be my Ideal weight.
I don't know, maybe I'm just not ment to be that weight, unless I decide to do some major "working out."- which I HATE. But who knows, maybe next week will be different. lol

 I tried the Skinny Girl California White wine. Not bad, but a lot more dry than I enjoy.


This week my hubs and I tried the Weight Watchers pre-portioned chicken, and had it with rice in a ginger sauce. It was super fab and super low points. I must say, it was so nice to already know what the points were for the chicken and not have to weight it all out.

Other new things in weight loss land- discovered faux ice cream. Check out the recipe post over at my other blog here for the "Banana So-called ice cream."
It was tasty.

Also tried a new healthy Choice steamer dinner tonight, and I must say it was AWESOME! Who new that carrots, rice, chicken, pineapples and sauce would be so tasty?

I also aquired this lovely dress at the SalVal, while shopping for my dress for our 1980s Prom birthday bash. (I got that dress too, but I'm not showing it off till the actual party- don't want any spoilers!- as I say in my best River Song/Dr. Who voice)

I am planned to wear it to the banquet for the New Jersey Press Association Awards, where I scored a 2nd place in Business page design and a 3rd place in Illustration/Graphics. I might pair it with black shoes/jewelry and my black balero mini jacket, as I hate bare shoulders on me. lol

It has been so cold this month, I am looking forward to SPRING!!
Anyways, have a great weight loss week all!
-M

Gaining it back again

Ok. Now that I am over the Flu, I seem to have gained back all of what I lost while sick! Figures.
This week was Fat Tuesday, followed by Valentine's Day, so there was so many tempting foodies to be had, and I admit it- I caved. Some weeks you just can't do it. You are healthy for so long and all you want it the most unhealthy things you can find.

At least i was pretty good on Monday, when the hubs and I went out for sushi. I just love the tuna rolls at Concerto Fusion. The best ever!

The evening before Valentine's Day I baked these lemon sugar cookies for the hubs. There was so many we brought them to work (both of us). Luckily everyone loved them and devoured them, so there were no left over cookies in the house!

On Valentine's Day, the hubs made steak and homemade mac & cheese (something he likes and something I like. lol). He kinda made WAY more mac & cheese then he should have, so I have a feeling we are going to be having leftovers all weekend! lol

I also had the Lean Cuisine bagged tortellini one night, and remembered why I really enjoyed it the last time I got it. Such good flavor!

Other than that, been usual ups and downs of foodies.

Hopefully next week goes better.
Happy Weight loss!
-M