Rollercoaster... of weight loss

(...As I sing the title to this post like the "Rollercoaster of Love" song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers). lol

So Last week I gained, this week I lost. So overall, pretty close to what it was a few weeks ago. Ugh. Goes to show you that I gotta keep up with things- Part of it was with the yummy food from an awards banquet for work (below). I just ADORE the way they made a "ring" out of the squash.

 Look what book I just got! Woo! Can't wait to try things from it.

Did a lot of yardwork, weeding, etc. Oh, exercise...

This past weekend I auditioned for a show, so I got a little more dancing exercise than I normally do. haha. I auditioned for Grease, so I was attempting to channel my inner teenager (below).

I thought I did a pretty good job at it, however I don't look as young as the 14-year-old boys that got cast as the Burger Palace Boys (T-birds), so I'll be playing the teacher. Supposably they want Ms. Lynch to be more in her 40s for this version of Grease. To be completely honest, I was kind of mortified when they first offered it to me (the hubs got cast as Eugene, mind you) but after finding out that pretty much the entire main characters are all 14-18, little 27-year-old me just doesn't fit in as a student. (sad panda face). But alas, I am an actress- I will make the best of any role given to me.
So I'll be playing a pretty British Chick in "Odd Couple" in June, then prudish English Teacher in "Grease" in August. Crazy how theater can be so out there, as far as roles.

I've also been on a huge "sweet salad" kick- Salad greens with Raspberry Walnut dressing, Dried Cranberries and Feta. YUM- and only 4 points (because the cranberries are sweetened- would be 1 point less if it wasn't for that).

So Red Robin's Turkey burger is 19 points plus. After a full hour of Zumba, I was starving, and I really wanted a burger- sadly, this is actually one of the lower points sandwiches. Luckily, I subbed out the fries for a fruit salad, had the 10 calorie iced tea and used some of those Zumba/exercise points to enjoy the Turkey burger. It doesn't look super great in photos, but it is quite tasty.

Anyways, I hope to keep up with things, and stop yo-yoing.

(Diet Grapefruit soda at friend's bonfire!)

I want to keep on the down-low!
Happy weight loss!
-m

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