QUICK, easy, cheap, yummy!

--Trisha
This reminds me of veal parmigiana, only with chicken :)

The other night I tried a new recipe, and everyone liked it, and it was low calorie, and YUMMY!

I layered thin chicken breasts, with mozzarella cheese slices, and then I used two cans of tomatoes with garlic and basil to mix up with chicken stuffing, and a little bit of hot water, that I then added to the top of the cheese covered chicken. Then I baked it at 400 degrees for 30 minutes! YUMMY :)))))) OH my goodness!! I used fresh basil, oregano, and garlic, too!

chicken dinner for one serving: 359 calories (which is totally doable for dinner! We coupled it with salad and other veggies)

chicken= 164
tomato with garlic,basil-1/2 cup = 35
stuffing ½ cup = 100 calories
mozzarella cheese-1 slice = 60

Healthy recipe swap!

I love new recipes! I am a recipe book junky!!  And then to take something and tweak it and make it your own!!!

So yes, I am in for a healthy recipe swap!!!  I got an oatmeal recipe that I do in the mornings that is great!!! 

Pumpkin Oatmeal:

Make your oatmeal as usual.  (I do old fashion oats 1/2 c.)

Put in 1/2 c. pumpkin puree
1 tbs flax seed
cinnamon to taste
nutmeg to taste
1 tsp. real vanilla extract
1 tbs brown sugar (you can put more in depending on how you like it)
then add walnuts
and stir it all together!

YUMMY!

A reply for Trisha.. :)

Trisha,
Thank you for your kind and inspiring words.  I have huge expectations of myself and when I don't deliver, it bugs me.  But this is all new to me and I need to find my stride.

I went and walked a 5K yesterday at lunch and I can do it in 40 minutes.  :)  So maybe I timed myself wrong on Sunday??  I don't know but I do know that I am excited, nervous and proud that we are doing this!  This uncharted territory!

Thanks for taking this journey with me Trisha!!!

--from Trisha
I have a theory: Sometimes when I jog and walk, I feel like it takes me longer than when I just power walk. I think it's because I am working so much harder when I am jogging, and then I am recuperating when I am walking, so my walking time is much slower than normal. Don't know for sure if this is what happens, but I have had some times when I have power walked a route faster or right at what I have jogged/walked it. I also can have all different times for the exact same route for jogging/walking! I think there are lots of factors that account for that.

A post for Stephanie--from Trisha :)

Stephanie,
Don't feel down and blue! You said it, YOU are in different size pants!!!!You have to remember that you are in this for the long haul, so just IMAGINE where you will be THIS time next year! Look how much we have accomplished just since we started this. We haven't even been at it for as long as a pregnancy!!

I am so proud of you! You are hustling it :) You go for those awesome walks at lunch time!! That inspires me, and I know it inspires others!

Just remember that the 5K is just about finishing it. It's our first 5K race!! It's about starting our personal record. You will probably think this is CRAZY...when I was jogging yesterday, I would pick a point (I wasn't doing time, but distance instead), and I would seriously say in my head, "If you don't get there by jogging the whole way, you won't ever make your weight loss goals." I know that's probably negative self-talk, but it really motivated me!! In all reality, I think our bodies can do lots more than we think they can. I believe this after having a son in the Marines, and watching the people on the Biggest Loser. I think it's just as much a mental challenge.

And, remember...CELEBRATE all the good!! I am so glad we are doing this together :)

I have also been thinking...

It would be fun to share a healthy recipe once a month! I know that I love cooking, and I love learning new tried and true recipes :) Just something we could think about doing. Or, maybe we try a new healthy recipe that we review and share? What do you think, Stephanie?

Trisha's UPDATE!

Today I jumped on the scale, and I weighed 215.6, so that's a 2.4 loss! Writing EVERYTHING down that I ate has to be the answer :) And, the bottom line is that I am eating whatever I want--though mostly healthy--but, I am measuring, weighing, and counting calories!

I know I have read over and over that people who lose lots of weight and keep it off, they all track their food. Originally, I thought I would just do it for a week, but I am going to keep it  going. I truly believe this will help me accomplish my weight loss goals. I am being honest with myself--just read my guacamole/tortilla chips post. I even realized that I had not been counting the chocolate covered coffee bean that I have been eating, LOL! So, I added that today!

I have never kept a food journal for longer than a couple of weeks, so I am VERY motivated to make this happen for a long time!!

I have also been loving food!! I tried a  new recipe tonight :) It was yummy and healthy! I like to make my own dressing, too!!

The challenge results/weigh in for Stephanie

Oh the mock 5K, how you tried my every muscle, my every minute of the run.  I look forward to redoing this!!!  The weather sucked but I did it!  My muscles got tense and rock hard but I finished!  I have to say it was really hard for me.  I didn't have the positive feeling that I sense Trisha had! :) I blogged about it on my other blog.  And I can't sugar coat it, I am a hurting unit!  My knee cap hurts on my right leg, the tops of my feet are sore, like the bones are sore.  It doesn't seem like I have been doing the C25K program, I feel like I just ran for the very first time.  And while I ran I felt so tense which made it hard to jog! I did it in 45 minutes...yes, I boned it.

But I have a plan...I now know what NOT to do before the race!  I am pretty sure the winds won't be so bad.  (I got stuck in a dirt storm yesterday!) I know that I won't be eating a breakfast before, but just some toast and a banana.  I know that I will stretch a heck of a lot more!!! 

I did an endurance workout at lunchtime today...I wrote about it (with a pic!)  It felt good!  And I did this 3 mile walk in 45 minutes!!  HELLO, can anyway say "kick in gear Stephanie"?  This walk is 2 huge hills!!!! 

I am not feeling good about myself the last few days.  I think it is time to do measurements and see where I am with those.  Cause the scale...well the scale just isn't helping me!  It said I was up .4 lb.  But it is TOM but I just don't want to use that as an excuse.  I am going to buckle down this week and see what happens.  I feel like a broken record...saying I am going to do this two pound loss thing but it never happens. 

BUT...I am wearing a pair of jeans I couldn't wear a month ago! :) 

Last week: 184.6
This week: 185
Gain of: .4 

Check off the challenge!

--Trisha
I rocked the 5K challenge!! Check it all out here on my blog.  I am so excited for next Saturday's race :)

I can't wait to weigh-in tomorrow...I have been working hard on the eating end of things, so I hope to see something special for my efforts!

I feel like I need to do my measurements again, as I am wearing all smaller sizes now. And, I don't remember the last time I did my measurements. I will have to check it out!

You know, counting tomorrow's we have 15 weigh-ins left until the new year!! How cool is that?!

Weekend challenge!

Stephanie here...and I just mapped my route on Google Maps. I am so excited!!!  The road is close to home and has some hills and straight stretches, just like the 5k course next Saturday.  I blogged about my husbands thoughts on this on my other blog, he wants to do this with me now!  But he said maybe next year. 

and for the record I am on Week 4 day 2 of C25K now. 

I am loving the idea of our magazine exchange!  I LOVE magazines!!  So this weekend I will be going through and checking out the one that Trisha gave me yesterday and responding on different colored sticky notes!!!!  LOL!!  how fun!!! 

So I can't wait for weigh in on Monday...I have kept off the scale all week, no peeking for me! :)

Some new goals!

I've added to some of my health and fitness goals! Check them out at my blog!!

Our physical challenge for this weekend:

We are going to jog/walk a 5K outside and time it. This will be a great point of reference for when we do the Autumn Leaf 5K a week from this Saturday! I have only ever walked this race for the past  5 years with my cheer squad. This year we are all jogging it J

I am going to jog/walk and time the actual course, as it’s right by where I work, and I have a few things that I need to do this weekend in my classroom.  Stephanie is going to use Google pedometer and map out a road course where she lives!

Magazine Exchange!

We are doing this super cool magazine exchange! Here’s how it works: I bought a health and fitness magazine that I wanted to read, but hadn't ever yet: Oxygen. As I was reading it, I sticky-noted (yes, I just verbed a noun!) everything that I was thinking as I read it!! So, I gave it to Stephanie today, and she will read it, and sticky note her thoughts, as well as responding to mine, and then give it back to me next week!

Then she will choose a magazine and do the same! How cool is that??? It’s such a positive way to share health and fitness and have an in-depth conversation, which is strengthening our personal connection, too. What else is cool is that we are, in a sense, recycling since we are sharing a magazine! We will expand our reading horizons, and learn lots of new tips!

We are going to do this with magazines we want to read, and even share some of our favorite health and fitness magazines, too.  (I did give Stephanie a Weight Watchers--one of MY FAVORITES--magazine with a zillion sticky notes in it as part of her present for mastering the physical challenge earlier.)

Did I mention I love sticky notes? All the more reason to love this exchange! 

So long 220s...we shall NEVER meet again!

--Trisha's weigh-in and week review!

I now weigh 218! This is exciting :) I am glad to see the 220s GONE forever! That's a solid two pounds this week, and I feel like I am in a real routine now that may be (?) more lifelong instead of a diet per se?! Since I am eating normal things on occasion, or even a special thing here and there!

I did eat TWO pieces of veggie pizza on Friday night, which is the first pizza in I don't even know how long!!! I also ate a brownie and a caramel apple on Saturday. ZOOKS...that was two things that I really didn't need, but OH BOY I ENJOYED THEM BOTH :))

I did live up to my challenge, and yesterday I walked 13.6 miles in 3 hours and 50 minutes. If you are a person walking around a track, that would be 53 laps!!!! I walked a gi-normous loop up where I live. This means that I can make the deadline when I go to Vegas in December! Yesterday was quite an experience though, which you can read about over on my other blog!!

This week, I am writing EVERYTHING down that I eat and blogging it over at my other blog :) I am figuring calories, too. Depending on my icky sicky cold, I may work out in the morning...we will see if that's in my cards or not.

Stephanie's Monday weigh in!

Finally, finally, finally!!!  I am at a number that I haven't seen before!! 

Last week: 185.6
This week: 184.6
Loss of: 1 lb!!!! 

I am seeing a pretty steady pace now.  A healthy pace.  I am still "in training" for the 5K in October.  I am finding that running on the track is much much harder than on my treadmill, but I am able to go faster on my treadmill, I think. :)

I need something that tracks my pace, but then I think "do I really want to know how slow I am going?!"

Off to get more water!!

I haven't fallen off the face of the planet...yet!

Hello! I am still alive and KICKING :) You can see just how muy ocupado (VERY BUSY) my life has been this past couple of weeks on my other blog that I finally updated.

As for the challenge this week...I highly doubt I will make it happen, as it means I will be up at 4 a.m. because of meetings and other obligations I have in the morning. Next week, however, NO problem! I do have two challenges for myself next week. 1) I am going to exercise at least three times in the morning, and 2) I am going to write everything down that I eat and blog about it on my other blog (I know boring...). I have been doing a good job of eating and squeezing exercise in (YEAH for Zumba yesterday!), but I am ready to fine tune some things now that life will be on some sort of normal schedule.

This weekend, I plan on walking 13 miles at one time, and timing myself. That will be my intense exercise challenge for me :)))

I am keeping water going, and it hasn't been hard, and really it's more of a habit now :)))

It's been awesome that people are noticing that I am losing weight. I have had several people tell me so this past couple of weeks, and it's such an upper!!

I need to upload new pics and also do my measurements sometime soon!!

Stephanie's weigh in

So I got up this morning and hopped on the scale.  We all know that I have had a challenge lately of losing even with all my changes and stuff. 

last week: 186.8
This week: 185.6
Loss of: 1.2 

I was hoping for more cause I was really careful at fair and to not have the bad foods.  Although I did have a 7-up and that was the first soda I have had in so long!!  I must say it was YUMMY and refreshing in the heat of the day.  :) 

So I have signed up for the 5K Autumn Leaf Run on October 1st.  I have a challenge with myself and blogged about it here.

Also I have suggestion on a challenge this week for a challenge.  Trisha, I had read a posty in my gift bag that you wanted to get back to working out in the mornings?  That is what I want to do too so that anything else is extra!!!  And to help me train for this 5K.  So how about this week we try to workout 3 mornings? It can be for 15 minutes, 30 minutes, hour, whatever just as long as we are up and getting our health on!!!  It can be stretching, yoga, cardio, whatever gets us going.  Just to start the habit. 

I did 30 minutes this morning of week 2 day 3 of the C25K program.  Baby boy was playing and talking to me!!!  It was cute! I am proud of myself for getting it done considering lunchtime temps are to be high 90's and I know I won't get as much done after work cause it just doesn't fit my schedule. 

So now a new week, yep Trisha, a clean slate!!! :)  That is what Monday's are for, a fresh start!!! :)  Good job at fair!!! 

Trisha's weigh-in

OH Lordy what a week!!

I don't have much time to post right now, but I should be able to catch up this evening!!

SO, the news is somewhat incredible to me, as I lost a pound this past week, considering I was at fair since Wednesday. Though I wish it would be more, I will take it!!

I am now at 220, which means NEXT week I will be out of the 220s FOREVER!

I feel like I just hit the reset button this week, after two weeks of craziness. And, if I can lose during two weeks of that, then anything is possible!!

I will blog more tonight!

Finally, I am posting!

Oh what a crazy time it has been!!!  Spent a couple days at the hospital with my dad and step mom and my aunt.  It was crazy stressful and emotional!  But it also meant I slacked on exercise...and it showed.  I had a gain of a 1.8 so that means I am back up to 186.8.  It really sucked seeing that gain, but I am not letting it bring me down!  I made some yummy applesauce cake that is like 64 calories per square!!  And I didn't add the chocolate chips, so I am proud of me! It is really yummy and the hubby liked it too...I put it in my daughters school lunch so the jury is still out on that one! And for once, the gain doesn't depress me or make me want to call it quits.  I am going to go forward and continue making good choices!! 

One thing that has helped is the rockin gift I got from Trisha from last weeks challenge!!!  I got a cool tote filled with goodies like a huge bottle of SmartWater, yummy gum, a rocking Weight Watchers magazine and some good smellin, aromatherapy candles!  THANK YOU!!!! I loved it!  I really liked all the sticky notes! LOL!  I do think you have a good idea, Trisha, about the magazine swap! 

So I am moving onward!!!  :)  I will see a loss darn it!!! 

Trisha weighing in :)

This will be a shorty, as I am writing here in the morning while eating my oatmeal :)

Last week we started school again, so my life's returned to a bit of a whirlwind. I will definitely blog more this week, probably tomorrow, to catch you up on everything.

The big news:
Last week 224 (a gain of +1)
This week I weigh 221!!

Yahoo! I am super happy with that three-pound loss, especially when I feel like I am running in a million different directions all at once!! Plus we went out of town this past long weekend...and, that's normally very hard for me.

I just need to survive this week (our first time entering an animal into fair, plus second week of teaching, and our second football game on Friday), and starting next week, things should settle into a normal routine!