Weigh In Saturday - FINALLY!

Sooo I am officially 

UNDER 200 POUNDS!!!!

Yayyyyyyy!

I mean, I just made it, but it's there! And it's not going back up (I hope)! I haven't been this weight since Junior High, so it's a surreal time for me right now. I'm also glad that my birthday celebrations didn't have me tipping the scale the other direction. I was so worried about that, and I spent all week trying to do the best to counteract my partying. I guzzled water like air, and I zumba-ed my ass off. Luckily my birthday comes once a year, and I don't have to go through such measures on a regular basis. 

Some of my friends' birthdays are coming up, and I'm not going as hard as I did for my birthday. I'll stick with either a glass of wine or rum/jack and diet coke, and I'll be good.

Another cool thing that happened to me was that my consultant Michelle read my blog! 

And she loved it ^_^

She loved it so much, that she forwarded it to my Jenny center's program director, who also loved it and she asked me to give them my before and after pics to be put up in the center. Yayy!!

Stay strong, fellow Foodies!

The Birthday Blitz

Soooo my birthday was pretty great. It really was one of the best birthdays I've ever had. 25 is a real milestone, and I'm so happy that I was able to bring it in HAPPY and HEALTHY!!

The day of my actual birthday, Friday (January 20th), was filled with being serenaded by 350 children. Yes, as I walked the halls, I would be stopped so the children could sing to me. It was the sweetest thing ever. The best was when my own third grade class sang to me when I walked in.

My students gave me gifts, although I'm convinced one of them is trying to sabatoge me, because for Christmas and now my birthday, she has given me a box of Russell Stouffer's chocolates...which I discreetly gave away before I could open them.

After work, I went to the bar with my co workers and had some wine. I didn't overdo it, and I had a good time. Then I went home...

Now my mom didn't have enough time to make my no harm chicken parm, so I had a Jenny dinner. Then came the cake and presents...

Making a wish...

They know me well lol

A yummy and sorta healthy bday snack

...and so I went out a little more with my co worker and had a blast.

My mom was unable to find all the ingredients for my cake, so she still made my strawberry cake, and I had a sliver of it. I didn't even finish it, but I can still say I had some. I'm glad to say that I did not fall into temptation and devour a 3 inch slice :-)

The next day was party time, and boy did I have a ball!

I have never gotten or been offered so many free drinks before, the attention I got that night was really unprecedented. I was super confident and super secure with myself enough to let go and truly enjoy myself. I hope to have more birthdays like this in the future.

Happy Birthday to Me!!

really quick, just want to update on my birthday goal....

I didn't make it :-(

BUT

I did make it to 200.4lbs and that's still great!

Me before the drunkness lol

So I will update a lil further on the actual birthday business...but not now...

Yo Quiero Quesadillas!

I. LOVE. TEX. MEX.


If there were a shirt with that on it, I'd wear it at least once a week.


Yes, I love all things tex mex, and in the past, the cheesier the BETTER! But alas, I cannot indulge in such diet destroying delicacies anymore...or so I thought till today!


Now with Jenny, I was able to get my tex mex fix with their Chicken Fajitas dinner. I didn't put cheese on it, but i got some fat free sour cream to make it all better.

yumm-oooooooo

And for the longest time, it was good...but I've still been missing my cheese! I'm a cheese girl, hence why I love the cheesiest Italian dishes (Chicken Parm, Fettuccine Alfredo, Ziti), so this was a band-aid, but not a stitch to the addiction problem.


So while browsing Hungry Girl I came across a recipe that had angels singing from the heavens....

a Clubhouse Chicken Quesadilla!

my face for reals

I've been looking for a good quesadilla substitution for THE LONGEST TIME and I've friggin estatic to have found one! What I love about this recipe is that you get all the good stuff without the bad nutrition. Whereas a regular quesadilla would cost you around 1300 calories and damn near 3000 grams of sodium (DAMN!), this recipe saves you 1000 calories and 2000 grams of sodium.


God I love Hungry Girl!


So without further delay, here it is:

Hungry Girl's Clubhouse Chicken Quesadilla

*drooling all over keyboard*

Some clubhouses have a no-boys-allowed rule, but we welcome all people -- it's extra calories and excess fat grams that we choose to keep out. This recipe is welcome ANYTIME. We think you'll agree...

Ingredients:
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped bell pepper
2 tsp. fat-free ranch dressing
1/8 tsp. hot sauce
1/2 oz. mashed avocado (about 1 tbsp.)
Dash each chili powder, ground cumin, and garlic powder
1 medium-large high-fiber flour tortilla with 110 calories or less (like the kind by La Tortilla Factory)
1/4 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese
2 oz. cooked and chopped skinless chicken breast
1 tbsp. precooked real crumbled bacon (like the kind by Oscar Mayer)
Optional: fat-free sour cream, salsa

Directions:
Bring a large skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat. Cook and stir onion and pepper until softened, 3 - 5 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix ranch dressing with hot sauce. In another small bowl, mix avocado with chili powder, ground cumin, and garlic powder.

Lay tortilla flat and spread avocado mixture on one half of the upward-facing side. Evenly top avocado with 2 tablespoons cheese, followed by the chicken, bacon, and cooked veggies. Top with ranch mixture and remaining 2 tablespoons cheese.

If needed, clean skillet. Re-spray skillet and return to medium-high heat. Place the half-loaded tortilla flat in the skillet and cook for 2 minutes. Fold the bare half of the tortilla over the filling with a spatula and press down lightly to seal. Carefully flip and cook until crispy, about 3 minutes.

Slice into wedges, and if you like, serve or top with sour cream and salsa!

MAKES 1 SERVING

Serving Size: 1 quesadilla (entire recipe)
Calories: 309
Fat: 7g
Sodium: 996mg
Carbs: 34g
Fiber: 8.5g
Sugars: 5g
Protein: 32g

PointsPlus® value 8*

Weigh in Weekend/Small Goals

So this week's weigh in had a drop of 1.5 pounds!

This week I can honestly say that I didn't really go as hard as I should have. I slacked on my water intake, and although I did some zumba, it wasn't as much as it should have been.

I'm 2lbs away from my small goal, which is to be under 200 lbs by my birthday. I made this goal in early December, and it was half hearted when I made it. However as time when on, the goal started to become realistic and attainable, so I began really working hard at it.

The goal was 20lbs away when it came about, and I've gotten rid of 80% of it. That's nuts!

And all the more reason for me to buckle down and knock these 2lbs off!

Now if I don't make my small goal this week, its not the end of the world. I'll be fine and reassure myself that this is a goal I can make in the near future. Thats the thing about small goals, if you don't make it, its a small loss, not a huge disappointment.

*crossing my fingers and toes for a great week*

Let me eat Birthday Cake?

So my birthday is next Friday, and the best part about my birthday is usually the spread my mom makes for me. I'm a pasta girl and i LOVE strawberries, so she always makes chicken parmesan and a strawberry birthday cake for my big day.

That won't be able to fly this year.

For the past few weeks I've been stressing about what my birthday dinner is going to be like. I can't very well have an 800 calorie pasta dinner with a possibly 500 cal slice of cake (because who eats a regulation size cake slice at home?.

like that...but times 2...maybe a little thicker...and with ice cream....

I also cannot say "oh it's my birthday, i'll eat whatever and face the scale later!". Not the best plan, and I'm all about plans when it comes to eating. So I had this problem, and I decided to go to the mall to window shop my problems away. I went into the bookstore to see what was new and I came across the Hungry Girl cookbooks.

WHERE THE HELL HAS SHE BEEN ALL MY LIFEEEEEEEEE?!?!?!

Hungry Girl recipes are like a beacon of hope for those who have a big weight loss and worry about what happens during the maintenance period. I freak out when I think of when I won't have Jenny to lean on all the time, because my biggest fear is gaining it all back.

But then I remind myself that I've made it this far with Jenny and my own self determination and willpower. Jenny helped me greatly, but there were times when I was not able to eat Jenny food and I still stayed on program by watching the nutritional content to the best of my abilities and just making smart choices.

Therefore I plan on having my mom make me a No Harm Parm (about 300 cal) and the Blue Swoon Cheesecake (170 cal). I lurve cheesecake and I can still have my chicken parm without killing my diet!

Say hello to my birthday cake....mmmmmmm!

So I lost 1.5 lbs this week, which is great!

As expected, whenever I have a big drop like last week, I always expect to have a smaller drop the next week. So I keep this in mind when I step on the scale so that I don't have a panic attack lol.

My consultant Michelle wasn't there this week, and I just hate it when she's not there. Not that the other consultants aren't great, they are, but I just love Michelle. She always keeps me going and she calls me on my shit.

When I want to get cute and have a few extra glasses of wine the night before weigh in (I know, not my brightest move), she always tells be to watch it or it'll come back to bite me in the ass.

When she asks about my water intake, she can just tell by my face that I'm going to give her some excuse as to why it wasn't so great.

When she asks about exercise, and I give her the "I get enough at work running after my kids", she tells me to cut the crap and  kick up my activity.

Again, I love Michelle.

Because she also knows that I'm in my mid-20's and I'm entitled to a little fun, and reminds me of that when I get hard on myself.

Because she doesn't make me feel like a failure when I have little to no movement on the scale for that week.

Because she makes me feel like a fucking rockstar when I have an amazing drop.

So yea, I want her to come back. She's in Disney World with her family, so I can't be mad for her not ditching her kids to weigh me in lol. I'll just have to make do when she comes back. And as the good student that I am, I will up my activity and my water intake for the next two weeks just for her. She'd like to hear that when she comes back.

Weigh In Saturday - Before weigh in

I'm a little nervous.

I lost 5lbs last time, so usually when that happens, I have a small victory the next week with around 1 or 2 lbs dropped. I've been lucky to not have a gain since I've been on this program...ever. And I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop on that one.

*fingers crossed*

Happy New Year!!!!!!

I have a feeling that 2012 is going to be MY year! I'm focused on my goal, and I've already passed the halfway mark, all I have to do is keep the momentum going and I'm sure to succeed!

Best. New Years. Ever.

I had a great time on New Years Eve, I was able to party with my friends without feeling a sliver of self consciousness. It felt so good to just enjoy myself. And BOY did I enjoy myself! I danced, I sang, I mingled and made new friends. It really was one of the best NYEs that I've ever had.


My resolution for 2012 is to meet my goal and start maintenance before the year is out.

Looking back on past NYEs, my resolutions were always the same; to lose weight. It was always halfhearted and never accomplished because I never really had any real drive behind it. I guess I just labeled my size as something that was inevitable and put it on my imaginary shelf to be forgotten about until the next NYE came around.


This year was different, mainly because I had made this resolution over 8 months ago and stuck with it. That kind of makes it more possible for my resolution to become a reality. I think that's what the best resolutions are made of, attainable goals.

SO I plan on reaching that goal by staying on program with Jenny Craig, it really works for me and this has truly been the biggest success for me as far a weight loss. 80 pounds?!?! I've never done that in my life and it feels amazing.

To add on to my official 2012 resolution, I also want to step up my activity, and start weight training to tone up these arms. They could use a little tightening, lol.

Sooo what's your New Years resolution?