why I love ice cream.........

This is one of those posts where I am exposing the deepest part of my being....I do not expect everyone to understand it, but I hope that it will be received by the ones who DO understand!

I have been reading a book titled "Free to be thin", it is a Christian based book on weight loss and living a healthy lifestyle. I have been been getting lots of great "nuggets" from it! Anyhoo, I have been trying really hard to analyze why I sometimes make food choices that are harming my body......and often my emotions. Most of the time I seriously think I just love chocolate....and I began questioning if it really IS just "about the food". Well, today I finally came to realize why I love ice cream! It is a sad realization really....but none the less, I felt relieved to finally learn what drives me to the freezer section at the grocery store! Let me back up a little and tell you about my day. This afternoon I began craving ice cream..in a really bad way (with NO hormonal reason :), so I decided to "analyze" what is was that was making me want it so badly. I came up with NOTHING!! I was not emotional, upset, angry.....I just wanted some ice cream....or so I thought. I decided that since I really did not NEED the ice cream, and since I had no cash to BUY the ice cream, that I would just take a nap and hope the feeling passed. I woke up 2 times in the middle of my nap.....wondering if there really could be a reason behind intense craving. Still.....nothing. When I woke up I STILL wanted ice cream...the really good kind.....Edy's "loaded"...(yum!). I decided that I would take a bath...and hope for the craving to pass (it has been a lazy saturday). While in the bath I continued to ask God if there really was a hidden reason that was causing me to want to run to the store and buy out every carton of ice cream they have! FINALLY! It hit me! I was reminded of a time, when Brooke was just a baby......Brett and I barely had enough money for food, so anything extra.....even so much as a pack of gum......was just a luxury! One day, I went to my parent's house, I opened the freezer to get some ice......and I saw TWO cartons of ice cream! I had a breakdown...seriously! I got myself a bowl, filled it up and cried as I ate my ice cream.....seriously! I think that remembering a time in my life when buying ice cream would not cause some sort of financial devastation was just too much for me process at that moment. I really think that from that moment on, having ice cream meant we had "enough". I was upset yesterday about not having enough money to register the kids for the YMCA fishing tournament....it doesn't cost that much....but the money is just not there. I had a little "conversation" with God....I asked Him why it seemed like we need an honest to goodness "act of God" to get our needs....and in this case, our "wants".... met. After I had my "pity party" I picked myself up and went about my day......still not understanding God's ways...but choosing to trust Him anyway. So...I guess I said all that to say this... I realized that, for me, ice cream stands for so much more than just a bowl of frozen heaven ;)......it means that there is "enough". I decided that I really did not want the ice cream....as much as I wanted the comfort of knowing that I could have it.

I have wondered why I choose to make myself so vulnerable on this blog......I have always said it was because I do not want to "waste" any experience by not sharing it with someone who may benefit from it. I still question if I am doing the right thing by being so open......none the less......
I have learned so much about myself over the past several months...through many (MANY!) tears and series of devestating events. I learned a lot about why I do some of the things I do and why I feel the way that I feel, in the deepest parts of me. I have found such freedom in knowing why, for instance, I often display anger...when really I am just hurt. I have reconciled myself with issues in my past, I have finally accepted some things that I have fought accepting for years and I can finally say that I look forward to living my life........ honestly.

I hope that this has made sense to someone "out there".......if it didn't make sense to you....just know that it must not have been meant for your "ears".

This morning has been a bit slower than yesterday...thankfully! I took the kids to school and then went to the gym. Just before I walk into the gym I tell myself that I am no longer a wife, mother, friend, couponer-lol, .......I am just ME and I choose to put ALL I can into the time that I am giving myself there. It may sound strange, but I make it time to "de stress" and I choose to look at it as a "luxury". Anyhoo.....I do think that the way we look at things GREATLY affects our attitudes and our outcomes! Not sure what all that was about....but it came out so I typed it...much like the way words come out of my mouth...with no good reason.

Weigh in report

I wanted to share my weigh in report from today...I lost 3.8 lbs this week! I was happy with that...esp since I ate at "The Melting Pot".....not the most "figure friendly" place to eat...but SOOOO worth it! :)

I just wanted to let everyone know that you can get FREE Aleve pain relievers at Publix this week! I was there today and noticed it-but I did not do my whole week's worth of shopping so I did not make note of all the other deals available. Aleve is on sale for $2.99 each this week, Publix has a store coupon for -$4.00 off any 2 Aleve (among other brands) products. ON THE BOX, there are "peelies" for -$1.00 off each one-so they are FREE when using the coupons together! If you can not find ones with peelies then you can also use your $1.00 coupon from the newspaper inserts from several weeks ago.

Brett and I did our taxes today, we were a little bit worried that we would not be getting any money back this year or we may even have to pay in. THANKFULLY, we will still be getting a refund-so we are officially DEBT FREE (other than the mortgage and car loan, of course)!! I am so excited about that!! God has worked it all out this year so that we could pay off the credit card! We put EVERYTHING that I needed to start my photography business on my credit card (lighting, camera, memory cards, backdrops, backdrop holder, advertising expenses.........)-so we had a LARGE balance! My camera ALONE was nearly $4,000!! Thankfully, we had a zero % interest this past year so we paid nothing in interest! I just wanted to share-GOD is so good! We have been very disciplined this past year and God honored that. I was a bit worried that we would not be able to pay off the card, even with getting a refund, since we had to pay for Brett to go to the doctor today. I was worried that we'd have about a $500 bill once everything was said and done. Instead, we went to the walk in clinic to get an xray, because Dr. Hanff's office told us that we would have to bring that in since they were gonna fit us in since we are friends of Dr Hanff's. At the walk in clinic, the xray showed NO fracture, but the doctor feels that he may have torn a ligament. He put a hard shell brace on Brett and did NOT charge ANYTHING for the xray! We only paid $166. for the whole visit! When we came in, the person at the front desk said it would be $250. BEFORE any treatment or brace! Another example of God's goodness and favor! So, Brett has orders to continue using his crutches, wearing his brace and they started him on an anti inflammatory medication. We are praying that he will not need any other treatment-he said to give it 3-4 weeks to see how he does. Thank you for all your prayers, phone calls and emails!! I really appreciate knowing that we have friends who we can count on to lift us up in prayer!

I STILL want to tell you all the details of our trip-it was an amazing adventure!! maybe tomorrow I will have a little more time to post pics and details....we still have not unpacked yet!

FYI-we have used http://www.taxact.com/ to do our taxes the last 3-4 years and it has saved us more than $1,000!! We were paying "Jackson Hewitt" more than $300 every year to do our taxes-since we do a long form with itemized deductions and since Brett is "self employed" for his 2nd job. Anyhoo, it is SUPER easy and a standard return is FREE-because we file so many forms we have to pay $7.95 to do the taxes AND file them electronically!! Several years ago, we were in line at walmart, about to buy a "turbo tax" software, when the lady in line in front of us told us about tax act-what a blessing that has been! BTW...this is NOT one of my paid ads...I really do believe in this website! We have never had ANY problems with getting our returns! And, the awesome thing is that they save all the info for you, so next year, when you use it again, they already have all the dependant info , employer info/addresses.......less work for you!
Well, I am ready to curl up in bed and watch a little tv now!! Hope all is well with each one of my readers!!


PS...I have a little "guilt" and I have a confession to make......I know that I run the risk on sounding a little "flaky" by admitting this, but.....I went to a WW meeting last week. I was interested in finding out what changes they made to the program this year. Tanya and I were talking about it and my curiosity won, so I went. I weighed in....and oh my! I have gained some weight since the last time that I went (several months ago)! I KNEW how much I weighed, I weigh at home every week. I have not gained since I started my "no diet diet"-which is amazing in itself! But, I guess I did not realize that I weighed so much less when I was following WW. Anyhoo-I wanted to get that off my chest! Tanya and I have a "pact" and we have decided to conquer this thing together! Honestly, the thought of counting points again, makes me SICK......but the thought of staying this weight forever-makes me even MORE SICK! I really need my clothes to fit! Brett, trying to be sweet-tells me that I do not need to lose any weight and that I am too hard on myself. So, I tell him that I will need to buy a new wardrobe then-hes says "then do it"! MEN!

Civil war

Tomorrow I am going on a field trip with Maddie's 4th grade class. I am the "class mom" and "class photographer" so I "get" to go on all the field trips and be at all the class events. I was kinda looking forward to this trip, actually! UNTIL I found out that it is NOT the Civil war reenactment. I guess that happens on Saturday. I have always wanted to see that and photograph it, of course! I guess we are going to be walking though make shift camps of the yankees and confederates....it will still be kinda cool. I will post some pics when we get back home. It is supposed to be freezing cold tomorrow...and Brookesville, where we are going, will be even colder! AND....the entire field trip will be outdoors! I will be sure to bundle us up!

I took the Zumba class again tonight! This time Maddie joined Brooke and me-but she said she will NEVER do that again! I think it was a little too challenging for her....she kept asking "how many more songs?!". I warned her that it was gonna be tough-NOW, she believes me! I really have fun in that class! It is just a great way to "let loose" and have fun while working out! I have to modify a little on the last song (there is some bending) and I try to to "jar" my back too much while I am dancing! I think that it is ok, because I did not feel any additional pain after last week's class. I am just trying to learn what I can and can not do-since my back surgery. I really feel great....most of the time, but bending still bothers me pretty badly.
Well, Brett is typing out his sermon notes on the other computer-he's preaching on Sunday morning. I think I am going to turn in early tonight-I want to make it to the gym before we have to be at the school tomorrow...so that means waking up at 5:55 am! :( I really have enjoyed being back at a gym. I know most people say they hate to exercise but I truly have learned to love it! BTW-my "no diet" diet has been working well! I have only lost 3 lbs but I have managed to keep my sanity-lol!!! I seriously have not counted a single calorie, carb, fat gram or point and it has been liberating! How are all my other "no diet" diet buddies doing?

I plan on trying to get the deals for Publix this week posted tomorrow afternoon. I realized that my shopping day is the last day for Publix ad (wed) so I want to get it to you all early-so you can take advantage of the great deals too! I will also try to post CVS and Walgreen's ads on Saturday night-so you guys get a "head start" on the rest of the world!!

ZUMBA!

Tonight Brooke and I Bravely conquered....the "ZUMBA" class at the YMCA! Zumba is a Latin dance class that gives you an aerobic workout. Wow, that was FUN! We laughed through most of it...we really had NO idea what we were doing! Thankfully, the instructor and other "dancers" were really nice and they helped us through it! Brooke said that it was great "bonding time". I think we will make it our Thursday night tradition (since Brett wants to workout on Thursday nights, it works out great!) Try something new this week....you might be surprised!

Christmas

Well, as you can imagine, things have been a little bit crazy in the McCann household lately! My parents are here (yippee!!) and they have brought along Gillie! Beau (my brother) was here for Christmas eve too! We have 9 people and 6 dogs in this 1152 sq feet house! Reminds me of that beautiful song "Little houses" by Doug Stone. It has a line that says "love grows best in houses just like this". It makes me love my home even more. Anyhoo, this Christmas has been a bit stressful-it seems like almost every present that he kids got from "Santa" is not working properly! Things have settled down a little bit today-so I hope that we can at least "maintain" today!

Ok, now that I sound like the "Grinch"!......the kids did have a good Christmas! My parents bought us a Disney vacation package and I am SO excited! Brooke went to Disney when she was 2 years old, but the other kids have never been! Our package includes-2 days at Disney, 3 nights at a Disney resort, 2 meals and 2 snacks each day and a refillable mug for each person! We are going to go in February-this will be our very first family vacation!

Brett and I did not spend much money on each of the kids...as we are DETERMINED to pay off our last credit card next month! But I was so proud of each of the kids because they showed such appreciation for what the got! They have not stopped thanking us for the "best Christmas ever"! Brooke got some boots, make up, watch, hair dryer..... Maddie got a watch, clothes for her dog, rings from Claires (when she opened them she held up here hand and said "he went to Jareds"...and had us cracking up laughing!), an out fit.... Brooke and Maddie together got a Nintendo DS-I bartered for it. I did pictures for a friend and she gave it to me since her daughter was going to sell it anyway! Spencer got a nerf gun, a electronic fake "lap top" game, air hogs...... . Yesterday, after we ate our Christmas lunch, Brett and I laid down to take a nap before trying to tackle the Christmas mess! When we woke up, our house was SPOTLESS! The kids (all three of them!) had cleaned the entire house-top to bottom! And they even folded the laundry! I am such a proud mother! I appreciate having kids who appreciate even the "little things"!

Brett and I did not buy presents for each other this year (we did buy each other a FM transmitter for our ipods-on black friday), but we did get gifts from our little Noah! Noah bought me an awesome Victoria's Secret tote bag, with several VS items in it! He bought "Daddy Brett" a Starbucks gift card....so he could take "Mama Sherri out on a coffee date"! How sweet is that!

He also got each of the kids presents too (his adopted brothers and sisters :) -BTW, Lisa...Spencer has already colored the entire Star Wars book!

I have been so proud of myself for sticking to my "no diet-diet". I know for all you "normal people" that must sound insane! Maybe it is....who knows? I have never been accused of being sane...LOL! Seriously-I believe that my mindset is really starting to change! I feel the "pull" of junk food becoming weaker! That is NOT to say that I did not eat any!! But there was not any "frantic eating" going on....in preparation of starting a "diet"! AND...with my "all or nothing" mentality-that is amazing! I even went for a walk this morning.....in the past, if I was being "bad" and eating junk-I would not exercise at all-it felt use less to, know that there was NO way that I was going to work off all the junk I ate! Again...it is that "all or nothing" part of my brain at work!

I have a had a TON of positive feedback from that blog post-it really helps me to know that there are other people taking the "no diet vow" with me! I really believe that this will truly work for us! If we can just focus on healthy eating and quit worrying about every lb or even every 1/2 lb gained or lost...I believe that our bodies WILL find a perfect weight to STAY at! Think about it.....isn't that the way that God designed us? I think that Satan will find ANYthing and EVERYthing he can to get our focus off of what it needs to be on! Whether is is us beating ourselves up about our weight...how much we have gained throughout the years (or days!)-or if it is focusing SO much about dieting and how much weight we are losing! In either scenario-our minds are consumed with it and our lives can not be truly whole! If we focus on what God wants for our lives and our families, I believe that HE will direct us in EVERY area of our lives!

My experiment

Brett and his friends are playing Xbox.....just a couple of boys! He NEVER has his friends over here (he goes to their house once a month)-so I am glad that he is having a good time with them! With the kids gone-I am just sitting here on my laptop surfin' the net. I was looking up all kinds of diet plans-just to see what was "out there". WW has a brand new plan but I did not make it to a meeting this month to get the info on it. Anyhoo-I am just really tired of following ANY plan! Tired of counting points, calories, fat, carbs.....or whatever the current diet has me counting! I am not even CLOSE to giving up though! I can not afford to "not care"-I know that I could easily end up being 225 lbs again! But.....I was thinking, what if I just stopped counting and planning and stopped worrying about it? I believe in good nutrition-I realize that we only have ONE body, if we abuse it, we do not get another one! As you know, I have been re-reading my Bob Greene books, he is ALL about healthy eating and even more focused on exercise. I love to read all kinds of books on healthy living-some of them offer really great advise, others are so crazy and unrealistic that it is insane!! I am almost positive that at LEAST 1/2 of my readers (probably more!) plan on going on some type of "diet"........come New Year's day! You will get all excited and hopeful and promise yourself that THIS year, you WILL lose the weight. Now, I am NOTHING if not an optimist-but at the risk of sounding pessimistic, I want to bring you back to reality and ask you WHY will THIS year be any different than every other year? Will you try a "brand new" diet program? Will you try an old program that once worked? If it worked.......REALLY worked, why would you need to lose weight now? If you can not live with the plan that you are considering for the REST of your LIFE....then it will not work! Now I KNOW that I have lost some of you! I am just as guilty as anyone when it comes to this! When I lost my weight-I reminded myself that I was making a LIFE long change.....I knew that walking (my form of exercise) would be a part of my life forever! STILL......11 years later, it IS a part of my life! Unfortunately, the eating plan that I choose is NOT! I counted calories and only ate low fat foods.....some days I would not even get 10 grams of fat! Over the years I have learned more about healthy eating-but I still have had that "diet mentality". I can not even begin to tell you how many times I have said "I will start my diet tomorrow!"-dead set that I was REALLY going to do it! Only to get 2 days into the week and promise to start again another day! Sound familiar? Well, I have decided that I WILL NOT be starting a diet tomorrow..or next week, or even Jan 1st! I am doing a little experiment-what will happen if I just STOP dieting? I will continue to make healthy choices-but no counting and no guilt about unhealthy choices that I may make! I will continue to walk.....I really do enjoy it and it is so important for my mental and physical well being! However, I will make no promises of walking "X" amount of mins or hours each day! I am choosing to listen to MY body.....not to the people who swear that they can not tell that I have gained 20 lbs in 2 years! Not to the media or magazines that tell me that I need to be 110 lbs! MY body will dictate where I end up on this journey! I am not aiming for a certain size (although, I'd really like to FIT IN MY CLOTHES again!) or a certain weight. I will weigh myself 1 time a month and report to you all what my stats are. I already feel liberated! If you would like to join me on this "no dieting" journey.....please, send me an email and let me know!! If you are starting a diet plan come New Year's day......I really do wish you the best of luck!! Many diets DO work...as you know, WW was my favorite, but if you get tired of counting and planning and then "give up"-you will only gain it all back. Please consider that when deciding what plan you will choose!! I will be sure to keep you all updated on my day to day progress! Now, how do I retrain my brain to quit counting??

Well........last night I started feeling sick again :(.....what is THAT about!? I have felt crummy all day long today! I went out and loaded up on cough meds, benedryl, cough drops, vitamins......I even bought the kids sore throat ice pops...but they think they are gross. Now, we are all sick! I am grateful that it is not a major, full blown cold! It is mostly just a scratchy throat and stuffy head. Anyhoo....I ran a few errands today...library, bank.... . Then I came home and (almost) finished up the Christmas present I am making for my Daddy! Brett says that he thinks it will be his favorite present this year...we'll see! I really hope he likes it! I may decide to take a picture of it and post it...but more than likely I will wait until after Christmas to do that...just in case he is standing over my Mom's shoulder as she reads my blog!

Today I pulled out all my old books by Bob Greene. He used to be Oprah's trainer and I have almost all his books-I have read them several times. I have been doing fairly well with eating healthy but I have been slacking in the "working out" department! I know what I need to do to lose the few lbs (......or 18!) that I need to lose-but reading about nutrition and exercise helps to motivate me. I am afraid that I am going to have to start getting up early-like I used to do, to get my work out in each day. I love to sleep in...so that is going to be really tough for me! But as Bob says...."dedication, commitment and effort are needed to accomplish anything worthwhile."...now isn't that the truth?! There are NO shortcuts...bummer! "Working hard and earning your results is exactly what increases your self esteem. That sense of accomplishment is what will drive your results-not a shortcut". -Bob Greene
I know this to be true....I worked HARD......REALLY HARD at losing the 92 lbs I lost 10+ years ago! I put some serious effort into it! I know that I am going to have to regain that focus and drive...in order to do it again. It may sound really (REALLY!) dumb....but it seems to be harder to lose 10 lbs than it was to lose 92 lbs! I guess the "pain" of being overweight is not nearly as present as it was when I was obese! Make sense? Anyhoo..I am rambling on for sure now-I am going to go read my book in bed! Hope you are all having a great weekend!

BTW....I have read on the message boards that Weight watchers has a brand new program! I weighed in 2 weeks ago, but I did not stay for the meeting. I have a doctor's appt on Monday morning...or else I'd go to my meeting to hear all about it! I guess I will have to wait until next Monday! Why does the news of a new program thrill me?? I have not even been following WW............!

Today we got up early and went to the YMCA yard sale and to a few local yard sales as well. Brett did not have to be in to work until 12:00 so he was able to go with us! It was nice getting to spend some of my Saturday with him! He is at work now...and he'll be gone until the wee hours of the morning (around 5:30 am) :( . He is taking a bunch of USF students to "channel side"-they rented the big "bus" from 11:00pm-4:00am. Anyhoo-I miss him when he is not home! The kids really miss him!!! It seems "Mom" is just not as much fun as "Dad" these days :( . Brett always gets out in the front yard with them and plays. I DID go out for a little while last night........I just can not "play" like I used to could. Soon though........soon!

I have been dealing with some depression lately-I am not sure what that is all about- to be honest. I read online that it can be a side effect from the anesthesia and it can stay in my system for up to 6 months!! I guess the longer that a person is "under" the longer it takes for your body to recover. Goodness knows I was under long enough (9 hours for the surgery and it took me a long time after that to wake up)!! So, I am not sure if it is related to that, or if it is related to not being able to "DO" all that I want to/need to do. I am just praying it passes soon! Depression has derailed my WW program this week....really, there are NO excuses. I just tend to make poor choices when I do not feel well-but the key word is "choices". It really is all about choices-we all have choices to make-regardless of our circumstances, now don't we? I suppose I could say that about the depression too-although, I really do feel like it may be a physical problem rather than an emotional one. I feel less pain than before my surgery (most days-not all) so I do feel hopeful for my future for the first time in years!! Anyway-it may be the "sugar" kicking in now that is causing me to ramble on.....
Just keep praying for me-I am sure that I will come out the other side of this soon! And, even though I went way over my "points" this week-I did still track them and I have "jumped back on the wagon" again-I refuse to give up!!

Weight Watchers

I went to my meeting this morning and I lost 2.6 lbs this week! I had hoped for more but I will take it!! I did not walk as much last week as usual-I had a lot of morning appts last week and I have found that if I do not get my walk in FIRST thing in the morning-I usually do not get it in at all! By the time evening rolls around I am tired and I just want to be with Brett and the kids. This week I have several morning appts too-but I am going to try really hard to fit in a walk each day!

The WW meeting was on "soup" this week-we discussed several different options for making low "point" soups and the benefits of eating soup. Oddly enough, I had already planned on making my "southwestern chicken soup" for dinner tonight! I got the recipe out of my low fat cookbooks years ago, and it has become a favorite! And for ONLY 17 "points" for the ENTIRE batch of soup (which feeds my family for at least 2 meals!), it is a real "points" bargain!

In case you are interested.....here is my modified version of the recipe-

10 boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins

3 quarts of water

5 chicken bouillon cubes

1 jar of salsa (mild,medium, or hot-depending on your taste)

1 box of "Rice-a-Roni" Spanish rice

*Boil the chicken, until cooked.

*In a large pot mix the chicken, water,bouillon,salsa and entire box of "Rice-a-Roni".

*Bring to a boil

*Boil for 3-4 minutes

*Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes (or until the rice is cooked)

*Serve

Yields 18 (1 cup) servings

YUMMY!! Can't wait for supper tonight!

"Fireproof"

Brett and I went to see this movie last night, it was AMAZING! A must see movie!! It made me laugh through out the whole movie and it also made me cry! We had a really great date night last night-it is a very romantic movie that every couple should see!! You can watch the "trailer" for the movie by clicking on it at the top.

At weigh in I did better than expected! I was not even over goal-so I did not even have to pay. I am back on track today! I will let you know how next week's weigh in turns out!

Weight Watchers

Tomorrow I am going to my first meeting since my surgery. I am a little bit anxious about it-not just because I know that I have gained a bit, but also because I will have to weigh in while wearing my brace-it weighs almost 3 lbs. I know that even with the weight I have gained (I think about 7 lbs) I am not over my WW goal-which is higher than my personal goal, but I am pretty sure that the brace will put me over. I pray that they have "mercy" on me and deduct the weight of my brace or at least not charge me for being over goal. My leader is really nice and she is very understanding, so I do not think there will be a problem. She even gave me a 3 month grace period because she knew that after surgery I would not be able to make it to at least one meeting a month-which is what WW requires to keep a "lifetime" membership. I am ready to get "back in the game" NOW so I am not gonna take advantage of the third month of "grace". I want to be able to fit into my clothes once I am able to take this brace off-so I'd better get started now! Otherwise......I am gonna be in a "mess of trouble" trying to find something to wear! For now, I am wearing elastic waisted pants and I bought 1 pair of capris that are a couple of sizes larger than the size I wear-they fit over my brace perfectly. I even bought a pair of MATERNITY capris!! They were only $5.00 at JC Penny's so I bought them to wear until my brace comes off.

Brett and I are heading out for our first date since my surgery!! My Aunt bought us tickets to see the movie "Fireproof"-I have heard really great things about it so I am excited about going to see it tonight!! Plus...............Kirk Cameron was my teenage "heart throb". Don't worry, Brett already knows ;).
Anyway, we are about to leave for that-I will update you all on my weigh in tomorrow! Send me all your "skinny vibes" :).

STILL looks good!

Oreos!

I am now positive that Oreos are from the devil! :) The last 2 weeks I have been doing so good with watching what I eat and I have been walking at least 1 hour a day...............enter Oreos.."stage left". The first 3 days that they were here I ate 2-total. Yesterday....lets just say "more than that" ;). Bummer! I did buy the "reduced fat" ones....but that really does not mean much when it comes to Oreos!

Thank God that His mercies are new every morning! So, I am gonna pick myself up, dust off the cookie crumbs and go for a looooong walk! I am actually looking forward to my walk this morning! I have some errands to run so I am just gonna walk to them.
Hope you all have a "cookie free" day! Well........what is one itty bitty cookie gonna hurt?

Weight Watchers

Today was my weigh in at WW. I lost another 1.6 lbs! I am very happy with that since we had pizza, B-day cake and ice cream last night. Not that it would actually show up on the scale this soon-but when I eat "junk" my body retains water like crazy. Anyway-I wanted to update everyone-so, since I got "serious" 2 weeks ago and started going to meetings weekly (and actually followed the program!) I have lost 4.4 lbs. I am thrilled with that especially since I have not been exercising at all (I know I need to-I am gonna try harder!).

Weight loss update

I weighed in at Weight Watchers this morning and I lost 2.8 lbs this week! I tried at a new meeting time/location last Monday morning and I really liked it so I changed my weigh in day. I followed the Flex program all week, I saved all my 35 flex points for our weekend trip (and I used them all on Brooke's B-day ice cream cake! Yum!). Anyhoo-I am doing well on the program and I am really enjoying the journey!

Weight Watchers

I have had a few people ask me how I did at Saturday's weigh in-I have been out of town and I have not attended a meeting yet since I have been back. I have to tell you the truth though......I know that I gained weight while I was gone! Bummer! Darn Blizzards! Allie makes a mean blizzard! I know that I should have had more self control while I was away, but.....I had so much fun being "bad" :)! I am happy to report that I am back on track today-I switched to the WW "Core" program for this week. I am hoping that it will kick start my weight loss again. I just wanted to let everyone know that I have not "thrown in the towel" and I will weigh in next week. I found out yesterday that I will not be able to join a gym-originally my insurance company told me that they would pay 100% of the membership costs-now, they say I am not eligible for that benefit-they haven't exactly told me why! I was really looking forward to going back to the gym-I loved working out,it relieved a lot of stress and I loved the "high" I got from it. I am disappointed but I will not let it stop me from reaching my goals-no excuses!-remember?

Weight Watchers

Ok-so today is Saturday-"weigh in day". Drum roll please..............I lost 2 lbs this week. I am happy with that-especially since I used ALL my weekly flex points this week and I did not walk or work out at all (It is just too hot to walk outdoors and I am waiting for my gym membership card to come in the mail). I did swim a lot this week and did my own water workout so maybe that helped. This week will be a tough week-today is Brett's B-day (Happy birthday sweetheart!) and I just finished baking him a 3 teared birthday cake to celebrate his birthday tomorrow (I can not do anything 1/2 way-all or nothing! Half of a regular cake would be more than enough!). It is also "Girl's night out" this week-Tuesday we are going to the "Zen Forest"-I have never been there before and since it is small there is no nutritional info available-I will have to "guess" my points. I know that I will get through the week and I hope to have another good weigh in next Saturday-I will let you know!

One "point" treats!

Alright, so we all know that the best snacks are healthy ones (fruits,veggies) but for those of you who live in the "real world" I wanted to share some of my favorite one point treats! I discovered one point Bryers ice cream! I was at the store,scanning the ice cream, and I picked one up that looked good-when I got out my WW points calculator I was thrilled to find out that it was only one point for 1/2 cup!! Usually even the light ice cream is about 3 pts for 1/2 cup! The flavor I tried was Bryers fat free cappuccino chunk-it is cappuccino ice cream with bits of brownie pieces in it! No artificial sweeteners (which I do not mind but I have yet to find a sugar free ice cream I like!)! Yummy! Now-no one ever eats 1/2 cup of ice cream so be sure to measure it out and count 1 pt per serving. Last week I also found one point ice cream bars-they are by "Skinny Cow" and they are called "skinny dippers"-they are ice cream bars that are half way dipped in chocolate. They come in mint,carmel and vanilla-I love the mint ones! Another favorite 1 pt treat are the WW new chocolate chip cookies-they are individually packaged cookies-they are not very big but they are really good and they are a "good point bargain". In ww meetings you can find other (overpriced) treats-my favorite are the 1 pt "peanut butter bliss" one point bars!

Sugar (obviously) is my downfall, but for those of you who prefer salty treats, there are plenty of choices for you too! I buy fat free "pringles"-they are also just 1 pt per serving! I also buy individual serving bags of microwave popcorn-the brand I use (O.R) is only 1 pt for the bag! Finding a new treat that I can budget into my daily points allowance just thrills me! It is much like a treasure hunt! There are plenty of alternatives available that do not leave us stuck crunching on carrot sticks (although, you do need to eat your veggies like your "mama" always told you too!) while everyone else is eating the "good stuff". You just have to keep your eyes open, do the WW math, and watch you portions.

Weight Watchers

Today I had my monthly weigh in at "Weight Watchers"-in order to keep my lifetime membership I have to weigh in every month and not be more than 2 lbs over my goal weight. My "WW" goal is way higher than my personal goal so I never have any problems maintaining my free-lifetime membership. I am, however, well over my personal goal so I am going to get back on track and actually follow the program and go to weekly meetings! Today's weigh in was not as bad as I expected, I was up 1 lb since last month. I have regained my focus and I know what I have to do to get back to my personal goal! I will report my stats each Saturday after weigh in-if you are interested in my progress. If any of you are on your own weight loss journey I would love to hear from you-we can help keep each other motivated!