Four Weeks In

Finally a decent number... I'm down 2.8 pounds, which is 1.5% for this week. My totals for the month:
Down 10.2 pounds and 5.27%.
Why is it so dang easy to get discouraged?? Why do I want HUGE results, NOW?? When will it be easy?? I don't know if it ever will. If it were easy - EVERYONE would be thin and healthy - all the time.
Joel had me read the First Presidency message for January (because our home teachers couldn't make it this month and) because he thought it was a great message. It really is. You should read it. It's called Living the Abundant Life by President Monson. He is encouraging us to live an abundant life - a life filled with an abundance of success, goodness and blessings. Then he gives us 3 ways to attain this Abundant Life. The first being 'attitude' - "We can’t direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails. For maximum happiness, peace, and contentment, may we choose a positive attitude." The second is 'believe in yourself' - "You can achieve what you believe you can. Trust and believe and have faith." And the third is 'courage' - "Have the determination to make the effort, the single-mindedness to work toward a worthy goal, and the courage not only to face the challenges that inevitably come but also to make a second effort, should such be required. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, “I’ll try again tomorrow.”"
I think this advice can help us all on this journey - because it is hard. But, I'm counting on it being worth it!!

Lynette - Week 4

I'm on a break at work, so this will be a very short post, but there was a weigh-in this morning. I'm down three pounds this week. Can you believe we've been at this a month? I'm so proud of all of us.
We had a baby in trouble yesterday at work and I had to run down a long hallway. (The baby was absolutely fine, by the way. Just a worried first-time mom.) It was the first time I've really run or moved fast for months. And I felt it. This getting in shape is going to be a long road for me, but you are all inspiring me with your gym visits and yoga and zumba and running. Thanks! Have a great week!

Confession #2

This week was a little tougher than the week before and it definitely had its ups and down. I've been working on portion control and trying to make healthier choices. So far, I think I was pretty successful. Still room for improvement, but baby steps, right?

As far as exercise goes, this week was not as good as last week. On the positive side of things, Brittany and I started our zumba class on Tuesday and it was so fun and so hard! By the end of the hour I could barely lift my feet, I had a painful stitch in my side, I was breathing like a wounded rhinoceros, and sweating like it was my job BUT I was still having fun! Other than that, though, I walked/ran only once and I did yoga maybe two times? I'm not really sure. This week has been weird.

Confession time: I had a really rough time yesterday. I just kept looking in the mirror and getting so discouraged with what I saw. I was annoyed with myself for not working harder this past week and frustrated because sometimes it feels pointless to even try. But I weighed myself this morning and I lost ONE AND A HALF pounds. Such a positive change is encouraging. It reminded me that I'm on a long road but if I just put one foot in front of the other, take down one pound at a time, I can someday get to the end of it. So my goal for next week is to exercise more consistently and keep working on eating better, but I also want to come up with something to help me visualize what's at the end of the road. Time to make a vision board? Yup.

Fast and easy lunch or dinner!

What you see before you is in my mind, undoubtedly the most delicious tomato soup in the world. So much better than Cambell's. It is organic, low calorie, and absolutely delicious. My mom buys it at Costco. Nutritional information as well as the picture can be found HERE. I kind of LIVE off of it in college. The best part about it is that it is fast. One shake of the carton, and I pour it into a bowl like milk. Two minutes covered in the microwave, and bam. Hot, filling soup. It is amazing.

Lately I've been making it with grill cheese. Kind of. I use a whole wheat pita pocket - it's 90 calories, and I fill it with a couple tablespoons of tomato basil feta. Then I put that sucker in the toaster, open part up, obviously, while I have the soup in the microwave. The sides get all crunchy and the top sort of closes in on itself. The feta gets all soft and sticks together, and it makes for the ultimate dipping tool while your soup cools to the point you can eat it with a spoon. I don't have exact caloric measurements - I do know 1 cup of the soup is 100 calories - but I'm pretty sure it's way good for you. And... definitely way good in your belly. It's a fast, filling, easy meal that won't give you a muffin-top, is the moral of the story. And I'm all about that.

Also. I'm on my third week of running now! No complaints, except that I'm hitting the point where I WANT to go on my rest days... Weird. So weird. I just feel better. So last night, rather than push my shins on a rest day, I opted for a Jillian Michael's DVD. I am now avoiding stairs today... that woman is terrifying. And kicked my butt.

Hi Everyone:

Two reasons for not posting-no dieting, minimal exercise and inability to navigate through this blog. Ugh. I went to Smith's today for low carb yogurt, string cheese and cranberry juice-boring. Of course everyone there knew I had just got done working out because I was wearing my black stretchy pants (not just for fun), NB shoes, thin fashionable headband, sweatshirt tied around my waist and my cheeks were still flushed with color. It felt good:)

I haven't lost a pound, and I'm avoiding a needed doctor's appointment because I don't want to weigh in. Last time I went to the doctor I told her I was concerned about my weight gain, and we talked about age, exercise, diet etc and then it slipped out that I was drinking at least 64 oz of Pepsi a day. She had to control herself not to laugh out loud and she said at that rate you'll continue to gain 1 pound a week. Dam (if I spell it that way it's okay). I've got to lose a few pounds before I go back.

Congratulations to all of you for sticking to it. Even though we're maybe ornery is anyone feeling better? Thanks for the recipes and fun. I might try the enchilada soup tonight.

Three Weeks In.

Yuck.
I'm down a pound.
Whoopie! (Totally sarcastic.)
The only thing keeping me from downing a giant bag of Cheetos is I read somewhere, probably somewhere inspiring - Like Pinterest, that "It takes 4 weeks for your body to change. It takes 8 weeks for you, yourself to see change. And, it takes 12 weeks for everyone else to see it."
Here's to another ornery week of change.

Lasagna Soup...to go with the snow

...not that it has been snowing here. But we've had plenty of wind and TONS of rain, so it's feeling a bit dreary here as well. I thought I would capitalize on the cold weather and post this recipe, brought to you by the Deen Brothers (as in, Paula Deen's sons...PS - did you guys hear that she has diabetes? And has been keeping a secret for the last couple of years? And now is launching a medication/nutrition line marketed toward diabetes? I don't know how I feel about someone helping Americans get fat, refusing to talk about the health consequences of her food choices, and then trying to make the whole thing into another cash cow. Not cool, Paula. Not cool.). The good news - if you have followed this rambling post so far - is that Paula's son, Bobby, is much better at cooking light. Here, he altered his mom's lasagna soup recipe to be only 225 calories per cup. I can get behind that, y'all!

The best part about this soup is that it is easy, fast, and pretty cheap to make. You can find the whole recipe with pictures here, or below:

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (32-ounce) container chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 ounces broken whole-wheat lasagna noodles (about 4 noodles)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup reduced-fat shredded mozzarella cheese
8 Whole-wheat breadsticks or grissini (optional)

Instructions:
Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick saucepot or Dutch oven. Add the sausage, onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is crumbled and browned, 8 – 10 minutes.

Add the broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, salt, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors are blended, about 20 minutes. Add the noodles; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the soup thickens slightly and the noodles are tender, 10 – 12 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in mozzarella, basil, and the Parmesan. Serve with the breadsticks, if using. (whole-wheat lasagna noodles take a little longer to cook.)