Happy Birthday Kenyon

Happy Birthday Kenyon!!!

I have been lucky enough to spend the last nine birthdays with my favorite guy. And thankfully, I was able to have this year's birthday off to celebrate with him again. Kenyon is a New Years Eve baby, which is a popular holiday at my work and thus hard to get the day off. Due to my schedule change, I was able to get the day off so we can spend it together.

Since we've recenly made a trip to Vegas, we didn't know if we wanted to spend money to go somewhere close out of town. We ended up not making any plans and since it is his birthday, I'd like him to do what he wants. He isn't a party guy so I suspect a low day birthday at home with just the two of us. We are trying to get our schedule turned around to night shift so hopefully we will ring in the new year.

Happy New Year!

Four Straight Days Of Blue Dots

My night ended with crying...and it wasn't even my tears! The sleepover with my nieces was sort of a success. Last night I had my doubts and told Kenyon, “never again.” But today, with Emma sleeping peacefully on the futon upstairs, I start to think, “maybe.”

Poor Emma usually has a melt down when it is time to go to bed and suddenly starts crying and asking to go back to her Mom's house. There are a million excuses as to why she can't sleep here (yesterday it was the “creepy” dolls on my collectable shelf) and it really pushed my buttons last night. She gets overly tired and has been given too much sugar. I got so mad at her last night that when she was brushing her teeth, I heard her tiny voice say, “maybe you can find another family who will love me and give me to them.” Oh gez! Break my heart. After we both calmed down, I reminded her that I loved her and she even popped into my bedroom to thank me for taking the dolls down and to tell me she loved me. I am pretty sure we don't need anymore sleepovers though. Maybe she is still too young? Kids!

I'm patting myself on the back for a job well done at Tucanos last night. The meat service wasn't that good (too undercooked) and so that might have been part of the success. Since I don't really know the points of the meat service, my system is to count 1 SPV per piece of meat/pineapple and 2 SPV for the sausage and the breaded fish. Since there wasn't an ambulance of meat to fill me up, I hit up the salad bar twice. Afterwards, the girls wanted froyo (and I'm a bit peeved still my coupons were at home) and I was able to pass up the offer when Hailey asked if I was getting any. I've been craving gingerbread lately and have not been able to find the new Halo Top Gingerbread House ice cream in my area yet. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it shows up soon.

I ended my day with my fourth blue dot in a row. That sure makes me feel good. And, the WW app noticed too!

I've got one more day to reach my goal of increasing my blue dots from last week from four to five. I've started my day with a half serving of peanut and chocolate Cheerios and a half serving of Special K cinnamon and pecan cereal. I don't buy cereal or keep it in the house because of control issues and the points just aren't worth it. Of the two, which were both good, I felt like I got more Cheerios in my serving than the heavy flakes of the Special K. I bought the cereal for the girls to have something to eat before I send them back to their Mom's house today. They always say I don't have any kid-friendly food. I measured out 2 oz of milk per each small bowl and the total was 6 SPV. For 6 points, I could have had a whole breakfast! So clearly, cereal is a point bomb bust, even if it is sugary and delicious.

I'm determined to have control while it is in my house! So, no more cereal today. I might throw it out or send it home with the girls. The Cheerios one might be a nice “dessert” as long as I measure out half a serving and 2 oz of milk for just 3 SPV. We shall see. I know it temps Kenyon too so it is best to get it out of the house.

I like that I am being more mindful as I move forward in my tracking with the WW app and the new Freestyle program. I do feel really good and I have notice the few times I've eating a large amount of points in a day (Christmas Day and Tucanos last night) that I start to feel the start of a canker sore in my mouth. It is always a good reminder that staying on track makes me feel better. It is just hard to remember that when you are staring down some yummy looking high point food!

I want 2018 to be a year of success. And I'm the one in charge of making that happen.

Making The Points Fit

It’s my last day shift for the next three months.  Hallelujah.  Since winter is upon us, I am ready to hibernate.  While I don’t love the graveyard shift hours per se, I am looking forward to going back to night shift.  I miss shift rotation.

I’m picking up my nieces after work for sleepover and we are going to Tucanos for Kenyon’s free birthday meal.  I’ve been working hard on keeping my points low so I can use as many daily points as possible for my high point meal tonight.  I can’t go over more than 5 SPV or I don’t get my blue dot.  I know that I might not get my blue do today but it won’t be for lack of trying!

Thanks to the new 0 SPV foods, it does make eating out easier.  The key is you have to make sure you are eating those foods to compensate for the large meal out.  Those times I was blowing through my weekly points all in one day was because I was not paying attention to maximizing my points using the new 0 SPV foods.  Here is how I have my day so far:

Breakfast – 3 egg omelet (0 SPV), 1 slice of Tillamook smoked provolone (2 SPV), 2 small oranges, and Starbucks with cream (2 SPV).

Morning snack – 6 oz Kirkland non-fat yogurt (0 SP) and frozen mangos (0 SPV).

Lunch – Chicken taco soup (1 SPV) and 28 g Daisy light sour cream (2 SPV)

Afternoon snack – 3.8 oz Columbus turkey breast (0 SPV), 2 Lucerne light string cheese (2 SPV), 2 small apples (0 SPV)

I’ve got 18 DPA left (unless I have more coffee later today) and with the 5 extra WPA I can use, I’ll have 23 SPV left for dinner and the best chance at getting my blue dot.

I’ve got to get my activity re-started this coming week.  I am glad I feel like I’ve got a handle on food so the next step is to amp it up with my activity.  I am staying focused on my 2018 goals to get this weight off!  Being on night shift usually makes it easier.  I am also going to try and pack on the OT so I can save up a good chunk of money towards our Europe trip during these next three months on night shift.

Weekly WI: FINALLY...A LOSS & On Track Tracking

Good Morning!

I'm on day three of my four day “weekend” and I am not ready for it to end. Good news is that I've just got to return to work on Friday for my last dayshift and then I'm off for another three days as I rotate to night shift. It is also Kenyon's birthday on New Years Eve.

My WI on Tuesday went really well. After seeing no change towards the end of last week, it was really hard to stay on track and not eat my feelings. But, I powered through remembering that indulging in sugar and treats won't help. I tracked everything I ate on Christmas Day and saw on my home scale that I was showing a loss. When I went to WI, I heard the leader say “you lost 0.6 pounds.” I knew I was down lower on my home scale so a little bummed but happy to have a loss over the Christmas holiday. As I went to enter the weight into my WW app, I noticed I actually lost 2.6 pounds. Well now, that is cause for celebration!

I went back up to my leader and explained the mix up so she didn't think I wasn't grateful for my nice size loss. Finally! It has helped me mentally this week and I am on track and tracking with the app. I really like seeing my blue dots appear and having 0 SPV foods helps a lot.

Kenyon and I have been off work together since Christmas Day so it has felt harder to stay on track. But, I am working hard at it. We went to Golden Corral yesterday for the breakfast buffet to use Kenyon's birthday coupon. We woke up at 7am and the buffet didn't start until 9:30pm. I tracked using the points in the restaurant portion of the apps while we ate so I knew exactly where I was at. The hard part of a high point/low volume meal is I was hungry all day yesterday. But, I made it work and ended my day using 2 WPPA and getting my blue dot.

We have a few other birthday meals planned this week and will be taking my nieces to Tucanos on Friday. So, I'm planning my meals around it. I made really yummy burrito bowls last night with cauliflower rice. I baked the chicken then cut it up and sautéed it in verde salsa. We will be making this again for sure, even though the rice was a bit of extra work.

I'm thinking I'll see if my Mom wants to see a movie today. I am also planning to give Phoenix and her kids belated Christmas gifts. I'm going to put on a pot of chicken taco soup I saw posted at the WW meeting so I've got a healthy meal that is 1 SPV for tomorrow at work in prep for eating out at Tucanos.

New Recipe: 2-Ingredient Bagels

Through the land of Instagram, I’ve stumbled upon several other WW members out there and found several new meal ideas/recipes.  One that I’ve tried twice is the 2-ingredient bagel.  I think the original master mind behind this recipe is @wwg4life and also under #wendyswwrecipes.

The recipe is simple:

• 1 cup of self-rising flour

I’ve heard various types work differently but I got whatever my local Fred Meyer had on hand

• 1 cup of Fage 0% Greek yogurt

I wouldn’t recommend any other yogurt brand since this one is nice and thick and you should avoid anything with too much extra liquid

• Add a pinch or two of salt

The amazing part is they are just each 3 SPV!! 

Those two ingredients (well, three with salt) are the base of the recipe and from there, you can make it into calzones, breadsticks, pretzels, or bagels depending on what temperature you cook it at, etc.  It is basically similar to bread dough but has the texture more like a drop biscuit.  I’m finding so many really neat ideas on Instagram. 

This was my second time doing bagels and after learning a bit more on Instagram, I kneaded the dough several times to help blend it better.  It was still sticky when I rolled and shaped into the bagel form.  But, I felt using the rolling board helped vs. using my hands as I did previously.  I still need to work on my bagel form though.

It was suggested to put an egg wash on top of the bagels and top them with Everything But The Bagel seasoning from Trader Joe’s.  So, I made a trip to TJ’s earlier this week.  Prior to that I topped it with some garlic and jalapeno seasoning salt and it turned out really good.

Bake them in the oven at 350 degrees for 22 minutes and then turn your oven up to 550 degrees for 2 minutes (but they say don’t take them out, just up the temp for 2 minutes).  I move them to a wire rack to cool and then store in a Ziploc bag, although they don’t last long.

I had an egg sandwich this morning on one of my fresh out of the oven bagels.  Mmmmm….

Ho...Ho...Ho...Merry Christmas (a day late)

Ho…Ho…Ho…

Merry Christmas

I wish you all the best this holiday season. 

Hug your loved ones.

The Eve Of Christmas And Some Tough Feelings

Good Morning and Happy Christmas Eve!!  I’m ready for time with family tomorrow.  What are your plans?

We are having a mini team celebration in dispatch this morning with an ornament exchange.  I also picked up some donuts and chocolate milk on my way into work.  I’m going to skip the treats though since Christmas Day fest ivies commence tomorrow.  I realized for tracking purposes, my WW week starts on Monday so today is technically the end of one week and Christmas Day will be the start of the next.  Since my WI is on Tuesday morning, I do plan to keep my Christmas Day splurging to a minimum.

Without bringing the spirits of the season down a notch with some negative headspace (which is better as I’ve been awake for a few hours)…I got on this scale this morning and once again, I saw no loss.  No gain, but also no loss.

I was upset and am feeling very deflated.  I keep reading success stories where people on the plan for their first week lose 10 pounds or even 12 pounds.  In our meeting this last week, the leader pointed out that of our 30+ pounds loss that we only had 9 pounds gained.  That definitely speaks volumes for the success of the program and overall, WW Freestyle is a great program.  Where is my roaring success? 

The tagline for the new Freestyle program is that you have more freedom.  I’m starting to feel as though WW Freestyle doesn’t fit into my life and instead of more freedom, I feel more trapped.  My life right now involves social gatherings as well as alcohol.  And, I love to eat out, which I’ve done for years while on the WW program.  It is always about making it all fit into the program and your points.  WW Freestyle is starting to feel like I have to be 100% perfect and only eat 0 SPV foods if I expect not to gain.  I know that isn’t the reality but that is my current perception. 

I cried while I was in the shower this morning.  Real and honest tears I’ve not cried since my last weight loss journey.  I guess that is a good thing because it means I am committed to figuring out how the new Freestyle program works for me.

I’ve gotten it all out and now I just have to keep going.  I won’t know more how things are going to shake out until I’ve given it a good month or so.  You can never tell anything by just one week.  So, onward we go.

Positives:

• At least it is a maintain, not a gain.  I feel like I was being very mindful this week and trying to balance my party food and alcohol.  I know how I had not focused on staying the course, I would have gained for sure.

  

  
  
• Even though the scale didn’t move, my body feels smaller overall.
• I had three days of collecting blue dots, which mean I ate within a healthy range of points (10 under – 5 over).  I’m going to try for Day 4 but today isn’t over yet. 

  

  
  

My goal this week is to increase the amount of blue dots by at least one.  I am also setting a goal of getting back into activity.  I wanted to focus more on food this last week than activity but next week I’m headed back to the gym for classes.  Maybe I can talk Kenyon into a mall walk too.

This is a process and it takes time.  The worst thing I can do right now is eat my feelings.  So, I’m putting this all out there so I can stay positive and move on.

Thanks for listening.

 

Tis' The Season For Celebrations

Well, my first three parties of the season are complete.  We had lots of fun at Homestead Bar for the Ugly Sweater Party and then yesterday I had both my work party/potluck and my immediate family over for our Christmas celebration.  I was so happy my entire family could be together this season.

 

Pre-tracking before I ate at the work party helped me out a lot.  I was able to dial back the amount of meatballs and little smokies I was planning to eat so I could use consume less points.  After I did my pre-tracking, I did feel like my plate was rather sparse.  This is the biggest bummer of actually tracking…eating out and parties/potluck cost a lot of points!

Regardless, I had enough food and was able to fill in with 0 SPV veggies and fruit.  Since I had a second party in the same day, and I wanted to have at least one beer, I didn’t have many daily points left.  I’m going to get my tracker all caught up today and I may now be out of weekly points.  The biggest positive from yesterday is that I didn’t have any sweet treats/desserts.  It is hard again today because all the leftover goodies are hanging around the dispatch center today.  I WILL stay focused and not indulge.  I don’t need the sweets and I need to balance my high point day yesterday with my meals today.

Tis’ the season for celebrations.

New Recipe: Chicken Enchilada Soup

We tried a really good new recipe last night.  I’ve actually had the ingredients on hand for a few weeks and wanted some quick and easy in case I got home late from my OT shift (which I did so that was even better).

 

I used this recipe from Mix and Match Momma’s blog.  I love Shay’s amazing recipes and I’ve tried several.  Her breakfast casseroles were a bit hit a few months ago.

The only thing I did differently was omit the canned corn.  I am a huge corn snob and I don’t like canned corn.  With the exception of the toppings, I only had to count the points for the enchilada sauce (I used two smaller sized cans so the whole pot was 9 SPV).  I used one can of red and one can of green enchilada sauce and thought the combo worked nicely.  I also used fire roasted tomatoes.

I think the highlight was topping my bowl with Tillamook sharp cheddar cheese.  It tasted so good when I got those bits of cheese bites.  I also topped mine with light sour cream.

Kenyon and I ate it up all but one serving I have for later this week at work.  I can’t wait to dig in again!

Catching Up: Weekly WI, Using My WW Tool Kit, And The Week Ahead

My WI on Tuesday went OK. I was up 1.2 pounds over the last two weeks. I’m definitely happy about that small(er) gain but I’m on the higher end of what I’d like to be right now. I’m going to make my focus to lose 5 pounds each month. I feel like it’s doable. The important part of that goal is going to be building each month on top of each other instead of this back-and-forth like I’ve been doing lately.

I am still tracking using the app and I really do like it. I miss being able to write down some of my general thoughts, meal plans, exercise plan, and overall just feeling organized by being able to write it all down. So I’m going to get myself a little notebook so I can still do that part of things. But I do like using the app and I think I’m even getting faster.  I know I won’t have to track my 0 SPV foods, and down the road, I might stop doing that.  But right now I am still either weighing/measuring or giving it my best guess on the amount since it is 0 SPV no matter how much I eat.

I’m also trying to fit the social events I have this week into the program. Yesterday I had 14 daily points left before meeting friends at Homestead Bar & Grill for the ugly sweater party.  We had so much fun!

 

I tapped into my WW Tools Kit and looked up the menu ahead of time.  I thought I’d have the chili but fries sounded so good.  I looked up points for the Souvlakia Chicken Pita and decided to eat half the pita with all the filling.  I ate a few fries and then handed my plate away so I wouldn’t keep eating.  I did go over my points budget for the day and could have used less points had I stuck to beer instead of having one and a half Moscow Mules (it was a Smirnoff event).  My biggest hurdle was not stopping for ice cream on the way home.  I was on the fence and since I’d used so many points I was thinking, “why not.”  But, I drove straight home!  I feel really good today having skipped that extra treat and all those extra points.

Our work party potluck is tomorrow and then my family is coming over to celebrate Christmas with my nieces.  I’ve still got Christmas Day festivities too.  I’m going to do my best to balance it all but still enjoy myself.  I know I will hunker down after the first of the year and get serious.

 

On The Cusp Of An 11-Year Journey

Around this time, eleven years ago, I know something in my life had to change. 

 

My sister and I had been on a trip for our first time to Las Vegas.  I could barely get the seatbelt to buckle and I thought I’d have to fake it when the flight attendant came by to check.  I was miserable the entire time we were walking around Vegas.  I had desperately hoped that all the walking we did would pay off and the seatbelt would buckle better on the return flight home.  Something really needed to change.

 

It was the following month in January of 2007 that I stepped foot into my local Weight Watchers center in order to gain the tools I needed to take control of my life.  It hasn’t always been easy.  But, if I had not made the decision, I might not be where I am today.  Life is funny in that it is often unpredictable and while we don’t know the outcome, the journey getting there is where we learn the most about ourselves.  The same is true for weight loss.  When we travel the journey towards better health and change our life, we learn so much about ourselves in the process.

Weight loss can often feel like you are taking two steps forward to only be kicked back four steps.  We aren’t always rewarded for our hard work but the feeling of success is so grand.  Many tears were shed along the journey and while I thought my journey was “over” several years ago, I’ve continued to be tested along the way.

It is hard but it is always worth it.

Reflection & Positive Thoughts

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking/reflecting these past few days.  Partly it is due to being off track since returning from Las Vegas.  I feel as though my life over the last almost 11-years has been so consumed with weight loss.  It makes me wonder if things will just always be this way?  Or if there will come a time again where I feel pretty confident in maintenance?  I’ve been there once and I hope I can get back to that.

My thoughts lately have been more about making a plan of action then self-loathing and complaining.  Yes, weight loss is hard and I do get bored with clean eating.  But, I feel so much better when I put myself and my needs first and when I am putting food that is good for me into my body.  With the first of the year approaching, while I don’t do resolutions, I will be focusing on weight loss.  I really want to be under 200 pounds when we go to Europe later in 2018.  We might have upgraded the flights to a smidge larger seats, but it is still a lot to squeeze into that tiny seat.  Boy did I feel it on our Vegas flights.  Both flights were full and so I had to sit in the middle seat.  I just felt so cramped.

I looked back at my weight record for some much needed positive reflection.  I will have to face the scale on Tuesday and I expect I to be ugly.  However, based on my WI two weeks ago, I am down 15.2 pounds from this time last year.  And, while I might spiked up after our New York vacation and New England Cruise, I am up 0.6 pounds over the last three months.  Seeing that makes me feel less deflated.  And, right now, I don’t need negative thoughts!  If I’m going to power through, I will do that much easier with the power of positive thoughts.

 

I’m a little worried about seeing my family on Christmas as I had hoped to have lost more weight.  But, they loved me when I was 300 pounds and when I was 165 pounds.  So, I suspect they still love me at 230 pounds.  It is just hard when you want to make the best appearance possible but feel like there isn’t enough time left. 

I want to make 2018 a really successful year with healthy living, activity, weight loss, and hopefully soon…maintenance. 

Snow Day

We got our first snow of the season in southern Idaho and of course, motorists were not prepared.  When you work in emergency services, snow day has a whole different meaning.

I am glad it at least arrived on a weekend vs. a weekday morning commute.  But, none of us are happy to see snow.  I’ve been a police dispatcher for almost 12 years.  And, over those years, the excitement of snow has been ruined by this job.  I hate to say it like that, but unless it is a day off and I’ve nowhere to be, I’m not a fan of snow.  Plus, I am just not a cold-weather person in general.  But, snow + workday = lots of headache.

I am always fathomed on how all of us can arrive to work just fine and yet the rest of the motoring public can’t seem to.  Often times, speed is the biggest faster.  People just drive too fast for the conditions which cause a hazard to themselves and other innocent bystanders.  Needless to say, you emergency services personnel will be there to bail you out when you do something stupid.

The only positive to the snow coming now is that it at least held off a few weeks form last year and as of yet, isn’t as major/deep as it was last year.  And, I even see the sun peeking out.  That is the best positive of all!

If you travel during the winter months, be safe.

Las Vegas Food & Fun

Our quick trip to Vegas was a lot of fun.  It is crazy that in those two full days we walked a total of 22 miles!  We didn’t do a whole heck of a lot but we had a lot of fun.

On Tuesday when we flew out of Boise, the football team was flying out 10 minutes ahead of us on a charter flight at the gate near us.  I was wearing my new BSU jacket, which ended up getting me through TSA really fast as they thought I was with the team.

We booked a fountain view room at Bellagio, which was awesome.  It was a comped deal since Kenyon plays the My Vegas game and we are also MLife rewards members.  It was amazing to be able to see the fountain so frequently.  If anything, I took it for granted and wished I had spent more time in the room.  Maybe we can get this deal again in the future.

Our first night in Vegas, we rode the bus to The Park, which is by New York New York and Monte Carlo and where the new T-Mobile Arena is.  There was a Golden Knight hockey game so there was a lot going on.  I had wanted to have a beer at Beer Haus but sadly, we didn’t stop in.  From there we continued to the South Outlet Mall where I found stuff to buy at both Kate Spade and Vera Bradley.

The Bellagio Conservatory did not disappoint.  It has been changed over to their Christmas display and I think this was my favorite yet.  Since we were staying at The Bellagio, we were able to snap photos early in the morning before it got crowded. 

We got the 24-hour buffet deal at the Total Rewards casinos (Planet Hollywood, Flamingo, Harrah’s, and Paris) and when we made our way to the Flamingo, we noticed the habitat exhibit we’ve not been to.  It was so neat to see this oasis in the middle of Sin City. 

We both did pretty well at the slot machines.  I put on my Vegas Jamberry nail wraps just before I left and I think it brought me luck.  Kenyon and I played off our winnings the entire weekend.

We rode the bus to the Hard Rock casino, which I’ve wanted to visit because they have various memorabilia to look at.  Despite getting off the bus at the closest stop, we still had to walk a mile or so to get there.

We signed up for their casino club card for $15 in free casino free play.  I swear to you, our waitress was lucky.  Each time she came around to ask if we wanted a drink, we would suddenly start to win.  And once, Kenyon won $300!  We cashed out after that and caught the shuttle from the hotel back to the strip.

We needed a break from gambling because we didn’t want to lose money after we finally won some back so we headed to Cowboy Christmas as part of the National Rodeo Finals.  It has grown a lot since we’ve been there the last few years.

We ended our night at Buca de Bippo for some pizza.  We had a coupon so we got a large one.  Boy was it large!

I’ll miss this view…and the warm temps!