Wednesday Weigh In, a Challenging Weekend Ahead and the Biggest Loser

I'm happy to report a loss today. I'm sad that it was only half a pound, actually .6 of a pound, but still it is a loss. I wasn't expecting much since I normally have a big loss followed by a small gain or no loss. Maybe the bike riding kept me from having a gain this week.

This weekend is going to be challenging for me though. I'm going on a ladies retreat to Orange Beach, Alabama this weekend. The ladies have teamed up to prepare meals for the weekend and we are going to go out to lunch on Saturday at Lambert's Cafe, Home of the Throwed Rolls. I'm planning on ordering the grilled chicken, because how can I go wrong with chicken right? HA! That is what I thought when I ordered the grilled chicken at supper tonight at Vera's Seafood Restaurant in Slidell, LA. The menu said that it was grilled chicken breast with BBQ sauce, mushrooms and topped with cheese. What it was though was a perfectly healthy chicken breast swimming in grease. Don't get me wrong, it was delish! But I don't know why they had to ruin a perfectly good chicken breast with grease. What is funny is that when I ordered the vegetables that go on the side, I specifically asked if they were prepared with oil or steamed. I also ordered my salad dressing on the side. I just assumed that a grilled chicken breast would be a low fat choice.

I will ask the wait person at Lambert's before I order how the chicken breast is cooked and request that they use a minimal amount of oil in cooking. I hate doing this. I hate to feel like I'm being high maintenance or picky, but I need to know that I'm doing the best for my body and I love catching those "Throwed Rolls", so I need to save some points for one of those. How do you handle  eating out? Do you feel like you are giving the wait staff the fifth degree?

Where are my Biggest Loser fans? I absolutely love this show!!! Sadly, I don't love exercise enough to workout until I puke. Do you find it inspirational or frustrating knowing that what they are living is not real life?

Recycled Wardrobe!

On Monday, Merry Perennial posted about the conflict we losers have with getting rid of all of our fat clothes while losing. So often, we have gained and lost and gained again that we hate to get rid of the clothes just to have to buy new fat clothes. Let me give you a hint...find someone bigger than you to give the clothes to or better yet, someone bigger who is on a weight loss journey too. Then go out and find someone who is your new size and on a WL journey to be friends with. :) You don't have the guilt of getting rid of clothes, because you gave them to someone who needs them and you can still be cheap because someone is giving you clothes. Win/Win! Except for the skinniest of your group who has to buy all the new clothes, so she can give her clothes to you! I'm in this exact triangle of sharing right now. I just wish that my friends had my taste in clothes...my skinny friend is old enough to be my mom and my larger friend is a total tomboy. Oh well, the clothes are free!

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

So here goes...I would never run screaming into the house at my husband to come kill the snake out by the chicken coop. I had a snake try to climb in my shirt on stage while doing an animal show at Disney without flinching, so of course seeing a snake near my sweet hens would not send me screaming like a girl. Not me.

I absolutely did not tell my dear Butterbean that if she did not stop whining that she wanted more gumballs, I would leave her at home the next time Mommy decided to go for a bike ride. I mean what kind of mom buys her child sherbet with gumballs anyway.

I do not get so obsessed with every pound lost that I do not get on the scale two and three times a day especially after going number two, just to see if there is a major, miraculous change in my weight, not me!

So, how about you? What are you not doing?

Sunday Bike Ride

We rode the bike to the trail head where there is a small park. Butterbean loves to slide on the wavy slide. Although she did get a little bored on the ride over, it was worth the trip. We stopped at the "quickstop" (a southern term for gas station). Butterbean got a sherbet and I got a water. I contemplated getting an energy bar or beef jerky, but did not want to pay the price in both dollars and points.
We hopped back on the bike and rode home. Both of us tired, she started whining about half way home. I stopped the bike and threatened to leave her home next time if she didn't stop. She did, and before I knew it she was telling me that the rhythmic humming of the bike chain sounded like music. She sang "Mary Had a Little Lamb" for a mile or so. She was asleep by the time we turned onto our street.
Total distance today 8 miles.
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Lost 2.5 Pounds This Week!

I'm so excited! I got another 5 lb. Star! That makes a total of 41 lbs. doing Weight Watchers and 70 lbs. total! I also took a 8.56 mile bike ride.
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My new exercise buddy!

She keeps me pedaling!
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Virtual Me!

Prevention Magazine has a virtual model program to help you visualize you current weight and goal weight. I did it and here is my model. I must admit though it doesn't look like my actual body so much. I think they are being overly nice, by not photographing real people at my weight and putting it up there. My body has more of a rolling shape with lots of bumps and lumps, but it is really nice to see what I could look like. The pictures are in the following order: Starting weight 339#, Current 272# and Goal 150#.

Have you tried it? What are your thoughts?

Nanny state snatches kids for being too fat

Nanny state snatches kids for being too fat

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After reading this news article, I feel completely conflicted. Prior to getting on the Metformin and starting Weight Watchers, I would have been completely angry and saddened by a government that would take away the kids from their parents. Now, I'm conflicted. As a fat person who has a medical problem that took 37 years to diagnose, I know the pain of having a medical condition that causes weight gain that can't be controlled. On the other hand, I found out what the problem is, got serious and started working on the problem. Losing weight isn't easy, but it is possible. So, I'm conflicted. I can't imagine being deemed an unfit parent because of my weight or because my child was obese. As a fat child of fat parents, I can't imagine how the children must feel either. I'm trying to change my family tree by losing weight. My desire is to teach my child healthy habits that will follow her through her life.

What are your thoughts? How does this story make you feel about your weight loss journey?

Lovely Blog Awards!!!

I want to thank Downsizing Doc for giving me a Lovely Blog award! She is truly an inspiration to me!

Now for my awards in no particular order:

1. Art Projects for Kids
2. Skinny Hollie
3. I Am A Money Magnet
4. Merry Perennial
5. A Tale of Two Kittehs on Weight Watchers
6. My Picture of Health Journey
7. Lynn's Charmed Ones
   
8. Sunshine Mama
   
9. Happy Texans
10. No More Stinking Thinking
11. Festively Plump All Year Long

VID 00007-20090910-2011

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Junk Drawers Every Where!

One of the ladies in my church has a daughter just 5 months older than my sweet lil one and the other day her child was wearing the cutest little pillowcase dress. I found this lovely blog by Susan Petersen with information on how to make a pillowcase dress. Anyway, the one my friend's little girl had on was black with gold ribbons, a perfect little New Orleans Saints dress! So, I decided I had to do this too. I found an adorable print pillowcase at Dollar General today. (Did I say that I wasn't going shopping yesterday? Well, I had to anyway, because Butterbean has lost all but her black patent leather church shoes. I ended up at the grocery too, because we can't go all week without milk.) Anyway, I got home and got out the sewing machine and found ribbons that would match and started setting up to sew. I realized that the foot of my machine is missing. I remember my dear child playing with it at some point in the past year and taking it away from her. I remember putting it in a junk drawer for safe keeping, but for the life of me, I can't find it! I actually ended up running to a sewing store and spending $5 on a new one. I did get the dress made as you can see from the picture of my little one. I used ribbons instead of the bias tape, but the concept is the same.

My problem lies in the fact that I don't have just one junk draw; I have several! I have drawers, baskets, boxes and bins. Organization is a mystery to me! I read an article recently about organization and how it related to obesity. Yes, Organizing Guru Pet er Walsh has even written a book about how clutter makes you fat.
Watch CBS Videos Online I'm going to request his book from my local library and see what it says! Maybe I can tame the junk drawers!

On the other hand, Freud said that such disorganization, like obesity, can also be aggression towards others. So, maybe I'm just being aggressive toward my family? Nah, because my husband loves me fat and all. He doesn't love the clutter, but then again, he doesn't do anything to help get rid of it either.

So here is a little informal poll: Do you have a clutter problem along with your weight problem? Do you feel it is an aggressive act to be disorganized?

Progress Photos

I have been asked several times for progress photos, so this post is going to be an ongoing post with my progress photos all in one spot. It makes it easier for me to see the difference in my body this way. Here they are so far with dates for each.

Food Find! Dove Miniatures Ice Cream

I have a new secret pleasure! Actually, it isn't so secret if I'm sharing with Butterbean and blogging about it. Yum! My daughter and I found these at Wal-Mart. They are individually wrapped, so perfect portion control! The serving size is 5 pieces, but one is just enough for a chocolate fix. Sixty calories, four grams of fat and one gram of fiber makes them one point wonders!

They also sell a milk chocolate variety pack that has vanilla and chocolate chips, but I'm dark chocolate kind of gal.

Butterbean and I both like the ones with chocolate ice cream the best. What is your secret pleasure?

1 Point Potato Soup

I LOVE potato soup. My mom always made a potato soup when I was growing up that had potatoes, onions, Velveeta and milk. (5 points/cup) I love it, but really the points aren't worth it to me. So, I have been hearing about this one point potato soup made with country gravy mix for a couple of months, but never could track down the recipe. Yesterday, my sister called and asked if I had seen this recipe. She gave it to me over the phone, so I made it this morning. I put the ingredients in the WW Recipe Builder and was pleasantly surprised with the 1 point per cup count! With just one point per cup, I can add a little grated cheese and bacon or faux sour cream (fat free Greek yogurt)!

So, here's the recipe!

1 30 oz. bag Ore-Ida O'Brien Hash Browns with peppers and onions (my sister doesn't like onions and peppers and used the Southern Style Hash Browns, but I love the onions and peppers)

2 cans of fat free chicken broth

1 packet of country gravy mix

Put hash browns and broth in the crock pot and cook on low for 4-8 hours. Mix in the gravy mix into the crock pot and cook 10-20 more minutes. Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, bacon or green onions.

Be sure you count any points for the add-ins!

Weigh-in Wednesday

Well, today is my weigh-in day, but I have a child with a 102 degree fever. So, do I run to town 10 miles one way, sick child in tow, to weigh in and just skip the meeting, or do I skip it today and see how she is feeling tomorrow? She doesn't act like she is feeling badly since she has taken her medicine. The doctor's office said that since this has only been going on since Monday that they don't need she her unless she gets much worse. I think they are super busy this week. I guess we will just stay home today and see if she is better tomorrow.

Besides that, I'm not seeing any change in my home scale this week, so there will probably be no change on their scale. I really wanted to lose 2 lbs this week, so I can hit my 40 lb. WW's milestone and my 70 lb. overall milestone. Funny thing is if I do hit the 40 lb. loss, I want to do it on a regular meeting day so I can celebrate with my WW buddies! I don't want to celebrate with a different group. If someone had told me that I would feel this camaraderie about the people in my meeting back in April, I would have laughed at them, but I have the best group of folks at the Wednesday meeting!

Hope everyone is having a great week!
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