Where did the girls go?

Well, after several months of not blogging here I am. I am in a new town, new job, new GYM...but I am BACK.

However, Lacey and I are doing our own personally blogs, instead of on here. We can always use your encouragement, support, and hopefully you may even get some inspiration from us!

Check out Lacey at http://losingitlkb.blogspot.com/. Man, she is ROCKING!!!

I just launched my own blog tonight at http://binspired2.blogspot.com/.

The 25 Milestone--Gone!

Remember this picture? It's of me with my men a few months before I started WW.

Do you know who this is? It's me, yesterday!

I don't know if you see a big difference or not, but I sure did, and was pretty suprised! I planned to take an actual picture of me at my 25 milestones, but skipped 25, so had to do a 26 pic!

Anyone else think Brooke's overdue for a post?

24!

I love the show 24, so even though I was hoping to reach 25 lb. lost this week, I was excited to be able to update my facebook picture with a 24 theme. :) I'm at 24.8, so almost 25 lb! How exciting! Brooke is still on hiatus from WW, trying to deal with some major headache issues and get healthy that way before refocusing on WW. Send a few prayers up for her! To keep you occupied in the meantime, here's something to stare at:

Pizza Pizza!

So, quick update, I gained a pound. Not so great. But, I saw it coming. Today I still have 7 left, even with eating out for lunch (work provided, but I ate smart) but think I'll only eat 2 of them. I know that I "should" eat my points, but I'm going to a conference and therefore eating out for dinner Thursday, and all three meals on Friday. So, even though you don't stockpile points on WW, I'm going to try! That's the bonus of doing it "off the record." I can make my own rules, and still lose weight. Errr...something like that. *lol*

So, a recipe for you, inspired by the dinner I fixed for my family tonight. The bonus is it doesn't make a lot of dishes!

Pita Pizzas
-Find your favorite kind of Pita bread. My Walmart deli section has some amazing "flax" ones that are "0" points for 1 pita, so I count them as "1" each since I ate 3.
-Top with pizza sauce, bbq sauce, ketchup/mustard, whatever floats your boat for sauce.
-Top with whatever meat or veggies you would like.
-Top with low fat cheese, whichever flavor you like.
-Bake until done, or be cool like me and use your Presto Pizza Pizzazz (I really could NOT live without mine). It took 8 minutes on that.

Here's how I actually made mine:
Pizza #1--Cheeseburger
1 Pita bread, topped with a big squirt of ketchup and a little squirt of mustard, then swirled around like pizza sauce. I then put 1/4 of a leftover hamburger from grilling on Sunday on it (broken up), thinly sliced dill pickles, and onion. I topped it with 1/4 c. ff cheddar cheese. It was 4 points of amazingness for the whole thing.

Pizza #2--Faux Margherita
1 Pita bread, topped with pizza sauce from a jar, swirled over the bread. I then topped it with spinach leaves (instead of basil--thus the "faux"), chopped tomato, and garlic salt. I then cut up one round of Baybel cheese and scattered it on top. This was another 3 points of amazingness...true amazingness, for the whole thing.

Pizza #3--BBQ "Chicken" Pizza
1 Pita bread, topped with BBQ sauce, swirled over the bread. I then topped it with about 1/2 oz. turkey breast (what I had on hand--obviously not chicken), onion, tomato, and 1/4 c. ff cheddar. This was again, true amazingness, for 3 pt.

So, I had 3 personal sized pizzas for 10 points. Can you belive that? The average pizza slice is at least 4 points, so I think I made a WW deal! And, as I said, not too many dishes!

Try your own variation and let me know what it was!

In the meantime, Brooke's been busy busy being sick, finishing up lots of school work, and dealing with some sadness at work due to an untimely death of a coworker. I'm sure she would appreciate your prayers for sanity and for health and WW success in the midst of stress. I'm sure she'll be back soon! We love you Brooke!

How to not lose weight...

So, if you want to make sure you don't lose weight, I have a couple of tips for you.

1) Eat out. A lot.
2) Have holidays.

I don't know the effects, if any, of my last few days yet (weigh in is Tuesday), but I can say I'm not really looking forward to weigh in. I hope I have lost something, though I doubt it will be as good as the last couple of weeks (3 lb. and 1.9 lb.). The reason, I ate out for dinner on Wednesday (pizza), lunch (Grilled KFC) and dinner (Arby's) on Thursday, had a Krispy Kreme at breakfast at work (normally I resist), ate out for lunch (Chinese) and dinner (La Gondola) on Friday, and for dinner (Don Panchito) yesterday. I didn't exactly evaluate what I ate for WW points either. And then, today is a holiday (Mother's Day), so I had wonderful french toast cooked for me for breakfast, and we're cooking out meat, meat, and more meat for dinner. I hope to stick with a small steak and shrimp though, so as not to totally blow it! :)

Tune in Tuesday to see what this has cost me. Yikes! Thankfully my life isn't usually this luxurious (aka: busy), so I usually do more home cooking and control the points accordingly!

Online Adventure

I have now made the first week of my WW online adventure, and I LOVED it. I am such a tech geek and so keeping track of my points online works for me. I am very excited about the price of WW online, and the money I am saving. Plus, I am even now connected to my new iPhone so that I can have WW with me at ALL times!

I lost 1.9 lbs this week so I am officially down 13.1 and I am just .9lbs (not even a whole pound away from my loosing my 5%)!!!!

Thanks for being on this journey with Lacey and me!

3 Point Pasta Dish

I didn't post a recipe yesterday, but noted that I may do one soon. Well, today is the day! I made up a dish for dinner, and it was so fabulous that I wanted to share it! It doesn't have a name...leave a comment with what you think we could call it! Here it is:

Unnamed Pasta Dish

4 flavored Chicken Sausages, Cooked and Sliced (I used spinach/asiago from Sam's)
1 Jar Roasted Red Peppers, Drained and Sliced
1/2 bag fresh spinach leaves
1 tsp. dried minced garlic (or 2-3 fresh cloves minced)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tsp. dried basil
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 c. Fat Free Balsamic Vinegar salad dressing
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 box Penne Pasta (Ronzoni Smart Taste)

Cook pasta until al dente. In the meantime, saute sausage, red peppers, spinach leaves, garlic, tomato, salt, pepper, and basil together until spinach is wilted. When the pasta is done cooking, drain it, put back in pan, and then toss it with the balsamic dressing. Add the sauteed mixture and stir. Top with Parmesan cheese. This made 10 cups @ 3 points per cup.

My husband and I both ate 3 cups. If you like artichokes they would be really good in this, but my husband doesn't, so I didn't. Adjust points accordingly if you add them, of course. We grilled out on Sunday, so I had Bill grill the sausages then and just reheated them in the saute tonight. They don't have to be grilled. That's the reason that I said use 4, when they come in 5 packs--we split one the night we grilled. :)

Let me know if you try it out or find a great tweak for it!

Lacey Update

Well hello! I was planning for a much different post today...but my weigh in this morning was minus three pounds! I was so surprised, since it was my birthday this week, and I did indulge a little. I believe Brooke was down three pounds this week too! We both rock...and all of you out there on the journey with us do too!

Since I last wrote I went on vacation. My goal for the vacation was just to not gain weight. A day or two into that, I realized that may not happen. It was harder than I thought, for many reasons like the fact that I have to have caffeine in the morning, which I currently fulfill with iced tea. But, I didn't have that on vacation, so soda it was. In addition, I didn't have spray butter, or ff sour cream and mayo, etc. So much eating out was bound to be trouble...and it was! I weighed before leaving for vacation and when I returned...4 pounds gained! But, thankfully it must have been a lot of water weight, because by my real weigh in, I was down a pound from the previous weigh in two weeks prior.

So, now I am at 20.8 lb. lost since I started 2/11. I'm headed to the doctor this morning, and am anxious to see the difference on their scale, since my last visit was prior to WW, but I gave up soda before joining WW. I just wonder what I'll see!

I would like to share some tips or a recipe, but have to go get in the shower! Perhaps a little later! :)

Happy Birthday Lacey!

Happy Birthday Lacey! Enjoy your special day and may God continue to bless your life and the years to come!

Biggest Loser and my thoughts.

I have been a fan of the Biggest Loser NBC show since season 2, I started to watch this show and I was HOOKED! The second year I sent off to Iowa to apply for season three, and no luck but I did meet Matt Hoover (Season 2 winner). I also sent off an amazing video that a friend put together for me, it was AWESOME! Someday if I ever figure out where it is I will upload it because it was pretty good...and well, we are getting honest here since this is Lacey and I journey. Last year work had a Biggest Loser contest that I have talked a little about in the about me. I placed fifth out of all my co-workers at my job and we had maybe over 100 people? I am competitive, it's in my blood! If you know me I like to win and my brother is way more competitive then me. So, every once in a while I have these moments where I know that I should have been on the show, but that is not the journey God took me on. I was watching tonight and my girl Kristen was sent home. My heart was very sad for her journey to end on the show, but she still has a chance to return at the finally. If you don't watch the show or didn't see tonight she was at the end making a talk to an audience...and I had this moment.....THAT IS WHAT I WANT. I want to be able to touch and encourage people with my weight loss. Years and years of yo-yo and off and on...but now things have changed for me. I mean deep down they have for the first time I can feel myself changing and I honestly know that I deserve it, I really do. I had so many complements in the last few days about my weight and one of my bosses said "Brooke, you are looking skinny." Man, I was glowing from ear to ear...it has been a very long time that I have been this weight. I would imagine that it has been maybe nine years or more. I am not sure if I will ever had a large audience to share my journey but I know that I am excited and know just like Kristen, I AM WORTH IT TOO!

Brooke
PS WHERE IS LACEY?

Brooke Weigh-in and "in the dark week"

As Lacey said "Long time no blog"...so, I am here now! I had a horrible weigh-in the day after my b-day and I was upset! I did "everything right" well, except that trip to Cold-Stone on my b-day but I worked hard on my points and exercise and planned for the trip.

I was so stressed out from wanting a good weigh in that I gained! I went up +2.6.

I was frustrated and planed out my week planning for my b-day. My leader told me to keep thinking of the scale and the weigh-in, so every meal I DID! I was even in the Culvers parking lot calling one of my friends asking what on earth can I eat that is "fast food" ready to have a melt down from Salads. I ended up at Wendy's with a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger w/mayo and all the fixings-baked potato and small chili to put on my tater Total Points 16.5 not shabby for fast food and not to shabby for a cheap fast food meal.

I gave it my all and still a gain. My cloths were fitting better and I got a shirt months ago that I couldn't wear it fit, so what was the deal? I blame STRESS! I did not have a weigh-in this week because we are "in the dark" i am not sure what that means? I have been doing well and loosing according to the sale at work. I am looking forward to the final weigh-in and my be looking at either doing this on my own (with the support of Lacey and friends) or doing it online. It is a very costly (but worth it) experience that I do not really have. So...I need to figure that out. I am de-stressing and now once again getting a cold. I need a break!!!

Brooke

Happy Birthday Brooke!

It's someone's birthday today!!

Happy Birthday Brooke!

Lacey Here!

On Tuesday's weigh in I lost 1 pound even, so I'm now at 16.8! My hubby is at 20.2! Woo Hoo! We're headed to visit my mom in Tennessee Friday-Thursday, so my goal for that time period is TO NOT GAIN! I'm going to weigh in on Friday and Friday (but not count that in my stats) just to see what the week does to me. I may enjoy a treat or two, but overall am going to try to be sensible and use my tools that I've learned. Oh, and did I mention it will be my first "girly" time on WW? We'll see how that goes too! Sorry if that was TMI!

I've been thinking more about blogging daily a list of what I've eaten. Does that interest you? Let us know if it does, and maybe we can get Brooke to do it too!

See you when I get back from Tennessee! Oh, here's a pic from today...do I look 16.8 lb. lighter (ignore my windswept hairdo)? :)

Cheesy Chili Dog Soup & Weigh-in day results for Brooke

Cheesy Chili Dog Soup!

Ingredients:
1 can Progresso Healthy Favorites 50% Less Sodium Garden Vegetable Soup
1 fat-free or nearly fat-free hot dog with 40 - 50 calories (like Hebrew National 97%Fat Free Beef Franks or Yves Meatless Hot Dogs)
1/4 cup fat-free shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp. chili seasoning mix

Directions:
Cut the hot dog into tiny, bite-sized pieces. Spray a small pot with nonstick spray, bring to medium heat, and add hot dog pieces. Cook for 1 - 2 minutes, until outsides begin to crisp. Then add soup and seasoning mix to the pot, stir, and continue to cook until very hot. Spoon the soup into 2 bowls, and top each bowl with half of the cheese. Allow cheese to melt and soup to cool slightly before digging in. Mmmmm!

MAKES 2 SERVINGS
PER SERVING (1 generous cup): 150 calories. Recipe is from Hungry Girl.com
If you have not checked out this website, it is a MUST!

In other news I weighed in on Friday and now have a total loss of 10.2lbs total. I received a sticker for the 5lbs lost..very excited since I had a wisdom tooth pulled at the beginning of the week and was sick with a fever with the extraction. I didn't get my walking/running in at all and was stressing about the weigh-in. It is not where I want to be but I am still on my mission for a good loss this week, that includes a Birthday for me this week. I am focusing on the goal and keep a mental picture of the scale and weigh-in day on Friday.

Weigh Day

Tuesday is weigh in day at our house. We refer to it as weigh day. It's the easiest day for me to get out of bed because I look forward to the progress! I was shocked by today's, as my last few weeks were mediocre. Here are my stats:

Week 1: -7
Week 2: -4
Week 3: -.5
Week 4: -.5
Week 5: -.8
Week 6: -3

Yes, you read that right! I lost three pounds this week! SO SO EXCITING! Plus, now I've met the 5% milestone, and have lost 5.8% of my body weight!

Thank you for the encouragement you've given on this journey. It is very very much appreciated!!! 15.8 lb. in 6 weeks. I'm very happy with that--slow enough to keep it off!

CuppyCakes

{Cupcakes used with Devil's Food Cake Mix and Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry Vanilla}



{Cupcakes used with Yellow Cake Mix and Diet. 7up}






1 Cake Mix of your choice
1 can diet coke (any diet soda works)
1 egg white Mix
Bake as directed on the back of the box

Cool

Frosting
1 package of fat-free sugar free instant pudding, (I used Sugar-free instant white chocolate)
1 cup ff milk
1 tub of sugar-free cool-whip, make sure it is not frozen.
Mix the pudding and milk together
Fold in the cool-whip.
Now Decorate! I used a cake decorator to make the cupcakes fancy.
Make sure you refrigerate.

Tip: Make sure to let the cake cook completely before you try to cut it. Because you aren't adding eggs, the cake will be tender and can tear if you cut it while it's warm. Some people have started adding 2 egg whites to the mix. It doesn't raise the points any (less than 1 point) but they report that the cake is firmer and rises better.

You have to figure your points from the cake mix you use. Multiply the nutritional info on the box by the number of servings the box says you get (usually 12). Then divide by the actual number of pieces you cut or cupcakes you make. The points will vary widely depending on how much fat is in your cake mix.

I wish this was my orginal recipe but it is not it has been floating around for years. I made these for work on several occassions, the first time people thought I purchased them at the store. I have made mini-cupcakes, regular and even the jumbo-cupcakes.
They are super fast and really good. Enjoy!

Awesome Stuff and Healthy Donut Holes!

First, let me think about some things I've had none to very little of since I started WW on February 17th.

Real hamburger or beef products. I've been eating mostly 97% fat free turkey which is amazingly close to beefy tasting once it absorbs the flavors you're cooking with. I've also been tapping back to my vegetarian roots (was for 6 years) and eating veggie burgers. I was really craving a real burger yesterday and had a double quarter pounder without cheese from McDonalds. I saved my points for it, and put fat free cheese on it at home. It was so good! Next I want a diner burger, but think we'll just make those with turkey burger at home.

Real butter or margarine, full fat sour cream, mayo, and cream cheese. I am in LOVE with Parkay's butter spray, and am tolerating the ff mayo and sour cream. I used it to make taco dip last weekend and it was yummy! However, I am totally put off by the sweet flavor of ff mayo. Any ideas?

Full fat cheese. I am suprisingly pleased with the reduced fat and fat free version of cheese, as long as I'm not trying to eat it all by itself.

94% fat free popcorn. This is a staple. It is 1 point for the whole bag! And, the bonus is that it doesn't have the greasy finger problem like typical popcorn so it's fine to eat at work while you're typing and working with paperwork. Sometimes at home I make it extra special and spray the above mentioned butter spray on it and then put extra salt on it--yum! But, without the spray don't try to put extra salt or seasonings on it, it won't stick!

Real chips. I've been almost exclusively baked, and that's going better than I had hoped.

Sugar. Splenda for me! Lovin it! You can even order Unsweetened tea at McD and ask for Splenda Packets.

And another product I love is Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta. It has tons of fiber and is white, even though it is made of wheat. I'm not a big fan of wheat pasta, but this isn't wheaty and tastes exactly the same. 3 pt. for 1 c. Which is a lot when it's spread out on your plate. YUM!

Ranch Dressing. I detest reduced fat or fat free ranch because of that weird taste that is in all reduced dressings. Any good picks here? I've been eating it, but would honestly eat more salads if I found one I loved.

I'm eating tons more veggies and fruit than before too. Oh, and oatmeal and yogurt which I've grown to love and just was okay with before.

There are more, but these are the main things sticking out in my mind. These are all pleasing alternatives. Before I went WW I ate at McD for breakfast just about every day! Youch!

What are your awesome products you couldn't live without in your weight loss journey?


Okay, now for the recipe. I stumbled across this the other day on recipezaar.com (thank them for the picture) tweaked it just a bit and made it for breakfast today. They were YUMMY! More muffin looking than hole looking, but yum yum still. With the baking mix I used (I just had pancake mix on hand), it was .5 pt. each. Be sure to calculate it with your mix if you make them.

Healthy Donut Holes

Ingredients

• 1 cup + 2 T Bisquick reduced-fat baking mix or pancake mix
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 egg (or equivalent in egg substitute--which is what I used)
• 2/3 cup skim milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons (sugar substitute) for shaking
  
• 1/2 teaspoon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray a 12 hole mini muffin pan with butter flavored cooking spray.
3. In a medium bowl, combine baking mix, 1/4 cup Splenda and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.
4. Add egg, skim milk and vanilla extract.
5. Mix well to combine (my batter was runny).
6. Drop by spoonfuls into prepared muffin pan.
7. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes.
8. Remove balls from pan (I had to use a spoon to dig them out)
   
9. In a ziploc plastic bag, combine sugar coating ingredients and place warm donut balls in 2 or 3 at a time and shake to coat.

I doubled the recipe and it made 36 holes. I ate 12. Yipes! But, since I just had salad for lunch it worked. I look forward to having some leftovers with yogurt in the morning for breakfast on my way to work. Let me know if you try to make them!

Now, we just need Brooke to post her fabulous recipe for some awesomely healthy cupcakes. I made them for work the other day and got RAVE reviews. But, I can't take the credit--she gave me the recipe (and has a pic)!

So Close But No Cigar!

Friday's are my official weigh-in day (not that I weigh in every day at home, little obsessive I know). I am just on the edge, and today I was stressing big time, but when you are faced with the scale and putting each foot forward...you have to wonder did I do well enough this week. So...I am still down but (-.4)...so I have now lost a total of 9.4 lbs. When you hear the leaders say "good job" I think really, good job???? Man, I know I can do this...what is the deal? I know this week I was sick but come on. SO, I keep moving forward. I gotta get to my 5% by my b-day, just two weeks away. I can do this it is only 4.6 lbs to loose, I CAN do this in two weeks!

Brooke

Tips & 1 Point Biscuits

If you've read my facebook, you'll have already seen these. But, for others, I wanted to share them too, and cheat on having to think today. :)

--I was making 2 pt. packs of the bags of baked chips we had opened, and kept snacking, so had to end up giving myself 2 points. I had read somewhere to chew gum while cooking so you weren't tempted to do this. That would've been smart.

--For dinner recently we had spinach and asiago stuffed chicken sausages. We found these at Sam's Club. They're big sausages for only 3 points each, and really yummy! I don't remember exactly how much we paid for them, but there were three packages of 5. Sometimes I don't like a lot of spinach, but these really aren't too spinachy.

--Hostess 100 Calorie Cupcakes are only 1 point per pack! Holey Moley! I read this somewhere and had to check it out myself at Walmart. Yup! I've been craving a cupcake so this will be great--they have 4 flavors.

Here's the recipe for the biscuits. They're a little dense, but so worth it! Top them with some country gravy from the seasoning aisle (just mix with water--not too many points).

1 c. flour
1/2 c. skim milk
2 T. FF Mayo or Miracle Whip
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda

Mix and spoon into 6 muffin cups in a muffin tin. Bake at 375 for 12 minutes or until golden.

Until next time!

Now meet Brooke!

Well, I am in my seventh week of WW @ Work. It has been awesome to be a returning member and to take advantage of it at work, no excuse to be that busy to not go to meetings! I love the support of other co-workers and our leader. in my journey my heaviest was in September 2003, and as of today I have lost a total of 53lbs, great! However, I have a long journey. Last year I did the Biggest Loser at work and have lost a total of 25lbs in the last year (including the WW weight loss).

I have lost a total of 9 lbs: -5.4 the first week, -3.2 the second, the third week GAIN +5 (yes, I made some pretty bad decisions that weekend I traveled out of state!), fourth week -2.6, fifth week -.6, the sixth week -1.8, and seventh week .4. I am very close to reaching my 5% goal weight of a total of 14lbs. SOON!!

Just like Lacey, I think WW is easy, my biggest issue is tracking. That is the number one thing that has been my biggest tool to this journey. I have started back walking/jogging, however this week I haven’t done much to be honest I haven’t felt good all week (not that I am making an excuse but I have been ill). So, I press forward and get my butt back in the game! I am ready to get going.

I am excited to be partners in crime with Lacey, she is super cool and I know that this is going to help our journey, and it might just inspire you, too! We are two real women who are on our way to becoming what we were really suppose to be. Be inspired!

Brooke

Meet Lacey!

Brooke & I decided to do this blog because we both like blogging, are both trying to lose weight, and because it was something fun to do (and let us use this awesome layout)! I've been sharing my journey and tips on facebook, so we decided to do it here instead.

In the coming days you can hope to find some fab food finds, recipes, tips, our struggles, our progress, and whatever else we throw in.

I am in my sixth week of unofficially doing WW. I say unofficially because I'm not actually a member, but I sure am giving them a lot of press while doing it! In the five weigh-ins I've had I've lost a total of 13 pounds: 7 the first week, 4 the second, 1 the third, then 1/2 on the fourth, and .8 on the fifth. So, I'm calling it lucky 13, even though it doesn't add up neatly that way. At first I didn't keep track of the point whatever.

WW has been a lot easier than I had thought it would be, though I have had my weak days and strong days.

Look for a fun recipe tomorrow (or as soon as "tomorrow" comes in blogland). And, look for Brooke to be posting her first soon!!!



This is me and my family. My husband is on this journey too. I'll say this is my "before" picture.