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!

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!

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! :)

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

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!

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

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.