Smartpoint Friendly Stirfry

Okay, WHO is a fan of Chinese food? I LOVE Chinese food! I love Thai food, I love Japanese food, all of the above. You get me? I've come to find that I eat all these asian deliciousness things less and less because of how much sodium gets packed in the food. So? What do I do when I get the hunkering for stir fry or some lo mein?

I call my dad, get some tips on flavors, and make it myself.

I will say today I didn't call my dad until AFTER I made the dish to brag how delicious it was! I ate the WHOLE PAN BY MYSELF.

GASP!! Camille! That's gotta be a buhzillion points! Did you track it? I mean, come on! The rice! The noodles! What happened?

Trader Joe's Riced Cauliflower happened. Hashtag riced cauliflower is the bomb dot com.

You get the same texture and taste as rice, WITHOUT the points! Yeah, 0 smartpoints for as much as you want!! So I made a super yummy and filling stirfry for 6 smartpoints, and this baby could easily feed 4 people if served as a side...2 people if served as a main dish...and 1...if you're me.

*Smartpoint Friendly Stirfry Sauce (0 smartpoints)
1 cup boiling water
1 tsp Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base
2 T White Rice Vinegar
1 T Kikoman Soy Sauce
1 T Fish Sauce
1 tsp Oyster Sauce
1/2 T Zero Calorie Natural Sweetner

Mix all liquid ingredients together and let sit.
*Make this first so that all the ingredients have enough time to stew and blend together.

Now, I've HEARD of a good substitute for the sauce I make. It won't taste the same, but if you just don't want to make the effort (which we DO have days...or weeks...like that) Walden Farms has a supposedly delicious Sesame Ginger dressing. If you make up the stir fry first, put a serving of the sesame ginger dressing to taste, and just a drizzle of Walden Farms Maple Syrup. Supposedly it's delicious! I do plan on buying these dressings, so I will have a write up about them soon!

Smartpoint Friendly Stirfry (6 smartpoints for the WHOLE PAN!)
1 handful cut and sliced sweet baby bell peppers
1 handful sliced baby portobello mushrooms
1 handful chopped baby carrots
1 handful sugar snap peas
1.5 c Trader Joe's Organic Riced Cauliflower (I keep looking elsewhere for this style of cauliflower, but can't seem to find it. If you do, PLEASE comment and let me know where!)
3 knife tip flicks of minced garlic
1 good drizzle of olive oil
5.5 ounces of Rotisserie Chicken Breast (3sp)
3 ounces of cooked shrimp (1sp)
*1 egg (2sp)


Take sweet peppers, mushrooms, garlic, and olive oil and sauté in a pan. While veggies are sautéing, place baby carrots in microwave steamer and steam for 4 minutes. Once mushroom/pepper mix is sautéed, add cauliflower, sugar snap peas,  steamed carrots, and stirfry sauce. Have your stove on high so that the water will begin to evaporate from the veggies, and stir occassionally to prevent burining. Do this for about 10 minutes. Once your veggies are just about done, add the chicken and shrimp to get warm and coated with the sauce and stir around for another 10 minutes or so. Once you start to smell everything cooking, and the peas are a bright green color (that's my biggest sign that food is about done), drain the excess liquid. Put pan back on the stove and add the raw egg. *Mix the egg into the stirfry and continue doing so until the egg is fully cooked (if you leave this step out, your whole stirfry is only 4 smartpoints). Turn off stove, serve yourself a bowl, but allow the pan to still sit on the stove to promote further cooking. It won't burn, it'll just get even more flavor. Enjoy the whole pan for 5 smartpoints, if you so choose!! 

It really DOES make a ton and if you have self control, unlike myself today, save it and use it for another meal tomorrow!

See? I had this bowl, a second bowl, and a half until this baby was all gone. I'm definitely making this for my family again!!

Let me know your thoughts, and get cooking!
Happy eating,
Camille

Friday's Feeding

Friday I felt like being adventurous. I tried new foods and kinda steered away from my menu plan for that day, and that's OK. Why? Because it's life, and sometimes we need to break free...within reason!

I needed to use some leftovers.

I grew up with a dad who HATED leftovers...unless he cooked the meal that had leftovers and then he could recreate them into something else. My dad LOVES to cook with FRESH ingredients, and I love him for that. But you know, I'm not ashamed to use leftovers. If anything, I can be creative and make a meal in minutes!

Breakfast was using my leftover Berry Puree. I wasn't feeling PB&J rice cakes for breakfast, but M&M suggested I use the Berry Puree in some greek yogurt! BING! So I had the remains of my berry puree with 3/4 c Fage Total 0% Nonfat Greek Strained Yogurt (2sp) with 1/2 c All-Bran Original Wheat Bran Cereal (3sp) and a couple dashes of zero-calorie sweetener. Made a great use of leftovers and got me my protein and carbohydrate for the morning for 5sp.

Second meal of the day: I had to use the remains of my Fruit Dip that I made PB&J sandwiches with for my family (you know, the yogurt, pb2, and protein powder yumminess?). I had only a little bit left, so I counted it as just 1 sp, spread that baby on a piece of Ezekiel 4:9 100% Sprouted Whole Grain Bread for 2sp and a quick protein shake (2sp).

Desserty Fruit Dip (3sp)
3 T Fage Total 0% Nonfat Greek Strained Yogurt
1/2 scoop GNC Total Lean 25 Vanilla Protein Powder
2 T PB2 with Rich Chocolate
Dash of Cinnamon
Squeeze of Liquid Stevia for taste

2 Smartpoint Protein Shake
1 scoop GNC Total Lean 25 Protein in Rich Chocolate
1 c ice cubes
1 cup Blue Diamond Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
Blend and Enjoy!

For my third meal of the day, I had some veggies that needed to be eaten...Enter my delicious creation of a stir fry. It was only 6 smartpoints...for the WHOLE PAN!! And you know what??
I ATE THE WHOLE PAN...with 2 mandarin oranges on the side. I'll be posting the recipe in a future blog post, so stay tuned! But here's a picture as a teaser...

That's right...6 smartpoints...

FOR

THE

WHOLE

PAN

After my stirfry, I was SO FULL, even 3 hours later! But, I've gotta keep my metabolism going, and so for my 4th meal, I just enjoyed 3/4 c of Kashi Go Lean Crisp! Cereal in Toasted Berry Crumble and 1/4 c of Blue Diamond Unsweetened Vanilla Almond milk (yeah, I don't like a lot of liquid in my cereal..stems from my childhood where my parents worked 5 jobs to make ends meet and food was NOT wasted. Whatever milk you poured into your cereal bowl, if there was any left after the cereal was gone, you drank it. And I HATED IT! How to trick the system? Pour less milk. And I've been that way for 20 years).

Fifth and final meal, after resisting the Restaurant call... I settled on cooking spaghetti with meatballs. There weren't enough meatballs for me, so I had a Superfood Veggie Patty with my spaghetti!
1/2 c spaghetti noodles (3sp), 1/4 c Prego Traditional Smart Light Sauce (1sp), romaine lettuce, 1 T FLAVOR FAVE: Marzetti Simply Dressed Light Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing, and 1 Don Lee Farms Veggie Patty (5sp). A dinner leaving me full and satisfied for 11 sp.

The Veggie Patties were an unplanned Costco purchase, but Little Man LOVES them...and so I had to buy them. ANYWAY I can get veggies into him, I do it. Here's a pic to guide you if you're interested next time you hit Costco:

They've got almonds, kale, carrots, and a whole bunch of other stuff. My HUSBAND even likes them...if they are still there, I'm getting them again. Now, these aren't to replace beef or turkey burgers. These are certainly their own entity. If you are wanting to eat a veggie burger, then these are delicious. If you are wanting a REAL burger, SATISFY THAT DESIRE and eat a real burger. Don't try to trick your tastebuds with one of these babies because you won't be satisfied if you are seeking that beefy, juicy flavor.

Dressings? Marzetti Simply Dressed dressings are pretty much my go-to right now. They are in the refrigerated section and really low in smartpoints. Here's a pic to guide you next time you're shopping:

I've got Light Balsamic in the middle, Veggie Ranch on the right, and Red Wine Italian on the left. SO YUMMY! Sometimes I get snippy and have to keep my husband away from them!

So all in all...
Yes, that's a day that I ate 32 smartpoints...I had calculated it throughout the day to total 30 smartpoints. When I was entering my stirfry recipe, I forgot that I had added an egg...which, after all was said and eaten, I HAD to add that 1 egg to be accountable to myself...and it put me 2 smartpoints over.
Yes, I was bummed...but it was an honest mistake. I'm glad it was 2 smartpoints with an egg and not 6 smartpoints with a meager ice cream cone.

Flexibility.
Do your best, trust the plan, and you're body will catch up.
Remember, your body is an AMAZING thing...It does what you tell it to. If it's not, then maybe you're mind needs to catch up and have a good talk with itself.

Just being honest...there has been many a time where I've had to be honest with myself...and my tracker.

Keep Eating Well!
Camille

Turn Your Workouts Around in 5 Simple Ways

This beautiful and powerful saying hangs right next to my pantry in my kitchen. 

I see it 

EVERY. MORNING.

You know, we are all on different parts in our journeys, but we are all in this together: to get the most out of life and to get our power back. Even when you are flying high and feel like NOTHING can stop you, sometimes the wind gets a little strong and pushes you back. That was my morning.

I wanted to work out, but my body was just NOT working with me! It felt like I was on a boat ALL DAY, wobbling and dizzy...experiencing almost a weird sense of vertigo. I still, to this point in time, have no idea what was going on.

So instead of beating myself up about not powering through my workouts, I gave myself permission to relax. As I reflected on a post written on Connect, a gentleman talked about how he was able to talk himself out of a Lousiana King Cake binge. He HAD given himself permission to eat it because he had worked so hard to stay on track during his birthday and a family get together. As he was standing over that cake, fork in hand, and inhaling the delicious, sweet smell of the pastry...

He was able to talk himself out of the unforgiving binge.

I thought to myself, as I was getting ready to put Little Man down for his nap, if he can talk himself out of a binge, I can talk myself into a workout...

How To Turn Your Workouts Around

I HIGHLY recommend a fitness tracker of some sort, those babies motivate you beyond belief!

1. Get dressed and get yourself in some stylin' workout clothes!

Have workout clothes that get you EXCITED to workout! Whether they make you feel strong, sexy, or both...it really makes a difference to your workout mood when you wear clothes that make you feel good. I felt like just getting on the treadmill with my t-shirt and basketball shorts, but, I wanted to give myself every advantage of getting BACK into the workout mindset. So, I changed into my cute workout shirt and tight running pants and awesome running shoes. Slipped on a workout headband and got to work. The clothing DOES make all the difference!

2. Start small! Once you get started, you'll get your rhythm back

On my fitness tracker, a FitBit Charge HR, there is a feature for how many flights of stairs you climb in a day. The default goal is 10 flights of stairs in a day. When I don't feel motivated, I just start there. If I just walk up and downstairs with a purpose, say, getting things out of the freezer or taking my sister's dishes down to her kitchen that I put in the washer...if I just get started with those stairs, then I get motivated to do more.

3. Remember, doing SOMETHING gets you closer to your goals than doing NOTHING

For SO LONG, I had the exercise mentality of ALL or NOTHING. If I couldn't do my 45 minutes of cardio and 15 minutes of muscle training, then what was the point? It's taken a LONG time for me to realize just this: SOMETHING is better than NOTHING. So? I got on my treadmill and just walked. I walked! Sure I didn't run and get a GOOD cardio in, but I DID get my 10k steps for the day. That little something on the treadmill STILL got me to my goal of getting 10k steps in a day, and I wouldn't have gotten there had I done nothing.

4. Take your Netflix/Hulu addiction to a whole new level

Yeah, you got a favorite show that you usually watch on the couch?? Make a decision to watch that baby while you workout. My sister-in-law got me started on that kick. She would ONLY watch a certain show when she was on her treadmill. She loved that show, and loved to keep current on it, so when she made that promise to herself of ONLY watching that show when she was on the treadmill...guess what? She got her 30 minute workout in for the day. I love watching *The Biggest Loser, Once Upon A Time, Master Chef Junior, *Extreme Weight Loss, and The Blacklist. I have a variety that I work with because these shows alternate with showtimes, and so I always have something to watch on the treadmill. 

*Seriously don't watch these shows while you are circuit training on the treadmill...your vision might get a little blurred and your deep breathing might get a little more difficult to achieve. Just saying.

5. Not a TV person? Get a good music station or rock an awesome playlist! 

Surprisingly enough, my 17 year old's sister playlist on Pandora has some rockin' tunes! It's just the Teen Pop Radio Station! Whenever a high, upbeat song comes on, I just wanna ROCK the treadmill! Some of those songs include:

Fight Song by Rachel Platten

Locked Away by Rock City Featuring Adam Levine (do NOT watch the music video while sprint circuit training)

Stitches by Shawn Mendes

*Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon

Everybody Talks by Neon Trees

She's Kinda Hot by 5 Seconds of Summer

Amnesia by 5 Seconds of Summer

She Looks So Perfect by 5 Seconds of Summer

Dark Horse by Katy Perry (awesome leg workout video on youtube to this song!)

Sorry (Latino Remix) by Justin Bieber featuring J. Balvin

And those are just to name a few...give me something up beat, and it boosts me to a new level!

Friends, you CAN turn your workouts around and they CAN become powerful. Be kind to yourself if you have a day where you can't go full out, but make it the best you can! Life goes on whether you choose to show up or not, so show up and make a difference for yourself.

Rock on,

Camille

What's Cooking?

Gotcha! Ha! Absolutely nothing.

Yep, that's right...I did not cook at ALL today. Okay, that's a lie now that I think about it. I did make a scrambled egg for Little Man and heated some chicken nuggets in the microwave. BUT, other than that, I did NOT do any cooking.

I was just too tired today, man, seriously.

I ate exactly 30 points, and am totally satisfied, and honestly ready for bed. My husband and I are trying to find things to keep Little Man entertained until it's his bedtime...or else we'd be hitting the sack as of 45 minutes ago.

Breakfast was my delicious Berry, Cottage Cheese, Greek Yogurt, and GO LEAN! CRISP! Cereal. So yummy and always a satisfying meal. If you want the recipe, you'll find it on previous posts :)

My second meal was a new meal, a Peanut Butter Shake with a banana. The recipe called for the banana to be blended in with the shake, but I didn't want to add 5 smartpoints to the shake, so I ate it instead.

Peanut Butter Shake (7sp)

1 c Unsweetened Almond Milk (1sp)

1 T Psyllium Husk (for fiber...1sp)

2 T PB2 Powder (the regular kind, not the chocolate...1sp)

2 scoops GNC Total Lean Shake 25 in French Vanilla (4sp)

8 ice cubes

Blend those ingredients all together and enjoy with a banana. 

I've always had the Chocolate PB2, but today I finally opened my jar of plain PB2. It has a toasty smell, I really like the smell of it, but as far as taste, I DO prefer the chocolate PB2, but I MAY get used to the plain. Time will tell. All in all, the meal was satisfying :)

Time seemed to fly today...I must have done a LOT because it felt like time went so fast in between meals! Before I knew it, it was time for meal #3. And all it was was a simple apple with some dip. BUT, the DIP is AMAZING. I can't believe how delicious this dip is...and it's made with greek yogurt. Totally tastes like cream cheese and some type of desserty fruit dip, without the high smartpoints.

Desserty Fruit Dip (3sp and it totally makes a TON!)

2 T PB2 Peanut Butter with Premium Chocolate (1sp)

1/4 c Fage Total 0% Nonfat Greek Strained Yogurt (1sp)

1/2 scoop GNC Total Lean Shake 25 French Vanilla (1sp)

Dash of Cinnamon

Enjoy with a sliced apple, or anything! Or...just by itself...with a spoon

I personally enjoyed it with a sliced apple and a FLAVOR FAVE: Bamboo Lane Crunchy Rice Roller (2sp) for a total of 5 sp spent on my 3rd meal.

4th meal time, I had planed to do Peanut Butter and Jelly Rice Cakes with another shake...but I didn't feel like it. So I literally whipped up some Shrimp Tacos, just using my microwave.

Easy Shrimp Tacos (6sp)

3 oz Cilantro Lime Shrimp (1sp)

1 Frigo Cheesehead Light String Cheese Stick (1sp)

2 T Kirkland Signature Organic Salsa in Medium (0sp)

2 Food for Life Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Tortillas (4sp)

I first heated the tortillas in the microwave by placing a moist paper towel in between the two, and then stretch the paper towel over the top. Basically you want the tortillas separated but also covered with a damp paper towel to make a steaming effect. I put those two babies in the microwave for about 20 seconds. While they were cooking I cut the string cheese in half, opened my pre-portioned bag of shrimp, and opened a new bottle of salsa. Ding! Got the tortillas out, laid 1 half of the string cheese on each tortilla, split the 3oz of shrimp between the two tortillas and put 1 T of Salsa on each. Closed the tortillas and covered them with the moist paper towel again, microwaved for another 15 seconds, and done. Served it with a side of raw carrots and I seriously enjoyed it. I'll definitely make this again in a pinch

Little boys are so much fun. You can be as goofy as you want to, and they think you are the world. I had 3 carrots left on my plate, and for about 15 minutes my son and I took turns pretending to be Olaf with this carrot:

Perfect right?? When that got old...I had 2 carrots left that I would use as walrus teeth, or a mosquito's nose, or anything that would make Little Man laugh until he was purple in the face. It was awesome, and hilarious, and great. Living for the little things, right?

Moving right on to dinner... My family enjoyed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with applesauce. Instead of peanut butter I remade the dip mixture and put it on a slice of bread, jelly on the other slice, and that was dinner. Don't think it was their favorite meal, but, I had to try it! I waited a little bit on my dinner, but I did end up having peanut butter and jelly too, with a banana.

I made the berry puree which was a whopping total of 0sp!

Berry Puree (0sp and seriously makes a TON)

1 c raspberries

1 T 0 calorie sweetener

2 T unsweetened applesauce

I used frozen berries, the sweetener, and a little bit of water because it wouldn't mix so well being frozen. Yes, it totally came out to 0 smartpoints! I used the recipe calculator and everything. The only time it requires you to select "Blended" is if it is for a juice or a smoothie. Score.

I didn't even EAT the whole thing! I had to put it in my fridge to save for tomorrow. I put as much as I wanted on 2 Plain Rice Cakes (2sp), used 3 T of Plain PB2 (2sp), and then poured some of this berry puree on top. I also put some on top of a banana to try and use all of it...but I just couldn't.

It looks like spaghetti sauce, but it's actually a beautiful pink color. I enjoyed this 4 smartpoint plate with a Premier Protein Chocolate Shake (2sp) for a 6 smartpoint meal. 

All I have now is 32 more ounces of water to finish and I'll call it a night.

I did pre-make tomorrow's breakfast...Cinnamon Apple Muesli and I'm excited to try that out!

We'll see what it looks like tomorrow, and details of the recipe to come! 

Oh, and here is what I encountered at the store today...and yes, I did do a double take before I decided to take a picture...

Cinnamon rolls. So yummy. So delicious. And so high in points...a picture really does last longer for this one.

Live life to the fullest,

Camille

Dreams Do Come True

BUT not just by wishing on a star...

I've had the opportunity to self-reflect today, and really think about some goals that I now want to start working toward. I've hit my number on the scale that I've always dreamed about...and that didn't come through a fairy godmother. It came through lots of work, discipline, and positive self-talk. Now that I'm here, sometimes we ask ourselves the question, "well? what do I do now?"

We keep going.

I'm at a place of maintenance. At WW, maintenance means keeping within +2 pounds of you "goal weight" for 6 weeks and you keep Lifetime Status by staying in that range. If you go over 2 pounds of your goal, you start paying again. I hear many Lifetime Members say that once they hit goal, they did it! They could "go back" to life, or just "do it on their own". I've found that WW will always be apart of my life. As Chris and Heidi Powell defined it, I'm in "maintenance: an active process of ensuring that the necessities for a new or current state continue".

Click.

I get it now.

I've made the weight, and I'm making the changes. I need to continue forward and realize that change is ALWAYS happening. And if I'm making POSITIVE changes, I will always, forever more, get positive results. In January when I set my scale goal, I also set a body fat % goal. I'm currently in a very healthy BMI range, but I'm wanting strength and muscle definition. I set that goal to reach 25% body fat by July 2, 2016 and that goal seemed so far off and there wasn't a deep reason to keep me grounded to that goal. Well, I redefined it and I'm now really working for something.

In July, I want to become a Certified Personal Trainer. My goal is to get my body and mind in shape to have the ability to officially say, "I'm a Personal Trainer". I'm not only working towards that, but I realized the other day, as I was lifting my sleeping 30 lb son, that I need to be strong enough to lift him for probably the rest of his life. He's not going to be shrimpy; he's built like his dad: broad shouldered and dense. So, not only do I want to get certified, but I need to be strong to lift my son. And then there's the fact I don't want bat wings and I want to look as strong as I feel. But my first two reasons really give me a drive, more so than my personal vanity.

Does this make sense? When you have a goal, ground it on something that will get it to stick.

Any goal you set is never ridiculous. I read a woman's Connect entry saying how she was able to walk a mile today and stick within her points and that the mile walking wasn't such a big deal to everyone else, but she was 40 something and 300+ pounds. I wrote on her board to NOT disregard her effort or downplay her journey.

I would encourage you to do the same.

After I had fetal surgery with my son at 25 weeks pregnant, I was put on strict bedrest/modified bedrest for the duration of my pregnancy.

I remember the first time 2 nurses came in and told me it was time to walk. Sara was the nurse in charge of me. I hated her for about 15 minutes, but then loved her for the duration of my stay. Sara pushed me. She wasn't super personal, but I am so grateful to her for pushing me harder than I knew I was capable. I remember it being SUCH an effort just to roll over to one side in my hospital bed. Pillows and to be shoved and moved throughout the whole process, just to get me from my back to my right or left side. My husband had to help, my mom had to help, and the nurse had to help. I couldn't do it myself...the pain was too great. Enter Sara. Sara was the lucky nurse who got to teach me how to get up from my hospital bed and walk. Imagine, women, if you will, a bowling ball that continuously grows and pushes against a HEALING incision. Then imagine having to go against gravity, with that bowling ball, and stand. Oh my gosh, it was the MOST pain I have EVER experienced. Sara and another nurse had me on either side and Sara kept encouraging me to stand up. I cried, I begged, I pleaded to have her let me sit back down.

She wouldn't.

She kept telling me to just keep going and that I could do it. I was capable. I was almost there.

And then I was. I was standing and she even encouraged me to take my first couple steps to the bathroom. And then she helped me sit down so I could use the bathroom, since my catheter had been removed that day. After finishing business, as she waited outside the door, I took a deep breath and was able to get up from the toilet seat...on my own. I still needed help to get up from my hospital bed a few days there after, but little by little, it got easier.

For all intended purposes, I was handicapped. I had a temporary handicap parking permit and if we were going to the store, I had to use a wheelchair or one of those motor scooters. I was judged, and they didn't even know my story. But I knew my own journey and I refused to bend to the stares people would give me.

The glaring eyes don't know you. They can judge, but are you going to give in? Remind yourself that only YOU know your journey and you are making your journey better each and everyday.

Find your Sara. Find someone that will encourage you and can see where you want to go and will help you get there and firmly believe in you when you beg and plead them to let you rest and stop. Make sure they won't...because you'll be so grateful, when all is said and done, that they didn't give up on you. That they loved you enough to push you through.

Follow your dreams and never lose sight of them,
Camille

STOP THE MADNESS!!

First, before I pick up the mic, can I just mention a mental victory I accomplished today?

It's LAUNDRY DAY. That means get EVERYONE'S clothes picked up, separated, washed, folded and put away again. I normally enjoy this routine accompanied with Biggest Loser and not changing out of my pajamas. I usually get most of my folding done when Little Man goes down for a nap so he doesn't give his little heart into "helping me". When I put Little Man down for a nap, there WAS a basket of laundry that needed to be folded. But do you know what I told myself?

The laundry can wait.

Where are your priorities?

Laundry will get folded, and you may even get some help doing it when everyone gets home.

Keep your promise to workout while the babe is sleeping and go get dressed.

So I did. And my workout was awesome. I gave it my all during my 9MM, and had to take it a little easier during my treadmill circuit because I was feeling a little lightheaded. But, I did it, and I knocked my 10k steps out of the park before my circuit training was over.

Make a promise to yourself. Define it and keep it.



Now, stepping onto soap box and picking up the mic...

This week for me has been called a Slingshot Week- a week to kickstart my metabolism by eating high carb meals every meal, every day. It was a little scary at first to get started because I do love the low carb days in really helping me shed the water weight. But you know what? This is about LIFESTYLE for me, not the scale. If my lifestyle changes, then the scale will show healthy lifestyle that I want. I am prepping for a gain on the scale, mainly due to water retention, but I have to  be grateful for that because that means my body is doing EXACTLY what I am telling it to do.

The extra weight we carry is a beautiful thing-when it comes to our functioning bodies of course. All the extra weight we carry, in what we call "fat" is just extra energy that our bodies have stored because it doesn't know what to do with it. When you overeat with high calorie, high fat, and high sugar meals, you are essentially giving your body too many calories...and not good ones at that. So what does your body do? It takes the input and stores it...because it doesn't know what else to do with it. Now, with my carb cycling, doing high carb meals 5x a day every day this week is telling my body to rev it up. Carbs give your body energy, and so when I am feeding my body carbs, it starts burning carbs to fuel my body. With the consistency of the 5 meals, it keeps revving and my body's engine burns hotter. As my engine is burning hot and revving because of the food I eat, when I go into a carb cycle called the Turbo Cycle this coming week, and drop into 2 consecutive days of low carb eating, what will my body need to burn for energy? Fat. My metabolism doesn't stop revving because my eating is consistent and my meals are HUGE. So, though I may see a weight gain this week, my body will get RIGHT back into gear with getting my body fat percentage down and my lean muscle percentage up when I jump into my new trial carb cycling regimen.

So let me emphasize that again...My metabolism is ON FIRE and I'm losing weight like crazy (have lost weight...14.4lbs in 3 months) is BECAUSE OF THE FOOD I EAT.

Working for Weight Watchers, as a Leader, it's my JOB to help people adjust their eating, adjust their lifestyle and guide them to changes that will bring them results. All too often I see people with this mentality: If I just eat less, like, don't use all my daily smartpoints, don't even touch my weekly points, and pretend my FitPoints don't even exist, all the while increasing my exercise...I will just lose weight.

PEOPLE!! I did NOT get where I am today from eating carrot sticks, celery, and water! I got where I am today because I. ATE. FOOD. And I ENJOYED it!

If you are making a machine burn more fuel than you are giving it, what is going to happen? It's going to burn out and pretty ruin itself. You can't make a car go without any gas! My WW friends...eat your dang points. I eat all my weeklies (obviously) and I used to make sure I ate at least 1/2. If you are stuck in a plateau, face your fear and EAT THE FOOD, TINA! EAT THE FOOD!

Next item of business, STOP WEIGHING IN EVERY DAY!! Yeah, I know who you are. Mostly because you admit to it when you see me on Thursdays or Saturdays, but for those of you who HAVEN'T told me...Stop.

When I was in high school, I teetered on the verge of an eating disorder. I was weighing myself everyday and getting so confused and frustrated at the scale. I never actually succumbed, thankfully, but I decided to just forget the d*** thing and move on, still depressed and still frustrated, but wanting to change. My eating still wasn't great, but I upped my running and I decided one day to just step on the scale for what the heck. And I had lost. People, when we are looking at the scale everyday, this is how it usually plays out:
You have a really great day in your week, tracking, exercising and everything. Step on the scale next morning: loss. You repeat the day and you step on the scale again: gain What?! I worked so hard! I guess I better a) exercise more b) eat less c) go to the bathroom and try weighing again. 

So on, and so forth. One person in my life tells me she weighs on the scale every day because it helps her stay on track. Guys, REAL sustainable weight loss patterns DON'T even SHOW themselves until AFTER 2 weeks!! The weekly weigh-in is for accountability!! Our bodies fluctuate throughout the week. On my carb cycling, between high and low carb days my weight can fluctuate anywhere from 2-5 pounds in 1 DAYS TIME. If I had seen that my first week, I would have been so distraught and thrown out a lifestyle that has changed and redefined my life. I never step on the scale before weigh in day...I look at it and THINK about stepping on it because it's a pretty sweet looking tool that I bought myself for graduation. But that little FitBit Aria Scale is a friend I have rejoiced with ONLY at 5:30am on Saturday mornings. Work towards that...the mental game the scale plays with us as we weigh in everyday is SO NOT GOOD FOR US...Don't do it. TRUST the program, TRUST, TRUST< TRUST! My WW friends- Beyond the Scale is SO amazing...trust it and it will work for you!

Last but not least...sleep. People, LISTEN TO YOUR BODIES. If you have set a routine to get up at 5am and workout and eat breakfast and be showered before 7am (like I had set for myself 3 weeks ago) and you are starting to poop out and not feel so great (like I did)?? Then STOP! Gosh! Coulda had a V-8! I've learned that if your body is TIRED and your brain is like "let's go, let's go" let your body take the steering wheel and sleep a little longer. I've switched my routine to just get up around 5:50am to eat breakfast at 6am (sometimes I fudge and don't eat until 6:30am) and then I get started making lunch for my husband and getting in some "me time" whether that's reading or blogging or Connect-ing or anything of the sort. My workout comes when Little Man goes down for his first nap. With that change, not only is my body loving me a bit more, I'm NOT hating my workouts. I actually have MORE energy to perform and I feel SO much better. If 5am works for you, then more power to you. Rock the morning. But if you are finding that you are just HATING life when that alarm goes off...switch it up a bit and find something that REALLY works for you.

Friends...

1. EAT GOOD FOOD. Don't starve yourself, don't cut your points, embrace your weeklies, and if you are power-housing it through workouts...dig into the points that you earn above a baseline of 3 FitPoints. (Every day routines equal about 3 FitPoints, so say you earn 8 FitPoints in a day...use 5 FitPoints to eat...if you need to).
2. GET YOUR BODY MOVING, all within reason. Listen to your body, love it, and it will love you back with more energy and endurance.
3. GIVE YOURSELF AN OPPORTUNITY IN A DAY'S TIME TO MENTALLY RESET! Whether that's your workout or painting your nails or working on that old model car in your garage...Whatever makes me feel accomplished in a day's time, counts!

*phew* Keep swimming my friends, and keep it real...

Mic Drop.
Camille

When was the last time you felt FIERCE?

Seriously...when was the last time you felt confident and strong and like nothing could stop you from conquering the world?

Or are you like me and HAVEN'T EVER had that feeling? Well my friends, I'm here to tell you...it will come.

I felt SO FIERCE today during my workout. I've decided that I'm just not going to be able to get my hardcore workouts done at 5:00am consistently like I did 2 weeks ago. My son's nap time, I've decided, is no longer my nap time, but rather MY TIME. With my little man working so hard throughout the day, his naps usually last anywhere from an hour to almost 2 or 3. So if I don't wander around and waste time, I can get a good workout in.

Today I managed an AWESOME workout...and that little poster I made yesterday? Seriously helped keep me motivated and BREAK THROUGH some fatigue walls that always creep up in a workout. I ran my stairs to get the flights I like to have in a day, and then I decided I was going to beast my 9 Minute Mission. My friends, I did beast it, and I felt so strong! Our bodies are amazing things. If we BELIEVE our body can do something, our mind will be our body's biggest motivator. A move I couldn't do a week ago...I was able to do 8 reps! I was totally afraid to try today because the move is quite intimidating. But, I faced my fear...and I conquered it...8 times! I felt SO amazing after that workout and so PROUD of my body, it motivated me to keep going and pushing myself.

Thus enter my push in my treadmill workout today...

This is my favorite treadmill workout for the time being. I decided, because of the high I got from beasting my muscle training, to add 1 mph speed to each circuit. I made it all the way to 23 minutes, which was pushing 8mph for a minute...but then I had to drop into 3.5 mph because I was starting to panic breathe. Yeah, kinda scary...but I survived! Panic breathing is just the body's mechanism to protect itself from limits it hasn't experienced. It's up to our minds to push past that. So even though I had to go down to 3.5mph for a minute, I brought my speed back up to complete the workout. I want to try to get all the way through it with the 1 mph added to each circuit. No, I WILL accomplish that...and I will feel SO FIERCE! Honestly, posting this workout and accomplishment was motivated by all you readers! I wanted to scream out my accomplishment and totally cheer you all on in the dreams YOU want to accomplish.

*sigh* Isn't it amazing how our lives can switch from one attitude to the other? Hence...consistency verses perfection. I'm not perfect, but I HAVE been consistent. Enter in my meals for today...

We have steamed green beans seasoned with 21 Seasoning from Trader Joe's, a sliced apple, and an egg sandwich. 1 Bubba's Light English Muffin (2sp), 1 The Laughing Cow Light Swiss Wedge (1sp), and 1.5 oz of Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Oven Roasted Turkey (0sp-score!) and 1 egg (2sp). This whole breakfast turned out to be a delicious 5 smartpoints.

Little Man and I had an appointment down in Provo today at 9am and then we had to hit my WW meeting at 10am and 10am marked the next meal time. I packed a pre-portioned bag of FLAVOR FAVE: Wild Roots Coastal Berry Blend Trail Mix (6sp per serving) and a banana. 

To some, this trail mix may not be worth 6sp, but to me it is! It's such a treat and so satisfying, that I did NOT mind spending 6 sp on a serving.

After going to my WW mtg, feeling great about my accomplished morning...all before 10am...Little Man needed his morning nap, I did the dishes, did some Connect surfing and then I got my workout done. Best of all, when I finished my workout, it was immediately time to eat. Score. Enter my cottage cheese and berry treat...

Gosh, after a workout...this was SERIOUSLY so delicious and satisfying. 3/4 c Daisy 2% Lowfat Cottage Cheese (4sp), 1/4 c Fage 0% Total Greek Yogurt (1sp), 1/2 c blueberries, 1 kiwi, 1/2 c frozen raspberries, and 1/4 c Kashi Go Lean Crisp! Cereal, Toasted Berry Crumble (2sp). I also sprinkled some 0 calorie sweetener on the yogurt and cottage cheese...perfect. I enjoyed that meal for 7 smartpoints. 

A mentality that I've changed is the idea of Breakfast-snack-Lunch-snack-Dinner-snack. I LOVE the lifestyle of 5 MEALS because it gives you so much more freedom! I'm not tied to a sandwich for lunch...I could have cereal if I want. And cereal, with cottage cheese, and yogurt, and berries I did have. 

After my 3rd meal I did some more cleaning, laundry folding, playing with my boy, and BOOM, it was already time to eat again! I satisfied myself with a Cinnamon Roll Quest Bar (3sp) and 1 Dannon Light and Fit Greek Key Lime Yogurt (2sp). A 5 smartpoint meal to balance out my 7 smartpoint enjoyment earlier in the day. 

Another lesson I learned: it's so important to track and account for what you eat, even if you THINK it shouldn't have any smartpoints attributed to it. There are these Brookside Dark Chocolate Acai and Blueberry Snacks (9sp for a serving) that I was deciding whether or not throw away. I was questioning, hard core, if they were worth it or not. I decided to taste 1, thinking there is no way 1 could hold any smartpoints, it won't hurt. I tasted it, enjoyed it, decided not to track it, and also decided that those little niblets are worth it...just on Reset Day. As I continued folding laundry, I decided it would be better for me to just input the little niblet for my own record, and what would you have it? 1 little niblet was worth 1 smartpoint!! Okay, 1 of those little niblets is NOT worth 1 smartpoint...but a whole serving is. I mean, I guess I could have had another...get more food for my smartpoint, but we are learning to NOT mindlessly eat. I didn't need another one, nor want, another one...so I decided to turn away that thought and move on. Track it, ACCEPT IT, and move on.

Dinner had to be quick tonight because Cookie had a meeting an hour following her arrival home, so it was chicken nachos for dinner. While my family had a serving of my Smooth and Spicy chicken atop some Tostitos Bites! (4sp for 24 chips!) with green beans, I had my chicken serving atop 2 rice cakes. I didn't want to spend 4 smartpoints on chips, so I found 2 rice cakes were only 2 smartpoints and had a little more chicken. It turned out great! My chicken mixture was just 2 T of salsa (0sp), 1/2 a Laughing Cow Light Swiss cheese wedge (1sp), and 3.75 oz of rotisserie chicken (2sp) atop 2 plain rice cakes (2sp). Gave me the crunch of chips, but only 1/2 the smartpoints. My meal ended up being 5 smartpoints instead of 7 smartpoints if I had done the chips...which would have put me in the negatives for the day.

So what to do with my 1 smartpoint? I thought about doing 1/2 T of Almond Butter with a honey crisp apple, but that 1/2 T wouldn't get me very far with the apple. So, I decided to do 2 T of Chocolate PB2 for 1 smartpoint and enjoy it with my apple for finishing off the night.

My friends, food is fuel, exercise is energy, and life goes up and down. Good thing is, life keeps going...and we've gotta push ourselves to keep up and ENJOY IT!!

Eat, Move, Live, and ENJOY,

Camille

p.s. Sometimes, old habits die hard...Cookie is making some GREAT life changes, but I discovered that she LOVES Peeps Marshmallows (I'd rather starve then eat those things...and starving is a BIG DEAL to me!!) When I was out shopping I discovered Peeps atop chocolate cupcakes...

According to my sister...all things wonderful in one box and in one bite...well, actually 6 in this case :) Find what you love, find what's worth it to you...and I would suggest thinking it through. Honestly, would this cupcake taste as good as you THINK it would? I think for Easter my sister and I will homemake some cupcakes and put some peeps atop for her...they'll probably taste much better, be a little cheaper, and maybe a little healthier if I can wing it with the cake mix :)

The Struggle is Real: Take 2

Can I just sum up today with a picture?

Yes, I DO own this shirt...and Yes, I love it with all my heart. It was a Christmas gift from my mom and it makes me smile EVERY time.

It was just THAT kind of day for me. I rocked back and forth on my commitments to myself. I made a promise to myself at the beginning of the year that I would NOT eat my son's food. How many times have we done that, Moms? There are leftovers that they haven't touched, or they HAVE touched and it's still good and you don't want to waste it? Yeah, my son's little PB&J was tempting me...and it didn't even look good...

The little nugget of a sandwich is something that my son LOVES, and I make it delicious. But with my change in lifestyle I'm trying to achieve and share...doesn't this just scream "frump"? I mean, look at my atmosphere I was looking at when my son "finished" his sandwich... 

Ugh! Wake up call, Camille! I threw that sandwich away and reflected on the beautiful lunch I had already eaten...

So, this beautiful clean plate...versus...yes, scroll up a little bit...THAT little nugget of a pb&j sandwich. Isn't it amazing how presentation of our food affects us?? I decided after taking the time to make myself a Sweet & Spicy Tuna Triple Slider with raw carrots and a kiwi, I needed to get OUT of the fog! For the sliders, I used 1 Flatout Foldit Flatbread, Classic White sliders (4sp), 1/2 T Great Value Light Mayo (1sp) and 1 Single Serve Starkis Tuna Creations. Chunk LIght Sweet & Spicy Tuna (2sp), a good squirt of Heinz Mustard (0sp) and a few slices of homemade pickled cucumbers (0sp). This time around, instead of spreading the mayo on the bread first, I mixed it with the tuna and mustard in a bowl to get the tuna to stick together. I placed the cucumber pieces on the bread and THEN spread the tuna mix. I REALLY enjoyed it this way and will definitely be making this sandwich for only 7 smartpoints.

After this meal, I decided to turn my day around. I decided to make a vision poster for myself, because I felt myself sliding down the slippery slope of No Motivation for Movement. I didn't want to let go of all the effort I've given to exercise, and I refuse to be called a hypocrite.

So, I did it.

I found a fitness model's body and cut out her face and put my own in it's place with motivational quotes around it to keep me going when I feel like I just can't! My sister thinks it's hilarious, and stupid...and it kindof is! BUT...let me tell you, I posted that baby in my home gym and tonight, when the struggle was real to get just ONE. MORE. REP...that poster helped me push. You know why? Because I had a visual of something I wanted, but never actually seen before. 

And I am building my momentum up to get back with it and accomplish my goal I've set for myself in July. Honestly, I started to lose motivation because my efforts didn't seem to be doing anything. I know, I know...hush! But my new mantra is to focus on CHANGE, not focus on RESULTS. Thank you Jack Dixon.

So I made dinner. And yes, it was a cereal night. :) Each person got to choose their own cereal for the night, it was my son's first time having cereal with milk...he is a FAN! Good ol' Kix Berry Cereal for the little guy, and he LOVED it. Now, of course we have to have some protein so I grilled up some steaks that had been thawing since yesterday, rubbed them in some olive oil and seasoned them with Trader Joe's BBQ Rub and let them sit for 30 min in the fridge. It turned out that each of us adults got 2 ounces of the steak (2sp), with a few pieces for my son, and I cooked an egg to set on top. So our protein totaled 4 smartpoints, and I decided on 3/4 c All Bran Cereal (or guinea pig poop according to my sister) for 4 smartpoints with 1/2 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk (0sp) and STILL had 4 smartpoints left for the day!

After dinner, I got the kitchen cleaned and Little Man bathed and put to bed by 8:00pm. I didn't even hesitate...my future body picture is now my wallpaper on my phone. I took one look at that thing, and got my workout clothes on and didn't look back. I did a 45 minute treadmill circuit (1 whole minute running at 8mph!!) which I felt so powerful doing...My thoughts: wow, either I'm getting stronger and getting better endurance...or my treadmill is starting to die I'm seriously going with myself getting stronger. What used to be a run for me...is now a jog...so I've got to up the treadmill and am working on getting up to a sustainable 8.5 to do another treadmill circuit I'm working up to.

See? The journey NEVER stops. I kind of lost sight of what I was working toward because of momentary distractions. Reground yourself, put your dreams OUT THERE and Go to WORK!

My friends, I DID do my treadmill circuit and I DID complete my 9 minute mission of muscle training. I don't want to say, "I gave up the last week because I had already missed 2 days and it is too late for me to recover." 

Wah, wah, wah...Thank you, Sadness...now go stand in your circle.

No, I want to say I got 18/20 workouts completed this month...and in March, I WILL get 20/20 workouts completed.

Boom. Reignited my motivation for today. I kept my promise.

My 4 smartpoints to eat at the end of my workout? I decided on an Opal Apple with 1 T of Trader Joe's Salted Almond Butter (3sp) and the extra point I would decide what to do with after my treat. I wasn't going to eat it just because it's there if I wasn't hungry...

Turns out I accidentally logged egg whites instead of an egg at dinner and that 1 smartpoint was a false extra point! So, daily smartpoints met, a belly satisfied, a mind cleared up, and a body ready for bedtime. 

Hang in there friends, and rock the morning on the 'morrow!

Do something you've never done before,

Camille

The Struggle is REAL

Oh my heck my friends...the struggle never stops! Most days I'm pretty firm, no temptations, totally satisfied and working life like I've always wanted to.

But today...it's not that kinda day! I'm working to turn it around, but I seriously just want to munch on every single carbohydrate I have in my house! Pretzels...mainly pretzels. Not so bad smartpoint wise, but seriously?! WHY would I want to waste my points on pretzels??

Have you experienced this?? Just having a desire to just munch on a certain food, not even WANTING to spend the points, but seriously that huge fly in your ear just won't buzz off?! I am determined to not use my points on those, as breakfast was a little higher than I expected. I made eggs with salsa, green beans, and shrimp this morning, and somehow when I calculated everything, my salsa came up with a points value. I SWEAR I calculated it before and there were NO points attributed to my favorite salsa, but it may just be an off day for me. With that being said, I received great advice from a leader that if a certain measurement or ingredient is working for you and you haven't been giving it points, then don't worry about it. (NOW! That's not to say "oh full fat ranch dressing, or any dressing, or chocolate, or peanut butter has been doing wonders for me...I won't count it". Come on people, I'm talking like salsa, or dashes of healthy oils) I'm kinda sitting at that spot with my salsa. I've still lost not counting my salsa...it's up to your discretion. It's like I told my members on Satruday, if you are stuck at a weight and you drink fruit smoothies, those babies are NOT 0 smartpoints. Rule of thumb is for every 1/2 cup of fruit, count it as 2 smartpoints. Bananas, bam! Those babies are 5 smartpoints right outta the peel. BUT, if your body is doing what you want it to and you have been counting your solely fruit smoothies as 0 smartpoints, rock the plan and do what works for you. I decided to count my salsa today because I want to be accountable to myself despite my craziness in cravings. So breakfast ended up being totally filling, but 8 smartpoints. 1 whole egg (2sp), 3 egg whites (1sp), a handful of cut sweet peppers, a handful of cut green beans, about 2 T of salsa (which is 0 smartpoints, but I had to actually get out my measuring spoons and cups to see what my dumping actually came close to. I split the dish with my sister, so between us, I guesstimated at 2 T), and 1.5 oz of Cilantro Lime shrimp (STILL 1 smartpoint! I wasn't too happy about this because I thought if I was cutting the 3 oz in half I might be able to sneak by with a 0 smartpoint win. Nope, I took one for the team my friends. Lesson learned: seriously, if you are going to try something new, TRACK IT FIRST) And of course I had to accompany the delicious concoction with a couple dashes of my McCormick Vegetable Seasoning and an Ezekiel 4:9 New Mexico Style Tortilla (4sp).

This beautiful baby is 2 portions worth of food because I split it with my sister, but the ingredients I listed above are for 1 serving.

After breakfast it was off to get some grocery shopping done for my sister, pick up some batteries to fix our stupid smoke detector that won't stop chirping...and what would you have it? I've LOST my keys! Yesterday I had them at church...but I think I accidentally left them there when I was locking up closets, and what the heck, my husband brought his spare keys so we didn't even have to THINK about looking for mine. I didn't discover the mishap until this morning. Hopefully they are still at the church...my life is on those things! Pray for me.

My mind just isn't in it today. Inside Out? Anyone seen it? I feel like Sadness and Joy are going at it today...
Sadness: maybe I will just go into the negative and not worry about it
Joy: No! You don't want to do that! You are working so hard! You are stronger than this craving!
Sadness: but I just don't feel like exercising and I don't feel like making dinner tonight. Is it so wrong to call it a Cereal Night?
Joy: Why don't you try going for a workout and getting some endorphins going
Sadness: But I'm too tired
Joy: You KNOW when you workout you feel better! You've got so much going for you, don't let a little tiredness ruin your feelings for the day
Disgust: Ew, seriously? I don't want to change and get all sweaty
Anger: What's the problem...you haven't even had time to shower yet today! What's a little workout?
Fear: Did we really just admit that to the masses? HIDE YOUR FACE!
Fear: Are we even making any sense? Everyone reading this blog is going to think we're nuts! Just stop right now and pretend Joy is winning.
Disgust: Ew, no! Everyone wants you to be real! I'm sure we aren't the only ones out there struggling today...or everyday...or whatever

Joy's gotta say the last word, but I feel like...Sadness is a little more influential today.

Am I strong enough to go get my workout clothes on? Am I strong enough to do my 9 MM?

Oh yeah, I totally saw a quad muscle poke through today when I was squatting to pick up my son's milk cup while he was still in my arms. I want that all the time.

Joy: That's the spirit! Come on, we're a great team! Let's do this!

Ok, Joy. You win. Let's do this...Just start walking, and then I'll start running, and then I'll want to do the stairs, and then my 9 MM will be complete.

Joy: Rock today. You can do this!

Thanks, Joy. Yes, I CAN do this...and you know what? Cereal for dinner might just be an OK mix up in the lifestyle :)

Life happens, and when it does, be stronger than your influence. Have a little chat with yourself and go eat some cuties instead of pretzel sticks. Buy yourself your favorite yogurt/fruit cup mix at the grocery store so you don't eat a Subway sandwich. Fage Total 0% Raspberry was the life saver again at the grocery store...and only 4 smartpoints which put me back at balance with my 6 smartpoint guideline per meal.

Let's just say I'm looking forward to lunch.
Just keep tracking,
Camille

Breaking Bad...Habits

Happy Valentine's Day my friends!

Oh! It was a STRUGGLE for me today. My husband's practically empty container of chocolate raisins was screaming my name today, like out of NO WHERE, and all things chocolate were popping out of the woodwork saying "Eat me! Eat me!"

What the heck? I'm stronger than this...where are all you fiends coming from?

And then I realized that I was only wanting chocolate for the sake of it being Valentine's Day. In Valentine's past, I would eat any treat I felt like. Heck, I would eat any treat even when I didn't feel like it. I just love the LOOK of Valentine's Day candy. I decided that instead of treating myself with chocolates on Valentine's Day, fully remembering the beautiful day I had yesterday...it was just weird! I decided instead of treating myself to a chocolate, that I didn't even really want, I would treat myself with a pedicure and manicure after I got Little Man down for his nap. Solid.

I attended church meetings and I decided to bring a Quest bar as well as my water bottle to have with me throughout my meetings. My mind was just not with it today, and I really needed my structured 3 hour eating schedule to not succumb to these wonky cravings. Well, bringing that Quest bar totally worked for me. I ate it quietly enough to where it wasn't a distraction and quite frankly, I'm pretty sure I'm at the point where I NEED something every 3 hours. I say this because, sure enough, I had hit the 3 hour mark (trying to hold off eating the bar until the break between meetings) and I couldn't! I was starting to crash! I literally felt my body wind down and start to go into sleep mode. As soon as I popped that delicious Quest bar into my mouth, I immediately felt my energy come back and I was able to stay awake for the rest of my meetings.

I started the morning off with my Dannon Light and Fit Greek Blueberry Yogurt (2sp) topped with this DELICIOUS granola I found at Costco. I'm thinking it's seasonal, but I LOVE it and would consider it a FLAVOR FAVE. It's not smarptoint friendly, but if you need something to hold you over, it does the trick for me. FLAVOR FAVE: Nature's Path Organic LOVE CRUNCH Dark Chocolate and Red Berries Granola (5sp for 1/4 cup). Yeah nobody is perfect...but it helped me fight off the unworthy chocolates creeping their way into my vision throughout the morning. I also enjoyed a banana "anpake" with my son. 1 banana (0sp), 1 egg (2sp), and 2 T Chocolate PB2. Mix and mash together and cook like a regular pancake. I still have yet to master cooking those things, but it did turn out yummy and I only had 1 smartpoint worth of the pancake. So breakfast was a total of 8 smartpoints.

 For my second meal I had to get something packable and only 4 smartpoints to balance out my 6 smartpoint meal guideline. What would you have it? FLAVOR FAVE: Quest Bar S'mores is only 4 smartpoints, and they are just SO YUMMY to me. Thank you M&M for letting me buy the box off of your hands!

My third meal was pretty simple. It was at home after church...and yet I was still having that nagging urge to consume chocolate! What is WRONG with me?! I haven't craved chocolate in over a month! There is NO reason for me to be craving it now! I put my big girl pants on and get busy making my lunch, shoving the cravings out of the way. My lunch ended up being 1 Papa's Organic Thinwich Sandwich Thin (3sp), 4 oz of Oscar Meyer Deli Fresh Oven Roasted Turkey Breast (1 sp!!), and 1 Laughing Cow Spreadable Cheese Wedge in Creamy Light Swiss (1sp). I made the sandwich and toasted that baby, accompanying it with steamed carrots and squash, all the while splitting an apple with my hubby. A delicious lunch, and satisfying, sitting at only 5sp.

After the dishes and kitchen were cleaned, I found myself having a desire to continue munching. I didn't feel too hungry, but it was like an itch I couldn't scratch! So instead of going for chips, I went for a bag of pretzel sticks I pre-portioned (3sp) with 2 T of Chocolate PB2 (1sp). Here is when my lightbulb went off. As I was munching on the pretzel sticks, trying to search exactly what it was I was craving...I discovered it wasn't even food at all. It was companionship. My husband and I have very busy Sunday mornings, not only getting Little Man ready for the day with all his needs, but also making sure, for 2 hours out of our 3 1-hour meetings, we are making sure 13 little children under the age of 3 are having THEIR needs met as well. *sigh...insert chair flop here*. So, on Sunday's...we are BUSY. I realized today that, because it was Valentine's Day, I was craving affection and companionship. I'm not a cuddly person, never have been, but today was just different I guess! So my husband and I decided to snuggle up together and...take a nap. Yes, so romantic...but much needed. Normally he would go pop some popcorn and watch a movie of some sort while I napped alone...but today we just decided to spend some time together...and that was all I needed. Craving gone and energy restored through naptime, or rather, "me time".

I woke up earlier than my husband and decided that my little family still needed a little Valentine's Day loving, and so I quickly whipped up my The Devil Done Me In...With No Regrets: Chocolate Strawberry dessert. I separated the same recipe in my previous blog entry into 4 servings this time, so adding 1 more T of cool whip and 1 more cookie. Each little serving still sat at 3 smartpoints, and had my husband, sister AND SON, excited for more. My son proceeded to eat his whole serving and ask everyone else at the table for a "bite? bite?" all the while signing "more". My husband and sister had already finished theirs...and I was on the last leg of mine...so I proceeded to teach him how to lick the bowl. Yep, insert finger and swipe. Place said finger in mouth and repeat. He's a fast learner. We enjoyed those little beauties after our Valentine's Day dinner we all ate together.
Here is a visual of the Chocolate Strawberry dessert untouched...

 And here is a visual of Chocolate Strawberry dessert in all of it's layered glory...

Dinner ended up being a little higher than I expected because I was using a meat my parents had given us from their freezer before the big move. I THOUGHT it was round steaks...it ended up being 80/20 hamburger packed more fancy than usual. The meat was not so good, but my sister had a great idea to put some BBQ sauce on it...and it made ALL the difference. I had seasoned the meat and grilled it for the allotted time for perfection, but I'm not a fan of 80/20 beef anyways. We eat ground turkey or venison around here, so until the BBQ sauce was added, it was NOT so tasty and the meat itself was NOT worth the points I spent on it.

So I ended up eating 3.5 ounces of the 80/20 ground beef for a WHOPPING 7 smartpoints. I wasn't going to avoid the meat all together because life happens and I was hungry! I decided to take the hit to my points and live. In the top left hand corner was probably the feature of the meal that I was MOST excited about...Rainbow carrots from Trader Joe's! They are just fun carrots of many colors that brought beauty to the plate, steamed and seasoned with McCormick Vegetable seasoning (0sp). Delicious. We enjoyed 1/2 c of the FLAVOR FAVE: Seeds of Changed Brown Rice and Quinoa with Garlic (to be found at Costco) for 3 smartpoints, and each of us got a little bit of broccoli...the last of the bunch. Afterwards we enjoyed the above mentioned dessert and all were smiles and satisfaction.

But what would you have it? 3 hours later, my hunger strikes again. Totally off day, but I refuse to go hungry. I REFUSE. So I take the hit again and satisfy it with 3 oz of my pre-portioned Cilantro Lime Shrimp from Costco (1sp), 1 honeycrisp apple (0sp...and those apples themselves are SUCH a treat. They are DANG expensive, so I rarely buy them UNLESS they are on sale. This particular apple was a financial splurge) and 1 T Salted Almond Butter from Trader Joe's (3sp). I almost portioned out 2 T thinking well, I've already blown it...I might as well go hard and start anew tomorrow but then I stopped myself, scooped the almond butter BACK into the jar and cleaned off the almond butter from my 2 T measuring spoon as best I could. I will admit, I DID lick off the remnants (I paid a good penny for that almond butter, I ain't wasting NONE of it) but then switched to my 1 T measuring spoon and made sure it was ONLY a T and not a heaping T.

My friends, this is a journey. We will fail, yes fail...give up and stop trying if we seek perfection. We will do much better if we strive for consistency. So, instead of just blowing it and having a 7 smartpoint snack...I ended up eating only 4 smartpoints with the shrimp, almond butter, and apple combined. 

I found a quote today on WW Connect that really struck a chord: "If you focus on results, you will NEVER change. If you focus on change, you will get results"-Jack Dixon.

Tonight, my friends, I CHOOSE to focus on the changes I made in my lifestyle. I RECOGNIZED that my food craving wasn't for food at all, but rather companionship. Yes, I succumbed to munching on pretzels, but I took the time, while munching, to figure out EXACTLY what was going on! I also tracked everything I ate, so I was consistent and I didn't allow myself to go hungry. I decided the hit to my points was NOT as big a deal as feeling hungry and not being able to sleep well.

It's a lifestyle change, my friends. My exercise hasn't been on-point the past couple days, so I'm recommitting tomorrow. I have to focus on change; it's only THEN that I'll get the results I want.

Sleep well,

Camille

p.s. I did have to go back onto WW.com and switch my profile point pulling method. Instead of not switching my FitPoints at all, I did have to go and make the switch to have the system pull from my weeklies first and THEN pull from my FitPoints.

p.s.s. I finished today -5 smartpoints. Life happens, and I chose to live and enjoy. Not hide and deny.

Reset Day

Ah! Reset Day! It's seriously like Christmas EVERY WEEKEND!

The way I've decided to use my weekly points is to use most, if not all, of my weekly smartpoints the day they reset. It's pretty convenient that my Reset Day is also Weigh In Day and the day my 35 Weekly Smartpoints all come back to me.

My husband and I decided to celebrate Valentine's Day today, so that we could go where ever we wanted and I wouldn't have to really worry about keeping within my points. We HAD planned to go to Olive Garden, but to be honest, to keep within my smartpoints there I would have had to order something I would/could eat during the week. And that's boring. I had planned to get the garlic and herb chicken with a side of steamed broccoli and a side of grilled shrimp...just to keep within points. We had made this plan on Sunday...and by Wednesday, I was hating it. So, I pulled my husband aside and asked him if he would be OK if we switched plans for Saturday. I just simply told him that I really didn't want to go to Olive Garden anymore but rather...

I needed a bacon cheeseburger.

Yeah, yeah...whatever, you don't NEED a bacon cheeseburger. You're right. But the desire for one was DEFINITELY real. My husband agreed; he thought I'd never ask :)

The morning started off with my usual peanut butter and banana sandwich. Remember? I LOVE peanut butter...can't live without it! No picture for that one, but I'll take one for next week :) I use 1 thinwich sandwich, any brand will do. I just get the kind that's available at Costco. Papa's Organic Thinwich Sandwiches for 3 smartpoints a sandwich. Then, I spread Chocolate PB2 on both sides (2 T equals 1 smartpoint) and slice 1/2 a banana, laying the delectable circles on one half of the sandwich. Top it off, and enjoy the bite. Enjoy the other half of your banana right along with your 4 smartpoint sandwich.

My second meal of the day consisted of a FLAVOR FAVE: Quest Bar S'mores Flavor (4 smartpoints) as well as my Chocolate Strawberry version of my The Devil Done Me In...With No Regrets meal.

I split the recipe into 3 so that I could have one as well as share with my 2 co-workers in between meetings. It was HEAVENLY. M&M couldn't believe how delicious it was, and my other receptionist friend Sunshine couldn't either...Recipe?? Okay, okay, you DON'T have to beg!

The Devil Done Me In...With No Regrets: Chocolate Strawberry
Makes 3 individual servings for 3 points a serving
1 individual cup of Dannon Greek Light & Fit Strawberry Yogurt
3 Oreo Cookie THINS
3 T of Cool Whip Lite
10g of Jell-o Sugar Free Chocolate Pie Filling Pudding Mix
1.5 T of Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
Low calorie sweetener
5 washed strawberries

Friday morning I cut 5 washed strawberries into little chunks, which came to about 1/2 cup of strawberries and sprinkled a no calorie natural sweetener all over them. This gets the strawberries to get juicy after they have been in the fridge for a while. I let the strawberries set in the fridge for about 6 hours...Just had them in there while I went about my day. Once the strawberries were nice and juicy, I stirred up my 1 individual cup of Dannon Greek Light & Fit Strawberry Yogurt and then drained the strawberry juice into the mixed yogurt. After it was well mixed, I added 10g of Jell-o Sugar Free Chocolate Pie Filling Pudding Mix to the yogurt along with 1.5 T of Blue Diamond Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk. Mix those ingredients together until smooth.
In each of the 3 little personalized cups (I just used the Glad snack size tupperwares) place a thin layer of strawberries on the bottom, then a layer of yogurt, 1 OREO cookie THIN, a layer of yogurt, another layer of strawberries, and then top each little cup with 1 T of Cool Whip Lite.
I let those babies sit in the fridge until the next morning; you want them to be able to sit for a few hours so that the cookies will soften. Once the cookies are softened, then you are ready to seriously enjoy!!

M&M text me a little earlier this evening saying that she is so excited to make this little dish and that her mouth waters just thinking about it. Sunshine told me that before leaving work today, that little treat made her morning.

See? And it TOTALLY tastes like a huge point spender...but each portion is only 3 smartpoints!! Yes, that's right ONLY 3!! And it is so rich a filling that you'll be satisfied with just 1 serving. I won't tell if you eat it all though...you've got weeklies...USE THEM! ;)

Work finished up and I was SO EXCITED to go and enjoy a delicious bacon cheeseburger with my husband for lunch. I stopped by the house to get him and get Little Man situated with lunch while Cookie watched him so we could have a mini day-date. Remember my sugar cookie I saved earlier in the week to have today? It wasn't super appetizing anymore. I decided to cut it in 4 and share with my family. I ate my smaller 1/4, equalling 2 smartpoints and I will not be having a cookie like that anytime soon. It really wasn't worth it...didn't taste as good as I remembered them.
But my lunch, THAT was so delicious. My husband and I have REALLY cut back on our eating out. When he bit into his burger (having gotten the same as me) he said, "I can see what you mean at getting to the point where eating out is a treat. We eat well during the week, but this burger, out and about, is delicious. SO good." Yeah, when you eat out every once in a while...the food DOES taste good and it IS a treat!! We ended up getting the Little version of our burger, which only means 1 patty. Neither one of us got fries, but my husband did enjoy a soda with his meal...

I text M&M and just said, "I could CRY this tastes so good". I almost did, I seriously got choked up..which surprised myself. I quickly got it together and ate this S-L-O-W-L-Y. I cut it in half and ate each half VERY slowly, making sure to put the burger down in between bites and have quite a few gulps of my water before moving on to the next bite. My friends, this beautiful burger had mustard, grilled onions, pickles, tomatoes, lettuce,  grilled mushrooms, bacon, cheese, and BBQ sauce. I had fry sauce on the side (takes care of mayo and ketchup...but I control how much) to dip my burger into. For this lunch it was a delicious, no regrets, 26 smartpoints. Thank you Weeklies. A member was shocked that I was willing to just spend 22 smartpoints on a burger, she yelled out "It better be worth it!" Well my friends, it was. Oh yes, it totally was.

I had really wanted something sweet for Valentine's Day...a caramel apple sounded SO good. So yeah, we went to the caramel apple shop across the street and I enjoyed a caramel apple that was seasoned with chile powder, salt, and lime. It's a pretty typical candy seasoning in Mexico. The counterlady let me sample the apple, I told her that if there was white chocolate on it...it would be even more delicious. The owner in the back said she'd do it for me without any extra charge. So, I ordered a Chile y Sal y Limon Caramel apple drizzled with white chocolate. A regular caramel apple is 11 points, so I counted 3 extra points for the white chocolate drizzle. I planned on only eating half, which would take my 14 smartpoints down to 7...but...

I ate the whole thing by myself...and didn't regret a single bite. I spaced it throughout the day, savoring each bite. And I will probably be getting another one next Saturday...it was THAT good.

My husband wanted to catch me "savoring the moment" because he thought it was too funny. But seriously, the deliciousness of this apple is beautifully depicted in the pictures my husband took of me. No shame, my friends, no shame.

Pure Bliss. Soft, spicy, creamy, chewy, and crisp. Perfect depiction of a light, not so heavy in sugary stuff, caramel apple

We arrive home after wishing my in-laws a Happy Valentine's Day and my husband runs downstairs. He not ONLY surprised me with a BEAUTIFUL necklace and earring set that I had been dreaming of as my reward for achieving my goal (I turned it away because it was a little too expensive when I checked the price...but sneaky him got it at a GREAT deal) but also this beauty...

An Edible Arrangement...Flowers and fruit tied into one. I seriously LOVE these things. When I was younger, my dad's work would send my mom these edible arrangements after each baby she had. I was seriously looking forward to the day when I would have a baby just to get one of these. And, I actually got like 3 when I was in the hospital after my surgery with Little Man. These things brightened my day. My dear husband ordered me one WITHOUT chocolate because he wanted me to know that he was supporting me and knew that I was still wanting to be careful on Valentine's Day. He figured if he got EVERYTHING covered in chocolate, I wouldn't eat it all (which he was right) and he wanted me to enjoy it all, so he asked for no chocolate on his order. Isn't that awesome? Yep, I ate the WHOLE thing...0 smartpoints and totally delicious. Little Man ate all the grapes, Cookie ate 3 of the pineapples and a couple strawberries...but I ate the rest.

As far as dinner was concerned, I kind of got carried away updating my blog, so dinner ran later than I intended. The boys just wanted pizza. Nothing fancy, but just pizza. Of course, that sounded good to me...but I really didn't have enough weekly points to spare on a 10 smartpoint single slice of pizza. So while my boys were enjoying this...

I enjoyed this

This little pizza beauty was 1 Bubba's Light English Muffin (2sp), 2 T of Prego SmartLight Traditional Spaghetti Sauce (0sp), 1 oz shredded mozzarella part-skim cheese (2sp), and 1 sliced Aidells Chef Bruce Chicken Meatball, Italian Style with Sun-Dried Tomato (2sp). That little pizza was delicious, filling, simple to make and only 6 smartpoints for the WHOLE MEAL. I toasted the English muffin by itself first, then put the sauce and cheese and meatball on top to toast again. It turned out perfectly, not mushy at all. My steamed squash and carrots were 0 smartpoints, seasoned with McCormick veggie seasoning, and an Opal apple (0sp)...recommended to me by a member to purchase at Trader Joe's. Seriously, SUCH a delicious apple. It was a great treat. I felt satisfied and topped it off with a small shortbread cookie, (heartshaped and brought all the way from Hawaii), with one side dipped in chocolate, that I counted for only 2 smartpoints. It was way more worth it than that 1/4 of a sugar cookie I had earlier. Ya live and ya learn, right??

After all was said and done, I found myself looking through the pantry and the fridge for ANYTHING else that I could manage. But you know what, I came to. I caught myself and remembered that I am really NOT hungry, I enjoyed everything I ate today, and now it's time to just brush the teeth and step away. Anything that I could possibly want, it would be better to DEFINE it and THEN enjoy it...rather hunt until I feel like "I'm good". So yeah, another successful baby step. I didn't keep going after my shortbread cookie, and I've finished the night with 4 weekly smartpoints still left in my favor :)

It's not a diet people, this is real life. You CAN still have cheeseburgers...WITH BACON...you CAN have a caramel apple WITH white chocolate and all those good things. You just plan for it, be accountable to it, savor it, and move forward. Life goes on, whether you eat what you enjoy or not. So do it wisely, and you'll find success along the way.

Happy eating!

Camille