The First 43: My Life Now

Tonight we say goodbye to 2012 and hello to 2013! A whole new year, a whole new set of goals.  Weight loss and getting healthy was barely on my radar when I rang in 2012 but a late resolution is better than never right? I did say I'd like to lose 15lbs by the end of the year (check!) and that I'd like to be healthier (check!) but, honestly, I wasn't that serious about it until the spring, it had been my default resolution for years. I thought that the quotation in the image above was fitting for ringing in a new year. I could never have imaged in my wildest dreams that in one years time, I'd be where I am now. This year I accomplished many things outside of my weight loss journey but they all seem to pale in comparison to this. I am starting this year 39lbs lighter than when I started it.  I've brought down my body fat percentage. My BMI has dropped 7 points. I can run 5k.  I rock strength training.  I can run up and down stairs without getting winded. I su

Ahhh.. the battle with self discipline.  This has been something people have complimented me over and over again on the last few months.  To me, it isn't really discipline (even though I know it actually is) it's about getting to where I need to go the fastest way possible.  Having a chocolate bar because I'm having a bad sugar craving isn't going to help me get to my end game faster, it's just going to slow things down.  There is nothing fun about dropping this much weight, it's a lot of work every single day. The sooner it's over, the better. It's mentally exhausting and there are days when you cry or just want to give up because you're not sure how much more you can put yourself through but you pick yourself up and you keep going. I got disciplined because I needed to be accountable and take charge of my life.  I needed to have the physical me, reflect the inside me and if you know me well, you know I like to do things fast, things that ta

The holidays for me were very busy this year and full of really delicious food! I jokingly posted this photo on Instagram on Christmas Day with the caption "Where my diet goes to die..." The truth is even though I really wanted to enjoy sweets that night, I was so full! I made up a plate of food honestly no different than Christmas last year.  I got through most of it and by the time it got to dessert I could barely stomach it.  I was in actual pain from the amount I had eaten.  I guess my stomach has done some shrinking over the last 8 months and even when I have the calorie space to allow for a little over consumption, my body just doesn't allow for it.  I actually felt full for a solid 12 hours after eating... that never happens. The good thing, I felt legitimately full for the first time in ages, the bad thing, I didn't pace myself well enough and ended up being overly full and didn't fully get to enjoy the sweets the way I wanted to.  I also admit

Banana Bread!! One of my favourite all time recipes!  The original recipe was full fat and I have made some adjustments to make it lighter so I can still eat it but it tastes equally as good, promise! Ingredients: 1/2 Cup  Light Becel Margarine 1/2 Cup  Sugar 1 Cup Mashed Ripe Bananas (4 medium sized, sometimes it ends up being just over a cup) 2 Cups All Purpose Flour, sifted 2 eggs 3 tsp. Baking Powder 1 tsp. Lemon Juice 1/2 tsp. Salt   Optional Additional Ingredient: 1 cup Chocolate Chips or 1 cup Chopped Nuts. I have not accounted for this addition in my calorie count as I usually make it without. Directions: Blend sugar and margarine together until smooth.  Beat eggs and add to creamed mixture.  Mash Banana, add lemon juice to the banana and then add to the blended mixture.  Sift in flour, baking powder and salt quickly into the mixture.  (Add nuts or chocolate chips if desired) Bake in a greased loaf pan for 75 minutes at 350*F. Stick a knife in the centre

mmmm mmmmm good.  I had some friends over this past weekend and decided that I wanted to try something new. I had a few friends recommend different buffalo chicken dips and so I decided to give the one from SkinnyTaste a try as the recipes on that site are always diet friendly. I only made one substitution because I am not a fan of blue cheese in anything, so I used a ranch salad dressing instead.  I had seen that listed on other websites as a good substitute for blue cheese in recipes and it worked!  The dip was delicious and this is how I made it: Ingredients: 125g of light cream cheese (1/2 a brick) 1 cup light sour cream 1/2 cup Franks Red Hot original hot sauce 1/2 cup light ranch salad dressing 1 tsp white wine vinegar 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken (about 400g, 2 large breasts)  Blend the first five ingredients together until smooth (I threw everything into my KitchenAid mixer to make it nice and easy, and smooth!) Add the shredded chicken to the liquid b

It's not about finding time. Most of us can't "find" time... I know I certainly can't. I'm always so busy I can barely keep up. For years I said "I don't have time, I just can't find any." When reality was I needed to make time and I needed to make it a priority.  Now, I make sure not to make social or work plans every night during week because I need to make time to hit the gym or get some exercise in some way.  If I work all day and then see people every night it would be impossible to stick to the plan I'm on.  It's probably  helped my overall stress levels as well because I make sure that I have nights where I'm not running around like a crazy person. Going to the gym is like making a doctors appointment, you need to make time for it because it's important. It's not necessarily something you feel like doing or really want to do (or at least it isn't for me) but it is a necessary part of life. If I don'

35 pounds down, 8 more to my goal! When I've been asked recently how much weight I've lost, I say "About a toddler" but the funny thing is, it's not a far stretch. I should actually say small child because 35lbs is the average weight of a 3 or 4 year old.  When I think about it that way, it seems crazy. Other things that weigh 35lbs? a medium sized microwave, a large bag of dry dog food or a medium sized dog. I'm so glad that I'm on the last legs of this first round of weight loss.  8 more pounds and I can take a break from dropping pounds and focus on maintaining my weight.  I'm almost back to my high school weight, this is pretty exciting!

I can barely believe it. I meant to post when I hit the big 200 but,  I've been so busy that I haven't had the time to keep up on my blog. I apologize for totally slacking off with my posts. So instead, I am blogging at 225 days! My thought over the last week or so has been "Can I actually do a full 365?" and I think I can and it might be a goal for me once I lose the last 10.  That doesn't mean I am going to actively keep losing, just keep myself in line. When I started this 225 days ago I was given a number of calories to eat in order lose 1 pound per week. After losing 33 pounds obviously, they take calories away. Since day one, I have gone down 260 calories/day.  That is a heck of a lot of food.  The challenge lately is that the calories are definitely less than I feel like I can consume and some days leave me feeling hungry. My fix for that has been to increase my exercise, full well knowing it will slow my weight loss, but at least I'm healthy and fu

I'm DONE! Whoooo!  Keep reading for how this week went plus my overall thoughts on this exercise program.   Inches Lost though Days 26 - 30  Hips: 1 inch  (total lost: 2 inchs) Waist: 1 inch (total lost: 2 inchs ) Bust: no change  (total lost: 1.25 inchs ) Bicep: no change (total lost: 1 inch ) Thigh: 1 inch (total lost: 3 inches )  ...Level 3 Continues and I finish the program... Day 26: I am bored. Yup, it took 26 days but I am bored. I'm almost done though. I push myself during the workout and I don't slack off but, I don't look forward to the workout anymore.  Oh and the sit ups are starting to hurt my neck a bit (they always have..) so, I did half sit ups, half crunches during that ab circuit tonight. My neck feels 100x better. Day 27: Today was a struggle. My energy levels aren't where they usually are today and it really really effects doing the shred. Each move feels like death when you have no energy.  I think this one mig

Oops! Awhile ago I started doing side profile progress photos and update every so often and then I stopped.  Then while getting dressed this morning, feeling a little more thin than normal, I decided I should upload a progress photo. Little fact, when you have a gut there is a tendency to "suck it in" when you are around other people.  I'm guilty of it, I wanted to hide as much as I could just how bad it had gotten.  I'm noticing now I can't really "suck it in" much... or at least it really doesn't look any different.  I can in fact thank Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred for getting my core to where it is now over the last month. My core/stomach area is not perfect but it is definitely the strongest and most toned it has been my entire life.  It's probably the one place I see the most change and progress over the last 7 months. Hoping to start posting more often in the coming weeks, I've just been so busy that cooking new things and trying ne

Inches Lost through Days 21 -25 Hips: 0.5 inch (total lost: 1 inch) Waist: no change (total lost: 1 inch ) Bust: 0.25 inch (total lost: 1.25 inchs ) Bicep: no change (total lost: 1 inch ) Thigh: no change (total lost: 2 inches )  ...Level 3 Begins... Day 21: Seriously Level 3 is no joke. OMG. The only thing I found easy about this level was the abs. I got through all of those at the advanced level. Otherwise, thank goodness for Anita and her beginner moves at times when it just got too hard.  I have absolutely no doubt I will wake up sore from this one! **Missed two days, going out of town will do that to you!** Day 22:   Nothing major to report other than the fact I cannot do the rock star jumps. Way way way too hard on my knees. Maybe I'll be able to when I lose some more weight but for right now, too much pain.  Since there is no "beginner" alternative for this I'm subbed in the jump rope move to keep my cardio up and still get the

Let's start today's blog posting on a positive note, I've always wanted a red jacket.  There was a sale on at Old Navy this weekend and I got this jacket for next to nothing.  The positive news is I have gone down two jacket sizes which is great. Jacket shopping was a much more depressing shopping experience for me in the past than jean or bathing suit shopping because nothing fit right or was remotely flattering. Full disclosure, I have been debating taking a break from this strict dieting.  My biggest fear however is that I will put weight back on. Even as it is with eating 3500 calories less per week (plus being an additional 1500ish calories under that every week) there are weeks where I lose nothing at all.  I also know that getting into a place where I can maintain is a journey in itself where you slowly add calories back in so your body and metabolism is used to the extra energy again. These last 12 pounds are not going to be easy to lose, nor has it bee

Hot Caprese Dip! Such a good appetizer, it goes a long way. Ingredients: 2 Medium/Large Tomatoes, diced 1/2 Cup Basil Leaves, chopped 250g Light Mozzarella Directions: Dice tomatoes. Make sure as much juice as possible is squeezed out (this will stop it from becoming watery when cooked.) In a oven safe dish, combine the cheese, tomato and basil.  Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, then broil for 2 minutes if you want the cheese to bubble/brown on top. Serve with crackers, baked pitas or toasted baguette. Calorie Count: 152 per 1/4 of the recipe.  Most of those calories come from the cheese obviously so you could use less cheese to reduce calories further if you'd like. Original recipe can be found at: http://www.howsweeteats.com/2010/12/hot-caprese-dip/

Inches Lost through Days 16-20 Hips: No Change (total lost: 0.5 inch) Waist: No Change (total lost: 1 inch ) Bust:  No Change (total lost: 1 inch ) Bicep: No Change (total lost: 1 inch ) Thigh: 0.5 Inch (total lost: 2 inches ) ** I have noticed that my whole body is much firmer from doing this shred and fat is disappearing ** ...Level 2 continues... Day 16:  I decided that I would kick off the second half of level 2 with the complete advanced workout.  Death. When she says "I want you to feel like your dying" she is not kidding.  You feel like dying.  I'm going to do my best to stick to only the advanced program for the remainder of the week. *Halloween got in the way.  Took a break.  Just being totally honest!* Day 17: After having a day of rest, I came back to this recharged tonight and made it though the entire advanced work out again.  It doesn't get easier though and Jillian says herself "I'm not joking around.&quo

  I finally did it!  The 20s felt like they were going on forever but this morning was weigh in day and with a 1.5 lb loss this week I've made it into the 30s. I was practically begging my scale to give me good results. 31 lbs lost 12 lbs to go! I had to put an extra hole in my belt this morning because the last hole didn't quite do the job.  That was fun, never in my life have I had to add a hole because a belt got too big. Here's to hoping that the 30s don't seem as epically long as the 20s did.  I am aware though that the closer I get to the finish line, the harder it will probably be to get it off.  I'm pretty dedicated to the cause however so hopefully by the end of January I will be in to the maintain my weight mode!

The first time I read that some e-card I just about died laughing.  Wouldn't it be nice if you could open up the fridge and find things like perfect abs? Unfortunately it doesn't work that way! This post is mainly about how even when your body changes, it doesn't necessarily mean mental you're adjusting at the same rate.  It's interesting how self conscious I've become recently.  Something I really don't think I've felt since swim units in high school phys ed.  I was almost always able to handle being overweight. I had a tough skin and I tried my best to not let it get to me when attention was brought to it.  With this weight loss people are constantly telling me how great I look and what a huge change it is. I know it's all coming from a good place and I appreciate the compliments but it's ended up making me really self conscious, just like grade 9. It's almost like I'm going through that awkward stage all over again. The weight lo

Chocolate Banana Parfaits! Delicious Low Calorie Dessert. It's a winner! Chocolate, banana and whipped cream, how can you go wrong?  Ingredients: 1 pkg.  Jell-O Chocolate Fat Free Instant Pudding 2 cups cold 1% milk  2 bananas, sliced (half a banana per parfait)  8 tbsp Gay Lea Light Whipped Cream (2 tbsp/parfait)  Directions: This makes 4 Parfaits.  Make pudding (beat powder and milk, 2 minutes) Divide half the pudding into four glasses. Slice half a banana into each glass on top of the putting.  Top with the remaining pudding.  Finish it off with two tablespoons of whipped cream on top if serving right away. If not, hold off on the whipped cream until you serve them and cover the glasses and put them in the fridge to keep cool.  **Note: The first time I made them (and the way it is featured in the photo) I went all out with extra whipped

The dieters nightmare. Halloween.  So many tiny candies and chocolates tempting you. How can they be bad for you when they are so small? It's not like you're eating a whole chocolate bar, right? If only it worked that way! I have (mostly) kept them out of my apartment this month because it causes too much temptation.  Actually, I haven't indulged in a little teeny tiny bit of Halloween chocolate since the bags and boxes of them arrived in store. Now, they aren't all that bad when it comes to treats. They are actually fairly good if you're on a diet and you can stick to just having one (or two!) Most of them range from 45 - 60 calories per snack sized piece and will give you your chocolate fix.  I fully intend on buying a big box of them on clearance this week as retailers try to rid themselves of all the sugar. I actually wish they had little snack sized variety boxes of candy all year.  I don't actually need (or want) full size chocolate bars anymore, b

Inches Lost through Days 11-15 Hips: 0 (total lost: 0.5 inch) Waist: 0.5 (total lost: 1 inch ) Bust: 0 (total lost: 1 inch ) Bicep: 0 (total lost: 1 inch ) Thigh: 0.5 inch  (total lost: 1.5 inches ) ...Level 2 begins... Day 11: Oh my goodness! Level 2 sucks! It looks sooooo easy but it's sooooo hard.  The only thing that didn't kill me were the mountain climbers (Josh, thanks for torturing me with those!) What a shift from Level 1 to Level 2.  I am in shock. What a workout that was. Wow. Day 12: More sweating. More swearing. More pain.  That said, I didn't wake up in pain like I did when I started with Level 1. I do find parts of Level 2 easier (yay for way less jumping jacks) while other parts are harder (there are lots and lots of planks.)  Even Jillian works up a sweat on Level 2 which means, in my opinion anyway, it's a workout.  Day 13: I went to the gym today and I did the shred. All for birthday cake and wine! Not much to re

After 6 months of truly busting my butt and getting into shape I thought that exercise might grow on me.  I've really hated it my whole life (yes, I do mean hate!)  After this much time, and this much weight loss I thought that exercise would be second nature to me and that I'd start to looking forward to my workouts.  I think the opposite is coming true.  I am strong and have no issues lifting weights, I can keep up with a Jillian Michaels DVD and I can run 5K. I'm in the best shape of my life but I don't want to do it at all... and that is the biggest problem. It is a daily struggle. I admit it, I just don't find there to be anything enjoyable about it.  I never get a runners high, lifting weights doesn't really lift my spirits, circuit training often feels too repetitive and joining a team and playing sports doesn't interest me at all.  I'm not a huge fan of exercise with other people, I prefer getting exercise on my own. I also rarely get that ni

Inches Lost through Days 6-10 Hips: 0 (total lost: 0.5 inch) Waist: 0 (total lost: 0.5 inch ) Bust: 0.5 inch (total lost: 0.5 inch ) Bicep: 0 (total lost: 1 inch ) Thigh: 1 inch  (total lost: 1 inch ) Here is how the continued progress is going with the shred... After successfully doing 5 days in a row I missed Friday's workout ( I have a good excuse as I was volunteering at a charity auction, helping out my mom.) Day 6:  Best workout yet (do I say that too often?) Honestly though, I sweat a lot and felt like I could handle the work out.  For the first time, I was able to handle the advanced work out from start to finish without flipping between beginner and advanced.  It's possible that yesterdays rest day gave my body a jump start but I felt really good after the workout today. Day 7: After spending 3 hours outside blowing, raking and bagging leaves the last thing I wanted to do tonight was the shred but before bed I decided to give it a go. I did t

I'm back on track!!! My scale is working properly (i.e. it's set the right way) and I'm losing again!  I've lost 29 pounds! *phew* I've added to the before and after progress line up above with today's photo. I can really see the difference now. I worked really hard this week when it comes to controlling my diet and sticking to Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. I really worked my tail off. I lost 1.5 pounds which dealt with the scale debacle plus some additional weight loss.  Thank goodness! I was afraid I'd step on the scale this morning and not get the results I had hoped for, but I did.  This means that I have 14 pounds to go.  I can do this, I just need to kick it into high gear and really work hard for the rest of 2012. No slacking, no getting lazy. Just a 100% focus on diet, fitness and weight loss. This has been so much work. Some nights I still get really frustrated (Just ask my husband how irritable I got this weekend while he sat down and ate

Inches Lost through Days 1 -5: Hips: 0.5 inches Waist: 0.5 inches Bust: No change Bicep: 1 inch Thigh:  No change A promised, here is an update on how the 30 Day Shred is going. I will say that at this point I feel like Jillian Michaels is the devil in a human body. Seriously. The number of times I yell at the workout video is a bit hilarious.  She really does believe the quotation posted in the image above! Day 1:  I didn't find it too bad. It was hard, I was sweating but I made it through without any cheating.  I thought "I can do this!" Day 2: I woke up so so (SO!!!) sore. Literally from head to toe.  I guess this proves that her workout is in fact a whole body workout.  The worst pain was in my thighs. My calves were really tight.  It pained me to type all day at work because my arms were exhausted.  I didn't know how I would do the workout again.  I went home and I did the shred though.  Day 2 was definitely harder because all my muscles were

Stuffed Ricotta and Spinach Shells were on my "freeze" list.  I finally got around to eating them and I am really quite happy with how they turned out!  They froze well and cooked well. Really delicious! Four shells are more than enough to fill you up. Recipe: 16 Jumbo Pasta Shells (I used Unico Brand) 1/2 a package of frozen spinach, thawed and completely drained 1 1/4 Cup Ricotta Cheese 1 egg 1 tsp dried oregano salt to taste Mozzarella and Red Sauce to desired amount. Directions: Boil water, and cook shells as per box instructions.  Once cooked, strain and let cool slightly.  While the pasta is cooking create your filling. Beat egg.  Add ricotta.  Once blended, mix in spinach, oregano and salt.  Divide filling into the 16 shells.  At this point you can cook them in the oven or freeze them.  I froze them without sauce.  When I cooked them from frozen, I put the sauce on top and baked at 375*F for 35 minutes.  Then I added the mozzarella and put it back in

It's been a challenging couple of weeks. I haven't posted much about it because I've been trying to get through it and I've been really busy (which was seen through my lack of blogging last week!)  Thanks again to everyone for reading and following my journey. Thank you for the kind words you've sent me via email, Facebook, Twitter and in person.  Thank you for the compliments you've passed along through my family and friends.  It means a lot and helps me stay motivated and keep going. I haven't posted any weight loss progress lately and there there are reasons for that.  A few things have happened.  One, I had my digital scale set wrong. It was not +/- 0lbs so it had me at a pound lighter than I actually was. This has now been corrected but, I'm trying to still drop that pound. On top of that, I gained half a pound the week of Thanksgiving.  I exercised a lot and controlled my food intake but I put on a little weight.  It was my first gain

Here are my brand new running shoes!  For the first time in my life, I actually wore out a pair of running shoes from running/exercise... not just general use and walking.  I spent a lot of time researching different brands, different shoes and I had a bit of a chuckle about how "high tech" shoes have become! I was going back and forth between Nike Free's and a few different ones from Adidas.  I know Adidas may not be most peoples #1 running shoe but every time I go away from my Adidas running shoes I am often disappointed but wear the runners until they are worn out. I decided on the Adidas adiStar Salvation but honestly, I couldn't wrap my head around their $169 + tax price tag. I was about to lose hope when I found the website "Running Free Canada"  where the shoes were on clearance there for $100 off.  I couldn't believe it, it seemed too good to be true.  In fact it wasn't, as you can see my shoes showed up, brand new, in the box with th

  It's been a little while since I've blogged. Things have been very busy!  I just wrapped up a fabulous girls weekend and figured I should get back at it. I promise to keep up with my blog this week! On Friday, we decided to do one of the best things you can do in the fall - go apple picking!  We got some exercise in with walking up and down the rows of trees and enjoyed each others company.  We had a 20lb bag to with with apples and as I was carting around I thought to myself, how did I carry around that extra 28lbs? That bag of apples was pretty darn heavy and it weighs less than what I've already lost! It's crazy how that bag of apples put my weight loss into perspective for me.  By the time I complete my journey I will lose at least two of those bags worth of weight.  When I think about it in terms of bags of apples, it seems impossible that I've already lost that much and will lose another full bag of them. Now to figure out what healthy t

I'm getting bored with my workout routine lately. Go to the gym, hop on the treadmill or elliptical and then do either chest, back or leg weight lifting.  Throw in a little core on days I'm at the gym longer.  It's becoming really routine.  So, with that I am going to add the 30 Day Shred into the mix. I'm also tired of the exercise I'm doing slowing down my weight loss (I know I know, it's the healthier thing to do and I haven't stopped exercising!) This shred is supposed to boost weight loss. I figure it's worth a shot. A few friends of mine have decided to start the 30 day shred. After some contemplating about whether or not I had enough room in my apartment to actually do the workout I've decided to try it! I got my hands on Levels 1, 2 and 3 and I'm ready. I need to remember to take my measurements too because apparently those that didn't lose a ton of weight ended up losing quite a few inches. From what I've read, you spend 10 d

These are my new jeans and I am still avoiding muffin top! Yipee! Obviously took this yesterday - before the big Thanksgiving Feast. Good news is I was under on my calories for the day with dinner #1.  Hopefully I have the same success tomorrow with dinner #2. The stomach area continues to flatten out and I can start to feels some abs under the last layer of fat.  There is light at the end of the tunnel on this one!

Lasagna rolls! Surprisingly low calorie and very delicious.  I have two photos above. One of when they were freshly rolled before they went in the freezer and the picture below it when they came out of the oven.  I don't like my lasagna too saucy so feel free to add more but here is the recipe: 5 lasagna noodles, cooked (I used Catelli Smart) 1/4 of a package of frozen spinach, thawed and completely drained 1 Cup Ricotta Cheese 1 egg salt and pepper to taste Mozzarella and Red Sauce to desired amount. Cook the lasagna noodles. While the noodles are cooking, make your filling.  Mix ricotta, spinach and egg, salt and pepper together.  Drain noodles and lay out flat, make sure they are dry. Divide the filling among the 5 noodles.  Then roll.  At this point, I took them and put them in an airtight container and froze them.  To cook them, I took them out of the freezer, put sauce on them and put them in the oven in a pyrex dish for 35 minutes at 375*F.  Then I took them

This has definitely been one of those weeks were I feel like quitting. Not sure why, nothing in particular has happened but I am feeling like this week is just so hard.  Everyday has been a struggle. Monday started as a great day when I weighed in, I'd lost 2lbs in a week and I felt like the end was within reach.  Then things changed. Probably due to a very stressful day outside of this journey, I was just feeling defeated.  I wanted to come home and just cook something I knew without a doubt I would enjoy and just forget about MyFitnessPal.  Unfortunately, I am not wired that way.  I did have a friend over so we did order pizza and have some wine but I didn't over do it.  I've come so far in the last 6 months and to throw it all away over a bad few days would be stupid..... but it has definitely put me back at odds with previous emotional eating.  Back to facing those issues which frankly I was able to ignore for a little while because I had an amazing summer without too

I rarely like chicken subbing extra lean ground beef when it comes to meatballs but I realize I need to branch out a little bit and add some variety to my diet. I saw a few recipes but all of them I liked part of but not as a whole.  So with that, I kind of mashed a few of the ideas together and made my own recipe. They turned out great! 500g package of ground chicken 1/4 cup Breadcrumbs of your choice (I used regular/plain) 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated 1/4 cup Basil, finely chopped 1 egg 1 tsp garlic powder Salt and Pepper to taste Take all the ingredients, except the chicken and breadcrumbs, and mix it up.  Then add breadcrumbs and chicken to mixture.  Roll into balls. This recipe makes 20 meatballs. Put the oven at 375*F and cook in a pyrex dish for 30-35 minutes depending on your oven.  You can then add them to any sauce of your choice right away or freeze them to eat at a later date. Calorie count: 31 calories/meatball.  Pretty darn good!

mmmmmm mmmmm good. This soup is fantastic and is wonderful for the fall. Another one of my online finds! I love soup in the winter but get bored of soup out of a can.  This was really easy to make and didn't take much prep time at all. My recipe, adapted from original:  1 796ml can pumpkin puree (3.25 cups if you want to use real pumpkin) 3 cans chicken or vegetable stock 1/2 cup applesauce 2 granny smith, or other tart apples, diced and peeled 1 small onion, diced 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1/2 teaspoon sage 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon thyme 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed 1/2 cup 1% Milk Directions: 1. In a large pot, add diced onion, apples and a bit of water. Saute until onions are translucent. Add chicken broth, apple sauce, and herbs. Bring to a boil and cook until apples are very tender. Add pumpkin and brown sugar once apples are tender and cook for 10 – 15 minutes over medium heat covered. Use a submersible blender to blend soup or blend the soup in bat

28.5 pounds down! 14.5 pounds to go!!  It really doesn't seem that long ago that those numbers were reversed. Today is officially 6 months from when I decided I needed to figure out how to make a change in my life.  I honestly didn't think that I would be this successful with the program, not in my wildest dreams. I am still in disbelief that I have come as far as I have. Sometimes I look in the mirror and can't believe it's me in the reflection. I'm 2/3 of the way to my weight loss goal. Last night I changed over my closest from Spring/Summer to Fall/Winter.  Trying on all sorts of clothes to see what still fit.  All my pants are big. Big as in I can take them of without unbuttoning them easily.  I am however saving my biggest pair for the end so that I can do a stereotypical pants stretched out photos.  I also found a pair of jeans from university which is great. They are one size smaller and fit really well. I also found a pair of pants I bought on final s

My husband was on dinner duty last night and he decided to use a Jamie Oliver recipe as a base but, adapted it based on what we have bought and what we like our in chili.  It turns out, it is quite a healthy recipe and it tastes absolutely delicious.  Glad to have a healthy chili to eat this winter as it's one of my favourite comfort foods. Our Recipe Adaptation: 500 gram package of extra lean ground beef 1 large can of diced tomatoes (796ml) 1 regular sized can of Kidney Beans, drained (540ml) 1 medium white onion, diced 2 medium green peppers, diced 2 large stalks of celery, diced 1 cup of carrots, diced 2 cloves of garlic, crushed or diced. 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 1 tbsp chili powder 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp cinnamon Directions: Place all the vegetables in a large pot and simmer for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. In a separate pan, cook ground beef.  Add kidney beans, diced tomatoes and cooked ground beef. Fill half the empty tomato can with water, add to

Being on a low calorie diet really leaves you in a bit of a food rut after 6 months.  I was looking over my meals in my MFP diary and I eat the same things over and over because they are low calorie, taste fine and I've just gotten into a routine with it.  I must admit... I'm really bored by food lately.  Nothing really seems all that appetizing anymore.  I eat to fuel but not because I'm really enjoying it. We all know by now how much I used to love food!  This rut has me inspired to do some cooking this weekend. Break the pattern. I've found a few recipes that I will be trying out and featuring here once I make them this weekend; so long as they taste good!  They are: - Apple Pumpkin Soup - Turkey Meatballs - Spinach and Ricotta Lasagna Rolls My hope is to start making healthy food that I can freeze and use as I need it. Keep my menu a little more varied.  For example, I can take some lasagna rolls out of the freezer after work and cook them easily, making my

I talked about this last week but here it is, the thinning of the face!! The most noticable change for me when I look in the mirror now. It's probably the one thing that makes me the happiest. It is hard to feel like you are loosing weight when you still see a chubby face in the mirror or in photos.  I have a short neck however, which makes it a little bit more challenging for my body to work with when it comes to a second chin. I had started to really hate seeing my face in photos. I was at the point where I would have preferred to avoid photographs altogether.  Now I am glad that I did. One, photographs gave me a wake up call and second, it gives me something to compare back to. Now... if only my body would decide to take some weight from my thighs I'd be the happiest girl in the world! 

Here I am!  Down 26lbs in this photo. Did both a side and front comparison.  My stomach is slightly flatter than this time last week, it is really starting to stand out as a change. (You can find that photo in an earlier post) Also, when I sit down, my stomach roll is not even close to as big as it was which is fantastic. I must remember to thank my body for taking the weight from my stomach first which has always been my biggest problem area. This weekend I added core exercise back to my routine (on top of cardio and weight training) and two days later it still hurts to laugh, cough or sneeze.  Overtime it will get better and I will hopefully continue to trim down!