Don’t Feed Your Feelings!

Here is a summary of my Weight Watchers meeting on September 29, 2009.

Don’t Feed Your Feelings!

Remember this week as you start getting those hunger pains to:
1) Evaluate whether or not it is a physical hunger pain or if its emotional.
Ask yourself what it is you are really seeking. If it is physical hunger, then you should eat something. A good sign is that your stomach will begin to growl. If you determine it to be emotional then...

2) Find a distraction. Do something to help you resolve the emotion that doesn’t involve eating!

For example:

• Journal- write whatever it is that’s bothering you down on paper or in an email. Sometimes just writing it all down can be a great way to “let it all out.”
• Vent- call a friend or family member and just tell them what is going on. It just might make you feel better!
• Find a hobby- do something with your hands. (Knit, sew, crafts, garden, etc.)
• Take a relaxing bubble bath. The warm water helps soothe those achy muscles.
• Clean house- everyone loves that squeaky clean atmosphere.
• Read a book- a novelty book, one that you enjoy and are interested in. Let it take you away!
• Exercise- go for a walk. Maybe even just stretching can help take away some of that unwanted stress.
• Go shopping- even if it’s just window shopping, it can help you get through those emotions.

Still Going Strong

Last night I reached one of the biggest milestone in my weight loss journey. At my weigh-in last night, I reached my original Weight Watchers goal!!! WOW!! At my meeting I received my goal charm that is in the shape of a star. I can't believe I made it! God has been with me every step of the way and without Him I could not have done this. He has changed me inside and out. He has also put amazing people around me to support me through this journey and I could not have done it without them either. Thank you.

When I began this journey I was not convinced that I could lose 10% of my body weight let alone get to goal. After losing 20% of my body weight my Weight Watchers leader Linda and I set my goal, which I reached last night. However, in the back of my mind I have always wanted my goal to be 10 pounds less than the one I set with Linda in March. So, now that I know I can do it, I am going to keep going. At least I am going to keep going until I reach my ultimate goal weight and no less than that. I have prayed over where to set my goal weight and I feel that my body is still losing the remaining weight better than I thought it would. As my husband said, keep losing until I can’t lose anymore.

Thank you all for your love and support. The week before last I learned in my Weight Watchers meeting that we need to celebrate our weight loss achievements. That’s why I have shared this with you, even though I am going to keep going, so that we can celebrate each and every milestone together. When I reach my ultimate goal we will have to celebrate again and maybe even have a party, with Weight Watchers friendly food of course.

Shaking Up My Workout

My normal exercise routine has consisted of running and more running. This has been great! Running has really helped my weight loss and I want to keep it up. However last night when I went running with Jon, I started to think that I need to do something different. Do not get me wrong, I am not giving up running, I just want to add some variety.

There is a Zumba class that I think I am going to join that will meet two days a week. This will provide the variety I am looking for. Also it will be a great cross training workout, which I need for running. My running schedule does not have me running everyday, so on two of the off days I am going to Zumba!

Here is a video from the Today Show that gives you a little taste of what Zumba is all about. It sounds fun! There is an article I found at WebMd as well that you might want to check out too, Zumba: Fun Is Secret Ingredient of Latin Dance Workout.

What are you doing to spice up your workout routine? Maybe you should try some Zumba too!! I will keep you posted on how it goes.

Every Little Step

My Weight Watchers leader Linda emailed this to me yesterday. I was so busy that I did not have a chance to read it until just now. I hope that it can encourage you as much as it did me. We can get discouraged, because things are taking too long or we are losing too slowly. But every little step we take moves us closer and closer to our goal. Enjoy.

Look around at all the great accomplishments in your world. Each one, from the most simple to the most complex, was completed one step at a time.

An ambitious goal is nothing more than the joining together of many smaller goals. The small results may not seem like much, yet they are absolutely essential.

For it is upon those small results that the big results are built. And in that fact is a wonderful world of outstanding possibilities.

Do not back away from ambitious goals. Instead, look within them and break them down into small, easily manageable components.

Complex, massive success is nothing more than small, simple success carried out again and again with commitment and focus. As such, no goal is out of reach when you are willing to invest patience and persistence.

Choose your goals based not on how difficult you perceive them to be, but on how much they truly mean to you. When you're fully committed to every little step, anything can be yours. - Ralph Marston

Hungry Girl's Rockin' Poppin' Shrimp

Hungry Girl's Rockin' Poppin' Shrimp

Ingredients
3 oz. raw shrimp; pealed, deviened and cleaned
1/4 cup Egg Beaters, Original
1/2 cup Fiber One bran cereal
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour Egg Beaters into a bowl. Using a blender or food processor, grind Fiber One cereal to a breadcrumb-like consistency. Pour Fiber One crumbs into a plastic container that has an airtight lid (or into a plastic food storage bag). Add as much salt & pepper to Fiber One as you like. Next, prepare the shrimp by ensuring that they are as dry as possible (use a paper towel to soak up moisture). Place shrimp in dish with Egg Beaters and coat them thoroughly. Transfer shrimp to Fiber One container or bag and secure lid/ seal bag. Then shake until shrimp are well coated. Place shrimp on a baking dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Cook shrimp for 15 – 20 minutes (flipping them about halfway through), until outsides are crispy. Let ‘em cool; then serve 'em alone, with ketchup or with some cocktail sauce.


Serving Size: Entire recipe; Points: 3

Chicken and Rice

Chicken and Rice
By, My Mother in Law

Ingredients
1 cup broccoli
1 cup low-fat shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup onion
16 oz fat-free chicken broth
1 can canned condensed fat free cream of chicken soup
1 can canned condensed fat free cream of mushroom soup
3 breasts uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 cup cooked white rice, cook rice

Instructions
Mix Cream of Mushroom, Cream of Chicken, and bolied chicken broth and bring to boil. Dice chicken after it has been boiled. Layer it on the bottom of a 9 X 13 casserole dish. Put rice over chicken. Pour soup mixture over rice and chicken. Add broccoli and onions. Mix all together to make sure the chicken broth has gotten everywhere. Top with cheese. Cooking Time: 20 min, Preheat Oven 350 degrees.

Servings: 8

PointsPlus+: 5
POINTS® Value: 5

For Recipe Review, click here.

My Moment with a Size 6

I did not get much of a Labor Day weekend, but I guess that's the way it is when you have to work on Monday. Even though I did not have a day off, my weekend was still eventful. I tried on and fit into a size 6!! I had noticed in the last week that my jeans were beginning to feel a bit baggy. Normally, I have to wait until Anna, my co-worker, tells me that my pants are too big and I need to get new ones. This time I figured it out all on my own.

I went to Wal-mart to go grocery shopping and I was determined to try on a size 6 jeans. I went and picked out the pair of jeans that seemed best for me. I took them into the dressing room, telling myself that if they did not fit that it was okay. Do you know what I am talking about? When it is something I try on, like these pants that they really want to get into I talk myself through it. I have to literally give myself a pep talk thinking, “you can do this”. I finally got the jeans on and just as I pulled them up over my hips I sucked in, just in case they were too tight. As I exhaled and my stomach relaxed I realize that they are not too tight, they fit like glove. How exciting!! I left the store with the jeans in hand, they are my size 6 milestone memento.

Throughout my weight loss journey I have thought a lot about numbers, how much I weigh, how much I want to weight, what size I am, what size I want to be. Numbers have been a big part of the process. In my mind a size 6 has always been the ideal size for me. If I could reach a size 6 I would really feel like I had made it! Well I can fit into a size 6 and it feels great!! I hope that you are encouraged. God is good and He can lead you to a victory in weight loss or other areas of your life just like He is doing with me.