Week 16 Weigh In/ Trimming the Fat/ The Sweet Tooth Files

Week 16 Weigh In: Brick Walls

I gained 2.2 lbs this week!  Um, yeah, that was a disappointment.  I was nervous about the weigh in because I didn't feel light, but I was expecting to at least maintain.  Well, this is my third gain in 4 months so I am not too mad at myself.  I think its a natural thing for women to fluctuate, but I will be watching my carbs from processed foods this week.  It's the last week of the month, so it's time for another veggie flush.  I just don't want anymore soup!!!  I have decided so far on veggie lasagna, substituting all the noodles with eggplant this time.  My lasagna is the best in the world!  I will also try the spicy black bean burgers I posted in FB. 

I have to finish this month off in Onderland and for some reason I'm hitting a brick wall!  I'm so close to 199 I can smell it, but it's like I can't break through.  199 symbolizes a world I didn't think existed to me anymore.  I just thought I would be over 200 lbs forever.  I actually loved telling people how much I weighed to see the reaction on their faces.  Yes, I was over 100 lbs over weight at 5 feet tall!  It was like a freak of nature to me.  I didn't feel that heavy, but how can you not look it?  My bathroom mirror makes me look like a supermodel! LOL

Best Ever Lasagna (From Kraftfoods.com)

3/4 lb. ground turkey

3 cloves garlic, minced

1-1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves

1 jar (24 oz.) spaghetti sauce

1 large tomato, chopped

1 egg

1 container (16 oz.) BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN 2% Milkfat Low Fat Cottage Cheese

1/4 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

9 lasagna noodles, cooked

1 pkg. (7 oz.) KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided

Make It

HEAT oven to 375°F.

BROWN meat with garlic and oregano in large saucepan. Stir in spaghetti sauce; simmer 5 min., stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in tomatoes. Mix egg, cottage cheese and Parmesan until well blended.

SPREAD 1/2 cup meat sauce onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Top with layers of 3 noodles, half the cottage cheese mixture, 1/2 cup mozzarella and 1 cup sauce. Repeat layers. Top with remaining noodles and sauce; cover.

BAKE 30 min. or until heated through. Top with remaining mozzarella; bake, uncovered, 5 min. or until melted. Let stand 5 min. before serving.    

*My version is meatless or use I use veggie crumbles.  I omit the noodles with layers of eggplant slices.  I add 1 pkg thawed and drained spinach.

Trimming The Fat: It's Hard To Say Goodbye, To My iPhone

In my quest for financial freedom,  I attended a seminar offered by my credit union called Building a Better Budget.  Everyone was excited about learning how to payoff debt and start to save.  We all had the same question: How do we save when there is no money left at the end of the bills?  The speaker said "It's not the amount of money you make, it's how you manage it".  What areas in your life can you "trim the fat".  Cable, cell, insurance, entertainment? 

I started brainstorming this question, because a second job is not an option right now.  So there it was, my iPhone who has been a good and faithful servant for over two years.  I could really use the extra funds to pay down debt.  A more affordable non-smart phone could do the same things at a lower price.  I was going to go without data altogether, but that would be like a starvation diet that wouldn't last.  Even with a data plan, I still saved $65.00 a month by making the switch.  But, I'm still trying to get used to this new phone and all I "can't do" anymore.
The same is true for cutting calories.  Substituting ingredients for lower cal or lower fat options can save you hundreds of calories a day.  And this really is only a temporary sacrifice for a long term reward.  When I reach my goals in finances and health, I won't have to work so hard at digging myself out of quicksand.  I can skip along the surface and make the right decisions from the start to maintain my success!

The Sweet Tooth Files: My New Favorite Snack

After my weight gain this week, I reviewed my food journal on MyFitnessPal.com and saw some places where I really need to make changes.  My sugar and carb intake (which are virtually the same thing) was way too high each day.  There is no way I can use up all those carbs for energy, unless I stayed in the gym ALL day long.  DENIED.  So the only thing the extra sugar and carbs are doing are turning into fat.

The daily carb target for women trying to lose weight is between 90-165 carbs a day.  I do bring fruit for my snacks, but for the last two weeks, I have been craving processed snacks such as my peppermint pattie minis, Snackwells sandwich cookies, and pretzel minis.  Since it had no trans fat, was low in fat and calories, I thought I was making a choice that wouldn't harm my progress.  Well, several of them a day add up.  If I can't eat them in moderation, then I need to take a break altogether.

Enter my mom, who is ADDICTED to rice cakes and peanut butter.  I had given up peanut butter for my whole entire journey because peanut butter (and donuts) lead to bigger trouble for me.  But today after boot camp I was STARVING for something new.

Drum roll please...

Sha Sha's Open Face Banana Berry Cake

Now before you go doubting me, let me say that this has all the best things in the world to me on this rice cake.  1 point plus for the cake, 3 points plus for the tbsp peanut butter and zero points plus for the fruit.  All I needed was a dollop of whipped cream.  You could be creative and drizzle honey or sugar free fudge on top.  You could sprinkle a tsp of mini chocolate chips for an additional 1 point. 

The point is, I used my imagination and the things we had in the house and made a delicious and nutritious snack that was NOT PACKAGED AND PROCESSED with carbs and sugar from un-natural sources.  In my Weight Watchers world, points ar

I file this under: WINNING!