"Try"

Happy Friday everybody! I am down another 2 pounds this morning. I am officially down 22.2 pounds in 8 weeks. I was a little nervous getting on that scale this morning with going out on St Paddy's Day(even though I was watching points). However, I will take a two pound loss any day. We did another round of kickboxing last night at the Gemini Center and had even a bigger group. I altered my workout a bit since I have a janky lower back so some of the kicking motions really trigger it. That is one nice thing about the class is you can do at your own pace and change things up. I feel great this morning and not in pain which is nice

This coming week is a big one for us as one of my favorite singers is in town, Pink! We saw her twice on her last tour and were just blown away(this was my first time ever seeing her live). If you havent ever seen her, I am sorry. That's all I can say. She puts on amazing show. I am sure we will be snapping photos and taking video so be sure to keep an eye out on my Facebook for updates.

I wanted to share another great recipe with everyone: Baked Spaghetti Squash & Cheese. This is from Skinnytaste. I love her recipes. I did a Chicken Enchiladas recipe too from her and it was amazing as well. One thing I did add to the squash recipe was chicken sausage. It was VERY good. This could be served as an entree or a side. We did both. One night I served it as an entree and the next as a side with chicken.

Also this past weekend I decided to purchase season tickets from my beloved Cleveland Browns. Everyone has their team. I always root for my Cleveland teams but anyone who knows me knows I love my Browns(but hated them the past 20 years for the most part). With the recent moves they made by getting Jarvis Landry and Tyrod Taylor, I finally felt they have the right decision makers in place. I decided last Sunday to bit the bullet and buy them. And clearly those moves have changed others views as I heard this morning that Las Vegas has moved the Browns up in the odds of winning the Super Bowl. We are no longer at the bottom!

Hope everyone has a great weekend! Stay safe and warm!

XOXO-
B

"Eye of the Tiger"

Another week and another 2.8 pounds lost. I am now officially over the 20 pound mark at 20.2 pounds lost in 7 weeks. I will have to say I was a little worried because we had a team happy hour this week an due to work travel I didnt get to the gym 5 days. However, I still kept on my plan and didnt go over my points. I am finding that is the key for me: DON'T GO OVER YOUR POINTS

Last night, Lisa, Kim and I did a kickboxing class at the Gemini Center which is our rec center in Fairview Park. I had done a class before years ago so I was somewhat familiar in what to expect. It is an hour class on Thursdays for anybody who is interested you can look at the program here: Kickboxing Classes

I will say it was a great workout. So much so I wanted to puke halfway through. I am pretty sure this was due to me not being in shape plus not having too many calories consumed for the day. We did everything from punching to kicking to squats to using bands(feel the burn!). I do have to be careful because I have a tricky lower right back which has a tendency to give out on me and when it does I am like a turtle on my back. However, what is nice about the class is its at your own pace and you can kind of adjust. Jessica, who runs the class, is super nice and works with you. What is extra nice about the class is you can get a little aggression out on the punch bag. One thing I do want to mention is if you would like to do the class, bring your own gloves. You can buy weight lifting gloves and they are very inexpensive. Otherwise, we were just wrapping towels around our hands.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and an awesome St Paddy's Day!

XOXO
B-

"Another One..or almost three... Bites the Dust"

Another week down another 2.8 pounds lost. I am now down 17.4 pounds since January 23.

So I have been asked how I am doing this and if I had some tips. The main two things I can tell you if you are going to take this challenge on is to meal plan and get your ass moving. If you don't do these two things, you will not last long. For example, on Wednesday or Thursday I start meal planning for the next week. We do most of our grocery shopping on Saturday and/or Sunday. I make my menu for dinners and then I buy from that list. And make sure you HAVE a list. Do not go into the store all willy nilly. You will buy crap you do not need or should not eat.

That being said Pinterest should be your go to for meal planning. If you dont have the app, get it. Make a board for Weight Watchers or Healthy Eating. Pin those recipes to your boards. I can tell you almost all of the stuff I have made is from there. Two other great resources for recipes which tell you the point totals for Weight Watchers are Hungry Girl and Skinny Taste

What I have found in my journey thus far is you have to find substitutes for the food you love. If you like rice, make cauliflower rice. I know it sounds weird but its fantastic. If you like tortilla chips, get the baked Tostitos. They no longer taste like wallpaper paste and are a great option. With so many fantastic salsas out there you can have a crunchy snack for low points. If you love a great hamburger, get the Butterball frozen turkey burgers. They are really good and only 3 points.

Hope every has a great weekend! Stay warm!
-B

"One Day At A Time"

Today was weigh in day. Well every Friday is. I got on the dreaded scale and what did my eyes see? A 4.4 pound weight loss since last Friday. I am officially down 14.6 pounds since January 23rd! I have a long ways to go, however, I will very excited to see those results. So what did I do differently this week? The only thing I really changed was I went to the gym one extra day. Did it pay off? Maybe. However, the notion that I am going to get to the gym 6 days a week isn't very realistic.

I am not making excuses here but its just sometimes my schedule wont allow it. I WILL get to the gym no less than 4 days. I love that now my mentality is feeling guilty about taking one day off at the gym. You have to have that mentality or you will fall off of the wagon. It is so easy to do that: "Well I am tired and I just dont feel like it" or "I will skip today and go tomorrow". Look--30-40 minutes out of your entire day is, in the grand scheme of things, not a big deal. Granted I dont have kids so I do have the luxury of having that extra time. One of the activities I am super excited about is kickboxing classes. Lisa and I will be taking those starting March 15th at our local rec center every Thursday. It will be a nice change of pace from walking around a track.

One of the things I also wanted to share on this blog is some of the recipes I have come across and wanted to post the ones we have tried and really enjoyed. I also wanted to post products both good and bad so if you are out there looking for some options you have them. The first one we both really enjoyed is below:



Curry Asaparagus and Caulifower Rice

This was super easy and very low on points. I added grilled chicken to ours but it would be fantastic with shrimp as well. One thing I have found out is Pinterest should be your best friend if you are trying to lose weight. There are so many great options out there. Yes you will spend more money. Yes it will take more time but trust me in the long run it is way worth it.

I will post more and more of these recipes as I get them. Also, another way to follow my journey is via Instagram . You will have to request to follow me because I dont want any creepers looking at my stuff. You know who you are :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend! Stay warm!

XOXO-B-