Weight Loss

I weighed on Saturday. I lost 2 pounds and 0.4% body fat. I also measured in 5 places. I will weigh again in two weeks. I will measure in 4 weeks. I am happy with this week's results. Yea!!!

My own W.O., weight, and Session 6

I did my workout on my own for the second time this past Friday. Melanie did it with me. It was good; but, a little easy.

I checked my body fat % on Friday after the workout. It was 1% lower than I guessed it might be. Still way more than I want. I weighed on Saturday morning. I lost 1 pound. UG! Slow and steady I guess. I just want to loose 50 quickly so I can do something that is depending on that weight loss. It is so hard not loosing more than that.

Today, Ariel increased my workout. A lot. I am logging my exercise for me to refer back to later. This is what we did:

• Warm-up 10 min. on treadmill at 2.6 mph. (good warm-up speed for me)

• 3 sets of 15 reps: lat pull downs - 50 pounds (reg., wide, and reverse grip)

• " ": leg press - 95 pounds (reg., close, and reg. stance again)

• " ": calf press - 75 pounds (in between leg press)

• " ": bench press - with weighted bar (more difficult than 5 lb. free weight)

• " ": pullover ab crunch - with weighted bar (more difficult than free weight and in between bench press.
• floor leg work: front/back extension, inner thigh, and clam
• planks in between floor leg work
• front/side lateral raise - 5 lb. free 2s 15r(s=sets, r=reps)
• my "favorite" ab workout after lateral raise
• stability ball squats - 2s 15 r
• lunges - (step forward, dip down, stand, and bring foot back; hold 5lb. 2s 10r)
• ankle grab abs - crunch, then slide side to side reaching for your ankles (between lunge sets)
  
• bicep curls - resistance band 2s 15r (reg. and hammer)
• bosu ball crunch sets (center, right and left oblique; in between biceps)
• tricep dips (on bench - 2s 10r)
• stability ball crunch sets (same as on bosu ball; in between triceps)

Tough stuff, but I feel great!

EXTRA! EXTRA!!

I am so glad I finally found out about this that I had to share it with the world.

The CORRECT way to weigh yourself!

No wonder I have been so disappointed all these years!

Seeking New Name

To all my loyal readers (all three of you), and anybody else who stops by, this blog is in serious need of a new name. I throw this out to you. Please let me know of your ideas for a new blog name, bonus points if it includes something with angel. I can't wait to see all of your wonderful ideas.

P.S. I gained a pound this week. Oh well, I am not giving up!

ZERO

I am so disappointed; when I weighed this morning I was exactly (to the tenth) the same weight as I was last Sunday! WHY? I ate well and exercised. UG! Just keep trying, right?

Speaking of exercise, I LOVE my Wii Fit! I played for an hour yesterday and got in some good cardio! Too bad I don't have that with me up at the apartment. Anyway, good luck to all of you who are trying to regain your health. Keep it up; we can do this together. The important thing is the changes we are making to live longer and with higher quality; in the end it will pay off!

I pledged to loose 25 pounds for the pound for pound Challenge. Please sign up and use your efforts to help others as well. Just click on the logo to the left.

ONE

This past week I lost one (as in solo, uno, lonely, etc) pound! ONE! Ug!

It just goes to show you that the second week is never as good as the first! What caused this? No money to buy healthy foods like fruits and veggies! My husband had not gotten his second check of the month yet. Now, we are fine, but that was hard to try to eat healthy without the proper food.

At least it is a pound in the right direction, right? Here's to a new week!

Update and Recipe

I had my first weekly weigh in today. On Friday, I noticed that my clothes were just a little more comfortable than normal. Well, this morning I found out why. We have been eating well, maintaining our blood sugar levels naturally and in 10 days I lost 8 and 1/2 pounds! What?!? I am so excited! I just want to shout it to all I know that eating well does not mean you have to choke down tiny portions of food you don't like! I have learned so much and feel like we are going to be successful. My reasons for doing this were to increase my energy (done), stop shaking between meals (done), not get Type 2 Diabetes (which runs in my family), and help my body maintain appropriate levels of sugars and hormones. I was not, in any way, thinking this would help me lose weight! I feel like I actually eat more than I was before; but I guess it is the quality of what we are eating. I am not complaining.

Last night we had an amazing meal! Here is the recipe.
********** Chicken Pesto Pizza **********
1 TBSP cornmeal
1 tube (10 ounces) refrigerated pizza dough **or make your own**
1/3 C. low fat prepared pesto **or make your own**
1/4 pound cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small strips
1 roasted red pepper, cut into small strips
1/2 C. rinsed and drained water-packed canned artichoke hearts, patted dry and quartered
1/2 C. (2 oz.) crumbled low fat goat cheese or shredded low fat Jarlsberg cheese

Preheat oven to 450F. Coat a large round pizza pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle with cornmeal.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll into a 12" circle and place on the prepared pan. Spread with the pesto, leaving a 1/4" border. Arrange the chicken, peppers, and artichokes over the top. Dot with the goat cheese or sprinkle with the Jarlsberg. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

Makes 8 servings
SO YUMMY!!!!!!!

Day 3 and First Weigh In

Day 3 was good, too.

Breakfast: Smoothie! 1 C. low fat milk or yogurt, a small banana, a cup of frozen berries, and 1 TBS. of ground flaxseed. Yummy!

Lunch: Chicken Salad Rolls. Again, yummy. We also had 1 C. of honeydew melon.
SEE RECIPE BELOW

Dinner: A veggie burger (we like the Boca Burgers) on a whole wheat bun with tomatoes, onions, lettuce, mustard, a small amount of ketchup, and a small amount of relish (all optional). With a side of salad.

Dessert: 1/2 C. of low fat frozen dessert (we made Orange Julius, but you could also have fruit popsicles, low fat ice cream, etc.)

Snacks: raw veggies, string cheese, veggies with 3 TBSP Hummus.

Since today is Sunday, I needed to weigh myself so that I can be on track to weigh every Sunday morning. I know it has only been three days of the new lifestyle, so I wasn't expecting much. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I had lost 5 pounds! I will be happy with 2 pounds by next week, but that makes me super happy.

Chicken Salad Roll-Ups (Serves 4 people)

1-8 oz. can mandarin oranges 1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 C. Asian plum sauce 1/2 C. chopped seeded cucumber
1 TBS. rice wine vinegar or wine vinegar 2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger 2 1/2 C. packed chopped romaine lettuce
1/2 pound cold cooked boneless, skinless 4 Whole wheat tortillas (8" diameter)
chicken breast, cut into small strips

1. Drain the oranges, reserving 2 TBS. of the juice.
2. In a large bowl, combine the plum sauce, vinegar, ginger, and reserved orange juice. Add the chicken, pepper, cucumber, scallions, lettuce, and oranges. Toss to coat.
3. Place the tortillas on a work surface. Dived the salad evenly on top. Roll into cylinders and slice in half diagonally.

Nutritional Information per serving: 331 calories, 22 g Protein, 48 g carbohydrates, 6 g fat, 50 mg cholesterol, 416 mg sodium, 6 g dietary fiber
Diet exchanges: 1/2 fruit, 1 1/2 bread, 3 meat
Carb choices: 3