I'm Back!

Yes, I know I've been a bad blogger. The past two weeks have been insane, but I problem. Its hard when you go from work to work on the house, and then get home at 9pm ready to pass out. I haven't even have somehow survived it all. First of all, we closed on our house on May 1st!! We've spent every day doing work, which means long days of painting and lawn work. We move in this Saturday and we are very very ready!

Also in the past two weeks I've had two job interviews (one on the same day we closed), and Jim graduated college!! So, needless to say we've been a little nuts. Sticking to the diet has been pretty much non-existent during this time and I'm paying for it on the scale. I've only gained back 2 pounds, but I'm not losing, which is a had time to do real grocery shopping so I'm just grabbing whatever I can, whenever I can. I know its not the right way to be, but its the best I can do right now. Once we get moved in next weekend things will settle tremendously and I can get back on track. Its still so important to me to be healthy and lose some weight, I just need to be able to make it a priority and right now I'm struggling. I'll get back on track very soon though.

Stats - Week 3

I am a day late writing this, but I did weight and measure yesterday...with NO change. Not a pound, not an inch, nada. BUT, I'm ok with this. My birthday was on Monday and it was an eventful weekend. Thursday night I had margaritas with my girls, Saturday night my hubby treated me to dinner at a local grill, and Monday night we had ice cream and a yummy chicken alfredo for dinner. I know, I know..that's too much cheating!!! But its also why I'm not disappointed in my results. I'm relieved, actually as I thought I would get back to my starting weight.

I'm trying to get back on track this week, and its a struggle. Things are so insanely busy right now that finding the time to count points and diet is so difficult, let alone get any exercise. But I am proud of myself for not giving up completely as I usually would during a crazy time like this and I really am doing the best I can.

Next week is going to be nuts. I have to turn in my final project for school on Tuesday, Wednesday night we have the final walk through in the house, Thursday morning I have a job interview, and Thursday afternoon we are closing on our house!!! If I survive, I'll be sure to let you all know. :)

Deep-Dish Pizza Casserole

Talk about a recipe that even your husband will drool over!! I made this casserole the other night for dinner and it was amazing! Making 6 servings, at 6 points a piece, it is the perfect dinner size, and one serving is enough to make you (and any men in your life) nice and full!

Again, I apologize for the numerous steps. I'm a timid cooker, so breaking it down to every little step is so helpful to me!

Deep-Dish Pizza Casserole

Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef
1 (15 ounce) can chunky Italian-style tomato sauce (I used Ragu tomato, garlic, and onion)
1 (10 ounce) tube refrigerated pizza crust dough
6 slices part-skim mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Cook the meat in a medium non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until browned and crumbly. Drain and return to skillet.

3. Add tomato sauce, and cook until heated

4. Coat a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

5. Unroll pizza crust dough, and press into bottom and halfway up the sides of the baking dish.

6. Line the pizza crust with 3 slices of mozzarella cheese (I cut them in half to cover more area)

7. Top with meat mixture, and bake at 425 degrees for 12 minutes.

8. Top with remaining 3 cheese slices, and bake an additional 5 fimunes or until crust is brown and cheese melts.

9. Cool 5 minutes before serving

6 Servings
6 Points each serving

A Sure Sign of Summer

Besides the AMAZING 75 degree day we saw here in Maine yesterday, while shopping last weekend, I saw real, yummy, FRESH strawberries!! Strawberries are by far my favorite fruit, and are just horrible during the winter months. So all week long I was treated to this yummy breakfast and reminded of the warm weather ahead! And the best part?? Strawberries are one of the lowest point fruits..at 1 point a cup. :)

The Biggest Loser

If you have never seen this show, you MUST tune in when it comes back next October. This was my first full season watching, and I have been more inspired by this group of individuals than I ever have been before. The HEALTHY transformations these people make in their bodies, their lifestyles, and their minds are just incredible. Its easy to say "Well I could do that if I had trainers like Bob and Jillian to kick my ass too" but all over the country people are using this show as inspiration and losing tons of weight. Over the past few months I've learned more types of exercise, ways to eat healthy,and most importantly, that weight loss CAN happen.

I can't get over the before and after pictures of these people. Maybe they mean more to me because I watched the show religiously and feel like I got to know them, but I just had to share,and hope that they inspire some of you like they did me. This isn't everyone..for a full set of pictures go to http://www.nbc.com/The_Biggest_Loser_5/photos/index.shtml but here are my favorites:

Ali (the winner!)
Before
After

Roger (Runner-Up)
Before

After

Mark and Jay, Brothers from Massachusetts (Yay New England!)
Before

After (Aren't they SO cute???!!!)

Kelly (Second Runner-Up)
Before

After

Dan and Jackie (Son and Mom)
Before

After

Brittany, (my hubby's fav..hehe) and Bernie
Before

After
Bernie was the At-Home Biggest Loser!

Curtis and Mallory (Husband and Wife)
Before

After

Amazing! Thanks for the inspiration!

Stats - Week Two

So after two full weeks of my new program, I decided to weigh in and measure. Much to my surprise I am seeing some results!

Weight: 163 (-2)

Bust: 37 in (no change)
Waist: 33.5 in (-1.5)
Hips: 42.25 in (-1.25)

BMI: 25.5 (-.3)

I am so excited to be seeing some change! I'm definitely on track, and this keeps me motivated!

Can't....give.....up.....

So I am almost two full weeks into my new weight loss adventure, and man, its HARD. I think losing weight would be a cinch if life just didn't get in the way. This weekend my friend Kristen came to town and we ended up enjoying beverages and going out to eat and I didn't even attempt to count my points. While I know I went over, I am really proud of myself though for making healthier decisions, out and at home. At home, instead of making really bad for you dip, I enjoyed chips and salsa (0 points for the salsa). Saturday morning we went to a diner for breakfast. I LOVE diners, and I LOOOOOVE french toast at diners which is definitely not the healthiest choice. Instead I went for an omlette with raisin toast, and it was just as great! Saturday night we went out for wings, and instead of wings I got a grilled chicken wrap. So, while I didn't 100% stick to it this weekend, I think I did a good job of making better choices while having a friend in town.

The hardest part for me right now is definitely getting the exercise I should be. I like the gym, I used to despise it, but this winter I was going pretty regularly and started enjoying it, much to my surprise. But the past few months, (WARNING: Here come the excuses!!), life has gotten insanely busy. I'm taking the hardest class of my life. One three credit, should be 10 credit, class takes up many of my evenings with extensive reading, group work and papers. We're also closing on our first house on May 1, so we're really busy with getting ready to move on top of the end of the semester craziness. Finding time to go to the gym, is just really hard. I am trying to walk more though just to get moving, but (I can't believe I'm saying this), I miss the elliptical and weight machines at the gym..I just always felt so good about myself after..and that's something I've been missing for several weeks now.

This week is supposed to be gorgeous outside. I know I'm struggling to fit into my warm weather clothes, so hopefully this will give me the kick in the butt I need. If I could just get to the gym once......better than none right?