So Much Has Changed

So much has changed since I last wrote.

1. I moved out. 
2. I'm loving being my own person.

Crazy how just moving out will change your out look on things.

• I'm getting a chance to organize things my way. 
• I've got so much more space to spread out. 
• I feel my creative juices flowing again.
• I'm making jewelry. 
• I'm writing. 
• I'm crocheting. 

1. I don't feel like I'm being held to be something that I really am not.
2. I have been able to hang out with friends and have good times.
3. I have been able to enjoy time with my son most every day.

I am going to write more here starting now. I've got some ideas and I'd like to share them. See you again soon! How has your time been?

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! And yes the year is still new. It's still January for another week (at least). The past couple of months that I haven't been posting is because I have been busy. I worked at Hobby Lobby for all of three weeks before I had to quit. The store manager at the store that I was working at was not helpful in how he made the schedule for people to know when they were to work the following week.

Now I'm working at a pretty active job as a cashier/bagger. The days can feel long while working there but my Active Link is showing that I am really banking the Activity Points. Bad thing is I haven't been following the plan for Weight Watchers with either the Points Plus or Simply Filling. My weight loss chart shows this too.

I obviously need to get back on track and start following one of the plans. Hopefully in the near future (i.e. the next two months) I will be finally moving out. People say that divorce is the best weight loss plan out there, but so far it hasn't been. I started working at my grocery store the last day of November last year. I really want these Activity Points to be put to good use.

I want to start doing the Simple Start/Simply Filling starting tomorrow. I do believe that I have all of the stuff I might actually need (at least for a day or two).

Couponing is also going to be a big focus for me this next year considering I'll be on one income. I just hope that I'll be able to stick to losing when I have to save money.

Do you have any money saving tips while trying to lose weight?

I've Been Slacking Off

My life has been crazy in my point of view anyways. I have been on the hunt for a job and it has been stressful. So it has driven me to eat more than what I should. I find myself comforting myself with food after everyone goes to sleep at night. Nothing is sacred in this attempt to satisfy my need to snack either. It could be something that I bought for myself or it could be something that I bought for my son to eat.

My late night snacking never seems to end up with me eating something good for me like a salad, or some fresh fruit that is in the bowl on the counter. I find myself asking questions like "What am I really craving?" or "Am I looking for a specific taste?" or "Am I just looking for crunch?"

Sadly the individual servings bags of Animal Crackers (which could be regular, iced, or entirely frosted) usually ends up being my go to snack until I've ate them all. My son never even gets to open a bag. Yes I feel bad about it when I'm opening one of those little bags but I get past that feeling and just start munching. If anything in the house has chocolate in it, it's gone in a matter of a couple of nights and I'm looking for what I can fill my next snacking.

This last Saturday at my weigh in I was up into the range of weight that I had hoped that I would never see again. I am back up over 200 pounds. Not by much but it's enough. The weather is getting cool again. So I have to get cracking on what I'm eating because I want to be able to fit into all of my 16W jeans again without them being uncomfortable. I also just bought pants for my job search not long ago that are also size 16W. I can't let that money go to waste.

I find myself saddened by all the money that I have just continued to give to Weight Watchers. This program works when you follow the plan. It does. Really. But I have purposely stalled myself out and just keep handing them money every month. I could have been lifetime by now had I always stuck with it. At the same time I have to look at it in the sense of had I not been going to a meeting every weekend where would my weight be? How many times would I have come back to Weight Watchers?

This is the longest journey of my life so far. It has been a struggle. I am waiting for my break through so that I can get to lifetime. It's going to get easier when I'm the only one making the food decisions. It's going to be easier when I don't have to worry about the junk food that I didn't bring into the house. (I'm really proud of myself that I haven't bought Halloween candy yet, even though there have been some really good deals and coupons for it.) It will continue to be a journey even after I am in my own home, because then there are no excuses. I am the person buying food.

Do you have issues with night time snacking too? How do you handle your cravings? Let me know in the comment section!

Dolls, Dolls, and More Dolls! And an Update

This last week has been mentally very busy for me. I've been thinking about all of the different ways that I might be able to make some kind of income regardless of what I might end up doing as a day job. I just have this feeling like I'm going to have to do something else. I know that whatever I might end up doing myself I'm going to have to like it as a hobby at the very least.

I know that I already enjoy to crochet and to knit. I also wanted to try my hand at making doll clothes a while back too. These doll clothes could be crochet, knitted, or even sewn. Anyway I look at it I could do anyone of these things. And since I also have a bit of a background in jewelry making I could also make jewelry for the dolls too.

I didn't realize just how many different types of dolls are popular now days. I also didn't realize just how much people are willing to spend on a doll. I already knew of American Girl dolls that are 18 inches tall. I knew that Cabbage Patch dolls are also kind of making a come back. Then there is a whole other world of ball jointed dolls like Blythe Dolls and Monster High Dolls.

The Blythe Dolls have really caught my eye! I'm going to have to save up some money so that I can own one for a model of clothes and jewelry at least. Maybe they can be the next set of dolls that I work my way into.

As for the update this coming weekend is a job fair! I'm hoping to see if there are any employers that would be interested in having me. Then next week I am going to press on and start doing more Simply Filling meals to get me back on track. It's sad I started a Diet Bet and I've been ignoring my diet!

Talk to you more soon!

Simply Filling Week 2

The second week of me doing Simply Filling Technique didn't quite yield the results that I hoped for. But at the same time I knew that there would be a gain no matter what I tried. This last week was stressful with it being more than just myself at home.

I found myself eating out of comfort. I felt like the only way that I would feel better was for me to have something in my mouth. I tried to eat only things that were Simply Filling even if I was eating. That was probably my only saving grace. My gain wasn't a
terrible one. I only gained 0.8 this last week.

As you can see from my weight chart up there I need change. I need something to boost me onward to greatness. I am tired of looking at that 10% goal line. This weight chart is from when I first started at Weight Watchers until now. So 2 years worth of weigh ins. There was a whole year there in the middle that my life got in the way. THE ONLY REASON that I am not back up to my start weight or beyond was that I kept going to the meetings and half trying to stick to program. Weight Watchers works. I'm going to stick with it until the end. I am going to be a lifetime member.

I am going to try out a couple of new recipes this coming week and I'll post them as I try them. There is a Crock Pot Salsa Chicken that looks good that I can make sure is SFT and I'll let you know how it works out!

I also signed up for a Diet Bet so I'm hoping that it helps me stick to my goal. I'm going to have to lose 4% of my weight in the next 4 weeks. Maybe since I've got money on the line it will motivate me even more.

Have any of you ever done a Diet Bet where you put your money in a pot to reach a goal weight by the end?

Simply Filling Bread

Today I thought that I would make some Simply Filling Technique friendly bread. I did it this afternoon an oh wow. Some good stuff right there. :)

Now as far as cooking and baking goes I'm kind of a newbie at it. I remember a few things from Home Ec. But not much. I don't remember my mom making bread at all growing up, but when it came to other baked goods like cookies, cake, and other yummy things from the oven, those were plentiful.

Alright. So here is the recipe that I found on the internet on 3fatchicks.com

• 1& 2/3rds cup of warm water
• 2 tsp of salt
• 4 cups (650 g) of Cream of Wheat (farina/semolina)
• 1 tsp sugar (There are no points in 1 tsp of sugar FYI)
• 2 tsp of yeast

Put all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix. Slowly add water (because sometimes the cream of wheat absorbs it more than others so you might not need all of it. When I made it I did need it).

Knead it for 10 minutes. Divide into rolls, loaves, etc. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place until they have doubled in size.

For loaves place in the middle of a preheated 450F oven for 30 - 35 minutes. Cool on wire tray.

Instead of regular sugar I used brown sugar because I didn't have any real white sugar at home (and I didn't want to buy a whole new box of sugar). I put all of the dry ingredients in my Kitchen Aid mixer and mixed them up. Then I took the water and slowly poured it in while the mixer kneaded it with the bread hook. I let it go for 10 minutes. Another thing I didn't do was cover it while the bread rose on the cookie sheet. I was able to make 2 loaves of bread with this recipe. Next time maybe I'll have bread pans to put the dough in.

Making this bread was a lot of fun.

Have you tried making bread before? Was it a reduced calorie or a Weight Watchers friendly recipe?

Simply Filling Chicken Fried Rice

I had a great week doing the Simply Filling Technique last week. I lost 2.6! Don't get me wrong there were times when I was wondering if I was going to be able to make it through the whole week but I managed to pull it off. I am going to continue with it this next week.

I tried some recipes that I hadn't before this past week too. The one didn't turn out half bad for me but one of them didn't agree with me. Though it might agree with you. The first one I did was a "mock" Chicken Fried Rice!

I didn't use that many ingredients this time around and I'll probably tweak it a bit the next time I make it. I used the following:

1 Bag of Steam in Bag Brown Rice (Publix Brand)
1 Bag of Steam in Bag Mixed Vegetables (Publix Brand)
2 5oz Weight Watchers Frozen Chicken Breasts (You can use what chicken you have on hand)
1/3 cup of Better Than Eggs egg subsitute
A couple of sprays of Pam
A couple of shakes of Low-Sodium Soy Sauce

I went about putting it all together the hard way (Is what my mom told me. Love you Mom!). I put the chicken breasts in the oven to cook for 35 minutes, when they come out I diced them.
As the chicken was coming towards the end of time to cook I steamed the brown rice and the veggies together. In a wok I sprayed it with Pam and then cooked the egg. Then mixed the veggies and rice in with the egg. When the chicken was diced I put it in with the rest then seasoned it to taste.

The next time I make it I will be using sesame oil, and some teriyaki sauce. Those might get it to closer to the flavor that I was looking for. It was filling and I was able to keep some for leftovers! :)

The other recipe that I thought that I would try that ended up with me having terrible heartburn was a Frozen Banana ice cream. I won't even go there with how I made it because I'm afraid of just thinking about it for too long will bring the heartburn back. I guess I'm just allergic to bananas and won't be eating them again because there wasn't anything in the ice cream but frozen pureed banana!

In any case thanks for following along. If you try making the Fried Rice let me know how yours turned out!