Hello, 140's!!!!

After 3 years and two pregnancies, I am seeing the 140-somethings on the scale again. I can not tell you how happy this makes me feel! I weighed-in this morning at 149.8. Seriously amazing. I can actually see my ab muscles forming under what was formally the texture of cookie dough---any woman who has had a baby or two knows exactly what I am talking about! I'm going to attribute this to eating healthy, of course, but also a new work-out program I started. It is basically cardio + toning through interval training. I started it just three weeks ago, but I am very pleased with the results already! I also am so thankful that God has given me strength and perseverance to do what I need to do to loose weight. What a way to start a weekend! :)

Yesterday and the Day Before

Yesterday, I weighed in at 152.4 lbs. That is slightly over 7 pounds lost in about 5 weeks. And, as my husband said last night, I am doing it the old-fashioned way. No dieting. That's right. I'm not dieting. I'm just eating at healthy as I possibly can manage on a regular basis. I'm making the healthy decisions like not eating out and never cooking unhealthy. Just a side note, I LOVE home-cooked healthy food way, way, way better than any fat-filled, sodium-stuffed food from any restaurant! Oh yes, and one more secret to this newly-found success...I still eat chocolate everyday. I only allow myself I peice of dark chocolate and that satisfies me. To balance the eating out, I also am exercising. So, I am loosing weight by eating healthy and exercising. And its working. The last time I lost weight this way, I lost 60 lbs and I kept it off (give and taken a few pounds) for 3 years, until I got pregnant with my first baby.

The day before yesterday, I walked into Chipotle*, and a fellow twenty-somethingish girl asked me, "How old is your baby?" I replied, "5 months. Almost 6." To my surprise, she replied back, "Your TINY!" Oh! That is exactly what I need to hear! Ten months after having my first baby, someone asked me if I was pregnant, so I would say that this is progress! So, whoever you are, fellow twenty-somethingish girl: THANK YOU! You can run into me anytime and tell me that!

*(which I haven't had in over a month, and I only ate 1/2 of!)

Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon (WW Version)

Upon receiving a Weight Watchers magazine in the mail this week, I was thrilled to find a Weight Watchers version of Boeuf Bourguignon. It is Julia Child's recipe, with a healthier twist. The original is 17 points, and the WW version is 8. For those of you who aren't familiar with WW speak, 17 points is quite a bit! I have wanted to make this since Troy and I saw the movie Julie & Julia because it looked mouth-watering in the movie!

So, this week, I attempted to make it and succeeded! It wasn't a difficult recipe and I got the roast I used in it for $1.99 a lb! Score! For a little more Europen flair, I served the meal with Orangina, a French baguette, and a spinach salad.

Here is the recipe....enjoy!

Boeuf Bourguignon
(Taken from WW Magazine January/February 2010)

2 lbs bottom round roast, trimmed of fat and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 (14 1/2 oz) cans low-sodium beef broth
1 c red wine
1 (16-oz) package frozen pearl onions (I used 3 fresh brown onions and it was delish!)
1 (10-oz) package of cremini mushrooms (I couldn't find these, I used brown bella instead)
2 Tbsp tomato paste 4 garlic cloves, chopped 1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme 1 bay leaf 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp black pepper 1 lb carrots, thickly sliced 2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
*I also added 1 bag of Trader Joe's Fingerling Potatoes

Directions
1. Toss beef and flour in medium bowl until evenly coated. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat (I don't have one...a large pot with a lid works just fine!). Add beef, in batches if necessary, and cook, turning occasionally, until browned, about 6 minutes. Transfer to medium bowl with slotted spoon.
2. Add broth, wine, onions, mushrooms, tomato paste, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, salt, pepper; bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pot. Sir in beef and reduce heat. Cover and simmer 1 hour. Stir in carrots (and potatoes, if you are adding them). Cover and simmer until beef and vegetables are fork-tender, about 30 minutes. Serve, sprinkled with parsley.

Weight Loss Rewards

I've been meaning to write down some rewards I want to give myself when I reach certain weight loss goals. When rewarding yourself for fitness goals met, you need to make sure it is special enough to encourage you to work (or work-out) for it. Also, make sure it isn't food. It needs to be a HEALTHY reward. Here are the rewards I have chosen for myself:

• 10 lbs lost (149lbs): A Pedicure
  
• Pre-Pre Pregnancy weight (143lbs): New workout capris (because they are getting too big! :)
• 20 lbs lost (139lbs): Another Pedicure...I really enjoy them!
• 30 lbs lost (129lbs): Pictures with my hubby and I at the beach, possibly in wedding dress (Ever heard of "trash the dress" photos? My dress is already ripped and can't be fixed, so, why not?)
  

Awesomeness.

I weighed in this morning at 153.2. I've lost over 6 lbs in a month! I just picked up exercising 3 times a week a couple weeks ago, have been eating out only once a week and cooking healthy meals the rest of the time, and drinking plenty of water....and its working! I only have 10 more lbs to my pre-pre-pregnancy weight (before my first pregnancy!) Oh joy!

Good News!

As of last Friday, I lost nearly 3 lbs! I am down to 156.6! I didn't even exercise! I just started drinking more water and being very aware of what I am eating. Now...for the exercise!

Pound for Pound Challenge

I came across this "challenge" through Facebook and decided to look into how it works. Its pretty simple. You just pledge to loose a certain amount of weight and $.14 per pound pledged to be lost is donated to your local food bank. Its actually pretty awesome, since I am trying to loose weight anyways. So, I pledged to loose 30 lbs. The challenge goes through the end of June. I believe this is totally doable for me, and since I missed out on the Mud Run sign ups (which I am still VERY sad over), this will give me some motivation to shed those pounds. Please click on the photo/link on the side of my blog to get further details on the challenge. I weighed in at 159.4 lbs this morning. I gained 2 lbs over the holidays. Here's to loosing that and much more!