Week 4 - The first week of "failure"

This week has been been a stressful week. Husband and I have been looking at places to move into, and wondering how we're going to swing moving on a measly budget (Note, it's not fun).  I also started back at work, which means less lunches at home, and more purchased, (I did have a salad on Monday though!)

So, as I stepped on the scale for my weekly weigh in, I saw the one thing that I didn't really want to see, Weight Gained.

This week has me completely frazzled, I've come to realize that I didn't really *try* to cook anything healthy this week (I did make some Banana Nut Bread, at the request of Husband, and I didn't really like it at all. He did, so that's a definite plus). 

Now I know that this isn't going to define my weight loss! I'm trying to look at it in a positive light. One of, "I know that I need to do better, so next week, I'm going to try *really* hard to cook healthier things, and start a workout routine".

Being back at work (at a University Campus) has at least got me up and walking a few times a week (With the occasional quick walk to get me to my room on time). I just need to find some things to incorporate into my daily routine that will get me up and going!

I'm sorry that there are no recipes for you today! Hopefully, next week I'll have something really good to share with you :)

Weight: +3 lbs from last week
Net Loss over 4 weeks, 2lbs. or .99% of my starting weight.

Here's to better numbers next week!

Week 3 Includes Cake!

I am not the sort of person who has sweet cravings all the time, In fact, for me it's very rare. Last weekend though, as I was making dinner, I decided that I was going to make a cake too. After all of the holiday baking, there are tons of baking ingredients in our house, and if I am ever in the mood to bake things, It's usually doable without making a trip to the grocery store.

I used to get these emails with "healthified" recipes. Basically, they use more of the 'Low calorie, Low fat, ect' ingredients to make a meal that tastes just as good as the ones you're used to making. This gave me the idea to look up a "healthified" chocolate cake, and to my amazement, I found one!

Here's a link to the Cake Recipe, courtesy of EatingWell.com One Bowl Chocolate Cake

If I make this cake again, I'll probably attempt some other substitutions, like using Applesauce instead of Oil (I always forget about that when baking cakes). It turned out to be really  good, and while it wasn't a cake like I was used to eating (there wasn't any frosting, just powdered sugar), everyone in the house seemed to like it, and at only 139 calories a slice, it comes in under *one* snickerdoodle cookie that I picked up later in the week.

After all the sweets I had this week (cake, cookies, and some Dutch Apple Bread that I made later in the week) my Weight loss for the week was still 2.5lbs, putting me at a total of 5 lbs gone!

Heres to next week, and hopefully finding some exercise in me! I'm starting back up work, and packing up the house for an eventual move, but I should be able to squeeze some time for exercise in there somehow!

Success will be slow, but it will be worth it.

Blogging about weight is an interesting experience. For instance, I sit at my computer and wonder what I should write about, what you would like to hear about. Struggles, Accomplishments, Ideas, Questions, Support? I want to talk about all of those things, but I don't always know where to start.

Two weeks ago my Husband and I decided that going out to eat would have to be something that we limited to once a week. It's been challenging, but we've been trying to find things that are better for us that don't necessarily take a lot of time to cook.

A few nights ago my Husband decided that he wanted to cook dinner for me. I'm usually the one that cooks in our house, so I was delighted that he wanted to take on this challenge.  We spent about an hour looking around the city for a Fish Market, and to our surprise, there are none around here. We found some Red Snapper at our local Grocery Store. Here's how he cooked it:

Ingredients:

1 fillet of Red Snapper (ours was about .8 lbs)

Lemongrass

Lemon Juice

Basil

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375

Score the Fish (If the fish has a skin side, be sure to score the skin so it doesn't curl)

Rub lemon juice over the fish

Break apart the lemongrass (we used fresh) and distribute over the fish

Add a little basil on top for some color and flavor

Cook for about 25 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork

He also steamed Asparagus, and added a little bit of the Lemongrass to the steamer as it was cooking. He made a boxed Pasta mix to go along with the meal, and it was fantastic! I was genuinely surprised that he offered to make fish, as it's not really his favorite (He'd rather have "real meat" most of the time)

I've also been working on trying to use less dairy products in the food that I eat. This has been really hard for me, because I love cheese. Recently (on and off ) I have been noticing that my body has been fighting with me. Last Spring or Summer, I found out that I was Lactose Intolerant. This has been very disappointing for me, as I realize that many of the foods that I make have some sort of dairy product in them. I've been taking enzymes that help with the digestion, so it's not like I have to eliminate it completely, but I do need to cut back so that I can give my body a rest!

Bad News for this week: I haven't been paying attention to the things that I cook too much, I know, It's sort of counterproductive for weightloss, but I'm trying. Also, I haven't done much exercise. I'll have to see what else I can find to get me going!

Good News: I'm down 2.5lbs from where I was this time last week! I've decided that my total goal over the long run is probably going to be about 60 lbs. That sounds like a lot, but I know that with the help of my family, friends, and other people who may be reading this, that I can do it!

Blog - a - holic

My name is Brianna, and I am a blog-a-holic. Honestly, I've started quite a few blogs over the years, and they have really never gotten anywhere. My husband and I have decided that we are going to buckle down and lose some weight. This is quite difficult for me. Growing up, I never watched what I ate, I was never pushed into sports, or other active activities (I was on the Brain Bowl team, and other such geeky activities).
I moved away to college, got married, and put on more weight than I am comfortable with.
I figured what better way to keep me on my toes than by letting the world in on my success.
My biggest plan is to learn more about what I'm eating. To make dishes that are balanced, to cook most of the things that we eat instead of going out to dinner (this will help our wallets too!)

Then, I need to work on the exercise. I know its the best way to lose weight, but when you are over weight, its a lot harder than it seems. I feel like I get tired a lot quicker than I should when I set out to do any sort of exercise at all.

I've heard of the couch potato to 5k plan, but I'm not much of a runner or walker, so I'll have to see what other options I have. Wii fit might be an option, but I'd like to see what ideas other people have.

To anyone reading that's planning on losing some weight too, good luck to you! May this blog not only inspire you, but help you along the way too.

So for now, I'll see you next week with my first public weigh in!