Weigh In Wednesday

First of all, I can't believe it has been one whole week since I've blogged last.  I'll have to find some things to post between weigh ins this week.

Secondly, the changes I made this week in my diet really paid off.  This week I lost.....

2.4 pounds

That's what I'm talking about!!  Like I said in last weeks post, I changed my dinners into healthier dinners.  For a couple weeks there I was eating not so healthy dinners, like, 15 point dinners..and I'm only allotted 29 points a day.  So this past week I made a lot of changes to my menu, like eating more balanced meals throughout the day, a 5 point breakfast, a 8-9 point lunch, a 9-10 point dinner leaving 6-7 points left over for snacks.  So I'd say my changes worked out pretty well in my favor : ) 

As for exercising, I'm doing really well there.  I worked out 5 days this week for 40 minutes to an hour each day.  Well, besides one day when I only worked out 20 minutes, but at least I did something!  I'm actually pretty proud of myself for getting up to 5 days a week.  And really, I don't even think about working out anymore.  It's just part of my day now.  Ryleigh goes down for her morning nap, I get on the work out clothes and get to it.  I kind of feel guilty on the days I don't work out now : /  But it's paying off and even though I weigh more than what I usually weigh, my clothes are fitting better and some of my pants are actually a little large because I'm more fit than what I used to be.  And that makes me feel good inside.  In fact, I went on a little shopping spree yesterday to celebrate my successes : )

So this past week was very good and I got the results I have been looking for!  Now I'm only 8 pounds away from my "usual" weight and we're 3 weeks away from our trip to California.  So hopefully my streak will continue!!  I took lots of pictures this week, so enjoy some photos and recipes from this week.

 6 point breakfast: 1 hash brown pattie, 1 scrambled egg, 1 scrambled egg white, scallions, Canadian bacon, 1/2 cup sliced strawberries, and 8oz. Trop50 Orange Juice.

8 point breakfast: 1 cup sliced strawberries, 6oz. low fat vanilla yogurt, and 1/2 cup low fat granola.

8 point lunch:  Cobb Salad- 2 cups romaine lettuce, 2 slices deli turkey, 1 slice low fat Swiss cheese, 1/4 cup diced tomato, 1 slice turkey bacon crumbled, 1/2 hard boiled egg, 1 1/2 Tbsp. Ranch dressing, and a side of orange slices.

10 point lunch:  Fresh Tomato and Mozzarella panini- I drizzled each inner side bread slice with some EVOO, red wine vinegar, dried oregano, salt and pepper to give it some flavor. (I used rye swirl bread because that's what I had in the pantry)  Then added 2oz. whole milk mozzarella, 1 cup arugula,  1 medium plum tomato (sliced), then sprayed each side of the sandwich with cooking spray and grilled it.  Then added some slices of cantaloupe on the side.

11 point dinner:  Tart Apple Pork with garlic mashed potatoes

Tart Apple Pork

makes 4 servings

This is a good recipe for people who like to mix sweet and savory.  Personally, I love apples with pork and the mixture of the apples and onions with the honey mustard in this recipe is wonderful.  But like I said, only for those who like to mix their proteins and fruits.

16 oz. boneless pork chop, trimmed of all visible fat

1 Tbsp. fresh chopped rosemary

1 Tbsp. fresh chopped thyme

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

2 tsp. canola oil

2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced

1 large onion, thinly sliced

2/3 cup apple juice, unsweetened

2 Tbsp. honey mustard

Sprinkle chops with the rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper.  Heat 1 tsp. of oil in skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chops and cook until browned and cooked through, 4-5 minutes on each side; transfer to a plate and cover.

Heat the remaining 1 tsp. oil in the same skillet over medium heat.  Add the apples and onion.  Cook, stirring occasionally until tender and golden, about 8 minutes.  Stir in apple juice and honey mustard; bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered until the sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.  Return chops to pan and cook, turning once, to heat through, about 2 minutes.

Yields 1 chop with 1/2 cup apple mixture per serving.

Recipe from weightwatchers.com

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

makes 4 servings

1 1/4 pound uncooked potatoes, peeled and chopped

5 cloves garlic

3 Tbsp. plain, nonfat yogurt

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1/8 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

Combine the potatoes and garlic in a large saucepan; add enough water to cover.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 20-30 minutes.  Drain, reserving 3/4 cup of the cooking liquid.

Mash the potatoes and garlic in the saucepan.  Stir in the yogurt, oil, salt and pepper.  Gradually stir in enough of the cooking liquid, 2 or 3 tbsp. at a time, until the potatoes become creamy. 

Yields 3/4 cup per serving.

recipe from weightwatchers.com...with some changes made by me.

8 point dinner:  Orange Chicken with brown rice and broccoli



Orange Chinese Chicken

makes 4 servings

I followed this recipe for the chicken then just steamed some broccoli and made instant brown rice.  It's a pretty good healthy take on orange chicken.

2 tsp. sesame oil

2 tsp. orange zest, strips

1 lbs. uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast (Four 4oz. pieces)

1/8 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

15 oz. canned mandarin oranges in light syrup

1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce

1 Tbsp. orange zest, grated

2 tsp. cornstarch

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-low heat.  Add zest strips and cook, stirring until fragrant and slightly cooked, about 1-2 minutes.  Meanwhile, season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper.  When zest is finished, increase heat to medium-high; add chicken and cook until golden, flipping once, about 2 minutes per side.

Drain oranges and reserve 1/4 cup liquid.  Add oranges with reserved liquid to skillet and simmer 2 minutes.  Whisk together broth, soy sauce, finely grated zest, and cornstarch in a small bowl; add mixture to pan and simmer until sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes more. 

Yields 1 piece of chicken and about 1/4 cup sauce

recipe from weightwatchers.com

Weigh In Wednesday

A little later than usual...but I've had a baby that hasn't wanted to take a nap today.  But she has finally decided it's time for her beauty rest, so this past week I lost....

1.4 pounds

I really don't know what the .4 is.  Is that half a pound?  2/3 a pound?  1/4 a pound?  If anyone knows, please let me know.  But regardless, I lost some more weight this week!  I'm slowly chipping away at my 15 extra pounds, but I was really hoping to be chipping away 2 pounds at a time.  I know what my problem was this week though.  I was SOOOO excited at the fact that I could eat normal delicious food that I kind of forgot to be healthy.  I was just figuring "hey, it fits in my 29 points a day, and if I go over I'll just dip into my 49 overage points for the week".  I also gain Activity Points everyday when I work out.  I usually bank about 4 Activity Points a day.  Weight Watchers gives you the option to "swap" activity points for extra meal points.  Well, I ended up dipping into my activity points this week.  So apparently, I indulged a little too much this week.  I'm pretty luck that I lost ANY weight this week.  So I'll say 1.4 pounds with a smile on my face.  I worked really hard on a HEALTHY menu for this week (part of the reason my weigh in is a little late today) filled with lots of fruits, veggies, and more dinner recipes from my healthy cookbooks.  Instead of having my days filled with 15 point dinners, I'll be enjoying more 8 point dinners and having 5-6 extra points a day for snacks.

I've been doing really good on exercising.  I am still doing my Crunch Gym workouts and I really like them.  I did the Stiletto Strength work out for the first time this past week and it's kind of stupid.  So whenever that one shows up on my rotation I just fill it in with something else.  The other day I did one of the Action Sports workouts for the first time and I was dripping sweat!  I first did 20 minutes of hip hop dancing, then I did the 20 action sports workout which was 3 circuits followed by 3 circuits of cardio.  I was wondering why it only showed up in the schedule rotation a handful of times...and now I know why.  Because it's insane.  I only have a couple more days left of this rotation and then I have to find something new to do.  I'm thinking I might be ready to try that P90X without dying.  Any suggestions?

So all in all, I'm still losing weight.  Not as fast as I'd like, but it's still coming off.  I have lost 5 pounds since starting Weight Watchers 3 weeks ago, so thats good.  I even got a gold star on my weight tracking chart!  Now how's that for motivation : )

.....and what better way to celebrate losing all my baby weight than with a new haircut!

the initial cut...just getting rid of some of it before highlighting...much more came off later!

celebrating Mommy's new do with a photo

and a picture of Lucy...because she never gets to be in the blog : )

Weigh In Wednesday

Well week two of Weight Watchers is now under my belt and I have lost....

1.4 more pounds

so that's good news.  It's getting easier and easier to follow a "diet" when I don't really feel like I'm dieting.  I've been able to eat really delicious foods that fall within my 29 points a day, so that helps.  It's amazing how you look at serving sizes completely different when you know how much of your daily allotment it will take up.  I bought some Samoas Ice Cream (because it is fabulous) and 1/2 cup is a serving size.  Who eats 1/2 cup of ice cream?!  So I figured I would eat 1 cup, which would be 6 points of my daily 29.  No biggie.  When I actually measured out 1 cup of ice cream I was amazed at how much it was!  No one needs to eat more than that.  It's nice to know that I can still eat delicious things like ice cream and still be losing weight.  It makes the "dieting" experience so much better : )

As for exercising this week, I missed one full day of workouts and one day I exercised 20 minutes instead of 40.  But I think getting in a work out 5 out of the 7 days of the week is pretty good...considering I have a 5 month old and worked 3 nights and during the day on Saturday of this past week.  Last week I said I was switching gears and trying out the dance routine work outs for a little while and surprisingly, they kind of kick my butt!  If you really focus on keeping your abs tight during them, MAN!  I can honestly say that I get more of an ab workout doing this than I was doing my previous workouts.  Plus, I'm learning how to salsa : )

I had some pretty good meals this past week, so I've posted some of the recipes.  And on a side note, the outfit I'm wearing today consists of 100% non-maternity items : )


Baked Ziti with Turkey Sausage
makes 8 servings

3/4 pounds raw turkey sausage, spicy variety, casings removed
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
28 oz canned diced tomatoes
10 oz frozen green peas, thawed
2 Tbsp canned tomato paste
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp fennel seed
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
12 oz uncooked whole wheat penne pasta
6 oz shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 350.  Crumble the sausage into a saucepan and brown over medium heat, stirring often, about 4 minutes.  Drain off any fat, then add the onion and bell pepper.  Cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the tomatoes, peas, tomato paste, oregano, basil, thyme, fennel seeds, salt and pepper.  Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat and cook uncovered 5 minutes, stirring often.  Stir in the cooked pasta and half the cheese.  Spread evenly into a 9x13 baking dish.  Top evenly with the remaining cheese.
Bake until the cheese has melted and the casserole is bubbling, about 20 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes at room temperature before slicing into 8 pieces.

Recipe from Weight Watchers

This was one of my breakfasts this week and it was so yummy!  Scrambled egg whites with diced red onions and spinach topped with one slice of melted 2% cheese all on top of an English muffin half with a side of strawberries and bananas.  Only 3 points! 

  

Ryleigh is Five Months!!!!!

Ryleigh at five months (March 15, 2011)

What?!  Five months?!  It can't be!  My little baby is one month away from being half a year old!  I've never seen time go by so fast. 

We started this past month out with a visit from Yaya.  You can check out some pictures and videos from her visit here.  Other than that we've had a pretty relaxed month.  Ryleigh's physical therapy was dropped to only once a month, so we havn't seen Miss Flavia since February 24th, but we are still working on our stretches.  Ryleigh is spending a lot more time on her tummy so that she can work on strengthing her shoulders and neck.  She is getting a lot better at resting up on her elbows insteading of "supermaning" (balancing on her torso with her arms and legs lifted) as we like to call it.  She is also starting to reach for toys while she is laying on her back, so she will roll to her side and try to reach for something.  She has yet to roll over completely to it though.  It's almost as if she gets on her side and then decides "Ehh, I don't want that toy that bad" and then she flops back over onto her back.  But she'll get to it eventually...and by eventually, clearly I mean right now, since as I am writing this she has just rolled over from her back to her front while reaching for a toy.  Hooray!!  She is also getting very close to sitting up on her own.  We're hoping that will happen in the next month.

As for foods, she started eating vegetables this month.  Mommy figured it was time to start introducing those since at Ryleighs 4 month visit the doctor said that we could start introducing foods (even though we have been eating them since 2 months) and that we should start with veggies first, then fruit.  Well, Mommy introduced fruits first, whoops.  So we started eating veggies now too.  So far Ryleigh has eaten, and enjoyed carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, spinach and peas.  But, just like her Daddy, she doesn't seem to enjoy the peas as much.

Finally, the last new thing from this past month is that Ryleigh cut her first tooth!  We have been waiting for it to appear since she has been drooling and chewing for a while now.  It finally popped through on March 12th, which makes sense since she was uber fussy that whole week before.  Now we know why!  Daddy discovered it and when he told Mommy her reaction was "OH!" with excitement then, "OH!" with sadness...because this just means my little baby is growing up.  Then Daddy said "are you going to cry?", and Mommy, holding back her tears said "NO....." : (  But I know it's going to happen, so I will enjoy it as it comes and continue taking pictures and videos so that you can enjoy it as it comes too.  See you next month!!

this is our yucky peas face

now she watches Lucy running and playing & looks for her on the floor

this was her first time holding her own bottle & feeding herself

we DO NOT own this hat...we just put it on at the store, then put it back. it's not really our style.

Daddy was using Ryleigh as a table

Lovin' her wet, cold washcloths now that she's teething.

Earlier in the month we added handles to Ryleighs bottle to see if it was easier for her to hold.  She hadn't quite discovered that she had to tilt the bottle yet.

Ryleigh playing with her binkie.  She likes to take it in and out of her mouth, so much so we had to get one of those things to clip it to her shirt.

Enjoying tummy time a lot more now that she can actually play with the toys.

Weigh In Wednesday

Well this was my first week on Weight Watchers and I'm guessing everyone knows how WW works...you get a daily amount of points you can consume and every food has a point value, you also get a certain amount of weekly overage points which allow you to splurge a little bit.  I get 29 daily points and 49 weekly points.  (I don't know if that is the same for everyone or if everyone gets different point allowances based on their weight, height, etc.)  I was surprised to see how much food I actually get to eat with 29 points a day.  Although on Sunday we went to Red Robin for lunch and my meal was my whole daily allotment of points!!  Good thing I had about 39 of my weekly overage points because I needed those!  It's nice not having to count calories, and basically I can decide how I want to eat any given day.  Some days I have an 11 point breakfast, but only an 8 point dinner and some days I have an 18 point dinner and only a 4 point breakfast.  I guess what I'm saying is that I'm enjoying Weight Watchers so far and it's a lot easier than I thought it was going to be.  My kind of "dieting".

This was one of my 10 point lunches.  A roast beef sandwich with tomatoes, spinach, mayo, muenster cheese along with 25 Special K Cracker Chips and a medium orange.  I mean, that's a good size lunch, right?

This was an 18 point dinner.  I didn't get the recipe from a healthy cookbook, so I knew it was going to be up there in points.  But it was so worth it!  The recipe is at the very end of the blog.

As for exercise, I pointed out in last weeks blog that I have gotten really sick of doing the normal work out routines.  Ya know, lifting weights, cardio bursts, crunches and planks.  So I decided to mix it up a little bit and I started doing the dance workouts.  Our Exercise TV OnDemand has a whole section of Crunch Gym workouts and they have a month long workout plan that utilizes all of them, so naturally, I downloaded it.  The plan mixes together the 3 different series of workouts that Crunch has to offer (Dance Rhythms, Action Sports and Eroticise).  I was a little skeptical about the Eroticise series at first because the work outs include burlesque dancing, sexy stretches, and stiletto strength.  Now I've yet to do the stiletto strength, but I have down the other 2 and they aren't too bad.  I thought I was going to be writhing about and flipping my hair around in my bonus room, but it wasn't like that (too much).  But I guess this week we'll see what the stiletto strength has to offer :/  The Action Sports workouts are like normal workouts (weights, crunches, lunges, etc.) so I'm still getting a little bit of that in every so often, but I've really enjoyed the Dance Rhythms exercises because you learn different steps and then form those steps into little routines.  So it's like taking a dance class, but I'm in my own house and I don't have to feel like an idiot or make a fool of myself in public. Yaaaaay!

So I know you've all been waiting to hear how I did this week.  Well the wait is over.  I lost....

2 pounds.

I'm not gonna lie...I was expecting more like 3 pounds, but maybe my over indulgences on Sunday kept that from happening.  BUT I can officially say that I have now lost ALL of my baby weight!  YAAAAAY!!!!  I have dropped down below where I was at my initial OB appointment for Ryleigh.  Now it's time to get rid of the next 15 pounds.  The 15 pounds I've been carrying around with me since December of 2009!  There are 6 1/2 weeks until we head to California, so if I can lost 2 pounds a week, that will be 12 pounds and I will be a happy camper : )

Now...since some people have been asking for pictures of my progress, I figured I would put one up now that I can officially say I have lost my baby weight.  So without further adieu....

4 1/2 months ago

Today...48 pounds smaller.

Baked Pork Cutlets with Sauteed Spinach and Shiitakes

makes 4 servings

1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs

1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound)

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

salt and ground black pepper

2 tbsp. olive oil

8 oz. shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps sliced thinly

1 pack (10 oz.) baby spinach

1-2 tsp. white-wine vinegar

3 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 shallot, minced

3/4 cup dry white wine (or chicken broth if you prefer)

2 tbsp. lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350.  Toast panko on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing once, until golden, 10-12 minutes.  Transfer to a plate and raise oven temp. to 450.

Cut pork crosswise into 4 equal pieces.  Split each piece in half horizontally (do not cut all the way through); open up like a book.  Using a meat mallet, pound one piece of pork at a time between large pieces of plastic wrap until 1/4 inch thick.

Place flour, eggs, and panko on separate plates; season each with salt and pepper.  Dredge pork in flour, turning to coat; shake off excess.  Dip in eggs, allowing excess to drip back on plate.  Coat with panko, pressing gently to adhere.  Bake on baking sheet until browned and cooked through, 10-12 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium.  Add mushrooms; season with salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally until browned, 8-10 minutes.  Transfer to a plate.  Heat remaining 1 tbsp. oil.  Add spinach in batches, tossing to wilt; season with salt and pepper.  Cook, tossing until tender, about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat; pour off excess liquid, and toss with vinegar to taste.  Top with mushrooms.

In a small saucepan, melt 1 tbsp. butter over medium.  Cook shallot, stirring frequently, until softened, 3-4 minutes.  Add wine (or chicken broth); simmer until almost evaporated.  Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice and remaining 2 tbsp. butter; season with salt and pepper.  Serve pork and spinach mixture with lemon-butter sauce on the side.

Recipe from Everyday Food, Fresh Flavor Fast

I'm not sure the nutritional information since this isn't a "healthy" recipe.  But with all that butter and oil, who cares : )

One Year

This blog was meant to be written on the one year mark of my first doctors appointment, the one where we officially discovered we were going to be parents.  I thought that was March 6, it was March 3.  My bad.  But here I am anyways.

We knew before the doctors appointment that I was pregnant. In fact, we knew about 2 1/2 weeks before the appointment, but it's still exciting and nerve-wracking going in and getting that first sonogram.  The morning of the appointment we actually closed on our house in Greensboro.  Talk about a life changing day. 

I'll never forget seeing that little bean on the screen though.  My heart filled with so much love the instant the nurse turned the screen to me.  Luckily for us at our OBGYN they attempt to listen to the baby's heartbeat in the first visit.  I wasn't prepared for that, but once I heard it I knew it was a sound I could listen to everyday.  The heartbeat really made it official for me.  I could finally believe that my pregnancy was real and I was going to be a Mommy.  It was like all of a sudden, nothing was about me anymore, and I was perfectly fine with that.  Now here we are, one year later and definitely nothing is about me anymore and I'm still perfectly fine with that.  As weird as it may sound, I really feel like we had our own 39 weeks of special bonding, a bond that no one else will get to have with her.  Some days I really miss having her in my belly, so close and so safe all the time.  But most days, I'm just so happy that she is here.  And she is perfect : )

What better way to reminisce about this amazing journey than with the pictures that documented to whole thing.  The pictures that I hope one day Ryleigh will really appreciate.  Enjoy.

The Belly Expansion

The Ultrasounds

6 Weeks & 6 Days...the very first glimpse

11 Weeks

13 Weeks

16 Weeks

18 Weeks...we found out it's a GIRL!!

23 Weeks

29 Weeks...the 4-D Ultrasound

29 Weeks...this is such a Ryleigh face!

29 Weeks...now we know why she always has her hands by her face when she sleeps

The Baby Shower

The Wedding

Jason & Bekah's Wedding in Buffalo, NY on October 1, 2010

Funny Pictures

My first (and only) Odouls before going to the Rascal Flatts concert. In Charlotte. Outside. In July. 24 week pregnant.

Barefoot & in the kitchen...for my wonderful sister-in-laws bridal shower

Bekah and I at her bridal shower...the only picture of the two of us from it

My giant swollen feet!  The sad thing is, they got even worse than this!

The hubby in the Empathy Belly during our birthing class

My belly mold.  This was done September 27, 2010.  I was 36 1/2 weeks.

Lucy protecting her pregnant Mommy...or just using her belly as a pillow.

Visiting Niagra Falls while in Buffalo, NY.  We walked around & tried to induce labor.  It didn't work.

The journey ends...but a new one begins : )