How Fascinating!?!?

What you did is NOT important. What you LEARNED from it is! - A wise WW leader!

As I weighed in today, I was so ready for a huge gain! I kept telling myself "you know what you did last week while on spring break... you gave in to those fun-size snickers..." and I was right! I went IN on those fun-size snickers, twix, miniature reese's, & peanut M&Ms! *LMAO* They were sitting there staring me in the face, talking to me! I tried to tell them to shut up, but I'm not really a rude person, so I did what they asked me to! lol Everyday, I did my BEST to eat wisely given the constraint that someone else was constantly preparing the food! That's always a challenge, however, I know I felt GREAT about how well I faced that challenge... until those candies started talking to me! Aside from the candies, I did an awesome job. The candies were sweet talking me in my ear so good that I took a big bag of them home with me when we left Flat Creek Lodge to come back to Statesboro! I spent the rest of the afternoon that Saturday snacking on those miniature candies and the snack size bags of doritos & cheetos. A recipe for disaster...

BUT the next day (Sunday), I woke up with a whole new outlook on those candies & chips! I tied that bag up, put it out of site and mentally prepared myself to take it to work on Monday and DUMP THE ENTIRE BAG INTO THE CANDY BASKET in our breakroom! I knew that if I left that bag of candy in my house, I'd eat it and act like it didn't even count because nobody saw me eat it! Want to know how I knew? Because while @ Flat Creek Lodge, the minute I gave in to the candy, I stopped tracking what I was eating! I didn't want to admit that I was eating the candy - not even to MYSELF (considering I'm the only person who typically reads my food journal). Monday, I took that candy into the office and dumped it! I felt like getting back on track for the week to come became so much easier just with that one act!

So, what else did I learn from my candy conniption? Well, I learned that I had to stop avoiding my favorite candies like the plague! Had I not been avoiding them for months now (I honestly couldn't remember the last time I had a snickers, peanut m&m's, twix or reese cup), I wouldn't have felt so out of control when I finally did eat them! I used to buy a snickers bar, cut it up into 6 equal pieces and freeze the pieces individually and when I wanted a taste, I'd grab one, eat it and be FINE! I know for a fact I am not going to be able to go through the rest of my life without ever wrapping my lips around another peanutty caramelly nougaty chocolatey snickers bar again, and I don't have to!

All this to say, that despite my snicker/twix/m&m/reese overload, I did SO MANY other things well enough that when I weighed in after 2 weeks, I ONLY had a gain of 0.6 lbs! OH YEAH... know that I'm not celebrating the actual gain, but (1) the KNOWLEDGE of that gain and (2) that there was a time when I know the damage could have been SO MUCH WORSE but it wasn't! SCORE!!!

Oh by the way... I somehow talked myself out of working out for almost a month now! Not sure what I was thinking, but that's not important remember? What's important is that I woke up on Friday morning and said "GET YO @ZZ TO THE GYM GIRL" and I DID IT! I didn't tell myself "oh I will just wait until Monday when the new week starts" or "just wait until April"... I got my behind to the gym and worked out! I'm back in business and what I REMINDED myself of this time is that EVERY NEW MINUTE IS A NEW OPPORTUNITY TO DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY!

Stay up folks... and in the words of Ben Zander...

1. Sit in the FRONT ROW of your life!
2. See mistakes as FASCINATING!
3. Quiet your inner voice!
4. Live in POSSIBILITY!
5. Realize that it is ALL INVENTED!

Let's make it happen!!!

Fit 4 Flava ROTW 3/25/10: Spicy Creole Shrimp & Sausage Stew

Sorry for the delay in getting a new recipe out! I've been pretty busy and promise to do better! This one I adapted from a recipe I found in Cooking Light Magazine. It can be served with rice or krusty bread. If you are allergic to shrimp, you can always substitute boneless skinless chicken breast cut into chunks. The picture for the recipe shows white cannelini beans because I didn't have any kidney beans, but normally I use the kidney beans!

Creole Shrimp & Sausage Stew

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 pkg (about 6-7 oz) thinly sliced turkey smoked sausage
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
1 1/2 tbsp creole seasoning (like Emeril's Essence or Tony Chachere's)
2 tbsp hot sauce
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (14.5 oz) can no salt-added diced tomatoes undrained
1 pkg (10 oz) chopped frozen spinach
2 c. frozen whole kernel corn
8 ounces peeled and deveined medium shrimp
1 (15 oz) can reduced sodium kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Directions
1. Heat a large saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add oil to the pan; swirl to coat.
2. Add bell pepper, onion, sausage, and garlic to pan; Saute 3 minutes or until the bell pepper and onion are tender, stirring occasionally.
3. Add creole seasoning and hot sauce and saute an additional 1 minute.
4. Add broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil.
5. Stir in frozen spinach and corn and return to a boil
6. Stir in shrimp and beans; Cover, reduce heat and simmer 6 minutes or until shrimp are done.

Yield: 4 servings

Fit 4 Flava ROTW 2/14/10: My Big Not-So-Fat Greek Chicken Tabbouleh

So this recipe is a customization of a recipe I found in Cooking Light Magazine last year! I LOVE GREEK FOOD and Greek salad is one of my favorite kinds of salad. So when I found a way 2 make it w/ additional health benefits of bulgar wheat as a whole meal, I jumped on it! You can even leave out the chicken and make it into a vegetarian salad. I like to separate it into the 4 servings right after I make it and put it in 4 separate containers and *BOOM POW* lunch for 4 of the 5 days of the work week! Try it, let me know what you think!

My Big Not-so-Fat Greek Chicken Tabbouleh

Servings: 4 (1 1/2 cup servings)

Ingredients

3/4 c. uncooked bulgar wheat

1 c. boiling water

1 tsp. chicken or veggie bouillon

1 tsp. Mrs. Dash original seasoning

2 cups chopped skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast

2-3 chopped plum tomatoes

1 chopped red bell pepper

1 chopped English cucumber (or regular cucumber w/ seeds removed)

2 tsp. dried parsley flakes

1/2 c. (2 ounces) crumbled reduced fat feta cheese

1/2 small onion, diced

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (or lemon juice concentrate equivalent)

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp bottled minced garlic (or garlic paste)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp ground red pepper (or cayenne pepper)

Directions

1. Dissolve bouillon in boiling water and add Mrs. Dash. Place the bulgar in a medium bowl; cover with the 1 cup water mixture. Let stand 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

2. Combine chicken and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add bulgar to chicken mixture; toss gently to combine. 

Belated update... yikes!

"The mind is as important to weight loss as healthy food & exercise" - Theresa Proctor, my awesome WW leader

So I promised that I would post a new blog entry this past Saturday by the end of the day! Clearly that didn't happen and I'm sorry ya'll! I got home from running my errands and quickly transformed into Betty Crocker trying to get some Superbowl party food contributions done!

Those of you who follow me on Twitter or are my friends on Facebook may have seen my weigh-in update from Saturday, February 6th. If not, well, when I weighed in I showed a gain of 1 lb. For the record, NO I was not upset or depressed about having a gain of 1 lb. Honestly, I was upset at myself for not being prepared to see a gain. Last week before the weigh-in, I hit the gym and I hit the gym H-A-R-D! I was consistent, didn't miss a day, was sore as heck and... gain. Now, why would I be upset at myself for not being prepared for the gain? Because I should KNOW BETTER! While you are working out, you develop muscle in addition to the fat that you are already carrying, so what may appear to be a gain on the scale, may not be the type of gain we should be worried about!

Saturday's lesson in Weight Watchers was about the MENTAL side of weight loss! What an APPROPRIATE lesson for me that day. This has honestly been my biggest struggle since I joined WW in November 2006. I am VERY proud of the mental/emotional obstacles that I have identified, faced and ultimately overcome. What I continue to struggle with is being so "dependent" upon that scale to define my success on this journey. No matter how many "non-scale victories" I have and allow myself to celebrate, I still bet the bank on that scale every Saturday. I also continue to struggle with accepting any praise or compliments that I receive from other people, male or female. The compliments could be about my work, personal life or weight loss journey. Instead of hearing someone say "Wow Sandi, you look great! What an awesome job you're doing!" and saying "Thank you so much" and then SHUTTING UP and really enjoying my compliment, I immediately in my mind and sometimes verbally tell myself (and others) everything that's not great about me! I am working on this slowly, but surely.

I do believe that my personality is type perfectionist most of the time. So if things aren't going according to the way I plan them out, then I'm going to start laying into myself on all the things I didn't do or messed up that made my plans go awry! They say that if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans! I bet God gets some good behind giggles outta me!

What I love is that on this SAME day (Sat, Feb 6th), I got an email from The Daily Love and the very first quote was:

"Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life." - Dr. David M. Burns, Stanford professor and best-selling author.

and

"Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren't even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun doing it." - Anne Lamott, best-selling author, acclaimed public speaker and activist.

 I can't even lie yo, I was almost in tears in that WW meeting because I got my Daily Love email while I was in the meeting and we were talking about allowing ourselves to "make mistakes" on this journey, nobody's perfect. My fantabulous WW leader Theresa left us with the following quote:

"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved!" - William Bryans.

 I am CHOOSING to achieve my goal! I am CHOOSING to not be so hard on myself! I am CHOOSING to love me more everyday in every choice I make! Are you CHOOSING the destiny you want for yourself??

Fit 4 Flava ROTW 2/4/10 - Sandi's Guac dat Rocks

You can thank Aretha for me posting the very FIRST Fit 4 Flava Recipe of the Week (ROTW)! The minute she saw my guacamole-inspired Facebook status, she sent me an inbox message and asked for the recipe! Now I readily admit that I've switched it up a couple of times and find now that I've really perfected it to my liking!  I've even used it as salad dressing with some extra salsa & greek yogurt! 

Sandi's Guac dat Rocs

Ingredients

3 ripe haas avocados
3 tbsp salsa
2 tbsp non-fat greek yogurt (or fat-free sour cream)
2 tsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp lime juice
garlic powder, goya adobo powder, salt, black pepper and ground red pepper (ALL TO TASTE)

Directions
 

1) Slice avocados in half, remove pit (reserve one pit for storage), scoop out flesh into a bowl and mash until desired consistency (chunky vs smooth)

2) Mix in salsa, greek yogurt, hot sauce and lime juice.

3) Season to taste with goya adobo powder, garlic powder, salt (sparingly), black pepper & ground red pepper.

4) Serve w/ fresh veggies or tortilla chips (baked or regular depending on your preference)

Serving Size = 1/4 cup

Sandi's Notes & Recommendations:

• Before you put it in the refrigerator, put one of the avocado pits on top of it to keep it from turning ugly brown!
• I use either the florida big avocados (w/ the smooth skin) or the small haas avocados (the bumpy ones). 
• I use fresh salsa, specifically I REALLY LOVE the Market Fresh Chipotle Garlic medium salsa I get from Wal-Mart's produce section called Market Fresh 
• I have a Fire Roasted Habanero hot sauce that is made locally here in GA that I LOVE and that's what I use in this recipe and honestly a GOOD hot sauce will make ALL the difference! (Check out Stripling's Fire Roasted Habanero Hot Sauce and more varieties)
• While this is a relatively healthy recipe, remember that avocados are high in calories and fat, but it's the GOOD FAT! That doesn't mean eat ALL the guacamole in one sitting. Everything in moderation folks ;o) 

Kicking it off!!!

For almost 3 weeks now I've been saying that I was going to start blogging again! I've been slacking on getting started writing again, mostly because well... I just have been lazy! A lot has changed in my life over the past few months and when I have free time, I kinda just want to relax and not do a darn thing! Not a bad thing, but I need to start holding myself accountable for ALL the things I need to accomplish or set out to accomplish. PERIOD!

So after my workout this morning, I figured that there was NO better time than the present to get back to blogging before I started my work for the day! Quickly, let me give you an update for those who haven't been following my progress via my facebook & twitter updates.

My weight loss total officially BACK up to 93.8 lbs. YES, you heard me correctly... BACK up! Last year, on the surface seemed like it was great... a storm was brewing inside of me that manifested itself into some backsliding, weight gain and lack of productivity! Those of you who know me very well, know the damage that storm caused and also know that my recovery from the storm has been slow in some areas and fast in others (lol)... but the recovery has been TREMENDOUS! God has blessed me with a new resolve... a new focus... a new motivation... and that is ME!!! 

God has also blessed me with a NEW starting line-up on my team! LOL I'm sure you'll hear more about that in future blogs... but I can say that Teddy P definitely hit the nail on the head when he made "When Somebody Loves You Back." (thanks again for my song papi)... Love definitely has it's challenges but I'm loving the fact that for the first time in my life, I don't hear that voice in the back of my head constantly telling me to "jump ship." That I don't have to LOOK FOR ways to justify why I love him and want to be with him TO MYSELF... I'm not having these internal battles on whether I am doing what's best for me or if I'm doing more than I should for someone. I do it because I want to and when there's a problem, I am comfortable talking to him about it because he's proven that he is open to working through it together. Even if that means one of us has to admit to having some flaws. I could seriously go on for DAYS about how great he is, but I'll stop here!

So that's my update for now! Weigh-in is on Saturday mornings, so I will do my best to get at least that weekly blog in to update you on how the progress is going. I will try to post my workouts at the end of the week too since I know doing it every day would probably be something I wouldn't be able to keep up with! I also plan to start sharing some recipes again and hopefully make some time to do more cooking videos! As I continue on my journey to that goal weight, you will probably hear some work, personal, & life in general type stuff in my blog... I'm only human and my journey to that goal weight is going on within the context of my everyday experiences!!