Evil Girl Scout Cookie Mom

OK, as if it weren't bad enough that I have been eating Girl Scout cookies and gaining back 3 pounds (of the 8 I lost), NOW some evil Cookie Mom emails me This and this!!!!!

OH NO!!

My Girl Scout cookies were delivered today....... I feel those 8 pounds I lost working their way back onto my toosh and thighs!

Oh how I love Girl Scout cookies so very very much!

My weight loss strategy

Over the last 4 or 5 years I have joined (and dropped out of) a couple gyms, done the South Beach Diet and lost 12 pounds (which I proceeded to gain back when pregnant with Lady Bug), done a soup diet, tried pills and diet shakes, joined and flunked out of Weight Watchers, exercised at home, ordered products from an informercial to help me lose weight and also tried a diet called Slim in 6 weeks (which did help me slim down but then I quickly gained it back).

But another one of my 2008 goals is to lose 25 pounds by August 1. As of today, I have lost 8 pounds I wanted to share some of the things that helped me lose the weight so far.

1. First of all, I did not follow a diet plan. I merely cut back on my portions. I used one of the smaller kids-sized plates to help me take less food. What I found was that I would be done eating and everyone else was still eating and I was having a hard time not taking more and more, so I would excuse myself from the table (I know, we lost some family time...but it just had to be done!). I would do laundry or start cleaning up. I explained to the family why I was leaving and they all understand (as much as their skinny little bodies can!)
2. I am also watching my calorie intake. I am not a nazi about it, but just try to be careful whenever and where ever I can.
3. Cut back on soda. I was having at least one, sometimes 2 or 3 pops a day. I now have one a day and sometimes not even one.
4. Increased my water intake. I am trying hard to do the eight 8 oz glasses of water per day. Sometimes I make it to 8 and sometimes I don't.
5. Following the weight watchers idea of "eat what you want" and so I don't deny myself..... BUT when I want the cake I stop and think about the calories and say to myself "is it really worth the calories? You will need to give up something somewhere else today" Again, WW points, if you eat certain things then you dwindle away at your points and pretty soon you have no points left to eat dinner... that sort of thing. So I just think about that type of stuff. Is the cake worth giving up dinner? If I want a cookie, then I eat one.... not 3 or 4, just one. Which is hard, but is definitely do-able!
6. I have 3 small children and a house to run, when can I find time for exercise? Never! Just kidding., but it isn't easy most of the time. Our house is small and there is no room for exercise equipment in the house. So I have some videos that are good. I also have been trying to get out and walk (when it isn't freezing cold and snowing). I take the boys with me, they bike and I walk fast. I have a pedometer and try to walk 1 mile in 20 minutes so that I get my heart rate up and burn calories.

So those are my current strategies. I am not losing fast, but that's ok at this point. Come June I may get a little more desperate, but I will cross that bridge when I come to it!

Weight Loss

My weight loss kicked into over drive over the weekend and I have lost a total of 6 pounds!

I am very excited!

A few updates

My life is pretty boring today, other than finding out that someone had put some food in the bathroom trash can so when I went to use the toilet this morning I looked over and saw a million -- no a gazillion ants crawling all over the floor and trash can (both outside and inside) Grooooossssss!!!!!

So I decided I would blog about a few odds & ends:

#1. My diet: I have been doing fairly well at it. Falling off the wagon a time or two so I have only lost 2 pounds in two weeks. Not bad, not great.

#2. Daycare issues: We still have them. Not sure where we will turn. We know we want to get rid of my friend and we have other options for Lady Bug, but it is the boys after school care that is turning out to be an issue! So I am still making calls and working on that.

#3. My SIL with Lou Gehrigs disease: She is living at home with nurses coming in to help care for her. My brother is still freaking out and unfortunately, his way of dealing with it is to bury his head in the sand and work from sun up til sun down. Not good!!!

#4. Our housing situation: We haven't found anything that is "perfect" for us, but we have found a couple that would be "do-able". We haven't made any offers on them. We are sort of hoping something else comes along soon. Since we aren't in any rush we are taking our time! We also still haven't changed realtors, but haven't talked with the one we were using either. My friend Steph gave me a realtor which she says is awesome (which is just what we need right now!) I plan to call this realtor, just haven't yet.

#5. Mr. Man's new job: He got a new position within the same company (I mentioned it briefly here)but can not start it until they find a replacement for him. So far they have interviewed 6 or 7 people and not one was a good fit for the job. Mr. Man's manager sat him down yesterday and told him they have been interviewing people, but can't find one with the qualifications. They are having another meeting today to try to get a game plan for his move to the new position.

Lemon Lime Chicken Breasts

Now, just because I am on a diet does not mean I have to post a diet-y recipe.... does it? I don't have any so I sure hope not! LOL

Actually, I didn't get this one from a diet book or anything but I enjoy making this and the chicken is quite tasty.

I serve this with steamed rice and a veggie of some sort (usually something green to add color to the plate -- I am wierd that way) This is one I can safely eat on my diet (I think) and my family enjoys it too!

Lemon Lime Chicken Breasts:
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 c lemon juice
1/2 c lime juice
2 Tbls extra virgin olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
Italian seasoning to taste
Seasoning salt to taste

In a large ziplock bag, mix together the lemon juice, lime juice, and oil. Place chicken pieces in the mixture, seal bag and let marinate for at least 45 minutes to an 1 hour in the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven broiler. Line a cookie sheet with foil and arrange chicken pieces on sheet. Season chicken with Italian seasoning and seasoning salt. Transfer remaining marinade to a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Broil chicken 10 minutes in the preheated oven, basting frequently with the boiled marinade. Turn chicken, season again with Italian seasoning and seasoning salt, and continue broiling and basting 10 minutes, or until well browned and juices run clear.

Dieting in 2008

I started dieting yesterday in hopes of losing about 20 lbs before my niece's wedding in August. I figure that is plenty of time to lose the weight. I actually would love to lose more like 30 lbs to get down to my pre-marriage weight, but realistically I want to set a goal that is reachable!

In the past when I have been dieting and exercising, I lose about 10 lbs and then I hit a brick wall. I still diet and exercise but no weight comes off. That is when I get discouraged and give up. I spoke with a friend who used to be a personal trainer and she said when that happens I should change my exercise routine and/or go back and do like I was at the beginning of the diet and take out a lot of things, go low carb high protien type thing or reduce the calorie intake for 5 days, those types of things. She told me that sometimes when we get down to a weight we have been at before our body gets comfortable as if to say "Oh. We've been here before. We're good." so what you need to do is jump-start the metabolism again to start losing weight.

This morning I did a workout video at home and then had a half of grapefruit for breakfast. Then I will have a small morning snack of a low fat yogurt. Then for lunch I have some low fat Progresso Chicken Noodle Soup with bottled water. Then my afternoon snack is a few almonds. Dinner is a low fat turkey chili (without crackers and cheese *wahhhh*).

I am feeling like I am off to a good start and I hope I can maintain this! Dieting is so hard with kids -- AND A husband who can eat a stick of butter and not gain a pound! I can do this and will feel better about myself for it!!! *fingers crossed*

I just read on Money Saving Mom about a website similar to weight watchers only it is FREE! It is SparkPeople.com so I signed up there and maybe that will help keep me motivated?? Maybe!!