6 Things Sunday

1.  I hope everyone had a happy holiday!
2.  I did pretty good with my eating this week.  I did have some of my mom's famous caramel rolls that I only get once a year and a few glasses of wine.  I didn't veer too off course, but I did allow myself to enjoy some things that only come once a year.  Was I as good as I have been? NO!  Was I completely out of control?  No. I just need to be honest with all of you and myself that I enjoyed my holiday without stuffing myself to the gills or depriving myself.  I was somewhere in the middle.  Usually I am bloated and want to puke I am so full, so I thought I did well.
3.  I got a Wii Fit and Just Dance for Christmas!!  So excited to start using them soon!
4.  I'm going to Disney World!!! My future in-laws are taking all of us to Disney World in March.  I have been there before, but not since I was 8, so I am excited to go again!!
5.  I just went to Target and Pier 1 and got $300 worth of stuff for about $100.  Success.
6.  I am so, so, so excited to get completely back on track, into a groove, don't have parties to go to, cookies to bake, dinners to eat, drinks to sip... you get it.  I love the holiday's but I have had my fill and now I am ready to make the rest of 2010 and the New Year a huge weight loss, healthy living, feel amazing about my body year :)

Satunday Session

I hope everyone had a happy holiday weekend.  Over here in Minnesota we were snow free (yea!) this weekend and we made it to almost all of our holiday events. On friday Ron and I braved Mall of America to finish our Christmas shopping (we only have two people left) out of probably 20 people so we did pretty good.


Yesterday we had our family Christmas party with my extended family on my mom's side.  I love this holiday party. It includes about 40-50 of us getting together at my cousins house and we have an appetizer and dessert contest.  It is so much fun and everyone really tries to make a fabulous dish.  This year I made.... 


To Die For Dip:
2 - 8 oz. Pkgs. Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 – Can (~15oz.) Whole Corn (drained)
1 – Can (~4 oz.) Chopped Olives
1 – Packet of Dry Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning & Salad Dressing Mix
Chopped Pickled Jalapenos to your tolerance
1 red pepper chopped
1 can black beans


Mix all ingredients together and serve cold or warm in a crock pot with fritos or tortilla chips.


AND...


Double Chocolate Kiss Cookies

I added chocolate chips to the dough and made my own vanilla buttercream frosting.


So, how did it go?  I WON 1st place for the cookies!!!  People loved them.  I have to admit, I didn't eat one.  I didn't eat much besides fruit and veggies at the party and one meatball and a little dip.  It went pretty well considering how much temptation was there.


Last night I had another Christmas party to go to and I went to it and there was another table of food and tons of libations and I only ate two things.  Success in my eyes.  I also worked out on Saturday for the first time (biking) and my ankle did really well.  I am so excited to get back into my routine though.


Today, I had a holiday concert to go to but was unable to go due to a family emergency.  Everything is fine now, but I am happy that I was able to be there for my family.


The rest of my week goes, something like this...


Sunday- Finish wrapping presents, clean my house, finish making truffles
Monday- Work, Ornament exchange at lunch, working out, preparing house for Girl's Night Christmas 
Tuesday- Work, Girl's Night Christmas with ornament exchange
Wednesday- Work, Work Holiday party, get ankle checked out, work out
Thursday- Work, finish last minute holiday stuff
Friday- Christmas Eve (my favorite day of the year!!) go to church, dinner with family, open presents, go to sleep and wait for Santa :)
Saturday-Christmas breakfast with Ron, open presents, go to Ron's mom's house for dinner/presents
Sunday-Stay in Pajama's all day and watch movies and relax (probably work out)


I am kind of tired just looking at this list.  That is a lot of things to get done, but it will be worth it to spend time with family!


SS Update...

1. Attend an hour long fitness class 6 days this week.

So, my sprained ankle slowed me down, but it didn't completely deter me from getting any activity in (thanks to everyone who gave me ideas about other activities I could do), but I definitely didn't get this accomplished they way I thought I would.  Does that mean I am going to quit and just consider it a loss?  No way!  I am determined to keep going.  I know that I have a long way to go still and this was just a small bump in the road. 

2. Get all of my holiday decorations out and Christmas presents wrapped.

This is a work in progress.  I still have wrapping to do, but my decorating is pretty much done, so it isn't like I have been totally slacking :)

New Goals... 

1. Stay on track, keep my eye on the prize.

Keep tracking my food, keep up on my activity, stay away from the holiday food.  Should be easy, right? :)

2. Relax.

This is often a struggle for me.  I am a go, go, go type of person.  I know that I stress out too much, it is something that I really need to work on.  I need to just relax and enjoy this season and my time with my family and friends.  Sometimes things don't go EXACTLY as planned, but usually everything turns out in the end.  I am going to really try to master the art of letting things be and just enjoying my life and living in the moment with the people I love.

Friend Making Monday's: Holiday Recipe

The wonderful Kenz over at All the Weigh is hosting another FMM and this week the topic is a favorite holiday recipe.  Head over to her site and chek out her holiday recipe and link up with the others who are participating.  Make sure to check out their blogs as well.  Happy Monday!!

I tried this recipe a few months ago and it is really good and... healthier than some other holiday treats.  It comes from the wonderful dieticians at the Mayo Clinic

Warm Chocolate Souffles

Dietitian's tip: Although these souffles are made with unsweetened cocoa instead of the usual rich chocolate, their flavor is just as intense. If you can't find fresh raspberries, sliced fresh strawberries will do nicely.

By Mayo Clinic staff

Serves 6

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 6 tablespoons hot water 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1 tablespoon canola oil 3 tablespoons all-purpose (plain) flour 1 tablespoon ground hazelnuts (filberts) or almonds 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar 2 tablespoons honey 1/8 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup 1 percent low-fat milk 4 egg whites 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 teaspoon confectioners' (powdered) sugar 1 cup raspberries

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Lightly coat six 1-cup individual souffle dishes or ramekins with cooking spray or coat a 6-cup souffle dish with the spray.
In a small bowl, combine the cocoa and hot water, stirring until smooth. Set aside.
In a small, heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the canola oil and stir to combine. Add the flour, ground hazelnuts and cinnamon and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly with a whisk. Stir in the brown sugar, honey and salt. Gradually add the milk and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir into the cocoa mixture. Let cool slightly.
In a large, thoroughly cleaned bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the granulated sugar 1 tablespoon at a time and beat until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the cocoa mixture to lighten it. Then fold the remaining egg whites into the cocoa mixture, mixing gently only until no white streaks remain.
Gently scoop the cocoa egg white mixture into the prepared dishes (or dish). Bake until the souffle rises above the rim and is set in the center, 15 to 20 minutes for individual souffles or 40 to 45 minutes for the large souffle. Cool the souffles on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes. Using a fine-mesh sieve, dust the top with the confectioners' sugar. Garnish with raspberries and serve immediately.

Nutritional Analysis

(per serving)

Calories	184	Cholesterol	7 mg
Protein	6 g	Sodium	106 mg
Carbohydrate	30 g	Fiber	4 g
Total fat	7 g	Potassium	248 mg
Saturated fat	2 g	Calcium	58 mg
Monounsaturated fat	3 g

Enjoy!!!

My inner thoughts on blast

Happy Sunday!  Tomorrow it is back to work.  I am actually excited about this.  Which is weird, I love the weekend, but I only have to work 1.5 days this week and then I am off for the rest of the week for Thanksgiving.  I love Thanksgiving and I love hosting and planning holiday events and this year my Mom and I are hosting Thanksgiving at her house.  My mother is a fabulous cook and baker and a great hostess and party planner.  I would like to think that I inherited these traits.  I am not quite as expert as she is, but I would say that I am advanced in my party planning abilities.

I am excited and also nervous.  I am anxious and relaxed.  Who am I kidding?  I am like a chicken with my head cut off.  Not only am I planning this event with 45 people and making a pie for the first time from scratch including the crust.  I am also in the middle of a lifestyle change.  I am like over-analyzing, over-planning, triple checking, making a list and checking it twice.  You see, in my normal environment that I am in complete control of I am great.  I have gotten this healthy living, eating, breathing, sleeping and exercising thing down to a science.  When I am a fish out of water?  I am likely to flop around like a state fair carnival booth prize winning goldfish in a first-graders bedroom. No, I won't be.  I CAN'T be out of control.  I am in control of myself, my actions, my body.  BLAH. If I have lost some of you with this tirade I don't blame you at all. In fact if you are off reading another blog that is not nearly so full of anxiety I also don't blame you.

I just spent $106.77 at the grocery store buying groceries for the next two weeks of my life including the pecan pie and sweet potatoes that I am making.  I bought a lot of amazing new products that I am dying to try and some tried and true items that I can't live without (see tomorrow's post on Must-have items).  I just spent the better part of an hour washing, cutting and bagging up my food for the week and making  pile in the fridge of items for work for Monday and Tuesday and a pile of stuff to take to my Mom's with me. I have planned every meal, I have planned every work out.  This may seem crazy, but for me it has to be this way right now.  I can't allow myself to just go home, where it is comfortable and my mom makes homemade deliciousness out of the oven all day and there is no gym membership and think that my new jeans that I can now buckle and wear without turning blue in the face from cutting off my circulation will fit.  You see, I have done great so far.  I am 45 pounds down since October 2nd and I am proud of it.  I have lost weight in places that I didn't think was possible.  I have tried classes that I swore were too hard for me.  I have gone to happy hour and ordered nothing deep fried and had a water.  I have not had a drop of alcohol or soda for 7 weeks.  My body is sharp, cleansed, getting healthy and getting fit.  I have come too far to go back.  I have seen some small successes and dreamt of greater ones.  I have lost 45 pounds and I will not gain one pound back.  Not this holiday or the next.  I am in control and I make my own decisions. I will eat in moderation, I will not go back for seconds and I will stay on track and make it to the end of this journey. I am not a fish out of water.  I am Nemo finding my own way in a sometimes scary and unpredictable world.

Saturday Sessions

So, it is only two hours away from not being Saturday anymore, but I was determined to get this post in when it was actually Saturday.  This week has been extremely crazy for me.  I have had something going on every day this week and I have something planned every day of every weekend until January 3rd.  As much as I love having plans with friends and family it can be hard when you don't have any breaks to relax on the weekend.  Tomorrow I have no plans except for grocery shopping, working out and relaxing.  I have my laundry all done and I am nearly ready for the holiday week.


Recap of last weeks goals...


1. Change up my work-out routines.  As my brother-in-law calls it, muscle confusion. 
I think this went pretty well.  I made it to Soul Grooves, Zumba and Hip-Hop this week and mixed some cardio in there.  I am going to buy Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred to take to my Mom's house with me next week since I will not have access to a gym and we are supposed to have the coldest Thanksgiving weather in 21 years here in Minnesnowta. I still have not tried Deep Water, the MIXX or strictly strength at the gym and I really want to, so although I did mix it up this week there is still room for improvement.


2. Organize my closet, try on clothes and get rid of what doesn't fit.
I have started bags to go to the good-will and bags of clothes to hopefully give away or maybe sell for cheap.  I just really want the clothes to go to someone who will use them and maybe someone who is also in the process of losing weight and just needs something to wear until they make it to the next milestone.  I also got a little OCD with organizing my closet.  See photo proof below.

This is my T-shirt collection organized from ROYGBIV. I know, very over the top.

These are the clothes that fit me now, small amount, but I have a lot to look forward to...

This side of the closet is clothes that will soon fit me even though most of them are old.  I will wear them to get down even lower :) Some of the clothes on the far right if the picture are ones that are already too big!  Such a great feeling!

Jeans and pants that do not currently fit, but are organized by the next size I will be in all the way down to 4 sizes smaller than I am now.  I am really excited to just keep moving down the ladder. 


New Goals 


1. Make it a holiDAY and not a holi-week or longer.
Sarah at Fat Little Legs posted earlier this week about not letting your holiday turn into a holi-month or holi-year and I thought that was great.  I think it is important that people eat things that they are craving to a certain extent.  I think if you completely say everything is off limits you will fall off the wagon and gain all the weight back that you lost and then some.  I also think that some things are worth splurging a little bit on and some are not.  I think that too often around the holidays people take a holiday and turn it into a holi-month of bad eating.  It is a vicious cycle and it is not good for your waistline. I plan on eating some things that I never get, but still in smaller portions than I normally would.  I also plan on exercising heavily before the big meal and getting right back on track the next day.


1. Start keeping track of my mood more often. 
A lot of people say that our behaviors are a directly related to our mood and I could not agree more.  I think that people's actions correspond with their mood and more specifically that there is a reason why we eat poorly, over indulge, make excuses and don't work out.  I am trying to pin-point my mood and emotions throughout the day and week to see what kind of triggers I have to start thinking about a cheat day, or not going to the gym.  I want to spend this next week focusing on my mood and how that effects my eating and exercising habits.