Reusable Goals Chart

Hey everybody!  I made myself a goals chart so I can actually (hopefully) remember my goals during the week.  Click HERE for the how-to so you can make your own.  Have a great day!

Katie: Week 20

Okay, okay...

Current weight: 142 pounds
Last week's weight: 141 pounds
Total weight loss: 28 pounds

 (Just a random picture from our recent vacation to tide you all over until I take updated weight-loss pictures)

Well, I gained one pound since last week, but I really do think it was kind of a fluke that I was at 141 last week in the first place.  So I feel okay about 142, but hopefully I'll still continue to lose weight.  As for my goals from last week, here's how I did:

-lift weights twice  Did it!
-go running twice  Went running once, yesterday evening.
-go on walks every day, starting today  Went on walks most days, but not Friday (I was having a cleaning meltdown) and not yesterday (the weather was blah). 

I think having specific, weekly goals was good for me, so I'm going to do it again this week.  (Oh, and sorry again for no picture!  I am a total failure about taking pictures, it seems.  I blame it entirely on our crazy schedules.)  Anyway, here are my goals for this week:


-lift weights twice
-go running twice
-go on walks every day
-eat at least 1 serving of veggies every day
-do at least 50 crunches every day
-make myself a little chart of these goals that I can see during the week and check things off 
-actually take a picture of myself to show you all!

I was talking to one of my good friends yesterday who's also been trying to lose weight for the past little while and we were talking about how much time it takes to be healthy.  Planning meals, taking time to exercise, the hassle of showering with a little one around and just how much that can deter us (or at least me--haha) from exercising, etc.  But, while I have been getting totally lax about what I eat and what I'm doing to be healthy, she continues to stick with it and do a really great job.  Talking with her yesterday definitely inspired me to be better, so I'm going to try harder this week.  I think my biggest problem at this point is that I get to Tuesday, realize I haven't made any progress, make some goals, then forget about it for the rest of the week since the next Tuesday is now "so far away" (in my head at least) and then instead of losing weight and making good habits I find myself slipping back into my old (very bad) habits.  But having specific goals last week helped me keep my focus a little better.  And, I know, aren't you all thinking, "Umm... Katie, this whole making goals thing shouldn't be a news flash.  That's totally what you used to do before!"  But it's so easy to slip out of good habits and I definitely have.  So I'm trying to get back into the swing of things without having to totally revert back to writing everything down in my food journal and entering everything into MyPyramid.  Wish me luck.

P.S. I got some skinny jeans for free (not over the top, but, you know, still skinny jeans) a couple of weeks ago when my friends and I went to search through all the stuff the freshman were getting rid of at the dorms.  I picked the jeans up because I saw they were a size 9 (my size 10 jeans have been mega loose on me for a while now, but I'm too cheap to buy new ones).  I didn't try them on until I got home and that was when I realized they were skinny jeans.  The thought, "Am I cool enough to wear these?" definitely passed through my mind.  But I decided to give it a shot and, let me just say, I am so glad I did.  I love love love them.  They are so much more flattering and make me feel more stylish.  It is definitely going to my head.

How Long Will You Live?

I found an interesting website this evening, called livingto100.com.

It has a life-expectancy calculator. You answer the questions, and it computes a life expectancy for you.

When I put my info in the calculator, it said I will live to be 99!

Wow...guess I'd better do some careful retirement planning...I'll be 56 on Thursday.

Kathy: Week 19: Blehhhh...

Week 19 Stats:

Today's Weight: 140

Last Week's Weight: 140??

Starting Weight: 151

Total Weight Loss: 11 pounds

Not much movement, as you can see. I am stuck here in 140-ish land, where I've been since early March. Blahhhhhh... Now what?

Here are this morning's photos. I think I look way better than I did back in Week 1. But I don't honestly see any difference at all between today and Week 13.

Duh. I weighed the same this morning as I did back then.

I've known for a while that it is probably time to keep a food diary. Sigh. That always seems so nit-picky, to write down every little mouthful. But then I read about a study where the people who kept a food diary were the ones who lost weight and kept it off.

So I've decided to take this one week at a time. Dear Skinny readers, I promise to keep a food diary for this week, and tell you about it next Saturday. I'll be keeping it simple, but I WILL be keeping it. Promise!

This morning I learned an astounding fact. Our stomachs are only as big as our fists! Whoa! I've always thought of it as kind of balloon-sized. But no. A fist. That's an empty stomach. It's stretchy, and we can eat up to about 1 liter of food at a time. But I'm going to be looking at my fist with every meal, then eyeballing my plate, to decide just how much I want to fill up that little fist-sized munchy-musher inside of me.

One more thing I'm trying out this week: I'm trying to learn how to run. I can't wait for Emily's next post to give me some hints! When I told my husband that I wanted to be a better runner, he said, "I know how to run." And you know what...he does! We went over the the track last night, and he coached me for several laps. (No, I did not run all that way...I mostly ran the straights and walked the curves.) Gosh, there are so many things to think about that I do wrong! But it feels better when I get closer to doing it right. He was coaching me on how to hold my arms, and how high to bring up my heels and knees, and...there was more, but I can't remember right now. So I'm going to drag him over to the track several more times this week, and see if I can begin to learn how to run.

Those are my three goals for the week:
1. Keep a food diary
2. Visualize my stomach the size of a fist
3. Learn how to run

What do you think? Any suggestions or tips for me?

And, to wrap up this post, here's a yummy dessert recipe I found in Prevention magazine this month. I'm going to make it for our family Mother's Day dinner tomorrow.

Frozen Strawberry Pie

I haven't made it yet, but here's what the magazine says: "Loaded with sweet berries, this luscious pie doesn't need full-fat cream cheese to taste delicious. The buttery cookie-crumb crust saves calories over a regular pastry. You can make and freeze the pie up to 2 weeks ahead. Just defrost at room temp for 35 minutes before serving."

Work time: 20 minutes

Total time: 50 minutes + chilling times

Servings: 8

Crust:

6 1/2 oz vanilla wafers (about 3 cups)

2 Tbsp butter, melted

2 Tbsp canola oil

Filling and Topping:

8 oz reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel), at room temperature

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1 lb strawberries, hulled

1 Tbsp granulated sugar

1. Make crust: Crush wafers to fine crumbs in food processor. Mis crumbs, butter, and oil together until combined.

2. Pack crumbs on sides and bottom of 9" pie plate. Chill crust at least 20 minutes or up to a week.

3. Heat oven to 325. Bake crust until golden, 15-18 minutes. Cool completely.

4. Prepare filling: Beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar at low speed. Beat thoroughly at medium speed to combine.

5. Puree one-quarter of the strawberries in food processor. Fold puree (about 1/3 cup) into filling, saving any extra puree for topping. Pour filling into crust (will not reach top).

6. Freeze pie until just firm, about 1 1/2 hours.

7. Make topping: quarter or halve remaining berries. Toss with granulated sugar in medium bowl. Let stand at least 5 minutes. Serve toppings over slices of pie.

Nutrition (per serving): 283 cal, 4 g pro, 31 g carb, 2 g fiber, 17 g fat, 7 g sat fat, 206 mg sodium

Have a great week! And Happy Mother's Day!!

Oriental Pork Cabbage Stir Fry - Frugal Food Friday

I've been a bit more in a cooking mood this week.  I think it has a lot to do with the fact that Hubby is finished with classes for the semester, so dinner is not a rush to have him out the door by 4:45 to get to class every night.  I cooked Sweet and Sour Chicken one night, but then wanted to try something new.  I opened up a cookbook my mother-in-law gave me for Christmas (Taste of Home's Light and Tasty Annual Recipes 2005) and came across Oriental Pork Cabbage Stir-Fry.

We eat very little pork...as in I can't even remember the last time I cooked it...but we had a bunch of cabbage in the fridge left over from making Rainbow Cole Slaw as well as some carrots that really needed to get used up.

Unfortunately, I did not remember to take a picture of it, but a quick internet search turned up the picture from the book itself.  I could take a picture of the leftovers, which are quite tasty.  The only problem with that is that the purple cabbage color has spread a bit and doesn't really look good enough for a picture...but is yummy none the less.

Oriental Pork Cabbage Stir-Fry
6 cups cabbage chunks (1 inch pieces)
3 teaspoons canola oil, divided
4 medium carrots, julienned
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound), cut into 3/4 inch cubes
2 tablespoons minced fresh gingerroot
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
4 teaspoons cornstarch

We also served this over brown rice.

In a large nonstick skillet or wok, stir-fry cabbage in 1 teaspoon hot oil for 1-2 minutes.  Add carrots; stir-fry 3-4 minutes longer or until carrots are crisp-tender.  Remove and keep warm.

Stir-fry the pork in remaining oil for 2 minutes.  Add ginger and stir-fry for 2 minutes or until pork is lightly browned.  Stir in 3/4 cup broth and soy sauce.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 3 minutes or until meat juices run clear. 

Combine cornstarch and remaining broth until smooth.  Gradually stir into pan.  Return cabbage and carrots to skillet.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2-3 minute or until thickened.  Serve over rice if desired.

One serving (2 cups stir-fry calculated without rice) equals 252 callories, 8 g fat, 63 mg cholesterol, 855 mg sodium, 19 g carbohydrate, 5 g fiber, 27 g protein.

Note:  We served it over rice and got far more than what we consider 4 servings from this recipe.

Is it really "no pain, no gain"?

Once upon a time there was a girl who decided to run for exercise/weight loss. She had always bought cute athletic shoes before as they were only used for walking around and light physical activities...and lets just emphasize that this girl really loves shoes! So after she had run for a few weeks and knew she would stay with it, she decided to buy some real running shoes. She went to the local sporting goods store and bought the brand of shoe that her mother (a real runner for many years) had said were her favorites.

Now these shoes weren't the prettiest, but they did the job. This girl ran many miles in these shoes until one day there was absolutely no tread left at all. So, being the shoe enthusiast as this girl was, she was excited to go back to the sporting goods store and this time buy prettier shoes. She settled on a new brand of shoe that would match her new running outfit and made her legs look good.

A little while after the girl got her new shoes, she experienced some pain. First in the knees here and there, then in the heels. She bought knee bands and gel insoles, but still there was pain. The knee pain was sporadic and wasn't too much of a problem, but the heel pain was terrible and once even caused her to limp for a few days afterwards. She saw doctors, talked to other runners, read articles...nothing really solved the pain. She had figured out how to manage it when the tread started falling off the cute running shoes.

Back to the sporting goods store she went, this time determined to buy the first brand of shoe no matter what they looked like just to see if this helped the pain at all. It has been weeks since the girl got her new, not as cute but comfortable shoes and she has yet to experience any kind of pain. The end.

Moral of the story: Working out isn't about being cute; you exercise so you can be cute later! Forget shoes and outfits and gadgets that make you look good- stick with what works! Check with sporting goods stores as some have policies that let you try out shoes (in real situations, not just walking around the store) and still return them. Make sure you buy shorts that don't ride up or that your legs won't rub together or in...go ahead and look silly and take a lap around the store- it sure beats hurting later! Pain isn't always good- pushing yourself is great, but real pain means something is wrong. My doctor told me that when you have pain it is your body's kind way of letting you know something isn't right. Learn to know the difference in your own body between getting sweaty and pushing yourself and an injury...only you can know.

We aren't supposed to be gorgeous when we exercise- we should sweat, turn red, breathe hard, make weird noises. Don't be afraid to get dirty...that is why there are showers (sorry Katie- get over it and shower!)

You can look like a 5 all the time, or you can look like a 3 when you are working out and look like a 10 later when you get cleaned up...it is up to you! I challenge you this week to have at least one workout that really pushes your limits, either mentally or physically. Go get 'em!

P.S. Did anyone try my simple trick from last week? I focused on it this week and am down one pound- woohoo! Plant foods, here I come! :)

What about Calories? How Many?

Rats. I'm back to 141 again this week. I am stuck in 140-ish-plateau-land, for sure.

And while we've said it often here on The Skinny, and it's true, that the numbers on the scale...

• are only one indicator of our overall health, and
• can be deceiving!

But still, it is so frustrating when the scale doesn't budge at all!

We've all had experiences where we know we're eating right and exercising, but the scale seems to be stuck.

And so...when we're stuck, it certainly doesn't hurt to reevaluate our eating and exercise habits, as we work toward the goal of healthy weight loss and maintenance.

Here are a couple of handy little calculators I found for calculating how many calories I should be taking in if I want to lose and/or maintain weight in healthy ways.

The Calorie Need Calculator at "Healthy Me" is quick and easy to use. It includes a printable report, based on your personal info, on how much to eat and exercise.

The Calorie Calculator at Healthy Weight Forum works for metric or US measures, and it allows you to indicate how much weight you hope to lose in a given time frame.

Both calculators factor in gender, age, and activity level, and both can be used to calculate calories for weight loss or maintenance. I tried both of them, and the calorie calculations were very similar.

Now if I could only convince myself to get serious about a food diary...