Labor of Love

I had a lovely Labor Day cookout with my roommate and family! And I have food pics!! I didn't take any people pics though....mom and I had both been cleaning house today among other things, and although we managed to shower, we didn't put our make-up on, so no people pics this time. However, I'm planning on trying to get some progress pics taken of me sometime this week. I'm not sure you can tell much difference in 30 lbs. I can feel a difference in my clothes, but I swear, everytime I get undressed and look in the mirror before I shower, all I see is fat. So I'll post some and we'll see.

Mom helped me do the grilling and everything turned out so good....very tasty. My Dad is the true judge of whether or not I did a good job. He'll come right out and tell you what he thinks if you ask him. If something's too salty, or overdone, or just doesn't suit his tastes, he'll tell you. You can always count on him for honesty, so after dinner, I asked him how he liked everything....and he said everything was real good! Woo hoo! The one pic that I screwed up majorly was my fruit platter that I made for dessert. I totally forgot to take the pics til after everyone was almost done eating!! I am so disappointed because it was so pretty before we dug into it. The outside was ringed with pineapple, then watermelon, then strawberries and grapes in the middle. Bummer.

One more thing! I've had to go to the park since I moved and no longer have access to the treadmill at the fitness center from my apt complex. Since I started driving over there last week, I've only done the 2 mile trail. For some reason, I haven't pushed myself to start the trail over, walk to the 2.5 mile marker, and double back to the beginning to complete the 3 miles. Today I did it!! I finally walked 3 miles, which is what I had worked up to before I moved from the apt. Only walking 2 miles again was going backwards in my progress, so it was time to step it up. And boy did I feel it!! Just goes to show you not to slack off on the exercise. If you drop back on what you're doing, or don't do it for a while, it is so hard and friggin' painful to get back in the groove. But I did it, and I'm proud. :)

I'm going to try to insert the pics now. If I can't figure it out...Pam is standing by on email for me, lol. Such a great friend. :) I enjoyed the holiday with my family and roommate Shane, as I hope all of you did, too!

Veggie Kabobs:

Grilled Salmon & Shrimp Skewers:

Baby Scallops:














Platter of Fresh Sliced Tomatoes:















Tuscan Bread with Roasted Garlic:














Lemon Pesto Butter:















Fruit Platter:













My dinner was 468 calories, and I still had 300 left over!! I know I'm supposed to be consistent with the calories and not all over the map, but I was so stuffed after dinner, I just couldn't fit anymore in. So total calories for today is 1200, and the excercise was a 3 mile walk at the park with my sister Amy. It's been a great day! Pam helped me line the pictures up, and she tried to tell me how to do it myself, so I'm going to give it another shot on tomorrow night's post with putting up pics of my baby Scarlette, and maybe some of Dwayne and I if I can find some.

Quote For The Day:

"Let us strive to improve ourselves, for we cannot remain stationary; one either progresses or retrogrades." -Mme. Du Deffand

Wow! Guess What I Did?!

As I said in my last post, I reached my next 15 lb. lost mini-goal and it was time for another reward. When I reached my first 15 lb. marker, I didn't have to buy myself anything because Dwayne gave me $100 to buy a few new pieces of clothing for dropping a size. It was a lovely surprise! Well, when he got here Friday evening, he handed me ANOTHER $100 for reaching this current goal...I was shocked! It was awesome the first time, but I never even thought he would do it again. I'm guessing he wants to be a part of the reward process because he's proud of all of my hard work.

So it looked like I wasn't going to be buying myself anything again this time...until I realized something last night. When I started my travels this time on the road to permanent weight loss, I started in June of this year and was 272 lbs. I set an arbitrary ending goal of 180 lbs. I stated early on that I have no desire to be stick thin, and actually prefer the look and feel of a curvier body. I am 5'10 in heighth and do remember a time many years ago when I weighed 200 lbs. and could tuck in my shirts w/o any embarassment. So I'm figuring 180 is good for now. If I get there, and want to drop lower, then that's cool. But I'm going to consider reaching the 180 lb. mark my true success for what I started out to do.

With all of this said, I got to thinking last night about my very highest weight several years back. It was 340 lbs. I remember thinking after I crossed over the 300 lb. threshold that I had reached a point of no return. A 300 lb. girl? There was no turning back, I remember thinking. Once you let yourself go that far, well there's just no hope left in sight. Or so I thought.

Thank God I was wrong about that. I reached a point where something "clicked" and I decided that I COULD take the weight off, and I was going to, come Hell or high water. And that's just what I set out to do. I lost 83 lbs. in 7 months (and no, I didn't do it the right way). I went from 340 lbs. to 257 lbs. and I was sailing down the scale. I was on fire! And then I met Dwayne, lol. The weight loss stopped. All of a sudden my attention that was dead set on the weight loss had been fully diverted and squarely placed on my blue-eyed guy. What a mistake that was, lol. I love my fella to pieces, but I should have NEVER, EVER taken my eyes off the goal.

I slowly gained back 33 of those lbs. over the next 4 years or so. Thank goodness I didn't gain it all back and plus some, like I read about so many others that do. I remember when I finally got around to noticing that I was sitting at 290 lbs., almost at the 300 marker again, I said "WHOA NELLY!!" This is NOT happening again. I refuse to see 300 lbs. ever again. The problem was, I didn't really make the right mental changes to get it off. I didn't have the "click" that I had before. I prayed for it, over and over, but it just didn't happen. It's like I wanted to lose the weight, but couldn't find the willpower and desire to put forth the same effort I did before.

I very, very slowly dropped 20 lbs. over the course of a year, and then kept jumping between 266 and 272 lbs. Fluctuating week after week, up/down up/down...and that's when I finally decided to see what this blogging stuff was all about. My best friend Pam whose blog is Journey To The Healthier Side Of Life, and listed on my blogroll, had been blogging for quite some time, and I decided to give it a shot. Thank God I did. Blogland is where I found my inspiration. So many inspiring people out there, doing what I yearned to do for myself. And alas, From Fat to Fab was born. My starting weight was 272 lbs.

My realization came last night though from remembering that I once was 340 lbs. I am now 241.8 as of my last weigh-in. Is everyone doing their subtraction??? I've lost dang near 100 lbs. from my highest point!!!! Holy cow!!! That's amazing!!!! Well, I couldn't let that pass me by without buying myself a reward....one that came from me and not Dwayne. I don't know why....Dwayne's gift of cash for clothing is deeply appreciated and I'm very touched...but there's just something about buying a little something for you...from you.

I went to a bookstore with my Mom today and found the perfect little gift. I collect cookbooks and found one called Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly. It's full of healthy, low-fat recipes for your crockpot/slow cooker and they list all of the nutritional value for each recipe!!! I love to find recipes that already have the calories figured out, and now I have a whole book full of them!! Perfect!! And it only cost me $15.95 to boot. Yay!

I am extremely pleased with my little purchase. My pocketbook didn't suffer too badly, and my new cookbook signifies a tremendous amount of hard work and effort to get to a healthier me. What better gift to give yourself than something that will further the good that you're working so hard to accomplish? Books last forever. I want my weight loss to last forever. I can continue to use this book during maintenance. It's just an excellent choice all the way around and I'm glad I made it. :)

Tomorrow is Labor Day, and rather than have to face someone else's cookout with the trepidation that always seems to creep up on me with holiday eating, I decided to take the reigns and have my own cookout! This was my evil plan so I can control ALL the food that is available....very cool. Labor Day marks the "end of summer", and summer is synonymous with seafood to me when it comes to food, so Mom's coming over to help me grill some salmon, shrimp, baby scallops and veggie kabobs. It's going to be fantastic!! My roommate Shane will be here, along with my parents, one of my sisters, Amy, and 2 of my nieces and nephews, Carla and Cyress. It's going to be a lovely time filled with food choices that I can feel good about. I'm really looking forward to it!

I still don't own a digital camera, but Shane does, so if I can remember, I'm going to get him to show me how to use it, and load the pics from it onto my computer, and then how to access them, and will probably get Pam (my blog guru) to show me how to post them on here. I'm severely challenged when it comes to these types of things, so we'll see. I love the blogs, like Amy H.'s at No To The Deuce, that always post food pics and recipes. I'd like to start adding some of my own pics.

I have a few pics of my puppy Scarlette saved on my computer from the last time Dwayne and I went to Hilton Head, SC for a weekend getaway. It was overcast, so the pics aren't bright and sunny, but if I can get Pam to help me tomorrow, then I'll try to put some up of my baby to show you.

I hope everyone has a fun, happy and safe holiday, surrounded by close family and friends, and filled with good eating choices! We can do this!! Doesn't it feel great to know you're finally on the right road to a happier, healthier you?? I think so, too!!

Quote For The Day:

"Nothing is predestined. The obstacles of your past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings." -Ralph Bluen

Two Goals Met!!

I weighed in at 241.8 this morning which gives me a 1 lb. loss this week. Thank God I didn't gain, and thank God the moving is over and I can look forward to a normal week!

A couple of things need to be noted this morning. First of all, I only lost 7.6 lbs this month, my goal being 10 lbs./mo., so I denoted my disappointment in that on my sidebar under Monthly Goals with a little frownie face, lol.

However, I lost more than my goal amount the first 2 months, so when I take the average of all 3 months together, I've lost a total of 30.2 lbs!! So in reality, I'm right on track! Of course, there's no cushion there now, so this coming month has to be spot on. Total focus and the highest importance given to the weight loss. Gonna' take it one week a time, make the best choices I can, and get in some daily exercise at the park. It's going to be a great week!

Also, I met a mini-goal this week. I set up a reward system, where I reward myself with something for every 15 lbs. lost. I hit the 30 lb mark today...time for another reward!! I have no idea what yet, likely something small due to my budget, but size and cost aren't the issue...it's the signifigance of the reward that matters to me. I told myself when I first started back in June that if I could just get to 30 lbs., then I'd really feel like I was on my way. I'm 1/3 of the way to my goal!! It's a fantastic day!!

Got a busy day ahead filled with chores and grocery shopping before Dwayne gets here this evening, as well as the cable guy coming by somewhere between 11a-2p to fix a small problem. I made another breakfast casserole last night for the next 4 mornings....only 166 calories per serving. Today's off to a great start! :)

The Silver Lining

The job fair was a total bust. I pulled in the parking lot at 8:40am since it started at 9am. I drove in front of the hotel and looked inside. There were construction workers inside doing drywall. What the heck? I drove around to the back and the same thing. I got out and walked up to the sign by the road that I saw last week advertising the job fair. In tiny little mice type at the bottom it said "Georgia Dept. of Labor Career Center" (a.k.a. Unemployment Office). Oh C-R-A-P. I've been to this ofc several times since I got laid off in February. They don't open til 7:30am, but the people start lining up outside the door at 7am, and that's WITHOUT a job fair going on.

I drove over there to see just how bad it was. I counted 53 people standing outside of the building, and there were probably another 30 in line in front of them inside. I am actually desperate enough at this point that I would have stood in line behind 83 people to apply for a job, however, there was just nowhere to park. Every spot was full...people had parked on both sides of every curb, leaving VERY little room to squeeze my car through to maneuver around the parking lot. There were signs posted saying not to park on the grass. I counted 12 cars parked on the grass. I was feeling down, deflated, disgusted, and I finally made it out of the parking lot and back on the interstate.

As I was driving along I remembered a scenario from years past. I was job searching another time and had applied and interviewed for a position that I really, really wanted. I didn't get it. I called my friend Gregg and told him. He said, "Oh....well.....thank God!!" "Excuse me???", I said incredulously, wondering when my friend had suddenly turned into a moron. He explained that I had prayed fervently for that position, always praying that His will be done in my life, and the same with this job. He said since I didn't get it, then it wasn't meant to be, and I should thank God that I didn't get stuck in a place that wasn't right for me. I would have been miserable.

Hmmm...maybe my friend was smarter than I gave him credit for. That was certainly one way to look at it. Always one that enjoys the positive side of life way more than the negative...I decided to accept and be thankful for the silver lining that my friend had found in my cloud of despair. I adopted the same attitude today.

Feeling better, I headed on up to the unemployment office in the new county I just moved to and had my claim transferred. This office is much less busy, with much more pleasant employees. I only had to wait 5 minutes to see a counselor and handle the paperwork. While I was there, I found out that I've been approved for 27 more weeks, should I not find a job, which means my bills are at least going to be paid through the end of March. Praise the Lord!! Now THAT is an answer to prayer. :)

A couple of my lovely followers on the blog asked me to post the recipe for my breakfast casserole that I mentioned in last night's post. I'm happy to do so!

First let me say that I've made several of these and every time they're a little different...it all depends on what meats I have on hand, what fresh veggies were on sale that week, and how many calories I want to spend on breakfast. Here's a list of all the items I've used so far....you can mix and match them to whatever suits your taste:

rotisserie chicken
ham steaks cut into cubes
homemade turkey sausage (way less sodium than store bought; 99% fat free)
Canadian bacon (only 120 calories for 6 slices)

summer (yellow) squash
zucchini
onions
fresh or jarred mushrooms
every color of bell pepper (green, red, yellow, orange)
fresh spinach
baby asparagus
frozen broccoli (thawed)


Kraft Fat Free shredded mozzarella (1/4 c is 45 cals)
Kraft Fat Free shredded cheddar (1/4 c is 45 cals)
Kraft or Sargento reduced fat shredded Colby Jack (1/4 c is 80 cals)
Kraft or Sargento reduced fat shredded 4-cheese Mexican blend (1/4 c-80 cals)

The 2 staples in this casserole that never change are 10 egg whites and 1/2 c. of fat free cottage cheese (I use store brand). Egg whites are 17 calories each and 1/2 c. of fat free cottage cheese is 80 calories.

I use an 8x8 glass baking dish so it's a perfect square and I get 4 even pieces. I spray it with Pam olive oil cooking spray and preheat my oven to 375.

Next I chop all the veggies I'm going to use and sautee them for about 10 mins with a lid on the pan to cook out most of the liquid...this cuts way down on any liquid that cooks out while you're baking it in the oven. I do it on medium high heat, taking the lid off for the last few mins to let all the liquid evaporate.

If you're using homemade turkey sausage, you obviously need to cook that first. Little 2 oz patties cook up very quickly. If you're using ham, Canadian bacon or rotisserie chicken then there's no need to sautee ahead of time.

Layer the veggies in the bottom of the dish. Add the meat on top of that. Add your cheese on top of that, whatever amounts and blends you choose.

Mix 10 egg whites and 1/2 c of fat free cottage cheese in a mixing bowl and stir briskly with a wire whisk if you have one. Add a little salt and pepper to the mixture (I also add onion powder). Pour over the top, making sure to go around the outside edges first then finishing up in the middle. This will seal the top with egg whites and give you a nice browned, slightly crispy top on your casserole. Bake uncovered in the oven for 40 minutes. If you're oven cooks hotter, cook for 30 minutes and check it...but my egg whites are never fully cooked at 30 mins. 40 minutes is perfect in my oven.

Here's the specific ingredient list for the casserole I made this week that was 211 calories per serving:

6 oz. rotisserie chicken breast
2 c. yellow squash
1 c. red bell pepper
1 4.5 oz. jar of sliced mushrooms
1/2 c. vidalia (sweet) onion
4 c. fresh spinach
3/4 c. fat free shredded mozzarella
1/4 c. reduced fat shredded colby jack

Total calories: 844
Cals per svg: 211

It's a bit of work to sautee the veggies and get it all baked, so it's a good thing to do in the evening if you're just sitting around watching TV...it frees up your time in the morning, and especially if you have to go to work or get kids to school. I just pop a piece in the microwave for 40 seconds and Voila! :)

My weigh-in is tomorrow morning. I am holding my breath. Whatever it is, I'll deal with it, and start working on the next weigh-in. :)

Quote For The Day:

"Shallow men believe in luck, strong men believe in cause and effect." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Job Fair Tomorrow

It's been another busy day....I had a lot of errands to run and stuff to take care of. My sister Amy came over late this morning and we went to the park together and walked the 2 mile trail. It wasn't my normal power walk, but it wasn't a stroll either. The weird thing is, I was even MORE sore after today's walk than I was after yesterday's which was much more rigorous. My body is so strange, lol.

Mom met us at the park with my niece and nephew after we were done with our walk. She brought Krystal's for lunch....I was going to eat 4, but knowing they were 160 calories each, I decided to only eat 2. I have a love affair with Krystal's that just won't seem to die....but I'm getting way better at having them in smaller amounts when I do have them. They're just a terrible caloric value...so little food for so many calories, and I like making better use of my calories.

I had a piece of breakfast casserole this morning that I made yesterday...it was 211 calories. I love making these....I cut it into 4 pieces and have breakfast that morning....and then don't have to cook breakfast for the next 3 mornings! These will come in really handy when I finally get another job. I made a French style pork stew in the crockpot for dinner....it made 3 servings and was 400 calories a serving, and quite tasty I might add. I love coupling pork with rosemary. It's a lovely, fragrant combination.

I had a few snacks throughout the day and came in right at 1500 calories for the 2nd day in a row. One more day before weigh day and then we'll see what the damage is. I've been drinking tons of water, just like I usually do, so I should have flushed all the sodium out from the moving weekend. Of course there's the bloating now that Mother Nature has so graciously bestowed upon me....but there's just nothing we can do about nature. Except cuss it, which I've done profusely. :)

The job fair is tomorrow morning at the Embassy Suites hotel...they are hiring for all positions. I'm hoping to snag something in Accounting or Bookkeeping...say your prayers!! It runs from 9a-3p...I'm going to be there at 8:30am. I've got my resume ready to go...3 copies actually....maybe I'm a little overzealous? lol The most stressful thing about getting ready for this was searching through my clothes in the closet. Oh my. I came upon the realization that I haven't bought any new work clothes in YEARS. I was at the last job for 3 1/2 years, and I guess when you get comfy in a place and get used to wearing the same outfits, maybe you don't realize how worn they're getting? At least I didn't.

The other problem is, I lost 20 lbs VERY SLOWLY over the course of last year...and then another 29 lbs since I started this blog in June. That's dang near 50 lbs!! Everything is now not only worn out, but oversized. It's not exactly falling off yet, thanks to my voluptuous hips, but if I sucked my stomach in, I feel sure my skirt would hit the floor. Gonna' have to watch that tomorrow, lol.

Well I'm off to cuddle with Scarlette. Poor baby....she's loving having the fenced in front yard, after leaving the apartment....but it's a two-edged sword. She's found absolute delight in munching on bugs at night when they come out and start crawling across the sidewalk...but last night she got stung on the nose by a fuzzy caterpillar, and tonight she got stung on the lower eyelid by a bumble bee. It's a little swollen, and she keeps rubbing her eye on my leg...I feel so sorry for her. Maybe she'll learn soon to snack selectively. 'Nite nite. :)

Back on Track

After 4 days of chaos with the moving, unpacking, bad eating and lack of cardio, I'm finally back on track. I stayed within my calorie limit of 1500 calories today, and I drove myself to the park to walk the 2 mile trail. I had been walking between 2.75-3 miles a day as of last week so I'm not where I was yet, but it's a start. I'm looking forward to going back tomorrow.

Here's a frustrating little tidbit of news....Mother Nature paid me a visit this morning. She couldn't have picked a worse week, I swear. I hate her, lol. The weigh-in is going to suck, I'm sure, but the following week will look much better. I'm sure of that, too. I'm plugging along now, getting back in the groove, and I'm looking forward to feeling better soon.

I've had another long day....doing laundry, going to the park, shopping for some necessities, cooking all 3 meals again (finally!), visiting with Dwayne and playing with the puppy. I've got a job fair to go to this Thursday. For all of you praying folks, send one up for me that it will produce a decent-paying job for me and I can get back to work! This unemployment check is a joke. And I miss working.....I can't believe I just said that. A little time off is always nice, if you can handle the stress of very little money....but 6 months worth will wear on your nerves. It's gotten ridiculous and I need to go back to work and feel productive again.

Headed to bed for some much needed rest. I still haven't found that paper that has my quotes listed on it, but as soon as I do, I'll start putting up the daily quotes again. Sleep tight everyone...with dreams of goal weights dancing in your heads. :)

Settling In

Hello friends!!

I'm still alive...but just barely, lol. I am indescribably exhausted. Not only from the moving and unpacking and organizing, but I can also tell it's from ALL the bad eating I've done since Friday. It's been bad....really bad....I've focused on nothing but the move....haven't counted a single calorie since Friday....have eaten whatever someone brought me from whatever restaurant. I will pay for that this Friday and do my best to undo it by the following Friday.

Let's back up a bit. Dwayne came over Friday night and we had every single little thing done, ready to move. Got up early Sat morn and called the moving company to see just how late they were going to be. The lady in the ofc said they had a "small" move to do ahead of me and that they should be there in about 4 hours...meaning around 12:30pm. Well.....long story short....they showed up at my apt at 7:30pm Sat night. I think I finally fell in bed around 2am Sunday morning.

Back up around 6:30am Sunday to unpack everything and get organized. Busy all day and all night Sunday. Today I got up early and got out to run some errands and turn the keys and gate cards back into the apt complex. The girl that works in the ofc has been so upset over us leaving. She's worked there for a couple of years now, and we've lived there for 3 1/2 years. She actually had me in tears by the time I left with all the hugging and inviting me back for pool parties anytime. Sweet, sweet girl. I'm going to miss her, too.

Got back home this afternoon and finished organizing stuff. I'm proud to say that every single box is finally unpacked and everything is in it's place. I have a few little items in my closet on the shelves that I need to sort through....like the paper that has all my awesome quotes written on it! lol

My kitchen is finally in order and I cooked dinner tonight for the first time in 4 days. Can't say I wanted to.....simply because every single joint and muscle on my body are aching so bad. I've been averaging about 4 hours of sleep a night since Friday night....I'm just exhausted.

I love the house....we're renting it from my parents. They live right next door (own both houses). They used to live in this one....then moved next door a year ago, decided they like this one better, so they're planning on moving back in next summer after the other house sells. Thinking about going through another move in just one more year makes me want to cry, lol. I'm worn out. I'm very happy with the house and very happy that I managed to get everything unpacked and in it's place in 2 days. I've been working like a maniac.

However, now that it is time to sit down and post about all of it, the guilt is flooding my brain now over all the bad eating...after all, this IS a weight loss blog. Bummer. I suck, lol. I really tried to make myself go to the park today and walk, but my aching joints just wouldn't allow it. At this point, I'm hobbling around the house like an 80 year old woman. My get-up-and-go, got up and went, lol.

It's back to counting calories in the morning and for the next 3 days. I'll do my best to minimize the damage. I think it's safe to assume the 3.4 lb loss I wanted is a joke now, lol. Now it's time to pray I don't have a 3.4 lb. GAIN by Friday morning! I'm not going to freak about this....I'm slowly learning and reminding myself that the picture's bigger than this one week that I was moving. It's about a lifestyle change......this is forever.

Putting my nose to the grindstone when I wake up tomorrow morning...it's back to the egg whites! And to tell you the truth, I can't wait. I've been eating so good and so healthy for 3 months now. After a weekend full of whatever...my body is cussing me like you wouldn't believe. I physically feel like crap. My brain feels like it's in a fog....my stomach is killing me. I didn't realize how much "lighter" I felt on the inside eating so many whole foods and so much less processed and fast foods. Now I realize just how much good I've been doing for myself and I can't wait to get back to it. It feels good to feel good and I miss it.

I hope everyone's weekend was much calmer and more relaxing than mine was. I missed all of you! It's good to be back. I'm fixing to go soak in a nice, hot tub of water and then I'm crashing for the night. I'll do some catching up on blogs tomorrow. Sweet dreams. :)