Superheroes: Sean and Stephen!!

I drove over to Alabama today and hung out with Sean from The Daily Diary of a Winning Loser and Stephen from Who Ate My Blog?  I had a fabulous time....both of these guys are hilarious...cracked me up the whole time we were together.  It was a really awesome time and I can't wait til we can all get together again....hopefully in the spring if all goes right!  Stephen's already lost around 200 lbs...and in keeping with that amazingness, went for a 6 mile walk before we all met today (yay!) as he's working towards getting ready to walk a half marathon!!  I think he said it's in February... Go Stephen!!   Sean's expected to meet his goal weight of 230 lbs. on his next weigh-in this coming Tuesday....can't wait to read THAT post!  I took a ton of pics today so I'll post a few of them.  Enjoy! :)

I'm 5'10..it's very rare that I feel "short"...today was one of those times, lol.

Superheroes!!!

The guys fooling with their cameras

Such a FUN guy!

Doesn't he have a fantastic smile?  He should...he's got a lot to smile about. :)

All of us fatties and former fatties can appreciate the room between the steering wheel and our tummies.  :)

Proud of you Sean!

Where's your cape?

(inside joke ;) )

Hanging In There

Even though yesterday got off to a rocky start, it ended well.  I was at 1850 cals for the day with my goal being 1870....and I had 130 oz. of water. 

I made egg muffins last night, so my breakfast is ready to go for the next few mornings.  Prepping/planning are key to getting this crap right, lol.  I'll be on the road tomorrow going to see Sean in Alabama and hang out with him and Stephen from Who Ate My Blog? for a couple of hours.  I'm going to try to get there an hour after Stephen, so they can have some visiting time by themselves first.  I know Stephen is just as excited to meet him as I am, so I don't want to totally crash his party.  That would be rude.  :) 

Gonna eat a couple of those egg muffins for breakfast, which are 114 cals each, and from there I have no idea how the rest of the day will go....nothing planned as yet for lunch and dinner....don't know where I'll be at lunchtime, and don't know what time I'll make it back home tomorrow afternoon.  Just concentrating on not going over 1870, and getting all my water in.  K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid.  One of my favorite sayings.  :)

Have a fabulous weekend friends! :)

Meeting Sean This Saturday!

I'm excited!  Sean just called me about an hour ago and asked if I wanted to drive over to AL and visit with him this Sat!  Yay!  He became my weight loss mentor a year and a half ago, when I first started my blog.  I obviously haven't followed his example very well, but I've enjoyed every post and am constantly amazed by his commitment to consistency and making the weight loss THE most important thing in his life.  Very happy to finally get to meet him in person...we're gonna' have a great time!  :)

Rough Day Yesterday

Yesterday I picked up mom and took her to the funeral.  I was away from the house for 8 hours.  No food pics.  I had 350 cals before I left the house (tuna salad wraps), and then we had a wake after the funeral, which is more like a family reunion for my family, and there was a ton of food.  I had one big plate of food, and I'm pretty sure that wiped out my calories for the day.  I didn't eat again after I got home at 7:30p last night...so only 2 meals yesterday.  I did think about taking my camera, but it just felt too disrespectful. 

Off to a bad start this morning.  Running SERIOUSLY late...ran out the door w/ no breakfast and no camera.  Swung through McD's....and had way too many calories for breakfast.  I feel like my wagon is up on 2 wheels right now w/ such a crappy start to my day calorie-wise...but if it's nothing that can't be corrected if I pay attention to the rest of my choices today.  All it really means is I used the cals too early....and I'll be hungrier tonight...it's not the first time I've done this.  Tomorrow will be much better, because I'm actually going to take the time to PREPARE tonight...thinking of making some egg muffins in my cupcake pan for breakfast for the next few days....it will cover my Friday and take me right through the weekend, which is just what I need to help me with the weekend eating.  Preparing ahead of time really is the key for me to getting it right.  My mind's in the right place right now....at least for the moment...so I need to take full advantage of it by planning and prepping to stay ahead of the game. 

One more thing.  I chose not to drink any water before the funeral yesterday because I knew I had an hour and a half drive ahead of me....and didn't want to get up during the funeral to go to the restroom.  So when I got home at 7:30p last night I immediately filled up my 32 oz water glass.....and I drank 3 1//2 of those between 7:30 and midnight.  I also drank an 8 oz. cup of hot tea.  So that's what...about 120 oz of liquid yesterday?  Hooray.  :)  Of course, I was up peeing all night, so no wonder I didn't get good rest and ended up oversleeping and nearly making myself late for work.  Duh. 

Anyhoo...today's off to a rough start, but I'm going to level it out as the day goes on, and will end up within my calorie goal of 1870 cals by night's end.  I'm glad tomorrow is Friday...I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend.  :)

Petite Buffalo Chicken Lasagna Recipe

Lots of people asked for the recipe for the mini lasagna, so here's some step by step pics. 

Here's the ingredients:

wonton wrappers

boiled chicken breasts, shredded, mixed with Texas Pete

2% mozzarella cheese

part skim ricotta cheese, mixed with Italian seasonings

Classico Light Alfredo sauce

Barilla marinara sauce

Blue cheese crumbles

Spray pan with cooking spray and press one wonton wrapper inside each hole.  Add 1 Tbsp of ricotta cheese mixed with Italian seasonings.

Next, add 1 Tbsp of lite Alfredo sauce, then top with one ounce of shredden buffalo chicken and sprinkle blue cheese crumbles on top...I didn't measure the cheese exactly but tried to keep it around 1 Tbsp.

Place second wontop wrapper on top and smoosh down.

Add about 1/2 an ounce of chicken on second layer.

Top chicken with 1 Tbsp. of marinara, followed by 1/8 c. of 2% mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 mins.

Calorie Breakdown:

1.5 oz. chicken w/ buffalo sauce - 60 cals

2 wonton wrappers - 40 cals

1/8 c. 2% mozzarella - 35 cals

1 Tbsp marinara (guesstimate) - 15 cals

1 Tbsp. lite alfredo - 15 cals

(I think the jar of Alfredo said 60 cals for 1/4 c)

1 Tbsp. blue cheese crumbles - 30 cals

Total cals for 1 mini - 195

********************************

First day of the challenge was pretty easy....I say pretty easy, because as I sit here writing this post right now, I'm thinking about the leftover rotisserie chicken in the frig, lol.  But I'm at 1863 cals for the day..and not supposed to go over 1870, so it's time to quit eating for the night.  I've had 126 oz. of water today and I am DONE with the bladder torture until tomorrow....which will be interesting, beings that I'll be making a 1 1/2 hr commute each way to the funeral...then sitting through the funeral and graveside service....who wants to get up 5x and pee during a funeral???/  Tomorrow should be....interesting.

2 boiled eggs for breakfast - 150 cals

Honeycrisp apple (don't you love the fluorescent lighting at work??)

80 cals

Tuna salad is 285 cals, made with Star Kist chunk light tuna, one boiled egg, 2 Tbsp of Kraft Lite mayo, a little chopped dill pickles and onion.

Low-carb wheat wraps are La Tortilla Factory and 50 cals each, so 100 cals total for those.

I had to run to Publix to pick up some stuff for the dinner I was giving my sister for her birthday tonight.  I grabbed a pre-made Cuban sandwich out of their deli....I'm ballparking this at 600 cals.

Here's what all I made/had for dinner:

A simple salad made with romaine hearts, cucumbers, tomatoes and onions.

I bought a rotisserie chicken...didn't think the kids would like the buffalo chicken in the lasagna.  I was right, lol.

Buffalo Chicken Lasagna that I made last night and re-heated in the oven tonight.  My sister loved these.  I sent 4 home with her, and kept 2 in the frig for myself...will probably eat them some time tomorrow.

Sauteed baby portabello mushrooms in 2 Tbsp of olive oil.

Zucchini and fresh salsa roasted together in the oven.  Amy really loved this, too.

Garlic/cheese bread that I bought at the Publix bakery and heated in the oven.

Publix makes the BEST birthday cakes, but I couldn't afford to buy one for Amy.  I had to settle for making her a box of walnut brownies that I've had in the pantry for about 6 months, lol.  Duncan Hines saved the day. :)

Now....for a picture of my dinner plate, and the last meal of the day.

Huge salad w/ 2 Tbsp of Olive Oil vinaigrette dressing, 1 c. of zucchini/salsa, about a cup of mushrooms, and a rotisserie chicken breast.

Note:

no lasagna

no garlic/cheese bread

NO BROWNIE

I estimated this plate to be around 400 cals, which is just about how much I had left for the day.

 I had 126 oz. of water and (3) 5 oz. cups of coffee w/ creamer...and yes, I counted the creamer.  1 Tbsp in each cup, for 35 cals per Tbsp, so 105 cals on creamer this morning.

I'll leave you with some pics of my sister, niece and nephew.  :)

Amy's wearing the hat and scarf I bought her for her birthday

Carla was jealous, so she stole the gifts from her mom, lol.  She BEGGED me to go to the store TOMORROW and PLEASE, PLEASE buy her one JUST LIKE IT for her for Christmas.  And it MUST be blue.  NOT PINK.  BLUE...like her Mom's.  :)

Carla says that she's Scarlette's best friend.  Too precious.  :)

My cutie patootie nephew, Cyress

Can you see the brownie evidence left on his face?  :)

Have a good night friends.  :)

New Recipe Pics

Ok, so the challenge didn't officially start until today but since I took pics of my food yesterday (minus breakfast), I'll go ahead and post them.  Not very exciting, but helps me stay accountable.  Tuna salad w/ low salt wheat thins.

4 baked chicken wings, separated, and a sweet potato w/ 1 Tbsp of ICBINB.  This has to be my favorite vegetable to eat during the Fall.  I never think to eat them in the summer.

15 baby carrots at 3 cals a piece....45 cals of crunch.  And ungodly amounts of water...somewhere around 130 oz by the end of the day.

These were DELISH!  I coupled 2 recipes I found....Pam's Creamy Buffalo Chicken Lasagna recipe at her food blog "From Apples To Zucchini", listed on my blogroll....and a Petite Lasagna recipe from "Can You Stay For Dinner", on my favorites list.  I counted the cals of all ingredients, overestimated, and came up with 195 cals each.  I had 2 of these last night for dinner.  Well....

make that 2 of them minus what my baby ate.  She loved them, too.  :)

I took pics throughout making this recipe to show a step-by-step, but didn't have the time to download them this morning before leaving for work.  If anyone is interested in the recipe and seeing how it's made, leave a comment, and I'll download the pics tonight. 

Day 2 and I'm solid so far...taking my pics.  I had 2 boiled eggs for breakfast, 150 cals...and a honeycrisp apple a few minutes ago...80 cals.  Drinking the water...and I looked at Allan's chart on his last blog post.  I started at 249 lbs....if I hang in for the entire month, I have the potential to reach 232 lbs by Dec. 8th.  Mind-blowing really....but drinking ALL THAT WATER has a lot to do with flushing a bunch of garbage out of my system.  I totally get the water thing.  I'll be honest.  If I can just see the 230's by the end...that will put a huge smile on my face.  I just want to keep looking forward...one day and one choice at a time.  I want to leave the 240's behind.  Good Lord, I've visited them WAY too many times over this last year.  I'm soooo over it. 

Have a great day friends.  :)

Let's Try This Again

Ok...so I didn't do so hot on Allan's first Double Dog Challenge....I gave up last week.  I decided after a few days that it was a REALLY bad idea, and I better commit to SOMETHING...so I signed up for Phase 2 of his challenge.  This picture up top makes me want to run out and buy a passel of pugs, lol.

I'm feeling pretty good this morning....ready to get started.  I decided I'd photograph some of my food to go along with the accountability thing.  I said some, and not all, because for one, I already forgot to photograph my 410 calorie breakfast this morning....eggs, turkey sausage, fruit, coffee w/ creamer....but I did manage to remember to grab the camera as I was running out the door for work, so I'll take some pics today.  I did this in my Beach Challenge this past April and found it very helpful w/ the accountability....I lost 15 lbs. that month.  Unfortunately, I found it again..and put it right back on my a$$. 

Phase 2 of this challenge runs for a month, through Dec. 8th.  It takes us right through Thanksgiving....now THAT ought to be interesting.  One requirement is to eat the calories that you'll be eating when you get to goal weight....which for me is 1870.  Another requirement is to drink enough water to drown a small country.  Working on the water already....looking forward to a good day. 

I cooked up some food yesterday to help me out through the week.  Baked some sweet potatoes, boiled some eggs and made tuna salad, baked some zucchini and fresh salsa together in the oven, baked some chicken wings, boiled 2 chicken breasts and shredded them and then mixed in some Texas Pete buffalo sauce....that's in case I want to make a buffalo chicken lasagna recipe in a muffin tin this week.  Also thawed out some grouper to cook for dinner tonight...got a recipe for a mustard sauce from Allan to put over the fish...should be tasty. 

Unfortunately I got a bit of bad news last night.  One of my great aunts passed away yesterday morning...my mother's aunt....so I'll be attending the funeral with mom this week.  I'm not sure of the day yet....probably either Tues or Wed....so being out and with family for at least half of the day will probably pose some obstacles with the eating...but I'll do the best I can.  Funerals are a part of life and we just have to work around them in regards to the eating. 

I hope everyone's week is off to a great start....drink that water.  :)