Cauliflower puree...

Flipping DELICIOUS. My husband said he HATES cauliflower because of a bad experience as a kid...welp, he DEVOURED it.  I think I put too much milk in it because it was a little runny so I will definitely aim for lumpy next time. I used buttermilk but just saw a recipe using almond milk, so next time I will do that to cut fat too. But I didn't feel bad about using the reduced fat buttermilk or the light butter being that I was eating a veggie as my main side for dinner. I did have corn on the cob thanks to my mother in law who brought some over, so it wasn't my no carb dinner that I wanted it to be, but it was good and so far, I'm under my points for the day :)

Lying to my husband for his own good :)

Well, I won't really call it lying...well maybe small white lies, but its for his and my OWN GOOD! You see, typically my diets would fail because I would try to cook two meals, one nasty, tasteless diet dish and creamy, calorie filled, delicious goodness for him. Well, since he has been suffering from his back injury and can't work out (and because I am too tired and lazy to try and do two dishes again), I have resorted to cooking recipes from SKINNYTASTE and not letting him know how healthy it is until LATER... or cooking dishes that I know he wouldn't try if I told him what is was before and seeing if he actually likes it. THis was the case with the spaghetti squash. If he would have known that it was squash, he would have protested loudly that he HATES squash. So, I told him that I was making a low carb noodle alternative. Well, he TORE IT UP. then I told him the real deal. So today, I am making this...

A perfect low carb alternative to mashed potatoes with a creamy buttery taste and less than one point. If you don't have buttermilk, low fat sour cream also works great.

Creamy Cauliflower Purée
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes 
Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 3/4 cup • Old Points: 1 pt • Points+: 2 pt
Calories: 60.7 • Fat: 2.4 g • Protein: 3.7 g • Carb: 8.6 g • Fiber: 4.2 g

Ingredients:

• 1 medium head cauliflower, cut up into florets
• 4 cloves crushed garlic
• 1/3 cup 1% buttermilk
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp light butter 

I am so excited about this, I am almost giddy. I have high hopes that this creamy cauliflower mashed potatoes really taste almost the same to the real thing. I am going to make it with either backed chicken or fish. I haven't decided as yet...

Anyways-  gotta get ready for church with Danielle. They are doing a parenting series and I really want to be on time.

Starting my new relationship...

So I am really proud of myself and the new relationship I am forming with food.  Last night we went out to eat to a hibachi restaurant. Now, I can't lie and say it wasn't hard to watch delicious fried rice with gobs of butter being cooked in front of me, and watch my son and husband NOM NOM NOM down on the yummy goodness, but I made the choice to stay with sushi. I researched last night prior to going out to eat and found out I could have a delicious rainbow roll and loads of sashimi for great point value! This is all I ate last night and was STUFFED. I couldn't even eat my last piece of sushi.

So I finished the day being two points under  and more than satisfied for the day. I even went to panera bread for a cup of soup and bread during my officers meeting.  I finally feel I can truly do this. I may be able to TRULY lose weight on this program. Of course I haven't been weighed as yet, and I am nervous to not see the scale move and feel discouraged but I am already starting to feel a little better and I'm on my way. 

What the $%#& did I just do?

Yup, there it is. PROOF. Physical PROOF that I just registered for my first 5K. Yup, me. Yes, ME! The girl who only sprinted in high school and who coined the phrase that anything over a 400m is for a car. Well, I took the first step into psycho  a healthier lifestyle. I am going to run this race. I will be slinging through the mud, attacking a ropes course, diving over walls, doing push-ups while a drill sergeant yells at me,  and military crawling through a foot of mud. And the best part? I will be doing it with a friend!!! Danielle said YES! Well, okay, it took a little pleading, a desperate blog post calling her out, a passive aggressive email message, and negotiation on the race we will be doing (instead of The Beast Run 10K, we are doing Down and Dirty Mud Run 5K) but she said YES and did it because she didn't want me to go it alone. MAN! That is truly a FRIEND! So, I paid the registration this morning so that I didn't allow myself to over think the decision and convince myself I am too fat/slow/inexperienced/out of shape to compete. Now its up to me to really train hard and do this. I downloaded the C25K on my phone and I plan on starting training today. I really have no time to waste. 

Sooo anyways, yesterday was a great day on weight watchers! See below:

I was 9 points below my daily amount! And it was SUPER easy to do so. First of all, I made the MOST DELICIOUS DINNER!!! OMG!

Chicken Rollatini with Spinach alla Parmigiana
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes 
Servings: 8 • Serving Size: 1 stuffed breast • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 5 pts
Calories: 194.7 • Fat: 7 g • Protein: 24.2 g • Carb: 7.2 g • Fiber: 1.5 g

• 8 thin chicken cutlets, 3 oz each
• 1/2 cup whole wheat Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
• 6 tablespoons egg whites or egg beaters
• 5 oz frozen spinach, squeezed dry of any liquid
• 6 tbsp part skim ricotta cheese
• 6 oz part skim mozzarella (I used Polly-O)
• olive oil non-stick spray (I use my Misto)
• 1 cup pomodoro sauce or your favorite marinara sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

And I paired it with the NO POINTS, low carb SPAGHETTI SQUASH

My husband LOVED this dish and he claims to hate squash. I didnt tell him it was squash until after he cleared his plate. I just told him it was a low carb noodle substitute (so not REALLLY a lie... right?). I didn't finish this dish until later at night so the toddler approved test wasn't conducted, but I have left overs and we will see tonight if Jonathan gives it a thumbs up or a spit out. He isn't a squash fan at all. 

Today is also my first day taking Fucoxanathin and Green Coffee Extract supplements. I am determined to get healthy from the inside out!

I want to be a DIRTY girl...

So... in my quest for a healthier and more active way of living, I am branching out!! Usually, my happy moments involve consuming the fattiest, carbiest, and gooeyiest of foods.  Even heading down to my trip to pigeon forge, I was looking mostly forward to eating my friend Danielle's buffalo chicken dip, which is SOOOO delicious, and probably a million calories. In fact, i pretty much ate half of the entire bowl myself. Well, I want to start looking forward to more positive, better things and I think I found something that is crazy as hell, but could be fun. THE BEAST MUD RUN. Now, I am still trying to convince my dear friend Danielle to do this event with me. She is very apprehensive and I can see why. Sad part is, I haven't even told her the real kickers... like for example it costs $60 to register. Its a 10K. Its in Locust Grove... nope, haven't divulged any of this yet...BUT I am hoping very hard that she will decide to do it with me. My arguments why? 

1. I think it will push us to train super hard in these next 8 weeks. To seriously put in the effort at the gym. 

2. We are young and you only live once!! What an amazing opportunity to take the craziest of pictures, laugh our ass off during the process, and feel a sense of accomplishment. This is bucket list material right here!!!

3. We will shock the hell out of our husbands doing something like this, and while they are sooo incredibly supportive and loving, I think THEY will be surprised if we actually go through with it. And nothing is hotter than a strong wife :). 

4. It will require a lot of dedication, focus, and accountability during these next 8 weeks. 

5. It will be hard. Super hard. INCREDIBLY hard. Almost impossible feeling. I may cry during half the course...but when I cross that finish life, I will feel so proud of myself. I really will. 

So...there are my arguments. And I am holding my breath waiting for my friend to stop "THINKING" about it...and just do it :). yes, I feel crazy even considering this. I'm two days into weight watchers and haven't been in the gym in FOREVER. But I guess after watching Extreme Makeover weight loss edition on my tivo last night, I'm still on a motivated kick. And to see these people 400+ pounds cry their asses off and scream that they can't do it. That its impossible, but then they do it. Its inspiring. I am inspired. 

So anyway, my day yesterday for WW went well. I got munchies last night while warming up my leftovers and I just had to see a box of goldfish my son left on the table. Um yes, devoured it along with 5 tortillas. Luckily, there wasnt much chicken left, so I gave my hubby two full pieces and took 2/3 chicken for myself and gave 1/3 of it to Jonathan for his meal. So it lowered my 15 point dinner to 12 points, keeping me under again by 1. So far so good. I really need to get moving though. Im hoping for a jog today in my neighborhood with Jonathan :)

Be Yourself. Everyone else is taken...

So my first day of weight watchers went pretty well, but of course, it is only the first day. I always do super awesome on my diet first days... but, I digress because I am no longer dieting. I am changing my lifestyle. So, on my first lifechanging day, I kept one point under my allotted daily points. YAY! I was proud of myself and I can see how this program works. It takes the guess work out of things and points has been so much easier to calculate than calories. Soo, we shall see how I maintain this. Below is my day yesterday:

The chicken thigh skillet dinner was a concoction I made on my own. I took boneless skinless chicken thighs. Seasoned it and put it in a pan with garlic. Then took a can of the healthy request/low fat cream of chicken soup and half a cup of water. Let that simmer for a while. Then added a bag of chopped frozen spinach and sliced frozen squash. I was sad to find out the boneless skinless chicken thighs were 9 points. i will be making that recipe again with boneless skinless breasts instead. I made that with frozen yellow corn and brown rice. I didn't have enough points to have the brown rice though, so I just ate the chicken thigh skillet dinner on top of a bed of 1 cup corn. I love corn and to me, it was so worth the 4 points, even though it stinks corn is 4 freakin points. It was actually filling :). So 9 points for the chicken, 4 points for the corn, 2 points for cream of chicken soup and everything else was free points. Jonathan and my husband also really enjoyed dinner last night :). So one healthy dinner recipe down!

So in my quest to a healthier me, I am seeking NATURAL supplements to help my weight loss. Now, because of my past, I've probably taken EVERY synthetic, unnatural diet pill out there. EVERYTHING. I've decided to go slightly more  holistic in nature, seeking the advice of Dr. Oz, America's doctor, for recommendations. I have purchased and rush ordered for delivery thursday from Amazon.com Fucoxanthin and also Green Coffee Bean Extract, both of which has been featured and highly recommended by Dr. Oz. I am specifically most excited about Fucoxanthin because not only are people having results from this natural supplement in targeting belly fat, but it also helps combat diabetes by increasing insulin sensitivity and lowering blood glucose levels. Having PCOS, I actually had a phase when I was pre-diabetic and went on metformin. Since pregnancy, that part did correct itself but having diabetes in my family and being 31 is making me alot more aware of preventative measures I need to take in order to grow old with my husband and watch my son grow up. So starting Friday, I will be taking those two supplements. Even if not for weight loss, both are great supplements. I know there are not quick fixes, trust me, I've tried everything. So now I am working on detoxing via antioxidants, eating better, and getting healthy.

I'm fat... and I don't mean PHAT...

WHEW! Its been quite a while since my last blog and I do apologize because I promised to be more on the ball. To be honest, last week was a hot mess.  My husband has finally found the reason for his excruciating sciatic pain, which is a herniated disk. I had to take him to the Spine center at my hospital in order to get a steroid injection in his lumbar section. We were told he has a 50/50 chance for surgery, but we are praying about it and definitely going to do all we can to prevent surgery from happening. Between seeing that and seeing myself in pictures, I know that we need to truly make a lifestyle change.

I am fat.

There I said it. The world can see it, the scale tells me, my pants scream out in pain when I squeeze into them but I've been in complete denial. Its funny because I truly think I am slightly body dysmorphic...and not in the way that makes you work out, but the way that makes me think I look better than I really do.  I put on an outfit, I strut out my house, only to catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and say OMG...is that me? Or to look at a photo and gape at the reality staring you in the face. It is bothering me. Bothering me alot. I hate that I allowed myself to get to this point. I never want to be at this point again. I want to feel confident for me. And my husband. He is such a beautiful, supportive man. He tells me every single day I am beautiful. I think he told me too much because I let myself go. I am trying to find me again. I decided to join weight watchers yesterday and now I am on a quest for health. TO have my own Jennifer Hudson story. I may never look like Beyonce, but I can look like me from three years ago. And I want to do it the healthy way. And healthy unfortunately means slow. I hate slow. But it must be done that way to ensure that I will keep it off. To ensure I wont take this practice as a fad. To really put effort in  changing my life. To learn how to eat. The women in my family have issues with food. We always have. My mother always had a poor self image and even to this day talks about her weight. She was anorexic when she was young. When I was in my last year of high school, I was ED-NOS with anorexic tendencies. My cousin suffered from bulimia. So did my sister, which ultimately caused her to have permanent heart issues.  I wanted to stop my unhealthy, non-eating tendencies but then I went in a completely different direction, especially during pregnancy.  I'm wanting to change my relationship with food. I have all the tools I need: An incredible supportive husband, a partner in crime with Danielle, and my own motivation.  Its a blessing to have a husband who calls you beautiful, despite of what you think of yourself. This should help me want to go slowly in the process. I no longer am in a relationship with someone who criticized the way I looked, even when I was a size 7 and small already! Nope, I've been so incredibly blessed. And I want to keep being a blessing to my husband. He is even on board to eating better...or so he says. We shall see when he gets squash spaghetti for dinner. lol.
I will be posting the most horrendous before picture of myself tonight. I forgive the burning of the eyes in advance. But like my friend Danielle says, we all go to start somewhere!