Comfort Food

I was emailing with my usual set of ladies yesterday and one brought up chicken and noodles. Holy shit....I haven't had those in forever. I used to waitress at a diner that was straight up comfort food. I guess there was a reason I put on about twenty pounds the nine months I worked there. They had chicken and noodles on their menu and it was amazing, like total foodgasm. I looked up a recipe and made it more point friendly, and yes, I used the crockpot. :)

Chicken And Noodles

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans rf cream of chicken soup
2 cans low sodium chicken broth
1 package Reames (or other brand) Homestyle egg noodles

Directions:

Rinse chicken breasts and cut into chunks. Coat lightly with salt, pepper, and garlic powder (optional). Place in slow cooker.
Combine soups and pour over chicken.
Cook on low 8 hours. Two hours before serving add package of frozen noodles. Turn to high and stir occasionally.

The Verdict: DELISH! Probably not the most point-friendly dinner, but hey, it tasted good. I served over mashed potatoes (I know...starches like whoa) and green beans. I was full just after a few bites. It is also Mr. Whoa approved. I made him up a tub for leftovers and I'll be freezing the rest.

Oh yeah....I worked out too. I ran. I usually do a walk/run combo, but yesterday I ran most of it. I felt amazing, even tho I thought my calves were going to burst into flames. I did the bike after a little over 20 minutes of the dredmill and BAM:

522 calories down. Which leaves 8647 left to reach my calorie goal by the end of the month. Thats a little less than 400 calories a day. Impossible? No. Likely going to happen? Probably not, but hey, its something to aim towards.

Anyone take classes at their gym? Favorites? Ones you'd never step foot in again?

Gym on a Friday? Don't mind if I do.

Some people are working for the weekend, and honestly its no BFD to me because I bartend on Saturdays. So my weekend is usually Sunday. I had my gym bag packed and ready to go when I headed to work on Friday morning, and by the time 3pm rolled around I was thinking of a million excuses not to hit the gym. The gym is on my way home, so I really have no excuse not to go. I rode the bike for half and hour and did a walk/run combo for 20 minutes. I have a stack of about thirty magazines I need to read from this past year, so I love the bike because I can get caught up on those, even tho it isn't a huge calorie torcher. I even have a stack of Marie Claire, which I am avoiding like the plague due to a couple of their recent articles that aren't "fat friendly."

BUT.....You know the awesome thing about the gym on a Friday? It's a freaking ghost town. JaJo doesn't have to wait for machines, has control over what stations the tv is on, and no lurkers. :D

Well...that helps with the two cheddar bay biscuits I had for lunch :)

My goals are still going fairly well!
1. No fast food: Still going stong, even tho I want a freaking McRib!
2. No soda: I had a squirt on Saturday at work because my tummy was rumbly, but other than that its been water and iced tea.
3. Financially fit: I've paid off 3 cards, and very close to my 4th. I have to pay off my mattress by the 21st of this month in order for the no interest to be applied. If I would have paid more than my minimum payment the past year in a half I could have had this sucker paid off by now. With my extra money bartending and getting paid three times last month I should be a-ok.
4. One new recipe a week: French Dips were a success, buffalo chicken pasta was a success. I'm still looking at receipes for dinner tonight...so many yummy options out there!
5. Activity 1x/week. Like I said last time it may not sound like much, but I know its a goal I can reach. When I can't, I just get frustrated and just want to hide under my bed with a bottle of Jack Daniels. 831 calories down, 9169 to go!
6. New goal: Watch my phone use. I am addicted to my phone, especially since I got a new Android phone. I text my friends all through out the day, and I'm really bad when I'm out with people. So for my friends and family sake, I'm going to work on not being "connected" all of the time. I could relate to this commercial, and I feel like an asshole.

Have a great week everyone!

Buffalo Chicken Pasta!

This is actually my 2nd new recipe, but officially its my first since announcing my new part of the challenge. I love my crockpot, like to the point of wanting to dry hump the inventor. Some people think its not real cooking since you throw a bunch of shit in a pot and heat it up, but hell, it tastes good and its easy. Mrs. Whoa likes easy.

MMMM.....I strategically did not take a picture of the garlic cheese bread ;-) Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Pasta
4 Bonelss Skinless Chicken Breasts
1/2 cup Franks hot wing sauce
2 Tbsp white vinegar
2 Tbsp melted light margarine
1/8 tsp celery seeds
black pepper to taste
4 wedges Laughing Cow Light Creamy Herb and Garlic
4 cups cooked whole wheat pasta
Place the chicken breasts in a slow cooker. Combine the wing sauce, vinegar, margarine, celery seeds and black pepper in a bowl and mix well. Pour over the chicken and cook on low for about 6 hours ( Mine actually cooks much faster than this but it probably depends on your crock pot). When chicken is cooked, cut it up into small pieces and add the 4 wedges of cheese, stirring until melted. Cover and let it cook for awhile longer, just to let the cheese mix in well. Serve over hot cooked pasta. Smash.
Makes 4 servings at 8 points each.

The Verdict: Super yum! I did not use whole wheat pasta (sue me). I'm trying this thing where I grocery shop in my own cupboard because I'm tired of food going to waste. I had little bow tie pastas, and they are much cuter than the whole wheat stuff anyway. I also didn't use celery seeds because I didn't have them. Very tasty and the chicken shredded very nicely. Super easy....next time I might make wraps.

Oh yeah....I worked out last night too. I had my gym back packed before work and all I wanted to do was freaking nap. I still went telling myself the last I could do is 20-30 minutes.

I walked/ran on the dredmil for 20 minutes, biked for 15 minutes, and did the stair climber for 10 minutes. So 463 calories down, 9537 to go.

Weekend goal: Work out at least one time. It may not seem like much, but working at a bar all weekend the last thing I want to do it work out and eat well. :) Have a great weekend everyone!

Trifecta! I got an award yesterday! :)

Thanks to Julia at http://boskyblog.blogspot.com/ for presenting me with this award! Julia has been inspiring when it comes to Weight Watchers and she's a kick ass runner. My goal is to run a half marathon with her someday.

The rules: pass the award on to 7 bloggers and write 7 things about myself that you did not know!

1.You don't know....that I can bend my pinky all the way to the back of my hand.
2.You don't know...that I think bagels taste better bread sliced and pizza tastes better cut in squares.
3.You don't know....I get turned on when someone knows the difference between the words "too", "to", and "two"; "they're", "there", and "their"; and "your" and "you're".
4.You don't know...that I love watermelon fruit, but hate it as a candy.
5.You don't know...I have eight tattoos.
6.You don't know...I'm a total girlie-girl, but I will kick your ass on a dirt bike.
7.You don't know that...I don't sweat, I rain.

I would like to give a shout out to seven of my favorite bloggers!

Jack at http://jackfit.blogspot.com/
Gil at http://thechunkydunker.blogspot.com/
Amanda at http://ajswlj.blogspot.com/
Meagan at http://www.meagangetshermrs.com/
Boiling It Down at http://boilit.blogspot.com/
Laura at http://marathoningfor30.blogspot.com/
Tavia at http://taviaredburn.blogspot.com/

So besides the cool blogging award, I also had a SV and a NSV! Those combined is what give me a trifecta folks.

So Friday is weigh in day as you know, and I'm happy to report that I'm down another 1.8! 186.6. I'm back to where I started in April and am a little upset with myself for taking a dump on my motivation for a few weeks. I hate that its taken me almost a month to lose four pounds, but I can put it back on hitting the McDonald's drive thru.

Today was horribly humid in Iowa. I planned on getting up this morning to do my run, but when I woke up it was pouring, thunder, and lightning out. I pulled my sleep mask back down and decided to snooze a little more. I was going go to the gym after work but decided I was too lazy, so I went home and took a nap. After I woke up, I decided to pick up my doggy pal Eddie and hit the streets. He likes to go fast the first two miles, but then he drags ass. I guess we will help each other get into shape ;)

Day: 4
Weather: High 80s, suuuuuuuuuuper humid
Calories burned: 715
Calories till goal: 7756

No Glide = No Me Gusta!

I thought I would run over my lunch break today since I couldn't get my ass out of bed this morning. I need to have a better schedule on the weekends. I love working at the bar, but not going to bed till between 4-6 Sunday mornings, makes me a piece of shit all day on Sunday. POS = no exercise.

I actually enjoyed running over lunch. It was a little humid, and I didn't realize how hilly it is around my work. My mile time is slowly getting faster, which makes me want to run even more. I ran 3.57 miles today in 45 minutes. Boy do I love that Nike +. You know what I don't love? Forgetting to put on Glide. That stuff if lifechanging for the chub rub. If you don't have Glide, your legs wont slide. Get some! I'm hoping my chaffage will heal up fast.

Tonight on the menu is Crock Pot Pineapple Chicken from the WWSO Cookbook. I would effing die with out my crockpot.

Sure...I'll share the recipe:

POINTS® Value: 4
Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 300 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
1 tsp paprika, to taste
1 tsp black pepper, to taste
20 oz Del Monte Pineapple Chunks In Its Own Juice
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 clove garlic clove(s), minced
1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 medium green pepper(s), chopped

Instructions
Arrange chicken in bottom of crock pot. Sprinkle with pepper and paprika.
In small bowl, combine drained pineapple, chopped green pepper, mustard, and soy sauce.
Pour over chicken. Add garlic.
Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours.

Oh yeah...and my run went pretty well!

Day: 3
Weather: High 70s, little humid
Calories burned: 614
Calories till goal: 8471

Remember that commercial...

that Godzilla is in someone's stomach and is clawing up the sides? Yeah...thats what happened to me when I was out on my three mile run tonight. I had to turn back early to get home so I only did 2.2 miles. I had the worst pain in my side and stomach and was worried that I might not make it home. What do you do when there are no restrooms on your routes? Are you, as Bon Jovi would say, "Livin' on a prayer?"

I discovered this site called TheDailyMile. I love it. You can enter in your miles, pace (it will figure that out), calories, and even how you feel. I love that you can post results to Facebook because I feel that holds me accountable. Am I fast? Hell to the no, but hey, I'm out there doing something. You can also enter in races and it will do countdowns for you. People can comment on your workouts or they can "motivate" you. It's basically Facebook for workouts, but I need something that will keep me in line.

My dress from ModCloth was a total fail. I had pit tits like whoa, and it wasn't as dressy as it looked in the picture. Thanks to the ggroup girls, they directed me back to The Limited. Dresses are 30% off this week, and I found this nice little number. The Limited wouldn't let me steal a pic off the site, so here is the address:

http://www.thelimited.com/detail/eyelet-strapless-dress/3276529

My hair is reddish and I'm almost as pale as the model (why can't I be that skinny) so I'm hoping this dress will work out. I got it about 1/2 price with a coupon code and the 30% discount. Mommy likie.

While everyone else was boating, being outside, etc over Memorial Day weekend, I took the liberty of cleaning out my cupboards. I threw out the old food and then wrote down everything in the cupboards and in the fridge. I looked up recipes, menu planned for the next week and grocery shopped accordingly. I spent $55 at the grocery store, I bought basically everything on sale and had coupons. I also bought a rotiserrie chicken and I used that for last night and tonights dinner. It may be a little more costly than the blsl chicken breasts, but it comes off the bone easily and its nom nom nom! Mr. Whoa is kind of an ass about leftovers, but he's getting better. We're trying not to go out to eat so much so we can fatten our wallets and thin our waistlines. We've been very good this week. ***High five, Mr. Whoa!***

Have a good weekend everyone! How do you plan on staying on-program?

Day: 2
Weather: Breezy, high 70’s.
Calories burned: 350
Calories till goal: 9085

Half Marathon? Don't mind if I do.

Another month has flown by! I realized that my goal this year was to do a half-marathon, and the year is already half over. I’m flirting with two different half marathons this year. One in the Quad Cities in September, and the other is in October in Des Moines. I feel like having around four good months to train I should be good to go. Heck, maybe I will do both of them. I need to just register for one so:

A) I actually stay on track to train for it.

B) The sooner I register, the cheaper it will be.

I’m giving the Hal Higdon Novice training schedule a whirl. I started off yesterday with a three mile run. I had already worked eight hours and I had to work my bar job last night for another eight hours. In between jobs I went on the bike trail to give a 5K a whirl. (((Nike +))) It was hot and humid, so it made it very hard to breathe. I was hoping to keep my pace under 15 minutes and it was an average of 14:35/mile! I hope to one day run a mile under 10 minutes, but slow and steady wins the race!

April and May I didn’t do so hot with my 10,000 calorie challenge. I’m going to keep that as a goal, but if I don’t obtain it I’m not going to beat myself up about it.

Day: 1 Weather: Humid, high 80’s. Felt like 1,000,000. Calories burned: 565 Calories till goal: 9435
Only 115 days till the Quad City Half Marathon!

I'm out of the 190s....AGAIN!

I hated that I was in them in the first place. My highest weigh in ever was 198.8 January 2009. Last week I weighed in at 190.8. I knew I had to do something before I reached my highest weight again. After planning my week's meals and dabbling into a little exercise I am down 1.6!

I do miss the first week weigh-ins from when I did Weight Watchers in the past. I remember losing 7.6, 5.2, and other large numbers. I did go out to lunch Wednesday and had fries, and I had a pizza buffet yesterday for lunch. I had my salad (dressing on the side of course) and I only had about one slice of za. I picked at two pieces, but didn't finish either. I felt good about that. Usually at pizza joints I stuff myself to oblivion.

Brother-in-law's wedding is only three weeks away. I'd LOVE to lose 50 pounds by then since his fiance and my mother-on-law like to remind me that I'm a fatass (yes, actual words from their mouths, quite lady-like aren't they), but I know that's not going to happen. If I can't be excited about the wedding, I'd like to be excited about what I'm wearing. I bought this:

Dress from ModCloth:

With these shoes:

I love all things girlie...ruffles, bows, etc. I really hope this dress fits. I'm really excited to see Mr. Whoa's family, and my mom and sister and her family will be attending as well.

I also am aware I will not be reaching my 10,000 calorie goal this month, but I would like to report I exercised twice yesterday. For my full-time job, we had a walk in each of our ten counties for Older American's Month. I was in Greene, Iowa, and we had over thrity participants. It may not seem like much, but for a town of about 1000 people, that was a great turn out. Almost all participants were 60 year old and older, and there was even a lady there who was 95 years old! We did a one mile walk with the particpants. After putting the signs up I figured I walked about two miles yesterday. I didn't bring my HRM or my Nike +, but I walked about 1/2 an hour, which usually calculates about 300 calories.

Last night I went on a bike ride of half an hour. After a few days of the weather being humid and just gross, it was nice to get outside and enjoy the breeze. These work outs don't compare with my previous hour-two hour workouts, but hey, it's something. I used to be an all or nothing type of person, but I've finally grasped the concept that thinking that way burns me out. I am soooo happy to report that I cooked dinner Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday night! I menu planned on Sunday and stuck to it. Disclaimer: I don't cook Tuesdays because I am working at the bar. I also brought my lunch everyday except for Wednesday and Thursday. Two days may not seem like much, but its a huge improvement for me.

I was also getting really bad about my water intake. I have this complex where I only like to drink water from a straw, and my water bottle from Fat Tuesdays in Vegas had mold in it because I left it in my car. I was at Wal-Mart last night and I found an awesome water bottle with a straw that holds both cool and hot drinks for only $5.77. Plus its purple, which makes it super awesome.

Day: 2 (Face palm)

Weather: Sunny, high 70s.

Calories burned: 559

Calories till goal: 8481

Well...April was somewhat of a bust.

My calorie goal was 10,000. I only burned about 3000. I worked out about six days last month. I really need to find a balance with working two jobs, having a husband, spending time with friends and family, working out, and sleeping.

I brought my sneeks to work today and I'm going to walk during lunch. I've been so swamped lately at work, I usually don't even leave my desk. I think it will be good to step away and get outside. They say 1/2 of cardio a day is good for the soul, and I can get about an hour's worth during lunchtime.

I haven't weighed myself since April 9th. I'm trying the monthly thing rather than weekly. I hate obsessing over the scale. This weekend I'll have the moment of truth.

May has started off well for working out. Saturday was supposed to be BFF's first 5K, and I was going to do it with her. We left my place around 9, the start was at 9:30. We couldn't find the starting point, even with a map. The sad thing is, is that it started on UNI's campus, and we're both alumni. It got to be 9:45 and we gave up. We didn't see a group of cars or even people with numbers on them. We were bummed. We decided to pick up my old roomie's Weimaraner, Eddie, and go on a stroll in town. During the walk, my Nike + died, so after wards we drove the route and walked about 6 miles around town.

Day: 1 Weather: Sunny, high 70s. Calories burned: 960 Calories till goal: 9040

When are you due? Oh, you mean my food baby?

Well it happened. One of the biggest fears a woman can have. I was asked if I'm pregnant. I'm not.

One of my clients I saw yesterday is about 70 years old, and is also deaf. We write notes to communicate with each other. I saw her yesterday and as I was leaving she pointed at my stomach, did a rocking motion with her arms, and said, "baby?"

I shook my head no, and she did a face palm. I couldn't help but laugh a little. But man, what a blow to my self esteem. I have been more active, making better food choices, and hardly drinking soda. I went to Burger King yesterday wanting a Whopper Jr with cheese meal, and I opted for the grilled chicken meal with no mayo and apple fries. I wanted to skip the bike ride Dustie and I had planned and just hide under my covers and cry.

Normally a situation like this would just trigger an eating binge, but I did not allow it. I stopped by the grocery store on my way back into town. I picked up some BLSL chicken breasts marinated in sun-dried tomatoes and some fresh produce. We grilled out and enjoyed a nice healthy dinner together.

After dinner we went for a bike ride together. We just tootled around town and ventured on the trails. The Cedar Valley bike trail stretches over 50 miles. We didn't do that last night, but someday maybe. Can I tell you how awesome my saddle seat is? My rump didn't hurt one bit!

You'd think he could wait for me......

We rode for about 40-45 minutes or so. We had a lot of fun talking and being together (we don't get to see each other much). I could have gone with out getting a bug in my eye, but the good comes with the bad, right?

Day: 6 Weather: 70s, nice breeze Calories burned: 420 Calories till goal: 7136

Try to catch me ridin dirrrty.

My husband is thebomb.com. Boardies may know him as Mr. Whoa and my friends know him as Dustie, but no matter what you call him, he's the shit. I had a terrible day at work last week, and I came home to a nice surprise. He bought me a pretty purple bicycle. We've been talking about different activities to do together and bike riding came up. My old bike was a little small, and this one is the perfect fit.

However, having a little, hell, a lot of junk in the trunk, makes bike riding painful. I bought the Cadillac of bike seats for $19.96 at Wal-Mart. I love it, except for the fact its called a saddle. Oh well, my rump isn't crying when I'm done riding.

Since I don't see Mr. Whoa as much as we should because of our crazy schedules, I try to meet him for lunch a few Saturdays a month when he's at work. Instead of hopping in my car to meet him, I hopped on the Grape Escape (yes, I named my bike) and rode to his work. Its a little less than two and a half miles one way, so I thought it would be perfect for my first ride.

I'd like to eventually ride to work at least one time a week. Work from home is about 10-11 miles which isn't too bad, but I need to find a decent route where traffic isn't too heavy and where the trails aren't underwater. That will be my goal in the next few weeks to find the best way, and then try to find the balls to actually do it.

I rode about half an hour yesterday for the round trip. I burned 402 calories, which was more than I expected. My legs are a little sore today, and I've been spinning as well.

Day: 5
Weather: High 60s, very sunny and windy.
Calories burned: 406
Calories till goal: 7556

At this point, if I burn 5000 calories this month I will be happy.

Going, going, going, GREEN!

So yesterday I went green. I decided instead of hopping in my car and driving to the grocery store I would walk. It has been rainy on and off the past week, so I decided to take advantage of the weather and stroll down to the store. I didn't push myself by any means, but it felt good to get out and about since most of my weekend was spent inside.

I walked about a half hour total there and back, and I even remembered my grocery tote! So not only did I not pollute the air with gasoline fumes, I saved a rubber tree. The totes make it much easier to carry groceries back home.

Day: 4

Weather: 70 degrees, tad muggy from the storms

Calories burned: 206

Calories to goal: 7962

I better get going on the calories....the month is almost half over!

Sore ass and legs, party of one.

Okay I realize its the 8th day of the month. I haven't worked out since Friday. I was looking forward to going straight home today after work. Going right home is VERY rare for me. Between working two jobs, running errands, gym time, and any other commitment-doesn't leave me a lot of home time. How the eff does it get so messy? Must be the underpants gnomes.

One of my besties, CT, always posts on Facebook what workout she will be doing that day to hold herself accountable. This morning she said she had Ultimate Results and Spin class after work. Being the good girl that I am, I packed my gym bag just in case. I inquired about the time of Ultimate Results. CT said it was at 4:45 and asked if I wanted to join her. I didn't, but I'm glad I did.

Ultimate results works with free weights to tone the body. You wouldn't think 12-15 pounds weights would be too straining...but oweeee. After that class was over, we ventured to spin. This instructor is super hard, but it was a great workout. 862 calories later, we were done. I'm very happy I went. My daily calorie goal went up a litte since I haven't gone every day, but the goal is still in reach.

Day: 3 Weather: Inside, very hot and stuff Calories burned: 862 Calories to goal: 8168

Tiger, Tiger, Tiger Woods Ya'll!

Day: 2
Weather: Hot and stuffy gym. Big storm outside....it looked like a hurricane.
Calories burned: 540
Carories till goal: 9030

So during my run on the tredmil my iPod fell. I am thinking about investing in an armband. I have a clip now that I like and it just attached to my pants/shorts. The last two times I've been running it falls off and the sensor detaches ending my workout. It really grinds my gears.

I did some interval running today and then I heard a voice over Lady Gaga. Was it God? I thought so at first. Close...it was Tiger Woods. He came over my Nike + to congratulate me for completing my fastest mile. Why couldn't it have been Christopher Meloni?

Since my iPod was being an asspanda, I actually have 4 different workouts for today on my Nike +, when it was supposed to be one 5K. I'm going to try to have a more consistent run instead of intervals and see what happens.

Besides running....what are some of your favorite activities?

2 legit, 2 legit to not be fit.

So I was thinking of different work out challenges I could do to get my ass in gear. I thought how cool it would be to burn 10,000 calories in one month. That is just over 330 calories per day, which is perfectly doable.

I'm off to a good start thanks to the phenomenal weather we've been having in Iowa. After a very frigid winter it feels great to be outside. I grabbed my iPod and went for a walk. Did I run? No. I wanted to take everything in. Before I knew it I was on a stroll for about an hour and a half and thanks to my homegirl Nike +, she told me I walked 3.59 miles.

I also burned 430 calories. So after day one, I'm almost 100 calories ahead of my goal.

Day: 1

Weather: 80 degrees, slight wind

Calories burned: 430

Calories till goal: 9570