Thanksgiving's coming

Thanksgiving will soon be upon us along with all of the delicious food that comes with it. I am spending this week doing my best to follow my JC menu as closely as humanly possible. That way, if I am off a bit on Thanksgiving day, it shouldn't hurt too much on the scale.

I am thankful for so many things...my wonderful, and supportive husband and children, that we are all healthy and happy...and sure a 16 pound weight loss feels good too!!

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!!

Wednesday weigh ins have been updated

Between dealing with problems that have been occurring with a long-term substitute in my son's classroom at school, loads of volunteering, and lots of kids activities, I have not been updating my page regularly. Hopefully, the substitute situation has made a turn around for the better and I can get back to focusing on other things.

Yes, I did have one week when I gained a pound, but I expected that. My kids have been under an unusual amount of stress this first quarter of school that we decided to take a couple of days and go away...to Great Wolf Lodge. I knew while I was there, I was going to go off the JC foods a bit. I did eat the JC breakfasts and lunches, but for dinner we went to Sonic. Thank goodness there is no Sonic near my house. I had planned for this and I did not eat as much as I would have usually, but every once in awhile you just have to enjoy yourself. As long as you know what is going to happen and what you are going to have to do to get back on track, you can do it. So I took the trip, gained a pound, said OK and then got back to it. I lost 2.6 pounds the next week and 1 pound this past week. I have lost a total of 16 pounds.

I have gone from a size 12 to a size 8, and I even went through my closet and pulled out a bunch of clothes to donate...I want them out of here. My JC consultant suggested I take my favorite pair of old pants (because I have a pile of pants in my closet in a variety of smaller sizes), and try them on after weigh in day. Then hang them up where I can see them. Mine are size 6 and I actually got them on. Now, that doesn't mean I could wear them, they are very tight, but she wants me to try them on after each weigh in day to see the difference. It is my proverbial carrot.

I have reached my first mini goal

I wanted to get back to where I weighed at the beginning of the summer and I have done it. I weighed in today at 146.8. My mini goal was 147. We also took my measurements today and I have lost 11.5 inches over all. I couldn't believe it. I already look much different that I did in my before picture.

I had to change my appt. this week by one day, which meant that I had to do the meals for the day entirely on my own. I was a little concerned, but I did very well. Definitely not ready to do that every day, now...I'll take my Jenny Craig menu, thank you very much!! :)

I hate to exercise, but...

I've been doing it. I have walked on the treadmill 4 times this week. It has really helped me that my JC consultant had me start small. One time a week, then two. Now I find myself wanting to squeeze it in. I did put my treadmill in front of the TV. Now, I can watch my DVR'd shows while walking on the treadmill. I am slowly increasing the amount of time I walk, and am now up to 48 minutes on a weight loss setting. As I get more used to that, I will increase my settings.

The other day, my son asked me to play kickball. Are you kidding?! My first reaction, was no way, but he really wanted to, so I gave in. I felt like it nearly killed me :), but 20 minutes later, he was happy, I was out of breath and I had snuck in another quick workout.

I'm 1/4 of the way to my goal!!

That's right, at my weigh in today I hit 149.8 lbs for a total loss so far of 10.4 lbs.
I am very excited!! I am still on Jenny Craig and doing very well. It has been very easy for me to stick to eating the JC food with added fruit, veggies and dairy. I find if the rest of the family is eating something that just draws me to it, like last night when they all got McDonald's after the baseball game. I had just one fry...that was enough, and when I got home, I had my snack for the day. It was the incredibly yummy lemon cake. I love to pop it into the microwave so it is just a touch warm. Soooooooo gooood!!

Something interesting that I have noticed over the past couple of weeks is that I seem to have a lot more patience with the kids. I am thinking that it has to do with the fact that I am taking in a lot less sugar than I used to. Never thought about it before, but the snacks in the pantry are being replaced a lot less often. I mean, what's up...there is a box of Devil Dogs in there that I bought a week ago and no one has even opened it. If I was allowing myself to eat that stuff, the whole box would be gone by now. Now, I digress, my new and improved extra helping of patience doesn't mean that I still don't yell once in awhile. I am Italian after all, and really we don't "yell", that's just the way we talk.

Weigh In today

I had my first weigh in today and I am thrilled to have lost 4.8 lbs. I had a great meeting with my consultant who answered my questions and also asked me a few. Really walked through the past week, what worked, what didn't and gave me some ideas for different situations. While the first few weeks are not for pushing exercise...more for learning how to eat healthy, she challenged me to do some form of exercise 1 time during the next week. I chose 30 minutes on the Wii Fit. One time in one week....even I can do that!!!!

More Meals

I have really enjoyed the Jenny Craig food. I love eating three meals a day. I used to just pick or eat what the kids were eating. Now, my 12 year old daughter Olivia is my biggest cheerleader. She has always been a picky eater, but she wants to eat what I eat. What a wonderful side effect of the program. I really do feel like this is retraining my eating behaviors. That is one reason I try to always plate my food. I am training my brain to recognize a healthy meal. One day when I am ready to go on my own, I can count on her to eat the meals I make for the family...Now to work on my son :)

Remember, it takes longer to create a new good habit, than it does to break an old bad habit.



Today's breakfast was the Breakfast Scramble. I was dying to add the onions and mushrooms, but I thought it might just be too much to eat. Eggs, cheese, ham and potatoes. It was so good...really tasted the cheese. I added a banana for my fruit and of course had my glass of milk.




Love these!! Chicken fajitas. I sauteed my own onions and mushrooms (told you that you would see these a lot, I usually cook 1 med. onion with a 1/2 a package of cut mushrooms and split them for two recipes), then cooked the fajitas mix in the same pan. I heated the tortillas on top of the stove, since I was cooking dinner for the family at the same time and the stove top was warm. I used two teaspoons of fat free sour cream which counted as 1 of my limited free foods. (I rarely use these limited free foods. You are allowed 3 a day) I had asparagus as a side. I know it is a strange side for fajitas, but I have a lot of fresh asparagus and I need to use it up. I topped it with Molly McButter.



Yesterday's breakfast...French toast with berries. I toasted my french toast and microwave the berries just for a moment to have the berries a tad warm. Topped with only half of Jenny's lite syrup. So good that the family wanted french toast for breakfast, so I made theirs with my own recipe. I added a banana as my extra fruit for breakfast.



Meatloaf with BBQ sauce, carrot, broccoli and potatoes. YUM!! I added my own onions and mushrooms sauteed with Pam cooking spray. You will see the onions and mushrooms a lot...one of my favorites. I used to always saute them in lots of margarine. Now using the Pam, I am surprised that they taste just as great. I am going to try Pam flavored with butter, as long as it doesn't have any extra calories.

Some of the meals I have enjoyed so far

Chicken Salad meal kit I put the chicken salad on top of a bed of lettuce, and it comes with the crackers and applesauce.




Chicken and Corn Chowder Good, but I added some Molly McButter to give it that buttery taste that chowder is supposed to have.



A Sunshine Sandwich. My microwave was broken so I heated the egg and turkey ham in the oven. I toasted the english muffin. Added 1/2 cup of strawberries with Splenda and had my cup of skim milk...really wish I could have more milk...will have to ask about that. I didn't use the ranchero sauce that came with it only because I am not a big fan of ranchero sauce.

I did it!

I am now on the Jenny Craig program. I had a very long consultation in the office on Tuesday. I was very pleased with how that appointment went, the amount of time they spent with me and all of the ground we covered. I met my consultant who I will have my first appt. with next week and I started on the food on Wednesday. The food is very good, and I think the biggest problem that I am having is eating it all. I am stuffed most of the time.

By marking the calendar each time I eat I have found my danger zone. About 3 every afternoon until dinner time, I have a strong desire to just pick. So far I have resisted, but I know that is something I have to deal with.

My Official Beginning Weight.... 160.4 ouch!!

Never Forget

My husband in the one standing next to the blue and white decon tent, with his hands on his hips.

I called Jenny today

Thursday Sept. 10, 2009

I called Jenny. That's right, I took the first step...finally. After researching just how to do this all summer, I think that Jenny Craig is the way to go for me. I've heard a lot of good things about Weight Watchers too, but I just think that if I had to micromanage everything I put into my mouth, I might just think too much about food. I don't need to think about food any more than I already do!

Anyway, they wanted me to come in the same day...that had never occurred to me when I thought about calling. I honestly have been very busy all week, so I scheduled an appointment for next Tuesday.

On another note, the scale this morning had the highest number that I have seen since I was 8.5 months pregnant with number 5...eeegggaaadddssss!

Back from Disney

I ate like there was no tomorrow and I only gained 1 pound. All that walking sure does help. I need to be sure to include walking in my weight loss plan. I am convinced though that there is something in the streets of Disney that makes them softer. My feet hardly hurt at all when I was there. Now that I am back home, walking in the same shoes hurts much more.

Anyway, as promised, I am posting a before picture. Not sure if this will be the official before picture, but it is all I have for now. Of course, the picture was taken at a restaurant in Disney.

Off to Disney World

Well, in two days, we are off to Disney World for a week. We have the free dining plan, which means lots of eating. Last time we did this, there was so much walking that even though I ate everything in site, I only gained one pound. I don't plan on eating quite as much this time. Let's hope that I either stay the same of lose a little.

How did this happen?

Here's a little history lesson. Now I am fully aware that no woman in their 40's will look like she did in her 20's. That is not what I am trying to do. I am going to try to get back to a reasonable weight for my frame. I found some old pictures of me and thought I would post them here.

1985--Here I am, age 21, 102 lbs. Back when I could eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted.


1995/1996--After three kids. Age 30, 110 lbs. I easily lost weight after having my girls. With the third one, there was a little weight that hung on, but one month of slim fast and I easily lost 10 lbs, which stayed off.





2000--Age 36, 124 lbs. After I had my fourth and fifth child I got my weight back down to 124, without even trying. I have to work on finding a picture of this one.

Shortly after, the weight started piling on, it didn't long to get up to 147 lbs. My highest weight ever was 157. Perimenopause had reared it's ugly head. Nine years later, I am still going through it, although it is getting better. More about that later.

2004--I used Slim-Fast again and lost 20 lbs. to get down to 125.



2009---It didn't take long for me to gain the weight back and now I am 156 lbs. I am ready to lose it and keep it off. Coming soon, my current before picture.

I bought a pair of sneakers yesterday

I hate sneakers!!!! I like mules and slides and anything without a back. My feet hurt though and I haven't worn heels in years.

These are not expensive sneakers. I didn't want to spend a lot of money only to have them sit in the shoe rack. I'll start with these and if I can get used to them, move up to a better pair.

I have to say, though, these sneakers did feel pretty good. You see, I have arthritis in my feet, and last week I was told by my Dr. that I have plantar's fasciitis. That means my feet hurt. I've been wearing my Teva sandals the entire summer. Boy, are they ugly, but they feel good, and make it possible for me to walk.

The Plan

The plan is to lose weight. The goal is to develop a new healthier lifestyle in the process.

This blog is in it's infancy. I will be adding more as I go along. I currently wish to lose 30 pounds, but want to be sure to do this correctly. I don't want to fail. Since the kids don't start school for another 3.5 weeks and we have a Disney vacation planned during that time, my official attempt will begin the second week of September. In the meantime, I plan to lay down the foundation for what I hope will be a very successful process. I am going to take the next few weeks to really take a close look at myself, my motivation, my weaknesses...and I will record it all here for everyone in the world to see.

Please follow me in my journey, keep me honest and keep me going.

Peace and love