New Day, New Plan

Today I changed my Bodybugg program and reset my goals. I will still be trying to burn between 2500-2800 per day (my goal is set at 2650 which is pretty average for me) but I set my calories to 1900. I figure I can't be any worse off. I'm still burning more calories than I eat and I'm only losing about half a pound a week right now anyways so I'm not really losing anything by trying this. I also changed my program to a high protein and low carb diet. The carbs I'm taking in from this point on will be under 200 g and will come from natural sources. Fruits, organic protein bars, whole wheat bread and such are fine but no more crackers, ice cream, sweet salad dressings for me. I've done well with low carb before so I have hopes that this will help. After I get over being cranky about my loss of carbs that is.

I'll see how the next few days go and weigh on Saturday morning. I still plan on eating Cheesecake Factory Saturday so I need to see if the scale is moving in the right direction before I blow it all for one day. :)

Running

Ok so I have the most bizarre situation happening to me. Every time I run I gain weight! I'm not talking half a pound of water weight. If I run for a week straight I can easily put on 3-4 pounds! I know the basic science of calories in verses calories out but I can easily have a day like yesterday where I run 4 miles (not straight...I did 2 runs) and gain weight because I ran the last 5 days regardless of the fact that I burned over 3000 calories and only took in 1650. It's frustrating because I like to run. Sometimes I just need to run to get out some extra aggression and to feel the endorphin rush that comes after I'm done. Some weeks I just suck it up and know that I'm going to gain simply because I've spent a few hours on the treadmill instead of the AMT machine but I can't put 2 and 2 together and figure out why I'm having trouble with gaining while burning calories! Anyone have any brilliant ideas? I know I won't have lost tomorrow because I spent an hour on the treadmill again today. Ugh. 10 pounds to go and I'm never going to get there at this rate!

Golden Chicken With Noodles

What you'll need:

2 cans (10 3/4 ounces each) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

8 large carrots, thickly sliced (about 6 cups)

8 skinless, boneless chicken breast half (about 2 pounds)

4 cups egg noodles, cooked and drained

Chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

*Stir the soup, water, lemon juice, mustard, garlic powder and carrots in a 3 1/2-quart slow cooker. Add the chicken and turn to coat.

*Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve with the noodles. Sprinkle with the parsley.

Nutrition:

Calories- 332

Fat- 6

Sat Fat- 2

Cholesterol- 102

Sodium- 702

Carbs- 35

Fiber- 4

Protein- 32

***From campbellkitchen.com***

We Survived!!

Spring break is officially over! After 9 days of having my children at home I quickly filled out forms at the YMCA to enroll them in mom's day out for the summer! It's not that they acted badly or that we didn't have fun, but man they have more energy than I can keep up with! We went to the zoo, the park (multiple times), went for bike rides, played outside, went swimming and did our shopping for all new summer clothes for the kids and me. They've stayed up late every night, played with grandma a lot (yay for mommy's sanity when grandma Sonya is around!) and even stayed one day with a babysitter while I went to the hospital for my mom's knee surgery. Now it's 7:30 and I'm totally done. The thought of doing this for 3 months was just overwhelming so one day a week they will be going to the Y to play with their friends while I have a sanity break. Or grocery shop. Whatever.

Matt and I were planning some things out today and realized we won't have a free weekend again until mid-May!! How ridiculous is that!? Next weekend grandma Sonya is taking the kids to dye Easter eggs while I go shopping with my friends in Kansas City. The following weekend they are staying the night at grandma Sonya's and we're making a trip down to see my family for Easter since my mom won't be able to travel yet. Then Matt is headed to San Jose for a loooonnnnggg trip (11 days, but I bet it feels like a month...oh and I'm headed out of town for a birthday party with friends). When he gets home we'll be celebrating his birthday and the 30th we're headed to Dallas to see the Kenny Chesney movie with grandma Sonya and Mark. We'll also be going to Ikea. Because we love Ikea. Only 5 weeks after that we're headed to St. John!!! I'm so excited!

So tomorrow is back to school, and swim lessons. Then we have ballet, piano lessons and a few playdates to attend this week. Looks like everything is back to normal.

Walk It Out

So back when I got my Bodybugg I started kind of reading some of the message boards just to make sure I was doing things right and I came across hundreds of threads for this game called "Walk It Out." Everyone seemed obsessed with it and I thought it can't be that great, right? Wrong. I can burn as many calories playing Walk It Out as I can running on a treadmill at the gym! And it's more fun! It certainly doesn't take the place of my normal workouts but now I can cut my gym days back to 5 days a week and do the game the other 2 and make my burn goal every day. This morning I did some major grocery shopping before the kids are home for spring break next week and so instead of hauling both kids to the gym I turned on my game and burned 600 calories. Between that and walking through Target and Dillons for 2.5 hours and hauling groceries in the house my burn for the day looks like it will be around 2800. My goal is 2600 so I'm actually coming out ahead today! Who knew working out could be so much fun?

Thinking Nice Thoughts

I'm trying very hard today to find good things to say about my children. Boy are they making it hard! So here's my list so far:

1. They are potty trained so I don't have to change diapers.

2. They can get their own snacks so I don't have to make bottles or breastfeed anymore.

3. They will sit in front of the tv if I'm desperate for a sanity break.

4. They go to bed early. Extra early tonight.

5. They are cute.

6. They are healthy.

7. They haven't broken anything today.

8. They give lots of hugs...mostly to make up for the things they've done wrong, but still.

9. When I tell them I'm about to lose my patience they understand and back off...most of the time.

10. They smell clean because my husband has taken over back duty while I go to the Y for turbokick.

Hey I came up with 10 things. That's more than I thought I'd be able to do. Now it's off to M's 5 year check-up to get the much dreaded shots she needs for school next year.

By the way, I suck at posting my weigh-ins but I only have 10 pounds left to lose before I get to a weight I could be totally happy with. Honestly, my life isn't going to change after I hit that weight. It's just nice to know I'm almost there. I may still lose another 10-15 lbs after that if I think I can maintain it but I just don't know if I could ever weigh 130 lbs. I'm willing to just see where the scale stops after these last 10. It's been a long road and I'm ready to be at the end.

Sweet and Spicy Chicken

Ingredients:

1.5 cups Picante Sauce

3 Tablespoons light brown sugar

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

Chicken breasts (I did 3 big ones to cut in half)

I did things a little differently than the recipe stated so this is my way of doing it. You could just mix the sauce, pour it over the chicken and throw it in the oven too.

Directions:

*Pound the chicken breasts so they cook more evenly.

*In an oven proof skillet, heat 1 T olive oil and add the chicken breasts. Season the chicken breasts to add some color/flavor with whatever you feel like. I used a Pampered Chef blend that I had in the cabinet.

* Once the chicken breasts are browned (not cooked...just browned on each side) pour the sauce mixture over the chicken and throw it in the oven for about 20-30 minutes.

Nutrition:

**just for the sauce**

6 servings

Calories- 50

Fat- 0

Sat Fat- 0

Chol- 0

Sodium- 318

Carbs- 11

Fiber-0

Protein- 0

It was great and I'll definitely make it again. The ingredients don't seem like things you should add together but they work!

New Shoes!

After many mornings of my child complaining that she doesn't have any shoes we went shoe shopping today. M has always complained about not having enough shoes/clothes so it's hard to take her seriously when she says she has no shoes or clothes to wear. This time she really had outgrown most of her shoes and needed a few new pairs. Once we got to the store I finally got the whole story. She wanted Twinkle Toes shoes. I knew nothing about these shoes and had no idea what she was talking about so I told her that was fine and she could look around to see if she could find any. She did. And they were expensive of course. It's the first time she's ever asked for anything specifically when it comes to shoes so I decided if they will fit her for a while then I could deal with it. Apparently not only does my child have her own taste in shoes, but also in clothes. I think my days of Gymboree for her may be over. She picked out some new capris that have rhinestone butterflies and look like something a 5 or 6 year old would wear. I'm just not used to her dressing in such grown up clothes! I forget she's 5 years old sometimes. So 2 outfits and 2 pairs of shoes later I hope she's happy for a few weeks. Here are the fabulous new light up shoes with lots of bling:

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)

2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic

2 cups Progresso® reduced-sodium chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)

3 tablespoons Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander or cumin

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream

2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast

1 cup Green Giant® Niblets® frozen corn, thawed

1 cup shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend (4 oz)

1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

8 corn or flour tortillas (6 or 7 inch)

1 medium tomato, chopped (3/4 cup)

4 medium green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)

Salsa, if desired

Directions:

*Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray.

*In 10-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender. In medium bowl, stir broth, flour, coriander and pepper with wire whisk until blended. Slowly add to hot mixture in skillet, stirring constantly. Cook and stir 5 to 6 minutes, until mixture boils and thickens slightly. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream until well blended.

*In another medium bowl, mix chicken, corn, 1/2 cup of the cheese, the chiles, cilantro and 1/2 cup of the sauce. Place 2 tortillas at a time on microwavable plate; cover with paper towel. Microwave on High 10 to 15 seconds or until softened. Spoon about 1/3 cup chicken mixture down center of each warm tortilla. Roll up tortillas; arrange, seam sides down, in baking dish. Top enchiladas with remaining sauce. Cover with foil.

*Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until sauce is bubbly. Remove from oven. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Just before serving, top with tomato and green onions. Serve with salsa.

Nutrition:

Calories: 241

Fat: 6

Sat Fat: 1

Cholesterol: 42

Sodium: 544

Carbs: 26

Fiber: 2

Protein:18

These were great and we'll be eating leftovers all week! I made them early in the day and just baked them at dinner time. Perfect for a busy day!