Trials of a Long Haired Girl

Happy Wednesday a/k/a Hump Day!  Hope you are having a good week.  Here's a peek at what I ate yesterday.  Breakfast (2 eggs, toast), snack (banana), coffee and tea (which I sipped all day), lunch was Philly Cheesesteak inspired sloppy joe which I put over steamed cabbage, sweet treat/snack was Made Good Mixed Berry Granolas Mini and dinner (no I didn't eat it all because I had a migraine) was spaghetti squash with alfredo sauce and garlic cheese bread.  

Happy Friday friends!  We've almost made it through another week!  Wow!  For a short week, this has been a crazy week!  Feeling good about taking time to prepare some meals and components were super helpful this week!  Now to figure out what to fix for next week.  I'm thinking a bacon breakfast casserole for next week.   This week I had a nuclear stress test scheduled for this week.  Initially, I was okay and then, as the time for my test got closer, the anxiety and stress started getting to me.  By the time that I checked in and was heading to the waiting room, I broke down and started tearing up.  I made it through the test and (Thank you, Jesus!) my tests came back normal.   This is my first week trying to double tracking my Freestyle SmartPoints and my net carbs.  Not everyday has been a win, but like I said to my husband, I am certain that it's better than what it might be if I were not tracking them. Foc...

Happy Monday friends!  Hope you had a good weekend!  I was pretty much didn't eat anything after breakfast on Wednesday.  I'm not sure what exactly was going on, but the physician assistant said stomach bug.  Suffice it to say, I didn't really eat much nor did I stick to the meal plan.  I even missed my women's conference that I was so excited about!  😥  Better to have missed than to make others sick.  This week we are still playing it by ear.  So, meals this week are really dependent on how I am feeling.  So far, burgers and a side, fish and sides, likely a veggie plate night and fettuccine alfredo.   Hoping for a good week and that I am feeling much better.  Have a great one!

Happy Friday friends!  Hope you have had a great week.  I have to say not everyday this week was a win Points-wise, but I tried to adjust and my body was definitely guessing.  I was trying to eat every 3 to 4 hours...that's wasn't a win everyday either.  Most days I managed to eat within that window except dinner.  Dinners are going to take some more work next week, but I feel like I'm making some progress.  We will see what the scale says on Saturday.  I have been trying to add some strength training into my days.  Some desk push-ups and some squats when I'm just standing around or filling my water bottle.  I took some time while we were slow to walk at my desk yesterday.  I'm trying to be intentional.  For the coming week, my focus will be to continue being intentional and fitting in workouts where I can. I will also continue to do the following: 1. 90-120 oz of water each day. I have not done well while on vacation. 2. TRA...

Happy Wednesday a/k/a Hump Day friends!  So I managed to make some flounder that everyone actually ate! *Pat self on back*  Seriously, it was pretty tasty.  I used this recipe as my guide.  Her recipe was super easy, but I used what I had on hand. I used 5 flounder fillets, Penzey's Season Salt, juice from a whole lemon, a just a small pat of butter.  I am curious about the seasoning and am looking forward to making it again.  We had steamed broccoli and Kraft cauliflower mac and cheese on the side.  Honestly, Kraft isn't my favorite like it used to be, but the cauliflower pasta wasn't too bad.  I would definitely use this recipe as my base again.  It was easy and so good.  No tartar sauce was needed for me and that says something!  Hope you have a fantastic day!

Happy Tuesday friends!  Hope your Monday went well.  I am sad to say that I did not stick within my points allowance yesterday.  I will do what I can to hit my Points Allowance for the remainder of the week.  Okay, now to discuss the "elephant in the room", why the name change?  Well, to be honest, given the way things have been going, I need a pep talk and thought others might need one too.  Also, I decided on this because my dear friend and former WW leader was doing a "Pep Talk Tuesday" and I thought it would be a good idea for our little part of the internet.  For those of you that know me, in real life or as an online presence through social media, I'm a pretty positive person.  Definitely glass half full person, by all accounts.   From my own experience, I have been maintained a great schedule with my workouts and with my eating and I have not been so great with my schedule or with my eating.  I know that I feel better ...

Happy Monday friends!  My family and I took a nice break to spend time together and enjoy some time away...just in time for our 10 year anniversary.  Yes, my sweet husband and I have been married for 10 years.  Today is definitely back to life, back to reality. 😪 Unfortunately, there are still bills that have to be paid so it's necessary to go back to work.  Thankfully, I enjoy my position and my co-workers so it won't be too much of a hardship.  This week, we're (the royal "we") trying to add in some more fish.  I am not a big fish person.  In past, I have really only eaten fried fish and I am truly not a fan of salmon, unless you are talking about salmon patties that my Mom used to make.   To that end, I have a couple of recipes that I want to try: 20 Minute Lemon, Garlic, and Herb Baked Cod and Garlic Parmesan Flounder.  Likely these will be served with at least one veggie, perhaps broccoli or roasted green beans or may...

Happy Monday friends!   So many things we didn't use last week and need to make this week, but a lot of it I can prepare meat on the side and put it into only part.   We had a "family meeting" to discuss with my daughter the fact that I need to be able to cook some meat.   As she has made this decision to go meatless, I just really wanted to discuss with her before just fixing meat.   I told my husband that I will likely make it and freeze it in smaller amounts so we could pull it out if we want to use it for something.   Our plan for meals this week will look a little like this: -         Smothered bean burritos -         Roasted veggie bowl with quinoa -         Spaghetti and zero point marinara and salad -         Taco Salad -         Macaroni and cheese and veggies - ...

Happy Friday friends!   How has your week gone?   Mine?   Overall, I think pretty well.   I feel like I’m making some good choices and focusing on eating within my SmartPoints and focusing on the lower carb options.   I am not sure I will have an opportunity to weigh in on the official scale this week but we’ll see what I can work out.   I am feeling very positive about what’s going on with me.   I was reminded Thursday morning of how much more accountable I feel when my husband and I are working out together.   I was really struggling to get out of bed and my sweet husband said “aren’t we going for a walk?”   UGH, I really just wanted to stay in bed and we got a later start, but walk we did.   Honestly, some days are easier than others.   At the beginning of July, I was super motivated.   Then with the back troubles, not sleeping, etc. I felt a little overwhelmed by life getting in the way.   Here’s the thing, I refu...

Happy Thursday a/k/a Friday eve friends!   Wow!   Is it just me or does this week seem to be flying by?   After watching some vloggers that I follow on YouTube move more toward low carb and remembering that my cardiologist told me that I should focus on eating lower carb to help with my weight loss.   For the most part, I don't eat a ton of carbs, but looking back, after my cardiologist said that, I noticed I started incorporating more carbs into my meal plan.   Not that it isn't allowed with WW but I have realized that I'm not doing as well as I would like.   For the time being, I'm going to focus on lowering my carbs daily.   My hope is that it will kick my weight loss into a higher gear until I can get my workouts back fully under control.   I know I want to start strength training again as well, but it's going to take me a minute to get everything to line back up. Tuesday night, I prepared a low carb breakfast casserole.   There i...

Happy Tuesday!  Today's Tuesday talk is a topic that I know I have struggled with for many years and it is such a great reminder for me - Body Confidence.  Yep, I said it.  I have absolutely struggled and can remember calling myself fat for years.  Here's the thing, when I was calling myself "fat", I was smaller than I am currently.  It wasn't until I originally started WW before my DH and I even started dating that I really realized that I needed to change the way I talked to myself.  I am blessed to have some fantastic people in my life who remind me that I am unique and I need to be thankful for the "me" that God created.  I try hard to focus on the more positive self talk.  There are some parts of my body that I'm not entirely happy with, but I am focusing on things that I can do.  I wish my arms were in better shape...as I was moving my arms last night and noticed that my arms were waving back, I was not entirely happy about that....

Happy Thursday a/k/a Friday eve, friends!   Hope everyone has had a great week so far!   I was reminded earlier this week just how important it was for me that I roasted those veggies over the weekend.   We had a very rough night dealing with insomnia.   If you have never dealt with insomnia, be grateful!   Quite honestly, if I hadn’t prepared some roasted veggies and had some chicken that I had purchased pre-cooked, I likely would have ordered out on Tuesday.   If I’d ordered out, it most likely wouldn’t have been on plan.   I have really been trying to stay on plan so the fact I did some prep saved me time on the back-end, not to mention calories!   I think we can all agree that there are times, like when we are tired, that we would be more likely to go with whatever is convenient.   For the coming week, I will be trying to focus on using the items in my freezer.   Do you do that periodically?   If you do, how often do you...

Happy Hump Day friends!   We made it to the middle of the week!   I tried a new recipe this week and it was delicious!   I made something that I would have never tried to make years ago…I made eggplant parmesan.   It was baked so a little healthier.   As always, I thought I had all my ingredients and I hadn't really used my panko in a while and I didn't have quite enough.   We made it work by crushing some garlic croutons.   I feel good about how it turned out though and we're excited to have it again.   I used this recipe from Delish.   I did substitute the Trader Joe's Lite Mozzarella and I tried not to overdo it with the cheese.   It turned out to be 8 Freestyle SmartPoints.  I served mine with grated zucchini.  My son, who is allergic to zucchini, had his with spaghetti squash and my husband and daughter has rotini because  I didn't realize I was out of spaghetti.  Hopefully you will get it a try if you like ...

Happy Tuesday friends!   How's your week going?   For this week's Tuesday Talk, let's talk about Fats.   I don't cook with a ton of oil, I do like to spray my veggies with olive or avocado oil before I roast them.   There's so many great options for adding some healthy fats into our diets.   I love to add a little avocado to my smoothies or to my veggies bowls.   I also love adding some sliced olives to my salads.   I also love to snack on some nuts, although, those can add up calories and points-wise.   I know that fats got a bad wrap for years.   Flashback to Susan Powter and the low-fat craze in the 90's.   Although, let's be honest, she wasn't completely on the wrong track when she said "read the labels, read the labels"!   Those are some great things that we should all take to heart even now.   Fats can be such a confusing topic and I can't honestly say that I'm 100% on top of it, but I am a firm believer in everything...

Happy Monday friends!  How was everyone's weekend?  I am so excited for this week.  I feel like I've set myself up for success.  Breakfast options this week, eggs and smoothie bowls.  Lunches will be veggies and chicken and salads.  I have lots of roasted veggies so I'm excited about this week.  Dinner plans for this week: • Veggie Bowls with quinoa; • Smothered Bean Burritos; • Cauliflower Tikka Masala; • Salad (originally taco salad, but I forgot to get Catalina Dressing); and • Pizza Bubble Up casserole.   Last week's meals were: Monday - Fettuccine Alfredo (I used spaghetti squash), Caesar salad and garlic bread; Tuesday - Macaroni and Cheese (From a box); Wednesday - Subway; Thursday - Burger and fries (in the air fryer); Friday - Pizza from Pappa John's. Saturday - Eggplant Parmesan (I had mine with zoodles) and salad. 

Happy Thursday a/k/a Friday eve friends!  How's the week going for you?  Mine is going pretty well thus far.  I feel like pre-tracking and making my lunches the evening before has definitely been helpful.  While I didn't get as much done as I wanted over the weekend, I was determined especially with the July challenge helping me stay motivated.  I saw another YouTuber that I watch from time to time talking about something that I know I need to focus on, which is not just splurging on the weekends.  In the past, that has really been my weak point.  My hope is that after really trying to focus on the July challenge this month that I will break that habit and it will be a little easier to continue with my focus.   I have been looking back at how different things were when I originally started this weight loss journey.  Back then, I was really focused.  I wanted to lose weight and used that momentum to help me do just that....

Happy Wednesday a/k/a Hump Day friends!  If you are like me, there are many that like the convenience of smoothies for breakfast.  I was a big fan but found recently that they were not keeping me full as long as they once did.  I really enjoyed the smoothies and they were a great way for me to get my collagen peptides along with some fruits in my diet.  Since they were not keeping me full, I decided I needed to find another way to make this happen.  Honestly, I didn't research it much to find recipes or anything, I just got creative with what I had on hand.  Not your typical recipe as there is no cooking to it, but here's my variation on the smoothie bowl:  1/2 cup of fat free Greek yogurt, half the serving of the frozen fruit that my husband bought me for my smoothies from Costco, 1/3 tablespoon of each ground flaxseed and chia seeds, 2 scoops of Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides.  It isn't overly pretty to look at, but it is filling and tasty....

Happy Tuesday friends!  Today we're going to take a minute to discuss something that, if you have been on this journey for any length of time, you have probably experienced and that is dealing with setbacks.  This really sort of goes along with last week's topic about the all or nothing mentality.  There are times that we feel we have set ourselves up for success, but then we give in to a few more chips or we have a dessert or we have something that is a little higher in sodium and wind up with a gain.  Or sometimes you do everything right, but your body just doesn't want to give up the weight at that weigh in.  What we need to do, however, is not throw our hands up and say well this is a bust and I'm never going to make progress. It can be easy to beat ourselves up and not focus on what we need to do to move forward.  We each need a game plan, no matter what our journey is, to move forward.  No matter what happened that got in the way of our g...

Happy Monday friends!  While it's very similar to what I've put down the past few weeks, I'm yet again putting a meal plan in writing.  As I may have mentioned before, I normally make a meal plan and then figure out what I'm in the mood for or can prepare easily with what I have meal prepped or what we have going on that evening and I can fix easily given what's going on that night.   Meals this week: 1.      Make your own Bean Burritos. 2.      Quinoa veggie bowls. 3.      Veggie plates. 4.      Fettuccine Alfredo with Broccoli (I'll likely do either spaghetti squash or zoodles with mine) and garlic bread. 5.      Sandwich night (this night I will likely have a wrap and a side of veggies). 6.      Make your own salad "bar". What's your plan for the week?   Are you going to plan your day the night before with me? ...

Happy Sunday friends! Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!  I ran across something and decided to do a little more research.  Brooke Castillo shares some interesting tips in this  podcast  about The Urge Jar.   While I haven't decided if I'm going to try this 100% with jar and all, I think there's some good things suggested in the steps that she shares.  Writing down what you are going to eat 24 hours in advance and not straying from that is a pretty good advice.  I used to do that and I was less likely to stray from what I had planned.  While I was listening to this podcast, it was a great reminder for me of what I need to do for myself.   While I think I've decided not to focus on getting rid of all of the carbs in my house right now, I am going to try to focus on choosing zoodles or spaghetti squash rather than having spaghetti noodles or fettuccine or cauliflower rice instead of regular rice.  For the coming week, I...