Fast Food Nutritionals

Hey guys! How's it going?  Things are good here.  I just thought I would let yall know of a new resource I am working on!!  I am working on a database of fast food restaurants with their calorie counts, fat totals and fiber grams (which of course will calculate the WW points)!!

I have found that most fast food restaurants have this information on their websites.  I have been wanting to do this for a while.  My hubby was asking me this morning about breakfast items at McDonald's and it triggered my memory on wanting to do this and I have decided to just get it done!

So be on the look out!  As soon as I have it done I will make it available to you :-)!!

Have a great day!

Kellie

I know it's been a while

Hey guys!  I know it has been a while!  Life around my house is just very crazy right now!  I am happy to report that even with all the chaos of my son's birthday and a week with family and totally NOT on my diet that I did maintain my weight without gaining and have gotten back on course this week and have already lost 2 lbs!  Maybe I threw my body into shock to start losing again :-)

I did want to share something today.  I am doing a wonderful bible study right now with some other women at church and we are looking at women of the bible that made a difference.  This week we are focusing on Sarah.  There is so much to learn from her!  I do want to share a couple of verses that was in my study today that I thought also apply to weight loss and maybe they will be an encouragement for you in your weight loss journey.

Genesis 18:14(a) says "Is any thing too hard for the LORD?..." 

Mark 9:23 says "Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth."

I firmly believe both of these verses can be applied to your weight loss journey.  You may think it is impossible to lose the weight but is anything too hard for the Lord?  NO!  Have you taken the time to ask him for his help in this.  He said if you just believe all things are possible.  Have you put your faith in him to help make it possible for you to lose the weight?

And don't think for one second that God is not interested in such "minor" affairs of our lives as weight loss.  Last night at church my pastor was continuing his sermon series on the Lord's prayer.  Last night he focused on Matt 6:11 "Give us this day our daily bread".  God wants us to ask him provide our physical needs.  Why not start your day asking God to give you wisdom to know what foods to eat that day.  Ask God to help you with your weight loss and then have faith and believe that all things are possible through him because there is NOTHING that is too hard for God!

With God's help you can do it!

I hope you are doing well and again apologize for being absent.  Life around here is just so busy!

Let me know how you are doing.  I pray that you are being successful on your weight loss journey! 

I am fixing to go enjoy me some bean and cheese nachos for lunch...a new favorite of mine.  I bake my whole wheat tortilla to make it crispy then spread it with fat free refried beans and fat free cheese and put it in the microwave to melt the cheese.  Then I cut it into nacho shapes and top each one with a jalepeno and some fat free sour cream!  YUM! YUM!  I feel like I am getting my "junk food" but I don't have to feel guilty about it :-)

Kellie

Recipes and Recipe Book Deal

Hey guys!  Just thought I would let you know that I have published a few recipes on my recipe blog.  (my baby is sick tonight so the grandparents took the boys to church and I have a nice quiet house.  I am able to get caught up on some things!)

Anyways…most of them are Hungry Girl recipes!  Speaking of Hungry Girl…have you heard about her new book that is set to hit the book stands on March 30th!!  It has a bunch of new recipes in it!  I can’t wait!  In fact I pre-ordered my copy, and so can you.  Click the image below to go to the pre-order page on her website.  You can pre-order it for 50% of the retail price of the book!!  You can’t beat that!!!   I can’t wait until mine gets here.  It has a whole section devoted to crock pot recipes!!!

Exercising

Well yesterday I bought me some ankle/wrist weights.  I ended up getting the ones from Wal-Mart because that is where I went due to grocery shopping.  They had the Gold’s Gym brand set of 2 (1.5 pounds for each weight) for $12.97.  I went ahead and got two sets so that I could have them on my wrists and my ankles during my workout.

They also had a Gold’s Gym waist trimmer belt for $5.  I thought, hey for $5 I will try this!!  I came home and read reviews on it and was VERY pleased with the reviews I read.  This thing is getting good reviews and people are saying that it really does work!!  The idea is that it makes your waist area sweat to help you loose water weight in that area!  One girl wrote that she lost 1 inch in her waist in 4 days!!!

Today was the first day I tried out my new “toys”.  I can say that the wrist and ankle weights worked real well for exercising with the Wii.  With them strapped to your wrist and ankles they stayed out of the way…you didn’t have to worry about holding them or figuring out how to told them while holding your remote. You just strap tihem on and exercise as normal.  I really felt the difference after the work out.  I could tell that they provided another level of working out my leg and arm muscles.

And I wore my waist trimmer belt and YES my belly area sweated a bunch!!  The cool thing is that during the exercise I was unaware of it.  The belt felt very comfortable…did not constrict…in fact I think it helped me keep the right posture during my yoga exercises.  When I took it off my waist was drenched.  I thankfully followed advice that I read online and wore it under my clothes so that my worked out clothes didn’t get completely drenched in that area.   I am really excited about this thing and hope to see results that I read about others getting!!  And to think – it only cost $5!!!!  What a deal!!!

Kellie

Make Your Own 100 Calorie Packs

I don’t know about you but those little 100 calorie packs are LIFESAVERS on a lot of days for me.  They help to satisfy my munchie craving without ruining my diet!

But lately I have been thinking about all the money that I have been spending on those 100 calorie packs and the fact that some of them really don’t even taste like the real thing (for instance the Oreo crisps!) and I have been wondering why in the world can’t I make my own 100 calorie packs.

Well that is exactly what I have done this week.  I went to the store and bought those little snack size ziploc bags and bought me some yummy treats to make into 100 calorie packs.  I came home and spent a little bit of time figuring out how many of each treat would equal 100 calories and made my little 100 calorie packs.  I put them all in a plastic tub and put in the pantry so that I can grab them as needed.  I was able to make about 92 100-calorie packs and I only spent $15 to do so!  If I would have purchased that many pre-made 100 calorie packs it would have been almost $40!!  That is what I call a real savings! 

Here are the packs that I made!  (note that all 100 cal packs were all under 2.5 points approximately)

Mini Nutter Butters (they come in a snack bag for $1.98 at my Wal-Mart).  7 of those minis would equal about 100 calories and I was able to make 10 100-cal sets from that bag. 

Mini Oreos (they come in a snack bag for $1.98 at my Wal-Mart).  7 of these minis would equal about 100 calories and I was able to make 10 sets from that bag.

Mini Chip Ahoys (they come in a snack back for $1.98 at my Wal-Mart). 3 of those (they are bigger) equal about 100 calories and I was able  to make 12 sets from the bag.

Reduced Fat Cheez-It crackers (I got a box that cost $2.50 at my Wal-Mart).  You get 14 of those for each 100 calorie set and I was able to make 14 sets from that box.

Mini Pretzels (I got a bag of these for $2.15 at my Wal-Mart).  18 of those make a 100 calorie set and I was ablez to make 17 sets from the bag I bought.

Hershey’s Kisses with Almonds (I got a bag for $3.97 at my Wal-Mart).  4 of those equal about 100 calories and you can get 29 100-cal sets from that bag (I got the ones with almonds at my hubby’s request…the amount will probably vary with the different types of kisses you get.  I realize this is a very small treat but sometimes those 4 little kisses can curb your chocolate craving!  I would rather have 4 than none at all :-) )

Have you made any 100 calorie treats?? If so please share!  I hope to continue to explore this with different snacks!

Weigh In Monday

Hey guys!  How was your weekend?  Were you really good and stayed on your diet…or were you like me and had fun eating and are ready now to get back on course :-) 

Don’t forget to weigh in and get your measurements.  I am happy to say I had a good week last week and lost 3 pounds!!  My first loss in a few weeks!!  So I am pretty happy!

I have gotten pretty consistent in my exercise routine!  In fact I am fixing to purchase a set of ankle/wrist weights.  Target has a set of 2 (either in 2 lb or 3 lb) for $9.99.  I think I am going to go ahead and pick up two sets – one 2 lb and one 3 lb.  These will work very well with the Wii fit (just don’t weigh yourself with them on – HA!) because they velcro around your wrists and ankles so you can still hold the remote!  This will just step up the exercise a bit…especially the yoga and strength training!  I really am seeing results from the exercising!  And when you can see results it sure helps to motivate you to keep going doesn’t it?!?!

I am praying for all of you in this group…that you will have a successful week this week in your journey for a healthier lifestyle!

Have a great week!  I am hoping to converse with you a bit more this week :-)

Kellie

Resourceful Tuesday – On Thursday!

HA!!  Maybe I should just do away with the daily themes and just post each of those topics when I can :-)  I think seeing those on the left hand column are what make me feel like a failure more than just not getting to the posts!  So how about that…how about we scrap trying to have a certain theme each day and I just post what is on my heart when it is on my heart??

I have received some encouragement from yall and I thank you!  Thank you Mom and thank you Keri!  It feels good to know yall are liking this site and liking the posts!  I will keep going with it – I promise!  Just have some patience with me when I am running around rugged trying to keep up with 3 little ones!

The only weekly theme we will keep on a certain day is our Weigh In…we will still have Weigh In Monday.  I still want to hear from you on how you are doing (if you want to share!).  Even if you don’t share it is a very good habit to have to weigh yourself once a week at the same time, same day…so you can keep up with your progress.

So – for this resourceful post (that will no longer have to be just on Tuesdays – ha!) I thought I would share step 2 from my Light and Delish magazine (if you need to refresh your memory on step 1 click here for that post).  Side note – I am loving this magazine!!  If you haven’t yet you need to see if you can find a copy of it at the store – it is called Light and Delish.  It is a magazine created from the website delish.com.   The recipes in there are WONDERFUL and very healthy and very diet friendly!  I wish they would make this magazine an on-going subscription!!

Step 2 To Losing Weight Without Even Trying

Pile On The Produce

How It Helps You Lose

To speed up weight loss, consider doubling, if not tripling, your intake of fruits and vegetables every day.  Less than 2 percent of Americans eat the recommended nine daily servings, which is a major missed opportunity for shedding weight.  Produce is made up mostly of water, so it’s low in calories (meaning you can eat a lot without putting on pounds) and high in fiber, which helps curb hunger.  Bonus: Numerous studies have shown that fruits and veggies are also great disease fighters.

I know I am personally trying to do this…making the veggies the biggest portion of our meal – how about you?

In fact Seth and I are making a Broccoli Mac and Cheese tonight!  We got the recipe from Rachel Ray’s show today…but you know me…I am going to make a few changes to make it even more healthy and hopefully very tasty!!  If it is I will make sure to post it to the recipe blog (which I know…I am behind on as well…but I have posted a few recipes this week if you haven’t gotten a chance to check them out!)

Until next time,

Kellie