My New Swimsuit

It is scary to post a picture in a swim suit but I finally have a little confidence in my body so here it goes.

I Ran and Ran Last Week

Well the treadmill has continued to work.  What a huge blessing it has been to run and run and run!
Monday: 6.5 miles
Tuesday: 5.5 miles
Wednesday: 4.5 miles
Thursday:4.5 miles (Turkey Trot at 8 degrees BRRRRRR!)
Friday: Thanksgiving at Judy's - my day off
Saturday: 5.4 miles

I set a goal for myself at the beginning of the week to run 20 miles and I surpassed that goal! Yeah!!! 26.4 miles exact, WOW that is a full MARATHON!!!

Thankful for My Body 10 K Run

I decided to start the week out right I'd run a 10 K just for me.  Actually I started out just wanting to go 3 miles but that felt so good I decided that 6.4 miles would be doable.  I completed the 10k in 67 minutes. Not great but no too bad!!!  I am so thankful for this strong healthy body.  I look at where I was a year ago and 2 years ago and can hardly believe the difference.  I am a different woman now!  I still have the same personality and same testimony but even deeper if you can understand that.  I have always loved myself and been a very happy positive person but I am no longer limited because of my size.  I did have moments of despair over my body which caused me to desire change but I still loved me!  I can't explain how wonderful it is not to worry if I can fit into a chair.  Life is good!!!

He Hears My Prayers

I have always known that my Heavenly Father loves me and cares for me.  How could I ever deny Him after all of the incredible blessings I have been given.  It is wonderful when in small and simple things our prayers are answered.  I have slowly watched the scale rise as I have not gone running the past 2 weeks since the weather is cold. I have been working out faithfully on the elliptical but it hasn’t been enough. Even doing it for an hour a night the scale keeping rising. I have been getting very down about it and it has sadly transferred to the way that I have been reacting to my children.  I lost it big time and yelled and threw a big fit last night.  I said things to them that I didn’t mean and would never do. I didn’t like that woman at all and I knew something had to change.  I didn’t know what,  but Heavenly Father knew what I needed.

  I was so excited to go to the Kick Boxing class at the Church this morning but Laura threw up right before time to walk out the door.  The doom and gloom of mediocre exercise came over me.  I guess I’ll just get back on the exercise bike, I haven’t done that for a while.  I sat on the bike for a minute and thought about how much I miss running!  Can you believe it I love the feeling of running and especially how AMAZING I feel after I run.  I looked at the broken treadmill and wondered if it might start up for me.  Last year it smelled really hot and wouldn’t go over 1 mile/hour.  It had sat for 8 months so why not try it.

This isn’t the first time in my house that an appliance or electrical equipment has been prayed to work.  I looked at the belt, blew off some worn off rubber, rearranged the covering a little and prayed that it would work and IT DID!  I don’t know if it will work again but for today my body felt free.  I feel amazing physically and my spiritual bucket is full knowing that My Heavenly Father cares enough to allow me to run!  I ran the best I have ever run!  I ran 4 miles in 39 minutes and it felt freeing.  I could feel the weight that has been holding me down flying off my shoulders. I am so thankful for answered prayers!!!.

AGGGGHHHHHH!

The scale is up another pound!  I am doing everything right but the scale is going up. (7 pounds from last week)  The big change the last 10 days is that my exercise is now indoors and at night rather than my cardio being very early morning then strength exercises at night.  I wonder if that can really make that big of difference? I am still exercising every day and I'm trying to push myself on the elliptical so that it is similar to the running I was doing twice a week.  But I am doing it 5 days not just 2 and I went to kick boxing and that totally hurt!  I have muscles that haven't been used in ages!  Oh well, I'll just keep doing what I know is right and change up my meals a little.  I just don't want to go back to eating too little.  I feel so good eating more calories (appropriate for my weight and exercise regime.)  Hopefully I'll see the scale head back to my goal zone by next week!!!

The scale wasn't so happy today.

I know I shouldn't worry so much about the scale but I hate how your weight can fluctuate.  I didn't drink enough yesterday and probably ate too much salt so that combination gives me 3-5 pounds of water weight over night. CRAZY!!! I know it isn't possible to be fat weight since that would require eating 12,000 extra calories but I just wish the scale could stay even when I'm exercising right and eating right!

How I create a new recipe…

I love making our favorite recipes healthier.  I wonder how much I can take out or change but still have it taste good.  Here is one I did yesterday.

So the original recipe for Nestle Toll House Choc Oat Chip Cookies is a favorite around here.  Here is where the fun begins. 

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour  WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)  SEA SALT
• 1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar  1/4 CUP BROWN SUGAR
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened  1 CUP APPLE SAUCE
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 CUP STEVIA IN THE RAW
• 2 large eggs  OMIT EGGS OR JUST EGG WHITES
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels  1 CUP CHOC CHIPS
• 1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (optional)

Makes 4 dozen cookies. You do need to press down the cookies and bake for only 8 minutes at 375 degrees since you have no fat but they sure are delicious!!!

With making the highlighted changes it goes from 130 calories per cookie to 65 calories and from 4 grams of fat to 0 fat.

 

OR I just simply look at the ingredients I have around the house and put them together to create something new and delicious.  That is what I did for dinner last night.

 

Chicken Pepper Tomato Pasta created by Becky Jones

1 pre cooked chicken breast shredded (I cook mine in the crockpot and then freeze individually.)

1 green pepper cut into strips

1 cup halved grape tomatoes

1 can chicken broth

1 small white onion

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tablespoon corn starch

2 tablespoons water

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1 – 2 pounds cooked pasta of your choice (we used bow tie past) You can stretch the sauce pretty far depending on how many people you are feeding. 

 

In a frying pan add olive oil, peppers, onion, chicken and tomatoes.  Cook for 5 minutes then add chicken broth and spices.  Bring to a boil and add corn starch that has been dissolved in the water.  Cook till thickened and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve on top of pasta. Salt and pepper to taste.

Baking Fun Creating New Recipes

There are beautiful huge snowflakes falling outside my kitchen window and I have Amy Grants Christmas music playing.  It is definitely a day for baking and creating!!

WW Savory Crackers Created by Becky Jones

2 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup water
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp Italian seasoning

Mix all ingredients together.  Divide into two balls if using large cookie sheets.  You want your crackers to be only 1/16-1/8 inch thick at the most.  Drizzle olive oil on you cookie sheet and spread evenly (I use my hands.)  Roll out dough very thinly. Sprinkle with a little more Italian Seasoning and Sea Salt and press in lightly.  Cut into squares.  I cut mine with a pastry cutter or pizza Cutter.  I get 80 crackers per baking sheet.   Bake at 350 degrees for 25 min.  Watch closely so they don’t get too brown.  This recipe makes 160 crackers at exactly 10 calories each. Enjoy!!!  My daughter Laura has already eaten a couple dozen so I guess they pass the test!

Healthy Cinnamon Rolls Created by Becky Jones

I use my Whole Wheat Bread Recipe and just use one portion of the recipe and turn it into cinnamon rolls. 

1/5 of the WW Bread Recipe

Roll out on floured surface. Top with:

Butter Spay (I Can’t believe It’s Not Butter or Parkay)

Cinnamon (amount determined on personal taste)

Stevia in the Raw or drizzle with Agave

Walnuts, pecan and raisins optional

Roll up,  cut into 15 cinnamon rolls. Place into greased 9x13 pan.  Allow to rise 1 hour covered with a dish towel.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. 15 servings at 115 calories per cinnamon roll.

For added yumminess you can create a glaze with fat free milk, almond and vanilla extract and powdered sugar.

Here is my recipe for Becky’s Whole Wheat Bread Created by Becky Jones.  I have changed it a little to reduce the sugar, fat and salt content.

5 cups warm water

3 tablespoons yeast

1/4 cup honey

Mix these 3 ingredients together and set aside to proof for 10 minutes.  It will become frothy or foamy on top and that will tell you that your yeast is alive and well.

Add to the previous mixture:

1/2 cup canola oil

1 1/2 tablespoons salt

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup flax seed ground fine (yields about 2/3 cup ground flax seed)

12-15 cups whole wheat flour

Add flour slowly until your dough is no longer sticky to the touch of the back of your hand.  It should be soft but give good resistance.  Adding the right amount of flour is determined by humidity, temperature outside and inside;  there are a lot of factors. Divide dough into 5 loaves.  Place into greased loaf pans and press evenly the top of each loaf.  Set aside to rise in pans for 1 hour.  Cover with a dish towel while rising.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Each loaf has about 1700 calories.  Dependent on how thick you like to slice your bread

 This recipe is versatile.  You can make pizza with it, cinnamon rolls,  bread sticks or  dinner rolls.  Shape into desired item and allow to rise.  When making pizza only do a 15 min. rise.  Baking  time will be reduced to 20 minutes for rolls.

A new taste for my Protein Smoothie

I just had to share what I put in my smoothie this morning.  I baked and froze 5 gallons of pumpkin last week and wondered how I'd ever use it all.  I mentioned this to my friend Zella and she suggested I put it in my smoothie.  Well this morning I did and it was delicious.


Autumn Pumpkin Smoothie Recipe

2 handfuls of baby spinach
1/2 banana
1 cup pumpkin
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
a few shakes of nutmeg
Blend it all together for a thick yummy autumn flavored smoothie.

Weight and measurement update…

Just knowing that someone out there is wondering how I am doing at keeping my goals helps me immensely!  I need to be accountable for living right and so here are pictures from this morning on the scale and my waist measurement. I am finding balance with eating desserts again (altering recipes or just a few bites) and loving it.  I eat a lot of food throughout the day.  I snack mostly on fruits and veggies and a few crackers or pumpkin seeds here and there but I am getting my 2000 calories most days and feeling very satisfied.  My goal is to stay between 175-182 pounds.  I feel good and think I look good too.  The excess skin and flab on my upper arms and thighs and a little on my  tummy will someday be gone and I do look forward to that day! I know that is probably years away but until then I’ll continue to workout and watch my eating and have fun making up recipes.

I must admit I still don’t always recognize myself in pictures and this is one of them. Saturday I was canning pickles with the kids.  I don’t see myself as “skinny” even though many people have called me such lately.  I guess I am smaller than I realize. Someday I hope I can see myself the way others do.