Weigh in Wednesday

Last week I rejoined Weight Watchers and today was my first weigh in. 

Down 7.6 pounds. 

7.6 pounds.  I rarely see that in a month, let alone a week.  I also didn't really do anything all that differently last week either.  I was just getting back "on plan."  Silly body making me all confused.

Anyway, I'm going to keep soldiering on and only weighing in on Wednesday.  Not going to weigh in every day.  I'm not! ... If I start doing so I'll let you all know so you can shame me in to stopping, because I'm pretty bad with the obsession of weighing in.  

I'm enjoying the heck out of the #20till30 challenge.  It's been cool how people are getting their daily exercises in with new people, in new places and sharing it with me.  I'm totally digging it.

Me?  I did jumping jacks outside with Matt and then did squats with a new Zumba student at my new location last night.  Tonight?  I'm totally cheating a little bit.

Lunges - I added these because I hate them so freaking much.  Mostly because of my broken ankle from 7 years ago.  BUT I do a Zumba song that's alternating lunges.  I retired it because the lunges were making me angry with life (and my ankle) but I'm bringing it back tonight to get in my lunges in Zumba style.  It's 32 lunges on each side over the course of the fun Broadway, vamping song.  So I'll be getting my lunges in with my Zumba family.

Matt and I are also going to go for a jog, not sure about before or after class... but we'll get in at least 30 minutes.  

And then sleep.. because this cold will not let go of me! My head is stuffed full of snot and angry right now.  My right ear sounds like it's stuffed with cotton balls.  The doc said it's just a cold though so I'll just deal with it.  One or two more days and I'll be back to normal.  Just in time for a day long Zumba fest - A Zumbathon, a Zumba birthday party and then 2 classes the next day! WOOHOO!!

Recipe Time - Pizza Soup

Want a delicious pizza for dinner?  Don't want to order or make one yourself?  Want to eat pizza without killing your diet?  Try Pizza Soup!

This started out as something we made one day because we were lazy and were just using what was in the pantry, but it turned in to something I love to make.  It's quick, easy, tasty and can be made with whatever random ingredients you have on hand.

Tonight's pizza soup - Pepperoni Pizza Soup:

Ignore the mess on the table, please. :)

 In the soup:

1 large onion - chopped.
1 large green pepper - chopped
1 large red pepper - chopped
1/2 bag of baby spinach - chopped
1/2 bag of pepperoni slices - chopped
1 can of Campbell's Tomato Soup - Family Size
1 can of water
Black pepper - to taste
Oregano - to taste
Garlic salt - to taste

In a large pot, I first cooked the onion and peppers for about 3 minutes on medium heat until the onions started to look a little translucent.  Then I added the soup and the water.  Then I added the rest of the ingredients and brought it to a boil and let it simmer for about 30 minutes. 

Makes about 6 servings (1.5-2 cup servings)

Serve with warm bread (tonight it was honey brown bread) and topped with your favorite Italian cheese. 

Stats per serving -

Calories - 215
Carbs - 27
Fat - 9
Protein - 8
Fiber - 3

6 weight watchers points!

Absolutely delicious and a hit with the guys too! 

Christmas week crazies. Bodybugg! and January 2012 goals.

Work was totally and utterly insane this week.  Year end stuff is just wild.  I got a ton accomplished and I feel good about where we are going in to 2012.

There was a bit of work related drama this week that put me in a bit of a foul mood.  I'm ready for the new year and the permanent team and standardization. 

Wednesday night after work I hit up two classes at the Y. First TurboKick! It was with a different instructor and Daphne is just awesome.  Different vibe to the class but I loved it and my body is STILL hurting!

Well, partly because of that and partly because of taking Zumba with Mrs. Fatass herself right afterwards! It was AMAZING! So very much fun!

Two fantastic hours of cardio with two amazing ladies!

Thursday was The Nutcracker and it was fantastic! I felt like a kid watching it.  The dancing was amazing, the costumes unbelievable and the magic stuff they added was just cool.

Tonight I had a kick ass Zumba class.  11 people, which is HUGE for a Friday night, and everyone left with a big ol' smile on their faces.

Food wise I've been doing okay the last few days.  Yesterday dinner was a bit weird as we had a weird schedule because of the ballet but all in all a good few days.

The most exciting thing?  Today I got my Bodybugg! EEEEE! I'm still getting used to it and I messed up logging my first workout using their workout tracker but I got the calorie count which is what mattered.  It's a nifty tool and it makes for a fitness video game feel.  I want to burn the most and eat the best and walk the most steps! It'll be interesting to see how I get to incorporate it over the next few weeks.

I also met with my new beachbody team members yesterday.  We took our before pictures and discussed goals and plans.  I remembered I took some pictures last December and I compared them. Maybe I'll get brave and post them.  Maybe at the end of the 30 day challenge.

Goals for January?  Lose 15-17 pounds.  Work out mornings with Turbo Jam and my normal Zumba schedule in the evenings.  I am also going to be doing Shakeology shakes.  Add in the BodyBugg and Weight Watchers and I think I have all the tools needed to reach my goals! It's going to be a wild month and I'm ready to everything! Right tools, right support, right time!

Week One on Weight Watchers - Vacation, GO!

I had my week one weigh in yesterday and *drum roll* I lost a little over a pound and a half.  I went from 328.8 to 327.2.  I'll take that.  After the plateau from Hades I'll take any weight loss at this point. 

I think I've decided after I get back from vacation I'm going to set my Weight Watchers settings to only swap Activity Points.  Last week I didn't use any of my Weekly Points but used almost all of my Activity Points.  I know that I'm not going to be getting in a lot of exercise between Thursday and Monday so I know I will probably need to dip in to those while out of town.  (Beer costs points, yo!)

As for today and tomorrow I have two hours of Zumba tonight to look forward to plus all the house cleaning and packing and errands to run. Then tomorrow I'm taking a last chance Turbo Kick class right before we leave for Kentucky. Class is at 9:30, home, shower, out the door!

Right now the plans are as such - arrive in Kentucky late Wednesday.  Thursday a lazy day in and around the house with yummy dinner and a special dessert with my Kentucky momma!  Friday, a trip to the aquarium in Ohio and lunch at Skyline chili! Saturday some sight seeing and dinner and Festivus celebration with my other family in Indiana.  Sunday some more rest and relaxation and some sight seeing.  Monday the long drive home. 

Tuesday it's right back into daily life getting laundry done and quality time with the kitties before hopping back in to Zumba classes Tuesday night!

We're actually taking a break from Zumba at the studio from Thursday this week until the start of 2012 so I am excited to get to take some new and different classes at the Y during the break.  I'm also stoked to learn a bunch of new choreography so we can retire some of the old tunes that I'm just burned out on. 

At least one of the days on vacation that we're jut chilling out will be spent with my ZIN DVDs learning routines I wanted to but never had the time and refreshing on routines from master classes Sarah and I never had a chance to work in.  It's going to be hot, hot, hot Zumba once we get back in January!

Big changes are a-comin'!

First off, let me say how absolutely awesome this week has been.  It's been a wild ride full of stress and insanity but I can genuinely say that 2011 is going out with a bang.

Let's start with Weight Watchers stuff though.  I'm loving the ease of the Points Plus program.  I love not feeling guilty for indulging in fruits that I love and I'm digging on the new power foods listing.  It is making it easier to get an idea of where I am without having to do calorie, fat and carb math which is nice. 

The one thing I have issues that with is the extreme amount of exercise I do, I just don't know how to handle the Activity Points and the Weekly Points system.  I can swap activity points by the day, by the week or not at all.  I can also choose not to use the weekly points at all.  I just don't know what to do.  For the moment I'm doing both weekly and I haven't had to touch the Weekly Points at all.  I'm thinking I may just swap Activity Points weekly and not touch the Weekly Points.  We'll see though. 

It will be a bit weird over the next two weeks since I'm going on vacation but I will solidify the plan once the new year gets here.  For now, I'm not concerned with loss - just maintenance.
 

As for vacation - it can't get here soon enough!  I only need to work Monday and then I don't go back until Wednesday the 21st.  HOORAY!

Where I work we have to take 5 consecutive vacation days once a year and this is my sabbatical. For that week, work can't call me, I can't check email, I'm actually locked out of the buildings.  Last year I only had 4 days and coming back was rough... this year I'm actually taking 6! That's going to be hard to get back in to the swing of things after. 

And speaking of work! Big changes on the horizon! When I get back from vacation I need to start training some of my direct team members on how to do various tasks that are currently being done by the temporary employees on our team.  I'm also getting some additional tasks around our procurement application and will be getting to work with our category managers directly on tasks related to suppliers and supplier activity. That's pretty cool stuff. 

Big changes are coming in 2012.  I can feel it!

The countdown to vacation... and Weight Watchers.

I am now in the downward slope towards vacation.  4 more working days till vacation.  Glorious, glorious, vacation. 

Work has been great the last few days.  The meeting in Winston went awesomely and I am so glad we went. 

My voice is still coming and going whenever it pleases but the strep is going away.  My throat still yells at me when I drink carbonated drinks or eat anything with a rough texture but I'm getting there.  I will be healthy by the time we leave on vacation!

Yesterday I took the leap and rejoined Weight Watchers.  I know how terribly hard it is to track my calories and macronutrient breakdowns when I'm out of town and this was a good stop gap measure to assist in that.

I first did Weight Watchers back in 2008 and I lost 30 pounds using their tools.  Then money got tight and I couldn't afford the membership.  I am loving some of the newer tools they've added in the time I've been gone and I'm excited about putting them to full use.  Things like the pizza slice designer that gives you the point total or the sandwich maker that populates the totals.  That's really cool!

Today I taught back to back Zumba classes and at each location someone commented on the fact I look smaller even in just the last few weeks. Talk about an ego boost! I'm actually even starting to really feel smaller, especially in my chest and arms.  I'm excited for my weekly weigh in on Monday. Maybe the plateau has finally been broken and I'll continue to see a good downward trend!