Weight Watchers Wednesday

I can't believe it's already Wednesday again! Time is flying by so fast. I'm so happy that the holidays are just about in full swing!

Last night was date night so J and I took our usual trip to Chili's. We always drive around trying to pick a new, fun place to eat out, but we always end up back at Chili's. We just can't resist their chips and salsa for starters:) I always get the same thing - Chicken fajita pita: no sauce, salsa on the side, swap steamed veggies (with no butter) for fries. It really is so good!! and only 350 calories for the pita. It's really filling too...sometimes I can't even finish it.

After Chili's we headed for our second date night stop as usual - Big Lots. I don't know if I've mentioned before how much I hate stores like Big Lots. Now don't get me wrong, I love to find a good bargain. But, I strongly dislike junk, and I feel as if Big Lots tends a little toward the junky side. However, my sweet and wonderful husband LOVES bargain stores, even junky ones. Big Lots, Dollar Tree, Walls, you name it. Basically, if you don't shop at these stores, you're not a true member of my in-law's fam. I have to say I find this little trait quite endearing about them. But, I still hate junk.

Anyway, I've gotten used to going to Big Lots almost every date night. I figure that J strolls around in stores that aren't his favorite all the time, so I make an effort to be a good sport. Lo and behold (did I really just say that?) I think I'm even starting to like it:) While they had a lot of junk last night, they actually had a couple of cute things. First, we got our stockings. I decided we should just get cute, but cheaper stockings for now, and then when we start a family maybe we can spend a little more to get ones that match. These stockings are actually really cute...and they go with our decor quite well. We've decided to go with a sort of vintage look with our decorations this year, and these stockings are vintagy and cute! Second purchase was a new toy for Olive. If we leave her home for an evening, we always feel the need to bring her something special back. So, she got this crazy stuffed bird thing that has ropes for legs.


By an hour after we got home, she had already torn open its side and strewn the stuffing from one end of the house to the other. What a naughty dog:)

Anyway. We then went to Hobby Lobby to try to get ideas for homemade Christmas decorations. And we got so many ideas! I'll be sure and post pictures once we get them made. I'm pretty excited about them. I'm so thankful to have a husband who not only gets into decorating for Christmas, but also is super great at designing and creating great decor!

We finished date night off by watching The Biggest Loser. I'm a new fan of this show, but I love it already! It's so inspiring to see what these people can do and how it changes their lives. And, now that I've been spending the first part of every morning with Jillian, watching them suffer during workouts helps me to not feel so sorry for myself when I'm DYING. More on that in a moment. I was really sad when Coleen got voted off last night. I was hoping so badly that Amy C. would vote off Vicki. I try not to hold grudges against people and I wouldn't recommend that for anyone else, but Vicki is just so hard to get along with and mean sometimes....and Coleen is so sweet. I was just really disappointed. With 80's week and all it was a very entertaining show nonetheless.

So, back to Jillian. J and I moved up to the Level 2 workout of the 30 Day Shred on Monday. Oh my gosh. You guys, I'm not even exaggerating - I think I've almost died every morning this week. It was the single hardest workout I've ever done. She pushes you until you think you are seriously not going to make it. You should have seen me at the end - I was a rediculous mess sprawled out on the floor just trying to breathe. You have got to try this workout. It is so hard, but like Jillian says at one point during the workout: we may think she is a total crazy person, but the people she trains get results! I am so excited about the changes I can already see happening to my body just after 13 days.

Also, an update to a past post - I did end up ordering the Mio Motiva petite strapless heart rate monitor. It came in the mail yesterday, and I love it!! I'm always having to be near the computer to track my calories throughout the day, but now I can take my tracker with me everywhere I go! Also, I love knowing how many calories I'm burning during my workouts, so I know exactly how many are going in and how many I'm burning off. And of course it's great being able to know my heart rate during my workouts. During this morning's workout - I was at 94% of my maximum heart rate. I know that sounds crazy, but it's true...I could feel it in my heart. No pun intended. I'm beginning to wonder if what Jillian does to my heart is even healthy. Haha. But really.

Anyway...in regard to the title of this post - I lost another pound this week! Yea! I'm so excited to see it coming off bit by bit. So, I think I'll continue with Jillian's meals for another week. Here is what we are having for dinner tonight (as leftovers:)

Baked Lemon-Garlic Chicken with bell peppers and mashed cauliflower. So good! How did everyone else do this week? I'm a little concerned about this upcoming week b/c I already have 4 Thanksgiving dinners to attend - our Sunday School dinner, my dad's family, my mom's family, and J's family.

For Weight Watchers Wednesday I thought I'd share some tips that I've used in the past in order to not lose all my progress during hard times (like holidays):

• Don't expect perfection, but don't give up entirely either. Keep your goals in mind.
  
• Splurge only on things that you really love and don't usually have
• Be really careful about portion sizes. At home I use a miniature plate and fork, which helps a lot! Sometimes at holidays or special events I allow myself to have a few splurge items, but I eat very small portions of them. The first bites are always the best anyway.
• Remember that food is not the focus and happiness/fun are not found at the end of a fork:) Try to focus on the family and friends around you.
  
• Get in some exercise, even if it's several 10-15 minute walks with family members, some leg lifts, 2 minutes of jumping jacks several times a day etc.
• If you mess up, don't beat yourself up about it...this is a lifelong journey of being healthy. Just get right back on track with your next bite. Mess ups usually aren't as bad as we think they are.
  

I hope these are helpful...I'm counting on them to help me out throughout this next week!

I think that's all for now. Sorry this post was so random. There's just lots of random stuff going on right now.

Oh, and I read several blog posts today about people getting the weird emails, so I'm going to stop using our real names on here... just in case you were wondering about the initials.

Happy Wednesday!!