Busy Life!

I haven't taken the time to update, but things are going so awesome!!   I have lost a total of 25 pounds now, and Don is around 30.  My inches are melting off - last I measured it was 23+ inches so far!!

We both feel amazing and are learning a lot.

So we went on a road trip with a bunch of teenagers last weekend where we were treated to free all-you-can-eat Pizza Hut Pizza and bread sticks.  We had been warned, so we made a pizza that morning to bring.  It was yummy.... so was the salad bar.  we had brought our own salad dressing, which helped a lot, too!

Saturday night we were at Golden Corral and able to pick out our Lean and Green meal.  It was delicious!

I was curious how I did on the trip - lost 2.2 pounds last weekend!  Wahoo!!

Monday I discovered a new recipe.  Spaghetti and meatballs.  It was so yummy!  I doubled the recipe on the meatballs, which were so easy to make, and the kids loved them.  They had  regular spaghetti while Don and I had spaghetti squash.  They snacked on meatballs throughout the week.  :)

Italian Meatballs

Ingredients:

21 oz 93% reduced fat ground beef - should yield 3 - 5 oz portions cooked 

2 tbsp  parmesan cheese

1 tsp basil leaves  

1/4 cup egg beaters

1 tbsp parsley flakes  

1/4 tsp garlic powder  

1/4 tsp pepper  

1/4 tsp fennel - optional  

1 1/2 cups Italian diced tomatoes - less than 5 grams of carbs per 1/2 cup  

*Note:  I used Italian seasoning, garlic and onion powder instead of all those individual seasonings and it was delicious!!  I also used eggs whites since I didn't have egg beaters. 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients except the diced tomatoes in a bowl until combined. Form balls from the meat. Bake for 20 minutes or until done. Measure out 5 oz of cooked meatballs and add 1/2 cup of Italian diced tomatoes in a small saucepan over medium heat until heated thoroughly. We used our Magic Bullet to blend up the diced tomatoes and it made yummy marinara sauce.  

This Week!

Today was our weekly weigh-in .  Here is our current total weight loss:
Jen:  19.6 pounds, 7" off waist!
Don: 22.8 pounds

Lovin' it!!!   We are sure hoping for that $1000 we are in the running for!  Second prize is $250, so we hope to get 1st and 2nd prize!  :)

Pizza!!

On this program we are on, we are eating very low carbs.  They have a lot of substitutions, so we really are not missing out (cookies, brownies, pretzels, cereal...).  The only thing we were both missing was Pizza.

I found a recipe that would work for us without us getting off course...  We tried it Saturday night.  Oh. My. Goodness!  Best Pizza ever!  Best pizza I ever remember having was in San Diego on our honeymoon...  This topped it!  After we are have reached our goal, we will add pepperoni, but it wasn't missed a whole lot.

Here is the recipe:

No Dough Meat Crust Pizza

Ingredients:

10 oz 93% lean ground beef, cooked and drained (2 Leans)

2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese,  divided (2 Leans)

1/4 tsp salt (1 Condiment)

1/4 tsp garlic powder (1/2 Condiment)

1/4 tsp onion powder (1/2 Condiment)

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (1Condiment)

1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese (1 Condiment)

1 cup Great Value Italian Diced Tomatoes - must be 5g of carbs or less per 1/2 cup (2 Greens)

1/4 cup red bell peppers (1/2 Green)

1/4 cup green bell peppers (1/2 Green)

1/2 cup zucchini, chopped (1 Green)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place meat in a mixing bowl and mix with 1 cup of mozzarella. Add salt, garlic powder, onion powder and Italian seasoning until combined. Spread the mixture into a circle on a round pizza pan or baking stone (I prefer the stone). I place the diced tomatoes in a small chopper and blend until the sauce is smooth. You can use a magic bullet or a blender if you like. Top the meat mixture with the blended tomatoes. Top with the rest of the mozzarella, and then your optional toppings. Bake for about 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and browned.

So we altered it just a little, because the little grocery store in our town didn't have all the veggies  - like zucchini and I wasn't about to spend $2.79 for one red bell pepper.   We found a frozen mix of peppers/onions and spread those around, then topped it with cut up spinach and 10 black olives.  Next time we will add more veggies, like zucchini and more spinach, maybe mushrooms.  

One recipe was 4 servings for us (two meals each).   It was a large pizza and very filling and although it was delicious enough that we could have easily eaten both servings at that one time, it wasn't necessary.  (and we are learning to be happy with portion control!)  

We had a delicious breakfast this morning! 

Here is a better picture of it off the internet...

A Great Week!!

We weighed in yesterday --- our two-week mark.  Total loss so far:
Jen: 14.6
Don: 17 pounds

We are both happy with that!!  The most amazing thing for me (Jen) is my inches lost...  All over my body I have now lost 2"... except for my waist - 5"!!!  I was so excited about that!  In fact, I had to go to the store and either buy me a belt or a smaller pair of jeans.  That got the store owner excited about our success and she is now interested in joining our program.

So one of our successes this week was our church party Friday night.  There was a pasta dish and then every favorite dessert I can think of - Lemon squares, brownies, ice cream, candy, Strawberry cupcakes, chips/salsa.  I kept thinking Don would say "Let's take tonight off..." but we both stayed strong.  We bought our own food of homemade coleslaw and pork roast.  When we got home I made us a brownie that we can eat.

I have decided to be a health coach for this company and am excited about the success I have had in just sharing it with people I talk with in conversation.  I love the things I am learning about health.

A New Journey

Last week Don and I started a new health program.  We are so excited about this new journey.  We want to  live and feel healthy...  run and not be tired...  be active again.

So we started Wednesday, February 6th.  We have entered into a $1000 Weight Loss Challenge that is 90 days.  We are both very motivated to win that money, and it has made this past week very easy with no temptations.

With both of us working 3rd shift, we were using caffeine to help us stay awake....  stopped that cold last Wednesday. One day of headaches, and now we have more energy than ever!  It is amazing!  We are in a fat burning stage right now and that has increased our energy level tremendously!  Yea for fat burning!!

So yesterday was our first weigh-in day.  Results were awesome:
Don:  12.4 pounds
Jen:  10.2 pounds

....In ONE week!

I noticed Tuesday evening at work that my jeans were all the sudden huge on me...  I measured myself yesterday in addition to weighing.  3.5" off my waist alone!!  1" everywhere else (hips, legs, arms, etc)!  Last night at work I was constantly pulling my pants up...(thank goodness for cami's that are long!  ha ha!)   I need to go shopping for either a belt or smaller pants!

I have also noticed that the sleep I am getting is better.

This all after one week!  So thankful for this program!!  It is so simple!  Cannot wait to see where we are in 90 days....  just in time for Don Jr's graduation and Julianne's baptism!  We want to be to our goal by end of June when we go on vacation.

So...  here is to our new Journey.  So grateful to be doing it together!!  We also have a super health coach who is always a phone call, text, email away.