Long time no post...

Good Morning Everyone, I hope you are all doing well and still maintaining your healthy lifestyle. I know my postings have been very sporatic again, but I am trying to do my best. I love posting to you guys but to make things organized for myself, so I can atleast post to you guys atleast once a day, I've decided to order my postings by day. Here is what I was thinking: Monday: post a new recipe, be it savory or sweet. Tuesday: post atleast one new find be it snacks or meals. Wednesday: post the question of the day. Thursday: post up workout advice Friday: post up how the week went, weight gain/loss, follow up and see how you guys are doing. Alright, so here is where I could really use your feedback. Let me know what you guys think of this or if anything should be changed or added. Your input really does mean a lot to me and I want to post information/advice that you really need. Also, remember to send your questions to kanwal.ullah@gmail.com. All questions for the question of the day are posted as anonymous, so ask away! Alright, so I really hope you all are doing well and I look forward to your feedback!

***Recipe Alert- Smoky Chicken Bean Bowl***

This is great to make for a quick easy lunch or dinner, and of course, super easy :-)

Here are the deets:

One portion of Perdue Short Cuts chicken

1/2c. of black beans

1/2c. of pinto beans

1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 c of sliced mushrooms

1/4c. of thinly sliced red onions

1TB. of chipotle pepper sauce

1TB. of steak sauce

Salt/Pepper to taste

Mix all of these ingredients in a bowl and allow to marinate over night. The flavors will all marry each and be ready for the next day.

This huge, filling portion as only 4 WW pts. -not to mention it's loaded with fiber!

Enjoy!!

***Recipe Alert: Berry Sorbet***

With hot summer days in full swing why wouldn't you want a frozen treat?!?! I came up with the world's most easiest, all natural sorbet recipe. This sorbet will definitely take the heat off! Ingredients: One cup frozen blueberries Or One cup frozen, sliced strawberries Or 1/2c. of frozen blueberries and 1/2c. Of frozen strawberries 1-3TB of cold water. Optional: 1tsp. Of EVOO 1. Blend the berries in a blender (the ice crusher setting works best) 2. Add the water to make a thick smooth puree, add the EVOO 3. Pour in a single serving ramiken. 4. Store in the freezer for atleast an hour before eating. This tasty, healthy frozen treat has only 1 WW pts...delicious!!

***New Find: Nature's Path Cereal***

This cereal is delicious!! Lightly sweetened with organic cane juice and cinnamon, with a handful of of blueberries in each serving, you really can't go wrong. Not only is it all organic, and reasonably priced but each 1 cup serving has 3 WW pts. Pair that with a half cup of skim milk and you have your self a delicious, filling 4 pt. breakfast! I highly recommend this cereal. Here are the deets:

Cal: 200

Fat: 3grams (from the Omega 3's)

Fiber: 7 grams

My day yesterday...

So yesterday was a pretty good day. I managed to get my workout in during lunch. Also, before dinner I had two 2 point snacks. This left me with 5 points for dinner. Not much, but I was able to work with it. My made my own version of a burrito bowl with spring mix salad(0pts.), Perdue short cuts chicken(2pts), guacamole(2pts), diced bell pepper(0pt), pinto beans(1pt), diced tomato and onions(0pts) and salt and pepper. That was enough to hold me over. Today I'm going to try to eat every 2.5 hours rather than every 2 hours. How did your day go yesterday?

Lunch Time...

I really think eating a low point snacks every couple hours is working for me! My lunch for today is whole wheat pasta w/ a fat free yogurt sauce, parsley and walnuts and chicken....DELICIOUS!!! One serving of this dish is 10WW pts, but I've divided this into thirds (honestly, one serving was huge!!)...Anywho, this made my lunch a little bit over 3 WW pts. Still not bad and very filling!! How was your lunch?

Doing good...

So now I'm having 1/2c. of plain non fat yogurt, w/ slivered almonds. Was I hungry, yes...just a bit though. I also feel pretty good and energetic right now. Total WW pts: 3

Two hours later...

So, I'm trying to keep up with eating every few hours. I just had string cheese with 1/4c. fresh blueberries, total WW pts: 2. After my smoothie this morning, I was just a little bit hungry after 2 hours. So the snack worked out perfectly!

***B-Time***

Good Morning Everyone, This morning for breakfast I made a smoothie. I blended one cup of sliced, frozen strawberries, water and a teaspoon of EVOO. Total WW pts: 2. I know this breakfast is lighter than usual, but I'm going to try to have a 2-3pt. snack every 2-3 hours. What did you guys have for breakfast?

So you've fallen off the wagon...

So, you've been doing really well and keeping up with your healthy lifestyle. All of a sudden life throws you a curve ball and one bad day rolls into another. Soon becoming a bad week which soon spirals down into a "how could I have let this get so out of control situation!!!". Ok, don't panic EVERYONE goes through this atleast a few times in their weightloss/healthy lifestyle journey. Yes, anything can deter you from your gaols, a business trip, a bad work week, personal issues etc. The important thing to remember is to get right back on track and not make your few bad weeks a permament way of living! Here are a few steps to help you get through your tough time and get you right back on track: 1. Weigh yourself, see if you've gained any weight. If you did, don't let it dissappoint you that much. Don't forget, the weight can come off. 2. Start taking action of your diet and portions. You know having an apple is way better than a Snickers bar. Make wise choices when choosing foods. 3. Re evaluate your snacks. Try to have only fruits, veggies and proteins (apples. String cheese, yogurt, almonds). 4. Try to keep your dinner light on the carbs. If you can make a dish with protein and veggies. 5. Get some exercise in for atleast half an hour, it will make it easier to take the weight off. 6. Try not to eat past 8pm

My Day...

Today was a pretty busy day, but I managed to eat pretty healthy and even get a workout in. To start off, for breakfast I made myself a smoothie which consisted of half a cup of plain nonfat yogurt, 3 tablespoons of skim ricotta, 1 cup of frozen berries and one teaspoon of EVOO. I would have used skim milk to thin this out, but I ran out so I used water. Still, not bad for a 4 point breakfast! My breakfast kept me full for a little over 3 hours and then I went for a snack. These days I'm snacking on 2 point string cheese. I tend to eat a late lunch, so a couple of hours later I had another snack. This time it was a cup of plain, non fat yogurt, with a teaspoon of honey - a filling 3 points. After a couple of more hours I was ready for lunch. Oh yes, lunch consisted of 100 percent whole wheat pasta (3 pts.), with steamed broccoli and spinach, with a 1 pt. tomato sauce. Now this kept me full for a few hours, then I had another string cheese snack. After work I managed to get a great workout in, where according to the machines I burned 400 calories. A few crunches and weights later, I was ready for dinner. Dinner was a burrito bowl from Chipotle, however I am really particular about this. I always order the bowl with NO rice, a little bit of black beans, green peppers and onions, barbacoa meat (its the lowest calorie meat), a little bit of corn, tomato salsa, a little bit of guacamole and a whole lotta salad. For those of you who want to know, I really do say "a little bit" when ordering :-) I was also craving something sweet today at work. My wonderful coworker had mini reeses peanut butter cups - I had one. Overall, today was not a really bad day. My workout also helped me out a lot -considering its been a while since I got one in. Right now its after 10pm and I'm heading home, but still a little bit hungry but I think I'm too tired to even try to eat :-p. How has your day been? Did you stay on track today?

***Question of the Day: Any suggestions of what to do when you reach a standstill point in weight loss?? How to get past that block and lose a few m

Getting through a plateau can be tough, but not impossible. Just try not to let it deter you from your overall goal. Also, if you do not see the scale budge, don't get frustrated, it could take over a month to push through a plateau. Here are a few tips to help you successfully conquer the big P. 1. Change up your workout a bit. Your body gets used to one workoutand soon becomes immune to it. Change it up with a bit higherintensity. 2. Cut atleast 15 grams of carbs from your overall diet, better yetstay away from all carbs, excluding vegetables after 9pm. 3. If you are eating a lot of fruit then that's great, but the sugarcontent in the fruit could be what is getting you. Instead of threeservings of fruit a day, go for two and replace the third with aprotein. 4. Try not to eat 2 hours before bed, you body will not be able toeasily burn those calories. 5. Try to ween off of frozen dinner meals, the sodium content is veryhigh and can cause water weight. In stead cook a few meals during theweek, freeze up the extra for your own version of a healthy frozenmeal. 6. Your caloric intake changes as you lose weight. Make sure you aretaking in enough calories for your current weight rather than when youwere 5 pounds heavier - let me know if you need help with this.