Feeling HOT hot HOT!

So folks, it has been a while.  Almost a month actually.  What is new in my life? Not a hell of a lot.  Still exercising, counting points and trying my damnedest to get this weight back off.  

My vacation to Jamaica is in 72 days (yes, I am counting, I love to countdown for fun things) and I am so excited, can you tell?

My friend and I tried Hot Yoga for the first time on Monday.  And it was.... well, hot for sure.  I really actually enjoyed it and am going back tonight by myself. We were able to do 35 minutes of a 60 minute class on Monday and I am trying for 45 minutes tonight.  It is amazing that you actually sweat from places you didn't think could create sweat, like my eyes for example and my fingernails. I swear they were all sweating, but I will tell you, I slept like a baby that night.  So we will see how it goes tonight.

For those who think that they won't be able to do it because of the heat, because of their weight, or just because they don't want to, think again!  You could also do it. Yes, the heat seems brutal at first but you do actually adjust to it a bit.  Now the yoga poses, that is a different story. They are pretty difficult but I wouldn't say due to my weight more because of my flexibility but I am assuming that over time I will get better and more flexible.  The best part about it is that I truly feel like it rids my body of toxins and relieves stress.

I read something online today by a girl who says she weighs 210 lbs.  She said that she cannot exercise because of her weight and I thought, what the hell?  Why on earth couldn't she exercise because of her weight?  I mean, I understand we are all different and our tolerances are different but to me that was a little bit crazy. I informed her that I was exercising at 300 lbs and she was shocked that I was able to.  Now, I admit that my exercise wasn't very strenuous when I weighed 300 lbs, but I tried and it helped me immensely. Even though I haven't lost any weight (gained in fact) I am so much stronger than I used to be!

~TGIF~

Dear Diary,

I apologize for my lack of posting these days. Things have been hectic in my life with work, the kids, being sick, etc.  Most of the time when I get home from work I just want to sleep especially with this cold that doesn't seem to want to go away.  The good thing? I have gotten lots of rest. The bad? I haven't gone to the gym at all this week, which sucks but I think my body needs the rest more.

So onto my journey.  This time last week I had a major meltdown. Like full on crying meltdown.  As I have mentioned before, my leader Koren is an amazing human being who even lets us have her phone number. It was 10:30 p.m. at night and I had just finished off what I think was 1 cup of salted cashews and it hit me that my eating had completely gone off the rails and it was a bad situation.  Back to the story. I text Koren telling her that I was in meltdown mode, I felt like I was floundering and that I didn't even want to go to the meeting that week let alone weigh in.  I asked her if I could go to the meeting but not weigh in which I KNOW makes no sense whatsoever.  It is like the many members that go to Weight Watchers but hold off because they want to lose weight before they go.... Makes no sense, right?  

But I digress, within 5 minutes my phone rings and it is Koren.  I was shocked that she was even up at that time let along calling me back? I have never had such a caring leader before.  We talked for a good 30 minutes about my situation and she said it was so coincidental that I text her that night because she was talking to another struggling member that same night at a meeting and showed her my "Success Story" on the wall.  The member told her that she would love to meet me.  Meet me?  Really? What is so special about me? I am struggling just like the rest of them and feeling no so proud of myself these days.  But, deep down it made me have a "Ding ding ding" moment when I realized that losing the weight that I have is something to be proud of and even though I haven't had the greatest success in the past year, I have not given up on myself and I recognize now that I am afraid it has become a problem.  So with that, I have decided that it is time to get serious again and it is time for me to be the old me when I first started the journey, "Back to basics" as some refer to it and if I am honest, this week is going amazing.  I feel great (other than being sick), I am staying within my points and I am not having horrible cravings....

Which leads me onto my next point!

I HAVE BEEN PEANUT BUTTER FREE FOR ONE (1) WEEK!!!

I have blogged before about my problems with Peanut Butter and I also realized a few weeks ago that it is starting to really upset my stomach when I eat it at night and it actually makes me have a horrible sleep where I am tossing and turning all night long.  I haven't had it since last Friday and I am sleeping better and feeling better.  Let's see if this makes any difference on the scale?  Even if it doesn't, I think anything in excess isn't good for you, right?

In terms of food, I have made a few recipes over the past couple of weeks, but the two that stood out to me the most and probably will for most normal human beings who struggle but love fast food, is my BIG MAC SALAD and the lighter version BLT!

BIG MAC SALAD
Serves: 1 (can easily double)
Points Plus: 6

Ingredients:

PC Blue Menu Sirloin Burger

1 tbsp of Thousand Islands Dressing (can use fat free, I only had full fat)

Sliced Pickles

Diced Tomatoes (I know these aren't on a Big Mac, but it adds more to the salad)

Diced Red Onion

1/4 cup of light cheese

1-tbsp of sesame seeds

Directions:

Layer everything in the bowl, top with the chopped burger, drizzle with salad dressing and thank me!!

Lightened Up BLT

(recipe courtesty of Weight Watcher Girl Blog)

Serves: 1

Points Plus: 5

Ingredients:

2 slices- Weight Watchers Multigrain Bread

1-tbsp of Light Mayonnaise (Hellman's)

2-tbsp of bacon bits

Lettuce

Tomato

Directions:

Put the bacon bites in the microwave for 20 seconds, layer sandwich the same way you normally would.  I tend to put the bacon bites on top of the mayonnaise so it sticks!  Enjoy!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Love Mel xo