Keep my eye on the prize

Well I lost 2.4 pounds! Which brings me to a grand total of 19 pounds! I am so happy with myself! I know that I have a lot more hardwork ahead of me but I truly believe I have the dedication for it!

My life seems to be so crazy right now. I have been traveling a lot and still trying to figure out my move to Nashville. Hopefully it will be May 5th but who knows right now. May is a super crazy month. My little brother's graduation and mom/stepdad traveling a lot. Figuring out a moving date is just crazy. AND on top of it all I am still on the hunt for a job in Nashville. Ahhhh until I move in and settled I will be ok... until then I will be stressed. 

One good thing is that the stress and thoughts make me work out harder! 

So this past weekend I went back down to god's country, Starkville, MS, I had a wonderful time! I got to see all my wonderful and loving friends! It was a jammed packed weekend! I loved running into people and hearing them tell me they have been keeping up with my blog! It's good to know someone is reading it out there.

But anyways I was super excited to see my friend Mary Allison! She has been busting her butt on Weight Watchers. I mean she is such an inspiration to me! I am amazed by her. I have seen pictures of her on her journey and was glad to see her hard work in person! and WOW she looked wonderful! She has been great! Whenever I feel down and not working as hard as I should, she brings me up and gets me back on track! I definitely love her for helping me!

Mary Allison and I! She has lost over 35 pounds! Amazing!

I feel like after seeing everyone and having a busy weekend, I was so ready to come home and work out! I think I am addicted to working out. Which is not a bad thing. I just really enjoy it. I went to curves tonight and I usually go early in the morning or afternoon. So it was zumba night. I was a little overwhelmed at first but had a lot of fun! I felt like a total goober though! haha! 

Oh I made an amazeballs dinner tonight! I made stir-fry chicken and skinny fried rice!! SO yummy! I highly enjoyed the meal! I used the recipe from skinnytaste.com (click here for recipe) but substituted edamame with squash and zucchini. So yummy! It was a total of 10 points for this meal and I highly enjoyed it! 

Well I guess I should sign out for now. I have to get up early in the morning and head to Nashville with my mommy! We are going for the night. I am super excited.

Once again I want to thank everyone for their support. You all keep me motivated and my eyes on the prize. I couldn't do it without you! 

Ya Lose Some, Ya Gain Some

Well I have decided to put a little tracker of my weight loss on the right side of my blog. So people can see my progress. Well if you look at it I did not lose this week. I gained 0.2 pounds which is hardly anything but still it wasn't a loss. Was I the best on my diet the past week? No. So that is why I have regrouped and back on track. I am working out twice a day, (Curves in the morning, running at night) and eating right. If you are ever planning or are losing weight I recommend keeping some kind of journal or blog (like me!) because looking back at how motivated I was helped motivate me back to that time.

A lot of people have come to me telling me they keep up with my blog and are so proud of me. I want to thank everyone for every encouraging words I have received. It is so nice and helpful to have positive reinforcement. You all make me work a little bit harder so I can keep losing and getting healthy. I want to explain the reasoning for my blog.

Since I can remember I have struggled with dieting and being healthy. I guess you can say I wanted results fast, well realistically that does not happen. You can't expect to lose 20 pounds in two weeks. Once I got to college is when I really gained my weight. I look back at pictures from high school thinking "Wow I thought I was so fat in high school...what's wrong with me?" Well I have always criticized myself whenever I look in the mirror. I haven't been happy with my body since probably the age of 13. However I never really did anything about it. You would think after junior high when I was called fat, huge, or boys shaking the desks when I would walk by would make me want to change... I think it just made it worse because I would eat to feel better.

I will say I put up with a lot of crap from people calling me fat and other names. I finally got to a point in college where I would just be like "good one. tell me something I don't already know." I let myself get use to people calling me fat. That is not right. And let me say something right now, no man should EVER call a woman fat!!

So after a lot of soul searching I've realized I am such an emotional eater. I would eat when I am sad or stressed. Heck I would eat out of boredom. I was eating so badly it was affecting my mood. I would have the worst mood swings. I mean it got to the point I would only eat fast food. I knew if I wanted to be successful in my career path of choice (PR/Event Planning) I was going to have to make some changes for myself to gain that confidence I need to succeed.

So why I am I writing this blog? It is my own kind of therapy. I can say what I feel and feel better after I have typed it up. Also, I want to inspire other young women who have been through the same things as me. I have always said when I died I want to at least change one person's life and make an impact on this world. Well my blog may be read by only my friends and family but if I can help one person. I have done my job. I have already had about 4 people tell me they are going to start Weight Watchers because of my success on it. That is amazing! I wish them the greatest success.

I truly believe in the power of change and you can be happy and healthy, but you have to want to do it for yourself! Being the world's biggest yo-yo dieter I can honestly say I am actually doing it for myself this time!

Living Out of A Suitcase

Well I'm sorry I have not been posting very much lately. I have literally been living out of suitcase the past month. Wether it is to visit friends in Jackson, MS or going to Nashville for apartment and job hunting. I feel like I am on a roller coaster right now. I am just so ready to be settled in Nashville with a job and relax a little bit...

I was very happy this week when I went to weigh in at WW. I lost 2.4 pounds bringing me to a grand total of 16.8!!! I am very pleased with myself. I have been working very hard but I am only beginning though.

So I haven't been very motivated lately. I think just the constant traveling keeps me off schedule and I don't like it. Every Sunday I plan out my meals for the week down to what snacks I will have. I enjoy planning and being organized. I haven't been able to do that lately and it is killing me! I need to regroup and stay focused. I want to go back to how I was the first two weeks. I did so well!

I am ready to get back to hard work because I just feel like I don't see anything different when I look in the mirror. What are some good ways to stay motivated? Any tips? Let me know!

Well there is my rant. Hope it was somewhat entertaining.

Let's see what else is going on... ohh I finally got some new tennis shoes! Very excited! My Nike Shox were killing me when I was jogging or even walking for that matter. I got a pair of Asics. They worked the best for me! I got a really cute neon pink and green pair. I where them all the time now.

I have been doing my Couch to 5k and still loving it. What a great run it is. Starting the week 3 tomorrow! I enjoy jogging and walking. Last week I walked and jogged 4.47 miles in one day!! Half of it was from the C25K and the other half was a nice walk and little jog with my friend Walker in his neighborhood.

Well the job search continues for Nashville. I am going to look online for some and I went the other day for an interview for a part time job. I was lucky enough  to have Walker join me on the 24 hour trip to Nashville. But....If I got the job I would take it because a job is a job...however I would need to get about 3 more jobs just to get by. I am really hoping to find a full time job. I got a rejection email the other day from a PR firm in Nashville for a summer internship. I was kind of bummed but I got to keep going.

I am super excited that my friend Kyle lives in Nashville and I get to see him each time I visit. Kyle is such a great friend to me, always keeping me entertained. We will actually be living in the same city for a short time until he moves back home for law school. I am just so dang proud of him. He is truly amazing and so smart! We have been friends since high school and met during Model UN/Youth Leg. Oh the memories of your phone ringing Kyle... He told me some of his friends have been reading my blog actually. (Hope this is a good one!) Here is a throwback picture of us two. (don't be mad haha)

Summer 2008 with Kyle

Well I cannot think of anything else to write. I am hoping to make a delicious dinner tomorrow!! I hope it turns out well!!!


Peace and Blessings,

Kelly

My Very Own Recipes! Yay!

Well what a fantastic week this started out to be!! I have lost 14.4 pounds in 5 weeks! Amazing! I could not be more proud of myself.

So I told you last week I was going to make my own recipes! I asked my FB friends what they would like to see so I decided on Poppy Seed Chicken, Macaroni and Cheese, and Red Lobster Biscuits.

Well my macaroni and cheese did not turn out well.... so sad to throw away that food but it was awful. Back to the drawing board on that one! So here is my Poppy Seed Chicken and Biscuits!!

Here is a picture of the meal all together... We have poppy seed chicken, wild rice, green beans, and biscuit.

Poppy Seed Chicken-

Servings: 6

WW + Points: 8 per serving

Per Serving: 

Calories: 251.3,  Total Fat: 13g,  Carbs: 8.2g,  Fiber .4g, Protein: 37g

3 Cups of Shredded Chicken

1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup (I used the 98% fat free)

16 oz Fat-Free Sour Cream

3 tsp Poppy Seeds

3 tbsp Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread

31 Reduced Fat  Ritz Crackers

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until hot and bubbly

Mix sour cream, cream of chicken, shredded chicken, and poppy seeds

Melt butter and mix with crumbled crackers

Then put in a casserole dish and put the crackers on top.

"Red Lobster" Biscuits

Serving:10

WW+= 4 points

Per Serving:

Calorie: 142.3, Fat: 6.9g, Carbs: 16.7, Fiber: .1g,  Protein: 4g

2 cups of Bisquick Heart Smart

3/4 cup Cold Water

3/4 Cup f Shredded Fat Free Cheddar Cheese

5 servings of Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread

1 tsp of Dried Parsley

1/2 tsp of Garlic Powder

1 tsp of Italian Seasoning

Directions:

Heat oven to 450

Combine baking mix, water, and grated cheese in a bowl

Make 10 biscuits and put on a greased cooking tray

Melt butter and mix with spices

Brush the butter and seasoning on top of biscuits

Bake for 8-10 minutes

yummy biscuits!!!