With failure comes success

So I am happy to report that my monday weigh in I lost 3.5 pounds! PTL! I was super excited. To be honest I did not work out much...one time. Gosh I need to step up my game.. it use to be so easy to workout every day. But you know being on a diet and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a full time job. I just need to find a balance between that and my other full time job which is work.

I was going to update earlier this week but I have been in the ultimate funk. I do not know why but I just keep getting really sad. I know my FB friends and twitter followers are tired of my teenage girl like angst.

I saw something today that I really really needed to see/read.

I know you are thinking why did this help you? I guess because sometimes I still do not think my life is where I am suppose to be. I honestly try so so hard to keep a huge smile on my face and say everything is fine because that is what is expected of me.....I think. 

Well let me tell you where I thought my life would be..... I would be in New York City living this wonderful Sex&The City Life. I would have this amazing PR job and paint the town, in the city that never sleeps, with my closest girlfriends.....

NEWSFLASH: Unrealistic Expectations get you no where. 

Let me just clarify something... I am in an awesome city. I have a very well paying job and work hard every day because I know that I'm building experience for my future. Just sometimes it is super hard to be in a new city without my amazing friends and family. Yes I realize I am 23 and should be able to handle the world on my own. But we all need comfort and support at times. I just feel like I've failed myself and I do not know who I am anymore.

I am trying the accept that I have my whole life ahead of me and I will reach my dreams one day. It could be a month from now or 10 years from now.... it will happen. I just can never give up. 

I even started feeling like I was failing at my diet because I hit another plateau. Then I realized there are few things I have control over and this is something I hold the key to. So now my life revolves around bettering myself. I am going to work super hard at my diet and work. I may stay home on the weekends and no fun plans but at least I will be healthy :)

Yes, I'm lonely but at least long days at the office and eating right/working out will fill in for right now.  

I have something to bring my spirits up... I get to visit my college friends labor day weekend! I am just thrilled! I know it will be just what the doctor ordered! Football, friends, and reliving my glory days in college.

Sorry for the Debbie Downer post. I just really needed to do some venting. I am usually a very positive person so forgive me for this post. :)

Spinach Turkey Meatballs

So I have grown up with my Italian mom always cooking the best italian food in the world (well in my opinion). Now they are not necessarily healthy by any means I mean the heavy cream, frying, and all kinds of yummy goodness can make you gain a few pounds... haha! But I remember making meatballs all the time with my mom whether for parties, holiday family dinners, or big events. I remember one time we cooked meatballs for 5 hours and made god only knows how many pounds! Anytime I cook with my mom is a blessing and super fun. We try to make it as fun as possible. Thanksgiving is always a real treat! So I decided to make my mom's famous meatballs into a healthier version!

I love using ground turkey instead of ground beef. It is so full of flavor and just absolutely delicious! You should definitely try it!

Spinach Turkey Meatballs

Serving Size: 6

WW +Points: 5 per serving (4 meatballs)

Nutrion Facts:

Calories: 182.4, Total Fat: 7.8g, Carbs: 10.1g, Fiber: 2.1g, Protein: 19.1g

Ingredients:

1lb Ground Turkey 93% lean

1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Bread Crumbs (Italian if you can find it)

1 Egg

3 Tbsp of Parmesan Cheese Shredded

1 Package of Frozen Spinach 

1 Tbsp of  Minced Garlic 

1 Tsp of Italian Seasoning

Salt & Pepper

Directions:

-Preheat Oven to 405 degrees

-Combine all ingredients into a mixing bowl

Roll into 24 balls and place on a cooking sheet 

-Cook them for 20 Minutes in the oven and I suggest flipping them halfway through to have them brown evenly on both sides.

I served my meatballs with some Barilla Whole Wheat Pasta and Heart Smart Prego Sauce. It was so delicious!

Happy Cooking and Let me know how you liked the meatballs!!

Admitting my mistakes and my favorite diet foods!

Well I have been thinking about what to write about and didn't know what people would like to hear. Sometimes I feel like I repeat myself a lot. So.... I decided to admit my mistakes and put a list together of a few of my favorite things on my diet. I have always been a HUGE snacker....especially late at night. If there was a contest for biggest midnight snack eater...I would take the grand prize. It is probably why I gained so much weight over the  years. Being a night owl isn't a good thing. I would stay awake all night, watch something on Netflix, and eat. Luckily I have broken that habit because I have to be up early every morning for work.

I think the worst was when I would go out and get fast food late at night. I mean did I really need a chicken nugget extra value meal at midnight? NO! The funny thing about it was the fact I knew what I was doing and that it was wrong but I never thought of stopping. I also felt like I was the greatest sneaky eater. Sometimes I would sit in my car and eat fast food because I didn't want my family or family to know that I was eating so much food. That was definitely not a good way to live. I couldn't do it anymore. I just couldn't let the junk food consume my life. Plus I was not a happy person. I had the worst mood swings, I think it was from all the bad foods I was eating.

So to all you late night eaters, junk food junkies, and so on... that food may feel good to eat in the moment but it won't be there to pay your health bills when you need to go on diabetes medicine. When I started my diet I first and foremost did it for myself. No one told me I had to (well the doctor has before but thats not my point). I hit that breakthrough. I was not happy, my life was a mess and I needed to get control of something. My outlook happened to be dieting and blogging about it.

After getting control over my unhealthy habits it seemed that my life started falling in order. I moved to an awesome city and got a wonderful job. I am no longer living at home, sitting on my booty, and being miserable.

Don't let me fool you. I love being at home with my family but being 23 I couldn't live at home anymore. (NOTE: nothing wrong with people living at home. this is just me)  I needed to grow into the person I wanted to be.

So since dieting I have come to find wonderful alternatives

Instead of cake, ice cream, cupcakes, etc....
       -Try the Yoplait Light Dessert Yogurts (my favorite is the Red Velvet and Raspberry  
        Cheesecake..only 2 WW Points)
       -Smart One Ice Cream Sandwiches (2 WW Points)

Instead of chips and dip...
       -Ritz Crackers (4 WW Points)
       -Multi Grain Cheez-Its (3 WW Points)
       -Baby Carrots and Pomegranate Vinaigrette (3 WW Points)
       -Baked Chips...I love Pringles Reduced Fat (4 WW Points)
       -Veggie Sticks Chips (3 WW Points)
       -WW String Cheese (1 WW Point)

Instead of Delivery Pizza....
       -Lean Cuisine Pepperoni Pizza (7 WW Points)
       -Smart One Pizza Minis (7 WW Points)

Instead of Fast Food Burger
       -Morning Star Veggie Burger, WW Cheese, Healthy Life Wheat Bread (6 WW Points)
       -Smart One Mini Cheeseburgers (5 WW Points)

These are just a few of the things I have enjoyed and made my dieting a little bit easier. While veggies and fruits are always your best call...sometimes you need other things and instead of crashing your diet you can do these things!


Also if you need a website for healthy recipes look no further than Skinnytaste.com I feel like I make meals from this website a couple of times a week. Looking on the WW website can be a little overwhelming because there are just thousands and thousands of recipes. Skinny Taste is super easy to get around and find your dinner.

After religiously reading Skinny Taste I have learned how to take the not so good parts of meals and put healthier parts and make it sometimes even taste better!



I hope you all have a wonderful week and then weekend! I have lost 42 pounds, gone down 2 pant sizes and a shirt sizes! What an amazing feeling! I even got emotional in a dressing room because the clothes were too big. I did not think I would feel that way....ever. I am ready to keep going strong!

Just Another Manic Monday

Wow what a monday it has been. Geez I feel like everything wrong could happen did...let's see how it started....

I was running a little behind this morning...you may not know but Nashville traffic is awful and I need every minute I could to get to work. So hoping I would get to work on time...what happens you ask? I got pulled over. I mean what did I not get a ticket for....speeding, brake light out, oh and my personal favorite not having a TN license...yes that's true! I mean I would love to know where I am suppose to find time working 8-5 mon-fri to go to a DMV. I guess I should play god somehow. The man was rude but whatever. It happened and now that's money down the drain.

Work is very busy right now and overwhelming. I cannot wait for things to slow down. I am enjoying it but I am just trying to get use to everything in my new role.

So my roommate and I are getting back into the swing of things as far as our diet goes. We made our calendar for the week with our breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. It is seriously the greatest thing ever and makes it so easy to stay on point. So we mark off when we eat on the list for the day. It was a great first day!

Well I had such a wonderful weekend at home...I got to spend some quality time with my family and friends.

I wasn't able to see my mommy on her birthday so I took a long weekend home to spend a lot of time with her. My favorite part was coming home wednesday night and mom had gotten us matching PJs! Ha yes you heard me correctly. I immediately put them on after freshening up before dinner. No matter how old I get I guess I am just always my mommy's little girl :)

Thursday was very relaxing and I went to dinner with my mom, stepdad, and two famiy friends! I had a wonderful time and delicious dinner at Ruth Chris's! So Yummy! Then after a yummy dinner, my long time bestie Sam came over and we just talked about anything we could think of over some red wine. I love seeing him!

Mommy and I before dinner. She is my rock.

My biggest supporters in my life. My mom and stepdad.

I was really looking forward to Friday! I was finally seeing my long lost memphis friends from high school and college!! Started the day off with massages with my mom! Gawd I need that real bad...I was so relaxed. Then I went to dinner with a group of my high school friends. It was wonderful to catch up with them and hangout with them. I missed them a lot and they are so amazing! After dinner and hanging out for a little while, I was honored to hangout with Miss Meredith and Mr Kevin! I always always always have a good time with those two and I never leave disappointed! We hit up a Memphis famous hot spot, Raidfords. A must go to if you ever visit Memphis or live there! 

My High School Buddies and I! (L-R: Me, Lindsay, Laurel, Emily & Louisa)

Meredith and Kevin! Love them!

Saturday was fun as mom and I had a spa day to get our hair done then hit up my favorite store, Sephora. I love make up so so much! I was going to go out but between my phone being dead all day and I got home to so many missed messages that I wanted one last night in with my family. I was super sad to leave Sunday. I had such a wonderful weekend it was hard to say bye to them. I tried not to cry but when I got in my car and Sugarland came on my Ipod I just lost it. In case you didn't know my mom's and I songs are "already gone" and "babygirl" 

So hopefully I can put this awful monday behind me and move forward to losing weight and feeling great. I won't let those tickets hold me back! 

I'm back and better than ever!

Hello followers of my blog,

I apologize for being MIA the past couple of weeks. I was sick for two weeks (thanks allergies) and between going to work full time and trying to get better I was wore out. I went to bed at about 8:30 at night....


Anyways I am back and ready to update everyone on my life!

So I am at 40 pounds! Wow! That is awesome! I did not really work hard on my diet while I was sick but I've lost three pounds since my last post. It's still a loss and I am very happy with myself! I have to give myself a pat on the back.

What else? Oh I found this recipe for sour cream enchiladas on Pinterest. Now I know we all love Pinterest. It makes us believe we can cook, create, wear anything! I mean my future wedding will be the bomb since I've pretty much planned it on my wedding board....now I need to find a boyfriend who can deal with me! :) So I wanted to make a skinny version of the yummy enchiladas....I substituted with fat free sour cream, fat free cheese, whole wheat/low carb tortillas, and fat free cream of chicken.

It turned out ok but it needs some work. So I will make it again and change a few things. It was just so rich and I was like there is no way this is healthy...but when I put it into my WW recipe builder and it came out to be 7 points for one. But trust me one was enough. I will make it sometime again and see if it turns out better.

Is there anything you see on Pinterest that you want made into a healthier dish? Comment with a link to the pin and I will try to take it on!

So my roommate and I had a big talk on Sunday. We were talking about dieting and how we did not do so well the past couple of weeks due to illness and how it should not have been an excuse. So we were making mental lists of things to do to be successful. I told him how I was most successful when I was organized and planned my meals out. I told him starting next Sunday we would start planning out our meals/snacks/grocery lists for the week ahead. Instead of sitting around wondering what to make.

Then we are going to put up a poster in our kitchen and mark off when we worked out to keep ourselves accountable. Eating healthy is one step but you need some type of physical activity. Whether it is going for a walk in your neighborhood, hitting up a Zumba class, or going to the gym. Any exercise is good exercise.


But in other wonderful news I get to go home this weekend and see my wonderful family/friends! I could not be more excited! I miss my mom so much! She is my rock and always so supportive. We hate being away from each other (even though we are only three hours apart) because we just always have a wonderful time together. She is a strong woman! I wrote about her a while back when I first started my blog! Here is the post!!! Also HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY!!!!
Post Dedicated to my Mom!

I am still loving living here in nashville and having a career is so wonderful. However sometimes I do get a little sad...It is really hard not having many friends around me. I adore my roommate and Kara here! They are wonderful people but its so hard living in a city where you hardly know anyone.  And I don't really talk to many people at work. I know it is hard to believe but I can be super shy! Yes it is true. Loud Mouth Kelly is shy. When I am not use to something and not comfortable I am very to myself and quiet. I know it will get easier but I wish I had my girlfriends from high school and college here with me!

Looking forward to two more days of work then heading on the road home! So excited!

DONT FORGET TO COMMENT with a recipe from Pinterest you want to see made healthy!!

From Nashville, With Love

Well I had yet another successful week! I lost 2.8 pounds! I am at 38.1! Woohoo! *pat myself on the back* I am so proud of myself.

I had such a great week last week! Kelly 2.0 was working out hardcore. I was so worn out between doing cardio and strength training I was a beast. Some days I did not want to work out. I wanted to go straight to my room and relax. I am glad I started packing a gym bag in my car so when I get to my apartment complex I go straight to the gym. Its very helpful! I like the gym here at my apartment because it is small, has what I need and usually there is no one in there when I am here. Sometimes there is the occasional cute boy...which only makes me work out harder. (Ladies do not act like you've never done this! haha)

So eating wise...I did very well. Even with the July 4th holiday. I have tried to cook as much as possible but sometimes I leave it to the microwave and Lean Cuisine. I had a bunch of coupons for Lean Cuisines and Smart Ones so I stocked up at the store.

Well onto the even better part of my blog....

I am super excited for this weekend! I have all my wonderful friends coming into town! Amber, Kyle and SAM!!!! Ahhhh!! I haven't seen Sam since December! I am too excited to show him Nashville! I love when Amber and Kyle come to visit because they are always a fun time! Never a dull moment! I can only imagine what this weekend will be like!

I have recently taken in the fact that I live in Nashville. It has not hit me yet...I've lived here for over a month but it hit me today. I love this city so much. I am always discovering new things and fun places to go. Everyone I meet has been so genuine and sweet.....polite as well. Memphians....take note :) I am also so blessed with a wonderful roommate! My roommate Zach. I like to call our friendship "A Convenient Coincidence." Time to explain what that means.....

Zach and I met one weekend I was visiting home from college sophomore year. We had numerous mutual friends. I mean from junior high-college. I am still shocked we did not meet sooner. We may have but just don't remember. Anyways after meeting him we instantly became friends even though we did not really start hanging out until my senior year of college. We realized we had a lot in common and a lot not in common. (i think that makes sense) Then after college I moved back home and Zach just moved back in with his parents. We were both living at home...away from our friends. So we had each other. We hung out every weekend talking about where we thought we would be in life, etc. He wanted to be in Seattle and I wanted to be in New York. We both love our families more than life itself. They are our world. But we were 23 living at home. We needed a change. He called me one fateful day that changed our lives....

In February, he wanted to move out of Memphis and I said how about Nashville? I had just come for NYE and had a wonderful time. After selling him on the different points one being we wouldnt be far away from our families. We picked a date to look at apartments.

Fast forward to today and look at us. We both have awesome jobs, getting healthy, and living the dream! Never a dull moment! Everyday is a new adventure. I could not imagine a better person to share this experience with. He is definitely the ying to my yang. We are so different, yet so alike at the same time. He is a wonderful friend and always supporting me. He even forces me to sit in my room and update my blog! I try to be supportive of him as well. He is an aspiring writer. A good writer at that. Now I may not be the best judge on the literary world but I think Zach has major potential. He let me read two chapters of one of his novels and I demanded the next two chapters because I enjoyed it so much.

Everyone watch out! Zach going to be the next big author! Just wait and see. I said it first here ladies and gents!

So Zach thank you for being a wonderful friend and roommate. Who would of thought we would be here right now! Love you and glad you liked your little present and here's a blog post for you!!!

“ It doesn't matter how fast you go, as long as you do not stop ”

Well Ladies and Gents, I hit the 35 pound marker! I am very excited about this! I never really thought it was possible. I just didn't see the light and I am starting to see it peaking at me. In 19 weeks, I have completely changed my lifestyle. I do not eat junk food, cut back on sodas, and working out.

I know some people are saying wow in 19 weeks you've only lost 35 pounds? That's so slow. Well I sometimes think gosh I would love to of lost more but I think slow and steady is just as good as losing weight fast. I wanted to make long term lifestyle changes. Not just lose it fast and go back to the way I was eating and yo-yo diet for the rest of my life. Let's be real though....I will be dieting my whole life. I mean you have to maintain what you work off. No one said it was easy. It's probably one of the hardest things I've done. However I do not think I have been this happy in a long time.

I am finally happy in my own skin. I actually feel pretty. That takes a lot for me to say because I just never have felt this way. Since the age of 9 when I was dancing I was just never good enough body wise. I remember being told to lose weight at 9 before I started doing competitions. I never saw myself as fat, I mean I was a kid, but since then I have never seen myself as anything else. I was teased and tormented all through elementary/jr high and that was very hard to go through. Boys at my lower school were the worst and I still believe karma will come back to them one day. I was even teased by girls in high school. Comments were even made in college. I felt like it just was never going to end.

Well look at me now. I am in an awesome city with an amazing job, wonderful friends, and the best family a person could be blessed to have. I do not think my life could feel almost so perfect. I have to sit back and think something just isn't right.. I am too happy and things keep going so well for me. I know someone is rolling their eyes at me but seriously I do not think I have ever been in such a good place before.

So everyone....I am ready to hit the big 5-0! When I lose 50 pounds I am going to treat myself to some new Tory Burch shoes! Haha! I know right? Such a Kelly thing to say.

I do want to take the moment to thank everyone once again for all the encouraging words on facebook, twitter, email, or text messages. If I didn't have such a strong foundation of support I would not be where I am today. I was well on the road to diabetes, heart problems, and who knows what else. But now I am standing here healthy as can be. My family and friends tell me every day they are so proud of me and I love to see them making changes in their lives as well. I mean my Uncle and Aunt are both doing WW and I am so proud of them!

So in conclusion, if there is anything you want to accomplish whether its losing weight, getting that dream job, or moving to a new city. You CAN do it. I KNOW you can! If I can lose 35 pounds then the world is at your hands. I believe in you even if you don't!

I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July! Enjoy your day off and relax. If you are outside make sure to drink lots of water! It's a hot summer!