Things I'm Learning . . .

If you had told me any of the following last year, I would have told you that you were nuts.
But there are a few things I'm learning about myself over the course of this journey . . .

• Shirts that used to be tight and are now loose are not very flattering.
• Ditto for swimsuits.
• Two tablespoons of cream are more than enough for coffee.
• Egg whites are really good.
• Quinoa, chicken breast, and squash is an ultimate comfort food.
• I am a lot stronger than I give myself credit for.
• I love the water and I love to swim.
• One (actual) serving-sized serving of something is MORE than enough to satisfy.
• Carrots and laughing cow Garlic Herb is the world's greatest snack (and an answer to chips and dip!)

I am still struggling with tracking and measuring EVERYTHING, but I'm getting better. 

I guess, in a sense, I'm following Weight Watcher's "simply filling" without thinking about it.

I still have to count my chips.

I still have to eat ONE brownie instead of five.

But I've learned that I CAN do these things - and now, I do them without thinking about.

It's become automatic.

And that feels pretty good.

Healthy Recipe Time!! Cheesy Beef Fajita Skillet - 7pp

This is what was for dinner last night and it was amazingly good!
Tip - be sure to marinade the beef in some acid for at least 30 minutes before slicing to ensure tenderness.

Cheese Beef Fajita Skillet
4 1/2 C servings at 7 pp

16 oz flat iron steak, trimmed, marinated, and sliced against the grain into strips
1 bell bepper, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
2 T salt-free Mexican-style seasoning blend (I used Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime)
salt and pepper to taste
3 oz 2% Velveeta

Stir fry beef until no longer pink. Add onion and bell pepper and stir fry until crisp-tender. Add seasoning, salt, pepper, and velveeta. Mix well to combine.

Serve over 1/2 C brown rice for a full 10 PP meal.

ENJOY!

Move, move, MOVE

We all have so many excuses for not exercising.

"It's too hot"
"It's too cold"
"I don't feel good"
"I feel too good"
"I just ate"
"I haven't eaten yet"

The list could go on and on.

Let's face it, exercise is not exactly the most fun thing in the world, and if you're a parent it's almost impossible to find the time to do it!

A L M O S T

The fact is, exercise, weather we want to admit it or not, is important. It's important to keep our muscles and joints loose, it's important to cleanse our bodies of impurities, and it results in better sleep habits, better moods, and sometimes better . . . er . . . sex marital relations Um . . . A better love life.

So how do you find the time in today's busy world?
Sometimes, you have to consciously MAKE the time.

To keep our hearts healthy, studies have shown that all we need is 15 minutes a day.
15???
15!
Now, if you're working on losing weight, you might need to add another 15 minutes to burn fat.
But, trust me when I say it CAN be done.

Sure, walking, running, bike riding, swimming, gym hopping . . . those are all great exercise. But what if you don't like them?

Try these things: gardening, housecleaning (vacuuming and mopping especially!), playing outside with your kids, dancing, walking the dog (or two).

ALL of these things are great exercise, and chances are you're going to be doing one (or two) of these things on a daily basis.

The point is, it doesn't matter WHAT you do to move your body,
just MOVE it!