I love pizza!

So, my husband (who is eating healthier and exercising and has lost about 30 pounds in the last 4 months or so) and I decided today that we were craving pizza. I have made pizza crust with whole wheat flour before. And, while it is tasty, it is still higher in carbs than I wanted to have for dinner. So, my husband had a great idea to make pressed wrap-style pizza sandwiches. They were awesome! We used Joseph's Lavash Bread. If you haven't used this product, you must check into it! It's a great low cal, low fat, low carb alternative to bread.

So, I laid out the rectangle lavash bread, spread a little pizza sauce on there, put on some turkey pepperoni and Butterball italian turkey sausage (removed from casings and browned in skillet and drained beforehand). I added part skim mozzarella cheese, then rolled it up and pressed it in the George Foreman grill until it was melty and crispy on the outside. Oh my gosh, it was great. The whole sandwich was huge and I calculated 536 calories, 18 net carbs, and 26 grams of fat. That's much less than regular pizza. Just 2 slices of Pizza Hut pizza with italian sausage and pepperoni would have had 800 calories, 40 grams of fat, and 68 net carbs. And I enjoyed my sandwich *much* more than any pizza I've had from Pizza Hut. (Dear Pizza Hut, please don't sue me.) I think I could have used less cheese and it would have still been delicious with less calories.

I had a salad on the side with light blue cheese dressing to complete my 674 calorie dinner. It was so yummy!

Owning up...

So, I've gained some weight back. Yes, I've been through some rough stuff in the last few months. Rough. I found out I was pregnant, found out it was ectopic, and had surgery to remove the pregnancy all in a span of a few weeks. Being an emotional eater, I ate. I ate to feel better and try to forget why I was hurting in the first place. The ice cream made me feel better as I was eating it, I won't lie. But then the ice cream was gone and the sugar high euphoria wore off and I was left with my pain again. You'd think I'd know by now, with all that I've learned about food and nutrition, that food doesn't fix anything. Old habits die hard, I suppose.

So, after the holidays, I decided to assess the damage and step on the scale. I was 258 the day before surgery on November 13th. After Christmas, I weighed 275. I gained 17 pounds in 6 weeks. I think it might have been worse had I not still been exercising somewhat during the time I was feasting. I decided to get back on track and stop the madness. I felt like crap, my pants were tight. I didn't want to buy new pants in a bigger size. I had to stop eating whatever I wanted. I had to commit to a more rigorous gym schedule. My eating is now back on track and I am slowly working my way back up to the level of workouts I was doing before. I've dropped 5 pounds and am back to 270. But that isn't good enough for me... I have a lot of weight left to lose.

A group at my church has started a weight loss competition, men vs. women. We will weigh in on Sunday nights each week. My initial weigh-in was 272 this week, but that was on a different scale than I usually use, it was in the evening, and I was wearing heavy denim trouser jeans. So, I claim 270 as my weight, since that's the weight on the gym scale which is what I have always gone by.

Anyway, just wanted to announce that I'm back, baby. Well, at least until I get knocked up again. ;)

I found out my pregnancy was ectopic. I had surgery a few days ago to remove it. I am heartbroken but will move past this eventually.

I will be back on the weight loss bandwagon when my doctor gives me the clear to start exercising again.

Just in case anyone was wondering... I'm not lost... just pregnant. :)

Whole wheat banana muffins...

I had some bananas that were starting to turn... so I tweaked a muffin recipe I had to make these low-fat whole wheat banana muffins:


They taste pretty good warm with a tiny smear of Brummel & Brown spread. I might try the recipe again with a fruit other than banana.

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup Splenda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup skim milk or fat free buttermilk
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup mashed banana

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, splenda, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl and stir together. Add the remaining ingredients. Stir together until well-blended, but don't overdo it. The batter will not be thin like pancake batter, but more of a medium-thick consistency. If it seems too stiff or dry, add a little bit more milk. Divide the batter between 12 muffin cups (use cupcake papers to avoid having to grease the pan). The batter will not pour, but will need to be scooped into the muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and a knife/toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Nutrition Information for one muffin: 115 calories, 20g carbs, 3g fiber, 3g fat, and 4g protein.

Update...

So, summer is over for me... it officially ended when school started back up last week. It was hard to go back to work after being a student myself for the entire summer. I made it through my summer classes with all A's, putting me 1/3 of the way through my grad program. I just wish I had been able to have more down time.

On the weight loss front... things are still at a frustrating standstill. I am starting the Biggest Loser diet to see how things go. I haven't really counted calories the whole time I've been losing weight... so I think it's time for me to start doing that. The Biggest Loser diet is still fairly low-carb... it allows 2 servings of whole grains per day. It is similar to South Beach in that it allows some fruit as well. I am going to give it a go for the next month or so and see how my body reacts. Hopefully some of this weight will come off!

Sloooooooow Scaaaaaaaale....

Is there anything more annoying than painfully, excruciatingly slow movement on the scale? That's what I've been going through for the past few months. I'm down to 255, which I'm thankful for. But it's really hard to see such slow losses. I've tried changing things up with my eating and my exercising... but nothing is really helping too much. Yes, I know that a loss is a loss and at least I'm not gaining, right? And I am really thankful for every pound that comes off.

I started grad school this summer... so I'm really busy. I have so much more on my plate than weight loss... which is good, in a way, because it helps me not obsess so much.

Plateau Woes...

Well, it really was bound to happen. I haven't lost any weight in about 5 weeks. I know, I know... this is expected to happen when your body does amazing things like lose 140 pounds in barely more than a year. But I don't like working hard and seeing zero results. It really isn't the most encouraging thing.

So, last weekend my trainer gave me permission to eat, eat, eat... well, to not go crazy, but to up my carbs and calories kind of significantly. I did that during the weekend, then went back to my phase 1 South Beach-ish diet. Yes, there was a weight gain from the indulgent weekend... but as of Wednesday most of that was off. I'm hoping that my weigh-in tomorrow morning at the gym will show a loss of some virgin fat. Please!

It's funny, though... even though the scale is super stuck, I'm getting more compliments on my weight-loss than ever!

Update and rant.

I'm doing well... April hasn't been the best month for me weight-loss-wise, but I'm okay with that. After busting my tail at the beginning of the month to finish up that weight loss competition (we placed 3rd, which did not come with a prize), I felt so burned out on diet and exercise that I relaxed a bit with my strictness. I kept up my healthy eating, but I've had a few cheats this month which is really unlike me. One of those cheats was really worth it, though, so that's okay. :)

Today in the grocery store, I overheard a conversation between and mother and her teenaged daughter that really bugged me. The girl was probably 14 years old... she was cute and seemed at a healthy weight to me. I don't know how they got into the conversation of the girl's weight, but I heard her mother tell her that they had an agreement about her weight that she wasn't keeping up with. The girl said "but you keep telling me that I'm fat." And the mom said "because you are." Because you are. It took everything in me not to say something to that mother. She could stand to lose weight herself, and here she was saying something so horrible to her daughter who obviously doesn't need to lose weight. The girl got angry and said to her mother, "I only weigh 100 pounds... are you not going to be happy until I'm 80 pounds? What do you want from me? To be anorexic?" The mom started telling her not to speak to her that way. The girl was upset... and I could tell that this wasn't the first conversation like this that they'd had.

I was a heavy child and my parents weren't so nice to me about it. They would tell me that I needed to lose weight and they would tell me to go on a diet. What does a 10 year old know about dieting? All a kid knows is about eating the food that is brought into their home... eating the food that is prepared by their parents. If parents wants their child to eat better, it is their responsibility to bring better foods into the home... to cook healthy meals and pack healthy lunches for their children. Children learn their eating habits from their parents. If parents want their children to exercise, they need to teach by example and exercise too. They need to plan activities where the family is being active together. My parents didn't understand this... neither does the mom at the grocery store... and neither do lots of other parents today. It's really sad.

1 Year Progress Pic...

I finally got around to taking my one-year progress picture. :) Yes, my head is cut off. Don't worry, though... you aren't missing much. You can see my face when I convince Oprah to have me on her show when I get to goal.





Oh, look... you get to see some chin. :) If you want to see the before pic, scroll though old posts and you'll find it. I don't want to post it again because... well... because I really hate seeing it.

So... one year, 135 pounds. It's a big accomplishment... it's over a third of my starting weight! Despite the fact that I wish I could be at goal yesterday, I am proud of myself. I think I've finally got things figured out after years and years of failed attempts to lose weight.

I appreciate all of the wonderfully sweet and supportive comments that I've been getting from everyone. It isn't necessary for you to say anything to me... but I do appreciate it very much when you do. :)