Not yo' gramma's Peach Cobbler

2 pounds FROZEN Peaches (you could use any frozen fruit you wanted!)
1 Yellow Cake Mix
1 12oz can of DIET Citrus Soda (I used sprite zero, but when my cousin Christina made this she used Diet Mt. Dew)

Preheat oven to 350*
Spray 9x13 pan with olive oil and even place your frozen peaches in the bottom.
Sprinkle on the DRY cake mix across the peaches.
Even pour the soda all over the top of the cake mix and peaches.  It will fizz a bit (which I thought was kinda neat!)

Cover the pan with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove pan from oven, remove the foil and bake for another 40 minutes.

Let cool just a bit before eating :)
This cobbler serves 8 people and is only 349calories and 7g fat  per serving.
(Traditional cobbler serves 12 and has 419calories with 10g fat per serving)

Sweetness with a little less regret :)


*This is an official "Weight Watchers" recipe

If you change nothing, nothing will change

So a new year always calls for changes. Changes that will be hard to keep. 
Change is just hard.


...why is that? 


Even when we know the current path we are on is not in our best interest we press on to avoid dealing with all the changes that ensue afterwards.

Follow through is rough.
Consistency is fleeting.
Turning back (not continuing) is our first default setting.


It is odd that this post stemmed from making some cute changes on my blog page.  Changing the format, the background, the fonts.  It was fun choosing all the new images and colors.  I was thinking to myself, "Change is always needed." 


So then why can't I completely change my eating habits?  No more junk. Less Processed foods.
Why can't I change my sedentary choices to active ones?  I mean really, is taking a walk that difficult?
WHY CAN'T I CHANGE WITHOUT HAVING TO TURN BACK?


I guess I answered my own question.  Change itself is not hard.  Change is always needed, is fun to think about, and easy to get started.

...It's the follow through that is hard.  Follow through takes time, energy, and patience.

Perhaps this is what I should focus on accomplishing. 
Not focusing on the change itself, but focus on the follow through of the changes that need to happen.

New Year!

Well I successfully made it through the holiday season with a weight gain total of:::::::: 4 pounds.

From Thanksgiving to Christmas (meaning from pies to cookies) I was able to do a decent job of controlling myself.

Clearly NO weight gained would have proven extreme control but really we all know that wasn't going to happen.

However, I feel as though 4 pounds is a decent number.  Usually this time of year I would have packed on at least 10 if not more.  I am pleased with the 4 pound gain because that will be much easier to get rid of instead of my typical 10.

Here's to a new year.
new struggles.
new triumphs.
new health risks.
new solutions.
new motivation.
new stress.
new remedies.

Take it one day at a time.

Take time to take time for myself.

Take care of what NEEDS to be taken care of (instead of what I WANT to be taken care of).

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 

a new challenge

I have been proud to have lost the little bit of weight I have.
I have been prouder to maintain that loss.

I have integrated high fiber foods into my diet.
I use only olive oil. 
I typically eat the recommended serving amount of vegetables/fruits.

So this year when I had my blood tests done for insurance purposes at work, I was pretty confident that my results would show some positive changes.

ONE result came back better.  I had dropped my triglyceride level by 100 points from last time!
However, my blood sugar was 103 (not terrible, but something to watch) and my cholesterol...well let's just say it wasn't awesome.

After a doctor's appt yesterday, I was reminded about my results.  Apparently, for a 28 year old my cholesterol is pretty bad.  And yes...those were his words.  "Wow...that's pretty bad".

SO I have been given three months to lower this cholesterol.  I guess I have a lot of research to be doing to see what foods will help lower (although I thought high fiber/whole grains were supposed to help) the overall cholesterol so that I don't have to start taking medication for it.

I would rather not be on a ton of medications, but he is almost certain at this point because of my age and weight loss that if that number stays the same or gets higher I can thank my family genetics.

This all comes at a time when I was already thinking about the struggles I would face at Thanksgiving and Christmas.  NOW I have to try even more.

It will all work out. 
Just something new to face head on and conquer.

Leveled off in time for the Holiday season

I have leveled off at 174.  That's my average anyway.

I have maintained---which is AWESOME!

Whenever I have "dieted" before the weight came back on in the blink of an eye.  Not this time (thank God!)

With fall weather changing and delicious holidays on the way I am nervous about the willpower to control portions.  You can eat ANYTHING as long as you portion correctly and balance your diet appropriately.

I'm worried that with Halloween I will try to say that Twizzlers are fruit, Snickers have protein!

And at Thanksgiving, am I really going to argue when my sweet potatoes are covered in marshmallows and sugar?

Will I refuse a sweet gift of Christmas fudge?
No.  That's just rude.


Oh the Holidays are my favorite time of year.
but it is also my nemesis.

I love traditions.
but I am not a fan of the tradition I have with gaining massive amounts of pounds every holiday season.

two little pieces of toast

it may seem silly, but I eat 2 pieces of high fiber toast with butter and cinnamon/sugar on top EVERY morning before work.

oddly, those two tiny pieces of dried up bread carry me through my morning til lunch.  today, I am not getting my toast because I am having a fasting blood draw done at 7:45 am. 

I just don't know if I will make it.

I am on edge.  I am shaky.
I am a HUNGRY GIRL WHO NEEDS HER TOAST.

just two little pieces of toast.  I mean really, is that too much to ask?

You can't toast toast then eat it later, either.
You have to eat it warm.
ESPECIALLY with the butter and sugar.

wow, who knew that something so insignificant could throw off an entire start to a day.
two silly pieces of bread.
a little butter.
delicious cinnamon.

Just breathe and move on.
Just breathe and focus.
Just breathe.

It's just toast.

....maybe I can bring my toaster to work with me?!?! :)

Holding strong

176 is my new normal.

I appreciate it.
I am confused by it.
I am starting to "feel it"

Once you lose weight, at first you are just impressed at how your clothes begin to fit you. Your pants are typically the most accurate measure of how much weight/inches you have lost.

Some are just right.
Some turn into "pull ups", you know, when you have to pull up your pants after after third step.
Some are sooooo close to fitting but you're just not quite there yet (*but you still try them on at least once a week JUST in case something has changed).
And then there are some pants that remind you that although you have made progress, they still pinch around your middle by the end of the day.

I wore a pair of shorts this week that reminded me that although I can be proud that I have lost 20 pounds since January, I haven't completely lost everything I need.  I looked at those love handles as a reminder that even though I am not "dieting" just eating real food with good portion sizes, perhaps I can throw in a few more vegetables, salads, or fruit.  What can it hurt? 

I want to try putting fruit on the table at dinner time.
I want to make 3 vegetables with the main dish instead of just one or two.
I want to make homemade applebutter....but that's a different story.

This is do-able.
This is real eating.
Real Life.
Slowly but surely.