Kickstart Fall 2025

 Jean Luc & Nick will be having another Kickstart for fall beginning September 22nd and running to January 4th.  All the support you need to get through the holidays!  Registration is now open and the program is totally FREE!

Kickstart Registration  All the information is at this link as well.

If you choose, they do have several differnet journals available for purchase (check Amazon) to help along the journey; but they are not necessary to buy....any journal or plain 'ole notebook will do; or maybe you don't need anything to write on at all - and that's okay; you do you!

You can be following any diet plan that you want; it need not be Weight Watchers as Kickstart is not about a diet plan - it's about setting good habits and meeting new friends.

So what do you have to lose????  

Recipe Monday

 Grab your WW app and look up "Super Easy Slow-Cooker Three Bean Chili"; it's the closest you'll find to the original recipe they use to have.  The original had pork in the recipe and no corn.  With lean meats being 0 pts....you certainly can add pork, chicken, beef, ground meats, whatever without adding points and naturally you can add the corn.

I'm not big on peppers and such so I make mine a little different:

1 pound uncooked lean pork tenderloin cut into cubes

1 can pinto beans, drained

1 can kidney beans, drained

1 can black beans, drained

2 cans tomato sauce (15 oz size)

2 cans diced tomatoes (I like the Italian)

Chili powder, Garlic powder, Onion powder, Cumin powder to taste.

 I throw it all in the crockpot, give it a good stir and cook on low for 8 hours.

Today when I made it, I did chicken instead of pork as that's what I had in the freezer; I didn't have any corn but feel free to throw a can in if you'd like!  Like spicey?  Spice it up - make it yours!

This recipe is very versatile.  I eat it as chili along with Tostitos scoops.  It makes a great filling for taco shells/wraps, topping for nachos and a great topping on baked potatoes.

I've been making this recipe since my first time through WW in 2010-2011.  It's quick and very easy.

Saturday Shout-Outs

Diana's Delish Dishes 

I found Diana original on instagram:  WW Diana's

What this lady does to a bowl of oatmeal or yogurt is absolutely phenomenal!  Don't eat any boring oatmeal and/or yogurt bowl - check her out and make those boring meals into a delicacy!

Today I went to the market downtown and though I didn't buy anything; I did buy a bowl from one of the food trucks.  It was awesome!  So a shout-out to The Lotus Bowls and Juicery in Chambersburg, PA.  I can't wait to get another!

I don't think the Lotus Bowl was actually WW friendly but it was certainly healthier than a donut or pastry!

Back to Weight Watchers I Go.....

I'm back using the Weight Watchers app.  I love the Lose-It app; but..... I'm finding that I can fit unhealthy things into those calories, which has stalled my weight and worse - caused a gain.

My fault entirely....  WW will at least steer me closer to healthier choices.  They've updated the app a little and besides being able to also watch my calories, carbs, fiber and such; it now, when you pull an item up in the database, tells you why the item has the point value it does! For example, I had a Premier Protein Caramel protein drink - it told me that it is a Higher source of protein, Higher in calories and Higher in sodium - that makes it 3 pts. Good Job Weight Watchers!

Still have to do online only as no evening meetings within a 100 mile radius of me!

Anyway "officially" I'll do my weigh in tomorrow and start over....but I have been tracking today:

Breakfast:    Premier Protein, banana, Fage non-fat greek yogurt with 1 tbsp sugar free pudding mix, 1/2 tbsp PB2, 2 tbsp skim milk and 1/2 Fiber one brownie (yep, I mixed that all in the yogurt).  It was a little over 300 calories; but I packed in 50 gms of Protein!  5 pts.

For lunch I went lighter as I'm going to a movie later:

Lunch:    1 slice whole wheat bread with 1 slice lebanon bologna and 1/2 serving Cape Cod Reduced Fat potato chips; watermelon.  4 pts.

Dinner will be at the movies:

Breaded chicken bites with Korean BBQ sauce (they use bibibop gochujang sauce & boom boom sauce for this); I figured it out at 16 pts.

Then my popcorn - no butter, at 7 pts.

And even though I'll be over my points for the day; I'm still only at 1393 calories.

Oh - and I'm on my 5th serving of plain ole' water too!

Let's Chat

 I got back from vacation Friday morning.  It was an uneventful trip; it's more a visit to my sister than an actual beach vacation.  Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with my family and we did do the beach one day, shopping one day, pool one day, etc...  I just really am ready for an actual beach vacation where I can sit on a balcony and see the beach, do a morning beach walk and an evening one, go out and eat for breakfast..... next year maybe.

Anyway, I've been in the light gray on Shapa for at least 2 weeks but finally today made it back to green!  YAY ME!  I kind of maintained during vacation, which is good.

I started my weight loss over today on the Lose It app.  It didn't really change anything but I always like fresh starts.

I'm a HUGE movie buff and really like going to the theater to see a movie whenever possible.  Our local theaters have been doing "Mystery Movies".  You basically pay $5 to go to the movies and have no clue what movie your going to see - they are new movies that aren't out yet.  I saw the new Jurassic World movie this way.  The only thing you know is the rating of the movie (obviously that helps families).  The theaters claim they don't know the movie until it starts; I've looked it up online and that seems to be true.

The first Mystery Movie we saw was "The Last Rodeo", the second was "Jurassic World:Rebirth", the next was "Oh Hi" and more recently "Sketch".   I actually guessed right the first two; but not the last two.  I enjoyed all of them.  I had never heard of "Oh Hi" - it was R rated and therefore not family friendly (it really wasn't) but I don't remember seeing any children there.

"Sketch" is rated PG-13 and is kind of like a scary form of movie for younger kids (think Goose Bumps) - the rating definitely says PG-13, so that pretty much should tell you that younger than 13 it may not be appropriate for.  

I found it funny that under the theater FB page; some parent stating she wished they gave more information so she'd know whether she could bring her child; another said she had taken an 8 year old to see what turned out to be "Sketch" and parts frighened the child.  

"Give more information"?  How much more can they give?  It's a Mystery Movie!  

"8 year old"?  It was rated PG-13, certainly that should of been your warning!

I mean, I get it; but don't ruin the fun for everyone else.  I enjoy these and I don't want to see so many complaints that they stop showing them.  You want to take your children to the movies, go to one that you know what it is.  Yeah, I know...the Mystery Movie is only $5.00.  Well this particular movie theater offers $7.00 for all their movies on Tuesdays - go then.

Sunday Update

 I leave for Myrtle Beach next Sunday, getting excited but vacation means all types of eating.

I didn't want to just give up until after vacation, so I decided to keep things simple for this week.  I'm going with a Nutrigrain bar, Dannon Light & Fit yogurt and a fruit for breakfast.  Grab & Go is what is Simple.   I found cherry nutrigrain bars - excited to try them!

I bought some streamed shrimp to eat for lunch one day; I know we have pizza coming tomorrow - I need something to go with that as I don't want to overeat pizza.  I'm going to make sloppy joes for dinner tomorrow and that will give me a day or two of leftovers for lunch.  Lunch is the hard one for me!

It's A Slow Process.....

 "It's a slow process, but quitting won't speed it up."

"Every morning that you wake up is another chance to get it right."

"Commitment: staying loyal to what you said you were going to do long after the mood you said it in has left."

I came across the above quotes on a label sheet.  I had typed them out some time ago to put in my Kickstart Commitment Tracker.  They never got used, but they definitely brought me back into focus.

One of my co-workers has gone to a nutritionist and has lost 18 lbs. in 8 weeks.  Good for her!  I was talking to her and she said they advised she download the Lose It app, eat at least 1300 calories a day and no more than 1500, eat beef no more than 3 times a week, start the day with a protein drink with at least 30 grams of protein, and stay away from the whites (white bread, pasta, rice - whole wheat/grain are fine).  Seems simple and it is doing her well.  I was asking what she ate besides the protein drink and she said she has steak twice a week and cereal in the morning and snacks of fruit (she does not eat vegetables, not a veggie eater) and eats Lean Cuisine or Healthy Choice for lunch.  I asked her if she did weighing and measuring - that seemed foreign to her.  So I said how do you justify the calories in the app if you don't know the amount you're eating.  She said she just puts in a serving.  I'm glad it's working for her and hope it continues to do so, but you can't just pour an amount of cereal in a bowl and count it as one serving.  I guess that's the WW mentality in me.

I know she's eating better and less than she has in a while and I will not give any unsolicited advice as she's doing better than me; but at some point counting 2 cups of Special K as one serving (3/4 cup is a serving for Special K) may slow her down.

She's got the mindset right now - the one you need to lose weight.  I don't; but I haven't given up.  I get up each morning with the right mind set...sometimes it lasts through the days, sometimes it doesn't.  Shapa still has me in light gray, and though I hate that, I know it's the truth.  I'll get it back to Teal!

I so wanted to clean out the one room upstairs today but it's full of old computer equipment, tablets and such.  I need to find a place to take that for recycling and until I have that worked out, I can't really do anything else.

Another week at work and then off to the beach!

Sigh.....

 I'll admit.....I'm losing my commitment to weight loss.

I so wish WW had a meeting outside of work hours that I could go to.  Some have mentioned T.O.P.S., but none of their times work either.

I'm just dragging and Shapa has me in light grey (wrong direction).  Sigh.....

This & That

Lacking in updates lately...

My weigh-in this week had me remaining the same and I haven't done well this week; so I don't know where I'll be for weigh-in on Monday.  Shapa has me jumping around between Teal & Green, so I basically see it as maintaining, which is alright for now.

I need to get back on track and that always starts with breakfast.  The baked oatmeal worked well the first week, so I may go back to that for now.  I need to find something for lunches as well.  I have time to think it through though.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!

We went to the jubilee downtown to grab something to eat, really to hot for anything else. Will see the fireworks later this evening.

Today also would have been my parent's 72nd Wedding Anniversary!  They made it to the 70th and Mom passed a few months before the 71st.  

July 1st was my 25th Wedding Anniversary!  Happy to me!

Quick Update

Things are still moving forward.  Haven't gotten any walks in due to the heat; but I'm still moving forward.

Trying to figure out next week's breakfasts.  I'm thinking either frozen waffles or cereal.  

I did go a little over in calories today, but not by much and I didn't use all the calories yesterday.  For the record, unlike WW, nothing carries over to the next day or gets added to the week - use them or lose them.  Honestly though, I think it all works out in the end regardless.

Shapa has me in the Teal, which is a step down from Blue - but it's still a good place to be!

Something I've Come To Realize

 This past week on Lose-It, I've discovered my main focus is on correct portions.  Guess what?  That's what the original Weight Watchers points plan was - portion control.  It seems odd they chose to move away from that.

I get it - not all calories and foods are created equal.  I understand what WW has tried to do with all the plan changes - steer you towards the healthy foods; well sort of - I don't consider fat free and sugar free foods healthy at all.

I'm a person that overeats.  So portion control is good for me.  I know what foods are healthy and what aren't.  Though WW claims you can do the plan and still eat all your favorite foods, you really can't - their zero food list and points don't allow it; but on that original plan, you could.

Anyway, my official weight loss since the start using Lose-It is:  3.2 lbs

YAY ME!!   

Also, my Shapa scale has me in the BLUE, which is the best you can get!

Now I do realize it was the first week (well actually 10 days) and I shouldn't expect a loss like that every week, but I'm off to a good start and am so very happy for it!