Fitness Walking

I've created a new blog that's completely dedicated to walking for fitness.  Check it out!

http://fitnesswalking.blogspot.com/.

Menu Plan for This Week

As you can see, my menu isn't totally Simply Filling.  If you wanted it to be, you could probably just use whole wheat pasta and double-check ingredients for points.

Monday - Chicken with Rice and Artichoke Hearts

Tuesday -  Eggplant Bolognese with Pasta

Wednesday - Tilapia fillets

Thursday - Out to eat.

Friday - Crockpot Lasagna using Eggplant Bolognese for sauce.  Experiment!

Saturday - Leftover Bean Enchilada Casserole (frozen from last week)

For more menu ideas, visit orgjunkie.com.

My New Approach

So, I did Simply Filling for a while, and I really liked it.  I lost some weight.  It wasn't too hard, but it wasn't super easy either.

But now, it's time for me to move on.  I'll still use the crockpot recipes I've found by creating this site, but I'm no longer going to be exclusively eating on the Simply Filling plan.

As I find new Simply Filling resources and recipes, I'll post them here.  I plan to focus more on walking in the months to come, so I'll be creating a new blog for that.

Thank you!

More Weight Loss Meals

This is a meal plan that I forgot to publish a while back...

Saturday - Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Sunday - Buffalo Chicken in Crockpot

Monday - Chicken and Shrimp Jambalaya

Tuesday - Weight Watchers Thai Peanut Chicken

Wednesday - BBQ Ground Pork in crockpot, refried beans

Thursday - Out to eat!

Friday - Leftovers

Easy Weight Watchers-Friendly Recipes

Here's the plan for this week.  Still keeping things simple with a lot of crockpot recipes.  A few different dishes thrown in for variety.


Saturday - Slow Cooker Lasagna

Sunday - Thai-Style Ground Turkey with Chiles and Basil

Monday - Slow Cooker Chipotle Burritos

Tuesday -  Crockpot Chicken Stroganoff Remake

Wednesday - Curry Chicken Weight Watchers Style

Thursday - Out to eat!

Friday - Slow Cooker Chicken Paprikash

for more recipe ideas, go to orgjunkie.com.

Easy Menu Week!

Monday - Family Barbecue

Tuesday - Cilantro Grilled Chicken Breasts

Wednesday - Crockpot Lasagna

Thursday - Out to eat!

Friday - Penne with Herbs, Tomatoes, and Peas

Saturday - Bean Enchilada Casserole

for more menu ideas, check out orgjunkie.com.

More Crockpot Weight Watchers Meals

Three crockpot meals, and one for the grill.  Hoping for another tasty, weight-loss week!

Monday - Ham & Potatoes AuGratin

Tuesday - Santa Fe Chicken Packets

Wednesday - Eggplant Bolognese

Thursday - Chicken Barbacoa

Friday - Out to eat!

For more recipe ideas, visit orgjunkie.com.

Simply Filling Meal Plan

Here's what's up for this week!  Again, lots of crockpot.  Lots of Weight Watchers

Monday - Crock Pot Balsamic Chicken with Pears and Portabella Mushrooms

Tuesday - Slow-Cooker Cheeseburger Soup

Wednesday - Weight Watchers Crockpot Sweet and Sour Chicken

Thursday - Out to eat!

Friday - Buffalo Chicken

Saturday - Chicken and Shrimp Jambalaya

Sunday - Crockpot Lasagna

for more recipes, see orgjunkie.com

Chugging Along

I have nine points left, and it's only Thursday.  And, I'm pretty sure I haven't tracked everything I should have.  I like that I can eat a lot of things on this plan, but it's really important to plan ahead.  Especially for snacks.  Especially for snacks.

Tonight I was planning on going crazy and eating something delightful, but now it looks as if that might be a bad idea.  Delightful usually doesn't cost one a mere nine points.

However, I have been doing a lot of walking, thanks to the nice weather.  That will buy me some more points too.

Sigh.

Image from yourinnerskinny.ca.

Using Up the Points

Though I have felt like I might die for lack of chips, cheese, and french fries, I have somehow managed to use up half of my 49 points for this week.  Yikes!

The culprits?  Hummus (used to flavor up all of those baby carrots), a Weight Watchers ice cream bar (which disappointingly has HFCS in it - won't be repurchasing it, although it was divine), honey, and a Grilled Chicken Sandwich without mayo from McDonald's.   Ummm...this is all supposed to be healthy stuff, right?

I'm also learning that I am a complete emotional eater.  For real.  I knew I was an emotional eater before this diet, but now I think I could be a poster child for emotional eating.  I've really felt the pain when stressful stuff has happened, and I haven't been able to drown my emotions in food.  It's frustrating, because a lot of the suggestions for getting past those dangerous, stressful moments aren't things I'm able to do because I'm caring for little ones.

So, my mission for this week is to come up with better coping strategies.  Any ideas?  Please don't tell me to call a friend or go for a walk, because that's not always possible.  Oh, yeah, and I can't close my eyes and take a deep breath either.  These little ones are on their own mission to thwart all of the baby-proofing devices in our home.

Image from janekdickinson.com.

Lost a Pound!

My cravings have calmed a little bit.  Emphasis on little.  But, I'm slightly more motivated now that I've officially lost a pound!  Could it be water weight?  Ummm...yes!  But, it's still gone, and my jeans are feeling a little more loose today.

I was having serious craving issues, so I decided to really just keep eating Power Foods until I wasn't crazy any more.  It pretty much worked.  I've been eating a lot of carrots, fruit, hard-boiled eggs, and trying to drink tons of water.  In order to stay more hydrated, I decided that I had to drink a glass of water for every cup of coffee I had.  Needless to say, I drank a lot of water in order to get my caffeine fix, which is really out of control.

So, onward with the diet!  Now that I have a menu plan in place, I'm hoping it will be more automatic, and I won't be constantly obsessing about what to eat next.  I'm also whipping up some big batches of brown rice, sweet potatoes, and sugar-free Jello so I'm ready to meet a craving if fruit or a piece of celery just won't cut it.

Image from http://www.laimisenergy.com/.

Meal Plan for Weight Watchers Simply Filling

Man, I've been having a tough time.  All I think about is food.  More specifically, sour cream and onion Pringles and peppery white cheddar.  I'm obsessed.

However, I'm here to share my first Weight Watchers meal plan with you!  While I do it, I'm drinking water, eating baby carrots, and doing a lot of sighing.

Because I have little ones, cooking is sometimes next to impossible.  Hence, all of the slow cooker meals.  I'll throw them together in the morning or during naptime.  Tonight I'm going to make some food on the grill, but after that, my crock pot is going to be getting a workout.  Oh yeah, and I should probably be getting a workout too.

Monday - Pork chops and onions on the grill.  Balsamic brussel sprouts...probably also on the grill, but I'll cook them in foil.

Tuesday - Slow Cooker Ropa Vieja

Wednesday - BBQ-Glazed Turkey Meatloaf

Thursday - Out to eat!  I haven't decided yet, but I think I might go crazy and get something really unhealthy.

Friday - Greek-Style Slow Cooker Meatballs and Artichokes

Saturday - Slow Cooker Chicken Paprikash

Sunday - Slow Cooker Thai Chicken

Image from shamangirl.com.

For more meal plan ideas, check out orgjunkie.com.

Day 1 on Weight Watchers

Yesterday I officially signed up for Weight Watchers online.  I still have a lot to learn about using the site, and I think that tracking all of my foods is going to be a big pain.  I went into the site and changed my plan to "Simply Filling."

I tracked my meals from yesterday, and saw that some of the things that I thought were Power Foods really weren't.  Oops!  I guess it's good to track.  I just really don't want to.  I like the idea of having a list of foods that I can eat from, and sticking to that.  But, there's always a little something that you want to add to the Power Foods meals, and those little somethings can add up.

Yesterday I did a long walk with the boys (only tolerated because we went to the library!).  Today it's looking rainy, so I might have to improvise with an indoors workout.

Truly, yesterday was tough.  I felt hungry, and I wasn't eating enough.  I went to Target to buy milk, and I almost broke down and bought peppery cheese.  But, I didn't.  I ate a banana in the car on the way home instead.  Small victories!

Seriously, though.  I'm pining for cheese and chips.

Three Ways to Fit in a Walk When It Seems Impossible

If you have young children, or if you live in a climate that doesn't allow for walking outdoors everyday, figuring out a way to get in a daily walk can be tough.  Here are some ideas for getting in a daily walk:

1. Walk at the mall.  You'll be surprised at how many other people do this too.
2. Walk with the Wii Fit.  If you have a Wii, or any other type of video game that has a running or walking game, this is a great solution.  My toddlers love doing "Mommy's Running," and I'm able to get in a good walk.  To track this on GymPact, you can select the "Workout Anywhere" option to get credit for the activity.
3. Walk in place in front of the TV.  Yes, this gets old really fast, but if you're desperate, it works.  I even dragged out my old step aerobics step and walked on it while I watched some of my favorite reality shows.  That made the time go by faster, made the workout more intense, and helped keep me from getting too sore.

Image from diehardgamefan.com.

Starting to Walk...Seriously

Okay, so I'm feeling a little embarrassed about how tough walking has been for me this week.  I used to run marathons, and now I'm sore from walking.

Guess what, if you don't run for eight years, you lose your fitness!

So, I'm certainly back to square one as far as building fitness goes.  As with the Simply Filling eating plan, this has been a trial week for me with walking as well.  Really, I thought this was going to be a walk in the park, and I've been hit with a huge reality check about how unfit I have become.

With two little ones, walking can be a challenge.  They are just at the age where they won't tolerate the stroller for too long, so I'm going to have to be creative about getting in time to walk.

My goal this week was to walk for thirty minutes, three times this week.  Truly, I thought this was a wimpy goal.  It was not.  Also, I learned that I need to wear good shoes for walking.  Toms won't cut it.

To motivate myself, I signed up for GymPact.  It's a pretty cool app that you can get for free.  The whole idea behind it is that people would rather work out than lose money.   This definitely applies to me...my pen name is saverchic.  So, I signed up and made a pact that I would do three "workouts" in one week.  Since my workout of choice is walking, I also downloaded the RunKeeper app to help track my walks.

For every walk I miss, GymPact will deduct $5 from my PayPal account (!).  If you reach your goal, you'll get a small payout with the proceeds of the money that those who didn't work out paid into the system.  I completed my three workouts, but my first week isn't technically over yet because I got a late start.  So, I'll let you know how much the payout is later on.

Three Things I Learned During My Trial Week with Simply Filling

This week I've been "test driving" the Simply Filling plan.  I wanted to make sure that it's something doable before I committed to it.  After following the plan for a few days, I've felt pretty comfortable with it.  Because I have two little ones at home, we mostly eat at home.  I think this has made the plan easier to stick with for me.  Here are three things I learned about the plan:

1. You can eat potatoes and brown rice.  Not in mass quantities, but you can eat them.  This has really helped me to stay full and satisfied.
2. You can eat fat-free dairy.  Fat free sour cream isn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
3. You can eat fresh fruit.  Okay, I know that most diets allow this, but it's been such a nice thing for me.  I tend to eat off of my kids' snacks, so I've changed their snacks to fruit.  They like it, and I feel better about what I'm feeding them too.

For a list of all of the things you can eat on the Simply Filling plan, click here.

Simply Filling and Walking

Welcome to the new Simply Filling and Walking blog!  I'm creating this blog because I'm going to lose weight by walking for exercise and by eating according to the Simply Filling Weight Watchers plan.  I'm hoping to find others that are doing the same so we can all cheer each other on.

I decided to take this approach to weight loss because I really want to get healthier and be better to myself.  As a mom, I no longer have the time (or the desire!) to spend long hours training for marathons.  I've had a few injuries and surgeries in the past few years, and I want to make sure I'm getting exercise, but not doing anything to harm my body.  I'm looking to gradually grow stronger, and eat in a more healthy way.

Thank you for visiting, and I hope you'll come back again soon!