My Shopping List

I went grocery shopping today and I just thought I would share what I buy every week. My "staple" or go to foods. People always ask me how I am losing the weight and what exactly I eat. So I figured I would post about it.

I always start right in the produce department. I really try to stick to the perimeter of the store because I really like to eat primarily clean foods. SO we begin with the fruit and veggies all my zero point goodies! I look for whats on sale and in season and shop those items. I always buy lettuce, tomatoes, onions and red peppers, for my salads. I try to buy grapes since peanut loves them, bananas since we both do, usually mangoes, and a bag of apples. If there are other good deals we will do more fruit like pears, clementines, oranges, etc. I try to try 1 new fruit every month.

After that is always the natural food section, I try to go to the supermarket that has a larger one. I am dairy free right now to see if it helps my stomach so I buy unsweetened almond milk (1 cup only 1 PP!), gluten free brown rice pasta is here and soy yogurt. I also pick up some goodies for peanut like gluten free short bread and her crackers and cereal. I bought a bag of wild brown rices this week and tried it out and it was really good. I also buy my Bob's Red Mill gluten free quick cooking oats if needed here. I have a 1/3 cup of those every morning! I also pick up some tofu if I am in the mood for it I like the extra firm light tofu.

Then next is the meat department. Here again I look for sales. Eating healthy does not have to be super expensive. I stick to lean proteins. I always buy chicken breast thin sliced, chicken breast tenderloins, and 99% fat free ground turkey. Those are my go to staples because I know I can do a lot with them. Sometimes I will buy turkey breasts if they have them. If there is fish on sale and I feel like it I will do a piece as well.

Then I always get my egg whites in the dairy department and Fat free non dairy creamer. I have a cup of coffee with it every morning. In my dairy days I would always get Chobani and Weight Watchers string cheese, and sliced cheese as well. I like fat free shredded cheddar too.

Next would be the freezer department my last big stop! Here I buy 4-5 bags of steamy veggies. Usually the store brand is fine with us and my faves are brussel sprouts, and the California blend of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. I just like keeping those in the freezer for dinner at night. They are quick easy and still hold all the nutritional value of fresh veggies. Then I hit the frozen fruit section! I usually buy peaches, strawberries, and or blueberries, mango, whatever again I am in the mood for. Frozen fruit makes awesome smoothies and goes in my oatmeal every morning!

I cannot live without my spices either! I put cinnamon in my coffee in the morning and sometimes my oatmeal so we always have that on hand. Also I am a big fan of Mrs. Dash salt free line of seasonings so I always have those as well. For my salads I use Annie's fat free line, they have a good poppy seed dressing and honey dijon which I have become addicted to. I also use Better n Peanut butter on my bananas sometimes so I always have that!

So my typical tracker in a day looks like:

Breakfast: Oatmeal 3 PP coffee 1 PP
AM snacks: Soy yogurt 4 PP,  fruit 0 PP, egg white quiche 2 PP
Lunch: Salad with lean protein 6 PP
Afternoon snacks: carrot sticks and hummus 2 PP,  fruit 0 PP, Soy crisps 3 PP
Dinner: Lean protein with squash and  veggies, or brown rice.
Post workout: Protein powder 3 PP blended into smoothie with 1 c almond milk 1 PP and frozen fruit
Dessert: fruit 0 PP, herbal decaf tea 0 PP

That is a day in my life. I do not necessarily use all the snacks just shot out a few of my favorites. Tomorrow I will share some of my recent dinners.


What are your go to foods? Anything you always keep on hand to stay on track?

Weight Watchers Chat

I love our little group of weekly Weight Watchers chatters!!!
If you are at all a fan, follower, or wondering about the #wwchat that happens weekly from 8PM to 9PM ET on twitter then we have created a landing zone for all of your questions!!!
WWchat Website

I am so excited to have such a great partner with the WWchat in Brittany !!!!!

Tonight's chat was based upon celebrating success!!! Something I have become fond of ;)

Question 1: How do you celebrate your victories without using food?

I like to save up and buy new running gear!!!! Or sometimes a new make up that just came out. Sometimes its a magazine. Basically rewarding myself any way I can without tieing in food. For me this has been more rewarding in the long run!

Question 2: What is your favorite victory?

For me it was stopping snoring!!!! This happened after losing about 40 pounds and it was like one night I woke up and realized hey I am not snoring anymore! LOL it was amazing! The bf actually said he kinda missed it that now its too quiet!

Question 3: What is your favorite and rewarding exercise?

RUNNING!!!!!!!!!!! (in case I have not made that clear) hehehehe. When I run I feel totally free and it just takes all my stress of the day and simply melts it away. For me running is one of those things that I never ever in a million years imagined I would even be able to do! So being able to run 13 miles is a huge accomplishment for me. There is no feeling as amazing as completing a race!

Question 4: If someone came up to you and asked you why you liked Weight Watchers and explain it.. what would you tell them?

I would tell them that Weight watchers is amazing. It really changed my life for the better. I have lost weight, and more importantly gotten my health back in my own control. It has taught me good eating habits which I will carry with me for the rest of my life. It teaches you how to balance your life and eating habits, and you are not deprived. I eat more on Weight Watchers but its much healthier food! Then I would show them my before pics and let them judge for themselves.

Weigh in Wednesday Spring Into Action Check In

I was so nervous this week. I had a HUGE loss last week and I knew that to maintain that amazing loss I had to work extra hard. Well just in time to keep me on track in comes the Sisterhood with a great new challenge!!! Spring Into Action has begun and it is week 1 check in. This challenge is more motivating for me simply because I have a rock star partner Monica B. She led the Power of One challenge and I know I need to work extra hard to keep up with her!!!

So this week I really buckled down. First I really cleaned up my eating habits. I was slipping horribly and I just got down to business and back on track. I started weighing and measuring everything and I even stopped using my weekly flex points. I am going to do more posting about that later this week. I focused on cleaner eating and really stopped most grains. I have oatmeal in the morning and the rest of the day is lean protein, fruit, and vegetables. I even stopped dairy! I know it was tough but it has helped.

My results? Well see for yourself!!!

I was shocked!!!! Down 1.8 after the awesome week last week. I really needed that boost of confidence. It is finally sinking in that I am so close to goal weight and becoming a lifetime Weight Watchers member. It is kind of surreal I feel like this journey has taken so long but the end is actually in sight and I really never saw this day coming. I am hoping to hit the big 100 lost in the next week or 2!!!! We shall see.

I plan to definitely keep on trucking with my clean eating and training because I have a half marathon in a week and a half!!!!

And the push ups? Well they are going well. I can do 30 at one time now!!!!!

My Favorite Breakfast

So I thought I would share what my favorite all time breakfast is as of late:

Oatmeal!! As a kid I was never fond of it it just was not as tasty as the sugary other cereal options. But now that I have been on Weight Watchers and having celiac I have a hard time finding a good breakfast that keeps me satisfied. LuckilyI discovered these 2 months ago:

I pretty much have 1/3 cup of these every morning! The wonderful part of that is only 3 points plus!! So I get a filling option that keeps me full for 3 hours!

Now why do I not get bored? Well I never have plain oatmeal!!!! hahaha I have become fond of frozen fruit!

I buy 2 bags a week! usually I get a combination of one like this and blueberries or plain strawberries or something like that. I buy the plain unsweetened fruit. The nice thing about buying frozen fruit is, still zero points, cheaper than fresh, and always in season! Plus for a busy mom on the go like me it is already cut and peeled and ready to toss into my oatmeal.

All I do is measure out the oats, combine it with 2/3 cup of water, and whatever fruit I feel like. Then I microwave it for 2-3 minutes and that is it! I stir in some cinnamon and truvia depending on the fruit.

This morning was like having peach cobbler:

Some of my favorite fruits in the oatmeal are the peaches, in the first picture it was sliced fresh apples, that one is so yummy. Sometimes I do blueberries, or pineapple, or strawberries. I think my favorite is mashed banana and 1 teaspoon of coconut!

I like the oatmeal because it is so versatile and the possibilities are endless! I never get bored coming up with combinations! And it is a ready to go anywhere with me breakfast in 3 minutes! I often eat it during my long commute to work in the mornings paired up with a cup of coffee :)

Do you have a favorite staple for breakfast?

Running With Purpose

This past year I have been really blessed. Blessed to lose weight and get into shape, and blessed to train and complete my first half marathon. I have come to love running and for me it is simply a joy. I would like to take that joy and utilize it to help raise money to find a cure for cancer. I found team DetermiNation in Hyannis at the half marathon and was inspired. They work so hard at events helping raise awareness and money for the cancer society. I knew it was a team I needed to become a part of

I first learned what cancer was when I was 16. My grandmother went in to the doctor for a routine check up and a few weeks later was being told she had colon cancer and she did not even live to receive any chemotherapy treatments. Within 3 weeks the cancer had taken her life. It was hard on my mother and she never was the same after that.

I met with cancer again when my grandma got lung cancer about 7 years ago. She did not want to tell us, she wanted to fight it on her own. I was always close to her growing up, she was my rock. She got me through some pretty tough times post high school. When my mother abandoned us it was grandma who took me under her wing and kept me on the right path. Her gentle ways and loving touch really are with me all the time. I lived with her for a few years and took her to many chemo treatments. She was lucky the cancer was not very aggressive and she was fighting it off. Unfortunately she died in her sleep one morning at 63 years old and that day a piece of me died with her.This year marks 4 years of her being gone.

Yes that is me and my beloved grandma

When I was running my race last weekend, there came a point where I did not think I would finish, I believe it was around mile 7 and I was cold and wet and just really feeling like giving up. I closed my eyes for a minute and pictured her, I imagined her standing there along the sidelines like so many other parents and grandparents there that day. I knew she would be holding a big sign for me, I knew she would be proud. And I patted my shoulder, where her angel tattoo sits and I knew she was with me running. I knew I would finish and make her proud. I wished she could be there at the finish and hug me like she always had. I wish she had seen my journey and how far I had gotten.

She taught me so much, but most of all that you can never give up. You can never give in and you should always be your best. So I want to take all she taught me and utilize it to help raise money to fight cancer. I have met cancer so many times in family and friends, I have lost some wonderful people to it and seen how it can tear people apart. Everyone knows someone affected by cancer. So I ask you to take a minute and help me reach my goal. If everyone gives just a tiny bit we can work together to help make a difference.

I will run Boston's Run to Remember on May 29th for my grandma and hopefully meet my fund raising goal. So please won't you help me get there?

http://main.acsevents.org/goto/thefitbee