Late Check In

Sorry for the late check in. I have been busy with work and making crafty things. I think a craft bug bit last week and now that is pretty much ALL I am doing. LOL.

I am back down to 243! I haven't been working out this week though.. :( I know I know not a good thing. I am making it my goal that I get my butt back on track tomorrow since it is the start of a new week. :D

Love and God Bless!
Catie

Weigh in Day

Well... I knew I was going to gain this week..  it still sucks though. Lol my family's food is too good to pass up though. I went back up to 247 this week.

I know it is because I didn't exercise as much as I had the weeks before and also because I used more weekly points than before as well. Just means this week when I get home I need to get back on my routine. I do feel bad about the gain but at the same time I knew it would happen. Now I just need to get focused and stay there this time. :D

I hope you have a good weekend and God Bless!
Catie

Vacation

Hope you all are having a good week! We are having fun on our Branson vacation. We have gone shopping and swimming. Ambrielle has also painted a couple pictures as well. It is always good to see family and I wouldn't trade the world for it

I have been feeling really LAZY this week. I didn't exercise Thursday because I was cooking for the 4th get together. Friday I didn't either because I was busy finishing with work and packing. Saturday we were driving and didn't have time to do anything. Finally on Sunday I was able to get some Turbo in. I have been able to do some everyday since. I still feel bad though. I feel like I haven't been doing enough for the amount of food and what not we have had.

This morning I skipped the family breakfast for some steel-cut oats with strawberries though. I passed on the sausage and bacon. I am going go make some more tomorrow and have that too. It is so tempting not to though. My uncle makes the best french toast and pancakes. My cousin also make some really good Chili Egg Puff.

Well we are heading for bed so I hope you have a good week. I will check in on Thursday! :D

Love and God Bless!
Catie T

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Fourth of July! I hope you had a fun and safe one! Hubby got some fireworks that we set off tonight and then after thar we watched the City's down at the Civic Center, we had a blast and Brie was pretty good this year. Some scared her but most of them just excited her. 

Today I made the Mexican Chili Burgers again. We also had zucchini fries from Weight Watchers and a Strawberry Cheesecake Salad (SCS) from Facebook. The fries were pretty good for my first try on them. I sadly did not get a photo of them before they were eaten but I will make them again! The SCS is 5 PP and was very yummy! 

Today is also my second weigh-in day. I have to say I was pretty excited before I took my weight. Mostly because I know I am doing a good thing and I am enjoying Turbo Jam a lot! So this week I am 244.4! Down another 3 lbs! According to Weight Watchers I need to slow it down. I will try but I think I am officially addicted to Turbo Jam. 

Saturday we will be heading out east to go to Branson, MO for vacation! We are all getting super excited! Ambrielle keeps saying things like "I can't wait to go swimming" or "I want to see my favorite special cousin!" She is so darn cute!

Well good night and God Bless!

-Catie

July 3

Yesterday I made a steak stir fry. I used flank steak, snow peas, orange bell pepper, and a tri-color salad mix. I marinaded the steak in soy sauce, lime juice, sugar and crushed red peppers. I think the next time I make it I will leave some of the veggies out though. There were too many veggies. I also think I will cut down on the red peppers as it was a little too spicy.

I will post again when I wake up on how I did in weigh in this week! :D I am pretty excites! I have been doing Turbo Jam since last Monday and I think I am addicted. LOL, hehehehehehe.

Good night and God Bless!
-Catie

July 1st!

Wow! Is it just me or does it seem like this year has flown by? My family is gearing up for our yearly Branson, MO trip and we are all excited! I have to get everyone's stuff packed and car cleaned out. I realized this week that I like to pretend to be organized. Lol, I like to make lists and put things were I think I will be able to find but most of the time I can't. Any who... 

Today I tried WW Layered Mexican Chicken, I did do some alterations. I added 1/2 tsp chili powder and a glove of garlic. I was ready the reviews on how the original is good but it is slightly plain.  Even with the alterations I wasn't too impressed. I have am idea for more alterations to make to where I like it though. My husband liked it though.

Well we are heading to the fireworks stand! Have a good day and God Bless!

Love,

Catie

Recipes

I am very proud of myself! I have cooked 4 times since last Thursday! Yesterday I made Grilled Meatballs Kebabs and everyone liked them. I added an extra clove of garlic though, I knew that my family would say it needed more so  I added it. When you make the meatballs I would actually use a little more milk with the bread crumbs, the 1/4 cup was absorbed completely and there were spots that were still dry.  I also made the meatballs the day before to save some time.

Today, I took the Mexican Chicken and Bean Pizza and adjusted it. We didn't have have any ground chicken so I used ground beef and also used a can of refried beans. I also skipped on the avacado and used lettuce and tomato to top them. They were good and I have enough ground beef and beans to make some more later this weekend.

Well, I hope you all have a good day and great weekend! God Bless!
Catie T

Weigh In Day 1

Weigh-In Day! Kind of scary and nerve racking. I started with the weight that my doctor's office said I was which was 252. I had gone in on Wednesday last week and started WW the day after. I know each scale is different and you should stay consistent with which scale you use, how much clothing you have on, and the day and time you weigh yourself. So with that being said from here on out I will only use the scale that I got from Amazon on Monday from here on out. Today I weighed 247.4!

That is 4.6 lbs which is a lot on WW. They suggest that you only lose between 1-2 pounds a week. I think some of it is because a) Different scale and b) different day and time. Last Wednesday I when I was weighed it was in the afternoon. I can't remember the actual time so I just went ahead and weighed in early today because I have to do work later in the afternoon. The weight could also just be because I actually worked out this week vs before I joined. Either way I am excited, I just hope that I do not become discouraged later down the line if (when) I hit a plateau or have a bad day.

I am also going to start using a weight loss widget/ticker. I am using one from LilySlim.com , they have tickers for pretty much everything! I am going to use the Weight Loss ticker for now and I might do the Exercise Day later on. 

I hope you all have a good day and God Bless!
Catie T

Cooked meals

On Friday June 22, I tried WW's Spanish-Style Skillet Chicken with Rice , and I think I did a good job! It wasn't the most pretty on the bottom but I thought it was very yummy! My husband, mom, step-dad, and daughter like it as well. The only suggestion was from my step-dad and he said more garlic. I can agree with him on that I think it needed a little more, the next time I make it I will add more. I also steamed some asparagus on top of the meal as an extra side. I put it on the last 10 minutes and it didn't affect it at all.

I also realized that I wouldn't have been able to make this in a regular skillet either. My mom loaned my her Pampered Chef Wok to use. She knew before I did that my skillet wouldn't cut it! Lol thanks Mom!

 

In the Wok my mom loaned me

As you can see I slightly burnt it on the bottom of the pan but it was still edible

 Today, Tuesday June 25, I tried two WW recipes. One turned out completely good and the other one not so much. I made Mexican Chili Beef Burgers and Roasted Potatoes with Fresh Herbs
The burgers turned out good, but also could have used a little more garlic. (I also might not be mincing them right... Keep in mind I am still learning how to cook properly) But the potatoes... Umm I will just let you see the photo. *hides in shame*

This was not even close to the recipe. First I messed up because I tried to cut the recipe down in size but only did so with the potatoes and not the time. SO in turn I BURNED the potatoes, well, a good chunk of them. My husband and step-dad said that they were still edible but I was thinking barely. After I burned the potatoes, I decided not to continue with the recipe and just through some lime juice on and left it. My hubby and step-dad both ate them with out complaint.

Now the Burgers! They were good and probably would be better if I could find my teaspoon-tablespoon from Pampered Chef and I would have been able to measure the chili powder out better. My mom said they needed more garlic as well. (I never knew we were a garlic loving family! LOL) I also learned that I should read the recipe throughly before cooking because I didn't know I was making a salsa. We ended up using the salsa as a salad which wasn't bad. On a side note it wasn't a salsa, my step-dad informed me that it was not spicy enough to be a salsa. My step-dad is Hispanic and makes his own pico every week that can burn the hair off my head (not really but it is pretty spicy!)

Here are the photos from tonight's meal:

All mixed together and they smelled really good.

Yes I was using a in kitchen grill to cook. I'm not comfortable with a flame grill and didn't have time to have my hubby to cook it

So all in all both recipes were really good, I have learned a few new things when it comes to a recipe, and if it needs something else it is probably Garlic! LOL!

Also I just wanted to add that I have been wanting to try Fruttare, so while I was at the store today I picked on up. They are pretty dang good too!

Hope you have a good day and God Bless!
Catie T

Joining the others on this journey

Hey! My name is Catie Traugott. I am 22 years old and I have started a new journey in my life. I am starting this blog to keep to the true goal I have set in mind for my journey. My journey is weight loss with Weight Watchers. 

This is not my first attempt at WW but I know now why I failed to stay on plan. I had this habit of only eating the pre-made food and not actually cooking at home. Also, my life as an assistant manager at a truck stop wasn't helping me. My schedule would change so drastically there was no way to keep up with all the required health checks. I wouldn't get enough sleep, eat right, or exercise the right way.

I am now a part time stay at home mom though. I no longer work at the truck stop but I do still work. My husband and I do property preservation/inspection for multiple mortgage servicing companies. We are at home more now than we were before. We do have to do a lot of driving and physical labor sometimes, but that is fine! This is going to help with my journey as well though. 

I have set some goals for myself for this journey and I hope to reach them in the next year. 

Goals:
1.    Eat Healthier
         This is a given when trying to change your lifestyle. My husband and I would eat fast food A LOT. Mostly because we are too lazy to cook at home.

2.    Cook At Home More
         As I said above we would eat out pretty much every day. The only time we would eat home cooked food was when we would go to his dad's on the weekend to attend church. My goal is to cook at least 3 times a week. I will share the recipes and photos of my creations and how we liked them.

3.    Exercise More
       This is also a given when you change your lifestyle. I would sit in front of the computer and play on Facebook or online games. I felt like I was ignore our three year old. In ways I was and still am. I want to exercise more so that I have the energy to play with her and to keep up with her. I also eventually want to run a 5k, half marathon or something along those lines. I want to start with exercising at least 3 times a week.

4.  Lose the Weight
     My family has always wanted me to lose weight for my sake. I know the reasoning behind it but I have always brushed it off. My grandmother had diabetes and I never thought it was something serious. That was until my step-mother learned she had diabetes. I have known for a couple years now that she has it and as I have said before this is not my first time attempting to lose weight on WW. I am going to make this my final and long last attempt for the memory of my grandmother, to make my family know that I am trying my best to avoid diabetes and such, and also to PROVE to myself that I am worth it and I can feel better about myself.

5.  Get down to 180
      This is my first overall goal. I know that at 180 my BMI will still show me as being Obese but that is better than being morbidly obese as I am now. Also my body has this weird thing that when I am a certain weight I wear a certain size. At 180, I wore size 18. At 200, I wore size 20, and so on and so on. I would like to be back at a size 18 instead of the size 24 (very tight I must add) that I am now.  
     This goal is also one of the only ones I want to put a full deadline on. My deadline is June 20, 2014, This will give me a year to get my weight as low as possible. If I fail to meet my deadline then I hope that I can only look back and see what good I have done in the year not that I didn't meet my goal/deadline.

I will try to do daily updates but I will have my weekly updates on my weigh in days. I am currently not going to do the WW meetings but I may after a couple months. I am very self conscious of myself and I have never liked group settings. My weigh in days will be Thursday and I will update either that day or the day after. I will also update at least once a week about the meals I have made in the previous week!

With all my love and God Bless you!
Catie T