Finally!

I finally found a meeting that I LIKE! I have decided this time around - I am going to attend WW meetings - yes online and weighing at home is more convenient but... for accountability purposes, the in-person meetings are where it's at for me. Plus - I really do enjoy interacting and meeting new people so, this just makes sense for me. I can take an hour out of my week to do something therapeutic, positive and healthy for myself.

I have skipped around to a few meetings trying to find one that fits my personality. The ones I attended during the week mid-day were full of grouchy ass retired folks...not my scene. The meeting I attended Saturday morning was awesome - many more people around my age, a few girls that were working and talked about the struggles of balancing a stressful corporate job with healthy eating (uh yes!), two younger girls in college that joined together, a few life-timers that had a lot of wisdom to share, etc. The leader had so much energy but, seemed very down to earth - I loved it! So I will be weighing in on Saturday mornings going forward.

AND - the best part about the meeting Saturday - the scale finally gave in to me. My body has been hanging on for dear life to every ounce since I started this in early January. It is very frustrating when you are doing everything right.... tracking, eating all the veggies and fruit, drinking all the water, working out, etc...and you lose .6 lbs. VERY FRUSTRATING. But, I knew my body had to eventually give in if I kept doing the right things. And it finally did! I am down 7 lbs for the month of January and I couldn't be happier!

WW does little milestone charms now and I earned my first one Saturday - lost my first 5 lbs :) I was so freaking happy!

I am using this as my visual so I can focus on monthly losses versus weekly losses. It helps me to focus on my long term goals and not the short term frustrations. And.... it's cute. I am excited as to where I will be in a few months!

 I am loving the new Freestyle Plan and I think it is largely due to the fact that I love to cook and spend a LOT of time in the kitchen normally. Every Sunday, my husband and I meal prep and this really helps me to get a structured plan in place for breakfast and lunch for 4 days of the work week. I find most of my recipes on Pinterest and skinnytaste.

This was an awesome Quinoa Chickpea Greek Salad... was awesome next to some baked Greek Chicken.

This is my favorite recipe I have discovered recently - Kale & Bacon Frittata. Basically crisp up 2 slices of bacon in a pan, sauce shallots & kale in the bacon drippings, transfer to dish, add 4 eggs and 4 egg whites, feta cheese and salt/pepper to taste. Bake about 38 mins on 350. This is 2 WW points - and a perfect healthy breakfast that keeps me full till lunch. And I love all the kale in this!

Fridays at work - we have stirfry in our cafe at my office building. Get it... Stir-Friday. Ha.

Anyway - it is easy to go crazy as they have awesome basmati rice & noodles and the awesome cafe lady makes the most delicious crab rangoon - and all that shit adds up to lots of calories. This Friday - I resisted temptation and stuck to protein and veggies and just did a little sesame oil, sriracha & soy sauce - it was awesome and I did not miss all the extra fluff. I was proud of myself for making a better choice and being happy with it.

This is my lunch this week....I like to take pics like this while I cook because I am an Instagram dork.

I know food pics annoy some people but - I really don't care - I love food pics! My instagram feed is a steady stream of food pics & puppies :) Anyway - lunch this week is Chicken Marsala Meatballs.... I added zuchini noodles to bulk up the meal. Really awesome recipe from skinnytaste.

That's about it for now - my goal this week is to get more water in and get 3-4 workouts in (already got 1 in today at lunch). And to continue to track and stay the course :)  Feels so good to be back on plan and blogging again. Cheers!