Feeling Good!!

So today was weigh in day and I am so excited with the number I saw on the scale this morning.  Since my turn around on Sunday, I have lost 9lbs.  Yes that is right 9lbs. since Sunday!!  Woot woot!!  I was able to finally break through that 80lb. plateau and also get into the next 10 digit.  My total weight loss thus far is now 83.4lbs gone forever.  No more back and forth crap with that 80lb. mark I just couldn't break.  I can't tell you what a good thing that has done for my head to know that I have finally broken through that. I can also say that I am more than half way to my goal.  I am feeling so strong and motivated.  I can't wait to bust through the next 80lbs. 

Tomorrow morning I run my second 5K, and then start to train for a 10K that I will be running in September.  I have never been a runner before and I know I have said this before, but I just love how running races, gives me something to work towards and gives me such an amazing feeling of accomplishment.  My goal is to run a half marathon next year sometime.  Thank you again to those of you who have pushed me into running and helped support me so much along the way.  There is no way I would running right now if it wasn't for you guys.  Love Ya!!

My next big goal is to hit that  100lb. mark in the next 6 weeks.  My parents are coming in town for a big extended family anniversary party for my grandparents and all my aunts and uncles and cousins will be there and the last time I saw any of them was Christmas time about a week into this journey.  Really I just can't wait to be able to say it, "I have lost 100 pounds."  That is going to be a happy day.  Also I told my hubby that he has to take me away for an overnight date somewhere when I hit that 100lb mark too.  We don't get away much just the two of us so I am SUPER excited for that as well.

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!  I encourage all of you to get out there and do something active.

What's on the menu Wednesday!!

I decided I need to do better at updating the blog and hope that it will help keep me motivated to keep going.  So I decided that every Wednesday I will post a new recipe or something to do with food.  I am happy to report that since I have been back on track I have been doing really good.  I took a sneak peak at the scale this morning and was very happy with what I saw.  I won't tell you today, but will make you wait until my official weigh in day on Friday.  

So for today's What's on the Menu Wednesday I am going to share two different recipes with you that I have made recently.  The first one is a chicken marinade that I made the other night for a BBQ we had.  It is called Grilled Island Chicken and I found the recipe on Pinterest.  It was super yummy and the chicken stayed very moist and was very flavorful.  I think it would be great with some grilled pineapple.

Grilled Island Chicken

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1-2 lemons)

1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce

1 clove garlic, finely minced

½ teaspoon dried oregano

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2-4 chicken breasts

Combine all ingredients except chicken in a mixing bowl or large airtight plastic bag. Whisk or shake well until the marinade is well mixed. Add the chicken breasts to the bowl or plastic bag so that they are covered by the marinade. If using a bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap. If using a plastic bag, press out all the excess air and seal the bag tightly. Refrigerate and marinate up to 10 hours (I would suggest marinading for at least 3 hours at the minimum).

Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium heat. Grill the chicken for 6-7 minutes per side (depending on how thick the chicken breasts are), until the chicken is no longer pink in the center (if you have a meat thermometer, the chicken should register 165 degrees). Tent with foil and let the chicken rest for about five minutes before serving.

Alternately, the chicken can be baked using the following directions:

When ready to cook the chicken, preheat the oven to 350° F. Place the chicken breasts in a baking dish and pour the excess marinade over them. Bake in the oven until cooked through and the internal temperature reaches 165° F, about 45 minutes (exact baking time will depend on the size of your chicken pieces.) Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe Source: from melskitchencafe.com

The other recipe is just a snack that I made up but have been really enjoying, probably a little bit too much.  It is a dip for my apples.  I don't have any exact measurements or anything so you will have to judge it based on your preferences.  I take about 2 Tbl. peanut butter, add a good squirt of honey, a bit of cinnamon (I like a lot of it), and a handful of oats.  Stir it all up and dip your apples it and enjoy this super yummy snack.

I hope you enjoy these!!  Let me know what you think of them if you try them.

Back On Track!!

I have been stuck in a MAJOR rut lately, and I am ready to break out.  I have lost and gained back the same 5 lbs about 4 times now and have really not progressed much in the past two months.  I don't know if I can really say I have hit a plateau or not, because honestly I have not been trying very hard.  I have a bad week and then the next week I do better and I have been going back and forth like this for almost 2 months now.  I talked to a friend the other day who is on this same journey and has been struggling lately too and she said that she feels like she is struggling because she is getting too comfortable.  She can fit into a seat at the movies, or the dentist office now, her clothes fit her better, and she is just a regular fat person as opposed to a really fat person.  She is happy with what she has accomplished and feels better than she did so she is just getting comfortable with being THAT kind of person.  I totally agreed with her, that is exactly how I have been feeling.  I feel SO much better than I used to, and I have come a long way and accomplished many things.  It is such a hard journey and it has only gotten harder and I was starting to get too comfortable with this new person I have transformed into.  That doesn't sound like such a bad thing except I know myself too well and I started to sabotage myself and have been eating terribly.  I know that if I give up now and allow myself to just be comfortable with this new person, I will quickly turn back into that old person I left in the dust.  I have been trying to convince myself that I can keep going but for some reason, just can't find the motivation that I had in the beginning.  Then last night at a very random time the thought very clearly came to me and said, you are not done with this journey.  Yes you have run a 5K and can fit into some clothes in the regular section at some stores, but this is not where you wanted to get too.  You have to keep going.  Your husband and children who have supported you so much deserve more from you than this.  Dust yourself off and keep going.  You can do it.  Right then I turned to my husband and said, tomorrow is a new day and I am going to get back on track, I can do this.  He is the most amazing supportive husband I could ask for.  He said to me, OK so what do you need to do to set yourself up for success this week.  We sat and talked about things that I need to work on, such as planning ahead for dinners, and scheduling time to exercise.  I told him that I can not do this alone and I need his help.  Speaking of needing help, I have been doing a lot of soul searching and praying over the past couple of weeks as I have been trying to pull out of this funk.  I kept thinking why am I not getting help, why can't I figure this out and come out of this.  I realize now that I have had the answer all along, but I have just not been doing my part in it.  I have been totally lazy about everything and sat around waiting for everything to magically change.  I think I have just been afraid of the next half of this journey for some reason and have been looking for excuses to fail instead of reasons to succeed.  I realize now, that I have come WAY to far to stop now.  I can not allow myself to be happy with where I am at.  I have bigger goals for myself and I will never accomplish them if I just sit around being happy with where I am at now.  I am worth it and I deserve to accomplish everything I set myself out to do.  At church today I was looking up scriptures that had to do with strength and came across this one, that I know is going to be a huge source of strength for me as I go forward: 

Mosiah 24:14-15  

"And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions. And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord."

What an amazing answer for me.  I can not tell you how much strength and peace this is going to bring to me.  I know without a doubt that I am doing the right thing for me and my family.  I will never be alone on this journey.  I have the most amazing cheerleaders on my side.