Thank You Arthur Agatston!

The South Beach diet (created by Arthur A) is working for me! In one week's time I lost 8 pounds! Woo Hoo! I have stuck to the food lists...but since I am not a big veggie person I am hungry a lot. I go to bed starving and wake up starving. One more week to go until I can reintroduce fruits and whole grains into my diet.

I have been having a hard time with the running lately. For the past two weeks Cole has been sick, I had a hair appointment, then I was sick... I still haven't completed week 6. I just need to run for 25 mins. straight and then it's complete. Yeah, that's not happening! I have been to the gym a few times recently and did my own thing. Yesterday I walked 5 minutes, ran 10, walked 5 ran 10 walked 5. I was happy with that. I do better with the breaks...then I can jog more energized and with a better attitude instead of laboring just to get the minutes done. PLUS, the new book South Beach Diet Super Charged says to not just keep one pace throughout workouts. It suggests to walk at a moderate pace for a 2 minute warmup, 15 seconds of walking supercharged, walking 60 seconds at a moderate pace, repeat 8 times then 2 minute moderate pace for cool down. (this is a sample of week one workout) I don't want to just walk. I don't mind running for short periods of time. I want to burn more calories and get my heart rate up. So, I think I will pitch the Couch to 5K and just do what feels good that day. I will still get to the gym as much. My goal was never to run a 5K or be able to run for 30 minutes straight. I just want to lose weight and it seems like whenever someone loses enough weight for people to notice it is because they started running.

Thank yous go out to Regina and Amber too... they got me interested in doing these healthy acts.

I know that next week I won't lose as many pounds, but I am still pushing forward. I want to be able to wear cute sundresses this summer!

Recipes I promised and a bonus

A few months ago I told some of you that I made a super delicious dinner that Dan said was the best I ever made. (That really isn't saying much! haha) When I made this dish the whole kitchen area smelled like an Italian restaurant...in a good way! :) I skipped the mushrooms and used canned spinach. (Yes, I actually ate the spinach b/c the whole thing was soooo good!) Here is the link...
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Florentine-Casserole/Detail.aspx

Try this yummy dessert. It would be AWESOME in the fall...

Frosted Maple Apple Dessert
Filling
roll out pie crust dough (2, one for top and one for bottom)
12 cups thinly sliced and peeled apples
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbs flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp maple flavor (Mmmmm!)

Heat oven to 450 degrees.
Mix all above ingredients in a bowl.
Place one crust in baking dish. Spread filling on top. Then put the other crust on top of filling.
Bake 15 minutes.
Reduce temp to 400 degrees and bake for 20-30 minutes longer.

Frosting
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp maple flavor (again, Mmmm!)
1 1/2 to 2 tbs milk

Drizzle this on top when you pull the dessert out of the oven. Let sit for an hour...if you can wait!



Here is a chicken dinner I made last night. It was one of the best chicken dinners I ever had...and that includes eating out. (Maybe it is b/c I am doing the South Beach diet and am starving and anything would taste good at dinner time!) I used splenda and omitted the sesame oil.
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/crockpot-slow-cooker-phase-i/182843-crockpot-chicken.html

I'll start with Lent, but who knows where I will end up!

Today is the first day of Lent for Catholics. Most years I give up chocolate or all treats, but not this year. The year I really need to give that stuff up because my weight is out of control!!!!! But no, I'm not giving it up. Why? Because my in-laws are coming next month and my mother-in-law and I share a birthday and she wants us to have a cake for our birthdays. Think about it, in-laws here 24/7 for a week. I'm gonna need sweets! Plus, we are going to New Orleans and after seeing The Princess and The Frog, I just have to try some beignets! beignet (pronounced [bɛ.ɲɛ], which is the French word for fried dough), in American English, refers to a pastry made from deep-fried dough and sprinkled with confectioner's sugar, is a kind of French doughnut.

Oh yeah, just look at that thing!!!! Get in my belly!

So, in an attempt to shed many, many pounds I am going to start the South Beach diet on Sunday. My friend Regina and her husband are doing it and invited me to share in their grumpiness. I am also doing the couch to 5K program that my friend Amber is doing and invited friends to join in. (Do you think maybe my friends had an intervention without me and decided that every few weeks they would think up a new weight loss idea to expose me to?) Anywho, I am in week 6 of 9 weeks. Here is the link if you are interested...http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml It is a good way to ease into jogging. You jog and then walk and then jog some more. Until the end of week 5. Then you run for 20 minutes straight! As I was running for 20 minutes straight I thought, yeah, maybe I won't keep doing this. Not really into just straight running. I'm bored. Want to walk. Just want to be skinny without doing a thing. Blah, blah, blah. Then Dan gives me an Ipod Nano for Valentine's Day WITH an armband so I can use it while I am running. So I guess I will continue with the running.

In case you are wondering what I am doing for Lent: I am going to go to church every Sunday and read the Bible everyday. I found this program that gives you 100 important passages to read in the Bible over 100 days. It is called the E100 Challenge...http://www.ministryplanet.net/sites/e100/The_Program
These are two things that I feel I should do more often, so Lent is the only time I will make myself do it without giving in to laziness or excuses.

All kinds of changes going on!

Like the title says, I'll start with Lent, but who knows where I will end up...maybe 10 pounds lighter hauling ass through the streets of a 5K race before mass. ;)

Happy and Sad

So happy that the Olympic games are here! I love most of the sports, watching the snow fall on TV and watching in non-stop marathon form! Yay ice skating! Yay Curling!

So sad about the luge accident that took the life of a 21 year old athlete. http://www.comcast.net/olympics/story.asp?i=20100212221580123890908&ref=rec&tm=&src=DOLY
Being the mom of a boy I immediately thought about that poor momma getting the call.

Yummy Potatoes

For an easy side dish try this:

Cut up potatoes into slices.

Mix in a bowl: olive oil, a capful of Mrs. Dash and some garlic powder.

Toss potatoes in mixture.

Spread onto aluminum foil covered pan and bake at 400 degrees for 20 mins. Then turn the potatoes over and bake for another 15 minutes.

Then Enjoy!