Who is ready for some FOOOTTBALLL!!!

I am by all means not a football fan. I don't mind really any other sports but I found football super boring. My husband is quite shocked I even know some football players names. Damn Jessica Simpson. Maybe she should be reading my blog due to her new plump figure.

Today in light of the Superbowl I made BBQ burger pizza for 250 calories exactly. How is this possible??

1 La Tortilla Factory wrap (there wraps vary in calories and flavors, I had a 80 calorie one)

1/4 cup of fat free cheddar cheese (45 cals)

2 tablespoons of Budweiser BBQ sauce (35 calories)

2/3 cup of morning star crumble (80 calories)

1 oz of jalapenos(5 cals)

1 oz of banana peppers (5 cals)

Dash of Tabascos sauce, red crushed peppers, and any other spicy seasoning I have.

I also made a small side salad with tomatoes and cucumbers to enjoy my yummy baked pizza with.

I am a huge La Tortilla Factory fan. I have used these wraps to make tuna wraps, cucumber and hummus pizza, turkey pepperoni pizza, tuna pizza, chicken salad wraps. OH the possibilities are end less. Here is there site, http://www.latortillafactory.com/jadworks/ltf/jwsuite.nsf/sitewelcome/Home

Panera Bread free deals tomorrow

Tomorrow Panera Bread is giving away free coffee with breakfast samples. I guess some of the breakfast samples are grilled breakfast sandwiches and also yogurt parfait.

I usually don't go to Panera anymore because you can't customize your cafe lattes like you can at Starbucks. Panera Bread is awesome, don't get me wrong here...but the calories at this place can set you back. I try to save this place for a splurge day. The bagels range anyway from 290 calories to over 430 in yumminess. Here is their link to check out on all nutritional information http://www.panerabread.com/pdf/nutr-guide.pdf

Some quick and easy recipes to make mock Panera Bread items.

Yogurt Parfait = A quick and easy yogurt parfait that I make is 1/c cup of fiber one, 1/2 cup of thawed strawberries (place in mic for about 15-25 secs), and 1/2 cup of fat Dannon Lit N' Fit vanilla yogurt. Add a dash of cinnamon and you are set. Calories are roughly around 140 calories and can be used as a snack or light breakfast.

Breakfast Sandwich = 100 calorie English muffin (you could even use some toasted low calorie bread like Auntie Millie's), 1/4 cup of egg beaters, 2-4 pieces of turkey bacon. You can go ahead and add a little ketchup or salsa to your English muffin. Also there is the option to add slice of fat free cheese or even laughing cow cheese wedge.

Coffee = I recently purchased a coffee grinder and also buy my coffee beans in bulk from Sam's Club. My preferred coffee beans are Starbucks coffee beans. I don't add anything to my coffee except some Splenda. Some suggestions to add in your coffee is Almond Breeze milk.

Give me a beer, bit%h!

Beer! It is either you love it or you hate. I have become a huge lover of beer and had the chance to try so many. The bad thing about beer is if you like to get drunk or drink a few here and there the calories can add up. Let's put it to you this way, if you want nice flavorful beer with taste you are going to expect the calories. If you want to get drunk and want to drink a lot you are probably better off going with lower calories beers.

Some of my favorite low calorie beers are: Bud Select (99 calories), MGD 64 (64 calories), Beck's Premium Light (64 cals), Bud Light (110 calories), Michelob Ultra (95 cals), and Yuengling Light (98 cals).

Also when I get mixed drinks I stick with diet soda for all my drinks. I usually have a diet with vodka. The problem with using diet in your mixed drinks is it causes the stomach to empty faster and go to the bloodstream much faster. This equals getting drunk way faster.

All in all, if you are going to drink alcohol while dieting it can cause you to eat more food than you normal do. So be careful if you drink and be more careful when you drink and eat.

My progress photos

I started Weight Watchers in August 2005. I hit my all time heaviest at my nephew's birthday party in June 2004. This was before I joined a gym as well. Now I weighed myself around this time frame on this super cheap Rite Aid scale and it showed me about 200 pounds. I think I was heavier than that. This photo is funny to me because the fact I was drinkin' an Ultra Light Beer!!

This photo was probably at my very thinnest in April 2006. This was before I really rediscovered alcohol and really enjoying eating back out with friends and family after weight watchers. This photo I was probably just at 140.

This is me currently (right before Christmas 2008) before a work Christmas party. My weight varies back and forth and I have really made a decision the end of last year not to weight myself anymore. I fell into the trap of the scale would rule my day and mood. I try to weigh myself about once a month and also check my weight based on my clothes and pictures.

X Style!

I love working out plain and simple. I have talked to many people about working out and I get the same question, "What gym do you go to?" I answer simply, I don't go to any gym. Then I get the errrghhh WHAT???! Ok, let me explain. I first got back into fitness in 2004. My first real gym membership (besides when I was in the Army) was Bally's Total Fitness. My problem with Bally's was the fact I was at the older style Bally's gym and they were horrid. Then I joined Gold's Gym when they were building in the area where I use to live in Ohio. This was the start of an amazing gym. They have a cardio fitness theater, indoor track, basketball court, spinning room, women's only fitness area, weights upstairs and downstairs, and so much more. Before this Gold's Gym actually open there was some problems with the owner or something or other and they had to change the gym to Urban Active. This was no big deal because I could keep the same price. After we moved to VA it was hard to find a job and my apartment complex has a gym (really crappy one at that) up front near the rental office. I decided to save the money and use what I have already. I had purchased a Space Saver Elliptical trainer back in 2007 due to my new clinical hours when I was in school. Anyways, I decided to finally bust this bad boy out again. I now use my elliptical trainer everyday for about 40 mins while watching TV. Good way to get fit and watch my latest shows (thanks Tivo!!)

My other form of exercise is another great creation by Tony Horton. P90X. I am currently in the more advanced stages of P90X which is called P90X PLUS! So what is P90X ?? P90X consist of about 12 DVD workout programs. Based on the day and the week of program you do one of the DVDS. Now the workouts aren't your typical DVD workout videos with the stick thin girl screaming high pitched at you to move your ass. Nope, p90X is Tony with about 2-3 other people sweating their hot ripped bods off. The great thing about this DVD is you will be sore and requires minimal equipment. All you really need is the DVDs, pull up bar, and either resistant bands or weights. I use to use the bands until I came across an awesome deal on Craigslist for BowFlex Select Tech dumbbells. Check out the site at http://www.beachbody.com/ They also have other fitness programs for people who aren't P90x ready. I have actually taken P90x on vacation with me to Europe. I pop the DVD inside my laptop and worked out.

Baskin Robbins

Baskin Robbins has a new ice cream called BRight Choice. I was able to try this new ice cream a few weekends ago and was pleasantly surprised. I had two scoops. One scoop was the Butter Almond Crunch (140 cals) and the other was the light Raspberry Chip (140 cals). The Butter Almond Crunch was freakin' awesome!! The Raspberry Chip was good but could be a little overwhelming the in the berry department. They have other flavors as well: Vanilla, Pineapple Coconut, and Milk Chocolate.

Here is a link to get a $1 off http://www.baskinrobbins.com/coupon/20090131BRightChoices.html

Peanut Butter what has happen to you?!?

I am a super huge fan of peanut butter and it came as a shock that peanut butter was affected by salmonella. The great thing is there is alternatives to peanut butter that taste great and also are lower in calories.

PB2 is a very yummy powder peanut butter. Powder peanut butter?!?!?? Yes, this isn't a typo. What you do is dish out 2 tablespoons of the PB2 and then mix in 2 tablespoons of water in bowl. It forms into a yummy peanut butter like paste. Now, I will put this on Fiber One bars, vitatop brownies, or even eat with apples. The calories are 50 calories for 2 tablespoons. Check them out at http://www.bellplantation.com/

Another alternative is Better 'n Peanut Butter. This alternative is okay but I enjoy eating it mixed with something else. Like if you are making a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich. http://www.betternpeanutbutter.com/ They also just came out of a chocolate peanut butter jar. I haven't tried this but this stuff can be find at many groceries nationwide. 2 tablespoons is 100 calories and only 2.5% fat!!!

Last but not least I found out about this peanut butter from http://www.hungry-girl.com/. http://fitnutzbutter.com/index.html is the website. I haven't ordered this peanut butter but I have read rave reviews and it is low calories. It is only 1 weight watcher point! Woo Hoo!