Weigh In Wednesday

Ut oh. Guess what day it is, guess what day. it. is. Anybody, anybody? Aww come on. I know you can hear me!

HUMP DAY…whoop, whoop!! 

Sorry that commercial cracks. me. up. But…guess how much weight I lost?  Guess how much weight. I. lost? Aww come on. I know you’re wondering?

1.6 pounds…whoop, whoop!!

Now I am down 24.2 pounds! And today I am sooooo happy to be wearing a dress that used be a “standing up” dress. Ya know, a dress that looks great “standing up” but then you sit down and…ugh yuck! Well this dress is no longer a “standing up” dress. It’s a sitting down, bending over or even squating dress. Holla!!  

Dress-Old Navy
Cardigan-Belk
Boots and Belt-not a clue!

Bracelet-Charming Charlie
Necklace-Part of old flapper girl
Halloween costume. Haha...true story!!
Earrings-Belk 

Guess what else. Guess. what. else? I went to the gym with Sarah at 5:30 AM this morning and then made us a mocha frappe. Until recently I thought people who woke up at 5 in the morning were freaking nutbags. But for some reason I am loving it! I have more energy than I’ve had in I can’t tell you how long and I am making dang frappuccinos before 7 AM!! What in the hey zeus is happening to me!?!? All I know is that I am feeling great and want more of whatever has gotten into me. 

Pour coffee mixture over ice and enjoy...
or add 1 cup mixture and 1/2 cup
ice to blender for a frappe!! 

You can't handle this
International Delight!!

On top of my A flipping MAZING iced coffee recipe I would also like to throw some lunch and breakfast ideas out there for ya! I get so sick of eating the same things all the time so I’ve been switching it up. I know my diet is nowhere near perfect, and yes I eat processed foods, but I’ve come such a long way since June 17, 2013. Eventually I would love to eat clean and cut out all diet drinks but y’all I’m just taking this journey one step at a time. And because of that, today I am happier than a camel on Wednesday!! 

BREAKFAST...

My bestie Lacy came up with this creation...
Banana greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon
unsweetened cocoa, splenda or truvia 

Would you believe all of this fruit came
from Dollar General?! I just cut it up. 

OMG I couldn't live without these!!!
140 calories for 2!!!

LUNCH...

You can have 20 chips for 75 calories.
I use the LC instead of mayo.
I think about that sandwich all morning!!

1 entire can of greens=60 calories
tukey=50 calories
Sautéed bell pepper=18 calories
Y'all that's alotta food for 128 calories!!!

SNACK...

67 calories and satisfies my sweet tooth

Do it to it BIG TUNA

Alrightie before you turn your nose up let me just say that I am NOT a tuna fan but this recipe is by far one of my best and yummiest. I got the original recipe from my Hungry Girl cookbook and put my own little twist to it. So put on ya big girl panties and give it a shot. I PROMISE you and your family will LOVE it! The hubs asks me to make it all the time. So here goes …

Skinny Rockin Tuna Noodle Casserole

Ingredients

-3/4 of a box rotini pasta cooked and drained

-1 big can tuna in water drained

-1 can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup

-1/2 can Lesueur peas (Is there any other brand?)

-3 light creamy swiss laughing cow cheese wedges

-Creole seasoning to taste (I used 2 teaspoons)

-Garlic powder to taste (I used 2 teaspoons)

-Salt and pepper to taste (I used 2 teaspoons)

-Grated parmesan (1 used ½ cup but you can add more/less)

Instructions: 

Cook rotini pasta and drain. In a separate 9x13 casserole dish combine the tuna, cream of mushroom, peas, laughing cow cheese wedges, creole, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Fold in pasta. Top with parmesan cheese and bake for 10-15 minutes. Serve with 40 calorie toast. 

The cast...

It looks gross but is soooooo GOOD!!!!

This stuff is HEAVEN sent. I can eat an
 entire triangle, or 5, by itself!!

The plate is mine and the bowl is Chris's.
Oh to be a guy and eat whatever you want!!

Holy rockin tuna batman this stuff is amazing!! I had to control myself from going back for a third helping. Yes, I went back for a second helping kitchen police. Believe me, you’ll understand when you make this!!

So get in the kitchen and 
do it to it BIG TUNA!! 

Today's teacher outfit...
Racerback Undershirt-Gap Outlet
Jacket/Cardigan-Belk
Necklace-Charming Charlie
Earrings-John Wind
(b-day gift from the hubs)

Oscar the grouch

Weekend workouts NEVER happen but I was getting so dang grouchy Saturday that I really needed it!!  I decided to go all by my lonesome to the Y track and ended up getting in 3.11 miles!! I think "the time" is drawing very near if ya know what I mean ladies?! I want a tub of ice cream like nobody's business and I feel like I'm on an emotional roller coaster. Even though I still have to run a lap, walk a lap I'm making progress. Emotional or not. I can't wait to be able to run 3 miles without stopping. I'm thinking a new pair of tennis shoes are in order when I finally get there.

Last week I exercised one day and that's it. I think it was a much needed break but by Friday I was missing my more intense workout sessions. Even though it was overcast, and only around 80 degrees at the track Saturday, the humidity felt killer after my time off. I struggled with the first couple laps but after that I couldn't get enough. The sweat dripping down my face made me want to push harder and with every step my grouchiness started to disappear. For some reason I just wanted to keep going, keep pushing myself, and see how much I could take. Weird?!?! Yeah I know, I thought the same thing but it actually happened...to me!!  And afterwards I no longer felt like strangling innocent people for no reason. Sooooo I would say it was a pretty productive workout! 

After my mood transforming jog the hubs decided he still wanted to be married to me and we grabbed lunch at Ranchero's. It's just like a Barberito's and their salads are so good!! I wish I could get lunch there everyday. I always get the grilled chicken salad with no shell. I'm not even a salad person but these are so filling and packed with flavor. 

So proud of my nonwashed hair updo 

After lunch we rode over to Corner Market Antiques and Furniture in Blackshear, GA. This place is huge and they have some of best furniture if you're into painting or redoing old pieces. I'm obsessed! All of the furniture in our extra bedroom is from garage sale finds and hand me downs that I've sanded and repainted. So yes, this place is like walking around in heaven for me. For Chris not so much but he humored me and went anyway...thank God for smart phones and candy crush!! 

Even if you don't live in the South GA area you should check out Corner Market Antiques and Furniture Facebook page for ideas. Honestly that's one big reason I like to go look. I'm so cheap and steal ideas!!

If I haven't told you guys yet, I LOVE to decorate, sew, cook and make crafts. I have absolutely no athletic ability and can't sing or play a single instrument. But this morning my non athletic behind was up and at the gym at 5:30 AM. Sarah worked me like a rented mule son! We did the leg press, kettle ball, squats, 5 minute cardio circuits, 2 leg machines and the elliptical for 20 minutes. I've been feelin GREAT today!! Only 2 weeks until the first GSU game. I'm 13 pounds away from being out of the 200's. Gonna work it hard this week, try not to be grouchy and steer clear of the tubs of ice cream calling my name! 

Salon Cheveau

Yesterday I went and got my roots did at Salon Cheveau. My cousin Hannah is a stylist there and she is amazing!! I won't go to anyone else. She's the reason my blonde hair is in such great shape. She's a color genius and I always love my hair when she does it. I wanted to keep my hair the same blonde but add in some darker brown pieces. That's literally the exact sentence I said to Hannah and she nailed it! I always leave happy. 

The color looks great but this is
as good as it gets with my styling on
t-shirt and jeans Friday at school...
should have taken a pic for y'all
when Hannah fixed it!! 

I use Matrix Total Results-Amplify Volume 
conditioner between heavier conditioning days. 
I like my hair big and this keeps it healthy but 
not weighed down. I also really LOVE the 
Moroccan Oil Hannah rubs through my ends...
gotta get some of this stuff!!

If you live in the Waycross area you should go see her. She's precious and ever bit as sweet as she is beautiful! She's also getting married here pretty soon so give her a congrats when you see her! 

When you make an appointment with Hannah Thrift you'll receive $10 off any color service by mentioning Eagle with an Appetite. I promise you'll LOVE your hair!!  

325 Hatcher Point Rd~Waycross
(912) 285-0555

It's the Climb (How I got motivated)

I've had a couple people message me on Facebook and ask me how I got motivated to start losing weight. This makes me chuckle because I literally have to motivate myself every. dang. day. I wish it just came naturally and I was one of the those people who just loved being healthy. But y'all I'm not!! I love fast food and being lazy. I also love to sleep!! Turn my redneck box fan on and I'll be out like a fat kid playing dodge ball.

So I guess the answer to that question is this. I know how it feels to be over weight. I have struggled with it my entire life. I remember sitting in the car rider drop off line in 6th grade with my Dad before school. Every morning he held my hand and prayed with me before I got out of the car. I never prayed this out loud but I remember asking God to please not let anyone make fun of me. Y'all I prayed that every morning! When I got to high school I was voted friendliest for senior superlatives and was on homecoming court, but do you know that no one ever once asked me to prom or homecoming. Of course I still went with all my friends or asked a friend to take me but deep down I wished someone, anyone would ask me to be their date. In college my freshman year I was at the pool with my roommates and these boys started making fun of me. I wrapped up in my towel, walked back to our apartment, shut the door, and cried like a baby. Y'all I know how it feels!!

I didn't tell you all that to make you feel sorry for me. I told you that because anyone who says your weight doesn't matter is NOT being truthful or they've never been there. Some days it takes everything I have in me to keep going. BUT I know that I CAN do it and how happy the end result will make me! I take it one day at the time. I don't think about anything but the day ahead of me. When I survive that day it makes me want to push forward and tackle another day. When I make it through a week I get this happy high that makes me want to challenge myself even more.

I know Miley's gone a little cray, cray here lately but the first time I heard "The Climb" I got teary eyed. I know, I know it's a Miley Cyrus song for crying out loud but the words ring so true...
I can almost see it
That dream I'm dreaming
But there's a voice inside my head saying you'll never reach it

Every step I'm taking
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking

But I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high

Always gonna be a uphill battle 
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
It ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the CLIMB

I have tears streaming down my face right now because I know how it feels to be lost with no direction. After gaining back 70 pounds and having to start all over there most definitely was a voice inside my head saying you'll never reach it. But guys I CAN and WILL do this...
It's all about THE CLIMB!! 

Summer 2011-Lake Oconee 

Buck up sister girl it's Weigh In Wednesday

Monday I had almost thrown in the towel guys. I felt overwhelmed and like I just didn't have enough time in the day to get everything done. I thought, "How in the heck am I going to be able to keep this up?" I'm waking up at 5 AM and going to bed at 1 AM...something's gotta give!! Then out of the blue Sarah called and said, "Kelly let's take this week off from exercising at 5AM and start back first thing next week." Now don't get me wrong, I have truly enjoyed working out at 5 AM but I felt relief flood over me.

I have a really bad habit of putting unnecessary stress on myself. I've got a type A personality like nobody's business!! Sometimes I wish I could just not worry, do the best I can, and let whatever happens happen. But y'all I'm just not made up that way...I stress!! I want for everything I do to be organized, on time, and perfect. Can I get an Amen from all the type A's out there? Here's the problem though...NOTHING in life is perfect. Not my job, not my weight loss journey, not my family, not my husband, and for SURE not ME! So y'all sometimes it's OKAY to say I'm tired and give yourself a little slack.

In leu of my slackness, Tuesday I did something crazy. Hold on to your seats for this...I went and took ONE hour to go walk, not run, not beat my best time, just walk!! During that one hour I didn't think about all the upcoming deadlines on my calendar, the lesson plans I needed to write, the weight I needed to lose or waking up at 5 AM. I just walked and enjoyed being outside. When I got home I felt so much better and my anxiety had subsided. Later that night when I laid down in bed this verse popped in my head: 
"Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10

Lying there it hit me that I will make time for any and everything but the only time slot I've allowed for God is 10 minutes on the ride to work. I haven't stopped to read my Bible in WEEKS. I haven't gotten down on my knees to pray in WEEKS. I've given God a tiny little spot on the back burner and just left him there. I've been doing everything my way and telling God that when I had time we could talk. No wonder I've felt overwhelmed. I've made what should be my number one priority my last.

Let me be truthful and tell you that today I started not to post. When I weighed in this morning I had lost 1.4 pounds. I thought, "What happened to the 3 lbs and 4 lbs I WAS losing each week?" I felt mad and discouraged all at the same time.  When you bust your butt 1.4 pounds just doesn't seem like the best reward. So I had a little pity party for myself while I got dressed for work this morning. Then, of flipping course, I heard my mama's voice say the same thing she has said to me a million times...
Buck up sister girl!! You've gone too far and worked too hard to quit now!! 

How she does that without even being there I don't know but dangit she's right!! I've lost  22.6 pounds and a stupid plateau is no reason to throw that all away. It's time to buck up sister girls!! We've gone too far and worked too hard to quit now!! 

Left-Sister girl in June @ 236.4 pounds
Right-Sister girl this morning @ 213.8 pounds

My goal this week is to eat cleaner
and drink more water!! I've been staying
within my calorie limit but eating TONS of
processed foods and drinking more Coke
Zero than I care to admit. So bring on the
 FIBER. Maybe I won't have round two
and ship my pants...again!!

I'm in love with the Jewish

Jewish Coffee Cake that is. This stuff is the paaaaa...jamas!! I got the recipe from Kelly, one of besties, and made it for our Sunday school class this weekend and another one for Chris to take to work yesterday. It's an easy crowd pleaser that you can take as a breakfast or dessert. My favorite part is that you can make it the night before!! 

Okay so this recipe is NOT low cal but everything in moderation is my motto. Alright that's a lie...my motto is give the leftovers away so my lard butt doesn't have a chance to eat it later but regardless this stuff is AMAZING!! Even the hubs likes it and I've told you guys before how he's my man child with a five year olds taste buds.

Ingredients:
-1 box yellow cake mix
-1 small box instant vanilla pudding
-1/2 cup sour cream
-1/2 cup vegetable oil
-4 eggs
-1/2 jar peach jam or preserves
*Mix all of the above ingredients and then add...
-1/2 small jar cherries finely chopped (otherwise your batter will be pink)

In another bowl combine:
-1 cup brown sugar
-1 cup chopped pecans
-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
-1/2 tsp. cocoa 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Pour HALF of batter and sprinkle with HALF of dry brown sugar mixture. Repeat. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. 

Pour half of batter 

Sprinkle...pour the other half of batter

Be nice to it and I promise it will spread 

Sprinkle again 

Bake for 45 minutes and cool...that's it!!

How SIMPLE and holy hallelujah it's good!!! The smell reminds me of fall and makes your entire house smell GREAT!! 

P.S. Look what was sitting on 
my doorstep yesterday when I got 
home. It made me smile after a long 
hard day. What a sweet, sweet
Mama I have!! Hop on over to Big 
Lots and get one. Fall is coming 
soon...hang in there y'all!!