Fitness Friday - Something MUST Be Wrong With My Scale

Well if only it were true that something was wrong with my scale! It's another Fitness Friday and I wish I had good news about my weight, but I'm OK and still doing Wii Fit.

The scale (bad scale!) was up today - sigh. Up a full 1 pound - ugh! Wish I could say that I have no idea why, but it might have something to do with a birthday lunch for 1 friend, a birthday breakfast for another, making scones and pumpkin bread for hubby's office (meaning I have to sample), etc. That sounds awful though I tried to make good choices along the way.

At the birthday lunch, I only ate half and took the rest home for hubby. At the birthday breakfast, I ordered the light breakfast. I only ate 1 scone before sending along with hubby and tried my best not to eat more than a couple of slices of pumpkin bread. Still, any amount of extra things like that in a week for me make a difference (I can gain weight just smelling goodies - LOL!) I will try to do better this week!

I did do Wii Fit 2 times this week. Would like to do more next week. I did some balance games, a lot of aerobics, and some yoga. I need to get the strength training added in. I do plan to check in on the Wii Fit Olympics tomorrow. The 5 events will be announced in the morning. Even if I have no chance of winning, I want to take note of what others are achieving so I have some goals to work toward. You might want to check in on the fun Saturday 2/28!

How was your week? Did you have any struggles this week? Are you making any changes for next week?

Have a great weekend! And check out my giveaway if you're interested in a diet book!

Lisa :)

A Review and a Giveaway: Stress Eater Diet

**Giveaway now closed.**

I had an opportunity to review the book Stress Eater Diet. I was interested to take a look at it as I thought it sounded like something that just might apply to me!

First I took the Stress Eater Quiz and confirmed that I am indeed a Stress Eater - an extreme one even (not really surprising to me)!

You might want to take a minute to take the quiz yourself at www.stresseaterquiz.com and see what the results say about you.

This book was easy to read and had all the information I needed. I really appreciate it when a diet book keeps things simple - if the explanation of the how and why is too long and complicated, I just skip to the meal plans/recipes! I did read the whole book this time. A lot of information was a repeat to me after having read several diet books and many articles on health. But I was still surprised by a few new facts!

Here are some new things I learned:
~ According to the book, carbonated beverages should be avoided during stress as they have "high levels of carbon dioxide. Stress causes an accumulation of carbon dioxide and lactates, resulting in a condition called acidosis that weakens the body and the immune system..."

~ "Alcohol can slow the process by which your body burns fat for about 24 hours after you drink it."

~ Low-fat versions of food aren't necessarily better, example: "2 TBSP Reduced Fat Peanut Butter = 187 calories vs. 2 TBSP regular PB = 191", "1/2 C Light Ice Cream = 111 calories vs. 1/2 C Regular Ice Cream = 130"

Overall, I liked the book and will try incorporating some ideas from the 4-week eating and exercising plan. I would have liked to see more ideas for the meal plan. A detailed 7-day week 1 meal plan is included in the book and then you just add on carbs or fruits in the other weeks, but detailed menus for the other weeks would have been helpful. However, anybody who has done any kind of diet before can figure out what foods to have, how to substitute, etc.

You can get more information from the authors' website. And if you're interested in buying the book from Amazon, click here. Also, you can see what other blogs are saying about the book.

Does it sound interesting to you? Well, I have an extra copy to give away! Leave me a comment telling me what you usually eat (or crave) when you're stressed. I'll randomly draw a name from the comments. The drawing will end on Monday night 3/2 and I'll announce the winner on Tuesday 3/3! Make sure to leave me your contact info.

Have a stress-free day!

Lisa :)

Fitness Friday - On My Weigh Down :)

I am happy to link up to Fitness Friday this week! Stop by Wii Fit Mommies for Fitness Friday to see how other moms are doing and the announcement about Wii Fit olympics! Sounds like a lot of fun though I am a Wii Fit beginner. Guess I will just have to train hard this week - LOL!

OK - results for this week. I am down .5 lb this week! Yay! I know it doesn't sound much to some of you, but with my struggles, any weight lost involves a happy dance! And I do know why it was only that much. I only did Wii Fit once during this past week. Just got busy - I need to make sure that I am making time for it. Also, I only did so-so with keeping track of my WW points. What got me off track was that darn clearance Valentine candy! I have no will power over super-cheap prices for chocolate! I will get back on track this week!

I have developed a bit of a routine on the Wii Fit for now: I start with a long run or an island lap for a warm up, then a couple of balance games, advanced step, boxing, and hula hoops. If I have enough time, I move on to strength training and then finish with a couple of yoga poses. Do you have a routine? I am open to any suggestions!

How was your week? Any struggles? Good news to report? However it went, we are starting a new week and we CAN be successful this week!

Have a blessed weekend!

Lisa :)

Works-For-Me Wednesday: Low-Cal Garlic Bread Substitute

Whether I'm trying South Beach recipes or counting WW points, the bread must be limited. Especially the yummy buttery garlic bread! But, oh how I miss it sometimes. I finally came up with my own substitution that's only 2 points!

Use 100-calorie Thomas English Muffins. Split muffins in half and coat well with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray, then sprinkle with garlic powder. Put muffins on a cookie sheet and toast in 400-450 degree oven (or use a toaster oven). If you eat both halves, it will be 2 WW points.

My hubby and son even liked these! Finally I feel like I can still have yummy bread along with my soup or pasta dinners!

This substitute works for me! See what works for other people at Works-For-Me Wednesday hosted by Rocks In My Dryer.

Hope you are having a super week!

Lisa :)

Fitness Friday - That's Right, Another New Start :)

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you'll notice that I keep trying new programs and/or going back to old programs again. It can seem a little scattered. But I am trying to stay motivated and if something doesn't seem to be working, then I will go to another program.

For now, I am back to counting WW points (something I have had success with in the past), but my newest exciting thing is that I now have a Wii Fit and have joined up with Wii Fit Mommies! On Monday, I started my newest attempts at health and weight loss.

I did drink some of my water this week and I stayed within my WW points from Monday thru Thursday. I also did Wii Fit 3 times during those days. And guess what?? YES - I lost weight!!! Woo-hoo! I lost 1.5 lbs!! That made me really happy, especially after the gain I had the week before. I plan to continue the same for this week and will let you know the results on Friday. I do hope to start posting more often on this blog, too.

I am in the process of setting some weight loss goals and deadlines for myself and will update you on those later.

I hope you had a good week! Even if you didn't - a new week is starting. Let go of the past week and start fresh!

Lisa :)

Friday Weigh-In - SB Week 9

Argh!! It was the no-good, very-bad, horrible week for me. I just was not motivated - sigh.

Did I follow SB diet? Not so much. Did I drink a glass of water every morning? Once. Did I exercise 2 times? Not.at.all. And, did I lose any weight this week (I think you can guess the answer!)?? NO! Not only that - I gained...2 pounds!!

I'm not sure where to go from here. I need to be motivated and I really do want to be healthy and lose weight, really!! I do try not to let these things get me too down and I keep trying. I think it's time to go back to tracking WW points - it has worked for me before and it can be done again. The tracking keeps me more accountable. There are a lot of other good WW tools that involve writing things out and I just might force myself to do some of them.

So, new week, new goals. I will start tracking WW points on Monday. I will find a weight ticker to put on my sidebar instead of listing each week. And I will drink water. That is it and that will be hard enough for me.

How are you doing? Did you have a tough week or a great week? Either way, keep on going - you can do it!!

Thanks for joining me on the weight roller coaster - LOL!

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Lisa :)

Bloggy Giveaway Winner!

And the winner is...

Mel @ A Box of Chocolates !!

Congratulations Mel! Check out Mel's place on Fridays when she posts 5 Point Fridays with healthy recipes. She might even post some of the recipes from this book!

Thanks for playing along with the Bloggy Giveaways! I hope you had fun and enjoyed visiting here.

Lisa :)