7 Steps Update

Are you trying to follow the 7 steps with me? How are you doing?

I am limping along, still working on it. Here's how the week went so far:

Monday: 2 fruits - check

Tuesday: 2 fruits - check
Write goals - did the next day

Wednesday: 2 fruits - check
6 glasses water - drank 5 (amazing for me!!)

Thursday: 2 fruits - check
6 glasses water - drank 5
exercise 20-30 min. - exercise video for 20 min.

Friday: 2 fruits - only 1
6 glasses water - drank 4
exercise 20-30 min. - walked 15-20 min.
eliminate bad foods - didn't do, though mostly did a few days ago
(was gone all day so this was a tough day)

That's where I'm at. I will finish out the weekend and I will check my weight on Monday just to see if anything happened. I plan to continue this next week before doing any other program.

Have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!

Lisa :)

Watchin' What We Eat Wednesday ~ Skillet Sausages and Peppers

I am glad to have a chance to link up to Watchin' What We Eat Wednesday! It's always good to "hang out" with other folks trying to be healthy. And I love sharing healthy recipes.

I can't believe that I haven't posted this one yet - I even had to double-check! It is one of our favorites and really easy. The recipe is from Weight Watchers.

Skillet Sausages and Peppers
6 Italian-style turkey sausages (I only seem to be able to find 5 in a package)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups frozen red, green, and yellow bell peppers (I use a Bird's Eye frozen stir-fry combo that has all these plus the onions, so I don't even have to chop an onion!)
1 (16-oz) jar spaghetti sauce with mushrooms (I buy a large can to make it more saucy)
6 cups cooked pasta

1. In large skillet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, brown sausages on all sides. Add onion and peppers; cook 3-5 minutes, stirring often.

2. Stir in spaghetti sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 minutes.

3. Divide pasta onto each of 6 plates; top each portion with a sausage and an equal amount of sauce.

Per serving: 338 cal., 8 g fat, 4 g fiber (7 pts)

Hope you like this one and that it helps make dinner a little easier.

For more healthy recipes, got to Watchin' What We Eat Wednesday at Honey, I Shrank Myself.

Lisa :)

Following the 7 Steps

I started my 7 Steps today that I mentioned in my last post. How about you?

All I had to do for Monday was eat at least 2 pieces of fresh fruit. I did that! I also got my grocery shopping done, so am somewhat stocked up with better foods. Oh, and I weighed myself this morning to keep track. Ugh! It was awful -even higher. It's scary how fast the scale can go up - and it takes sooooo long to go down.

Now, Tuesday, I will have to eat at least 2 pieces of fresh fruit again and write out my goals - all kinds of goals, not just weight goals. Will do!

Wednesday will be my real challenge - eat 2 more fruits (at least), review goals, and drink water. If you've been reading this blog, you know that I struggle with drinking water. But I will do it!

If you're following along, let me know how you're doing with it.

Lisa :)

Transition to Healthy

OK, I'm getting ready to get back in the groove of being healthy. How about you?

I guess back to school is a good time to start over. I'm not rejoining Weight Watchers quite yet. I want to try some things on my own first. I did gain an extra 3-4 pounds this last 2 weeks away from home, so now I have an even bigger amount to lose!

The first thing I will do is follow the steps in this article: 7 Small Steps to a Healthy You
from Weight Watchers. I did it in April and lost 3 pounds that week. I was also doing better at eating more fruit and drinking water. Those are good habits! Another one of the steps is to write out your goals, including personal goals. When I did that in April, one goal was to start a blog...I achieved that one!

Since the 7 steps start on a Monday, I will go ahead and start this Monday. That will give me time to plan for it and grocery shop to make sure I have plenty of fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods on hand.

Will you join me in following these steps next week? We can do it!

Lisa :)

Labels

I updated my labels on my posts and put the listing down on my side bar. That way, if you are looking for healthy recipes - it will be much easier to find them!

All the recipes are labeled "healthy recipes" and then broken down into breakfasts, dinners, side dishes, desserts, and beverages. Now you can look through to see if there is something that you like or that you missed!

I know that's helpful for me - hope it is for you.

Still struggling here with weight, but planning on getting back into a routine this coming week. I already have a plan for making the transition back into weight loss/getting healthy mode. I'll update you next week.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Lisa :)

Healthy Recipe: Marmalade-Broiled Grapefruit

I usually only post recipes that I've tried, but I just found yet another cookbook that I had tucked away. This recipe sounds easy and interesting and it's only 1 point for WW! I'm not a big fan of grapefruit, but I would actually eat it this way.

Marmalade-Broiled Grapefruit
2 medium grapefruit
4 teaspoons orange marmalade
4 teaspoons brown sugar

1. Cut each grapefruit in half crosswise; remove seeds, and loosen sections of grapefruit with a knife.

2. Spread marmalade evenly over cut sides of grapefruit; sprinkle evenly with brown sugar. Broil 5 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Yield: 4 servings.

69 cal., .1 g fat, 1.4 g fiber, ( 1 pt)

Try it out and let me know what you think!

Lisa :)

Go Enter This Giveaway!

My friend, Mel over at A Box of Chocolates is giving away Weight Watchers 3-month Online Subscriptions! You better stop over there and enter.

It's a great way to get started on your way to healthy eating. There are many great tools to use online. And if you win, you can try it out for free!

I love Weight Watchers myself and plan to restart (no matter what!) since I am finally back home after another 2 weeks away from home.

Hope you win!

Lisa :)

Healthy Recipe: Fabulous Fruit Salad

I'm still away from home, but at least I can give you one healthy recipe that I have memorized. I don't have the points for it, but they would be easy for a WW person to calculate.

I love this fruit salad - so yummy and so refreshing and...all the ingredients are good for you!

Fabulous Fruit Salad
1 red apple, cored and chopped
1 green apple, cored and chopped
1 nectarine, sliced or chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
1/2 cup craisins
1/2 cup walnuts
6-8 oz. lemon yogurt

Mix ingredients and chill.

**I always double this recipe when I make it. Also, to make points/calories lower if you need to, you can use fat-free lemon yogurt and decrease the amount of craisins and walnuts.

I hope you like this. I want some right now!

Have a blessed weekend!

Lisa :)

Struggling in Montana

Oh, it is so hard to be away from home for so long and try to stay healthy - especially when I wasn't doing so well with it before I left!

I'm trying to watch my portions while I'm here, but I'm still having a lot of foods that aren't the best for me. There are lots of meals out, meals with relatives, etc. I have cooked some healthy foods, but not enough. I haven't been very active (does going up and down stairs during the day count?). And I have hardly been drinking water.

Once again, I will not give up. I may not be able to accomplish much here (will keep trying though), but it is making me feel even more determined to get healthy when I get home. That is a better feeling than the "nothing's working anyway, so give up" feeling.

I will be home in less than a week. If I could just keep from gaining weight, I would be so happy. Let's see...6 days to make that happen. It CAN be done!

I'm sure some of you are struggling too. I'm with ya! Every day, every hour can be a fresh start if you want it to be. And I'm going to set a goal for tomorrow right now: Drink 4 glasses of water. Doesn't sound like much, but that would be an accomplishment for me!

Lisa :)

Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival Winners!

Here is the winner of the Weight Watchers cookbooks (one of the recipes was posted previously):

semtaylor

Congrats!!

Lisa :)