Motivate Me Monday ~ Find Your Motivation

It's Motivate Me Monday with Sarah Mae at Like a Warm Cup of Coffee, though this will be the last time it will be hosted at her place - it's moving. When I do MMM posts, I usually do them on my other blog, but I thought it more appropriate to talk about motivation over here today and then you don't have so much chocolate around to distract you - LOL!

I recently found my motivation to go back to Weight Watchers (WW) and try the process again. Motivation is different from knowing in your head that you need to do something. I already knew that I needed to lose weight to avoid health problems like Type 2 diabetes and other issues. I already knew that losing weight would be a matter of eating healthier, eating smaller amounts, and increasing activity. Knowing those things didn't get me to actually do them. I finally found some motivation in the more immediate want of clothes that fit right and look cute. I am motivated because I am uncomfortable and because my true size does not reflect the size I am in my head. And I am motivated by the knowledge that the Lord can help me do it even when I feel that it is too hard.

There are so many areas of life that we need to find motivation for. For example, I am motivated to get my house all cleaned up if company is coming to stay because I want them to think I keep a nice house. But to do the same tasks day in and day out? That takes finding the right motivation. I know that I need to do these things, but that isn't enough to get me to work on them. I need to find my motivation in the fact that even the littlest of household tasks glorify the Lord and provide a loving home for my husband and son.

Do you know what gives you motivation? Take some time to think about all of the things you want to do and write down what motivates you to do them. And remember that your motivation changes as you go along. Ask the Lord to help you discover what motivates you and to help you succeed.

Have a blessed Monday and whatever it is that you are trying to do - you CAN do it with the Lord's help!

Lisa :)

Another Good Weigh-In

I weighed in for the second week of WW and I lost another 1.8 lbs!! That makes a total loss of 3.6 so far, but who's counting - LOL? Sadly, that is just weight that I put on in April, but let's not focus on that. Let's focus on making healthy changes and keeping the scale moving downward so I can be the me that I am in my mind!

I am keeping to my promise to myself that I can't buy summer clothes until I lose at least 5 lbs. I need to lose 1.4 more lbs to go shopping. I'm hoping to do that this week. Now that school is out and I have very few plans this week, I think it will be a great week.

I did not do any Wii Fit last week because of being too busy, but I will do it this week. I'll also be taking some time to track down some new WW recipes to try out.

How did your week go? Find your motivation and keep up the good work, even if you've had a rough week! If I can do it, you can! What are your plans to make this week a successfully healthy week?

Lisa :)

Healthy Recipe: Watermelon and Lime Granita

I found this recipe in a Cooking Light magazine. I finally decided to give it a try and YUM - very glad I did! It's easy to make and has a nice refreshing flavor. Perfect for dessert after a summer meal. If you serve this to company, they won't even realize that they're eating something healthy. They'll just think it's delicious and *fancy*!

Watermelon and Lime Granita

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
4 cups cubed seedless watermelon
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about 5 limes)

1. Place sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Place sugar mixture in a small bowl; cool 10 minutes. Cover and chill at least 30 minutes.

2. Place sugar mixture, watermelon, and lime juice in a blender; process until smooth. Pour watermelon mixture into an 11x7-in. baking dish; cover and freeze at least 2 hours or overnight. Remove mixture from freezer, and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Scrape the entire mixture with a fork until fluffy. Serve with lime wedges, if desired. Yield: 6 servings (1/2 cup each).

100 cal, .2 g fat, .5 g fiber, 2 WW pts

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I hope you do try this - I think you'll really like it! You're even getting a serving of fruit at the same time!

I'm linking this up at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam for Tasty Tuesday - go check out all the delicious recipes there!

Have a blessed day!

Lisa :)

A Good Start

Well, I went to my Weight Watchers (WW) meeting today after my first week back and it was good news! I lost 1.8 lbs!! A loss is soooo nice right now - it helps me to be motivated to really get going. The WW leader talked about motivation today and I have to say that it really is so important. When you are motivated, you are able to be successful, but when you aren't - it is so difficult. It's a good idea to figure out what your motivation is and if you need to change it! What's your motivation?

Now, I did not do perfectly last week - it was rough. We had unexpected company with unexpected grilling and side dishes and desserts over Memorial Day weekend. I did not track or do well with points through Tuesday (last of the leftovers!). However, since I had gone back to WW, I did make better choices and eat smaller portions. Also, I needed to make a dessert and I chose the cake I just posted because it was lighter than the desserts I usually make. Then from mid-week on I tracked my points though I went over almost every day. And I did Wii Fit a bit a few times during the week. Those changes were enough to cause some weight loss.

I haven't made very good food choices today (I tend to "celebrate" and not track points the day of a weigh-in), but I have done Wii Fit today and I plan to get right back on track tomorrow. I think this is going to be a good week so I'm excited to see if I can beat last week's weight loss!!

I desperately need to go shopping. The weather here is hot now and my summer clothes from last year barely fit. I don't like to buy new bigger clothes, but I've got to wear something cute while I lose weight! I have promised myself that I can go shop only after I lose my first 5 pounds. I want to accomplish that very soon!

I hope you are doing well! I'll post another healthy recipe this week and see what else I can come up with.

Have a great weekend! Don't give up on your weight loss journey - you can do it!!

Lisa :)

Healthy Recipe: Sour Cream-Hazelnut Bundt Cake

Now, you wouldn't normally see cakes listed as healthy recipes, but this one is from Cooking Light magazine (November '04). Keep in mind that it's still not as healthy as some other dessert choices, but if you are wanting to make cake - this one would be lighter and a better choice than most of the cakes on my other blog! Since it doesn't have any frosting, that helps keep the fat and calories lower too.

I can vouch that this is a yummy cake! Not too rich, but a nice flavor.

Sour Cream-Hazelnut Bundt Cake

Cooking spray
1 tablespoon dry breadcrumbs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (16-oz) carton fat-free sour cream
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts, toasted
2 tablespoons Nutella
1 teaspoon powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Coat a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray; dust with breadcrumbs.

3. Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 2 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and sour cream; beat until well blended.

4. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk until well combined. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture, stirring just until combined.

5. Spoon half of batter into prepared Bundt pan, sprinkle evenly with hazelnuts. Drop small spoonfuls of Nutella over nuts. Spoon remaining batter over Nutella; swirl batter using the tip of a knife. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes; remove cake from pan. Cool completely on a wire rack. Sprinkle cake with powdered sugar. 14 servings (1 slice each)

293 cal., 9.8 g fat, 1 g fiber, about 6 WW pts
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Depending on why I'm making this cake, I sometimes add more hazelnuts and Nutella and use low fat sour cream instead of fat-free. Of course, that increases the fat and calories!

I hope you get a chance to try out and let me know what you think! I will also be linking this recipe up to my other blog's Cake Week links.

Lisa :)

Time For Another Fresh Start

I'm sorry I have neglected this blog lately. My weight is still up from after my trip. I have been very frustrated and trying to decide what to do. I have not been making very good food choices. I have done a little Wii Fit, but not enough activity.

But today I went to a Weight Watchers meeting and signed up! I was dreading it before I did it, but felt much better afterward! My weight was a horrible number, of course, but I do feel motivated to work on it. I know I can be successful! So my first weight-loss goal is to lose 5% of my weight. I'm so glad that WW added this new goal, as it feels much more doable right now than the 10%.

WW also has the new Momentum program. I got the intro on it and it sounds great. I actually did Wii Fit today and made better food choices!

Since I haven't been around here much and now am starting something new, I decided to just make a sort of fresh start on the blog - a new look and more posting. I have a recipe that I'll be posting here sometime over the weekend. I'll be posting more often beginning next week. Is there anything that you're interested in seeing here? Let me know!

I hope to make a lot of good food and fitness choices this week. And I hope you have a wonderful week! Thanks for "listening"!

Up, Up And Away

That would be what my weight has been doing! Argh!! I knew the trip to MT would be tough for me and I was right. We did a LOT of eating out and fancy coffee drinks and desserts. Sigh. It was good while it lasted.

I did do quite a bit of physical activity but it just wasn't enough to counteract all those calories. Also, I did have to survive 2 snowstorms which may have caused my body to go into hibernating mode - it's a theory.

So, I weighed myself right after coming back - HORRIBLE!! Not even gonna tell ya how many pounds up - very depressing. I weighed again Friday and it had come down 1/2 lb from the worst number. Weighed again Sunday and it was down another 1 lb. So that's good. As of right now though, I am still up and will report my weigh-in results to you this Friday.

Things I will be doing this week - I am in a Wii Fit competition with some friends and I have to work on 3 events at least 3 times this week and report my best scores. We'll do it each week with different events. So that will be a little activity. And I really think I will go restart WW meetings. There are some deals and new programs right now. I have to figure out what day is best and then work up the nerve (hard to go back when they have the records of your previous times there).

I hope YOU are doing well - better than me! You can do it! I know I can too, eventually! :)

Lisa :)