A New Me?

The New Year brought with it a determination to get my life back on track. We joined the local YMCA and I am hoping to get my weight under some control. They have a 12 week to a new you type of program that I signed up for. Basically, it is a way to get yourself used to working out on a regular basis. The first thing we did was weigh me, measure me and look at my BMI. Talk about depressing.

I am at my heaviest weight ever.... including my weights through three pregnancies. *sigh* It's no wonder I have high blood pressure! So. I weigh 228 pounds at 5 foot 5 inches. I am obese. The little machine that the Y uses told me that I am carrying 39 lbs of excess body fat and that my ideal weight is between 166 and 189 lbs. Which I can deal with, cause every other scale I have looked at shows me needing to get down to like 130 lbs.

Anyway. I started working out and have done 3 days so far (since Tuesday). Although 30 minutes on a treadmill is not much of a workout. But, my legs are sure feeling it. I am going to try to ease into this and not push myself too hard. I want to keep it up, not burn out. Ideally, I will lose a pound or two a week once I really get into this. But for now, if I can get off that treadmill and not be winded or have burning thighs I will be happy.

I am planning to update my progress here weekly. I hope that means I will HAVE something to report. Wish me luck.

Menu Plan and Weigh In

**At the end of this post I will share what I have lost this past week and what my weight loss goals for this coming week are.

Last week's menu went well. I enjoyed all of the new recipes and they will be used again! I did not make the chicken and rice and it is carrying over to this week. I planned this menu at the last minute with actual input from my husband (gasp!) and it sounds pretty good to me! So, here is the plan for this week:

Monday - Coconut Chicken, Sweet Potato Wedges and green beans

Tuesday - Taco Pie with Crescent Roll Crust (vegetarian)

Wednesday - Chicken and Rice - Still searching for a great slow cooker recipe if anyone has one!

Thursday - Meat and Potato Lasagna

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday - Zesty Primavera Pasta - Recipe below (vegetarian)

Sunday - Pizza Braid

**Quick note that I should not have to do any shopping this week other than picking up some squash at the farmer's market! Yay!

Recipe
Zesty Primavera Pasta

1 cup zucchini, peeled and chopped
1 cup red pepper, chopped
1 cup yellow squash, peeled and chopped
1 cup carrots, peeled and chopped
1 cup eggplant, peeled and chopped
6 Tablespoons honey mustard, divided
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
8 oz package penne pasta, cooked (I am using whatever is in the cabinet!)

Toss the veggies with 4 tablespoons of the mustard and broil them until tender; set aside. Whisk the remaining mustard, oil, vinegar and basil together in a large serving bowl. Add the pasta, stirring gently. Fold in the veggies and toss gently until coated. Serve hot or cold.

For more great menu's check out Organizing Junkie.


So, since I have joined Natalie's Holiday Slim Down, I need to post my goals for this week and an update on how things went this past week. I am very happy to report that I have lost 2 pounds over the past week! Woot! Now, I just need to keep it up. My goals for this week, and continuing goals, are:

• Substitute water for every soda I would normally drink. I have been working on this and am down to maybe three sodas a day. This week I want to be down to only one (or none!) by the end of the week.
• Exercise at least 3 days out of the week. If I get more done, great. But, I am starting off slow so that I will actually reach my goals!

That's it! If I can conti9nue to eat healthy like I have been doing and meet these three goals, I should lose my pound or two this week... I will let you know!