Weigh-In Day

I skipped last week due to computer issues, but essentially, I ended the week at the exact same weight as the previous week. But I'm pretty proud of myself. After a day at 6 Flags (I'll post later about that) and really bad eating, I gained...a lot. So I tried really hard to lose that weight before the next weigh-in. To my surprise, I lost all the weight I had gained. I really didn't think I could do it, but I did. And I'm very happy about that.

Now....on to this week.

How I did: -1.8 lbs

How I feel about my loss/gain: I'm very happy. I was so busy this week with work stuff that I didn't count points. I haven't really been cooking out of the cookbooks either. To top it off, I lost my first 5 lbs. I've decided to try and focus on my weight loss at 5 lbs increments. I think it will help me not feel so overwhelmed by how far I have to go. So, this week, I'm back to counting points.

Exercise review: I am going to my step class twice a week and that is getting WAY easier. I can keep up with the class now. In fact, I was able to even to the high impact moves and not have to stop to catch my breath in last night's class! That is truly an accomplishment. But, I still need improvement in my exercise regimen. I was talking to Brian about it last night. I told him that I was mad at myself for continuously saying I need to workout more than twice a week, yet by the end of the week nothing has changed. He said it's because I always make excuses. You know what? He's completely right. So, tomorrow, I'm going to not make an excuse and get my ass to the gym first thing in the morning. I have no plans that morning, so I really do NOT have an excuse to not go.

Points review: Like I said before, I didn't count points this week. And I didn't make many recipes from my cookbooks. However, with the experience of what I see in the recipes, I tried to alter some of our "standard" meals. And it turned out pretty good and I'm sure that it was a lot healthier and lower in points than how I made it before. I'll have to use the Recipe Builder on the WW website to see. This week, I'm going back to counting points.

Recipe of the week: This week, I made a WW recipe - Chicken and Dumplings. It was really good. Although, I have to say, that next time, I'll save some points and not make the Dumplings. I wasn't a fan of the taste (probably because it was corn meal) and Brian didn't like it much either. But the sauce, the chicken and the veggies were really tasty. The recipe serves 6, so I cut the recipe in half. Some recipe alterations: the recipe calls for vegetable oil. I don't like to cook with it and substituted olive oil instead. Also, I think they forgot a step. After you cook the chicken, it tells you to saute the veggies....but without any liquids. It's too dry because the chicken cooks up all the oil, so I added a little more oil and some water so I had something to saute in.

1 1/4 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tsp vegetable oil
4 medium leek(s), white and light green parts only), thinly sliced
4 medium shallot(s), thinly sliced
2 medium carrot(s), sliced into thin rounds
2 medium celery, stalks, sliced
1 piece bay leaf
1 tsp thyme
2 1/2 cup fat-free chicken broth
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp uncooked cornmeal
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp table salt
1 1/2 tsp parsley, minced
1/4 cup 1% low-fat milk
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed


Season chicken with 1/8 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Mix flour with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Sprinkle chicken with 1 tablespoon of seasoned flour. In a large skillet, heat oil and lightly brown chicken. Remove from pan.

In the same skillet, sauté leeks and shallots until lightly golden, about 3 minutes. Add carrots, celery, bay leaf and thyme and cook another 3 minutes. Stir in remaining tablespoon of seasoned flour and it cook until it begins to color, about 1 minute. Pour in chicken broth and apple juice. Return chicken to pot. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until chicken is cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes.

Meanwhile to make dumplings, sift 2 tablespoons flour, cornmeal, baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt together into a bowl. Stir in parsley. With a fork, stir in milk until dough just comes together. Drop dumpling mixture with a teaspoon into chicken mixture. Simmer, covered, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add peas, and cook until dumplings are done, another 2 to 4 minutes. Serve in six 1-cup portions.