Weigh-In Day

How I did: -1.6 lbs

How I feel about my loss/gain: I feel good. I've been tracking points this week and staying within my point range. I guess this is a blatant sign that journaling works!!

Exercise Review: I'm a little sad. Yesterday was the last day of Thursday Step Class. They cancelled the class and they are going to start a Yoga class. I'm going to try it out, but I have to say that I've tried Yoga before (just a home video version) and it's not really my thing. I like high energy, sweat inducing, can't catch my breath workouts. When I think of Yoga, that's not it. But, I know it tones muscle and I need that too, so what the hell - I'll try it. Maybe the classes will be better than the video I have. But going back to the Step Class. It's still on Tuesday, but the instructor alluded to the fact that it might not be for long. But, I'll keep going until they tell me not to.

On a separate note, I have to Attention Whore (AW) myself. On the Tuesday Step Class, there was a newbie. She struggled and asked a lot of questions, but we all told her that it gets easier and more fun. So, at last night's class, we saw that she showed up again and we told her "good for you!" (Of course that's when the instructor told us that the Thursday class was cancelled) She caught me after class and we started chatting. About our struggles with weight loss, what motivated us to start losing the weight, etc. She told me that I was the reason why she went to class again. I said, "Really? Me?" She also mentioned how this class wasn't full of "skinny bitches" and that everyone was normal and very friendly. Then she said that she looked at me and said that if I could do it - and like it, so could she. So, I told her that I would be trying out the new Thursday Yoga class and that if she wanted to go, I'd be there. She said she would. Wow. Look at me. Mrs. Inspiration.

Points Review: Like I mentioned before, I actually tracked my points this week. And it paid off. I stayed within my points all week, which was a lot easier than I thought. It's still a conscious effort to remember to track points, but I know it works. It worked before and it'll work again.

Recipe of the Week: I didn't really cook any new recipes this week - mostly just our old standbys. But there was a recipe that I made about a week or so ago that was pretty good. Again, it's from Rachael Ray's cookbook - 30 Minute Meals. The recipe serves 4 and calculates out to about 8 points per serving.

Garlic Roast Chicken with Rosemary and Lemon

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into large chunks
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves stripped from stems
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, eyeball it
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1 tablespoon Montreal Steak Seasoning
• 1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken broth

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Arrange chicken in a baking dish, 9 by 13-inch. Add garlic, rosemary, extra-virgin olive oil, lemon zest and grill seasoning or salt and pepper to the dish. Toss and coat the chicken with all ingredients, then place in oven. Roast 20 minutes. Add wine and lemon juice to the dish and combine with pan juices. Return to oven and turn oven off. Let stand 5 minutes longer then remove chicken from the oven. Place baking dish on trivet and serve, spooning pan juices over the chicken pieces.