Learned something new

I got my butt out of bed at 5:20 this morning and went to an early water aerobics class. Anyone who knows me, knows that me getting out of bed that early is nearly the equivelant of Moses parting the Red Sea. Special thanks to my workout buddy for getting me there with a little encouragement and extra accountability. I can't tell you how glad I am that I went, though. The instructor was great and she taught me something very interesting about breathing while exercising...

If you are taking shallow breaths while exercising, then your body will be burning glucose instead of fat. Huh?! That's right. If I exercise at a moderate intensity and pay attention to breathing deeply, then the fat will have the required oxygen for the body to burn it away. How great is that! That means that If I'm working out so intensely that my heart rate is super high and my breathing very fast and shallow I won't be burning the fat that I could be by slowing down a little. But by slowing down the intensity level to a range where I can talk, although uncomfortable to do so, and paying attention to breathing deeply, I will burn more fat than working out harder will. I love that! That IS why I'm working out in the first place, right?! What an epiphany!! I actually did some research about this just to verify what she said, and everywhere I looked I found more information that confirmed this. Water is an important factor in that equation, as well.

Here is an excerpt from one of the sites I used as reference in my research:

The bottom line is that, if you want to burn fat, you should stick to lighter, longer exercises. Walking, swimming, light aerobics and weight lifting, exercises that allow you to take your time, get your breath and burn at your leisure will help take off pounds of fat much more quickly than more demanding exercises like endurance sports and hard aerobics. Quick Tips • Breathe a little more deeply than usual to burn fat, but do not hold your breath. www.weightlossforall.com/burn%20fat.htm I actually learned two new things today, but the other I will share in my next post. :~)

200 Club

Sorry I've been so neglectful on my postings lately! I reached a milestone last Friday that I have been anticipating for a LONG time! I'm finally back in the 200 club!!! Phew! My weight loss has slowed WAY down lately, and I know why....I've been eating too much! Wow, what a shocker!! I am still losing though, so that's the main thing. I'm headed in the right direction, which is better than the wrong direction! See that turtle on my 'ticker'? That's me! But, as they say, slow and steady wins the race! Watch out you wathcally wabbit, I'm a comin'! :~)

Weigh-in day

Today was weigh-in day, and my weight stayed exactly the same as last week. I was definitely a bit discouraged by this, until I decided to measure myself. I was honestly scared that all my measurements would be the same and then I would be even more discouraged. I really can't see any difference yet, other than my clothes feeling a little looser. Yesterday I decided on a whim to pull on a pair of capri pants that I haven't been able to wear in a long, long time. I couldn't get them zipped up, before. Well.....THEY FIT ME!!!! I could zip them up, no problem! I was so excited that I was practically glowing. :~) So, because of this encouraging event, I decided to go ahead and take my measurements this morning. Well, I've lost -9.5 inches!!! I honestly couldn't believe it!!! I didn't take measurements when I started, so I"m not sure how many inches I've lost from the beginning, but as of 2/8/11 when I took my measurements I've lost a lot of inches! 1 inch from my neck. (what the heck?!) 1 inch from my waist and chest, 1/2 inch from my hips, each calf and each arm......and.....drumroll please.....2 INCHES OFF EACH THIGH! SKIPPITY-DOO-DA-DAY!!

Can you tell I'm just a little excited about my measuring results?! Take THAT evil scale!! ;~)

Oh, and happy St. Patty's Day to yee. :~)

Weigh-in

After a little lol, I am back in the game with a -1.6 loss as of today! YIPPEE!!!! Makes me very happy and I'm looking forward to reaching my first mini-goal of having lost 10% of my start body weight, which will be at -32 pounds. Another 11 to go. I was hoping to reach that goal by the end of March. Unless I have a very good month, I am thinking it will take me a little longer than that, but I'm still hoping I have a chance at reaching that goal in time. I'm not too concerned about losing the weight really fast. In fact, I want to lose it slowly to give my skin time to adjust and so that I know I am making long lasting changes that I can stick with for the rest of my life.

Very happy day! Thank you so much to those of you who have and continue to support me!! You mean the world to me!!!

Weigh-in delay

I have decided to delay my 'official' weigh-in a little bit due to my least favorite visitor, TOM. I will probably do it on Monday.

I found this blog today, and I can't wait to have more time to explore it. I really like what I've seen so far!

http://www.wordofwisdomliving.com/

Oh, and I wanted to add a little note regarding the mini-meatloafs. My kids absolutely LOVED them. I liked them, but thought they were a little on the sweet side. The next time I make them I think I'll try cutting the brown sugar by half and upping some of the other spices a little. Just an FYI.

Mini Meatloaf freezer recipe

I am beginning an adventure in freezer meal discovery. I am not one who loves to cook that much, and more than anything, I usually don't have the energy to cook a big meal every night. So, I am going to try to learn more about the art of freezer meals. Last night I cooked mini-meatloafs for the family and used a recipe that made 23 mini-meatloafs. 17 of them are now in the freezer ready for another night or to take to my Dad who's recovering from surgery. What a great feeling to have those all ready to go!!!


I just paired them with some instant mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. It was really delish and the kids ate them up, which is a big deal in my house! I found this recipe here .

1 cup ketchup
4 tbsp brown sugar, packed
1 tsp mustard
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 cups Crispix cereal, crushed
3 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
3 lbs lean ground beef

Combine ketchup, sugar and mustard in a large bowl. Set aside 1/2 cup of mixture for the glazed topping and set aside. Next, add eggs, Worcestshire sauce, crushed cereal and seasonings/spices to the large bowl. Allow to stand for five minutes to allow the cereal to absorb some moisture. Add ground beef and mix well.

Next, using muffin tins to create your mini meatloaves, press about 1/3 cup into 18 muffin tin cups. Bake in an oven preheated to 350F for 20 minutes. Remove and top each meatloaf with the glaze mixture and bake for ten minutes longer. Ensure ground beef is no longer pink and the internal temperature is at least 160F

Allow to cool and freeze on a cookie sheet. Once frozen, transfer them to a ziploc bag or freezer container.

Cooking day: Thaw in fridge (they don't take too long to thaw). Please on foil lined cookie sheet and bake for 30 mins at 350F, or until mini meatloaves are cooked through. You can also microwave on high until cooked through, 1-2 minutes.