Getting There!

I lost 1.6lbs this week and I earned a new bear! I'm so excited and can't wait to get my 90lb bear. For that matter, sometimes I still have a hard time believing I've lost so much weight but seeing those little bears really makes my accomplishment real. I should be proud of myself. I'm a little wistful when I think that I only have 2 bears left to earn (since I'll get my goal bear at the same time as my 125lb bear) but hey, that's a good thing- it means I'm nearly done losing the weight!

When I first started my journey, I don't know if I ever really picture myself coming this far. I know I haven't been this thin since before I met my husband over ten years ago. Setting a goal and sticking to it with the help of Nutrisystem has really shown me what a strong person I am, and that I really can accomplish my goals if I set my mind to them.

I also have some exciting news to share. I am going to be visiting a friend in the USA next month and so I will have the chance to review the Nutrisystem Select frozen items! I am really looking forward to it since I have heard great things about them. Unfortunately these items are not currently available to Canadians so I'll only be getting them for one month only. I will post photo reviews of the meals when I get home!

Lately, I'm just starting to feel like things are going my way and getting better. I have a more positive outlook on life. I guess I'm just getting lucky :) I posted a few weeks ago that I started a FitMom + Baby class at a gym nearby, and I decided that when my husband's busy work travel season starts that I was going to get a membership there since Matthew enjoys playing at the daycare. I was pleasantly surprised when I got an email from Groupon that offered me a one month membership plus five smoothies from their smoothie bar (that is actually perfectly Nutrisystem compliant for a dairy + fruit serving, wahoo!) for only $29 instead of the $70 I had thought I was going to have to shell out. It's always nice to get offered exactly what you need!



So far I've purchased four Groupons and been happy with them all. I love getting a deal!

I'm also really looking forward to the weather getting nicer so I can get out more. I'm so tired of snow and cold! Hopefully the groundhog was right and spring is on the way.

More Dairy/Protein Ideas...

Continuing my comments from yesterday, dairy/protein servings are definitely the easiest way to adapt your program to your needs. You can pretty much have ANYTHING you want, as long as it fits into the stats of 100 calories or less, 3g of fat or less, and 7g of protein or more. Here are a couple of ideas that I really enjoy.

Dairy/Protein Ideas:



Here's one of my favourite breakfast accompaniments on a hungry day!

Smoked Salmon Omelette:

1/2 cup Eggbeaters
2oz smoked salmon
1 tbsp fat free Herb & Garlic cream cheese
green onions, chopped

It took me a lot of practice to make a pretty omelette, but the secret is not to turn it too quickly. When you think it's ready, lift up the edges just a little and let the liquid drip down underneath and then set it down again. There should be very little liquid on the top when it's actually ready to turn. Then allow it to cook a little and spread the cream cheese across half the omelette before folding it shut and scooping it onto your plate. Delicious! This counts as one dairy/protein serving and one free food. Change it up a little by using cubed ham and asparagus instead of salmon and green onions (and 20 calories' worth of shredded cheese instead of cream cheese) or increase the Eggbeaters to 3/4 cup and just have a plain veggie omelette if you prefer. This is a great and protein packed side for your breakfast!


I'll confess that for the longest time I was afraid of trying a product I had sitting in my cabinet. Usually I'm the first to try new things, but fake peanut butter? I didn't know... I'm glad I finally gave it a try, though!

Peanut Butter Apples:



1 apple, peeled and cored, cut into slices
4 tbsp PB2
2 tbsp water

It's that simple. Mix your PB2 with the water, smear it on the apples, and enjoy! 4 tbsp of PB2 counts as a dairy/protein serving and it's actually quite a lot of peanut butter. Since we only get 1 tsp as a fat serving, it was really nice to have gobs of it on my apple slices! PB2 doesn't quite have the rich flavour of real peanut butter, but with less than a quarter of the calories and fat, this is a swap you aren't going to regret making. I order mine from www.netrition.com and I'm going to have to get more since my husband wanted to share my snack!

So go ahead- get creative with your add ins. What do you like to use for your dairy/protein servings?

Disclosure: This post was written by me and was not edited by anyone. The opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own and have not been influenced in any way. Nutrisystem Canada is providing their food and program to me free of charge for my weekly updates. I was not compensated for writing this post.

Hungry Days and Not-So-Hungry Days

For those of you just starting out on the program, you might look at my title and wonder how it's possible to have not-so-hungry days when you eyeball the portion sizes on Nutrisystem. I remember my first look at the Blueberry Muffin and sadly resigned myself to being hungry since I would normally have had one or two of them as a snack!

You will find that you adjust to the new serving sizes because your body really doesn't need anywhere near the amount of food that we tend to consume. But, of course, there will be some days you are hungrier than others. I tend to find that a hungry day means that my metabolism is speeding up and that I'm likelier to see a big drop on the scale that week. That helps keep me motivated to stick to my program and not go off plan just because I'm hungry. I use a free food like sugarfree Jello, or indulge in some unlimited veggies like cucumber slices or celery sticks and that really helps.

One of the big reasons that I think Nutrisystem is a superior program to Jenny Craig (besides the cost!) is that I can adjust my meals much more easily to suit myself on hungry days and not-so-hungry days. It's my choice what add-ins to use each meal, so I can choose something bulky if I'm hungry or something light if I don't really feel like eating.

For example, today I woke up hungry! For breakfast, I enjoyed this:



Blueberry pancakes with fresh blueberries baked in, a drizzle of sugarfree maple syrup, and a huge omelette made with Egg Beaters, diced ham, and green onions. It was a lot of food and incredibly filling! (Yes, my pancakes got a little overcooked while I was chopping the ham, but they still tasted great!) I also had a little extra bowl of blueberries to snack on since they didn't all fit in my pancake batter. Now, if I hadn't been hungry, I could have had a smaller breakfast that also fits perfectly into plan, like the Cinnamon Bun Bar with a glass of milk and 3 dried prunes. That would fulfill the same breakfast requirements but with a lot less bulk for the days I really don't feel like eating. I really love the flexibility in the program so that I can listen to my body's needs.

Playing with the add-ins is also where we can really get creative. I love that the lunch Cheesy Homestyle Potatoes can be everything from Cream of Potato Soup to Clam Chowder to Crab Cakes to Potato Salad. Even with only one entree, it can still be fun to decide what's for lunch! I don't see myself getting bored of the shelf stable food for a long time- and it's already been more than a year!

It's great to have choice- one of the things I love best about this program is not feeling like I have to eat grilled chicken and salad every day to lose weight. Instead, I can still eat food I love and "cook" as much or as little as I want. Win win (or as I see it- win lose)!

Disclosure: This post was written by me and was not edited by anyone. The opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own and have not been influenced in any way. Nutrisystem Canada is providing their food and program to me free of charge for my weekly updates. I was not compensated for writing this post.

I'm Leaving on a Cruise Ship...

Well, not really- but I can pretend, right? One thing I love about cruises is the wonderful food. Our favourite cruiseline is Celebrity, and they've introduced a relatively new feature on some of their ships called Bistro on Five, which serves lighter fare like sandwiches, sweet and savory crepes. We really enjoyed eating there- the meals were fabulous!

Recently I was asked if I ever made any savory crepe recipes (after sharing my Fruity Crepes recipe), and it immediately made me think of Bistro on Five and the delicious meals I'd enjoyed there. Today's recipe is the result of that, and believe me- it will have you envisioning the high seas!

Mediterranean Turkey Pesto Crepe:



Pancake Mix (Breakfast):

1 pkg Nutrisystem Pancake Mix
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup water
2 oz sliced turkey or chicken
1 tbsp sundried tomatoes
1/2 cup diced onions and green pepper
1 oz shredded Italiano blend cheese
1/2 tbsp light mayonnaise
1 tsp basil pesto

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare the pancake mix as directed and add the additional 1/3 cup water until the batter is very thin and runny. Spray a medium frying pan with Olive Oil PAM spray. Pour half the batter into the pan (refrigerate the other half and reserve for later). When the crepe is crisping, flip it over. The second side cooks very quickly- be careful not to overcook! In the meantime, sautee the sliced chicken or turkey in Olive Oil PAM spray with the vegetables and sundried tomatoes. When the vegetables are soft, place the crepe flat in a baking dish and fill with the meat and vegetable mixture. Top with the shredded cheese and fold the crepe over top. Bake in the oven for 5-7 minutes or until cheese is melted. In a Ziploc bag, mix together the mayonnaise and pesto until well blended. Snip a tiny hole in one corner of the bag for easy squirting. When the crepe comes out of the oven, scoop it onto a plate and squirt the pesto sauce over the crepe in a zigzag pattern. Enjoy it while it's hot!

Dietary Services confirmed that 1/2 package of pancake mix can be used as a carb serving, so this is a great "flex" lunch entree.

Here are the stats for a flex lunch: 1 Fat Serving, 2 Lean Protein Serving, 1 Low Glycemic Carbohydrate Serving, and 1 Vegetable Serving.

Counts as a complete lunch (served with a salad or veggies), and a free food.

If you are one of the lucky ducks who gets an extra carb serving with your lunch, make the second crepe as well and have a sweet crepe for dessert! Fill it up with hot chopped strawberries or other berries and enjoy a decadent meal.

Disclosure: This post was written by me and was not edited by anyone. The opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own and have not been influenced in any way. Nutrisystem Canada is providing their food and program to me free of charge for my weekly updates. I was not compensated for writing this post.

Questions

This weekend I got to see a lot of people who haven't seen me for months. It was so nice to see the surprise on their faces when they saw me! I got so many compliments about how great I look and that really made me feel great. It's so nice when your effort gets noticed and recognized by others! And honestly- I'm finally starting to like what I see when I look in the mirror. I still have a lot of toning and exercise to do but I'm a lot more comfortable in my own skin than I used to be, and that means a lot.

One of the questions I got asked a lot is, how do I stay so disciplined? If you're new to the program, you might be missing some of your old favourite foods a lot. I remember when I first started doing Nutrisystem and I decided that I was going to embark on a lifestyle change, not a diet. A little voice in my head asked me, "Really? No more French fries, ever? No ice cream? No cheesecake?" I really wasn't sure at that point how I was going to handle that question but I knew that I wanted to try. I'll admit that it was a pretty sad thought though because I loved food like that so much and I didn't know if I really could go without them.

Now here I am, a little over a year later. I am telling you the absolute truth when I say that I don't even miss those things except in rare situations. I really enjoy having my Cajun Fries, or a healthy New York Style Cheesecake, or a Skinny Cow Vanilla & Caramel ice cream cone. The idea of going to a buffet like the Mandarin (which I used to love) kind of grosses me out now. Your taste buds really do change and adjust so that you can get the same enjoyment out of substitute foods that you used to get from fatty, calorie laden items- and the old things you used to love won't taste the same to you anymore. They might even make your body feel lousy because it's so used to getting healthy, nourishing food!

The reason that I can tell you flat out that I am sure that I won't be a yo-yo dieter and that I know I will be able to maintain at my goal weight is because this is just the way I eat now. I mean, really- after a year, what am I supposed to do? Just go walk into a McDonalds and order a Big Mac, fries, and a shake? I don't have habits or desires like that anymore when I can make things that taste just as good but fit right into my healthy lifestyle plan.

So before I was wondering how I'd manage to adjust- but now I know that I just need to find healthy replacements for those cravings and I'm all set. So just keep going, one day at a time. When you really miss something, it's OK to have it- just find a way to make it fit into your plan. If there's something you crave that I don't have listed, let me know- maybe I can figure out a way to make it!

A Little Early

I'm posting my weigh in a day early this week since Monday is a holiday here and I'm going away for the weekend and otherwise wouldn't be able to post until Tuesday.

It's been a pretty good week. For some variety, I decided to use my elliptical machine for a few days instead of my Jillian Michaels DVD. I was amazed at how much easier it was to exercise longer than it had been before! I was able to work out for twice as long before I got really tired. It's a nice feeling to know that I'm getting into better shape. Another non scale victory that really made me feel great!

I lost 1.2lbs this week... still creeping closer to the 90lb marker. I really, really want my new Nutribear! Hopefully next week? I guess we'll have to wait and see!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend, and to the Canadians: Enjoy your holiday!

Fish

I love seafood- it's always been one of my favourite things to eat. The best part is that seafood is generally pretty healthy- it's just the things we do to it that make it awful! Unfortunately Nutrisystem doesn't offer much in the way of seafood, I expect because it just doesn't do well in a shelf stable format. But, the good news is that we can incorporate it into our meal plan as a dairy/protein serving, so you can eat it as frequently as you like! Recently I tried experimenting with a new salmon dish and I loved it, hopefully you will enjoy it too.

Creamy Dill Salmon Pasta:




Fettuccine Alfredo (Lunch):

1 pkg Nutrisystem Fettuccine Alfredo
1 light wedge of Laughing Cow cheese
1 dairy/protein serving worth of salmon (I use Compliments Balance Wild Pacific Salmon Burgers)
chopped tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, and asparagus
dill paste

Prepare the Fettuccine Alfredo as directed and set aside. In a pan sprayed with PAM, cook the salmon until it turns pink and cut it into small pieces. Add the vegetables to the pan and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat with the Laughing Cow cheese wedge. Pour the fettuccine noodles into the pan and add the dill paste, and cook until the flavours blend. Enjoy! This counts as a complete lunch plus a free food.

For my spices, I often use Gourmet Garden. It comes in a paste form in a little squeezy tube. I find that this format blends much better into a dish than dried herbs, and the flavour is stronger. I would definitely recommend giving these a try to add a little more taste to your meals. I like the Italian blend on the Thick Crust Pizza, and I'll share some more recipes with these soon.

Disclosure: This post was written by me and was not edited by anyone. The opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own and have not been influenced in any way. Nutrisystem Canada is providing their food and program to me free of charge for my weekly updates. I was not compensated for writing this post.

Chocolate

I didn't get to watch the Biggest Loser on Tuesday night because I went out with some friends, but fortunately I was able to watch it later in the week On Demand.

What a tough temptation! If you didn't watch, each contestant had to go privately into a room that had tables and tables just full of chocolates and chocolate covered things and stay there for three minutes. The prize for the temptation wasn't even anything special like it usually was- definitely not worth it.

Unsurprisingly, lots of contestants found reasons to justify eating some of the chocolate. It's tough to walk away from it when it's right there and you can smell it and see it. I'm sure none of the contestants had tasted chocolate since they got to the ranch.

I sat there during that episode munching on my Chocolate Crunch Bar. Fortunately, chocolate is not something I ever feel deprived of! I can eat chocolate three meals a day if I want to! Nutrisystem's chocolate is good enough that my husband chooses to eat it for dessert as well sometimes- and he isn't on a diet (lucky people and their fast metabolisms...grumble grumble)!

It just made me feel lucky that I can still enjoy the things I like and lose weight at the same time. I think that having a program like this also teaches you balance more so than a cold turkey switch to a diet of lean meats, healthy carbs, fruit, and veggies. Although both plans are healthy, the person on the second program is going to miss their old cravings and be much more susceptible to bingeing when they get back to the real world and decide to have a treat. After all- NEVER having a treat is just not realistic. I believe that since I can have dessert every single day, it takes a bit of the "specialness" away from desserts. I don't crave them anymore and so they are just part of my meal plan- not treats that I want to eat lots of. Not to mention that the Nutrisystem desserts contain protein, fibre, and other nutrients so they actually satisfy your cravings, not make you want more. Anyone ever been satisfied by 15 M&Ms or did you want to down the rest of the family sized bag? I'm a lot happier with the Chocolate Rainbow Delights.

So here's to chocolate... and to avoiding temptations!

Disclosure: This post was written by me and was not edited by anyone. The opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own and have not been influenced in any way. Nutrisystem Canada is providing their food and program to me free of charge for my weekly updates. I was not compensated for writing this post.

6 Week Weight Loss Challenge- Week 6

So this was the final week in my challenge, and I was a bit disappointed in the outcome. I can feel that I'm retaining a little water this week and I didn't get to exercise every day like I'd intended, but I only lost 0.2lb this week. On the plus side though, the scale is still going down! After nearly 90lbs on Nutrisystem, I still haven't hit a true plateau (2 or more weeks with zero weight change). I am hopeful that if I keep changing my exercise program around that I won't see one until I am much closer to goal.

1st weigh in January 9: -2.7 lbs (1.46%)
2nd weigh in January 16: -1.3 lbs (2.16%)
3rd weigh in January 23: - 2 lbs (3.25%)
4th weigh in January 30: -0.6 lbs (3.57%)
5th weigh in February 6: - 2.2 lbs (4.76%)
Final weigh in February 13: - 0.2 lbs (4.87%)

I really can't complain about how this challenge went for me, even with 2 poor weeks I still lost 9 lbs! The exercise is also starting to make enough of a difference that my body fat percentage is coming down, which is great encouragement to keep it up!

How did you do during this challenge? Hopefully you beat me and earned yourself a reward!

I've got some new recipes to share soon, and some great ideas for upcoming theme weeks. If you have any ideas you'd like to share with me or have a recipe you'd like to see here, feel free to send me an email!

On a Cold Day...

Some entrees that I liked at the beginning have been continually seconded to the back of my cupboard as I find things or methods of preparation that I enjoy more. The Cheese Tortellini has definitely been among those as I've been finding the sauce more bitter than I'm used to in a tomato based dish. It's not bad, just not one of my favourite items.

I was browsing online for soup recipes, since it's been freezing here lately and I miss having a nice big bowl of soup for lunch as comfort food. I saw a recipe that involved tortellini and a bell went off- why couldn't I make a soup using the Cheese Tortellini?

Well, it was pretty darn good! I'm actually still eating it now as I share it with you! If you're looking for a soup recipe to warm you up, definitely give it a try.


Cheese Tortellini (Lunch):



Italian Sausage & Tortellini Soup:

1 pkg Nutrisystem Cheese Tortellini
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup Aylmer Olive Oil & Garlic Diced Tomatoes
1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach
1/4 cup diced onions
1 serving sausage (100 calories or less, 3g fat or less, 7g protein or more)

Prepare the sausage according to package directions- cut into chunks and set aside. In a small pot set to medium heat, combine the broth and Tortellini entree. Simmer until well blended. Add the vegetables and sausage and simmer for 20 minutes on low-medium heat (don't let it boil). Pour into a bowl and if desired, sprinkle with 10 calories' worth of Parmesan cheese.

Count as a lunch entrée, Powerfuel, and 2 servings of veggies.

Disclosure: This post was written by me and was not edited by anyone. The opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own and have not been influenced in any way. Nutrisystem Canada is providing their food and program to me free of charge for my weekly updates. I was not compensated for writing this post.

Baking

I haven't been doing much baking over the past year, other than single serving items, because I don't have anyone to feed them to. We all know what happens if you make a couple of dozen cookies and don't have any plans for them, right?

Well, since my inlaws were visiting for the weekend and my mother in law likes to bake, we thought we'd try out a few recipes while there were people around to enjoy them. One of them turned out great- the other not quite how we intended!

I got an email from the Splenda Recipe Club for Raspberry Heart Cookies. They seemed very similar to a recipe I used to make for shortbread cookies filled with jam, so I wanted to give it a try. Of course, even though it is a fairly low calorie recipe, the protein count was far too low to be a substitute for a Nutrisystem dessert. I thought I could modify it by adding protein powder, and substituting whole wheat flour instead of white to lower the glycemic index count. I also substituted the remaining butter for margarine.

However, I forgot that while it's easy to play with ingredients and quantities in cooking, it's quite a different story with baking! Changing the ratio of ingredients can product a very different tasting recipe, let alone substituting so much of the original recipe. These cookies were absolutely nothing like what I had intended, but surprisingly, they still tasted really good!

Flex Meals (Dessert):



Accidentally Delicious Jam Cookies:

1 1/4 cups margarine
1 cup Splenda
1 tbsp vanilla
1/4 cup Egg Beaters
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup milk
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup SF strawberry jam
6 scoops protein powder (1 scoop = 120 calories, 23g protein)

Blend together margarine, Splenda and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl. Add egg substitute, water and milk. Mix briefly. Add flours, salt, protein powder, and baking powder. Do not overmix. Chill for one hour in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a cookie sheet with PAM. Spoon batter onto the cookie sheet into round circles, and use your thumb to make a depression in the centre of each cookie. Spoon jam into each depression. Bake for 14 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Makes 24 servings. Each cookie has 120 calories, 14g carbs, 4g fat, and 8.5g protein.

See, these were originally to be rolled out and cut into shapes but once we added the protein powder there was too much flour, and adding more liquid ingredients made it sticky instead of doughy so we switched to drop cookies. I was expecting to have to throw them away but they were actually yummy and got eaten right away!


The second recipe, also modified from the Splenda Recipe Club, came out much closer to what we expected, since we got smart and reduced the flour by the quantity of protein powder we were adding. This recipe is protein packed and delicious warm either with a drizzle of SF maple syrup or maybe with some FF cream cheese frosting.

Flex Meals (Dessert):



Pumpkin Loaf Cupcakes:

1/3 cup + 1 tbsp vanilla Greek yogurt
2 cups pumpkin puree
3/4 cup Egg Beaters
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2 scoops protein powder
3/4 cup Splenda
4 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1/3 cup dried cranberries (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together all wet ingredients in a bowl and the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir well. Pour the mix into a sprayed cupcake pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Makes 16 servings.

These came out really nicely. They aren't super sweet so if you'd like them to be, then either add more Splenda or perhaps some SF pancake syrup to the batter. As they are listed (with no cranberries), each cupcake contains 132 calories, 18g carbs, 4g fat, and 7g protein.


If you're looking for a new dessert to liven things up a bit, I would definitely recommend either of these recipes!

Valentine's Day Giveaway Winner!

And the winner is...

Ali Holt said...

oh and I would totally get the puff pan! that is so awesome!

ali



Congratulations! You have 2 days to respond to get your prize!

6 Week Weight Loss Challenge- Week 5

It's really motivating to see exactly how much exercise is affecting my weight loss. At this point for me, it's not "if" or "maybe"- the numbers are clear that regular exercise is substantially increasing my fat burned each week. So not only is it great for my body, but it's definitely making me happy, too!

This week, since I suggested that everyone try one new form of exercise, I of course had to do the same. My FitMom + Baby class is a little different, but I wanted something that would work entirely different muscles than my Jillian Michaels DVD. Well, we got hit with a massive snowstorm last week so I offered to do my husband's job and shovel the snow. It was definitely taxing in a different way (I found myself wishing at one point that I had just done the Shred!) and hopefully that helped change things up a bit.

Lately I'm feeling very positive and motivated about my weight loss- it's only a matter of time before these last few pounds disappear and I'm fit and healthy, so I can be a great role model for my son.

I hope you are enjoying Superbowl Sunday- snack wisely!

1st weigh in January 9: -2.7 lbs (1.46%)
2nd weigh in January 16: -1.3 lbs (2.16%)
3rd weigh in January 23: - 2 lbs (3.25%)
4th weigh in January 30: -0.6 lbs (3.57%)
5th weigh in February 6: - 2.2 lbs (4.76%)
Final weigh in February 13:

How did you do this week?

More Triggers

The longer I do this, the more I try to analyze the behaviours that brought me to let myself go so badly. I never want to be that person again. That woman was ashamed of herself, self conscious, lacked confidence in herself, and felt like she had no control.

I've identified two more situations where I find that I care less about what I consume. When I'm angry, I either don't eat and then wait till I feel sick and then eat whatever's quick, or I want to snack. When I haven't slept well and I'm tired, I have no energy so I need to eat more or I crash. I don't think I can do much about the being tired except try to make sure I get my rest, since I really do think my body needs the extra calories to keep going on those days. I can do something about the anger, though. Who am I hurting by practicing these behaviours? It's certainly not whoever I am angry at! The only one getting punished is me, and that is not a healthy way to deal with my emotions.

I've been doing this for a year now, though. I honestly don't see myself ever going back to the way I was. It just doesn't even seem possible now. I think I would barf if I tried to eat the way that I used to- I can't handle the portion sizes and things that tasted good before, just don't now. I can make myself lighter versions of things I used to enjoy and I'm happier with them then I would be with the full fat versions. I mean, I look at pictures of French fries cooking in a deep fryer, and all I can see is an entire pot full of grease and oil and picture what that would do to my body. My Cajun Fries are awesome and I don't have to worry that I'm shortening my life by eating them!

My inlaws are visiting this weekend, and they did a double take when they saw me! My mother in law said that she is always interested to see what I look like, since they only visit every 3-4 months. It was really nice to hear her ask if I was done losing weight- definitely made me feel good if she thought it was possible! She asked me "Are you going to keep eating this food or will you stop when you're done losing weight?"

I don't plan to be on Nutrisystem for the rest of my life, but I really do enjoy a lot of the meals. The breakfasts, for example, are awesome. Where else can you find breakfast pastries like the Apple Strudel Scone or the Cranberry Orange Pastry (my two favourites) with the low calories and high protein that Nutrisystem offers? And in my opinion, they have just as much flavour as the overpriced coffee shop versions. I could definitely eat an NS breakfast every day and be happy. Some of the dinners, I've been trying to work out ways to make for myself, but others I don't think I'd have a clue. For example- I love the Vegetable Fajita and have no idea how I could make an appropriate substitute. I'd really miss my Mexican Lasagna if I wasn't able to get it anymore!

So the bottom line for me, is that I enjoy having the convenience and flavour of Nutrisystem food in my life and plan to continue incorporating it even once I reach my goal weight. I've learned a lot about portion control, the glycemic index, and about having balance in both my life and my diet. While I took control of my life and chose to follow the program and lose 85lbs (so far!), I don't think I could have done it alone. I tried and failed on my own- I've never had as much success losing weight as I have with Nutrisystem. People ask me if it was hard, and I still feel like I can honestly say no. It's all about choices, just like anything else in life, but as far as I'm concerned, Nutrisystem makes it as easy as it can possibly be with (mostly) yummy food and no counting. I highly recommend this program to anyone out there with weight to lose because you WILL accomplish your goal if you stick to it. And I must say- it feels really good to actually know that as a certainty!

I have less than 40lbs to go now to earn my 125lb bear and reach my goal weight, and I am really looking forward to continuing to write this blog as I continue my journey and focus on maintenance.

Disclosure: This post was written by me and was not edited by anyone. The opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own and have not been influenced in any way. Nutrisystem Canada is providing their food and program to me free of charge for my weekly updates. I was not compensated for writing this post.

Non Scale Victory!

I was planning to share some more recipes with you today, but first I need you to help me celebrate a very exciting moment today.

I had a pair of jeans sitting in my closet from 2006- haven't worn them since. They're low rise and the smallest pants I own. Last night I threw in a load of laundry but somehow my usual black jeans failed to get in the washer and I couldn't wear them again without washing them because they were covered with my son's dinner from last night. We had plans to go out to dinner for a mystery shop, so I had to find something to wear!

I now weigh less than I have in longer than I remember, however my body has changed after having a baby, so I've been afraid to try on these pants. I didn't really have any other options today, though! So I decided to pull them out- I told myself the worst that could happen would be that I'd need to exercise harder.

And you know what's coming- THEY FIT! And comfortably so- it's not like I was struggling to zip them up. I am just over the moon. I can't wait until these "skinny" jeans become my fat jeans!

I've got some more great appetizers for your Super Bowl party- enjoy (in moderation)!

Dairy/Protein Ideas:



Cheesy Mozzerella Sticks:

2 light mozzerella string cheese sticks (50 calories each), cut in half
1 tbsp Egg Beaters
1 tbsp seasoned breadcrumbs

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Dip the cheese stick pieces into the Egg Beaters and then into the breadcrumbs. Bake for ten minutes or until they are cheesy and gooey. Serve immediately with salsa or your favourite FF dipping sauce.

These are AWESOME and taste exactly like the real thing! I highly recommend trying them for an afternoon snack. Count them as a dairy/protein and a free food.


Here's an appetizer platter I made at a recent party- it's not all Nutrisystem friendly but it's definitely lower calorie than the "original" versions.



You can see my Jalapeno Poppers at the bottom of the platter... next look at two of my favourites: Breaded Chicken Fingers and Faux Fried Shrimp.

Breaded Chicken Fingers & Faux Fried Shrimp:

1 pkg Nutrisystem Grilled Chicken Breast (or your own chicken breast, cut into strips)
large cocktail shrimp, tails on
Egg Beaters
seasoned bread crumbs

The Nutrisystem Grilled Chicken Breast really isn't a great choice for this recipe because the chicken flakes easily with a fork and is difficult to cut into strips- I'd recommend using your own. I didn't specify quantities otherwise because it depends how many people you want to serve.

Just like with the cheese sticks, dip the chicken strips and shrimp into the Egg Beaters and then into the breadcrumbs. Bake the chicken strips in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. I like the shrimp best either fried in 1 tsp olive oil per serving, or in PAM Olive Oil spray.

If you want to count this as a dairy/protein serving, you can use up to 100 calories of chicken or shrimp, and count the Egg Beaters and breadcrumbs as a free food. You can also choose to make this a dinner entree by using 3 lean protein servings (that would be 3oz of chicken or 6oz of shrimp), ~80 calories of breadcrumbs (so a thicker breading) as your low GI carb, and 2 tsp of olive oil to fry them in. You still need to add your 3 veggie servings to make it a complete dinner.

The last item really isn't great for Nutrisystem but your guests will probably enjoy it!

Pizza Rolls:

wonton wrappers
turkey pepperoni
shredded mozzerella cheese
pizza sauce
your favourite veggies, diced small

Squirt a little pizza sauce into each wrapper and add pepperoni, veggies, and cheese. Fold the wrappers tightly and tuck in the edges to make an egg roll shape. Heat olive oil in a pan- enough to cover the bottom of the pan. When the oil is hot, place the pizza rolls in a single layer in the pan. Turn when the wrapper starts to crisp up. When they are cooked on all sides, serve immediately.

Unfortunately, these really don't do well when baked or faux fried- they just don't have the same flavour and the wonton wrappers don't crisp up properly. As a result, these use too much oil to be eaten on Nutrisystem. I recommend serving these to your guests and sticking to the on plan snacks like chicken fingers and mozzerella sticks! And of course don't forget to put out a platter of fresh veggies and dip!

More About Exercise

Anyone else watching the Biggest Loser tonight? I was totally blown away by the weight loss of the Unknowns during their first week on the ranch. The lowest percentage would have been at the top of the other group! Seriously- how can you go home after losing 3.59%???

What it signifies to me is how important it can be to change up your fitness routine. The ranch players, while obviously still losing weight and being successful, didn't have their routine changed as much as the unknowns did, by completely changing locale and having new equipment to use. Look at the effect it had!

With diet as well as exercise, it's important to keep your body guessing so that your metabolism stays revved up and it doesn't have time to acclimatize to what you are doing. There was a discussion on the Nutrisystem boards about having high days and low days- where you vary your daily food intake based on how hungry you are. You still eat everything on your meal plan and don't save anything, but perhaps you choose all lower calorie entrees one day (since there's quite the variation in each category), or have smaller servings for your dairy/protein add ins. Conversely, if you're hungry, go for the higher calorie entrees and max out your dairy/protein to 100 calories per serving.

But if just changing up your exercise can have an effect like that- I'm really excited about the idea. Adding in the 30 Day Shred clearly had a positive effect on my weight loss. Hopefully trying the FitMom + Baby class on Mondays will also change things up a little. Maybe I need to add in more time on the elliptical machine as well.

So here's my challenge to you- this week, try one new exercise related thing that you haven't done before. It doesn't have to be a huge change- maybe something as simple as wearing arm weights when you go for a walk. Let's see if we can shock our bodies into letting go of those pounds!

Don't forget to enter the $35 gift certificate giveaway to CSN Stores! The contest closes February 7th.

Healthy Dip Recipes

Yes, there is indeed such a thing! A reader sent me an email asking if I had any dip recipes that she could serve to her guests for her Super Bowl party that wouldn't be too far off plan, so I went looking for some yummy ones. Enjoy!

The quickest and easiest one I tried that I liked was simply stirring some Hidden Valley Ranch powder into FF sour cream. Depending how much powder you use, it has a nice kick and your guests will enjoy it- plus you can have it ready to serve in about 5 seconds! 2 tbsp is a free food.

My second one is a little more involved but definitely worth the effort- I got the idea from the Biggest Loser Cookbook and modified it slightly to up the protein count.


Skinny Spinach Dip:



1 10oz package of frozen chopped spinach (thawed overnight in fridge)
2/3 cup drained water chestnuts
3 green onions
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup FF sour cream
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tsp hot mustard
black pepper, to taste

Press the spinach into a strainer and use a spoon to squeeze as much water out as possible. Set aside. Pour the water chestnuts, green onions, and garlic into a food processor and blend. Add the spinach and pulse, and then the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl and chill for at least one hour before serving.

This dip has a zesty kick because of the water chestnuts and if you serve it in a fancy bread bowl, your guests will have no idea that it's so low in calories and fat! Serve it with whatever you want- pumpernickel bread chunks, crackers, or just plain sliced veggies. The recipe makes 22 2-tbsp servings with 15 calories, 2g carbs, trace of fat, and 2g protein. So it's your choice how you want to use it- you can have 3 tbsp as a free food, or you can have 3/4 cup as a dairy/protein serving with 12g protein. Or you can do some combination- whatever works for you. The bottom line is that it tastes great and you can definitely find a way to work it into your program if you want a yummy dip!

I'm considering how it would taste as a sandwich spread with grilled chicken and maybe some melted mozzerella. Sounds like a yummy flex lunch idea!