Friday Favorites #4

Happy Friday Favorites! Here's a few of my favorite things this week.

My niece Gabriella and my baby cousin Kyrk. They are the most adorable babies ever. Aren't their onesie's so cute? Ella's says, "I have the best auntie!" and Kyrk's says, "Are these people really my relatives?" (I bought that for him).   

Since I am off to Jamaica (in 10 DAYS!) I am obsessed with everything island themed. I got a few new dresses for the trip and some new accessories. I am in love with my new Calvin Klein wedges and Fossil earrings.

Finally, last night at FIT training we got one of the fitness bracelets for our running. It says FINISH STRONG. I absolutely love it. I finally have a real reason to wear one of these bracelets. Not just because everyone else has one or they are a trend. I sure feel like a runner! :)

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I am off to Red Eye's Dock Bar on the water tonight for drinks and redneck viewing tonight with my friend Debbie. I hope the rest of the weekend is filled with sunshine, pools, and sangria. :)

<3 xoxo <3

A Breakfast Transformation

When I was at my heaviest, breakfast was always something loaded with carbs and fat. Everyday at work I would get an everything bagel with 2 cream cheeses and an iced latte. And I wasn't skimping either. Real 100% real cream cheese for the bagel and 100% whole milk in the latte.

Now I look back and can't believe I had no idea I was eating over half of my daily allowances in one meal!  Even when I first started Weight Watchers I had a hard time giving up the bagel. I changed to 1 reduced fat cream cheese and no latte, but I was still not picking the best choice for breakfast.

When I looked down at my breakfast this morning it hit me how much I have changed. I am no longer only picking something low in points, I am also considering the protein and energy needs. Want a peek at my new frequent breakfast?

Yum! 1 banana on a slice of whole cracked wheat bread with 1 tbsp of reduced fat peanut butter. (4 pts) It's a fast and easy meal. I also found some other fast, healthy meals I am going to try. Check them out here at Real Simple. 

Hope everyone has a wonderful morning! 

<3 xoxo <3

Finally the Scale Makes Me Smile!

Week after week recently I have been running my butt off, eating on plan, and not losing a single lb. Let's just say I was getting pretty frustrated. How could I be working so hard and seeing no results? So, I had to re-think about what my body was doing. 

After talking to a few friends who are athletes and runners I decided maybe I wasn't giving myself enough fuel. With 5K coming up soon I am running about 7 or 8 miles total and doing Cardio Dance at the gym. Doesn't seem like a lot, but when I am not eating any more than 28 points a day, my protein was seriously lacking. 

So last week I made sure to have protein at every meal. That meant giving up a few of the happier Weight Watchers points I usually have (you know, the ones saved for WW ice cream). 

It paid off. 5lbs off the scale this morning. Can you believe it? I can't! I am pretty happy. Just the jump start I needed heading into Jamaica in 14 days. If I can get 5 more off before then, I will be a happy girl. 

I think the best thing for me to remember is that I didn't, and shouldn't ever give up. Even when it is hard and I don't see a change for a few weeks that I have to stick with it. In the end.....

<3 xoxo <3

Just Run!

<3 xoxo <3

Food Rave! Choc Chunk Chobani!

After lunch today I was really craving something chocolaty. I thought about eating a Hershey Kiss, even though one is never enough, and remembered that I brought a new Chobani Greek Yogurt to try.

Vanilla Chocolate Chunk! I'm glad I picked this up at the store to try and it was just what I needed today. Real chunks (more like tiny flecks, but it still worked) of chocolate in vanilla greek yogurt. Packed with a little bit of protein to help get my energy up to make it through the rest of the day.

So this is my rave for Chocolate Chunk Chobani....Try it the next time you are craving something sweet and chocolaty!

<3 xoxo <3

Running Playlist

Head over to Weight Watchers and check out my new blog to see my running playlist!

Licking The Plate of Life on Weight Watchers 

<3 xoxo <3

Surprise Dinner on the Grill!

I would love to use the grill more often. The thing is, I'm kind of scared of it, and I think my roommate Brandon likes it that way. He doesn't really let me touch it, and never really gives me clear instructions on how to use it. So last night when he said he was turning on the grill to cook some fish I ran for the refrigerator and tried to find anything I could to throw on there.

I came up with some zucchini and a veggie burger. I prepped the zucchini with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and a little bit of olive oil. I added some Mrs. Dash original seasoning and some garlic salt. Since I didn't plan on throwing anything on the grill I used a Boca Veggie Burger instead of making my own (which I plan on doing in the near future).

I have to admit that the balsamic drizzle was an accident. I thought I picked up the olive oil but grabbed the wrong bottle. It ended up being a nice addition. I will probably pretend in the future that this is my secret ingredient that makes my grilled zucchini so good. :)

Brandon prepped his fish for dinner and threw everything on the grill. The rest was up to him, like I said, I'm not totally sure I'm allowed to even touch the grill if I wanted to, but he does a great job!

And viola! Dinner from the grill! 

I chose not to add any cheese to my burger to keep the points down. The Boca Burger is 2 and I counted the zucchini at 2 for the olive oil/balsamic vinegar drizzle. Pretty low in points for dinner. After dinner I was feeling in such a yummy summer mood that I had a Weight Watchers Strawberry Smoothie Bar for 2 extra points. Super refreshing and the perfect dessert. 

I'm glad I was home and was able to capitalize on the surprise grilling night. Next time I will be more prepared though, I think I better stock up on some grill friendly foods, just in case Brandon gets the urge to grill again sometime soon. ;)

<3 xoxo <3

A Baltimore Weekend Hon!

What a great weekend! Saturday I had my friend Shannon's bridal shower and finished the evening off with drinks in the city, then it was Sunday Funday Baltimore style yesterday.

Shannon's shower was great and I had a wonderful time.One of her gifts was a basket filled with wine tagged with different ribbons. Along with the basket came a poem which detailed how and when to drink the wine. I looked up the poem online and found it! You can read it here. http://voices.yahoo.com/unique-bridal-shower-wedding-gift-3800584.html I thought it was a great shower gift. Maybe one day someone will give it to me!

Here are the girls. Shannon is 3rd from the right.

After the shower some of us headed out in Baltimore for some drinks in the city.

It was a really fun night that ended with a story I'm sure we will be telling for years. I'll just say it has to do with a lot of wine, a motorized cooler, and someone taking a mighty big spill. :)

On Sunday I headed over to my cousins for Sunday Funday Bawlmore Style. Steamed crabs, beers, and the pool! It was nice and hot and great day to enjoy the weather and family.

Baby Kyrk is even festive! 

Everyone had a great time playing in the pool and eating crabs. It was the perfect end to the perfect weekend. 

It's just too bad it had to end! I'd much rather be back in the pool drinking a beer then sitting at my desk today! Hope everyone had as much fun as I did this weekend.

<3 xoxo <3

Friday Favorites #3

Happy Friday! Here's to another set of Friday Favorites.

First up...my Next Step Females in Training (FIT) Running shirt. I am so excited for this one. :) I got it at training last night for decreasing my 1 mile time trail over 7 weeks by 1min55sec. I'm pretty proud and excited to get to wear it at our graduation race, the Women's Distance Festival on July 8th.

Second, I am so incredibly excited that a Wegman's is opening in my town next week! I can't wait to enjoy the market cafe and all the awesome food that they have. Ours will even have a wine bar area! It opens next Sunday and you better bet I'll be there! 

I am also loving using this cute little guy my Mom bought me a few months ago for work. He is a thumb drive! Isn't he just too cute for words? 

Finally, according to Birchbox, my June box shipped yesterday, so I should have it when I get home today. If you don't know about Birchbox go check it out. I love all the samples that I have gotten so far. In fact, in last months box was the Miracle Skin Transformer. It's tinted golden with some light sparkle and SPF 20. I absolutely love it and ordered the full size. I've been using it every day and really notice how much better my skin looks. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I am celebrating my friend Shannon tomorrow at her Bridal Shower and then enjoying some steamed crabs with my cousins at the pool on Sunday. Hope everyone's weekend is as fun as mine will be!

<3 xoxo <3 

Points Trick

If you are a Weight Watchers girl like I am one of the best skills to have is knowing how many points are in a food off the top of your head (ie. without your app, website, or book). It helps you when you are in a tough situation and don't know what to eat. We all try to stay connected all of the time, but sometimes it's annoying to tug around your diet plan (oh uhm I mean...lifestyle change plan) everywhere you go, so we often just guess at the time and track later.  I know I have guessed wrong a few times and found myself in a pool of guilt when I find out how many points something really was. So I created a trick that worked for me. I label all of my food. Not just with the points but also with the serving size, and fat/carbs/protein/fiber.

Take for example my snack today.

I have known for a long time now the points in this snack. I eat it all the time, but still mark it. I am trying to help retain the information. If every time I eat a cracker I glance at the nutrition information and see that it is 3 points, when I see similar nutrition information somewhere else I can gauge that the points might be around 3. Also, that multi-grain chips that size are 18 to a serving. So when I am at a party somewhere and they have similar crackers I don't have to rudely ask my host to see the nutrition label. I can guess that crackers that size that are multi-grain are probably 18 to a serving for 3 points.

Its not a full proof method, but I find it helps me. I am usually only off by a few points now that I have been doing it for some time.

I know it saves me the guilt when I come home from an outside event or party and actually track what I ate. I find more often than not, I wasn't that far off on my calculations.

Happy Snacking!

<3 xoxo <3