New Food Find: 3 PT ICE CREAM!

Yeah....boiiiiiiiiiii.....I almost forgot! I discovered that the al-cheapo (compared to like Breyers and stuff) Prairie Farms Fat Free Vanilla ice cream is 3 pts for a A WHOLE CUP of ice cream! I know big whoop huh? lol.. But if you look at the normal ice cream you eat the serving size is only a HALF a cup. It makes that 130 calories almost look okay then you measure it out and see what you're really getting lol....Prairie Farms FF Vanilla (they also have a FF Chocolate and Pecan Crunch which I will be finding) is only 80 cals per 1/2 cup!

Dudes I swear by the al-cheapo store brands! It was on sale for $3.49 which is expensive for regular ice cream but dirt cheap for FF or lowf at ice cream which can run you $5 to $6 a friggin half gallon! Most of the al cheapos are locally produced and are too cheap to put in fancy additives like nuts and syrups (in terms of ice cream)....BUY AL CHEAPO!

Steam Broiled Brussel Sprouts

So, my new favorite veggie is Steam Broiled Brussel Sprouts! My good friend Rebecca made them a while back and I have been trying to both recreate and slim up that recipe without losing the great flavor. The trick to this phabulous side dish is ALL in the preparation, so here's the dealio:

Steam Broiled Brussel Sprouts

1.5-2 lbs of FRESH brussel sprouts (dudes frozen just won't do)
3 tsp. Olive Oil
3 tsp. Lite Margarine
1/2 can reduced fat chicken broth
Non-stick cooking spray
2 tbsps. chopped walnuts (optional)

Seasonings (to taste)
Black Pepper
Mrs. Dash
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a baking dish (I prefer a glass casserole dish, but a baking sheet also works well) with non stick cooking spray.

2.Cut the ends of the sprouts, some leaves will fall off...IT IS OKAY. Then halve each sprout. Rinse with water and put in baking dish. Set aside for a bit...

3. Microwave your margarine...yeah it will look pretty weird as the coloring and oil will unmix lol. Add your olive oil to this and mix. Coat your brussel sprouts THROUGHLY! Add walnuts now if you desire.THEN pour chicken broth into baking dish. Be careful NOT to pour directly onto the sprouts.
4. Now it's time to season these puppies up. As you can see I do not put quantities on my seasoning because it's all to taste. But I will give you this tidbit...go heavy on the garlic and onion powder, minimal on the salt and pepper ;).

5. Put some foil on it and bake for 20 minute stirring occasionally to insure even browning.


7. Take the foil off and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes until all the broth has steamed out and these puppies start to char up a bit..or until no (or VERY little) broth remains (like mine a little charred) though lol.

Progress Checkin...

Weight and Last Week
So, my test last week was to actually NOT journal for a week and see if that would relieve some of the pressure I was putting on myself. Well, though I gained a lb I felt really good last week! Like I cooked more and actually ate leftovers lol. I went to the grocery store and got healthy food, I went to Zumba Sat. and I had a bit more energy. I think the non-journaling helped because I was constantly like..."hmm wonder what the points are on this...since I can't journal I better be on the cautious side". I did point some things...like the apple crisp I made and ate (the whole pan) in one night. It was really effin good tho! Got plenty of servings of fruit in lol...

I also changed my WW online week, back to Week 4. I think I was technically on Week 6. But after realizing I had stupidly not been reading my weekly lessons I went back and caught up and felt like Week 4 which talked about power foods and weight gains really helped. I actually photocopied how to build a breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well as their WW power foods lists and hung them on my fridge. And to boot I actually referred to them when putting together my meals (fyi....brussel sprouts are a power food...thank god for small miracles lol....)....ooo gonna post my Broiled Brussel Sprouts recipe.

Exercise
Anywho, I am going to amp it up this week, as the trick hip is feelin good I want to keep it warmed so I'm gonna try and do TWO Zumba classes this week. Tuesday and Sunday. Plenty of time to recover in between.

This Week's Focus
Though, I will go back to journaling this week (ewww) I want to focus on journaling this week. It was going to be water but I don't want to avoid something I know I can fix...I mean just write the shit down Earl! lol. But one small habit at a time. My goal....and I need to start small is just to journal EVERY dinner. Since I seem to stop at 5pm everyday. I will naturally journal throughout the day but for this week my main focus will be my dinners.

Phaboo to the Yow,

Earl

Gym face and zumba buttcicles...lol....

So, I went to my second Zumba class and quite frankly I could do this every week and never get tired (depressed over other shit but never like dislike this class lol). I get to dance, get a workout, and the music is ALWAYS good unlike going to the clubs lol. Everything they use makes you want to move. I actually went there at the wrong time then came back! Yes, I could have been like ohh I got it wrong and left it there. But I went home relooked up the classes, noted that I had of course not paid attention and went back. It helps that the studio is a block from my house lol. Today we had some Aventura and some Ivy Queen...and yall know when I heard the Ivy Queen I lost my shit lol.

Well getting to the point of this blog, I get done and an older lady starts talking to me. Asking me if I was going to watch the St. Patty's Day parade that was starting outside and I was..."Oh I'm really sweaty" and she was like "And it is cold outside" and we chatted a bit more but afterwards I felt bad. I mean what if she wanted to establish a little repoire and I was so in my "get your shit on and leave mode" that I missed that? I started wondering...if I had "gym faced" her...

Now if you have ever tried to lose weight and gone to the gym you know what gym face is. When you go in head down pretending you don't see everyone else, because then is you start "seeing" the people around you they will start paying attention to you , thus making you REALLY insecure about your wobbly bits floppin around? Okay maybe that's just me...lol. But the point is, I'm really happy when I leave my zumba class at Pineapple Dance! The teachers are friendly the classes are small, there are always a mix of not only races but sizes. The studio is ethnic and colorful, I mean it's the perfect place for me to start getting back into shape (Hell I'm already after two classes very strongly considering popping for a whole 8 week session! Am going on a Groupon voucher now). And I feel bad that I may have gym faced this nice 40ish lady. Shit like this does not help women's natural insecurities while loosing weight. Hope she comes next week so I can at least say hi and be cordial!

Betch wonderin where the buttsicles come in? Well after our convo I left and walked outside and all the sweat on my hips, thighs, and butt congealed in protest of the Chicago wind! No way was I going to watch a parade sweaty and frozen at the same time LOLOLOLOL!

Phantastically Rude,

Earl

AWKWARD....lol

Ear hustled the strangest conversation today between a woman who'd had gastric and REFUSES to exercise, though she'd recently begrudgingly began walking and another woman who'd had the lap band and loved eating high fat foods and wine. Her thing was to simply get her band adjusted while the other woman cut out wine and full fat foods...yet as the only real plus sized woman in the vicinity...I find it strange that both had had these surgeries done and like I'd always assumed still don't know how to maintain a healthy weight or live a healthy lifestyle. VERY WEIRD KARMATIC OCCURRENCE....given my goal this year to loose 26 pounds by July 1st or I get a lap band put in. Very interesting in deed... Then Ms. LB (Lapband) continues on to say how she's afraid she's going to go back to "before" when she "thought she would always be fat" or something like that....now to give you idea of the proximity of this conversation...I was fixing an issue on Ms. GB's (Gastric By pass) computer and they were literally standing right behind me...I didn't know if I should agree with them or be offended. Then I realized it was a matter of prospective...I mean only someone larger than them who considered themselves unattractive ALREADY would agree with them...right? I mean the super confident part of me was like "These chicks need to find another hobby" but the realistic-picked on since 2nd grade Earl was like "Wow I guess everyone struggles. Am I afraid I will never succeed too?"....It was both enlighting and scary. Then of course my very large brain went into over drive and I started to thinking...if I admitted that there are times I feel ugly then all my girlfriends will give me the "But your beautiful!" talk. And though I love them...its just not the same as hearing it from someone you're attracted to lol. Not to mention I think it's natural (which may be my problem in all this lol) that women especially go through periods where they just don't feel attractive! Hell it's hard to be a woman! you gotta keep up your body yes, but then there's the hair and nails, and clothing (yes bad style can unmake ANY potential DIVA). Ugh it's exhausting! Which is why most of the time I flip that crap the bird because when I'm working I need to be focused on more important things. And when I'm playing I'm The Diva...I AM THE DIVA period :). But with my acting going into a different realm here it's like those lines are blurring because in my industry presentation IS EVERYTHING...ewww lol.

This Week's Progress, Reboot, and Challenge...

Notice that last part I added..."and Challenge". I realized last night that I haven't been losing any weight cause I haven't given myself any stakes besides losing $100---and that can happen at any moment depending on how much in bills I have every month! So, not only have I reached out to my former IL WW group for interesting challenges on the WW boards, I am also going to review (and read for the first time) some of my weekly topics that I didn't know existed lol. On the new site I just thought you read the weekly to do list and that was it. Before there wasn't really any weekly plan information online like if you were going to a meeting. So, that's going help me reboot..



Yes, I am rebooting this weightloss thing because all I have been doing is focusing on bad habits and not really enjoying myself (besides my Zumba class). So, as you may have read my biggest thing that I have been pressuring myself about is my lack on consistently jounraling so this week I am taking a week off from journaling! I'm still using the manager for points values but because all I have been doing is trying to move and point food I haven't been having any fun. So, since I know I have to pace myself moving (cause of my trick hip lol) now that I have taken away the pressure of journaling I'm kind of excited for this week! No so much about "staying on plan" but really finding a way to make this interesting and so tedious feeling----I mean I know it's work but I can have fun right?



So, not only am I looking for an online WL challenge I'm also going to start working on my own 4 week challenge! This week is Recipe week! I'm even going to do some work on my cookbook! I mean, I have to go through my Plan Manager anyway and redo the points on all of my old created recipes and I thought why not just copy them into one file to start my book! Fa Sho! Plus if I need to stop being afraid of my blog so I'm going to work myself out a 4 week challenge that I can post here. THIS should be interesting. I mean the point of group challenges is accountability...I am banking on this blog going public very soon and hopefully it will work even for a solo challenge lol. I am truly excited for the first time in a long time about being on WW. I guess a shake up was in order!



Your Phab Disco Diva (there's been a lot on the radio today...yay!),



Earlicious

...omg...Jhud's WW Blog!

So, after talking to my shrink last night (she's more like a really hip old college professor lol), I decided that I needed to reboot my WW. I've talked about it on here a couple blogs ago. Especially since I realized that you get the same plan material on the website I just haven't been looking at it because the WW site has SOOOO much shit on it now! The last time I did WW online there was no topic of the week, no weekly to do lists (which actually keep me really focused and I love it), BLOGS hello! People can have blogs now. And like pictures in their profile and stuff! The profiles are very much like facebook now it's really friggin cool...I just need to learn how to use the dam site and not just the plan manager. Cause I realized that dammit I know the plan I been doing this long enough (since 2005). Yes points values change but he basic principles are all still the same but...I haven't been focusing on ALL of the principles and by not really using ALL of the WW site I've cut out a big support system for myself. Yes I have a shrink but she's like 120 lbs soaking wet---and what I like most about the WW community is that you hear from people who are doing what you're doing in real time with no filter. Which brings me to my latest discovery...JHud's got a blog on WW! Like she has like a real profile. You can follow her blog and post comments to it! It's crazy! I figured it'd probably be something that her publicist is churning out for WW but it really sounds like her and she sounds genuine. Maybe one day I will tell her about my hate on? lol...I am of course following her blog IN SUPPORT! Because if you haven't garnered my Unnecessary JHud Hate On is not really about Jennifer Hudson, it's more about me. Seeing her is a reminder like seeing anyone who's lost weight----that I'm NOT losing weight. Which is a shitty way to be so though I may make those off handed comments I signed up to follow her blog so that I can get out of that mindset. Especially because if feels so black on black crime lol. No for real. It's that simple minded ignorant mentality of "Since I don't have it you can't have it either". I am not that girl! But I have to work through both these emotional bad habits as well as my bad eating and moving habits....oh fyi...did 5 squats this morning :). Gotta keep the glutes fired up so my hip/sacrum doesn't slip again... like it did yesterday morning lol... Phlabbs Out, Earl