WW 2.0 - 1 week down!

Well, I survived my first official week on WW 2.0!  Surprisingly, it went much easier than the first time. I felt like I was able to find fulfilling recipes that curbed my cravings and kept me full…and for very little points. I stayed within my point limit, and some nights I even had points left over at the end of the night. Although, Weight Watchers recommends that you use all of your points each day to keep on track and so that you're not depriving yourself.

Sooo… drum roll please…. I lost 5 pounds my first week!! Made it to my first goal! Mind you, I started eating better the week before, but not tracking points til this past week. Plus, I didn't use any cheat points this week. This was somewhat intentional as I wanted to get a jump start. I don't feel like I missed out, though.

Flashback to the first time I did this, I GAINED 5 pounds. I almost quit, but so glad I didn't. If you're in that same boat- it's ok. You're not going to lose every week. But if you just keep with it and stay consistent, it'll work out. :)

Here's a sample of what I eat in a day-

Breakfast- 3/4 cup Lucky Charms (I LOVE cereal) with 1/4 cup almond milk (almond milk is less points than cow's milk, and it actually tastes good. We switched over while I was pregnant and never looked back.)

Coffee with 1 Tbsp creamer (you can go fat free if you'd like, but at the cost of taste, I'd assume just use 1 point for the regular. If I start tapering off with the weight loss, I might try to switch to fat free.)

Snack- Lightly Salted Rice Cake topped with fat free whip cream and fruit (Seriously good-see post here)

Snack- banana

Lunch- BIG salad and 1Tbsp light or fat free dressing. I prefer green leaf lettuce, green peppers, onions, sweet relish cubes, carrots, and a protein (deli turkey or tuna). TIP- if you buy deli meat like me, ask them to shave it (where it's falling apart). It'll appear that you're eating more.

This is a full size dinner plate. BIG! HUGE! MANportion!

Snack- fruit medley (apple, orange, banana, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries)

Dinner - BLT with 3 fried egg whites and extra bacon on the side

Dessert- (YES, I get dessert) Oreo whip. I'll post a recipe and photo later.

Snack- apple

Somedays I'll have a Diet Dr. Pepper (0 P+)

See? I eat quite a bit throughout the day! And did you see how big my salad is?! I haven't repeated dinners yet so I'm not getting burned out on typical diet foods like chicken or fish. AND this is what I make for my family for dinner anyways so it's easy on me. That's a win win!

I'm not expecting another 5 lb loss next week, but I'm definitely getting back into the groove and it feels good to have week one under my belt. Are you joining along? Let me know so we can encourage one another! :)

Heisel Rules!

What Henry Wore

I'm starting a new series called 'What Henry Wore' so I can document some of my favorite outfits of Henry's. Seems silly, but picking out his outfits is one thing I really enjoy. He's my little arm candy! ;) I like dressing him like a little man. 

This all started as I have been slowly sorting through the clothes he's outgrown and deciding whether to keep or sell. While doing this, I noticed there are so many cute outfits that I never took a picture of him in. :( Not a super big deal, but I'm trying to remember those cute moments in a photo instead of holding onto an outfit. Since we move a lot, having extra boxes isn't ideal, and I think it'll be a bit before we have another. Plus, part of the fun was hunting for a great deals on cute/cool clothing for Henry, and I think I'll enjoy doing that again with the next one. In theory. :)

Soooo…here's the first of many in this new series. My lil fashionister. 

My lil Rocker

Pants- Baby Gap Skinny Pleather, black 

Shirt- KISS (from Target- this is a fave of Daddy's) 

Shoes- Converse high tops, black

And, unfortunately, this is one of the few ways I can grab a photo of him sitting still these days- that, and sleeping. This series is going to be interesting to photograph. ha!

As I recall, he was kissing a puppy in the book. He does this when he sees puppies, horsies, and himself in books and mirrors. It's actually really cute.

Did you notice the new 'do he got 2 days ago? He's rockin' the lil mohawk now. I was sad to see the sweet, baby locks go, but he looks equally as cute, and now cool, in this style. Welcoming a new season in life. :)

Heisel Rules!

Milestone- Henry's First Haircut

Today we checked off another milestone- Henry's first haircut. We arrived with a 16 month old and left with a 3 year old; I've been avoiding it for this exact reason. :( Now I'm really wondering where my baby went!

Before:

During:

Despite his sad, disapproving look, he actually did much better than we expected. He sat still, for the most part, in Daddy's lap…with an iPad…and a sucker…then another sucker...and a phone…and 2 combs. Yep, that's all it took! ;)

After:

Regardless of my {emotional} momma feelings, he really does look incredibly cute. And truthfully, his hair was getting into his eyes...at least that's what I'm telling myself. Whew. Felt like cutting the cord all over again!

My heart will still continue to ache when we pass milestone like this, but it'll also grow with more love for this lil man. How's that even possible- pain and love? I'd say he's worth it, though. :)

Heisel Rules!

Weight Watchers Friendly Snack- Fruit topped Rice Cakes

The first time I did WW I remember thinking that I was really hungry the first couple of days. (Check out WW 2.0) I didn't realize at that time that I was doing it wrong. Unlike other diet plans, WW wants you to eat MORE...of the right stuff. Plus, I wasn't used to NOT shoving my face full of bad carbs, so my body had to sort of detox. After just a few days, I figured out what low point foods filled me up (mostly fruit) and ate those things. What I realized this time, to make it easier, is that I needed something to curb my sweet tooth (other than fruit) and to feel filling. This snack is IT!

I love fruit. I love rice cakes. I lOVE whip cream…well, here's their baby! So satisfying and filling for a snack.

Blueberry Rice Cake - 1 P+

1 lightly salted rice cake (the sweet mixed with the salty is yummo!)

2 Tbsp Fat Free whip cream

Blueberries, Bananas, or any fruit (as many as you'd like, most fruit is 0 P+)

Dir. 

Spread whip cream on rice cake, top with fruit. Devour! And then try not to make another. Or do, if you have the points available…these babies don't break the bank! :)

Banana Rice Cake

(please excuse the bites; I couldn't wait to eat this!)

And Strawberry.  Can you tell I'm slightly obsessed?! ;)

…….

If you want to jazz this up a bit, for 1 more P+ (so 2 P+ total) you could add a few crushed almonds (5). Not necessary, but to mix it up, it adds a yummy little crunch.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to make this for my snack…for the 2nd time today! ha! 

Heisel Rules! {the Kitchen}

WW 2.0

About four years ago I challenged myself to do the Weight Watchers Points Plus Program. I was very hesitant, and thought I'd already unsuccessfully tried everything to lose weight to feel healthy again, surely this would be a failure…and I'd be out the cost too. To my surprise it was a success, and the cost was actually a driving factor that made me stick to it! Who wants to lose money, AmIRight?! It took 3 months, but I lost about 25 pounds! It was not instant, but it was a great lifestyle change.

……….

Fast forward to the current me- 4 years, a marriage, 2 moves, and a baby later- I have gained some (not all) of that back, and so I'm restarting the program. (Well, I started on February 19). I already feel good, but I feel like I can be doing better. Ya know? And truthfully, pregnancy and child birth do crazy things to your body. Like, really crazy. Things aren't where I left them, sadly. I'm proud that my body housed my baby for 42.1 weeks, but now I want to try to regain some of my former healthy body back.

And I'm attempting to be healthier overall, to be a good example for my son.

And, I have a box FULL of super cute, perfectly good clothes begging to be worn again. ;)

So, I know this topic isn't popular and people have opinions... and like a butt, everyone has one. I know we should all like our bodies no matter what, and I do, really, BUT this is my reasoning, and this is what worked for me. I'm not trying to be skinny, that doesn't look good one me, I've already tried…a long time ago. I want to look healthy, and that should never be argued. :)

So, my big goal is to lose 15 pounds (and tone up)- which doesn't sound like a lot, but I SWEAR it's so much harder to lose weight a.when you're older, and b.when you've had a baby. But what's great about WW is that you make small, achievable goals and eventually you get to your big goal-over time.

I'm sharing this for accountability, mostly, but since I've done this once successfully (and hope to again), I also want to be an encourager to anyone else in the same place. So, I'll be sharing more healthy alternatives for food, along with some seriously enticing photographic evidence. ;)

Wish me luck encouragement!

Heisel Rules!

Valentine's Day 2015

Roses are red

Violets are blue

My baby is sweet

and so cute, too! ;)

{check out his heart bootie} 

I hope your Valentine's Day was filled with lots of love, hugs, and kisses…I know ours was!

Heisel Rules!

Henry is 15 months!

Well, I'm a couple weeks late, but our baby turned 15 months in January (10th)! Soo many new things have developed since he turned one-

He runs!
He laughs when we laugh!
He marches/stomps.
He gives hugs and kisses like they're going out of style, and when asked. I'm ok with that! :)
Sometimes when he hugs, he'll pat you on the back, and it's the sweetest thing ever.
He's the sweetest in the morning- endless BIG smiles, laughs, hugs and kisses!
He babbles-all THE time! I can see and hear new vowels and sounds everyday.
He's learning compassion- when he hurts someone, he'll give them a hug for "sorry".
His audible vocabulary includes- momma, dada, Bella, PU-pa *pats leg* (puppy), BA (ball), Boo (boobie/wants to nurse), HO-SY (horse), vrooom (car), and baby.
His sign language vocab includes- eat, more, all done, potty, sometimes 'thank you', puppy, and horse.
He waves and says "Bye" for hi and bye.
He's learning that bye means the person is leaving and most often will cry. It's the saddest thing.
He'll blow kisses-sometimes. He's stingy with those.
He points at everything.
He says, "whasssat?" meaning…what's that?
Or he'll say, "isssit?" meaning…what is it?
He weighs- 23.7 lb (but it sure feels like more!)
He loves to slide.
He likes to swing-for 5 seconds, then he's over it.
He still loves book. When it gets quiet, most often I can find him in a pile of books-flipping thru one.
He can point to his eyes, ears, mouth, nose, belly, wienie, toes, and head- on command.
He eats a LOT! I'm pretty sure he's hiding a teenager in that lil body!
He has these incredibly cute rolls on his arms and his booty.
This baby needs constant stimulation or else he gets bored.
But he sure is cute. :)
And just when I think he can't possibly look any bigger, he goes and turns another month older.

I'm sure it's hard to tell, but I kinda love this lil guy…like, a lot! ;)

Heisel Rules!