Lentil Chilli

I'm a serious foodie which could easily explain why my weight has always been a problem. It's not just eating the food that's fun, but preparing the menu and cooking the food is therapeutic also. I love to watch the Food Network and the Cooking Channel and I think the little girl inside me still wishes I could have my very own cooking show.

The biggest misconception is that a diet results in a lack of originality and fun while cooking. It's more expensive to create low calorie, low fat meals but not at all impossible. Thanks to the internet, there is no lack of original recipes to try. Last year, I had to rush a good friend to the emergency room because her heart was racing. It turned out to be nothing, but the doctor scheduled a follow up appointment for later in the week at the cardiac facility in the hospital. While I was in the waiting room, I picked up a "heart-healthy" pamphlet and discovered this recipe that I'm about to share with you.

Lentil Chili

1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 large yellow bell pepper, chopped
8 cups, low sodium vegetable broth
5 cloves garlic
4 TBS chili powder
1 (16 oz.) package of lentils
2 (15 oz.) cans of diced tomatoes (with chilies)

1. Sauté onion, bell peppers, and garlic with about 1/2 c. of the vegetable broth
2. Add the rest of the vegetable broth, the chili powder, the lentils and then diced tomoatoes
3. Bring to a boil, and simmer for about 45 minutes or until Lentils are soft
4. Serve!

Nutritional info: Per cup serving
130 calories
0g. Fat
23g Carbs
7g dietary fiber
6g. protein

WW Points +: 2 points

Nutritional Info: 

Per Serving:130 calories (5 from fat), 0g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 180mg sodium, 23g carbohydrate (7g dietary fiber, 7g sugar), 6g protein

I was wary about lentils, because I had never tried them but the chili powder really flavors these nutrition packed lentils. I am a chili fanatic, and I was pleased by the real chili flavor. What's better, is this chili is VERY good for your heart and your health. With only 2 points per serving, you can feel guilt-free to double up and eat 2 whole cups for only 4 points!! Even more amazing is that this chili will keep you full, satisfied, and healthy.

What's your favorite "go-to" recipe?

Lets Try This Again

I read a blog called "Diva On a Diet" yesterday and every single word she spoke resonated with me about the struggles of weight loss. Like her, I have been successful on weight watchers once before. I lost over 30 pounds and looked fantastic. The scale had gotten to 156 right before I went to Spokane for school. Obviously, 156 isn't a girls 'dream weight' but for me it really looked nice. I was getting compliments, I was looking good in clothes, and I felt great! I look at those pictures now and it brings with it a sadness and guilt. I lost all that weight, and watched the scale creep back up to 180 over the course of a few years.

It's a weekly thing where I think to myself "I have GOT to get serious about this diet again!" I'm not exaggerating when I say its a weekly thing either. I mean, every single Monday for the past two years. And yet, somehow, by Friday I'm over the diet and I'm gorging myself on food thinking "I'll start Monday." It's become such a tired routine that I NEVER tell people I'm going on a diet because they would probably laugh audibly. And while it might seem humorous to some, it is really a huge shame in my life. I carry the weight, no pun intended, with me everywhere I go.

I think it's one thing to just be fat and a whole other thing to be fat AFTER having been skinny. I feel like people look at me and think "wow. She is putting on so much weight." If your fat, and have always been fat, your weight doesn't draw attention. As seriously sad as this is, I find myself looking at fat women and thinking "wow. Must be nice to accept your weight and live life." Theres a sad part of me that wishes I could just be fat and be happy fat. Some little voice in my head keeps telling me that diets mean limitations, lack of freedom, and lack of happiness. But somewhere even deeper inside is a little girl screaming at me to pull myself together. I wonder if I don't lose weight, if I'll ever find a man to love me. Just suffer for the year, or whatever, til you lose weight and then you won't suffer your entire life being gawked at and left single and unwanted.

So here I am again. They say that it's not failure until you quit trying. I will never quit trying for that little girl inside of me begging me to do it. It helps that I have two weddings that I'm in this summer where I have to stand up in front of a mass of people in a strapless dress. I'm looking at my calendar, and all of my weight loss plans, and I'm just hoping and praying that this time I will succeed. I'll find that motivation to really do this and do it well. I'm too scared to weigh myself because I've been in a blissful denial for so long. Once I see the number, I'll have to accept what has happened. :/

So even though I ate more then 28 points on both Monday and Tuesday (February 9 and 10), I don't think I ate over 49 points over 28. So I'm going to go ahead and tell myself I started this diet on Monday. So I have 24 weeks from this Saturday to lose as much weight as possible before August 1st. Lets try this again!

Serious About WeightLoss

Man. I hate diets. I hate them. I hate counting internally in my head, and getting excited about a "big" meal that I had saved all day for that is over far too quickly. I hate craving something rich and delicious and trying to "subistute" that craving for something light and healthy. It doesn't work. I find myself constantly craving more, and always having to ignore it. Sigh. I hate diets.

So it's with a realitively heavy heart that I'm back on a weight loss journey. This time, it really is going to be a journey. I'm going to start from scratch on weight watchers. Figure out what my actual weight it, and go from there. You see with weight watchers, one diet doesn't fit all. I have always allotted 29 points a day for myself, but I might be allotted more or less now. I haven't weighed myself in a good year. I hate the scale because it has the tremendous power of ruining my entire week. It's funny how I can feel good about myself til I know I weight 180 pounds and then I don't feel good at all. I feel ashamed, and I feel ugly. I stop trying to look good, and I avoid loved ones all because of a number. Ignorance truly is bliss when it comes to your weight.

But if I want a change, I have to change the way I view the scale. I know I've gained weight because I haven't dieted since October. I've done "week" diets or "day" diets but never lasted more than a week at a time. Not significant enough to make impact. I just love food. Lets be honest. I LOVE it. I love knowing there is something delicious waiting for me at the end of a long, hard day. I don't want to exercise and I'm not going to pretend like I want to. I hate it when you work really hard at being "good" for a week and it doesn't show itself on the scale. The idea of weighing myself every week-ugh. Just sounds awful.

But I want change. I don't know how much I weigh, but I know I'm much heavier than I was at my skinniest. I want to get back down so that I can feel good about myself. I feel good now, I suppose, but it's because I work at a dealership with a bunch of 40 year old married men and women. It doesn't matter how I look. But deep down, I care. It's been hard to diet lately, and I don't know why. Maybe it's because my hearts desire is to always plop down in front of Netflix and eat yummy food. You can do that on weight watchers but not really.

All this to say, that I'm starting that journey again. That dreaded uphill journey that takes months and months to come to completion. It's a good time for it, I'll admit. I work til 6 most days, and I finally have the financial resources to buy all the food I need. I'm going to make this diet work for my life. I want to try and use every single one of my 49 points but I'm scared. So now I'm just using 30 and leaving 19 to catch any mistakes. This week, I'm eating 29 but next week I think I might have to go to 28. It all depends on what the scale tells me on Saturday. But I'm in it to win it. I have two weddings this summer, and a whole lot of reasons why nows the time.

1/19/14

Breakfast:
2 servings of Special K Cinnamon Crunch (6 pts)
1 c. Light vanilla almond milk (1 pt)
Total: 7 pts

Lunch:
2 servings of Progresso soup (4 pts)
Total: 4 pts

Dinner:
Ham Sandwich: 4 pts
1 serving pretz: 3 pts
yogurt: 2 pts
sucker: 2
Total: 11

Snack:
1 serving light kettle corn (3 pts)
1 sucker: 2
Total: 5 pts

Daily Total: 27

Not the best..

I was doing fantastic until this afternoon! I didn't eat until 2:30 and had a very high calorie lunch (about 17 weight watchers points) and I, for some reason, was still hungry after I ate it! I had 5 points for lunch which left me only 7 for dinner. Problem was, I didn't want to wait until dinner. So I ate jello and pretzels and two pieces of toast. Needless to say, I'm full now and I know it pushed me over my limit. I'm disappointed but now the trick is to not eat myself sick because I failed. I stopped eating when I got full and won't allow it to throw my week off track. Hanging in there. I promised you guys I'd let you know when I failed.

Close Call

So I'm currently doing the Weight Watchers points plus program. I've done Weight watchers and calorie counting and lost weight with both but I think W.W is a better fit for me. I am allotted 26 points a day with a bonus of 49 points a week. I'm now finishing up day 3 and I had my first serious temptation! I was eating a very late dinner (9:00PM late) and decided it would be okay to have just one more serving of pretzels (17 pretzels equals 3 points). I'm happy to tell you that I DIDN'T DO IT! I drank some more water and waited and sure enough the craving went away. Even the littlest compromises are sure to trip me up in a huge way. Now I'm going to tuck into my bed and watch The Walking Dead. After all, that show guarantee's a loss of appetite! ;)

Hang in there readers! We can do this together.

Day 2

So far, so good. I've been trying to keep myself nice and busy! It helps that it's been in the sixties all week so I've been able to go for walks and run. I know the hard days are coming. It doesn't help that my room mate is going to be gone Friday, Saturday and Sunday this weekend. That means I'm going to be home alone, all day with  no witnesses. That's a bingers trigger! I'll keep ya'll posted. I promise to admit it if I fail.

On another note, I found out yesterday that I got a job working at a camp all summer. It's motivating me SO much right now. I know I've got roughly 9 weeks (not including spring break) to loose the weight. I'm not making excuses for spring break but it's unrealistic I'll be able to be on a strict diet when I'm at my parents house because they aren't eating healthy. Besides, my battle isn't dieting. It's food moderation. 2 weeks til spring break and then 7 weeks til I'm at camp.

Long journey ahead..but I'm praying that I can defeat this!