Well I took a million pictures on thanksgiving because there was just sooo much going on! First off Tomorrow (the 28th) is Mr. Guant’s 29th Birthday, and since its so close to Thanksgiving (and thats the day his mom went into labor!) he usually celebrates most of his birthday on the holiday.
Mr. Gaunt has a pretty small family, no cousins or siblings (yes is is spoiled rotten) so family gathering usually just consist of his Mom and I. I assumed Thanksgiving would be that way, but it quickly turned into quite the gathering with multiple friends coming over including his god parents and god siblings! So it was pretty fun.
Im saving the next post to focus on food so this one is just about birthday and the rest of the non-eating events!
“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”
– Oprah Winfrey
“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” – Meister Eckhardt
“If you can’t be content with what you have received, be thankful for what you have escaped.”
– Author Unknown
“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.”
– Buddha
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget
that the highest appreciation is not to utter words,
but to live by them.”
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
uhg! Last night we celebrated Mr. Gaunt’s birthday a week early by going to Texas De Brazil for dinner. It’s an amazing restaurant that has the most to die for salad bar (think fancy cheese, Lobster bisque soup, gourmet olives, the works!) but I ate waaay too much. More than I have eaten in forever (hey you pay $50 you wanna get your moneys worth!) anyways it was a baaaaaaaaad idea. I went home feeling so ungodly uncomfortable that I felt nausea and dizzy with mild heart burn! I was laying in bed moaning thinking I was gonna die (like you do the first time you drink way too much) gross. This morning wasnt much better, I felt totally hung over. Lesson learned. I no longer can fill my tummy to its breaking point. This is a good thing. I missed weigh in this week, like I was gonna weigh in after that meal! Ha! So hopefully things will go well this week, we’ll see.
Oh and go over and wish my lovely Pro CONGRATS on fitting into her skinny jeans! YOU ARE AMAZING! LOVE YOU!
While searching through some old pics the other day I ran across these full body shots I took the day I left for Washington in July. I remember taking these pics and feeling really good about myself. Today I look and these and think…meh…not so nice. I had lost 27 pounds at this time, 7 pounds more than my 20lb goal by the time I left for WA. It was my first goal and I was sooo proud of myself. Today at 60lbs lost I am over the moon! I know that 75 and 100 pounds will feel just as amazing!
So this year Im in charge of the vegetable sides for thanksgiving. I havent decided on what exactly Im going to do but here are a few Ideas. I obviously want low fat and I want something a little interesting, no green bean casserole for this girl.
So here are the ideas Im thinking of. Please note I will probably adjust most of these recipes to make them lower in calories.
Salmon, Asparagus, Chick Pea Salad
This Salmon, Asparagus & Chickpea Salad looks amazing! I love asparagus! I think the one thing I would change would be to use smoked salmon instead of fresh salmon, thus eliminating a cooking step and adding a salty Northwest flair.
Garlic Kale and Onions
With my new love of Kale I really kind of wanted to make a Kale dish for Thanksgiving. This sautéed Kale with Onion, Garlic and White Kidney Beans looks pretty yummy. Im not completely sold on the Kidney beans, but the rest sounds super good!
Broccoli Cauliflower casserole
This one’s not as healthy, although I think I can reduce the cheese and make a lower calorie Cream Cheese. I do think Mr. Gaunt will LOVE this Broccoli Cauliflower Cheese casserole, and a friend of mine suggested using swiss cheese which I LOVE LOVE LOVE!
Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
That I am a TOTAL Teeny-Bopper? Its true. I never grew out of it, I still maintain that seeing NSYNC when I was 14 was the best concert ever! Ha! Anyways last February I read ALL the Twilight books in 4 weeks, yum! They are, to quote Oprah “Delicious reading” so anyways I saw Twilight in theaters last year and kind of hated it. I mean I still enjoyed it because its set in Washington and because I loved the books, but it was of no real quality. Tonight Mr. Gaunt and I had some time to kill so we went and saw New Moon. My overall opinion was that it was very similar to Twilight in it’s quality, maybe a smidge better. The wolves were pretty bad ass and I actually thought Jacob and Bella had WAAAY better chemistry than Bella and Edward. Perhaps I might say I’m TEAM JACOB? It was silly but pleasing. I may actually re read the books now that its been about a year.
Mr. Gaunt’s birthday is the 28th of this month, he’s going to be 29! Woohoo the last year in his twenties! Anyways we havent decided what we are actually doing on his birthday, but tomorrow we are going out to dinner with Pro and her boyfriend Jaques (whoes birthday was this past week) and we needed new outfits! Ha! I always need a new outfit! Mr. Gaunt though is down to 250lb (he started at about 312) and his once 46″ pants are long gone and 38″ pants are in! Im so proud of him he just looks so freaking fantastic!
We watched yesterday’s Oprah with Tim Gunn (the love of my life) on how men should dress, which I think inspired Mr. Gaunt to ditch the oversized grubby duds with some nice fitting stylish ones. So because we are always thrifty we hit up Target and Burlington Coat Factory (which we just discovered, million of jeans all $14-$25!) here’s what we got:
The shirt was purchased, the hat was just for show. Yes I know he is darn adorable!
I bought him this as an early birthday gift. Ignore the frown he really does love it.
New 7 jeans! He got two other pairs that fit nicely.
Interesting, but not the one.
would have been cute in two sizes smaller.
We have a winner! super fun and cute, please ignore the fact that it looks like Im picking a wedgie. Oh and it was only $10!
Ha! I dont eat pork, havent for about 4 months. The reasons vary, it started on my Vegan kick and then I brought Chicken back in but left Pork and Beef out. Beef is still WAAAAY out, pork too, except tonight apparently. In Weight Watchers they often promote Canadian Bacon because it is extremely low in points. Last week I bought a bag of diced Canadian bacon because I had at least two recipes the required it. I dont plan on eating this very often, but tonight’s dinner did include it and it was damn delish!
This is a take on the ham and peas dinner. Im not sure why but ham always seems to go with peas, I added spinach and onions to that too. In fact the whole pasta dish turned out rather green!
INGREDIENTS:
-1 Cup cubed Canadian Bacon or Ham
-2 Cups (or half a bag) of frozen Spinach
-1 Cup Frozen Peas
-1 Cup diced onions
-Whole Wheat Pasta
-1 Cup Fat Free 1/2 and 1/2
-3/4 cup cheese of choice (I used skim cheddar and Parmesan)
-Salt
-Black Pepper
-Red Pepper Flakes
-Minced Garlic
DIRECTIONS:
-In a large pot boil pasta.
-Defrost spinach in microwave and place in a paper towel, ring out all excess water.
-In a large pan Saute Garlic and onions. When onions are clear and Garlic is browned add Ham and cook on medium until a little browned. Add Spinach, salt, pepper, pepper flakes, toss until the peas and spinach are all warm and cooked in. Add 1/2 and 1/2 and cheese, mix until all cheese is melted.
-Drain Pasta
-Mix pasta with your veggie ham cream sauce!
Enjoy!
WEIGH-IN!
I missed my weigh-in last night so I went this afternoon. I knew it wasnt going to be quite as good as the last few weeks, but was really hoping I might hit 60lbs lost. Well I was soooo close but no cigar. 1.4lbs lost putting me at 59.2 total. Really pretty good, and next week will definitely be the week for 60lbs! That means I only have about 15 more pounds to loose by January 1st. There are 44 days left in the year (yeah crazy I know!) which means 6.3 weeks, so I have to loose 2.3lbs per week! I THINK I CAN I THINK I CAN I THINK I CAN!
I bought a big bag of Yukon gold potatoes at Costco last week so Im trying to use them before they grow eyes. While searching FoodGawker for Potato recipes I found this yummy looking Sweet Potato and Yukon Gold Gratin, which is PERFECT because I also had a large sweet potato that I had yet to decide what to do with. Of course this recipe uses heavy cream and major cheese, to things I dont do. To revamp this into a healthier recipe I used Fat Free Half and Half instead of Heavy Cream, and I Low Fat Margarin instead of butter (and I only did about 2 tablespoons). I also used Mozzarella cheese and only about a cup (not packed like they say). Overall yes it is still a cheesey potato concoction, but it’s not too bad for you, especially if you watch your serving size. I also think this will keep pretty well to take for lunches over the week.
My daily (ok weekly) journal of **hopefully** getting in shape, eating healthy and dropping 100lbs in a year! With help from my loving sidekick Mr. Gaunt Ill show you recipes, adventures, weigh in's and all the ups and downs of changing a lifestyle.
Check out my ABOUT ME section for more!
Contact me: morganmelim(at)yahoo(dot)com
WEEK by WEEK
WEEK TWENTY SIX LOSS: 1.4
TOTAL LOSS: 59.2 lbs
WEEK TWENTY FIVE LOSS: 2.8
TOTAL LOSS: 57.8 lbs
WEEK TWENTY FOUR LOSS: 3.8
TOTAL LOSS: 55 lbs
WEEK TWENTY THREE LOSS: .6
TOTAL LOSS: 51.2 lbs
WEEK TWENTY TWO LOSS: 2.4
TOTAL LOSS: 50.6 lbs
WEEK TWENTY ONE LOSS: 1.4
TOTAL LOSS: 48.2 lbs
WEEK TWENTY LOSS: 1.8
TOTAL LOSS: 47 lbs
WEEK NINETEEN LOSS: 2.4
TOTAL LOSS: 45.2 lbs
WEEK EIGHTEEN LOSS: 2.4
TOTAL LOSS: 43 lbs
WEEK SEVENTEED LOSS: NA
TOTAL LOSS: 40.6 lbs
WEEK SIXTEEN LOSS: 1.4
TOTAL LOSS: 40.6 lbs
WEEK FIFTEEN LOSS: 4.8
TOTAL LOSS: 39.2 lbs
WEEK FOURTEEN LOSS: NA
TOTAL LOSS: 34.4 lbs
WEEK THIRTEEN LOSS: 6.6
TOTAL LOSS: 34.4 lbs
WEEK TWELVE LOSS: NA
TOTAL LOSS: 27.8 lbs
WEEK ELEVEN LOSS: 2.8 lbs
TOTAL LOSS: 27.8 lbs
WEEK TEN LOSS: 2.2 lbs
TOTAL LOSS: 25 lbs
WEEK NINE LOSS: 2.6 lbs
TOTAL LOSS: 22.8 lbs
WEEK EIGHT LOSS: 3.8 lbs
TOTAL LOSS: 20.2 lbs
WEEK SEVEN LOSS: NA
TOTAL LOSS: 16.4 lbs
WEEK SIX LOSS: 3.8 lbs
TOTAL LOSS: 16.4 lbs
WEEK FIVE LOSS: 1.2 lbs
TOTAL LOSS: 12.6 lbs
WEEK FOUR LOSS: 2.4 lbs
TOTAL LOSS: 11.4 lbs
WEEK THREE LOSS: 2.4 lbs
TOTAL LOSS: 9 lbs
WEEK TWO LOSS: 2 lbs
TOTAL LOSS: 6.6 lbs
WEEK ONE LOSS: 4.6lbs
TOTAL LOSS: 4.6
Goals
GOAL #1 - Lose 20lbs by July 20th. ****GOAL REACHED JUNE 29th!****
GOAL #2 - Lose 27lbs by July 20th. ****GOAL REACHED JULY 20th!****
GOAL #3 - Lose 50lbs by Halloween. ****GOAL REACHED OCTOBER 12th!
GOAL #4 - Loose 75lbs by January 1st!
Weight Loss Advice:
-Fiber is your friend!
-Protien + Fiber = Pooping!
-Pooping is your friend!
-Salt = Bloat
-Water Flushes Salt!
-Eat when hungry!
-Eat small amounts all day long
-A little working out is better than none!
-Little Goals = Big Results
-Partner up!
