Good luck and small victories

Good Luck.

That’s what my roommate Kristen said to me as she walked out the door with what seemed like the last healthy food in our house. How was I supposed to navigate through the whole day at work while trying to avoid the pitfalls of the snack machine?! Normally, I’d say “forget it” and go on a fast food and snack rampage. Not today, I told myself. Not today. So I rooted around my fridge and pantry, trying to find something to throw together last minute (and not break the calorie bank). I found canned chicken, craisins, Greek yogurt, onions and celery. I thought, “Hey! I can make a chicken salad out of this!” So I found the last 2 pieces of whole wheat bread and toasted it. I mixed the ingredients together, spread it on the toast and put a little vinegar on it for a bolder flavor. I also threw on a piece of Swiss cheese. It was DELICIOUS! It was definitely a small victory for me. I made a conscious decision to look for healthy alternatives before giving up and ruining my calorie count for the day. And when you have as much weight to lose as Kristen and I do, you really look at those small victories as motivation to keep going. Those bigger goals seem so distant and impossible. Once you stop looking at the larger goals and focus on the smaller ones, you’ll find that even the larger goals become easier to attain.

Now, onto the weigh-ins:

Cindy:
1/20/11 – 337lbs
1/27/11 - Pounds lost: 5
Current weight: 332 lbs
Total pounds lost: 16

Kristen:
1/20/11- 301.5lbs
1/27/11 – Pounds lost: 2
Current weight: 299.5lbs (UNDER 300lbs – Goal one accomplished!!!!!!!)
Total pounds lost: 10.5



Recipe of the week:
Cindy’s chicken salad sandwich
2 slices whole wheat bread - toasted – 140 cals
2 oz. canned chicken breast, drained – 70 cals
1/8 cup Craisins – 35 cals
2 tbl. onions – 8 cals
2 tbl. celery – 2 cals
2 tbl. Greek yogurt – 42 cals
1 tbl. red wine vinegar – 3 cals (optional)
1 slice 2% Swiss cheese – 60 cals
Total cals - 360

Toast the bread. Mix the chicken, Craisins, onions, celery, yogurt, and vinegar together in a bowl. Spread the mixture on a slice of toast and top it with the cheese and the other slice of toast.

Tip: I used Cabot Greek yogurt for this which is a little higher in calories than the Chobani yogurt that we usually use, but the Cabot has a more tangy flavor that I thought complimented the sandwich better. You can switch out or tweak any of the ingredients listed. I added the calorie counts on each individual food item so you can adjust it to your taste and not wonder how many calories you’re eating.

Welcome to our blog!

Welcome to our blog! You might be wondering why we named this blog “(Almost Formerly) Fat Girls.” Or maybe why we decided to air all of our ups and downs through the medium of the internet. Or maybe you’re just wondering what to make for dinner tomorrow night. Well, my roommate (Kristen – on the right) and I (Cindy – on the left) have been overweight and unhealthy for most of our lives. We haven’t found any diet or pump-you-up workout video, or magic pill that makes it easy to stay in shape. That’s because it’s NOT. It takes hard work, dedication and I believe that (most of all) it takes an airtight support system to help keep you going. Especially when you’re staring down a piece of cake, wondering who has greater willpower!



Every week we’ll be listing our current weight, how much we’ve lost (or gained) that week and how much we’ve lost total. There will be progress pictures posted at major milestones (20 pounds lost, 50 pounds lost and so forth). We’ll also feature a shopping and/or food tip that we’ve implemented in our lives. Some of these tips you may have heard before but some readers might be first time dieters who’ve never given much thought to how they shop or how they prepare their food (like we were). Since we’ve already been at this for a few weeks, I’ll post our progress to date:


Cindy:
1/6/11 – 348 lbs (Starting weight)
1/13/11 – 340.5 lbs (lost 7.5 lbs)
1/20/11 – 337 lbs (lost 3.5 lbs – lost 11 lbs total)


Kristen:
1/6/11 – 310 lbs (starting weight)
1/13/11 - 306.5 lbs (lost 3.5 lbs
1/20/11 - 301.5 lbs (lost 4.75 lbs – lost 8.5 lbs total)

Our first trip to the produce stand and Mazzaro's Italian Market
(which we'll talk about in a later post)

The grocery store is a convenient place to shop for produce, but I must confess myself a little disappointed in the 'freshness' of some of the fruits and vegetable I found there. Try to shop at local markets for your fruits and vegetables instead of the grocery store. We’ve got a fresh produce market right around the corner from our house and the quality of their produce is leaps and bounds above the grocery store (and most of the time it’s cheaper, too!). You’re helping to stimulate the local economy and getting tasty food. It’s a win-win situation! Last week I bought the most delicious strawberries, which are just coming in season. With them, I made the most decadent dessert of strawberries and crème that I’ve ever tasted. It was so easy, too! Here’s the recipe:


Strawberries and Crème

1 cup strawberries, halved – 49 calories

1 six oz. tub of Chobani Greek yogurt – 110 calories

1 tbsp. brown sugar – 50 calories

Total calories: 209

Mix the brown sugar in with the yogurt. You can either dip the strawberries in the yogurt or pour the yogurt over the strawberries.