Woke up grumpy this morning? Check. Internal bitch-factor today? Check. Grumpiness gone after some breakfast and coffee? Check. People doing stupid things that annoyed me at work today? Check. Weighed in to check up on my weight loss progress? Check. Achieved goal weight? Check.
Wait a minute, did I just say I achieved goal tonight at my weekly weigh-in? Why yes, yes I did! :) I FINALLY reached my goal weight tonight!! Hooray!!! It’s been a long time coming!
This last week my goal was to 1) reach goal weight and 2) lose a total of 60 pounds. Although I have to say that I nearly DID reach my goal…by 0.2 lbs. I’ll hopefully get those last 0.2 pounds next week and definitely reach 60 lbs of total weight loss.
How did I get here?
After deciding at the beginning of the year in 2008 that it was going to be my year of weight loss success, I didn’t realize my journey wouldn’t really start until later in the year. In January 2008 I tried SparkPeople, which is a good program (and its FREE). I actually lost 6 pounds my first month and then quit because I was missing that accountability factor that WW has. Of course, the weight came back on and then some. I actually still use SP to track how many calories I’m burning when I work out..that definitely helps me keep on track and I can see my workout calorie goal and reach it. I decided to begin a weight loss program in September 2008 and chose Weight Watchers as my “diet” program. At the time my sister had lost a good amount of weight on program. I researched the program and decided it wasn’t completely unattainable. In August, a good friend of mine joined a different weight-loss program, and I decided to give WW a try. About three years ago I tried the Atkins diet (which I totally can’t do cause i LOVE bread, so that diet’s out). Then I tried diet pills for about a day and a half, and after that 2nd day I literally felt sick and decided that pills was a dumb way to lose weight.
Anyway, so in September I began losing weight and was THRILLED! In three months, I lost 20 pounds! Insane! After that, the weight came off more slowly. Since that day in September that I decided it was time to get healthy for good, I’ve stuck to my goals; and 15 months later I’ve had great success in losing almost 60 pounds; The great thing about this program is that I can keep up this lifestyle for the rest of my life AND feed my family with foods we’ll all enjoy. When kids come into the picture, I’ll definitely have to get creative with kid-friendly foods, not just fancy grown up foods.
The funny thing about WW is that I don’t consider it a diet program. It really IS a lifestyle. Why wouldn’t you want to continue eating healthily like this?
Anyway, enough ranting about WW.
Dinner tonight: Reuben Sandwiches, ice cream popsicle bar for dessert and 2 chocolate chip cookies.
Mini Reuben Snack Sandwiches
Ingredients
2 cups coleslaw mix
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp cider vinegar
16 slices mini cocktail rye bread
3 tbsp light Thousand Island salad dressing
4 thin slices reduced-fat Swiss cheese, cut into quarters
4 oz very thinly sliced lean deli corned beef
Directions
Combine the coleslaw mix, water and vinegar in a small skillet. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage wilts and all of the water evaporates, 5 minutes. Let cool.
Spread the dressing evenly on each slice of the bread. Top 8 of the bread slices with a piece of the cheese. Top evenly with the corned beef, coleslaw mixture and remaining cheese slices. Top with a slice of the remaining bread.
Lightly spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium heat. Add the sandwiches, in batches, if necessary and top with a heavy weight, such as a cast iron skillet. Cook until the bread is lightly browned and crisp, 2 minutes. With a spatula, turn the sandwiches, weight them down, and cook until the other sides are browned, 2 minutes. Cut each sandwich in half.
Cook’s notes:
I didn’t have mini rye bread slices, so I used regular rye bread. I used my Panini press (I have a Griddler that has the Panini option on it) to cook the Reuben sandwiches. They tasted so good…and just the right crunch! I also didn’t have any Swiss cheese, so I used Pepper jack cheese instead. It gave it a nice kick of spice, and it was pretty filling!
Enjoy!
2 comments:
Congratulations! It's hard to loose weight and a huge victory when the work pays off!
Thanks! It definitely feels like a victory now that I've reached goal. Now I just have to find clothing stores that carry petite sizes....
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