The Journey Continues....

October 2011

The Journey Continues...

I haven't written an update to my weight journey and I figured it was about time! Many of you have seen it unfold on FB or in person and have asked what I've been doing. I wanted to put it in the blog so if it inspires you in any way or if there is a take away you can use from my journey then I hope you can be blessed. From my original post Down With the Weight I included my original photo and the beginning of my weigh loss journey. Today I am by no means at the end, but I wanted to share with you what I have been doing.

Photo taken Jan 2012

I started going to the YMCA 4-5 times a week to do water aerobics.

Why did I choose it? Bad back and knee

What almost held me back? I didn't feel comfortable in a bathing suit, everyone there was 30+ yrs my senior, I didn't know anyone

What have I found? The people are so sweet, no one cares how I look in a swimsuit, things I couldn't do with my body at week one I could do after about week six.

 

Soon I upped my routine to include water boot camp a more intense water workout and I also tried land zumba class. My body was getting so much stronger and I didn't have chronic back pain.

 

During all of this I wish I could say the weight was just dropping off, but it wasn't I was getting frustrated and Jason would say, "muscle weighs more than fat." UUGH men! However, he was right, but it still should have been coming off, so I joined weight watchers online and stated tracking my eating (which I did not think was horrible.) Like I thought, I was at or under my points everyday so I looked into other eating options and started "eating clean" in January. No more processed foods, sugar and white flour. That is where I started. I try to eat every 2 1/2 hours and always have a complex carb and protein. The weight started coming off. People were commented how young I looked, how great my skin looked and finally started to notice I was losing weight.

June 2012

 

Like I said the journey is not over and there is still more to go, but I feel good with the healthy journey I'm on  and I have even recently been able to introduce a body pump class into my schedule which is a weight lifting class. A year ago that scared me so much, now the possibilities excite me for what my body can do. Oh there are days where my back and my knee still scream at me! However, I feel stronger and healthier than I think I ever have in the past!

Asian Drumsticks

These Asian inspired drumsticks are finger lickin' good! It's hard to believe they are low in points (my husband kept asking me if they were WW friendly as he cleaned the bones!) The glaze would also be great with thighs or wings. I served this with steamed vegetables to make this a complete low fat meal and drizzled the remaining glaze over the vegetables. Also would be wonderful over rice. Thighs would also work great in this recipe, but chicken breast would get too tough. If you must, remove chicken breast after 15 minutes, then allow the sauce to reduce down.

Have you tried Sriracha hot sauce (the one with the rooster on the bottle)? This stuff is very addicting!! I think it may one day be as popular as ketchup! This spicy Thai chili sauce is available in many stores including Walmart these days, but if they don't sell it near you, you can buy it online.

Asian Glazed Drumsticks
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 2 drumsticks • Old Points: 5 pts • Points+: 5 pts
Calories: 213 • Fat: 4.7 g • Protein: 27.5 g • Carb: 12.7 g • Fiber: 0.4 g

• 8 medium chicken drumsticks, skin removed
• olive oil spray (I used my Misto)
• 1 cup water
• 1 tbsp Sriracha hot sauce (more or less to taste)
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 4 tsp agave nectar (or sugar)
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp ginger, grated
• 2 tbsp chives or scallions, chopped
• 1 tsp sesame seeds

In a heavy large saucepan, brown chicken on high for 3-4 minutes with a little spray oil. Add water, balsamic, soy sauce, agave, garlic, ginger, hot sauce and cook on high until liquid comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for about 20 minutes. Remove cover and bring heat to high, allowing sauce to reduce down, about 8-10 minutes, until it becomes a thick glaze, turning chicken occasionally. (Keep an eye on glaze, you don't want it to burn when it start becoming thick) Transfer chicken to a platter and pour glaze on top. Top with chives and sesame seeds and serve.