Weigh In: Week 8

This weekend, Patrick and I took care of my nephews, Declan and Cormac, while my sister and brother-in-law were in Colorado. Lessons in parenting allowed us to see another side of each other, but we definitely made it through...and had some fun on the way.

On Friday, we took the boys to StoneFire Pizza in New Berlin. I had never been here before and was very much unprepared by how much is there! We climbed on a jungle gym, played with a HUGE train set, and bounced in a bounce house. The boys did not want to leave, so we promised another trip (next time, with Mom and Dad FO SHO).

On Saturday morning, the boys got to experience the wonder and learning that is the Milwaukee Public Museum. The pirate exhibit was entertaining and interesting to Patrick and I, but Declan was a little bit scared. He kept saying, "There are no real pirates here, Margie? They're just pretend?" and no matter how many times I reassured him, he was still a little scared. Poor guy. His younger brother, Cormac, on the other hand, enthusiastically greeted the pirates as we went through and insisted on pushing his own stroller.

Saturday night, my sister Jody came over for dinner and tired the boys out by running around with them, threatening to make stew out of Declan. Afterwards, we made some ice cream sundaes and let the boys eat in the LIVING ROOM! It's fun to be an auntie, because we can do fun things and they're not my kids. 

Eating with a 2 and 3 year old is difficult. As I'm sure you can imagine, food preferences include pizza, ice cream, goldfish crackers, and Patrick's personal favorite this weekend, Capri Sun. I'm pretttttty sure we tracked everything we ate. The three small pieces of pizza on Friday night was 10 Points Plus, so I paired that with a small salad. My sister had some leftover spaghetti and meatballs for us to heat up Saturday night, so I made some whole wheat penne noodles for a point total of 15 Points Plus for dinner (whew! good thing I had lots of activity points!). I do have to say that, for me, the abundance of goldfish crackers around was slightly tortuous. Cheesy, salty, crunchy, and bite size. Bite size bombs! I mean, a serving of goldfish crackers is 55 pieces, and that's 4 Points Plus. That's not a bad snack, but it's verrrrrrrry difficult (at least for me) to stop at 55. I can eat handful after handful after handful....And I have a feeling a handful or two (or five) of goldfish did not get tracked. 

All in all, we really had a blast with the boys. Even though I was absolutely exhausted on Sunday, I was pretty sad to leave. Patrick and I have been using Cormac and Declan-isms now, though. R's are difficult for Declan, so I'll say "Oh it's chiwwy out, Patwick". And Cormac is just so happy and fun right now, he just says "SURE!" to everything.

So. Now that we're back in Milwaukee, it has begun. The packing up of our apartments.

I have to say that toddler food, and bakeries are definitely diet suicides....but so is this packing business. In an attempt to be very helpful (and he's going to accuse me of defaming him), Patrick packed up the kitchen...a week ago. He didn't pack up everything, per se, but he packed up the dishes, which is fine, and all of the spices (including the salt and pepper)... which is not so fine. This means that the past week, we have been living off of microwave food and eating out. This has been difficult for my wallet and for my waistline. Weawwy Patrick? Weawwy?

So how hard of a hit did we take?

Margaret
Current weight: 153 lbs
Chest: 36DD
Waist: 34.5"
Hips: 37"
Weight Loss: 0.8
Total weight loss: 7.8 lbs

Patrick
Current weight: 206
Chest: 41"
Waist: 38.5"
Hips: 38.5"
Neck: 15.75"
Loss: GAIN 0.2
Total weight loss: 14.2 lbs

Not too shabby! Patrick is sad that he gained this week, but, really, his gain is minimal. He could probably go for a run right away and lose those .2 pounds. Overall, I'm proud of us because this weekend definitely wasn't pretty. 

We're so excited to move! But we're keeping up with our running schedule as well! This week we run:

Tuesday: 3 miles at 10:30/mile pace
Thursday: 3 miles at 10:00/mile pace
Saturday: 4 miles at 11:00/mile pace 

Maybe We Were Born to Run?

Yes, so as Patrick and I endeavor to lose weight, we have decided to add a decidedly cardiac element to our workouts. We will be running the Door County Half Marathon at the beginning of May. 

First can I show you this image because it's SO true:

But next let me tell you a few things. I have run in half-marathons before, never a full (oh my gosh, are you crazy?!). And I always HATE training. But I always love the actual race. It's so cheesy, but true: there's such a sense of camaraderie and accomplishment at the end. 

So, some of you who know me, know I swam in high school. For those of you who swam with me, you know how much I (and almost everyone else) LOATHED dry land workouts. Ugh. Just thinking about it, makes me shudder for my teenage self. I liked being in the pool (I really did, Coach Kyle!), and hate hate HATED running. And jump squats. And pull-ups with Varney. 

You might wonder, then, how someone like myself started running or has even continued to do so? For one, as I have started to age (gracefully), I stupidly hate getting my hair wet. Really. That's it. I am so vain! It just takes me so long to dry it and yada yada yada. I mean, I actually only really wash my hair a few times a week. That's how much I hate drying it. For two, I don't really have a pool near me and I'm cheap so I haven't really joined a gym with a pool yet (That's about to change, I'm about to become a very proud member of the WAC!) I don't really like the bike or elliptical. I feel like I have to be on them forever to accomplish anything. 

So running it is. I wouldn't consider myself a runner, per se, but I can usually crank out a few miles without stopping. And I enjoy the fact that I can do it almost anywhere. 

Patrick, on the other hand, is a natural runner. He can pretty much just drop anything and run 7 or 8 miles without thinking about it. I know, you'd think he'd get injured, but mostly he just gets sore. Actually right around when we first started dating her ran a half marathon in Pewaukee without training at all. I don't recommend it and I don't think he does either. For the record, he is training for this half with me. 

But. I've had some pretty weird things happen to me when I run. And I thought I should share them since they're mostly embarrassing and funny stories. 

Some funny running stories of mine: 

Once upon a time, in college, I lived with a bunch of rugby girls. This was a very fun and interesting time in my life. I have many, many stories I could share with you about that era and those ladies, but I'm going to share with you this one. They all ran a lot for their practices. And I'd get all envious of the weight they'd shed during rugby season and they could all just eat and drink to excess. I, on the other hand, spent most of my leisure time sedentary in the library. I decided to run like the rest of them. My dear friend Katie and Flash took me on a run (I could barely keep up) and I managed to finish with them. It was MAYBE 1.5 miles. But I wanted to do more. I wanted to be athletic! Later that week, I tried to do the run by myself. I laced up my shoes, powered up my iPod and hit the pavement. It was dark outside, and as I turned right onto Sarnia from Franklin, one of the good-looking cashiers from the book store approached me. He was running too! We were running buddies. I straightened up, stuck my chest out and put on my best "oh gosh, I'm, like, such an athlete" look as we passed by each other. I imagined him thinking "wow, what a cute little runner. we should probably run together. I bet she racks up 6 miles a day" or something. I kept running down Sarnia towards Main Street. I was getting, a touch winded and more than a touch....phlegmy. I hacked up a big loogey in my mouth and launched it to my left. In slow motion, cashier boy, comes up on my left just as the piece of snot/spit/nastiness left my mouth. "EW! SICK!" He cries as he tries to catapult above my snot rocket. To no avail. I'm pretty sure I hit him just across his shins. As I splutter "oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" he just kept running, but with a slightly higher step to his run. 

And while that is extremely embarrassing in itself, I almost think it's more embarrassing that he clearly was able to make it on some sort of loop and back and PASS ME while I was on, like, .25 miles of my run. I never said I ran fast. 

Another interesting story I have is when I was training for my first half marathon. This was almost exactly 2 years ago. My dear friend Leslie encouraged me to do the Disney Princess Half Marathon as a way to get into running. She told me (and she was absolutely correct) that it would be so much fun because it's mainly women and it's a no-pressure type of race and we'd get to go through the Magic Kingdom theme park. Okay so yes, yes, and yes. I was soooooo excited to start training and then go to Florida in February! This was really my first times running in, well, ever. Despite my attempts in college, running really never took (I wonder why!). I began my training in earnest in October starting with short runs a couple times a week then worked up to two shorter runs and a long run on the weekend. Soon, I came to my 10 mile Saturday run. I had mapped out my run on MapMyRun.com and stepped out on the very cold winter day. I set out along the lake and up Lincoln Memorial Drive towards Shorewood. I don't remember what I ate that morning, but somewhere around mile 6, I had SEVERE stomach cramping. Like, holy mother of everything stomach cramping. Like, stop-having-your-legs-go-anywhere-but-clasped-together stomach cramping. I feared for the clean sidewalk and my new nike pants. I was on the corner of Lincoln Memorial and Lake Drive. 3-4 miles back was my apartment, or - lightbulb! - about a mile away was... LESLIE'S! Doing a sort of half-jog-walk-clamp my legs together sort of motion, I finally made it to the Popalisky household. And proceeded to break in. In my defense, I knocked a few times and nobody answered and the back door was unlocked. Hello, do you need to come inside? Please do! the door practically said. As I scrambled into my friend's house, I heard a very confused and slightly scared Leslie, "uhm, hello?" from upstairs. Breathlessly, I told Leslie my predicament and had her drive me home as I didn't want to abuse their bathroom (although I would have had to if nobody was home). In what I still consider one of the longest car rides of my life, I made it to the safety and comfort of my apartment...and bathroom. My ten-miler remained unfinished that day.

BUT (no pun intended)! We had a BLAST doing the Disney Princess half. So much so that we did it again last year! I highly HIGHLY recommend it. Like I said, you get to run through the Magic Kingdom (mile 6ish is right by Cinderella's castle) and there are tons of characters and creatures that you can take pictures with or wave to along the way.

My sister Elise did it, too! We had so much fun going through the parks as adults, it was hilarious.

I really want to do another Disney run, we're thinking of the Epcot one in a few years. Who knows :)

Keep up with us and our training! This week our schedule is:

Tuesday: 3 miles at 10:30/mile pace
Thursday: 2 miles at 10:00/mile pace
Saturday: 3 miles at 11:00/mile pace

We're sprinkling in weight training today and Friday for good measure. My goal is to finish the half in 2 hours and 10 minutes. Patrick can for sure run faster than that, but he wants to run with me in May, so his goal is the same. WHAT A GUY :)

Weigh In: Week 7

It's Tuesday again? Already?

We just keep trucking along. This week was a bit rough; I got sick and we've been starting to pack up both of our apartments since we both move at the end of the month. February is so short and all of a sudden, March is next weekend! I think someone (The Mayans?) made February short on purpose. It's just a means to spring, isn't it? I mean, March is still pretty cold in Wisconsin, but there's definitely a "light at the end of the tunnel" feeling to March. Plus there's St. Patrick's Day (the best holiday) and... Oh, I don't know. February usually has me in a "okay, can we get this over with now?" type of mood.

But, the good news is, Patrick is moving into what will be our home :) So that's exciting. We'll be sure to post pictures of the place...I can't wait to get in there and make it OUR home.

So, we'll step on the scales on this dreary and freezing cold Tuesday...

Margaret
Current weight: 153.8 lbs
Chest: 36DD
Waist: 34.5"
Hips: 37"
Weight Loss: 0.6
Total weight loss: 7 lbs

Patrick
Current weight: 205.8
Chest: 41"
Waist: 38.5"
Hips: 38.5"
Neck: 15.75"
Loss: 0.6
Total weight loss: 14.4 lbs

We're happy to have lost weight! I felt like in my new lightness, I was almost blown over by the wind today. No, really. But it had nothing to do with my weight loss, the wind was just really strong. And did I mention freezing? Once the weather warms up a bit, I'm excited to be able to take Memphis for nice long walks outside again. Right now, he's lucky for anything beyond 10 minutes...poor pooch! 

Speaking of Memphis, though, he's probably going to be down a couple pounds next week since he's getting a shampoo and brushing done at the groomer's. He'll really do anything to outshine us. 

Weigh In: Week 6

Hi guys! It's Fat Tuesday and Patrick and I are celebrating by...continuing our diet. I DID have two caramel delights this morning (for 4 points) and 2 Thanks-a lots when I got home from work (another 4 points) and that makes me happy. 

So after Fat Tuesday obviously comes Lent and this year we're giving up alcohol. Don't we sound like alcoholics? We're not. Patrick is also giving up coffee and soda. Because he's crazy and obviously masochistic, right? 

PS, though, we ARE drinking wine this Friday because that's when we're celebrating Valentine's Day. I LOVE Valentine's Day. And it's not just because I have a very wonderful (and funny) valentine. I've always loved Valentine's Day. What's wrong with telling people you love them and, once a year, being made to do so. I figure we don't all say it enough so might as well be forced into it every now and then. But seriously, I love Valentine's Day and, this year, to prove that all the pressure shouldn't be on men, I have planned the most spectacular day. 

Some of you might say, but Valentine's Day is on Thursday this year! Ah, you aren't betrothed to an accountant who works until 11:00 PM almost every night this time of the year. Sigh. Taxes. 

ANYhoo, we stepped on the scales this morning to small losses, but losses nonetheless! 

Margaret
Current weight: 154.4 lbs
Chest: 36DD
Waist: 34.5"
Hips: 37"
Weight Loss: 0.2
Total weight loss: 6.4 lbs

Patrick
Current weight: 206.4
Chest: 41"
Waist: 38.5"
Hips: 38.5"
Neck: 15.75"
Loss: 1.6
Total weight loss: 13.8 lbs

What are YOU giving up for Lent? 

Have a great week! 

Confessions

Happy Sunday, everyone!

As Patrick and I completed our week today, I wanted to share with you how we've been feeling so far with our dieting.

On the plus side, we're losing weight and we feel good. Like I've said before, I have fun getting dressed! I've been working out more and I feel...strong! I think my arms are turning into what they call "guns", guys. I mean, I might be packing soon.

And yet.

Is it bad that I feel like I've been dieting for, like, years or something? (For the record, it's been 41 days). Oh my gosh, this whole week, for one reason or another, was realllllly difficult to stay on track! All I wanted all week was a doughnut. Or a cinnamon roll. And I don't even like either of those things a ton! I just felt like I wanted something baked. With frosting. And butter involved somewhere. Or everywhere.

I felt like this:

CLINGING to my fruits and vegetables...but still being a cookie monster at heart! Look at that smiling banana. He's not that great.

So,this morning, in a fit of cranky hunger, I forced Patrick to take me to Original Pancake House. And three of their little buttermilk pancakes is 10 points! Not so bad for Patrick, but that's almost half of my daily allowance. And it's Sunday, so we can't go over at all!

And then I did some naughty things this week. I mean, not really that naughty since I didn't eat everything, but...I baked.

I baked oatmeal raisin cookies, cranberry white chocolate cookies, and gooey cinnamon muffins. Diet suicide! Minefields!

And I sent them allll to work with Patrick. Some may say I'm trying to sabotage him. I say Nay. None of this is on purpose. I lovvve to bake and cook. And the smells filling up the kitchen make me happy. And I don't HAVE to eat these things (although I want to! Can you say willpower? I chew gum sometimes when I bake like a nicotine addict chewing nicoret). It makes me happy enough that other people eat them and enjoy them.

So those are my confessions from the week. I'm dreaming of baked goods, for some reason. I have yet to find something really yummy and baked on Weight Watchers, but, don't worry. I'm committed to finding one.

So we must trek on! This week is a new week! We knew that going into this it wasn't going to be all fun and games. There's a reason we're on a diet and we have to remember that.

We're making some yummy soup this week, so stay tuned for that and, as always, we weigh in on Tuesday.

Weigh In: Week 5 Hungry Hungry Pal Weighs In!

Hungry Hungry Pal

Greetings readers! This is that handsome fella you see each week in Margaret's blog.  I thought I would write one of her posts from the guy's perspective.  Some of you guys out there might ask yourself, why would he do some 'lame' weight watchers diet?  And then you might ask yourself further, why would he let his bride to be blog about it?  And finally you might ask yourself, why would he allow her to post pictures of him on this blog?  Well the answer is pretty simple, I am fat, and love makes us all do crazy things.  See I am a strong person, but Margaret is my weakness.  She just makes me happy, so by doing things like this I can make her happy in my own way, and not remind myself of Jabba the Hut every time I look in the mirror. 

Enough of that sappy crap.  This weekend was a tough one as we both hogged out on seafood imperial, red wine, and Groundhog Day drinks (see below) at Margaret's parents house on Saturday night, and then ate like kings on Sunday on great dips, Stromboli, mozzarella sticks, and booze while watching the Super Bowl.  Given those food excursions we felt the need to work out for a bit on Saturday and ran 2 miles together.   We were very good this week at work, so the net reality is that we both lost weight for the second week in a row!  Marge lost 1.4lbs and I lost 1lb.  Now if I can get myself to actually work out, maybe I can lose some meaningful weight this week!  Marge is a great example for me as she works out darn near everyday, so hopefully I can take her lead....

Good luck to one and all in their weight loss endeavours this week! I know some of my co-workers will be taking a stab at this weight watchers thing with me, so if you are a first timer know there is someone out there trying it for the first time with you! 

Have a great week everyone! 

Margaret
Current weight: 154.6 lbs
Chest: 36DD
Waist: 34.5"
Hips: 37"
Weight Loss: 1.4
Total weight loss: 6.2 lbs

Patrick
Current weight: 208
Chest: 41"
Waist: 38.5"
Hips: 38.5"
Neck: 15.75"
Loss: 
Total weight loss: 12.2 lbs

On Monday, She Ate...

Spaghetti Squash Marinara and Turkey Meatballs 


Happy Monday, everyone! I realized it's been awhile since I posted a recipe and I'm particularly happy to share this one because I made it up myself! 

Well. Not really. Sorta. I've had spaghetti squash before and found it delicious so I adapted a Weight Watchers recipe and decided I wanted some meatballs, too. THOSE I basically made up. I tweaked my own mother's meatball recipe. Everyone knows Mom Recipes are the best ever, but unfortunately ground beef is too many points! Ground turkey meat is a lot better! 

Once I decided I wanted turkey meatballs, it was clear the "marinara" sauce was not going to be enough to cover meatballs and whatnot. So I added some tomato sauce and paste, which added 1 point to the original recipe. Not too bad, if I say so myself. So here is the WHOLE recipe, courtesy of moi! :) 

Spaghetti Squash Marinara with Turkey Meatballs 

Points Plus Value: 6 Points 
Adapted from: ME! 
Serves: 4 people


Whatcha Need:

• 1 medium spaghetti squash (about 2.5 lbs)
• 1 tsp olive oil 
• 1 small white onion, chopped
• 14.5 oz diced tomatoes 
• 8 oz tomato sauce
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste 
• 1.5 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp italian seasoning 
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese 
• 3/4 pound turkey meat, ground
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 3 Tbsp plain bread crumbs
• 2 Tbsp italian seasoning 
• 2 Tbsp fresh parsley
• 4 tsp olive oil, divided (in addition to the one) 

Whatcha Gotta Do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Halve the spaghetti squash and scoop out the seeds and mush. Pierce the outside of the squash and put it in the oven for 30-40 min (You should be able to "rake" some of the squash fairly easily by the end). 

2. Meanwhile, make ze meatballs! Combine the turkey meat, egg white, breadcrumbs, italian seasoning, and parsley. Combine it. Get in there! I used my hands (washed them first, of course). 

3. Make them into 15 balls. Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a skillet and add about 7 or 8 of the meatballs. Cook on each side until they're browned. Add the other 2 tsp and cook the rest of the meatballs. 

4. Place on a greased cookie pan and put in the oven with the spaghetti squash to cook a bit more. 

5. Heat the one tsp of olive oil in a skilled and add the onion and garlic. Saute about 5 minutes. 

6. Add the canned tomatoes, the sauce, and the tomato paste. Bring to a boil then let simmer about 15 minutes. 

7. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer until you're ready to serve! 

8. When the spaghetti squash is done, "rake" it with a fork to create noodles! 

One serving is 1.5 cups of spaghetti squash with 1/4 cup of sauce, 1 Tbsp of cheese and 3 meatballs! 

I actually really enjoy spaghetti squash! It's got a little bit of crunch to it and doesn't really taste like anything. Now you all know I love a good carb, but as long as it walks, talks and looks like pasta, it'll do for me :) 

P to the S, You can also cook spaghetti squash in the microwave. You pierce it a few times with a knife, place it on some paper towel and cook on high 10-12 minutes. Then slice it down the middle, scoop the middle and "rake" again. This is obviously much faster. However, I've done it this way before and mine turned out soggy. And nobody likes soggy spaghetti squash! 

Be sure to tune in tomorrow for our Week 5 weigh in...from Patrick's point of view! That's right, tomorrow is the first blog post from the Hungry Hungry Pal!