Recpie Time

These are 123 calories per serving and 4.4 grams of fat so enjoy.

Layered Cookie Bars-Hello Dolly Bars

Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Yield: 24 servings

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups graham crackers crumbs
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
2/3 cup flaked sweetened coconut
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350F.2. Line the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper; cut off excess paper around top edge of pan.3. Place crumbs in a medium bowl. Drizzle with butter and 1 tablespoon water; toss with a fork until moist. Gently pat into an even layer (don't press too firmly). Sprinkle chocolate and butterscotch over crumb mixture. Top evenly with coconut and pecans. Drizzle condensed milk evenly over top. Bake at 350F for 25 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly around the edges. Cool completely on a wire rack.

It may not be the lowest fat desert but they are super good. They are lower in fat and calories than other deserts that will be served on Thanksgiving. I will be making them after the Turkey Trot.

What a weekend!!

Well it has been a weekend full of adventure....sort of. Friday I went to a 5:30 body combat class, worked with the kids all day, did a P90x workout after school (and I took it to a new level) then went to best bud's house to play with the twins a bit and hang out. When I finally made it home about 11:30 hubby and I watched part of a movie. Around 12:30 when we went to bed we discovered an infestation. Our dogs had fleas. We have NEVER had this problem before. So I got to go to nasty Wal-Mart and buy lots of flea-be-gone crap. Came home and gave the two monsters baths and collected all bedding and blankets in the house. Went to bed after 2. That means I was up for almost 24 hours straight.

Was up by 7 on Saturday to start washing and cleaning and I had a double workout to do. Went to a friend's house for dinner and went to Home Depot to pick out new carpet (yahoo!!! 6 years I have been waiting for this moment).

But Sundays I have decided to be hiking days. I was bit disappointed last week with the flat, paved walk. I wanted adventure. I ordered a book called 60 hikes in 60 miles. I think they have them for every major city. There is a nature center at Lake Worth which is about a 40 minute drive but it is exactly what I was looking for. The trails are crazy! All of these pictures were taken from the trails. I walked for over two hours (and I am assuming a little over 7 miles) and still did not walk all the trails. They are also very empty. I only ever saw 2 people and they were not on the trails. At one point I realized I had dropped the map and had to back track to find it or I may have never made it back to the car.

The trails were narrow, muddy, steep - and fun! I felt just like a kid going exploring like when my folks used to have woodlands behind their house.

I will do this again for sure! Now I am procrastinating going to the store. I have school Monday and Tuesday but many districts around here don't. **JEALOUS**

P90X update - I have found a way (with the help of some ladies at the gym) to do actual modified pull-ups instead of using the band. Holy crap are they hard but I shall do them. I'm gonna bring it! (This is a gay saying from the videos). I am not even through the full 2nd week yet and I can see a difference in my arms. More definition. Wow this stuff works hard and fast. Tomorrow is legs and back (I like this one the least).

This post is forever long so I will post a hello dolly bar recipe tomorrow (yummy sweet treat). Hope you had a great weekend!

Decisions

Happy Friday all! Today was my Friday weigh-in. I saw 176.8 on the scale. Woohoo for this week. I hit it hard all the time but this week the number actually moved. Maybe changing things up a bit does help. So for 1 week with P90X and 3 other cardio changes it yielded a 3.6 pound loss. Very nice.

I am trying to make some decisions. I am now 1.8 pounds away from my goal on the ticker (and a normal weight for my height). I know that weight is possible. I am not sure if I can go lower. My body is very muscley (I like to make up my own words). One of my turbo instructors thinks another 10 pounds is possible. So I may change my goal. Don't know yet. I am thinking I will stick with this until the 90 days of P90X are finished and see what my weight is at and call that my goal weight. That would be about Valentines Day. I am not sure I will lose much because we still have Thanksgiving and Christmas to get through.

So I am thinking about all these things and how to switch over to weight maintenance. I have been trying to read up on it but there is not much out there. I am depending on the kindness of advice from those who went before me and the one book I was able to buy on the subject. I am not sure how many calories to add in (do you do it gradually?) or do I stay at this number of calories? How much weight training will I do when this is program is done?

I know I have a lot more questions than answers. It is very confusing and I do not want to screw up anything I have done so far. I mean, we are talking 113 pounds here. So if you have any advice or know of any more books I can read on the subject, please let me know!

Have a super, duper weekend!

Potluck

Today was my first potluck at my new school. I have never seen potlucks done up this way. Decorated super cute and I think everyone brought something. Including me. The theme was to bring your favorite dish. Seriously, there were like 15 crockpots on one table. I made a family recipe called pretzel salad. It is a delicious desert that is like a light, fluffy version of cheesecake. It is not too bad for you fat and calorie wise, however it still holds no nutritional value (as do most delicious foods).

I brought my 350 calorie lunch and sat in the middle of it all and did not eat one bite. Mostly because I could not stop at one bite. Especially since some made lots of delicious smelling egg rolls.

One of my co-worker's husband is doing P90X with me. I send her text messages challenging him to "bring it" which pushes him because he cannot be outdone by a girl (although I am one bad-ass girl sometimes). Anywho, she tried to get a picture of me pigging out to send him but was disappointed at my healthy eating.

I am on my sprint toward the finish here. I am not willing to screw it up for some eggrolls and store bought cookies. I work too hard for that. Speaking of, I did the spinning/cycling class tonight. Sweaty, sweaty girl. It is so much easier to do 100 pounds lighter than the first time I tried it. But it is still at the bottom of my list as far as exercise I enjoy.

I do not know how Lance Armstrong (or any man for that matter) does it. My tailbone hurts alot now that there is less fat on it. Certain ab exercises are awfully painful. The seat on this bike was too (and I had a padded one). So I discovered if I push my butt off the back a little, there is no pressure on my tailbone. But then my lady bits get to hurtin'. So I would stand up and pedal until I could get the feeling back. The good news is that I could stand and pedal for most of the class because my knees don't hurt anymore. Yeah for weight loss!

I think I burned a TON if calories so I may go back next week. We shall see. I wonder if taking 1 spin class per week will even make a difference. I am still gonna do my other stuff but this class is supposed to help me shape up my mid section. Time will tell I guess.

I think it is time to start sharing recipes. I will start. You go ahead and post some on your blog too. I will look for my weight watcher Thanksgiving ones because they were really good. TJ at TJ's test kitchen helped me with this one because she is so awesome. It is a trail mix recipe. Here it goes:

1. 1 cup multigrain cheerios
2. 1/4 cup almonds (chopped in half)
3. 1/3 cup craisins (sweetened dried cranberries)
4. 2 Tablespoons sweetened shaved coconut
5. 1 1/2 ounces of dried mango (cut into bite sized pieces)

This yields 3 servings at 2/3 cup each. It comes in at 220 calories, 5 grams of fat (only because of the almonds), 3.3 grams of fiber and 3.3 grams of protein. You could do 1/3 of a cup for less calories but then you get less protein (and you would not get to eat as much).

I have been eating this for my snack for the past two weeks and I love it! It replaced applesauce and rice cakes. This stays with me longer and actually has nutritional value.

What have you been cooking in your kitchen?

Exercise Update

Last night was cheat meal. I decided on breakfast for dinner. I love that. Pancakes, bacon and hash browns with a big glass of milk. Yum, yum. As a kid I would love when my mom would say "we're having breakfast for dinner!" It maybe due to my love of syrup.

Thank goodness for Cracker Barrel who serves breakfast whenever you want it (and skim milk). Best bud and I ordered breakfast and it turns out that is what the twins wanted too. So we all left full and happy.

But the day after cheat meal I must get up and get back to healthy eating and continued exercise. That used to be so hard for me. After a year, it is easy. I used to think of it as a punishment but now it is just part of the routine.

Today I walked the dogs 1.2 miles, did my 40 push-ups, ran for a few minutes on the treadmill at the gym for a warm up, completed the shoulders and arms workout from P90X (including the bonus round) and walked at a pretty good pace at the park for about 3 miles.

I went to a park that I thought would have some hiking trails. When I found some and went down them they were covered in brush and fallen trees. A little more dangerous than I was looking for. So my search for local hiking trails continues. I did wear a 10 pound backpack for added challenge and broke a decent sweat.

I have been a little sore from the P90X so I assume I am doing it correctly and working the right muscle groups. However, the shoulders and arms workout today was alot. I can see how these people get ripped. I have a feeling that I will be sore tomorrow. I like that good-sore feeling though.

My bruises from the mud run are still pretty dominant on my arms. They have turned to lovely shades of green and purple. It is not that they hurt but other people think I am in pain. I wonder how long that will take to heal. Oh well. As long as I am not green forever.

I must shower (at 4:15pm, there is no need to rush things) and head off to buy some groceries and new workout clothes (again). During body combat on Friday my pants were slipping down and my sports tank was riding up. I was scared my big white belly would blind someone. My clothes used to move like that because I was too big. Now it is because they are too loose. I know this because the size mediums I have do not give me this problem, just the larges and extra larges. I hate to spend money but I like to be comfortable and covered in my workout classes. Look out Target...here I come!

In the Beginning...

Okay so I am going to turn into one of "those people" who talks about their exercise on their blogs. I like to read them but others may not. I promise I will try not to bore you too much and I will not post every morsel of food I eat (mainly because I eat the same stuff most of the time and I would bore even myself).

Yesterday I did walk/run with the dogs, take body combat (this class is awesome, I am pissed it is only offered once a week - and at 5:30am) and began P90X.

The overview video tells you this program is not for beginners. I can see why. You do have to have some strength to do some of the moves. Day 1 is back and chest. Between everything I did yesterday, I did 324 push-ups (none on my knees either - holla!). All different ways and at different times but I never would have thought I could do so many in a day. This journey is amazing. I am a little sore in the right places today so I think I did everything correctly.

I am still working on my plan for myself but I am not going to use the TOTAL P90X system. I am not following their diet because according to the book I should consume 2400 calories a day. I am currently at 1600 and I like that number. Especially since I am not done losing yet. I am not using their cardio or yoga dvds either (at least not now). I like my cardio classes and I am changing them up a little. I will probably do more cardio then they have in their program because I already do. Cardio makes me feel so accomplished when I am finished.

You may be thinking - what the hell are you doing then? The answer is the strength/weight training and the ab ripper X dvd. According to their schedule I should do abs everytime I do strength training but I may move that to cardio days. I will try it today. It looks kind of awful (meaning hard - 16 minutes). We will see how sore I am from it.

I was talking to one of the turbo instructors this week about changing things up and my fear of loose skin. I told her where I thought it would be and she gave me a suggestion. Wait for it.......cycling/spinning class. Dude, if you read my blog over the summer you know I have an extreme dislike for this class. I know it is awesome and burns a TON of calories but it is hard for me. Mentally. That, and I hate feeling all squinched up over a bike. I like to be up and around and free. It may sound stupid but I feel too restricted on those things. She swears it will take the fat of my midsection (and she really knows her shit). I may (cough, cough) try a class this week but I will have to give up the only Zumba class I have left. But I may have gone as far as I can (as far as body shaping) with Zumba. Zumba is still fun and it tones and gives a good calorie burn.

So for P90X, I will do their strength training which is 3 days a week (I was doing 3 days a week before but for less time and less intensity) and the ab ripper 3 days per week. I am sticking with my 40 morning push-ups and walking/running the dogs 1.2 miles daily. I have turbo kickboxing 3 days per week (my favorite class), body combat 1 day and walking/hiking 1 day. And....possibly.....maybe.....cycling 1 day.

Best bud and I are curious as to how cycling shapes that particular part of your body. It does not seem like it would move that much to do that. But, what do we know?

So there it is. My tentative plan. Oh yeah....in the book for P90X it tells you to take your measurements and 6 different before pictures. I did measurements last week. I was not going to take the pictures but I will want to compare the end results (because I am like that). So this morning I made my husband take my pics. I even did it in a white sports bra and undies (I wanted undies because I will want to compare my thighs where I think loose skin maybe lurking). I didn't even feel bad looking at them. Even wearing white they do not look too bad (I say that now, in a few months when I look back I may change my mind). I kinda wish I had done them at my heaviest just to see how far I have come. I would have never posed for the pics though....not even for my husband.

I am off to try ab ripper X. May you all have a super successful weekend!

Friday the 13th Weigh-In

doesn't frighten me.....too much. Well this week I did it again. My weight went up 3.5 pounds this time. I was beginning to think I would have to give up my cheat meal. That would be super sad. However, it was the lady troubles (yes again, thank you 21 day cycle) and my mother (a nurse) said that after an athletic challenge (say a mud run) your muscles retain fluid. So today I stepped on the scale to see....180.4. Woohoo!!! Finally. I have been in the 180s forever it seems and maybe soon I will be out (and down).

That puts me down 5.5 pounds from Sunday but an actual net loss of 2 pounds. I will gladly take that. This last bit of weight is hard to get off friends. But I am keeping true to my word about changing it up some to see if that helps. In fact, I already ran with the dogs and am on my way out the door to the body combat class. All before school. I want to try to start P90X after school today. Chest and back. It looks like about 1000 push-ups. Oh well, they do help the core.

Good luck to you all with your weigh-ins this week. I will post about P90X if I get that far today!