"EGG-cellent" Breakfast Cassarole

Weigh In Updates...
Okay...so week before last I weighed in, and nearly chucked the scale through the WW store-front when I saw the 4 lb. GAIN in my weigh in booklet! YES, 4 lbs!  I thank TOM and few skipped days of taking my blood pressure meds for the gain:-( Well this past Saturday, TOM vamoosed and I got back on track with my meds...and guess what?  I LOST 6.7 LBS. I KNOW...A WICKED AWESOME LOSS!!

Blogger Meet Up...
God's Favorite Shoes (my homie) suggested a Houston blogger meet up sometime during the month of November. Anyone game? If so, hit me up via email or leave a comment! 


Alright, on to the crux of my post. My big loss gave me the momentum I need to stay on track and focus this week. As a result, I planned my menu and I am actually executing it. You know planning is key, but planning only works when you FOLLOW the plan...DUH.  Many many weeks I sat myself down, made a menu and veered from the menu by eating random crap like frozen dinners. 


Well, as I thumbed through some recipe books, I found one of my breakfast favorites in the Body for Life Cookbook by Bill Phillips.

Trick-or-Treat Cheat Sheet

In my world, October starts the season of gluttony. Kicking of the gluttonfest...Halloween. For some, Halloween conjures spooky, SCARY images of ghost, vampires, Michael Meyers, Jason Vorhees, and Freddy Krueger. For me, Halloween conjures horrifying images of: Snickers, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, M &Ms, Kit Kat etc. At this time of year the overwhelming candy onslaught makes it hard to stay on track and on plan! To keep it together this, Halloween I employed a few tips.

I GOT OWNED...O.W.N.E.D!

Yesterday, my body screamed in pain with every move I made. EVERYTHING HURT...EVERYTHING! 

 When I coughed...IT HURT!

  When I laughed...IT HURT!

And the source of my pain...two words...BOOT CAMP! In addition to my weekly ZUMBA and kick boxing classes, I made the insane decision to give boot camp a try. The minute I walked in the door and caught a glimpse of the instructor's t-shirt I panicked! His shirt read...

"WARNING! MAY CAUSE INVOLUNTARY CURSING!"

And let me be the one to tell you, "THAT SHIRT AIN'T LYING!"  A time or two I overheard a couple of fellow boot campers let some expletives fly.

For me, the MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS bring out the worst in me! When I see Art (the instructor) pull the towels from the black bag I CRINGE!  What are MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS you ask? I can show you better than I can tell you!

Have you entered my "CSN Christmas Comes Early" $75 Giveaway? Hurry and enter! The contest ends October 29, 2010 at 11:59 PM CST!

Christmas Comes Early This Year...CSN GIVEAWAY TIME!

Courtesy of CSN Stores, CHRISTMAS COMES EARLY this year. Did you know only 68 shopping days remain until Christmas? Well, 69 if you wait until the last minute and shop at Walgreen's on Christmas Day. So, how about I do you a favor and help you get a head start on your holiday shopping.  CSN Stores and I teamed up to award 1 lucky  reader a $ 75 promotional code to be used on any of CSN's  200+ websites  where you can find any and everything from health & fitness products to modern bar furniture.

Over 200 online stores!

An extra added benefit of winning the giveaway...you can shop for holiday gifts from the comfy confines of your couch. No holiday hustle and bustle & no road rage from sitting in holiday gridlock.  And for those of you (friends & family) wracking your brain wondering what to get me for Christmas; let me put your mind at ease. How about a few hints...one of each works for me:

DVD Recorder

I need a new food scale due to the unfortunate accident of my previously owned scale.

I could use this blender to make my scrumptious WW cappuccino smoothies.

...stability balls

So, how can you get your hands on the $75 promotional code?

To enter:

1. Visit CSN stores and leave a comment telling me what you want Santa to bring you for Christmas.
2. Tweet about my CSN "Christmas Comes Early" $75 Giveaway and leave a comment telling me.
3. Write a post on your blog about the giveaway and leave a comment telling me.

Additional entry opportunities:

1. Follow me on Twitter and  leave a comment telling me.
2. Become a friend of Me So Hongry on Facebook and leave a comment telling me. Just click my badge on the sidebar. 
3. Use any share option below like digg, stumble, etc. and leave a comment telling me.

Share

Giveaway rules:
The giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian residents and will close on Friday, October 28, 2010 CST @11:59 PM. A winner will be randomly selected using random.org and notified via email.

Good Luck!

Girl Make that Booty POP!

DO YOU NEED SOME MOTIVATION? I just received a COLOSSAL dose of some much needed motivation via TJ's Test Kitchen...check out her journey in pictures. Make sure you grab a box of Kleenex. 

So...TODAY quite a few coworkers complimented me on my ensemble. In all honesty, I thought I looked jazzy everyday (LOL).  As well, yesterday many coworkers admired my new hairstyle, which thanks to tonight's ZUMBA class no longer exist.  

As soon as I arrived home I looked for one of my photographers.  Of course, my youngest rolled his eyes and called me weird for asking him to help me with my afternoon photo-shoot. My kids DO NOT understand the whole blogging thing. Anywho, I call this look...     

 TEACHER CHIC [sheek]

I borrowed the glasses from my son for an extra added touch...tres chic!

 A fellow first grade teacher looked at me and then announced, "I NEED TO GO SHOPPING!" I replied, "Girl, I shopped for these clothes in my closet." I wore both the skirt and the shirt during my chunkier days.  Last week I took the skirt to the alteration shop. And yes I escaped the shop unscathed! I rocked the belt to detract from the bagginess of the shirt.

On to the booty poppin! The ZUMBA instructor introduced some new routines, and one of them quickly became my favorite:

SHAZAAM! 5 LBS LOST!!

I started writing this post last Tuesday, but after I wrote a few paragraphs the post started to feel a bit FORCED, so I stepped away from the computer to let my loss and some other happenings marinate...without further adieu my "big loss post..."

I kid you not...5lbs lost last week. I try not to focus on numbers, but 5 lbs bares some mentioning! I tweeted my news and a fellow Tweep asked me what did I do differently last week. Well, for starters...

• After a strenuous workout, I drink an EAS protein drink or Muscle Milk to build muscle. In addition, drinking a protein beverage after working out helps your body recover.

•  A couple of weeks ago I decided to double up on my physical activity. I complete both a ZUMBA and kickboxing class on Wednesday nights...two hours of hardcore sweating to the MAX! Last week I burned around 1005 calories...SHAZAAM!

• I restricted the number of times I ate "bad" sugary cereal. Why do I own bad sugary cereal? Look folks, some things (like cereal) I know I must give up, but I refuse to. I am a work in progress. 

• Beans, beans, beans. I find when I eat beans I tend to lose. Unwanted side effects: GAS! My advice... I recommend you not standing downwind when the cannon fires!

• I stopped letting my new job stress me out. No more staying late...I still bring a little work home. I realized the importance of taking the time to take  care of ME!

So as promised in my last post my GLOWS & GROWS!

GROWS:

• I need to track more consistently. Rather,  I need to start tracking...PERIOD!  Every week I watch other WW participants accept awards for losing. And every time the leader asks, "What's working for you?" And every time the "loser" responds, "Tracking."  My iTouch makes tracking easy, but I never pick it up to track.  When I rock WW the program I track my food ahead of time at night. Sometimes, I jot the food I eat down and track at the end of the day. Since losing a little balance (thanks to my new job, which I love), my tracking fell by the wayside. 

• I MUST find time to plan meals and grocery shopping excursions. The key to weight loss, no the key to anything you want to accomplish...PLANNING!

GLOWS:

• Again, I try not to get caught up in numbers, BUT...I purchased a pair of size 12 pants this weekend. Sizes vary from store to store, so I remind myself not to "judge a book by it's cover" so to speak. I really wanted these pants for work, so I told myself, "Aww what the heck...I'm gonna try this size 12."  What's the worst that could happen? Worst case scenario I pull the pants over my hips, they get stuck, and then I'd call for back up from the dressing room attendants...no biggie.  
  

• I used some new strategies to curb my late night snacking:

I purchased Life Savers and popped one in my mouth when I felt like snacking.

I stayed busy by helping my mom wrap 75 candy bars for various functions:



The funny thing, I never wanted to eat one of these yummy chocolate bars.
My brain entered work mode...no eating allowed!

Since starting the post last Tuesday, I weighed in again and the scale tried to ruin my weekend with a +.6 gain. Not even a whole pound. Basically I gained a tube of toothpaste (whoop-de-doo).  This just means I must work harder this week.

But...
 I am already off to a bad start. Last Friday I went to the salon to get beautified for my grandmother's 95th birthday party this past weekend; so, now my hair looks FAB...to FAB to get sweaty. If my mom read this post she would say, "Either you're gonna be fat and cute with fabulous hair, or you're going to be fit and sexy with not so fabulous hair"  And in my defeated voice I would reply, "Okay...I choose fit and sexy."  So tomorrow...ZUMBA!

MAN DOWN!

For whatever reason my  Internet decided to crap out on me last night! I planned to publish a post, but when I logged on...nothing. Rather than fool with AT&T, I rolled on over  to my  Mom's house to help finish some projects  for my grandmother's BIG BLOWOUT  95th birthday celebration this coming weekend.

I promise a post tonight detailing my big loss last week. If you follow me on Twitter you already know!