SOUPer YOU Debut: PROGRESSO SOUP GIVEAWAY!

This crazy Houston weather...Today I wanted bust out my flip-flops, but just last week, the frigid temperatures made for the perfect soup weather. Nothing soothes the soul like a piping hot bowl of soup! The fine people over at Progresso sent me a huge box with variety of soups. For me, the vegetable soup hit the spot, especially after I paired the soup with a turkey sandwich.

AND the best part...less sodium per serving than other soups I purchased in the past. I plan to keep my pantry stocked with Progresso low sodium soup for those days when I indulge and go over my daily points total. Check this out...one serving of the vegetable soup...1 point!

Just a reminder...

All entries for my Progresso soup giveaway (my 1st giveaway) must be received TONIGHT by 11:59 P.M. CST. Leave a comment on the post titled MY DAY to SHINE and you're entered to win these fabulous prizes pictured below (The giveaway pictured below is courtesy of Progresso).

PROGRESS SOUP CONTEST
Celebrate the New Year and a new you with Progresso Light and 100 Calorie Soups. From January 4 through March 15th you can visit http://www.progressosoup.com/souperyou/ to enter the Progresso "Souper You Debut" contest for the chance to win a full makeover in New York City.

Three grand prize winners will be awarded a trip for two to New York City from May 21st-23rd. The prize includes round-trip airfare, a two-night stay in a NYC hotel, a full makeover, a $1,000 wardrobe shopping spree and personal consultation at a New York department store.

Glows and Grows

One afternoon while picking up my son, I sat in my vehicle mean muggin (mean muggin a.k.a. the evil eye) another parent for halting the flow of traffic in order retrieve her small child, who somehow unbuckled his seat belt and jumped over the seat into the back of the minivan. As I watched the parent wrangle her child, my mind began to wander and SHAZAAM...an idea hit me like a thunderbolt.

Since our WW leader, Karen, constantly reminds WW members to learn from our experiences, I decided to do just that! Each Saturday after my weigh-in, I plan to evaluate my lifestyle change hits and misses. My weekly evaluation aptly titled GLOWS and GROWS, will examine strategies attempted to help me successfully reach my goal weight (this year).

GLOWS: I confess. I still inconsistently track my daily food points. In the past I tracked my points in my head and never wrote anything on paper. I refer to this lackadaisical method as Wing-It-Tracking a.k.a. Keep-It-Up-And-You-Ain't-Gonna-Lose-Weight Method. My usual pattern consisted of routine tracking starting on Saturdays, and by Wednesday or Thursday any traces of tracking became non-evident. At our last WW meeting, Karen stated several times, "Those that fail to track eat 30% more food." To help me get on the right track (get it...never mind), I received this little toy(which I picked out) for Christmas: BAM!!

So, did I track everyday using my iTouch? YES I DID...EVERYDAY! My iTouch made tracking convenient and accessible. And of course the information I entered automatically synced to the eTools online program.

I used the calculator to determine points values and create new foods to be stored as my favorites.

I even tracked my activity. And what I appreciate the most about the WW App...the price $0!

GLOW: The Couch to 5K(C25K) App.
Last summer I started the C25K training program, but I must admit I never finished the program and I never ran my first 5K. On my first go-round with C25K training, I downloaded Suz's podcast to my other older generation iPod.This time, I downloaded this bad boy (bad boy: a term used to mean anything...in this case, my new app.)

What I like about this app...I can listen to my own music rather than the music provided by the podcast creator.

Needless to say...I LOVE MY iTOUCH!

GLOW: Back Up Meals
I decided to plan one freezer meal (e.g. soup or chili) each week. The freezer meals serve as back-up for times of laziness , on-the-go moments, crazy scheduling, etc. Last week I cooked Turkey Taco Soup...

and this week I made chili. A few times I arrived home exhausted after work and popped a bowl of chili in the microwave instead of cooking or running through the drive-thru.

...added some homemade chips, chives and cheese!

GLOW: I purchased this water jug from the dollar store. I previously owned a 17 oz. cup which I refilled about 4 or 5 times a day. Well, at some point refilling the bottle became a chore, resulting in me not meeting my daily water requirements. My solution to my new lazy habit of not filling my water bottle....BUY A BIGGER WATER BOTTLE!

GROWS...Okay, so I need to work on these things.

My Mom gave me the P90X Extreme Home Fitness Program. Ummm...the word extreme fails to do the P90X justice. On day 1, Arms and Shoulders (which consisted of completing 2,431,675 push-ups), I spent a majority of my workout time face down sniffing carpet fresh. At one point I just stopped and cried! After day 2, I decided to dropkick the P90X box under the bed and move on with my life. But then my Mom gave me a pep-talk and I agreed to continue torturing myself.

On the Plyometrics DVD, one of the P90X "graduates" completed the entire workout with a prosthetic leg. I said to myself, "Self. If this dude with the prosthetic leg can rock this plyometric workout, then I need to shut it and MOVE!" Curious about torturing your self? Check out the P90X video or mosey on over to YouTube

Believe me when I say, you have NOT heard the last about this P90X!

GROW: "Fried" Chicken
This fried chicken dinner, so not a winner. For the first time I made the famous cornflake fried chicken. I think my first mistake was purchasing generic cereal rather than Kellogg's. For the most part my "fried" chicken tasted like chicken covered in cereal...gross. But we ate it...all of it!

Me. . . Brown-Bag-It? Ummm. . . no ma'am.

In keeping with my planning goal, I already packed my breakfast, lunch and snacks for tomorrow. So what does a jazzy chick like me pack her lunch in you ask? Well it just so happens, that today I graduated from carrying my Bento "laptop lunch box"(pictured below) to...

my new chic, JAZZY lunch TOTE. Check it out BAM!!!

My mom gave it to me for Christmas after I complained about my small Bento lunchbox. So bloggers, what's inside Me So Hongry's jazzy lunch tote?

MONDAY
Breakfast:
Black Bean Omelet

Lunch:Cheesy Chicken & Pasta w/ Broccoli- 3 oz of grilled chicken breast, a bunch of broccoli, 1/2 cup of whole wheat pasta, 28 oz cheese, and a little turkey broth (made from the carcass of my recycled Christmas turkey) to keep the dish juicy for reheating.

And of course a salad. I eat some form of a salad daily.

THE BEST ORANGE...EVER! This orange came straight from the tree, no trucks, no grocery store...from the tree to ME!

TUESDAY
Breakfast: Huevos Rancheros- 1 corn tortilla (on the bottom), 2 egg whites, scallions, 14 oz cheese, and an undisclosed amount of Arriba salsa. I put salsa on EVERYTHING!!

Lunch: Taco Turkey Soup-black beans, corn, recycled Christmas Turkey, spicy diced tomatoes, no salt added tomato sauce, taco seasoning (season to taste), scallions and 14 0z cheese. I made the stock from boiling the carcass of my Christmas turkey.

I made my own chips. Cut two corn tortillas into triangles, spray the tortillas on each side, sprinkle with a little sea salt and bake. These chips are not an exact science, so you may need to stand by the oven and peer inside frequently. If you walk away, you may BURN your chips.

Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing


Off Topic...HELP!!
Please tell me your 3 favorite post.

Off to a Good Start: Goal Setting

So a friend of mine texted me this morning looking for some weight loss help. I gave her a little a starter advice, and she suggested that I write a post about our conversation. So here goes:

I basically told her to start small by setting a couple of realistic, manageable goals. AND, it just so happens, last Saturday's WW meeting discussed goal setting. The leader suggested that goals should be:

• Positive: Phrase your goal in positive terms (e.g. Each week I will plan my meals.).
  
  
• Specific: Make your goals straightforward and emphasize what you want to happen. Specifics help us to focus our efforts and clearly define what we are going to do.
  
  
• Within your control: You must be able to complete the goal without assistance from anyone.
  
  
• Good fit with your life: Whatever you plan to change must be something you can maintain for the rest of your life (e.g. eating breakfast, cooking more and eating out less).

When setting your goals, think about the benefits. For me the benefits include:

• motivation
• direction
• measure for evaluation

Just as important, make sure you reflect on the pitfalls of goal setting:

• high exceptions
• unrealistic expectations
• overwhelming yourself: Set small 5 pound goals instead of worrying about the BIG number.

So...what's your goal? Get a picture in your mind. What do you want to accomplish? Okay, now write it down.

Well, like everyone else, I set a few goals for myself:

• Complete a 5K (Double booking myself ruined last year's attempt.)
• Track my food intake...If I write it, I bite it (So far so good)!
• Drink the daily required amount of water (and then some) EVERY DAY!
  
  
  
  
• PLAN, PLAN, PLAN, PLAN, PLAN and then plan some more! This week, I created a menu. With my menu in mind, I wrote my grocery list and only purchased foods on the list. To save money, I also based my menu on foods already stored in my pantry, freezer and fridge. I created this Turkey Taco Soup, pictured below with food on hand. In addition, I froze a few bowls of the soup to be used later as back-up meals in times of laziness.

Also on the menu, this black bean omelet for breakfast in the morning.

As far as my long term goals:

I picked this card up at one of the Saturday meetings, drove home, and stuck it on my fridge.

My ultimate long term goal is to be a Weight Watchers leader. I hope to one day share my weight loss trials and tribulations with others struggling to lose weight like myself.

Black Bean Revolution

Click the pic to join the Black Bean Revolution!