25/21: I'm a Slow Girl, But I Mean Well.....

Before I say anything else, I've got to tell ya'll thank you for the Phenomenal support you've given me after my post the other day. I think that sometimes people like me who go and do and share and help and all that jazz tend to have these grande expectations that other people will react the same when we need someone to stand in the gap for us. Or react at all. And when our friends or family don't live up to our "lofty expectations," it's anything but cool. At the same time, I hate to think of the bajillions of times I've let people down in much the same way because I have simply run out of steam.

I'm just thankful today for what God has given me, where it's been given. I'm blessed.

So.... Now that we've covered all that craziness, let me tell you I've come to a BIG realization. This week our little group lost 17.1 lbs. -- compared to 35.1 last week. I think part of that is probably because those "easy" pounds that drop right off as soon as you stop drinking your Daily Dr. Pepper have dropped off by now. I also think that the initial excitement and enthusiasm have maybe been replaced by the REALITY that this is a "Challenge" for a reason.

But never fear, D'Lupe is here!

For the last few weeks, I've absorbed your suggestions... I've listened to what's working for you and what isn't -- all while eating about 2 dozen cookies, continuing to drink my hot cocoa, and yes, there's the entire bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Chips....

BUT.... I have learned a few things. Or rather, I've reinforced several things I already knew.

For one, exercise alone won't cut it. You've got to have some kind of portion control/dessert control/willpower control element in there.

At the same time, diet alone won't cut it either. You've got to exercise to build in that calorie-burning, muscle-building component.

Finally, checking in with you every week just doesn't do it for me. I love you, but I need more. I need Daily Accountability. It is so easy for me to coast through the week, eat a salad on Tuesday night, and pout when my Wii Me tells me I'm fat on Wednesday morning.

I woke up Wednesday and realized it was time I stopped piddle-farting around. The rubber needed to meet the road. I needed to pull up my knee socks, stop whining and put my big girl panties on. That's right. I threw every Grannie Nelva-ism at myself that I could think of. And added a few D'Lupe-isms for good measure.

And guess what? Dear friends, this applies to you, too. (You know I know your numbers.)

So... I followed Leanne's advice that she's ONLY shared with me every week since we started, and started a log in my calendar. I'm writing down everything I eat. How much I exercise and how much weight I've lost that day. Every day. It's the only way I can do this thing. It's the exact same thing I did with Weight Watchers years ago (only then I used their online tool), and it worked for me then. This time, though, I'm going the free route and using my paper calendar. I'm not tallying points or calories or fat grams or any of that. I'm just writing down what I eat. And it's working.

Really, it is. Or I wouldn't share.

In a completely different aspect of this whole "plan," I played in the kitchen a bit on Wednesday. I've really been trying to work my way through the pantry and use up some of our groceries. I came up with this BRILLIANT idea of making a sweet potato soup. Sweet potatoes are GREAT for you -- lots of fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, etc.

I LOVE baked potato soup, so why wouldn't I love sweet potato soup??

So here's what I did. I took the two cans of Sugary Sam sweet potatoes left over from Christmas. Big cans. I drained them and rinsed them in hopes of getting some of the Sugary part of the Sugary Sam off of them. I cooked that with some chicken broth and smushed them up when they were hot. I tasted it. Not quite there.

So.... I added a large can of pumpkin left over from Thanksgiving. (Are you seeing a pattern here?) Once it was all heated and cooked, I added some cream (needed to get it out of the refrigerator.)

Tasted again. Still not quite there. In went about 1/4 cup of brown sugar and a healthy measure of cinnamon. A few chopped-up roasted pecans made for garnish.

Now... I know you're thinking Cream and Brown Sugar are hardly part of a weight-loss diet. BUT you're wrong. They are absolutely necessary for making this otherwise-healthy concoction palatable. If you can't stand to eat it, what good does it do you to have all those antioxidants sitting around???

Now.... Some of you have been around here long enough to discern that I'm a few crayons short of a full box. And that's okay. BUT what you don't realize is that I'm a Genius in Hiding (not evidenced by the fact that I just made a HUGE mess in my kitchen with an Advocare shake and my Cuisinart Smart Stick.)

But here's the deal. I got Abs and Kait to eat my "Pumpkin Potato Soup" concoction. Yep. I'm Da Bomb. Since they screw up their cute little noses and complain whenever I make soup, I told them it was a new sauce for their tortellinis. AND so they wouldn't balk at the idea of something new, I covered myself by heating up a jar of red sauce. AND do you know what??? When offered the same thing as leftovers last night, their FIRST PICK was the pumpkin sauce!!! Yee-Haw!!

I had it again last night as well. I have to confess, it wasn't much different last night than the night before. BUT the fact that it isn't the tastiest thing ever helped me keep my portion size down. AND it's incredibly filling as well -- really, you can't eat all that much of it. So.... I'm thinking it's a win-win.

And now you know the rest of the story.....

Disclaimer: I've never met Sugary Sam, and while my Momma would just have a COW if she knew I used canned sweet potatoes, she'd just have to deal with it. This Christmas was NOT a time to stand on ceremony. Short-cuts saved my life.