My New Year's Resolutions

I've been racking my brains trying to figure out what my New Year's Resolution should be. (Yes, I realize it's the 6th!  I'm slow! :-P)  I know I need to lose weight.  What I need is a plan to make that happen.  My husband and I are going to start running once the doctor releases me.  We'll also be hitting the gym to build some strength. My goal is to get down to 140 lbs or a size 10 by the end of the year.  Since I won't know how much I weigh until I go back to the doctor on the 21st, I don't know how many pounds I'll need to lose to get there, but it should be somewhere around 60 to 70 pounds. I'll definitely have to get back to eating healthier... since my surgery, I've been a terrible slacker.  :-(   I'm actually a bit afraid of what the scale will say.  I think I'll go back to the way I was eating before my surgery.  I lost about 7 lbs in a month.  That's not bad.  If I lose 7 lbs. every month, that's 84 lbs... that would be awesome!  That's it!  That's the plan!  Eat like I was eating before my surgery (OLD Weight Watchers plan from the 90's), walk/run with hubby, and hit the gym a few times a week.  I'll also join the January Go The Distance over on Robby's site.  I'm already doing some walking.  Hubby and I walked 8/10 of a mile this afternoon.  Not very far, but I have to start somewhere.  :-)

Another goal I've been thinking about is saving money.  That's a little tougher than losing weight, I'm afraid.  I've been researching "couponing".  I saw the show "Extreme Couponers" earlier this week and thought, "I'd like to buy $600.00 worth of groceries and personal care products for $2.00!"  I bought my 2 Sunday papers and have been diligently clipping the coupons... we'll see if I can get the savings I'm looking for.  No matter how much I save, it'll be better than not saving anything... every penny counts!

My last goal for this year is to blog more.  In addition to this blog, I have a genealogy blog that has been terribly neglected.  This is as good a time as any to get back into my family history and blogging.

Happy New Year everyone!  I'm off to clip some more coupons and then go to bed.

Pumpkin Fluff Recipe

I forgot to talk about the pumpkin fluff I made at Thanksgiving. I turned out pretty good. :-)  It tasted pretty close to pumpkin pie. The best part about it is that it's SIMPLE, and according to Hub Pages it's only 2 points per serving if you're following the points system on Weight Watchers. :-)

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. sugar-free or fat-free Cool Whip, thawed
• 1 small box of instant vanilla pudding
• 1 can pumpkin puree
• 1 Tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients together
• Serve and enjoy. Makes 4 servings. Keep Chilled

This recipe comes from hub pages. There are a couple of other pumpkin recipes on the same page.  Here's the link.  http://hubpages.com/hub/Pumpkin-Desserts-Low-Point-Low-Calorie  If you try it, let me know what you think.  If you have a recipe you'd like to share, I'd be glad to post it here.

Just a Quick Update

I don't mean to brag, but I've been having an awesome week, as far as my diet goes. :-)  I've been sticking to my eating plan pretty well. I haven't totally wasted my optional calories on soda, and I'm getting my 8 glasses of water in on most days. The cool thing about this plan is that you can use non-caramel colored diet soda as water, as long as you drink at least 4 glasses of regular water, too. I try to drink all 8 of my glasses of water as plain water and use my diet soda for a treat. :-)  Not drinking Dr. Pepper has been a challenge for me, but I've finished drinking the last of the caffeine-free Diet Dr. Pepper, and I promised myself I wouldn't drink it anymore. One of my friends at work is seeing a nutritionist and she was told that caramel colored sodas are really bad for people. I'll have to do some research on that and get back with you on it.

I made turkey/beef burgers and oven fries for dinner on Wednesday. They were really yummy, too. Even my husband liked them. To make oven fries, you quarter your potatoes long ways and lay them on a baking sheet. Drizzle them with a little bit of olive oil and season them with garlic powder, a little salt and pepper, and paprika. Bake @ 375 degrees until browned (about 35 minutes). According to my Weight Watcher's information, 10 oz of these is 2 Bread selections and 2 Fat selections. It's definitely a meal that is satisfying and feels like you're cheating, even though you're not. :-)

Well, my dishwasher is calling. I better get my dishes done so I can cook dinner in a little while!