Hungry girl

I am an Internet and computer junkie, really, I am. I definitely know my husband would attest that.

I am always online checking out different websites - whether it's a cool photographer (http://meganphoto.com/blog/) or a really interesting personal journey, although not health related (http://www.mattlogelin.com/) or other blogs (http://www.areavoices.com/mastrgunr/). I have a few favorite websites that are bookmarked and I am signed up to receive e-mail newsletters from several sites, as well. 

But when it comes to my healthy new lifestyle and journey, one of my all-time favorite sites - okay, besides Weight Watchers - is Hungry Girl (http://www.hungry-girl.com/). This girl, I mean woman, happens to be Lisa Lillien and she is full of spunk, let me tell you. I actually really don't know who she is, I mean personally, but she is awesome when it comes to healthy eating.

I have never met her, although it would be really, really cool. And I am not getting paid for saying nice things about her. In fact, she doesn't have a clue who the heck I am. But I know her and appreciate all of her tips. Many of which I have used as part of my new healthy lifestyle.

In fact, I have two of her cookbooks, am a fan of her Facebook page and I am signed up for her daily e-mails. She has taught me about Vitatops and Laughing Cow light cheese and Arnolds Sandwich Thins and egg tartlets and oh, so much more. She is as real as real can get when it comes to eating food that is good for you, but is also tasty and not boring. She likes what I call fun foods. 

It seems she has really gained popularity last year with her appearances on several morning talk shows and on the Rachel Ray show. My favorite thing about Hungry Girl is getting the daily e-mails. She often talks about new foods on the market and always includes point values for each thing. For instance, on Monday, her e-mail included information about new flavors of Yoplait light yogurt and about new Bagel thins from Thomas' Bagels that are only worth 1 point each. Seriously, that is cool information. And not something I probably would have learned if it wasn't for my Hungry Girl e-mails. She also has recipes and different ways to make some of your favorite dishes, but in a healthier way.

Many people have asked where I come up with some of the food choices I make or different tips I learn and many of them come from Hungry Girl. Yes, many of them also come from Weight Watchers. I definitely can't forget about them. I love Weight Watchers, as all of you already know. 

But just in case you didn't know about Lisa Lillien and Hungry Girl, I thought I would clue you in. You really should check her out and if anything, sign up for her daily e-mails. She will share a wealth of knowledge with you, I promise!

P.S. And once again, don't forget, Confessions of a Fat Girl is on Facebook. Check it out. You can also check out Hungry Girl on Facebook and become a fan of her, too! 

Posted by: Confessions of a Fat Girl on 2/09/2010 at 1:15 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Tags: alexandria, eating, food, health, hungry girl, weight, weight watchers

My own spaghetti sauce

I can't remember if I have posted anything about the spaghetti sauce I make, so I thought I would do it now. I have to admit, it's kind of good. In fact, my husband actually asked me to make it tonight for supper because he was craving it. He was actually craving something I make. Now that's a little different. It's usually the other way around.

Now, keep in mind, my husband loves spaghetti sauce and enjoys trying all different kinds. I always thought he was just trying to make me feel good when I have made it before, but when he actually asked me to make it, I felt pretty confident that he did indeed actually like it. So, I am going to post it here. Hope you enjoy it!

Fat Girl’s spaghetti sauce

1 – 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes – Italian style with basil, garlic and oregano (I use the Great Value brand from Walmart)
2 – 8 ounce cans of tomato sauce with basil, garlic and oregano (I use Hunt’s)
2 – wedges of The Laughing Cow light original swiss cheese
3 tablespoons of reduced fat Parmesan cheese
1 cup of onion
1 tablespoon (approximate) of basil (the jarred kind you find in the produce section)
1 tablespoon (approximate) of oregano (the jarred kind you find in the produce section)
1/2 tablespoon (approximate) of garlic (yes, the jarred kind you find in the produce section)

I sautéed the onions in a pan by spraying the pan with buttered-flavored cooking spray, such as Pam or the Great Value brand found at Walmart. After they cook for a little bit, I add the basil and oregano and cook for about 5-10 minutes. Then, I add the tomato sauce and the diced tomatoes, the garlic and the Parmesan cheese. Then, I add the Laughing Cow cheese, but cut each wedge into little pieces before adding. The cheese – both the Parmesan and the Laughing Cow – will slowly melt.

When I input my ingredients into my recipe builder on the Weight Watchers website, I put that it makes three servings. The reason is because I eat about a third of it and my husband eats about two-thirds of it. The total recipe only has 7 WW points. Each serving has two points.

We have tried many other types of spaghetti sauce and most of them I can’t get for less than 4-5 points per serving. This sauce is only two points per serving – a big savings in my book!

If anyone tries it, you’ll have to let me know what you think. The only thing is, you might need some Rolaids when you’re done eating!

P.S. I know I keep reminding you all, but Confessions of a Fat Girl is now on Facebook. Check it out, become a fan, you know you want to! Thanks. 

Posted by: Confessions of a Fat Girl on 2/08/2010 at 7:30 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Tags: alexandria, eating, food, spaghetti, weight, weight watchers

Exciting news

On Wednesday evening, I received the call I have been waiting for since about the end of October, beginning of November. Janet from Weight Watchers called me.

I am on the Weight Watchers website on a regular basis and saw that they had an opening for a receptionist in my area. Now keep in mind that I have a full-time job that I love and have no intentions of quitting. I just thought it might be kind of cool as a little side job.

Well, after Janet's phone call, I got the job. I will now be working at Weight Watchers as a receptionist, which is where I will help check people in and help with the weigh-ins. I am beyond ecstatic. Weight Watchers is a company and program I wholeheartedly believe in. And now, I hope that I can help others, just like Janet, Stacy and Becky at my Weight Watchers meetings have helped me. 

I should be receiving a packet in the mail from Weight Watchers within the next couple of weeks. I have to fill out the forms and send them back in. I will then have four training sessions with Janet. I won't be working a lot, like I said, I have a full-time job I have no intentions of giving up. I hope to work one to four or five meetings a month. Our meetings are on Wednesdays and take place at 8 and 10 a.m. and at 12:15 and 5:15 p.m.

I can't wait to get started!

P.S. Remember, Confessions of a Fat Girl is on Facebook. Look me up and become a fan!

Posted by: Confessions of a Fat Girl on 2/05/2010 at 7:40 AM | Comments (3) | Permalink

Tags: alexandria, diet, exercise, health, weight, weight watchers

Motivating people

I am sucker for inspirational, motivational stories about weight loss.

However, I usually like it better when the person has lost his/her weight without the use of "fad" diets or surgeries or anything else other than hard work, determination and will power. I love to hear how and what people have done to lose their weight - whether it's 10 pounds or 100 pounds. I love to hear the stories of how people have changed their eating habits, how they have learned to control their portion sizes, how they have learned to incorporate exercise or even how they have learned to deal with the struggles - and moments of triumph (yes, there are those moments) - of losing weight and living a healthier life and lifestyle.

Although I have heard several stories of those stories at my Weight Watchers meetings and loved every single one of them, there is a blog on Area Voices that I read about a guy who has now lost 80 pounds - all on his own. The blog is titled 'Journey of a Fat Man." It's tagline, which I absolutely love, is, "A personal journey of a skinny person trying to fight his way out of a fat body." Love it. I really do. It is so true for all of us who have been on the chunky side...we know inside there is a skinnier, not necessarily skinny, person, waiting to come out.

If anyone wants or needs some inspiration, read this man's blog, which you can find at www.areavoices.com/mastrgunr/ - seriously, it is so worth the read.

I don't know this man, but since I have started reading his blog and coincidentally, he reads mine, we have become "friends." We are friends on Facebook and have messaged each other several times. I am in awe of his determination and his will to lose the weight on his own. He is truly an amazing person. He plans to run the Fargo 5K in May, which I have also signed up for. I have hopes of meeting him at that event and congratulating him in person on his success.

If you need some motivation, check out the "Journey of Fat Man" blog. I think he will be just as inspiring to others as he is to me.

Posted by: Confessions of a Fat Girl on 2/03/2010 at 5:05 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink

Tags: alexandria, health, journey of a fat man, weight, weight watchers

A weekend of bad food choices

Good intentions don't always last, especially when you are influenced by people who don't always make the best food choices. I am not saying they are bad people; they are actually fun people, but they just don't always eat the healthiest.

On Saturday, my husband and I went to Fargo to visit some friends of ours - Gary and DeAnn - who we love to hang around. They are fun people who share the same interests as we do. Actually, Gary is a college buddy of my husband's. Unfortunately, because they're an hour and a half away, we don't always get to see them. 

After we arrived Saturday afternoon, we sat around visiting, catching up on the past few months. We finally decided we should do something about supper and opted to go out to eat instead of cooking at their house. There are so many good places to eat at in Fargo; it was hard to choose, but we finally decided on Spitfire Grill because of the variety it offered. 

My dinner choice wasn't so bad...I had the 6-ounce sirloin steak, which came with two sides. I opted for one healthy (grilled vegetables) and one not-so-healthy (garlic mashed potatoes). The steak was divine. Almost as good as my husband makes! I ate all of it. The veggies were okay, but unfortunately were caked with pepper, which I don't particularly care for. I probably ate half. The mashed potatoes, on the other hand, were heavenly. OMG good. However, I tried not to eat too many. I probably ate half. Maybe. Our friend, Gary, took my leftover food home with half of his ribs.

After I eat a good meal like that, I, unfortunately, always feel like I have to have something sweet. Some chocolately-ooey-gooey dessert. Luckily for me, the dessert choices on the menu didn't really strike a fancy with me so we opted not to order any. Thank goodness.

Well, Gary, or maybe it was DeAnn, offered to make a run to the grocery store to pick up something chocolately for dessert instead. I jumped on that bandwagon immediately. So, off to the store we went. 

We shouldn't have. We should have just went straight home. But, nope, my sweet tooth was fixated on having dessert and it having to be chocolate. When we arrived at the store, I did check out the produce aisle and picked up an apple. Wahoo. But then we headed to what I have now dubbed, the naughty aisle, where we proceeded to pick out two of those bowl desserts. You know, the kind where you pour the mix into the microwavable bowl with a little water and then add the gooey stuff in the pouch - whether it be chocolate in our case or caramel in Gary and DeAnn's case - and then put it in the microwave for a little more than a minute and presto, change-o you have an awesome decadent dessert.

But, we didn't stop at just the two decadent bowl desserts. Nope. Gary found the frosting. Apparently, we are both frosting fanatics and both love the cream cheese variety. You should have seen the evil, smirky smile on his face and twinkle in his eye as he twisted my arm - not that hard mind you - talking me into the fact that we really should get some because it really is really good. Whatever. I haven't eaten frosting out of can by itself in probably five or so years. As much as I love frosting and I LOVE, I mean, really LOVE, frosting, I had to quit eating it out of the can. Seriously, do you know how many calories and fat grams are in a can of frosting? O-M-G!!! It is so bad for you. 

Well, after we got home, the frosting was opened and the desserts were in the microwave - all within the first five minutes. Really, I am not even kidding.  The four of us polished off two desserts and half a can of frosting. Which, in reality, probably isn't that bad. But probably not that good, either.

At least we spent the next hour playing Wii bowling! Oh, and I did eat my apple that night as well. After eating so much sweet stuff, I actually felt like I needed to eat something healthy. It always makes me feel better, which is probably really stupid, but I do it anyway.

Sunday, before leaving to come home, we decided to go out to eat again. This time, we went to HuHot Mongolian Grill. It's the place where you take a bowl, fill it with meat, veggies and sauce and then the guys at the grill cook it for you while you wait. It's awesome. My bowl was filled with nearly all veggies and just a few noodles. I didn't have any meat. But, I have two heaping platefuls. God, was it good, but was I full afterward. Thank goodness it was mainly veggies. Health-wise, it was my best food decision all weekend. Although portion control definitely wasn't there. I really only needed one helping.

All in all, I guess the weekend wasn't too bad, as far as my food choices went. There wasn't any real exercise, however, except for the Wii bowling. But really, can you count that as exercise? Not necessarily.

Oh, I guess, maybe, I did forget to mention that when we came back from Fargo, my husband and I stopped at the grocery store because I needed yogurt. But I guess I didn't need to buy the 1.5 quart-sized carton of vanilla ice cream I bought. Nor did I need eat half of eat while watching the Grammy's!

But at least I logged it. That three cups I ate was 19 Weight Watcher's points. Yep, 19. NINETEEN!

ARRGGHH!!!!

Posted by: Confessions of a Fat Girl on 2/01/2010 at 8:30 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink

Tags: alexandria, eating, food, health, ice cream, points, weight, weight watchers