TRY THIS GREAT RECIPE FOR "TACO CHILI SOUP" ON A COLD WINTER DAY!!!

Here is an outstanding recipe for Taco Chili Soup which I like to have for lunch, dinner, or as a snack in between meals!!!  For all of you that are Weight Watchers 1 Cup = 3 points.

TACO CHILI SOUP

Brown 1 lb Ground Turkey With 1 Large Onion

Add 1 package Taco Seasoning

1 Package Hidden Valley Buttermilk Dry Ranch Dressing

1 28 Ounce Can Stewed Tomatoes

1 28 Ounce Can Mexican Style Tomatoes (Rotel)

1 28 Ounce Can Pinto Beans (Undrained)

1 28 Ounce Can Hot Chili Beans (Albertsons Brand Undrained)

1 28 Ounce Can Corn (Drained)


HEAT AND SIMMER FOR 1 HOUR

1 CUP = 3 WW POINTS  

Eating Healthy During The Upcoming Holidays!!

Hello everyone I sure hope you are looking forward to the upcoming Holidays and enjoying some time off from work and enjoying time with friends and family, I sure am!!  I do know that from Thanksgiving through New Years it can be very difficult to eat healthy and exercise so I thought I'd give you some ideas on what has helped me out for the past 4 plus years.

In the past I have just thought that I will start or continue to eat healthy and exercise at the beginning of the year.  This made it ok for me to eat whatever I wanted  and not to exercise because it was the holiday season. 

Over the past 4 years I have realized that it's not about how much food that I can throw down my neck and how lazy that I can be but it's really about friends and family.  I have still been eating with friends and family but just with healthy choices and enjoying the time spent with my friends and family just as much as always.  Also I've been keeping up with daily exercise since it's now just part of my healthy lifestyle. When I'm invited to go somewhere and am asked to bring something to eat I have been making or bringing healthy foods that I like.   This makes it a bit easier for me to eat healthy since I know that their will atleast be something healthy to eat for sure.  Also since my family knows that I eat food that is healthy they have actually been making or bringing healthy dishes because they all know that I eat healthy and have come an incredibly long way on my weight loss journey.  After eating instead of laying on the couch I will let everyone know that I'm going for a walk (No I Don't Make A Loud Announcement Annoying Others)  and more times than others their will be others go along.  This doesn't have to be a super long walk but just a nice relaxing walk through the neighborhood which also helps in the food digestion.

So A few tips that I would give is when invited to a party or family gathering this holiday season bring a healthy dish that you like so their will be atleast something their to eat that you like. Another tip would be to go for a nice walk after eating at a party or gathering and invite others as well.  Most importantly have a great and very healthy holiday season spending time with friends and family.

ONLY TRACK ON DAYS THAT YOU WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT!!

This has been so incredible important in my weight loss journey and maintaining my 230 pound weight loss that I think it would be beneficial for everyone if I wrote about it once again.  This may seem like a lot to do in writing down everything that you eat on a daily basis and also to track how much you exercise on a daily basis but the benefits have been life changing for me.  For starters I would suggest that you go out and buy a 5 x 7 inch notepad that you can use to track on a daily basis.  This is also a great tool to use when you are struggling to look back and see what you have ate and how much exercise you did when you were doing good.  At night before going to bed I get my breakfast, lunch and snacks ready for the upcoming day which I bring to work with me.  I track down all the food that I have for the upcoming day so I don't have to write it down as I eat during the next day.  Then when I get home I write down how much exercise I did during the day and also write down in my tracker what I have for dinner and dessert if I have any in the evening.  This makes it easy for me because I have my food journal at home all the time so it will not be misplaced.  If I happen to eat something different during the day while I'm not at home I write it down on a piece of scratch paper which I keep available and then when I get home I transfer it onto my food journal.  On the weekends since I do not work I just write down the food that I eat during the day and evening and also track any exercise that I do.

ARE YOU EATING BECAUSE YOUR HUNGRY??

All my life I have ate like most people because of what time of the day it was and not because I was necessarily hungry.  For instance in the morning when I woke up I would have breakfast, then in the afternoon I would have some lunch, and in the evening I would have dinner followed by dessert before going to bed.  During my weight loss journey and now as i am maintaining my weight loss I listen to my stomach and eat when I'm hungry regardless of what time it is.  I still have breakfast, lunch, and dinner followed with dessert but not at a set time.  In the morning when I wake up and if I feel hungry then I have breakfast.  For lunch instead of eating right at when most people have lunch around noon I listen to my stomach and if I'm hungry then I eat and if not then I wait til I'm hungry.  The same thing goes for dinner and snacks during the day, I eat dinner and snacks throughout the day the same way by listening to my stomach and eat when I'm hungry.  This has really helped me out on my weight loss journey because I realized that I was eating because of what time of the day it was and not always because i was hungry. I tend to eat less often now and only when I'm hungry so my food consumption has dropped dramatically.  I also eat til I'm satisfied and full instead of when all the food is gone off my plate so I very rarely am stuffed and uncomfortable after eating.  So my tip for today is to try eating when your hungry and listen to your stomach instead of eating because it's a certain time of the day.  Have a very healthy day and upcoming week :o)

WHY BEING PREPARED WHEN GOING OUT TO EAT IS SO IMPORTANT

I know first hand from experience that when I go out to eat and have no idea what I'm going to eat how hard it can be to get something healthy.  In the past when I was not paying attention to eating healthy I would just order anything from the menu which looked or sounded like it may be good to eat and not worry about it. Now that I'm health conscious I pre plan what I'm going to eat ahead of time so there are no surprises and I know that it's a healthy meal.  In this day and age we are very fortunate to be able to go to most restaurants website and see what they have on there menu.  They usually have how many calories, fat, carbs etc that are in their meals and appetizers that make it very easy and simple for us to plan ahead.  What I do when I know I'm going out to eat is go to the website of the restaurant and find a healthy meal and maybe an appetizer that is on their online menu and write it down.  This way when I go out to eat I already know exactly what I'm going to order and dont have to wonder if it's a healthy meal or not.  This also makes my dining experience more enjoyable since I am not thinking or wondering how many calories, fat, carbs etc. are in the meal.  So a simple tip that I would suggest is if you know ahead of time that your going out to eat and you know where your going to eat is to check out the restaurants online menu. This way you will know exactly what your going to eat and how healthy it is before you get there.  Hope this helps you all out!!!  Have a great week everyone :)

CHANGE UP YOUR EXERCISE ROUTINE AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE!

I have found myself getting pretty bored with doing the same workout routine at the gym for the past year.  I have an excellent exercise routine that I got after seeing a trainer for 3 sessions last summer and have stuck with it religiously.  The problem is that it has gotten to be a bit stale and I know that I need to see him again to change it up and start doing more advanced workouts for 3 days a week.  In the meantime while I get enough funds for the personal trainer I have changed up my cardio exercise which has been great for me and something new. In the morning before i go to work I have been turning on exercise T.V. which have a lot of great 10 minute exercises with trainers that you follow.  I have been doing beginner/intermediate exercises that target the abs, back, and core. This gets me off to a great start in the morning and then I head off to work during the week.  In the evenings I have been going to the gym on my days off from lifting weights and been shootings baskets indoors which is a lot of fun and doesn't seem like exercise at all.  Another form of exercise that I have been doing is going to the mall near my place and walking around.  This is great exercise and is a great way to get some walking in and staying cool especially on those hot days that we have been having in southern california lately.   So a tip that I would suggest to everyone trying to drop a few pounds or maintain a weight loss is to change up your exercise routine as often as possible so that you don't get burned out from doing the same routine all the time.  Have a great and very healthy week everyone!!!

IT'S OK TO ASK FOR HELP WHEN YOU NEED IT!!!

This was a topic which I thought was outstanding in a recent weight watchers meeting that I attended. I know for myself that I often just try to keep it to myself on my new healthy lifestyle but it's best to ask for help from others which makes it much easier to eat healthy.  At work when they have pot lucks or get togethers when their is food it's a good idea to tell your co-workers that it would be very much appreciated if their was some healthy food available and you can also make a healthy dish.  For me the weekends are incredibly difficult because the people that I live with are not thinking about eating healthy and they tend to eat whatever sounds good at the moment.  So speak up and let others in your family know what you would like to eat instead of just eating whatever everyone else decides on, this is also something that I need to work on myself.  Many times when going out to eat I tend to dread it because it seems like it's very hard to have a healthy meal out.  What I will be doing from this point forward is asking the waiter or waitress how the food is prepared and what's in the food.  We can always tell them to cook the food the way we want to eat it especially since we are the ones paying for our food.  Substitutions are also a great way to eat healthy when at a restaurant. For instance we can get a healthy bowl of fruit instead of a muffin or buttered toast which tastes much better and is much healthier to eat.  Something else that I do while at restaurants is get salad dressing on the side so that I can decide how much I use instead of them.  Another tip at restaurants is that if the meal comes with something that is unhealthy or that you just don't want to eat it's ok to tell them not to bring it to the table and leave it out of the meal even if you have to pay for it.  So I would highly suggest to ask for help in many different situations while eating which will make it much easier to stay on your new healthy lifestyle!!!  Have a great healthy week everyone  :)