Tomato and Green Pepper Salad

We are growing a garden this year and have the best crop of tomatoes.  Seriously, so good that I'm running out of ideas on how to fix them.  I love them with the cucumber/vinegar salad, but the other day we were out of cucumber, and I came up with something even better!

Cherry tomatoes - as many as you want!
1 Green pepper
1 Sweet yellow onion
1/4 cup Apple Cider vinegar
1 tsp Wildtree Garlic Flavored Grapeseed oil *
tiny pinch of salt
tiny pinch of sugar
lots of black or other colored ground pepper

Half or quarter the tomatoes.  Slice the pepper and onion very thin. 
Put veggies into a bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
In a separate bowl mix the vinegar, oil, and sugar.
Combine and enjoy!  SO GOOD!  The non-diet folks loved this too.

Depending on how much you eat, this could be a max of 1 WW PointsPlus.  But, I found that this makes about 4 servings, depending on how many tomatoes you use.  And then at the end, there's lots of dressing left over.  So, I'm not sure how much oil and sugar you're really eating - probably 0 PointsPlus worth, but I like to be safe and count it.

* Full Disclosure - I am a Wildtree Independent Sales Rep, and LOVE their products. I became a rep to help my family eat healthier without spending 2 hours in the kitchen every day.  I do receive a commission if you purchase Wildtree products from this link.  I love the hint of garlic this oil delivers, but you can certainly use a different oil here - olive, canola, etc.

First Full Week Down!

I skipped posting - my hubby was out of town, and my toddler took up every single minute I wasn't working.  I did pretty well staying on track.

I've done great with the water, but not so great eliminating the Diet Coke.  I say I want to stop it 100%, but it's so hard.  Especially after not sleeping so well.  So I'm continuing one more week of focus on more WATER less Diet Coke.


I didn't really feel deprived, and I lost 3.6 pounds, so that's pretty exciting to me.  That means I can do this.  I know you always lose a bit more the first week, so I don't figure each week will be like this.  But, if I can lose the .5 - 2 pounds per week that Weight Watchers recommends, I will be thrilled!

On to next week!

First Day of Weight Watchers - not too tough

Hmmm, I went through my first day on Weight Watcher, and it wasn't tough at all.  In fact, I ate pretty normally and was under my PointsPlus value.

I could see though that if I had eaten out or munched on some cookies (it happens), then the points would have vanished quickly.

I'm working on my general strategy now, but this week is going to mostly be about trying out the program, drinking more and more WATER.  I did just fine by the way, yesterday - just hadn't really tracked it before.  No Diet Coke, but I did have another diet soda (just one).  That part's not great, but at least it wasn't a Diet Coke!

I think my next focus is going to be on carving time for some daily exercise.  Even if I have to start really really slow.  Eventually, I'd like to be running again!

Today's Focus - More Water

I joined Weight Watchers yesterday morning.  I am pretty upset at how much I've gained, so I'm going to post my weekly +/-, but I'm not quite ready to share my weight.  Of course, when I've met my goal, people will be able to tell, but hopefully by then I won't care because I'll be in great shape!

Anyway, this week's focus is going to be:  WATER.

I've seriously cut down on my Diet Coke drinking, but it keeps creeping back in.  I want it gone.  It is an evil, evil addiction.  I crave it terribly, but I know it does bad things to me: 

1.  I wake up more in the middle of the night when I drink it.  I didn't think it got to me, but sure enough, I sleep better when I've had zero for two to three days.


2.  It really messes with my blood sugar - I feel like I have a huge dip in blood sugar and feel compelled to eat sugar/carbs to recover.  I used to use Diet Coke as a snack, but now I see that wasn't really helping.

3.  I feel dehydrated and "puffy" in the morning after drinking Diet Coke.  I used to think that this was a normal morning feeling.  It went away when I had my first DC of the morning, so I thought I just needed caffeine.  Nope, when I'm off the stuff, I wake up feeling fine.

4.  Plus, I'm now anti-chemical, and aspertame just seems pretty suspect to me.  I don't want it in my body any more.

That said, this is tough.  I'm down to one 12oz per day, but I want it gone.  My plan is to drink more water, drink hot green tea with chai spice (LOVE this - I don't put sugar or milk in, I love it as-is), and make some iced jasmine tea to have around all the time.

Get Fit End Goals

Here's a list of End Goals that I'm going to keep so that I remember why carrots are better than cupcakes. I don't care so much about numbers, except as guidelines and markers of progress. What I really want is the feeling and experiences of being in shape.

1. I will be able to wear a cute swim suit and take my toddler to swimming lessons - May 2012.

2. I will ride horses in Creede, Colorado - August 2012.

3. I will buy a dress from Urban Gypsy in Roanoke, VA - not sure of date, but by March 2012.

PS. If it seems that I'm putting my life on hold until 2012 - not true. I'm so busy that planning out 2012 makes sense! Just about the only thing that I keep putting "on hold" is buying clothes - that one is tough to do right now.

Kickoff!

Okay, I'm writing this out on a blog because I really want the accountability.

I've been fit and in shape in the past, and felt great. But I've lost that feeling and miss it. Today, August 24, 2011, I'm going to start doing something about it.

I've got a lot of weight to lose, and a lot of push-ups to do. I figure it will take about a year to get to where I really feel good in my own body. Kind of daunting, but if I don't start now, it will take even longer.

Today, I'm going to post my goals and join Weight Watchers.