Corny, I know, but who can resist a great pun like that!

So a couple of weeks ago, I got my voxbox from Influenster with the Felipe Berio coupons and additional info... Etc, etc, etc.

I could wait to try it. If you don't know me well, you don't realize how much olive oil I use to cook. If something calls for a butter or oil, you know that I will be using olive oil. But I have to be careful. Some are too strong for desserts or even some appetizers. Some don't have a strong enough flavor at all.

Well, i have learned that the best way to solve all my olive oil problems is to use Felipe Berio delicato or robusto olive oil. It's the best of both worlds! The delicato can be used in any dish that you need subtle taste. The robusto can be used in any dish that you want people to know that you are using olive oil.

I've already used up my 2 bottles and I'm looking forward to getting more... #OLIVEYOUFB @Influenster thank you!

Cana

***I received this for free for testing purposes. ***

Olive you! And other things you might not know...

Corny, I know, but who can resist a great pun like that!

So a couple of weeks ago, I got my voxbox from Influenster with the Felipe Berio coupons and additional info... Etc, etc, etc.

I could wait to try it. If you don't know me well, you don't realize how much olive oil I use to cook. If something calls for a butter or oil, you know that I will be using olive oil. But I have to be careful. Some are too strong for desserts or even some appetizers. Some don't have a strong enough flavor at all.

Well, i have learned that the best way to solve all my olive oil problems is to use Felipe Berio delicato or robusto olive oil. It's the best of both worlds! The delicato can be used in any dish that you need subtle taste. The robusto can be used in any dish that you want people to know that you are using olive oil.

I've already used up my 2 bottles and I'm looking forward to getting more...

Cana

***I received this for free for testing purposes. ***

Foodie Friday: Crock Pot Pulled BBQ Chicken

So, I LOVE BBQ!  But so many different recipes are so high in calories.  So I decided to give it a chance.
For date night last Saturday night, I decided to make crockpot pulled bbq chicken, and my boyfriend and I LOVED it!

Crockpot Pulled BBQ Chicken

Ingredients:

• 6 large Chicken Breasts
• 16 oz of the BBQ sauce of your choice (just remember, this will affect the calories for the recipe. I used Carolina Tangy Gold BBQ sauce).
• 1 teaspoon Chili powder
• About 16 oz of water

In your crock pot, mix all the ingredients.  Set on low for 3 hours.  Then on high for about 30-45 mins (until the chicken is cooked all the way through).
Then with 2 forks, shred the chicken into wonderful pulled yumminess for the best pulled pork ever!

Total Serving: 12-15 (each serving is about 1/3 of a cup)
Total Calories:  164 Calories per serving

You can pair this with nice steamed veggies, mashed potatoes, or low-cal buns.

So here is to losing it...
Slowly, but surely!
Cana Elene

Motivational Wednesday: Before and After

 

It is amazing that people can sometimes pickup that you've lost weight (visually), when all you can see is what clothes are no longer fitting, and occasionally looking in the mirror.  We don't actually see ourselves everyday. 

Which got me thinking... What better motivation to keep losing weight, to realize that you have actually made progress, and keep working on losing what you have to until you reach your final goal!

So, today, our motivation is before and after pictures, and for me that me a progressive before and after, so I can see the difference.

We're going to start in 2013, because, lets be honest, I rarely let myself be photographed. 
  


February 16, 2013

In 2013, I had given up on Weight Watcher, seeing little progress.  So here is a head shot.  I was about 270 at the time. 

January 9th, 2014

 In the end of 2013, I weighed myself at the doctor and got the shock of my life when I weighed in at 301 (in my clothes, no shoes).  My mother and father (and my boyfriend) all weighed less than me, and that freaked me out.  I started back with Weight Watchers.  Here I am at about 270.


July 10, 2014

In March of 2014, I stopped with Weight Watchers due to a family crisis.  I started to gain a lot of weight back.  I got back up to 270.  Pardon the skirt, because you can't really tell what I look like on the bottom. 
So on August 2nd, I started back on weight watchers.  I still wasn't seeing a change in weight.  I decided to talk to my doctor.  We put me on a 1,800 calorie eating plan, put me on Belviq, and started working on more exercise activities. 

And this is what I look like currently at 255.2 



So look at the difference....

Before                                            &                                                After



 

Before                                            &                                                After

 



So here is to losing it...
Slowly, but surely! Cana Elene

Weigh-in: September 8, 2014

Sorry about this coming out so late.... I've worked a total of 114 hours in 2 weeks, and I am exhausted, but I still made time to weigh-in.

What I did this week:

• I have been working on doing at least exercising at least 3.5 hours a week.
• I've been working on burning at least a 1,000 calories with exercising a week.  
• Creating and altering recipes to be healthier.  This one from SparkPeople works pretty well, though I like mine on Loseit!
• I've cut down on my snacking at work. 

What I will be doing in the coming week?

• I'm planning on working on some other recipes.  
• My medicine has a tendency of altering my eating habits (i.e. sometimes I'm not hungry at all, but other times I'm starving).  I'm going to keep track of these fluxes to better guess what might be causing them.
• I'm going to try and add some different exercises, like line dancing!  Yep!

Weight:  255.2 lbs
Dress Size: 20
Pants Size:  22
Thighs:  26 in
Arms:  17 in
Bust:  42.5 in
Waist:  41 in
Hips:  49.3 in

Just for clarification, I have now started to add pants size to my measurements because in a dress, I'm smaller because my top is smaller than my bottom.  Previous to this post, I've been a size 24, but most of those pants no longer stay on!

So here is to losing it...

Slowly, but surely! Cana Elene

Foodie Friday: Cauliflower Helper

I'm a huge fan of Hamburger Helper.  Yet the problem with that is it is full of fat, sodium, and a LOT of carbs.  This could throw your eating plan for a whirl.  So what are you to do?  Create something!  I personally love cauliflower, and I buy a head or 2 at a time.

Cana's Cauliflower Helper!

• 2 lbs of cauliflower (a large head)
• 1 lb of ground turkey (try and find the lowest fat content if possible)
• 8 oz of reduced fat cheese, shredded.
• 1 cup of green peas, frozen
• 1/4 cup of unsweetened, plain almond milk

Steam the cauliflower & peas together until tender (I believe this took about 20 minutes).  While steaming the veggies, brown turkey and season it with your choice of seasonings.  Drain both veggies and turkey.  Then mix in a large pan, with heat on medium.  Add almond milk and cheese.  Stir until completely mixed.

This recipe serves about 5 people each 11 oz servings.  And each serving is 6 WWPP.  How great is that?  I think it is beyond awesome!

What I did was I used cajun seasoning for the turkey, and I used reduced fat mexican-style cheese.  It had the perfect amount of heat and creaminess that I love from Hamburger Helper, without the large amount of fat, sodium, and carbs!

Enjoy!

So here is to loosing it... Slowly, but surely!
Cana Elene

Wednesday Motivation

We all need motivation, but today I thought to touch on something other than working out.  I'm talking about a support group and great apps to help.

I use MapMyFitness (http://www.mapmyfitness.com/) and Lose It! (https://www.loseit.com).  Both of these work with Android and iPhones, and the apps will communicate (mostly) between each other.

Some people find great support from Weight Watcher's meetings.

And then we have the personal motivation.  For me it is my wonderful boyfriend, Mike.

Our Monthly Trip out of town.

And my best friend, Becca.

Renn Fair!

And even family health might be a motivation.  I don't want to be going on 70 and have the same health problems that my parents have.  Or even the health problems my Truey had.  If I can prevent it, I will.

What are your motivations?

So here is to loosing it... Slowly, but surely! Cana Elene