Good day.

Do you ever have those mornings that you just want to sit & be still in the moment? The type of mornings where you got a little extra sleep, the kiddos were happy little bugs when they woke up, and you got to enjoy a moment of peace to yourself?

This morning, while feeding my little D-Man, I just had this moment of thankfulness fill my heart. At that exact moment, I was doing exactly what I wanted to. I was where I wanted to be. I was with who I wanted to be with. As stay at home momma, I all to frequently run through my day on auto pilot without stopping to be thankful for the moments I am home to share with my kiddos.

So, this morning, I have a heart that is full of thanks. Thankful I am to be home with my munchkins, thankful that I have a warm house & plenty of love to fill it. I know there are chores to finish & errands to run but they can wait this morning because I am spending my morning with the people I love the mostest in this whole wide world. The only way this could be any better is if Handsome Daddy was here. :]


I'm gonna get plenty of sloppy, messy kisses from this handsome little debil.

I am going to spend a little extra time snuggling with Princess A.

I am going to enjoy my cup of coffee while it's still hot and savor every last sip and I am going to be thankful for today because today is great day.


I hope you all have a wonderful day. :]

k.

MMM - Mcfatty Music Monday

Hello.

My name is Katie & I am addicted to carbs. Sweet, delicious, full of refined sugar carbohydrates are one of my most favoritest things in the whole wide world. I love, love, love carbs. Sorry to all the McFatty Monday chicas that are reading this trying to be good. I will stop now. There was a point to my dirty confession, I swear!

I got a sinus infection last week that rocked my world. I have never had one so when a giant lump showed up in my neck Saturday morning, my hubs & I went to Urgent Care. The pain that radiated from the bottom of my ear, along my jaw bone and ended at this giant mass freaked my freak & I wanted to know what it was ASAP. I was relieved to find out that it was only a sinus infection but it still hurt like no other! The only thing I wanted to do all weekend was lay in bed & that is what I did. I have a SUPER AMAZING hubs that took care of the babes & house so I could lay in bed & eat carbs. Which kinda wreaks havoc on the ol' weight loss BUT I feel better today so I will be back to following my WW points to a T. Which brings me to my weigh in....dum, dum, dum.

I am up 2 lbs due to my self medication of carbohydrates & lack of movement for 48 hours. Boo.

Start: 192
Current:188

Kinda bummed that I am up but what can I do? I didn't feel good & I made the choice to eat what I did so now I gotta get back on it! :]

As obessed as I am with carbs, I am even more obessed with music. Music makes everything better. I love it! I thought I'd do a little thing of the music I am currently listening to when I work out so you'd have some ideas if you are looking for new music for your playlist!

*The links send you to the videos on YouTube...I haven't watched them all so not sure if they are safe for work. Don't get in trouble! :]


What Do You Want From Me Adam Lambert

Somebody to Love Leighton Meester ft. Robin Thicke

Hot Mess Cobra Starship

Electric Feel MGMT

Cowboy Casanova Carrie Underwood

Carry Out Timbaland Ft Justin Timberlake

White Liar Miranda Lambert

Meet Me Halfway Black Eyed Peas

Hey, Soul Sister Train <---- Great cool down song! :]

Well, I hope that gets some new music for you! I'd love to hear what you are listening to when you work out. I am ALWAYS on the look out for new music! :]

Have a great week, McFatty ladies! You can do it!

Creepin' worse than The Situation...Jersey Shore style, fo sho!

I hit the gym again today for another BodyWorks class. This time, I had a different teacher & I LOVED her! She was awesome! BodyWorks is a class that you use free weights & do different exercises for about 45 minutes. The last 15 minutes, you are down on a mat working your abs. It is a great class. I can feel myself getting stronger. I really liked how the instructor took you from exercise to exercise. She had a great way of counting down & letting you know there was about to be a change so it kept me from giving up. I really liked her! :]

Ok, I have a question for you all...do you do group classes for workouts? Do they have mirrors in your classrooms? At LA Fitness, the workout classrooms have mirrors all along the front & all along the right wall. They come in handy when you need to check your form & I use them from time to time but this lady today was super annoying with them!

So this morning I get to class about 5 mintues early. I get my weights & find a place in the room. I follow the ettiqute of group class...you know, don't stand right next to somebody or in front of somebody, try not to block anyone who is already postioned behind you so they can't see the teacher...basically don't be a brat & invade people's personal space. This chick walks in and takes her place RIGHT in front of me. Like I could of put my hand straight out & smacked her in the head. WAY TOO CLOSE, LADY! As we start class, it is very distracting because we are warming up & I am trying to watch the teacher but trying not to trip over the chick planted 4 inches from me. The first chance I have, I slyly pick up my weights and move to the left where there is a huge open spot. We continue working out for like 2 minutes & then she moves over to the left & is RIGHT BACK IN FRONT OF ME! What the heck, lady?! This continued 2 more times! And to top it all off, she was staring at herself in the mirrors to our right the ENTIRE time so it wasn't like she didn't know where I was. She could see me the entire time! I should of mouthed to her in the mirror to "moooooove it!" Geez, lady!

Anyone else ever have a "creeper" in class? Mike "The Situation" had nothin' on her.

I have another recipe for you! This is a HUGE favorite in our household & we eat it at least once a week.

Chicken Chili

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can of black beans (drained)
1 can of great northern beans
1 can of corn (drained)
1 cup of water
Packet of McCormick's White Chicken Chili seasoning





I cook the chicken in my crock pot for like 3-4 hours on high with about a cup of water. I pull it out & shred it. Cooking it in the crock pot makes it super tender so it should shred really easy. The longer it's in the crock pot, the easier it will be! Then, I wash out my crock pot because all the chicken juice stuff freaks me out & add the chicken, beans, corn, seasoning, & a cup of water. I let that all cook together for about 2 hours & then it is good to go!

I garnish it with a little FF sour cream & sprinkle of cheese. WW points is 5 for about a cup & half. Add more points if you use a lot of cheese!

What are some of your favorite crock pot recipes? I LOVE cooking with my crock pot. I'd love to hear some your favorite (healthy!) recipes!

Saturday weigh-in...fun times!

When you are on WW, you log your weight once a week & my weigh in day is Saturday. I used to have it be Monday, but if I indulged at ALL over the weekend, I could tell in my weight so now I do it on Saturday to show my hard work all week & then if I indulge over the weekend, I still have all week to work it off.

We spent the holidays at my in-laws house & had a wonderful time. They live in the St. Louis area so we got to indulge in the wonderful food they have to offer ( like Steak & Shake. yum.) that we miss out on living in AZ. It's probably a good thing I live far, FAR away from Imo's pizza because I could literally eat that pizza for every meal, every day. It is auh.maaazing. I was a little leery to get on the scale after the 2 weeks I spent eating my way through The Show Me State...I was afraid what the scale was going to "Show Me"...HA! I was weighing in at 193 when we left & when we got back, I weighed in at 192. Not too sure how I LOST weight but I'll take it. So, my starting off weight for WW was 192 & I weighed in yesterday at 186.5. Yay!

I tried a new recipe for turkey meatballs this week & it was a HIT with the fam. Here is the recipe.

1 pound(s) lean ground turkey
3 large egg white(s)
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 small garlic clove(s), minced
1/4 tsp table salt
8 oz uncooked spaghetti - I used the high protein kind
1/3 cup(s) dried bread crumbs
1 cup(s) canned tomato sauce - I used Ragu Lower Sugar sauce

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Combine turkey, egg whites, bread crumbs, italian seasoning, garlic and salt in a medium bowl. Shape about 1/4 cup each of turkey mixture into balls; arrange on a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake until turkey is no longer pink inside, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook spaghetti according to manufacturer's directions, excluding oil and salt; drain. Combine cooked spaghetti with sauce and warm over medium heat. Remove from heat, add meatballs and toss to coat. Yields about 3/4 heaping cup of spaghetti and 2 meatballs per serving.

• If you are doing WW, this is a 9 point meal. Kinda high but SUPER filling. You won't be hungry for the rest of the night. At least I wasn't!

Unstapled.

Last night was the premiere of "Unstapled" which is Carnie Wilson's new reality show. I met Carnie Wilson about 7 years ago at a Women's Expo. I remember hearing her story & really enjoying what she had to say. She wasn't someone who had the mentality of "Once I am skinny, my life will begin" which I feel A LOT of us have. I know that I let thoughts of "Once I hit my goal weight, I will be able to do ____". GOTTA STOP THOSE KIND OF THOUGHTS! My life is NOW! :] She lived a big life before her gastric bypass. She had bypass to save her life & was really successful with it. Then, like a lot of bypass patients (myself included!), she got pregnant & the battle for her weight escalated once again.

I enjoyed her show. I think it will show a lot of people that even with gastric bypass, you still have to work HARD at controlling what you eat & that surgery is not a magic bullet. Sorry folks, it just ain't. :] The one thing that threw up a red flag for me was the fact that she uses baking as an escape. She said "If I don't bake, I drink" which is something that happens fairly common with bypass patients. When the comfort of food is taken away, alcohol slips in as an easy replacement. Baking would be a HUGE obstacle for me because my weakness is baked goods, HANDS DOWN. I couldn't be around baking everyday & expect to drop any weight. I just wouldn't be able to because I would eat every last crumb that came out of my oven. Hopefully, that isn't a vice for her & she can find her escape in baking for people.

Anyways, I look forward to watching her show & seeing what unfolds. Check it out if you want, it's on Game Show Network (random, right?!) on Thursday nights.

P.S. Every muscle in my body is SCREAMING from that class yesterday. It's the kinda pain that feels good so mark one down for Angela from The Office.

Gym, yo.

I went to the gym today & took a break from running. I have been doing the Couch to 5k program which is an AWESOME program to get yourself started on a fitness regime. It has made me fall in love with running & I highly recommend it. If someone told me I would run for FUN, I would have smacked them upside the face. For reals. Anyways, something that I have learned since running is that if you do too much before your body is ready for it, you will eff something up in no time. I did a pretty intense run for myself yesterday so I wanted to give my body a rest today but not totally forgo the gym. Soooo, I found myself in a BodyWorks class being taught by her...


If you don't who she is, it's Angela from The Office. I swear, this girl looked EXACTLY like her...all 5', 87 pounds of her. Instantly, I feel a twinge of self-consciousness. This chick's body was hard. My body can best be described as um,... gelatinous? I have lost a considerable amount of weight & carried 2 babies so I have some serious wobbly bits...emphasis on the wobbly.

Ok, my next confession is not one I am proud of but I want to be honest in my journey. I first saw this tiny package of tan skin & blond hair in the bathroom & when I smiled at her, she gave me on of those fake "I have no time for you" smiles. One of those smiles that make you feel a little bit smaller than you felt 2 seconds ago. I wrote her off as one of the skinny bitches that flounce around the gym & get the meat heads to drool. Fast forward 3 minutes & voila`! She's the teacher who is going to make me pay for the next hour. I instantly hated her even more.

What was I expecting though? She was in amazing shape. OF COURSE, she was the instructor. Was I expecting freakin' Rosie O'Donnell? Maybe a little. Maybe a little more HOPING that expecting. Sue me!

As the class started, Angela from The Office was energetic (duh.) & bubbly (double duh.). I kept repeating "She-Devil, She-Devil" in my head as she made us do flies & dips. EVIL! I am sure she is a very nice lady who saves puppies & donates her time to help little old ladies cross the street but today, I hated her.

But, towards the end of class, something happened...I started to hate her less. She actually made the class fun & the hour went by pretty dang fast. I am not saying I like Angela from The Office but I am thinking I will be in her BodyWorks class next Thursday...just cause I hate her that much.

Who am I?

Ok, so I talked a little abut who I am in the previous post but I wanted to give you a little history about who I am as far as healthwise. :]

I used to weigh 327 lbs. No, that's not a typo. 3-2-7. In November of 2007, I had gastric bypass surgery & lost 150 lbs. That's right, people. I lost both Olsen Twins in ONE YEAR.

Me, the morning of surgery. Sexy, eh?

Exactly one year later, yo!

I was really successful with my weight loss surgery. I was within 10 lbs of a "healthy" weight according to the BMI scale. I came really far in one year.

Then, I got knocked up.

I had a fairly uneventful pregnancy. I had a few bumps & scares but it was pretty normal for the most part. I pretty much threw everything I had learned over the past year out the window. My rules of drinking before eating & not eating until an hour after I ate stuck around. Other rules, like protein first, carbs second pretty much disappeared the second I peed on a stick.

I lived on carbs while I was pregnant. I discovered the most amazing recipe for corn casserole from Paula Deen (no, I will not post it! It's from PAULA DEEN, people! It's dripping in BUTTA!) that literally became the food I lived on for the first like, 2 months of being preggo. No lie.

I got horrible headaches while pregnant & I had this BRIGHT (read: dumb, stupid, idiotic) idea of trying Coke to just "knock out the headache". Well, that was no my wisest choice. Why? Because I hadn't had soda in a year because that is something you don't do as a bypass patient. First, the sugar in a soda will cause you to dump (dump= when you eat something with waaaay too much sugar for your new stomach to process & you feel hot & dizzy & very sick to your stomach. Lovely, eh?) so badly that you will want to D.I.E. Second, there has been talk that the carbonation can stretch out your pouch & make it not as small as it once was.

Well...guess what? I DIDN'T DUMP. Coke became my evil companion through my pregnancy...damn little red can full of sugary goodness. You suck. (I don't mean that but you are bad for me so we are breaking up, mmkay?)

Moi, present day

Ok, so that brings me to today. I am still weighing in 10lbs over my pre-pregnancy weight. I have started Weight Watchers in order to get my eating back in control. I will talk more about WW in the future but I am REALLY enjoying the program so far.

I don't want to be a supermodel.

Ok, maybe a little part of me does...

I just want to be a confident, happy, healthy momma.

There you have it! Now you know the rest of the story...

k.