"Join the Party!"

My best friend Stephanie started her Happiness Pact and she was thinking that exercising might make her happy. Kelly, another friend of ours, suggested that we try out this new thing called Zumba so we looked up classes and Kelly and I went to one last week. I think I'm in love.


I know this video isn't the greatest quality but it might give you some idea of the types of dances that Zumba does. I brought my heart rate monitor with me, and I burned 890 calories in the 2 hours I had the thing on. Seriously? WOW, I'm impressed. Kelly and I just laughed at each other because neither of us know what the hell we were doing, but the dances are definitely doable (it may not be pretty, but doable). No one cares if you can't dance and the hour FLEW by. We had a blast!

I plan on doing this class at least twice this week. I'll let you know after Friday if it pays off on the scale!

A favorite dish of mine....

So I discovered this dish and made it my first week of weight watchers and fell in love. Its only 3 points per serving, surprisingly, and its actually really good. Kirk even likes it too.
Its called Balsamic Chicken with Mushrooms by Weight Watchers (wanna make sure WW knows I'm not taking credit for this recipe haha)

Ingredients (with my substitutions):

• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 3 Tbsp balsamic vineagar (i use low fat balsamic vinaigrette by Wishbone)
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 large garlic clove, crushed (I use 1 tsp minced from the jar cause I hate crushing garlic)
• 1 lb uncooked boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into four 4 oz pieces
• 2 cups mushrooms, halved
• 1/3 cup canned chicken broth
• 1/4 dried thyme, crumbled

Instructions:
In a medium bowl, mix TWO (not all of it) Tbsp of vinegar(vinaigrette), the mustard, and garlic. Add chicken and turn to coat.

In a nonstick skillet, heat 1 tsp of oil.

Transfer chicken and the marinade to the skillet. Saute chicken until cooked through, about 3 minutes each side. Transfer chicken to a platter and keep warm.
***Use a screen or a top with the skillet because the marinade spatters everywhere and it is HOT***

Heat remaining tsp of oil in skillet. Saute mushrooms for 1 minute. Add broth, thyme and remaining Tbsp of vinegar/vinaigrette. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are deep brown, about 2 minutes longer.

Serve chicken topped with mushrooms. 1 serving is 1-4oz piece of chicken with mushrooms.

SO here is the finished product by Me. I would just show you what the picture online is, but we all know that the actual product never looks like it does in the pictures!

Okay, so it may not look very beautiful, but believe me... It tastes pretty good! I like to serve it with Birds Eye Steamfresh Super Sweet Corn. It comes in individual packets that I can throw in the microwave and they are steamed yummy in 90 seconds. And its only 1 point. So here in the picture is 2 servings of the balsamic chicken and 1 packet of corn.. Very filling, and I couldn't finish it all.

Hope you enjoy!

I am a Weight Watchin' PT student

For those of you that don't know, I have been in physical therapy school for the past year and a half. Needless to say, it hasn't been an easy 16 months, but I have enjoyed it for the most part. I recently started Weight Watchers in August and so far I have seen success with the program. I actually went to my meeting today and lost 2.2 lbs this week (for a grand total of about 8 lbs). I decided to start writing this blog because a bunch of my friends have joined in on the blog-writting bandwagon, and so why not me too? I have a bunch of friends who aren't part of my everyday life, so this could be a way for you to keep in touch with me! Also, I'll post tips and recipes that I find helpful in me reaching my weight loss goal, since it is a main goal in my life right now (other than getting A's in my classes, of course!)

The decision to start this new "lifestyle" was because I found that I was NEVER happy with the way that I was looking in pictures. I went to Auburn and Atlanta in August and, honestly, I was afraid that my friends from college were going to think that I looked like I had gained weight....and I had. I think its been about 15 lbs since I graduated from Auburn. The lifestyle that I lived before starting Weight Watchers wasn't all healthy, but it wasn't disgusting either! I guess since I went to college, I have always kept a close eye on my weight and they way that I looked because I have always been just a little bit bigger than everyone else. For those of you that don't know I am Dutch, 50% Dutch to be exact, and proud of it. BUT Dutch-Americans tend to be a little "big-boned," you could say.... My father is 6'6" and his family is all tall  too. I like to joke saying that I definitely look like a Broekstra - big boned, wide hips and butt, large & muscular thighs, and green eyes and blond hair. I sometimes wish I got more of my mother's genes, who is French, 5'5", and petit, but I am learning to love my body for what it is.

So if you've never been in graduate school, then you have no clue how much a grad student studies. It is NOWHERE near the amount of time I studied in undergrad. I spend 5-8 hours a day sitting a chair just in class, and then come home to sit another 2-3 hours in another chair studying. Needless to say, I have aquired a sedentary lifestyle. I like to exercise, but not by myself. I've gone through times where I enjoy going to the gym a few times a week, but then sometimes I feel like I am a slave to the gym...it is the last thing I want to do after a long day of class and/or studying. So I decided that the only way I was going to loose weight was to change my eating habits...and boy have I! It was hard to admit that I needed help with learning how to do this because I graduated with a degree in Exercise Science and I am learning how to become a medically taught exercise professional, so why should I need help losing weight? I guess its more of a motivational thing--I find it easy to motivate others, just not easy to motivate myself. I love teaching and since being a physical therapist, teaching is a big part of the job. So I guess I will partly use this blog to teach you about losing weight as I learn about it too!

I am now a "tracker." I track my points daily and plan out my meals for the week. I am allowed 22 points a day. I think that equates to about 1200 calories. I am also allowed 35 points a week to go over. I love this because I can enjoy a glass of white wine (2 points) at the end of my day even if I have already reached the 22 points for the day. I find myself always hungry around 3:30-5:00pm everyday, so I will leave you with this tip that curbs my hunger:

Jollytime Popcorn. It is 1 point, and definitely enough to fill me up until dinnertime! AND it is butter flavored!
Until next blog...