Cardio, Cardio!

POSTED BY: LESLI

Does it seem like all we can talk about 'round here is food? Well, just so you know ALL of us are getting our fair share of calorie burning in as well. If you are like me, you HATE going to the gym, but love burning calories. Due to my iPhone application obsession I recently downloaded the LIVESTRONG app and have fallen in LOVE and if you know me you know I am the furthest from being in love with Mr. Armstrong! THAT is another story for another time.

Here's the deal ~ when you register you put height, weight and pounds per week you want to lose. It then spits out the number of calories you are allotted per day. Not sure how many calories are in your meal? That's ok, search their database for anything imaginable!

So, I said this isn't about food, and it's not, so let's check in on the exercise. Don't feel guilty that you didn't have time to "phone it in at the gym" - Jillian Michaels, I have recently discovered that they have calculated EVERY possible way that you burn calories.

FOR EXAMPLE...

Allie & I like to gab away on the phone each night. Justin thinks we're weird, but we always have LOTS to talk about.

Talking on the phone - recline (62 cals/hour)

Talking on the phone - sitting (93 cals/hour)

Talking on the phone - standing (112/hour)

So, basically we can burn an extra 372 calories doing what we do best!

Ryan has been on a cross country road trip from Florida to Oklahoma and back again for the past FOREVER, ok more like 3 weeks, but we miss you sister!

Driving - light vehicle (124 cals/hour)

Riding - light vehicle (62 cals/hour)

Therefore, if she rides the entire 9 hours she'll burn 1178 calories, but if she herself climbs into the drivers seat she'll burn a whopping 2356 calories! Go ahead and have another breakfast at Taco Bueno, sister!

Christina and many others of you will be spending a lot of time on this evening before we hit the town...

Applying make up (124 cals/hour)

I estimate that you spend 15 minutes on your make up, so that's about 31 calories. Doesn't sound like a lot, but remember they all add up when the champagne is flowing!

So, get on over to LIVESTRONG and get to calculating fat chicks! Trust me ~ you will be pumped by all the calories you are burning and never knew. Now if they could only calculate the calories you burn blogging...

Chick-fil-A the WW Way!

posted by: Lesli

I feel like I've eaten 3/4 of my meals this last month in the car, which makes being on weight watchers a daunting task. Except for when I find restaurants that are conducive to my diet and my time!

An all time favorite of mine and MOST of you from the south is Chick-fil-A. Of all the fast food out there, I'll be the first to admit that this is not only the best tasting, this is absolutely the BEST for your weight watching!

I've found that I'm as stingy with my points as I am my money, but if you ran into me during lunch (or dinner) at Chick-fil-A this is what would be on my plate...

#2 ~ Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich: 5 points

with Medium Fruit instead of Fries: 1 point

Unsweetened Tea with 3 equals: 0 points

For a Grand Total of: 6 points

Not bad for a very filling lunch, huh?

There are times that a good splurge is in order and say you might have extra points lying around that you're just DYING to use up. If that was the case, here's what tempts me most...

~~~~~~~

Chick-fil-A Original Chicken Sandwich: 9.5 points (deduct a point for wheat bun or no butter)

Chick-fil-A Chargrilled Club Sandwich (love that bacon & provolone cheese!): 8 points

Chick-fil-A Chicken Salad Sandwich: 7.5 points

and for you breakfast lovers who like to go for the gold early before 11am...

Chick-fil-A 3 count Chick-n-Minis: 6 points

Chick-fil-A Chicken Biscuit: 9.5 points

For stingy point hoarders, these numbers might seem hefty, but I'd encourage you to examine other menus to better options with lower point values. It's not easy to find.

If you were pulling up a chair next to me at Chick-fil-A, what would you order? Don't worry, if you want to be bad, I wouldn't blame you NOR would I tell the WW gods!

I scream, U scream....

I LOVE ICE CREAM! It is my favorite desert, it is my favorite food....often it is my favorite meal. Nothing is better to me than a big chocolate milkshake. I found the perfect answer to any ice cream addict like me on a diet.

They have all the great taste and half the fat. At 2 points a serving, you cannot beat it. Honestly...its the closest to REAL tasting ice cream that i have found. Edy's is my favorite, but Dean's is really good as well. If you add 1 cup of skim milk, you have yourself a great tasting 4 point milkshake! (this is a 2 point shake if you are on core because you don't add points for the skim milk ).

Lesli loves Egg Nog, and i thought of her while i was at Trader Joe's this week.

Trader Joe's Light Egg Nog is completely delicious, and another 2 point treat. If you can spare 2 additional points, you can throw in a shot of your favorite liquor to this drink.....of course if you love ice cream like i do, you would add 1 serving of Edy's Light Vanilla Ice cream, and have your self a guilt free 4 point Egg Nog Shake!

Week 2 Weigh In

I'll go ahead and start....4th Fat Chick Allie here. I weigh in on Wednesday (Weight Watchers World Wide Web Weigh In, had to pick Wed ya know!) I am sooo thankful for the Wednesday this week...considering that Thursday & Friday are Christmas and I knew WW would go out the window. So, as of Weigh In Wednesday I was down 1 pound, very thankful for that! Merry Christmas to me!

Allie -1 pound

-6 pounds total


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Lesli is a nervous wreck before weigh ins. See how I made that like a facebook status update? I'm glad that you can erase the IS if you like, but I always feel the need to continue speaking in the 3rd person. Ok, to the weight loss. Seriously, I went to bed the night before the weigh in covered in anxiety. Not because I didn't think I did very good with my eating or my working out, but last week was such a let down and in my old age I've developed this anxiety thing. My alarm went off at 5am and I literally stumbled out of bed and hoped on the scale bleary eyed. I did not believe what I saw. I was hoping to lose 4lbs, but instead I lost 3! Oh mama there is nothing quite like losing 3lbs when you're on a diet! I'm sure it is second to none other than losing 3lbs when you're not on a diet, but I am happy! So happy, that I've been much more willing to keep my holiday eating in check, but I will admit ~ my mom's fudge is DAMN good! If anyone asks, I had 1 small piece... not two!


Lesli: -3

-3 pounds total


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi, it's Allie again ghost blogging for Ryan. She is still "on holiday" on her 5 state tour of the USA, and in the snowy woods of Oklahoma or is it Arkansas? Anyway, she asked me to post that she lost a pound! In spite of her Taco Bueno for breakfast. You go girl! She'll be home next week and back to the Mac-Book and will have lots of WW gas station adventures to share, I'm sure. Until then, this ghost writer is signing off!

Ryan: -1

-1 pounds total


Christina here....I thought i was going to have a great advantage this week considering i was home with my husband for Christmas, and not with my family eating all the bad things that i usually eat. However, i think i made up for the extra calories i would have eaten with my wine consumption ....Sheesh... I knew that because of my "celebrating" this week, I would have a very slim chance of weight loss. I was glad that i didn't gain any weight, but I was very disappointed with my decisions for this week. I was about to start beating myself up about it, but then i remembered that this process is a change in lifestyle, not a short term fix.... I cannot expect to be perfect, but i can use my shortcomings to drive myself to do better... That is what i love most about Weight Watchers.... you get to hit the reset button, and give yourself another opportunity to be better than the week before... So this week....one glass of almond champagne...not three!

Christina: 0 pounds

-6 pounds total

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Hi everyone...we are all going in 4 different directions in our lives.

Stay tuned to Friday for our weigh in (hopefully!!)

Hope you all have a FABULOUS holiday.

Much love,

Four Fat Chicks

Yum Yum Brownie Muffins

posted by: Lesli

My blog friend Laura posted a link to the hungry girl recipe for Hungry-Girl's Yum Yum Brownie Muffins the other day and me being the sweets feign that I am, I had to try. I made a family dinner on Sunday night and me and my sister are ALWAYS looking for delicious ways to cut calories, but usually aren't very good at it, so these seemed perfect! Plus, I will make up any excuse to get to use my Kitchenaid Mixer!

Wait, would y'all like to meet my fabulous sister? This is going to make my other blog jealous, so I'll have to share with them later, but this is my fat chick sister. I call her a fat chick, because she called me the other day and said, "Well, I did it. I stripped off all my clothes to my bra and panties and took the dreaded picture." She should not worry, I will only be picturing her here fully clothed.

Ok, really she's Justin's (my husband) sister, but what's his is mine, right?

Back to the Yum Yum Brownie Muffins! This recipe is really hard, so if you're not an expert level chef you MIGHT want to back away from this one.

Recipe according to Hungry Girl:

Yum Yum Brownie Muffins
(1 Muffin, or 3 minis - 181 calories, 3.5g fat, 37g carbs, 2g, fiber, 2g protein - 4 WW points)

1 box devil’s food cake mix

1 can solid pack pumpkin (15 oz.)

Directions:Mix the two ingredients together. Don't add anything else that may be mentioned on the box, such as eggs, oil, or water. The mixture will be very thick and you will be tempted to add in other things to make the batter smoother. DO NOT DO THIS AS IT WILL RUIN EVERYTHING! Place batter into muffin tins (or mini muffin tins) lined with paper, or sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Makes 12 regular or 36 mini muffins.

Here's is what they'll look like after you've mixed and poured into the pan. They don't pour into the tins or smooth out like cake batter would, so I scooped them out proportionally with a measuring cup and spoon.

The final product! Beautiful fluffy chocolate Yum Yum Brownie Muffins! The tops of mine looked like it formed little peaks that burned, BUT in all reality they were delicious and moist and fluffy tasting.

If any of you are addicted to cupcakes, like me, this is what I'd HIGHLY recommend for you! I think the fact that I have resisted the urge since SATURDAY to put a healthy dollop of chocolate icing on top should earn me extra WW points!

Chili Lime Chicken--3 Points

Personal disclaimer: I CANNOT follow a recipe exactly. I must add my own touches, so just a warning....if you are following Weight Watchers exactly and their point system you should follow the WW recipe at the bottom. If you like to break the rules and your life revolves around a bit more FLAVOR, than follow my lead! (said in Paula Deen twang) Either way, it will taste great!



In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil (1 T. vegetable oil)

Put boneless, skinless chicken breasts into ziplock bag, and pound until 1/4 inch thick

In a large ziplock bag, mix the flour, chili powder, and salt. Of course I added other spices, cause Hey, that's the charm of me! I added a little seasoning salt, coarse ground pepper, cumin and smoked paprika. Then add chicken to the flour mixture to coat, evenly shaking off any excess.

Transfer the chicken to the skillet; saute until cooked through, about 3 mins. on each side

flip the chicken and cook the other side.

I transferred to a paper towel on a plate at this point, to soak up any excess oil, and to be able to make the sauce in the pan without the chicken coating coming off
chicken resting

saute minced onion & garlic

then I added some canned diced tomato & chicken stock and bring to boil, then I added lime zest, lime juice and chopped cilantro (sorry about the color, sometimes I forget to turn the flash off!!)

after sauce reduces, I added the chicken breasts back to the sauce

let stand, for sauce to thicken. It was delicious and since you pound the chicken out so thin, it make a lot.

1 TBS. veggie oil
2 TBS. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. salt
4 (3oz.) thin-sliced skinless chicken breast (1/4" thick)
1/2 cup fat-free low-sodium chicken broth
2 TBS. fresh lime juice
2 TBS. minced cilantro (optional)

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil. In a large ziplock bag, mix the flour, chili powder, and salt. Add chicken and shake until well coated. Transfer the chicken to the skillet, shaking off any excess flour; saute until cooked through, about 3 mins. on each side. Pour broth and lime juice over the chicken; heat to serving temperature, about 30 seconds. Transfer chicken to plates. Spoon the pan juices over chicken and sprinkle with cilantro.
SERVINGS: 4. 3 points per serving.

Weekly Weigh In

Ryan-I was so excited to get out of bed to weigh in today. I undressed, ran to the bathroom, jumped on the scale...0 pounds. No gained pounds or ounces, no lost pounds or ounces, exact SAME! I was discouraged and then I started getting angry...I want to say Thank you Mr. Pita & Hummus Man last Friday night for making the best damn food in the world! And thank you to all those wonderful bar tenders that kept feeding me champagne at the party on Saturday. This is why I must have maintained the same weight. I should be glad I didn't gain, since this is the holidays and usually I put on a pound or two. I look forward to next weeks weight in, hopefully a little pound will be off by then.

Ry's Weight Status: 0 Pounds

Lesli - Funny, my post was going to start a lot like Ryan's, because I woke up early this morning and the first thought in my brain was YAY Weigh In Day! I jumped on my scale all naked and pee-less and I was EXACTLY THE SAME WEIGHT! BOOOOOOOOO! I guess I should thank my lucky stars that I wasn't up any, because I knew the scale would be ugly today, because I got my monthly visit from my good friend who brought with her party favors of cramps and bloating. Please tell me that adds pounds and so therefore really I'm down pounds but due to the period I'm dead even. No? This past week I did very good at staying within my flex points and learning to readjust my thoughts and my portions to live within satisfaction and not gluttony. I did the 30 day shred 5 days out of 7 and will probably up the ante this week with extra cardio. Why don't you join me in crossing our fingers for a BIG weight loss next week!

Lesli's Weight Status: 0 Pounds

Allie- Morning friends. I un-like my counterparts did NOT wake up excited, but did hop on the scale Wed morning pee-less and was pleasantly surprised to be down 5lbs. BUT, I have to justify a bit (you'll come to realize this about me...it's my thing, get over it!) I went to the doctor last Wed and was down 5 lbs from my official chart weight; BUT what I failed to do was to come straight home on Wed and test my bathroom scale against the official Dr. office scale. So.....it could be that my scale is 10 lbs off and I really gained weight....but I'm counting it as a loss! And the best news of the day was that I wore a pair of jeans yesterday that I haven't worn since last Spring; reason being was the last time I wore them, they were so tight I couldn't even enjoy my cosmo (SATC Movie premiere night)! So that night I took them off and buried them at the bottom of the stack. Yesterday I got them out, just for grins, and they fit perfectly! Now, if I can just get motivated to work-out! Inspire me please.......................................

Allie's Weight Status: -5 pounds

Christina - I really tried to keep to my mantra of "No Excuses", but the 12 inches of snow that fell on Chicago this week was definately a deterrant from me hitting the gym like I wanted to. What was even more tough about this week, was that I used up most of my weekly flex points at a birthday party earlier this week, and without going to the gym, i have been living off of 10 flex points since Monday! (this is considerably hard because i am doing the Core WW program and the only splurge i get are my 35 flex points) What was additionally hard was the fact that i had to make my favorite holiday desert, Peppermint Cupcakes, for the office this week. I ate ONE, it cost me 5 points and I am very proud to say that i have 4 points left...just enough for 2 glasses of wine at my work holiday party tonight! I don't have a scale at home, and since i didnt make it to the gym, i found myself going from department to department in the hotel frantically searching for a scale. I finally found one in the lowest basement level in the packaging room. I stepped on the scale, looked down, almost burst into tears and mouthed the words " WHAT THE F$#k??" I looked up at the packaging room attendant laughing at me. Then he said, "Oh i forgot to tell you, that scale adds 10 pounds."

Christina's Weight Status: -6 pounds

REVIEW ~ WW Chocolate Cake

By Fat Chick Lesli

On this week's episode of WW Food Reviews we are going to dive head first into chocolate cake! Best place to start, right? If I ever get those personality quizzes about chose the dessert you'd pick out of this list and I will tell you your personality characteristics, I ALWAYS go for the chocolate cake with chocolate icing, so might as well start there with the food reviews as well, right?

I stumbled upon these the other day, because I was browsing through the 100 calorie snacks and couldn't find the 100 calorie chocolate cupcakes with the filling in the middle. The picture on the food looked like it was a nice size hunk of chocolate cake. Boo Hoo... objects in picture may be smaller in real life.

Pros ~

• ONLY 1 point



• Perfect late night sweet fix



• Icing is tasty

Cons ~

• Cake is dry



• Size, Size, Size ~ cake is very small (oh wait, this is a diet, right?)

Therefore, the pros outweigh the cons, and if I had to recommend the WW Chocolate Cake snacks to you on a scale from 1-10 I'd give these an 8! Will it replace your FAVORITE chocolate cake? Oh hell no, but they will help you stay within your weekly points without having to bust out the flex points too early in the week.

Weight Watchers Mexican Soup

Cast of Characters: Vegetable broth, can rotel, green beans, garlic, zucchini, squash, tomatillo, jalapeno, red onion, cumin, oregano, black beans, diced tomato, chipotle pepper in adobo, salt, pepper, lime zest, lime juice and fresh cilantro

Get the pan screaming hot and add: garlic, onion, green beans

then squash, zucchini and cans of rotel and diced tomato, cumin, black beans (drained and rinsed) tomatillo (which I personally think added a TON of great flavor) jalapeno, chipotle pepper in adobo (use sparingly cause those suckers are HOT) salt & pepper

Then I added 4 cups of chicken stock (recipe called for vegetable stock, but I used chicken cause I had it and then added 2 cups of water to make a total of 6 cups) add lime zest and lime juice and just ripped up some cilantro and threw it in.

Bring to a boil and then let simmer on very low. The longer it sits the more the flavors develop.

The original recipe says it is ZERO points, but since I used chicken stock and added the black beans, that added more calories...so I counted it as 1 point per serving. The actual recipe calls for bell peppers and a jar of roasted red peppers and I don't groove on the bell peppers, so I omitted and added the squash & black beans instead. But the flavor of this was def Mexican, plus lots of delicious hearty veggies.

Here is the actual recipe:

6 cups vegetable broth

14 ounces canned diced tomato, Mexican-style preferred

2 cups fresh green beans (start with 8 ounces, then trim and snap into bite-size pieces)

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 small zucchini (about 8 ounces before trimming)

1 cup tomatillo, cubed (start with about 4 ounces or 2 medium tomatillos)

1/2 medium poblano chili pepper, chopped

1 medium jalapeno, membranes and seeds removed, minced

1 medium Red Onion chopped

1 green pepper

chopped1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon fresh oregano (I used 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano)

2 roasted red peppers packed in water

1 tablespoon chipotle peppers in adobo
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons lime juice (from 2 limes)

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Heat a large pot or Dutch oven on MEDIUM HIGH. Add the vegetables and spices (canned tomatoes through as oregano) as they're prepped. Add the broth when it's ready. Once at a boil, partly uncover the soup, reduce the heat to maintain a slow simmer and simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir in salt, lime juice and cilantro. Serve immediately.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE Per Serving: 43 Cal (6% from Fat, 24% from Protein, 70% from Carb); 3 g Protein; 0 g Tot Fat; 0 g Sat Fat; 0 g Mono Fat; 8 g Carb; 2 g Fiber; NetCarb6; 3 g Sugar; 20 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 553 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 0 points

Ryan Week 1-I am a Weight Watcher

This is very hard for me to post a picture like this of myself, and what kind of dorky pose am I doing? I’m smiling and have my hands on my hips like I’m Steve Urkel. Why the hell am I smiling while standing in a tiny sports bra and tight pants knowing I’m showing this to all my friends and family, and WHY didn’t Jim say, “Babe, maybe put your hands down to make yourself look more relaxed.” I would have taken more, but I didn’t want to have Jim take any more pictures of me like that, it was hard enough standing there for 30 seconds. SO now everyone can see what’s underneath all my black outfits. I hope that changes in a couple of months! I can’t wait to burn my SPANX…wait, don't skinny people wear SPANX?

Dork Pic #1

MAN, LOOK AT THOSE HIPS!  P.S. Those closet doors in the back ground, the right side is Jim's FYI...I know, it's a pit, and yes, that's 3 robes hanging off the doors, those are Jim's as well.  :)

The Biggest Loser ~ The Workout

I was on Amazon a couple of weeks ago, ordering books, and decided to order a work out video as well. There were really great reviews on "The Biggest Loser Cardio Max" and i figured it would be good one to try out. I was wrong....it was GREAT!

Each of the trainers has their own section, and before you start you get to customize your workout. Bob's is the longest one, 20 minutes, and he also does a 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down. Jillian and Kim each have a 10 minute section, so your workout can be anywhere between 20-40 minutes.

I also love how these workout tapes are not at all old school...there is nothing worse than seeing Denise Richards in a uni-tard bouncing around with bad elevator music from the 80's. There isn't any silly bad dance move cardio, it's the kind of workout you would get with a real trainer. Best of all, afterward you feel like you got a really good work out.

I think my favorite part about is that the "extras" are actual Biggest Looser contestants. They aren't those model looking people with perfect bodies, who don't break a sweat at all. You can hear them breathing hard, you see their sweat, so it doesn't make you feel so bad about not being in the best shape right now! Literally, during the workout, Julie yells out "I'm gonna KILL YOU BOB!"

I am a big fan of the DVD, and I am off now to order Lesli's favorite, "Jillian's 30 day Shred." Several of these Biggest Loser workout tapes are on Amazon, and are selling now for $6.99 each. How's that for your pocketbook?

Happy Sweating Everyone!

Why Weight Watchers?

Raise your hand if you've tried the cabbage soup diet? The heart surgery soup diet? The Atkins Diet? The South Beach Diet? There's a good chance you've tried one of them, because I have tried all of them! Typically I need lots of pounds gone very fast because I needed to shimmy into a black dress for a wedding or a Christmas party. Once the festivities began I'd find the closest mashed potato bar and richest chocolate cake and bury my face. All the weight lost was back with a vengeance before I could drag my spanx out of storage.


Here's the deal with weight watchers ~

For me it's about Portion Control! If I put it on my plate then I will eat it. I hate to be wasteful and I never run out of room. You know when you eat a huge meal and the waiter comes by and says, "Will any of you be having dessert?" And there's a collective OH GOSH I AM WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY TO FULL TO EVEN CONSIDER DESSERT sung round the table? I'm never too full! There's always room for dessert and I suppose I get it from my father... if I've eaten a meal I want something SWEET! With WW I can have my cake and eat it too! I just need to make adjustments in all other areas of my plate.




It's also about Smaller Numbers! Not just on the tags in my closet, but in my head. To get your eating under control you have to be able to count calories, right? Well then why is it that mostly WOMEN are driven to lose weight and MEN are better at math? That ain't fair, right? However, I can count and add to 20, so a points system is much more manageable for me to keep up with in my head. The beauty of it all is that the internet is like the best friend you've always wanted and needed, because now-a-days every morsel of food has been point calculated so you never have to wonder!



Finally, it's about not being That Girl! There's nothing worse than going to a party or a family dinner or out to eat with That Girl. You know the one... the one that can take a bit or pick a place to eat without reminding you that she's on DIET! Or that girl that walks around feeling like she would kill big bird if it meant she could have fried chicken for dinner. Eat what you like just understand what you're eating and how much your eating. If you are a person who works better with restrictions WW does have a plan that gives you an eat this, not that rundown.


So, I'm wondering ~ what eating plans are y'all following? Oh, and if you're on the fence about trying WW don't worry ~ now-a-days you do not have to feast on FISH BALLS!

How to Survive a Christmas Party

I'm down in Ft. Lauderdale today getting ready to attend a Christmas party.  I'm one of those girls that needs to sample every single piece of food that I pass by.  I'm wearing a black dress that hides my belly thank goodness, but I'm ready to get over the hiding tummy days..so here are a few guidelines to help you through this holiday season.  Champagne here I come!! Thank god for FLEX POINTS :)

Don't let your fingers do the walking: Many of the appetizers that circulate at holiday parties go for upwards of 300 calories a pop.  AND who can eat just one? I CANT!  So when your picking choose shrimp, raw veggies, and if you do need that sparkling crab cake, only eat 1.  

Be a buffet queen:  Circle the mouth watering food morsels before going in for the kill.  Once it's on your plate you'll feel obligated to eat it, and the better stuff may be down at the end tempting you to come back for seconds because your plate is already full.  Choose foods that are high in fiber like veggies, fruits.  Choose lean meats, clear soups, and non-oily salads.  You can try everything just limit yourself on the amount.  I like to fill my first plate FULL with salad and veggies.  Use balsamic, or other vinegar based dressings.

SALAD TIP: Put your dressings on the side.  Dip your fork into the dressing then use it on the salad.  You will be surprised on how much dressing you won't use.

Cocktails can be deadly:  Stick with light beers and wines.  If your a liquor fan stick with diet soda as the mixer.  Mixed sweet cocktails can top the charts at 6 points!  So stay clear of the sweet martini's and strawberry daiquiris.

I hope everyone has a wonderful HOLIDAY SEASON!  Just think, it's halfway over with and New Years will be here before you know it.  Thanksgiving to New Years is the hardest part of the year for your waist, so hang in there!  

Introducing the 4th Fat Chick!

I think the other girls are so brave to post their scary pictures, but I’m just TOO scared to join them. And I’m afraid I’d scare away all our readers! So instead of using fear to motivate me into loosing 30lbs by March 11tt {I’d like to loose 45, but I’m being realistic and sticking to 2-3 lbs a week} I’ve decided to use motivation instead.

This picture is at least 5 years and 50lbs ago, {back when I was happy, those jeans were a size 8 people!} It's my motivation!

My weight “issue” started about 2 years ago. You’d think heartbreak and being miserable would make you loose your appetite, but it had the opposite effect on me. So after I scraped myself off the bathroom floor, I drug my size 12 ass to the couch and drowned my miserableness in flavor blast pizza flavored goldfish crackers and bottles of Foxhorn Chardonnay and stayed there till yesterday! I gained 10 lbs and had to lay down to button my pants and they’d leave an indention around my waist for hours after I took them off, but thought…no big deal, they can still button! And then became the summer of the full skirts, and going up 1 size isn’t THAT big of a deal. All the while still sitting on that couch feeling sorry for myself, because the life I had been playing pretend for the past 5+ years was gone! And all my friends were married and who was going to ever want me? So there I sat tivo’ing every Food Network show I could find, so that I could sit on the couch again the next night. And then another summer came, and this season was full of the elastic waist gaucho’s…thankfully they came in letter sizes instead of numbers; cause an extra large is much easier to swallow than dare I say it, a 16! And once I got to that size, I had the constant thought of, who will ever want me? Aside from those weird-o guys on the Motel Williams show, that just LOVE fat chicks! Then it was like I had to fulfill that destiny…I had to stay big, so I’d have an excuse to not fall in love , and possibly have my heart ripped from my chest, again! It’s my crutch. Check that, WAS my crutch. And that just about brings us to present day!

I had originally planned on being, light hearted and funny in this post; to play my usual roll as the overweight funny friend. But, instead chose to be honest, vulnerable and broken (Lesli, that was especially for you!) because if I fail, I will not just be letting myself down, and my 3 fellow fat chicks, but also all of you who have chosen to follow this journey.

My good friend Kellie Raspberry says that you won’t loose weight until you FINALLY decide to. And you might decide to several time, but it’s not until you really decide to that you know that all those other times you were just pretending! So, here I am saying to the world wide web….I’ve decided!

Ry's First Post

First let me say CONGRATS to Lesli by doing something so brave! She has motivated me to take "The Picture" tonight and if it weren't for her I could have never gotten up the nerve to post a picture of me in a sports bra. I don't even wear a bikini on the beach let alone anything that resembles a sports bra...so in her honor I will be posting the dreaded shot :)


Let me introduce myself, my name is Ryan and I’m one of the 4 “Fat Girls”. I have been wanting to shed these pounds for months and I’m so excited to have partners to help me through the cupcake blues. Weight Watchers is a wonderful tool, I love how you can eat anything you want as long as you follow your points. My goal is 30 pounds, and I hope to reach it by spring.

So, since it’s the holidays and we have so many cocktail parties to attend I wanted to post my most favorite concoction. I call it Ry’s Purple Seven Martini, with just 2 points you won’t feel guilty sipping on these all night. Enjoy! and hope you look forward to seeing my fat a** in a sports bra and tight pants. Hope no one faints!


Ry

Ry's Purple Seven Martini

Chill one shot of Grape Vodka (If you don't like grape any flavor works)

4 grapes cut in half (I freeze mine)
cold Diet 7-UP

It's refreshing and I love seeing the grapes popping up and down. If you really want to get fancy you can stick the grapes on a stick like a dirty martini. Enjoy, it's one of my favorites.

Christina..... aka Christina Gordita

Last weekend, i was at a holiday tacky sweater party with some friends. I hesitated to go to this party, first because it was snowing, but second because.....these friends are those friends.... They are the ones who are pretty, size 2 and love snapping pictures every five minutes....They want me to be in every one of the pictures and in my head...all i am thinking is " suck in, suck in...hold your breath, angle this way, only get half your body in the picture....suck in suck in suck in...."

Then you find yourself like a petty thief...scrambling through their purses while they are not looking...grabbing their cameras and deleting pictures....hoping they are too drunk to remember that 5 of their shots are missing....

But the worst part about it....you can't ever get to EVERYONE....and then you see the dreaded message on facebook.... "You've been Tagged!!!!" Oh great....here we go...

So this is the picture snapped of me, last weekend, at this holiday party.....

Why would they post this? I mean....do they HATE me?

When you hear weight loss success stories, you always see those people...sitting on the couch, making that ugly pitiful face surrounded by Cheetos and 2 liter soda bottles... I looked at that picture and realized.....THAT IS ME!!! 28 pounds over weight, miserable, and surrounded by beer and wine bottles... This has GOT to be my before picture...So it is time for a change... i am sick to death of being uncomfortable in my own skin, and i am done making excuses for it....

Since I started last week, i have currently lost 4 pounds.... i haven't decided what my final goal weight will be yet, but my first goal is to loose 18 pounds by March 1, 2009.

With my fellow fat chicks supporting me....I am positive that i can make it happen...