Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies- 1 point!

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to let you know that this is the BEST recipe I've had for WW chocolate chip cookies so far. Hope you enjoy!

Mini Chocolate-Chip Cookies Servings: 24 Preparation Time: 10 min Cooking Time: 20 min These adorable cookies will satisfy your chocolate cravings without blowing your goal for the day. Ingredients 2 tbsp butter, softened 2 tsp canola oil 1/2 cup(s) dark brown sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/8 tsp table salt 1 large egg white(s) 3/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour 3 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips, about 1/2 cup 1/4 tsp baking soda Instructions Preheat oven to 375ºF. Cream together butter, oil and brown sugar. Add vanilla, salt and egg white, and mix together thoroughly. Mix together flour and baking soda. Add chocolate chips and stir to distribute evenly. Drop rounded half-teaspoons of dough onto a nonstick baking sheet. Bake cookies for 4 to 6 minutes, then cool on a wire rack. Yields 2 cookies per serving.

Yesterday

Hey followers,

So yesterday was pretty good. I really didn't want to go to the gym, but told myself I would go at 7:30 and I did. I figured I would be too tired to run very long, so I decided in my head that I would run for a half hour or so just so I could work up a sweat and go home.

So I get on the treadmill and an hour later I was still running. I did 6 miles yesterday! Definitely pretty proud of myself

So far the work out schedule has been like so:

Monday: Ran 3 miles
Tuesday: Nothing: bbq at Meg's house
Wednesday: 6 miles
Thursday: =today. Jess and I are going for a run and then doing some swimming, so hopefully get in some good AP's.


BTW, I kind of reinvented a better version of your typical parfait: Check it out..

1/4 cup of all bran buds (instead of granola)
1/2 cup of strawberry yogurt (I used 0 source)
1/4 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup of chopped fruit (your choice)

Delish!

Slacking

So I won't lie. I have been slacking a little on the half marathon training. I'm looking forward to having Jen to run with when I get back to Victoria to keep us both on track.

Victoria tends to be a lot easier for running outside. But I think that this week, I'm going to stick to the treadmill so I can keep up the distance. I'm thinking that I'm going to plan out a different running route to do in Victoria every day for 5 days. I'm not sure if I should be doing some strength training or not, but if I can I'll fit it in on the weekends since I've got some programs that have been designed for me.

I know I need to get back on my PT certification stuff too. So I'm going to try and do a chapter a week before school starts, and after that 1/2 a chapter a week since it'll be more manageable that way. I'll probably have to start around exam time. But okay. Today, I'm going to write down what my week is going to be like. I have 6-7 weeks before the half marathon. So I'm going to have to whip my butt into shape.

Monday: 3miles
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 3 miles
Thurdsay: Off to Jess'!
Friday: 8 miles
Saturday: Off to Meg's!
Sunday: Relax and maybe dinner out. :)

Weight loss and my dating life

One of the things I found about losing almost forty pounds, was an increase in attention from the opposite sex. It seemed as though all the people who were formally mean to me in high school or elementry school started to become nicer, compliment me, give me attention. I didn't really know how to feel about this. Sometimes I wondered if it was only because I lost weight, or if it was because I had become more secure in who I was.

Socially, growing up it was always difficult for me. My parents had divorced at a young age and I didn't really make friends easily. I was quite often an introvert and usually found myself reading and trying to stay in at recesses to help out the teacher so that I wouldn't have to face the kids in the school yard.

For awhile after I lost weight, I started to question all my new friendships and relationships. It was constantly going through my mind: "Would this person still like me if I was fat?" I don't know that I'm the only one, and I'd like to think I'm not. An example of this occurred the other day when a guy I went to elementry school added me to facebook and started chatting with me. He said something along the lines of "Wow, you actually got pretty." I was like "I was ugly before?" He then proceeded to ask me for my number and wanted me to come over to his house to "watch a movie."

This guy was one of those people who made my days in elementary school difficult. He didn't hesitate to call me names, say things behind my back, throw tennis balls at me, write mean things about me in class and then pass the notes around while everyone else laughed.

I realized then that a year ago at my heaviest, I wouldn't hesitatet to either meet up with him and show off the fabulous me and make him feel bad, or snap back with a nasty remark. Instead, when he asked me for my number, I simply said "I'm not sure that I want to waste my time with someone who spent most of elementry school trying to make kids who were different feel bad about themselves. So no thank you, I wouldn't like your number and please don't contact me again." It was short, sweet and after that I stopped talking to him.

I guess that made me realize how much this journey really has impacted me. I have gone from someone who has always been insecure, to someone who is confident, happy and ready to take over the world, and I wouldn't give that up for anything.

For anyone who is trying to lose weight, just remember that being thinner and healthier isn't the only benefit. If I had lost the weight overnight, I wouldn't have had to deal with this difficult but rewarding journey, and I won't hesitate to say that it was all worth it.

If you're feeling down, if you gained, if you feel ugly today, that doesn't have to be permanent. Give yourself a kick in the butt and get back at it. It's worth it.