It works if you work it!

So I weighed a day late, and it was to my advantage. I'm down 11 pounds this morning! It feels great to shed some more pounds, and even better because people are already noticing. I never in a million years thought I'd be able to notice losing just 11 pounds. I wore white stretch capris to work today, and they are actually jeggings, but they fit well and I felt good in them! It's a long shot, but I think I'd really faint if I lost 4 pounds this week and made it to 15 by next Monday. I don't want to be disappointed so I have not set that as a goal, just a thought in the back of my head.

I was worried about how I would do with last week being spring break, but I stayed on the program and counted points every day. It has paid off! School has started back this week, and my life has gone from lazy to crazy in the blink of an eye! I took my lunch both days so far, and have found that since my daily points target is slowly shrinking (I've already lost 2 points per day that I can have, I am thankful for the 5 extra points I get for nursing ;-) I am able to do with less "expensive" snacks. One piece of fruit (which is free) or a stick of string cheese (just 1 point) are enough to tide me over. Plus I've been so busy at school, that helps keep me from snacking.

I cooked a lot last week while I was off, and really enjoyed that. My most favorite thing I made as a Weight Watcher's recipe for Chocolate Chip Cheese Cake. It. was. AMAZING! It uses almond flavoring. That paired with the sweetness of the cheesecake (which also has cottage cheese) and the chocolate is so delicious, and really satisfies my sweet tooth. The recipe makes 12 servings. One serving is 7 points, but 1/2 a piece actually calculates to 3 points. I ate 1/2 piece a couple times, and let me tell you, even being a small piece, it is totally worth 3 points. The regular serving is definitely worth 7!

Here is the recipe:

2 spray(s) cooking spray   10 item(s) cream filled chocolate sandwich cookie(s) 8 1/2 Tbsp fat-free cream cheese 8 oz low fat cream cheese, tub-style 1 cup(s) sugar 2 Tbsp all purpose flour 1 cup(s) fat free cottage cheese 1/2 tsp almond extract 6 large egg white(s) 3/4 cup(s) mini chocolate chips, divided Preheat oven to 325ºF. Lightly coat a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Crush cookies; sprinkle evenly over bottom of pan. Using an electric mixer, in a large bowl, beat together cream cheeses on lowest speed until well-blended. In a small bowl, combine sugar and flour; add to cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth. In a food processor or blender, purée cottage cheese until smooth. Add cottage cheese and almond extract to cream cheese mixture; beat until smooth. Add egg whites; beat until well-blended. Stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips. Bake until cheesecake puffs and center is almost set, about 60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Run a knife around sides of pan to loosen; release pan sides. Cover and chill overnight. Cut into 12 slices and serve. Yields 1 slice per serving. *The recipe called for 2 tsp of almond extract, but all the reviews I read said it was too much. I cut it back to 1/2 and it was perfect! Here's another tip! I do my french fries in the oven now, and before when I would bake them, they never turned out just right, and I was not satisfied. I like my french fries very well done, even a little brown. I can't stand under-cooked fries, and that's how mine usually turned out. Even with baking them some extra time. The other night, I accidentally set my oven for broil instead of bake. The fries turned out FANTASTIC done this way, just like I like them! I got lucky that they did not burn, and I have cooked them a couple more times since then this way. My broiler only has one setting, the upper broiler, so I put them on the bottom rack and just keep a close eye on them. About 10-15 min gets them done perfectly, a little crispy and brown on the outside, and nice and tender on the inside!