A Week of misses

Hey Everyone,

Well another week has gone by and I feel like I could have been better.  I feel that in some ways I sabotage myself. I did not pack a lunch a couple of days and ate out. There was no reason why I did not pack myself a lunch other than I was lazy. I did not get enough sleep this week. I have been more worried about other people than myself this past week.

With all of that said it reminds me of that old saying “You are no good to anyone else if you don't take care of yourself”. That saying is so true for me these days. I can not help my family the way I should if I do not take care of myself.  Trying to put more energy into another person than myself is not smart on my part. I get to feeling run down and then I start to feel lazy or make dumb decisions. This is not a new habit for me, oh no I have been doing this for years. It is time to make that change and take care of myself. This is not going to be an easy change for me at all. All I can do is my best to try to make this change.

The days that I did take a lunch this week I really liked the salads that I packed. I had some salad green from a bag with some olives, a little cheese and shredded chicken.  I had cooked a whole chicken and then shredded the whole thing for salads and whatever else came to mine. I want to do more stuff like that. It made making lunch easier.  It also helped me to get some protein in every day.

Now here is the million dollar question. How do you get and stay motivated?  I find that I am motivated for a day or two and then I am lazy again.  I'm thinking that the days I start to get lazy I have to remind myself to really look deep inside of me and find the motivation at the bottom and pull it back up.  I have to remind myself that I can do this.  I have to remind myself that I AM WORTH it.

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I hope you all have a great week!

~Julie

This week I didn't follow a recipe I allow my instincts to take over. I made a apple pork chops with baked potatoes. The family loved it.

Pork Chops -

put all the chops in a baking dish and heated the oven at 350 degrees.

seasoned the pork chops with a little salt, pepper, onion powder and cinnamon.

Placed sliced apples all over each chop.

Bake for 45 cover

Remove cover and bake 15 minutes.

Baked potatoes after they were done I sliced them open and added cottage cheese on top. No butter or anything else ( I always eat my baked potatoes this way).

OFF & Running

Hey Everyone,

I hope you had a fantastic week. I am thinking that this week was a little better than last week. Still not 100% smooth but moving forward.  

I have been thinking about goals a lot this week. I keep thinking I really should set some for myself so I had something to reach for.  But then I thought if I set goals I am going to really stress myself out about reaching that goal.  I'm not on this journey to add more stress to my life but just the opposite.  So I have come up with a new system for myself (ok maybe it is goal setting in a way). I have to mason jars on one jar I have written removed and in the other jar I have placed ten stones in it. Every time I remove a pound from my body I move a stone over to the jar that says removed. Once I have all the stones in the remove jar I will reward myself no matter how long it takes to move all the stones.

So another reason why I do not set goals is because if I happen to fail meeting a goal I have a habit of giving up. I get depressed because I failed myself and I think I let down my family and friends who are supporting me. Reality is the only person I let down is myself because I have high hopes for myself.  My family and friends will support me even if I did not make a goal.  Isn't it funny how hard we are on ourselves because we think we have failed others. Maybe when I feel stronger I will set goals.  

This past week I have realized how many people I have in my support team.  I am truly amazed blessed and thankful for these people.

This coming week I am going to be mindful when I eat. What I mean is I am not going to do anything, watch anything or read anything while I eat. I will only be in the moment of the meal. I have heard in the past that if you do this then you remember eating your meal and you will not think you are hungry in a short amount of time because you have forgotten you ate. This also slows you down the speed in which you eat. Do you ever mindfully eat your meals?  

Listed below is the great meal my family and I tried this week. I am really enjoying trying new recipes and I enjoy cooking.

You all have a great week,

~Julie

YouTube Channel - Julie's Story

Instagram - @

jgweightloss

Chicken & Sweet Pea Linguine

2-6oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Pound to ½     thickness

½ tsp dried oregano flakes

½ tsp each sea salt & ground black pepper, divided

1 ½ tbsp olive oil, divided

8oz whole-grain linguine

8oz whole-grain linguine

alsamic vinegar

2 cups frozen peas, thawed

⅓ cup mascarpone cheese

2 tsp lemon zest

2 tbsp chopped fresh basil

1. Season chicken with oregano and ¼ tsp each salt and pepper. In large skillet, heat 1 tbsp oil on medium-high. Add chicken and cook, turning once, until golden brown and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board; cut into thin strips. Cover with foil to keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook al dente according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, drain pasta.
3. Meanwhile, in the same skillet, heat remaining ½ tbsp oil on low. Add leeks and cook, stirring frequently until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add vinegar and cook stirring, until leeks are very soft and golden, 2 to 3 minutes more.
4. Increase heat to medium; add peas, mascarpone and reserved pasta-cooking water. Cook, stirring, until sauce is smooth. Add pasta, chicken, lemon zest and remaining ¼ tsp each salt and pepper; toss to coat. Sprinkle with basil.

Per serving (2 cups) calories 317, total fat: 10g, Sat fat 4g, carbs: 37g, fiber: 6g, sugar: 5g, protein: 22.5g, sodium: 192mg, cholesterol: 57mg

From Clean Eating magazine 3/2017

The Start

Hey All,

Well this is the first week of my journey. There has been some ups and downs in it. Not every day has been a 100% but I can say that I tried.  I think my biggest issue this week is finding the time I need to get everything done. I have to find the time in the day to be able to cook, work, excise and sleep. Time management is not my strong point and I know that there are people who do this everyday in their lives.

This week I am really just spending time preparing myself and my family for the changes I am going to be making.  I have started to get my kitchen stocked up on the foods that I will need for the weeks to come.  I am looking for recipes that are healthy and my family will enjoy. I also need to find recipes that I can cook ahead or cook in the crockpot. Today I am making a big batch of asian chicken Lettuce wraps.  I thought this would be great for lunches all week and snacks. I will add the recipe below.

I have another challenge to face and overcome. I have issues with my lower back. This stops me from going to a gym or long walks.  My challenge is how can I get some exercise in to help the weight removal.  I go to physical therapy for my lower back so I am going to ask if there is anything I can do until my back is strong enough for a workout.  I am sure that this is just one of many challenges I will come up against and I will find a way to over come them all.


I wish you all a wonderful week!
~Julie

You can find my video from last week
You can follow day to day on instagram @jgweightloss or email





This week I made Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
made in slow cooker

Nonstick cooking spray
2 pounds uncooked ground chicken breast
3 green onions
1 8ounce can water chestnuts drained & chopped
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup froozen shelled edamame
4 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese-style hot mustard
2 teaspoons reduced-soduim teriyaki sauce
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 14.5oz can reduced-soduim chicken broth
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
12 leaves butterhead (bibb or Boston) lettuce or
iceberg lettuce
Asian chili sauce (optional)
Sesame seeds (optional)

1. Lightly coat a large skillet with cooking spray. Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to skillet; cook until no longer pink, breaking up meat as it cooks. Thinly slice white parts of green onions and cut green parts into slivers.
2. In a 3 1/2 or 4 quart slow cooker combine chicken, white parts of green onions, water chestnuts, carrots, edamame, soy sauce, mustard, teriyaki sauce, vinger and pepper. Add broth. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours or on high-heat setting for 2-2 1/2 hours.
3. Strain mixture, discarding cooking liquid. Stir hoisin sauce and the green onion slivers into chicken mixture. Serve with lettuce leaves and if desired, Asian chili sauce and sesame seeds.

Servings 6 (2 small lettuce wraps each)
Per serving - 248 cal, 5g total fat (0g sat fat) 125mg chol., 581mg sodium, 13g carb. (3g fiber, 6g sugars), 46g pro exchanges: 1.5 vegetable, 0.5 carb., 6 lean meat
from Diabetic Slow cooker mag 12/2015

This time when I made this I cooked all of it on the stove top and let it simmer for about 90 minutes. I did not add the edamame but I did add diced green peppers.