Almost there...

Me and Beto, the creator of Zumba.

I could put him in my pocket.

It was an exciting weekend last week! I am officially a certified Zumba instructor!

WOO!

The experience was amazing, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. We were able to take two Masters classes from the master himself, Beto Perez, the creator of Zumba. It was two-eight hour days of Latin dancing, and even thought I couldn't really move on Monday, it was all worth.

Now that I am officially certified, I can start teaching anywhere I want. So, my first goal is to take over the Highmark Wellness Center. (evil laugh)

(P.S. That is a total joke...)

The usual instructor is going to be out for the next two Wednesdays, so I'm filling in under the supervision of one of the other instructors at the center. I AM SO EXCITED!! And, incredibly nervous. I haven't taught dance in about six years, and I was dealing with 5 and 12-year olds.

So, the plan is to do a mix of what the instructor does every week and then throw in a few of my own dances. So far, I have two numbers done... I need to get on it!!! AHH!!

The great thing about two days of Zumba is the amount of weight you lose... 2.7 pounds!! I'm weight is now...

161.5

I'M ALMOST THERE!!

Last time we talked, apparently the 165 weight was the correct one because the following week my weight was 164.3. But, I am SO EXCITED!! WOOT!!

In closing, if anyone from Highmark is reading this and you want to try out my class, it's Wednesday at noon. IT'S GOING TO BE AWESOME!!

Until next time...

Keepin' the pudge alive,
-Caitlin

Vacation, all I ever wanted to eat

This image made me laugh so hard!

It's been WAY too long since my last post, and I truly appologize for that. It's been a crazy month, so I haven't been able to post as much as I wanted.

Before leaving for vacation, I was down to 163. WOOT! But, you know how that goes...

This was my first vacation since I was 14, and we went to Holden Beach, NC, with some friends and Washington DC during the 4th of July. Needless to say, it was AMAZING! I think I ate my weight in fried food, and gained 3.4 pounds.

No biggie, right?

Well last Saturday, Ryan and I went to Kennywood with a friend, which was fun. I actually didn't eat any of the infamous cheese fries, but I did bring home a brick of fudge. Somehow, I managed to lose 2.2, which was due to a lot a praying right before I got on the scale.

This week was pretty good. I went to the gym Monday-Friday, only ate a little bit of fudge, and tried to focus only on core. Yesterday, I hopped on the scale and I was down to 163 again. YAY!

But, this morning, my TRUE weigh-in day, the scale said 165.2.

WHAT?!?!?!

Is that even possible?

I counted EVERYTHING I ate last week, even the fudge, and exercised my little heart out.

Cue angry face:

So, by the advice of my loving boyfriend, I'm counting the number from yesterday. I ate dinner late last night, so maybe (?) that's it. Anywho, I'm not going to let this get me down. I'm feeling extra motivated this week, so it's going to be a good one!

On a fitness related note, I'm becoming a Zumba instructor next weekend!!! SO EXCITED!!! It's a two-day workshop, and at the end, I'll have my certification to teach. I'll blog all about it on Sunday.

Here's to a GREAT week!

You pudgie baby,

-Caitlin

All weight loss counts!!

Oh, it's Sunday morning, and time for the weekly weigh in...

165.8

Down .2! EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS!!

I know this week could have been better. Last Sunday, I ate my weight in garlic bread, and while I counted it, I know it wasn't good. I feel like any week that I eat too many carbs, the weight just sticks.

Also, Friday night, Ryan and I went to go see "The Hangover" (AWESOME MOVIE!!), and I finally talked him into going to my favorite restaurant Sieb's Pub. They have the best crab cake salad: lettuce, green peppers, red onion, tomato, cucumber with fat-free raspberry vinaigrette and a nice little crab cake on top.

That meal would have only cost me 4 points if it wasn't for the mound of cheesy grilled chicken nachos Ryan order. And, OF COURSE, I had to eat some. THERE ARE TOO YUMMY!

So, all in all, I'm happy with this week. I wasn't sure what to expect, and to see 165 on the scale again is pretty exciting, even if it is followed by .8.

Right now, I'm heating up some oatmeal with cinnamon, a teaspoon of brown sugar and skim milk topped with a little Fiber One for some crunchiness. I know it sounds weird, but the Fiber One beats the calories in granola any day.

I think today I'll also be doing some swimsuit shopping. If you are lucky, I'll post my findings this week. ONLY FOUR MORE WEEKS AND I'LL BE LAYING ON THE BEACH!!! WOOO!!!

Have a great week, my fellow pudgie ones.

With sincere pudge,

Caitlin

P.S. Has anyone ever hung on the towel bar to see what the scale does? It's actually kinda funny... "Look, I'm only 113!!"

PIZZA! PIZZA!

IT'S ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT!!!

And, it seems to be everywhere I look: on the TV, in my coupons, at work, EVERYWHERE!!

As if you can't tell, I LOVE PIZZA. It's probably one of my favorite foods in the whole world, especially the five-cheese one from Cafe Milano in downtown...

This image is now making me think of donuts... DAMN IT!

I was watching Sandra Lee's Money Saving Meals this weekend, and she made Farm Stand Pizza. It was basically a veggie pizza. It looked pretty tasty, so I decided to give it a try last night.

I made a few substitutions...

• I didn't make her tomato sauce because I was lazy, so i just used some canned diced tomatoes
• I used fat-free mozzarella instead of the good, fatty, yummy cheese
• I used a Flat Out tortilla instead of the pizza dough - 1 point and totally delicious, by FAR the best high fiber tortilla out there

Overall, not bad but not great. But, I didn't really care for the broccoli on it. I thought it was kind of odd. If I would do it again, I would nix the broccoli.

Since I was disappointed, I decided to give it another try tonight. I actually stumbled upon this recipe in Prevention magazine, which I some how have a subscription to even though I never signed up for one...

Yes... I eat off of pink plates. And, they are AWESOME.

This is how the pizza went down:

• Flat Out tortilla
• Diced tomatoes
• Grilled chicken
• Fat-free mozzarella
• Oregano
• Minced garlic

Ummm... DELICIOUS!! It was actually really good, and something I will definitely eat more often. Everything except the wrap is CORE, so it only cost me 1 point. A small slice of cheese pizza is 6 points!! I would say this is a pretty good deal!!!

Anyone out there have any other yummy low-cal pizza ideas? You know I want to hear them!

Your pudgie pizza lover,
Caitlin

Monday, Monday

See, I told you I'd post today.

Today was a pretty good day. Let take a look at the foood breakdown, shall we?

Breakfast

1/2 a cup of plain oatmeal with one cup of skim milk sprinkled with fiber one

Wow... if that ain't an old lady breakfast...

Lunch

A salad from my favorite place in the whole world, Fresh Corner, in our food court!

• Lettuce
• Grilled, plain chicken
• 1 tbsp of shredded asiago
• Carrots
• Broccoli
• Red onion
• Cherry tomatoes
• Fat-free raspberry vinaigrette

OMG... it is awesome. Everything is so fresh and tasty. It's also like the most expensive place to buy lunch, so I tried to limit myself to once a week, MAX.

I also had some fat-free, sugar-free chocolate fudge pudding and a sugar-free jell-o cup. So, I went from eating like an 80-year-old to an 8-year-old...

Snack
I had a bag of 94 percent fat-free popcorn when I got home from work and some more of that delicious pudding. I'M NOT WEIRD! IT IS SO GOOD!

Dinner
Tonight, we had salmon fillets with green beans and a baked potato, which was topped with fat-free sour cream and fat-free cheddar. Yes, the fat-free cheese is a little gross, but if you melt it, it tastes soooo much better.

Dessert
I made an angel food cake yesterday, so I had one slice tonight, which was AWESOME. I have to have Ryan hide the rest of it, so I don't eat it all tomorrow...

Overall, it was a pretty good day. I went to spinning this afternoon at the gym for 45 minutes and biked about 15 miles.

I'm always looking for new things to try, so if anyone has any suggestions, LET ME KNOW!

Peace the pudge out,
-Caitlin

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaaaack

I'm a bad blogger... I know.... Please don't hate me.

But, I'm BACK! That's what's important, right?

Since my last post, I'm down to 166!! WAAAHOOO!! I was so flippin' excited this morning.

So, what worked this week, you ask? I'll tell you!

• I work out every day except Sunday. During the week, I've been going to Spinning, Step, Zumba, Cardio Interval and Step Sculp, and each class is 45 minutes. I also started running North Park Lake one day a week on Saturday.
• I wrote down everything I ate, include the hot dog and pie I had at my mom's on Memorial Day, which hurt to do. But, I follow the core plan, so I just took the points out of my weekly total and focused on eating as much core as I could.
• I've been filling up on fruits and veggies. I'm addicted to frozen grapes and green beans right now.
• I cut out the Hershey kisses at work. I think I count every one I put in my mouth, but there seem to be a few hundred that I miss.

My goal for this week is to lose 1 pound. I'm going to focus on the lean meats and veggies in all of my meals, including the ones at work. I'm also going to make sure I hit the gym every day, no matter what.

I have to work extra hard tomorrow because I did eat three slices of garlic bread today... whoops... I JUST CAN'T SAY NO! IT'S TOO GOOD!

Also, I promise to be more loyal to my blog. Besides, I made a promise to myself and others to do this, so I should probably stop being so freakin' lazy and get on track.

Here's a good week!

Love, pudgie wudgie,
-Caitlin

Because it's Tuesday!

Ok.. ignore the blank post down below... I have no idea how to get rid of it.

HAPPY TUESDAY everyone!

Day 2 of the week and so far, so good.

I went to spin class yesterday for the first time in FOREVER and loved every minute of it. I can remember my first time try the class....

It was week one of WW, so picture me... 231 pounds walking into the gym. The "nice" girl at the desk said to me, "Oh! There is room in the spin class. You should give it a try!"

Let it been know that this girl was the perfect size 2 telling the size 18 me that I should give it a try...

So, in the spirit of weight loss, I said OK. Umm... WORST IDEA EVER! The teacher spent the whole time yelling at me because I was spinning wrong (can you do that?) and the seat hurt my butt SO BAD. The next morning, I swore I was bruised "down there." Needless to say, I gave spinning the big ol' finger and didn't go again.

Once I was down about 40 pounds, I started to get bored with my gym routine and decided that it was time to give it another shot. I was nervous and scared going back in there, but once we got started, I actually like it! I wasn't sure if it was because I was lighter or that the teacher was A LOT nicer, but it was great!

-end of flashback-

So, there I was on Monday, looking for something new to do, and there was an opening in the spin class. I LOVED IT! I highly recommend it to anyone looking for something new and different. When it was over, I felt so accomplished and strong. It was the perfect exercise to get me going again.

Tomorrow, I'm going to Tag Team Gravity with my co-worker, which is a mixture of cardio and using the gravity machine. This is a big deal because I am missing my favorite class, ZUMBA, to do this. Please pray for me.

Anyone out there have any good exercises they can recommend?

Pudgie out,
Caitlin

Because it

Can you cut off your arm and count it as weight loss?

Ok... so now I'm mad.

I really did well this week. I wrote down everything I ate and used all my points. So, when I stepped on the scale this morning, I expected to see AT LEAST one pound gone. But, no... I saw...

169.7

Yeah... NOT HAPPY!

I usually don't do this because I am the kind of person who accepts the fact when I eat poorly and gain weight, but I SO DIDN'T DESERVE THIS! So... I'm making a list of what I think this could be...

1. I didn't eat dinner until 9:30 last night.

2. Today is the last day of Aunt Flo (TMI, I know, but hey, it can cause weight gain!)

3. My abs are still killing me from Sue's Cardio Interval class on Wednesday. A WW weigher-inner once told me that when your muscles are sore, they hold water and cause you to gain weight.

I could keep the list going, but I'm not. It's now time to refocus and make sure this week is a good week. I can't let this set me back. I WANT this SO BAD I can taste it. (hmm... bad pun...)

I CAN DO THIS, GOD DAMN IT!

Anyone else dealing with a tough time out there? How are you pulling through it?

Pudge-be-gone,
-Caitlin

Salsa Chicken and French Fries

Good evening, ya'll!

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for the kind words and messages about my little, pudgie blog. It really means a lot!

On a serious note, let's talk about a very important subject... FOOD!!

Tonight for dinner, I had two of my most favorite foods: French fries and quesadillas.

How can you eat that and still lose weight? Well, let me tell you how!

First up - French fries. This is probably my favorite thing to make. I LOVE THESE, and they are crazy easy to make.

I took this photo after I ate some... that's all that survived.

Pudgie fries
Potatoes
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Seasoned Salt
Garlic Powder

Set the oven to 425 degrees. Cut the potatoes to fry-shape and put in plastic bag. Then, add a LITTLE bit of EVOO, and season with the season salt and garlic powder to taste. Shake and pour onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, and then flip the fries, and then bake for 15 minues.

When I'm feeling really naughty, I put low-fat cheese on these and bacon crumbles and then dip them in fat-free sour cream. *DROOL*

Next up... Quesadillas!

Hm... that looks kinda gross... but I SWEAR it isn't

I make quesadillas with Salsa Chicken, which is a recipe from the best Weight Watcher leader, Mary! She would talk about it all the time at meetings, and now I eat it at least once a week. This chicken can be used for quesadillas, fajitas, enchiladas, or just on top of brown rice. GAAA... it's so good.

And, it's probably the easiest thing in the world to make.

Salsa Chicken
Chicken breasts
One jar of salsa

Put frozen chicken breasts in crockpot, pour salsa on top and cook on low for about 6 hours.

To make quesadillas, I take one Flat Out tortilla and put a little fat-low Mexican cheese on it and some chopped jalapenos. I dip it in fat-free sour cream. OMG, it's SO GOOD.

In my opinion, the Flat Out tortilla is the best high fiber, low fat/calorie tortilla out there. When you heat it up, it tastes pretty close to a "real" tortilla. Very, very yummy.

Well, that's all I have for tonight, folk. If you have any recipes you want me to try out and write about, shoot me an e-mail at caitlinsmith70@yahoo.com. I'd love to hear from you!

Love, pudge and rock 'n roll,
-Caitlin

Words of Wisdom

I received a phone call from my friend at work today asking a very good Weight Watchers question. Here's how the conversation went down:

Friend of Pudgie: When following the Momentum program, how does the filling food thing work? Like, if I want to eat eight cups of chicken breasts, is it only 5 points because it is a filling food?

Pugdie: Yes, but, you must remember the old golden WW rule - Eat until you are full.

FP: Right, right. But, if I ate eight cups of chicken...

P: Yes, it's only five points, but it's eat until you are full, not until you puke.

I can't really judge when it comes to eating enormous amounts. I've been known to eat my weight in chicken and brown rice because it is a CORE food, and I can have as much as I want, theoretically.

I also ate about 3/4 of my birthday cake last year, which was a SHEET CAKE! I brought home the leftovers after work on Friday, and by Sunday it was GONE. I think I should strongly consider becoming a professional eater. I could totally do it!!

Your pudgie baby,

-Caitlin

My Hunger Monster

Just saw the Weight Watchers commerical with the cute, little hunger monster, and mine totally looks nothing like that. If I had to give it a face, I'm thinking mine would look more like this:

And, yes, it would be eating a cookie.

Pudgiely yours,
-Caitlin

Photos, photos, photos

Ga... Now, that I have signed-up for this an old a few people about it, I guess I need to post every day....

At the request of my co-workers, here are a few current photos of me for everyone to gawk at:

Me at my sister's high school graduation in 2005

March 2006 at the Supreme Court.
Thank you to an old classmate for posting that on Facebook...

Here's another good one from that trip.
Nothing looks better than when you are a chubby girl and someone takes a picture of you eating.

I was featured in an article in the Post-Gazette about blue jeans.
You can read the article at http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06340/743776-314.stm
This was about six months after joining Weight Watchers and around 40 pounds down

21st birthday party - February 2007
Down about 50 pounds

Here I am around 170 pounds in late August 2007 at a
Pirates game in my FAVORITE sports t-shirt!

I reached my lowest weight that year in December 2007. Here I am at 164.

Then... I decided to just eat whatever I went back up to about 175.
This is me in May 2008.

This is when I switched from Points to Core on WeightWatchers because if I counted one more point, I might have had to strangle someone.

I worked really hard, started running and exercised almost everyday. On July 7, 2008, I reached my goal weight of 160 and maintained that weight until the dreaded holiday season.

So, anywho, here is me at 160 in September 2008.

Right now, I'm at 168.6, so it's not THAT much of a difference... right?

And, this is what I will look like come June...

I actually bought that swimsuit. Crazy, right? It was $9, and I was feeling VERY motivated at the time. Right now, it's sleeping in one of my drawers.

Geez... posting all of those photos only took an hour. Now it's time to finished the dishes and watch the Biggest Loser and American Idol on DVR. GO TARA! GO ADAM AND ALLISON!

And maybe, if you are lucky, I will stop talking about myself tomorrow and start talking about my favorite topic, FOOD!

Forever your pudge,
-Caitlin

Wow... I actually did this!

Welcome to my first ever blog post!

Hmm... now that I have this thing up and running, what do I do next?



*long pause*



I should probably tell you why I finally decided to join the rest of the world and start blogging, right?

Well, like the title says, I am a previously pudgie girl living in Pittsburgh.

Three years ago, I started Weight Watchers after watching the success my mother had with it. She had lost about 40 pounds at the time, so I figured I had nothing to lose. (haha...)

May 24, 2006, was the my first Weight Watchers meeting. I was a size 16, but I refused to buy bigger pants, so I was probably more of an 18-20. I hadn't been on a scale since the end of high school, and at that time, I weighed 180.

I prepared myself for 180. "It couldn't be higher than that," I remember thinking to myself. And then the woman behind the scale said, "231.2."

WHAT?!?!?

Yeah... that's right, folks. I just finished my sophmore year of college, and I had gained more than 50 pounds. WHO DOES THAT?!

And, unfortunately, I have photographic proof:

Yeah... it's a great photo, I know.

So, anywho, after a little more than two years on WW, I hit my goal of 160 pounds on July 7. You'd think I'd have a photo of this amazing day, but I don't. Go figure, I save the crazy chubbie photo...

Then, the treaded "maintanence" stage, that NO ONE can prepare you for: not your leader, mom, boyfriend, friend, cat...NO ONE.

Well, that was a little tramatic because maintanence started well. I was a steady 160 from July until early October. But, then... I seemed to lose all control over what I ate. From October to December, I think I ate everything I saw. From cookies to hoagies to chip and slurpies, there was really no stopping me.

When the holidays were over, I decided that it was time to get back on track. I was SO motivated. I had a resolution and The Biggest Loser to keep me motivated come Jan. 1. (Side note - Is it totally weird that I think of Tara when I work out? I want to BE her!) I even went out and bought a scale.

So, on the 1st, I got up in the morning and got on the scale.

182.2!

WHO GAINS 22 POUNDS OVER THE HOLIDAYS?!?
I'm noticing that all of these answers seems to be "me." I'm not liking that...

Since January, I've been committeed and had a few set backs... Birthday, Easter, WV Tailgate, etc. But, I am 168.6 today - down 13.6 from the New Year. I just got my photo taken at work the other day, and if you are nice, I'll post it sometime.

And, here we are today.

Oh, and you're asking, "Why in the world did you decide to write a blog and put that information out there for EVERYONE?"

Lately, I've been feeling a lack of motivation, and I thought this might be the perfect way to lose the last few pounds. If I think that someone might read this, maybe it will make me try hard and be accountable for my actions. That and Kristie Allie mentioned doing the same thing on Oprah the other day, and I thought to myself, "I can do that, too!"

My goal is to post every day about what I eat and cook. I want to go out to places to eat in the Pittsburgh area and report back on all the good, healthy options at these restaurants. I'm thinking of testing out a few snack and exercise plans, too, but I'm trying to go one step at a time.

Well, thank you for actually reading all of that. I'm pretty impressed, if you did. I'm looking forward to posting my first real post tomorrow. So, we'll see how that goes!

Forever pudgie,
-Caitlin