I Lost 2 Pounds in 10 Seconds!!

It's my scale.

Or scales. I have three.

Warning: This post may seem obsessive to some, funny to others, and may be relatable to most women. If you don't even own a scale, or care how much you weigh, you may want to sign off now.

If you do and you do, read on. I have not been diagnosed with OCD.  This is mostly tongue in cheek.

Or is it?

So I have three scales. The first is the one I used 10 years ago when I lost 10 pounds on Weight Watchers. I was so proud of myself then. Of course to dash my victory over weight, the scale would always be at least 2 pounds higher at the doctors.

Can I get an Amen?

It is a well known fact that doctors scales weigh higher, even after I deducted for my clothes and whatever I ate that day. I actually weighed my clothes once before I went to the doctor, in the winter, and it was almost 2 pounds.

Really.

I started thinking that my trusty old school scale wasn't very accurate anymore. I bought a new digital light-up scale. I weigh myself every morning so I need to see in the dark.

Here's where the OCD starts and where my title comes from. I always weigh myself first thing, before coffee. If I use my old scale in my bedroom under the light of the window where the floors may or may not be even, I weigh one weight.

If I take my new digital scale into the kitchen where the floors are even, I weigh 2 pounds more. The time it takes me to lose 2 pounds is the time it takes me to walk from the high weight (ie. the kitchen)  back to the better weight (the bedroom)....about 10 seconds.

Yup, I timed it. Just for this post.

So I started using the new light-up scale every morning.

I just couldn't keep lying to myself anymore.

And there's more.

There is a third scale.

I have been wanting an official Weight Watchers scale for awhile. I was starting to lose trust some mornings in my digital light-up, wondering if it was really telling me the truth about my weight. I found myself getting on and off  3-4 times because it was giving me 3-4 different numbers.

I believe in checking at least twice. The same number twice is the truth.

That relationship has to be trustworthy or it is just not worth getting up in the morning :-)

So back to my third scale. The Weight Watchers scale. I got it at a church rummage sale for half price. I paid $2.50.

The price does not make it less trustworthy but it weighs me the same as my untrustworthy digital light-up scale.

And it doesn't even light up!

At this point you may be wondering why I keep all three scales. And why I weigh myself every morning. I know so many woman who are flabbergasted at this and a few who get me.

The old school scale is there for nostalgic reasons. It was my friend while I was suffering through Weight Watchers.

The digital light-up scale is there because it is a digital light-up scale.

The Weight Watchers is there because it's name alone gives it credibility and worthy of more chances at weighing me correctly.

I weigh myself every morning because it has become a discipline and helps me stay disciplined throughout the day.

This is very important to a woman's well being. Or maybe just mine.

If I am at a good weight one morning, I may have the option of a peanut encrusted donut at Wegmans while I am grocery shopping.

If I am on the high side, it is a boring day of light eating, no sneaking M & M's and certainly no donuts. I know if I do this, within a few days my weight will again be where it should be.

It's the three day rule. Every three days, if you are eating healthy, your body will reset and maintain itself in keeping a healthy weight.

For example, if I eat 3 pieces of pizza and some brownies and oatmeal cookies one night, obviously my weight will be higher the next morning than if I ate a salad. If I eat light the next few days, my weight will return to it's normal weight on the third day.

If you overeat or indulge for three days straight, guess where your weight will be the fourth day??

Not pretty.

That's what vacations are made of.

I am scared of vacation eating. That's a whole other post.

Speaking of scary, this is the scariest time of the day....

weighing myself in the morning....in the dark

Just to clarify.....this is MY routine to maintain my weight. It has worked so far. To lose weight is another set of OCD practices that I will spare you from.

I haven't even talked about exercise.

And I won't.

In closing, here's a tip for you that will work great with disciplining yourself throughout the day.....

All silliness aside, this discipline and weighing myself every morning stuff does work for me. I do indulge in all my favorite foods regularly and then lighten up the next few days.

I can't list what they are because then I would have to get up from this computer and go have some.

Why go through all of this, you ask?

I just HAVE to do it this way because I have a fear of waking up one day and getting on the scale only to find out I gained 10 pounds. That really happened to a girlfriend.

I kinda like my clothes right now and don't want to buy bigger ones.

At 60 I am within 4 pounds of my pre-pregnancy weight at age 25.

That has to count for something!

Bottom line, it is how you feel and how you look for YOURSELF. If you like where you are at, great!

I will love you no matter what size you are!!

AnnMarie xoxo

I am linking up with these great blog parties:
Over The Moon Link Party
Tuesdays With A Twist
Share Your Cup
Thoughtful Thursday Link Party
Best of the Weekend

Pork and Beans Chili and Honey Hush Corn Bread

Like most families, we have our favorite meals that I cook and repeat, cook and repeat each month. My husband and son know though, that I am always up to trying a new recipe, even when it is something that we already have a favorite recipe for.

Like chili. Don't ever mess with the recipe for chili from the 1960's Betty Crocker's Cookbook. It really IS the best I have ever had.

But tonight I went off in a different direction and tried Pork and Bean Chili. I usually can judge how good a recipe might be by it's ingredients and this one sounded good....nothing too funky in it not to try it.

I never warn my family that I am trying something new or where the recipe is from. If it turns out bad, I will confess everything.

 

 

Pork and Bean Chili

 

4 teaspoons canola oil

1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat

 and cut into 1" pieces

1 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

2 garlic cloves, ,minced

1 (14 3/4 oz) can diced tomatoes

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 (15 1/2 oz.) can pinto beans,

rinsed and drained

1 (8oz.) can tomato sauce, optional *

 

Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large nonstick saucepan over medium high heat. Add the pork and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer pork to a plate.

 

Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in the same saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion, pepper, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and their juice, the chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper and cook until the mixture comes to a boil, about 4 minutes. Stir in the beans; reduce the heat and simmer, covered until mixture thickens. Add the pork and cook until the pork is cooked through. * At this point I felt the chili was too thick without much juice so I added the 8 oz. can of tomato sauce and it was perfect.

 

 

 

I always serve chili with a side of rice to put on the bottom of the bowl, sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese for on top. On the side....some Honey Hush Corn Bread from Dinosaur Bar-B-Que.

 

If you don't live in the Northeast USA you may not have heard of the The Dinosaur Barb-B-Que Restaurant. It originated in Syracuse, NY and has restaurants in Rochester, NY, Harlem in New York City, New Jersey and Connecticut. It is a honky tonk rib joint with the best barbeque ribs and all that goes with them. And their bottled sauces are available to buy at our local Wegmans grocery store.

 

Their cornbread is the best I have ever had. I just happen to have a copy of their cookbook,  full of all the restaurant's fare.

 

You cannot eat another bowl of any kind of chili without this corn bread.....

 

 

 

Honey Hush Corn Bread

 

1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup buttermilk

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup melted butter 2 tablespoons honey

 

Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8" x 8" pan with shortening and put it in the hot oven to heat while you are mixing the corn bread.

 

Mix the cornmeal, sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Whisk togethetr the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and melted butter in another bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir just till everything is moistened.

 

Pull the hot, greased pan from the oven and pour the batter in. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or till toothpick comes out clean. Brush the top with the honey as soon as the cornbread comes out of the oven.

 

 

 

 

So the Pork and Bean Chili was approved by my husband and son. It had a lot of flavor and little bit of bite to it with the combination of spices used.

 

What I didn't tell them is that it is a Weight Watchers recipe!  Shhhhh.......! The chili was good enough that I did not have to confess this.

 

And the leftover corn bread? Really good toasted in the morning with butter.

 

Are you an adventurous cook or do you stick to the usual every night?

 

AnnMarie :)

 

 

I've linked this post up with these great blog parties!

Marvelous Mondays

Sweet and Savoury Sunday Link Party

Aloha Friday Blog Hop

Weekend Meet & Greet Blog Hop