85 lbs down!

If you follow my writing, you'll already know that I've signed a book deal for my romantic suspense, BURN ME, which will be out in January, 2014 from Swoon Romance!

Anyway, I had to take some author photos for the publisher/etc and thought I should share them here, because I STILL can't believe how much different I look! 

Photo copyright 2013 Shelley Watters.
Any unauthorized use will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Mu shu Chicken

Please ignore the little orange flecks - I accidentally bought coleslaw mix instead of just shredded cabbage. I picked them out before consuming to stay on-plan 100%

Ingredients:
8 oz raw chicken tenders, cut into thin strips (Should shrink to 6 oz cooked weight - 1 lean)
1 1/4 cups shredded cabbage (2 1/2 green)
1/4 cup chopped green scallions (1/2 green)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (1/2 condiment)
1 tbsp Kikoman low-sodium soy sauce (1 condiment)
1 tsp oyster sauce (1 condiment)
1/2 tsp minced garlic (1/2 condiment)
1 tsp olive oil (1 healthy fat)
1-2 drops sesame oil

In a pre-heated sautee pan, sautee chicken in oil until cooked through. Add the cabbage, soy sauce, oyster sauce, minced garlic and sesame oil. Saute until cabbage softens a bit. Add in the scallions and cilantro and stir to combine. Serve immediately.

Medifast calcs: 1 lean, 3 green, 3 condiments, 1 healthy fat

Shrimp Lomein with Shritaki Noodles!

This is one of my all-time favorite recipes. Whenever I'm craving asian food, this is the dish I run to! 

Ingredients: 

1 package of Angel hair Shiritaki Noodles (2 green)

1/2 cup chopped celery (1 green)

1/2 Tbsp chopped green onions (1/2 condiment)

1/4 cup chopped ciilantro (1/4 condiment)

2 tsp olive oil (2 healthy fat)

1/4 tsp chopped garlic (1/4 condiment)

1 tsp oyster sauce (1 condiment)

1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce (1 condiment) (I use Kikoman low-sodium soy sauce, which has 1 carb per tbsp!)

7 oz cooked shrimp (1 lean)

Drain the shiritaki noodles in a colander. Rinse thoroughly. Place noodles into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Return noodles to colander and rinse again. Spread on a stack of paper towels and blot dry. Set aside.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and garlic and saute until garlic softens slightly. Add celery. Stir-fry until celery softens a bit. Add the noodles, soy sauce, oyster sauce and shrimp. Stir fry until the shrimp is warmed. Add soy sauce and oyster sauce, and a splash or two of water or chicken broth if necessary. Stir fry until everything is heated through. Top with cilantro and green onions. Serve immediately.

Medifast Calcs: 1 leanest serving, 3 green servings, 3 condiments, 2 healthy fats

Note: If you have not used your optional snack, you can add more celery to the dish and count it towards your optional snack! Also, the shiritaki noodles I buy have 4 oz in a serving, 2 servings per bag.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Shake

Ingredients:
1 package Medifast Hot Chocolate
6 ice cubes
4-6 oz water
1 tbsp sugar free cherry syrup

Crush ice in a personal blender until you can no longer hear chunks. Add water and syrup, followed by the hot chocolate mix. Blend until smooth. Serve immediately.

Medifast calcs: 1 Medifast meal and 1 condiment

Milky Way Shake

Ingredients:
1 package Medifast Hot Chocolate
6 ice cubes
4-6 oz water
1 tbsp sugar free caramel syrup

Crush ice in a personal blender until you can no longer hear chunks. Add water and syrup, followed by the hot chocolate mix. Blend until smooth. Serve immediately.

Medifast calcs: 1 Medifast meal and 1 condiment

Celebrating 80 Pounds Down

This post is a little late, since I hit 80 lbs down on Sunday, but better late than never, right?

(For the record, it's 107 lbs down since my highest weight, with 80 lbs down since March 4th with Take Shape For Life!)

Anyway, I thought I'd mark this momentous occasion with some pictures to commemorate how far I've come. For those of you who know me from my online communities, you'll know that this is a HUGE deal for me to post something other than just a artfully cropped head shot. You're about to see why...

Ready?

2004 - at my highest weight

July 30th, 2013 - 107 lbs down from my heaviest, 80 lbs down thanks to TSFL!

On March 4th, 2013 I never expected to be where I am today. I never expected to be fitting into the size that I am in, let alone posting a full-body picture of myself willingly. I still have about 50 lbs to go, but that unattainable goal is suddenly attainable! 

As my weight melted off, people started asking me what I was doing. At 50 lbs down, I started to consider becoming a health coach for Take Shape For Life. When I hit 80 lbs down, I decided I couldn't wait any longer. My entire journey I've been kicking myself that I didn't know about this plan YEARS ago. I spent my entire adult life obese. Had I known about TFSL back then, I could have experienced my pregnancies at a healthy weight rather than being high risk and diabetic. So I made a vow to help others discover this fantastic plan.

Anyway, this isn't a sales pitch for TSFL. I would be promoting it regardless of whether or not I became a health coach because it's the first program that has WORKED for me. The other plans I tried worked for about 30 lbs, and that's when I'd start finding ways to cheat. There's no way to cheat on this plan. And as long as you stick to it, it'll work. 

So there's my big announcement, with some long-awaited full-body pictures. Now you can understand why I only posted artfully cropped pictures of my face. It was the only part of my body I wasn't ashamed of. Now I'm proud of the entire package, even with the weight I still have to lose!

Updates!!!!

My apologies for letting this blog go dormant for the summer! Having two kids home 24/7 over the summer and having to entertain them (aka keeping them from killing each other) is a full time job!

Anyway, I will soon be getting back to updating regularly. But, while you're waiting, I have lost a total of 76 lbs since March 4th, 2013! It is absolutely surreal.

I have developed a few new recipes and will be posting those soon as well!

Hope you all have had an awesome summer and I can't wait to share the new recipes with you!

S