Our date night, a weigh-in, and an update

This past Tuesday, my husband and I went on our date to see the nutcracker.
Me in my reward dress!:It was such a fun night with my husband. After the nutcracker, we walked around Denver, and went out to a fancy dinner. I felt beautiful and girly in my dress. Joe kept complimenting me the entire night, and congratulating me on my weight loss. I was on cloud 9, and I felt so proud of myself!

***

Monday was supposed to be the end of cycle 1, and the beginning of cycle 2. Here's my final weigh-in for cycle 1:
(my starting weight was 190.4) On the 1st cycle, I lost 14.4 pounds!

Since Monday, I haven't been doing so good.
Monday I was busy, busy, busy, and didn't make time to eat. I didn't eat until 9pm! I was starving, and too tired to cook, so I had a burrito. Tuesday was our date night, and I just wanted to enjoy myself at the restaurant, and not eat yet another salad. I felt content with that decision. One fancy dinner wasn't going to kill me, or undo everything I accomplished on the 1st cycle. But of course that thought process spilled over into today. Today I've eaten 3 cookies.

UGH!

So now I'm trying to figure out what to do from here:
Continue on with the 2nd cycle, even though I haven't been doing well, and have gained back 2lbs?
Or go back to the 1st cycle for a few days to undo my bad behavior, and then start the 2nd cycle fresh?

Why did this have to go and get complicated? I was doing so well...

A :Deliciously Healthy date night.

This past weekend, Joe and I went on a dinner/movie date, to see Thor. Who knew Thor was such a hunk?
That's some 6' 3" muscly goodness right there.
Any way. back to what I was saying....

First, we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Jim-N-Nicks.
I usually sneak in a Dr. Pepper, and a couple cheesy muffins while we're there. They are free after all... But this time I ordered a water with lemon, and told my husband to slap my hand if it started creeping over to the bread basket. Luckily, he didn't have to. That might have been embarrassing.

After our movie, we took a little stroll around the outdoor mall.
And that meant we had to pass the Cold Stone.
You can smell the sugar coming out of that place... and I love it! But that's bad. Very, very bad. I shouldn't love it. I should stay away from it. Far, far away. And that's exactly what I did. I even passed up this Cold Stone sign, that made me drool. You can probably see me drooling in the reflection.

Just a few steps past the cold stone, we saw Menchie's, a frozen yogurt restaurant.:
We had never been there, so we thought we'd be adventurous and check it out. Best. Decision. Ever.
It's a self serve frozen yogurt joint, where you can choose you're own yogurt, and your own toppings! I took a couple walk throughs to soak in all the flavors and toppings, before I made my decision. Then I tried to make the best decision possible. I wanted to get chocolate frozen yogurt, with brownies, nuts, marshmallow topping with fudge and caramel.
But instead, I resisted the temptation, and got this:
Chocolate and vanilla swirl, mini dark chocolate chips, coconut, strawberries, and low-fat sugar free fudge. Plus, I exercised moderation on everything. It ended up being just the right amount.

Delish!
Way better then Cold Stone, if you ask me. And a lot nicer on your girlish figure ;)

You should check to see if they have one near YOU. And if they do, you should go. Right now.
And if they don't, just be patient. They are coming soon, to 22 new states!

I heart date nights. Especially when they're :Deliciously HealthyWhat's your date night temptation?
What's your idea of a healthy date night?
Have you ever been to Menchie's?

A New Dress For my Anniversary

Thursday was Our 5th wedding anniversary.

I thought a new dress was in order for this special occasion.
I had visions of a black dress, since I've never owned a little black dress (and I've heard it's a must have:)
I went to the store, found one I liked, tried it on, and it fit. Not only did it fit, but I liked the way I looked and felt in it.
It was as simple as that.39 pounds ago, I would have had to go to multiple stores, and would have cried in multiple fitting rooms. I would have walked out of the store, sad, fat, and empty handed. For the rest of the night I would have thought about how much weight I had gained since our wedding day (as I've done on all 4 of our previous anniversaries), instead of enjoying the night with my husband, and celebrating our marriage.

Not this anniversary. This anniversary I felt beautiful all night long (as my husband kept telling me so), and I thought about what really matters....How much I LOVE my life with my husband, and how far we've come since getting married at 18 and 19, 5 years ago!

Movie Night, With Deliciously Healthy Popcorn!

Tomorrow night, I'm surprising my husband with a
movie date!
(I got this super cute idea from Love, Actually!)(Believe it or not, my husband has actually wanted to see this movie since it came out, but we've never got around to watching it!:)

I made up the movie ticket for him on the computer, and tonight I taped it to his steering wheel, so he'll see it as he's leaving for work tomorrow morning!
SHHHH! ;D


Today I had to figure out what movie type snacks we would have on our date!!
I may want to have a date with my sweetheart, but I don't want to gain any love pounds! So I've been in the kitchen experimenting with
Deliciously Healthy popcorn ideas!

Here's what I came up with:

Cheesy Popcorn:

Here's What You Need:

• 1/3 cup popcorn kernels
• 1 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
• salt

This is What You Do:

• Add 3-4 popcorn kernels to 2 TBLS oil.
  
• Heat on stove top with pot covered
• Wait for those 3-4 kernels to pop (The reason for the test kernels is to have your oil hot enough to pop all the kernels. This method helps to reduce the chance of burning your popcorn.)
• Pour 1/3 cup kernels in the pot
• Once you pour the 1/3 cup kernels in the pot, cover pot again and shake the pot so the popcorn doesn't burn. I shook the pot about every 5-10 seconds. The kernels will soon start popping all at once. Be sure to leave lid on! Those things pop pretty high with out it!
• When the popping starts slowing down, remove from heat.
• Gently stir in cheese and salt.
  

Here's what I'm thinking:

• Servings: 8
• Serving size: 1 cup
• Calories per serving: 109
  

Coconut Popcorn:

Here's What You Need:

• 1/3 cup popcorn kernels
• 2 TBS coconut oil
• Salt
  

**Note: I haven't tried this yet, but I think it would be super good if you added shreds of coconut to the mix, to add a little more coconut flavor.

This is what you Do:

• Add 3-4 popcorn kernels to 2 TBLS coconut oil.
  
• Heat on stove top with pot covered
• Wait for those 3-4 kernels to pop (The reason for the test kernels is to have your oil hot enough to pop all the kernels. This method helps to reduce the chance of burning your popcorn.)
• Pour 1/3 cup kernels in the pot
• Once you pour the 1/3 cup kernels in the pot, cover pot again and shake the pot so the popcorn doesn't burn. I shook the pot about every 5-10 seconds. The kernels will soon start popping all at once. Be sure to leave lid on! Those things pop pretty high with out it!
• When the popping starts slowing down, remove from heat
• Add salt to taste
  

Here's What I'm Thinking:

• Servings: 8
• Serving size: 1 cup
• Calories per serving: 59

Kettle Corn:

Here's What You Need:

• 1/3 cup popcorn kernels
• 4 TBS sugar
• Salt

This is What You do:

• Add 3-4 popcorn kernels to 2 TBLS oil.
  
• Heat on stove top with pot covered
• Wait for those 3-4 kernels to pop (The reason for the test kernels is to have your oil hot enough to pop all the kernels. This method helps to reduce the chance of burning your popcorn.)
• Pour 1/3 cup kernels in the pot, and the 1/2 cup of sugar.
  
• Once you pour the 1/3 cup kernels and the sugar in the pot, cover pot again and shake the pot so the popcorn doesn't burn. I shook the pot about every 5-10 seconds. The kernels will soon start popping all at once. Be sure to leave lid on! Those things pop pretty high with out it!
• When the popping starts slowing down, remove from heat.

Here's What I'm Thinking:

• Servings: 8
• Serving size: 1 cup
• Calories per serving: 81

Making the popcorn is really quite fun!! It would be a great activity to do together, or a fun family activity!

Along with the popcorn, I also got some candy that you might see at the theater!
Mike and Ike for the hubs, and Junior Mints for Moi! I know, I know, not the healthiest thing in the world. Out of the all the (chocolate) candy that's out there, I think York Peppermint Patties, and Junior Mints, are a couple of the lower calorie options. I'm excited!

Psst... If there are any guys out there reading this post, you will simply melt your lady's heart if you do this for her, and she'll love you for ever and ever!
I guarantee it! ;D