It's Really that Easy

Who knew that the key to losing weight and getting fit is eating right and exercising? Seriously, who knew??? It's amazing all of the misinformation that is provided on TV, websites and stores. Want to lose weight quick? Take this pill it will have you skinny in no time. No time for exercise? You don't need it! With our proven system you can lose weight by exercising 5 minutes a day. Meanwhile, our society of instant gratification and quick fixes has led to the United States being one of the most overweight countries. It's sad.

The key to losing weight is diet and exercise! I can't believe all of the time I've wasted on the latest fad. I can't believe the money I wasted at a diet clinic that managed to keep me alive on 500 calories, 2 different pills and took all of my money. Sure, I lost weight, but I gained it all back. Why couldn't they have taken my money and taught me how to do it right?

Sure, I'm still at the beginning of this journey, but for the first time, I feel like this is a journey I'll finish. Why is that? Because this is realistic. In the last five weeks, I've changed a lot of my eating habits, but I'm still enjoying food. Let me tell you, I seriously have a love affair with food! Don't tell my husband. However, instead of eating sweets and salts and sugars and bad stuff - I'm enjoying eating healthier. I've been cooking more instead of telling my husband that tonight is fend for yourself night. I've been experimenting with new recipes (found a winner too - Crunchy Garlic Chicken - it's super yummy). I feel healthier and I'm starting to look healthier.

So, how do I feel about the last five weeks? I feel excited. Last week I even felt comfortable setting goals for myself. I've been scared to do that because I've been scared of failure. I'm five weeks in and five weeks closer to loving my body. This isn't a sprint - it's a marathon. I'm going to finish strong, but I'm going to have to take it one step at a time until I reach the finish line.

I'm enclosing the recipe that I teased above. I give all credit to Betty Crocker for this yummy recipe - thank you for making delicious and easy recipes.

Crunchy Garlic Chicken

Ingredients:
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
3 tablespoons margarine, melted
1 tablespoon skim milk
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives or parsley
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups cornflakes, crushed (1 cup)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
½ teaspoon paprika
Cooking spray

Instructions:

Heat oven to 425F. Spray rectangular pan, 13x9x2 inches, with cooking spray. Remove fat from chicken. Mix margarine, milk, chives, salt and garlic powder. Mix cornflakes, parsley and paprika.

Dip chicken into margarine mixture, then coat lightly and evenly with cornflakes mixture. Place in pan. Spray chicken with cooking spray. Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or until juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut.

Nutritional Info:

Calories 220 (calories from fat 80), fat 9g (saturated 3g), cholesterol 70mg, sodium 430mg, carbohydrate 9g (dietary fiber 0g), protein 26g, vitamin A 18%, vitamin C 6%, calcium 2%, iron 22%