Compare & Contrast and my Famous Recipe!

Lately my friends have been begging me to give them an idea of what it means to be down (at the time 70lbs) sooooo here's my comparison shot as of last week:

The picture on the left was taken the day before my surgery, 7-9-12. The picture on the right was taken last week, 9-14-12. Big difference so far! I am glad I made this pic, it really helps me see how far I've come because I forget so quickly and get caught thinking about how much much further I have left to go. The reality is, I've lost just a smidge under 1/3 of my entire body weight! That's so fantastic! All of my HARD WORK is paying off! I'm exercising EVERY DAY! (Well, 6 days) Sometimes I'm doing it twice a day. I've built up to 4 miles each way...so I alternate. Some days I will walk 4 miles and go home to either a Leslie Sansone Walk at Home DVD, TurboFire Greatest HIITs (High Intensity Interval Training) from Beachbody DVD or 45 minutes of playing Just Dance on the Wii. Sometimes I will just walk the neighborhood twice and get in 8 miles that day...in addition to whatever errands I'm doing. Here's my awesome recipe I handed out to my Weight Loss Support Group this morning: Crock Pot Chili (feel free to tweak it to your needs, this is just a base!) Ingredients 1.5lbs ground beef 1tsp tumeric 1c chopped onion 1c taco seasoning 2 bay leaves 2tsp cumin 2tbsp chili powder 1tbsp minced garlic 1tsp salt 1tsp pepper 1tbsp paprika 1tsp red cayenne pepper 28oz canned tomatoes (your choice) 1 dash of red pepper flakes 1 can EACH: dark & light kidney beans, pinto beans & black beans Optional: various colored bell peppers, chopped Directions: *Tip: Spray your Crock Pot with Non-Stick Spray for EASY clean up! Brown the beef, add taco & other seasonings, then put into your Crock Pot. Add the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT for the kidney beans. Cook on low 8 to 10 hours OR on high for 5 to 6 hours. Stir occasionally. Add your kidney beans about 90 minutes before serving. ENJOY! :) (You can sprinkle cheddar cheese on top & add a dollop of sour cream!) Hope you have a great weekend! As always, THANK YOU FOR READING! :) Until next time...