What can I eat? Banana "Pancakes"

One of my main concerns when I joined Weight Watchers was that I would be hungry all the time. Let's examine my typical, pre-Weight Watchers day of eating, shall we?

Morning (around 5:30 am): Scrambled eggs, cooked in butter, and buttered sourdough toast. Coffee with SUGAR-FREE creamer and half-and-half. I didn't measure anything.

Mid-morning: Yogurt, some type of cereal bar.

Lunch: Something from home, leftover rice or pasta, sometimes a bag of salad mix. I loved the kits that come with dressing and toppings with them. I would typically have a bag for lunch.

Mid-afternoon; Something, anything, for crying out loud. Would really like a cookie.

Dinner: Would stop by grocery store or fast food. Hey, chicken nuggets are healthy, right?

When I started Weight Watchers, I liked that there was an app I could use on my phone. The Weight Watchers system assigns "points" to different foods, and then assigns you a certain number of points you were allowed.  I would enter whatever I ate, and the app would tell me how many points I had left. It didn't take me long to figure out that my typical breakfast would take up about half my daily points.

I started measuring my cream for my coffee, and it became apparent to me that if I wanted to eat any food for the rest of the day, I would need to learn to drink my coffee black with artificial sweetener.( Zero points), Egg whites instead of whole eggs (fewer points), cooked with pan spray (zero points).

I could also have all the unprocessed fruits and vegetables I wanted (except the two best vegetables, corn and potatoes).

I added frozen spinach and sliced mushrooms to my egg whites to up the nutritional content, but I was intrigued by postings on Facebook and Pinterest talking about banana "pancakes." I read the ingredients and decided to give it a go.

Now, before you start thinking, "Gross. Scrambled eggs and bananas?" I just want you to know that I was right there with you. I was fully prepared to toss it in the garbage if it was disgusting. But I figured that it was ALMOST like pancakes. So that is how I proceeded.

You will need a banana, cinnamon, and scrambled eggs. You can scramble your own, or use a carton like I did.

Mush the banana, add the eggs, and cinnamon to taste:

Spray your pan (preferable a non-stick pan) with spray of your choice. Heat pan to medium:

Dump your mixture into pan. Lumps are OK.

Flip when the edges look dry, like a pancake. The brown stuff is the carmelization of the bananas.  Continue cooking for a few more minutes until you can lift with spatula without breaking the "pancake"

Enjoy! This was so delicious, I'm not gonna lie. I have had this every day for the past week for breakfast. It's a nice change from the spinach and mushrooms that I usually have. AND the whole thing is only ONE POINT. Doesn't get any better!

How did I get here?

This is me. I'm not proud to admit it. And what am I doing with a piece of cheesecake the size of my head? To be fair, I only had a few bites, and took the rest home to my son. I swear. But really, I had no business getting the cheesecake, even though it was my birthday, and my best friend insisted. I am a weak, weak person. 

I've been weak for a long time, probably all of my 52 years. As the daughter of an alcoholic, I blamed him for when my life wasn't going well, or if I was overweight. I have a pretty good life, but I have been overweight pretty much ever since my children were born, and the youngest one is 20 years old. 

I have tried (have I? not really) to lose weight. I did lose about 30 pounds when I worked at a restaurant. There's no irony - it was the Atkins diet, and I was the manager. So I could very easily munch on bacon, grilled chicken, and hamburgers whenever the mood struck. 

I was also a bartender, journalist, and the communications manager for a statewide not-for-profit. After my crazy boss fired me (true story - the boss was later fired for anger management issues!), I noticed the weight creeping up. Oh, and there was menopause, so thank you menopause for the extra pounds. 

More about all that later. I am here to share my story to maybe give some hope to middle-aged women who may have thought they couldn't lose weight. You can, because I did. I did it and am doing it with Weight Watchers, and I would like to invite you along for the ride. I promise just the facts, ma'am. 

I started Weight Watchers on February 19 of this year. A co-worker (who, in my opinion, did NOT need to join WW) said she would do it if someone else would join with her. I -smartly or stupidly - said, "I'll join with you!"

And now, May 21, I have lost just over 16 pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It has been fairly easy - and fun, even. I weigh 201.2 pounds now, a fact not even my husband knew, and we have been married for almost 29 years (more about that later, too!). 

Here is a pic of me from last week. You probably can't tell anything yet. I'm smiling because I just got a text that my daughter and husband are on their way to see me!