Guilt-free Indulgence and a Love-ly Giveaway

Welcome Weight Loss Wednesday gals! (And anyone else peeking in!) If you haven’t joined our little cyber group of girlfriends, don’t fret! Newcomers are always welcome. You can get caught up by clicking on Weight Loss Wednesdays in the side bar. Just leave a comment on the last post listed there.

NOTE: During this week of Valentines giveaways, you may leave comments on any of the five posts until Sunday midnight EST. All winners will be announce next Monday.

Well—we had our first group conference call last night and it was a blast! I loved hearing your voices, sharing a bit from God’s word with you and then, listening to everyone interact. We will most definitely try to do it again and hope more of our WLW sisters can join us! (Those of you who signed up for the call, but couldn’t make it, email me at [email protected] and I will send you instructions for listening to it online.)

Today, I simply want to showcase the Valentines week giveaway for the day and give you a delicious and guilt-free recipe that is great to serve to your sweetheart, family, friends or co-workers. Every time I make, it gets rave reviews!

First for the giveaway:

One of you will be sitting soon in your home enjoying the scent of P.S. I Love You oil in a new electric oil diffuser. Both are from Bath and Body Works. Along with it, you’ll also receive some shower gel in the same fun, flowery scent. Oh, and by the way, married or single, it is God whispering “P.S. I love you!”

Now for the recipe: (and then I’ll announce the winner of last week’s little scripture memorization challenge…)

Hot Fudge Cake

1 C flour

3/4 sugar

2 T cocoa powder

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

1/2 C skim or 1 % milk

2 T olive oil

1 t. vanilla extract (can use almond, coconut or cherry too–Yum!)

1 C brown sugar, firmly packed

1/4 C cocoa powder

1 3/4 C boiling water

Combine first 5 ingredients in an ungreased 8 or 9 inch square pan and stir. Add milk, oil, and vanilla, blending until smooth. Combine brown sugar and 1/4 C cocoa and sprinkle over the top. Pour boiling water over entire pan and do NOT stir. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes until lightly set.  A layer of oohey-goohey fudge settles to the bottom. Serve warm. (For the deluxe version, top with light whipped cream or ice cream!

Serves 9         240 calories        3.8 grams of fat

Okay—now….the winner of a fun, funky, and colorful set of recipe cards, along with matching measuring cups and spoons is:

Danielle Timestamp:  February 3, 2010 at 9:15 pm

Congrats! Email me your home address at [email protected] so I can mail your your gift!

Now, go ahead and check in and let us know how your week went. Or, if you are new, let us know your health goals—weight loss, exercise or healthy eating desires.

My week was pretty good, other than it was crazy busy and I missed two planned days of exercise because of it. But,  this morning, I was still down one 1.4 pounds and for that I am thankful!

Your turn! Remember, one gal who comments will win today’s giveaway pictured above!

Guilt-free blessings,

57 Comments

  1. Sounds like a wonderful recipe to try for my family. If only I can stay away from it!! I’m not on the call in list, but am committed to giving my weight issue to God.

  2. I have been reading WLW for a couple of weeks. I would like to join all of you ladies in your journey to be all God created us to be. My goals are pretty simple: healthy eating and exercise. I will weigh in next week with my results. Congrats to all of the expectant Moms. Thank you Karen for all of your encouragement and WLW. Have a blessed week!

  3. Hi everyone,

    It’s fun to catch up with everyone. I am really tired today and really hungry! Usually I pack my lunch and a healthy snack for school and it is enough. Today I was famished when I got home. Does anyone know why some days a person can eat the same as they did the day before and be starving? Anyway, I don’t like it when that happens because I then want to eat anything in sight! Not eating chocolate is really hard! Yesterday another teacher gave me some dark chocolate Dove candy that I haven’t eaten yet and today a student gave me a whole baggie of Hershey’s Kisses. Being as hungry as I was today, I wanted to eat the whole bag, but didn’t. I am saving them all for Sunday when I pray I have the self control to not eat all the candy in one day! Happy Valentine’s week everyone and congrats to the pregnant people! Oh, I am down .5 this week.

  4. Hi all
    I haven’t weighed this week due to it being our national holiday here in New Zealand, so no weight watchers.
    I am feeling a lot more positive this week about eating healthy now that I have been able to come round to realising that I can have food treats and its ok to indulge in yummy food every now and then. That has been a major break-thru for me as I tend to be VERY legalistic at times! I have also set some exercise boundaries so that I will only spend approx an hour exercising per day as I tend to be a bit legalistic about this too. This has been because we are looking at taking on more responsibilities in our church and I would need to have time available for those. Also the amount of exercise I have been doing is not a lifestyle but an all consuming thing!
    Also I have discovered that I eat when I am uncertain. It seems to be the major emotion triggering my indulgences and its finally great to have worked that out. I need to remember to focus on God’s sovereignty and trust Him in those times rather than a packet of chips or some brownie!
    Have a great week and I’ll let you know how I go.

    PS- Congrats to you pregnant ladies (for my sake I hope its not contagious!)

  5. Thanks Crystal & Bobby! I really need to find water that doesn’t upset my stomach, I can tell I’m dehydrating, my lips are so dry. So I drink ginger ale ALL day long. And I really don’t think it helps, well, maybe it does more than H2O! :P
    Crystal, I tried lemonade, I was craving it, made me soooo sick. And foods have been tasting almost too salty, which is showing me that I am dehydrating. :( I know there is fruit flavored water, as long as it doesn’t have any artificial sweetener in it, I should be able to drink it. But sour is out, makes my stomach acids worse.
    I am eating graham crackers and saltines. And mashed potatoes with gravy. I tried a sweet potato (my fave I prefer them over reg taters) and it really bothered my stomach.
    Eggs have been good to me too, so I am now trying hardboiled. Crossing my fingers.
    I don’t like potato chips, but I think those would bother my stomach bc french fries set my stomach off too.
    And remember how I have trouble eating slow? Um, yeah, it’s worse, which is leading to overeating on an already feeling half-full all the time stomach. I really need to slow down the eating big time, and you’d think I’d learn my lesson. :(
    I am just so miserable, I pray this passes once 2nd tri comes.
    Thanks for your help and tips, I really appreciate it!

  6. This is my first time here and I am going to try to get involved in your weight loss blog. The cake looks good and I am headed to kitchen now. lol.

    Thanks Bobby

  7. Crystal, I was divorced 4 years ago, and to cope I started working a second job. I had a son in College and a 17 year old daughter. Then in May of 2008 I started my own business preparing frozen meals from a monthly menu. Since I’m single, I could not quit my full time job, so for a short time worked 3 jobs. It’s really difficult to make yourself a priority. You have to prioritize big time, learn to say no even if it’s really somthing you want to do, and learn to ask for help. I continued to exercise and I made sure that i got plenty of sleep because I would not have been able to handle it. I finally said enough is enough after a year and closed the business. But I really suffered that year physically and mentally. Be good to yourself and your family. Be sure you pick the things that matter the most. Life is short and goes by way to quickly. Good luck!

  8. My prayer was asking God what it was that I needed to do to finally lose this weight I had committed to lose. All last week, obedience was clearly stated in my homeshool lessons, scripture reading, and last night with the conference call. Thank you Karen!
    Last week I made a list of all the persons and things I have been entrusted to care for them. ( I was so overwhelmed with things not done or poorly done and was asking myself how can I make it better). This was part of my prayer.

    After listing them, I realized the reason I didn’t have peace was because I wasn’t spending time with God first. Plugging in for restoration, cleansing, recharging…Most importantly, focusing on Jesus, thanking Him, praising Him, listening to Him as I read His Word for me. I used to meet regularly with Him at one point. I remember on 9/11 I had just read Matthew 10:28. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
    Later that morning I learned about what the terrorist did. I remembered what I read in the Bible and His peace held me together.
    This morning I obeyed and got out of bed. I spent time with God and exercised. I also asked for His strength. He did help me!!!!
    I am working on a few things at a time. He is not finished with me yet, but Philippians 1:6 says He will.

  9. Hi Everyone,
    I wish I could have been part of the conference call last night but I couldn’t because of a prior commitment. I hope we can do it again.
    Last week I decided to recommit myself to losing weight. I wrote down what I ate, and I exercised 5 times last week. I also decided to pray about what I was doing and I asked God a few times through the week to help me resist temptation. I am happy to report that I am down 5 pounds this week. I am going to try and use this weight loss as a motivator to keep tracking what I eat and exercising, and hopefully I will have another good week.

  10. I’m commenting to be entered in the drawing. I should sign up for the weight loss Wed though. I weigh probably at least 30 pound more than I used to. Guess getting older means you can’t eat all the candy and desserts that come with the kids. Good luck to you all ladies!

  11. Oops I wasn’t finished,

    obedience is what I will be practicing because I want to stop complaining.

    Restart button

  12. Congratulations to all the ladies expecting babies!
    Wow! I just remembered back in Oct. 2009, I said to myself what if I just focus on a nine month commitment to eat well and exercise ( like being pregnant). I even have the notebook I started and then quit because of a family crisis during Thanksgiving.

    I thank God for answered prayer.
    This week I ate a lot of chips and dip. Even though I had read about how God provided Manna and told them to only get what they needed, I went ahead and just ate.
    I had gone grocery shopping for just some special deal at the grocery store for the super bowl. It was just enough for everyone. Then my inlaws brought 5 to 6 bags of chips and dips. Even though we told them it was not needed.

    Next time, I won’t blame, give thanks and put them aside(maybe open one of theirs and set mine aside.

  13. Hi all!

    The conference call last night was great – thanks Karen! Your devotion about the wandering, grumbling, disobedient Israelites was a real eye opener for me and has given me much to think about.

    I stepped on the scale this morning and for the third week it has not moved… hmmmm, maybe it’s broken…. :-)

    I’ve been much more obedient with my exercise this past week so am hoping to see some results in the next few weeks.

    Congrats to all our mommys to be!!

  14. I am so bummed about missing the call! Somehow I missed the info and invitation :(

    This week was good and I have been renewed. I had an awesome moment at a Superbowl party I wrote about it just yesterday on my blog. I am walking on the other side of a victory and living out 1 Cor 10:13. Thanks Karen!!

    I realized yesterday I have to give away my favorite pair of jeans because they are too big and are starting to look bad. It’s like giving away a good friend :) But I got a cute pair of Calvin Klein jeans at a great price (19.99) at Costco on Saturday in a size I haven’t bought in 8 years!

    Those who are struggling – keep doing the thing! Press hard into Jesus – He will give you the strength to move forward and the strength to walk away from the temptation! You can do this!

  15. Having a good week dispite still being snowed in! (I live in Northern VA near DC). Lost 1.5 for the week.

    Kimberlee, I had morning sickness with my two and found drinking Perrier water helpful. I really dislike the stuff otherwise but it helped settle my stomach.

    Have a great week everyone!

  16. Would love the warmer! Congrats to the pregnant WLW gals! I am 37 weeks pregnant right now, so just a little while more until I meet this little one that has my current weight higher than it’s ever been! :-)

  17. I have gained 1/2 to 1 pound this week (my sub-title could be “crazy scale”). I am not surprised – as I mentioned on the conference call last night I have not been eating as healthy the last week. I have been working around the clock, sleeping only 4 to 5 hours each night, and skipping exercise on most days. The cookie fast has served me well, though, so I think if it had not been for that, I may have been up two or three pounds! I read that adequate sleep is important to managing weight. So with my poor sleeping, added to my daytime fatigue and not making my exercise a priority…. Well, who am I kidding? I haven’t made myself a priority for the last week, and it shows. Not only in the scale, but in how I feel in general.
    We have a snow day today, too – and my 9 year old is sick with a high fever and a bad cough. So since the deadline that kept me working like a maniac has passed, I am back to taking care of myself (and the rest of the family, too).
    So here’s a question that maybe someone can answer – when time is at a premium how do you keep yourself a priority? I run into these situations with work on occasion, and I don’t want to travel up and down the scale (as Karen said last night) because of these external issues. Like Phyllis – whose husband is having surgery – things will be stressful for her as well.
    Sunday and Monday it had gotten to the point that I had run out of groceries for good things to eat and had no time to go stock up on fresh fruit and veggies, so I pulled the cheetos off the shelf and went at it. I really felt like I was in “survival” mode. Prior to the weekend, when I had the munchies, I was snacking on carrots, fresh fruit, and nuts.
    And congrats to Jessica on the pregnancy. Kimberlee – what things are you trying for your nausea? Frozen grapes may help. Also avoiding solids and liquids at the same meal. Many pregnant women with nausea are able to keep down potato chips and lemonade (something about salt and sweet) but if you want to try that, maybe try baked chips instead. Or whole wheat pita chips or bagel chips. Those are salty, right?

  18. I really enjoyed the conference call last night. I am NOT the pregnant Jessica! LOL I just got home from the gym and I’m eating my tuna and a salad and drinking lots of water. So glad to have found this group.

  19. Thank you so much for having the WLW call session, I truly enjoyed it, my weight goals continue but I will weigh in on Friday to make sure I give enough time to see results.

  20. My week has been spent learning new ways to become healthier. Been visiting with a bio feedback specialist and hoping to be rid of my food allergies/intolerances.

    Shannon

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