Starting Your Losing Path 03/21/14

Recently, a friend of mine who is working on getting her life to a healthier place asked me how I got started on my journey. After thinking for a while, I actually had a hard time remembering… it literally feels like an entire lifetime has passed between the ‘old’ me and the ‘now’ me! So, I went back and re-read some of my very first blog entries and wow – I don’t even know that person anymore! I found a person full of excuses and complaining about having to ‘dance around the meatheads’ in the gym… ha! And now, I’m one of those meatheads! Lol Anywho….

The first step to changing your life is probably the hardest – making the decision to change and committing to that decision. Before finally committing to my decision, I made quite a few failed attempts at changing my life… failed attempts because I never fully committed to the changes and I always regressed. While it may seem like an easy thing to do, this is one of the most difficult aspects because you are committing to changing everything. Your eating habits, your lifestyle/activity habits, your mindset etc – and those are big things! I hear a lot of people saying that they are ‘making healthier choices’ and while that is commendable and definitely a step in the right direction, keep this in mind: if you want to see a big change, you have to MAKE a big change!

Once you’ve made the decision, you just have to honestly evaluate your life as it is… what are you eating? How often are you moving? Why have you not made any changes up to this point? Once you figure out the honest answers to these questions, make a plan of attack to decide how you’re going to approach your new life! It takes some work – do the math to figure out how many calories you need per day and how you’re going to get those calories in the most nutrient-dense way. What kind of workouts do you want to do? It’s important to stay positive and re-train your brain to think positively and proactively. Don’t make excuses to skip workouts or cheat on your diet – remind yourself of reasons why it’s important to stay disciplined to those changes!

Food:

Food has always been the hardest part for me, as it is for many people. The majority of the population looks at food as this beautiful romanticized thing that can bring you so much pleasure through your taste buds and blah blah… (which is good considering I’m a chef and my career depends on this lol). BUT as a person on a plan to improve their health, your mindset has to change. Remember this: FOOD IS FUEL. Your body is a machine and the food that you eat must fuel your body appropriately to give your machine the power that it needs to achieve your goals. This may sound asinine to some, but it is a necessary way of thinking. Now, just because we are now using food as a fuel source doesn’t mean that it has to be bland and taste like crap! There is certainly a way to eat healthy and still enjoy what you are eating.

My nutritional habits have changed many times over the years. While I have had a relatively stable nutritional personality for the last year or so, it took a lot of experimenting to get to this point! When I started my Losing Path, I was mostly just watching the labels… trying to keep my calories, fat, sugar, protein and sodium in check. While I still keep all of these things in mind when I choose my foods, I also take into account the QUALITY of food that I am eating. While a Lean Cuisine meal may be in line with my calorie/fat goals, the food is shit and I’m not adding anything to my health by eating processed stuff. I can get the same amount of calories/fat etc by making the food myself using whole, natural ingredients... so I’m benefiting my overall health while still adhering to my goals.

So, what to eat? In order to help your metabolism speed up, it is important to let go of the ‘3 Meals a Day’ standard mentality. Split your meals into 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day. Eating on this schedule will help jump-start your metabolism and get to burning that fat! Personally, I eat 5 meals per day, spaced 3 hours apart. Currently weighing roughly 235lbs, I shoot for around 1,600 calories per day. Each meal has a lean protein source and a complex carb. I get my carbs from vegetables, brown rice (½ c per day), black beans (1/2 c per day) and oats (1/2 c per day). Your lean protein source can be boneless/skinless chicken breasts, lean turkey, lean ground beef (although I am never a fan of red meat), lean fish, eggs or protein powder. As I said, I use mostly vegetables for my carbs but it is important to use low-glycemic veggies. For instance: broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, leafy greens, green beans etc. It is super important to measure your portions when doing your meals as well! There’s no sense in spending the time to calculate everything just to approximate on the actual amount you’re putting in your body!

Something else to consider is what you are drinking! For me, my only options are water, black coffee, organic unsweetened green tea or my supplements (protein, glutamine etc). Stay away from juices, soda etc... So many hidden calories/sugars/sodium! Shoot for 1 gallon of water per day… you’ll be peeing a lot but that will help to keep you hydrated, keep your belly full and flush out some bad stuff!

Exercise:

Frankly, this is the easy part. Its pretty simple- just move! When you’re starting your journey, you have to decide what is right for you. Although I wasn’t in good shape when I started, I have always been a relatively active and athletic person and always really enjoyed working out, so it wasn’t a big deal for me to get back into the gym. Some people just aren’t gym people, though! Figure out something you can do to get your heart rate up that you will enjoy! Take a walk, ride a bike, go to zumba etc… Just start somewhere. When I started, I got on a treadmill and could only run 2 minutes before I had to stop. So I would get on that treadmill a few times a week and continue to push myself and eventually I got to the point where I could run 5 miles. Consistency and persistency is so important when it comes to fitness! Also – keep in mind that while cardio workouts are important, strength training is super important as well! Lean muscle mass helps to burn fat… so the more muscle you have, the more fat it is going to burn! I’m not recommending that everyone jump into the weight room and start bench pressing – just doing some sort of strength training (which includes body weight resistance training) should always be a portion of your fitness plan.

 

While I realize this information is all relatively vague, it kind of has to be. Every person is different and will require a different plan to achieve their goals… this is just a guideline! If anyone has specific questions, feel free to contact me! I’m always always happy to help and to answer any questions! My Facebook page is Ali’s Losing Path.

A before/after from before I began my journey to now :)

 

That’s all for today, folks! Keep it happy and healthy!

 

Update :) 6/25/13

Oh heeey! I know it's been a long time since my last post but I'll tell ya, it's hard out here for a pimp! Not really, I'm just busy :) As I mentioned in my previous post, I started a new job at a fantastic catering company and working there on top of school plus spending the time that I can with Nora and everything else in life has me pretty well occupied! I just happen to have a spare 40 minutes or so, so I thought I'd throw an update together!

I've gotten myself into a really great routine with my workouts! I was going strong for a solid month without missing a workout and even getting in a few 2-a-days when time permitted but, alas, the week of my birthday I slacked a bit and missed quite a lot. I was disappointed with myself for that but it also gave me an opportunity to take a step back, look at my goals and what I was doing and create a new workout plan. So I did! My new schedule is as follows:
Monday: Biceps/Triceps/Shoulders
Tuesday: Quads/Glutes
Wednesday: Chest/Shoulders
Thursday: Back
Friday: Hamstrings/Calves

I had my Monday workout yesterday (obviously) and did today's workout and dammit I feel AWESOME! I pushed really hard and I'm really proud of myself. I love waking up in the morning and being sore, knowing that that soreness is progress. I'm still struggling a bit with cardio, but I know I am just going to have to force myself into it. I just love lifting so much! But I'll never get this layer of fat off of my beautifully developing muscles if I don't do it, so I'm going to get back into a solid cardio routine. At least it's nice outside so I can go run! As I'm sure you've all seen, I've gotten into the habit of posting all of my workouts on Facebook and Instagram - not just for me to 'show off' but to use as a source of accountability for myself and hopefully motivation for someone else. :)
Nutrition has also continued to be a point of difficulty. The summer months always present so much temptation with all of the cookouts and delicious cocktails and I would be lying if I said I haven't given in to the temptations around me a few times. I am an avid believer of enjoying your life as you go on your journey to health/fitness... but I may be taking advantage of that belief a bit too much :/ which is also on my list of things to work on. My biggest issue right now is my schedule... Being in the culinary industry, we don't get standard breaks while working or whatever and I spend the majority of my time in a kitchen.. so I end up just snacking on whatever I'm cooking (leftovers, etc) when I'm at work, and it's not always the best option. I'm working on something to try to make the best of the situation but it's still a struggle at this point. I think it's mostly in my brain... I just need to lock it up.

Here's a current photo:

Anywho, it's about time for me to run to class! I hope everyone is enjoying their summer.. I don't have any specific recipes on hand to share BUT if anyone has any recipe requests or questions about anything, feel free to email me at thelosingpath@hotmail.com or via Facebook at Ali's Losing Path!

Thanks for stopping by! Be happy and healthy, my friends! :)

A Faster Way 4/29/13

Hey there, hi there, ho there! Happy Monday, ya’ll. People get so upset when Monday comes but, for the most part, I love it! The start of a new week presents an opportunity to start a new routine, a new challenge, a new anything! I love it. J And, what do you know? I have some new things starting this week! I start a new (awesome!) job with a great catering company, a new fasting plan (I’ll go into further detail in a minute) and I’m preparing for a new semester at school (starting next week)! My body feels great, my brain (though slightly tired) feels great – and it feels great.

Let’s talk fasting, shall we? Intermittent Fasting (IF), to be specific. Basically, the idea behind IF is that for a period of time, rather than feeding your body energy through food, you force your body to utilize the energy that it is storing, thus burning glycogen, fat etc. The idea is that it will help you slim down and/or maintain leanness. A friend of mine does a 24 hour fast once every two weeks, so I gave it a shot. I did my first fast this past Wednesday and, well, I lived. Apparently I was pretty mean towards the end of the day (I have a hard time remembering?) and I know I was miserable. However, I woke up the next morning, ate ½ of a banana and then went and had a great workout! My body felt great, my brain felt great and I was in a fantastic mood! Furthermore, even after only one round of fasting, I looked at food differently… almost more as a privilege than anything else, thus making me be more conscious of and respect what I was putting into my body even more than normal. Since the first round, I’ve done more reading on the subject. I’ve seen various suggestions and timing plans that people have used and I have decided to try a different approach. For the time being, I will be fasting for 16 hours twice per week and 24 hours once every two weeks. So – on Sunday and Thursday, I will stop eating at 4pm and not start again until 8am. Then, once every two weeks I will go a full 24 hours without food. Within this time frame I drink a detox water (see below) and additional plain water. Some people call me crazy, (well, a lot of people call me crazy) but for some reason I enjoy the restriction and the challenge to my mind and my body. I’m also hoping that by training my brain to see the fasting as a benefit, it will help to curb my tendency to over eat and to actually STOP eating when I know that I need to. Only time will tell. J

Detox Water

6 lemons, sliced

½ cucumber, sliced

Handful of mint leaves

1 gallon of water

In a pitcher, combine all of these things and put in the fridge overnight. Drink this throughout the day to help clean out your body during the fast, in addition to regular water… and don’t choke on the mint leaves J

Seeing as how today is Monday, that means yesterday was Meal Prep Sunday! I took about three hours (I was taking my time) and prepped my meals for this week. Here’s the menu:

Breakfast:

½ c cooked quinoa w/ 1tbs raisins and pinch cinnamon. Microwave for 1-2 minutes then add 1tbs of fresh berries.

1 sprouted grain tortilla, 1 banana and 1-2 tbs PB2. Spread the PB2, lay down the banana and wrap. Then eat.

Lunch/Dinner:

Quinoa and Grilled Veg

½ c cooked Quinoa, 2 portabello mushroom caps (medium, ribs, stem and skin removed) and broccoli grilled with onion and blackberries. Seriously. Delish.

Mexi Salad

Handful of Mixed Spring Greens, ½ c black beans, 1/2 – 3/4c grilled tomato/onion/mushroom/bell pepper/poblano pepper with 2tbs pico de gallo

Tempeh and Chickpeas

1 c sautéed tempeh and chickpeas with ½ c tomato and cucumber salad and 2tbs homemade hummus

Snacks:

Snap Peas w/ hummus

Cucumber Sticks w/ Hummus

Sliced apple (skinless) with almond butter

Oh it’s gonna be a yummy week!

I’ve noticed my body starting to change again and I am PUMPED! I feel like it’s getting back to progressing toward a more firm and attractive shell, and that makes me feel great. I may or may not have been checking out my butt in the reflection of a window as I was walking down a hallway at school today and dammit if it didn’t look good! I’ve been lifting a lot but I’m trying to add more cardio back into my life. I know I need to cardio, I would just rather lift.. like all the time. So I’m trying to focus more on the HIIT cardio that I’ve mentioned previously. Today, I did the stair mill: 1 minute at level 15 and 2 minutes at level 3, repeating for 15 minutes. I’m not going to lie, I almost threw up. BUT I loved the burn and I’ll be doing it 2-3 times per week so I can get better and decrease the amount of down time J

Anyway, I’m going to keep on keepin on with my goals and my mission of developing the best me I can be! Thanks again for either continuing to follow me or making the decision to read for the first time, it’s certainly appreciated!!

Keep it fresh, keep it healthy, keep it clean. J

Until next time, folks!

 

Getting Summer Ready! 4/25/13

So, a few weeks ago, the beautiful miss Akilah posed a very good question: what do we need to do to get our bodies right for the summer?

While I’m a firm believer that there is no healthy or permanent ‘quick fix’ for any physical aesthetic issues we may have and also that one should maintain a healthy body year round, I know that this is a question that comes to the majority of women this time of year.  

First and foremost, I’d like to reiterate what I’ve already said about nutrition – it is single-handedly the most important part! You can go to the gym and sweat your ass off for two hours a day but if you come home and eat like crap, your body will still look like crap. Here are a few easy changes to make:

Sodium: Watch out for it! Sodium (salt) will make you retain water and look/feel bloated. You’ll find a load of this stuff in any pre-packaged or processed foods. This includes soups, instant pasta dishes, frozen meals, pre-mixed spices (aside from those made without salt), sodas etc. I don’t have to mention chips and stuff, right? Just don’t do it. Dining out can also be a big issue. There are tons of hidden calories and sodium in restaurant food… just think of where the food is coming from when the restaurant prepares it – are they using fresh ingredients or are they taking things from a can/bag/box and mixing them together? My rule of thumb for dining out? Don’t. While I love enjoying a nice meal at a restaurant just as much as the next foodie, it’s much easier to control what goes into your body when you are preparing the food.

Carbs: Oh, the dreaded carbs. While carbohydrates are absolutely essential for a healthy life – be mindful of how much you’re eating and where they’re coming from! Simple carbs like white rice, white flour, white potatoes (are you seeing a trend here? [hint – white]) basically turn to sugar when they process in the body and, when not burned, sugar turns to fat. Yuck, right? SO when you’re eating your carbs make sure that they are complex carbs and as whole as possible! I love to use quinoa (a complete protein as well as complex carb), brown or black rice on the occasion (black rice is a super food and is delicious!), and beans (I prefer black, again a great protein as well). Aside from the issue of simple carbs eventually turning to fat in the body, they will also make you bloat and retain water if eating too much. I like to keep my carbs at about ¼ of my total food intake. This is lower than the official suggestion of 60%, but with my goals, 25% or less works for me.

Fats: Okay, let’s get something straight – fat is not all bad. There are good fats and there are bad fats, we obviously want to stick with the good ones. Good fats can be found in extra virgin olive oil (make sure it’s extra virgin and of good quality!!), nuts (almonds, walnuts etc – be cautious of cashews, they’re like the French fries of nuts), good quality fish (if you eat it) like salmon, avocado etc. Stay away from anything that is ‘Fat-Free’ when shopping for foods. When they take out the fats, they supplement with extra sugar (in most cases) and you certainly don’t want that. Go for ‘Low-Fat’ instead although, honestly, I haven’t bought anything that needed to be ‘low-fat’ in QUITE a while. I’ll speak more on this in a minute.

Sugar: Stay the hell away. White sugar is the devil. It turns to fat and has been proven to cause cancer. Need I say more? While some foods (most fruits, for example) have natural sugars, you want to avoid added sugars. If an ingredient list reads any of the following: sugar, sucrose, corn syrup, glucose etc – don’t buy it. Especially if it’s one of the first things listed. Something that a lot of people don’t realize is that food packaging lists ingredients in order of proportion. So if sugar is the first thing listed, that means that that food item is mostly sugar. And you don’t want it. Also try to avoid artificial sweeteners as much as possible! That’s just like throwing a bunch of chemicals down your throat. If I absolutely need a sweetener for something, I go for raw agave nectar or brown rice syrup or something along those lines. Again, I avoid it like the plague but if I’m going to use it, it’s going to be from a whole, natural source.

Water: Drink the hell out of it! Seriously. Just don’t stop drinking it.

In general: I always always always recommend that you keep with a natural, whole diet. Eat as many fresh (organic, if possible) veggies and fruits as possible! Fill up on these naturally low-fat and low-sugar foods, then get your energy from whole and healthy carbs and proteins like quinoa, black rice, beans, or fish, lean poultry and egg whites if you eat it. When I said before that I haven’t had to buy anything ‘low-fat’ in a long time it’s this simple: the majority of the food that I purchase doesn’t have a nutrition label. If you were to see my grocery cart, you would see that it is 85% fresh produce. Aside from that, you’ll find beans, quinoa, sprouted grain tortillas, nuts, etc. Fresh, whole, healthy. J

OKAY – I’ll get off of my nutritional soapbox now and move on to fitness! There’s a common misconception that if you just go run for an hour, you’ll lose weight. Studies have proven that shorter bursts of higher-intensity cardio sessions will burn fat much faster than longer, lower-intensity sessions of cardio. This is called High Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT. I absolutely LOVE this kind of training. Is it hard? Yes. But it works. Not to mention the fact that your cardio sessions are much shorter, and who doesn’t love that? I’m certainly not saying to NOT go take a long walk or a jog  or bike ride or whatever your pleasure may be – I’m saying to add-in some HIIT to ramp-up the fat-burning. A good addition to a routine is a Tabata. Tabatas are only 4 minutes in length – 20 seconds at max intensity, 10 seconds rest for a total of 4 minutes. Who doesn’t have an extra 4 minutes? Take caution though, it may sound easy enough but it is difficult and I recommend that you do some research before trying. J

In addition to cardio, you’re going to want to do some sculpting. There’s no reason that you have to go to the gym for this, you have your own weights between your face and your feet! Bodyweight resistance can be just as effective when your goal is to tone what you have. Here’s a sample circuit:

10 pushups

20 crunches

30 second plank

30 second wall sit

10 tricep dips

20 squats

10 lunges each leg

Repeat 3x

This shouldn’t take you more than 15 minutes or so and can easily be done anywhere!

 

If you know that you have trouble areas that you want to focus on for the summer, then go for it. Worried about your arms? Start doing pushups, tricep dips and planks. Legs? Squat and lunge it out, girl. Abs? Planks, crunches, high-knees, leg raises etc. (all of this in addition to cardio – cardio burns the fat off so the toned muscles can be seen J)

 

I know this is a lot of information but what it all boils down to:

Eat healthy

Drink Water

Move your body

 

Really, it’s that simple. Any questions? Just ask. J

 

Whirlwind Workout

Hello world!  Happy Thursday!  It's almost Friday, which means it's almost Saturday!  I love the weekends, especially when I have NOTHING planned!  (that rarely ever happens)
I woke up bright and early at 4:30am and made it to the gym by 5:06am.  Getting there took some talking into..  I was up a few times with Nora last night and I was just drained when I woke up.  I kept trying to make excuses for not going from the moment I woke up.. I went to the bathroom and I said "if Branden didn't get the laundry last night, I'm not going".. but Branden did get the laundry and it was folded neatly on my couch.  Then I said "if I can't find his car keys, I'm not going".. but they were sitting in plain sight.  So then I said to myself "get your ass to the gym."  So I got my ass to the gym.  I figured any workout is better than none!  Unfortunately, my lack of energy effected my 'Cardio Killa' motivation, so I did more weight training today.  I'm not necessarily saying that it's a bad thing, considering I've really neglected it so far this week.  I was a little all over the place but my workout went as follows:

TIME	EXERCISE	REPS	LBS	SETS
2 MIN	TREADMILL	WALK
3MIN	TREADMILL	JOG
	DUMBBELL HIGH PULLS	15	10	3
	TRICEP EXTENSIONS	7.5	15	3
	TRICEP DIPS	10	BODY	3
	ONE LEG BICYCLES	15 EA SIDE	N/A	3
	6 INCH KILLERS	10	N/A	2
	TWISTING BICEP CURLS	15	10	2
	CROSS BODY BICEP CURLS	15	10	2
10MIN	ELLIPTICAL	MEDIUM
2MIN	TREADMILL	WALK
3MIN	TREADMILL	JOG

I'm super proud of myself for doing 2 sets of the treadmill this morning!  Even if it's only 3min sets of jogging, I'm doing it!  I decided I'm going to jog for 3min per day for the next week or so and then steadily increase it by 1 minute every week or every other week, depending on how my endurance builds. 

Dinner last night was NOT the most healthy.  We have a freezer full of meat at my house and Branden said that he wanted me to cook through what we had, rather than buying new/different proteins every week - which is what I was doing.  His mother gave us 2 bags of chicken leg quarters (3 in each bag) so I made one of the bags last night.  I baked it with a little S&P and Granulated Garlic for 1 hour, then put a touch of BBQ sauce on top of each and baked for an additional 15 minutes.  I also served roasted eggplant (recipe below) and brown rice w/ garlic and lemon juice. I really do not advocate bone-in, skin-on chicken as the fat content is MUCH higher than boneless/skinless.. but I was just following orders :)  Of course, we both pulled off the skin and cut around the fat on our chicken.
Roasted Eggplant Recipe: (serves 2-3)
1 Eggplant, peeled and sliced into 1/2" rounds
Fat Free Feta Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
Non-Stick Spray
Minced Garlic

Pre-heat oven to 375
-Line cookie sheet with foil and spray generously with non-stick spray
-Spray each side of eggplant slices with non-stick spray and season with S&P
-Roast for 15 minutes
-Remove from oven, flip eggplant to opposite side and sprinkle garlic and feta
-Roast for additional 15 minutes

It was pretty yummy!  Anything with Feta cheese gets my approval :)  The original recipe did not include the garlic but I know adding it will make it much better, as I found it a bit bland.

Food Today:
Breakfast
Choc Protein shake w/ Skim Milk
1egg white with a little skim mozzarella cheese

Snack:
Tuna w/ 1tbs Miracle Whip, 1tsp Mustard and diced Pickles

Lunch:
Chick Pea salad over baby spinach (LAST day of this!  I finally ran out lol)

Snack:
Cytomax
12 raw organic almonds

Dinner:
Taco Salad

I'm cooking a big healthy taco salad at mom's tonight!  I'm excited :)  More details about it tomorrow!

Well I think that's all I have for now!  30 days until my birthday! Whoop whoop!

Adios!

Cardio Killa - Day 2

Happy Hump Day!
I woke up a little late today but went to the gym and still had a good workout!  My legs were pretty sore from the hour elliptical run so I didn't spend too much time there, I did some alternative cardio instead.  (posted below)
Last night after work, I went to the organic produce market and got a whole flat of strawberries for $6! (that's 8 containers!)  I also bought 2lbs of raw organic almonds, cilantro, green onions, oranges, bananas, red bell peppers, cucumbers, lemons, limes and green apples - all for $24!  This place is like a gold mine.  The only downside is that the produce is typically approaching or just past it's prime, so it has to be used or frozen(if applicable) within the next couple of days.  My mom and I always do our shopping together there so the bell peppers, cucumbers, bananas, 1/2 of the strawberries and 1/2 of the almonds went to her house and the rest stayed at mine.  I washed and chopped all of the strawberries and put 3/4 of them in the freezer.  I love doing the strawberries like this so I can defrost them and add them to yogurt :)  The frozen strawberries in the store are like $4-6 per small bag!
After the organic market, I cooked dinner at my mom's house.  I made Spaghetti and Meatballs with a homemade shredded chicken sauce that my mom made and froze last week.  (we highly support making bulk ahead of time and freezing for convenience and economical purposes!)
I made the meatballs a bit differently since I was in my mom's kitchen and didn't have my ingredients...
Meatball Recipe:
1lb Lean Ground Turkey
1c Italian Breadcrumbs
1/4 Skim Milk
1 egg
1/3c Italian Cheese Blend
1tbs Minced Garlic
Pinch Red Pepper Flake
1tbs Chopped Fresh Basil (from mom's garden - so easy to grow!)

Pre-heat oven to 375

-Combine everything other than turkey in bowl until combined. 
-Once combined, add turkey and fold together
-Line cookie sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray
-Form mixture into approx 1" meatballs and bake approx 15 minutes or until browning on edges
Enjoy!

Since I'm trying to cut way back on carbs this week, I skipped the pasta.  I actually had a very small dinner last night, just 3 meatballs with some sauce and a tiny bit of fat free feta.  Yummy!

After dinner, Branden took Nora to see his mom for her birthday which gave me a chance to run some errands.. I went to Walmart to get a stability ball which I am now using in place of my chair at my desk!  It helps enhance balance and is kind of a constant core workout, which is nice!  At only $16.77, you can't beat it :) Buy One!

I'm sitting on it right now and it's also fun because you can bounce every now and then and play a little :) (and sneak in a few crunches if you're feeling fiesty!) I also got new PJs, an outfit and a pair of shoes for Nora.  Walmart's clothes are super cheap but I think they're perfect for summer play clothes, then I won't get upset if  and when they get stained/ruined!  Aaaaand I got the Mariah Carey Music Box CD because that was my absolute FAVORITE MC CD and it was only $5! lol  Then I went to Meijer, we needed vitamins desperately and they seem to have the best selection/price.  I got Fish Oil (buy one get one free! Holla!), L-Argenine and DHEA.  All really great things that I take daily!  Vitamins are super important in living healthy - I hope you're taking yours, too! :)  My mom is a big vitamin person.. she was always trying to get us to take this and that but I hated taking the big horse-pill multi-vitamins so I never would lol.  At least I've wised-up! 

Workout Today:
Time       Exercise               Reps                 Sets
15min     Elliptical                Med/Fast
              Switch Steps         30sec               4 sets
              Quick Feet            30sec               4 sets
              Ball Crunches        20                    4 sets
2min       Treadmill               Walk
3min       Treadmill                Jog

I am so NOT a runner so I was pretty happy with myself for jogging the 3 minutes.. it may seem like a teeny tiny amount of time to most, but it's a pretty big deal for me :)  I'll work up to a marathon at some point!  (one of my goals :))
I felt good after the workout and was sweating my ass off so I must have done something right!  Tomorrow I might do another long elliptical day, still undecided? 
I'm thinking about buying some ankle weights just to wear around the office.  My brother had some and I used to wear them around my house.. I also used to walk around my house and shower on my tippy-toes to build my calves when I was in high school lol.  My brother had these shoes (pictured below) for football training and I used to love wearing those too!  They strengthen your calves and elongate your achilles tendon. (I have a slight obsession with calves)  I'm thinking I might get some after I get in a little better shape :)
You can buy them at Eastbay. 

Moving on to more food...

Menu Today:

Breakfast:

Choc Protein Shake w/ Skim Milk

Banana w/ 1tbs Natural Pnut Butter (I was extra hungry!)

Snack:

1can Tuna w/ 1tbs Miracle Whip, 1tsp Yellow Mustard and diced dill pickles

Lunch:

Chick Pea Salad over Baby Spinach

Snack:

Cytomax Protein Drink

12 raw organic almonds

Dinner:

Chicken somethin-or-other.. update tomorrow!

Well, I think that's all I have for today!  Toot-a-loo!



Cardio Killa!

Howdy, folks. 
I went to the gym this morning and ran for 1 HOUR on the Elliptical!  I didn't have any pre-set time in mind when I got on.. just kind of figured I would go until I couldn't go 'no more.  I leave the timer on the 'count-down' setting and I got down to like 20 and 15 minutes and I was like I've gone so far.. I might as well just finish out this hour!  So I did!  I did a total of 10 minutes backward and 50 minutes forward, ranging between Medium and Fast speeds.  I was really happy that I lasted as long as I did!  The last 15 were DEFINITELY the hardest.. I was kind of counting down at that point lol.  My iPod (especially the Spice Girls song 'Come on Come on') got me through the last bit :)
My knee hurts quite a bit now, but that's nothing that I'm not used to.  I'll just ice her down later tonight.  Now I'm trying to figure out what to do tomorrow!  I'm not sure if I should do 2 big cardio days in a row or if I should do less cardio tomorrow and do some weight training as well?  I'll consult with a couple of people/the internet and make my decision later :)

Dinner last night was totally yummy!  I went to my mom's to pick up Nora and she invited us to stay for dinner.  The weather was absolutely beautiful so I played outside with Nora for a bit and we walked up and down the street with her wagon (I mostly just walked beside her while she threw rocks in the wagon).  Mom made a giant salad (Romain mix with carrots, red onion, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, mushrooms, bell peppers, craisins, fat free feta cheese and pecans) with grilled chicken and topped with a Balsamic Vinaigrette.  It was absolutely delicious!  I'll be honest, I had more than my share (about 1 1/2 portions) and I had some fresh and yummy watermelon.  Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE summertime food?!
Today is supposed to rain so I'm making rainy food for dinner.

Food Today:
Breakfast:
Choc Protein shake w/ Skim Milk

Snack:
1can Tuna w/ 1tbs Miracly Whip, 1tsp Yellow Mustard, 1tsp Horseradish Mustard and diced pickles

Lunch:
Chick Pea Salad over baby spinach

Snack:
Cytomax Protein Drink
12 organic raw almonds

Dinner:
WW Spaghetti and Turkey Meatballs
I think I'll just have some meatballs and sauce over spinach rather than eating the pasta

I did pretty well with the low sugar and carbs yesterday.  I ate just as listed yesterday and then I got to my moms.. My dad bought these tiny smiley-face cookies and they have 9grams of sugar, so I had 1/2 of one.  And I had 3 WW Goldfish Crackers.  Other than that, I stuck to it.
It's not that bad (although I do LOVE bread and sweet potatoes), it's just again forcing me to re-think every meal/food choice.. which isn't a bad thing.  Hopefully it will pay off at the weigh-in this Sunday :)

Well, I believe that's all for today!  Zumba is tonight but I don't think I'm going to go since my knee already hurts.  I'm able to go to Boot Camp again tomorrow.. but I'm not so sure.  I really enjoyed it last week, but I was so sore after the workout that it kind of impeded on my regular-scheduled workout.  I appreciate Boot Camp and I think it's a great workout BUT I think I might just stick to the workout that I have now.. and when/if I can afford to do the Camp, then I'll focus on that. 

Okay, now that's really all for today.
Adios!

Another 2.5 Bites the Dust

Lost another 2.5lbs last week!  Honestly, I was expecting a bit more considering how hard I worked out.. but when I thought back on it, I did more weight training than cardio.  I could very well have lost more fat, but in building muscle, I'm not going to see the difference on the scale.  Of course I would like to see it on the scale - but hearing people say that they can "see a difference" is also rewarding. 
This week I have decided to switch things up a bit.  I am going to focus more on cardio and less on weight training, and see how that works out for me.  I'm also cutting my carb and sugar intake down quite a bit. 
I didn't make it to the gym this morning, (not a great start to the week, I know) I was just exhausted and mistakenly set my alarm for 5:30 and then Nora woke up right around then too, so I decided to just stay home.  I would like to say that I will do something at home tonight but I find cardio MUCH harder to do at home than weights.  Unfortunately, I don't have a good space for cardio.  However, tomorrow I will definitely be going to the gym.
Food-wise, I wasn't the greatest this weekend.  Friday night, I ate 2 homemade flour tortillas (which were AMAZING but I don't even want to see the nutritional content!), Saturday wasn't too terrible, raisin bran for breakfast, chips and salsa for snack, skipped lunch, nuts and raisins for another snack then fajitas with black beans (corn tortillas) for dinner.  Sunday was my worst day - raisin bran for breakfast, leftover fajitas for lunch, baked pork roast with carrots/onion/mushrooms and mashed potatoes for dinner... and then chocolate explosion ice cream cake for dessert.  It was delicious.  The end.

Food Today:
Breakfast:
Chocolate Protein Shake with Skim Milk

Snack:
1 can Tuna w/ 1tbs Miracle Whip, 2tsp Yellow Mustard and diced Pickles

Lunch:
Chick Pea Salad (chick peas, cucumber, red onion, canned tomatoes w/ italian seasonings - drained, fat free feta cheese and light parmesan asiago vinaigrette) over baby spinach

Snack:
Cytomax Protein Drink

Dinner:
TBD

I'm also trying to cut down on the amount of food that I'm eating daily.  It's 9:45am and I'm hungry.  I'm trying to ignore it and hold off until about 11am for my snack.  I need to get some water, that will help fill me up.  I need to shrink my stomach a bit so I can get accustomed to eating less/smaller portions again.  So, for the next couple of days, I'll probably be hungry.. but then I'll adapt to my new eating habits. 

Anyway, that's about all I have for today.  I'll post updated workouts tomorrow after I figure it out a little better. 

Weight:
May 9, 2011 - 279lbs

Until tomorrow..

Happy Derby Day!

Well, not quite.  The famed Kentucky Derby is tomorrow and we are celebrating in style today at work!  I made a fabulous hat last night and everyone brought in food and wore festive head gear for the occasion.  Have I mentioned that I love my job?

(My Hat)

So the Zumba party was awesome last night!  It was a super SERIOUS workout - definitely got my heart pumping!  I was soaked in sweat within the first 20 minutes!  It was so great!  The cosmic Zumba portion was REALLY cool!  They turned off all of the lights and the instructors put on tall white tube socks, neon shoes, white shorts, black/white referee shirts and white gloves and turned on black lights!  It was a little harder to see but it was cool because in the dark, it removes all reservations about dancing full-out so I danced my ass off!  I was shakin it, jumpin around.. pretty much doin the damn thing!  I think I saw something about them making Cosmic Zumba a regular class at the gym from now on.. if so, I'll defintely be participating!

The aftermath - about an hour after I got home, I could barely move!  I was still SO sore from bootcamp and all of other regular workouts, I was seriously in pain.  Branden almost yelled at me when I mentioned that I planned to go to the gym this morning, he said I'm not taking enough of a break between workouts and that's not good for my body.  I didn't go to the gym this morning, but I did still do a little bit of an arm workout with my dumbbells at home (between cooking my food to bring in to work today, making mom's guacamole to take to the dance thing tonight, cooking breakfast, getting his lunch together and doing the dishes).  I feel kind of bummed about not going to the gym this morning.. guilty, even.  I'll probably try to get in more of my arm stuff tonight.. though the cardio is a concern.  There's a bellydance Hafla (similar to a recital/party) in Rabbit Hash tonight.. if we can go to that, then I can defininitely get the cardio with dancing... but I don't think Branden wants to go so we'll see.

I'm still pretty sore today, but nothing compared to last night.  When I finally got into bed, it felt so amazing to just lay there and not be using any muscles lol.

We're having a Food Day in addition to our Derby Party at work today, so I made Mini Hot Browns.  Not diet food by any means, but they are traditional.  Needless to say, my menu is quite off today and I know that I'm going to be taking in some extra calories that I normally would not. 

Today:
Breakfast:

Choc Protein w/ Skim Milk

Couple of pieces of WW Baguette (while I was making Hot Browns lol)

Snack:
Cytomax Protein Drink (finally bought more!)

Lunch:
Food Day stuff

Snack:

If necessary?

Banana

Dinner:

TBD

Well, I think that's all that I have for today.  I'm going to go at least one more week with this workout routine, then I'll decide if I'm going to switch it up or go for a full 4 weeks. 

Oh and weigh-in tonight/tomorrow/Sunday lol.. I'm excited, I'm hoping for good results! :)

I don't know if I'll post tomorrow or not but if I don't, Happy Derby Day!!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Well today is one of my favorite holidays!  I know absolutely nothing about the history of it, or much about Latin culture for that matter, but I absolutely love Mexican food and celebrations and any reason to participate!  In honor of Cinco de Mayo, I made breakfast Quesadillas (recipe below), am going to a Zumba party at the gym tonight and will be making Tacos for dinner!  I can't help but to be in a good mood today!  PLUS the sun is shining for the first time in 10 years! 
I went to the gym this morning and, well, it was a little hard to get there.  I woke up SO sore from yesterday (which is a good thing!) and I was going back and forth about whether or not to skip.  Finally I was like, "What the hell are you doing? Get your ass out of bed and go sweat!" So, I did!  I did Abs and Butt today.  I didn't do any cardio because I was running late, but I'm doing 1 1/2 hours of Zumba tonight so I think that will more than make up for it :)  I got in a good ab workout today, though!  I think(hope) I'll feel it tomorrow!  I did the following workout:

THURSDAY - ABS & BUTT
TIME	EXERCISE	REPS	WEIGHT	SETS
abs	BALL CRUNCHES	20	N/A	3
butt	SUMO SQUAT	15	30	3
butt	45-DEGREE LEG PRESS	15	120	3
butt	HAMSTRING MARCH - BOSU	10	N/A	3
abs	6 INCH KILLERS	10	N/A	3
abs	SINGLE LEG BICYCLES	15 R/15 L	N/A	3
abs	INCLINE BENCH CROSS-PUNCH	10	5	2
abs	LYING LEG EXTENSION ON BENCH	10	N/A	2

Even without the cardio, I was still sweating and still felt good!  I'm sure I'll feel like a million dollars when I leave Zumba tonight :)

For dinner last night, I was going to make Tacos.. and then I realized that today was Cinco de Mayo and I should save the tacos for dinner tonight!  Instead, we had a SUPER simple dinner of ground turkey (browned in 1tbs EVOO, 1tbs minced garlic and 2tsp Worcestershire Sauce) with 1 large can of southern seasoned Hoppin John with vidalia onions and Brown Rice.  I cooked the meat and added the Hoppin John when it was almost done, which was about the time the rice was almost finished and then put the rice in with everything else and let it all simmer for like 20 minutes until most of the juices had evaporated.  It was surprisingly yummy!  I didn't read the nutritional content on the Hoppin John (crazy, right?) but it's just black eyed peas, vidalia onions and spices.. probably high in sodium but should have a decent amount of protein. 

Recipe Time!
Breakfast Quesadilla (makes 2)
4 Corn Tortillas
1c Baby Spinach, chopped
1/2c Red Onion, diced
1/4c Cherry Tomatoes, diced
1/2tsp Cumin
1/4tsp Granulated Garlic (or garlic powder)
1tbs Cilantro, chopped
Squeeze of Lime Juice
Egg Whites (6 real eggs, 1/2 - 3/4c liquid)
Fat Free Cheddar Cheese

-Spray skillet with non-stick spray (I use Olive Oil spray) and saute onion, tomato and spinach with cumin and garlic. 
-Saute for approx 4-5 minutes then add cilantro, squeeze of lime juice and egg whites.  Scramble as normal, stirring frequently
-While eggs are cooking, heat larger skillet and put in 1 corn tortilla, sprinkled with a little cheese.  Heat until cheese is melted, remove from skillet. 
-Eggs should be about ready at this point-
-Put another tortilla in skillet, sprinkle with cheese then put 1/2 of cooked egg scramble on top. 
-Top with other tortilla (with already melted cheese)
-Cook 2-3 minutes, flip once and cook another minute. Remove and cut into 4 pieces.
-Repeat to make 2nd quesadilla.
We ate ours plain but it would also be yummy with a little spiced greek yogurt (spiced w/ cumin, garlic, chili powder and cilantro)

Food Today:
Breakfast:
Choc Protein w/ Skim Milk
Breakfast Quesadilla

Snack:
FF Vanilla Yogurt w/ raspberries and grahams

Lunch:
1/2 Turkey Sammy (turkey, mustard and pickles on WW)
Little bit of leftover black beans (not enough for salad)

Snack:
Banana
Low Salt Pretzels

Dinner:
Chicken Tacos
I made fresh homemade guac this morning for the tacos (avacado, red onion, tomatoes, cilantro, s&p and lime juice) and already have the chicken cooking in the crock pot!  I put 3 chicken breasts in the pot with 1 can of diced tomatoes with jalapenos, garlic, cumin, cilantro and lime juice.  I'll shred it when I get home and serve on corn tortillas and boston lettuce wraps with black beans and corn!  Ole!

I'm super pumped about the Zumba party tonight!  I have a couple of friends going with me so it should be a lot of fun!  I'll report back tomorrow :)

Well, gotta go!