The Brain is Connected to the Back Bone 03/27/14

Let’s be honest, this injury isn’t my first rodeo. If I inherited anything from my father, I inherited the bull in him. I’m heavy handed, hard on my body and when I decide I want something, I put 700% of myself into that thing – sometimes to a fault – all leaving me with a pretty hefty tolerance for pain. I’ve had two knee surgeries leaving me with two screws in my right knee, one shoulder surgery, a broken ankle, countless strains and sprains and more cuts, burns and bruises than I would ever care to count. However, this injury is different. All of my prior incidents have had an end in sight and I’ve understood the injured mechanism and knew how to work around it. Sure, I still have days where my knee bothers me or I may sleep funny and leave my shoulder sore, but I know that it is temporary and I’ll be back to me shortly. This one is different.

This injury has proven to be so much more than just physical. The first week of March was the absolute worst week I have ever had in my life. Simple movements would leave me shivering and sobbing in pain; I couldn’t walk without crutches and even with them I was still sobbing harder with every step. My mom had to pull up my pants for me in the bathroom because I couldn’t bend down to do it – and I could rarely even use the restroom once I got in there because the pain of sitting upright was so immense that the rest of my body just shut down. I remember lying on the couch thinking that my life was over. I couldn’t even fathom getting back to any form of normalcy considering how terrible the pain was… how much my body wasn’t working – or how much it was working against me.

Things have improved considerably over the past two weeks in regards to my physical condition, but my mind is still struggling. Before hurting my back, my body was so fucking strong. I was doing awesome at work, I could lift more than a lot of guys at my gym and I had a desire to be so much more and so much better than I was. Now all of that – everything that meant SO MUCH to me – seems so far out of reach. I cry because I feel like I’ve lost my identity. Other than Nora, my entire life was work and working out… and now I can’t do either of those things, or even pick up my baby girl. I’ve spent the last three weeks on the couch while lives are happening all around me. I slept upstairs in my bed for the first time last night with Nora and she woke up in the middle of the night screaming and crying because she wanted to sleep with my mom… because she’s slept with her for the last three weeks. I just feel pretty useless right now. My chiropractor warned that it was easy to get depressed with injuries like this because it can be so frustrating and feel so hopeless – and it effects every part of the body. He keeps stressing how important it is to stay positive and hopeful so the negativity doesn’t cause regression with the recovery process… but that is far easier said than done. As I still struggle to walk at times, I have a hard time imagining my life or my body ever being back to normal. I fear that I won’t be able to run again. I fear that I won’t be able to go hiking with Nora. I fear that I will have to change my career. I fear that a simple movement will throw me back into the excruciating pain I experienced just two weeks ago. I have never been one to let the challenges of my body hold me back from doing anything, and I feel like I’m succumbing to the fear of the pain.

Despite all of the negative aspects of this injury, I have discovered some positive to hold onto. Never in my life have I been so appreciative of the simple things. The ability to walk, to drive, to stand, to bend, to run, to jump, to dance. Never again will I take for granted the ability to function without pain. Never again will I waste a day of physical freedom by sitting lazily. It has certainly put things into perspective and I find myself getting annoyed much easier when I hear people complain about silly things or see people lamenting about insignificant things on Facebook. I can’t help but want to say to them, “Yes, but can you walk? Okay, shut the fuck up.”

I know it will get better and I’m on the path to recovery… I’m just waiting for that light at the end of the tunnel.

 

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!

 

My Addiction 7/25/13

What makes a fat person fat? Why can't that person just stop eating bad things or large quantities of foods if they know it's bad for them? Well, they're obviously just lazy, right? Not necessarily. Far too many times have I heard this excuse/blame given to overweight people - that they are fat because they are lazy or they simply don't care about or respect themselves. Sure, some people don't give a shit and just like to eat food because it tastes good... and then there are people that DON'T want to eat the food, but have a huge struggle between what their brain knows and the power of what their brain wants, and don't always win the battle. I am one of those people. I am an addict.

Food addiction is a real thing, my friends. I have struggled with the beast my entire life - and will continue to do so for the rest of my existence. Science has proven that, in certain people, certain types of foods can cause the same brain reaction as a highly addictive drug like heroin or cocaine. As with the drugs, the foods trigger increased transmission of 'feel-good' chemicals such as dopamine in the brain, which gives the immediate urge to eat again. And again. And that urge is strong. I've spent my entire life over-eating and not understanding why. Not understanding why my brain would focus so hard on an item of food and not allow any thought to overcome the desire for that food until I ate it - and the feeling that happened in my brain once I ate whatever it was (and this is regardless of whether or not I was actually hungry). Not understanding why everyone else could just have "a bite" or "a taste" of a piece of cake, and my brain would almost hurt if I didn't finish the entire thing. I would cry myself to sleep at night because I hated who I was and what my body had become/was becoming, but I felt completely powerless over what was happening. Being a teenager sucked. As I grew older and I became more knowledgeable about this topic and started to understand more about myself and my addiction, I quickly realized how hard I was going to have to work for the rest of my life to overcome this obstacle.

Food addiction is a tricky thing in a few ways:
  - Food is the most widely available drug in the world. Unlike any other controlled substance, it is something that can be attained nearly anywhere, by anyone, in any quantity and is constantly pushed in your face by advertising. Especially in America, the land of plenty, it is often used as a marketing tool or incentive (complimentary meals/food items, etc), not to mention it is a means of celebration.
 - You have to have food to live. It's that simple. Unlike most of the other common addictions, to quit cold turkey is an option. To remove yourself from an enigmatic environment is an option. Not with food. This is the most tricky (and irritating) part of this addiction - for myself, at least.

My relationship with food is interesting, to say the least. I have learned that I must instill certain restrictions on myself in order to no longer allow the food to control me, but rather I control the food. Two years ago I transitioned into veganism. This choice wasn't made because I care about furry animals, it was made because I wanted to feel better. By going vegan, I kind of set a trap within my body. If I eat shit - I will feel like shit. If I give-in to the temptation of a cookie or unhealthy/conventional food, I will be punished for that poor decision almost immediately with a giant headache, nausea and sometimes even slight tightening in my throat. While this may sound extreme to some, it works for me.  True to my masochistic ways, I have chosen a career that challenges my addiction every. single. day. I have chosen to be a chef and surround myself by my drug. So often I'm asked the question, "how do you not eat everything you cook?!" Well, because I know I can't. Because I know I don't want the 'dairy hangover' that comes within 10 minutes, and follows through to the next morning.

Don't get me wrong - I don't have this thing all figured out. As with any addict, I have my good days and my bad days. Yesterday was a bad day. I was tired, I was upset, I was not in control of my mind. I ate a bunch of shit I shouldn't have eaten and then I woke up this morning feeling like I had been hit by a truck and couldn't remember WHY I did that to myself. I have accepted the fact that days like these may come, but I intend to be as prepared as possible.

Why did I write this? I didn't write this to provide an excuse for myself - or for anyone else, for that matter. I wrote this because I know there are people out there that have never even considered that this is an actual thing. That this addiction even exists. Because I have encountered so many times in my life when people very close to me have said "then just don't eat it." as if it were that simple. I have accepted and feel that I have a control over my addiction and have no problem speaking about it. I also wrote this because I know that there are people that struggle with the same issue, but are too embarrassed to speak.

Roughly two and a half years ago I began my Losing Path and through discipline and determination, have managed to lose around 110 pounds, despite this obstacle. Has it been easy? Hell no. Am I happy I'm doing it? Absolutely. I hope to some day spend my life helping other people do the same

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!

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 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!

Boot Camp! Not for the weak of shoulder..

Boot Camp was this morning!  It was really awesome and an AMAZING workout!  I struggled quite a bit with it.. we did a lot of shoulder exercises and considering the fact that I worked my shoulders hard at the gym yesterday, it made it a bit more challenging.  However, I walked away feeling really good and pretty happy with my performance.  As with any other workout where I have some struggles, I always have the "you could have pushed harder" feeling afterward, but I did work hard!  We did suicides today which was probably the first running I've done in like 2 years.  With all of my issues with my knee, I kind of gave up on running a long time ago.  I was pretty surprised at the fact that I didn't die lol.  I kept up pretty well.. or at least I think I did :)  I can definitely see how doing the Boot Camp on a consistent basis would accelorate my weightloss.  The only catch, it costs $299 for a 4 week session (5 days) or $219 for 3 days.  We're being pretty tight with our budget right now trying to pay off bills so I'm not sure that I can justify the spending.  Branden and I will have to talk about it.  Either way, it was great and pretty fast-paced!

Moving on, last night I didn't cook my own spaghetti and meatballs.  I got to my mom's house and she had made a HUGE pot of Chicken Spaghetti sauce so she wanted us to share.  It was good and not terrible(health-wise), just shredded chicken and chunky vegetable sauce over pasta with homemade whole wheat italian herb bread. 
I still have the defrosted ground turkey that I was going to cook with last night so I'm thinking of using that to make my tacos tonight, as opposed to the chicken I had planned to use.. We'll see!

Food Today:
Breakfast:
Choc Protein Shake w/ Skim Milk
Dry WW Waffle

Snack:
FF Vanilla Yogurt w/ Raspberries and Crushed Grahams

Lunch:
Black Bean Salad

Snack:
Light Salt Pretzels
Banana

Dinner:
Tacos of some sort :)  I'm going to use lettuce wraps rather than tortillas to save some carbs!

Well, I don't really have much to report today.. I have an Abs and Butt workout waiting for me tomorrow morning.. and then Zumba party at Fitworks for Cinco de Mayo!  I'm pretty freakin excited about that!!

Well, until tomorrow!

Tuesday.

Hello there!  Sorry, couldn't think of a catchy title today.
I got into the gym this morning and busted out my Shoulder and Back workout!  I worked hard and efficiently and got everything finished in less than an hour.  I have a feeling I'm going to be pretty sore tomorrow, I killed my shoulders today!  (a good kind of kill :) )
Workout was as follows:

TUESDAY - SHOULDERS & BACK
TIME	EXERCISE	REPS	WEIGHT	SETS
10 MIN	TREADMILL	MEDIUM		1
back	BOSU BARBELL ROW	10	30	3
shoulders	LATERAL CIRCLES (FW/BW)	20 & 20	8	3
shoulders	UP/OUT/IN/DOWN	10	10	3
back	BARBELL/DUMBBELL HIGH PULLS	15	30	3
back	SEATED LAT PULL-DOWNS	10	70	3
shoulders	MILITARY PRESS ON BOSU	15	10	3
15 MIN	ELLIPTICAL	MED/FAST		1

When I got home, I took a shower as usual and was having my only "me time" during the day - the 5 minutes I give myself to sit on my couch in my towel and do absolutely nothing each morning - when I heard my sweet little Nora's voice.  She woke up super early this morning and, surprisingly, so did Branden!  It was kind of nice to have the whole family awake and getting ready together :)

Tomorrow morning I'm going to the Adventure Bootcamp for Women!  I'm super excited, it's 'bring a friend free' day so I'm joining a new friend.  A couple of girls at work have been going to this bootcamp and I've heard some of the stuff they do and I'll be honest, I'm a little nervous!  I'm less than confident in my physical ability to withstand all of these exercises but I figure, what the hell, what do I have to lose? Hopefully I'm just making too big of a deal out of this (very common for me, just ask my husband) and I'll kill it!  Tomorrow is my cardio only day so I'm not really screwing up anything with my routine by switching this up for one day. 
OH also, Thursday I'm going to a Cinco de Mayo Zumba party at Fitworks!  They're having regular Zumba for 45 minutes and then 45 minutes of Cosmic Zumba with blacklights!  I'm SO pumped!  Hopefully I can get someone to go with me :)   Though, I will say, I've gotten quite accustomed to working out by myself.. I actually kind of prefer it at this point.  No distractions = a more effective and efficient workout.  I love having my iPod when I workout now, though I need one of those armband iPod holder things because right now I'm holding in the strap of my sports bra and it's not working out very well.

Moving on...
Food Today:
Breakfast:
Choc Protein Shake w/ Skim Milk
WW Waffle (dry)
a couple bites of fruit salad (recipe in yesterday's post)

Snack:
Cytomax Protein Drink
few raw Almonds

Lunch:
Black Bean Salad (recipe in yesterday's post)

Snack:
Fruit Salad

Dinner:
WW Spaghetti w/ Turkey Meatballs

Well kids that's about all for today..
Oh I was getting dressed today and I noticed that my mid-section looked a bit more trim than it has.  I was very happy to see that :) 

Until tomorrow!