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! :)

It Feels Good to Feel Good! 4/2/13

Hello there! Man, today was a good day. I stuck to my nutrition yesterday and woke up and had a great workout (see below) and another great day with my nutrition!

Very exciting to report the following news: When I weighed in over the past week, I’ve been averaging around 240 – and even hit 244 during one weigh-in. After only 48ish hours of well-planned and disciplined nutrition, I weighed-in this morning (pre workout) at 234.6!! Oh HI 5ish pound loss! I’ll take that! I was beyond thrilled to see that number and actually stepped off and back on the scale to make sure that it was correct. J This just goes to show, AGAIN, how incredibly important nutrition is!! I have been preaching that for quite some time and it feels so good to finally be ‘practicing what I’m preaching’ again!

Here is my workout this morning:

Bent Over Row (barbell) 2x20x50lbs & 2x15x60lbs

Dumbbell Delt Flye 4x20x15lbs

Dead Lift 4x10x115lbs

Straight Bar Cable Pull Down 4x20x35lbs

Single-arm Cable Lateral Raise 4x10x10lbs

Delt/Lat Hammer Pulldown 4x15x55lbs

Treadmill: Run/Walk total of about 16 minutes… I got a bad cramp and had to stop L

Abs:

Dumbbell Side Bends 2x20x40lbs

Decline Bench Cross-punch 2x20x5lbs

 

Overall I felt great after my workout! I even took some flex pictures when I got home J See…

 

And on the menu today:

1 scoop protein w/ water immediately following workout

Breakfast:

2 scoops protein w/ 8oz coffee & 8oz water

1c cooked oatmeal w/ cinnamon and 1tbs raisins

Lunch:

Black bean burger patty w/ scratch-made pico de gallo, roasted asparagus and quinoa with hot sauce and chopped greens (spinach and various spring lettuces)

Snack:

½ banana w/ almond butter

Snack:

4oz roasted veg w/ 1tbs hummus and hot sauce

Dinner:

Roasted cauliflower steak w/ smokey tomato sauce, roasted asparagus and quinoa mixed with chopped greens and salsa

 

The whole day was quite nutritious and very delicious!! I have found (especially during downtime at work) that I am still snacky. Where I would normally grab shitty food (at work… pub chips, etc) I am instead taking a slice of cucumber and pouring some salsa on top. It’s tasty and basically free (nutritionally)! I am hoping that over the next week of being on my nutrition plan that my stomach will shrink down a bit so I don’t feel hungry all the time. I’m trying to also drink as much water as possible so that I feel fuller and don’t want the food. It’s not that I’m starving myself or anything, I just know that I feel mentally hungry more so than physically hunger far too often… and I’m trying not to feed that mental hunger. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I have a food addiction, and discovered that the best way for me to handle it is through restriction. I don’t know how to ‘just have a taste’ or have ‘only one’ of anything, to be honest. So, if I don’t think I should be eating it, I have to cut it out of my diet completely. And so I have. J Sugar is gone, fried foods are gone, breads and pastas are gone. Only nutritious and lean whole foods shall be passing my lips. Actually, I've taken on a 30 day sobriety challenge, as well! And I tell ya what, I’m loving it!

 

Let’s talk meal prep! Total time to get everything together was about 3 hours or so, which I didn’t think was bad considering I was cooking meals for an entire week. I didn’t do the different sauces as I indicated in my last post. I made the first Smoky Tomato Sauce and I ended up making enough for everything that I needed so I didn’t see a point in making another. Here’s a breakdown:

Item 1:

Roasted Cauliflower Steaks

I took one large head of cauliflower, removed the leaves and sliced it through the stem into approx 1” steaks. I then poured enough low-sodium vegetable stock in the bottom of a baking dish to coat the bottom (with a little extra), placed the cauli steaks in the broth and sprinkled minced garlic over top. I covered the dish with foil and roasted at 375-400 for about 45 minutes, until the stock was dry. (I ate this dish tonight and the cauliflower was GREAT!) There will be excess cauliflower after getting the steaks (I got 3 steaks out of my head) and you can use the excess for roasted veggies!

 

Item 2:

Roasted Veggies

In addition to the cauliflower (broken down/chopped to appropriate-size pieces), I chopped red bell pepper, red onion and zucchini. As with the cauliflower, I poured low-sodium veg stock in a baking dish and poured the veggies in the stock (a bit more than cauliflower). I then seasoned the veg with cumin, minced garlic and smoked paprika, tossed it all together to coat, covered with foil and roasted alongside the cauliflower steaks, stirring occasionally.

 

Item 3:

Roasted Endive

I took four Belgian Endive heads, quartered them and then roasted them on the same baking sheet as my asparagus, tossed in the excess oil left from the asparagus. Roasted at 400 for about 10 minutes, turned and roasted for another 5-10 (tender-crisp).

 

Item 4:

Quinoa. SO simple! One part quinoa to two parts water, add in a cold pan together and bring to boil Once boiling, reduce to slow simmer and cover with lid. Simmer until liquid is absorbed, fluff with a fork and it’s ready!

 

Sauce:

Smoky Tomato Sauce

1can Fire Roasted Tomatoes

1tsp Agave nectar

1tbs Garlic, minced

1tbs Smoked Paprika

1tbs EVOO

½ small red onion, diced

Squeeze lemon juice

Blend everything together in blender, strain into saucepan and simmer over low/medium heat for 15-20 minutes. Taste to adjust seasonings.

 

For the asparagus, I roasted as indicated in my previous post. (EVOO, salt and pepper, 400 degrees, 20 minutes)

 

And that’s it! Nothing was overly complicated or time-consuming… but it’s all delicious! I portioned ½ cup quinoa with every dish as well as the accompanying vegetables/sauce.  Here’s my finished result:

 

 

Great, right?! I love it and can't wait to do it all again on Sunday!!

Alright kids, my bed time has come and gone and I am sreeeeeepy! Good night!! Here's to health and happiness. :)

 

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!

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!

Minus 2.5

Howdy!  As you may have guessed, I lost another 2.5lbs last week!  When I first saw it, it seemed like such a disappointment and insignificant loss but then I started thinking.. if I lose even just 2lbs a week for the rest of the year, I will have lost 64lbs by Christmas!  Now that's a number that makes me smile!  It's so hard to be intimidated when looking at the big number like when I would think "I want to lose 100 pounds" I would immediately be discouraged because it sounds like such a HUGE number!  Thinking of it as 2lbs per week.. far less intimidating :).  Plus, that's just an average - so even if I have weeks where I only lose 1 pound, the weeks where I bust EXTRA ass and lose 4 or so will more than make-up for that!
So, what I'm trying to say is I'm happy with 2.5lbs :)

This weekend went pretty well.  I didn't go to the gym at all because 1. My body was super sore from working so hard last week and 2. Branden was bustin my chops about needing to take at least 2 days off to give my body time to recover.  So, I did. 
I had a hard time getting out of bed this morning (between snuggling with Nora and it pouring rain out of the sky), so I was a bit late getting to the gym.  I got through my whole workout, I just cut 1 set out of the Cable Squat Punches (they seem to take forever!) and I still got everything finished within 10 minutes of my usual leaving time.  I wasn't excited going to the gym but I just kept reminding myself how good I would feel when I was walking out.. and I was right :)
Saturday we went to a park for my friend Myrion's daughter's 3rd birthday party.  It was a lot of fun and Nora had a blast!  She doesn't get to play with other kids very often so it was fun to see her interact with them.  She did really well, we just may need to do a little more work on the sharing.  Oh, and she looked totally adorable too :)
The party was a cookout but I still did pretty well.  I made a fruit salad (easy recipe below) and I hate that and some pretzels, some veggies and some black bean tortilla chips with salsa.  I drank water and felt good when I left knowing that I didn't kill my diet! 
Yesterday was a different story.. I had my normal breakfast (protein shake and waffle), protein drink for lunch and then we cooked out at my mom's for dinner.  I ate a brat (on a white bun, yikes!) with grilled onion and ketchup, asian coleslaw (bad!), grilled veggies and baked beans.  I kind of dropped the ball on that one but I weighed myself after dinner and still weighed the same as Friday afternoon so that made me feel better lol (as if it's instant?).  Oh well, I've come to terms with the fact that I'm not going to perfect and eat perfectly every day.  I'm just committing to doing the best that I can while still enjoying my life. 

Recipe Time!
Fruit Salad:
2 Red Apples, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 Green Apple, ""
2c Dark Red seedless grapes, cut in 1/2
2 individual cups of Pineapple Greek Yogurt (or a light regular yogurt if you can find Pineapple flavor!)
1/2c Walnut halves and pieces

Put everything into a big bowl and toss until yogurt coats it all!  It's super yummy and simple and wonderful for a summer cookout or a quick snack!

I also made the following mixture to eat on lettuce as a salad for lunches:
Black Bean Salad:
1 can Black Beans
1 can Mexican Tomatoes (chopped tomatoes w/ jalapenos)
1c Frozen Corn
1tbs Adobo Sauce (canned chipotle sauce)
1tsp Cumin
1tsp Chili Powder
1tbs Garlic
Handful of Cilantro
Squeeze of Lime

Put everything other than cilantro and lime into a skillet and cover, simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally.  Add the Cilantro and Lime and cook for an additional 5 minutes, covered.
Let it cool completely and serve over chopped romaine lettuce, red onion and fresh tomato. Yum!

Food Today
Breakfast:
Chocolate Protein Shake w/ Skim Milk
WW Waffle, dry

Snack:
Cytomax Protein Drink
Few Raw Almonds

Lunch:
Black Bean Salad

Snack:
Fruit Salad

Dinner:
Grilled Chicken over Romaine Salad w/ Light Cesar Dressing

Oh yeah, I also started a Cleanse this week.  I've been wanting to do a detox for a while but it just makes me nervous, I don't want to poop my pants at work lol.  I took the first 3 capsules this morning and will take 3 more at lunch.. wish me luck! ha!

So today is May 2nd and on May 15th I'll be posting updated pictures of myself.  Now that I've put it all out there, I'm a hell of a lot more comfortable sharing my weight/pictures/almost anything!  Photos will be once a month, weight once a week.
May 2, 2011 : Weight 281.5lbs

Well kids, until tomorrow!

Oh Spinning.. we meet again

Obviously, I went to spinning last night.  I don't know man, I'm going to have to figure something out because as of now, I just can't handle that damn seat!  This is a lot of body to be sitting on such a terrible piece of equipment for a long period of time.  I like the workout and it always kicks my ass (no pun intended) but I just have a hard time when the equipment is hurting worse than the burn of the exercise!  Regardless, I did the 60minute spinning class with more resistance this time and a little extra standing (trying to help my butt) and then after class I did an extra mile on the Elliptical for a total of about 72 minutes of cardio!  I felt GREAT leaving the gym and probably would have done more on the Elliptical if it weren't for the time factor.  I had my Watermelon Cytomax Protein Recovery drink as soon as I got home. :)  I buy them at The Vitamin Shoppe on Mall Road in Florence.

I went back to the gym this morning for my Thursday Abs&Butt workout.  I feel like I did a good job with it!  Definitely a few challenging exercises but that's a good thing! 
The workout was as follows:

THURSDAY - ABS & BUTT
TIME	EXERCISE	REPS	WEIGHT	SETS
10 MIN	ELLIPTICAL - BACKWARD	MED	N/A	1
abs	BALL CRUNCHES	20	N/A	3
butt	SUMO SQUAT	12	30	3
butt	45-DEGREE LEG PRESS	12	110	3
butt	HAMSTRING MARCH - BOSU	10	N/A	3
abs	6 INCH KILLERS	10	N/A	3
abs	ROWING PLANK	10	5	3
abs	INCLINE BENCH CROSS-PUNCH	10	5	3
10 MIN	ELLIPTICAL - BACKWARD	MED	N/A	1

I don't know that my Abs got as good of a workout as my bum but I guess we'll see tomorrow how sore I am! 

Last night for dinner I made Chicken Tacos with Black Beans and Corn. I ate 1 little taco, 3 bites of beans and a banana after my workout.
Recipe:
Chicken Tacos (these portions made approx 4-5 tacos, adjust for your serving size)
4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Tenderloins marinated in 2tbs EVOO, 1/2 lime(squeeze juice then throw in the bag with chicken), Cumin, Chili Powder, Garlic, a little Cayanne Pepper and juice from 1/2 Orange
Romaine Lettuce
Tomato, diced
FF Greek Yogurt
Tortillas (I had 1 corn tortilla, Branden had Whole Wheat tortillas)
Black Beans and Corn
1can Black Beans
Corn (I used left over corn-on-the-cob from Easter, just cut it off of the cob - frozen would work great too, just thaw first)
1/4c Cilantro, chopped
2tbs Garlic, minced
Handful Cherry Tomatoes (about 10?), cut into 1/4s
3 Green Onions/Scallions, chopped
1tbs EVOO
1tbs Cumin
S&P

Tacos:
Grill chicken (I used George Forman), let rest about 5 minutes then dice.  On tortilla, spread a little greek yogurt, then chicken, lettuce(I squeezed a little lime juice over my lettuce first) and tomato. Wrap as a usual taco.

Beans:
In skillet, put EVOO, green onions, garlic and corn.  Cook for 2-3 minutes and then add all remaining ingredients.  Cook for about 10 minutes over medium heat to let flavors combine nicely.  Squeeze a little lime juice over the beans and serve alongside your taco!

I love taco night because it's super easy, healthy and you have a ton of room to play with the ingredients! 

Food Today:
Breakfast:
Choc Protein w/ Skim Milk
WW Waffle w/ Natural Pnut Butter

Snack:
Cytomax Protein Drink
FF Vanilla Yogurt w/ raspberries and crushed grahams

Lunch:
Leftovers: 2 blackbean tacos (in corn tortillas) w/ lettuce and tomato

Snack:
Green Apple w/ Natural Pnut butter

Dinner:
Turkey Burger on WW Buns (lettuce, tomato, avacado, pickles)
Sweet Potato Fries (cut last week and froze, will bake)

Another SUPER easy dinner night.  Yay for me! :)

Tomorrow is my Arms & Chest workout, I'm pretty excited :)

OH and it's not raining today!  Holla!

OH and I've been thinking about my upcoming birthday (June 11th - mark your calendar).  Since I've decided to leave my partying days in the past, I want to do something different for my birthday this year (usually dinner and getting hammered at a bar) and do something active and healthy!  Branden had the idea of going down to Red River Gorge for the weekend to camp and go hiking/canoeing(if they have it?).  I think it sounds awesome but I'm a little nervous about camping.. I'm not exactly a nature girl.  The most camping I've ever done is with my grandma in her motorhome (fully equipped with beds, tv, radio, stove, refrigerator, toilet, shower, washer & dryer, etc) so to 'rough it' in a tent is a little frightening.. I was also thinking about doing a charity walk or something, there seems to be one scheduled every weekend from the first weekend in May through June... hmm.. we'll see!

Until tomorrow..