Picture Day!! 9/15

Hi there! I know what you’re thinking… I went on and on about needing to make time for my blog and then I didn’t post yesterday! Well, the fact is, I tried! I really did! For some reason, when I went to my blogger dashboard to make a new post, it would just say ‘error’ and I couldn’t do it! I was really bummed but at least it’s working today! AND it’s picture day!!! We missed pictures last month b/c I was in NYC but I quickly had my mom snap one this morning J I must say, not a HUGE difference since the July picture but I still see progress and I’m happy with it!

Yesterday recap:

I went to the gym and did the following:

TIME	EXERCISE	REPS	LBS	SETS
6:30 MIN	TREADMILL	WALK 5 / RUN 1:30		1
10 MIN	ELLIPTICAL	MED/FAST		1
	DUMBBELL SQUAT AND PRESS	15	10	4
	DEEP SQUAT PULSE	20	20	3
	LUNGES	10 EA SIDE	N/A	2
	6 INCH KILLERS	10	N/A	2
	BALL CRUNCHES	20	N/A	4

So, why only 1 interval of jogging, you ask? Well, I had every intention of doing my full 30min interval session and then… I couldn’t keep my pants up. I spent the entire 1 ½ minutes holding my pants up while I was jogging. Obviously, those will no longer be considered ‘running pants’. J I decided to then switch to the elliptical so I didn’t have to worry about showing the fellow gym-goers my goodies.. and I did an additional 10 minutes on there. I find that every time I get on the elliptical now, I’m immediately bored lol. Jogging keeps me focused b/c I’m always watching the clock for the next interval and I like to keep an eye on my pace and stuff… Maybe I just need to find a different program… or wear pants that fit so I don’t have this problem in the future!

Anyway, last night I went to my mom’s bellydance class. She’s teaching a begginner’s class so I’m just going for the exercise. Last night was just that! We did the same 3 moves for an hour which involved squatting almost the entire time! After the workout yesterday and dance last night, my quads are a-burnin today!

Food Yesterday (all organic veggies)

Breakfast: Mocha protein shake

Snack: Oatmeal w/ organic raisins and cinnamon

Snack: Whole Wheat pita w/ light hummus, sliced red bell pepper and sliced cucumber

Snack: Chips & salsa

Dinner: Vegan Mushroom & chickpea veggie burger w/ avocado and jicama slaw on flour-less sprouted grain bread

AND

Today! I went to the gym this morning and was running a bit late so I just did my 30 minute 90 second jog/60 second walk interval program with 1 quick 1-minute sprint at the end! It felt good J

Food Today: (all organic veggies)

Mocha Protein Shake

Snack:

Oatmeal w/ organic raisins and cinnamon

Snack:

Whole Wheat pita w/ light hummus and sliced red bell pepper

Lunch:

Avocado, tomato and lettuce on sprouted bread

Snack:

Protein Tofu (it’s growing on me J)

Dinner: (If I have time to eat)

Tofu Tacos

I had a really delicious mushroom veggie burger when I was in Florida so I decided to attempt to re-create it last night… not a total success but it was decent. I’ll post the recipe but I will say that the flavor and consistency is not where I would like it… but it was still good J

Vegan Mushroom Veggie Burger

1lb White Mushrooms, diced

½ Red Onion, diced

1 can Organic Chickpeas, drained, rinsed & mashed

2 tbs minced garlic

1tsp EVOO

1tbs Ground Flax Seed, dissolved in 2 tbs water

¼ c Whole Wheat bread crumbs

S&P

-Sautee mushrooms, onion, garlic and S&P in EVOO until liquid has evaporated, (about 10 minutes)

-Meanwhile, mash chickpeas in a large bowl w/ a potato masher

-Stir sautéed mix into chickpeas and let cool for about 10-15 minutes

-Add dissolved flax and breadcrumbs, stir to combine

-Form 4 patties and cook the same skillet as mushrooms before for about 2-3 minutes per side

-I served on sprouted bread w/ avocado and jicama slaw… not my favorite toppings for this burger, I think something a bit more simple would be better! Try it out and let me know J

Jicama Slaw

1 Medium Jicama, peeled and shredded

½ Small Cucumber, peeled and shredded

1/3 Small head Red Cabbage, shredded

1 Lime, zested and juiced

3 Small Oranges, juiced

Pinch Cayenne

1tbs Minced Jalapeno (optional)

½ tsp Chile Powder

Mix all in a big bowl! It’s yummy! I haven’t quite figured out the best application for it.. but it sure is tasty!

Tonight is Tribal Night at Leapin’ Lizard! I’m so excited! I love going to this because it’s always  a good time and a GREAT workout! I plan to shake it extra hard tonight J

PICTURE TIME!

Here’s the FIRST picture that I posted, from 4-15:

Here’s the last picture that I posted, from 7-15:

And here’s this morning! Again, not a huge difference, but every little bit counts J

Well, I suppose that’s all I have for today! I hope everyone has a great Thursday! Until tomorrow…

Re-Focused :) 9/13/11

Hello! Sorry about the lack of post yesterday, again – life is busy. Work is steadily increasing and it’s becoming harder for me to find the time to post! That being said, I had a ‘something’s gotta give’ conversation with myself last night and I would like to think that I have re-gained my focus. With the craziness of life, it is very easy for me to get off track, ie not MAKING time to post, not forcing my ass out of bed in the morning to hit the gym, not being strict about my food choices – and it’s beyond time I stop making excuses for this! Everyone has a crazy life; I’m not the only person with a family and full time job! Pardon the rant, but I needed to hear it lol.

Brief weekend recap:

Friday: The alumni game!(pictures below) It was SO much fun!! I got a good workout and had a freakin blast! I’m sad that it only happens once a year but I’m hoping that my build group will be able to get together more than once a year to practice J People are always looking for ways to be ‘tricked’ into working out and that is definitely my top choice J

Food – I over-indulged on sweet treats at my work food day and felt terrible after doing so. I didn’t eat dinner that night, just a handful of organic fruit & nut trailmix after the game.

Saturday: Protein shake for breakfast followed by veggie pita for lunch and I’m can’t remember dinner? Lol I did go and dance on Saturday so I at least got a little workout in. I indulged that night and had 1 espresso cocktail and 2 s’mores.

Sunday: Protein shake for breakfast, veggie pita for lunch and falafel pita for dinner. Branden and I took Nora to the park and I jogged part of the way there and all the way home! Probably about 1 mile total of jogging. At the park there is a little fitness track with stops along the way to do various arm/leg/ab workouts! We had the most fun on the parallel bars J

See:

Monday: Protein shake for breakfast, cucumber & light hummus in a whole wheat pita snack; tofu, black bean, brown rice & salsa salad for lunch; tofu protein mousse snack; ¼ c organic fruit & nut trail mix snack; asian stir fry (shanghai bok choy, leeks, broccoli, peas all chopped and cooked in veggie broth, garlic, ginger, light soy sauce, sesame oil and red pepper flakes and mixed w/ brown rice) for dinner.

Aaand finally today:

Breakfast:

Protein Shake

Snack:

Leftover rice & veggies from last night

Lunch:

2 corn tortillas w/ black bean spread, cilantro and lettuce

Snack:

Tofu protein mousse

Snack:

¼ c trail mix

Dinner:

Tofu tacos w/ brown rice and jicama salsa (recipe tomorrow – never made it!)

I went to the gym this morning and had a good workout!

This is what I did:

TIME	EXERCISE	REPS	LBS	SETS
	PUSHUPS	10	N/A	4
(on bosu)	CURL/PRESS/DIP	15	10	3
	TRICEP DIP	10	N/A	3
	TWISTING BICEP CURL	15	12.5	3
	CONCENTRATION BICEP CURL	15	12.5	3
1M	TREADMILL	WALK	N/A	1
1 MILE (11 MIN)	TREADMILL	JOG	N/A	1

I felt great when I left the gym! I decided that at least once a week I am going to run a solid mile as opposed to doing the intervals that I’ve been doing. I love the intervals and know that they have been a great part of my endurance training but I want to run the mile at least once per week so I can track my progress J. I did it in about 11 minutes today and it wasn’t easy lol. I felt a little pukey towards the end (I started at a slower pace and picked up the pace a lot towards the end trying to meet the 11 minute time) but I pushed through and felt great (after I caught my breath) for doing so.

My weight stayed pretty much the same last week and I definitely credit that to the amount of pumpkin bread that I ate and the time I DIDN’T spend working out. Again, I’m re-focusing this week. I am the ONLY person that will hold me back from meeting my goals, and that is just unacceptable to do to myself!

Another goal that I have this week is to eliminate as much dairy as possible. I feel so great since eliminating meat and I know that I’ll only feel that much better if I do so with dairy as well. I know that I do get a bit of dairy every day with my protein shake and protein mousse as I use whey protein. (whey is cow’s milk-based) but once we go through the protein supply that we have (it will take about 3 weeks), I plan to switch to a soy-based protein powder.

Well, I suppose that’s all I have for today! Here are a couple of pictures from the Alumni game! Big step – I wore shorts! Branden pointed out “Didn’t you wear sweatpants to the game last year?” I responded, “Yes because I was much larger and embarrassed to wear shorts.” Branden: “Yeah… that’s what I was getting at.” J

5,6,7,8 :)

TGIF!  Oh man today is going to be a good day!

Lesbi-honest, I didn’t go to the gym this morning. Nora had 2 more shots yesterday and last night was QUITE restless. Not to mention the fact that I forgot my phone on my desk yesterday (doubles as my alarm), so I attempted to use my iPod as my alarm but for some reason the time was like 3ish hours off? I was completely confused when I woke up. I also had to make food to bring for food day at work today, so I did that instead of going to the gym since I didn’t have time for both. HOWEVER I do have the Alumni Game tonight! BCHS – 7:30pm – come watch some old ladies cheer! I am so excited it’s really almost pathetic, but I don’t even care! AND I think the work that I’ll do tonight (we’ll definitely be doing a lot of stunting!) will make up for the lack of gym visit this morning J

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I made tostadas for dinner last night! I’ll be honest, it wasn’t the most AMAZING thing I’ve ever made but it was pretty good and I’ll definitely try again! Here’s how I made them:

Vegetarian Tostadas

6 Corn Tortillas

Non-stick Spray

½ bell pepper, sliced lengthwise and cut in half (like matchstick)

½ red onion, sliced thin

1tsp EVOO

1tsp minced Garlic

1 Lime

Homemade Guacamole (+ ¼ can fire roasted tomatoes to this recipe and mash them in w/ avacados)

¼ c diced fresh tomatoes

¼ c minced cilantro

1 diced green onion

-Pre-heat oven to 375

-On baking sheet, spread corn tortillas in 1 even layer (I baked in 2 batches)

-Spray tortillas w/ non-stick spray, flip over and spray other side

-Bake until crispy – about 10 minutes

-While baking tortillas, sauté bell pepper and red onion in EVOO w/ garlic until soft – approx 10-15 minutes over medium heat

-Just before peppers & onions are finished, squeeze fresh lime juice (1/2 lime) over them and continue to cook until liquid is gone

-Assemble : Take toasted tortilla and smear guacamole, layer a few peppers and onions, sprinkle tomatoes, green onions, lettuce and cilantro.

-Eat! Optional – feel free to add a little FF cheese or FF sour cream/greek yogurt if you’d like! I’m just trying to avoid as much dairy as possible J

Food Today:

Breakfast:

Mocha Protein Shake

A few bites of black bean spread and a little trail mix (while cooking)

Snack:

Organic trail mix

Lunch:

Food Day! TBD – I plan to make healthy (and obviously vegetarian) choices J

Snack:

Probably nothing or just something leftover from lunch

Dinner:

Absolutely no idea! I have some things to do before the game so something quick! I bought some vegan falafel so I may have that?

Well boy-oh-boy I am excited for tonight! (can you tell?) It may seem silly to most but after cheering for 13 years of my life and then just stopping cold turkey when I graduated high school, it feels really good to be able to do something that I was once so passionate about! And it’s great exercise, so there’s always that little bonus…

Tomorrow I have a quick belly dance performance and then I believe it’s off to Campbellsville, KY for some in-law family time. Sunday it’s shopping day for little miss Nora! We’ve just discovered that she really has no cold-weather appropriate clothing that fits her so we’re going to fix that J

I’ll try to post Saturday if I have a chance, if not, have a happy and healthy weekend!!

Thurs 9/8/11

Hello there!

Sorry for the lack of post yesterday, it was a busy day. 

Food Recap:

Breakfast – Mocha protein shake & ¼ cup oatmeal w/ a few raisins and cinnamon

Snack – Whole Wheat pita w/ light hummus and bell pepper strips

Lunch – 3 small pieces toasted 5grain Italian bread w/ black bean spread, lettuce, cilantro and tomato

Snack – Almonds and raisins

Dinner – A few whole grain tortilla chips and salsa

Yesterday morning I went to the gym and did 30 minutes on the treadmill – 5 minute walking warm-up, 25 minutes of intervals (90 seconds jog/60 seconds walk).  That’s all I had time to do so I just ended it there.  I felt good!  I really like running, have I mentioned that? Lol J

After work, I ran home and made dinner for Branden and Nora then I ran off to cheerleading practice!  No, not for Nora, for me!  For the past 3 years, my high school has been hosting an Alumni Game, which is just the football homecoming game, and they invite alumni cheerleaders to come back and cheer the 2^nd half of the game.  OBVIOUSLY I jump at this opportunity to re-live my glory days!  Practice was great last night, and a pretty good workout J We forget how good of a workout stunting is until we do it again… and we do a lot of it when we get the opportunity!

I didn’t go to the gym this morning, I went to bed later than normal last night and I wasn’t feeling very great when I woke up. I’ll definitely go run tomorrow morning and we have the big game tomorrow night!

Food Today:

Breakfast:

Mocha Protein Shake

(coffee, ice, 1 scoop choc protein and a shot of unsweetened almond milk – blended)

Snack:

Whole Grain pita w/ light hummus and organic bell pepper strips

Lunch:

Black Bean Spread sandwich w/ organic tomato, lettuce and cilantro on whole grain bread

Homemade organic trail mix (almonds, cashews, peanuts, raisins and dried cranberries – all natural/organic)

Snack:

Tofu Protein Mousse

(I substituted soft tofu for the cottage cheese… not so sure how I feel about it, we’ll see after I eat a full serving!)

Dinner:

Tostadas!  I’ll post the recipe tomorrow J

Mentally, I’m feeling a bit off today.  Do you ever get the feeling that you’re just turning your wheels but not really going anywhere?  That’s kind of where I am. Not so much with my weightloss, just life in general. I think it’s time for me to take some bigger steps, make some bigger waves… I just have to get the confidence to do it!

Speaking of confidence, I’ll be wearing SHORTS in public tomorrow night. I don’t wear shorts. Ever. I threw all of my cheerleading shorts away as soon as I graduated because I hated them lol. (regretting that now!) I’m feeling pretty good about it though! I went to Target yesterday and tried on some shorts (not even from the plus size section!!) and they didn’t look bad… I just couldn’t bring myself to buy them lol. Tonight’s the night though, I have to commit and purchase! I’ll post a picture after the game J

Tomorrow is a food day at work which typically translates into unhealthy appetizer-ish food eaten in large quantities (for me at least) BUT I’m going to make some delicious vegetarian fare to bring so I know I’ll have something healthy J

I’ll post more about it tomorrow!  Until then…

Vitamix'n it Up!

Hello!

Well thanks to my stupid phone alarms not going off this morning, I didn’t make it to the gym L .  I was so pissed when I woke up at 6:30!  Tomorrow is another day, I suppose. 

After my vacation and then the extra day off of work yesterday for Labor Day, not to mention the huge change in weather, my brain is all confused!  Everything is still running together a bit but hopefully after this week, I get some sort of normalcy back in my life!  And then just as soon as that happens, I leave for Chicago again! Oy.

So here’s how the food went yesterday:

Breakfast: Mocha Protein Shake

Snack: Pita Chips w/ light hummus

Lunch: Black Bean Spread sandwich w/ organic tomato and organic spring lettuce

Snack: Homemade Pumpkin Bread (my momma made it J DELICIOUS!)

Dinner: Homemade Tortilla Soup (my mom made it in her new Vitamix!  Amazing!! See below)

Food Today

Breakfast:

Mocha Protein Shake

Snack:

1 Whole Wheat Pita, cut in half w/ a smear of light hummus and thinly sliced organic red bell pepper on the inside

(this has become one of my new favorite snacks – right around 200 calories J)

Lunch:

Small sandwich of Black Bean Spread (see recipe here), organic tomato and organic lettuce on toasted 5-grain Italian bread

1 extra tiny piece of the bread with a little spread J

Snack:

Organic raw almonds w/ organic raisins

Dinner:

TBD – I have no idea but I’m leaning towards Whole Wheat Pizza?  I’ll update tomorrow!

*Vitamix Tortilla Soup

I don’t have the exact recipe but it went something like this (definitely flexible, if you don’t have a Vitamix, just throw it in a blender[may want to chop the veggies first] and heat it on the stove J)

3c Vegetable Broth

1 stalk Celery

1 mushroom

¼ of an onion

1 carrot

1 small seeded jalapeno

2tsp taco seasoning

1tsp cumin

1/4c drained black beans

1/4c crushed tortillas

Squeeze of lime juice

S&P

-Throw it in the blender and puree!  At the end, stir-in the following(all optional):

1/4c drained black beans

1/2c thawed/drained corn kernels

More diced jalapeno (I like it spicy J)

Shredded chicken (we used a vegetarian chicken substitute – just don’t tell my husband!)

I garnished mine w/ a dollup of light sour cream, a tiny sprinkling of cheddar cheese and cilantro and served w/ crusty whole grain bread!

It was SO yummy and fresh-tasting!  We’re going to be making LOADS of fresh soups this fall/winter!!

I am seriously loving/embracing this new mostly-vegetarian/organic lifestyle!  It’s fun to find the new recipes and the food is so delicious, I don’t feel deprived at all!! 

Well, I suppose that’s all I have for today… Until tomorrow J

Home Sweet Home

Sorry for the lack of posting the past couple of days, we were traveling home.  I'm back in my house, ent to the grocery and feel somewhat normal again! The temperature has dropped drastically but to be honest, I'm not mad about it! Here's a brief recap of the past couple of days:
Friday I ate pretty healthy, including one of the lightest dinners I had all week (3 each grilled shrimp and scallops, fresh veggies and a couple tomatoes w/ fresh mozzarella/balsamic)
Saturday I took a run and had my protein shake in the morning before packing and cleaning the condo and we were on the road by about 1pm.  We stopped and had Subway for lunch (I had a 6" veggie on 9 grain honey oat w/ red wine vinegar) and I snacked on organic blue corn chips in the car.  For dinner, we stopped at Golden Corral (obviously not my choice) and I had a black bean taco, salad and 1/2 a baked sweet potato.  Something new happened at this meal - I went for a small slice of a delicious-looking chocolate cake after dinner and within 1 bite, I felt my heartrate rise, my body got hot and I got a headache.  That was enough for me.  Since I have cut white sugar almost completely out of my diet, it has a pretty huge affect on my body now!  Just a reminder of how bad it is for me :)
Sunday, I had 1/2 a slice of dry whole wheat toast, a small serving of oatmeal (w/ cinnamon, raisins and a couple of walnuts) and a banana with a bit of peanut butter.  For lunch, I had another Subway veggie sandwich (same as before) and snacked on pita chips in the car.  For dinner last night, I made a really delicious black bean spread (recipe below) and had that on 5 grain italian bread w/ lettuce and organic heirloom tomato slices from my garden :)

I haven't worked out today but last night a few friends came over and we exercised together :)

Black Bean Spread (I plan to use this for sandwiches but can easily be used as a dip or in place of a condiment!)
1 can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes and jalapenos, mostly drained and lightly rinsed
1/4c red onion, diced
2 tbs minced garlic
1tsp cumin
1 piece whole wheat bread, torn into small pieces
non-stick spray

-In a non-stick saucepan, generously spray the bottom w/ nonstick spray
-Saute onion, garlic and cumin until onion is wilted (about 4-5 minutes)
-Add black beans and cook 1-2 minutes
-Add tomatoes and simmer covered for about 10 minutes, then uncouvered for about 5.  You want most of the liquid to be cooked off with just a tiny bit remaining.
-Put the black bean mixture and bread into a food processor and process until almost smooth.

I served on toasted bread w/ organic lettuce and tomato. YUMMY!!

I went grocery shopping today and got a bunch of yummy organic produce and I'm excited to make some yummy and healthy foods this week!!  I'll be sure to update with recipes :)

Well, I suppose that's all I have for now... I plan on getting back into my normal swing of things and posting everyday as usual!  I know I mentioned posting in the evening, I'm just not so sure that my schedule will allow me to do that... we'll see.

I hope everyone has had a fun and healthy holiday weekend! 
OH and I ended up losing 1 pound while in Daytona!  Not anything huge but it's still a step in the right direction :)

September 5, 2011
Weight : 251 lbs

TGIF :(

Normally I would be SO excited for Friday to roll around... but not in this case because that means we are going home tomorrow :(  I don't want beach time to end!
Oh well...
Well Wednesday night I went out with Branden for our little 'date night' which turned into a giant expensive night lol.  First, we went to dinner at this really nice place called Martini's.  We shared a fried calamari appetizer (I didn't have much, it wasn't anything special) then I had ravioli w/ shrimp (house-made ravioli stuffed w/ mushrooms and cheese topped w/ fresh spinach and a garlic sauce and grilled shrimp) I didn't finish it, but oh my it was tasty!  Then we topped off the meal with an amazing dessert, I had an organic flourless chocolate torte.  I have no idea how many calories were in that meal and I don't really want to know.  It was toally delicious though!  We also had quiite a bit of wine, of course :)  After that, we went to this silly little bar by the condo called Ya Ya's... only because that's what Nora calls my mom (instead of 'grandma') and I had a glass of wine... THEN we couldn't leave well enough alone and decided we needed to go to a night club in downtown Daytona so we did!  We drank WAY too much but I did dance a lot so hopefully that burned off a few calories?  lol Wishful thinking....
Needless to say, I was feeling LESS than great yesterday and didn't do my run/walk in the morning.  For breakfast, I had a bowl of Wheaties Fuel cereal w/ unsweetened almond milk.  Lunch, leftover salad w/ 1/2 a piece of whole grain italian bread (Nora stole the other half). Snack I had a few whole wheat pita chips w/ jalapeno hummus.  For dinner, I was hungover and just wanted fried food... so I had fried fish & shrimp w/ 2 hushpuppies and coleslaw.  Needless to say, 'you are what you eat' and I felt like shit lol. I did walk for about a mile or so yesterday and I carried Nora about 1/2 of the way... so I had a nice sweat going. Now, I'm not trying to say that that little bit of exercises excused my poor dinner choice, I'm just saying that it happened :)
I am still kind of recovering today (you know you're getting old when a hangover lasts for DAYS instead of hours) and didn't wake up to go out this morning.  I'm going to try to at least take a walk later today, and defininitely run tomorrow.
I have noticed a few changes in my body recently since I've upped my running frequency... my thighs are tighter, my abs are feeling a bit more firm and obviously my endurance is increasing.  I'm liking running even more :)  I remember reading an interview w/ Jillian Michaels and they asked her what was the 1 exercise that she did every time she went to the gym and her answer? Running.  "Running makes you skinny.  It works." That quote has remained in my head since reading that, and I do believe she's right!  Not that I'm skinny by any means, but I can see how if I contine to increase my running, I can get there! 

I've been thinking over the past couple of days and I think I'm going to start posting in the evening as opposed to the morning.  That way, I'll be reporting on what ACTUALLY happens that day, as opposed to what I'm hoping will happen that day lol.  Then I don't have to come back the next morning and correct what actually did occur!  I just wanted to catch up from yesterday but I'll post again tonight to re-cap today and then do it in the evening from now on :)

I hope everyone has a great Friday and is ready for a 3 day weekend!!  I know I am :)