I Heart Yoga!!!

Oh my goodness!  I forgot how much I truly LOVE yoga! 

I decided against doing P57 today...after reading Elaine's Om Sweet Om blog.  And I'm so happy that I did!  It was AMAZING!  Partly because I just missed how it felt to maneuver my body in different ways and practice my balance...and partly because it reminded me about being focused and centered.  It reminded me about all that chatter that goes on in your head...and how sometimes it's necessary to just push it away and focus. 

It also felt good to do yoga now that I am in good physical condition.  I felt strong...and I pushed through any pain that I was feeling.  It was AWESOME!!!

I'm really glad that I did yoga before making my workout schedule for August.  I may need to change some things around, so that I'm incorporating more yoga in my life. 

One thing that I found out today is that Steve Ross doesn't come on Oxygen anymore. *gasp*  I've been DVRing Inhale, his show, for awhile and I noticed that nothing recorded in July.  When I did a search, nothing came up!!  It made me kinda sad. 

I started doing yoga with Steve Ross about eight or nine years ago.  I LOVED everything about it at first...the music...the poses...his funniness.  Then it all started getting on my nerves.  All the poses  seemed really repetitive...after awhile, I wanted to hear yoga-y music, not Motown.  And even his jokes started getting on my nerves.  So, I stopped and found some new obsession for the moment.

Long story long (as my fiance always says)...many years later I started doing hot yoga...which I absolutely, positively love!!!  I spent a year practicing about one or two times per week...until the $70 per month fee became a little too much. 

So last year, I started DVRing my old standby, Inhale, again.  It was no hot yoga, but it gave me a good workout.  Plus, I read Steve Ross' book, Happy Yoga last year and it gave me a new found appreciation for him. 

It's kinda sad that it no longer comes on...but I have about 15-20 episodes recorded, so I'm not that worried.  Besides, I really want to start doing some research on different types of yoga...so that I can find what is best for me.  I don't like yoga that is too flow-y...I like to hold my stretches for a bit, but still do powerful moves and work up a sweat.  I wonder what kind of yoga that would be?!!?

Anyway, I took a few pics to document exactly where I'm doing all of this working out.  It definitely is not the spa-like home gym that I dream to have one day...but it does the trick for now.  (As you will see, it doubles as a ironing room).

The exercise bike that I just started using.  The mirror is actually from when we were remodeling our bathroom (which is still under construction).  I really like having it there when I workout...especially during yoga.

Old Faithful:)  My wonderful treadmill...it has been good to me.  The chair, the long pillow and the playground ball are for when I do Physique 57.

Equipment.  I really should be embarrassed by all the dust on the mats.  Maybe that should be my next project.

My beloved Jade yoga mat

M

The TV is a must!

My July workout schedule.  If you notice, I only missed one workout...and it was a second workout for the day AND I only missed it because my fiance's parents were in town.  I love crossing out the little boxes when I've completed my workout!

That's it!  I just wanted to proclaim my re-found deep affection for yoga!  My eating is WAY off today.  I waited to long to work out and all I've eaten is a half of an apple and it's almost 1:00 pm!!!  Trying to decide between a smoothie or a real lunch...definitely leaning towards a smoothie!  Spinach, banana, and chocolate...YUM!!!!

These Are My Confessions

I watched Usher's Behind the Music yesterday on VH1 and "Confessions" suddenly popped into my head right before I logged in.  I'm not a huge Usher fan, but I felt compelled to DVR the show about a week ago...bored I watched it yesterday.  Kind of interesting...especially the part about him and Chili.

Anyway, I have a couple of confessions to make this morning.

1.  Though my outlook has been much healthier these days, I still harbor some body image and food issues.  I woke up this morning thinking that I needed to restrict my diet more, eat more salads, and maybe up my exercise.  This all came on because I am sooooooo impatient for weight loss.  In actuality, I know I should not eat any less...and I don't think that I can exercise any more than I do (especially once school starts).  I'm gonna blame this one on TOM.

2.  I miss my scale...just a little.  My scale used to make me feel skinny...and he also made me feel fat.  And that is why he has been banished.  But I have looked at the empty space several times in the past couple of days and I thought about the fact that I would have hopped on by now.  (I think it is funny that I refer to my scale as a "he"...I wonder what that says about me psychologically).

3.  I'm a perfectionist.  As I was putting labels on my save the date envelopes last night, I realized that I would probably not want any help with them because I would want them to be just right.   This is the attitude that I have with a lot of stuff...especially at work.  It's good and bad...I usually like the finished product, but it is always a lot of work on me.

4.  I don't sleep well alone.  My fiance wasn't here last night and I had a horrible night's sleep.  Carson doesn't sleep well without him either.  He barks at stuff in the middle of the night (I think he always thinks its him coming home)...and that in turn scares me because I think that someone is here.  I am super scary in general (...that should be another confession).

5.  I'm a procrastinator...big time.  It used to be that I thought that I worked better under pressure...now I feel like it may have turned into an all out fear of getting started.  I'm referring to my dissertation, of course.   I really, really, really, really, really, really need to get started.

6.  I don't know if I can/will keep blogging once school starts.  Honestly, teachers' schedules are super, crazy and busy...and I just don't know if I will have the time or energy to keep it up (not that it's that labor intensive...I just don't know what this year has in store for me yet).  School combined with Confession #5 might mean no more blog:(

That's about it.  I'm sitting here trying to decide between yoga and P57.  Oh, how I miss my yoga.  But I know that P57 will make that little place between my outer thigh and my butt hurt like crazy...which is always good.  I'll probably do P57.  I'm making my August workout calendar today...and I will be doing yoga on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I wish that there was a way to put my workout calendar on the blog.  There probably is...but it's more than likely over my head.

Okay...enough babbling.  I need to get this workout finished early...tons to do today!!!

It's About That Time...

About that time for what you may ask...?

Well, me going to Wal-Mart and buying these composition books means it's about that time for school to start...

It's also about time for me to get a new lunch box.

My co-workers make fun of my cooler...but it's the only thing that would fit my breakfast, lunch, and snack.  One day, I was leaving my friend's classroom with my cooler on my arm and a little boy in her class said "Ms. B, I like your purse."  It was super cute!  I like my "purse" too...but its time to get something a little less cumbersome. 

It's also about time that I went a little green, in terms of my water consumption.

I used to have a $19/week water habit.  I was addicted to Evian and I would buy a six pack of the one liter bottles every week.  In addition to that, I would buy a 24 pack of 12 oz. bottles of Deer Park.  It was ridiculously expensive...so, I had to cut down on my Evian.  I only buy it for special occasions now.

Anyway, I say all of that to say that I think that it is FINALLY time for me to stop buying plastic water bottles.  (You may look and see that I have still bought four huge gallon bottles of water sitting on my table...but I'm trying to take baby steps.  The very first step was almost 365 days ago when I bought my cute little Sigg one year ago.  It has sat in the cabinet since then...baby steps...don't judge me!).  Okay...so my next step is to break the individual water bottle habit first...then I'll invest in some filters.

It's also time for Carson to get a hair cut.

I think that this might be borderline doggy abuse cause it's super hot outside.  Poor guy...he looks a mess!

It's about time for me to finish those Chia Spelt Carrot Muffins before they go bad.

It's about time for me to get on these stupid save the dates.  I bought some labels today...so hopefully things will go a little smoother.

It's about time for me to start buying unsweetened almond milk.

Did you know that the regular chocolate almond milk has 20 grams of sugar!!?!?  WHAT!?!?!?  Pure craziness!  The unsweetened kind doesn't have any sugar...big difference!

It's about time that I bought some portable smoothie containers for my ride to work...Monday's the big day!  Back to the grind...

The bag says Whole Foods...but I actually got them from Wal-Mart!  I also got a cute travel mug for my green tea:)

It's about time that I got rid of these darn fruit flies!!!

For the past couple of weeks, we've been invaded by fruit flies.  We're really not gross people...really!  It's just that I have this idea about wanting certain fruits and/or vegetables to sit on the counter.  This is obviously not the smartest idea and has invited swarms of fruit flies to our kitchen.  I read that I can set a fruit fly trap by putting a piece of fruit in the oven over night with the oven door open...then in the morning, I'm supposed to close the oven...turn it on...and ta-da...no more fruit flies.  I know it's not the most humane thing...but I'm sick of sharing my bananas with those nasty little buggers!  They're just gross!  Maybe I'll set the trap tonight!

 Fly Trap!

It's also time for me to water my aloe plant.

He's not lookin' so good these days. 

It's NOT time to go to the grocery store.

The fridge is stocked and ready for my first week back at work.  I went to four grocery stores today...Trader Joe's, Kroger, Wal-Mart, and Harry's (in that order).

I stocked up on protein.

I am really digging the chocolate rice protein.  I made the yummiest smoothie this morning with spinach, a whole frozen banana, some plain Chobani, some chocolate (sweetened) almond milk, and some flax...oh yeah, and the chocolate rice protein.  It was AWESOME!!!!  May be my new fave for awhile!:)

It' IS time to make some more soup.

My taco-ish soup has been getting better and better each day.  I finished all but a corner today...AND I decided to make some more to bring to school for lunch next week. 

It's also time for me to finish this book.

I was hoping to have my dissertation written this summer.  Alas, I have not written one word:(

Lastly, it is time for my monthly visitor...and she's got me all moody and crazy.  I mean, I'm not crying my eyes out or anything.  But I am feeling...uh, fat...like I can't see all of my efforts from the last six weeks like I did yesterday.  I feel like all of my new muscles are being covered by a big old pad of fat.  I feel like going to the market in my workout gear may have looked a tad inappropriate...and I probably should have covered up.  I don't know!  She's in my head, man!!  It's crazy!

But at least I know that it is my hormones and not really me.  Maybe after a hot shower, I'll feel a little better.  I might even order a movie...yay for lazy Friday nights!

Well, I guess it's time for me to go.  See ya!!!

Different Day, Same @&#*!

(I'm laughing at my own title...what a dork!)  This is gonna be short and sweet...cause I gotta do my P57 before my friend/MOH comes over tonight. 

Anyway, today was a lot better than yesterday.  I hung out with my future in-laws...which was fun!  I love their stories.  His mom remembers EVERYTHING!!!  I would kill for that kind of memory.  My past is a blur.  I've found myself asking people about what I did back then or on this or that occasion to jog my memory.  Thank God for pictures!!

I also tried to print out my save the date envelopes...and I am officially over it!!   When my friend called she got an earful of curse words regarding those stupid envelopes.  Screw my printer...screw these stupid envelopes and screw Kinko's for not saying that they would just do them for me.  I do l-o-v-e my save the dates though...they are super cute!!  Maybe I can go back and try again tomorrow...I mean, they are already a month late...what's another day or so.

As for the title that made me giggle...I was referring to my meals.  Today, I have eaten EXACTLY the same thing that I had yesterday.  Same green smoothie...same taco-ish soup and cantaloupe...same chia carrot muffin thing...and in about an hour I will be eating an open faced mahi mahi sandwich with cabbage...AGAIN!  Yay for leftovers!!!...I guess that is one good thing about me and my fiance eating separately.  More for me!! (I'm such an only child...and such a pig:))

Anyway, gotta go "have a party for my thighs!" (that's what the annoying lady in the P57 DVD says...I know, super corny).  Bye!!

A Gloomy Day

My day was kinda like the weather outside...

...gloomy!

It started at 6:00 am, when my fiance ran down the stairs in the dark to get the door...fell and jammed his knee in the wall.  He's okay...but the wall isn't.

 

Then, it just kinda went down hill from there.  My fiance and I got in a little tiff (probably shouldn't be writing that)...and I've been moping around the house ever since.  For the record, it wasn't over the massive hole in the wall. 

Working out made me feel a little better...but I didn't push myself on my run like I had the past couple days.  And every magazine that I picked up today talked about the benefits of running outside...and alas, I am still on my stupid treadmill (I don't think the people that write these articles live in Georgia). 

I also got a letter from my principal trying to get us all excited about the 2010-2011 school year.  To me, all the letter said was..."Your summer is over.  Your summer is over.  Your summer is over."  In all actuality (I've never used that phrase in my writing before), I think that I'm ready to go back...it's just there are still so many things that I wanted to accomplish over the summer that I didn't (uh, like my dissertation).  AND I know that the beginning of the school year is soooo busy...It is going to be difficult to work and do all of the things that I need to do (i.e. workout, clean the house, blog...and uh, finish my dissertation). 

Anyway, I did spend a lot of time in the kitchen today (see previous post...taco-ish soup).  I finally made Angela's Carrot Chia Spelt Muffins.  They were vegan...which made me feel all of chef-like when I made them...for whatever reason.  The recipe was pretty easy...I just had to make sure that I had all of the ingredients.

INGREDIENTS


Dry:

• 2 cups spelt flour (See note below)
• 3 Tbsp sugar (I actually ended up using 4 1/2...will explain later)
• 1 tsp cinnamon 
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg 
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/4 t sea salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 Tbsp cacao nibs (uh...nobody warned me NOT to try these before cooking.  Super bitter!!!)
• 3-5 Tbsp raisins (her recipe only called for 3...but hey, I like raisins!)

Wet:

• 2 Tbsp chia seeds
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp vanilla soy milk
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 1.5 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 cup sweetened applesauce (or 1 cup mashed banana will work)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 

Preheat oven to 375F.  Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl.  Mix wet ingredients together in a separate bowl.  Add wet to dry, mixing until combined.  (I think that I could of mixed a little more than I did...I found a little uncooked mixture or powder on one of my finished muffins).

 

Spoon into greased muffin tin. 

Cook for 25-27 mins.  Makes 12 muffins.

I had to grate the carrots for this recipe.  Have I ever shared what my "food processor" looks like!?!? 

Yes...my little hand is bigger than my food processor.

Don't worry...already registered for a real one.  Just counting down until the big day!!

After 25 minutes or so...we had the finished product.

If my camera (phone) was a little clearer...you could actually see the bits of carrots.  Mmmm...lots of yummy raisins too!!!

As far as taste...they were okay.  I didn't use sweetened applesauce (I couldn't find any)...so I added a tablespoon and a half more sugar.  It's good that I did because they still were not very sweet.  But I thought that they were good (I didn't even bother making my fiance try them...don't think he would be a fan).  Anyway, I had them with some Neufchatel cheese (which tastes exactly like cream cheese to me...with less fat)...and I liked them.  Like this afternoon's taco-ish soup...all it needed was a garnish:)

For dinner, I whipped up something quick.  Open-faced Mahi Mahi burger with cabbage and corn.

There's a burger under all that cabbage!!

I even whipped up a little sauce with some Greek yogurt to go on top of the bread.  I used to use mayonnaise for the sauce...but Chobani did the trick!!  I was kinda impressed with myself.

Anyway, my future in-laws are driving in from Arkansas tonight.  They should be here in the next couple of hours.  I need to stop moping and put on my game face.  

Oh!  Before I go, I need to see if I can come up with 10...okay, that's stretching it...5 reason to be happy:

1)  I'm becoming quite the little cook (all this from a girl who used to order out at least 3-4 times per week)

2)  I'm making new blog friends:)...that is always nice.

3)  I found a BOGO 1/2 off coupon for some tires (I must be worse off than I thought cause this is really like pulling teeth...)

4)  The day is almost over.

5)  ...and tomorrow is new day:)

Okay...that took much longer than it should have.  And because I'm in such a grumpy mood...it was REALLY hard.  Hopefully, tomorrow will be better.

My Version of Taco-ish Soup

Today, I decided to make another Greenlitebites.com find. (If it weren't for Roni, I don't know what I'd be eating these days.

At first, I wasn't gonna post this recipe.  I substituted chicken broth with vegetable broth...and the taste of the soup definitely needed some kick.

Luckily, the required garnishments (avocado and cheese) were just the kick that it needed!!!

Here's the recipe (As usual, I made several changes to kind of make it my own)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups vegetable broth or stock 
• 1 15oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 15oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp dried/fresh cilantro
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tbsp lime juice
• 1/2 cup whole wheat couscous 
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 2 Tbsp lowfat sour cream
• 1 avocado cut into slices (about 1/4 for each serving)
• lowfat 4 cheese Mexican (about 1/8 cup for each serving)

Put all the ingredients in a pot except avocado and cheese. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer for about 10 minutes.  Top with avocado slices and cheese.

  I had it with a side of cantaloupes.  Very tasty.

And that's it!  So simple!!! I really didn't measure out the spices...I just kinda do it all to taste.  I was really worried that this was gonna be a miss...but as I said those garnishments really set it off.  You know what they always say, everything is better with avocado and cheese!!!:)

Now, Who Doesn't Love a Calzone!?!?

I made calzones tonight...and they actually turned out pretty good.  I would definitely do it again.

I got the recipe from my new go-to favorite, Greenlitebite.com.  Here's the recipe...with a few adjustments.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 package of Trader Joe's Whole wheat Pizza Dough 
• 1 9 oz frozen pack of spinach defrosted
• 8-10 mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup fat free Ricotta cheese (124 g)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
• Sauce for dipping 

Preheat oven to 425 Degrees.  Separate the dough into 2 even 4 oz balls.  Stretch and roll out the dough.  Pre-cook mushrooms in a pan.  Drain any excess water from the spinach and mix it with mushrooms, ricotta, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and mozzarella.  Half the spinach-cheese mixture on place each half on one side of rolled out dough. Fold over the dough, flatten a bit, seal the edges and pierce a fork.  Place calzones on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake on the middle rack for about 18-20 minutes until crust is firm to the touch and the spinach is warmed through.

 Hot out of the oven!!!

I thought it was gonna be small...but it was pretty huge!!!

It was very good...and really easy!!  I even got a "yeah...it's pretty good" from my fiance.  Woohoo!  I'm super full...I finished about 3/4 of it. 

I ate a little late (an hour passed my cut off time), but I did a lot of activity today.  Physique 57 in the morning...walked three mile uphill (at 4.0-4.2 mph) in the afternoon...and walked to Harry's with my fiance this evening.  Pretty big day for physical fitness:)

Anyway, tomorrow, I will be making Angela's Carrot Chia Spelt Muffins!  My fiance's family is coming into town...maybe they can be my guinea pigs.  I may not know how to cook...but I sure can follow a recipe!  Yay, me!!

Tuesday Weigh In?

I started this post yesterday...but I ended up going to the outlets with my mom, so I was never able to finish.  I don't know if this is allowed in the blog-world, but I'm just gonna pretend that it is Monday again...

Well, this is it.  The last Monday weigh in for awhile.  It's funny...even though I said that I would be giving up the scale for four weeks, I woke up this morning thinking that that I would give it one more week.  I figured that I would be able to see my total weight loss for my summer break if I gave it one more week.  AND my OCD told me that if I did one more week I would be taking the whole month of August off.  I like even things...and multiples of 5 (I know...don't ask).

So, I went to the bathroom...and hopped on the scale.  129.2!  I was happy that I hadn't gained again since I did the sneak peak after my sneak peak.  When I thought about my week, I hadn't exactly been as healthy as I could have been...but I did my best and that is all that you can do, right?

Anyway, the funny (...or not so funny) thing is, I immediately started thinking about weighing in next week.  Was I gonna lose?  Was I gonna go up!?!?  How was that gonna make me feel?  Will I hit the ten pound mark?  All these questions floated around my head minutes after I stepped off the scale.

That's when I realized that this would definitely have to be the last week for awhile.  It just isn't healthy.  I didn't even give myself a second to celebrate my loss before I was already contemplating the next time I would be getting on that stupid scale.  So that was it....and the scale was banished.

My scale's new home...it's at the top of my closet on top of Carson's cage. 

Kind of liberating...kinda scary.  My only real fear is that it will affect my eating.  I'm afraid that without having that D-day at the end (or beginning) of each week that I won't feel the same accountability.  But we will see.  I say I am in this for the long haul...for a healthy lifestyle and this will definitely be the test.

Anyway, here are my stats...

DATE       WEIGHT       BODY FAT (%)    HYDRATION (%)           BMI
5/31             138.4                28.6                       49.9                      27.0
6/13             137.2                28.2                       50.2                      26.8
6/28             133.8                27.4                       50.8                      26.1
7/5               133.8                27.2                       50.9                      26.1
7/12             130.6                26.2                       51.6                      25.6
7/19             131.0                26.2                       51.6                      25.6
7/26             129.2                25.6                       52.0                      25.2

I have lost a 9.2 lbs in 6 weeks...which I truly think is phenomenal.  I'm proud that I did it the right way.  Without dieting or restricting what I eat.  Yes, I still track my calories...yes, I do stay away from certain foods...and yes, I did/do exercise daily.  But these are all things that I don't mind doing...these are all things that inevitably make me pretty happy.  I have never felt so healthy in my life...and I still get to eat brownies and tortilla chips on occasion...how awesome is that!?!?

Also, on a side note, I tried another recipe this weekend.  POM "chicken" with brown rice and spinach...it was another yummy treat from Greenlitebites.com.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 oz POM juice
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp dried tarragon
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• pinch of kosher salt and ground black pepper
• Quorn "chicken"
• About 2 cups cooked brown rice
• 2-3 cups of baby spinach

Whisk the POM juice, honey, vinegar, tarragon, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.

Submerge the "chicken." The recipe says to marinate for at at least a half an hour...but 10-15 minutes is okay with the Quorn "chicken." Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and spray with a non-stick cooking spray. Place the "chicken" in the hot pan and cook according to directions.  Once cooked, add the marinade to the pan. Bring it to a boil. Add the cooked rice, and then the baby spinach.  Stir in the spinach until it just starts to wilt.  Then it is ready to serve!!!

 Is it looking any better than usual?!  My college roommate has a food blog and her food always looks SOOOO good...I need to ask her what I'm doing wrong (maybe it's cause half the time I use my iPhone camera:))

I had to thank Roni for her wonderful recipe.  I've started using Greenlitebites each week when I make my weekly meal plans.  So helpful.  

Okay...I need some nourishment.  NOW!  I may walk to Whole Foods to get some applesauce and coffee.  A couple of my favorite bloggers keeps writing about Green Monster muffins...and I'm feeling an obligation to make them (YUM!). 

My First "Real" Trip to TJ's, *Surprise* & Chu-chu-chu Cheetah's!

Today, I am recuperating.  I don't think that I will even get a workout in.  It's gonna be a "lazy, lay on the couch all day" kinda day...which is fine with me because I haven't had one in awhile.

My fiance and I went to a surprise party for a friend last night!  I'm a homebody...but it was nice getting together with friends!

This picture was clearly taken at the end of the night...as denoted by my fiance's eyes.

I didn't eat before we went to the party...which was probably a mistake.  There wasn't much food that I could eat...barbecue chicken, potato salad, beans, and corn bread.  I don't eat chicken or potato salad...the beans were cooked with meat...and I decided to stay clear of the corn bread.  I had a couple of tortilla chips AND I did indulge in a brownie or two...or three (they were really small).  I also had one drink...which is very good for me.

After the party, I got some seafood bisque soup to go from the Marietta Diner.

Not my actual soup.  This is just a cup...I got a big old bowl!

The diner is in the neighborhood.  The food is not great (to me).  But it's open late and I do enjoy the seafood bisque!

The soup was salty...and I really shouldn't have eaten it so late.  And I really shouldn't have eaten a nice size portion of my fiance's fries.  But at least we had fun!!!

Another excitement from this weekend was my "first" trip to Trader Joe's.  Okay...of course, I've been to TJ's before.  My first trip actually happened years ago!  But this was my first trip as a "healthy eater."  I was AMAZED by both the prices and all of the yummy treats.  I really had to restrain myself and try to stick to my list.  

The only extra item that I did get was...

Trader Joe's Smoked Salmon and Spinach Filled Crepes

I don't know why out of all of the yummy foods there, I decided to go with frozen crepes...but I threw it in the cart.

They looked like this...

Three crepes was one serving.  210 calories and 10 grams of protein.  They were...uh, not the greatest.  They needed to be topped with a sauce or something.  It was recommended to eat them with a salad...but I just had an orange.  They were also very rich...had my stomach a little upset with me later.  I don't know what I am going to do with the additional 7 crepes that are still in the freezer.  Definitely a miss:(

Something else new that I tried this weekend was Kailey from Snackface's chu-chu-chu cheetahs (a.k.a. sweet potato chips).

They are supposed to have those little dark marks on them.

Another bad picture of my food.  I need some tips:(

I had my chu-chu's with a veggie hot dog on a 100% whole wheat bun.  Not the healthiest meal (no green), but it did the trick for Friday night.

So, that is my weekend in a nutshell.  I need to get back to my horizontal position on the couch.  I really need to eat.  It's passed noon and all I've had is some cranberry pomegranate juice.  This is the problem with eating so late.  It's gonna be a light day since I over-did it yesterday...which is fine cause I don't have the energy to cook much anyway!! 

He said "YES!"

I was moping around the house yesterday after the big sneak peak weigh in.  My fiance tried to cheer me up a bit...but I guess he wasn't saying what I wanted to hear.  So, I went to the blogs:)  Everyone at Blog to Lose was so supportive...and had helpful advice.  Maria from Oh Healthy Day was super sweet and took the time out to send me a really nice and very insightful email (I'm starting to get why people like this blogging thing so much). 

Anyway, I was sitting on the couch with my fiance and kinda out of no where I asked him if he would do a 5K with me.  He said "When?"  I said, "I dunno...September!?"  He said, "Okay."  He said okay!!!  I was super happy. 

My happiness is twofold.  One, I've been trying to get the nerve up to sign up for a 5K.  I did two a couple of years ago...but I didn't train at all, ran/walked the whole way, and didn't give it my all either time.  This time, I feel physically fit!  I feel ready!  Even though, I've primarily been running on the treadmill...I figured I have a month to transition to outdoor running to train.

My second reason for being happy is that my fiance is not a very healthy person right now.  His eating habits are very poor...and he doesn't exercise (He would cringe to read this...but it's true).  I'm hoping committing to a 5K will give him a little jump start.  He said that we could start running in the evenings.  (I pray that this really happens).

So in other news, I have a little confession.  Since my declaration of banishing the scale for the month starting Monday...I have hopped on the scale TWO TIMES!!!  I know...I know.  I figured I would get it all out before I say goodbye for four weeks...right?!  Anyway, the first time was yesterday afternoon...still said 131.0. 

Then this morning.  Can you believe when I got on the scale this morning it said 129.something. *mouth drops open*  That makes absolutely no sense!  I did not burn 3500+ calories in less than 24 hours.  And to make it even more interesting my body fat dropped a percentage point too!!  I really don't know what to say.  And of course, quiet celebrations in my head started...I felt like I looked skinnier than yesterday...and all of that lunacy.  Anyway, I think that I need to re-read Maria's email.  She said so many good and poignant things in support of trading the scale for a healthy lifestyle. 

Okay...I promised myself only 30 minutes on the computer and then I "want to" do C210K (I read somewhere yesterday to replace "have to" with "want to" when talking about your daily workout).  Thanks again blog world!!!

What Am I Doing Wrong?

So, Fridays have kind of turned into the day that I take a sneak peak at the scale before my Monday weigh in.  I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing.  I feel like if the scale says something good, it'll motivate me to have a good food weekend.  But if the scale says something bad (like today), it puts me in a bad mood...and the bad mood usually comes back on Monday when I weigh in again.

Okay, the scale didn't say something horrible...but it didn't budge since Monday.  Not even a half of a pound!  I don't get it!?!?  I do EVERYTHING right!  I stay between 1300-1500 calories.  I work out EVERY day and this week I worked out twice a day on two separate occasions.  I eat the right foods (mostly fruits and veggies)...and I have had minimum alcohol (had a little splurge on Monday with the co-workers).  I've done new exercises this week so it's not my body adapting.  I'm soooo frustrated.  It's never been this hard to make the pounds come off.  I thought that if you did all the right things (i.e. exercise) and ate all of the right foods, you are supposed to lose weight....right?!!

I don't see myself going back to "the dark side" as far as eating but I am VERY frustrated.  Do you think that it has to do with the corn chip incident from the other night?...one tiny binge (600 calories of organic yellow tortilla chips) cancels out ALL of my hard work?!!?  I'm kinda sad.

On to lighter things...I finally tried Allie's "carrot cake" sandwich yesterday...and it was super good.

 As usual, taking a picture was an afterthought.  If you look closely, I already took a bite out of it.  Hee hee! 

Here's Allie's "recipe."

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup carrots, chopped
• 2 slices of cinnamon raisin bread (I used Rudi's and it was awesome-sauce)
• 2 Tbsp. cream cheese (I used Neufchatel cheese...a lot like cream cheese, but less fat)
• 1/8 cup pecans
• 1 tsp. of honey
• some cinnamon

Chop carrots and heat for one minute in microwave.  Add honey and cinnamon to carrots.  The rest is pretty self explanatory.  It's a sandwich, silly!

Anyway, the bread made it super yummy!!!  Moist, organic cinnamon raisin bread is awesome!!!  It was a little high in calories...but I balance it out with the rest of the food that I had for the day. 

Well, I still need to do my C210K...even though I'm super bummed.  I'm gonna try to keep trucking along.

UPDATE:  After Monday...I think that I am going to banish the scale for two weeks.  I will see how that makes me feel.  I feel great about how I'm eating and exercising...the scale is the only thing making me not happy.  So, I will take a two week hiatus after my July 26th weigh in.

ANOTHER UPDATE:   I also think that it is time to really implement the food cut off at 8:00 pm (at least on Sunday-Thursday.  I'm really not sure what else to do?!!

It's a New Day!!!

Okay...feeling much better from my tortilla chip incident (for the record, I had a late night rendezvous with a bag of organic tortilla chips).  But when I woke up this morning, I had totally left my slip up behind me.  I woke up...spent a little extra time in the bathroom (I know, TMI)...did P57 (which I will talk about later)...and made a mega-protein green smoothie (33 grams of protein!!!) and some green tea.  And now I'm back on track.  I'm really glad that I am able to leave my little indiscretion behind and I'm excited about trying some new healthy recipes for lunch...I think that I am going to try to make some cinnamon maple sweet potato on cream cheese toast...I found the recipe on Snackface and I have been thinking about it for days:)

As for Physique 57, it went a lot better today.  I pushed myself harder than yesterday...and it felt good.  I still have a lot of room for growth which is also good.  Abs kinda kicked my butt...I had to stop for a minute or two.  And those chair thigh things were a little less confusing...and definitely had my thighs BURNING (still do!)  Overall, I'm liking the workout and I can see how it can really slim down certain areas of concern. 

Okay...need to get some dissertation reading in.  Ciao!

Corn Chip Face!

I ate my weight in organic corn tortilla chips tonight.  It's so funny, because earlier I was wondering what...or I mean, when I may fall of the wagon.  I was wondering how I would feel.

Well, I feel...okay.  I don't want to kill myself or anything.  I'm disappointed.  Disappointed that I was doing so good and I gave in for nothing.  I didn't follow my rules and I gave in.

I can think of a couple of different reasons that I gave in...one being that my fiance was not here.  I felt like I had free-range of the kitchen (not that he locks up the refrigerator with a padlock or something)...but I just felt less accountability.  There are some other reasons for my feelings of weakness too...but I probably won't be getting into that tonight.

Anywho...I feel full.  Unsatisfied.  Uncomfortable and as I said before, disappointed.  BUT I don't feel defeated.  I KNOW that it was a temporary slip up...and I don't feel like it will keep me from my healthy life style.  I prefer to eat healthy.  I prefer to do the right things for my body.  And everyone...I mean, everyone says that there will be slip ups...and tonight, I had one.  But oh well.  Though I may be disappointed for my Monday weigh in...in the big picture, I hope to be blessed with many more Mondays.

Okay...confession complete.  Good night!

Now for that balance part...

Okay...so I know I've been super focused on eating healthy and exercising.  What I haven't been focused on is my dissertation and my wedding.  This isn't a good thing...especially since I only have eleven days until I go back to school.

In terms of the wedding, I need to do the following ASAP:

1)  buy stamps
2)  print out envelopes
3)  send out save the dates (by Monday at the latest!)
4)  meet with vendor (today)
5)  pay catering deposit (today)
6)  follow up on shuttle deposit
7)  meet with general manager at the place we plan to have the rehearsal dinner

I think that is it for now.  All of this HAS to be done this week!!

On top of that there is my dissertation checklist (not as long, but believe it or not more pressing).

1)  finish reading and taking notes on resources
2)  get books from Emory library
3)  follow up with advisor
4)  follow up with potential committee member

Lots and lots to do!!!  I'm trying not to get too stressed...and I know that should be working and not blogging but...I dunno!  I just can't wait until next summer when I can just have fun and relax.

Anyway, on to why I felt the need to stop everything and blog.  I made a new green smoothie...with the help of Kath. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1-1 1/2 cups of spinach
• 1/2 cup strawberries
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1/4 cup of oats
• 1/4 Chobani plain
• 15 mg Vega Smoothie Infusion
• 1 packet of Stevia (my first time using it)

Put it all together and blend.  I forgot to put in my flax, but I will definitely do this next time.

Another little goodie that I made was Mediterranean fish with whole wheat couscous and green beans. 

Here's the recipe for the Mediterranean fish...

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 pounds firm white fish fillets, such halibut, striped bass or orange roughy
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata, green or black olives, cut in half lengthwise
• 2 tablespoons white wine
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves

DIRECTIONS


1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat baking dish with no stick cooking spray. Place fish in single layer in baking dish. Lightly salt and pepper the fish. Bake 12 minutes. If fish is over 1-inch thick, increase cooking time to 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in medium saucepan on medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir 5 minutes or until softened. Add tomatoes, olives, wine, basil, garlic and thyme. Simmer, uncovered, 3 minutes.

3. Remove fish from oven. Spoon sauce over fish. Return to oven; bake 5 minutes longer or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve immediately.

 

Might not look great...but it was.  I wonder if it's my cooking or my camera that makes food not look tasty.

I used flounder instead of what was recommended...and I think that it would have definitely been better with a heavier fish.  I made a side of Near East whole wheat couscous...which was super yum!!  It brought out that inner hungry monster inside of me.  I could have eaten the whole pot!  But I measured out about 1/2 cup (even though I probably ate about a 1/4 of a cup while I was cooking) and scooped it on my plate.


I enjoyed the dinner.  I even made my fiance have some (he usually doesn't partake in my healthy meals).  I didn't cook enough fish for leftovers, but I am going to have some of the leftover tomato sauce on some yummy couscous.  


Okay...now back to all of my other duties.  I vow that I will not sit on the couch and read health blogs all day.  Oh!  I am happy that I already did my C210K today (I think that it is funny that I almost gave up on it...now I'm in week 8!!!)...now I can do all of the other things on my list!

Physique 57 Review

Okay...so I just finished my Physique 57 DVD.  I have to admit that I liked it better than the very first time I did it...which was probably about a year ago.  I'm definitely in better shape now...and even though I followed P57's "Anita," I felt like I got a pretty good workout.

Now, here are my pros and cons:

PROs
1)  It gave me a good little workout.  My thighs and bottom were burning and I worked up a sweat.  I can definitely still feel my thighs quivering a bit...but I'm not super sore. (I think that I may have been "phoning it in" again since it was my first time). 
2)  I liked that I didn't have to wear sneakers.  It made it feel a little more like yoga or pilates.
3)  It was low impact.  I didn't have one issue with my knee.
4)  The workout incorporates weights and I can up the weights as my body adapts.
5)  There's an "Anita!!"  I like that I can work my way up to "Natalie." (I don't know the names of the chicks in this DVD...so I'm gonna just stick with the names of JM's girls).

CONs
1)  Props.  I hate that I have to use a chair.  I wish that I had an actual ballet bar in my gym.  The chair is just not the same.
2)  Space.  My gym is small (its a bedroom with a lot of equipment).  It's hard for me to stretch my body out without bumping into the weight machine.
3)  The instruction during the part with the chair/ballet bar.  There were times that I didn't know what she wanted me to be doing.  Push it out...pull it up...pulse it!?!?  I was lost.
4)  The freakin' pretzel leg lift thing.  WTF?!!?!?
5)  The lady leading the "class" (I need to get her name) can be a little annoying.  She's super hype!  But it's not too bad.

I'm going to keep doing it at least for the next two weeks.  I still feel like I need to get some cardio in on the days that I do P57.  I'm going to walk later today.

Oh!  I finally printed out and hung my workout calendar for the rest of July.  This is my schedule for this week.

Monday-C210K
Tuesday-P57; cardio
Wednesday-C210K
Thursday-P57; cardio
Friday-C210K
Saturday-C210K
Sunday-P57

Usually, I would rest on Sunday, but I am a day behind on C210K (as usual)...so I had to squeeze in one more workout on Sunday. 

Okay...protein shake time!!!  I got hungry sitting here typing.  Then off to read some articles.

Splurge Day!

So, yesterday I had lunch with a couple of my friends from work and it ended up becoming a splurge day!  We had a pre-drink at my house and then we were off to my fiance and my favorite Mexican restaurant (it's actually where he proposed).

I didn't get any pics of lunch (taking a picture or my food is such an afterthought for me).  But guess where we went afterwards...?

...Pinkberry!!! 

This was my very first trip...and we were super excited!!!

 

Not a great hair day...but this has pretty much been my look all summer.

I got a small original with yogurt chips, chocolate chips and strawberries.   In terms of taste...it was pretty refreshing.  But it was also pretty tart...which I wasn't crazy about.  But of course, I finished it all.

 

It was a fun trip!  Nice to have ice cream on a random Monday afternoon.  I'm not sure if I'm as hooked as everyone else.  Maybe it was just the original flavor...but it didn't really taste like old school frozen yogurt.

Another draw back was the calories.  When I went home to log my calories, I got a huge shock.  Each 1/2 cup was 100 calories...making a small serving (which is 1.5 cups) 300 calories!!!!  Then when you add my topping...my stupid dessert ended up being 490 calories!!!!  For some lowfat yogurt!!!!  If I go again, I definitely order the mini...and I stick to fruit toppings (Didn't love the yogurt chips anyway)!