From 12 to 6

2011 is the year for goals to be reached

2011-01-11T21:36:00.002-05:00

2011 hasn't exactly started off on the right foot. I spent the first few days of the year (including my birthday) with a cold followed immediately by the flu. Bummer!!

I've been doing a lot of thinking about what I want to accomplish in 2011 and have set a few goals for myself:

Get to my goal weight in 2011 - This is the year it's going to happen. I don't know when, but mark my words it'll be before December 31st.
Get to the root cause of my knee injury and deal with it once and for all
Get organized
Spend less/Waste less

That's about it. I think they are all pretty realistic goals.

In order to reach my weight loss goal by the end of the year, I would only need to lose about3-4 pounds a month. Totally do-able.

I've already taken strides towards goal #2. I have an MRI scheduled for February 3rd. Fingers crossed that I can get to the bottom of it and start running again this year.

Now I just have to start working on goals #3 and 4 and I'll be well on my way.

I don't know about you, but I feel like 2011 is the year for positive change.

Healthy Food Ideas Aplenty

2011-01-03T20:44:00.005-05:00

Hey guys,

I haven't been feeling all that good this week - I've been fighting some kind of viral infection/cold and haven't been up for blogging much. Instead of writing an actual post, I thought I'd share with you some healthy food ideas from Self Magazine. They are running some kind of challenge in conjunction with Jillian Michaels. I was able to get a username and password to get access to the food ideas and workouts. Best of all it was free.

So, hopefully it's okay to share the information here.

Enjoy!!

Breakfast

Wake up your metabolism every morning with any one of these 350-calorie meals.

Veggie Scramble Cook 10 cherry tomatoes, 1 cup sliced portobellos in a nonstick pan until soft. Add 1 whole egg, 1 egg white; scramble until cooked. Serve with 1 slice whole-grain toast topped with 1 teaspoon almond butter, 1 tsp raw honey. 324 calories per serving, 16 g fat (3 g saturated), 32 g carbs, 6 g fiber, 19 g protein

Yogurt Parfait In a bowl, layer 9 ounces nonfat plain Greek yogurt, 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts, 1 cup berries. 357 calories per serving, 16 g fat (4 g saturated), 27 g carbs, 9 g fiber, 29 g protein

Filling Frittata Cook 1/2 cup chopped red onion, 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper in a pan coated with cooking spray, 3 minutes. Add 2 oz low-sodium deli turkey breast, chopped; cook until heated through, 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 whole egg and 1 egg white, beaten; 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta; 2 tsp chopped fresh basil. Heat under broiler until frittata puffs, 2 to 3 minutes. 360 calories, 15 g fat (7 g saturated), 19 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 37 g protein

Lox and a Schmear Stuff a 6 1/2-inch whole-wheat pita with 2 oz nitrate-free smoked salmon, 3 red onion slices, 1 wedge The Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss cheese. 344 calories per serving, 6 g fat (2 g saturated), 52 g carbs, 7 g fiber, 21 g protein

Honeyed Waffles Spread 2 tsp almond butter, 2 tsp raw honey on 2 toasted frozen whole-grain waffles. (Look for whole-wheat flour as the first ingredient.) Top with 1/2 banana, sliced. 362 calories per serving, 15 g fat (3 g saturated), 51 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 9 g protein

Egg and Cheese Cook 1 egg to your liking in a pan coated with cooking spray. Place egg, 1 slice cheddar on a toasted whole-grain English muffin. Serve with 1/2 apple. 344 calories per serving, 15 g fat (8 g saturated), 37 g carbs, 7 g fiber, 18 g protein

Eat and Run 1 hard-boiled egg; 1 medium banana; 3 tbsp unsalted almonds 323 calories per serving, 19 g fat (3 g saturated), 32 g carbs, 6 g fiber, 13 g protein

Southwestern Slam Sauté 1/2 cup corn with 1/4 cup canned black beans (rinsed and drained), 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper, 1/4 cup chopped red onion, 1/4 tsp ground cumin, a pinch of cayenne pepper (optional) in a pan coated with cooking spray until pepper and onion are soft, 5 minutes. Add 1 whole egg, 1 egg white, 2 tsp chopped fresh cilantro; scramble until eggs are cooked, 4 minutes. Serve with 2 cups cubed papaya. 348 calories per serving, 6 g fat (2 g saturated), 60 g carbs, 12 g fiber, 18 g protein

Broiled Grapefruit Drizzle 1 tsp raw honey over 2 grapefruit halves. Heat under broiler until honey begins to bubble and grapefruit starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Serve with 1 slice whole-wheat toast topped with 1 1/2 tbsp almond butter. 353 calories per serving, 16 g fat (2 g saturated), 50 g carbs, 6 g fiber, 9 g protein

Make-Ahead Muesli Mix 1/2 cup rolled oats (not instant), 2 tsp raw honey, 2 tbsp chopped walnuts, a dash of cinnamon in a bowl. Add 1 cup water; cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate overnight. Serve topped with 1 apple, chopped. 349 calories per serving, 13 g fat (1 g saturated), 56 g carbs, 8 g fiber, 8 g protein

Almond Muffin Spread 1 1/2 tbsp almond butter on a whole-wheat English muffin. Serve with 1 kiwifruit or 1 orange. 331 calories per serving, 16 g fat (2 g saturated), 43 g carbs, 8 g fiber, 10 g protein

Berry Smooth Blend 1/2 cup fresh berries, 1/4 cup rolled oats, 1 cup So Delicious coconut milk, 3 tbsp whey protein powder. Add water to thin or ice to thicken. 338 calories, 8 g fat (6 g saturated), 26 g carbs, 6 g fiber, 41 g protein

Coffee Shop Special Starbucks Perfect Oatmeal With Nut Medley Topping, 12 oz nonfat latte 340 calories, 12 g fat (2 g saturated), 42 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 17 g protein

Breakfast Bowl 1 1/2 cups high-fiber cereal (like All-Bran); 1/2 cup skim milk; 1/2 banana, sliced 349 calories, 5 g fat (1 g saturated), 90 g carbs, 29 g fiber, 19 g protein

Oatmeal Cook 1/2 cup regular rolled oats (not instant) in 3/4 cup nonfat milk, 1/4 cup water. Top with 1/4 cup blueberries. 386 calories, 5 g fat (1 g saturated), 66 g carbs, 9 g fiber, 19 g protein

Subway Breakfast One Egg White and Cheese Muffin Melt; 1 medium banana; 1 cup nonfat milk 336 calories, 5 g fat (1 g saturated), 57 g carbs, 8 g fiber, 22 g protein

Lunch

Hungry? Perfect! These 450-calorie dishes are both filling and fat-melting.

Black Bean Wrap Mix 3/4 cup mashed black beans (rinsed and drained) with 2 tbsp reduced-fat shredded cheddar, 2 tsp chopped fresh cilantro, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, a pinch of cayenne pepper (optional). Spread on a 10-inch whole-wheat wrap; roll up. Nuke until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes; top with 2 tbsp salsa. Serve with 1 tangerine. 437 calories, 5 g fat (2 g saturated), 78 g carbs 16 g fiber, 22 g protein

Quinoa Salad Bowl Combine 1 cup cooked quinoa with 2 cups arugula, 1/2 cup low-sodium chickpeas (rinsed and drained), 1 tsp unsalted sunflower seeds, 1 tsp chopped fresh oregano, 2 tsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp olive oil. 444 calories, 12 g fat (1 g saturated), 68 g carbs, 12 g fiber, 18 g protein

Pie on the Fly Nuke Amy's Kitchen Light in Sodium Spinach Single Serve Pizza. 440 calories, 18 g fat (6 g saturated), 54 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 19 g protein

Turkey Burger Cook a 4-oz turkey burger in a pan coated with cooking spray until done, 8 minutes (turn once). Place on a whole-wheat bun; top with 1/2 tomato, sliced; 1/2 avocado, sliced; lettuce. Serve with 1 cup cubed papaya. 458 calories, 22 g fat (4 g saturated), 44 g carbs, 11 g fiber, 26 g protein

Soup and Sammy Heat 1 cup low-sodium tomato soup. Spread 1 tsp mustard on 2 slices whole-wheat bread; place 2 oz low-sodium turkey breast, 2 slices tomato, 1 slice cheddar, lettuce between bread. 415 calories, 13 g fat (7 g saturated), 45 g carbs, 7 g fiber, 30 g protein

Homemade Pizza Top 2 halves of a whole-wheat English muffin each with 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes, 1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella. Broil until cheese melts. Serve with 1 cup grapes, 3 Brazil nuts. 455 calories, 19 g fat (9 g saturated), 52 g carbs, 9 g fiber, 24 g protein

Hoagie in a Hurry Order a Subway 6-inch Turkey Breast sandwich on 9-grain wheat bread topped with your choice of veggies. (Try lettuce, tomatoes, onions, green bell peppers.) Enjoy with 1 package apple slices, 1 bag Popchips (or a serving of any baked potato chip with less than 150 calories per serving). 435 calories, 8 g fat (1 g saturated), 76 g carbs, 8 g fiber, 19 g protein

Indian Meatballs Mix 4 oz ground turkey breast with 1 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp turmeric, black pepper, a pinch of cayenne pepper (optional). Form into 1 1/2-inch balls; bake at 400° until cooked (no pink in center), 20 to 25 minutes. Mix 3 oz nonfat plain Greek yogurt with 1/2 chopped garlic clove, 1 tsp chopped fresh mint for dipping. Serve with a 6 1/2-inch whole-wheat pita, 2 cups spinach, steamed and drizzled with lemon juice. 445 calories, 12 g fat (3 g saturated), 52 g carbs, 8 g fiber, 35 g protein

Chicken and Zucchini Spaghetti Cook 4 oz sliced boneless, skinless chicken breast in a pan coated with cooking spray for 10 minutes. Sauté 2 cups sliced zucchini in 2 tsp olive oil with 2 cups spinach, 10 halved cherry tomatoes and 1 chopped garlic clove until zucchini is tender, 10 minutes. Toss zucchini mixture with 1 cup cooked whole-wheat spaghetti; top with chicken, 2 tsp chopped fresh basil. 454 calories, 12 g fat (2 g saturated), 54 g carbs, 12 g fiber, 39 g protein

Citrus Salad Mix 1 1/2 cups cooked barley with 2 cups arugula, 1 orange (peeled and segmented), 2 tsp chopped fresh parsley, 2 tsp olive oil, 2 tsp lemon juice. 448 calories, 13 g fat (2 g saturated), 85 g carbs, 11 g fiber, 8 g protein

Chicken Baked Potato Bake 1 medium russet potato at 450° until tender, 45 to 60 minutes; cut in half. Cook 4 oz chopped boneless, skinless chicken breast in a pan coated with cooking spray 10 minutes. Top potato halves with chicken, 1 cup steamed broccoli florets, 2 tbsp grated Swiss cheese. Bake until cheese melts, 20 minutes. Serve with a salad: 2 cups mixed greens, 2 tbsp pomegranate seeds, 1 tsp olive oil, 1 tsp lemon juice. 437 calories, 11 g fat (3 g saturated), 51 g carbs, 7 g fiber, 38 g protein

Breaded Halibut Coat 4 oz boneless, skinless halibut with 1 tsp Dijon mustard and 1/4 cup whole-wheat panko breadcrumbs. Bake at 400° until fish is cooked, 10 minutes; drizzle with lemon juice. Mix 2 cups arugula with 10 cherry tomatoes, 2 tbsp chopped walnuts, 1 tsp olive oil, 1 tsp lemon juice; serve with halibut, 1 slice whole-wheat bread. 433 calories, 18 g fat (2 g saturated), 37 g carbs, 8 g fiber, 34 g protein

TLT Cut 1⁄3 of an 8-oz block of tempeh into 2 slices. Spread 2 tsp Dijon mustard on 2 slices whole-wheat bread. Place tempeh; 1/2 tomato, sliced; lettuce between bread. Serve with 2 cups grapes. 460 calories, 9 g fat (2 g saturated), 76 g carbs, 14 g fiber, 23 g protein

Portable Eats 1 all-natural fruit-and-nut bar (like Kind Fruit & Nut Nut Delight); 6 oz nonfat plain Greek yogurt sweetened with 1 tsp raw honey; 1 mozzarella string cheese 446 calories, 25 g fat (8 g saturated), 28 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 31 g protein

Tahini Salmon Salad Mix 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice with 2 oz drained canned salmon, 1 cup chopped tomatoes, 2 cups arugula, 2 tsp chopped fresh parsley and 1 tsp chopped fresh mint. Drizzle with a dressing made from 1 tbsp tahini and 1 tbsp lemon juice; add water to thin if necessary. 435 calories, 14 g fat, 2 g saturated, 58 g carbs, 7 g fiber, 24 g protein

Curried Brown Rice Salad Mix 1/2 cup frozen peas, 1 chopped tomato, 1 tsp curry powder; microwave until peas are warm, about 1 minute. Combine with 1 1/2 cup cooked brown rice and 2 cups arugula. Drizzle with 2 tsp olive oil; top with 1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro and 1 tbsp pistachio nuts. 429 calories, 15 g fat (2 g saturated), 64 g carbs, 9 g fiber, 14 protein

Snacks

Nosh on! These 200-calorie bites keep metabolism humming along midday.

Trail Mix Mix 3 halved Brazil nuts with 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds, 1/2 cup high-fiber cereal (like All-Bran). 210 calories, 8 g fat (2 g saturated), 40 g carbs, 13 g fiber, 7 g protein

Chips and Salsa 15 baked tortilla chips, 1/2 cup salsa 196 calories, 2 g fat (0 g saturated), 39 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 6 g protein

Mediterranean Nibbles Mix 3 oz nonfat plain Greek yogurt with 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp chopped fresh mint. Serve with 10 baby carrots, 1 cup cucumber slices, a 4-inch whole-wheat pita. 195 calories, 3 g fat (1 g saturated), 31 g carbs, 6 g fiber, 13 g protein

Cheesy Snack Enjoy 1 cup lowfat, no-sodium-added cottage cheese with 1 serving fruit (such as 1/2 cup berries or pineapple cubes). 202 calories, 2 g fat (1 g saturated), 16 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 28 g protein

Sweet Smoothie Blend 2 tbsp whey protein powder with 1/2 cup frozen raspberries, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup skim milk. 223 calories, 2 g fat (1 g saturated), 24 g carbs, 8 g fiber, 30 g protein

Nutty Nanner Spread 1 banana (or apple) with 1 tbsp almond butter. 173 calories, 10 g fat (1 g saturated), 23 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 3 g protein

Popcorn Plus 3 cups Newman's Own Natural Flavor Popcorn, 8 walnut halves 204 calories, 12 g fat (1 g saturated), 21 g carbs, 5 g fiber, 6 g protein

Veggies and Dip 1/4 cup hummus, 15 baby carrots, 1 cup cucumber slices 185 calories, 6 fat (1 g saturated), 29 g carbs, 7 g fiber, 5 g protein

Go Nuts Enjoy 1 serving of nuts (20 pecans or 6 Brazil nuts) and fruit (such as 1 orange or 3/4 cup fresh mango slices). 190 calories, 14 g fat (1 g saturated), 18 g carbs, 5 g fiber, 3 g protein

Turkey Roll-Up Top 2 oz low-sodium deli turkey breast with 1/2 avocado, sliced; 4 tsp prepared hummus; roll up. 204 calories, 12 g fat (2 saturated), 10 g carbs, 5 g fiber, 14 g protein

Cheese and Fruit 2 mozzarella string cheese, 1 apple 224 calories, 11 g fat (7 g saturated), 17 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 15 g protein

Figs and Swiss 4 fresh figs, 1 wedge The Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss Cheese 183 calories, 2 g fat (1 g saturated), 39 g carbs, 6 g fiber, 4 g protein

Crunch and Munch A 1-oz bag Original Popchips (Jillian's go-to snack), 1 orange 182 calories, 4 g fat (0 g saturated), 35 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 2 g protein

Lärabar 1 Lärabar (Choose one without peanuts, such as Banana Bread.) 230 calories, 11 g fat (1 g saturated), 30 g carbs, 5 g fiber, 6 g protein

Dinner

Pasta, pizza, steak—all your faves for only 400 calories. Taster's choice!

Mediterranean Baked Salmon Rub 3 oz wild salmon with 1 tsp olive oil. In a baking dish coated with 1 tsp olive oil, place salmon; 1 red bell pepper, sliced; 1/2 fennel bulb, sliced; 10 small black pitted olives. Sprinkle with 2 tsp chopped fresh oregano and fresh black pepper. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes; turn; bake until cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes more. Drizzle with lemon juice. Serve with 1/2 cup cooked quinoa. 406 calories, 20 g fat (3 g saturated), 32 g carbs, 8 g fiber, 25 g protein

Italian Halibut Stew Sauté 1/2 cup diced red onion in 2 tsp olive oil with 1 clove chopped garlic until soft, 5 minutes. Add 1 tsp chopped fresh parsley, 1 tsp chopped fresh oregano; cook 1 minute more. Add 1 cup chopped tomato, 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth; heat until simmering. Add 2 cups spinach, 5 oz skinless halibut; simmer until fish is cooked, less than 10 minutes. Serve with 1 small whole-wheat dinner roll. 400 calories, 14 g fat (2 g saturated), 34 g carbs, 7 g fiber, 38 g protein

Steak and Squash Cut 1 spaghetti squash in half; discard seeds and pulp. Place on a baking sheet rind side up; bake at 375° for 45 minutes. Run a fork down the squash from top to bottom to separate strands. Sauté 1/2 cup chopped red onion in 1 tsp olive oil with 1 chopped garlic clove until soft, 5 minutes. Add 2 cups chopped tomato; cook until a sauce thickens. Pour sauce over 3 cups spaghetti squash; top with 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil. Serve with 3 oz flank steak, broiled 7 minutes (turn once). 389 calories, 12 g fat (3 g saturated), 52 g carbs, 12 g fiber, 26 g protein

Miso Soup Sauté 1/2 cup sliced carrots and 1 cup sliced mushrooms in a pan coated with cooking spray until tender, 6 minutes. Boil 4 cups water; reduce to a simmer; add 1 tbsp organic shiro miso paste and 1 sheet nori, torn into small pieces (Eden Foods makes both); cook 2 minutes more. Remove from heat; add veggies. Sauté 4 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast strips in a pan coated with cooking spray for 10 minutes. Combine chicken and broth in a bowl. Serve with 1/2 cup avocado cubes topped with 2 tsp sesame seeds, lemon juice. 357 calories, 17 g fat (2 g saturated), 23 g carbs, 10 g fiber, 34 g protein

Savory Stir-fry Cook 4 oz flank steak strips in 1 tsp olive oil 3 to 4 minutes; transfer to a plate. Sauté 2 cups chopped red cabbage and 1/2 cup chopped carrots in 1 tsp olive oil until tender, 10 minutes. Add vegetables to plate with steak; top with 1 tbsp sesame seeds, 1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil. Serve with 1 orange. 392 calories, 17 g fat (4 g saturated), 33 g carbs, 8 g fiber, 31 g protein

Lamb and Mint Salad Sprinkle 1 tsp chopped fresh oregano on 4 oz boneless lamb; sauté or grill until cooked through, 8 minutes. Serve on a salad: 3 cups mixed greens, 10 black pitted olives, 1/4 cup chickpeas, 2 tsp chopped fresh mint; top with 2 tsp olive oil, 2 tsp lemon juice. 367 calories, 19 g fat (4 g saturated), 20 g carbs, 7 g fiber, 30 g protein

Lentil Stew Sauté 2 cups cubed eggplant and 1 cup sliced mushrooms in 2 tsp olive oil until tender, 10 minutes. Add 2 cups spinach and 1 cup cooked lentils; cook until spinach wilts, 4 minutes. Top with 2 tsp chopped fresh cilantro and lime juice. 368 calories, 11 g fat (1 g saturated), 52 g carbs, 23 g fiber, 23 g protein

Market Mix Boston Market 5 oz roasted turkey breast, 1 fresh vegetable stuffing, 1 fresh steamed vegetables side 430 calories, 13 g fat (2 g saturated), 33 g carbs, 5 g fiber, 43 g protein

Curry-Yogurt Salmon Mix 2 oz nonfat plain Greek yogurt with 1/4 tsp curry powder and black pepper. Coat 5 oz boneless, skinless salmon with yogurt mixture; broil on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray until fish is cooked through, 12 minutes. Drizzle with lime juice. Serve with 2 cups steamed broccoli, 1/2 cup cooked brown rice. 415 calories, 11 g fat (3 g saturated), 37 g carbs, 5 g fiber, 43 g protein

Chicken with 'Shrooms and Peppers Sauté 1 cup chopped mushrooms, 1 cup chopped red bell pepper and 1/2 cup chopped red onion in 1 tbsp olive oil until tender, 5 minutes. Add 1 cup chopped tomatoes and 2 tsp chopped fresh oregano; cook until tomatoes break down into a sauce, 8 minutes. Sauté 4 oz boneless, skinless chicken-breast strips in a pan coated with cooking spray 10 minutes. Top chicken with veggie sauce, 2 tsp chopped fresh basil, 1 tbsp grated Parmesan. 379 calories, 17 g fat (3 g saturated), 26 g carbs, 6 g fiber, 34 g protein

Quinoa and Pepper Sauté Sauté 1 cup chopped red bell peppers, 1/2 cup chopped red onion and 1/4 tsp smoked paprika in 1 tsp olive oil until vegetables are soft, 5 minutes. Add 2 cups spinach; sauté until spinach wilts. Serve vegetable mixture over 1 cup cooked quinoa. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp grated Parmesan, 2 tsp chopped fresh parsley. 375 calories, 10 g fat (2 g saturated), 58 g carbs, 11 g fiber, 14 g protein

Indian Shrimp and Squash Place 2 cups cubed butternut squash on a baking tray; drizzle with 2 tsp olive oil. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp turmeric, black pepper, a pinch of cayenne pepper (optional); bake at 425° for 15 minutes. Add 4 oz frozen, raw shrimp to baking tray; drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil; sprinkle with 1/4 tsp ground cumin; bake until shrimp are cooked through and squash is tender, 10 minutes. Serve with 1 cup green beans sautéed in 1 tsp olive oil. Drizzle meal with lemon juice. 400 calories, 16 g fat (2 g saturated), 42 g carbs, 9 g fiber, 28 g protein

Two-Bean Chili Sauté 1/2 cup chopped onion in 1 tsp olive oil until soft, 5 minutes. Stir in 1 cup chopped tomatoes, 1/2 cup canned black beans (rinsed and drained), 1/2 cup canned kidney beans (rinsed and drained), 1/2 cup water, 1 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp ground cumin. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Top with 3 tbsp shredded cheddar, 2 tsp chopped fresh cilantro. 408 calories, 13 g fat (5 g saturated), 52 g carbs, 14 g fiber, 22 g protein

Pasta Marinara Sauté 1/2 cup chopped red onion, 1 chopped garlic clove and a pinch of crushed red pepper (optional) in 2 tsp olive oil until onion is soft, 5 minutes. Add 2 cups chopped tomato; cook 5 minutes. Pour sauce over 2 oz whole-wheat pasta cooked as directed on package; top with 2 tsp chopped fresh basil, 1 tsp chopped fresh parsley. Serve with 1 cup steamed green beans. 409 calories, 11 g fat (2 g saturated), 72 g carbs, 9 g fiber, 14 g protein

Salmon Salad Toss 3 cups mixed greens with 1 carrot, chopped; 1 tomato, chopped; 1 cup cucumber slices; 2 tsp olive oil; 2 tsp lemon juice. Top with 2 oz smoked salmon. Serve with 1 slice whole-wheat toast spread with 2 tsp almond butter, 1 tsp raw honey. 377 calories, 20 g fat (3 g saturated), 34 g carbs, 8 g fiber, 20 g protein

Breakfast at Night Sauté 1/2 cup chopped red onion, 1 chopped garlic clove, a pinch of crushed red pepper (optional) in 2 tsp olive oil until soft. Add 2 cups chopped tomato; cook 5 minutes more. Add 2 eggs; cover; cook 5 minutes more. Remove from heat; uncover; let stand 2 to 3 minutes. Top with 2 tsp chopped fresh basil, 1 tsp chopped fresh parsley. Serve with 1 cup steamed green beans. 370 calories, 19 g fat (4 g saturated), 38 g carbs, 13 g fiber, 19 g protein

Freezer to Fork Cook 1 Kashi Black Bean Mango frozen entrée as directed on package. 340 calories, 8 g fat (1 g saturated), 58 g carbs, 7 g fiber, 8 g protein

Sausage, Kale and Lentils Sauté 1 lean turkey sausage, sliced, in 1 tsp olive oil until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add 2 cups chopped kale and crushed red pepper to taste; cook until kale is wilted, about 2 minutes. Combine with 3/4 cup cooked lentils and 2 tsp chopped fresh basil. 392 calories, 12 g fat (3 g saturated), 42 g carbs, 14 g fiber, 34 g protein

Eggplant and Chicken Parmesan Toss 3 cups cubed eggplant and 20 cherry tomatoes with 1 tbsp olive oil; place in a pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350˚ until eggplant is tender, about 35 minutes. Cook 4 oz chopped boneless, skinless chicken breast in a pan coated with cooking spray for 10 minutes. Combine eggplant and chicken on a plate; top with 2 tsp chopped fresh basil and 1 tbsp grated Parmesan. 374 calories, 18 g fat (3 g saturated), 26 g carbs, 12 g fiber, 33 g protein

Dessert

Yep, it's included! These 200-calorie nightly delights only taste like a splurge.

Fruity Snack 1 oz dark chocolate; 1 serving of fruit (such as 1 kiwifruit, 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds or 1 orange) 216 calories, 13 g fat (7 g saturated), 24 g carbs, 5 g fiber, 3 g protein

Baked Apple Place 1 cored apple in a baking dish. Fill hole with 2 tbsp chopped walnuts; drizzle apple with 2 tsp raw honey. Add water to bottom of dish. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes. 212 calories, 10 g fat (1 g saturated), 33 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 3 g protein

Maple Syrup Pear Place a quartered pear (cored and stemmed) in a nonstick baking dish. Top with 1 tbsp maple syrup, 1 tbsp chopped walnuts, a dash of cinnamon. Bake at 350° until tender, 25 to 30 minutes. 198 calories, 5 g fat (0 g saturated), 40 g carbs, 6 g fiber, 2 g protein

Ice Cream Enjoy 1/2 cup Purely Decadent Vanilla Bean or Chocolate coconut milk ice cream. 150 calories, 8 g fat (7 g saturated), 19 g carbs, 6 g fiber, 1 g protein

Fun Fondue Mix 1 tbsp almond butter with 1 tsp raw honey in a bowl; nuke 20 seconds. Serve with 1/2 banana, sliced; 1 apple, sliced. 223 calories, 10 g fat (1 g saturated), 35 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 3 g protein

Chocolate Yogurt Mix 6 oz nonfat plain Greek yogurt with 2 tsp raw honey, 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder. 179 calories, 4 g fat (2 g saturated), 20 g carbs, 0 g fiber, 17 g protein

Ricotta and Berries Top 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta with 1/2 cup berries, 1 tsp raw honey. 224 calories, 10 g fat (6 g saturated), 20 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 15 g protein

Minted Melon Mix 2 cups cantaloupe cubes with 1 tbsp chopped walnuts, 1 tsp raw honey, 1 tsp chopped fresh mint. 176 calories, 5 g fat (1 g saturated), 32 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 4 g protein

Banana Pop Melt 1/2 oz dark chocolate. Drizzle over 1 banana. Freeze until chocolate hardens and banana is firm. 175 calories, 6 g fat (4 g saturated), 30 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 2 g protein

Grape Delight 1 cup grapes, 1 mozzarella string cheese 189 calories, 6 g fat (4 g saturated), 28 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 8 g protein

Cream Cheese Dip Mix 2 oz lowfat cream cheese with 1 tsp raw honey, a shake of cinnamon. Serve with 1 apple, sliced. 207 calories, 10 g fat (6 g saturated), 24 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 6 g protein

Raspberry Dream Mix 4 oz nonfat plain Greek yogurt with 1 cup raspberries. Top with 1 sheet graham cracker, crumbled. 210 calories, 5 g fat (2 g saturated), 30 g carbs, 8 g fiber, 14 g protein

Sweet Squash Place 2 cups butternut squash cubes on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Drizzle with 1 tbsp raw honey, a shake of cinnamon. Bake at 425° until tender, 25 minutes. 190 calories, 0 g fat (0 g saturated), 50 g carbs, 6 g fiber, 3 g protein

Cookies and Milk 9 Nature's Path Vanilla Animal Cookies, 1 cup So Delicious coconut milk 170 calories, 9 g fat (7 g saturated), 21 g carbs. 0 g fiber, 3 g protein

Back to Reality

2010-12-29T12:38:00.003-05:00

Well...the Christmas holiday is over and there's no sense in delaying getting back on track any longer.

I did have a Christmas plan and I did stick to it for half of the week, but the last 4 days...not so much. Regardless the damage was that I was up 1.2 this week. Considering that I was down 4 last week, I'm not gonna sweat it. One good week on track and that 1.2 will be gone along with some friends (I hope).

Today's all about easing back into it. Eating sensibly, drinking my water, exercising and getting organized for the little challenge I've set up for myself. I'm calling it "Give it a month". Starting tomorrow, my plan is to give it my all for one month and see what I can accomplish. That means writing down every bite that goes in my mouth and getting at least 6 hours of exercise a week. I'm curious to see what I can accomplish if I commit 100%.

Gotta start taking food pictures again too. I find that if I'm showing you guys what I eat - I'm conscious and make smarter choices. Silly, but effective!!

Weigh-in # 1

2010-12-20T21:49:00.002-05:00

Week one of the new WW program complete!!!

Here's a quick look at the challenges I faced over the past week:

Traveling - which means away from home and food cooked by others
2 restaurant meals
1 meal from a fast food chain
1 meal at the food court while Christmas shopping
1 family brunch
1 "Christmas" feast
A few holiday baked goods

I knew when I signed up for the new WW program, that the first couple weeks would be challenging - simply because it's the Holiday season.

My strategy was simply to take every event as it came and stick to my points. I definitely wouldn't have made it through without flex points, but then again, that's what they're there for right?

Guess what? It worked!!

I stepped on the scale this morning and I was down 4 POUNDS!!

The best part is that I never went hungry, I got to enjoy treats in moderation, I ate out (4 times) and I never woke up feeling gross from eating too much the day before.

I'd say it was an overall SUCCESS!!!

I don't expect that kind of loss again anytime soon, but I do have a plan of attack for week 2 - despite it being Christmas. I'll post about it tomorrow!

It's a Soup Time of Year

2010-12-19T19:18:00.004-05:00

With the cold weather upon us, I decided that it would be a great time to start experimenting with soups. They're tasty, they're comforting and best of all they are relatively low in points/calories.

My goal over the next few months is to make one new soup recipe a week. I started last week with a non-creamy Potato and Bacon soup:

(source)

It was absolutely delicious. Based on the brands I used the WW recipe builder gave me a count of 5 points per bowl.

Tonight, I tried Mini Meatball soup:

(source)

Another success all around. Everyone loved it. My servings worked out to 7 points per serving. I served it with a bun and was able to call it dinner. The mini meatballs make it filling enough to classify it as a hearty meal.

Please note that the above pictures were taken from the site. I did take pictures of mine, but I couldn't find my camera cord. Since I pretty much followed the recipes exactly, mine came out looking pretty much the same.

Here are the links for the two recipes:

Potato & Bacon Soup

Mini Meatball Soup

Hope you enjoy!

Tomorrow is weigh-in day, after one week of being on the new WW program. I'm curious to see how I did. It was a week filled with events, but I'm pretty confident that there will be a loss.

Stay tuned!

Planning For Success

2010-12-15T21:52:00.008-05:00

I was a little intimidated to start the new WW program at this time of year (holiday season). I even debated waiting until the new year to start. I rationalized that I could enjoy Christmas without the added stress of learning a new plan - read: stuff my face and pretend like it was okay, because I would be starting a new plan very soon. And as tempting as it was, I knew that in the end, I would only feel worse. In fact, I'd probably be 5 pounds heavier than I am now and I'd be regretting my decision.

Instead, I decided to take a preemptive approach. I decided that the holiday season was the BEST possible time to make a commitment to change my life. If I can hold my own amidst all the baked goods, office treats, chocolates, parties, family dinners, etc., then certainly, I can handle any other time of year. Right?

I'm actually away from home this week, visiting the in-laws (who live out of town) for an early Christmas celebration. It's week one of WW for me and here's a glimpse of what it looks like:

1 dinner and movie date with a friend (this one was tonight and I had a 12 point salad for dinner and nothing at the movies)
1 dinner date with a friend
1 family dinner out
1 gigantic Christmas feast

And that's all before Sunday. Am I sweating it? Nope - cause I have a plan and I'm sticking to it. I guess the truth will reveal itself on the scale at Monday's weigh-in. Just between you and I though, it's in the bag. ;)

Acceptance

2010-12-13T09:52:00.006-05:00

I did a LOT of thinking before deciding to start the new Weight Watchers program. For months prior to that, I was following a no-diet approach. I so badly wanted to be one of those people who could just eat when hungry and stop when full. I was hoping that this method combined with exercise would help me settle into a nice healthy weight. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

It's sad to realize that I've spent the last 16-17 years dieting and I've yet to conquer the battle of the bulge....permanently. The problem with dieting is that as soon as you stop, the pounds come back on. I've always deluded myself into thinking that when I reached my desired weight, I'd somehow be able to just eat the right portions and keep the weight off. Not so much!!

Before deciding to attempt yet another weight loss program, I had to let go and accept two things:

Let go of all my past failures. Harping on them will not help me succeed.
Accept that I will most likely spend the rest of my life following a plan - whether it's for weight loss or maintenance.

Number two is the hardest to accept. Luckily, the new WW plan really helps make it a little easier to swallow. I truly see the new plan as a healthy lifestyle and not a diet. With fruits and most vegetables being worth zero points, you never have to worry about going hungry. You're just forced to make healthy choices. But, you still get the flex points to enjoy treats in moderation.

Anyway, I've decided to jump in with both feet and not look back. I'm going all the way to goal this time.

With day one coming to an end, I'm feeling really confident. I made the most DELICIOUS Potato & Bacon Soup last night. I put it through the recipe builder on WW online and it gave me 5 Points Plus per serving. Worth every single point!!! I'll be sure and share the recipe tomorrow.

Jumping on the Band Wagon...

2010-12-12T19:35:00.004-05:00

The band wagon being the new Weight Watchers Program. And I'm excited about it!!!

But first, I guess I should address the fact that I've been absent from the blog world for far too long. I truly am sorry for the disappearing act. I was just spiralling out of control way too fast and I just couldn't face you guys.

Over the last few months, I've spent a lot of time feeling sorry for myself for a variety of reasons and it's resulted in some nasty unwanted pounds. Twenty to be exact. Yeah, you heard me correctly - a whopping 2-0!! As disgusted and humiliated as I am, I had to throw it out there and come clean. About a week and a half ago, I had a meltdown. The tears wouldn't stop flowing. I started to doubt my abilities to ever really lose the weight permanently. You could probably say I hit rock bottom.

Fortunately, I have an amazing husband who is very supportive and he helped me to see that I can succeed and that I just have to keep forging ahead. Because let's face it, doing nothing is really not an option.

I feel like I have so many things I want to say and address, but for tonight, I just wanted to let you all know that I am back and ready to tackle the new WW plan. I've signed up for an online membership and officially start day 1 tomorrow.

Thanks to all of you who have not given up on me. I didn't want to come back until I knew that I was fully committed to blogging regularly. I really believe that I am on the right path this time and that I am going to lose the weight. Believing in yourself is half the battle.

A Cleanse of Sorts

2010-07-27T22:20:00.003-04:00

WOW - What a busy week this has been. Last week we decided that we wanted to rip out the ugly carpeting from the living room and hallway and get some flooring put in. That then led to "well, if we're going to get new flooring we should also paint the walls and get rid of the ugly purple in the hall, living room and dining room". Who knew painting was such a BIG job? And I'm not even the one doing the actual painting. There's still a bunch of stuff to do, but I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Moving on - For a while now, I've been wanting to try and break my sugar habit. I think I consume far too much. Quite frankly, I'm a carb whore - breads, pastas, rice, muffins, cereal, granola bars, desserts, etc. - some of it good for me, some of it not so much. Bottom line is that I eat too much of them.

So I decided it was time to stage my own intervention. I decided to do a 2 week cleanse and ban sugar!!!!

I know I said I ate too much carbs, but essentially carbs turn to sugar. According to Wikepedia:

Most carbohydrates are either a common sugar or a long chain of sugars linked together. The body's digestive system works to break the chains apart into simple sugars so the body can absorb them. Thus, most carbohydrates can turn into sugar.

I started my own cleanse yesterday and it consists of eating veggies, beans, legumes, lean meats, fish, eggs, low fat dairy, nuts and seeds for the next two weeks. Well, I've got two days down and 12 to go. Once the two weeks are over, I'll add in some good carbs and see how I feel.

I have no intention of doing a low carb diet. There's no medical reason for me to do so and it's not realistic for me. My purpose in doing so is to try and get rid of the crap out of my diet and focus on the healthier stuff. For example - I RARELY eat beans and the last two days I've had to in order to bulk up my meals. In the process I discovered a great recipe for vegetarian refried beans (not actually fried) and I made my own roasted chickpeas. These are things I probably wouldn't have tried before.

Anyway - it hasn't been super easy, but it hasn't been crazy hard either. I hope to be able to minimize my desire for massive amounts of carbs/sugar and improve my overall eating habits.

I'll be sharing my trials and tribulations with all of you as well as any good recipes. Will post the one for refried beans tomorrow.

Triathlon Training

2010-07-19T21:58:00.002-04:00

So, I guess it might have been a little over ambitious of me to set a goal to blog 30 days in a row. It is summer after all. I've blogged 4 of the last 7 days and I guess considering my sporadic blogging over the last few months this is already a BIG improvement. Baby steps right?

Today marks the start of week three of my triathlon training plan. I've been spot on with all my workouts and haven't missed a single one. The plan has me biking twice a week, running twice a week, swimming twice a week, strength training twice a week and walking. I'm LOVING it! I wish I'd thought of doing this sooner. It occurred to me that this plan could also be used for weight loss. You don't necessarily have to be training for a triathlon to follow the plan. It's great for preventing boredom. I encourage all of you to add some variety to your workout routine. You'll be happy you did.

Maybe it's just me, but I find that there's something about being active that gives me an extra boost of confidence. It makes me feel accomplished. In light of this, I've started thinking of my fitness goals. I've got a few floating around in my head, but my list is not yet complete. I've got them broken down in three different categories - short-term, mid-term and long-term. Once my list is complete, I'll share with all of you. Do you have any fitness goals?

Tomorrow we're off to spend the afternoon at the beach. I'm making a healthy picnic lunch to bring with us. Should be a good time. I don't think I've mentioned it but I managed to arrange to have a few weeks off work this summer. All I can say is - I could really get used to this not working business. :)

Waiting Works

2010-07-15T21:18:00.006-04:00

Started my morning off at 5:15 to go swim some laps at my gym's pool. I quite enjoy swimming, although I fear that I'm not being as efficient as I could. Must really work on that since my first tri is in just a little over 8 weeks. Eek!

Came home and had a whole wheat english muffin topped with egg, ham and tomato. It was pretty good but it was missing something.

I did add a tiny amount of cheese in the egg, but maybe it needs a stronger cheddar flavour? Anyone make these? And if so, do you have any tips on how I can make it better? I like the idea of it because I'm getting a good mix of whole grains and protein - but it needs a little something extra.

We spent some time at the beach this afternoon and didn't get home until after 6:00. I hadn't taken anything out for dinner and so we decided to order a pizza. I'm all about not depriving myself - especially when my eating has been as stellar as it has been the last few days. That being said, pizza is kinda my weakness. I love a good slice of pie. Anyway, it was thin crust and had a good amount of veggies on it. I had two slices and still felt hungry. I didn't want to do the deprivation thing, but didn't want to overeat. I bargained with myself to wait 15 minutes and if I still felt hungry than I'd go ahead and have another piece. Turns out I wasn't hungry after all. I guess there's something to the theory that you should wait so that your brain can catch up to your stomach.

Here it is 3 hours later and I'm just very mildly hungry. During that 3 hours I managed a gentle 25 minute run and a half hour walk with the pooch. Not too shabby.

I'm off to indulge my sweet tooth with some fresh fruit and catch up on some shows on the good old PVR.

Night night!

Snacky Lunches

2010-07-14T21:16:00.002-04:00

Today has been "one of those days". The car wouldn't start this morning. Definitely a problem considering we had to go pick our dog up from the kennel, I had an orthodontist appointment, a gym date with the personal trainer and we needed a few groceries. Not to mention that the guy who towed the car said he thought it might be the fuel line, which would cost about $1,000. Le sigh. She's in the shop and we'll know what the deal is tomorrow.

The worst of it for me is that I had to reschedule my orthodontist appointment and they had nothing available for 5 weeks. Totally sucks because I was scheduled to have my braces off at the end of September. Now, the whole process is delayed by 5 weeks and I'm looking at early November. It's been 23 months already and I'm itching to get rid of the suckers. Oh well, what can you do?

Anyway - seeing as we were short on groceries, I decided a snacky lunch was in order.

A little cheese, carrots, cucumbers, raspberries, almonds and a Larabar.

Snacky lunches are great. My daughter loves them too. I usually put hers in a 6 tin muffin cup pan. What are your favorite snacky lunch items? I'm always looking for new ideas.

Fortunately I was able to borrow my mom's car and made it to the gym. I managed an hour of strength training and also got a short walk in. Unfortunately, I did miss my scheduled triathlon training workout today which means I've got to pull double duty tomorrow.

Alarm is set for 5:15 a.m. to go to the gym and swim laps. Better get to bed if I plan on getting up.

Half Marathon/Walkathon - the wake up call edition

2010-07-13T23:08:00.005-04:00

Well guys - surprise surprise...guess who's been a bad blogger once again? Yep, that would be me - guilty as charged. I don't know what my deal is, I've been a blog slacker for months now. But, I haven't given up and hope you guys aren't giving up on me either. In fact, I'm giving myself a challenge of blogging every day for the next thirty days. I'm hoping that's going to give me the boost I need to get back in the swing of things.

I think the main problem is that I haven't really been focusing on weight loss too much the last few months and therefore that has translated in me thinking that I don't have much to talk about - when in fact I do have a lot to talk about. It's not that I don't want to lose weight - it's that I'm trying to find a way to do it that will result in not having to diet for the rest of my life. Is that even possible? I still don't know.

Anyway, lots has been going on the last couple weeks....I completed my second half-marathon the weekend before last:

Unfortunately, due to a past knee injury flaring up again, I ended up having to walk it. I was pretty disappointed, but was committed to doing it anyway. I dreaded it because let's face it - walking 13.1 miles (21 kms) is gonna take a lot longer than running. It took me a whopping 3 hours and 14 minutes!! Between my knee injury and the dreaded cold that I had started the day before, it wasn't the most pleasant experience I've ever had, but I'm sure glad I did it. I proved to myself that I'm not a quitter. Trust me, the thought did occur to me.

The one good thing that came out of walking was that I had 3 hours and 14 minutes to do nothing but think. And let me tell you - a lot of thinking I did. I thought about my health journey and why I can't seem to push myself to the next level. What is holding me back? Why can't I seem to just go for it and finish this thing once and for all? Is it fear? Laziness? Lack of motivation? I still don't know, but I do know that I have a new resolve. One that came from an unexpected place. It turns out that I LOVE participating in events. It gives me a real sense of accomplishment. However, I want to do be able to do it and feel that I've given it my all. I don't need to be the fastest - I just need to do my personal best. And in order to do this, I need to get in better shape and I need to fuel my body with good foods. If that's not an incentive for me to lose the last 25lbs I don't know what is.

Speaking of events, I started training for my first sprint triathlon (Sept 11th) last week. I have a great beginner's training plan and am loving it so far. The last week has been filled with biking, swimming, run/walking (still gotta get the knee thing sorted out) and strength training. I can already feel myself getting stronger. It's amazing how fast the body can respond. Anyway - next up is an eating makeover. Hoping this will kick start me back into weight loss mode.

Anyway - will leave it at that for tonight. If I'm going to be blogging for thirty days straight, I should save some some stuff for later.

Looking forward to catching up on what's been going on with everyone else.

Love/Hate relationship

2010-06-20T19:54:00.008-04:00

Hope everyone had a great weekend. I know I sure did! Although, I am feeling a little overstuffed after a rather large father's day dinner. Guess it's a good thing I have a PT session first thing tomorrow morning. Speaking of the personal training, I thought I'd share with you guys some of the moves the PT makes me do that I love to hate - yet hate to love.

1. Russian twist with medicine ball

These ones feel like they never end because each rep has 3 moves. So, when I'm doing 3 sets of 15, I'm really doing 135 movements.

2. Stability Ball Wall squats

The squats themselves aren't so bad, it's the fact that when I get to the last one I have to hold for a minute. It's not as easy as it sounds.

3. Bicycle crunch
I've ALWAYS hated these. Enough said!!

4. The plank
This one isn't so bad except for the fact that I just can't seem to hold for very long.

5. The Captain's Chair

The first few aren't so bad, but they get worse as you go on. Although, I'm told this is one of the better ab exercises out there, so I'm going to stick with it. Not that I have a choice anyway. :)

Actually, now that I've done this post - I see that 4 of the 5 moves are core exercises. When I had my physical assessment done, I found out I had a weak core. Perhaps, this is why I dislike these exercises so much?

What exercises do you love to hate/ hate to love?

The New Me

2010-06-16T23:07:00.005-04:00

Check out the fancy new look. :)

I am so pleased with the finished product. It was a long time coming. Over the last few months, I really didn't feel like my old blog (from 12 to 6) reflected where I was at in my life. I've been transitioning away from dieting and focusing on a more well rounded approach to healthy living. I have no doubt that I will reach my goals, but I need to do it in a less obsessive "all or nothing" way.

These days, my focus is on healthy eats, treats (in moderation) and lots of exercising. And lots of exercising you will see on these pages - we're talking personal training, strength training, group classes, running, event training, yoga, pilates, swimming, biking, etc. I'm very excited about things to come! Even though it may sound silly, the blog makeover makes me excited about blogging again because I no longer feel like I'm blogging under false pretenses. :)

Unlike last time, I've taken the time to actually fill out the tabs at the top of the page. I'm still working on the FAQ and hope to have it up in the next few days.

Thanks for checking out the new digs. :) Oh and of course I have to give credit where credit is due. The new look would not have been possible without the wonderful Emily. She does terrific work.

How much is too much

2010-06-07T20:00:00.007-04:00

peanut butter ? I can't seem to get enough of the stuff today. Well, I might be exaggerating a bit but, I've seriously eaten more than usual.

Started out with a tsp on half a banana for my pre-workout snack:

Then on my english muffin for my post workout breakfast:

And then another tsp for my pre-run fuel this evening:

At least it was the natural stuff. Regardless, I need to find some other protein options for pre and post workout snack combinations.

Speaking of workouts, I had a pretty good exercise day today. Here's the breakdown:

10 minute warm-up on the recumbent bike
50 minute strength session with my personal trainer
15 minutes on the treadmill
2 mile run before dinner
Short 15 minute walk with the pooch

On tap for tomorrow - 5 mile run and some ab work. I'm quickly learning that my trainer loves plank work. She's got all kinds of crazy plank moves in store for me. Me - I'm not such a huge fan - well mostly because I suck at it. So, my goal is to keep practicing and practicing until I can hold a 1 minute plank.

On that note, I think I'll go try one and time myself. G'night.

Exercise related thoughts

2010-06-04T12:42:00.004-04:00

Yay for Friday! I'm having a REALLY good week and finally feel like I'm headed in the right direction again. I made it to spinning class yesterday morning and met with my trainer this morning. Woot Woot!!

Since I'm lacking time, I thought I'd give you my thoughts/observations bullet style:

I have a weak core - I had a hard time with bicycle crunches and with planks
My upper body is quite strong - but my triceps are weak
I have good exercise form
Warming up prior to working out and stretching afterwards are in fact REALLY important
My lack of doing so is probably why I continue to deal with right knee/ankle injuries
In light of this, I am confident that I will be able to run pain free one day soon
Exercising with a trainer makes me work a lot harder than I would on my own
Exercising in the morning is GREAT once you get used to waking up earlier
It leads me to better food choices throughout the day
And it gives me an extra spring to my step
Exercising is about so much more than weight loss
Bananas as a pre-workout snack don't work for me
Nausea while doing a spin class is NOT pleasant

That's about all for now. Have a good weekend!

mid week check-in

2010-06-02T22:54:00.005-04:00

Feel like there's been lots going on lately and not enough time to blog about it.

As I mentioned recently, I ended up joining a gym so that I could make use of the pool and swim laps, as part of my sprint triathlon training. As it turns out, I had a credit owed to me from the gym from when I had a membership there a few years back. I decided to convert that credit into personal training sessions. I met with my trainer tonight so that we could go over goals and stuff and so that she could make a workout plan for me. We have our first session Friday morning. I CAN'T WAIT. She seems super cool. She's already got lots of cool ideas to get me ready for my triathlon in September.

Today was a REALLY busy day and I only managed to get in 45 minutes of dog walking - no other activity. At least I'm meeting a co-worker for a spin class tomorrow at 6:00 a.m. If I weren't meeting someone I'd likely just turn the alarm off and go back to sleep - but since I'm accountable to someone, I know I'll go.

As for the food department, I've been working on trusting my body - eating when I'm hungry, stopping when satisfied. I've been honest with my trainer and told her that I am DONE with dieting. I told her that I'm willing to eat healthy and I'm willing to work my ass off in the exercise department, but that I will NOT count calories, points or anything. I plan on getting rid of my last 25 by listening to my body, eating healthy and moving LOTS!!! This is something that I want and CAN do for the rest of my life.

Speaking of food, I've been loving fruit lately. One of my favorite combos is nectarines, pineapple and blueberries. Totally delicious and refreshing.

It even went well with my hearty "breakfast" for dinner tonight. This dinner totally hit the spot. It was big - but kept me satisfied all evening, with no need for snacks.

Anyway, must get to bed since I have to get up in 6 hours to hit spin class.

What a feeling

2010-05-30T21:05:00.003-04:00

Feeling pretty darn amazing today. Let me tell you why:

3 x 15 minute walks (with puppy) = 45 minutes
1 hour bike ride
30 minute run

For a grand total of 2 hours and 15 minutes of activity today.

Maybe it's just me, but I always feel pretty great when I'm getting in a lot of exercise. It doesn't necessarily have to be 2 + hours worth a day - just as long as I know I'm doing what I can.

I've FINALLY realized that exercise is my magic bullet. When I think back to all the times I've been successful with weight loss, it's always been the times where I've been really active. Even when I haven't been on any type of "diet". The problem? When I stop being active, that's when the weight comes back on. And when the weight comes back on, I'm lazy and I don't want to exercise and thus the vicious cycle begins.

Essentially what this all means is that if I really want to lose the last 20 lbs and KEEP it off, physical activity has to become a part of my daily routine. I mean, would you ever skip a day brushing your teeth? No - because it's something you just do every day. And that's how exercise has to be for me. It doesn't have to be long or intense every day - just so long as I'm moving.

This blog will be undergoing a face lift in the next couple weeks to better reflect my new goals and aspirations. So, stay tuned! :)

Sealed the Deal

2010-05-25T23:00:00.003-04:00

It's official - here's the message that was in my e-mail inbox this morning:

You are Registered for Triathlon Esprit de Montréal.

I think a few people in my real life question my ability to pull this off. I can't wait to prove them wrong and show them what I'm made of!!!!

Let the training begin.

New wheels

2010-05-24T16:01:00.005-04:00

Feeling a little sad that the long weekend is just about over. It's been a good one. The weather has been gorgeous and I've been enjoying time with the family, yummy eats from the bbq and some cycling.

Since deciding that I was going to try my hand at the world of triathlons, I knew I'd be needing a bike. So, I went ahead and purchased one this weekend:

It's a Performance Hybrid. Isn't it cute? :) Until this past weekend I had NO idea just how many different types of bikes there were and more importantly how EXPENSIVE they can be. I was getting so much advice from various people about what kind of bike to get for triathlons. It was all so confusing. At the end of the day, I decided that since I am a novice and since I'm not doing it competitively I didn't need to spend $1,000 + (low end) for a road/triathlon bike. I can always upgrade in the future if triathlons become a part of my active lifestyle. For now, I'm quite happy with my purchase.

I guess that begs the question of when I plan on doing my first triathlon. I decided that I would start with a sprint triathlon (750 m swim, 20k bike ride and 5k run). I found one that works perfectly with some work travel that I have to do in September. September 11th to be exact. That's about 16 weeks from now. I do have a half marathon in less than 6 weeks to get ready for. But once that's over, I'll have 10 full weeks to concentrate on the tri. Plus, I should have a good handle on the 5k run by then. :)

So that's the scoop. I'm excited and nervous. I'll be officially signing up in the next couple days.

How has YOUR long weekend been?

New Running Partner

2010-05-20T12:37:00.003-04:00

Meet Gracie - my new running buddy:

Isn't she cute? She's a lab/husky pup, just shy of 10 weeks. She's been a part of our family for almost 2 weeks now.

I have every intention of training her to be a running dog. Should be fun times. :)

Good things are coming

2010-05-19T18:46:00.003-04:00

It's hard to believe that almost 3 weeks have passed since I last updated. Truth be told, I've been a terrible blogger for the last few months. I've been in a bit of a funk and I just really didn't want to spread the negativity on the blog.

I'm actually in a good place right now and feel like I'm ready to get back on the wagon. The really good thing is that I've pretty much maintained these last few months. How is that good you ask? Well, I haven't counted or tracked for the last couple months. This means that I'm getting better at listening to my body - eating when hungry and stopping when full. This gives me a lot of encouragement because it leads me to believe that I CAN do maintenance. But before I go there permanently I need to get rid of this last 25.

In my last post, I shared a glimpse into my plan. Most of you guessed correctly. I'm going to train for a triathlon. Yep - A TRIATHLON!!! I'm very excited at the prospect. I'm looking at one that's taking place in March of 2011. That gives me roughly 9-10 months to lose the last 25 and train for it. Although - I'm still considering different tri's. I haven't fully committed to the one in March yet. I'm a bit worried that most of my training would take place in the winter months. And trust me - that is a problem when you live in Northern Ontario. Lots of snow - lots of cold.

I'm still not sure what I should do about the eating. I know that tracking (counting points or calories) is an effective way of monitoring food intake, but I really just don't like it. I know that just cause I don't like it doesn't mean I shouldn't do it, but the truth is if I dislike it so much, I might not stick to it. I'm leaning toward keeping up what I've been doing, eating when hungry, stopping when satisfied. The difference would be to make smarter food choices by focusing on "clean" foods and increasing my activity. After all, I am running a half marathon in just a little over 6 weeks and I'll then be starting to train for a triathlon. That should keep me plenty active.

Also - I finally found a gym that had a really good exercise class schedule. They also have a pool where I can swim laps. I think I'm going to try out the spinning class tomorrow morning.

I feel like I could go on and on with this post - but I'll leave it at that for today. I PROMISE to start blogging regularly again. I've missed you guys!!!

More tomorrow.

A Glimpse into the Plan

2010-04-29T19:45:00.003-04:00

Care to take a guess as to how I plan on getting rid of the last 25 pounds?

It's 10 months from now. If this doesn't take care of it, I don't know what will.

More details to follow!

The last 25

2010-04-25T21:20:00.005-04:00

Yet again it's been a week since I last posted. This time though, it's because my laptop was in the shop. :( My screen was cracked and I had to get it replaced. Arghh....not under warranty. Oh well, at least I have it back now.

The last couple months I've been stuck in a maintenance rut. In fact, it would seem I am the master of maintenance. Looking back on this past year, it seems like my pattern has been to lose a few pounds and then maintain them for a couple months, lose a few more and maintain for a couple more months. At the end of the day, I've lost about 20lbs in a year. I'm surely not breaking any records, but the truth is I'm happy with the progress.

Why then have I been feeling really bummed lately? Well, I guess that's because I've reached the point of fear. Fear that this is as far as I'll go. Fear that no matter how much weight I lose, I won't be able to maintain it and I'll end back here. This is the weight that I ALWAYS seem to go back to. My body just seems to get all too comfortable in the high 150's. But, I'm not comfortable here. I want to get to about 135...give or take a few pounds.

My plan for the last 25 is simple. MOVE, MOVE and MOVE some more. I've been VERY inconsistent with my exercise. So, it's not really surprising that my weight loss has been slow.

I'm still not in any huge rush to lose the last 25, I just want to ensure that I do. And I have BIG plans to do so. I'll be sharing them with you in good time. :)

In the next few weeks, I'm going to be changing things up. You can expect to see a new look and feel to the blog. I promise it's all good. I'm going to be focusing a lot more on exercise. I'm convinced that it's the key to me finally reaching my goals.

Today is a good example of this. I went for a 12K bike ride, spent some time chasing my daughter around at the park and then hubby and I went for a walk in the evening. Check out the new bike helmet. :) I feel like a loser in it - but at least I'm playing it safe. :)

And yes, I did get the Katie cut. I'll have to post pictures soon. I didn't style it today because I knew I'd end up with helmet head anyway. Thanks to all who voted.

Dinner tonight was yummy. I put a new twist on an old favourite - shepherd's pie.

I got the recipe from a WW magazine. And yes, those are BEEF meatballs. I went 16 months without beef or pork and then one day decided that I would add it back into my diet in moderation. So far, I am not regretting the decision.

Off to catch up on blogs!

Hair advice please!!!

2010-04-14T20:10:00.005-04:00

Just a quick post looking for some hair advice. I have an appointment this coming Saturday for a cut and colour. I've been going back and forth between to different looks. I've gotten my husband's opinion and now I want YOURS.

Whose style should I go for - Katie or Jessica's?

Katie:

Jessica - straight:

Can also be worn wavy:

I'm just looking at the hair cut. My colour is lighter and I have no intention of going that dark.

Thoughts?

I'll be sure to post pictures!!

The case of the missing RUNNING shoes

2010-04-13T11:55:00.008-04:00

So, remember yesterday when I said that my alarm was set for the morning and I was going to get up and run 3 miles. Well, if you knew me, you'd know that I loathe getting up in the morning. It is a constant struggle to get out of bed. I have OFTEN psyched myself up to workout in the morning and it rarely happens. However, a couple weeks ago, I did get up early and had an amazing run and felt FANTASTIC all day. So, last night I told myself, just get up do the run and you'll be thankful you did. So, I did it! I actually got up early and was ready for a quick(ish) 3 miler. Unfortunately, I did not anticipate that my running shoes would be MISSING!!!!!

Where the hell are my shoes? I spent the better part of 20 minutes hunting them down only to turn up empty handed. I was away over Easter weekend and brought them with me on the trip. I was SO sure that I packed them and brought them back home with me. Could I be going crazy?

The worst part is that I could have slept in an extra 30 minutes.

I figured I might as well make the most of it and whipped up a bowl of the BEST oats EVAH!!!! I copied an idea I saw over on Lynn's blog over at Life, Health, Fitness. She made French toast the other day with caramalized bananas. I instantly knew that I was going to try this with my oats.

I made a pot of steal cut oats, portioned out a serving and then went to town with my add-ins. I added some unsweetened almond milk, half a caramalized banana, a pinch of unsweetened coconut, a teaspoon of mini chocolate chipits, some cinnamon and a teaspoon of natural almond butter. Simply DELICIOUS! My serving worked out to about 6-7 points. A little on the high side, but it did keep me full for 4.5 hours. I probably won't eat it every day, but I can assure you, I'll be eating it at least once a week.

As for the shoes, not sure what I'm going to do if they don't turn up. I REALLY can't afford to lose any more training days. I've already lost a week.

Torn

2010-04-12T21:02:00.003-04:00

Hey guys,

I can't believe what a BAD blogger I've been these past few weeks. March was an incredibly rough month for me. I kinda had a mini break down and just felt overwhelmed by everything. Work was nuts, my husband spent some time in the hospital with pneumonia, my daughter had an ear infection that made her temporarily lose her hearing and I was sick as well. I just felt like I couldn't get a handle on anything. Anyway, I'm feeling MUCH better now and think I have finally turned the corner. Things have settled down and I'm ready to focus more time on blogging. I've missed you guys!!!

In the past, a month like this would have had me up like 10 lbs. I am DEFINITELY a stress eater. I haven't officially weighed-in, in a couple weeks, but according to my home scale I'm up about 1 lb. I'll take it.

I'm also happy to say that I've been consistent with making the life changes that I talked about in my last post. Things are still going very well in that department. I'm still pop free, I'm still taking my daily fish oil supplement regularly and I've also implemented a new change. A couple weeks ago, I chose to focus on getting more sleep. I'm aiming for 8 hours a night. I'm doing pretty good on this one, but have not met the 8 hours every night. It's a work in progress. Now, I just gotta decide what change to implement next.

I'm on week 4 of my half marathon training and it WAS going REALLY well up until last week. Last week, I got out for ZERO runs. It's okay though - it's just one week and I can get right back on track. I've got the alarm set for the morning and I WILL run 3 miles!!!!

Okay - now here's where I need YOUR advice. As I've mentioned I've got about 20-25 more lbs to lose. I've read that you should not try and lose weight while training for a run. In the last month, I let my tracking fall by the wayside. I've just been eating normally - not dieting but not pigging out either. As a result, I've essentially maintained. The problem is that I REALLY want to lose this last chunk of weight. I want it gone. However, I'm not sure if I should be focusing on weight loss during training. What are your thoughts? Have any of you successfully lost weight while training for a run?

I'm torn and don't know what to focus on. Weight loss? Running? Or both? Ack!! Why do I have to be so indecisive????

Time to go catch up on what everyone else has been up to.

Tiffany

Changes that stick

2010-03-25T23:14:00.005-04:00

I don't think I've ever been happier that Friday is around the corner. This year end business at work is killing me.

My daughter is going for a sleep over at grandpa's tomorrow night and the hubs and I are staying in and watching season three of Dexter (well, as many episode's as we can get through). It'll be so nice to just relax and have some down time. Who knows maybe we'll even get crazy and sleep in a little on Saturday.

I ran another 2 miles today. What I'm loving about the program I'm following is that most weekday runs are only between 2 and 4 miles and then the run on the weekend gets gradually longer as time goes on. I actually went back and forth between two different training programs. One was 18 weeks and the other 15. Since I spent the better part of a month being sick I kinda missed the boat on the 18 week one. Turns out the 15 week one is perfect for me. If you're interested in either of these plans, e-mail me through my "contact me" tab and I'd be happy to forward them along.

As I mentioned in my last post, it's been a bit over 6 weeks since I last had pepsi or fountain cokes. What I didn't mention is that I've committed to trying to break bad habits and create healthier ones in my life as a whole.

It is said that it takes 21 days to create a habit. So, every 3 weeks I've been trying to change or implement something new. The goal is not to try and change everything at once. By focusing on one thing at a time I'm more likely to succeed long term. Six weeks ago it was cutting out the pop, then 3 weeks ago it was to take my supplements daily. I'm TERRIBLE at this. I usually last a week on a supplement and then mu use of them is very sporadic. However, for the last 3 weeks, I've taken my fish oil supplement (liquid format) every night before bed. I have not missed one day.

And no worries - there is no fish taste. This brand is of high quality, plus it's green apple flavour.

I'm now brain storming as to what change I will focus on for the next 3 weeks. The trick is though that you HAVE to keep the other changes in effect as well. Just think of how many positive changes I'll have made by the end of the year. And while the intent of these changes is to be healthier overall, I can only assume that they will help me in my weight loss goals.

On another note - here's the breakfast I'm am totally loving this week:

Whole wheat english muffin with natural peanut butter and organic jam. Glass of milk not pictured. Yummo.

G'night!

And we're off

2010-03-23T23:02:00.004-04:00

I have to say that I feel bloody fantastic today. It all started with a pretty good sleep. Actually, work wasn't so great - but even that can't get me down. I'm just feeling really positive right now. I'm finally starting to feel better and my half training has officially started. Today's run was an easy 2 miles (3.18K). I know 2 miles isn't necessarily long, but it just feels so good to be back in the game. Woot!

That's not the only reason for my good mood though. Today I am celebrating another victory. You might remember me talking about my HORRENDOUS habit that I've been trying to kick (half heartedly) for a while now. I don't bring it up too often because I am ashamed. I am a pepsi and/or fountain coke addict. I've tried many times over the years to quit but have never been successful. The best I ever seemed to be able to do was to cut down to twice a week. Truth be told, I didn't want to quit because I just love the stuff so much. However, deep down - I knew it was a health bomb just waiting to go off. Well, I'm happy to say that it has been 6 weeks since I've touched the stuff. I am SUPER PROUD!!! The best part is that I did it for my health and not because I'd be saving some calories. In the end, that's what really matters.

Adios my friend.

So yeah - that's where I'm at right now. Out with the bad habits (pop) and in with the good (half marathon training). Perhaps I can switch my addiction from one to the other?

Shifting Focus (a little)

2010-03-21T21:53:00.005-04:00

Wow - where does the time go? Can't believe it's been over a week since I last posted.

It's been a sickfest at our house the last few weeks. Pneumonia, colds, ear infections, flu, etc. We all seem to be doing better and I can only hope that the worst is behind us.

Add to that, that it's year end at work and I feel like I've been put through the wringer. Unfortunately there's still 9 more days of work hell to go through. But at least I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

So, what kind of impact has this had on my trying to lose weight? It's translated to maintenance. I haven't gained or lost the last couple weeks. To be honest, I'm pleased with that. I wasn't really trying to lose and it is nice to know that I did make it through a couple stressful weeks without gaining.

What I did have time to do though was reflect on my priorities. I'm at the point in my weight loss where I have just a little over 20 lbs to go (23 to be exact). Not necessarily a lot, but I bet they'll be the toughest to lose.

I've made the decision that I'm not going to try to rush it. All that will do is frustrate me even more. I'm going to keep eating healthy, exercising and going to my weekly weight watcher meetings. But, I'm not going to obsess over it. If I lose .2 or .4 a week, I'll be happy with it. As long as I'm making progress towards my goal that's all that matters.

I have a couple reasons for shifting my focus. The first is that tomorrow marks day 1 of my 15 week half marathon training. So for now, THAT is my main focus. I want to fuel my body to maximize my training. I've done much reading that advises AGAINST losing weight while training for a marathon or half marathon. What's important to me at this point in my life is being healthy and active. If I'm doing everything right for my body then it will eventually have to drop the weight right? But, it will NOT be my priority over the next 15 weeks. If I lost 5 pounds over the course of my training I would be thrilled.

Another reason that has contributed to my change in focus is something that I read. I'm sure most of you know who Bob Greene is. For those who don't know - he's Oprah's trainer. In an online newsletter he wrote "people who pin their goal to a specific result, like losing 20 pounds, set themselves up for failure—either they don't reach it, or they reach it and realize it's not the key to happiness. The most successful mind-set you can have, he says, is that you're making an investment in feeling better tomorrow." It really struck a chord with me. Now, I don't necessarily believe that everyone who sets a specific goal is doomed to failure. But, what I do agree with is that reaching that goal does not guarantee happiness. So instead of obsessing on my last 20 lbs, I'm going to focus on proper nutrition, being active and sharpening my mental strength. I have NO doubt that I will reach my goal - in time.

On that note, I'm off to get a good night's sleep. Training starts tomorrow.

Glorious sleep

2010-03-11T23:04:00.005-05:00

Wow, can I just say that I haven't felt this well rested in MONTHS. I was exhausted yesterday. So much so that I did the unthinkable, I went to bed at 6:30 p.m. I didn't even have dinner. I was too tired to even eat. Imagine that. I slept through the night and got up at 6:30 this morning. That's 12 hours of sleep! AMAZING. This is not something I usually have the luxury of doing, but my body needed it. I highly recommend it!!!

I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day and ready to kick some butt in the week ahead. Started the day with a smoothie.

Somehow I only managed to get a picture before I blended it. I'm totally on a smoothie kick. Such a good way to get fruits and veggies in. I'm having fun experimenting with a bunch of different ingredients.

Dinner was also quite delicious. Some bbq chicken pieces with some roasted potatoes and carrots and a side salad.

I decided not to work out today cause I'm still recovering from being sick, but I think tomorrow is the day. I've set the alarm for 6:00 a.m. and am going to get up and run. Hoping I don't end up hacking my way through it. I officially start training for my half marathon next week, so I hope I can get rid of this bug for good.

So GLAD that it's Friday tomorrow. The best part is that I have a facial scheduled for the end of the day. What better way to start the weekend?

G'night!

Weigh-in # 5 and something YUMMY

2010-03-10T18:21:00.004-05:00

Hey guys,

First off, thanks to all of you for your supportive comments and e-mails. It's so cool to be part of such a caring blogger community.

I went to weigh-in fearing the worst today. I totally expected a gain. I was pleasantly surprised by a 0.2 loss. Pretty much a maintain. I guess the lesson I learned is to stop doubting myself so much. Sure i made some less than stellar choices this past week, but all in all my portions were reasonable.

I had myself so convinced I'd be up a couple pounds that my plan for the coming week was to just worry about taking off what I'd gained. Looks like I can skip that and work on some making further progress.

One of my favorite breakfasts is a bowl of natural yogurt with Nature's Path Hemp granola, banana slices and raspberries. The other night while at the grocery store, I came across Peanut Butter granola. I just had to get it.

After I got home, I decided that I would try altering my breakfast a bit and turn it in to dessert. I took an individual container of natural balkan yogurt, topped with 1/2 a sliced banana, 1/3 cup of the peanut butter granola and drizzled some organic honey on top. The verdict? DELICIOUS. Good as a dessert, breakfast or snack really.

Anyway, still not feeling 100%. Went to the walk-in clinic and was prescribed a puffer. We'll see if it helps. In the meantime, I'm going to bed early tonight and hoping a good night's sleep will be the answer.

Still here

2010-03-08T19:59:00.004-05:00

Hey guys,

Sorry I've been MIA for almost 2 weeks now. I wish I could say I was off having fun and didn't have time to post, but unfortunately that is not the case. The truth is that my husband got really sick and ended up being hospitalized with pneumonia. If you've been reading this blog for a while you know how dangerous this can be for him as he had a bone marrow transplant a couple years ago to treat the leukemia diagnosis he received in January of 2007. Of course I ALWAYS go into panic mode whenever he gets sick because I fear the worst. Fortunately, he is OKAY and it seems that this latest episode was a mere bump in the road.

Unfortunately, I still let stressful times get the best of me and as a result my eating has been less than stellar the last little while. I've done okay the past few days, but not so great for the 4 days he spent in the hospital. It's weigh-in day tomorrow and even though I DO NOT want to go, I will go and face the music. The gain (however big or small) is all part of the process. The good news is that I did journal everything I ate. In the past I wouldn't have wanted to see it in black and white.

It's time to get back down to business. Now if only I could shake my cold, it would make things A LOT easier.

I'll check-in tomorrow with my weigh-in results!! I have some MAJOR catching up to do with all of you!

Weigh-in - Week 4

2010-02-24T20:36:00.004-05:00

My head is pounding like you wouldn't believe - despite having taken drugs two hours ago
The pile of work on my desk at the Office is huge and I don't seem to be making a dent in it
My 4 year old daughter is going through an "I'm afraid of everything" at night stage and we've been getting little sleep around here these days
I'm catching a cold and feel like crap
My house is messy and we're having company over tomorrow and I don't feel like cleaning because I just want to go to bed

....but NONE of that matters because I lost 1.6 lbs this week. SWEET!!!!!!!! I know to some, it might not seem like much, but to me, it was the most rewarding 1.6 lbs I've ever lost. The scale didn't budge for 13 days (yes I know - I shouldn't be weighing daily). In the past, I've had a defeatist attitude and would fall off the wagon when I didn't see results. This time, I told myself - do what you never do - PERSEVERE even though the scale isn't cooperating. See what happens. And you know what??? I lost 1.6 over night. Was it really over night? No, my body was just holding on to it and decided to release it. It was actually all the hard work I'd been putting in the last two weeks. It just goes to show that the body works in mysterious ways.

Bottom line - even when you don't like what the scale has to say - don't quit because you never know what's around the corner.

Here's to 4 weeks of tracking and 6.4 lbs gone. Looking forward to the next 4. BRING IT!!!

P.S. - Syl - thanks for picking up on the mistake in my last post. My half is actually in early July. Going back to edit. :)

Getting my run ON

2010-02-23T21:09:00.009-05:00

For those of you who have been following my blog for a while, you know that I injured my ankle this past summer. As a result, I was not able to do the Scotiabank half marathon this past September.

In fact over the last few months, I began to doubt that I would ever run pain free again. I started to resign myself to the fact that I am just not meant to be a runner. Huge let down because when I ran my first half in October of 2008 in San Fran, I knew I was hooked. There is no feeling like crossing that finish line. I can't even put it in to words.

After probably a dozen or so sessions of Active Release Therapy with my chiropractor, I am THRILLED to say that I have successfully run my last four runs PAIN FREE!!!!!!!!! YIPPEEE. I'm still a little worried that the pain will return, but this has given me BIG TIME hope that I will be able to continue running.

Huge sigh of relief because I'm due to start training for the Red White and Boom half Marathon in Minneapolis in early July. I am super fortunate to have a running coach make a customized training plan for me. I should get it in the next week or so. CAN'T WAIT!!!!!

Weigh-in day is tomorrow and I'm not quite sure what to expect. The scale seems to be stuck these days, but I'm remaining optimistic that with everything I'm doing right, my body has to let go of some weight soon. Sooner would be preferable though.

I tried my first Vita Brownie today. Yum, yum!! It tastes a lot like the various chocolate vitatops, but I like the addition of a few nuts. A definite keeper. Thinking of placing another order soon. Two that I'm thinking of trying are the Golden Corn Ones and the Banana nut. Has anyone tried either of these? If so, what are your thoughts. Do share as I don't want to be stuck with a dozen.

Peace Out!

Mental strength

2010-02-21T22:36:00.006-05:00

Today has been a true test of mental strength. I have been having one of those days where I just want to stop trying. It started with a less than stellar mid-week weigh-in. I weighed in at exactly the same weight as weigh-in day. I know that doesn't sound like a big deal, but don't forget that I pretty much had a maintain at my last weigh-in, which means that I'm at the same weight I was 11 days ago. Odd considering I'm still tracking and staying in my range, exercising and drinking water. I expected some kind of movement.

If you've been following me for a while, you know that I'm not totally stuck on numbers. I'm fine with losing weight slowly. What I DON'T like, is when I see NOTHING happening.

Despite my initial let down after hopping on the scale this morning, I told myself to just stick it out. I had a healthy breakfast and went about my day. We went to visit my dad today because he had surgery on his shoulder on Friday. When we got there, his wife (my step mom) brought out a big bowl of chips, red licorice, ice cream bars and chocolate. This woman LOVES to feed people. Anyway, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have anything. I didn't have lunch and dove into the chips. In the end I quit at about 6-7 points worth. I was VERY tempted by the Hagen Daz ice cream bars, but politely declined.

By the time we got home it was already 6:00 p.m. I was tired and cranky. Upset about the morning's weigh-in and upset at myself for having the chips. I was also craving chinese food something fierce. I tried to rationalize to myself that I could eat the chinese food because one, I wasn't losing weight anyway and two because I'd already blown my day by having chips. I probably wasted a good 20 minutes going back and forth on what to do. In the end I chose to stick to my ESBM menu plan and made the Mexican lasagna.

Before:

After:
It was pretty good. I didn't love the sauce, but that's because I tried a jar sauce that I don't normally use. In fact, I hardly ever use jar sauce, as I much prefer making my own. It was pretty tasty. Not as good as Chinese food, but much, much better on the waistline.

Once I tallied my points for the day, I only ended up going over by 4 and I had enough flex points to cover it.

I AM SO HAPPY, that I didn't say "screw it". Sure the scale isn't moving, but I DO deserve credit for what I'm doing right:

I'm on my fourth week of tracking
I've stayed OP for 4 weekends in a row - HUGE for me
I didn't cave into the "well, this day's already a wash" mentality
I didn't go CRAZY on the chips
I'm eating healthier overall
I'm trying new things
I'm running again - more on this in tomorrow's post

As long as I keep this up, the scale HAS to move. It may not be today or tomorrow, but it's gonna be soon. And it will be that much more satisfying when it does.

Whew - that was a long one. G'night folks!

ESBM Night # 1 = SUCCESS

2010-02-18T21:53:00.005-05:00

It's been a long day. Had to go to a business presentation about an hour and a half out of town. Got home a little after 6:30 and just wanted to go to a drive through on the way home....even if just for a salad. However, the other day, I vowed to follow a menu plan this week to make tracking easier. I flagged about 5 or 6 recipes from the Eat Shrink and Be Merry (ESBM) cookbook to try this week. I didn't want to start day one on the wrong foot. So, when I got home, I got straight to work. I decided to start my week with Tuskinny Chicken.

I started off with this:

And ended up with this:
By 7:30, I sat down and enjoyed a delicious dinner consisting of two small boneless skinless chicken thighs with veggies, tomato sauce, white kidney beans and a hint of white wine,topped with a little parmesan cheese and served over whole wheat egg noodles. YUMMY. Best part? The whole meal only cost me 8 points. It's a definite keeper.

For dessert I enjoyed a cup of strawberries topped with light cool whip.
I loved knowing EXACTLY how many points were in my dinner without having to guesstimate. I think it's this kind of planning that's going to help me see a loss on the scale next Wednesday.

3rd week weigh-in

2010-02-17T20:21:00.002-05:00

So my third week weigh-in wasn't that great. I was up 0.2. It's not a big gain by any means. In fact, the lady who weighed me in at Weight Watchers, reassured me that it was essentially a maintain. :) If I'm honest with myself, I'm not even that upset about the number, what gets me is that I don't think I will ever fully understand weight loss. This was my third week since re-committing to Weight Watchers and in my opinion it was a REALLY good one. I tracked, stayed within points, ate my fruits and veggies, drank lots of water and green tea and I even completely gave up soda. I didn't exercise as much as I should have, but I managed to get two runs in. And I did not eat my activity points. If it's as simple as calories in and calories out, how could I possibly have gained anything?

Again, I am not DISAPPOINTED with my weigh-in. I get that you can't lose each week. In fact, I'm even more determined to get a loss next week. The bottom line is that I just don't get it. The body is a mysterious thing.

I'm prepared for a great week ahead. I've got some good workouts planned, I got the groceries I needed to stick to my ESBM meal plan and I've got the determination to succeed. I plan on sayin' "buh-bye" to a couple more pounds this week. :)

Hardest Meal of the Day

2010-02-15T20:44:00.006-05:00

Sorry I've been such a bad blogger these days. I just haven't had much to say, so I figured why bore you all. :)

This last week has gone well. Still tracking, still OP. The tracking can get a little tedious, but the bottom line is that it works. So, like it or not, I gotta do it. I actually find that tracking breakfast, lunch and snacks are pretty easy. It's the dinners that kill me. You see, I'm a girl who loves to cook. I like to make things from scratch and I don't always use recipes. I often find it really time consuming to try to figure out the points in what I make. I have to look at every single ingredient, figure out the calories, fat and fibre for each item, add them all up and then divide by number of servings to get a point value. Sometimes I just can't be bothered. I find myself googling to find a similar recipe so that I can estimate the point value.

I don't want that to become a habit, so for my fourth week (starts Thursday) I'm going to try to follow recipes that have the nutritional information available. I went through the ESBM cookbook and found a few recipes that I want to try.

Touched by an Angel Hair Pasta
Tuskinny Chicken
The Better Butter Chicken
No weigh, Jose Mexican lasagna
Wowie Maui Meatballs

I've never been disappointed by a recipe from this cookbook yet. So, I'm hoping these are just as good. Anyone try any of them?

I'm also going to try the Turkey Cheddar burgers from the Simply Delicious Weight Watchers cookbook. They look really yummy!

Tonight was use up leftovers night. I had a chicken wrap, some veggies with a bit of tzatziki and a sweet potato/carrot mash with maple syrup and pecans. I didn't love the mash. No matter which way I try, I just can't seem to get into the sweet potato thing. I'm not willing to give up though. There's gotta be a way I'll like them. :)

With just two days left until weigh-in, I decided to get my butt on the treadmill for a run. I've slacked a little on the exercise this week. Feel so much better now that I did. Not expecting a big loss this week since I had two good weeks in a row. At this point I'll take anything I can get. Gonna keep plugging away and get 'er done!!

Weigh-in Wednesday and lessons learned

2010-02-10T18:17:00.005-05:00

So, today was my two week weigh-in since re-joining Weight Watchers. I always get a little anxious before weigh-ins because I start think of all the reasons why it might not go well. Today my reasons were that I spent 4 of the last 7 days away from home, eating other people's food and take-out type food. I did count my points and ended the week eating 40 extra points, rather than the 35 extra (flex points) alloted each week. Five flex over, not too bad, but still enough to make me question what the scale would have to say for itself. Well, as it turns out, my worries were for nothing, I was down 2 pounds. Yippee!! That makes for 5 pounds in two weeks. I'm thrilled with this.

After reflecting on the previous week, I made note of a few things:

Trust the process - if you work the system, the system will work for you
Stop being so hard on yourself.
Just because you're counting points and sticking to the plan, it's not an excuse to eat like crap

While I was away, I ate things like subs, pizza, cannelloni, Sun Chips and other foods that lack nutritional value. I certainly could have made some better choices along the way, but I didn't because I could "afford" the points. For the most part I think I eat pretty healthy, but sometimes I find myself slipping into old bad habits. The one thing about Weight Watchers is that you can eat whatever you want as long as you track it. On the one hand it's great because it's easy to make it work within your lifestyle. The bad part is that it allows a little too much room for eating crap. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming the plan. Every piece of food I put in my mouth this past week, was MY decision. What concerns me is that some people may eat that way all the time and still lose weight. Great for the weight loss, but not for a healthy lifestyle. I don't really know where I'm going with this...just making observations.

Bottom line is that while I'm happy with my two pound loss this week, I feel better when I eat better. So, on this third week of counting points, I plan on making healthier choices.

Monday (for lack of a better title)

2010-02-08T22:18:00.005-05:00

Sorry for being MIA again these past few days. We were actually in Toronto from Thursday to Sunday. I had every intention of putting up a post or two, but somehow never had time. It was busy, busy, busy. Admittedly, I was a little worried about being away for 4 days since it is only my second week back at Weight Watchers. I promised myself that I would try not to get too hung up on it. I tend to cave under pressure. I gave myself one rule. Eat whatever is available, but stay within your points. Well, my friends - MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. I succeeded in tracking and staying within my point allowance. Pretty impressive considering my trip involved two trips to subway, one night of pizza, a couple meals cooked by my in-laws and a potluck with the GTA blogger girls (fun as always). I did use ALL of my flex points to get me through though, but no biggie. The important part is that I did it! Wa-hoo!

Tomorrow is my last day before weigh-in. I plan on making it count. I've already planned out my day in food so that I don't exceed my daily point limit. Need to ensure a loss on the scale.

A couple weeks ago I used a Chapters gift card that I had gotten for Christmas to buy a laptop lunch box that I'd been eyeing up for a while. These are just the cutest!! As you can see, I've filled it with some pretty yummy, yet healthy goodies for lunch tomorrow. I even included a cookie. The latest issue of Clean Eating magazine had an interesting recipe for Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are no-flour, dairy free and "low" sugar. The ingredient list was short, so I decided to give them a try. The result? Pretty darn tasty. Here's the recipe if any of you are interested:

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted almond butter, stirred well
3/4 cup sucanat (I used organic natural brown sugar from Whole Foods)
1 large egg
1/2 tsp sea salt
3 oz dark chocolate broken into small pieces (I used 3 oz chocolate chipits)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, stir together 5 first ingredients until blended. Stir in chocolate.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoonsfuls onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and let cool for 15 more minutes.

There you have it. Now, I just have to cook up the rice to go with the mexican chicken stew that I have cooking in the crockpot and I'm all set for dinner tomorrow night. I'll be sure to share the recipe for that if it turns out.

I'm outs! Gotta get some much needed shut eye.

Weigh-in and recipes

2010-02-03T21:03:00.011-05:00

Hey guys,

First of all I want to THANK YOU all for the encouraging comments you left on my last post. It means a lot to me to be part of a community that is so supportive.

So, I bet you're all wondering how weigh-in went. I have to admit that I was feeling kinda grouchy about it this morning. I woke up only to find out that it was that time of month. Never a good sign. I was bitter because I thought I was doomed to a bad first weigh-in. WRONG. I was down 3 lbs! Can I get a woot woot? I'm BEYOND happy with this. I don't want to jinx it or anything, but I FINALLY feel like I found my mojo. I'm ready to finish this once and for all. Bring it on.

As promised, I'm providing some links for the recipe requests I've received of late. Just click on the recipe title and it will bring you to the recipe. Underneath the picture, I made note of any changes I made.

Tortellini Stew

*I ended up using a can of diced tomatoes in the stew instead of fresh.

Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Don't be alarmed by the link. It says body building pancakes, but I assure you they are AMAZING and you need not be a body builder. :)

Maple Mustard Chicken

* I omitted the marjoram. Truth be told, I'm not familiar with the spice so I didn't want to risk altering the flavour. Also, last time I made these, I used boneless skinless thighs and it worked

out perfectly.

This past week, this bad boy has been my best friend. My one tip is DO not eye ball portions. YOU MUST measure if you want to be accurate. Those extra little bits here and there add up quickly.

Third Time's A Charm and contest winner

2010-02-02T20:56:00.007-05:00

So first off let me start by sharing with you the winner of the Stellar Week Contest. I had every intention of selecting the winner by random generator, but funnily enough only 3 people reported back on the status of their week and of those 3, only 1 actually had a stellar week. Turns out I didn't need the random generator after all. So, the winner of the "Cook This Not That" Book is Skinny Me from Skinny Me Coming soon. Congrats!!

Moving on....you may have noticed that I haven't been blogging much lately. Why you ask? Because I made a decision last week and I was feeling kind of apprehensive about sharing it on here.

I joined Weight Watchers (again) last Wednesday. It's been one week on program and tomorrow I face the scale. No big deal right? I mean, it's not big news or anything, so why was I afraid to share it with all of you? Well, because I was afraid you'd all think I was a spaz. I mean, this will be my third time this past year.

The first time was during the summer. I was doing really well, but with all the travel I was doing for work and with my family I couldn't seem to be consistent with weigh-in days, etc. so I decided to go it on my own. The second time was this past October. Again I was doing well, but with the move to the new house and all the extra expenses that come along with it, I decided that in the name of frugality I would stop going. Then January came along and I did a lot of experimenting. I actually learned quite a bit. I gained and lost a couple pounds, but overall ended the month more knowledgeable. I learned what foods kept me fullest the longest and what foods had NO staying power. I made some strides in conquering the emotional side of overeating with the help of books like Beck and an online program (more on that another time). I also had an epiphany about exercise. Turns out I don't have to be all hardcore all the time. I've rekindled my relationship with the treadmill and her and I are getting along famously.

All of this left me thinking, now what? How do I put it all together? I knew from past experiences that weight watchers worked. My problem is with commitment. Last Tuesday night I had a chat with my hubby. I was feeling really down and told him that I REALLY needed to get these last 25-30 lbs off once and for all. And I needed something that was going to give me that extra push. Weight Watchers was the logical answer. This time around I joined with my mom so that I have the extra support system. Plus, I signed up for a 20 week pass. I think that takes care of the commitment issue.

Hows it going so far? Famously!! I've had a fantastic first week. The great thing about WW is that nothing is off limits. All week I've been enjoying delicious meals such as the one pictured here; maple mustard chicken with potatoes and carrots roasted with onions and garlic with a side salad.

I've managed to work out for an hour 6 out of the last 7 days and I'm enjoying vita tops and cool whip for dessert. What's not to like?

I've had a few requests lately for recipes. I promise to post recipes tomorrow along with my first weigh-in results.

Share your stellar week challenge recap here

2010-02-01T07:43:00.002-05:00

Hey guys,

For those of you who entered the stellar week challenge/giveaway, let me know how you did.

Winner will be selected this evening through random generator.

As for me, I did have a pretty solid week. I'd say that with the exception of one day, I ROCKED this week. YAY me.

Some of my favorite breakfasts (healthy of course)

2010-01-28T21:07:00.010-05:00

Hey guys,

Since I don't have much to say tonight, I thought I'd take the opportunity to share some of my favorite breakfasts with all of you. For the LONGEST time, I used to be a Honey Nut Cheerios girl. It was my go to breakfast. This last year, I've really branched out and found some DELICIOUS breakfasts that are healthy and have staying power.

Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Whole grain wheat toast with natural peanut butter and banana pieces

2. Cottage cheese and oatmeal pancakes (sounds odd I know, but they are DELICIOUS and have a perfect balance of protein and healthy carbs)

3. The Breakfast cookie - This would be the winner in terms of staying power

4. Oatmeal with add-ins
5. Green Monster Smoothie

6. Balkan style yogurt with granola, raspberries and banana

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. So, I figure you might as well do it right. What are some of YOUR favorite healthy breakfasts?

Terrific Tuesday

2010-01-26T22:52:00.007-05:00

Saturday's food fiasco is but a distant memory. Turns out that one good day is all it takes to turn things around. That usually leads to another and so on.

A good breakfast is a surefire way to kick things off on the right foot. I finally took the plunge and tried steel cut oats. Add to that a little almond milk, almond butter, some cinnamon, coconut and a tsp of mini chipits and you've got a delicious breakfast that's got staying power. My only problem now is that I have TOO MANY yummy and healthy breakfast choices to choose from.

So far, my stellar week is going pretty well. To be honest though, I am not meeting my fruit goal. Yesterday, I didn't get any in and today I only got one in. MUST improve on that ASAP. How are you all doing on your stellar week?

One goal that I forgot to add to my list for the stellar week was to try some new recipes. I LOVE to cook. I also find that a good way to stick to any diet is to find some healthy foods that you love. It's next to impossible to stick to something if you don't like what you're doing. I'm slowly building my repetoir of go to healthy recipes. Like I said, I've got breakfast covered, but I still have to expand my lunch and dinner selections. I did find another keeper in ESBM's Smackeroni & Cheese:

Sure the processed cheezewhiz doesn't necessarily make it the healthiest, but it sure is tasty and my whole family likes it. I don't think it will do us much harm if we eat it occasionally. Surely it has to be better than fast food?

Alright, I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow, but I just wanted to pop in and say hello.

3520 Calories

2010-01-24T20:11:00.003-05:00

Well my friends, the truth is in the numbers. To say I am disappointed in myself is an understatement.

3520 calories - That's how many I ate yesterday. How RIDICULOUS is that? No wonder I felt/still feel disgusting. What's worse is that I had a KICK ASS week last week. I feel like I undid it with this horrid day.

The culprit? A combination of two things. First was not eating lunch and going to the movies on an empty stomach. My husband and I split a medium buttered popcorn and an order of nachos with cheese sauce. I don't even like the nachos that much. I ate them because they were there. Boo me.

My daughter was at a sleepover at Grandpas and I decided that I didn't feel like cooking. So, Wendys drive through it was.

What was I thinking? Apparently I wasn't thinking at all. Since I am trying to be more positive, I am able to see a silver lining.

Tonight I sat down looked up all the nutritional information and I wrote it all down. I have NEVER in all my history of dieting tracked a bad day. I've tracked a couple bad choices, but never an entire bad day. I've always chosen the bury my head in the sand approach. Well, no longer. The new approach is "bite it, write it". Seeing it in black and white is a constant reminder and makes you think twice.

I'm going to have to fight like hell this week to make up for my indulgences. Good thing tomorrow is the start of the 1 stellar week challenge.

As promised, here's what I will be doing to make my week a stellar one:

At least two pieces of fruit a day
1 cup of green tea a day
NO soda
6 days of exercise
Track all food that goes in my mouth
Continue reading Beck diet solution and doing the associated written exercises
Water, water and more water
No peeking at the scale until next Monday's weigh-in
Keep a positive attitude

Check out the previous post if you're interested in joining the challenge. Good luck to everyone!

Looking forward to the week ahead. Bring it!

1 Stellar week challenge/giveaway

2010-01-22T12:06:00.005-05:00

Hey guys,

For my birthday this year, I received the Cook This, Not That book. After having a chance to read a good chunk of it and browse the recipes, I can officially say that I LOVE IT!! It's a fantastic little resource for those of us trying to shed the pounds.

I loved it so much that I want to give a copy away. The catch? You're going to have to work for it.

I'm challenging all of you interested in entering the giveaway to have 1 STELLAR week.

I know that everyone has their own weigh-in days and I don't want it to get too complicated. So, I'm going to run the One Stellar Week challenge from Monday, January 25th to Sunday, January 31st. The challenge is NOT about pounds lost. It's about doing ALL that you can do during that one week to reach your goals. I'm not setting any rules because everyone has different ideas about what a good week is for them. For some it might be to get three extra sessions of exercise in, for others it might be to work out for two hours a day. The point is: YOU decide!!

So, this is what you have to do to enter:

Leave me a comment letting me know that you want to enter the 1 stellar week challenge/giveaway (before Monday morning). I'll add the list of challengers to my sidebar.
Put up a post, send me an e-mail or leave me a comment letting me know what your stellar week will look like
At the end of the 7 days, let me know if you achieved what you set out to do (by e-mail or comment on the blog)

On Monday, February 1st, a winner will be selected by random generator.

Everyone is welcome to join.

I hope that wasn't too confusing. Let me know if there are any questions or if clarifications are needed.

Tonight, I will post what my stellar week is going to look like.

Experimenting

2010-01-21T18:44:00.004-05:00

Wow, It's hard to believe that a week has gone by since my last post. I really don't know where the time has gone.

Rest assured that I am still on track, at least in the food department. Work has been insanely busy this last week and I've brought work home with me on more than one occasion. That being said, my exercise this last week has been virtually non-existent. UNACCEPTABLE!! I've let the work excuse get the best of me, when really I could have/should have made a better effort. Even if just 20 minutes a day. Thank goodness my eating has been good.

Well no more!! I've already done my run on the treadmill for the night. I could probably stand to do more, but baby steps right? For me, exercise is KEY. Many people don't need to exercise to lose weight, but for me, it is a must. I find that my body responds well to exercise. So, I have to make a more consistent effort to do it, especially now that I'm training for a half marathon.

The last couple weeks I've found myself experimenting a little. For some reason, most of my previous weight loss attempts (over the last 15 years) have involved following some type of "diet". I've tried the cabbage soup diet, Atkins, the rice diet, South Beach and fasting to name a few. I cringe at the thought of all the diets I've tried. Did I really believe any of those were the answer for me? Now, don't get me wrong, I truly believe that ANY diet can work if you stick to it. And I'm not criticizing anyone who follows any of the above mentioned diets. For me, they just weren't realistic because they were too strict for me. Meaning, it's not something I can sustain for a lifetime. Enter the experimenting. It dawned on me that while I do believe following a plan is important (since it provides structure and guidelines) there's no rule against my creating my own plan.

The last couple weeks, I've been thinking back on all the things that have worked well for me in the past and I'm trying them out in different combinations. The end result will hopefully be a plan that allows me to achieve my weight loss goals and that will provide me with sustainability.

Here are a few of the things that I'm experimenting with at the moment:

Varying calorie levels - essentially I want to eat as much as I can while still losing weight - cause if I'm starving at the end of the day I will never be able to sustain it
Food - Finding which food gives me the most bang for my buck/ has the longest staying power
How often to weigh-in. This month, I've opted for two weigh-ins (next weigh-in Feb 1st)
I've also started reading the Beck Diet Solution - hoping this will provide me with behavioural strategies to address the "why".

Anyway, It seems to be working. I'm feeling great and in control. I'm looking forward to weighing-in 10 days from now to see if I will reap the rewards of my experiments.

Off to do a quick ab workout. Then I will be coming back to catch up on all your wonderful blogs. I've missed being in the loop.

Weigh-in Wednesday

2010-01-13T21:56:00.004-05:00

The good news is, I'm down 1 lb this week. Woo-hoo!

The bad news is that I think I might have gained it back with dinner tonight. Went to my dad's house for a spaghetti dinner and ate too much pasta.

Lesson # 1 - Don't let 7 hours pass between lunch and dinner without at least having a snack

Lesson #2 - Don't let others portion out your food for you. This results in eating more than you should. Or maybe that was the lack of willpower?

In any case, I'm glad I have the next 6 days to make up for it. Need that scale to keep going down, down, down.

It's Official...

2010-01-12T21:53:00.005-05:00

I've registered to run the Minneapolis Red, White & Boom Half Marathon on the 4th of July. That is just 6 days before the end of the XWeighted National Challenge.

I have just a little over 24 weeks to train for this event. I'm not sure whether or not I should set a time goal for myself. Something to think about.

I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I saw my chiropractor today, who did some work on my ankle. Based on a few observations, he thinks the problem might actually be with my larger muscles (near the hip area). He said they were very tense and somehow cause stress on my ankle. He's given me some stretches to do. I plan on doing whatever it takes to get it better.

If you've never run a long distance event, all I can say is that it's addicting. There is no better feeling than the elation you feel when you cross that finish line.

As a bonus - I've decided that if I reach my goal weight (or close to it) in time for the half marathon, I'm hitting up the outlets in Minneapolis for some shopping. New threads = a little extra incentive.

Now all I need is a good training schedule.

Humdrum Monday

2010-01-11T19:37:00.006-05:00

Hello beautiful people. Sorry it's been a while. This last week has been a whirlwind of activities.

As I'm sure you've been reading all over blog land, this past weekend was the Xweighted National Challenge. I was fortunate enough to be in Toronto that weekend and was able to go for the official measurements and fitness test. As others have mentioned, the fitness test was no picnic, but I think I did it in a respectable time. I finished at 2 minutes and 2 seconds.

Based on my stats, I was given a target of 24 lbs to lose during the challenge. I think that is reasonable and I look forward to ROCKING it.

As part of the challenge, you had to pick a fitness goal. After some debating, I settled on a half marathon. Originally, I had my sights set on Ottawa's ING half marathon on May 30th. Unfortunately, I just found out that it's the same weekend as my husband's graduation from Teacher's college. At first I was bummed out, but then I found "the one". There just happens to be a half marathon in Minneapolis the weekend before the final weigh-in and measurements. I'd say that's perfect timing for my fitness goal. It also gives me an extra month to train for the half. Meant to be I guess.

Doing this challenge also meant that I got to hang with the GTA blogger ladies. As always, it was lots of fun. I can't begin to tell you how awesome they all are. I only wish I lived closer so that I could hang with them more often. :(

While we were in Toronto, we also celebrated Christmas with my husband's side of the family. Let's just say that there was no shortage of food. How'd I do? Well, it could have been better and it could have been worse. I'm calling it a wash. I can say with certainty that the "holidays" are officially over now and I'm ready to kick some challenge ass.

Tonight's dinner was a bowl of tortellini and spinach stew. Simple and delicious.

My plans for this evening involve catching up on some much needed sleep so that I can wake up refreshed and get back in the full swing of things. Of course, not until I catch up on how you've all been doing.

Choices

2010-01-06T22:10:00.008-05:00

"Let the Choices you make today be choices you can live with tomorrow"

Today I chose:

To start my day with a healthy breakfast
To remain positive at work, despite all the changes going on
To fill up on veggies

To drink nothing but water
To run a couple miles, even though I was tempted to park my butt on the couch and watch my PVR'd episode of Biggest Loser
To pick an apple over my favorite Christmas chocolate (Toffifee) even though it was the last one left
To not let it bother me that my new scale has me two pounds heavier than my old scale (does it really change the amount lost?)
To go to bed at a decent hour

When I wake up tomorrow, I will be thankful for these choices, because one day soon these choices will lead to big changes.

Day-to-Day Life

2010-01-03T20:05:00.009-05:00

After a couple days of indulging a little more than I should have, I am fully back on track today. Boy, does it feel good.

I'm feeling very optimistic about the year ahead. I really feel like it's my year for lasting change.

The Biggest Loser episode "Where are they now" that aired in November, had a segment with former winner Eric Chopin. As you all know, he has gained most of the weight back. Bob said something to Eric during that episode that's been plaguing me ever since. He said "you have to find a day-to-day life". Therein lies my problem. This has ALWAYS been my problem. This is why I continue to struggle at sustainable weight loss. I can lose weight no problem. I can gain it even more easily. It's keeping it off that is tricky. This year is about finding MY "day-to-day life". I think my biggest problem is that I want it all TOO fast.

Funny thing is that I'm not sure what my hurry is. If I aim to lose 1lb a week (give or take) it would take me less than 6 months to lose all the weight I wanted. I think 4 lbs a month is very realistic.

The best part is that Sparkspeople tells me I can eat between 1400 and 1700 calories a day to achieve a 1lb a week loss. Today I came in a little under 1600. ZERO feeling of deprivation. Heck, I even got to enjoy some vanilla ice cream with some fat free caramel topping. I think this is what they mean by "day-to-day" life. I'm going to give it a shot and see how I do.

As for exercise, I'm aiming for about an hour a day, 5 to 6 days a week. I'll be doing a combination of shredding, walking and running.

Today was Level 1 of the shred (I managed to find it) and a 2 mile run/walk on the treadmill.

Oh yeah - and for my birthday I got an ipod Touch. I can't even begin to tell you how useful it's going to be/already is in helping me shed these last 25-30 lbs. But, I'll save that for another post.

2010 Focus

2010-01-01T16:58:00.005-05:00

Happy New Year everyone!

I'm loving reading everyone's blog posts today. They are so full of optimism. The new year always brings the promise of a "fresh start".

Since my birthday is on January 2nd (Today - since it's after midnight), I always use this as my "New Year".

I've spent the last couple days reflecting on what I wanted for myself in 2010 and have come up with three key areas that I want to focus on.

Use my time more wisely - For one - I spend far too much time online. I love reading blogs and blogging, but I have to limit myself so that I can find the time to pursue other interests, such as reading. This also applies to other aspects of my life. I think a key factor in achieving this goal will be organization. I feel so much happier when my life is organized.
Become Financially Fit - Who knew there were so many expenses involved with buying a house? It goes well beyond saving for a down payment. I actually did know, I just didn't have the foresight to know just how much it would cost. Nothing a little belt tightening won't fix. This lends itself well with something else that is important to me and that is to live simply. I don't want my life to be about possessions. I want it to be filled with family, friends and laughter.
Learn to Love my Body - Over the years I have gained and lost many pounds. I have a closet full of clothes in different sizes to prove it. Regardless of my size, I've never really appreciated my body. I tend to focus on the negative. Funny how giving birth is one of life's greatest miracles and a true testament to how amazing the human body is, yet when I look in the mirror, all I see is the spare tire that has made its home above my waist. I'm not quite sure how to go about it, but I do know that eating healthy and exercising will go a long way in helping me achieve this goal.

Beyond these three things, there are many smaller, more tangible goals that I want to achieve in 2010. For instance, running my second half marathon is one of them. I'm still working on my list and will share with you once it is finalized.

2010 is going to be about challenging myself. Pushing past my comfort zone and reaching new heights. I plan on making this my 2010 mantra:

Make the most of your life

"We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential."
Ellen Goodman

Thinking of Joining a Running Group

2009-12-30T19:47:00.006-05:00

Started my morning with another breakfast cookie this morning. Today's combo included the following:

1/3 cup oats
2 tsp of vanilla whey powder
1 tbsp of natural peanut butter
1/2 of an extra small mashed banana
1 tsp of chocolate chips
a pinch of natural brown sugar
a pinch of cinnamon
3 crushed pecan halves

Yet another delicious combo. Today's combo worked out to 320 calories. Worth every one too. I ate it at 8:15 and had lunch around 12:30. Lasted over 4 hours without ANY hunger.

Tomorrow I'm going to experiment with coconut and skor bits. YUM!

As I mentioned yesterday, I've started running again. I'm taking it slow to ensure that my ankle can handle it. I've got my sights set on the Ottawa ING Half Marathon at the end of May. In order to make this a reality, I think I will have to suck it up and run outside in the cold. And trust me, when I say cold I mean COLD. I cringe at the thought of it.

I know myself well enough to know that if I'm doing it alone, I will give myself all kinds of excuses to not go outside. So, I thought maybe if I committed to a running group, I'd have no excuses. There is one here in town that is free and runs twice a week. It starts at the end of January and the training is for a ten miler that takes place in mid May. It could work out perfectly with the Ottawa run.

So, for all you experienced runners, how do you handle running outside in winter? Is there anything I should know? I mean, isn't it slippery? And how do you layer? I imagine that it's really cold to start but then you must warm up after a while.

Please share any tips you might have. I need all the help I can get.

Weigh-in - Challenge week 2

2009-12-30T12:45:00.002-05:00

Just a super quick post to say that I was down 0.4 at today's weigh-in. I know it's not a lot, but I was relieved. I worried that with my 2-3 days of being off track at Christmas, I would end up seeing a gain.

Woo-Hoo! I'll take what I can get. 18 weeks left in the challenge. Gotta make them count.

Back tonight with a "real" post.

New recipe, C25K and a Much Needed Pep Talk

2009-12-29T21:10:00.007-05:00

Back with another post. I'm feeling really good today. Wish I could bottle this feeling up for when I'm lacking motivation.

Tonight for dinner, I tried a recipe from my Ellie Krieger cookbook; The Food you Crave. I made the Balsamic chicken with Baby Spinach. It was very good. My husband also really liked it and requested that it make it to the rotation. It's a keeper. If you're interested, I've posted the recipe under the "Good Eats" tab.

I have to confess that I haven't started shredding yet. Not because I don't want to, but because I haven't found the DVD. I wish I could remember where it's packed. You see, we're still not fully unpacked from last month's move. I'd say we're 80% there. Unfortunately, the Shred is in one of those boxes. I am going to suck it up and go dig it out of its hiding place since I really want to get started.

For my workout tonight I decided on Day 1 of the C25K. I SO badly want to just skip to the last few weeks of the program, but because I'm trying to ease my ankle back into the world of running, I've decided to start right from the beginning. I do have my sights set on a race and will share those details with all of you soon. It felt GREAT to run again, even if it was just for little spurts at a time.

Moving on to the highlight of my day. My day started off on the wrong foot today. I was feeling really discouraged about this whole weight loss process. Sometimes it just feels like I don't know what I'm doing or like not much progress is being made. That is when the lovely Enz over at One of the 4 Walls stepped in and saved the day. She gave me a much needed pep talk and set me straight. It completely changed my perspective and gave me the focus I needed to keep plowing forward. Many thanks my friend. Anyway, I thought I'd share it with all of you. I know it's specific to me, but I think everyone can take a little bit from it and draw some wisdom from her words:

If this was easy there wouldn't be so many diets, weight loss plans, gyms, and books out there. You've done amazingly well so far, I know sometimes its hard to remember that. You've gone from 210 and pretty much maintained for so long. You've beat the odds that 98% of people who lose 50lbs or more gain it back plus another 25% in less than 2 years.

You're in the top 2% Tiffany - you're already a success.

You will find your way, you will find the plan that works for you and fits perfectly into your lifestyle and you will get to size 6!

How else are you going to find what works if you don't try stuff. Like Einstein said, “We now know a thousand ways not to build a light bulb” Every attempt, every try at something different teaches you something about yourself and about what works or doesn't work and little by little its coming together.

It's hard to stay motivated when you want to see results now and you don't. You have less to lose, you're 15 years older, had a child, work full time, run a household - this is one more thing you have to do to make your life fulfilling for you - and you will. You're doing it every day. Even the days you think you're not - you are because of where you are now and not at 300 lbs.

Thanks Enz for knocking some sense into me.

P.S. - If you missed it, my review of the Breakfast Cookie is in the post below.

Breakfast Cookie verdict?

2009-12-29T19:10:00.003-05:00

Just a quickie post to let you guys know what I thought of the Breakfast Cookie. I know you're all dying to know. :)

I'll be honest, my expectations weren't overly high. On the one hand I was intrigued, but I also wasn't sure about the combination of ingredients, especially the whey powder. However, I kept seeing it on Susan's blog and thought, it looks quick and easy and if Susan likes it, it can't be that bad. She is the dessert queen after all. :)

The verdict? It's GOOD. I mean it's actually REALLY good. The best part, it totally does keep you from being hungry for hours. I ate it at 8:30 and didn't eat until lunch again at 12:30. I could have gone longer. I ate lunch because I knew I should, not because I was starving.

Now I know everyone has different tastes and all, but the beauty of it is that you can tailor it to your liking with various mix ins.

My advice - Do try it! I'm having another for breakfast tomorrow. Perhaps I'll try some different mix-ins tonight.

I'm off to workout. I'll be back later tonight to give the deets on my sweat fest and to share the new recipe I tried for dinner.

Breakfast Cookie Anyone?

2009-12-28T23:32:00.003-05:00

Back to reality tomorrow. The last ten days off from work have been fabulous. Unfortunately, they have come to an end. It's back to work tomorrow. On the bright side, I only have a three day week, followed by a three day weekend. The Office should be relatively quiet since about half the staff will be off this week. We're an Office of about 20. Perhaps, I'll be able to get a lot of work done.

It seems that the "Breakfast Cookie" has been getting a lot of coverage in blog land of late. I first heard of it on Susan's blog at All Things in Moderation and based on her review, I was sold. It seems to have a lot of staying power, which in my books is a good thing. I decided that it was time for me to give it a whirl and see what all the hype was about. Anyway, I managed to find the recipe here and just finished whipping it up. It has to refrigerate overnight, so I will not be able to share the verdict until tomorrow. I truly hope that I enjoy it because I LOVE the fact that I can prepare it the night before and it's ready to eat when I wake up.

If you've tried it, please share your thoughts. What mix-ins have worked well for you? For my first one, I decided on a few chocolate chips, half a banana, some cinnamon and two crushed walnuts.

On that note, I'm off to bed to try and get a decent night's sleep.

Finishing what I started

2009-12-27T20:31:00.004-05:00

Christmas is over. And while it was great, I have to say that I'm a bit relieved. If I'm being honest, I had two not so great days in the healthy eating department. Funny how the whole week leading up to Christmas, I had a will of steal. I got through date night, parties, etc, without so much as having a morsel. Then Christmas and boxing day came around and my resolve completely vanished.

I'm okay with it though because it's just two days. Those two days don't have to turn into weeks. They're done and over with and I'm getting right back on that horse. I'm determined to not see a gain at Wednesday's weigh-in.

Our Christmas was pretty low key. It was nice to spend time with family and focus on what really matters this time of year. In the gift department we ended up asking for gift cards to buy a dishwasher. Not all that exciting, but it makes our life easier.

I am pretty pleased that I scored a cuisinart rice cooker/steamer. I've been wanting one for months - ever since you wonderful bloggies turned me on to brown basmati rice. I love the stuff, but it takes forever to cook on the stove top. Can't wait to test it out in the rice cooker.

Anyway, I've also decided that it's time to finish what I started a few months back. I had committed to doing the 30 day shred. Due to my ankle problems, I ended up quitting around day 15 or so. Now, I want to start it all over again. Only this time, I'm going to do it a bit differently. I'm not going to add the pressure of doing it 30 days in a row. I'm going to do all 30 days, but it might take me 40 days or so to complete. I'm going to aim for doing it most days, but am going to cut myself some slack. I got some fantastic results from it last time and am hoping to achieve similar ones this time around. I'll keep you all posted on my progress. First session scheduled for tomorrow.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas.

Weigh-in - Challenge week 1

2009-12-23T12:29:00.002-05:00

Today marks the end of week 1 of my 20 week challenge. I'm happy to say that I am down 1.8. That takes care of the 1.2 gain from last week and an extra .6. Considering that it's Christmas time and that I only managed 1 workout this last week, I'm pretty pleased. I'll admit that I am a bit nervous for the coming week. I have a few events over the next few days that will be extremely challenging.

I REALLY would like to see a loss next week. However, I don't want to put too much pressure on myself. I'm going to approach this next week one decision at a time. I get too overwhelmed when I think about the end result. My plan is to watch my portions, drink lots of water and make sure that I get in a lot more exercise than I managed this last week. I'm aiming for 5 workouts. I'll be honest, I don't even care how small the loss is, I just think that it would be really cool to say that I lost weight at Christmas. It's exactly the type of motivation that will propel me to do great in the new year. Because really, if you can lose at Christmas, you can lose anytime.

In other news - I'm a total idiot. I have to brave the stores today for some last minute Christmas shopping. I'm DREADING it. I made the mistake of leaving my dad's gift until the last minute. Why of why do I torture myself this way? Will I ever learn? Wish me luck.

Oh Jillian, Jillian...

2009-12-21T22:10:00.004-05:00

...say it's not true, why do you torture me the way that you do? So, as promised, I did the "Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism" DVD this evening. In fact, I just finished a few minutes ago. Am I the only one who has a love/hate relationship with Jillian? To be honest, the moves in of themselves aren't that hard. It's just the constant go, go, go. There are 7 circuits in total and a warm up and cool down. The whole video is about 50 minutes long. I held my own most of the time, but by circuit 6 (which is the toughest in my opinion) I was done. It took everything I had to finish her off. I did it though and I feel good. Well, I will once the post workout queasiness goes away. It's definitely a good workout and will be making an appearance twice a week in my workout routine. At least for the next little while.

And if you're wondering about the holiday party we attended this afternoon, I didn't eat one morsel of food. Zip, zilch, nothing!!! Where has this wonderfully new found willpower been hiding these last few months? I don't know, but I'm glad it's here. I plan on making the most of it.