Weigh In Wednesday

What up my small crowd of friends and family?? It's weigh in Wednesday and I won't bore you with my internal monologue other than saying... down one more pound. Slightly disappointed but grateful that it went away.

I took some time off from work to make my long weekend even longer. I went up to the Dirty Dusky for some quality time in vacationland. It was a much better trip than the 4th of July, soo yay! During my stay, I dragged my butt out of bed both of my mornings off and went to the gym with my mom... she's a beast and we were there much longer than I normally stay at the gym haha, oops!

I also ate very well knowing that I weigh in for the work contest tomorrow morning! Below is a slew of delicious things I concocted and devoured. I guess my blog is turning into more of a photo journey than anything else, but a picture speaks a thousand words right?



Keto Pancakes (recipe found at the bottom of the post)



Chicken Salad Salad

Scrambled South Western Egg Whites with Bacon

I also went sailing a ton! So very excited that it was nice wind and allowed for beautiful photos of Cedar Point and sunsets!

View of Cedar Point

Sunset near Marble Head, Lake Erie

Ariel's beautiful sails :)

Baxter, I just got your card and I totally had to blink 50 thousand times to try to read it, that background was CRAZY! Muah! I so miss ya and can't wait for you to be back!!


Keto Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 2 Egg Whites (original recipe called for 2 whole eggs, I chose to keep it low calorie)
• 2 Tbsp of 1/3 Fat Cream Cheese (Kroger brand has the lowest carbs at 1g per serving)
• 1 Packet of Sweetener (Splenda for low carbers)
• Cinnamon (to taste)

Directions:

• Heat cream cheese for 10 seconds in the microwave while measuring out egg whites, sweetener, and cinnamon into a mixing bowl. Reheat cream cheese for another 10 seconds or so to soften it for easier mixing.
• Whisk ingredients together until as smooth as possible. If you have a blender with a whisk attachment... I envy you.
• Batter will be a watery consistency and more than likely will have some small lumps of cream cheese that refuse to give up the fight.
• Spray skillet with non stick spray and heat batter on low to medium heat. Flip when you start seeing "pancake bubbles" or when you can get your spatula under it without ripping. Use your fancy dancy flipping skills and let the other side cook for a minute and BOOM!
• Enjoy.

Starting the week off right!

I've been frustrated with my stall in weight loss, especially since I know I need to be down 5 more pounds by next Thursday for the weigh in. I was pleasantly surprised when I finally managed to get rid of that one pound that has been coming and going for the past week on top of 1.5 more! Total weight loss since beginning my Keto diet is 19 pounds in 38 days. Not too shabby. The real test will be at weigh in and finding out how much was fat vs. potential muscle loss.

I don't know if I started back on the downward slope because I went to the gym twice this weekend and walked the dog for a while yesterday, or if my body is just going through its cycles. Either way, I feel good. I'm back in ketosis after having a sugar binge last Thursday... oops.

I've been slacking in the creativity area when it comes to making meals. I've leaned heavily on my tuna and chicken salad and chicken and broccoli. I finally made my "gourmet" chicken salad this weekend. I baked my chicken tenderloins coated in a dry Italian dressing packet. I then threw them into the food processor with my EVOO and sugar free pickle relish. Boom, three days of snacks done.

Then it got crazy. Meat crazy. Observe... vegetarians, please avert your eyes.

 

I purchased ground beef and ground turkey and cooked the hell out of it this weekend. I then proceeded to get my carnivore on. I didn't even attempt to make it look pretty, I just wanted it in my belly. I threw some cheddar and ranch and then gorged on my meat bowl. The second photo depicts my need for mac and cheese... an endless gap of mine I'm hopelessly trying to fill. I'm totally down with the results of this attempt. 2 cups chopped zucchini, #howevermuchyouwantof lean ground turkey, 1/4 cup cheddar and a little bit of garlic salt. This will become a regular in the dinner rotation.

 

I'm meeting a new friend from church out for dinner tonight before our last newbie church meeting... the menu looks challenging, so it should be interesting to see what I end up consuming. But going back to church, it's been awesome to be able to get there every Sunday for the last 4 weeks. I'm going to miss it with my next three weekends of being out of town. Very happy to be apart of a modern church that posts it's sermons online to listen to when you can't attend! Yay Life Church!

 

Go make good decisions! Happy Monday!

 

 

Recovery

Last week sucked. Big time. Lots of work drama, lots of stress, no weight loss, lack of sleep, barfing dog... blah blah blah.

But I'm recovering, and trying to bounce back in both attitude, dedication, and of course, posting! It helps that I've been able to go to Church every Sunday and I've been attending some other group sessions to meet the pastors and other new members. Yay Life Church in Gahanna, Ohio!

Last weeks weight loss stalled, very disappointing after seeing the results that I did. I know most of that previous loss was water and adjustment to the low carb intake. but I was hoping to have seen at least a pound. On top of that, I gained a pound back. I have, as of this morning, re-lost that pound, so maybe more movement will happen this week.

This past weekend I went kayaking with my friend as we had yet to do anything "summer-esque" and summer is practically over. We had fun, I got a wicked ugly sunburn via sports bra/tank top... just in time for the upcoming wedding.

 

Alright, so these are my "tuna spoons"... I got sick of just eating my tuna straight from my Tupperware. Romaine leaf + tuna salad = fun snack time. Followed by my new favorite chicken recipe that I got from Ellen. Chicken dipped in my egg whites, rolled in dry ranch dressing, and topped with some parmesan cheese. And wrapping up the newest recipe additions, a revisit to mashed cauliflower. Having a food processor totally makes the difference. Throw in light butter, almond milk, garlic salt, and rosemary!

 

 

 

Now on to the craft hour ;) I've been itching to let my creative juices flow but hadn't had the time or the patience. I made room for the crafts and screw the patience, I never have patience when trying to achieve as close to perfection as I can get... my only character flaw.

 

I found these awesome pillow cases at TJ Maxx the other day and for $7 I couldn't pass them up. Especially because earlier that morning the sermon was on God's Love and what it means to us as Christians.

 

Then I started my throw pillow recovering project last night. I spent about three hours putting together this one aqua chevron cover... it took a while, but I had to match the pattern on all sides and I added a zipper closure. It turned out beautiful, now I just need to finish the second one. I'll be moving on to something flashier for two large accent pillows for my master bedroom.

Case of the Mondays?

This weekend was a quick one. I hate quick weekends. I don't feel rested, I didn't get to work out AT ALL, and I barely got my laundry done. Not working out was the worst part, I need to be able to get a little something in every day otherwise I'll suffer for the challenge weigh in. But overall, it wasn't the worst quick weekend, I got to spend a lot of time with friends that I don't seem often!

Friday night was a wonderful visit with a close friend, her husband and baby girl. They made me some delish chicken and mashed cauliflower! I haven't yet tried making mashed cauliflower again since I got my food processor... soo that is on the menu for this week, because it was awesome.

Saturday was bridesmaid dress shopping and a night out on the town with another friend. I promised myself I wouldn't drink. But I had a glass of Dark Horse Chardonnay and a Pinnacle Whipped Vodka with Diet Coke. All within my carb limit, but still not part of the plan for the weekend, as I knew it would slow my progress. As it did, no change on Sunday morning :::sad face::: We had a lot of fun, encountered the most awkward man in the world, juke boxed 90's music, chuckled, and people watched. We look like a pastel rainbow, and my hair is doing things in public that we discussed it shouldn't... it never listens!

I made it to church Sunday morning and then had a pool day with a college friend that came down to visit. We got burned, basked in each other's awesomeness, and ate pepperoni and sliced cheese as our poolside snacks (low carb pool side is definitely challenging).

So here are some meals I've enjoyed the past couple days. We've got some Southwestern Egg Beaters and Aldi Turkey Sausage for breakfast, nom nom nom.

 

This was my attempt at classiness without cracking open the wine ;) Paired with my staple of sautéed chicken, zucchini, red sauce and a crap ton of grated parmesan cheese. Bon appetite!

 

 

DID I FORGET TO MENTION I'M UNDER 200?!? #BOOM #GETERDONE

 

TGIF!

It's finally the end of the week. Happy Friday to all. Although, I feel my weekend might be busier than the past week... and sometimes that isn't so awesome.

Just checking in for a quick update that I yet again weighed in this morning and for the life of me can't remember if I lost one or two pounds. I really need to get more coffee... Let's just go with 1.5, yeah? That means I'm so close to my first goal, I can taste it. It tastes like chicken, eggs, turkey, steak, hamburger, some cheese and Quest Bars :)

I made a quick dinner before jetting out to sub for a volleyball game last night (which was my first this summer and made me regret not signing up, major bummer). Brought back the low carb wrap filled with pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and some pepperoni. Not quite as filling as previous meals, but chug a bottle of water and you'll be set.

Happy Weekend everyone, make smart choices and get out to enjoy this awesome weather!

TBT the college years

I really dig the TBT idea and am saddened by the fact that all of my awesome younger years photos happen to reside at my parents house. I'll have to settle for the oldest photos I have. This means going to my time line, clicking on "born", and scrolling til 2003, when I apparently came into the only world that truly matters, Facebook.

The College Years

 

 

Sarah and I first met at college orientation. We were put into the same vocal studio under the tutelage of Dr. Fralick (affectionately dubbed Fray Fray). We bonded instantly when I found out she was moving to BW all the way from Texas. If you are unaware, I was born in Texas, so that automatically made us BFFS. Please note her sensual pose while I attempt to keep a cowboy hat perched on my abnormally large head. We were, and are, awesome.

 

 

As you've already deduced from my previous statement that Sarah and I met because of our shared major in Vocal Performance, you'll know that we were most certainly involved with the annual operas and musicals. In this particular photo we were part of a most energetic and awesome chorus for The Marriage of Figaro. I wish I had more pictures, because we had so many good memories. We wore butt bumpers, and giant skirts, and pranced around on stage singing our little hearts out. Most fun I had in college, hands down.

 

I tried making brownies last night. It was an epic fail and the only conclusion I can come to is that God was trying to keep me from being tempted. So, despite their not so beautiful appearance, I brought in a Tupperware of the goop I managed to create and still gave it out to my fellow coworkers. Aren't I nice??

 

I did however, make a delicious dinner of parmesan crusted chicken tenders with sauteed zucchini and onions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weigh In Wednesday

Since starting my Keto diet, I've been weighing myself everyday. I used to think that once a week was plenty and I know (I KNOW) that numbers aren't really want matter. BUT, they do motivate, so you're going to have to deal with it.

Yesterday morning I weighed in and was one lb. away from 10 lbs down since began Keto three weeks ago. I had hoped this morning that I could get to 10, thus rounding out my numbers. Well... I lost four! I'm sure that's due to other contributing factors I'll leave unsaid (if you really want to know send me a message lol) but I'm very, very excited about my progress. Three more pounds and I'm under the big 200 mark. I don't know if that is the first time I've actually stated my weight on this blog. But whatever, it's the truth.

I've been very lax in keeping up with writing the past week, so sorry! I was sick, my boss was out of town, and life was just busy. Getting back on track this week and ramping up on including more strenuous exercise.

I've been incorporating more carbs in the form of grains. I've felt challenged at this point by the monotony of eating chicken, eggs, cheese, eggs, chicken, broccoli, turkey, chicken, steak, cheese and eggs. My mom had these tortillas in the fridge and they're only 60 calories and 4 net carbs. She got them at Kroger, so get out there and give them a whirl.

 

I've had these with chicken salad (shown below), tuna salad, fajitas, and I think I'm gonna make a breakfast egg tortilla wrap tomorrow morning.

 

I've been guarding my Quest Protein Bars so that I don't devour them too quickly, so I have been on the hunt for ice cream that is low carb and doesn't taste awful. Apparently there is one called Carb Solutions (don't get the low carb option from Beyers as it using high fructose corn syrup!)... and is apparently not sold in my normal grocery stores (Kroger, Giant Eagle, or Meijer). Instead, after three different stores and searching efforts, I settled for this stuff called Arctic Zero. It is gluten free and has whey protein, with only 36 calories and 5 net carbs per 1/2 cup serving! It's not an ice cream-y consistency as much as it's a frozen treat. It'll do my friends, it'll do.

 

In addition to my menu choices, I recently came across a pin on Pinterest that I found interesting. It referenced WODs for beginners interested in crossfit. I AM interesting in crossfit minus the heavy lifting, the barfing, and the rumored pooping. I gave it a whirl last night instead of Insanity and found myself pleasantly challenged, winded, sweaty, and sore! I will whirl it again tonight with another workout to see how it goes. This is what I did last night... and my tired, sweaty self after.

 



Happy Wednesday!

TBT - Take a look at what you've accomplished!

I've yet to join the #TBT band wagon, but it seems like a great way to reminisce and relive the good memories. It's also a wonderful time to look back to see how far you've come in your journey; whether that is growing up, moving away, starting life as an adult, finding Jesus and renewing your faith, or taking the leap to become a healthier person.

My road has been rocky, I've struggled at times, and I've also had major victories. I've lost weight, gained it only to lose it again, find it again and then lose it! I've had the most amazing family and friends that have supported me through my travels and I am so very thankful that they are still on board this crazy train to help me as I continue to walk the road I've chosen.

Each day is a new day and a fresh start to hit the ground running. We all fall and there will always be people there to pick us back up, cheer us on, and maybe start a new day in their lives with you. If you have someone in your life that doesn't support the changes you've made, take a step back and start to surround yourself with people that will. True family and friends that love you unconditionally will never abandon you. Eventually that person will see how happy you are, how healthy you've become in spirit and body, and will come around to re-establish themselves in your life.

Below you will see some pictures that I feel I needed to post. Not to brag about myself, but as a reminder to me that I've come a long way and while I still have more to go, I can do it. Look at what I've accomplished so far! So bring it on Throw Back Thursday (TBT because I know my mom will ask what it means)!

Then:

Now:

A visual feast, I know.

Now on to last nights food. I essentially just threw chicken, peppers, and zucchini in a pan with EVOO and gave them a little sauté action, topped it with Colby Jack cheese, and some pepperoni. Delish, nutrish and gone in 60 seconds ;) If you add a little low carb spaghetti sauce you would have an altered version of chicken parm, do give it a whirl!

Weigh In Wednesday

I'm down four pounds since Monday. I'm trying a new low carb lifestyle change called Keto. Essentially you are only supposed to eat up to 20 carbs a day. Based off the research information, your body doesn't need the sugars and complex carbs that we as a nation consume. This plan is designed to allow your body to get to a place where it starts to burn fat vs. burning the sugars/carbs that we take in (my opinion should not be taken seriously as I sometimes have a hard time correctly regurgitating things I've read). It hasn't been super difficult only because I already don't eat a lot of bread or grain products.

The hardest part for me has been doing the math to make sure I'm keeping my net carbs under 20 for the day. As you're well aware, I love peppers and onions, zucchini, squash, broccoli, carrots... just about any vegetable. I've never been a fan of fruit though, that's why I think this plan isn't so hard for me. Fruit and bread are not my biggest meal ticket items. Instead, I struggle with knowing that 1/2 cup of onion is over 4 grams of carbs, not cool!

In the past two days, I have the urge to gorge on my milk chocolate chips that are nestled into my cupboard. Cravings kill me, I have no ability to stop myself. Last night I went on the hunt to find something that would satisfy my sweet tooth and wouldn't kill me in carbs. Very difficult... until you see a tweet from a friend that calls out Quest Protein Bars and the fact that some of the options only have 4 net carbs! Whhhhha????

You can find these little suckers online or you can go to GNC (right now they are B2G1 free). I bought two strawberry cheesecake (by mistake), one lemon cream pie, one chocolate chip cookie dough (absolutely delish when heated in the microwave for 10 seconds), and two others that I can't remember. I definitely recommend these for anyone, even if you aren't watching your carb intake!

 

 

One last thing before we part for the day. Here is a link to photos of examples of how NOT to work out. Quite entertaining!

 



Two for Tuesday!

I was just thinking about how Tuesday never gets any credit for itself. Monday is the most dreaded day of the week, Wednesday got it's own special name of Humpday, Thursday is almost Friday and Friday is just awesome. Of course, I had to ruminate out loud in the ICC café, making myself appear even more scatter-brained than normal. Luckily, the only other person in the café was Erik and he went with it.

This is when I learned that Tuesday does in fact have something going for it! "Two for Tuesday" and thus, I no longer need to worry over Tuesday's feelings as I do believe it has the best name ever, because you know that Friday doesn't offer two for one deals...

But I digress, Tuesday for me is also a two-fer as I didn't bother making two different snacks for the day, I just split the same thing into two. Chicken and broccoli. There ya have it kids, the beautiful and exciting picture of my culinary escapades for yesterday.

My first challenge for saying no happened yesterday at lunch. Qdoba catering was brought in for a meeting that I was attending. I knew ahead of time this was happening and packed myself my iceberg lettuce followed by the thought of, "never pass up free food", and incorporated the steak as my protein :)

Now on to dinner... I tried out a recipe that had floated its way by me during one of my Pinterest excursions. Very similar to this recipe without the cream and I used 8 ounces of cream cheese and 2 eggs. http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Low-Carb-Pizza-Recipezaar?columns=3&position=6/36

Any way, maybe my impatience with waiting for the cream cheese to become room temperature threw off the formation of the crust, or maybe I didn't bake it long enough... either way, it was not a meal that satisfied me at all. The crust was surprisingly more crust-like than I anticipated, however, not enough substance to fill my tummy. Now I'm stuck with 5 more portions to eat and know that I'll still feel hungry.

Only three days in and we have killed a recipe :)

It's getting serious...

Hey guys, I just wanted to let you know that it's getting serious... when it comes to sticking to the diet!

I have 4 weeks left of my work fitness challenge and that means I need to kick it into high gear, dedicate myself to eating a low carb diet and working out no matter what!

This morning I've had my lovely egg muffins shown below. I know they're rough on the eyes, that's what egg substitutes do vs. using real egg whites. They're definitely flatter than other batches I've made.

For the rest of the day I've packed tuna salad made with reduced fat mayo with olive oil and sugar free relish. I also have a turkey burger, grilled chicken and a salad. For dinner I'll probably have more chicken, some zucchini and romaine.

Jealous right? ;) I think the only struggle I'm going to have is sweets and alcohol. I have a lot of celebrations in the pipeline that involve these two things, but I've learned some new tips and tricks to make it easier and to keep myself from getting into trouble.

Good news is, I woke up to do Insanity this morning and it was totally worth it :) Especially since it's raining cats and dogs.

 

Also, one of my coworkers lost his mom this weekend very unexpectedly. If you are someone who prays, please send a prayer his way as their family could really use all the love and support the Lord can lay on them. I can't imagine losing my mom at this point in my life, my hearts aches for his loss.

Becky is gonna kill me...

It's been over a month since my last post. Stupid life always getting in the way of my words!

I've slacked off this past month and haven't lost any weight do to my inability to follow my diet, nor work out regularly.

That needs to change and in an effort to hold myself accountable, I've challenged my friend Tracey to a cook off. There are no prizes other than the cooking of healthy meals followed by the sharing of said healthy meals.

You can follow Tracey's nightly adventures here at http://trehops.com/. Now prepare yourself for her ability to actually cook hardcore vs. my ability to throw things in a pan, add heat and be satisfied :)

Let the cooking begin!

Take that WIW!

This post was supposed to happen last week... oops! Better late than never.

Lost the 2 pounds I gained in the past couple weeks and lost another as well. Down 3 since last week. Whew. I feel a teeny bit better now.

It's been a busy couple of weeks, being home for Memorial weekend then driving back to Columbus, then driving to Chicago to help a friend move. Lots of driving, so it's good that I was able to squeeze in enough activity to generate a downward slope.

I've been trying to get to the gym four mornings a week for my weight training and then taking Colbie for an hour walk (at least 4 miles) every week night. Even over my four day weekend I dragged my ass out of bed at 6:30AM and 7:00AM to go to the gym with my parents, now that is dedication my friends.

I've been obsessed with the idea of keeping my fat intake low, so recently I've started experimenting with Greek Yogurt.

This is my zucchini pasta tossed in "alfredo" sauce. It wasn't as full of flavor as the heavy cream and cheese labeled versions, but it totally hit the spot and I can learn to adapt!

Greek Yogurt Alfredo Sauce (Serves 1-2)

1.5 TBSP of Flour (use brown or rice if you have it, white is fine as well)
4-6 oz of Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1 tsp of Minced Garlic
1.5 TBSP of Plain Greek Yogurt
1 TBSP Parsley (I used dried)

Stir the flour, garlic, and chicken stock over medium heat until the mixture starts to lightly boil and thicken. Remove from heat, stir in greek yogurt and parsley, and pour over pasta. Voila! Again, depending on your preference, you can add more broth to thin out the mixture to make it cover more.

---

Greek yogurt subbed into deviled eggs... not so good. It had a weird slimy texture and aftertaste.
Sad face. However, hummus deviled eggs are delish!

Greek yogurt in cupcakes turned out to be delish and awesome. It was so moist. I made brownies with the greek yogurt as well (no worries, took these all into work).

It's Tuesday, so another regularly planned update will hopefully arrive tomorrow for WIW.

Weigh In Wednesday

Well, the best/worst day of the week has arrived, weigh in Wednesday. I definitely feel as if I've stepped up my game in the activity area, however, I've not been so strict in my diet... and since we all know it's more important about what goes in your body, we shouldn't be surprised that I've not lost anything since last week.

Disappointing and upsetting but because I only have myself to blame. Hopefully, despite this weekend being a long, holiday weekend, I'll have made all the right choices and gotten in more time spent running around and being active.

Good news, Baxter is back to commenting, wahoo, nice to see ya Becks! Thanks for the pump up, it's time to get serious.

I just came across a Beta program (www.jeremyreidfitness.com) that Jeremy Reid, an online personal trainer, is running for his fitness business. It's a free trial and might just be a new way for me to learn to eat food as fuel versus food as fun. He needs full body pictures though, and that's ALWAYS a hard thing for an overweight person to commit to, but if the Biggest Loser contestants can be that brave, so can I!

Let's do a weekend recap from earlier this week. I helped watch one of my best friend's children this weekend while she was recovering from not feeling well. A 2 year old and an almost 6 month old, it was fun and tiring, don't know how she does it because she still has a 10 year old to add to the mix, I just didn't need to watch him :)

I changed poopy diapers, I did the bottle feeding, and the wearing of spit up. I rocked it out, but was very happy to take my fur child home where I could just sit on the couch and veg. I'm definitely not mom material yet.

Sunday is where the fun comes in... I went to see Star Trek with my friend Dana. We were just sitting, enjoying our popcorn (reason 1 for not losing weight) and watching Chris Pine kick butt when this tiny old man caned his way up the stairs, very, very slowly. It wasn't until he passed us on his way up that we realized that he'd had a serious accident in his pants. I feel bad sharing this story, but it was THE WORST thing I've ever smelled in my life and I have never been more grateful for semi wet hair that smells divinely like shampoo and conditioner. It lingered for at least 10 minutes... and then I realized he was on his way back down the stairs...

Why, oh why, did this man climb the stairs to the top of this very tall theater only to come back down? I do not know, but my theory is that he came into the wrong theater :( Poor little man.

After that wonderful experience, we went to target to try on hats and creep out strangers that were shopping for deodorant (I was just doing my womanly duty to tell this lady that there was better deodorant on clearance right around the corner because I didn't want her to miss it!). My weekend was pretty fun, hope yours was too and that the holiday coming up is spent with family and friends, thanking God for the time we have with them!

Clean vs Not-So-Clean

So... how much of a difference does it make eating clean vs not-so-clean? For example: I really like cheese. Cheese is not clean, right?

Last night I made the most delicious "mac and cheese" with Kraft fat free singles and zucchini... and it was amazing. I will be making it again... soon.

So for someone who is not attempting to be a fitness model (I mean it'd be nice, but that's not me), can I continue to eat my cheese as long as I don't go over my daily caloric amount? Other than cheese, I'm pretty good at keeping things on the straight and narrow. I've fully adopted brown rice, stay away from bread no matter what (except at Brio... and Café Istanbul... and pita in general) I hardly eat pasta since I enjoy zucchini and spaghetti squash so much. I steam or eat my veggies raw, I don't drink milk and if I have to, it's almond milk. I've dropped soda for water, although a random can or two might make it's way into my hands during a rough week...

Ugh, I just feel stuck. But I went to the gym this morning and did my weights and tonight is insanity... so maybe I'll feel better after that.

Bloggin for Becky ;)

Time to get this blog up and running again (this blog is the only place I am willing to use the running word). It's summer and so much easier to convince myself to be active instead of hibernating and hiding from the snow, sleet and yuckiness that is Ohio in the winter. On top of that, my cousin Becky, my most loyal supporter, needs posts to read so she can keep me in line during her travels.

Also, you should always "know your numbers" I passed with flying colors for all of my health screenings, except weight. No surprise there, as that has been the same for these screenings for the past five years. My weight is 214. I'm owning up to that and the need to lose that 14 lbs and then continue from where I left off.

I've started working out with my trainer again, once a week, so that is also helping me feel more accountable. Also, I found a lifting routine that I feel comfortable with and is easy to squeeze in before work in the morning. Add in the blog and the fact that my entire family is on a health kick, and BOOM, inspiration.

My Mom and Dad are amazing, my Mom alone has lost 30 pounds since January just from eating right and working out. She is on fire! My Dad is keeping off his weight and although we have the same tendency to scarf pizza without taking a breath or chewing, he's doing great on making smarter choices too!

I've recently fallen in love with substituting zucchini for pasta. I bought a julienne peeler and it's my new best friend. I would sleep with the little bugger tucked under my pillow if I didn't think I would end up shredding myself during the midnight hours. You can top it with spaghetti sauce, lemon juice, balsamic, pesto... the list goes ever onward! I like it even better than spaghetti squash because 1. it's cheaper, 2. you don't have to wait for it to bake for 45 minutes and 3. it has a better taste than the squash.

Today I'm off to a good start with my whole grain cheerios (dry, because I rock at remembering my milk) and a banana. I've already had 5 glasses of water and for lunch I have some veggie stew that I made and froze a few weeks ago. Tonight I plan on taking the dog for a walk/jog as the weather is gorgeous... unless mother nature decides against it ie: allergies, storms and other random acts of God.

After I might grill out with a turkey burger, zucchini pasta topped with lemon juice and some broccoli. :) Happy Hump Day everyone!

Hello 2013!

Remember when I lost 60 pounds?

No worries, I was able to find 13 of it... they came back in the second half of 2012.

Which means that 2013 is dedicated to running away from those 13 plus the remaining 20 I'd previously set. So we're up to 33 pounds people. I expect you to help keep me in line, as I apparently can't rely on myself! I'm taking some baby steps towards getting back on track. Mainly I need to stay away from yummy food again and watch my protions. I've been at the gym at least four days a week, so the goal is to add one or two more with one day of rest. I really miss my trainer... I could use a good butt kicking right about now.

It's wedding season yet again with Bridesmaid duty #1 in March and Bridesmaid duty #2 in September. Weddings seem to be a good driving factor for me, so that's my goal... to be extremely easy on the eyes in those dresses ;)

Did I forget to mention it's Lent and I've given up meat again? Meat and chocolate chips. Two words... oh boy. Maybe another word... shit.

The world is making it hard this year... my mom ate bacon at breakfast in front of me this weekend, The Food Network is showing meat filled cooking shows and it seems everywhere I turn in the store there is some other delicious carnivoristic option dancing before my eyes.

Here's my weekend attempt at getting back on the veggie train.

Breakfast consisting of egg whites, tomatoes, green and red peppers, onions and a bit of cheese. All paired with the lowest calorie bread you can find...

 

Mashed Cauliflower. Not so bad, not so great. Not mashed potatoes... sooo this is essentially a stop gap option.

My new favorite thing! Hummus plate with, der, you guessed it, HUMMUS! Red pepper hummus to be accurate. Topped with brown rice, red peppers, onions, tomatoes, romaine and a bit of mozzarella. Should be feta but you gotta go with what you got.

So now you're caught up. I can feel your eagerness for more but believe me, we need to start off slow otherwise we might burn out.

Anyone have EASY & QUICK veggie meals they can suggest for the Lental season? You'll get to see my toodles and noodles here soon and after that I'm all out of options :)