brr, its cold in here…

This morning the struggle was real. It was snowing, SNOWING!!! And our garage has no insulation so it was 20 degrees.But I had resolved that today would be a running day so I went for it. Despite the painful breathing, red sting on my skin and coughing for hours afterward, I THINK it was worth it.

As long as I can remember in my adult life, I have dreaded the cold. But this is on a new level. The last few years if it drops below 40, I have the deep seated need to hibernate. This obviously creates a hitch in my exercise goals however, thankfully I live in Virginia which means that true to the forecast, it is snowing on Tuesday and will be 60 on Friday.

Yesterday’s eating was also all wacky. Breakfast was lunch, lunch was nonexistent and dinner was delicious but followed but salty snacks. It seems like my routine is completely messed up and I am not sure how to begin again.

Breakfast- 404 calories (I didn’t take a picture)

• 4oz Venison burger
• hamburger bun
• light mayo
• mustard
• pickles

Dinner-489 calories

• 3.5oz pheasant
• broccoli
• light cream
• apples
• apple juice
• mashed potato cup

Afternoon tea:

 

Exercise: 215 calories burned (Pilates)

Calories: 1450

 

Happy first Monday of 2016!

Well, after taking a 2 week hiatus from blogging and a 5 day hiatus from calorie counting and any meaningful exercise, this morning I was ready to jump back on board. The blogging hiatus was mostly because I did not have access to a computer but also because it was Christmas and there was a lot going on. And the hiatus from eating healthy portions and good workouts was a momentary lapse of good sense :). However, I am back on track without too much damage.

As I have mentioned before, I do not “do” New Years Resolutions. I believe that making good choices and setting goals should be an ongoing and daily process rather than once a year. Reflection is definitely valuable but resolutions historically have very little follow through for many people and so I don’t subscribe to the idea. I do however have some goals for this year that I have been working on since November:

1. Get a job (a good job, where I can make a difference)
2. Lose 10 more lbs
3. Run a 5k (for all of you who know that I hate running, this is a big deal)
4. Be as debt-free as possible (I know we will be paying on student loans for the rest of our lives)
5. Continue the healthy lifestyle practice that I have started
6. Do some really meaningful things for others before August (when I turn 30!!!!!)

Health goals: For this week

• Water, water and MORE WATER (I have been failing at this goal)
• Find other interesting ways to exercise and be active

Make good choices today!

Its the final count down!

Its the final count down! 3 days until Christmas! I am really looking forward to family time. This has been such a fun month but it really has flown by. I have met a lot of my goals and feel like I am starting to make healthy choices more naturally (portion sizes, food cravings, motivation for workout, etc).

The Pilates workout that I had been doing several times a week has shown really great and quick results for muscle tone. I was using it as a light day workout on fast days because it was only 20mins long and even though I was feeling the burn, it didn’t feel as intense as my running, weight or tae bo days. That all changed yesterday when I did the hour long accelerated Pilates workout. It was awesome but holy smokes am I sore today.

My meals were kind of weird yesterday because I didn’t eat breakfast before my errands due to no food in the house and then felt famished by 10:30 so I stopped at Chickfila and got a chicken biscuit. Then, I was so busy with holiday errands, cooking and house stuff I forgot to eat lunch. So I had dinner and then (20) chips while we watched TV. I am down 2lbs from yesterday’s weigh in but after the last 3 weeks of playing this gain/lose game I am not as excited about that.

Dinner- 348 calories

Yum! Thanks for the fish dad!

• 4oz fresh rockfish
• Old Bay Seasoning
• 1 TSP butter
• lime juice
• 2 cups steamed broccoli
•  instant mashed potato cup

Total calories: 1070

Total lbs lost: 13

Total calories burned: 508

Christmas time comes once a year…

This week I have been amazed at all the people who have such a fundamental flaw in thinking. I had several people find out I was trying to lose weight and made the comment, “This is the worst time to be dieting, you should wait until after Christmas and just enjoy yourself.” Now, not all of the people who said this to me are overweight but the concept of “what’s 10 more lbs?” is just shocking to me after I have fought hard for a month to lose just a little over that. I could tell them exactly just how much blood, sweat and tears 10 more lbs would cost (I refrained:).  There will always be a reason to put off healthy choices if we look at life that way. I am in no way saying you should never enjoy something you want and live in food prison either. But healthy choices in general (food or otherwise) require disciplined and moderate decisions. I personally don’t want to put off something now that will just cause me more work later. It is not worth the extra *insert whatever the extra might be* now.

So my week experiment had interesting results. I did not lose or gain any more weight than when I was fasting. I have however, noticed that I am losing inches. My clothes are now baggy and people are noticing my weight loss. This tells me that my exercise change up was a great choice. It also tells me that maybe fasting isn’t necessary since I have kind of hit a wall after the initial 12 and have maintained the same weight for 3 weeks (2 of fasting and 1 of just counting my 1400 calories). Also, I was really bad about recording what I was eating this weekend and after Friday’s date to the Mediterranean restaurant with the delicious kebobs and rice, I’m 100% sure that I went a little over on calories. Check this out though… (this was for 2)

Also, although it goes against basically everything this blog stands for, it is Christmas so I will post this*:

Raspberry Cheesecake Bites

*As I have said before, I have no sweet tooth and therefore, I am not eating this. They are all for Kristian (AND I AM NOT ADVOCATING FOR EATING THEM ALL IN ONE SITTING).

 

This morning I left the house early to beat the Christmas shopper crowd and didn’t work out. But I am on my way right now!!

We have all been there.

On my way!

I am posting early because I won’t have a computer tomorrow but also because that lamb dinner was too good to wait and talk about. MMM, lamb. Alright, forget taco every day, I will have lamb everyday. OOH! lamb tacos!! Next time.

Anyways, I did have tacos for lunch and I have to say that Tropical Smoothie really surprised me. I was out running errands and started to feel really hungry around noon so we stopped. They completely changed their menu and now they have lots of new and delicious tacos on their menu which are mix and match pick 2 or 3. At 220 calories per taco, this was a great meal and pretty low calorie. I skipped breakfast again this morning because we got some sad news (family death) very early and I didn’t have much of an appetite. But I was really hungry by the time we ate so I got 3.

Lunch- 690 calories

Dinner-412 calories

• 4oz roasted boneless leg of lamb
• .5  cup mashed potatoes
• 1 cup Leseur baby peas

Total calories: 1404*

There was a wine and deviled egg snack in the afternoon.

Total lbs lost:12

Total water: 40oz

 

 

Taco Tuesday

Taco Tuesday was awesome. I would have taco everyday if I could. But we have another exciting meal planned for tonight and it is something that we don’t eat often because of the price. ROASTED LEG OF LAMB! Whenever I do cook lamb, I always think about the scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding when they find out that the fiancé, Ian is a vegetarian. And her response is, “You don’t eat no meat?! Thats ok, we’ll make lamb.” I wonder if my vegetarian mom will eat the lamb tonight since it “doesn’t count?”

I am on my second Couch to 10k day today and still feeling great. My exercise was very limited yesterday because I was having some weird back spasms and thought maybe a day of rest would help. Although I still am fluctuating around the same 2 numbers on the scale, I am happy overall with the way my clothes are fitting and today my mom commented that it is starting to be noticeable–which is nice.  I suppose I should fixate less on the number on the scale and more on the fact that I am making great healthy choices every time I eat and am getting in great shape.

Anyways here is what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast- 220 calories

Special K breakfast sandwich

Lunch- 296 calories

• uncured turkey hotdog
• hot dog bun
•  TBSP light mayo
• yellow mustard
• clementine

Dinner- 448 calories

• 1/3 cup fire roasted corn salsa (red onion, lime juice, cilantro, vinegar)
• 2 TBSP fat free sour cream
• 3/4 cup rice
• handful chopped romaine lettuce
• 1.5oz beef
• 1/4 cup fat free shredded cheese
• 1 TBSP pico de gallo
• sriracha

Total calories: 1404

Total lbs lost: 12

Total water: 52oz

Total calories burned: 200

 

10 days until Christmas!!!This weather is really throwing my Christmas spirit although I’m sure this weekend when it’s 28 degrees I will be wishing differently but we turned on the air conditioning yesterday! I did have an easier time exercising yesterday though–breathing the cold air makes my chest hurt.

I had a surprisingly good run/walk for my first Couch to 10K day. I am going to be honest, I do NOT like running. I have never enjoyed running. But, these interval workouts are the best thing *according to the internet* to burn fat. And man, am I ready for all the fat to burn!  Yesterday’s meals were also SOO good.

Breakfast- I broke the cardinal rule and skipped breakfast. I had to go to the grocery store first thing because we did not have a scrap of food in the house and by the time I got home it was almost lunch time so I figured why bother?

Lunch- 335 calories

This soup was DELICIOUS!

• 1 cup chopped, fresh kale
• 1.5 cups veggie broth
• 100g diced new potatoes
•  1/4 onion, diced
• .5 vegan Apple sage sausage link, sliced
• .5 tsp butter
• .5oz shaved parmesan reggiano
• garlic, oregano, basil, s&p to taste

Chop all veggies and then throw onions and butter in a heavy bottom pot. Add vegan sausage slices and cook about 3mins on medium heat. Meanwhile, boil potatoes in water with a pinch of salt. I always boil the potatoes in a separate pot to ensure that they are soft. Pour broth over sausage and onions, add kale to the pot and simmer until kale softens. Add potatoes and adjust seasonings.

Afternoon snack/evening glass of wine- 511 calories

• clementine
• 3 mini peppers
• 1 wedge light swiss laughing cow cheese

Dinner- 509 calories

• 1 cup cooked rice

For veggies:

• 3.5 oz multicolored carrots
• .5 medium zucchini
• .5 TBSP EVOO
• lemon pepper, garlic paster and salt
• lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375. Take a pyrex and cover with foil. After chopping veggies toss all ingredients together and spread out over the baking dish. I cooked the chicken and veggies together for 45mins and they were done to perfection.

For chicken:

• 4oz chicken breast
• .5 cup yogurt
• .tsp EVOO
• lemon juice
• parsley, oregano, garlic s&p

http://recipemothers.com/recipe/2163/

Total calories-1375

Total lbs lost-12

Total calories burned-416* this is based on steps. I don’t believe my run was adequately recorded because it wasn’t measuring heart rate.

Total water consumed- 32 oz

 

She believed she could, so she did

Good morning! So this week starts my trial of no 500 calorie days. My goal is to see if the weird fluctuations are related to “starving mode” and my current stagnant exercise routines. So this week’s plan is as follows:

1400 calorie daily limit (until the app takes more calories with weight loss)

Couch to 10K program- 3 days

Pilates- 3 days

Plus some combination of the following: Squats, arm weights and pushups

I also have several food goals for this week. Rather than filling all the leftover calories with something salty and crunchy (CARBS!) at night, I plan on increasing my fruits and veggies throughout the day. I also want to drink a LOT more water which is always a hard one for me. I’m pretty sure I am dehydrated most of the time but until I really feel thirsty I don’t think about drinking anything and it is not unusual that I go half a day without having anything to drink and then don’t drink again until dinner time.

I feel good about this and even if there is no dramatic change in weight loss, I am still eating healthy and getting some great workouts. I will post my meal plan tomorrow once I make it and get the recipes together.

It’s a great day to have a great day! Happy Monday everyone.

Que Rachel Black song..

Last night’s “girls night in” with Abby was lots of fun. Thursday nights are always a good time to just relax. Our activities included Christmas movies, nail painting, some yummy food and a glass of bordeaux. A quiet night in doesn’t get much better than that.

But now, it’s Friday and we have another fun weekend planned–Friend dinner tonight, (visiting from out of town) family lunch tomorrow, hubby date night, and Christmas party on Sunday! I am looking forward to all of it :).

So, I weigh a lb heavier than yesterday but I bought a new scale so it may just be a difference in calibration. I decided that even if it is correct, it was time to get rid of my scale. It was 10 years old and it was one of those digital deals that also could calculate bone density and lots of other fancy things (that I never used). But when we moved something got reset and the units changed to kg instead of lbs so weighing myself required more thinking than really necessary.

Lots of yummy meals yesterday, here is what I ate:

Breakfast- 210 calories

Jimmy Dean Breakfast sandwich

Lunch-412 calories “Northender” sandwich (YUM!!)

Dinner- 540 calories

• 3oz fusilli
• 4oz butternut squash
• 1oz pancetta
• .5 oz parmesan reggano
• garlic to taste
• parsley for garnish
• .5 tsp olive oil

My uncle lived in Italy several months out of the year for many years when he was teaching and always shares delicious, authentic recipes with us. As usual, it did not disappoint.

Put butternut squash pieces in a food processor and pulse until very small. Cook on medium heat with the olive oil, pancetta and garlic until tender. While that is cooking, cook and drain the pasta. Grate parmesan into the pasta while still hot and toss everything together.

Total calories- 1395

Total lbs lost: 12

Total calories burned 501

 

I am posting early because tomorrow I won’t have access to the computer. So after today’s frustration I have decided to try something different. I am going to change my workouts but I am also going to eliminate my “fast day” next week and just have 1400 calories every day for the whole week.

I read several articles this afternoon that were explaining possible reasons for not losing weight despite doing everything right. Several articles said that too little calories can make your body hold onto fat. Many of them also agreed that doing only cardio is not good for fat burning. They said that you also need to add weight lifting because long cardio workouts “make your muscles endurance-focused, storing energy as fat to ensure it has plenty of reserve fuel to keep you going for all those miles.” So I will finish out my week doing what I have been (Pilates and treadmill) but next week I will see if it helps to do a weight lifting/different pilates workout and treadmill maybe only twice. If I see no change, then no harm done because I’m not making any progress currently. And if I do see a difference then I know I did the right thing.

I had some really delicious meals today.

Breakfast-210 calories

Jimmy Dean Breakfast flatbread

Lunch- 35 calories

miso soup

Afternoon snack- 60 calories

I was especially hungry today after only eating 1 packet of miso with no protein in it so I had a snack.

• laughing cow wedge
• 3 mini peppers halved

Dinner- 198 calories 

• 1/2 cup cooked instant polenta
• 1/2 cup shaved brussel sprouts
• 1/2 cup mixed mushrooms
• 1 wedge light swiss laughing cow cheese
• sage, garlic
• 1/2 tsp olive oil

I have attached the recipe but made some alterations. As you can see, I only put a tiny amount of olive oil to toss the veggies. I also used laughing cow instead of parmesan. This was FABULOUS. I have never had instant polenta and I loved it! I will never eat that hard stuff in a tube again.

Total calories- 502

Total lbs lost-12

Articles:

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/advice/workouts/weight-loss/why-am-i-not-losing-weight/

http://news.health.com/2015/01/26/working-out-and-still-not-losing-weight-here-are-7-reasons-why/