Sunday Summary: Valentine’s Day Edition

Hello peeps! I hope you had a lovely Valentine’s Day. Whether you spent quality time with your significant other, baked something yummy with the little ones, had a fun “friends-only” event, or simply enjoyed the solitude, I trust that it was a good Saturday. Mine was probably the most eventful Valentine’s Day in recent memory.

I did really well on the Cupid’s Chase 5K run (which was a little over 5K) and my time was even better than before and no cramps. Fabulous!

I then headed to Carrabba’s or a fun lunch and gift game with my book club pals. I had their house salad with italian vinaigrette on the side and their amazing Tag Pic Pac pasta with chicken. Please don’t judge me. 😀 – Oh! and about the game… I received a beautiful pink wristlet wallet.

Finally, in a spur of the moment I agreed to watch Fifty Shades of Grey. I hope that everyone gets that this is a terrible example of what a positive relationship is while simultaneously placing healthy people who happen to enjoy S&M under a bad light. This is a terrible story… that said… I can’t deny that I enjoyed watching it with friends. I had several thoughts as I watched it but I think Buzzfeed did a better job so please do yourself a favor and read this after you watch the movie or now if you have no intention of watching it. Hilarious… and oh so true.

So… I can’t complain. I had a great time.

This week I also met with a trainer at my local Y and got signed into MobileFit. I have a new weights program that I will start tomorrow and do three times a week, and a nutrition program that is aimed at helping me lose weight while keeping my cholesterol on check. This should be good.

Overall, again I overindulged with the snacks which probably shows that I have been under-eating at mealtime. My new meal plan sounds like a lot right now so I am guessing I was probably not eating enough which is why I was over-snacking and ultimately not losing any weight. I exercised about eight hours this week, including the run, which is great. I am really excited to start a new regimen and see what happens.

Weekly Words of Wisdom

As always… thanks for stopping by. 😀

Sunday Summary: Almost there

Peeps, we are almost there. Almost 2015.

I had a pretty good week exercise-wise clocking 10 hours of exercise. The festivities didn’t really interrupt my routine and the only day that the gym was closed (xmas day) the day was perfect for exercising outdoors so that worked out pretty well.

Food-wise, I ate out A LOT! On Monday I went to my favorite chinese restaurant. On Friday, I had IHOP’s Smokehouse Combo for breakfast, and then I went to the movies and had popcorn, chocolate, and later I had pringles… I overdid it. Today I had a hawaiian pizza for lunch. On the better side of things, I skipped dinner on Monday and will probably do so again today; on Friday I exercised in the morning and evening. I hope that’s enough to offset the extra intake. But if it isn’t… that’s OK too.

I am currently reviewing my 2014 resolutions and I am happy to announce that I did pretty well. I got almost everything done which feels great. I’ll be posting The Best of 2014 on the 31st and new resolutions on the January 1st.

This week’s Weekly Words of Wisdom
come courtesy of my 2015 calendar cover:

Happy Sunday everyone 😀

What I ate Wednesday

My grocery shopping pattern goes like this: right after payday I buy everything and a week after I do a small purchase to replenish fruits and veggies. Being on a tight budget is rough so you can expect that the few days before payday I’m short on a few things, mainly my favorite items, and have to get creative. Don’t take me wrong, it’s not that I don’t have food, I’m just usually out of my most used or favorite ones.

This morning, I made a pretty weak smoothie for breakfast with the last bit of frozen fruit and a cup of unsweetened almond milk. Of course that was not enough so later on I also had a handful of walnuts (I’m all out of almonds) and raisins, and a piece of milk chocolate that I picked up at a meeting last night.

For lunch I had my super awesomely made ground turkey which I normally eat as part of a taco-less salad but I’m out of lettuce and avocado so instead I paired it with a cabbage salad, and arepa which is basically Venezuelan bread, a biscuit-type thing made of precooked-corn flour.

I don’t really have a formal recipe for my ground turkey but this is how I make it: For a typical package of ground turkey (a little over a pound), I stirfry 2 carrots cut in tiny pieces, 1/2 onion chopped, 3 garlic cloves minced, 1/3 pepper (any color) chopped in 1-2 tbsp of EVOO. Once it’s fragrant (about 5 minutes) I add the turkey, and spices (I used cumin) and let it cook. Once I see that all the turkey is cooked I add an 8 oz. can of no-salt-added tomato sauce, let it simmer for 20 minutes or until it’s drying but not too much. This whole thing yields 4-6 portions and it’s really low on sodium. If you end up trying this, adjust to your taste.

It was a good lunch that required no afternoon snack. After a 2-hour session at the gym and a shower, I had a cup of cheerios which I was happy were not stale. I bought them a while back but have since been eating high-protein granola instead, but I’m out or granola so cheerios it is. 2/3 cup of cheerios, 1 tbsp of dried cranberries, and 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk.

As I finish this post I’m sipping on a nice cup of green tea and about to pick up my next book on my reading list: Plato and a Platypus walk into a bar. I hope it’s a good one.

What did you have today? 😀

Sunday Summary: A week of better choices

Hello peeps! I made it! One week of better choices. #soproud

For starters I took all my supplements, had a cup of warm water and lemon every morning, and slept at least 6 hours. YAY! Overall, I clocked about nine hours of exercise. I only made two poor, not bad, choices when it came to food: on Thursday I had a small serving of goldfish crackers and on Saturday I had a bag of nacho cheese Doritos. #ithappens The important thing is that I ate all my meals at home where I could better control, sugar, fat, and sodium levels. I tried some really cool recipes and reminded myself that I do love cooking and that I am not half-bad at it. And the scale collaborated too. I lost 3.4 lbs #forthewin 

However, I love that I lost weight but my biggest accomplishment this week was sticking to the Couch to 5K schedule and doing really great. Today, I started week 5 which had me running six minutes straight and I just let my mind wander and didn’t even look at the timer. Things are about to get real though. By the end of next week I should be running 10 minutes straight. We’ll see.

How did I end my 7-day Pledge? I woke up around 9 am, had a cup of warm water and lemon. For breakfast I had a tuna, tomato, and avocado sandwich (my bread came out great; here‘s the recipe). I went to the gym, did my run, then had a chia bar, and then took a Zumba toning class. It was awesome. I got home and had spinach pesto (recipe here) pasta with a quick salad… I was starving. That was around 4 pm so I don’t see having any dinner tonight. I am stuffed! I already had a cup of tea but I’ll have another one before bed.

What’s next? Although my pledge has ended, the behaviors will not. I will continue with the water and lemon in the morning, strive to complete the Couch to 5K program as scheduled, make better food choices and clock at least 8 hours of exercise a week. I am making one new commitment though, just for kicks, to do CarrotFIT everyday. I only did it 4/7 days this week. Tomorrow is the first official weigh-in day on Dietbet and I’ll share all the details then. Click here to learn more about the upcoming game.

What else is happening next week? As a reward for finishing my pledge I am taking myself to the movies tomorrow. Not sure what I will watch though, I am considering Dawn of Planet of the Apes, Transformers: Age of Extinction, or Maleficent. Any recommendations? I have a book club meeting coming up to discuss Reconstructing Amelia which I am almost done with and it has turned out to be pretty good (I hope the ending doesn’t disappoint). And I have to pick up my mom at the airport so I see some mother-daughter bonding time in the near future.

Weekly Words of Wisdom

 

 

Saturday Shenanigans

Let me begin by confessing my sins 😈 Last night I was binge watching old episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I got a severe case of the munchies which was tamed with not one, but two avocado blueberry muffins. Then today I went to the store to get a few things and again was victim of the supermarket checkout trap and got a small bag of doritos cheese which I ate as a snack with some leftover chunky guacamole. If my 7-Day-Pledge were graded I would give myself a solid B right now. 😎

What kind of shenanigans did you get into today? I got creative in the kitchen. I made a new batch of Avocado Blueberry Muffins (you have to have seen that coming), spinach pesto, and some whole-wheat bread. I went a little heavier on the blueberry and made the muffins a bit smaller so they came out to about 130 calories each (made 8). You can find the spinach pesto recipe here and the bread recipe here.

Overall my saturday was pretty homey. I woke up late but still managed to get all my meals in. Started with warm water and lemon, then had Our Skinny Chocolate Shake with one Avocado Blueberry Muffin (yes, I know… I’m devouring these). For lunch I made the most amazing fish tacos and for dessert I had some almonds and dried cranberries. It was a rest day so no exercise. I had chips and guac while baking and just now I’m having the last muffin of the day with some coffee and almond milk. I’ll make tea before bed and call it a day. Day 6 complete… one more to go.

#onedayatatime

#WORKOUTWEDNESDAY Halfway through #couch25K

OK… so technically I am one day short of being halfway through but it’s #workoutwednesday so I went with it. 😛 Here’s what I have learned:

• Warm-up after 5 minute walk – Since I started I would get this weird pain around the 15 minute mark. It would feel like my calves could not hold me up anymore and that I would fall any minute. I talked to one of my instructors at the gym who recommended I pause the workout and stretch after the “5-minute brisk walk” and then start running. That did the trick.
• Stretch right after run and again about an hour later – This was an interesting find. I usually stretch after exercising but after interval running I would be stiff about two hours later and in serious need of a yoga class. I now stretch only a little right after and then some more about an hour later. It helps.
• Running outdoors is liberating but indoor tracks are way easier – I live in the south peeps (that is Southeastern US) and #thestruggleisreal when it comes to heat and humidity. Indoor tracks can seem boring or at least that’s what I thought initially but I have learned to enjoy it and honestly, you can’t beat a temperature control environment.
• I need to get fit for running shoes – I have two pairs of running shoes and they are pretty great but I have come to realize and accept that if this is really to become a thing, I need new shoes. It’s on the to-do list for next week.

Continuing with my one-week pledge and 7-Daily-Habits
😀 Day 3 was a breeze 😀

Well… a breeze may be overselling it. I did feel hungry several times but I’m pretty sure I wasn’t hungry, just craving complex carbs. I didn’t give in though. That was good.

The Grub: Started my day with lemon and warm water as always. For breakfast I had a blackberry smoothie made with coconut milk. Mid-morning I made edamame with lime-honey-tamari sauce. For lunch I had about 1 cup of ground turkey that was leftover from Monday, and black bean, edamame, corn salad (inspired from this recipe). I had a chocolate-peanut butter chia bar at the gym and for dinner I needed to refuel badly, I had 1/2 avocado with garlic fried egg and salsa, and an apple. I’ll end the day with a cup of green tea before bed.

Workouts today included 7-min in hell brought to you by Carrot FIT, my judgmental fitness overlord :twisted:, 36-min of interval running (week 4 day 2 #couch25K), 55-min group weights class (Rep Reebok), and 55 minutes insane Zumba. That’s nearly three hours of exercise. #forthewin

I am stoked about how well I ran today… 5 minutes straight in the bag!

Day two conquered!

Tuesday was a good day. I had a few moments when I felt I wanted to eat more or something different but I got through it.

1. Started my day with a cup of warm water and lemon. This is meant to give my day a clean start. My nutritionist has recommended it and I know a lot of people who swear by it. It is supposed to have all kinds of benefits including clearing skin, aiding digestion, and helping with weight loss, just to name a few.
2. According to Carrot Fit I burned 104 calories during my 7 min-workout. Not sure how accurate that can be but I’ll take it. I also already started losing a bit of weight but I won’t share how much until I’m done. It will be my reward for going all 7 days.
3. For breakfast I had a banana-vanilla smoothie. More recipes for coconut milk smoothies here. Check out how happy I look sipping my smoothie out of my Fitbloggin cup.
4. For lunch I had some leftover ground turkey with black beans, half avocado, and 1/4 cup of sweet corn. Delish? Absolutely!
5. Before heading to the gym I had a handful of almonds and walnuts.
6. The yoga class called for a pedicure so I painted my toenails a relaxing lilac and had the most amazing Yoga class. Yoga is the best! There is a distance running teen in the class who was sharing how much this one yoga class a week has improved his running. I can say that it has helped me better my plank, squat, and lunges, not to mention my overall balance. And after completing Week 4 Day 1 #couch25K I really needed a good stretch.
7. I got home hungry but not crazy hungry. I debated whether I wanted to eat something sweet or salty. I went for sweet and had a big red apple with Justin’s Maple Almond Butter 80 cal. squeeze pack. It hit the spot! 🙂
8. Before bed I’ll have a nice cup of green tea and hopefully repeat the whole thing again tomorrow. Two days down, five to go.

#onedayatatime #noexcuses

A day of good choices

I did it!

I’m not going to lie. It wasn’t easy but it wasn’t too hard either. It helped a lot to a get a good night sleep (thanks melatonin). Something amazing happens when I lower my carb intake and up my fruits and vegetables. I get this crazy burst of energy. I got so much done today and I was motivated to get it done. Good food = happy brain; and happy brain = GETTING SHIT DONE! (excuse my french)

I have to do a special mention about Quest Bar. I have never really been one to eat protein bars of any kind. Mainly because It usually ended up being just more calories in and none out. But at Fitbloggin I got many samples of different protein bars and I got to admit that when I opened these they didn’t look appetizing although they smelled delish and they pack a punch. I only had half mid-morning because I really couldn’t eat it all and then another bite (that’s all I needed) after my interval run/walk. Anyone use protein bars? If so, which one? 

Dinner was good and now I am gonna watch some TV and then have a cup of green tea and another melatonin and sleep like a baby and do it all over again tomorrow… hopefully. Here’s hoping your Monday was a good one! Cheers!

Sunday Summary: Baby steps back on track

It’s been a weird week. I forgot my supplements on my trip to Savannah and then for some bizarre reason I just stopped taking them. Coincidentally, I went on a fast food binge. My sleep was not well and I have stayed far away from the scale because I know it’s bad. It’s really bad.

Yesterday I tried to regain control but I didn’t get enough sleep so I woke up late and missed my morning workout. Not a good start. However, I had some warm water and lemon to start my day with a detox and spend the rest of the day on fruits and nuts. I also took my supplements. I’m feeling better.

Why did this happen? Over a year ago I was diagnosed with depression. It was mild but debilitating and was placed on antidepressants. They worked but I didn’t want to be on them for too long so when I started to feel better through exercise and good food I decided to get off them. Needless to say, my doctors weren’t happy. I don’t recommend doing this but for me it is done and I know that when I eat healthy, exercise regularly, and sleep well my depression symptoms subside. Since returning from Savannah I’ve had a mix of good and bad days. I know I need to get my sleep under control. That is crucial. I feel like I have taken a bunch of steps backwards but I am hoping that they will serve to propel me forward with renewed force.

One-week Pledge: Here’s the plan for next week. One week… seven days… one day at a time.
Seven Daily Habits:

1. Warm water and lemon first thing in the morning + Carrot Fit 7-minute workout
2. High Protein/Fiber breakfast + Complex B
3. Fruity mid-morning snack
4. Balanced lunch + Omega 3 + Multivitamin
5. Protein afternoon snack + Gym time
6. Fruity dinner + Omega 3 + Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc
7. Green Tea (+2 hours after dinner)

Weekly Words of Wisdom

 

Meatless Monday

A new week… a new day… a new program. Things went well today. I had a banana, blueberries and almonds for breakfast. Then I did Day 1 (again) of Week 1 of Couch25K program plus 2 1/2 miles of walking by the river. I had a diet ginger ale (I know, not the best choice) for a snack. I needed the sodium. For lunch I had mushroom tortellini with veggies. Before zumba I ate 10 almonds and for dinner I made a vegetarian taco salad.

It was a great Meatless Monday… I am proud!

#beawesome