Dedicated to every girl who has ever said, " I'm starting my diet Monday"!

Ethnic Meals Day!

2008-11-19T18:28:00.000-08:00

I had a case of the snack attacks yesterday! It was so bad I didn't even take pics of everything that went into my mouth :( definately not a great eating day. Why can't I ever just stop at one piece of candy? It's a lesson I must learn. I definately have learned I get moody when I don't eat well and I am not as happy.

Moving on to today....

Exsc: 5 mile run/walk

Mexican Breakfast: 1 egg + 2 egg whites scrambled with sauteed with onion, cilantro, tomato on top of a double fiber English muffin (110 cals) with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese & a drizzle of ketchup

I had a larger mid morning snack since yesterday I think that was where I went wrong and over did it later :)

3/4 C. fat free cottage cheese, 15 sliced strawberries (a few made it into my mouth before the bowl)

asian turkey lettuce wraps, I swear they taste just about like P.F. Changs... yum yum

mid-afternoon, gala apple, 4 slices deli turkey

a little pre-din snack, I was starving and didn't want to over do it at dinner! PLUS I got my Barney Butter in the mail today with FREE SHIPPING & I had to try it! I am definately a fan! Who could ask for anything else than a no-stir a delicious almond butter (code: ship4free)

I had about 1T. with 10 raisins
Italian Dinner: ummm spaghetti squash, I like to call it the "pseudo spaghetti". I actually like spaghetti squash better than regular pastabecause 1.it fills me up way more than pasta 2.less cals 3.love the texture

I topped it with 4 T. marinara sauce from Whole Foods (only 25 cals per 1.2 C) 3 turkey italian meatballs I made from the "Eat Clean Diet" recipe book, the hubby was very impressed and loved them! I also had a side of steamed broccoli, I am full & satisfied!
Now I'm off to help out with a youth group..I love it!

PIZZA PIZZA

2008-11-17T16:25:00.000-08:00

Aren't Mondays always hard to get going back into the grind...work, exercise, basically a schedule! haha did accomplish a major goal yesterday that is for hard for me...I didn't eat anything after dinner whahoo! I really think thi will teach me to stop comfort eating and lose weight more efficiently. I did wake up really hungry in the middle of the night though :( hope fully my body will adjust soon.

I started out the day with almost a 3 mile jog and then lifted weights on my chest/back/abs. This afternoon I headed out for a 2.5 mile stroll to think and get fresh air, it was nice!

After my run I had a 1/2 C steel cut oats mixed with 1/3 C. whipped cottage cheese, 1/2 large banana, 1 T Better N' PB topped with a 3 chopped walnuts

After my weight session I guzzled this sinful looking "milk shake" I mean protein shake made with 1 scoop Whey Designer chocolate PB protein powder, 1/2 C skim milk and 1 T. PB

Lunch was exceptionally good today! I HEART pizza! I took a 110 cal pita and topped it with

1 1/2 T. Roasted Red Bell Pepper spread form TJs, cooked spinach, olives, 1 T. fat free feta, shredded chicken and about 1/3 C. shredded mozzarella. It was so yummy! When I showed my husband the roasted red bell pepper spread I bought on Saturday he gave me a funny look, but when he saw my lunchh today he said, "that looks amazing, what's the orange stuff?" haha I paired the pizza with a side salad (from a bag :( ) topped with a few oloves, a sprinkle of fat free feta and 1 T. Newman's light balamic. DELISH!

After my walk I treated my self to some pita pillow sandwiches! I used the left over shredded chicken from lunch, hummus, cucumber slices, and tomato

then I finished it off with a sweet treat! DInner tonight is going to be leftovers from last night, I'll spare you the De'javoux pic! Instead of the salad I'm going to pair the pork tenderloin and pilaf with some fresh steamed broccoli. Hope today was a great day!

Happy Sunday

2008-11-16T18:41:00.000-08:00

I love Sundays, they are so relaxing! Its my day off from exercising, well except for maybe a nice stroll outside with the hubby that I'm just about to head out and go do :) After my pancake my breakfast I had a light lunch to tide me over thru church.....

2 mini wheat pitas and the rest of my chicken/grape/celery salad. Doesn't it look like a bed with pillows? haha

After church I snacked on a caramel brown rice cake with 1/2 C whipped cottage cheese mixed with 1 1/2 tsp better n' peanut butter topped with a sliced strawberry and a dash of splenda! Anyone ever tried Better N' PB? What do you think?

Oh how I love eating beautiful dinners! I made the pork loin roast from Tosca Reno's Eat Clean cook book and it was nothing less than to die for. I did mine a little different & stuffed it with sun dried tomatoes instead of apricots, Ezekiel bread crumbs, cooked broccoli, and basil leaves! On the side we had a spinach salad with tomatoes, cucumber and fat free feta crumbles oh and of course some Kashi Pilaf....delish!

Here is my plate! I went for seconds on the salad... a little extra veggies is never a bad thing right?

Good night, hope you had a wonderful weekend! :)

Starting anew

2008-11-16T09:24:00.000-08:00

No, I am not posting today to say, "I'm starting Monday". This weekend wasn't the best eating for me but definately wasn't the worst. Let's just say it was a higher calorie day Friday evening and yesterday. This "no diet" mentality thing may be harder than I thought for me. I am so use to putting my self on strict diet plans that having some freedom has been great but also a little too cushy. It's been great in the fact that when I've eaten a snack that in the past would have been considered "forbidden" (like a banana with PB) I didn't go off and eat everything else in sight that is forbidden. Yesterday, however, I did snack on a few too many snack size candies (pumpkin kisses, m&ms, reese's, jolly rancher). Then after an evening of miniature golfing with friends I had a scoop of Baskin Robbins cookies & cream ice cream. Wouldn't have been so bad if I wouldn't have been so slack in my eating earlier in the day. You can always fit a treat into a healthy diet right? At least I went on a 5-mile hike yesterday. Anyways, I decided since I am use to some rules in my old life of dieting I need to set a few to help keep me focused and on track to achieve my goals and give me some structure. Instead of calling them rules, I am calling them goals.

GOALS

1. eat a good balance or protein and carbs at every meal

2. eat higher glycemic carbs earlier in the day, especially after an intense workout

3. eat every 2-3 hours if hungry (this is never a problem for me, the problem is all the bites in between:) about 5-6 smaller meals per day, I am a grazer for sure!

4. don't eat after dinner unless really hungry, not just bored. Even then make it a protein snack

5. Don't count calories: calorie counting doesn't work for me, I get all flustered if I think I am too close to my budget and then tend to throw in the towel. Plus, you don't always know how many calories are in something if someone else makes the dish. I have found the hand fist method works best for me. Each meal should have a carb the size of your fist and a protein the size of your palm. Veggies can be eaten liberally until satisfied (unless starchy & loaded with butter)

Not eating at night has been something I have always wanted to follow. I think most of my night time eating is for comfort reasons, or the sweet tooth kicking in, not because I physically need food. I will achieve these nutritional goals and I am starting right now!

Moving onto breakfast:

I picked up a box of Trader Joe's multigrain pancake mix and whipped up half a batch this morning using 1 T. unsweetened applesauce instead of oil, 2 egg whites, cinnamon, vanilla, and diced apples. I topped my two pancakes with about 1 T. cranberry apple butter from TJ's, a drizzle of sugar free syrup and some left over sliced apples. It was really good, not much protein in it but at least I had a carbohydrate loaded meal early in the day. Next time I make these I am going to incorporate some more protein in the meal :)

So far this afternoon....

2008-11-14T14:36:00.001-08:00

Yay, only 6 more hours til the Zach Gill & Mason Jennings concert! They are on the same record label as Jack Johnson & I HEART them!

Here's a recap of the afternoon thus far....

chicken salad pita: 1 can shredded chicken, diced grapes, diced celery, a few sliced almonds, 1 tsp lemon juice, 3 tsp. greek yogurt, 2 tsp. poppy seed dressing leftover from last night all mixed together

I packed the pita with lots of lettuce for extra filling and then added the chicken salad

Remember, this awesome pita only had 110 cals...LOVE IT!

AFTERNOON TREAT: not much protein packed in this snack but I was anxious to try it even though I wasn't hungry. Last night I took half a banana, sliced it & mixed it in a Lt N' Fit blueberry yogurt. Then I stuck a popsicle stick in it and threw it in the freezer and got this cool treat! Wish me luck at dinner! I am so not going to order a salad & consume more than I would if I just ordered something else and ate less of it....this will be a first! Well, I might order a salad if it looks amazing, I LOVE SALAD!

Breakfast Buffet

2008-11-14T09:41:00.001-08:00

I don't know what got into me this morning, I definately over did it for breakfast today:( I woke up feeling tired and lacking energy so I had a small banana and 1 T. peanut butter before I headed out to EXSC.

I walked about 1.5miles to a mountain bike/running trail to run some hills. By the time I got home I had been out about 90minutes and was hungry! So, I started witha slize of Ezekiel toast topped with a few black beans and left over egg white turkey scramble from my pizza the other night & a drizzle of low sugar ketchup. It was good but I wasn't satisified.

So, I had this small bowl of granola. Wouldn't have been that bad but I had a second bowl too oops! Man, granola is just so hard for me to stop at just a bit.

Then, I still wanted even a sweeter treat so I topped one of my caramel brown rice cakes with a T. of peanut butter, a few raisins and a drizzle of honey.
Well, to look on the bright side at least I ate this all for my morning meal & not late at night. Pus, they say its best to eat your largest meal after an intense workout because your muscles will eat up all the glycogen and it won't be stored as fat.

My hubby and I are going to dinner and a concert tonight, can't wait! I am going to try to eat some very light meals the rest of the day so I don't "feel guilty" at dinner. Going out to dinner tonight will be a good test for me. I am definately going to order what I want but eat a small portion of whatever that may be. :)

Double duty!

2008-11-13T19:31:00.000-08:00

After my extremely boring and sedentary computer training I suddenly got this surge of energy when I got home and decided to head to the gym for round dos! Funny because I was fighting to keep my eyes open the entire time during the training class, guess I had a lot of energy I needed to release.

I decided against the ThinkThin bar and opted for more of a sugary snack for an added pick me up! It sure did the trick, I felt great at the gym. I topped an organic brown rice caramel cake with a T. melted PB mixed with 1/4 C whipped cottage cheese, 6 banana slices and a drizzle of honey. The cottage cheese PB combo was fantastic! I think I might have cottage cheese coming out my ears I've been eating it so much. I made a special trip to Whole Foods just to make this special whipped cottage cheese purchase, bought 3, then got home and realized they expired in 4 days! ahhhh! Note to self....look at the expiration date before you hit the checkout stand :)

ate this treat at 2:30pm

EXSC: legs and biceps

back squats 3 sets of 12 at 45lbs, 55 lbs, 65 lbs

good mornings 2 sets of 12 at 45lbs & 55 lbs

lean back cable curls 50lbs x 12 reps

lying leg curls 3 sets of 12 reps at 70lbs

standing EZ curl 3 sets of 12 at 30lbs

leg ext machine 3 sets of 20 at 87.5 lbs

20 lunges each leg with bicep curl using 10 lb dumbells

hammer culrs 3 sets of 12 at 12 lbs.

Finish with 20 minutes on the stairclimber while reading my new issue of Women's HealthMag

My snack held me over for about 3 1/2 hrs until dinner was ready. My wonderful hubby made a turkey bean chili using a package of Bob's Redmill bean soup and ground turkey. I put mine in a smaller serving dish and topped it with a sprinkle of cheese.

The strawberries in the fridge were looking nearly wilted so I threw together a spinach, strawberry, sliced almond salad with homemade raspberry poppyseed dressing. I used 1/2 C of the yogurt I made with the cheese cloth mixed with raspberry balsamic vinegar and poppy seeds. It was so good and oh so healthy without any added oils :)

Dessert: 1/3 C. whipped cottage cheese topped with 1/2 C banana sugar free pudding, the other half of my banana form earlier & a few chopped walnuts. Oh how I love dessert! Hopefully I can wait to indulge in this until The Office comes on in an hour :)

A great day!

2008-11-13T07:51:00.001-08:00

Ahhh... today is such a beautiful morning! I decided to change up my workout routine and go for a quick 3 mile run outside in the cool, crisp air. It felt great to be outdoors :)

I got home and made a new concoction I've never tried, "strawberry cream cheese french toast". I took 2 slices of Ezekiel bread, dipped them in egg beaters and then in a dry mix of rolled oats, ground flax seed and cinnamon. I grilled the slices of bread on a skillet just like regular french toast. Then I took 1/2 C. whipped cottage cheese mixed with about 4 strawberries and some splenda and topped the bread with it. Ummm it was so good! I drizzled a little sugar free syrup on top too yum yum!

I am off to a computer training for work so I packed some easy and accessible snacks and lunch to keep me energized! Uh I don't know why this is all underlined, I tried to take it off, oh well:)

I threw a few sliced almonds, 4 walnut halves, a few pumpkin seeds and about 8 craisins in a baggie for my morning snack

I made another yummy wrap with shredded chicken, lettuce, cucumber, bell peppers, and mustard on my favorite La factorilla tortilla! I also shoved an apple in my face on the way out the door because I was still hungry!

and last but not least for the afternoon snack attack a ThinkThin bar. These are really good, not quite as sweet as the bar I had yesterday nor as crunchy but delish!

Choices

2008-11-12T21:03:00.001-08:00

I just love the working with the youth. Tonight I met with a group of 14 & 15 year old girls for a group activity. We talked about "true beauty" and happiness. I believe we make choices every single day and one of the most important choices we make is to be happy. I am not perfect at this. Many times I have let my self ruin my day as well as others because I am unhappy with my outward appearance. How selfish! Life is too short to stress over 5 lbs, smeared make-up, wrinkled clothes, or any other tangeable item. There have been so many times I skipped a fun social event in fear I would not be able to adhere to my "diet". It's totally rediculous, I know but I'm guilty of it. I love this quote one of the other adults shared with the group...

If happiness is the most attractive accessory a young woman can have, then a smile would have to be the most charming cosmetic.

So true isn't it! I really want to wake up each morning and choose to be happy. That is my goal from now on!

Now, onto dinner around 5:45pm I had this delicious "mexican pizza"; made on a 110 calorie pita bread with 1/4 cup black beans, 1/4 cup shredded part skim mozzarella, sauteed onions, olive, cilantro, scrambled egg whites and left over turkey meatloaf crumbles. I sprinkled some "old Bay" seasoning on top for some spice I love it!

I turned this simple piece of pita bread into........

THIS

and a side chef salad with 1 T Newmans Light Balsamic Vinagrette

a cold treat to warn off the sweet tooth...sugar free popsicles yummy!

Dessert 8:45pm: after the activity there was some delicious looking cake but I turned it down because I knew I was going to be coming home to have a bowl of this deliciousness! 1/2 C. whipped cottage cheese, 4 sliced strawberries, 8 blueberries
tonight was a great night! Yes I felt I ate well & was in control of my eating, but more importantly I feel spiritually uplifted and ready tackle life's challenges!

"Tell me what you smile or laugh at and I'll tell you who you are"

-Marcel Pagnol (Reader's Digest September 2007, 95)

GOOD NIGHT! :)

CONFESSION! :)

2008-11-12T15:33:00.000-08:00

Ok, this is really hard for me to admit...but this is what this blog is all about, being honest with yourself! Later last night I was stressed, thinking about work and everything else & basically "comforted" myself with these little buggers, however they really didn't comfort me but sure tasted good. Basically, 2 organic caramel brown rice cakes with natural PB, slices of a small banana and a teaspoon of honey drizzled on top. I really wasn't hungry, definately didn't need them but wanted something so bad! I know stress triggers me to eat and I am so going to kick this habit :) So, time to move on!

Here's how my day has gone so far....

I always carry my Nalgene with me any where I go. I've drank about 2 of these already today, not including the water I drink at meals.

Workout 6am: 20 minute HIIT (high intensity interval training) on treadmill

warm-up 2 mins at 3.8 mph

1 min at 6.0 mph, then increase to 6.5, 7.0, 7.5 for a minute each

back down to 6.0 and repeat the above until 8 mph

at minute 12 start at 6.5 and increase by .5 mph every minute until 8.5 mph is reached

cool-down 1-5 mins at 3.8 (basically, whatever I have time for, today was 2 minutes)

20 push-ups, 50 crunches on exercise ball with 10 pound weight, side bends/standing crunch "thingy" with 10 pund weight 15 on each side :)

Here is how my eating has gone so far today!

7:30am 1/3 heaping C. cooked steel cut oats, 1/3 C. whipped cottage cheese, topped with 12 raisins, small baked apple (pop in microwave on bake potato setting) and cinnamon...delish!

9:45am Atkins Peanut Fudge Granola Bar, no I did not eat this because i am following a low-carb plan, I ate it because I think they taste great! They have 17 g of protein and 0 g of sugar without any sugar alcohols. I'll take a little extra fat in a bar over sugar alcohols any day ewww!

12pm: 1/2 Ezekiel bun toasted topped with a delicious slice of turkey brown rice meat loaf (got the recipe from the book below) drizzled with low-sugar ketchup and a side salad of spinach, sliced red bell pepper and cucumbers with a T. Newman's Light Balsamic Vinagrette

I totally took a pic of my afternoon snack which I ate around 3:30 but deleted it from my camera before making sure it down loaded onto my computer :( I had half a shredded up chicken breast, small Gala apple, 10 cucumber slices dipped in "ranch" yogurt cheese. The book below gave me the idea to make yogurt cheese which can be created into many things including dips, frosting etc by pouring some low-fat yogurt into a cheese cloth a setting over night. To make it "ranch" I added a Hidden Valley Ranch dry mix packet to the yogurt cheese and it was great! I love ranch so much but hate to use the fat-free version because it tastes gross to me with all the sugar they replace the fat with.

This book is awesome! It has so many great recipes in it! I love to cook and in the past I felt I could only cook and create on my so called "free day" which turned into a gorge my self day with everything I can't eat for the rest of the week. I totally associated eating healthy with not being able to cook fun meals. Well, now I'm learning I can and its so much fun to create new things and not feel deprived. I highly recommend this book, even my husband loves it!
I'm heading off to help out with a youth group, but will definately report tonight's eating when I return! This sure helps keep me accountable for what goes into my mouth :)

A day of firsts!

2008-11-10T20:03:00.000-08:00

YAY, I lost 3 pounds this week without even dieting...AWESOME, I LOVE NOT DIETING!

Breakfast at 7:30 am started with this glorious bowl of 1/2 C. steel-cut oats, 1/2 C. whipped cottage cheese, sprinkle of sliced almonds & 2 strawberries for garnish....ohhh and cinnamon of course! YUMMY!

Mid-morning snack: 9:45 am small fuji apple & slice of turkey

Lunch 12pm: well, I had planned to eat the wrap I had, but I was at a work meeting with the director and he ordered me lunch so I felt obligated to eat it. It wasn't the best thing I could have eaten, but wasn't the worst either so oh well. On the past I would have said, "well, I didn't eat what I planned and it wasn't perfect so the rest of the day is a FREE DAY"! Bad thinking! not today though, I ate the delicious turkey sub on wheat with extra dressings (who knows how much) & moved on and then was hungry again for my snack this afternoon! I am proud of myself for not blowing the rest of the day :)

Mid-Afternoon snack 3pm: 1/2 C. nutty granola that I whipped up yesterday, so good and oh so chewy!

Dinner 5:15: this is what I plan to eat the rest of the night before my meeting. 1 La Factoria Tortilla low-carb wrap with 2 slices tirkey, bell pepper, lettuce, cucumber, mustard, pepper. I also had a plate of steamed broccoli for extra filling since i have to go back to work for another meeting :(

I love these wraps! They are so soft and delish & only 100 cals in the large size!

then a few minutes after din I was still so hungry & needed something more so I had a Lt N' Fit yogurt topped with granola, not bad but then i think I probably consumed another entire cup of granola! ahhh way too much, its so addicting for me. I am going to start combining it with a more complete protein when I eat it so I get more full. LESSON LEARNED! At least I wasn't tempted by the deep fried mexican food at the meeting since I had already eaten what I use to call "bad food" & then caved in and ate whatever I felt the rest of the day :)

Dessert: after the meeting, mmm....my fave! 1/2 C whipped cottage cheese + 12 blueberries

Bon appetite!

EXERCISE: I LOVE TO START MY DAY WITH EXSC! Here's what my routine consisted of....

AM:

Cardio & Weights Circuit:

4 minute warmup on the the stair climber

shoulders/triceps day:

1. machine lateral raises 50lbs x 12 reps

dips 60lbs x 12 reps

2. seated shoulder press 15lbs. x 12

seated triceps ext. 20lbs. x 12

3. lateral raises 8 lbs. x 12

triceps kickbacks 10lbs. x 12

4. front raises 10lbs. x 12

triceps pushdowns 35lbs. x 12

*REPEAT weight CIRCUIT 3X THROUGH! :)

End with 10 minutes on stair climber. my cardio was short today thanks to starting work :)

HAPPY TUESDAY :)

The Journey Begins

2008-11-10T18:34:00.000-08:00

I created this blog as a chance for me to start a new outlook on food, exercise and health and share my journey with women struggling with theses issues. I have always been very active in sports and recreational activities. I am a former college athlete, marathon runner, and triathlete. Exercising has never been a problem for me. My nutrition, however, has. I have always eaten healthy, but in excess or found my self bingeing on "forbidden foods". My new philosophy is that there are no bad foods, just unhealthy portion sizes. I am not a registered dietician, but I do have a B.S. in Exercise Science and a M.S. in Physician Assistant Sciences. I am currently working as a PA and love the medical field and the opportunities it has given me. Follow me as I embark on a journey to change my body, mind, and spirit and learn to love the body God gave me.