What's Working for ME

I've made a real committment to eating better and sticking to a fitness routine as of late, and it's been paying off - to the tune of 6lbs lost! I'm nearly to the weight I was at the start of last summer, which I'll take. This year started off so rough with me in the body {okay, and mind} department, and this shift in thinking, eating, and exercising has been GREAT for me mentally and thankfully now physically as well.

I'm committed to losing 30lbs by the big 3-0 this December, so I'm on my way! Six down, 24 to go :)

A few things that are working for me:

1. The return of the 5:30am alarm. People are always *shocked* that I get up at 5:30 to exercise, and it makes me laugh. What other time of day would you like me to fit it in? I'm either working, cooking, cleaning, or spending time with my husband and child. Exercising before work {and before any of those demands get to me} ensures that I get 'er dun and have the rest of my day to take care of everything and everybody else. And frankly, I'm just too tired to put any big effort in at the end of the day. Plus, you get used to getting up early {and then you end up freaking out on Saturday morning when you think your alarm didn't go off, until you realize it's Saturday and you don't have to get up that early!}.

2. Meal prep and go-to meals. A no-brainer, really. Meal planning and prep is so beneficial in so many ways, but I've always had a hard time getting on board with it. Mostly because I was trying to change it up to often. Lately I've been sticking to salads for lunch {see next item on the list}, then a simple protein {usually grilled BBQ chicken} with a carb {rice or baked potato} and salad for dinner. I cut and wash lettuce a few times each week - thanks to the OXO salad spinner hubby got me for Mother's Day! - along with veggies to add to the salads. I'll also slice up some fruit to enjoy throughout the week {a la fruit salad... fruit - fruit salaaaad...} and marinade some chicken. For lunch I'll pack a salad with either grilled chicken or some lunchmeat, then have a cup of yogurt and a piece of fruit. Easy peasy. Dinner is quick and easy on the grill. Voila.

Big serving bowl o' fruit, which lasts us the week

3. SALAD, gone gourmet. Way back when I did the South Beach diet, I spent the first 2 weeks choking down plain salad. It was so hard to eat and I never felt satisfied. I loved {and still love} restaurant-prepared salads, so I knew I could like eating salad as a meal, but I had such a hard time eating salad at home. As of late, the lightbulb went off and I thought "I'll just recreate restaurant salads at home!" Dur. So that's what I do. I make my salad like those I have at a restaurant. Lately, it's been a cobb salad - lots of romaine, broccoli, cucumber, red pepper, hard boiled egg, sprinkling of cheddar cheese, 1 slice crumbled bacon, grilled chicken and lite honey mustard dressing. Delicious and satisfying, with lots of veggies and protein!

Mmm salad.

4. Having a PIC named VIC. Vic was shaping up and dropping pounds for a 24-hour endurance race over Memorial Day weekend {24 hours of BURN}, so he was committed to cutting out the junk and getting off our butts. That made it so much easier for me to stick to my routine and good eating. It's always good to have someone to hold you accountable; it's even better when you live with that person {and they see you nakey!}.

5. Summer! It's FINALLY here {2 months late!}. The rain has ended, at least for now. Nothing better to remind you that you will need to eventually wear shorts and tanks. Better shape up those legs and arms! Not to mention the sweating... oy. You know summer is in effect in NC when you stand there doing nothing and sweat profusely. I'll take it any day over winter, though - no complaints here!

This week I started the Fitnessista's Summer Shape-Up, and it's been going well so far! She provides a workout plan along with instructions and pictures to help you out. I love her blog!

So that's what I've been doing lately. Habits I hope to keep up to keep myself and my family on track.

Have you made any changes lately that are working for you and your family?

Vic's Favorite Cookie {that I make}

I hear this is a common thing – wives that can’t quite make foods “just like mom’s” for their husband. In our house, this is the case with chocolate chip cookies. Even though I asked my MIL what recipe she used {the one off the back of Nestle Toll House chocolate chips}, I’ve tried to get mine to turn out just like hers to no avail. I’ve bought identical ingredients {even using – gasp! – the same brand of margarine she used [I bake w/butter only]}, but mine have never come close to looking or tasting like hers.

Don’t get me wrong, Vic likes my chocolate chip cookies{as evidenced by the swiftness in which they disappear from our house}, but I’ve given in to the fact that my chocolate chip cookies will never be his favorite version of the classic.

PS: In my humble opinion, after perfecting the technique this past year, I make a GORGEOUS looking chocolate chip cookie {and I’ve been told they taste good too!}!

That being said, I was determined to make a cookie that he’d LOVE. And this is IT!

As adapted from the back of the Hershey Kisses package {they call them “peanut butter blossoms”}:

Peanut Butter Kisses
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter {I use JIF, and probably closer to 1 cup}

1/2 cup shortening {I use Crisco}
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tbs. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour {I use 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and 1 cup unbleached white flour}
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
Additional white sugar for rolling
 ~30-36 Hershey Kisses {most of a bag}

1. Heat oven to 375*.

2. Beat shortening and peanut butter together in a large bowl until well blended. Add both sugars and beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla, then beat well.

3. In a seperate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually beat the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture.

4. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar, then place on an ungreased cookie sheet. {TIP: They don't spread much, so you can bake a lot at once.}

5. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned on top {cookies will crack around the edges, too}. While they bake, unwrap the kisses.

6. As soon as you pull the cookies out of the oven, press a kiss onto the top of each one. Remove from cookie sheet and allow to cool completely on a wire rack {Vic likes them cold and hard, from the fridge!}.

The recipe says it makes about 4 dozen, but I usually get about 30 cookies... I guess mine are much bigger than what they make!
 

 

I love making cookies {more recipes to come!}, so lucky for me, Valentino will have a wide variety of “Mom’s” cookies to call his favorite… sorry future daughter-in-law!

Valuable lessons from my 6.5-Day Diet

Old me.

Even though I didn't successfully make it the full 17 days {again}, my time following the 17-Day Diet plan was beneficial in that a lot of things "clicked" with me. I've read countless health magazines and blogs, and I consider myself full of healthy living knowledge, but a very out-of-control sweet tooth and zero willpower really snuffed out all of that information - I could never live up to what I knew was right. My good intentions were always easily swayed by the offering of a cookie, a bagel, some candy...

Now, I feel like I've learned how to listen to my body more and to truly think about what I'm putting in my mouth. The most valuable lessons I've learned

1. Controlling my sweet tooth: In the first two weeks of the 17-Day Diet, you're limited to eating only low-sugar fruit {no bananas, melon, mango or pineapple} and obviously all starch/bread/rice/etc. is out of the question. In theory, abstaining from these items should break the sugar addiction {which I 100% buy in to - I love any and everything sugary}. I can honestly say that since limiting my sugar intake on the plan, I haven't had as strong of a desire for sugar. I don't stop at the candy dish at work, and I'm not tempted to grab a little something here and there. Breaking the sugar addiciton was a very important piece of putting myself on the right path for weight loss.

My favorite variety of "sweets" nowadays - I love summer produce!
{Old picture of fresh-picked strawberries from Mother's Day weekend}

2. Portion control: I had always read about it and thought that I practiced it, but now I feel that I can truly do it. Since I wasn't "allowed" to have rice, bread, pasta, etc. during the diet, but I sometimes needed a little boost to my meals, I was allowing myself a very conservative helping of rice or potatoes at dinner. The amount was small enough to not make a huge impact, but enough to satisfy my palate. This really hit home to me - I don't need a big scoop of rice or potatoes or a bun on my hotdog to "round out" my meal. A tiny amount or taste will do.

3. Moderation/lower carbohydrate intake: This is slightly related to portion control, too. Meals on the plan were centered around lots of protein and vegetables, which I knew was how I should be eating {in the past, my body has always responded well to reducing carbohydrate intake}. I love all things bread and potato {who doesn't?!}, and there have been evenings when I'd stop and think "Did I eat any fruits or vegetables or quality protein today?" and sadly, I often had not. I'm now really consciencious of what my "plate" looks like - as many vegetables as I can stand, a serving of lean protein, and a very small amount of starch/complex carbohydrate. If I know I'm going to have a carb-heavy meal at some point during the day, I'll be a saint the rest of the day. I knew we'd be having pizza for dinner on Friday night, so all day Friday I made a conscious effort to limit the amount of carbs I consumed.

4. Mindful eating: I ask myself "is it worth it?" a lot more often now, and as I said, I'm very conscientious of what I'm consuming.

These are all the very obvious steps to weightloss, but until now, I've never been able to practice them. While some criticize the 17-Day Diet plan, I personally found the plan helpful to reset my body and mind in the realm of food consumption.

17-Day Diet: Days 3 & 4 = getting by

Day 3 {Wednesday} food:
Weighed in at -3lbs for the week. No exercise for the day {I had zero energy and felt so lethargic}.

Breakfast: Scoop of ON protein powder mixed w/1% milk {technically not supposed to be a meal replacement, but I was running so late}, grande skinny hazelnut latte
Snack: Plum around 9:30am
Lunch: Lunch n'learn training session... they ordered Boston Market. Oy. I had some baked turkey {so dry and flavorless...}, half a plate of roasted veggies {broccoli, zucchini, squash, carrots - also kind of flavorless}, about 5 macaroni & cheese noodles, and a pinky-sized sliver of brownie {which I truly regret, especially since it wasn't very good!}. Verdict on Boston Market = SKIP that joint!
Snack: Chobani 0% raspberry greek yogurt
Dinner: Chipotle salad with chicken, smidge of brown rice, smidge of black beans, fajita veggies {peppers & onions}, mild salsa, light sprinkle of cheese and their dressing.

Yes, I had a few carbs today. I truly felt horrible all day and was dragging - I felt that, while it wasn't "by the {diet} book," I needed to add a dash here and there. I needed a little fullness and a little fuel, and by the end of the day, I felt better. No regrets, except that I'm pretty sure all the sodium from both the Boston Market and Chipotle food resulted in some water retention, which I'm resolving today.

Day 4 (Thursday) food:
Weighed in at -2.4lbs for the week {up a little from yesterday - I blame the sodium intake yesterday}. Another 3.3mi run this morning

Breakfast: 1/2 banana before my run {5:30am}, then a smoothie {1/2c kefir, 1/2c unsweetened almond milk, 1/2 frozen banana, handful of berries, scoop of ON protein powder} and Starbucks via iced coffee {1/2 milk, 1/2 water} on the way to work.
Snack: Cherries around 10am
Lunch: Another salad creation - lettuce, grilled chicken, strawberries, blueberries, sliced peaches, raspberry walnut dressing:

Envy of the lunchroom!

Later -
Snack: Chobani 0% blueberry greek yogurt
Dinner: I have a small ham that I'm planning to cook, so although I'll make ham and mashed potatoes or rice for Vic and Valentino, I'll probably make an egg scramble for myself w/eggs, ham, and veggies. {Ham is not really "permitted," but this is lean so I'm fine w/it}.

All in all, I'm getting "used" to this way of eating, and it's becoming easier. I am still quite hungry sometimes, probably due to the fact that I don't eat enough vegetables. If nothing else, this diet is helping me to think more about what and when I eat, and it really is reigning in my sweet tooth.

Lovely side effect: I'm experiencing some weird bad breath/taste in my mouth due to either ketosis or ammonia. I'm hoping it goes away soon :-(

Personal victory: when Vic and Valentino were having ice cream last night, I wanted a bite, but I wasn't sitting in the corner salivating like a starving dog {which is a big accomplishment for me - ice cream is my #1 love!}.

All day I've been thinking and conjuring up more content for a post I've been working on for a few months now about something that's weighing on my mind... I hope to finish it and post soon!

Have you had any personal victories lately?

Weight of the Nation - Encouraging good habits for kids

Vic and I have almost finished HBO's 4-part series "Weight of the Nation." I've found a lot of it very informative and encouraging, but I will admit that Part 3, which was about childhood obesity, bothered me a bit. A lot of blame for this epidemic was put on the advertisements that children are exposed to, as well as the cafeteria meals they are served in school.  The experts in the documentary seemed to think the only way to protect children from ads and bad cafeteria meals was government regulation. I'll spare you the rant about government regulations and simply offer a better and cheaper alternative -- education and encouragement.

Both parents and our schools should educate our youth from day 1 of kindergarten through the last day of high school about the importance of making healthy choices and the health consequences of making bad choices. Encourage activity throughout the day - again, both parents and educators should be doing this. Take stretching or walking breaks during the school day. Make PE mandatory more than once/week. Go on family bike rides, evening walks, and weekend hikes.

I realize there's the argument about low-income and single mothers who have a hard time making ends meet, much less encouraging/enforcing a healthy lifestyle. I feel for those children - they're going to have a hard enough time rising above what they were born into. This is an area where, instead of the government telling anyone what they can or cannot watch or eat, the government {or whomever is in charge of curriculum and education} should be pushing more healthy living education to these kids. Eventually, the hope is that the lack of "customers" {children} purchasing unhealthy foods will lessen the advertising and poor cafeteria foods.

I speak from my own experiences, both with the way I was raised and now how I raise my child. Someday I plan on elaborating on my whole life of weight struggles, but I'll give you a little synopsis here to support where I'm coming from:

Growing up in my middle-class family with two working parents, we always had the sugary-sweet cartoon character cereals and we ate a lot of processed foods, especially because that was what was on sale and was quick to cook, or what my parents had coupons for {and my mom wasn't exactly an awesome cook - sorry mom!}. I often ate school lunches {pizza, hamburgers, pancake day!}, and of course I never chose the vegetables! To top it off, we drank diet soda - yes, "better" than sugar-filled regular soda, but horrible for a child! I cringe when I think of what went into my young body. Exercise wasn't really emphasized in our house either... it was sporadic and never anything we did as a family. Neither of my parents were heavy, but they were both unhealthy in their own ways. Needless to say, my outlook on nutrition and exercise started out pretty badly. I didn't begin to turn my bad habits around until my teen/young adult years when I began to read and become interested in diet and exercise. I educated myself on what I should/shouldn't be eating and doing... and I continue to do that daily, because I still have a lot of nature and nurture to fight!

As a parent, I struggle with feeding my very picky child healthy foods. I feel that I've done well enough - he loves almost all varieties of fresh fruit and yogurt, and he has never had soda nor a lot of juice - but I know I've fallen victim to convenience foods for him, and that I haven't pushed vegetables on him enough {Vic and I are working on that}. We also limit not only the amount of TV that he watches, but also what channels he watches. We stick with Nick Jr. because they do not have any advertising. I know as he gets older, this will change, but hopefully we will have instilled some good habits in him.

One area where I feel we do an excellent job is with exercise. We are both very active, and Valentino has caught the bug for sure.

About 7 months old and riding in our bike trailer!

He sees us ride our bikes. He sees us go running and lift weights. He loves to do all three and wants to participate in everything we do, and we encourage it. It makes me a proud mama :-)

Doing push-ups on the lawn at North Hills.

Edited to add: I in no way think I'm perfect at this subject with my child, nor do I think I know it all about this topic. These are simply my opinions and experiences with it.

I hope to update tomorrow with what I've been up to lately. Until then... your thoughts on childhood obesity?

Weekend re-cap and April goal wrap-up

In true weekend fashion, this weekend flew by. There was a lot to catch up, but we accomplished a lot and mixed in fun and family time, too. I was super surprised to return home from work on Friday to a beautifully mowed lawn/pruned bushes, as well as a completely re-chipped backyard {our backyard is too shaded for grass, so instead of dirt/mud, we have wood chips which need to be refilled about once/year - see picture below!}. Despite feeling tired from a hard week at work, as well as keeping an eye on Valentino since he stayed home with him, Vic had seriously busted his butt to make our yard look much, much nicer! Once I got home, we went to Home Depot to buy some trim to complete the neat-ness of our yard, then we enjoyed a pizza dinner at Amante Pizza {so good!}, followed by a stroll through Fresh Market and a delicious cookie for each of us. It was a simple, but very nice evening.

The boy LOVES to help out around the house!

After a horrible night of sleep - Valentino was very restless; he woke up twice {1AM and 3AM}desperately wanting to watch cartoons - Saturday started off with an exhilirating 7 mile run {~1:15, which is sub-11 min/mile - albeit slow, it makes me happy} while Vic finished installing the trim in the backyard. It was a cool, cloudy day, so a trip to the mall was in order. We strolled around and I ended up finding a few things for Valentino at 77 kids {my favorite place to shop for him!}. I also needed more Optimum Nutrition protein powder, so I picked some up on sale at GNC. When we got home, Valentino and I planted the impatiens in the front garden bed, as well as his zinnias in the yogurt cup ;-) We ended the night with Chipotle - double chicken burrito for him, chicken burrito bowl with brown rice for me, leftover pasta for the kid.

Sunday morning, I had grand plans to be super mom - clean the house like crazy, do all the week's shopping, take Valentino to the library, prep food for the week, bake muffins. Let's just say I did half of that. I was exhausted from staying up too late and I had a splitting headache made worse by a mischevious little boy. I did dishes and laundry, then we headed to Old Navy and Target to do some shopping. I got some serious deals at both places. For $42 at ON, I picked up 5 pairs of socks, 2 tanks, and 2 tees for Valentino, plus a super cute dress for me. At Target, I signed up for the Target RED debit card {where you get 5% off of your purchase when you use it - score!} on top of coupons and I ended up saving over $22 {on things I would've purchased without the discounts anyway}. After dropping off the groceries and eating lunch outside, Valentino and I stopped at the library to return/pick up books - the kid LOVES the library! We came home and I literally worked up a sweat cleaning up the house - putting away winter clothes, rearranging drawers, folding 83,209 articles of clothing - washing dishes, vacuuming, cleaning up toys. It all needed to be done so bad - none of us could stand all the clutter and "projects-in-waiting" that were hanging out in every corner of my house. All in all, YES - there was/is/will always be more that needs to be done in our house. BUT, it's presentable and usable for now.

On the eating front: This is day two of being super strict, sticking to a "plan." Yesterday I was so conscious of everything I ate. Grilled chicken for dinner instead of hot dogs. No popcorn/cookies/food while watching TV. I went to bed hungry - stomach growling HUNGRY. I know that's what I need to do to lose the lbs though. So far today has also been successful, and I am VERY committed to staying "clean" {okay, now I totally sound like an addict. a food addict, that is}.

Today I have a 4.5 mile run scheduled after work, then we're having a grilled turkey breast, mashed potatoes, and broccoli for dinner.

Since it's the last day of April, I'll wrap-up my goals:

1. Lose at least 5lbs. In progress... I'm down about 2, but that's from Saturday morning until now. I don't really count that.
2. Keep to the 1/2 marathon training schedule. Partial success... I've stayed on schedule with my long distance runs on Saturdays {even while on vacation}, and for the most part I've done 2 additional runs/week, so I'm mostly keeping up. BUT, my intention was to totally stick to the plan.
3. Add money to savings. SUCCESS! I've added a fair amount each paycheck, and I smile in pride when I see our savings account balance. YAY!
4. Get stuff DONE. SUCCESS! I purchased a calendar to use for meal planning, and so far we've stuck to it. I put away our winter clothes. I planted flowers. All small things, but it feels good to get them DONE and off the list. Still on that list - get my car fixed. Doh.

Tomorrow I'll post May's goals -- after I brainstorm what they should be :-)

"If it's important to you, you will find a way. If not, you'll find an excuse."

Baby steps

Thank goodness this has been a short week. Though travelingand road trips are fun, they are tiring and leave much laundry and *mess* to betaken care of afterwards, plus you lose a weekend of productivity. It’s worthit to get away, but since becoming a full-fledged adult, I now totally understand “needing a vacation from your vacation,” no matter how short said vacation is.

Sticking to my training plan has been a flop as of recently (which is becoming a horrible trend…). I ran Tuesday night {4 miles, 43:33},but so far that is it. I plan on running 4.5 miles after work today as long as the rain holds off. Tomorrow I hope to either attend 5:45am spin class or hop on my bike after work for a session on the hills. Saturday morning will be my long run for the week – 7 miles, which will be the longest I’ve ever run. I’m actually really excited about reaching that milestone!

With May just days away, I’m feeling the “summer’s coming” pressure. I’m not losing weight and I’ve really begun to accept the fact that I need to make some major changes, starting in the food department. I am a classic “boredom eater,” – when I’m bored, my mind immediately tricks me into thinking I need to occupy my mouth. Having a sedentary job, this happens often, and even though I snack on “healthy” foods, they’re all calories in the end.

I saw this last night on pinterest and I was really inspired:

If you want something you’ve never had, you’ve got to do something you’ve never done.

{For me, I want a firmer body – something I’ve never had – so I need to do things – exercise more/better and eat less/better – I’ve never done}

Even though, for me, that quote would apply more for the exercise portion of my life, it’s sparking me to make some eating changes {I’ll cover the exercise portion in another post – I have an exciting, but scary, plan!}.

First, I’m trying to really scale back what and how often I eat. So far:

·        I’ve moved my morning yogurt from 10am to lunchtime. I’m not sure that when I eat the yogurt is that important, but I’m trying to train myself to not NEED something between breakfast and lunch.

·        I’ve been chewing a lot more gum, especially when the munchies hit.

Initially, I want to:

·        Give up eating after dinnertime too – no evening snacks while watching TV NO MATTER WHAT. {no popcorn!} Up until the past couple years, this wasn’t an issue – I never ate in front of the TV. I blame Vic for getting me addicted to popcorn!

·        Quit carbonated drinks {particularly soda}altogether. Yes, they are delicious, but on top of empty calories or artificial sweeteners, they make me feel bloated and gassy. No thanks!

·        Quit coffee. I didn’t start regularly drinkingcoffee until I started working at my current job. Once I was working full time (and taking care of a young child after work on my own), I needed something toget me through the day – coffee was it! Now, it’s a daily habit that costs $$ (such a waste!) and isn’t all that great for my body, even though I get NF/SF lattes. I only drink ~1 “cup”/day, so it’s not a constant thing, but I don’t want to do it anymore. I have some packets of Starbucks VIA iced coffee at home. Once those are gone, I really want to be done w/coffee for good.

·        Brush my teeth right after dinner, to hopefully ward off after-dinner snacking.

On a long-term basis, my plan is to:

·        Eat more “cleanly” by eliminating a lot of processed foods and sugar from my {and my family’s} diet.

·        Incorporate more vegetables into my diet. I struggle with this a lot because I literally gag on many raw vegetables, and there are few cooked vegetables that I will tolerate.

·        Reduce the amount of meat my family consumes.This will be a challenge, as chicken is typically the center of all our meals. Personally,I would love to be meat-free. I don’t especially care for it {I already don’t eat beef – so I’d have to eliminate poultry and pork}.

·        Cook dinner at home at least 5 days/week. I purchased a wipe-off calendar yesterday to aid me in meal planning. I’m already psyched to plan and pre-prepare our meals for this coming week!

On the non-weightloss/exercise-related front, while skimming livingsocial and groupon for deals on a family photographer {anyone have some affordable photojournalistic-style suggestions?}, I came across a deal for mypublisher.com - $19 for a DeluxePhoto Book. I've nixed the idea of having prints made of all our photos, then stuffing them into albums - they're so bulky, and in the end - expensive! Ever since hearing about mypublisher on YHL, I've decided that creating yearly "yearbooks" of our family pictures is the best idea. Now I just have to get on that for 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011!!