Week 3: Being Real

I'm late with my update, I know. But here I am. I thought about just waiting till next week, but I don't want to let that become a habit.

Recap of last week: Last week was horrible. It was awful. There were donuts and ice cream and cake and Oreo's and it was bad. With each bite of Oreo I said to myself, Damnit! What are you doing. And then, I ate another one. So....no weight loss last week. Not only did my food intake suck, but my workouts failed as well. Last week was just a big fail. In fact it was such an EFFING fail that I gained over a pound. Yeah, it was that bad. It was also a super stressful week. All of my classes had major things happening, and I have one of those condensed 5-week classes and so basically it takes over my life. Excuses, excuses.

This week has been great so far! I have really been pushing myself to plan out my meals and make it to the gym on all my planned days. It's only Wednesday night, but so far I think I can say it has been successful.

My meal plans are as follows:
Breakfast: oatmeal again, I'm not sick of it, plus it's pretty fast to make. Although I may switch it up next week.
Lunch: Turkey wraps. I should have taken a picture but I haven't. Anyway, I found this herbed turkey that is tasty, so I'm rolling it up in a tortilla with a wedge of laughing cow cheese (spread out) and chopped cucumber. Then I'm eating a fruit or other veggie on the side. It's pretty easy and tasty. Mostly I'm happy about the easy. I need easy lunch solutions because that is where I fail a lot.
Snacks: still with the rice cakes and strawberries and kiwi. I have made an amazing discovery: Justin's Vanilla Almond Butter. It's so good. I wish I could buy the little individual packets and just sit and suck on them. I know, I can just buy the jar, but aren't little packets much more fun?
Dinner: Monday I had some pesto pasta for dinner, Tuesday and today I had some stir fry's. They are so easy I think I will be making them a lot. Tomorrow and Thursday I will be having pesto pasta again and some sweet potatoes.

Here is last nights stir fry. Tofu, broccoli, red onion, red pepper and mushrooms. It was awesome. On Tuesday I cooked a bunch of rice and tofu to spread out through a few meals. Today I cooked some snow peas, mushrooms and green onions.

I don't have an exact recipe for the stir fry, but I just cut up the veggies and sautéed them in a pan with some olive oil. It was super easy.

I am going to be baking some homemade twix bars tomorrow, and I know, I know, it's a treat. But, we've had a pretty rough week at work (see: suicide in the children's dept. and really mean, yelly patrons) and I'm going to bring them to staff meeting tomorrow (because what's the best response to stress and tumultuous times? food). I'll post the recipe if it's successful.

On another note, I did go running on Sunday. It wasn't as scary as I thought it was. I have been constantly anxious about running. And, while I am really relieved that it wasn't a complete fail I could tell that I haven't been running in over two months. I had to take a little break in my once easy two mile run, but that's okay. I'm excited to get back into the swing of it.

Loaded Pasta Salad

Here is the pasta salad as promised. It took a quick 30 minutes to make (mostly just chopping the veggies) and turned out pretty tasty. Although, I think I definitely put in too much celery, but probably just because celery is really not my favorite thing. I can eat it fine with salt sprinkled on top but I just wasn't liking it in the salad and found myself eating around it. So, next time maybe half the celery and I'm also thinking more tomatoes. Anyway, here's the recipe from Dashing Dish

Loaded Pasta Salad

3 cups	Dry pasta
1/2 cup	Garbanzo beans (or white beans)
1/2 cup	Feta cheese (or shredded parmesan would be good)
1/2 cup	Olives (I buys pre-sliced)
1 cup	Celery, diced
1 cup	Red pepper, diced
1 cup	Cherry tomatoes, chopped in half
1/2 cup	Red onion, diced
1/2 cup	Green peas
1/2 cup	Cucumber, peeled and chopped
Dressing:
1 pkg	Dry Italian dressing mix
1/4 cup	White vinegar
1/4 cup	Water
1/2 tsp	Lemon juice
Pinch	Salt and pepper to taste

As far as directions go, I think it's pretty self explanatory; you cook the pasta, and after it's cooled you add everything in together. 
She "makes" her own dressing but I just used Newman's Own Light Italian, also I forgot to put in Parmesan but I totally have some at home. I also used frozen green (she does too) and just microwaved them for 30 seconds.

Week Two and Recap

First things first, let's recap the last week. As far as goals go, I met them, kind of. The first half of the week was a huge success. At the gym on Monday I was able to lift heavier, woot! And, my eating habits were awesome, I was able to stick to my meal plans just fine. Then, Thursday rolled around and I got sick, and was sick till Sunday a horrible stomach bug. So, while I didn't necessarily stick to the meal plans, I still didn't eat horribly because, you know, sickness (I ate applesauce, soup, bananas and toast for three days). However, I didn't gym the rest of the week basically.
But, hey I lost almost 2 pounds this week! Yay. Although, I wonder how much of that is related to the sickness. But, I really don't think much, because I have still been eating and drinking a lot (just not my aforementioned planned meals).

Week Two.

This week for breakfast I am going with what I ate last week. So, oatmeal with bananas, or my protein shake when I exercise in the morning.

Tomorrow I am going to be making this pasta salad and I'll be having it for lunches for the week and dinner on Wednesday (which means I'll probably have some tuna for lunch on Wednesday).  I think the salad looks pretty tasty, plus who doesn't like pasta salad?

For snacks I've still got some rice cakes and I always enjoy those with some almond butter spread on top, plus I also picked up some strawberries and kiwis and I still have some of my Arctic Zero left over if I am needing something chocolatey.

Tonight for dinner I made an awesome one pot spaghetti dinner. This is where I got the recipe.

My picture doesn't look too appetizing, but trust me, it was super flavorful and way easy. Here, look at her picture of the pot, it's much prettier.

See? Anyway, here's the recipe, you've probably got the majority of the ingredients at home, so give it a try.
One Pot Pasta

Serves 4 to 6 as an entree

12 ounces linguine pasta
1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes with liquid
1 large sweet onion, cut in julienne strips
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
2 large sprigs basil, chopped
4 1/2 cups vegetable broth (regular broth and NOT low sodium)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan cheese for garnish

Place pasta, tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, in a large stock pot. Pour in vegetable broth. Sprinkle on top the pepper flakes and oregano. Drizzle top with oil.

Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and keep covered and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes or so. Cook until almost all liquid has evaporated My Dad is a major sauce kind of guy, so I left probably 1-2 inches of sauce.

I'll post a pic of my pasta salad, and let you know how it is including the recipe tomorrow. 

Goals for this week:

-I'm gonna go along the same lines as last week because I didn't meet some of them. Keep lifting heavier (I lifted heavier doing some curls today and it was HARD, but good. 

-Stick to the meal plans obvs. However, I am going to give myself a pass for dessert on Friday as well as pretty much the whole day on Sunday. This week is my birthday, so you know, cake and things. Of course, I'll not go overboard, but pretty much the only time I get yellow cake (my fav) is on my bday. 

-Run twice. The doc said I could give it a try so I'm gonna try for a short run on Thursday and see how it goes and then hopefully again on Sunday. yay for running again (fingers crossed). 

Week One

Here I am, as promised. I've come prepared and have pics of my grocery cart, meal pics and recipe. Of course, to recap my goal for the weekend out on the road and in Beaver, small town USA was to not go overboard. And..well...I didn't go "overboard" but I certainly could have ordered a salad at Wendy's instead of a chicken sandwich. That being said, I also could have ordered a frosty waffle cone, and a burger with a soda. I didn't, I just had some lemonade and no frosty. As for the rest of the meals they weren't so bad. Fruits and veggies were present but I did also eat a small handful of cheetos and a half cookie :S I guess you win some, you lose some. However, I've got the rest of the week all planned out and I am excited to tackle it. Really, I can't wait to get to the end of each day knowing how great I feel about my food choices.

For Breakfast this week I'm sticking to oatmeal and bananas and lemon water. Just a 1/2 cup of rolled oats and half of a banana on top. I can not eat oatmeal straight up, but I actually do like it with some mix-ins. I sadly did not get a photo of my breakfast, but it's pretty easy to picture. However, days when I work out I will come home to a protein shake breakfast instead of oatmeal. My shakes are delicious and consist of 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, protein powder, half banana, water and ice, tsp of cocoa powder and a packet or two of stevia. I really do enjoy them but it took awhile before I was convinced, and lots of testing as well to get the right balance. Now I have it all down and don't even really measure anything out.

Today's lunch included left over homemade pasta salad from the trip. My Mom makes it every year, it's fairly tasty. Healthy? hmm...it has celery, egg, cucumber, shrimp, green onions and...mayo. Yeah. It's probably not that healthy, but there was a lot of it leftover, and all in moderation, right? Plus, it could have been much worse. I balanced it with a good serving of grapes and water. I won't be eating this all week for my lunches as the pasta salad probably won't last the whole week. My plans for the next few days include some tuna and pickle sandwiches, more grapes and carrots.

As far as snacks go, this week I've got some rice cakes that I plan to top with honey and almond butter or some smushed avocado. Pretty tasty. I have lots of possibilities for them in the future and can't wait to try them out (think: rice cake pizzas, cream cheese and strawberries, hummus and cucumbers etc.).

Above you can see my grocery cart and what I created from that cart just above. My grocery list included: orange bell pepper, quinoa, onions (green and yellow), lemons, tomatoes, olive oil, kiwis and arctic zero. 

I made a really delicious quinoa salad for dinner for the next few nights. I work Tuesday and Wednesday nights so I need something ready to take or I will be tempted to make not so good choices. I'll provide the recipe at the end of the post. 

I also picked up some Arctic Zero ice cream-stuff. It's gluten free and the nutrition label is readable (meaning not scary). Plus, the WHOLE pint is 150 calories. Um, yeah you heard right, the whole pint not just one serving. I decided to test out the very top layer after lunch and I was impressed. It's no Ben and Jerry's but it hits the spot. Plus, think how great the vanilla would be with some pb and dark choc. chips (not going overboard of course) or just some fruit.

I stay up pretty late some nights, with school work and boyf. time. And, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays it can be pretty tough. Eating dinner at 5:00 and then staying up till midnight is a pretty long time to go without any food. Lately I've been taking some strawberries to share with him around 10. I know my hours aren't great, and I always hear people saying you shouldn't eat after such and such time but that just doesn't work for me right now, so I've gotta make do and I think this is okay.

Okay, goals for the week:
-Obviously maintain the meal plans.
-Lift heavier. I'm going to try to go up the next weight set with the bench press. I am currently doing 20lbs, so to go up to 24lbs. (don't judge I'm freakin' weak). And not just with the bench press, I want to go heavier with my seated rows, tricep pull downs (whatever they are called) and leg press.
-Not skipping abs. I will admit that I sometimes skip out on the abs. Not good. So, my goal is to make sure I work them out during each workout.

I'll report back and we'll see how this week goes.

Quinoa Vegetable Salad with Lemon-Basil Dressing

1 cup uncooked quinoa
15 oz. can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
3 roma tomatoes
1 orange bell pepper
1 1/2 cups corn 
4 green onions

For the Dressing:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. basil 

Cook quinoa according to label. Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, and basil. Set aside.Slice green onions, dice roma tomatoes and bell pepper.
When quinoa is done cooking, let cool. Then place all salad ingredients in a large bowl.
Pour dressing over top and mix well to combine.
Can eat immediately or chill before serving.

Recipe found here. I really enjoyed the salad, and really there could be so many other add-ins. Chopped carrots? Olives? Celery? I basically feel like quinoa and this dressing has so much potential and I know I will be making it often. 

Being Healthy and those kinds of things...

Just like everyone else in the world I want to be healthier, lose weight, wear a bikini. So, really this post is not going to be anything original but my health is my responsibility, it's all on me whether or not I finally fit into that bikini I bought a year ago. Here I am owning it, forcing myself to be more accountable. Two and a half years ago I was about 20 pounds lighter; I'm only 5' 1" and 20 pounds is quite a bit for my frame.

Until recently I still pictured myself 20 pounds lighter. I mean, when I looked in the mirror I could tell there was a difference, but when I started trying on my old swim suits a month or so ago I realized that um, I've got a problem.

I have been trying lately to change my habits and I have been able to take some small steps towards being healthier and I've noticed a change but I really have to commit to make the strides I'd like to. In the past 2 months I've lost a few pounds. So, things could be worse than they are at the moment but they could still be better.

I did recently run a half marathon, unfortunately there was a hiccup. I got a stress fracture in my foot from pushing myself too hard during the race.

I haven't been on a run since the race, April 20. I am surprised how much I miss the running. And, I don't think until the race I liked it again. In the mean time I have been lifting weights three times a week and using the stationary bike a bit. Boyf. knows his exercise stuff (if you've seen him recently you know what I'm talking about), and I had him help me put together a workout schedule (for weights). I've got the pictures below and yeah, they aren't great quality as they are just screen shots taken with my phone but hey, it works.

I've definitely noticed the difference adding weights has made in working out because I have never really focused on them before. Sure, I used to do some overhead tricep stuff but that's pretty much it.

I've got the boot off, and the Dr. says I can start running in about a week and half, but starting out with short distances.

My exercise has been a lot better than in the past (despite the break in running). However, my diet is not stable. I have days where I am able to eat healthy but then the weekend happens or I stay up late and get hungry or a friend wants to go get ice cream and I can't say no. This is where I really need to step it up and commit. I haven't had a hard time keeping up my exercise routine, in fact I look forward to it and how good I feel throughout the day after I've gotten in my workout, it's the food that's killing me.

I've decided to use my blog to help keep myself accountable. I used to post my weekly breakfast plans and that was fun and kept me thinking about it and planning them out. Instead of just posting my breakfast plans, I am going to post my weekly meal plan. As well as at least one weekly goal, small doable goals for the week to give me a little more push. Plus, I have some before pictures all raring to go for when I take my after pictures.

Not only am I going to post my Meal plans, a few coworkers and I are having a small contest to see who can lose 5 pounds or more by June 22 (coworkers birthday). This is just extra motivation.

I'm excited to get myself on track. I know how good I feel when I eat right, and I just need to remember that every time I get a craving for a treat.

Okay, so for this week I will have to wait till Monday or possibly Tuesday to post my meal plans, I'm going out of town tomorrow and won't be back till Monday night so I haven't gone to the grocery store or been able to plan out the meals for the week. But, this weeks goal is to keep myself on track during the trip. We'll be eating out for several meals and driving for several hours means that I'll be tempted to eat the licorice and gummy bears my Dad always pack. I'll post after the trip and report on my success as well as posting the meal plans for the week.

Do you have any great tips for being healthy, or a favorite healthy snack to share? I'd love any advice or tips or success stories to keep me going.