Oops, Ive been busy!

Hi Bloggers!  Turns out I’ve been super busy and have not updated in awhile!   Time to get back into it!  How has everyone been? Thanks so much for all the support! I must admit I slacked this past weekend, but I have forgiven myself.  I took a road trip with some friends to Cincinnati, OH where we went to the most amazing place ever… Hofbräuhaus.  What you about to see may upset some of you, and I apologize, but it was gloriously good…

Spicy sausage, fried zucchini, famous pretzels (w/ beer cheese), potato pancakes and saukruat balls… amazing.

But its back at it this week.  Monday I went to a new class at my gym, Urban Iron… and it too kicked my butt!  It’s an hour long class of strength-training using weights.  Still sore today!

I’ve found a new favorite food “chicken” patties (fewer calories, less fat and still a good source of protein) I’ve at it the past few nights, Monday on a wrap and last night as a yummy sandwich with whole wheat bread, spinach, red onion and banana peppers.

I’ve also been trying to use flax seeds in meal, but then realized I didnt know the benefits of them when someone asked me… so here they are if anyone else is curious:

Lowered blood cholesterol levels

Lowered high blood pressure

Increased energy, vitality, and stamina

Increased sense of calmness under stress

Reduced threat of blood clots

Protection against cancers, particularly hormone sensitive cancers such as breast and prostate

Better regulation of blood sugar levels

Eases inflammatory tissue conditions, including arthritis

Alleviation of dry skin, eczema and psoriasis

Enhanced immune system

Increased metabolic rate with a positive impact on weight management

Helps with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)

Natural laxative

Happy St. Patty’s Day to all the Irish!  Will  you be celebrating?!

Finally Friday!

Happy Friday, bloggers!  FINALLY! How is everyone doing?

I met with my trainer on Weds, and my knee was just getting worse, so I promised him no running for 2 weeks. Not good for training… I biked Weds and Thursday, perhaps swimming tonight?  Any other suggestions to beat the no-running blues? Hehe.  I’ve been relying so much on running lately to help me shed the pounds I’m going to have to pay even more attention to what I eat *insert freaked out smiley here*. 

I went to Starbucks yesterday for the first time since I began my “healthy” ways, and was nervous b/c how was I not going to get my usual venti caramel macchiato (300 cals and 8 g of fat!)?  I had control and opted to try the skinny vanilla latte, which turns out is super good (and only 130 cals and 0 g of fat)!  Their website has all the nutrional information which helped me make my decision first (http://www.starbucks.com/menu/catalog/nutrition?drink=all).  I think picking out what I was going to have before going really, really helped… I’ll have to start doing that more often.

Have a good weekend!

Only Weds? :(

Happy Hump (Wednesday) Day, Bloggers… I will be so happy for Friday this week! 

The past couple days have been going well at the gym… lots of running and strength training.  I’m meeting with my trainer today, I’m nervous b/c I’ve been slacking on our appointments and haven’t seen him in months, wish me luck! I’m a little nervous too b/c I’ve been noticing my knee starting to hurt quite a bit lately.   Any words of advice out there? … It’s never hurt before, I’m bummed I may have unknown knee issues… that won’t be good for training!

Yesterday for breakfast I decided to check out the smoothie craze that I’ve seen all over the blogs… here is what mine included: 1 handful of ice, 1/2 cup skim-milk, 1 banana, 1/2 cup frozen berries, 2 handfuls of spinach and 1 spoonful of flax seeds… it looked pretty before…

but not so much after (haha, it was brown!), but it still tasted very good!  I paired it with a whole grain & raisin english muffin for a great breakfast. 

I’ve been doing good on lunch too… but nothing exciting, just some carrots, pinapple and a turkey/spinach wrap!

Two nights ago I decided to try something new… you may like this if you like black bean burgers.  Have you seen the new commercials for McDonald’s Big Mac wrap?  Yes, I’m talking about a Big Mac.  Well, I came up with a “healthy” version!   Only 250 calories…

I heated up a black bean burger, and with it I added Fat Free Thousand Island dressing, fat free cheese, pickles, spinach and onions to a whole wheat tortilla= pretty good!… It will be better once I get used to the taste of the black bean burgers.

Last night’s dinner was better, I made two different types of “pizza”.  The first was just spinach and a light Laughing Cow Swiss cheese on a heated tortilla (100 calories) and the second was chicken, bbq sauce, fat free mozz. cheese, and red onion on a tortilla (200 calories).  Both were very good… I just have to remember to not warm the tortillas to much! Hehe.

Thats all for now, off to meet the trainer! :-O

Eat to live, not live to eat

 Hi Bloggers! I failed on blogging updates this weekend but the good news is I did pretty well!   I was worried b/c I did go out drinking but I ate really well and ran on Saturday.  I was pleased by the scale this morning! 

 I spent way too much money at Whole Foods this weekend, but hopefully it’ll be totally worth it!  Does anyone else love Whole Foods as much as me?!  I got some great stuff for dinner last night, I think you’ll like it (note: i did steal this recipe idea from a fellow blogger!)…

Stick 1 low-cal whole wheat tortilla in the oven on 350 for about 3 minutes to let it crisp up.  Add chunky tomato sauce, some fresh mozz. cheese and return to the oven to heat and let the cheese melt.  Meanwhile I heated up 4 meatless-meatballs, and sliced and add on top of the pizza= amazing and only approximately 300 cals and I was very full.  But I ate it so quick I forgot to take a picture!

 Every year Arnold Schwarzenegger has a fitness event here in Columbus, so I went and check it out this year, pretty cool!  I got some free Cascadian and Larabar samples= Yum!  And we saw Lou Ferrigno- the Hulk!

On a final note, someone shared a bit of eating advice with me this weekend, and I liked it, it gave me a new perspective… I realize I should have figured this out earlier than 24 years, but I didnt, so tell me what you think… “We eat to live, not live to eat… it’s important to remember we were not intended to indulge, only nourish.”

Empty Calories

Well the good news that came out of yesterday was that my contract is being extended at work (I’m an IT contractor)…but that led to bad.  My co-workers and I decided to go out and celebrate our extensions, so I had two drinks.

Tell me bloggers, are there any calorie-free drinks I can have?  Or how do you handle “going out” and not drinking?  I’m worried about the weekends, that will be my worse time to give in.

After I got home I felt guilty so I went to the gym.  I ran a mile great, but then my calves started to hurt again, so I slowed down and walked about another mile, but I had to stop, the pain was pretty bad.   I went and got a foam roller again and mat out and stretched for about 20 minutes, and I seem to be feeling better today.

The dinner I eventually made last night was amazing… I realize the picture doesn’t look delicious but I gaurentee you, 100% yummy!

Salsa Chicken: I put a serving of pre-cooked chicken in a oven-pan with about 1/5 cup of water and sprinkled taco seasoning on top.  I let it heat up then I put salsa and Weight Watcher’s sprinkle cheese on top and let it heat up. 

Spinach Bake: I heated up 5 oz. of spinach in 1/4 cup of water on the stove and added in diced red onion.  I then took 1/2 cup of my left-over low-cal mashed potatoes and 2 tablespoons of fat free sour cream and mixed it in, with a tiny splash of skim milk…stir & heat.

I feel asleep feeling pretty great last night but woke up today totally down in the dumps.  I think I have good days with this new “health kick” and bad days… even though I’ve been losing weight and shaping up I still feel like I look the same, a big old house.   And I’m scared I’m never going to get to where I want to  be… how do you get over the fear and discouragement?

Carbs and Chocolate

Yesterday was not my best day, but not horrible.

When I went to the gym I was hurting still so I did a nice 30 minute bike ride and walked about a mile.  The I did about 30 mins of abs and upper body work… anything that wouldnt move my sore legs.

When I got home I was craving carbs like you wouldnt believe! Carbs and chocolate.  Bad combo.  First I pulled out my stash of chicken, (this is actually a good idea)… Tuesday I accidently let a whole package of chicken freeze, so I couldnt get out a single serving, so I grilled up the whole package, which turns out is good b/c now I have chicken ready to eat for the week… now I cant get home and think “I’m tired, I’ll order pizza”… maybe I did something good for myself, I’ll be forced to atleast eat my healthy chicken!  Any ideas on what I can do with my chicken?

Last night I decided to just make a panini with onions, peppers and fat free cheese, yum!  Then to satisfy my carb craving I heated up my left over cauliflower mac & cheese.

What to do about chocolate?  Luckily I had a vita-brownie left! Yum, only 100 calories!  Has anyone else ever had these? While they have 2g of fat, they also have 4g of protein and 6g of fiber!

Another thing I love are these Laughing Cow cream cheese wedges… only 35 calories, and I use one on my sandwiches for lunch in substitution of cheese and mayo!  Right now they have 4 flavors (Swiss, Light Swiss, Light Garlic & Herb and Light French Onion).  I read online yesterday they are working on 3 new flavors too!  Yum!

Finally, today started off well… Multi-grain cheerios and a banana in skim milk, tasty and healthy!

I’ve been exercising at night, but I may start trying the mornings, which is better for you? I’ve been reading online about it and keep finding positives and negatives for both! Perhaps we’ll explore this more tomorrow!  Until then… Have a good day bloggers!

Yay Blogging! & The Sauna…

I have to say I’m so excited that today was my first full day of blogging and I had 50 visitors… I dont know if that is good or not, but I am fully excited.  I had decided to do this blog as a way to maintain some sort of accountability for myself, but if I can share some ideas and tips with others, then I will consider it a success!  I also had my first comment today  and it helped, thanks for the tip, Jessica!  I used a foam roller at the gym to stretch out my calves and sat in the sauna for about 15 minutes and it seemed to help!  That made me wonder, what else is the sauna good for?  Here are some benefits I found…

• Saunas are useful in joint pains as the warm steam helps blood flow move effectively in all parts of the body and any contracted muscles are relieved.
• Sauna works positively on our metabolism and increases its speed and intensity, which in turn results in weight loss.
• Saunas help to massage and loosen fatty tissue and assist in the battle against cellulite.
• Regular sauna bath can help mental and physical relaxation and release tension.
• Saunas users develop a “good sweat” which at the onset helps relieve and ward off the most severe symptoms of cold or flu.
• The cleansing effect of profuse perspiration helps provide healthy skin and a clear complexion.

I really enjoyed the sauna, I may make it a new part of my gym routine, what do you think?

Cauliflower Deliciousness

Yesterday was another successful day of Shaping Up to Fabulousness. I ate healthy all day, including another delicious dinner recipe to share!

Boil 1 serving of whole wheat pasta, heat 1 package of frozen cauliflower & cheese and bake 1 piece of chicken breast… mix… and wala, yummy and healthy mac & cheese:

I also hit the gym yesterday, but no running, instead I joined in on a group class, Triple Fit… and woowee, let me tell you, it kicked my butt!  We did six curcuits of 4 minutes of cardio, 3 mins of legs and 2 mins of upper body exercises. It might sound easy, but it was not at all… especially on top of the calf soreness I was having from running the day before.  I’m hurting pretty bad today again, does anyone know how I can cure the soreness in my calves?  I can hardly walk today.   What should I do at the gym today to still get some exercise, but not die from pain?

Hello Health Seekers!

Let me start off by saying I am no where near healthy, but it is my goal! Is it yours too? Let’s set a goal together. A few months ago I thought It’d be a great idea to run a 5K… it was fun but I slacked on my training and did pretty awful… let’s be honest… it took a sad 42 mins and 18 seconds. Anyways, yesterday I found another one for May 1st… that was exactly 2 months away. Time for a new goal. This time I decided to blog about it too, maybe some encouragement and motivation? I’m not only going to train for the 5K, I am going to do other exercises, and adjust my diet. Become health-conscious, if you will. I think I let life get in the way of training last time and I failed…not this time!  Who is with me?!  Let’s take the next nine weeks and work together. As the fabulously single lady that I am, I will now dedicate a relationship to my training. So how have I started?

Yesterday (3/1/10): Yesterday I ate, so/so on the healthy meter, but dinner was delicious, you should try it! 

I boiled about a 1/3 of a head of cabbage with some diced red onion.  Meanwhile I heated up about a few slices of turkey-sausage, and make low-fat mashed potatoes (about 60 cals per serving).  When all done I layered the mashed potatoes on the bottom, topped with the cabbage, sprinkled on a tiny bit of low-fat mozz. cheese, and topped with the turkey-sausage, yumm!

  I went to the gym too to start my training… I alternated 1/4 miles of jogging and walking for 2.5 miles, and boy, my shins hurt today!  I think its safe to say I am a bit rusty.

Do you have any healthy recipes to try, or training tips?