Fitgirl Chronicles

Getting Together a Plan

Sunday is a good day to make a plan.  Lately I feel a little "all over the place" as far as the clear goals of my eating plan and fitness plan go.  But here goes.

Firstly, I am reading this book  "A Course in Weight Loss" by Marianne Williamson.  I read right through to the end and now I am going back and slowly completing the Spiritual Lessons.  I think this book is AMAZING.  It is, for me, the mind aspect of "why" am I overweight, "why" can't I get this part of my life together.  It is definitely a process of digging deep to get to the answers inside.  Basically it is the connection of Spirituality and Weightloss.  I would highly recommend the book. It is a lot of work getting through the exercises but worth it.  I am very happy I found this book.

 

 

As far as food goes.  My goal is to be more organize and dig out those healthy recipes.  I am still enjoying the same breakfast that I always seem to eat.  Two poached eggs, and a home made latte.  

  

Some things I want to make this week, a fruit salad of some sort.  I would like to make this recipe that I found here at Love and Photographs ; it was originally posted here on A Foodie Stays Fit:  (Both GREAT Blogs that I just happen to stumble upon by the way!) 

Black Bean, Lime & Cilantro Rice Bowl

Makes 4 main dish portions or 6 side dish portions

●      2 cups cooked brown rice, chilled in refrigerator

●      2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed  (use a good, organic brand - it makes a difference)

●      2 cups tomato, diced  (I usually use 3-4 roma tomatoes)

●      1 bunch sliced green onions (6-7 full stalks, slicing the white and green parts)

●      3 T canola oil

●      3 T red wine vinegar

●      3 T water

●      juice of a fresh lime

●      1 small diced jalapeno pepper (more or less to taste)

●      1/2 cup cilantro, chopped (more or less to taste; I love cilantro so I use almost a cup)

●      1 teaspoons sugar  

●      1 teaspoon kosher salt

●      1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced

●      1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

 

Exercise is going to be walking the dog. Getting my butt to the gym early before work to get that routine going again.

More later........

 

Making progress.....

In the running department that is!!! WHooohoooo! It's only a start, but it is a beginning.

Monday July 13 Workout :

Run 1 min, Walk 1 min, for a total of 40 min.

This is huge for me because of my knee issues.  So I will take it for now! 

Also my weigh in for Friday last week, Friday July 10th was "SAME". My second week remaining the exact same.  You can see my progress here.

Now the only downside is I am still struggling with fitting stuff in on a regular basis.  I miss my awesome walks with Jess :(  So far I haven't been able to get a regular workout routine going with  starting my new job yet...... I am not giving up - just frustrated at this moment.  I need to workout regularly - Everyday if I am going to get serious and get healthy and lose this weight.

Also I am frustrated not finding a set time/routine to blog more regularly....

And finally I am slipping into this summer "what the hell" attitude of free eating/drinking.  The old "more is better" routine.  The "I'm on vacation, so I can pig out" routine.  And my personal favorite the old "it's a special occasion, I deserve it" routine.  The last one kills me the most I would say.  It is funny how one can make everything a "special occasion".  My weight is staying the same because I am A. not working out as much and B. eating like a whale on the weekend and then trying to be good during the week before my weigh day on Friday.  I HATE this routine.  So I am blogging about it to be aware of it and so I can CHANGE this before it takes over my summer.

I don't want to have the kind of life where "excess eating" is a part of it.  I want to have summer get togethers where it is about the company not the "massive" amounts of food.  I will always enjoy food.  I have accepted that, because I realize I am a food lover (foodie), but I do think I can change the amounts of excess to a small reasonable taste of things rather than a "stuff oneself session".  

Special occasions are basically EVERYDAY of one's life if one appreciates life so this being said, everyday should be treated as a gift.  If life is a gift one should value one's health and therefore have PROPER, REASONABLE PORTIONS to be healthy, which will in turn allow one to appreciate life all the more.

Well that is my rant for the day. I am feeling frustrated with myself as I can see things slipping in my choices and I am not going to let that happen.  I WILL REACH MY GOAL.

I have been preparing some healthy food as of late I would just say I have gone astray with portion sizes being too big and eating some things that I just shouldn't be eating at all.

Some of my food choices as of late:

Broccoli Salad

I added prosciutto ham instead of bacon.  I used yogurt and light mayo for the dressing so it was considerably less fat than a regular broccoli salad.  

I tried one of the new Aisan markets that just opened and I got a package of fresh Kaffir lime leaves, so I made this beef stir fry with kaffir lime leaves.  It was an ingredient I recognized from Thai cooking so I was excited to find a recipe to try them.  Unfortunately I had doubled the recipe and the proportions of lime leaves in the sauce did not work out.  The dish was overpowered with lime leaf flavor.  Better luck next time on the recipe....

This one one of those "treats" I was talking about because the biscotti was from a "special" bakery. If I would have had 1/2 of the biscotti it would have been reasonable but I ate 2. One in the morning and one in the afternoon.  Brakes please....

I bought this cookbook today because snacking for me is so important that I get it right so I don't take in too many calories and so I am not "starving" at the end of the day and ready to eat just anything when I come home after work.  I will give some of these recipes in the book a try for my snacks at work and then review some of the recipes.

Overall I had a great day and need to remember that this is a journey (sappy alert) so I must press on and pull up the boot straps and find some determination to stick to my goals.

Spent the day shuffling the kids from various sports camps which was nice to watch them getting out there and getting fit and having fun.  Then went to a park for a picnic.

Met this stray guy although I don't think he is a stray just a wanderer.

Had a dinner party with some great friends! Yes, I ate/drank too much all in the name of "a special occasion". But I have covered that and that is going to stop.  The company was AWESOME!

Chili, green salad with Mandarin oranges and a basic vinaigrette, yes, more broccoli salad (been craving this one).

A very simple great salad, perfect for summer.

Lessons learned today.  Enjoy people not the EXCESS of food. Reasonable, small amounts of food are OK to savor.
 

(Sappy Alert again) EVERYDAY is really a gift and "special occasion". Treat your gift of life importantly by respecting your body to get you through to another day.  More simply: Everyday is a special occasion you can't pig out everyday or you won't be healthy!!!!

On that note I will bid you goodnight and Have a great day everyone!!!

I am so grateful for the great friends I have.....

This morning I had plans to go walking with my dear friend Jess.  As I lie in bed trying to drag myself out of my slumber I realized it was raining.  I began making plans of all of the tasks I could get done around the house and all of the nagging jobs that I could get caught up on if I skipped my walk.  Then I thought " I NEED to workout much more than I need to work in the yard or do laundry". That stuff will be waiting for me when I get back. As well as the much needed exercise,  I love my walks with my friend as we can get caught up on our busy lives.  My point is I am glad I made the decision to make the exercise the priority even though it would have been easier to snuggle back under the covers and sleep longer because it was raining and I had stayed up late the night before and I was so tired......(there could always be excuses).  Or I can choose commitment.  Now I just have to repeat this model each day.  Get up and move. 

So I called Jess, and said, "yes, I'll be there".   We did walk and the rain stopped and it was the right choice.

Tessa enjoyed the walk too.

After our walk Jess gave me this unassuming box and said it was nothing just a little gift for my birthday, take it home and open it.

So I opened the box and THIS is what I found!  WOW, is this not the BEST GIFT ever!!!! I was so excited!  The perfect pot I have been coveting.  THANKS JESS!!!  I love the color I love everything about it.  

So of course I had to christen it with something good.  I have been wanting to try Jamie Oliver's recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala so this was the day.

I LOVE this pot!

Look at the pot just glowing....

I also love this recipe!  It was excellent and the whole family (of picky eaters) ate it.

This is a keeper recipe.  I made my Tikka Masala paste from scratch and did not use Pataks. There is a recipe in the Jamie Oliver Food Revolution (or Ministry of Food in the UK).  The curry was not complicated to make but complex in flavors and it uses simple ingredients.

The yogurt, lemon and cilantro were great additions to the dish for serving.  

Day 2 of Salad Week, was also another clean out the fridge salad.  Not too exciting but good.  I only ate 1/2 of it as it was huge.

 

Salad for Lunch: Mixed greens, radishes, carrots, celery, red pepper, 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, cauliflower with a light mayo & vinegar dressing. 

Tuesday Workout (today):

Walk with Jess &  Tessa today. It was 1 hour.  

I am grateful for having so many great supportive people in my life caring and offering encouraging support to which I am VERY appreciative.  Today, specifically, I want to tell my friend Jess how important she is to me, first of all besides the kick$%@ cookware she bought me, she has been such a great cheerleader and true friend.  So thanks for sticking by me Jess, literally through thick and thin.  Your the best!

I hate it when that happens.....

When you are going along and all is well and then wham-O you see a photo of yourself and it is not good.  Which is what happen to me this week.  I know it shouldn't matter but I have an idea of what I look like in my head and sometimes it really doesn't match what I see in pictures..... I used to be thin pre-kids so I have that thinner me in my mind.  Not that I don't actually know that I have gained weight since then.  Intellectually I get that but I still don't see myself as that big until I see myself and I am  -big.  This is just strengthening my resolve that I am on the right journey.  And I can't let where I am at now stress me out.  I am thankful for my body now and that I am healthy and able to lose this weight.  Also in order to move forward one needs to admit what the truth to be able to change it. It is challenging to remain positive and focused sometimes instead of being mortified at how much weight I really do have to lose.  But if I remain "mortified" what good is that going to do in really propelling me forward and making progress to get to my goal.   So onward I go with a grateful outlook .....

I had another great walk with Jess & Tess on Wednesday which was awesome.  

 

A gorgeous day!

Summer - yeah!

Tess with her new doggy backpack. It did calm her down a bit but she still gets crazy when other dogs are passing us on the the trail which is very frustrating.  Something I am working on. I wish Cesar Millan (The Dog Whisperer) could come to my house!

Food has been pretty good.  Some of my choices:

Salad on the bottom, with 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1/2 of an avocado, and 2 tbsp of lemon dill hummus.  It does not look appetizing but it was very filling and good.

Some watermelon cubes.  I am trying to have fruit as a snack.

A sandwich for lunch of black forest ham, with some bits of leftover roast beef, a couple of slices of feta cheese, dijon mustard and a pickle on whole wheat bread.  Not my best lunch ever but not bad.

With some cottage cheese.  Food has been a bit thrown together lately because I have been preoccupied with getting the planting of the garden done and the yard work so I haven't been doing much fabulous cooking the last two days.

I did find this cookbook at a thrift store today and I was thrilled. It was only $ 2.50, you can't beat that.  I saw it on line for $28.03.  I have another Moosewood Cookbook that I really like so I was very excited to see this low fat version and all of the nutritional info is listed which is great.

Lately I have been looking for more grain type recipes and there are a lot it appears in this cookbook.

I will try some recipes and give my reviews.

My workout today consisted of gardening - not exactly a killer workout but something.  The lilacs are so beautiful right now.  These were on the trail.

Goals for tomorrow- more structured healthy food with proper portions....and move move move.....

Turkey Meatloaf....

That's all I got tonight.  Not too exciting but I wanted to post to keep up to date.  It doesn't look too appetizing and it was a weird combination.  But it was very tasty.  The meatloaf was turkey and from Jamie Oliver's new Food Revolution Cookbook (LOVE IT) it is called Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food in the UK.  I added some corn, 1 tbsp of hummus, and 1 bit of feta cheese to jazz it up.  This was lunch.

I got a bunch of vegetarian cookbooks out from the library today because I am interesting in cooking more vegetarian options.  Especially grains and legumes and veggie dishes.  Hope to try new recipes soon.

Thursday Workout (today):

Went to the gym and did weights - bench press, shoulder press, arm extension, triceps.  Some squat and 100 abs of various sorts (5 sets of 20). Then I did 20 minutes of deep water running because my knee is still sore.

It was a good day.

Happy Friday......

I am so glad the weekend is here!  I need to relax and get organized from a busy work week. 

Haven't had too much time to take pictures of my food because I haven't been that inspired with recipes etc... just kind of throwing things together to get through the week.  Last night we had pasta with meat sauce and I made a big salad.  I told myself to go heavy on the salad and light on the pasta with meat sauce but because I was too hungry after work I ending up taking 2 extra servings (yikes).  The moral of this story is "don't let yourself get to the starving mode!"  The pasta and meat sauce overload brought back flashbacks to my University days of heavy pasta consumption - those of you reading this who are also having a similar flashback will remain nameless!  But those were good times and somehow the pasta didn't stick on the hips back then!

Some pizza my husband the "pizza connoisseur" made this week. 

It was VERY good and I managed to have a reasonable portion!

SO I am SOOOOOOOoooooo excited about this new cookbook.  I bought it a couple of days ago (paid too much $45.00 but I had to have it!)  I LOVE Jamie Oliver!!!  This particular cookbook is his best to date as far as I am concerned.  It is as the cover says "Simple Delicious and Affordable Meals".  The photos are great, they have a vintage feel which I love.  The recipes are excellent (from my first look), they are very family oriented and healthy and he shows many variations on lots of the recipes.  I can't wait to try some of these recipes!

I love how they show many options on one theme.

I am so excited to try some curries.  He breaks them down and makes them seem not too difficult.

So I see a lot of cooking in my future.  Hopefully the family will eat what I make.  A constant balancing act....they are all not as adventurous as me with trying new food.  The curries might be a bit of a sell.  I am thinking of ways to make them sound Italian ha...

My workout yesterday:

Swam 30 laps.  Deep water running for 10 min.

Anyway, I am off to work to dream about my new cookbook.

Have a great day everyone.

Squishing it all in.....

No, I am not refering to putting my jeans on!  But rather to how a person sets up their day so that the important things get done, namely working out, cooking & preparing healthy food, and of course FAMILY, work, and everyday life.  I know everyone has the same issues I am not unique but when for so long I have not made working out or healthy eating a priority it really is a major life change.  I am finding since I have started to switch all of my priorities around things are a little upside down.  Our house is messy (no time), I am spending way more time in the kitchen and on the computer (I'm a slow blogger so far!) and not a lot of laundry is getting done.  BUT I am not going to let that deter me as I know it is an adjustment stage and it will flow better soon.  Also what is more important clean socks or low blood pressure?????? And I must say I have a VERY supportive family and friends for that matter so they aren't complaining about things.

So first of all I am trying to remain positive and remember that working out is fun. As illustrated by my son's lovley sculpture.

And I am trying to be patient as you can't change the world overnight.  The first thing is finding the best times to work out for my schedule.  It is going to be some early mornings and some nights.  Nights will be challenging for me because I have always told myself I don't like to work out after supper.  But on some days with the daily challenges we all have I am just going to have to go in to the gym after supper.  I am being more open to stepping out of my comfort zone because I NEED to in order to get it done.

Today I did an early morning workout.  Love the spin bikes.  My knee is still not 100% so it was a good choice.  Also did a circuit weight routine and did some swimming. All about 1 hour.  Still trying to nail down a more specific workout but at least in the meantime I am getting to the gym and MOVING each day.  Mental note must update ipod songs.  How many times can you listen to "My Humps".  It is catchy, not what I typically listen to must have been in a weird mood when I got it.

Still eating in moderation and realizing I need to make best friends with these guys:

Also if I really want to be serious I need to start counting points (yes, I have been a past WW although am not currently) or adding up calories.  I have not been faithfully measuring or writing down until today.  I want to do a food page as soon as I figure that out on this blog.

My official start weight is 227.2lbs - I am 5' 10".  So obviously not where I need to be.  My goal weight is 149lbs.  I am going to weigh in each week (every Tuesday morning).  I will do a page for this as well.

And as usual I am reading a ton of books on this subject.  One that I just found recently and have found very useful is:

It is not on any specific diet or exercise plan but rather on getting your head in the game.  It is really excellent.  I found a good Book Review: "The Four Day Win"  from the Diet Channel website.

So that is all for today.  I have to go get organized on the many things that now feel out of whack.  But strangely I feel better about me because I am trying to make a change that I so desperately need.

Have a great day everyone.