2009 Recap in 600 words or less

In the last year, I...

• January - Changed my BMI category from 'obese' to just a smidge over 'normal'
• February - Ran my first race ever, a 13K, and finished in 1:44:39 = 13 minute miles
• March - Increased the amount of standard toe push-ups I can do in a row from 5 to 22
• April -started blogging!
  
• May -Learned to say good-bye to the scale
  
• June -attended my first boot-camp
  
• July -went hiking with Dr. Dre and Eminem
  
• August -Had a light-bulb moment and said hello to my collarbone
  
• September -Celebrated my 1-year healthy anniversary with all of YOU
  
• October -Kicked my own ass
  
• November - Started experimenting with new foods
  
• December - Broke up with food

Can't wait to see what 2010 has in store for me!

Happy NEW YEAR!

'H' is for Honey

(source)

... as in honey corn bread muffins!


Ingredients:

• 1/2 stick butter, melted
• 1.25c flour
• 0.75c cornmeal
• 1.5 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 0.5 tsp baking soda
• 2 large eggs
• 1c soy milk
• 0.33c honey

(1 serving = 1 muffin)

1.) Heat oven to 375 degrees and line a 12-muffin muffin tin with baking cups. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.

2.) In another bowl, combine eggs, soy milk, honey and melted butter. Slowly add in the flour mixture, a little at a time until well mixed.

3.) Pour batter into baking cups.

4.) Bake in oven until golden brown and when a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean. About 30 - 35 minutes.

Mini-Review
These were delicious and wish I had made them for Thanksgiving! A little over-baked, but that has nothing to do with the recipe and everything to do with the baker!

It's Christmas in December!

Remember several months ago I celebrated Christmas in August (here and here) and then again in November?

Well I finally got to celebrate the real Christmas in December and I got a bunch of stuff I wanted - and asked for! - so I'm psyched (for healthy-blogging purposes, only 'health' related gifts will be shown).

My new pair of Asics 2140's I bought for myself to hit my 2010 fitness goals hard!

A new container of Optimum Nutrition Casein protein and free samples for nights after weight-lifting. I already take Optimum Nutrition Whey protein, which is a quick-absorbing protein I use after my workouts, but wanted casein protein for bedtime. Casein protein is a much slower-absorbing protein source which "are aptly described as anti-catabolic or muscle-protecting proteins".



A new 2010 desk calendar to track my fitness goals and progress.



Two cookbooks I wanted for a while but didn't want to spend the $30/each for them. I've come to love a lot of the recipes I find in my Real Simple magazines so the cookbook just made sense. The Cooking Light book is a cookbook as well as a pictorial how-to book. Can't wait to use them!



The next gift isn't something I asked for but gotta appreciate Santa's attempt to keep things healthy. From what I've read about the product (which is locally produced in Hawaii) it's a good substitute. I'll definitely blog about this when I try it out.

Overall a very good Christmas! This year my family and friends made wish-lists so we all got things we wanted... so no standing in long lines to return gifts. YAY!

I also got a bunch of gift-cards to my favorite non-fitness shops and before I use any of them, I have to get back to me pre-November weight of 134 lbs. Since majority of the holidays are over I know I'll be able to do this!

I'll leave you with this picture of what I did on my trip to Moloka'i. Want an awesome full-body workout? Trim an entire mango tree and haul away the trimmings... I'm still sore today.

My brother and I holding up our 'kills'.

I have to come clean!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas!
I had a half-Christmas because I was away from home for the holidays and just got back yesterday. So I'm having the other half of my Christmas later today and I'll be back with pictures and updates. Now back to our regular scheduled program.

Over the last few days I've rekindled a lost relationship with someone I love, but HATE. We've had a relationship for Y.E.A.R.S. but about a year ago, I called everything off and made a new person of myself... but over the last few days, it started again.

The sneaking around.

The late-night visits.

The short-lived passions.

The guilt!
But no more! Food, I'm breaking up with you for good!

(source)

I've had an affair with you for forever and I'm tired of cheating on myself with you! It's not worth it. You're not worth it! All the time and hard-work I've spent at the gym last week was undone in three days. Three days!

From now on I refuse to live my life according to your demands so be prepared to do it my way or no way at all!

Updated Picture

'G' is for Garlic

(source)

... as in roasted "40 garlic" chicken!

Ingredients:
(makes 6 - 8 servings)

• 40 cloves of garlic, whole
• 3 - 4 lbs. of chicken (any part)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tbs. olive oil
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp salt

1.) Chop onions and place in bottom of crock pot.

2.) Peel garlic (yes, all 40 cloves!) without crushing cloves too much.

3.) In a large bowl, mix together chicken, olive oil, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper.

4.) Pour chicken mixture on top of onions in crock pot and cook on low 6 - 8 hours, or high for 4 - 6 hours.

5.) ENJOY!

Mini-Review
If you love garlic, this recipe is for you! It was really good! I know I used chicken legs (instead of the ever-healthy-constantly-raved-about chicken breast, but I tried this recipe with skinless/boneless breasts before and the chicken came out extremely dry and crumbly. I used chicken drumsticks with the skin ON and it made such a big difference! Chicken came out super moist and falling off the bone! The only negative... I think I cooked it too long because the bones were so brittle, they broke apart if you tried to eat the drumstick with your hands. No biggie.

Will try this recipe again with chicken breast but maybe add a cup of chicken broth to keep things moist.

CLX/P90X Hybrid: Day 6-11

So much catching up to do and so little time...

Here's a drive-by posting of what I've been doing.

Day 6 - 45 minute HIIT on the elliptical
Day 7 - CLX Burn 3 + ARX
Day 8 - 60 min walk + 30 min elliptical
Day 9 - OFF
Day 10 - OFF
Day 11 - 60 min plyo PT session + 30 min treadmill run

GAG 2009: Week 16 weigh-in

Today is the last weigh-in day for my GAG Challenge and I can't believe it's been 16 weeks already. I gotta say I'm really disappointed in myself. Here is my week 1 scale-shot and body pict:



And here's week 16 (I'm embarrassed to say that I'm wearing the same exact outfit in this picture... so shame!):



Not much difference huh? That's a two pound difference in 16-weeks BUT... my inches and body fat percentage are down so I'll still take it. In my journey right now, my weight-loss has slowed down a lot but as long as it keeps moving in the right direction, I can't be mad.

There's also a second part of the week-16-weigh-in. An essay to answer these questions.

Compare and contrast your reasons for joining GAG in September to the way you feel today. For example: What did you learn? Where did you succeed? Where did you fail? What did you accomplish that you might not have without this challenge? What surprised you? What motivated you? How do you feel about the results you achieved? Would you consider joining a challenge again? What are your final wrap-up thoughts?

I joined GAG on the very last day of sign-ups because I wasn't sure if I wanted to do a challenge because when I set goals and expectations for myself, I always seem to disappoint. But on the last day I changed my mind and knew joining the challenge would hold me accountable. It was my goal to come out of the GAG challenge healthier and fitter then I was going into the challenge and I think I accomplished that. As far as a number goal, I set my sights on being 10 lbs. lighter after these 16 weeks but I obviously didn't accomplish that.

The GAG Challenge kept me motivated and accountable during the holidays, the hardest part of the year, so I'm very thankful for that. The best thing I liked about the challenge was that it was about health, not just weight-loss. Other challenges I've joined it's always been one or the other: exercise or pounds dropped. But the GAG Challenge incorporated exercise, nutrition, and weight-loss. The other part that rocked: I've met a bunch of wonderful people who I know I'll keep in touch with long after this challenge is over.

'F' is for Fish

(source)

... as in spicy fish stew!

Now I know 'fish' is kinda generic and I did this recipe before, but I'm trying to tweak it a bit because my family wants me to make this for Christmas dinner. Weird, yes, but Anthony and I kept raving about how good it was so they kept asking for it. So here's my first attempt at tweaking this recipe by adding barley and black eyed peas.

**This version uses a crock pot but if you prefer a stove, follow my original recipe here.**

Ingredients:

(makes about 10 servings)

• 3 tomatoes, chopped
  
• 3 zucchinis, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, finely diced
  
• 1 yellow onion
• 1.5 lbs. fish of choice, cubed
  
• 8 oz no-sodium tomato sauce
• 14 oz no-sodium stewed tomatoes
• 0.5 c uncooked barley
• 0.5 c uncooked black-eyed peas
• garlic, salt, and pepper to taste
  

1.) Combine barley, black-eyed peas, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, jalapeno, garlic, salt and pepper into crock pot.

2.) Add chopped onions and then chopped tomatoes.

3.) Add chopped zucchini and layer cubed pieces of fish on top. DO NOT MIX. Cover and cook on low for 6 - 8 hours or on high for 4 - 6 hours.



4.) ENJOY!

Mini-Review
Good, but not as good as the first attempt. Will need to tweak it more and hopefully it'll be good for Christmas.

CLX/P90X Hybrid: Day 4 and 5

Day 4: Rest Day

______________________________________________

Day 5:

Weigh-in Wednesdays: 136.0

Last Wed. weight: 136.6
Today's weight: 136.0
Lost: -0.6

TOTAL Lost: -40.4

Can't be disappointed but not happy either. Water weight from starting a new exercise program? Hope so!

____________________________________________

I'm doing good on the exercise front!

See... not setting goals can work sometimes... as long as I never loose site of why I'm doing this, I'll be on track!

CLX / P90X Hybrid: Day 2 and 3

Day 2
My friend Alissa posted about her recent Jillian Michaels workout and it got me interested. I hate to say it but I'm a fan of Jillian's and her 30 Day Shred and Biggest Winner Series dvd's got me started on my weight-loss journey - and notice I use Jillian's workouts, not the Biggest Loser workouts cause to me there's a big difference! Anyway, I bought her newest workout dvd's months ago but never even touched them yet so when Alissa (another P90xer) posted that she got a killer workout from it, I had to try it.

So I sampled Jillian's Banish Fat Boost Metabolism dvd for my cardio day 2 workout.... and I.T. W.A.S. T.O.U.G.H. It was a little too plyometric-y for me - only because I have plyo today - but other than that I liked it! Jillian and her team move a little too slow for me but I got a killer workout when I follow their exercises but speed up the tempo.

__________________________________________

Day 3
Today is day three and I had my plyo session with my PT. My legs were still sore from yesterday's Jillian dvd but moving around and getting the blood flowing again really made a difference and right now my legs feel good! Here's a brief run down of what my 60-minute PT sessions consists of:

• core work on a stability ball
• plyo and agility circuit
• plyo circuit
• plyo and agility circuit
• plyo circuit
  
• lateral delt raise/fly with core work

If you're unfamiliar with plyometrics here is a good list - with animation! - on several different lower body and upper body plyo exercises. It's not recommended that beginners do plyo because proper landing and jumping require more than just the muscles used to propel you. You're balance and stabilization muscles need to be strong too. I've been working on plyo for almost a year now but when I started, it was really hard on my joints. I just did what I could but never pushed myself too far. Now that I've been working with my PT for the last 6 months, it's made me a lot more confident in what I think and know I can handle.

With any new exercise program it's a good idea to check with your doctor or a professional in the industry to make sure you'll benefit from the exercise rather than injure yourself.