Starting weight: 176.4 lbs.
Last week weight:  140.0

Current weight: 138.2

Current loss:  -1.8
TOTAL LOSS: -38.2

So far going strong.  

Workouts have been on point (about to head to the gym after I post this to attack chest, shoulders and tris).  Nutrition has been better but there's still room for improvment.  I'm not sticking to my plan 100% like I should be, but kind of using it as a guide for my everyday eating.  So far it seems to be working and I really like it!  The hardest part about the plan:

too much food!!

Yup, I'm stuffed.  I'm used to eating 5 or 6 times a day, but because the plan calls for a lot of veggies throughout the day, I'm always full.  Never had this problem on a diet before.  =)

'W' is for Walnuts

(source)

... as in honey-roasted walnuts!  Sorry no picts but we made these at a friend's house and didn't have my camera around.  They turned out so yummy that we actually went to the store to buy all different kinds of nuts!

Ingredients:

• 1c walnuts, roughly chopped
• 2 tbs. honey
• 1/3 tsp cayenne pepper
• dash of salt

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a microwave safe bowl, mix together honey, cayenne pepper and salt and microwave about 15 - 20 seconds or until honey runs thin.

2.) Add walnuts to the bowl and mix well until all walnuts are coated with honey mixture.

3.) Spread walnuts on baking pan lined with parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through baking time.

4.) Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

ENOUGH!

Alright, truth be told.

I haven't been around the blog much because things have been pretty bad on the health and fitness front for me.  No bitching or complaining, but long story short, I'm sitting about 10 lbs. heavier than my lowest weight of 128.

I can give you all the excuses in the world for why it happened, but instead I'm moving forward and doing something about it!

 

I had enough!

Workouts are still happening but not as often and intense as I would like.  Working with other personal trainers helps a ton because we'll usually pair up to workout (workout buddies!!) but I still find myself making excuses to why I can't do an extra 20 minutes of cardio or why I HAVE to go out to buy my lunch.

But no more!

I'm not making any promises about how often I'll be blogging but I AM making a promise that health and fitness are back to being my number one priorities.

To get my eating back on track, I'm following an awesome diet plan, made by an awesome woman, whose concept and ideas behind the plan are things I strongly believe in.  Fighter Diet.  If you don't know, educate yourself with the link!

So official re-starting stats:

Starting weight: 176.4 lbs.
Last week weight:  ???

Current weight: 140.0

Current loss:  ???
TOTAL LOSS: -36.4

Flashback Friday: Since I'm on a trip...

I'm on my trip right now but here's something interesting (I hope):

Flashback Fridays are a re-posting of my previous blog entries.  Sometimes I need a good kick in the butt and these old posts remind me of how to get it done.

Why I flash-backed to this post:  This was an a-ha moment for me when I first wrote it.  I also chose it because the post kinda describes a trip and since I'm on a trip right now... perfect!

_______________________________________________

Original post date: 8/13/09
Original post found here.

So I know this is only day four of my promise to myself, but guess what... I've learned something already.

In order to get to the future, you have to live in the present.

So common sense and so NOT profound.

Why didn't I know this before? Well it's not that I didn't know it, I just didn't listen to it. I mean the main quote of my blog is "one step at a time..."

When some people start out losing weight (like me), they get into this super-motivated-I-can-do-anything mode especially when the first 5 lbs. are lost because those are always the easiest. They (I) set up goals and picture themselves as what they want to look like at the end of the journey but they forget about the journey itself.

It's like planning a trip. You decide you wanna go to Fitville and you plan all these must-do-activities for when you get there: where to eat, where to stay, what to visit, what to do but without even planning on how to get to Fitville, you'll never get there. Without knowing how you're going to get from your house to the airport, then from the airport to the hotel in Fitville, your goal is already impossible to accomplish.

This is exactly the same thing with weight loss.

It's awesome to know what you want your body to look like and do when you're at the end of the journey (btw, a weight-loss journey never ends... takes you straight to Maintenance Land!) but you also have to know how to get there. Going back to when I started out, I knew what my goal destination was but getting there was going to be the tricky part. I set weekly and monthly goals to help me along the way but that's like only planning the airplane ride then the car ride from the airport to Fitville. What about how to get from my house to the airport?!

The past four days have made me realize that my weekly/monthly goals are way more attainable if I break them down even further... into daily goals.

BRILLIANT!!

It's as simple as telling myself I just need to get through today - eat clean TODAY and get in a good workout TODAY. Don't worry about tomorrow today, worry about tomorrow when it gets here. By breaking down my goals to the smallest amounts possible not only makes the goal seem that much more achievable, but it also lets me see the goal... I mean really see it!

Currently my weight goal is about 20 lbs away. Instead of focusing on the entire 20 lbs. I'll focus on just the next two lbs., then the next two, then the next two and so on and so on. But instead of just focusing on the two lbs. I'll focus on what I need to do to get rid of those two lbs. I'll focus on my workouts each day and break it down even further and focus on pushing myself during the workouts.

Just get through the next 5 minutes of running and when I've done that, I'll focus on the next 5 minutes. If I'm able to really give it my all for each 5 minute increment and just repeat it, my workout will go by in no time and I'll probably have pushed myself harder than normal. It's a win-win situation.

Applying the same idea to my nutrition each day - hell, each meal - and I should kick those 20 lbs. in no time! Amazing it's taken me this long to really realize and apply this to my life.

Counting calories: Their role in my journey

I'm on my trip right now but here's something interesting (I hope):

I'll be the first to admit that I'm a calorie counter.  With all the bad/crazy connotations that calorie counters are associated with, I'm proud to be one.

Why?  Because counting calories saved my life.

Lets look back almost 4 years ago, to the beginning of my journey (don't worry, this will be a very brief history).

September 2008.  This picture pissed me off so much, it started my journey:

 September 2008.

I knew right then and there, I needed to change my lifestyle, but I didn't know where to start.  I've tried Weight Watchers before and counting points just wasn't my thing.  Back then (2006ish), almost nothing had WW points listed on the box like today so figuring out the points was too much trouble.

So for me, calorie counting was my next try.

I found a site (My Food Diary) that offered a several-week trial offer so I signed up.  I promised to give my full 100% effort to this site till the end of the year (3 months away) and then reevaluate if counting calories was my way of losing weight.

Long story short, I lost over 20 pounds in 3 months and the rest is history.

April 2012

Yes, weight-loss comes down to calories in vs. calories out and I honestly believe that's why I've gotten to where I am today, but my calorie counting today is VERY different than what it was 3 years ago.

Today, I still like to keep my calories in a certain range (1300 - 1700), however the make-up of the calories I eat take precedent over how much I eat.  1700 calories of clean, whole foods will make a big difference in your body composition compared to the same amount of calories coming from processed food.

Do I plan on counting calories for the rest of my life?  No.  It's all about reevaluating where I am on this journey and finding something (new or old) that will work for me.

Typical day of eats

Some of my buddies over at the Ready for Summer Challenge wanted to see what a typical day of eats looks like for me.  Gotta warn you... it's nothing fancy, in fact it's kinda boring.

I usually stick to the same things day in and day out simply out of convenience.  It makes weekly grocery shopping easier, meal preps easier, and counting calories easier.  Maybe it's time I change things up with new recipes.

Anyway, here we go.

Meal 1 (~ 400-450 calories)
a.k.a breakfast... or my first meal of the day.  9/10 times it will be between three choices: protein smoothie, oatmeal, or eggs.

Clockwise from top left corner: smoothie goodies in the blender, cocoa almond butter oatmeal, veggie egg scramble, pumpkin spice oatmeal

Oatmeal is normally reserved for my training days and eggs usually only happen on the weekends when I have the time to cook something.

Smoothies are definitely my go-to breakfast.  Smoothies will ALWAYS have 2 cups of baby spinach, 1/2c of frozen fruit, protein powder, Shakeology, and flaxseed oil.  Sometimes it will have coconut milk, almond milk, almond butter, coffee, chia seeds, spirulina powder, or egg whites.  Yup, pasteurized egg whites make smoothies thick and creamy.

Meal 2 (~ 100 calories)
This meal saves me from going insane between breakfast and lunch.  It's a smaller meal that will ALWAYS have protein, and either carbs or fat.

 Clockwise from top left corner:  apple and nut butter, egg spinach "muffin", banana nut butter wrap, hard boiled eggs/egg whites, turkey muffins, protein powder and rice crackers w/ nut butter.

When it gets super crazy and I don't have time to pack up my meal 2, I grab a handful of raw almonds to snack on (I keep a two-pound bag at my desk at work).  I also keep single-serve packets of protein powder at work, too.

Meal 3 (~ 350-450 calories)
LUNCH time!!!  Again, I'm a creature of habit so 9/10 times, it's salad for lunch.

Salads with all different kinds of protein, fats, and carbs.  

Chicken breast, salmon, eggs.  Olive oil, avocado, nuts.  Carrots, pumpkin, fruits.

 

Boring?  Maybe, but I love them and it works for me.  Some of my coworkers ask me why I don't eat "real food" for lunch... COME ON!! How much "real"er does fresh produce, minimally processed protein and smart fats get?

Meal 4 (~ 150 calories)
Depending on when I workout, this meal will either follow Meal 2 or it will be a straight protein shake.  Workout before Meal 4 = whey protein shake.  Workout later in the night = same as Meal 2.

Whey protein shakes!

Meal 5 (~ 350-400 calories)
By far my favorite meal of the day.  I don't know why since it's usually smaller than breakfast or lunch, but I think it's because I actually have the time to prepare something.

First row: whole roasted chicken, sweet potato covered in chicken breast and salsa, veggie egg white scramble w/ feta cheese.

Second row:  baked chicken breast w/ broccoli and sweet potato, grilled veggies and chicken, turkey breast w/ salsa and broccoli covered with cottage cheese.

Third row:  stir-fried steak and broccoli, mixed veggies with chicken, veggie omelet.

Dinner foods actually range from soups to stews, to baked zucchini lasagna to salads, so it's always changing.  And a couple times a week Meal 5 will be eaten out.

Meal 6 (~ 150 calories)
Typically only eaten if I'm starving at night and will usually be a hard boiled egg or two. 

Right now, since I'm working on building serious muscle, I've been drinking a casein protein shake right before bed.  Casein is a slower digesting protein so your muscles have a protein source when you sleep.

Total calories for the day:  1500 - 1700 cals

Don't get me wrong... as much as I'd like to think I eat like this EVERY day, it doesn't happen.  Schedules get busy and sometimes I have no choice but to grab something quick, but 4-5 days a week my daily eats look like this.

I still reserve one meal a week to indulge in pure evilness: 

Might take me longer to lose the weight, but it keeps me sane.  

This is a way of living and I don't ever see myself giving up certain foods completely.

'V' is for Vanilla

 (source)

 ... as in vanilla-chocolate banana protein muffins (that's a mouth full of a name)!

Word of warning: these came out HORRIBLE! The texture was all wrong, the taste was all wrong, and I just didn't like them at all.  I was going to throw them out but the boyfriend insisted on trying one and said to just keep it... it's edible and he'll eat it if he's starving.  Geez... he makes like we have no food to survive on.

Ingredients:

• 1c oats, divided
• 2 scoops vanilla protein powder
• 2 scoops chocolate protein powder
• 3 tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 4 tbs. chopped raw almonds
• 0.25c cacao nibs
• 1 mashed banana
• 0.25c unsweetened applesauce
• 0.5 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbs. honey
• 2 tbs. agave nectar
• 1 tbs. instant coffee powder

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degree.  Spray muffin tin with oil and set aside.  In a food processor, blend 0.5c of oats to make oat flour. 

2.) Combine oat flour, remaining oats, protein powder, cocoa powder, salt, almonds and cacao nibs in bowl.

3.) Blend banana, applesauce, vanilla, honey, and agave in food processor until smooth.

4.)  Add wed ingredients to dry and combine well.  Pour mixture into muffin tin and bake 13 - 15 mins. **Do NOT over bake.**  Cool and store in air-tight container in refrigerator.

Mini-Review
OMG these were horrible!  Seriously, I don't even know how to fix them to be "okay". FAIL!

It needs to be said

A shift has happened.

Something inside of me has changed.

As of lately, I've lost switched my focus on this journey from weight-loss to building muscle.  I know what you're thinking... how is this bad?

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing bad about it but I think I took away the weight-loss focus because I haven't lost weight... not because I don't want to lose any more.  Make any sense?

Basically, I'm afraid to fail at losing weight.  I already gained back some of the weight once, and now that my initial goal-weight is thisclose, I'm FREAKING  OUT!!! 

Right now, "weight loss" is still a work in progress so in my mind, when I tell people I'm trying to drop pounds, it gives me permission to mess up (right, right?).

Accidentally overeat three days in a row?  

No big deal, I'm still learning on this journey.

Skipped exercise all week long?  

Everybody on this "weight loss journey" does it, so it's okay.

Focusing on building muscle, on the other hand, lets me think it's okay to overeat because you need extra calories to build muscle.  True.  It also lets me think having no loss or a gain over several weeks is okay because you're supposed to gain weight when you build muscle.  True, again.

But I've been lying to myself... the scale hasn't been moving which is why I switched my goal... not the other way around.

I was kidding myself about not focusing on weight-loss because even though I'm 10 lbs. away from my original goal weight, I'm still about 15 - 20 lbs overweight for my height.  And even with some muscle gain, I should still be seeing a loss on the scale.  Tomorrow I have my measurements taken with Trainer L so I'll know for sure if I'm still moving in the right direction... even if the scale isn't.

Since it's now been said, I'm bringing back the focus on losing "the last 10 lbs.".

(source)

'U' is for Udon

 (source)

... as in curry udon!

HOLY!!! Do you even remember this ABC's of Food thing I was trying to do... umm... back in 2009?!?!  Three years later and it's still not completed.  Well, I plan to change that.  My goal is to finish up this list THIS YEAR!  (I really want to finish this by summer, but since the list has taken 3 years so far, I think trying to finish by summer is a long shot.)

Ingredients (makes 4 servings):

• 5 oz. thinly sliced pork
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 c carrots, julienned
• 4 mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp. curry powder
• 5 cups water
• 1/3 c soy sauce
• 1/4 c mirin
• 2.5 tbs corn starch
• 2 green onion stalks, thinly sliced
• 4 cups udon noodles, cooked
• 1 piece konbu

1.) Pour 5 cups of water into a large pot and add konbu piece.  Bring water to boil remove konbu; set konbu piece aside.

2.) Heat oil on medium heat in a saute pan and cook pork.  Add onion and carrots and saute until softened.  Add mushroom and curry powder and cook until fragrant.

3.)  Add water from pot to pork and vegetable mixture (to loosen any "goodies" stuck to the bottom of the pan) and pour into pot of water.  Add soy sauce and mirin and stir.

4.)  Simmer on medium heat for about 10 - 15 minutes.  Mix cornstarch in a cup of water and add to pot to thicken.

5.)  Add green onions and serve over cooked udon noodles.

Mini-Review
This was good... but not as good as all the ramen shops found everywhere in Hawaii.  It was good enough that Anthony and I ate it all before we realized we didn't take pictures.  Next time.

Who cares? Well, I do!

The other day I received an email from a friend asking me about the clean-eating challenge I'm doing because she really wants to clean up her diet.

After emailing back and forth for a while, she asked me if the boyfriend is doing the challenge also.  I said no.

"So no one holds you accountable?  Why can't you just eat a spoonful of ice cream then?  No one would know and you can just lie about it."

Ummm…. no!

What do you mean no one holds me accountable and no one would know about the ice cream?  I hold myself accountable and I would know about it.

It's funny how most people wouldn't think of cheating on their significant other or breaking a promise to their kids… so why is it so different when it comes to treating ourselves right?  I understand that sneaking a spoonful of ice cream isn't anywhere near cheating on someone, but it is cheating on me.  Broken promises - "I'll start tomorrow" - and putting myself last got me over 60 lbs. overweight.

So isn't it about time I started treating myself right?

And speaking of the clean eating challenge… it's tough! 

Look at all the red for days I didn't make it.  Granted, those days weren't cheat meals, but if I ate even one bite of something not clean, I crossed off the entire days as a 'not-clean-all-day-every-day' day.

Looking at last week, it looks like I didn't do well (I fell short on 3/4 goals) BUT I'm not worried about it.  My trainings have increased in intensity and duration, which can account for my extra calories, and my motivation is still going strong.  This week will be a challenge because my gym is closed for a week of renovations (boo! and yay! at the same time) but I still plan on getting in all my weight-training sessions at home.   Yay, for Trainer E, who I see for our first official personal training session this Friday.

Costco vs. Sam's

Happy Monday!  Hope you guys had a great weekend.  Mine was spent working out, hanging out, going shopping and cooking up a freakin storm on Sunday.  On the menu for this week:

• Jamie Eason's turkey muffins - SO YUMS!
• Jamie Eason's cinnamon swirl protein bread
• pork and squash soup
• hard boiled eggs
• shredded baked chicken breast
• enough lettuce to last three weeks - or in my case, several days

Working out
Remember I mentioned the boyfriend and I were checking out a new training facility and possibly a new trainer?  Well, we did on Saturday.

Anthony and I got to EC Fitness and my first thoughts:  I love the space!!  It's floor-to-ceiling windows, roomy, CLEAN, and since they limit the amount of people training to 3 max... it really is personal training.  Anthony and I had the entire facility to ourselves!

Basically, everything I hate about training with a trainer at the gym is gone - no waiting for machines/equipment, no feeling intimidated about who might be watching me - and everything I love about training with a trainer is still there - one-on-one attention, motivation, customized program, the wealth of knowledge.

Since Trainer E used to work with my current trainer, Trainer L, at the gym, E knows his style of training and can compliment the training or do something totally different... it's completely up to me.

Well, I'm sure I don't have to tell you guys, but I signed up... for an intro price of 5 sessions for $100,  you TOTALLY can't beat that.  And the best part... Anthony bought a trainer package as well!!!  YAY!

Shopping

Why do we - Anthony and I, a household of two people - need membership to Costco AND Sam's Club?

9 lbs. of chicken breast, egg whites, almond milk...

... 5 dozen eggs (!!!)...

... 5 lbs. of blueberries...

Tip: rinse them in a 1:10 ration white vinegar to water.  No mold!

... bananas, clementines...

... spinach, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, strawberries, Greek yogurt and even more blue berries.

That's why!

Eating problem.

Hello, my name is Annie and I have an eating problem.

(Admitting it is the first step, right?)

That's right, I'll be the first to admit that I have a messed up relationship with food.  Like so messed up that I thought about going to therapy for it.

I sleep so i don't eat.
I can't wait till events/parties are over so there won't be food in my face.
I think about food 24/7. Shopping lists, recipes to try, what's in the refrig right now, etc.
I feel guilty if i don't eat something... then feel guilty if I do eat it.
I over-indulge once my day goes bad.
I over-indulge if I had an excellent day before.

No way to live life at all!

So I think it's perfect that March is "National Nutrition Month" AND one of my March goals is focusing on eating clean at every meal, 6 days a week (leaving one meal available as my cheat meal).

Follow me on Facebook to get more details and participate in the challenge.

Today is day 6 of the challenge and so far..

I'm rocking like a freakin ROCKSTAR!!!!

Between this challenge and my new workout program, I'm expecting some great results for March.  I know I'm talking big only one week into the month, but mindset is what sets us up for success. 

It's not too late to join in on my clean-eating challenge!  

What have you got to lose (besides unhealthy habits and weight)?

Weekend in picts.

Why do the weekends go by so quickly?!?!  It's not even several hours into Monday and I'm counting down the hours until next weekend.

Since I'm being lazy and it's Monday, here's my weekend recap in pictures.

Loving my salads!! I usually do salads 4 - 5 times a week, but for some reason, my "March Madness" is making me love them even more.

 Battle ropes are no joke.

I did back-to-back upper body workouts (Friday and Saturday) but I wasn't going to miss a chance to workout CrossFit style!

Saturday's "workout before going out" schedule for time:

50 shoulder presses

100 mountain climbers

50 bicep curls

100 mountain climbers

50 wide push-ups

100 mountain climbers

50 squats

100 mountain climbers

50 rows

 100 mountain climbers

50 narrow push-ups

200 mountain climbers

1 minute battle rope intervals x 5

full body = S.P.E.N.T.

Because of the above crazy workout, I took Sunday completely off and food prep took up most of my day...

... and food cooking.

 Sunday night was reserved for my first non-clean cheat meal for the month.  

Cheddar and bbq pulled pork sandwich, homemade chips...

... and garlic 4-cheese pizza.  

Super satisfying and totally made me look forward to my clean meals this week.

How was your weekend?

Weigh-in Wednesday: Nope!

Starting weight: 176.4 

Last week weight: 132.5

Current weight: ????

Current loss: ???

TOTAL LOSS:  -43.9

I've put the scale away until next week because after a vacation weekend, I know the number is up and I don't wanna be discouraged or unmotivated by it.

It's funny how one month I can totally be on track and even if the scale moves down only a pound, I'm still super happy with myself.  But if I have several bad weekends in a row (for example my birthday the other weekend, Maui this past weekend, Valentine's dinner last night!), I feel super disappointed even if the scale moves down.  I guess it's the guilt over the lack of exercise and super poor nutrition.

Time to get back on that wagon and make this week amazing.

Btw, my 13K is less than a week away!  EEEEEKKKKKKK!!!!  I feel so unprepared...

__________________________________________________ 

Valentine's isn't that big of a deal for Anthony and I... usually he's working... and we don't really celebrate it.  We figure the holidays just finished, my birthday was less than a month ago, and next month is our anniversary... so we can skip it.

But this year we had a gift card to a fancy restaurant so decided to celebrate Valentine's (sorry for the junk picts).   It was a preset meal so didn't have much options to choose from.

Oyster with chili granita and sea salt.  I don't eat oysters so Anthony enjoyed both of ours.

For her: Ahi and shrimp pana cotta.

For him: Grilled shrimp herb salad

We both opted for the steak with Asian pesto sauce.

 For her: Almond strawberry trifle

For him: Chocolate crunch bars

How did you celebrate love day? 

Cheat meals vs. cheat days: Part II

In my first post about cheat meals, I discussed my reasons for including them in my weight-loss journey: Cheat meals vs. cheat days:  Part I

In this post, I want to talk bout how I've made cheat meals - sometimes totaling over 2000 calories for one meal! - work for me.

(source)

When I decided to lose weight, I was totally "Gung-ho" about the process... cutting my calories, eliminating as much sugar and salt in my diet, over exercising, upping my good carbs, cutting the bad carbs, watching my fat intake, etc.  Sure, this worked for the first couple of months but I started to realize there was no way I could keep this up for life... it's no way to live!

Instead, I needed to find a balance.

For me, that balance came in the form of allowing myself one cheat meal a week.

Like my last post, I want to emphasize it's a cheat MEAL, not a cheat DAY, okay?  Moving on...

Here's what works for me to avoid a full-out cheat DAY:

• Don't deprive yourself of anything - Not just during cheat meals, but throughout the week.  I'm human.  I have cravings for pizza and ice cream and if I feel like I really want it, I'll have some even if it's not a cheat meal. I found out the hard way that when I deprive myself of anything, it creates an out of control cheat DAY... that takes a couple of weeks to recover from.  So not worth it.
• Save your cheat meal for the end of the day - I know special occasions happen anytime of the day, but if you're planing your own cheat meal, try to make it the last meal of the day to avoid feeling guilty and turning your cheat meal into a cheat day. 
• Portion control - Pretty self explanatory but you can still lose weight and eat ANYTHING during a cheat meal if you watch your portions.  Just because it's a cheat meal, doesn't mean you go bat-s**t crazy eating two gallons of ice cream!
• Fail to plan, you plan to fail - Plan ahead if you know you'll be eating a lot.  Whether that's keeping your nutrition extra tight for the other meals during the week or if that means you putting in an extra 15 minutes of exercise each day, having a plan will lessen the blow of the cheat meal.
• Adjust your workout routine - And I'm not just talking about adding in more exercise minutes, I mean move your cardio and weight-training days around.  If I know a big cheat meal is coming up - um, hello, Super Bowl - I adjust my workouts to include weight-lifting days before and after the day the cheat meal will happen.  Why?  The cheat meal will feed my exhausted muscles from the previous day and it will refill my glycogen stores for a super pumped weight workout the next day.
• Remember what your goals are - Again, a pretty simple one.  Even though I allow myself a cheat meal a week, it doesn't mean I always eat it.  If my nutrition wasn't great and my workouts lacked my normal energy - or the complete opposite, and I had stellar nutrition and AWESOME workouts - I'll choose to skip the cheat meal for the week because it's not worth it. 

Of course this might not work for everyone but it's things I do to keep my cheat MEAL a MEAL and not a DAY.

Have a great weekend.  Don't forget why you're on this journey while the big game is playing this Sunday.

Eye on the prize!

Cheat meals vs. cheat days: Part I

Thank you so much for all the birthday wishes on my last post.  It was a great weekend that was filled with so much food!  Italian, Mexican, sushi, desserts, alcohol, Chinese and fast-food.   No pictures because I was too busy stuffing my face but let's just say this is the most I've eaten in a L-O-N-G time.

Don't get me wrong, I indulge in stuffing my face at least once a week - in fact, I promote having a high calorie filled meal once in a while - but this weekend was gluttony overkill and my body is hurting from it.

My goal of seeing the 120's by the end of this month are pretty shot but is it because of my one weekend of bad eating?  I think so.

With the end of January comes the end of many New Year's resolutions so it's a good time to revisit cheat meals and their place in the weight-loss journey.

Notice i said cheat MEAL, not cheat DAY (like the two days I just had).  In my opinion, there is a huge difference: one will keep you sane on this journey and the other will destroy you!  (Okay, not really destroy you, but if it helps keep the cheat days away, then yes, it will DESTROY you)!

I've touched on this subject before and as we know, weight-loss comes down to calories in vs. calories out.  A cheat meal once a week will put you over your calories for one day, but if your nutrition and exercise are on-point the other days of the week, there shouldn't be that much damage done.  For example, I've steadily lost about a pound a week since November and you better believe I take full advantage of my cheat meals (half a medium pizza... sure).

Some people might say I could have lost more than a pound a week if I didn't include the cheat meals, and that's true, but I'm comfortable with my progress so far.  It's not a race to get to my goal weight... it's about finding a balance that I can do FOR LIFE.  Including a cheat meal once a week is my way of balancing out my cravings and I believe it helps my body "recover" from a week of lower calorie days... simply put, it kinda shocks the system to keep it guessing.

On the other hand, depending on how bad your cheat days are, it can have major consequences.  Let's take a look at my birthday Sunday:

Breakfast:  pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast (839 cals)
Snack: yogurt and almonds (200 cals)
Lunch: Chinese dim sum (estimating 1000+ cals)
Snack: popcorn (300 cals)
Dinner: pizza and Mexican (1200+ cals)
Dessert: ice cream (350 cals)
TOTAL calories for the day: 3889+ calories

That's over 2300 cals just to maintain my weight... not even lose weight!  That also means all the hard work I put in to create a nice calorie deficit is washed clean within a day, setting me back another week to reaching my goals.  Totally not worth it if it wasn't my birthday.

Some tips to stay clear of cheat days:  Cheat meals vs. cheat days: Part II (coming soon).

Salad over ice cream for the WIN

Blah Happy Monday!  Hope you had a good weekend.

I received an email the other day from a reader who wanted to know how I "keep it together so well" in regards to exercise and nutrition.  The truth is... I don't.

I admit, I feel confident in what I'm doing in the exercise department (GAR training and power-lifting keep me consistent with cardio/strength) but when it comes to nutrition, that's a whole different story. I mean, we all know what we should and shouldn't eat but that really doesn't mean anything unless it's put into practice.

Case in point, this weekend.

On Friday, I ate dinner earlier than normal because I had a gym date and by 10:00pm that night, I was starving!!  And even though I have healthy grab-and-go snacks - think whey protein, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, grilled chicken breast - all over the house, this is what happened:

But strawberry ice cream has strawberries in them...

Yup, ice cream... straight out of the container... with a big spoon.

Even if I only had four several spoonfuls, it's several spoonfuls of calories, sugar and saturated fat my body didn't need. FAIL!

So when Saturday night rolled around and I had to eat dinner early again because I had another gym date, I planned ahead.  Instead of using my normal big salad bowl, I decided I would fill up on salad (instead of ice cream) by busting out my HUGE mixing bowl.

Huge mixing bowl and half-eaten salad that could have served a family of four!

This is my "normal" salad bowl and although it's wider, it's much shallower than the mixing bowl I used.

 

Salad over ice cream... never thought I'd be that person but so happy to say I am... sometimes.

The rest of the weekend was pretty low key.

Yesterday I skipped GAR training - to do a full-body workout - however I planned to miss it from last week.  My schedule was going to be a little tight this week so I had to rearrange my strength/cardio days but I plan to knock out a 5-miler this afternoon.

I also spent time catching up on some reading:

Finding, trying and not loving a new trail mix:

I love ginger in almost anything - food or drink - but crystallized ginger is just not my thing.

And prepping my grab-and-go snack for the week:

 Eggs, ground pork, spinach, garlic, onions, tomatoes and herbs.

Recipe I used follows my egg 'cupcakes' recipe but turned into a 'pie' instead.

Overall a good weekend.  Here's hoping this week is just as strong.