Relationship with food…

What is your relationship with food? What is the hold it has over you?

Through all the changes that have occurred recently I’ve gained about 20lbs. I’m trying new, different things to lose that weight. I’m doing crossfit which I love and I’m trying my hand at Paleo.

I’m also currently working as a weight control counselor and seeing my own struggles with food and the struggles of other people. It’s really starting to put things in perspective.

I know what to do! I’m a certified fitness trainer. I’m a certified counselor. I can tell you until I’m blue in the face what to do to lose weight and how to do it. Yet for some reason I’m not following my own advice. WTF? Why is it that food has such a profound effect on us?

This is my new quest for information. Do you currently or have you in the past had a battle with a food addiction? What helped you to overcome your obstacles? Tips? Tricks? Advice? I’m looking for anything I can personally take advantage of as well as things I can pass on to my clients.

Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats

Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats

My adventures with overnight oats has continued.  What you are seeing was my batch from last night.  The basic base of oats, yogurt, milk and Truvia didn’t change.  This time however I chopped up 1/2 a gala apple, added 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and 1 tsp of chia seeds.  Super good.  Nutritional facts are 220 calories, 5 g fat,  38 g carbs and 12 g protein.

Tomorrow, I think I’m gonna change it up and have grapefruit, eggs and bacon.  I don’t want to burn myself out on ONO but I will be making another batch this weekend.  I have a sweet potato that I am planning on using for two recipes:  Sweet Potato Protein Pancakes and Sweet Potato Pie Overnight Oats.  Those posts (assuming the recipes are a success) will be posted Sunday.  See you then and have a great weekend!  🙂

Overnight Oats and my Birthday Countdown

I realized something yesterday: my 30th birthday is approaching fast.  33 days away to be exact.  I’ve decided that all I want for my birthday is to be pampered and to celebrate a month of hard work – the hard work of course being eating right and working out consistently from now until then.  I’ve decided to make a few changes to my routine and nutrition however. 

The first change I am making is my routine – sometimes I just go crazy, as you could see from my dire need for a rest day.  What I think I really need to do is to be more consistent (consistency is the key to success) rather than hitting it crazy hard for a few days and running out of steam.  That doesn’t necessarily mean that I want to only do one workout a day, but that not every single one of them needs to be a balls-to-the-wall workout.

That being said, I still began my morning with my DailyHIIT routine.  I just love these routines because they are fast and intense but I am not going to kill myself for the rest of the day with it.  I was planning to do some light cardio during lunch break.  Probably just a walk on the treadmill at a moderate incline or a 30 min elliptical session, but I wasn’t able to make it to the gym today.  Instead I am sitting here writing this, so I think it works out.  Tonight I am going to hit another Jillian Michael’s routine.  Even though I haven’t been good about following her plan like I did the first time around – I still love the workouts and go back to them all the time.  Today should technically be my JM rest day, however I didn’t workout Monday so I am pushed back a day.

The second big change I am making is in my nutrition.  Previously I had a plan where my macros were 50% protein, 30% fat and 20% carbs.  While this works to help take off the weight fairly quickly, I don’t feel that this is something that would be healthy for me to continue over the long-term.  It was also creating a “carbs are bad” complex in my head and that is most definitely not true.  I’ve decided to change my macros now to 30% protein, 30% fat and, and 40% carbs.  This is all based on a goal of 1200 calories/day so it comes to 90g protein, 40g fat and 120g carbs.  I’m in the trial phase of this macro count but I’m looking forward to it.  I am now going to be able to incorporate healthy carbs in my diet like fruits, sweet potatoes, brown rice, 100% whole wheat bread, oats, legumes and such.  Don’t ever let anyone tell you carbs are bad and if they do, just smack them right across the face!  Carbs are what our bodies use for energy – you just have to be smart about what types of carbs you are eating and when.  I still don’t plan to have many carbs with dinner, but that is a personal preference and you will have to make that decision for yourself. 

I think initially it is going to be hard to start taking in more carbs, but I found something that is really going to help me out.  Overnight oats!  Ever heard of them???  They are a glorious little concoction I see on blogs all over the place.  They’re super simple to make, a great healthy food, and perfect for a girl on the go such as myself. You start with a nice little base of milk, yogurt and oats.  That’s it!  No seriously, THAT IS IT!  Easy peasy, right?  Below is my first ONO breakfast and I was very happy with the outcome.

 

Ingredients:

1/3 C Oats

1/3 C Greek Yogurt (I used plain but feel free to add any flavor you’d like)

1/2 C Milk (any type will work fine)

Sweetener to taste – I used 1 packet of Truvia but it seems a lot of people use Agave, honey or stevia.  Your choice.

Any toppings you like – in this batch I added 1/2 banana, 3 strawberries diced and chia seeds

Nutritional Facts:  232 Calories, 5g Fat, 42g Carbs, 13g Protein

This is the finished product:

Ok, I know, not really the best or most appetizing photo.  I wasn’t sure how big the batch would be so I ended up using a large soup container from a chinese restaurant. Note to self, large container is too large!  The meal itself though was just the perfect size to fill you up and keep you full until snack time.

I’ve got some apples and cinnamon at home and thinking I might make myself another little batch tonight using those ingredients…maybe even try it warmed up tomorrow.  I don’t know, but I’ll keep you posted.

It’s Monday

Good morning all! I am chipper this morning because I am starting to see my hard work pay off again.

Last week I began my Making the Cut workouts again. I know you’ve heard this a million times before but I always go back to this book because I know it works and I love the routines. I’m trying my own meal plan this time around for two reasons. 1. Time and energy available to put into meal prep is very low these days so I’ve got to work around my current schedule, and 2. I feel that I need to be able to make healthy food choices on my own because I can’t always follow someone else’s meal plan. After 30 days, I’m back on my own so I figure I might as well start now.

That leads me to something that I discovered this weekend and that I’m absolutely in love with. Cauliflower pizza crust – OMG heaven!!! I’d seen this on a couple of blogs before but had yet to actually try it. Friday I used this recipe and both the hubs and I loved it. He made his with sauce, cheese and turkey pepperoni. I’m a big fan of white pizza so I made mine with ricotta instead. Both were delicious. One thing I will recommend however, don’t eat the whole damn thing. I thought it was a personal pizza size but I think you can go halfsies on it. Especially to cut down on calories! I was so tempted by it I didn’t even think to take pics so I’ll try to do this next time I make it.

Anyone else have any great cauliflower recipes? I’m trying to go low carb high protein so any other recipes that fit that description send them my way!!!

An Update for Steph :)

I had a few ladies over this weekend for a Mary Kay party.  It was lots of fun and I definitely needed the dose of estrogen around me since I work with only males throughout the week.  At the party, somehow this blog was mentioned.  I can’t remember exactly how, but I do remember one very important fact.  My friend Steph told me she was waiting for my next post and asked me where it was.  What, what, what?  Someone actually reads this bad boy?  I couldn’t believe it.  And not only does she read it, but she actually enjoys it.  Well, hallelujah!  I told her that all I wanted to do was one more post that simply read “FAILURE” because that is how I feel.  I started this blog to document my journey towards fitness. Instead it has become a diary of all of my pitfalls along the way.  But that is what she likes about it – it’s real.  Sure, I am not the epitome of health and well-being, but I am trying.  No one is perfect and is going to get it right 100% of the time, but the important thing is to keep going back and working at it.  I’m not a failure, I am just hitting a few bumps in the road.  So, without further ado, Steph this post goes out to you.  Thank you for the encouragement and for asking for a new post because without you I don’t think I would have continued. 

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By far the biggest downfall I have is that I love food.  And not just any food but horrible, greasy, fatty food.  I swear if I never gained a pound I would be happy living off of fast food.  Well, maybe not every meal but you know what I mean, right?  It’s just so good, but oh so bad for my thighs…and ass…and gut…well, you get the picture.  I’m trying to venture out a little more so that I can satisfy my palate without compromising my wallet.  This is not always the easiest thing to accomplish.  Prep time has also become an issue recently. Now that I am working full-time with the Coast Guard and my number of clients has picked up significantly at the gym I’m not getting home until 8:30 most nights.  At that point I have to shower, pack up my clothes for the next day, lay out my uniform, eat dinner, make meals for the next day and take care of the dogs.  EEESH!  It’s a lot.  And I really like to be in bed by 9…ain’t happenin’!  So now it’s time to find things that are fast and simple to cook.  Pre-made turkey burgers have been a staple the past couple days.  Fairly inexpensive, easy to cook while I multitask, a good source of protein, and delicious to boot.  I forgo the bun and just eat it with a slice of fat-free pepper jack cheese and some Dijon mustard.  If I’m feeling feisty I may throw in some sort of veggie, such as my fav creamed spinach.  This was lunch Tuesday:

Nutritional Info:  329 Calories, 7g Carbs, 13g Fat, 29g Protein

For breakfast the past couple of days I decided to do something a little different.  While I love my eggs and bacon or eggs and toast or eggs and fruit sometimes you have just had enough eggs. Instead I opted for some 100% Whole Wheat Mini Bagels.  These definitely don’t break the bank and are great for topping with sugar-free preserves, some type of nut butter, or a low/reduced fat cream cheese.  However, I took it just a step farther.  The past couple mornings I’ve been doing cream cheese and smoked salmon.  This morning I got a hankering for avocado so I threw that in the mix with some red onion.  OMG!  Absolutely fantastic!  I highly suggest putting this one together.  It takes no time at all and you can even eat it on the fly if you’re in a hurry.

Nutritional Info:  411 Calories, 30g Carbs, 24g Fat, 20g Protein

And finally, my morning ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar) drink.  I am still trying to keep up with this drink.  First thing I do when I wake up in the morning is take the dogs out.  When I get back inside I start this drink by adding 1 tsp of chia seeds to 8 oz of water.  Then, I’ll go and get ready.  The reason I start it first thing in the morning and drink it right before I leave is because I like to let the chia seeds sit and soak up the water.  This gives them a gel-like consistency instead of crunchy seeds and makes it much easier to drink.  Anyone remember Orbitz drinks?  It’s sort of like that.  Right before it’s ready to drink I’ll had a bit of lemonade drink mix and voila – faboo drink!

Nutritional Info:  38 Calories, 5g Carbs, 1g Fat, 1g Protein

So there we go.  My strides in the right direction and my post for Steph.  Now that I know that this blog inspires one person it makes it so much more worthwhile and I’ll try to post more often.  If there is anything you want to hear about just let me know!

Venturing Out with Food #2

I woke up this morning ready to knock out my workout and EAT!  The whole time I’m doing my Daily HIIT routine I was going through all the possible things I could make for breakfast.  What occurred to me first was the fact that I had crab left over from my lunch yesterday and I should try to incorporate that into my meal. I’m very excited to present to you what I came up with!

Carey’s Crab Cakes

Ingredients:

1/2 Pkg of Lump Crab Meat

2 Tbsp Plain Greek Yogurt

2 Tbsp Panko Style Breadcrumbs

1 Tbsp Finely Chopped Red Onion

2 Tbsp Finely Chopped Celery

1/4 Tsp Old Bay Seasoning

1/4 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes

1 Tsp Coconut Oil or your favorite cooking oil

1 Tbsp Chopped Green Onion (optional)

1/4 Lime (optional)

Process:

1.  Heat coconut oil in a saute pan.  While oil is melting, mix all ingredients together.

2.  Create patties with the mixture (I made three small ones so they would cook a little faster –  I was super hungry!)

3.  Cook until golden brown and flip.

4.  Remove from heat and top with green onion and fresh lime juice

Nutritional Facts:  151 calories; 2g fat; 12g carbs; 19g protein

I made these crab cakes with 1 egg over easy and a side of fruit.  The cakes came out pretty spicy but the egg yolk really calmed them down.  Plus, the combo was damn delicious!  Hope you guys enjoy and I’ll have more recipes coming your way soon.

Oh and before I forget, I also started drinking Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) each day.  I make a quick drink using 1 Tsp ACV, a tiny bit of a calorie free drink mix and 8oz of water.  I’m only on day two so I haven’t really started to reap the benefits, but I’m looking forward to everything it can offer.  If you are curious about why I would do this, check out this post from Brittany at Eating Bird Food.

Venturing Out with Food #1

When it comes to recipes, I’m right up there with Emeril! Well, following recipes not coming up with them. You can ask anyone, my creative side is a bit lacking. I’m all about straight lines, 90-degree angles, and all things INSIDE the box. I am trying to venture out a little when it comes to food however. I’m constantly Googling recipe ideas and looking for inspiration. Today I had success on my own! Now don’t get me wrong, I didn’t invent the wheel. I’m sure if you look online there will be a million versions of this idea.  I’m proud though because I came up with this one on the fly out of my own head.  I knew today was going to be a salad day because I needed to use my lettuce before it went bad, I just wasn’t sure what was going on it.  I then remembered I had crab in the fridge, fresh limes and cilantro I bought the other day, and voila! So, I now present to you my first food venture.

Crab and Avocado Salad
with
Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

2 cups Mixed Greens (or your favorite lettuce)1/2 Avocado
1/2 Package of Lump Crab Meat (I use Blue Stars Claw Meat)
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Fresh Lime Juice or more to taste
1 Tsp minced garlic
1/2 Tbsp Cilantro
Salt and Pepper to taste

Process:

1. Mix together oil, lime juice, garlic and cilantro. Place in fridge for at least three hours to let the flavored marry together. You can prob eat it right away but I liked it much better later in the day opposed to my initial taste test. Also, feel free to add more lime juice or cilantro to make it to your liking.2. Lay out your bed of greens and top with sliced avocado and crab meat straight from the package. (You can add mayo or Greek yogurt to your crab if you want it creamier but I opted for just the basics.)
3. Pour dressing over salad, mix and enjoy!

Nutrition:

Calories:  346; Fat: 25g (don’t be alarmed, this is good fats from the avocado and olive oil); Carbs:  15g; Protein:  20g

Super easy recipe that took no time to prepare. In fact, I slapped this puppy together while I had breakfast this morning. Also, this was a great way to escape to the islands in my mind while its 4 degrees outside and snowing. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

OMC! (That’s right C!)

I just have to say, I ❤ cauliflower! Who knew it was so versatile? I was searching around last night trying to locate a low carb shrimp recipe for dinner last night. I found this little gem – Low Carb Guilt Free Shrimp Dirty Rice.

I may not have made it exactly as I was supposed to because my totals were a little different, but it was bangin’! That is actually a pic of my dinner last night, not just one I snagged online. Even the hubs liked it. He put his first portion on a whole wheat tortilla and really liked that. His second helping was just straight but with no cilantro topping like mine.

I’d like to try it again using turkey sausage in place of chorizo and maybe add more cauliflower.

Oh yeah, that brings me back to cauliflower. Well you may notice the recipe calls for “ricing” your cauliflower and provides a link for instructions on how to do this. I was a little skeptical since I have your basic chinsy blender but it worked perfectly. Not sure why I didn’t take a pic of that. Oops! Anyway, I was so damned amazed at this technique, plus the fact that I can have “rice” at dinner that I had to keep experimenting. I looked on The Big Red Kitchen for more and found a recipe for cilantro lime cauliflower “rice”. Well of course I had to try that shiz, I love cilantro lime rice. The recipe was easy enough and I had plenty of cauliflower leftover from last night. Again, I didn’t follow the recipe exactly, only because I wanted to make a single portion just for lunch today. I reduced my cauliflower but didn’t bother with the other ingredients. Bonehead move! Tons of cilantro – I’m TOTALLY cool with that because I love cilantro. The lime however, well I still used half a lime and it is quite overpowering. Still good though. Can’t wait for lunch today!

Does anyone have experience with “riced” cauliflower or recipes to share? I’m hooked and dying to try more!!!

Are you kidding me?!?!

Have I really not posted anything in over a month?  How have you guys let me get away with it?  How have I let myself get so off track.  I know, I know you all must be so tired of hearing about how I fall off the wagon and how this time I’m serious about starting over.  Well, I’m not going to do that this time.  I have given myself a new 7 week goal (ending on New Years Eve) but I’m not going to sit here and talk about how great I’m going to do this time.  Lemme tell you why.  It’s simple…life just gets in the way.  I realize there are people who make fitness their lives and I hope to one day be able to do that.  However, that just ain’t happening right now. 

I have two jobs now and that takes up a lot of time.  Granted, one of those is actually as a trainer working at the gym, but that’s not the point.  Since I started working there, I look at the gym like a job.  Do you go into work when you don’t have to?  Does anyone?  I doubt it.  Even though I love my job and I love working out, if I don’t have clients I tend to want to go home and relax now.  I have to get myself out of this habit.  To help myself a bit with this, I have started working out more at home and during my lunch breaks at my day job.  This is definitely doing what I hoped it would, but I’ve still gotta get my ass back in the gym. 

Food has also been a big problem.  I don’t even know where to begin with this, but lets just say it’s no good.  Since I started this 7 week goal I have been doing better, but man am I having some serious cravings.  Last night I would’ve thrown children into traffic for a Whopper, but I didn’t give into it.  I went home and made this:

That is beef fajita meat and my most favorites of side dishes creamed spinach (just add light swiss laughing cow to cooked spinach and voila!).  It was no Whopper but it made me feel a whole hell of a lot better than a burger would have.

I also made sure that I stocked up on healthy foods on my last shopping trip.  Take a look at this basket and be jealous.  Go ahead, I won’t tell anyone. 🙂  Eggs, veggies, fruits, brown rice, and some more delicious yummies.

I also went to the “bulk” store and bought a giant pork loin for less than $16.  Out of it I was able to get two 4-oz portions, eleven 5-oz portions, seven 6-oz portions, and one 8-oz portion.  That’s a whole lotta pork, booyah!!  And I know it looks like a lot of fat, but I cut that out, so don’t judge me!

And finally, I started back up with my motivational countdown post-its.  These are easily one of the best things to keep me on track.  When I can see daily how well I am or am not doing, then I am able to hold myself more accountable.  My bestie has actually joined in with me.  She’s taking even days and I’m taking odd.  Here are our post-its for the first couple days.  (Today is day 46, BTW.)

So, here is where I am right now.  I am going to try really damn hard to keep myself in check.  I am going to try really damn hard to survive the holidays without expanding my waistline.  I am going to try really hard, but I am not going to punish myself for any missteps I may take.  This is probably the worst time of the year to start to make changes, but if you keep putting things off, then you will never start.  I figure if two days over the next 45 (those days being Thanksgiving and Christmas) I have bad food then it isn’t the end of the world.  I will consider those my cheat days and just pick myself up, dust myself off and get back on track.  We’ll see how this goes.  I have to keep reminding myself that the best gift I can give myself for Christmas is a better me so here’s wishing me and all of you success!

Week 2 and Going Strong

Ok,  I’m back! That’s right baby. I’m into week 2 of my new 6 week goal and I’m going strong, feeling good, and seeing progress. The best part is that I got my diet back on track.  Food has always, and probably will always, be my best friend as well as my worst enemy so getting myself back into good eating habits is a major step in the right direction.  Because I’ve been doing so well, I thought I’d share some of the delish dishes that have been gracing my pallette this week.

Evening snack of plain Greek yogurt with some frosted mini wheats crumbled on top.  Something I came up with to curb a sweet craving I was having.  Worked like a charm!

Lunch at work one day consisted of some mesquite pork, peppered broccoli and quinoa that I cooked with chicken broth.  If you have never cooked quinoa with a flavored broth, I highly suggest it.  I couldn’t stop eating it once it was made.  A couple days I added some chopped up tomato, red onion and green pepper and it was to die for!

Jamie Easons Turkey Meatloaf Muffins (recipe found here) and creamed spinach made with laughing cow cheese.  These meatloaf muffins are a life saver.  I can have them for dinner, lunch or a protein filled snack.  I make them with a mini-muffin tin which make 24 rather than a regular muffin tin which creates 12.  It’s just a preference. 

Crab and avocado salad.  This one was a complete fluke.  I was hungry, didn’t feel like cooking and just threw some things I already had together.  Awesome and super easy.  Since the crab is so flavorful, I didn’t even add dresssing, although I bet something lemony would’ve been a great addition.

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On top of all the amazing food I’ve been eating, I have also gone back to a motivational trick I used before.  I set myself a goal of 6 weeks and created a countdown.  I used some post it notes I had laying around to help me keep track. On each note I put the day it is ( day 1, day 5,day 30,etc…) how many days are left until I reach my goal, a motivational quote to inspire me, and what exercise I’ll be doing that day.  I also like to write down my weight each morning. I know,  I know,  you aren’t supposed to weigh yourself everyday but I really love seeing my progress, even if its just an ounce.  Here are a couple examples.

I’m going to try to get back in the habit of posting on here and if nothing else I’ll put up my daily post it notes so you and I can track my progress. I’ve got 5 weeks left in the military challenge. Thus far all I have done is gain weight so I’m really going to have to kick my butt in gear to see some results. With my countdown and motivational system in place and my renewed enthusiasm I think I can really make it happen! 🙂  Wish me luck!!!