Her Bizzy Diet – Day 11

I haven’t posted in a couple of days because I’ve been super busy and not much has changed.  I’m doing virtually the same routine day in and day out.  The only difference is dinner, and quite frankly it’s been jacking up my plan!  We have had a bunch of dinners out due to different events, and this isn’t going to change anytime soon.  February is full of birthdays so there is constant celebration. Stress has also been building up and impeding my progress.  Last night, in fact, I gave in a drank.  Yup, it got that bad.  I was pissed about more financial problems (when it rains, it pours) and add to that no weight loss over the past 7 days.  I’ve been going back and forth between 135 and 136 for a week now.  That’s pathetic and not what I want to see when I’m only doing a 3 week program.  That means an entire week, or 1/3 of the program, is down the drain.  The time, the energy and the money…gone.  The worst part about it is that I have no one to blame but myself and that just pisses me off more!  I had vodka with sparkling water and even managed to make zucchini and a turkey burger patty for dinner, so other than the booze, I actually stuck to plan.  When I weighed in this morning I was 133 and change.  It was nice to see that the scale had finally started moving in the right direction, but I have to be realistic.  It’s likely just dehydration that brought the weight down and I imagine that I will be right back between 135 and 136 tomorrow.

And speaking of tomorrow, that is yet another night out.  My husband got us opera tickets for Valentines day.  We are planning to do dinner beforehand, so again my nutrition is in someone elses hands.  Luckily, the hubs is also trying to lose weight and eating healthy so we won’t be tempting each other with greasy burgers or sugary desserts.   We shall see how it goes.

Workout: None

Nutrition & Supplements:

• 6am – 2 Burn, 1 Tone, 2 whole eggs, 2 slices center cut bacon
• 9am – 3 Balance, 1 scoop Vanilla Chai Delight Protein
• 12pm – 6″ Ham & Turkey on Flatbread, all veggies, mustard, oil and vinegar
• 3pm – 1 scoop Vanilla Chai Delight Protein
• 6pm – 6 Turkey Meatballs, 2c spinach, 1 laughing cow cheese wedge
• 8pm – 2 Cleanse

(Yes, I am fully aware that today’s meals were not perfect, especially since I didn’t workout.  I had hangover belly and I did the best I could.)

Weight: 133.6

Weight: 136.6

Her Bizzy Diet – Day 8

Welcome to week 2 of my challenge!

The weekend proved to be a big obstacle.  Saturday during the day was very easy because I was at work and able to keep on my regular schedule.  After work I picked up my step-daughter, took her for birthday manicures, and then we met up with my husband for her birthday dinner.  We wanted her to pick the restaurant, since after all it’s her birthday.  She chose Macaroni Grill.  I knew from the start that it could pose a challenge because I looooooove pasta, but I wanted to be good so I veered away from that portion of the menu.  However, so many of the dishes have pasta of some sort and I really wasn’t in the mood for chicken or steak since I can make that at home and not pay $18/plate.  I thought I had decided upon a dish until I noticed the calorie contents next to them.  I can’t remember my first choice, but I do remember that it had about 1100 calories in it.  Thanks, but no thanks!  I opted for a Caesar salad and added shrimp.  First off,  yeah, I know, Caesar dressing isn’t healthy, but remember I don’t really care when it comes to fat.  Second, don’t order shrimp to add to a salad because it was a total rip off – $4 to add shrimp and I only got 4 shrimp.  I ended up coming home and making some beef strips so that I could get in more protein.   The next morning I was up about .8lbs which kinda sucked.

Next comes Sunday.  I always wake up earlier than my family so I spent the first couple of hours in my normal breakfast routine catching up on all my trashy reality shows on DVR.  I even made pancakes when the other two woke up and didn’t so much as even taste it.  Then come the temptations.  First it was lunch.  My husband wanted taco bell so the two of them went and picked it up and brought it home.  We all sat at the table and while they ate tacos, gorditos and chalupas I sat drooling, staring and quietly ate my tuna salad.  Later that night we met up with friends for a BBQ – we brought steaks and asparagus so I don’t feel bad there.  However, after dinner the family wanted ice cream.  ICE CREAM!  I dropped them off and went to fill up my car with gas so I didn’t even step foot inside because I knew I would have ordered something.  They brought their ice cream home and I made a chocolate peanut butter protein shake.  I thought I did a pretty good job, although this morning I was up another .8lbs.  GRRRR!!!

That’s ok, because at the end of the week I still ended up down 7lbs from my starting weight.  Today was totally on point, so here’s what I got:

Workout:

Day 1 – Cardio & Upper Body

 

Meals & Supplements:

• 3:30am –  2 Burn (according to the plan I am supposed to take 2, this morning I only did because I was exhausted) , 1 Tone
• 6am – 3 Balance, 2 whole eggs, 1 slice center cut bacon
• 9am – 1 scoop Vanilla Chai Delight Protein
• 11:30am – 1 Burn, 1 Tone
• 12pm – 6oz chicken, 2c mixed greens, olive oil/vinegar dressing
• 3pm – 1 scoop Vanilla Chai Delight Protein
• 6pm – 5 oz shrimp, 1 bunch chard, 1/3c coconut milk, 1/2 lemon juice and chipotle pepper flakes
• 8pm – 2 Cleanse, Cup of Vanilla Sleepy Time Tea

Weight: 136.6

Her Bizzy Diet – Day 5

Today turned out to be a bit of a challenge.  First off, I was invited out to lunch with one of my new coworkers.  I knew ahead of time that we were going to go out so I hadn’t packed lunch, but had no clue where were going since I don’t know the area.  We ended up just walking across the street where our options were Subway, a Mexican joint, or a pizza place.  I let Jen decide since I knew with any of those choices I was going to get a salad regardless.  She chose the pizza place, ordered a slice of some heavenly looking pizza and I opted for the artichoke and red pepper salad since it seemed like the least of all the evils and had some protein on it.  Turned out to be pretty tasty, however I can’t for the life of me find any nutritional information on it and that is driving me nuts.  The closest thing I could find had an insane amount of carbs listed and seeing as how there wasn’t much to be carbohydrate-rich in the salad, I’m thinking that it’s probably not that on point.

My second challenge today was sweets.  Now normally I’m not a huge sweets fan, but as of lately the cravings have been coming in big time.  Cookies, cake, and shit tons of ice cream have been consumed lately.  Well, being that it’s Valentines Day there was a giant pink box of any kind of donuts you could dream of right in the front lobby. I had to walk by it every time I needed to use the bathroom (which is about every 30-45 minutes with all the water I am consuming).  Not only that, but being the nice person I am, I also brought in a box of cookies for my coworkers.  (Hey, don’t judge, it’s only my second week and I need to make a good impression!)  Anyway, no one ate them!!!  So every time I went to the printer, there they were.  I didn’t have any, but by the end of the day only one person helped themselves which meant that I had to take them home with me.  And there, during my entire two-hour commute, sat these delicious, pink, soft baked cake cookies just tempting me.  I still didn’t break. Go me!

Then came the hardest challenge of my day.  If you ask any person who knows me what my biggest stressor is, they will all unanimously answer “MONEY!”  The month didn’t start off that great in the financial dept due to a 12 hour delay in paying rent that ended up costing me almost $200 in late fees (totally my fault, which is the most frustrating part of the whole thing – no one to blame but myself).  But anyway, today it turns out I may be getting charged yet another $40 late fee for something I shouldn’t be charged for.  Well that really chaps my ass.  So what do I want to do when I get pissed?  You got it – eat and drink.  I’m not talking about maybe having a ho ho and a glass of wine.  I’m talking a super value meal from the drive thru, along with one or two other menu items and about 3/4 of a bottle of vodka.  That’s my coping mechanism when I feel like the world fucks me – I say fuck you right back, I stop caring and go into fat mode.  But I didn’t want to do that tonight.  I’m making such great progress.  I’m seeing the fruits of my labor and not only that but I’m enjoying the food and the workouts.  I want to see this thing through to the end, and dammit it’s only day 5.  I can’t give up now.  So yeah, I got a little lazy with dinner tonight – threw a turkey burger in a pan and some zucchini in another.  At least I stuck with protein and veggies…and maybe a little sriracha mayo, but who’s counting, right?

Anyway, after my rant, my point is this:  I am going to do this.  I am not going to let all of the outside influences affect me this time.  I made a commitment.  21 days.  That is all I need to do.  I WILL DO THIS!

Her Bizzy Diet – Day 4

For some reason, I woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning.  I was pumped for the workout…even if my calves didn’t feel the same way.  I went ahead and ran on the treadmill because I was determined to fight through the pain.  I did lower speeds, but still pulled through.  I would love to show you how much I burned but my HR monitor didn’t want to function.  Several times during my workout it would tell me that it wasn’t reading my heart rate and at the end of my workout I was at a total of 189 calories tracked.  I’m calling bullshit on that number because I could walk for an hour and burn that much.  Anyway, here’s the workout:

Workout:

20 minute cardio intervals on the treadmill (low intensity 3.5-4; high intensity 7-8.5)

 

Upper Body (20 reps 2x’s through)

• DB Chest Press
• 1 Arm DB Row
• Military Shoulder Press
• Bicep Curl
• Tricep Kickback

10 minute cardio (5 min low intensity, 5 min high intensity)

Repeat Upper Body Weight Training

 

 

Meals & Supplements:

• 3:30am –  1 Burn, 1 Tone
• 6am – 3 Balance, 2 whole eggs, 1 slice center cut bacon
• 9am – 1 scoop Vanilla Chai Delight Protein
• 11:30am – 1 Burn, 1 Tone
• 12pm – 6oz tuna, 2c mixed greens, 1/2 an avocado and some red onion
• 3pm – 1 scoop Vanilla Chai Delight Protein
• 6pm – Salmon filet topped with dijon mustard and coconut flour, 1 bunch swiss chard with 1/2c coconut milk, lemon juice and red pepper flakes
• 8pm – 2 Cleanse, Cup of Vanilla Sleepy Time Tea

I may have gone a little overboard eating an entire bunch of swiss chard, but there was no way my husband was going to eat any of it and I knew I wasn’t going to have a snack tonight.  Plus, I earned it!  You may notice that I am incorporating some things that aren’t on the official meal plan, such as coconut milk, coconut oils, avocado, etc.  I feel like for me, it’s important to have healthy fats and lots of them.  This comes from my time following a Paleo diet (which I feel like I am pretty much doing right now, and intend to bring back in full force after this is done).  Every body reacts differently to different macro-nutrient ratios. The best for me is one of high protein, high fat and low carbs.  Not excessively low carbs, because carbohydrates are still important.  But I like my carbohydrates to come from fruits and vegetables, mostly vegetables.  Anyway, if there are any questions about my nutrition or recipes, just let me know.

 

Weight: 136.8

Her Bizzy Diet – Day 2

Today was a long, hard day.  I developed a head cold yesterday evening, that made waking up and working out quite the bitch this morning.  I did however, still get up at the butt crack of dawn and kill the lower body workout.  I also kept my nutrition on point all day, got in all my supplements (including the second fat burner today), and am already set for the day tomorrow.

Even though, according to the plan, I am supposed to workout tomorrow and have Thursday act as a rest day, I am choosing to take tomorrow off.  There are a couple of reasons for this.  1.  My friend, and training partner, goes later in the day on Wednesday, which means I don’t have to wake up at 3:30am.  2.  Since I barely do running as my form of cardio, my calves are ON FIRE!!!!  I even wore flats to work today, which I hate doing.

Anyway, enough bitching and whining, here’s my breakdown for the day:

Workout:

20 minute cardio intervals on the treadmill (low intensity 4-4.5; high intensity 6.8-7.8)

 

Lower Body (2x’s through)

• Squats – 30 reps
• DB Lunges – 15 reps per leg
• Standing Calf Raises – 30 reps
• Standard Crunch – 30 reps
• Crunch with Legs Up – 30 reps

10 minute cardio (5 min low intensity, 5 min high intensity)

 

Repeat Lower Body Weight Training

Meals & Supplements:

• 4am –  1 Burn, 1 Tone
• 6am – 3 Balance, 1 whole eggs, 2 slices center cut bacon
• 9am – 1 scoop Vanilla Chai Delight Protein
• 11:30am – 1 Burn, 1 Tone
• 12pm – 6oz chicken, 9 brussels sprouts (not technically on plan, but I had them in the fridge)
• 3pm – 1 scoop Vanilla Chai Delight Protein
• 6pm – 6 oz steak, 2.5c spinach, 1 wedge Light Swiss Laughing Cow Cheese
• 8pm – 2 Cleanse, (no snack tonight because I am going to bed at 8)

Weight: 140.4

I would like to point out that I am down 3lbs from yesterday.  While that is a great thing to see, I know it is water loss and food in my gut from the previous days binge.  However, I am going to use it as motivation to just keep going until I start seeing actual weight loss, which should be around days 3-5. Can’t wait to get there!  🙂

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.

Mid-Week Update

In case you were wondering why I haven’t posted any recent updates, it’s because this happened Thursday!

I was driving my husbands Jeep when I completely lost control on some ice.  Luckily a very nice lady was able to stop my spinning with the front end of her car.  ARGH!  It was absolutely terrifying.  Luckily no one was injured, but mentally it sort of put me out of commission for a few days.  Friday I was depressed.  I woke up angry because I cost my husband and me the price of our deductible, we won’t be able to sell his Jeep for what it is fully worth because it’s been involved in an accident, and I felt extremely guilty that I wrecked his car and not my own.  Well, as many people are, I too am an emotional eater.  I started Friday off with a healthy breakfast, but that didn’t last.  By lunchtime I was ready to indulge…and indulge I did!

 

I ate every single morsel you see in that picture.  A salad with ranch dressing and pasta salad on the side.  A bowl of cream of mushroom soup.  A cheeseburger with all the fixins’.  And to top it all off a big slice of red velvet cake.  It didn’t end there either.  What else did I do?  Well I drowned my self-pity in my old friend BEER!

What a sad and pathetic face.  I just curled up in my living room, drank and ate all night  I attempted to have a healthy snack while I was drinking and found something new and delicious that I absolutely love.  Toasted Ezekiel bread with a wedge of Laughing Cow Light Swiss and Olive Tapenade.  Sounds weird but it was fantastic!

But that doesn’t really help when you consume more than your daily allowance of calories in just beer now does it?

Saturday I woke up feeling rested and surprisingly not hung over.  I decided to catch up on my 30 day Challenge from Daily HIIT since I hadn’t done my workout Friday.  I knocked that out, and started feeling better.  The rest of the day I did nothing but relax, pick up a few things and relax some more.  Sunday was pretty much the same minus the workout.  Instead of my BodyRock routine I went and walked an indoor track with my friend and got a little time to vent, which I needed…desperately!

Monday, I opted for one more day of rest and relaxation just to make sure all the depressed gookies were completely gone and lo and behold when I woke up Tuesday morning they sure were!

Tuesday I woke up early and knocked out my morning HIIT routine.  That afternoon I decided to hit the gym during my lunch break for a mid-day cardio session.  Those always seem to make the day go by faster and give me a little boost of energy.  At the end of my Coast Guard day I went straight to the gym to train with a few clients and followed that up with an intense Jillian Michaels routine.  You read that right, I got in 3 full workouts yesterday.  On top of all that, I ate impeccably. 

I guess what I am getting at is that life happens.  How you deal with it may not be the same as how I deal with it, however we all have coping mechanisms.  I’m not saying mine is a good one, because lets face it, it’s not!  I do not recommend you eat and drink away your problems because it really isn’t going to get you anywhere.  However, what I do recommend is that when you are ready you get right back on that horse and keep on trekin!  I had a mini-mental-meltdown and it sucked, but today I realize that it’s not the end of the world and I am ready to just keep moving forward.

What mental setbacks have you had in the past, and how did you deal with them?

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.

Working in BEAST Mode!

I’m feeling so great about myself and life this morning that I just couldn’t wait to post. I’m in BEAST MODE and I just gotta share!

Yeah, I realize that isn’t the most flattering picture but sometimes you just gotta ROAR!!!!

I’m excited about my progress this week both in the gym and in the kitchen. Monday after trying to get my phone and kindle to load the Daily HIIT routine with nothing but failure I was left with only 4 minutes to workout. Don’t fret, the time was not wasted. At the urging of my hubby I did some high knees and jumping jacks to get my heart rate up a bit. Each day since I’ve gotten up early and done the routines. They give me such a boost of energy in the morning I feel ready to conquer the long day ahead.

As well as keeping up with that 30 day challenge, I’ve mentioned starting back on with Making the Cut. I hit that hard Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday was a rest day. I made it an active rest day by doing my morning routine and also squeezing in a quick 20 min on the treadmill before clients last night.
Most of my days I spend sitting at a desk. As many of you probably know, this makes you feel super inactive, well, because you are. So to break up my days a little I like to do little mini-workouts. There is a bench in my bathroom/locker-room on base so I’m using it to my full advantage. I’ll do 10 incline push-ups, 5 single leg squats per leg, and 10 in-outs each time I have to hit the head. So to recap I’m rocking the shiz outta some workouts this week!

On the nutrition front, well I’m killing that too! I’ve hit my calorie goals everyday this week. I’m getting lots of fresh fruit and veggies in. I’m eating salads and lean protein. And best of all, I’ve discovered new and exciting uses for cauliflower, HALLELUJAH!! Prepping Sunday made my life exponentially easier this week so I’ll try to do that again this weekend.

I’m hoping this motivation keeps on coming because the progress I’ve made over just these past 5 days has been amazing. I want to keep seeing results and reap the benefits of all my hard work! More updates to come and hopefully some positive progress photos. 🙂

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!!!