We Moved...

I wanted to let you know that I just redid my blog and moved it over to wordpress. Check it out. If you click follow, you can put in your email so you get my posts emailed to you.

http://scalingitback.wordpress.com/

Shazaaammm! Brown Rice

So all the health gurus tell me that brown rice is a good healthy carb. Well, I don't know about you, but I find brown rice to be super bland and totally lacking in flavor. Over the last year, I have tried experimenting with it to combine it with various foods, but it usually ends in a pretty lackluster meal. That was, until yesterday!

A wonderfully awesome friend of mine, Vic, recently gave me some homemade salsa. After forgetting to bring it home from work for a awhile, I finally brought it home yesterday. But since tortilla chips is not the best for my current diet, I put myself to brainstorm ways to use it. What I decided on turned out delicious.

Instead of cooking my rice in water, I cooked it in salsa! I put the salsa in a pot, added a little bit of water (to ensure I had the 1 3/4 cups of liquid I needed for the rice to cook) and set it to boil. Once boiling, I added the rice and let cook for 5 minutes (as directed on the box). Then removed it from the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes. And SHAZAAAAMMMM!!!! Delicious brown rice :)

A Week In...

Wow, it is amazing the difference that one week can make. I decided last Wednesday to make a change. Enough was enough. Time to eat healthy and exercise. I weighed in on Thursday morning, and since then I have lost 4.2 lbs! And not to mention I am already starting to feel less tired. And I am not starving myself either.

Here is what I am doing. I am eating healthy smaller meals about 5 times a day. I always felt like eating healthy could be overwhelming. I didn't know how to cook healthy foods and am not creative when it comes to food. But I finally decided to put the excuses aside and just do it. For those of you like me, who find creating a healthy meal plan overwhelming, here are some samples of what I have been eating over the last few days.

Monday

Breakfast (8am) : smoothie (frozen fruit and greek yogurt)

Snack (11am): broccoli and spinach baby quiches 

Lunch (2pm): chicken veggie nuggets

Snack (5pm): sugar-free applesauce

Dinner (7pm): chicken breast, potatoes and salad (this was a victory, since I was at a work meal and could have been stuffing my face with lasagna and rolls. But I opted for the healthier options and avoided dessert)

Snack (9pm): Popcorn... oops. haha I also ate popcorn at small group. Better than cookies, but still not the best option.

Tuesday (due to meetings at work, my eating schedule was a little off)

Breakfast (8:30am): 1 egg with egg whites scrambled and a slice of Ezekiel toast

Snack (11am): 1 banana oat muffin (no sugar or flour!) and nuts

Late Lunch (2:30pm): salad with tuna

Dinner (5pm): grilled chicken, veggies and potatoes

Snack (9pm): Starbucks strawberry smoothie (not the best option, but I was out and it's better than a burger and fried)

A key is to eat lean protein and complex carbs at every meal.

And then for the past 2 days (and for the next 58 :) I will be doing an Insanity work out. It is such a good work out. I am excited to get back into shape.

Want to join me for the last 58?

Bananas in Pajamas

Evere hit your snooze button so many times that you sacrificed your time for breakfast for a few more minutes of sleep? Yes, me too... nearly every day. That is why I am so excited about what I am about to share with you.

Growing up, my mom always made the BEST banana bread. Seriously though, a-maaaa-zing! But it is so unhealthy full of flour, sugar and chocolate chips. I recently found a recipe for Banana Oat Muffins. And since I was looking for a healthy option to use up our ripe bananas, I decided to give them a try. I am excited to have this snack on the go for mornings like today, when I wait until the absolute last moment to get up.

They turned out pretty good, but next time I am going to add nuts and cinnamon.

Ingredients

2.5 cups old fashioned oats 

1 cup plain low fat greek yogurt

2 eggs

3/4 cup sugar {or sweetener of choice}

1.5 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 ripe bananas
(nuts)
(cinnamon)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
• Spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray or line tins with cupcake liners.
• Place all of the ingredients, including bananas in a blender or food processor, and blend until oats are smooth. 
• Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full of batter.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.

Am I Insane?

Well, they say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. And ironically, that is exactly what I am doing. Today, I started the Insanity work out for the 4th time.

This weekend I decided to step outside my comfort zone and join a workout group/challenge online. We are all participating in a team beachbody workout program for 60 days. And after 3 attempts and failures after about 2 weeks, I decided to go for round 4. Hopefully with the accountability of the others in the challenge group, I will make it to day 60.

Here are my fit test scores. The first number is my fit test from December 2011, the second from January 25, the third from Feb 16, and the last from today

switch kicks: 112 / 110 / 113 / 107

power jacks: 40 / 44 / 45 / 39

power knees: 80 / 70 / 87 / 75

power jumps: 23 / 25 / 29 / 30

globe jumps: 6 / 8 / 9 / 7

suicide jumps: 7 / 10 / 13 / 10

low plank obliques: 36 / 45 / 55 / 50

While I don't like looking at this and seeing my numbers lower than last time, I am also learning to think positive. Due to my broken wrist and sprained capsule, I haven't hardly exercised in the last month. So all things considered, it wasn't too bad.

So after 3 tries and 3 failures, I am declaring myself INSANE! And today I am giving it ago again and hoping for some different results! Just watch out, because in 60 days I am going to be better than ever.

Death By... Chicken Nuggets

This week has been going well. While I still feel fatigued and tired regularly I have refrained from scarfing down the Death By Chocolate staring me down every time I open the freezer. So that, in addition to the fact that I am down 2lbs this week, I am calling it a "win."

I found I stick to healthier foods more when I have food prepared for me and ready to eat in just a few minutes. So I usually try to cooke some food that will last me a few days or that I can freeze and go. A personal favorite and one of the foods I have been eating a lot this week is some homemade chicken veggie nuggets. 

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

4 large chicken breasts
3 eggs
6 slices of Ezekiel bread (it can be any bread, but health blogs tell me Ezekiel bread is better for me because it is from sprouted grains... so call me health gullible or not, I choose Ezekiel bread)
spices of your choices
celtic salt and pepper to taste

1-2 carrots

1-2 cups of broccoli

1-2 cups of spinach
1/2 onions (optional)
coconut oil

Directions

• Heat oven to 350*F
• Put 6 slices of Ezekiel break on a cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes (once toasted golden brown)
• Let bread cool (I usually let it set overnight, but not necessary)
• Place cooled off bread pieces in a food processor... this will result in awesome bread crumbs
• Set aside
  
• Combine carrots, broccoli, spinach and onion in food processor. This will give you an awesome mash up of veggies. (You can use whatever veggies you want, but this is what I use. And you really don't even need them. I just add them to get some veggies in my diet without having to just eat raw carrots and spinach)
• Set aside
  
• Cut up 4 large chicken breasts into small cubes
• Place chicken cubes in food processor
  
• Mix chicken and veggie mix together. I have found it works best to knead it together.
  
• Beat 3 eggs into bowl (I find it easier to use a shallow wide bowl)
• Put bread crumbs into bowl and mix with any seasonings/spices you want to use (I use the same kind of bowl as I do for the eggs)
  
• Make small 1-2 inch balls (or larger patties if making chicken burgers) with chicken veggie mixture and flatten. Dip both sides into the egg bowl and then once covered with eggs, dip both sides into bread crumbs bowl. 
• Cook crumbed nuggets in frying pan with melted coconut oil and cook for about 10-15 minutes (depending on the size of the nuggets) making sure the juice is running clear. Bring to a golden color. 

Applesauce

Day 1 was a step in the right direction. No exercise, but I ate great. I enjoyed some nice little keishish things I made yesterday for breakfast, a great salad for lunch, homemade chicken-veggie nuggets and grapes for dinner, and then a bowl of homemade sugar-free applesauce for a late snack.

I thought I'd share with you the recipe I use for the applesauce. It is soooooo good.

No Sugar Added Applesauce

Peel, core and cut up 6ish medium-large golden delicious apples (These don't have to be tiny chunks. This time I actually used a food processor, but I liked the sauce better when I cut them up into chunks manually... although it takes way longer)

Place the cut up apples into a large saucepan/pot

Add 1/2 cup of water

Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice (this helps bring out the flavor)

Heat to boiling

Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium low

Simmer the apples until soft. (I keep stirring it regularly and pushing the chunks up against the wall to help soften them)

Add cinnamon as desired. (I add a ton!)

Serve warm or refrigerate and serve later.

As soon as I make this I divy it up into little containers so that it is already proportioned out for me. It makes for a great mid day snack at work or a great late night snack when I am craving something sweet. Hits the spot instead of a ice cream.

I'm Baaaaaaack

If I had to label the last few months, I think I would have to choose "tired." And that is exactly how I have felt. After helping my friend with wedding plans, various events for work, illness, setbacks, crazy travel adventures and numerous trips to the doctors, I have just felt tired. I have gained 10lbs in the last 6 weeks, I feel constantly tired, I lack energy and I just don't feel enthused about myself or life.

It all started back in the beginning of August when my friend got married. Being her maid of honor was such a great privilege. It also meant responsibility. The week was full of lots of fun and many near sleepless nights. Her day was beautiful, and it launched me on two months of craziness.

After the wedding, things at work started to pick up as we worked to prep everything for the Fall and all that kicks off that time of year. Feeling tired, I decided to plan a week long trip over Labor Day to my favorite place to be able to relax so that I could come back refreshed and ready to rock the conference I was organizing at the end of the month. Unfortunately, my trip didn't quite end up that way. I didn't sleep well on the floor at my friends' house, I got sick, and what should have been an 11 hour trip home took 25 hours and robbed me of coveted sleep. Needless to say, I arrived more exhausted than when I left.

When I got back, it was time to kick it into full gear conference planning for the next three weeks. Trying to keep myself sane, I was playing soccer with some friends... a week and a half later, I realized that my save in goal resulted in a brokem wrist... which landed me in a purple cast from the tip of my thumb until near my elbow... the week of the conference.

After the post conference craziness, I took a few days off. Unfortunately, due to irritation from the cast, I wasn't able to sleep, rest or relax hardly at all, leaving me just as fatigued as ever. And now, Oct 17, I finally got the release from the doctor to take my splint off and use my wrist, despite pain. But I have also found myself without energy and very fatigued.

I am able to see how my lack of good eating habits and inability to do much exercise has contributed to my state of being. Running around busy, I have grabbed the easiest, quickest snack... which unfortunately were usually nachos, cheese cubes or a sandwich laced with mayonnaise. These poor food choices contributed to my fatigue, making it nearly impossible to muster up the energy to work out after a long days work.

And so here I am... I have gained 10lbs in the last 6 weeks, I feel constantly tired, I lack energy and I just don't feel enthused about myself or life. And so enough is enough. Time to get over this hump. Back to the healthy habits.

OK, saying they were habits before is a little exaggerated. Back to attempt to make healthy habits :)

And hopefully I will post more regularly. I hope to share my struggles and victories, recipes and tips that have helped me.

One Step at a Time

Well, it has been more than 2 weeks since my last fit test, but due to a sprained ankle and such, I needed some extra time in between. But as promised, here are my results. Despite the week off, I was quite surprised by my results today... The first number is my fit test from December, the second from January 25, and the third from today. I improved in every category :)

switch kicks: 112 / 110 / 113
power jacks: 40 / 44 / 45
power knees: 80 / 70 / 87
power jumps: 23 / 25 / 29
globe jumps: 6 / 8 / 9
suicide jumps: 7 / 10 / 13
low plank obliques: 36 / 45 / 55

6 Years Later and IT FITS!!!

Well, today after watching a marathon of "Say Yes to the Dress", I decided to go try on the bridesmaids dress from my brother's 2006 wedding. Although my current weight is the same as it was the end of my junior year and beginning of my senior year (2005-2006) of highschool, I wasn't sure how the dress would fit. Because while the scale weighs in the same (after losing 40+ lbs over the past two and a half years), I settled to the thinking that despite the numbers, I am currently much more fat and much less muscle than I was then. Hence the decision to try on the dress and see how I compared to old photos. Well, the dress fit...and if I were to buy it for a wedding now, I may even get a size smaller.

Likewise, I had bought some dresses to wear to a wedding in Mexico last year, but I could barely get them to zip this time last year. So I tried them on too. Today I was able to zip them up myself with no problems.

So here's to an encouraging day :-D

62 days, 13 hours, 33 minutes and 23 seconds.

Well, due to the holidays and a personal decision to take a break from intense physical exercise during the beginning of the New Year, I had taken a break from Insanity for the past several weeks. And now I have finally restarted Insanity. And what perfect timing it is. Because I will finish this 60 day workout program just 2 days before I leave for Mexico. That's right, because in 62 days, 13 hours, 33 minutes and 23 seconds I will arrive in my beloved Morelia...looking better than ever.


Despite the craziness of the holidays though, I have still be cautious of my diet. So about 6lbs lighter than when I stopped Insanity a few weeks back, I was interested to see how my results to the fit test today would compare to the one I took at the beginning of December. I was a little doubtful, since I was thinking most of those 6lbs were muscle lost and not fat. But I was surprised by my results. The first number is from my fit test back in December. The second number is from today. I was better in 5 of the 7 exercises. And things are only going to get better from here.


switch kicks: 112 / 110
power jacks: 40 / 44
power knees: 80 / 70
power jumps: 23 / 25
globe jumps: 6 / 8
suicide jumps: 7 / 10
low plank obliques: 36 / 45


So, 60 days from now, be ready to see a thinner, fitter Traci :) Get ready Mexico!