Traveling!!!

So we have been here to visit my parents and family along with my brother, sister in law and nephew who also came to town.

I haven't really been logging my food. Well I haven't logged at all. Here's what I've been doing...

Watching portion sizes

Not snacking between meals

Having a few treats (key lime pie in a small portion size) so that I don't go over board.

Relaxing and enjoying my time here.

I brought my weights and pull up bar and I'm ashamed to say that if I use them in the morning it will be my first time and it's our last day here :/
Haven't been quite disciplined on exercise here.

So what I'm curious about is what my weigh in will be like on Monday...

It's been nice to relax and be away. I'm headed to Texas next week and I'm determined to do better there than I did here. I'll be up and going much more there. So maybe it will be easier to stay in routine. My hotel has an awesome gym there. I plan to utilize it!

Quick update on Miss Gracie (her story is on the right side of my page)
She went to the vet on Monday and has officially lost 3 lbs. she is 19 lbs now. Her goal weight! Yay Gracie! 3 pounds was 15% of her starting weight just to put that in perspective that is like me losing 28.5 lbs! Big deal for her! She's maintained for several months! Now if I can keep her weight down through winter we will be good.
This might seem silly but I take my pets weight/health very seriously. I feel that it's my responsibility because she can't take care of that on her own.

Very random post here but I wanted to add some thoughts from this trip.

I wonder if the relaxation has helped? Maybe destressing has helped?

I hve mentioned many times that I lose inches but not so much pounds and that I can tell a lot of difference in my body. Check out the pictures I adds to the right of my trainers. Picture on too is with Linda my current trainer taken back in Feb. then a more current picture with my 2nd trainer Chad taken in June. (he stopped by to say hi). I can see a difference between the pictures. Then you can look all the way back to winter of 2010-2011 with my first trainer Greg. I think it's been consistent progress. Not rapid but consistent. Maybe one day the pounds will leave too. I have a physical on Monday and plan to discuss my struggle with my doctor.

Here are some pics from the trip!

Oooing and Awwing at the fireworks with my nephew

My awesome nephew! 17 months old 

My hubby and I!!!

My family (mom, dad, brother, sis in law, nephew, hubby and myself)

My 19 pound healthy Jack Russell... Gracie!!

Products and why I love Twitter

So since I began blogging I've been approached by friends about four different products for weight loss / health etc. I will not name any of these products out of respect for those who use them and I wont mention who has suggested products to me. I will say that every single person who has approached me has been someone in my life who I respect and trust.

That's where the problem comes in. When I see a commercial or general statement by someone on Facebook etc it's easy to hear it, listen, and go on about your day... However when it's someone you respect and trust you start to put thought into it. A lot of these people or I'll say all of the people I'm referring to in my life have had good success with their product. So if I take a product will I have some success? Most likely! But I set out to do this naturally. That's what easily came out of my mouth when I was first talked to about a product 18 months ago. The longer I struggle the more I think over them. The fact for me is that neither my trainer or my doctor have approved any of these products for me. Does that mean they are bad? No! Just not for me. I have a physical in a week where I will ask about the last two products I've been approached about. Not because I want to use them but because I do like to have a conversation with him about them. If my doctor ever thinks that one is good for me it will then become a discussion. For now that has yet to be the case.

I've been at this steady for 18 months and I've lost as much as 12 lbs and right now I sit at 3 lbs... Why?! Well last time I visited my doctor last summer he suggested I increase my intensity. I did that for sure. My body has learned how to sweat like I don't think it knew how! So when I see him I'll ask about what to try next for better results. Since I have hypothyroidism there could be some things out of whack. I don't know. I can say that I'm gaining muscle on a regular basis and I see new tone and definition each week. So I must be losing fat to be maintaining/slowly losing at the same time. Maybe the pounds will show up soon, or should I say not show up soon.

What I do know is that one day I will meet my goal. I'm headed that direction and when I get there and I didn't use a product I'll be so proud!!! Sometimes my motivation to lose weight, which comes from many different goals, can tear me down in itself and make me want to give in. I'll give a very candid example. I want to be at a healthy weight before getting pregnant. Guess what? Our timeline is getting closer everyday but my goal weight doesn't. Now that can make a women desperate! I don't want to let me, my husband, or my future kids down when it comes to being a healthy mom with a healthy pregnancy. I'll tell you how this goal originated. I thought this...
"I've never been at my ideal weight...
... When I'm pregnant I will have weight to lose afterward....
If I start from above my ideal weight then after pregnancy I'm headed to a weight I've never been at before"

Now THATs setting me up for frustration because if your body has been there before it has a bit of a memory to get you back. If not your body just says "what the heck!"

Another reason for the goal is that I don't want complications or anymore difficulty than necessary during that time. So the more in shape you are the better.

Last and least reason for the goal. When I post my obligatory Facebook preggo pics I'd like to be cute and not all puffy. I'd like to glow and look
Healthy. I think that would be hard if I start out overweight or in my case obese.

I can't wait until our timeline gets here for our kids (I don't discuss it specifically... Only me and hubby know and it will stay that way until time) but I want my health goals to be achieved when the time arrives.

If feels so good to get that out. That's been weighing on me very heavy for a little while. Sorry for the tangent. I would love comments on that topic from your experiences or things you know about all that.

Last think.
Why do I love twitter? When you are told your favorite Biggest Loser contestants use a certain product you can just ask them. That's what I did tonight. Guess what? In my situation tonight... They don't use it. That made me feel better. If they had used it I would have felt doomed.

So I'm 240 views from 10,000.... Help me get there this week! Check back for more posts, retweet and share my blog with friends.

Thanks for reading!

Strength

Today my thoughts were about strength. You'll see a picture below that I just love. It says "girls that are naturally skinny are lucky, girls that have to fight to be skinny are strong"
If you are naturally skinny don't be offended but I've always thought this way. I would rather be able to do 50 pushups in a 30 minute circuit at 190 lbs than to struggle to do 5 at 130 lbs. I've always looked at it this way...
(I think my mom taught me this)
My weight struggle forces me to be conscious of my health which allows
Me to be healthy on the inside while
I work on the outside. Those who are naturally skinny may be lucky in the sense that they never have to check for back fat while trying on clothes or never worry about pictures at the beach in a swim suit or never perfect a head angle for pictures to reduce multi chin or worry about what they look like every step of every day!, but they're not so lucky afterall. Their body may not indicate high blood pressure, plaque in their arteries, etc.
So I've always been thankful for a body that keeps me making healthy choices for my inside. I'm proud to say that i may be currently in the obese BMI range (I know the charts are a bit iffy and don't take muscle into consideration etc...) but my cholesterol is good, my triglycerides are good, blood sugar good, blood pressure good. The only thing out of balance is my thyroid and that is not related
To weight at all (meaning that is is not caused my an unhealthy lifestyle). I can run a half marathon! There are a lot of people
In the normal BMI range that have high numbers on some of the mentioned tests and can not run a half marathon.

I may need to reapply body glide during a race, but I wasn't dehydrated or hurt when I got done ....

When I go to yoga my chubby midsection may not look so fantastic in my poses but I can forward fold until my hands are flat on the ground. I can do the most advanced tree pose and a crescent pose with only the foot
and hand from my same side on the floor while the other two stretch to the sky....

I may have more to push up but I can knock out my pushups!....same goes for pull ups....
That just means when I lose more
Weight they will be EASY!....

When I go to ripped class my arms
might jiggle a little when I throw upper cuts, but they jiggle less each time....

I walked in to yoga tonight for
The first time in almost a year. It was always a favorite but I dropped
It when I began training for 13.1

I was sore as could be tonight!
I was unsure of how I would do...
Guess what. I did better than the last time I was there. No lie! I was a strong as ever. Stronger actually. My balance was awesome an my flexibility I believe was better (it's always been a strong point for me, but tonight was great)

What does that mean?!
It means that over the last 18 months I may not have lost much in pounds but those inches I've lost aren't just inches. They unlocked strength!

Circuits with Chad that made me want to vomit... Made me stronger

Crossfit circuits with Linda!... Made
me stronger

Water workouts ... Made me stronger

Couch to 5K ... Made me stronger

Training for 13.1 for 7 months... Made me stronger

Run2Walk .... Encouraged me to be strong in someone's place

Cross training on my bike ... Made
me stronger

Running a 5K and 13.1 all
in 9 months... Made me stronger

Blogging... Made me stronger

Yoga, Zumba, RIPPED ... Made me stronger

Making healthy food choices... Made me stronger

I, with Gods help am stronger!!!

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Phil 4:13

I looked in the mirror today at yoga during tree pose and as we were instructed to clear our minds of our life's hustle and bustle. I looked myself
In the mirror and focused on me and I said to myself. "you are strong"

Does this mean that I think 190 lbs in unhealthy? No Way!!!

What I think is when I lose weight to my goal weight I'm going to be unstoppable!! That's what this means. I want to lose weight to make all of those things listed above easier! Then I'll have to find a new challenge!

I continue everyday to get stronger both physically and mentally...

Focus on being strong!!!

Fantastic Day!!!!

So today was fantastic. It was just what I needed!!! I met with my trainer at 10:00. I arrived at 9:58! I was ON TIME! At weigh in I was nervous and dreading it after such a crazy week this last week. I actually lost 1 lb though! So Yipee. I celebrate any loss big or small!
We headed to our workout spot. Crossfit circuit today. We were going to do 4 rounds of the circuit. A circuit went something like this:
5 pull ups
10 pushups
15 squats or lunges with weights
20ish core moves some w weights

Core was a set of either sit ups/roll
Ups. Leg lifts, or plank ups (which made me want to throw up literally).

Push ups were varied between regular and tricep

Pull ups varied between 3 grips and I use the machine that assists you with your body weight in order to have great form. They are very tough!

Squats were squat touch weight to the floor then push the weight over head.

After 3 rounds Linda said "3 down 2 to go" I said "what?!". We were making such good time I got to get in a fifth round! Wow!

Afterward. I was sweaty and it felt
Good. Our gym was doing free health screenings and had fresh fruit at the pro shop for members today. So Linda had me eat fresh fruit before hitting the elliptical. It was delicious. Nothing like
Fresh fruit when you are hot and exhausted! I did 20 minutes of elliptical. Then I was off to shower and head out to get the day underway with my hubby. I grabbed a low fat chocolate milk for my after.

RIPPED time rolled around and off I went. I have yet to make it to my personal training session and ripped all
In one day until today. And I got in my cardio. RIPPED starts at 5:30. I arrived at 5:27. On time again! Yeah!
Class was NOT easy. We advanced the power segment and OMG!!! I got very fatigued toward the end. The mat had never felt so good like it did when we did our last core set tonight!!!
Stretching was so fantastic!

Food today?
Here's the rundown:

Breakfast:
Cream of Wheat and fresh peach

Mid workout snack:
Fresh fruit (watermelon cantaloupe pineapple strawberries and blueberries)

Post workout snack:
Low fat chocolate milk!

Lunch:
Steamed broccoli and 2 oz Salmon
3 fresh cherries

Afternoon snack (kinda big because lunch was ridiculously too small):
6" Sweet onion Chicken sub on wheat (subway in the hospital, waiting in the waiting room for my MIL to have a test done and my stomach was GROWLING) *i really had my metabolism in high gear today*

Pre workout snack:
1 TBSP natural peanut butter
String cheese (lowfat)
Peach

Dinner:
Turkey Mingnon (spelling)
Grilled squash, zucchini, onion

Dessert:
70 cal fat free no sugar added yogurt bar! Yum! I enjoyed it!

I had like 9 cups of water today
No soda!

Calories Eaten today 1630 (goal 1600)
Calories Burned today in exercise 1527!

I had a great day!

I used to have trouble sweating. Now with my citrus water it's not a problem
Like it was! I had sweat drip into my eye at class tonight. I was so excited! Then at the end of class as we say for core I noticed a sheen of sweat on my shins and basically all over. I love sweating!!!!

I had been very down lately and today was just what I needed. Let's see what my body thinks in the morning when it's time to head to Pilates at 8am!

Veggie ideas!

Not a veggie lover? I've found some great ways to prepare veggies to make them lovable. Maybe not lovable but at least likable!

Old Bay Zucchini and Squash
Slice them about 1/8-1/4 inch slices. Spray a pan lightly with extra virgin olive oi (EVOO)l. Place slices in pan. Sprinkle with old bay and cook down on low with the lid on. This can be high in sodium if you are heavy on the old bay.
So watch out!

Feta Squash
Slice yellow squash in thin slices (1/8in)
Place in a pan that has been sprayed with EVOO. Sprinkle with dried or fresh basil flakes. Cook down with no lid. Stirring/flipping frequently. When they are almost render enough to suit you sprinkle with feta cheese (I like the feta cheese that has a tomato basil flavor added). Serve. This one is FULL of flavor.

Grilling time. I heart grilled veggies!!!

It's always good to purchase a gill wok from a kitchen store ($6). You can chop season and grill your veggies in the wok with lots of variations and it's easy.

Grilled onions. I prefer sweet onions. If you are grilling right on the grill not in a wok slice the onion in 1/4 in slices. Do not pull the layers apart but rather put a pre soaked toothpick through to hold the layers together. One on each side works great. Or a skewer. Lay directly on the grill and every single layer will get caramelized. What could possibly be any better. Yum!!!!!

Grilled peppers. You can cut them up in small pieces or make big slices and lay them on the grill. They can be seasoned or not. Avoid salt as it increases sodium. Check out Mrs. Dash sodium free or reduced sodium seasonings in lots of fun flavors. To cut big pieces I normally grab my big sharpest knife out of the block and set the pepper up like an apple. I start at the top just away from the stem an cut straight down. I can normally get 4-5 pieces out of one pepper.

Grilled Zucchini or Squash

I make 4 slices long ways an put them right on the grill. You can too them with your favorite shredded cheese (but measure it) or old bay (easy on it). Basil, etc. be creative.

Steamed broccoli is one of my faves. Of course it's yummy with tons of butter and cheese like they serve at restaurants. Dont do the butter. Cheese in moderation is okay though. So I usually rinse my broccoli crowns and put them in my steamer pot. I have two kinds. One is a stove top pan with a strainer type insert. You add water underneath. But the broccoli in the strainer part and place the lid on. This is the best way and you can cook with the broccoli broth that is left behind. I've never done that but I kinda want to and would love ideas for that. I also have a pampered chef plastic microwaveable pan that I put a the broccoli in with a drizzle of water and in 3 min. It's done. Microwave is quick but cooks less at a time. Stove too takes like 10ish min but cooks more.
I like to add lemon pepper (easy if it's not sodium free). Also lemon juice gives a great flavor.
One of my favorites is shredded Parmesan cheese. Real cheese not the powdery type but the shredded type. Or mozzarella. Measure cheese always. The Parmesan is a hard cheese. Not good for you so measure and go with as little as possible to get your taste right.

On to Tomatoes. Use Roma, cherry, or vine, or just regular tomatoes. I think the smaller ones have more flavor unless you find them fresh or home grown then they are perfect to slice and eat plain with some pepper and a dash of salt.
On to other ways to eat them. Mix them with mozzarella and olive oil and balsamic vinegar to make a tomato
Salad. Excellent to go with whole wheat pasta or chicken. Okay. So a tomato is actually a fruit. But anyhow. Moving on.

Spinach.

I like to buy baby spinach and make a pizza. I grab a Boboli whole wheat crust off the pizza sauce isle (not refrigerated). I put about 1/8-1/4 of a cup of pizza sauce on the crust. Then I cook the spinach down (like half a container) in a skillet with a drizzle
of EVOO, minced garlic and sometimes a splash of red wine vinegar. It takes like 2 minutes to cook down. Place the cooked spinach around the pizza and top with Feta cheese. Place the pizza in the oven for 10-15 min. Follow
Directions on the crust. Yum!!!
Don't forget to measure your ingredients and calculate your calories and divide by how many slices you've got. When I do this I get 6 slices out of the pizza. 167 cal per slice.

You can also just eat the spinach with the garlic and feta cooked or uncooked. Very good and very healthy veggie.

I think that about exhausts my veggie recipes.

A few other veggie thoughts.

If you don't like them eat them mixed with other foods (peas in Speghetti, a piece of broccoli with a piece or your meat on one fork bite)

Grab some frozen steamable edamames. Never had them? They are one of my childhood favorites. Just steam them and pop them out of their shell right into your mouth. Super healthy. They are just soybeans. Very good!

Spraying EVOO? Don't go for PAM or that type of aerosol Spray. They are full of chemicals and in my opinion taste bad. Grab an oil sprayer from a kitchen store ($10-$15). Pour in EVOO, pump and spray!!! Yep it's that easy!

One last thought.

Go to your local farmers market. Mine has 3 different ones and most are open Tues, Thurs, Sat. Grab fresh veggies and fruit and enjoy!!!

Pictures below of some stuff.

Summer Time

This summer I've been a bit lazy in my blogging and tweeting but not lazy for sure in my working out and eating right. Here's what I've been up to

Monday- meet with Trainer in the am, R.I.P.P.E.D. Class in the PM
Tuesday - Pilates in the am
Wednesday - Spin in the am or R.I.P.P.E.D. In the pm
Thursday - R.I.P.P.E.D. In the am
Friday - Devoted fitness in the am
Saturday - optional class day I go when R.I.P.P.E.D. Is offered.

What is R.I.P.P.E.D.?
Resistance (work with dumbbells)
Intervals (fast footwork type cardio)
Power (weights and pushups type)
Plyometrics (sports jumping training)
Endurance (often kick boxing type)
D is Diet and I do that outside of class

I love R.I.P.P.E.D. Class. I burn around 800-1000 calories per class. Check out www.rippedusa.com to see if there are
Classes near you.

I'm supposed to run/bike/elliptical or swim each day for an additional 30 minutes but I've not gotten good at that yet. Here's to this coming week!

On I eating. I've been going for 1600 calories a day. Some people think its too many but my trainer is who I trust.
She has me eating whole foods (from the ground or God) so in other words, not processed type foods. I'm not over the top with this but I try to stick to it the best I can. I've been having a lot of local fruits and veggies. Even local milk. I've been visiting farmers markets (my town has 3), the local orchard and dairy as well. Past that I get my meats from Kroger or Aldi along with other staples. My most processed food I guess is my Smuckers Natural Peanut Butter and recently this week with house guest I grabbed a box of honey nut Cheerios.

I also have been drinking citrus water. Did you know that lemon or line water helps you sweat?! It does. I use a half lemon or a whole lime in a glass of water. I don't sweat easily but when I start my day with lime water my sweat rolls down my face at R.I.P.P.E.D. Class. It has a ton of other benefits to. Clearing toxins from the kidneys, aiding in digestion just to name a few. Google it and be amazed.

This week I had a not good week for lunch/dinner and exercise. I taught a drum major camp all week. I was provided lunch some days and ate with the students every day (some days healthier than others). But I was thankful and enjoyed those times. Dinner time was out a lot because we had house guests and wanted to show off our towns great spots to eat. I did stick with a healthier breakfast each morning because I could get it in before the day started. I tried fresh peaches for the first time this week. I loved the flavor. Wasn't huge on the fuzziness. Kinda felt like I was eating a stuffed animal. Lol. Very good though!

The drum major camp kept up some
Of my strengthening. I had the kiddos do pushups and planks each day. I did it right with them. Also conducting properly for hours on end with work those arm muscles and your core
Too.

Sometimes life happens and it happened this week. I truly enjoyed my week instructing the kids but I've got to start planning now for band camp
In full force coming up in July. I've got to plan my meals ahead, cook
Ahead, pack them etc.

Amazingly I gained less than a pound this week. I was really worried. So now I'm focused for the week ahead. I can't wait to get back to class and cook up
Some local veggies for dinner!!

It feels so good to blog. Keep watching because I'll keep blogging. Sorry for the recent dry spell!

Save where you can...

So we went to O'Charleys...

It's so insane to look through the nutrition information for restaurants. Seriously an entree that has 2,300 calories? (new York pizza pasta)

I truly believe that all menus should state the calories next to every item. (thank you Ruby Tuesday for doing this!) I had to ask our server for more time to decide on what to order three times because my husband and I were going between the menu and their nutrition info on my iPhone. Are they afraid someone will not want their 2000+ calorie entree item?! Probably.

Here are my thoughts on that. I think that 2000+ calories should be known! It's not lying not to have it printed on the menu but if they are afraid someone won't order it because it's 2000+ then maybe they shouldn't serve it. This is not intended to bash OCharleys. They have healthier options and the health info is readily available on their website. I know of other restaurants that serve 2000+ calorie entrees. It's everywhere!!!

So I ordered grilled Atlantic salmon with Chipolte sauce. My sides were broccoli and a cup if potato soup. I added a house salad with apple honey vinegrette dressing. I also splurged and ate one roll. If I ordered this all without any adjustments and ate it all it would be 1012 calories. That is quite a bit, though since this meal served as a brunch and I allowed more calories for the meal. Still too much though and these were some of the lowest calorie options.

So here is what I did...
-I ate half of the salad,
-half the cup of soup,
-half the Brocolli,
-got the Chipolte sauce on the side and used maybe 1/10 of it.
-Ate the full 6oz of salmon and the roll. These adjustments brought me down to.....735 calories!!! So I saved 287 by making simple adjustments.

After brunch I was satisfied but not miserable. I am most satisfied with my smart choices. I have right at 900 calories left in my day plus a full afternoon of cleaning out boxes of my husbands childhood belongings from his parents house for our yard sale. So I'll get a chance to sweat! Yay!

Have you had any successful eating out/simple adjustment stories? Share your tips in the comments section please.

Have a great Tuesday! My teacher summer has officially begun! Yay!