Food, Water & Workout Journal 6/18/11 – It’s 99% Mental

Just two more days until my next weigh-in! I’m excited! I spent part of the morning watching videos of Chalene Johnson (Turbo Jam, TurboFire, ChaLEAN Extreme), Brett Hoebel (Biggest Loser, RevAbs), Tony Horton (Power 90, P90X, 10 Minute Trainer), Shaun T (Hip Hop Abs, Insanity) and more leading the Super Workout at Coach Summit in LA which is extremely motivating. Can’t wait for next year in Vegas!

11:00am 12oz water and 2 Beachbody Slimming Formula tablets

12:45pm Breakfast – I have really got to start doing better about eating right after I get up and BEFORE I get on the computer! Chocolate Shakeology made with 4oz water, 4oz 1% milk, 1 Tbs. natural peanut butter, 1 scoop Shakeology Fiber Boost and 3 ice cubes

3:00pm Snack – 1/2 large cucumber, sliced with 2 Tbs. Trader Joe’s hummus

4:00pm – 12oz water

6:00pm Lunch – 12oz water with 2 Slimming Formula tablets, Smothered chicken burritos. Here’s the “recipe” inspired by Sam the Cooking Guy. Love him!

1. Shred some rotisserie chicken (Costco has the best deal by far) I used 3 oz in my burritos

2. Warm the chicken and enchilada sauce on the stove – I used about 2c. sauce for the whole family – make sure there’s enough sauce so that after you take the chicken out there’s enough to spoon over the burritos

3. Heat tortillas in a dry skillet on medium until soft and pliable, about 20 seconds, flipping halfway through (don’t leave them in the skillet too long or they’ll become hard and difficult to deal with) – I used Mission flour tortillas for the family and whole wheat, low-carb, high fiber tortillas for mine. Let’s compare…200 calories for one regular tortilla or 80 calories and 12g fiber for one of the kind I used. Seems like a no-brainer to me. I had two which were fewer calories than one of the other. Why didn’t I give the same to my family? Because they taste like whole grain and getting them to eat stuff like that is a work in progress. Baby steps.

4. Put warm tortilla on a large plate and sprinkle the center with shredded cheese – I used part-skim mozzarella because that’s what we had. Monterey Jack would be great. I weighed out 2 oz for my whole plate and divided it between the two burritos and top.

5. Top the cheese with some of the shredded chicken. I used a fork and kind of pressed it against the inside of the pan so it wouldn’t be too saucy, leaving some of the sauce for the top.

6. Roll up the tortilla to make a burrito. I fold in the sides first, then fold the bottom up over the filling and continue rolling up.

7. Once you’ve made the burritos, place on each person’s plate, spoon the remaining sauce over the top, sprinkle with shredded cheese and shredded lettuce then top with some sour cream. I used 2 Tbs. and it was the light kind.

8:00pm 12oz water

8:05pm Was feeling really sleepy and knew I was in great danger of slipping into that mental state where I blow off my workout, finding a myriad of ways to rationalize it, so I went out for a walk/run.

9:30pm 12oz water

10:00pm Dinner – 12oz water and 2 Slimming Formula tablets, Chocolate Shakeology made with 4oz water, 4oz 1% milk, 1 scoop Shakeology Fiber Boost, a little mint extract and 3 ice cubes

12:30am Snack – 6oz Yoplait Light Blueberry and 10 raw almonds

Total calories consumed – 1343  Total calories burned – 2925

Protein – 116g, Carbs – 145g, Fat – 47g, Fiber – 52g

Water – 72oz

 BONUS – Photos from my walk. Please forgive me for getting so excited about pretty clouds, but when you live in a place that’s overcast 75% of the year seeing some blue sky and clouds that have actual shapes other than “blanket” is a big deal. Once the sun had gone down to the point where taking photos with my not-so-great camera was pointless I decided to try some running intervals again. This time I took the advice of a friend and payed more attention to being light on my heels. It made a huge difference and I found myself going farther each time. Instead of counting steps I looked ahead for a landmark and told myself I could make it…and I did. The last interval was even uphill and I went farther than my goal. Booyah!! LOL

It’s amazing how often we hold ourselves back from accomplishing things because we tell ourselves we can’t. We were watching a fascinating show on the Discovery channel earlier in the day about a man who, if you didn’t know what he was doing and you believed in that stuff, you’d swear was a psychic. He’s actually a professional mentalist and he did share a lot of what he was doing. In one part he was explaining how car salesmen use little “tricks” to get you to think a certain way and do certain things like buying a car you didn’t really want when you went in. He also gave tips on how to counteract what they’re doing so you can get the best deal.

Afterward, I was talking to my kids about how our minds are so pliable…so open to suggestion…and how we can actually use that on ourselves to our advantage. I gave the example of how Chalene Johnson does this in a very unsubtle way in her workout programs. She says things like, “Guess what? You’re not tired!” or “I know you saved some energy for me!” or simply “You can do this!” and you start to believe it. The next thing you know you’re pushing yourself harder than you ever thought you could and you are doing it…just like she said. We can tell ourselves things that will either hinder or help. I know I have been guilty of holding myself back with negative thoughts, but I’m learning just how powerful our thoughts and words really are. It’s a gift from God. We need to exercise our free will and use it to our advantage. We do not have to be victims of our circumstances. We can choose to believe that we are capable of so much more, even if no one around us believes it. If we say we can’t, guess what…we’re right because we won’t even try. We have to say we can, figure out how and do it. It’s 99% mental.

Food, Water & Workout Journal 6/16/11 – One Night in Bangkok?

OH yes, I love the 80s!! Remember this one? What in the world does that have to do with my journal? Well…the food I made for dinner was “Thai inspired”. I do need to go to the Asian market soon and get some more authentic ingredients, though.

10:30am Breakfast – had actually been up since 7:30 and fully intended on going back to bed at 8:00, but once again got distracted by facebook. To be fair, I was welcoming a new coach to my team and helping some other team members with questions so that was pretty important. 12 oz water, Chocolate Shakeology made with 6oz water, 2oz skim milk (we’re out now), 1 scoop Shakeology Fiber Boost, a little vanilla extract and 3 ice cubes. Forgot the Beachbody Slimming Formula again…oops.

12:45pm Snack – 1 1/2 servings of the leftover veggie and cheese enchilada casserole thing from the other day. 12oz water

1:15pm Nap

5:30pm WORKOUT!! ChaLEAN Extreme Burn Intervals and Ab Burner, TurboFire FIRE45. Fun as always! Wanted to do FIRE45EZ, too, but realized it was getting pretty late and dinner wasn’t going to make itself. 40oz water and 1 scoop P90X Results & Recovery Formula (not all together – 1 scoop in about 10oz then kept refilling the glass)

8:00pm Lunch (Dinner for the rest of the family) – 20oz water and 2 Slimming Formula tablets, Sweet and spicy tofu and broccoli stir fry with jasmine rice. Browned the tofu pieces a bit before adding the broccoli and made a sauce from light soy sauce, fish sauce (oh yeah, that’s Thai), powdered ginger (really need to get some fresh or even better, galangal), palm sugar, seasoned rice vinegar (would’ve preferred tamarind for the sour) and chili garlic sauce. My serving had 1/2 c. cooked rice, 6oz tofu and about 1 c. broccoli.

8:45pm Took the kids out to the basketball court and shot some hoops with them – great bonding time

9:20pm 24oz water

11:00pm WORKOUT #2!!! Woot!! Yep, I decided to do the FIRE45EZ that I left out earlier and I’m so glad I did!! FUN!!! 20oz water

11:50pm Dinner – 8 oz water and 2 Slimming Formula tablets, Chocolate Shakeology made with 8oz water, 1 Tbs. natural peanut butter, 1 scoop Shakeology Fiber Boost, and 2 ice cubes

1:30am Snack – 1 low-carb tortilla with 2Tbs. hummus from Trader Joe’s and 1/2 a cucumber, diced

Total calories consumed – 1378  Total calories burned – 4094 (700 of those came from doing 45EZ so I’m extra glad I did it!)

Protein – 94g, Carbs – 187g, Fat – 38g, Fiber – 45g

Water – 114oz

What the hey…here’s another great song from the 80s! I used to have hair just like the guy on the keyboard. LOL Enjoy and I’ll see you tomorrow!! 

1st Week Weigh-in: Wanted to lose 6lbs but ended up losing….

Before I tell you how much I lost in this first week of my extreme personal challenge, I feel I must include this disclaimer. If you are trying to lose weight 2lbs a week is considered a healthy rate to shoot for. That means you have to burn 7000 calories more than you consume in that week or 1000 calories a day. What I am attempting is much more extreme than that…more along the lines of what you see on shows like Biggest Loser and Extreme Makeover: Weightloss Edition. Obviously it is possible for people who have a lot of weight to lose to go at a faster rate as long as it’s done properly. If you’re even considering doing something extreme (in other words, planning on losing more than 2 lbs a week) it is important that you see your doctor first and make sure you will be safe and healthy throughout the process. I have been posting my food intake as well as my workout schedule so you can how I’m doing it, but that doesn’t mean that you should do the exact same thing because there are many variables.

My goal is to lose 50lbs over the next two months. Like I said, that’s extreme. If I only had 50lbs to lose I would not expect to be able to do it that quickly. I have chosen to use Beachbody fitness programs as well as Shakeology (also from Beachbody) to get me there because I know they work. I became a Beachbody Coach because I believe in the products and am so thankful to be able to share them with people who are trying to live healthier and happier lives. If you are ready to make some positive changes I would love to help you. Contact me on facebook or twitter so we can talk.

Now for the results. I used the same scale in the same spot of the floor and it’s not broken. Drumroll please……

I lost 14.5lbs! 😀

I almost couldn’t believe it, but it’s true! And the changes I can see in my body don’t lie. I’m going to start taking a photo of myself each week in the same clothes so you can see the transformation and will start posting them once there are a couple to compare.

Now, the question is, how am I going to reward myself? It won’t be with food, that’s for sure! There’s no amount of cake or cookies or candy or ice cream or chips or whatever that could make me feel better than I do right now. I’m thinking some cute, new workout clothes are in order. 😉

Food, Water & Workout Journal 6/12/11 – Last Day Before 1st Weigh-in

So far this week there hasn’t been a day when I reached my goal for calories burned…4500. Yes, that’s a lot, but doable if you put in the time and effort. I came close one day. I’m hoping today will be the day. It will be interesting to see how much I burn doing ChaLEAN Extreme Lean Circuit 1. First day of the new phase and I’m excited! Of course I’ll be doing some TurboFire, too, because there’s just nothing else out there that burns as many calories per minute/hour…and in case you missed it before, it’s FUN!! I was thinking about how people spend hours on exercise machines like treadmills or ellipticals. Ugh. BORING!! I don’t care what music I’m listening to or what show I’m watching, it still doesn’t change the fact that the movement is the same. Over and over and over and over and…well, you get the picture. Makes me want to run screaming from the room. Not exactly the best way to change your body, either. Using the same muscles in the same way a bazillion times isn’t going to do much other than to get those muscles really used to doing that one thing. No thanks.

10:00am Breakfast (earlier than usual because we had an unexpected visitor show up at our door) – 10oz water,  2 Beachbody Slimming Formula tablets, Chocolate Shakeology made with 8oz water, 1 scoop Shakeology fiber boost, 1 Tbs. natural peanut butter, 3 ice cubes

12:45pm Snack – 2 c. homemade minestrone soup – need to eat it up before it goes bad, the recipe made a lot!

3:30pm Snack – 1 1/2 blueberry oat pancakes leftover from the batch I made for the kids (meant to eat two, but my son wanted another one as I was halfway through the second…I was just pulling pieces off so he wasn’t grossed out) Here’s the recipe…

1 c. unbleached white flour (wanted to use whole wheat, but was out)

1/2 c. quick oats, dry

1 Tbs. baking powder

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

2 Tbs. sugar (I’d love to try this recipe with Truvia)

1 1/2 c. skim milk (For thicker pancakes, reduce to 1 1/4 c.)

1 egg

2 Tbs. canola or vegetable oil

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 c. fresh or frozen blueberries (or chopped strawberries)

Heat skillet on medium while mixing ingredients.

1. Wisk together the dry ingredients (flour through sugar)  in a large bowl.

2. Wish together the wet ingredients (milk through vanilla)  in a large measuring cup or bowl.

3. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and mix quickly with wisk until just combined. Batter will be thin with lumps. DO NOT OVER MIX!!

4. Let batter sit for a few minutes until it begins to thicken.

5. Spray skillet with Pam and add batter (1/4 c. per pancake). Place blueberries (5-7) on each pancake and push down gently.

6. Carefully flip pancakes over when bubbles appear in the centers and edges are dry. Cook until bottoms are golden brown.

7. Serve immediately or keep warm in oven at lowest temperature until all pancakes are cooked.

Makes about 14 pancakes at about 80 calories each.

4:00pm WORKOUT! Yes, it’s that exciting. ChaLEAN Extreme Lean Circuit 1 (WOW! That is one serious workout! …and I thought the Push Phase was intense), TurboFire FIRE45 and FIRE30. The first 15 minutes of FIRE45 my muscles didn’t really want to do what I was asking them to, but then I felt great and finished strong. Drank 40oz water.

6:15pm Lunch – 10oz water and 2 Slimming Formula tablets, Chocolate Shakeology made with 4oz water, 4oz skim milk, 1 scoop Shakeology Fiber Boost, 1/2 c. frozen blueberries and 3 ice cubes – my new FAVORITE!!! Would it be too much to say that it was like heaven opened up and an angel came down and handed me a glass? Maybe, but you get the idea.

8:25pm Went out for a walk because I really, really wanted to burn those 4500 calories.

9:20 Back from walk. Would’ve stayed out longer, but didn’t want to make my husband nervous with me being out alone after dark. I say bring it on! Ha ha! 20oz water

10:15pm Dinner – a big, fat quesadilla made with a low-carb tortilla, 3oz cooked ground turkey with taco seasoning (left over from the other day’s burritos), about 3 Tbs. pico de gallo, 1 oz shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese and 2 Tbs. light sour cream. 8oz water with 2 Slimming Formula tablets

11:15pm Checked my calories burned and was 500 short of my goal so I turned on Best in Show (love Netflix) and walked in place in front of the TV for 35 minutes. Seriously. Funny movie.

1:00am Final snack – 6oz Yoplait Light Harvest Peach and 10 whole almonds, 12oz water

Total calories consumed – 1455  Total calories burned (as of midnight) 4329 So close!! Should hit 4500 around 2am which is before I go to bed so I’m good with it.

Protein – 106g, Carbs – 178g, Fat – 46g, Fiber – 52g

Water – 100oz

You may be wondering if I ever get hungry eating 1500 calories a day or less and burning between 3500-4500. The answer is no, not when I’m eating every few hours and consuming a lot of fiber and plenty of protein. It’s all about making every calorie count.  Also, Shakeology really keeps me feeling full and gives me tons of energy. There’s no way I could do this without it.

Food, Water & Workout Journal 6/8 – 6/10/11 – Rockin’ It!!

Ack!! I’ve fallen way behind on posting my journal. Not that I haven’t been keeping one. I’ve been doing my tracking over on the BodyBugg site. I doubt if I’ll remember all the times for everything so I’m not even going to try to list them, but here are the last three days.

6/8/11

Breakfast – a toasted whole wheat pita pocket stuffed with scrambled eggs (1 whole and 2 whites), 2 slices turkey bacon and 1 slice of tomato (I really hate that my camera is so bad at taking close-up shots)

Snack – 1 1/2 c. broccoli, 2 Tbs Toby’s Lite Jalapeno Tofu spread (YUMM!!!), 1 wedge Laughing Cow Light cheese, 1 whole tomato plus the rest of the one I took the slice from for breakfast and 2 Tbs fat-free Italian dressing

Lunch – Chocolate Shakeology made with 8oz water, 1 scoop Shakeology fiber boost, 1 Tbs almond butter and 3 ice cubes

Snack – P90X Cafe Mocha protein bar

Workout – ChaLEAN Extreme Push Circuit 3, TurboFire FIRE45, FIRE30 and Stretch10. Got started really late and the neighbors actually banged on the wall (or ceiling…not sure if it was the people next to or below us) around 11:30pm so I had to finish all my TurboFire low-impact. It really wasn’t that easy to do because I was full of energy and am used to putting as much bounce in my step as possible.

During/post-workout – 1 scoop (half serving) P90X Results & Recovery Formula

Dinner – which was actually at about 1:30am or so – The plan was to have another Shakeology, but I was afraid to push it any further with the neighbors. I figured if I used the blender they’d be knocking on my door for sure. Instead, I had a turkey wrap made with a low-carb whole wheat tortilla, 3 slices turkey (about 1 oz each), 1 tsp brown mustard, and a big handful of iceberg lettuce. Also had 3 turkey sausage links because I opened a package for my husband and didn’t feel like wrapping up the three that were left. Plus, I needed some more protein and was fine on calories.

Total calories consumed – 1378        Total calories burned – 2297 (I counted all the calories I ate before I went to bed, but the calories burned only goes up to midnight because that’s how the bodybugg works)

Protein – 113g, Carbs – 145g, Fat – 45g, Fiber – 35g

Water – honestly can’t remember now, but at least 70oz (completely forgot to take the Slimming Formula all day…ooops)

6/9/11

Breakfast – Chocolate Shakeology made with 8oz skim milk, a scoop of Shakeology fiber boost, 3 ice cubes and a few drops of raspberry flavoring – reminded me of those delightful Ghirardelli raspberry squares

Workout – TurboFire FIRE55EZ and FIRE45EZ (burned over 1800 calories doing these and had SO MUCH FUN!)

Snack – actually had this while working out – a scoop (half serving) P90X Results & Recovery Formula

Lunch – Chocolate Shakeology made with 8oz water, 1 scoop Shakeology fiber boost, 1 Tbs natural peanut butter, 3 ice cubes

Dinner – which ended up being about 3 hours after lunch – burrito made with a large flour tortilla (probably would’ve been better to use a whole wheat one, but I really wanted the “bad” kind ha ha…was it worth it? not really), 4oz cooked ground turkey that was seasoned with taco seasoning, a little shredded iceberg lettuce, 1 Tbs light sour cream and 2 Tbs pico de gallo with a lettuce and tomato salad topped with 2 Tbs Trader Joe’s low fat cilantro dressing

Snack – 10 raw almonds and 6oz Yoplait Light Harvest Peach yogurt

Total calories consumed – 1454    Total calories burned (including the end of my workout from the night before) – 4398

Protein – 104g, Carbs – 166g, Fat – 44g, Fiber – 28g

Water – at least 100oz and I’m pretty sure I remembered to take all 6 Slimming Formula tablets

6/10/11

Breakfast – Oatmeal made with 1/2 c. dry rolled oats, 1/4 c. skim milk, 10 almonds, chopped, 1 Tbs. blueberry flavored Craisins, 2 tsp. pure maple syrup and a pinch of salt – I’m trying to rotate which meals I have Shakeology for so I don’t get bored with the same routine, but I have to say I always feel much better after having Shakeology for breakfast that anything else. I know that having a good amount of protein or fiber is supposed to be ideal, but it’s still not the same. Nothing gives me the same amount of sustained energy that Shakeology does.

Snack – 1 large cucumber, sliced dipped in 1 Tbs. Hidden Valley Original Ranch dressing mixed with 1 Tbs. light sour cream and a dash of black pepper (I’m not a fan of light or fat-free ranch dressing so I like to mix the original with light sour cream to cut down on fat and calories without getting that weird “light” taste)

Lunch – Chocolate Shakeology made with 8oz water, 1 scoop Shakeology fiber boost, 3 maraschino cherries and 3 ice cubes

Snack – 2 Trader Joe’s uncured chicken hot dogs (no preservatives, nitrates, etc.) with 1 tsp. brown mustard

Dinner – Chocolate Shakeology made with 8oz skim milk, 1 Tbs. almond butter, 1 scoop Shakeology fiber boost, a few drops of coconut extract and 3 ice cubes – Almond Joy anyone?

Snack – 14 pieces imitation crab (the chunk kind – yes, I love it…right out of the package) and 1 orange

Total calories consumed – 1348  Total calories burned – 2868 (didn’t actually workout because I felt my body needed a rest, but I did walk for about 40 minutes and played a little basketball with my son for a few minutes)

Protein – 99g, Carbs – 168g, Fat – 38g, Fiber – 33g

Water – at least 80oz and I remembered all 6 Slimming Formula tablets

I’m feeling great about how I’m doing so far and can see real changes in my body. Can’t wait until I weigh again to see how close to my goal I am for this week!

Food, Water & Workout Journal – 6/7/11 Not too bad for so little sleep

This was the second day of my big 2 month challenge. I fell short on the total calories burned, but honestly, because I only got about 6 hours of sleep including my afternoon nap I think I did pretty well. I really just  kind of sat around a lot other than my 2 hour workout so I’m not surprised and I’m not going to beat myself up. I know how important sleep is for losing weight so I’m just going to have to do better about that.

7:45am – 8oz water with 2 Beachbody Slimming Formula tablets (no crazy stuff or stimulants)

8:00am – Chocolate Shakeology with 4oz water, 4oz skim milk, 1 1/2 tsp natural peanut butter, 1 scoop Shakeology fiber boost and 3 ice cubes

10:00am – Morning snack – 4 stalks of celery, 2 small carrots and 1 Tbs ranch dressing (the original, full-fat kind) mixed with 1 Tbs light sour cream and a dash of black pepper

12:45pm – 20oz water

1:15pm – NAP!!

3:30pm – 20oz water and 2 more Slimming Formula tablets

4:00pm – Lunch – 2 c of the minestrone soup I made the night before which was even better after all the flavors melded together overnight.

6:30pm – Workout time!! TurboFire Fire45EZ (so…much….fun!!), HIIT20 and ChaLEAN Extreme Burn Intervals – WOW! I must admit by the time I got to the Lunge Jumps I was feelin’ it! I skipped those and made my P90X Results & Recovery drink (just one scoop) so I could finish the rest of the workout strong. Drank at least 50oz water.

9:00pm – Snack – P90X Cafe Mocha protein bar. I was headed out the door so it was something easy I could just grab and it boosted my protein intake for the day.

11:00pm – 20oz water and the last 2 Slimming Formula tablets

11:30pm – Dinner, finally – Chocolate Shakeology made with 8oz skim milk, 4 maraschino cherries, 1 scoop Shakeology fiber boost and 3 ice cubes. This ones’s bit higher in carbs, but it was soooooooooo good! I decided to stop eating after that even though I’m normally aiming for 1500 calories a day. Since I didn’t reach my goal for calories burned I figured it would be ok since I was over the 1200 mark which is the minimum a female should eat each day to keep the metabolism going.

Total calories consumed – 1316       Total calories burned – 3517 according to my BodyBugg

Protein – 90g, Carbs – 188g, Fat – 28g, Fiber 41g Whoo hoo!!

I’m Back – And Back in Control

It’s been a while, too long, since my last post. After I finished the TurboFire 5-Day Inferno with great results I pretty much lost my mind and all self-control. This has happened before. It’s definitely hormonal. I suppose I could’ve posted during the past week, but you know what they say…”If you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all.” That’s the approach I chose this time around. But after basically hitting rock bottom (I’m talking eating half a loaf of garlic bread followed by I don’t even want to say how much ice cream and washing it all down with 3 cans of root beer, not diet) I am back in control.

Not only am I back in control, but I have a new goal. It’s a big one. So big, in fact, that I’m not even going to share it lest you think I’m still completely insane and not really in control at all. It’s something I know I can do, though, because working from home part-time gives me the time I need to accomplish it. And it’s about gosh-darn time, too! I’ve been working out, but not as consistently as I should and I’ve been watching what I eat, but not as diligently as I should so I haven’t seen the results I could have if I’d been more on top of things. I will say that this is the first time in my life that I’ve lost weight and not gained it all back plus some, but I would like to keep shrinking, not just maintain where I am.

So I have a plan and it’s a good one. It’s simple math, really. Burn more than you consume. I have a BodyBugg that tells me what I’ve burned and I just need to keep track of what I’ve consumed, making sure I eat enough, often enough, to keep my body from going into starvation mode. So here’s Day 1 of my new 2 month goal.

7:45am – 1 cup hot green tea

8:00am – 8oz water with two Beachbody Slimming Formula tablets (green tea and other natural metabolism boosters with no stimulants/ephedra – that stuff is bad news)

8:30am – Chocolate Shakeology made with 8oz skim milk, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 scoop Shakeology fiber boost, a dash of vanilla extract and 4 ice cubes

10:00am – 16oz water and weeding for 45 minutes

12:00pm – Turkey wrap made with an 80 calorie low-carb tortilla, 3 slices turkey, 1 tsp brown mustard, and 2 c iceberg lettuce

2:00pm – Nap time since I only had 4 hours of sleep the night before

4:30pm – 8oz water and 2 more Slimming Formula tablets

4:45pm – Chocolate Shakeology made with 8oz water, 1 Tbs almond butter, 1 scoop Shakeology fiber boost, and 4 ice cubes

5:00pm – Workout time! TurboFire Fire55EZ, Fire30 and ChaLEAN Extreme Push Circuit 2 – yep, 2 hours of working out – drank 40oz water

7:15pm – 1 scoop or half a serving of P90X Results & Recovery Formula mixed into 10oz water

7:45pm – 6oz Yoplait Light Harvest Peach because I knew it would be a while before I would eat dinner and I didn’t want my blood sugar to drop too much

10:15pm – Raspberry Zinger tea sweetened with stevia (Celestial Seasonings has tea bags with the stevia right in them – brilliant!!) and the last two Slimming Formula tablets for the day

10:30pm – 2 c homemade minestrone soup or something close to it topped with 1 Tbs grated parmesan cheese and some cayenne for a kick – Here’s the recipe…

Makes about 14 c

1 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 c celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

4 c zucchini, chopped (I quartered two lengthwise then cut into 1/2 chunks)

1 1/2 c Prego Heart Smart sauce

1 14.5oz can 33% lower sodium chicken broth (this could easily have been vegetable broth)

1 6oz can tomato paste

8 c water

1 15oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 15oz can white cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained

6 oz fresh or frozen spinach, chopped (I used fresh because that’s what I had)

3 oz whole wheat pasta shells, dry

2 tsp dried basil

2 tsp parsley flakes

1 Tbs granulated garlic

2 tsp Kosher salt (or to taste)

1/4 tsp black pepper (or to taste)

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot on medium-low then cook the onion, celery and fresh garlic until they begin to soften.

2. Add the zucchini, basil and parsley (or any other herbs you like) and continue cooking until zucchini begins to soften.

3. Add the broth, Prego sauce, tomato paste, drained beans, granulated garlic and water and bring to a slow boil on medium-high heat.

4. Stir in the whole wheat pasta and spinach, cover and turn down the heat to medium checking the pasta for “doneness” every few minutes. (It took 10 minutes for mine to be ready.)

5. Season with salt and pepper and enjoy.

11:30pm – P90X Wildberry protein bar – sort of a dessert, but gave me the last 20g of protein I needed for the day

Total calories – 1465

Protein – 114g, Fat – 32g, Carbs 208g, Fiber 57g

Let Me Make My Addiction Clear

A lot of people have been asking me lately about my opinion of Shakeology and how much I like it. So let me just make this clear. I’m a total addict and think it’s the absolute best meal replacement/protein shake out there (and I’ve tried a lot of them). To illustrate my point, here’s a photo of my shoes. Notice the gaping hole. I’m not saying my addiction has made it so I can’t afford new shoes. You see, I hate to waste things and I hate buying things unless I absolutely have to. I had another pair of shoes that I owned for about 7 years. I loved them, but I finally gave them up when they were literally falling off my feet and I could no longer hide the fact that they were falling apart. Have I replaced them? Nope. The other shoes I have are just fine for now (although my black flats are starting to fall apart and the soles are wearing very thin). If I find myself absolutely needing new ones I will buy them.

Here’s another example of how much I hate spending money. I used to have horrible, no, excruciating pain in my arches due to them being quite high and having a job that required being on my feet on a concrete floor all day. It got so bad that I actually crawled around my house when I got home from work and it often brought me to tears. This went on for years. Did I go to the doctor? Nope. Not until my husband made me. Did I have insurance? Yep. I just didn’t want to shell out the co-pay. When I finally did go I found out that I had heel spurs and agreed to wear custom insoles. Fifty dollars. Worth it, but I still hated paying for them.

I’m not saying this behavior is normal or even healthy. I think I’m this way because I grew up in a wealthy home, getting basically everything I wanted…except for a nice, normal, happy childhood. I also watched my mother waste away a fortune trying to find happiness. In my own strange way I’m trying to balance things out and realize I’ve gone to the opposite extreme. Don’t worry, my kids have everything they need and they have plenty of toys, too. They are not deprived in any way.  They could even stand to give away more than a few things that they hardly ever play with. But when it comes to things for myself I am obsessed with spending as little as possible. I even have a habit of saving all the healthy food for them and eating cheap junk myself just to save money.

So back to Shakeology. When I first heard about it I was intrigued. I could see the benefits and knew it would be perfect for me as I work on getting down to my goal weight, being healthy and having more energy, but I couldn’t bring myself to spend the money on it. Over the next few months I just couldn’t stop thinking about it and finally gave in. I’ve been hooked ever since. As a coach I pay $3 a serving and to me it’s worth every penny. I’d pay twice that!

Now, knowing how I feel about spending money on myself for unnecessary things, do you really thing I’d be drinking Shakeology everyday if I didn’t absolutely love it? Of course not!! And like I said, my kids are lacking nothing. They get a shake split between them everyday, too, and not one of us has gotten sick since we started in October of last year. For me that means not having to debate whether or not I’m really sick enough to go see a doctor and spend that extra money, especially since I no longer have insurance. Believe me, those decisions can really stress me out and my husband, too. It drives him crazy the way I won’t spend money on myself. So having Shakeology in our lives has been nothing but a good thing. I hope I’ve made that very clear to anyone who wants to know if I like it. It’s not that I like it, I looooooove it.

If you want to see what the big deal is all about, hover your mouse over my picture there on the right and you’ll see a link for The Healthiest Meal of the Day. If you have any questions or would like to try it before ordering some for yourself feel free to comment or contact me on facebook or twitter.

Let’s Not Forget – People Still Need Help

With big things happening all over the world like the royal wedding and the death of Osama bin Laden, it’s easy to forget that there are people still dealing with the aftermath of the tornadoes that touched down in the Southeast recently. I used to live very close to areas that were hit hard so the people there have a special place in my heart. Years ago, I had my own scary tornado experience that involved smashing my truck into a downed tree that was blocking the road. It was nighttime on a curvy back road with rain pouring down and I was alone. I know I had angels watching over me because I hit the tree in the only way possible to keep a large section of the trunk from coming into the cab and smashing into me. Amazingly, I walked away from the accident with no injuries whatsoever, though I can’t say the same for the truck.

I was extremely fortunate, but sadly that’s not the case for those who recently lost so much. I can’t even imagine going through something like that, having to start over…possibly missing loved ones, too. We all need to reach out and help each other and even though we can’t all be there to sort through the piles of rubble or give a hug to someone who’s feeling completely overwhelmed by the loss there is something we can do by donating to the organizations that are there. It’s easy to feel disconnected when you’re not there in the middle of it, but they say a picture is worth a thousand words. Here, another blogger shows unbelievable before and after photos. This video shows damage done in Ringgold, Georgia, just one of the many towns destroyed within a few miles of where I used to live.

For the month of May, any money my husband and I make through our Beachbody coaching sites will be donated to help the families there. So if you or someone you know has been thinking about trying any of the Beachbody fitness programs like P90X, Insanity, Turbo Jam, TurboFire, ChaLEAN Extreme and many others or nutrition supplements like vitamins, Shakeology, Results and Recovery drink or P90X protein bars please consider ordering through one of our sites so you can help yourself live a healthier life and also help the people who are trying to rebuild their lives. I can even help you figure out which program is best for you, your lifestyle and your goals. And for each new coach that joins our team, even if it’s just for the 25% discount on the products, we’ll donate $20.  To find our Beachbody Coaching websites, send me a message on facebook and I’ll make sure you get the link or you can leave a comment. You can even help just by spreading the word. You can invite your friends and family to pass this info along by going to the facebook event page and inviting them or by sharing this post on facebook, twitter or WordPress. The buttons are just below. Thanks for helping!

Food Journal 3/28/11 – Climbing Michi’s Ladder

Today was the first meeting for the local weightloss/fitness challenge group which was a lot of fun. It’s been a while since we’ve had guests who are older than our kids and didn’t want to play Call of Duty. 😉 Since we met around dinner time, we ate and it was really good. One of the members has been doing the Shakeology 3-day cleanse so we had food that would fit into her eating plan. I don’t think any of us felt deprived and everything was from the top two tiers of Michi’s Ladder, a breakdown of which foods are best and worst to eat for overall health. The Ladder consists of 5 tiers ranging from the best of the best to the stuff that should be avoided at all costs. Contact me on facebook for more info about Michi’s Ladder and other great tools for weightloss and getting fit.

Breakfast – Chocolate Shakeology made with 8oz water, 4oz organic skim milk, 1Tbs sugar-free butterscotch pudding mix, 3 ice cubes (I cannot even tell you how delicious this was)

AM Snack – P90X Chocolate Peanut Butter protein bar

Lunch – I woke up kind of late so the protein bar kind of acted as lunch, too

PM Snack – Fiber One Oats and Chocolate bar

Dinner – lemon garlic rosemary marinated chicken breast filets, grilled; delightful salad with “artisan” lettuce from Costco, romaine, carrots, baby peppers, cucumber, radishes and homemade dressing (recipe from the Team Beachbody newsletter) including avocado, fat free plain yogurt, parsley, garlic, red onion, lemon juice, salt and pepper; tomato basil soup (recipe from Sam the Cooking Guy) that was heated in the crock pot on high for a couple of hours before serving

I don’t have calorie or burn totals because my BodyBugg subscription just expired and as much as I love it I’m not ready to renew yet. Feel free to order Shakeology or an awesome Beachbody fitness program through my Beachbody Coach website to contribute to the fund. 😉