2nd Week Weigh-in – Still making progress and ahead of schedule! First photos

Here we go! Week 2 weigh-in. I’m putting the “disclaimer” in again (and will every week) because it’s important. Seriously. Read it.

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.

Now that we have that out of the way, I wasn’t expecting to lose as much as last week. That would just be ridiculous. Though I did pretty fantastic with my eating (other than a few times when I went too long without food), there were three days when I didn’t do the workouts I would’ve liked to. My average daily calorie burn for the week was 3,500. Good, but not enough to lose 6lbs. I was right on track to lose 4lbs and that’s exactly what I did. Still ahead of schedule with a total of 18.5lbs lost in the first two weeks. Not too shabby considering I’m not in a gym all day…or at all for that matter. Here are the photos from Week 1 and Week 2. I can tell a difference. If you can’t, well, that’s ok…it’s only been a week for cryin’ out loud. LOL Soon enough you’ll see big changes.

If you’re ready to make some changes for the better, I’d love to help you! Contact me on facebook or twitter and we’ll talk. 🙂

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!! 

Food, Water & Workout Journal 6/14/11 – Better planning means better results

Today is going to be better than yesterday because I’m not going to put my workout off until the evening, hoping I’ll be able to fit it in without interfering with the rest of the family. Fortunately, we are still not having high temps like in a lot other parts of the country so it’s nice and cool inside. When summer finally hits us I’m not sure how I’m going to balance my sleep schedule with my workout schedule. I guess I should start thinking about it now because it’s just around the corner.

8:00am 20oz water, belly was still full from last night (note to self: don’t eat 600 calories worth of protein and fiber late at night because it will take forever to digest)

9:00am back to bed for more sleep – 3 1/2 hours doesn’t cut it

1:40pm Breakfast – 12oz water and 2 Beachbody Slimming Formula tablets, Chocolate Shakeology made with 8oz water, 1 Tbs. almond butter, 1 scoop Shakeology Fiber Boost, a dash of cinnamon and 3 ice cubes

2:00pm WORKOUT!! Yep, it’s exciting again. ChaLEAN Extreme Lean Circuit 2, TurboFire FIRE55EZ, FIRE30 and Stretch10. 40oz water and 1/2 serving P90X Results and Recovery Formula during the last 30 minutes.

6:15pm Lunch – Sandwich made with 2 slices whole grain white bread, 2 slices turkey (1oz each), 1 slice low-fat swiss cheese, 1 tsp brown mustard, 2 romaine lettuce leaves, 5 or 6 pepperoncini slices and 2 black olives, chopped (technically torn apart because getting out a knife for two olives seemed silly) 2ooz water and 2 Slimming Formula tablets

6:45pm Took the kids outside and shot some hoops. Such a perfect day out!! And I was full of energy.

9:45pm Snack – Soup made with 1 can 33% less sodium chicken broth, 9oz Trader Joe’s firm tofu, 2oz sliced mushrooms, 2 Romaine lettuce leaves, shredded (spinach or bok choy would be good, too), a dash of soy sauce, some ground ginger, granulated garlic (fresh would’ve been better for both the ginger and garlic, but I was in a hurry), mushroom powder and plenty of black pepper. Yeah, I ate the whole thing and it was only 240 calories. Gotta love that!

12:15am Dinner – 16oz water and 2 Slimming Formula tablets, Chocolate Shakeology made with 8oz skim milk, 1 scoop Shakeology Fiber Boost, a few drops mint extract and 4 ice cubes

1:45am Snack – 6 whole walnuts and 10oz Celestial Seasonings Raspberry Zinger tea with stevia in the tea bag

Total calories consumed – 1315  Total calories burned – 3696

Protein – 111g, Carbs – 137g, Fat – 44g, Fiber – 33g

Water – 118oz

Much better than yesterday!

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 – 6/7/11 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

TurboFire 5-Day Inferno – Day 5

This is it! The last day. This challenge actually went by very quickly. I started on a Monday and can’t believe how fast the week flew by. I was unprepared for today, though. I was supposed to go out and get alfalfa sprouts. When we were shopping for this last Sunday, my friend and I decided to wait on the sprouts because we didn’t want them to go bad by the time we needed them. I also wasn’t thinking about the fact that my whole family would be home all day and that we planned on going to see a movie.

10:00am – Breakfast – Since I got to sleep in not having to get the kids off to school my meals started later than normal. Still feeling guilty about my slip up the night before, I decided to skip the strawberry preserves that I was supposed to have on my whole wheat waffle. I realize 1 tsp. of jam wasn’t enough to offset the damage, but it still made me feel better to deprive myself somewhat. So I ate a dry waffle like a piece of toast and downed the 2 turkey sausage links pretty quickly. I didn’t really see the need to take a photo.

12:15pm – Snack – Chocolate Banana smoothie made with 1/2 a medium banana, 1 scoop Chocolate Shakeology, 1/2 c. skim milk, 1/2 c. water, and 3 ice cubes. Delicious as usual.

12:30pm – We all went to the mall and watched Kung Fu Panda 2 where I resisted the temptation to eat the butter-laden popcorn my husband and kids were partaking in. The movie wasn’t quite as funny as the first one, but was still great overall and I loved the message. I won’t share what that message is so I don’t spoil anything from the movie, but if you really want to know you can ask me on facebook or twitter.  After the movie, I headed to the post office to send out some Shakeology samples. If you’re considering ordering it and want to try it first, again, contact me on facebook or twitter and I’ll be happy to send you some.

5:30pm – Finally home and since the TV was available I did my workout. To burn off the extra calories from the night before I added FIRE30 to the FIRE55EZ and Stretch10 that were planned. There is just something about TurboFire that gives you energy. I was kicking that workout’s butt! Since I discovered I can now wear the smaller arm band for my bodybugg I have the actual stats for that workout. Over 1200 calories burned! Love it! And having my kids in the room while I did it made me push harder, too. I guess I kind of wanted to show off and I could tell they were impressed. 😉 I finished up the workout with 1 scoop, or half a serving, of P90X Results & Recovery Drink (also something I have samples of for anyone interested).

7:30 – Dinner – The plan calls for pork chops, but I don’t eat pork. I was going to make chicken instead with rosemary and olive oil according to the recipe, but since I still had leftover honey dijon chicken from Day 1 I just ate that instead. I completely forgot about making the wild rice, too, so I just had a side of frozen peas, just warmed through so they were still bright green and not mushy. Sorry for the lack of photos today. With the whole family home and trying to get everything done it was a bit of a whirlwind.

9:30pm – Instead of having the remaining snack of cucumber, bell pepper and cheese and/or the chicken and hummus pita (which the sprouts would’ve been for) I just had a small serving of the Korean noodle dish I made for the rest of my family for dinner. I still ended up eating the same amount of calories that I would have if I had stuck closer to the plan.

I haven’t been doing as well with tracking my water consumption the past couple of days, but I know I drank plenty today. And that’s it! I’m done! The only thing left to do is post my results.

TurboFire 5-Day Inferno shopping list

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Dear Food, I’m Sorry – A Letter

Dear Food,

We’ve been together a long time and let’s be honest, it’s been a rocky relationship. I feel like there are some things I really need to get off my chest. Part of me wishes I could just end this and move on, but let’s face it, I can’t live without you. It’s not you, it’s me. I’ve just had a really hard time figuring out how to be in this relationship without screwing things up. You’ve always been there for me, willing to provide everything I need. But too often I’ve taken you for granted and didn’t see you for what you are – helpful, kind and caring. You’ve wanted nothing but the best for me. You’ve wanted to not only give me strength to get through my days, but pure enjoyment. I haven’t appreciated that, though, and used you…only taking advantage of your “naughty” side…and it’s really gotten me in trouble.

I’m sorry for all the times I’ve hidden our relationship because I was embarrassed to be seen with you. I guess I didn’t want people to see how messed up our relationship had become so early on. And then there were the times I was selfish and kept you all to myself not wanting to share you with the others in my life. Let’s not forget the jealousy. When I did see you with others I couldn’t just let them enjoy you and be ok with it. I had to have you, too. Can you blame me, though? You always look so tempting.

You’ve done so much for me, but I know I’ve taken advantage of you. Instead of seeing you as the complete, wonderful thing that you are I’ve used you, only wanting to get a quick fix, and completely ignored how great you can be if given the chance. You’ve always been there when I’ve been sad, lonely or stressed out, but then I’ve basically ignored you when everything is fine. Sure, we’ve been together, but I haven’t payed enough attention to you day in and day out. Instead of giving you the time and attention you deserved, I only thought of you when I absolutely had to instead of looking forward to our time together. All those brief interludes in the kitchen with me spending as little time with you as possible just trying to get what I thought I needed instead of sitting down with you, giving you 100% of my attention and really enjoying you. Or the times we’ve been hanging out on the couch, me knowing you were there, but focussing so much on the TV I didn’t even realize how much I was taking from you without giving you the proper attention.

Treating you this way has not helped me at all. It’s just alienated us and, in a way, made me hate you. I know I shouldn’t feel that way, especially since I brought it all on myself. The more I’ve abused our relationship the less I want to think about you and everything you are to me because I feel like I don’t remember how to have a healthy relationship. I don’t like spending time with you anymore because I’ve forgotten how great we used to be together. There were those good times when I respected you and allowed you to give me just what I needed without treating you like a pile of junk.

Maybe we can get back to that again. I know you forgive me. You always do. I just need to forgive myself and give you the time and energy you deserve and to stop acting as though you’re only good for a cheap high or a quick thrill. I know now that those things don’t last and I always end up feeling guilty afterward. There’s so much more to you. You have amazing qualities that not only are fulfilling, but that last without making me feel bad. Sure, occasionally it’s ok for us to indulge a bit, but that’s not what a healthy relationship is based on.  From now on we’ll spend more quality time together, ok? And I know that the more I learn about you, the better our relationship will be. I’m sure that once I don’t feel guilty because I’ve taken advantage of you I won’t feel the need to hide you or be jealous when I see other people enjoying you. Once I start caring for you the way you care for me we can be happy again. I know we can make this work.

Love,

Me