Success Along the Weigh: February 2011

Saturday, February 26, 2011

That settles that- Weigh In

This post will contain some TMI, so...deal with it. ;-)

I lost a big fat zero this week. It's Aunt Flo week which means I can ALWAYS count on a loss even if it's just a pound. I haven't not lost on one of those weeks for almost 2 years. So that does it for the morning workouts. I'm not going to continue to bust my ass 4 extra days a week in thinking that maybe if I went pseudo Biggest Loser style garners me nothing. (I know, I know nowhere near it but 2-2 1/2 hours compared to 50-60 minutes feels all Bob and Jillian to me!) I know they restrict their calories to 11-1200 too and that ain't happenin'. I firmly believe the reason those people gain weight back is because they can't maintain that kind of calorie restriction and they thoroughly screwed up their metabolism.

So I gave it two weeks, I was perfect in my food and water and ratios and all I have to show for it is one pound after burning 20,150 calories in 2 weeks, which on paper should've warranted about a 6 lb loss because I was burning what I was eating, I can say experiment failed. (Yes, I know that what looks good on paper rarely translates to the body, that was just for you "it's as simple as calories in vs. calories out" people) I've gotta say I'm kind happy about that. I would hate to think I'd have to work that hard all the time just to get a spare pound or two thrown at me but if I'm going to lose (or not lose) the same amount of weight, then the extra stuff isn't worth doing and not worth potentially risking injury based on the extra wear and tear.

So starting next week, I'll go back to my old routine of working out 5x a week, once a day knowing that I did try everything I could think of to get the pounds moving but the body has claimed squatter's rights and says "that's cute you thought you had control, now sit down Waldo."

====================
Don't want to miss another post? Make sure you subscribe!

Friday, February 25, 2011

I think I like it!

The hubby and I were discussing what we eat and how to get a better balance of the protein/fat/carb ratio. He wondered if lettuce wraps would be a good idea. I immediately thought of the Boca burgers or peanut butter sandwiches I do and recoiled so that wasn't going to work. But I do eat tuna fish sandwiches about once or twice a week, I could do lettuce wraps with those. Better yet, I could do those fancy endive cups you see on Food Network shows for fancier appetizers.

So this grocery trip I bought some endive made up my usual tuna fish mix (1 can Bumblebee tuna in water - triple washed and drained, 2 tbsp light Miracle Whip, green onions, and a touch of pepper). I peeled back 4 leaves, washed them, cut the ends a little nicer and was able to divide the tuna into 4 portions and they fit perfectly. It was awesome. I like a little crunch with my tuna salad whether it's by adding some pea shoots, broccoli slaw mix, lettuce or Claussen pickle slices (drool- but so sodium laden) but these gave a nice crunch and I didn't even miss the bread. It does make my fat/carb/protein ratio get basically to perfect for my intended plan. (50 carbs, 25 protein, 25 fat) So this is a good option for me and kinda makes me feel like a fancy pants too!
====================
Don't want to miss another post? Make sure you subscribe!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

How to roast garlic

I love roasted garlic. I used to think you had to use olive oil on the cut tops to turn out right and knowing how much fat and calories are in a tablespoon of that stuff, I didn't make it often. But I saw some cooking show (I want to say Cook Yourself Thin?) and the girl just put the garlic in the oven with no oil. I didn't know if it would taste as good but I was excited to find out! I tried it, loved it and now it's the only way I do it. I will say it's not quite as spreadable BUT if you're looking to put them on crustini's or something you can add 1 TEASPOON of olive oil and save on the fat and calories but add to it's spreadability. (Sassy word eh?) Here's a little step by step slideshow for your viewing entertainment. (FYI- There's music so turn down the speakers if you're at work!)

4 medium sized bulbs got me about 4 oz of usable roasted garlic.

====================
Don't want to miss another post? Make sure you subscribe!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Much needed rest

Our usual routine consists of working out Sunday through Thursday. We tried working out Sunday through Friday but felt completely exhausted and the weight loss didn't improve working out 6x week vs. 5. My husband suggested we might want to give ourselves a rest day mid-week since we do some pretty intense workouts (kickboxing, HIIT, etc). We were going to start that in March but with the addition of my morning workouts, my bod is asking for some time off so today is it. We're going to take today off even though the itch for me to get downstairs is strong today. My knees are a little achy and I think they'll appreciate the rest day. So we'll move our 2 scheduled workouts to tomorrow and Friday. I'm hoping this little schedule change up will throw off the body too. I'm looking forward to tonight's dinner. I've got my meal all planned out, I'm going to drown myself in water today even though the sodium will be fine, I'm not banking on the count being exact. So overall, I'm kind of glad today is a rest day with a bit of a change (read: me not having to cook) but I can't help but feel that small tinge of guilt. Weird!

====================
Don't want to miss another post? Make sure you subscribe!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

If you fail to plan...

Can I tell you how grateful I am for online menus? I make sure we eat well 6 days a week with one high cal day with no real restrictions to keep us sane. Sometimes occasions come up on where you have to go out on a non-high cal day and thankfully many restaurants have menus so you can plan healthier meals when you go out. I'm always amazed when I look at the calories of the perceived "healthy" salads out there that are well over 1000 calories. I don't eat salad as a main dish, well, ever so those calories don't convince me to start doing it now.

We're going to a seafood restaurant tomorrow night and I found out I basically have about 3 options if I don't want my sodium to bloat me like a Macy's balloon. Plank salmon, steamed veggies, side salad with french on the side (I might use 1/4 of that using the dip the fork in the dressing cup method. Thanks 1980's Weight Watchers tip from my Grandma as a kid!) and if I want one, a roll and water to drink. I know the calories aren't exact but I'll ask for no butter in the prep and hope they listen. But I can at least enjoy the company, which is the point, and the food thanks to planning from the online menu and then the rest of my day on my food tracker, will allow me to stay within all of my number goals for calories, sodium, etc. To the restaurants who don't do online menus, I rarely frequent you because I think if you're not putting it out there, you've probably got something pretty heinous to hide!

====================
Don't want to miss another post? Make sure you subscribe!

Monday, February 21, 2011

A tip from The Mrs.: Hard Boiled Eggs

We recently started adding a whole hard boiled egg for an extra protein kick in the morning. We feel a little better about it since new studies show it's safer than first thought to eat a whole egg. Now I'll admit, it was pretty hard to not want to put a little dash o' salt on it as I always have but I've gotten used to it.

My eggs always had that 'beautiful' green sulfur ring around the outside of the yolk and I always envied those people who could do perfect boiled eggs. Now I'm one of 'em! How? Get a saucepan of water going to a rolling boil. Gently put your eggs in the water and set a timer for 4 minutes. When it goes off, turn off the heat and reset the timer for 20 minutes. When that timer goes off, it's time to dry them and put them in the fridge. You'll have a beautiful, perfectly cooked egg every time without that nasty green ring!

Bonus tip: Choose white eggs when hard or soft boiling eggs. For some reason brown eggs are a lot harder to peel. Weird but we've found it to be true! Enjoy!

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Well that didn't work - Weigh In

After busting my ass all week doing 2 workouts per day Tues-Fri and burning over 10,000 cals (w/workouts and what I burn just existing) I lost 1 friggin' pound. I could've done that without all the workouts!

Don't get me wrong I wasn't expecting a 5 lb loss (I wasn't expecting it but I did dream about it last night!) but I thought at least 3. I KNOW I wasn't eating enough to support that kind of calorie burn but I wanted to see what would happen if I didn't change my calories.

In calculating what I'd have to be eating to burn 7500 cals per week I'm finding 2180-2530 which is in the minimal range I ate this past week so I don't quite get that. I think I might continue next week but add a healthy morning snack right after my workout of about 200-300 calories so I'm closer to mid-range and not hitting just below range or the very bottom and see what that does. If it does nothing, then I'm cutting the morning workouts. I just want to be able to say I've tried everything but I have to say I'll be really disappointed if I just lose the same amount I usually do. My body just seriously hates me and wants to hang on to every pound. I still have 150 lbs to go so I don't have time for slow downs or else it'll take me 5 more years of busting my ass and getting minimal results. *GRRR*

It should also be noted I'll be discontinuing the use of the aloe vera pills I was trying last week. After doing a little digging, I didn't like what I was reading on reputable site about taking it orally (you know, dehydration, kidney issues, death...stuff like that) so I figured that's enough for me to stop. That was my first full week taking it and I have no idea if that has anything to do with the lack of loss or not but it won't be an issue from this point on either way. Just thought it was worth noting.

Friday, February 18, 2011

A little update

So I've done 3 days of the "new" plan of exercising in the morning in addition to the evening. I just tell myself I am employed at a gym and I teach 2 classes a day. You know, mind games help! ;-) I am actually quite pleased with how I feel. I don't have less energy when I do the 2nd workout because they're spaced out over about 6-8 hours. I'm basically burning what I'm eating, about 2100-2200 calories per day. I purposely haven't peeked on the scale because I want to be surprised tomorrow. (I just hope it's not surprised in a bad way) I'm drinking 130 oz of water a day so I'm staying hydrated. Yesterday I did get really tired about 3:30pm so I took a little nap and I felt better when it was time to workout in the evening. I do a little preventative pre-workout heating pad session to warm up my lower back. I just want to be as careful as possible. I hope everyone is having a good week! (Whoever everyone is! LOL)

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

A different approach

My hubby hit a great milestone this past week and got into a new set of numbers. I am so happy for him I could burst (but I won't because he'd have to clean it up). Along with his milestone it also reminds me that I am 30 lbs higher than he is. For a long time, I was under him weight wise but not by much then I caught to him and when I suffered from a bout of depression after a loss in the family, I surpassed him by 40 lbs. I have lessened the deficit by 10 lbs but with him being in new numbers now, it reinforces the difference and honestly, makes me feel like I am holding him back. (There are ways he's pushing himself in workouts that I can't right now) We had a big talk over the weekend and I told him of an idea I had but I wanted to run it by him first. I really would like to get closer to his weight not because I'm in some big competition with him but because it would help me feel a little better about not having as big a deficit. (Case in point, we both want to zipline. There's a weight limit for that. If he reaches it and I still have 30 lbs to lose then I will feel like he has to wait for me to "catch up" before he can have certain life experiences and I don't want that to be the case if I can help it)

So you ever see The Biggest Loser and say "well yeah I could lose that much weight if I had all day to work out." Well I don't have ALL day to workout but in between what I do in a day, I do have time for an extra workout. So starting today I am implementing that. We have our usual workout schedule and now I have an alternate schedule. This morning I did Hollywood Trainer for 45 minutes and burned 990 calories. Tonight I'll do the scheduled workout too which is Turbo Fire 55 and will burn close to that amount again. I have no idea if this will work and this will NOT be for an extended period of time. I will listen to my body, stay hydrated and if there is a hint of trouble from it, I'll cut that workout. But for the time being, I'm going to give it a go and see if anything comes of it. I wanted to check with him first because I wanted him to be in a place mentally where if I began losing twice the amount consistently (say 3-4 lbs and I know even that is pushing it and no you don't have to tell me that's above a "healthy" average for weight loss) would he be able to handle that? I said if he didn't want me to or was uncomfortable with that I absolutely would not do that. He gave an enthusiastic green light to it and I'm glad that we felt like we could discuss all of the little aspects this plan could bring. I am so thankful to have such a great support on this journey!

Monday, February 14, 2011

Valentine Treat for your honey

I'll be honest, while chocolate covered strawberries look like they'd be decadent and heavenly, I'm not a strawberry fan. (I'll allow a few seconds for the collective gasps!) It's a texture thing; seeds in anything make me retch. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, kiwi's, etc. However, they are my hubby's favorite. So I was going to buy 6 of them from a popular berry place online and by the time I got to the order page it was going to be $43 for 6 BERRIES! (And 3 of them in white chocolate which he hates!) I said screw it and went to the farmers market and got a ton of long stemmed strawberries. I'd smuggled in a Special Dark bar earlier in the week so for a total of $12 not only did I have enough for a sweet Valentine's treat for my honey but leftover berries for his lunch for the week!

Take 8 strawberries, rinse and dry them. Melt 8 bars of Special Dark in a 4 oz container in the microwave for 45 seconds and stir to smooth out. Dip berries in chocolate and put on wax paper and put in the fridge to harden.

Then if you want to make them look all fancy and special, buy some cello bags with little hearts on them and when they're firmed up, bag them and keep them in the fridge until you're ready to surprise your sweetie with a heart healthy treat!

Calories 245 Fat 12g Carbs 35g Protein 3g (Half that if you share!)

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Today's Weigh In

Down 2 lbs. today! Woot! A total of 164 lbs gone forevah. I revel in the 2 lb losses because Lord knows they don't come as easy as they used to!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Mediterranean Orzo Recipe

Mediterranean Orzo with Gardein Chick'n Scallopini

6 oz Orzo pasta

2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 small head garlic

Black Pepper

Basil (fresh or dried)

Meyer Lemon
Fresh parmesan

Set oven to 400, cut the top off of head of garlic, wrap tightly in foil and roast for 45 minutes. (You can do this earlier in the day) Bring a saucepan half full of water to a boil and add orzo. Cook for 9-10 minutes. Strain pasta, add olive oil, roasted garlic, basil and black pepper. Stir and allow to sit on simmer for about 3 minutes to let the flavors marry. Serve and squeeze half a Meyer Lemon over the top of each serving. (Cut side up to keep seeds in the lemon half) Sprinkle 1 tbsp of shaved parmesan on the orzo and top with protein of your choice. Pictured is a Gardein Chick'n Scallopini filet which was so so until it was cut up into strips and mixed in with the orzo which the hubby loved. Serves 2.

Nutritional Information for Orzo only: Cal 475, Fat 17g, (Sat 3g, Poly 1g, Mono 10g), Cholesterol 4mg, Sodium 57 mg, Carbs 66g, Fiber 3g, Protein 13g, Vitamin C 7%, Calcium 8%, Iron 16%

I will update this recipe/nutritional info when I try it with Whole Wheat Orzo.

Wanna Make Your Groceries Last?

I'm always looking for ways to get the most out of my grocery dollar. I came across this article on Yahoo about 14 Ways to Save Money on Groceries. There were some pretty practical and good tips in it so I thought I'd share!

I think the ones I'll definitely use are the paper towels in the bottom of the crisper drawer, the herb tip once I am able to plant my herb garden for the season and the lemon and egg tip for sure.

Which ones look good to you?

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Blue Plate Specials for 2/9/11

I know lots of people seem to like to see what other people eat when it comes to weight loss. We keep it pretty realistic to our lifestyle as far as what we eat. We don't follow a particular plan. We eat everything from raw to all natural to some processed (because I don't have the desire to make every little thing from scratch) to organic to vegan and everything in between. Some people don't like that, they like to jump on a bandwagon and stick with it. That's not us and after 162 lbs, I think we're doing something right. So here goes:

Start the day with a smile Multigrain Light English Muffin with all natural peanut butter with flax seeds and 1/2 tbsp honey, banana and hard boiled egg.

Tuna fish (triple washed) with Miracle Whip Light and pea shoots on an Arnold Sandwich Thin, Fuji apple, Fruit Salad (watermelon, cantaloupe, navel orange), raw veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, radishes and celery) with 1/2 tbsp of dip, sharp cheddar slice and apple bar.

Orange roughy with meyer lemon slices over Quinoa Duo with zucchini and squash.

Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwich (not because they're diet, because they're good!)

So, there ya have it. Came in mid-range on my calories. Exercise was 30 minutes of rowing and Total Trainer for 20 minutes for a total calorie burn of 1125.

Taking advantage

I'll admit that after almost 2 years of never having missed a scheduled workout that you get pretty comfortable in your routine. You can find yourself going through the motions and punching your time card so you can log your minutes/calories. When you're over 400 lbs, there are some modifications involved but I could absolutely do 80% of the moves in Tae Bo or any other intense kickboxing workout. But thankfully you can try to do them correctly as more weight comes off and put a little more effort into the workout when you realize you can do it. I always had a tendency to baby myself on some things and take advantage of long winded instructors on DVD or the breaks between songs on Dance Dance Revolution. I'd just kind of barely move and let my heart rate come down only to have to build it back up again.

Thankfully, I started doing TurboFire. I had done ChaLean Extreme and Turbo Jam but something in her conviction and urging in Turbo Fire in that it wasn't nailing all of the moves more than it was bringing the intensity changed something in me. I was guilty of dogging it and not bringing my all. I did 6 weeks of Turbo Fire recently and was getting a little burned out on it so I decided to mix it up for February. But I took that lesson learned in Turbo Fire forward with me. Monday we did Dance Dance Revolution and thanks to pumping my arms in the air and closely watching my awesome heart rate monitor, a workout that would've netted me about 600 calories burned if I was lucky, grabbed 950 calories burned. By keeping my heart rate up and not taking advantage of the little breaks, I was able to get the desired result by...gasp...putting in the work! (Every second, not just when the instructor or song told me to) I am so thankful to have learned this lesson because there's no going back now and I really should thank Chalene Johnson for teaching me that...so, thanks Chalene!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Food Review: Trader Joe's Whole Grain Blueberry Instant Oatmeal

I usually get Quaker Oats Instant Oatmeal but was getting burnt out on it. I saw this Heart Healthy Whole Grain Blueberry Instant Oatmeal while perusing Trader Joe's. I was intrigued and decided to give it a go. I added 4 oz of skim milk to it and microwaved it for just under 90 seconds. I was surprised and glad to see actual REAL blueberries in there. It's not overly sweet but pretty satisfying. I'd like to see a little more blueberry goodness inside but I'll take what I can get. I think this one will become a staple in our pantry!

Here's the nutritional information:
160 calories, Total Fat 2.5g (Polyunsaturated 1.5g, Monounsaturated 0.5g) Sodium 90mg, Potassium 350mg, Total Carbs 30g (Fiber 6g, Sugars 10g) Protein 4g. Contains 100% Vitamin C, B6, B12 and Folic Acid.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Protein with a cute face

About 2 years ago I really went wild with the bento stuff. Bento lunches are more like art and portion control combined. There are all kinds of food molds, picks, cups and the most fun, bento boxes to carry it all in. I've got 2 really cute bento boxes I'll have to take pics of but for now I wanted to share my morning friend.

Bear Mold

Insert freshly hard boiled egg & close

If you don't start out with a crappy egg,
yours will look better than this! :-)

CLICK HERE to continue reading

Sunday, February 6, 2011

What's the difference?

Some of you may be asking why I have 2 stores that carry the same designs. It's really a win win for the customer; one distributor may offer something the other one doesn't. For instance Zazzle carries some cute necklaces but not the journals that Cafepress carries in their products.

Zazzle lets the customer personalize their purchase from the style of shirt to extra writing to make it your own. So let's say you're training for a half marathon and you want the 13.1 shirt but you'd like the name and date of the race on the shirt, water bottle, mug, etc. You can do that with Zazzle instantly. If you wanted to do it with Cafepress, you'd have to hope you could contact the shop owner and see if they even do personalization. (Many shopkeepers don't. I do but charge a little extra for the time)
Cafepress and Zazzle are two separate companies, therefore the orders cannot be combined. (I know, bummer. I wish they could!)

Each distributor has their pros and cons, it just depends on what you as the customers are looking for. So I leave it up to anyone who may want to buy from me which store is best for what you want. Regardless of which shop you may choose, one thing is true for both...it was put together with love. I don't mean that to sound cheesy but I know the kind of things I wanted to see as I was losing weight and I thought others might like the same things. I'm not in it for the money, I'm in it because I love seeing people succeed at this difficult journey and if a product of mine can help someone feel better about their accomplishments, that's just calorie free icing on the organic, flourless cake. ;-)

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Thanks for stopping by!

I wanted to have a space to promote my weight loss store. I love working on cute new designs to help people celebrate their weight loss accomplishments!

If you're interested in taking a peek, click the links below or see the links on the right sidebar.

www.cafepress.com/successweigh

www.zazzle.com/successweigh

Pages