Kicking *kitten* In Our Twenties - January Challenge!!

meagalayne

Rai - Glad to have you back and LOVE your goals for Jan :happy: They all sound awesome!

Water + fruit/veggies is honestly the easiest way to lose weight IMO without feeing deprived. I eat SO much fruit + veg every day, my boyfriend regularly says "wow... that looks like a really filling snack" with a really judgey "you're eating more than any normal person should eat" expression ... hahah! To which I usually reply "Yep! And it's still 150 calories LESS than your crummy, unsatisfying carb-loaded snack that won't keep you sated for more than 45 mins" because I'm a smart *kitten*. There are days when I cannot believe how much food I eat for 1500 calories. Stock up on raw veg, prep carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, bell peppers slices, raw cauliflower, etc and keep them in portions in the fridge. Have a variety of fruit on hand (I keep grapes, blueberries, apples, tangerines, pineapple, and bananas all on hand, all the time, and fully prepped to eat) and if you get hungry, grab a serving or two of fruit, 1/2 cup of cottage cheese or plain yogurt, and some cinnamon - mix and enjoy. It will honestly keep you full for hours. If you have extra cals, add some almonds or other nuts to bump up your healthy fats for the day.

I really don't "get" the anti-fruit attitude of so many people trying to lose weight. Is there something I'm missing? :noway: Yes - fruit has natural sugar. And? I've never had ANY issue eating as much fruit as I do. It kick starts your metabolism (specifically apples, peaches, raspberries, tangerines, oranges, etc), it's low cal, mostly high fiber, and really high in all sorts of vitamins and nutrients. 3-5 servings of fruit per day is a perfect healthy way to curb your cravings for sweets, get your vitamins, and enjoy really yummy low-cal snacks without guilt. It's also a great addition to dinner if you want to avoid dessert but still feel like you've had a little treat :happy: Throw some in a salad with balsamic vinaigrette and you've got a perfect side.

End rant. Can you tell I love fruit? I am so defensive sometimes... hahaha

Skip - Thanks Drunken NYE revelers were absolutely terrible. This weekend was by far the worst weekend yet at work (over months and months of bouncing). I am just glad that it's over! :drinker: And glad you didn't take my comments as critical, because they weren't intended to be. If you think your body will be capable of dropping the 5lbs then I say, have at 'er and best of luck :happy: I am sure you're going to kick *kitten* and work your tail off - you'll earn those 5lbs, without a doubt. Looking forward to seeing your progress!

Meredith - Spinach and cherry tomatoes sound delicious! And so does your snacky food. Great idea to throw it in the oven :happy: I never think to have hot snacks... I always go for raw because it's fast and easy. Love the idea though! Maybe I'll give it a try. What kind of frozen veg do you use?

AFM - I made a truly kick-*kitten* dinner tonight... Pork tenderloin pan-seared and then finished in the oven, basted with a few Tbsp of BBQ sauce. Spinach, veg + fruit salad w/ homemade vinaigrette, steamed green beans and oven baked sweet potato fries. Although I am still not feeling 100% today, my mom seems to have exactly what I had yesterday and was totally out of commission, so I offered to take over and make dinner and the results were incredible. Simple and yet really delicious. I always forget how amazing pork tenderloin is and how easy it is to cook. Comes out amazing every time! Definitely a repeat dinner in the near future :happy: I abstained from the sweet potatoes and my entire dinner was only 342 calories. Cannot beat that!

Hope everyone else is having a good evening. I think I'm going to experiment with my new muffin top pans tonight and test out some tasty new recipes. These are the ones I'm going to try:

http://ohsheglows.com/2009/01/17/flax-oat-breakfast-power-muffins/
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/9848

I'll let you know how they turn out!
Meag

meggonkgonk

Question of the Day!
What is your go to healthy snack??

I am right there with you on the yogurt and the veggies and hummus. I also like almonds- but try to pair them with dried apricots- sooooo tasty.

Also at night i get the munchies after dinner- I usually have a 1/2 cup- 1 cup of chocolate milk or a tablespoon of peanut butter. They help me go to bed with a snuggly full feeling.

LaurnWhit

Okay, I changed my goal. I think I will go for 7 pounds this month. Coming in at 163.

My fav snacks are raw carrots, green apples, almonds, grapes and plums

skiptomylou32--scale goal: 125, non-scale goal: stop waiting till tomorrow, making excuses, and being complacent with my fitness goals
Lauratx22-to lose 7 pounds! Weighing 163!
Roobean33 - cardio 5X/week, lifting 3X/week, try out CrossFit, lose 2lbs, H20 guzzle, take measurements.
kvr414- 1 hr cardio 3x a week, try 3 new recipes, 12 cups water/day, lose 6 lbs.
meagalayne- curb late-night snacking and emotional eating, limit carbohydrate consumption after 4pm and experiment with new Low-GI recipes once a week, maintain under 130lbs, and complete first 4 weeks of Hal Higdon's Half Marathon Training (Novice)
emmarie1630- lose 4 pounds, 4x a week workout, use wii fitness games a ton, MORE WATER!
wardiemelissa-continue to maintain between 120-125lbs; plan healthy family meals at least 5 nights a week; begin training for half marathon (just need to find one in May or June)
tjradd73-lose 8lbs, 80oz H20 per day, and cardio 3x per week.
Mike (CaptainJim) lose 5-8 lbs, 3x (30-60 min) cardio per week, fit into size 32 jeans (I'm 34's right now)
Finncmh- see a loss on the scale, continue strength training 2x's a week and update the routine at the end of Jan, continue running training- increase to 5 min running intervals, 1 new healthy recipe a week, and get back in to yoga/stretching routine in the am and/or pm
briar_rose: lose 5 pounds, exercise 3x/week, no potato chips
mkingraham: lose 15 pounds by Feb 1., exercise 5/6 x a week with 3/4 days of strength training, eat breakfast everyday (a healthy one), two servings of fruit a day.
GuamGrly (Bethany) - DO NOT focus on the scale. Focus on changing my lifestyle by incorporating fruits and vegetables in my diet more, drinking my water everyday, planning my meals, working out 120 minutes per week, and getting back to C25k traning.
LostAlyKat (Aly) : Be under 170lbs for the end of the month. Do weight lifting or strength 3 times a week, be active in some way every day. Get back into doing Yoga do a class at least 1 time this month. Write down my feelings more often.
Stuartme123: JanSW = 156. Check-in with this thread 3-4x/week, 30 min of cardio 3x a week, Restart and keep up with 100 push-up challenge and C25K, Keep unhealthy snacking to under 200 calories/day, Add veggies that wouldn't normally be there to at least one meal a day, Try one new healthy recipe a week, Lose 1lb a week for a total of 4lbs.
seripha - exercise 5x a week for at least 30 minutes each. Try to eat at least 1 cup of dark green food every day and only 1 sweet thing per day.
miss_amy: to lose 8lbs (38 total lbs), work out 5x a week for an hour & log EVERYTHING!
Ngoat (nancy): Lose 5lbs, Drink more water, and eat healthier dinners!
rai8759: lose at least 4 lbs (164 by 1/31/11); work out 3x a week; develop a consistent weight training regiment and work my way up to 2x a week weight training; drink 8-10 cups of water per day; eat more veggies; track everything in my food diary!!

Roobean33

QOTD

Chocolate Soy Milk
Fruit
Cheese and Crackers
Dry cereal

Roobean33

AFM--I am SO freaking glad that the holidays are over! I told my hubby yesterday that I love him, but I am so glad he is going back to work today because he is a bad influence on me! When he's off and we're hanging out I am so much more likely to go out for lunch or have some wine or something.

I have this same problem. My husband is also on MFP but he has quite a few more calories than I do, especially when he goes to the gym. It's hard to watch him eat buffalo wings and not partake also!!! Don't worry skip, you'll get that "skinny" feeling soon, you work hard!

Dteg

Hey everyone!!!!!!!!!! this is my first time doing a challenge so i am excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


skiptomylou32--scale goal: 125, non-scale goal: stop waiting till tomorrow, making excuses, and being complacent with my fitness goals
Lauratx22-to lose 7 pounds! Weighing 163!
Roobean33 - cardio 5X/week, lifting 3X/week, try out CrossFit, lose 2lbs, H20 guzzle, take measurements.
kvr414- 1 hr cardio 3x a week, try 3 new recipes, 12 cups water/day, lose 6 lbs.
meagalayne- curb late-night snacking and emotional eating, limit carbohydrate consumption after 4pm and experiment with new Low-GI recipes once a week, maintain under 130lbs, and complete first 4 weeks of Hal Higdon's Half Marathon Training (Novice)
emmarie1630- lose 4 pounds, 4x a week workout, use wii fitness games a ton, MORE WATER!
wardiemelissa-continue to maintain between 120-125lbs; plan healthy family meals at least 5 nights a week; begin training for half marathon (just need to find one in May or June)
tjradd73-lose 8lbs, 80oz H20 per day, and cardio 3x per week.
Mike (CaptainJim) lose 5-8 lbs, 3x (30-60 min) cardio per week, fit into size 32 jeans (I'm 34's right now)
Finncmh- see a loss on the scale, continue strength training 2x's a week and update the routine at the end of Jan, continue running training- increase to 5 min running intervals, 1 new healthy recipe a week, and get back in to yoga/stretching routine in the am and/or pm
briar_rose: lose 5 pounds, exercise 3x/week, no potato chips
mkingraham: lose 15 pounds by Feb 1., exercise 5/6 x a week with 3/4 days of strength training, eat breakfast everyday (a healthy one), two servings of fruit a day.
GuamGrly (Bethany) - DO NOT focus on the scale. Focus on changing my lifestyle by incorporating fruits and vegetables in my diet more, drinking my water everyday, planning my meals, working out 120 minutes per week, and getting back to C25k traning.
LostAlyKat (Aly) : Be under 170lbs for the end of the month. Do weight lifting or strength 3 times a week, be active in some way every day. Get back into doing Yoga do a class at least 1 time this month. Write down my feelings more often.
Stuartme123: JanSW = 156. Check-in with this thread 3-4x/week, 30 min of cardio 3x a week, Restart and keep up with 100 push-up challenge and C25K, Keep unhealthy snacking to under 200 calories/day, Add veggies that wouldn't normally be there to at least one meal a day, Try one new healthy recipe a week, Lose 1lb a week for a total of 4lbs.
seripha - exercise 5x a week for at least 30 minutes each. Try to eat at least 1 cup of dark green food every day and only 1 sweet thing per day.
miss_amy: to lose 8lbs (38 total lbs), work out 5x a week for an hour & log EVERYTHING!
Ngoat (nancy): Lose 5lbs, Drink more water, and eat healthier dinners!
rai8759: lose at least 4 lbs (164 by 1/31/11); work out 3x a week idevelop a consistent weight training regiment and work my way up to 2x a week weight training; drink 8-10 cups of water per day; eat more veggies; track everything in my food diary!!
Dteg: Scale to lose 5 LBs making under 140 for the first time in 5 years!!!! non scale: to eat more fresh food, eat in more often not going out as much anymore, excerise three times a week

Dteg

Question of the Day


I love Sahale Pomegranate and Vanilla Cashews. They are healthy and they take care of my sweet craving when i have one

emmarie1630

Meag- I totally agree on the fruit thing. People can be ridiculous about the whole "sugar thing." I personally love fruits-- I wish I loved vegetables just as much. I'm going to be working a LOT more this month on incorporating both fruits and veggies as snacks and into more of my meals too.
Also, I know several of you suggested greek yogurt as your fav healthy snack. Is there a good regular (non greek) yogurt out there? I know some of them are loaded down with sugar and what not.. so is there a good one out there? I love yogurt and I've tried the greek yogurt thing but just couldn't get used to it..a little too bitter for me.

allie7383

hey all!! hope everyone enjoyed the holidays!! just bumping for now and adding myself to the list.. going back to reread posts in the meantime!!

skiptomylou32--scale goal: 125, non-scale goal: stop waiting till tomorrow, making excuses, and being complacent with my fitness goals
Lauratx22-to lose 7 pounds! Weighing 163!
Roobean33 - cardio 5X/week, lifting 3X/week, try out CrossFit, lose 2lbs, H20 guzzle, take measurements.
kvr414- 1 hr cardio 3x a week, try 3 new recipes, 12 cups water/day, lose 6 lbs.
meagalayne- curb late-night snacking and emotional eating, limit carbohydrate consumption after 4pm and experiment with new Low-GI recipes once a week, maintain under 130lbs, and complete first 4 weeks of Hal Higdon's Half Marathon Training (Novice)
emmarie1630- lose 4 pounds, 4x a week workout, use wii fitness games a ton, MORE WATER!
wardiemelissa-continue to maintain between 120-125lbs; plan healthy family meals at least 5 nights a week; begin training for half marathon (just need to find one in May or June)
tjradd73-lose 8lbs, 80oz H20 per day, and cardio 3x per week.
Mike (CaptainJim) lose 5-8 lbs, 3x (30-60 min) cardio per week, fit into size 32 jeans (I'm 34's right now)
Finncmh- see a loss on the scale, continue strength training 2x's a week and update the routine at the end of Jan, continue running training- increase to 5 min running intervals, 1 new healthy recipe a week, and get back in to yoga/stretching routine in the am and/or pm
briar_rose: lose 5 pounds, exercise 3x/week, no potato chips
mkingraham: lose 15 pounds by Feb 1., exercise 5/6 x a week with 3/4 days of strength training, eat breakfast everyday (a healthy one), two servings of fruit a day.
GuamGrly (Bethany) - DO NOT focus on the scale. Focus on changing my lifestyle by incorporating fruits and vegetables in my diet more, drinking my water everyday, planning my meals, working out 120 minutes per week, and getting back to C25k traning.
LostAlyKat (Aly) : Be under 170lbs for the end of the month. Do weight lifting or strength 3 times a week, be active in some way every day. Get back into doing Yoga do a class at least 1 time this month. Write down my feelings more often.
Stuartme123: JanSW = 156. Check-in with this thread 3-4x/week, 30 min of cardio 3x a week, Restart and keep up with 100 push-up challenge and C25K, Keep unhealthy snacking to under 200 calories/day, Add veggies that wouldn't normally be there to at least one meal a day, Try one new healthy recipe a week, Lose 1lb a week for a total of 4lbs.
seripha - exercise 5x a week for at least 30 minutes each. Try to eat at least 1 cup of dark green food every day and only 1 sweet thing per day.
miss_amy: to lose 8lbs (38 total lbs), work out 5x a week for an hour & log EVERYTHING!
Ngoat (nancy): Lose 5lbs, Drink more water, and eat healthier dinners!
rai8759: lose at least 4 lbs (164 by 1/31/11); work out 3x a week idevelop a consistent weight training regiment and work my way up to 2x a week weight training; drink 8-10 cups of water per day; eat more veggies; track everything in my food diary!!
Dteg: Scale to lose 5 LBs making under 140 for the first time in 5 years!!!! non scale: to eat more fresh food, eat in more often not going out as much anymore, excerise three times a week
Allie7383- be at or under 155, eat more fruits/veggies, and drink at least 8 glasses of water per day.

rai8759

thanks meag. i was about to put a number of veggies to eat a day when I realized... i didn't even have any in the house!!! to be honest i don't normally buy a lot of veggies bc they go bad before i can eat then. do you or anyone else have any ideas on how to keep veggies fresh? i go grocery shopping once every 2 weeks, and normally veggies that do not get eaten go bad in 1 (maybe 1.5) weeks. i bought some salsa thinking that is a veggie serving. also, i don't really like to eat microwaved/cooked veggies (except asparagus!). i like fresh ones better.

also yogurt is awesome! i have some in the house now (it is the flavored kind though so i think 2 much sugar for your tastes). i want to try plain yogurt sometime soon. my next shopping trip is coming up so that is going on the list!! cinnamon yogurt and fruit sounds awesome!

meggonkgonk

RR: The best thing for veggies is to buy them fresh- I actually only buy about 3-5 days worth at a time and do a "refresh" veggie pickup on thursdays/fridays to get me through the weekend.

If you can't buy them fresh, you could try to store them - these are some storage guidelines I found for veggies -
http://www.ehow.com/how_2049667_keep-vegetables-fresh.html

Good luck!

wardiemelissa

Question of the Day!
What is your go to healthy snack??

I love hummus and veggies, fruit, apple and peanut butter, raw almonds or walnuts, and fruit smoothies (my girls think it is dessert little do they know that it is healthy)

Quick post for me...back down to 123 lbs so I was able to undo the damage of the holidays!!! Made a winter veggie pasta last night for dinner and it got rave reviews!!! Oldest even asked if she could have some for lunch today :happy: .

Completed day 1 of half training yesterday-strength and stretching. After looking at the Novice Hal Higdon schedule decided to bump it to the intermediate...I am pretty sure that I can accomplish the number of miles set!!

Meag and gonks I'm glad you both decided to switch it up too!!! I know that we can do it!

Bell rang...kiddos coming in-check in with you all later!!

Melissa

wardiemelissa

AFM - I made a truly kick-*kitten* dinner tonight... Pork tenderloin pan-seared and then finished in the oven, basted with a few Tbsp of BBQ sauce. Spinach, veg + fruit salad w/ homemade vinaigrette, steamed green beans and oven baked sweet potato fries. Although I am still not feeling 100% today, my mom seems to have exactly what I had yesterday and was totally out of commission, so I offered to take over and make dinner and the results were incredible. Simple and yet really delicious. I always forget how amazing pork tenderloin is and how easy it is to cook. Comes out amazing every time! Definitely a repeat dinner in the near future :happy: I abstained from the sweet potatoes and my entire dinner was only 342 calories. Cannot beat that!

Meag

Meag-I'll trade you recipes!!! Your pork tenderloin for my thai bulgar spinach salad?????

mkingraham

Good Morning everyone!

Meag- Loved the rant on fruit. I also don't get why some people tend to be so afraid of fruit. Like you said- yes it has sugar, but its natural sugar, way better the a snickers bar right! Today I have a clementine and a green apple with me to eat as my two snacks during the work day. I find myself so satisfied after a sweet and tangy piece of fruit that sometimes I have to remind myself to eat lunch before it gets to late in the day.

QOTD- Love everyone's responses- I am fruit and or mixed veggies (cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes, and bell pepper) kind of girl

AFM- Took spin this morning and had an awesome work out and calorie burn. My work has a very nice gym here that has classes throughout the day, so I am able to even use my lunch break to work out. I typically try and go first thing in the morning to get that jump start to my day that helps wake me up and keeps me motivated to eat well. I find that if I work out in the morning I think to myself, why undo all that hard work with an unhealthy choice. The other thing that helps is the teacher of the class. She is super motivating, and she just so happens to be my boss- which if that doesn't make you push yourself harder I don't know what will!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day and I will check back in soon!

meagalayne

Disclaimer: This post is going to be ridiculously long :noway:

Melissa - My pork was the easiest meat dish ever. I literally just trimmed it, then pan-seared it in about 2 tsp of olive oil on medium-high (rotating it to sear all sides), placed it on a baking dish and basted it with a few Tbsp of our favourite BBQ sauce (80 cals per 2 Tbsp, so I used about 1 Tbsp per serving total) and put it in a 400F oven for 10 mins, turned it and re-basted and cooked for another 8 mins or so. Let it rest a few mins and it was perfect. Very tender and juicy. Incredibly easy. Tenderloin requires so little work and always comes out tasting incredible... So when it's on sale, we always stock up! I think we got this 1lb tenderloin for about $3.50CA - Cheap dinner, that's for sure!

Glad to hear a lot of you folks are on board with my fruit-love :happy: I find that whenever I am hungry I always gravitate toward the fruit bowl. 80 calories for an apple and my body is usually singing afterward. Very filling, full of fiber, easy to eat on the go (apples in the car are a godsend!) and so, so yummy. Sweet and crisp and a perfect snack, almost like a dessert. My body recognizes fruit as a kind of treat now because of how sweet and juicy it is and so it's almost always my first snack choice, without any consideration. I am programmed to crave fruit now :happy: Could be worse!

Rai - Hmm Good question about storage. Right now I live with my parents and on account of how much we cook (all the time), we hit the grocery store 5-6 days a week. It's incredibly excessive but we're always whipping something up at the last minute and running out of ingredients and produce. I eat so much produce that we have to replenish our stocks constantly. The best bet for not letting veg/fruit go bad is to plan to eat it and see your plans through - I know it seems redundant, but only buy what you have planned for in meals/snacks and then commit yourself to not wasting it or letting it go bad. If you see some fruit or veg turning, find a way to use it over the next 24 hours. It'll keep you creative and it will force you to incorporate more fruits and veg into your diet. If you are hoping to get more in anyway, nothing should be going bad.

With that said, my tips would be
1) Buy sturdy veg that keeps for a while - carrots, zucchini, squash, onions, cabbage, ruttabaga, etc are all easy to keep in the fridge for a few weeks without fear of them spoiling. They are not as low-cal as other vegetables like spinach, peppers, tomatoes, beans and so they have to be eaten in moderation, but if you want to keep vegetables handy to bump up your intake, these are great things to have around. Try to get a good mix of both.
2) When you buy produce, clean and prep it and store it in ready-to-eat portions. This eliminates the excuse to eat it and will keep it moving out of your fridge. I do this with both fruit and veggies and it works really well.
3) Meal plan. Plan to have at least one, if not two, vegetables or vegetable dishes every night at dinner. If you are having something sturdy like squash, replace your carb with it. I have done this for months and I must say, I really don't miss it. Try new recipes and experiment. I know not everyone likes to cook as much as me, but trying new healthy foods and feeling really good about what you're eating can give you a real sense of accomplishment.
4) When we buy greens like spinach, we find they tend to go bad quickly unless we store them in an air-tight ziplock freezer bag. We buy huge plastic cartons of baby spinach and compress them into a large ziplock freezer bag, squeezing out all the air (so it looks somewhat vacuum-sealed) and then toss it in the fridge. Use it up over 5-7 days and it stays pretty fresh. After 4 or 5 days we usually use it only for cooking, and we add it to everything!

My biggest suggestion - Add vegetables to every dish you make. Honestly. There is nothing you can't add vegetables to. And add a LOT of them. At least twice whatever the recipe calls for. You'll thank yourself for making a much more filling meal (serving sizes in "light" recipes are stupid and wayyy not enough food), chuck full of goodness, and incredibly delicious since veggies are tasty and fresh and wonderful. If you find something going bad in your fridge and you don't know how to use it, post a question here and someone (likely me, at the very least) will get back to you with a good healthy recipe to use it up.

Hope that all helps. It's just what I could think of off the top of my head. It's hard to explain how I eat/prepare/store food. I'm such a produce junkie but it's so second nature to me that I'm not sure exactly how other people do things... Or how anyone survives on 1500 calories without a billion servings of fruit/veg a day :blushing: hahaha!

Maybe I should post more of my veg experiments on here to give you guys some ideas re: veg dishes? Let me know if you ever want suggestions on how to incorporate vegetables and fruits and I'll be more than happy to provide ample recipe suggestions! Just yesterday I experiments with Apple Oat and Wheat Bran Muffin Tops and they turned out amazing! It was a great way to use up a few apples that my mom had bought by accident (wrong kind and I'm very specific about my apples). Here's the recipe, altered from http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/9848:

2 cups finely diced apples, (about 2 medium apples - I used one gala and one granny smith)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup soft white wheat bran
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar (or substitute if you like)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
8 oz. plain low-fat yogurt (1 cup) (Astro 1% Plain yogurt - could not live without it!)
1/4 cup almond milk (or other milk)
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg (or substitute)

Preheat oven to 400F. Coat 12 standard muffin pan cups with cooking spray.
Place diced apple on paper towels to drain; pat dry. Combine flour, oats, wheat bran, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in medium bowl, and stir with whisk. Combine yogurt, milk, oil, vanilla and egg in small bowl and stir to blend. Make well in center of flour mixture; add milk mixture, stirring just until moist. Mix in apple.
Divide batter evenly among prepared cups. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until muffins spring back when pressed lightly in center. Remove from pan, and cool on wire rack.
Makes 12 servings. Per serving: Calories 179 Carbs 35 Fat 4 Protein 5 Fiber 3 Sodium 214

Definitely a huge hit at my house! And here's what I had for breakfast, if you are interested in incorporating more fruit...

Vegan Overnight Oats w/ Blueberry + Shredded Coconut

1/3 cup old fashioned oats
1.5Tbsp chia seeds (15g)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup almond milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 banana, mashed
1/3 cup fresh blueberries
3 Tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut

Whisk together oats, chia seeds and cinnamon in a small mixing bowl. Add milk, vanilla and mashed banana and mix well. Refrigerate overnight (or at least 2 hours). In the morning, add blueberries and coconut and stir to combine.
Calories 372 Carbs 61 Fat 15 Protein 9 Fiber 14 Sodium 183

This is a HUGE breakfast and you can easily lower the cals if you omit the chia seeds and lessen the milk by 1/3cup. The chia seeds soak up some milk and add a "yogurt-like" consistency and pack a huge nutritional punch, but if you are watching your cals they can eat up quite a few at breakfast. Instead, put oats, some milk, 1/4 cup plain yogurt, 1/2 banana and some cinnamon in your fridge and then mix in whatever fruit you like in the morning. If you want, omit the banana and use 1/2 scoop of protein powder instead. This is a great breakfast to start your day, rev up your metabolism and perfect for before a work-out. It's also a great time saver since all the work is done at night. Just grab it out of the fridge in the morning and enjoy! The coconut cost me 70 calories, not really worth it if you on a calorie budget, so I'd probably leave that out next time.

Wow - I sure do have a whole lot to say. Obviously I need a day job! :laugh:

mking - Great to hear about your workout and your love of the gym!! I'm impressed with your motivation for spin class - I wish I could get into it but it's SUCH a hard workout and my legs never forgive me, so kudos to you!

Off to the gym later today for a run and some additional cardio to make up for my lazy weekend. I am feeling better today and ready to get moving. Hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday!

katecampbell03

I'm In! My daughter will be 1 on Friday and it's high time I get my butt in gear so I can look great for Next Year's Christmas Photos!!! I am going to eat reasonably and work out before work, during lunch, or after work, whenever I can squeeze even a few minutes in. Even if it means walking on the treadmill while holding my daughter for 10 minutes because she won't play on the floor while I walk. This is it!!! I am going to loose 5 lbs this month!!!!

meagalayne

Welcome Kate! Adding you to our growing list...

skiptomylou32--scale goal: 125, non-scale goal: stop waiting till tomorrow, making excuses, and being complacent with my fitness goals
Lauratx22-to lose 7 pounds! Weighing 163!
Roobean33 - cardio 5X/week, lifting 3X/week, try out CrossFit, lose 2lbs, H20 guzzle, take measurements.
kvr414- 1 hr cardio 3x a week, try 3 new recipes, 12 cups water/day, lose 6 lbs.
meagalayne- curb late-night snacking and emotional eating, limit carbohydrate consumption after 4pm and experiment with new Low-GI recipes once a week, maintain under 130lbs, and complete first 4 weeks of Hal Higdon's Half Marathon Training (Novice)
emmarie1630- lose 4 pounds, 4x a week workout, use wii fitness games a ton, MORE WATER!
wardiemelissa-continue to maintain between 120-125lbs; plan healthy family meals at least 5 nights a week; begin training for half marathon (just need to find one in May or June)
tjradd73-lose 8lbs, 80oz H20 per day, and cardio 3x per week.
Mike (CaptainJim) lose 5-8 lbs, 3x (30-60 min) cardio per week, fit into size 32 jeans (I'm 34's right now)
Finncmh- see a loss on the scale, continue strength training 2x's a week and update the routine at the end of Jan, continue running training- increase to 5 min running intervals, 1 new healthy recipe a week, and get back in to yoga/stretching routine in the am and/or pm
briar_rose: lose 5 pounds, exercise 3x/week, no potato chips
mkingraham: lose 15 pounds by Feb 1., exercise 5/6 x a week with 3/4 days of strength training, eat breakfast everyday (a healthy one), two servings of fruit a day.
GuamGrly (Bethany) - DO NOT focus on the scale. Focus on changing my lifestyle by incorporating fruits and vegetables in my diet more, drinking my water everyday, planning my meals, working out 120 minutes per week, and getting back to C25k traning.
LostAlyKat (Aly) : Be under 170lbs for the end of the month. Do weight lifting or strength 3 times a week, be active in some way every day. Get back into doing Yoga do a class at least 1 time this month. Write down my feelings more often.
Stuartme123: JanSW = 156. Check-in with this thread 3-4x/week, 30 min of cardio 3x a week, Restart and keep up with 100 push-up challenge and C25K, Keep unhealthy snacking to under 200 calories/day, Add veggies that wouldn't normally be there to at least one meal a day, Try one new healthy recipe a week, Lose 1lb a week for a total of 4lbs.
seripha - exercise 5x a week for at least 30 minutes each. Try to eat at least 1 cup of dark green food every day and only 1 sweet thing per day.
miss_amy: to lose 8lbs (38 total lbs), work out 5x a week for an hour & log EVERYTHING!
Ngoat (nancy): Lose 5lbs, Drink more water, and eat healthier dinners!
rai8759: lose at least 4 lbs (164 by 1/31/11); work out 3x a week idevelop a consistent weight training regiment and work my way up to 2x a week weight training; drink 8-10 cups of water per day; eat more veggies; track everything in my food diary!!
Dteg: Scale to lose 5 LBs making under 140 for the first time in 5 years!!!! non scale: to eat more fresh food, eat in more often not going out as much anymore, excerise three times a week
Allie7383- be at or under 155, eat more fruits/veggies, and drink at least 8 glasses of water per day.
katecampbell03- Lose 5lbs this month and make time to fit in a work-out before/during/after work

jillybeanruns

Bump!

Happy New Year everyone! I'll be back once I think of some goals for the month!

SkipToMyLou32

Rai--I'm so with you on a nice gain over the holidays. Now we can get back on track because there is nothing coming up for a long time!

Meag--I'm with you on the fruit. I suppose the way some people see it is you have to completely cut all sugars, even healthy fruit sugars, to put an end to your sugar addiction. Once you end your addiction you add back in the healthy fruit sugars. I just can't go without my fruits though! I look forward to blueberries and strawberries in my cereal every morning! And oh my gosh you should see how many cherries and grapes I eat in the summer! YUM! Your pork tenderloin dinner sounds so yummy. My hubby has been throwing pork tenderloins in the crock pot a lot lately with some sort of sauce and they are oh so good. So easy and so good! Glad you are feeling better!

Mary--I suppose we should send our hubbies to another room to eat! That is totally why women (me!) sometimes put on a few pounds when they get married!! I think I need to add something about that "skinny feeling" in my signature so I see it every day!

Dteg--Great goals!! And yum on the vanilla cashews! I love cashews but never buy them because I have a portion problem!

Emmarie--You should try greek yogurt again with splenda or stevia. I'm telling ya it's good! It totally takes away the bitter taste and turns in into a creamy dessert like taste.

Melissa--Great job undoing your holiday damage so quickly!

mkingrahm--That is so awesome that your workplace has such a great gym! You are so lucky!

Kate--Welcome! Great goals!

AFM--Did 30 on the elliptical and 10 of running on the treadmill. I am half way to my January goal already just because most of the 5lbs I needed to lose was sodium/a few recent big meals. That said I definitely need to stay focused because I have a tendency to slack off a little after I have some success.

ngoat

To all of the new comers: WELCOME and it looks like you guys have some great goals mapped out.

Emmarie: Greek yogurt.. I tried for the first time about a couple of weeks ago.. I had the Dannon brand.. I actually found it to be quite sweet almost like a cream cheese yogurt.. The only down size is the price.. it is pretty pricey compared to regular yogurt

Meag: Your dinner sounds delicious! . .I am jealous of your motivation to cook such great healthy meals for yourself.

AFM: I worked a double last night .. so didn't get home until around 9:30. I normally hit the sack around 10 so I just wanted the do some laundry and hit the pillow. I told myself that this is when it counts to get that extra workout in.. I poped in a turbo jam dvd and knocked it out. I am happy with myself this morning I am also challenging myself to drink one mini bottle of water (8 oz) ever hour while I am at work.. This is going to be quite the accomplishment if I can make it considering I drink only about 8 oz of water at work.. piteful i know .. but i have 3 down so far and I am working on the fourth. I can do this!! I need something positive to focus on.. bc the rest of my life isn't cutting it and this is going to be it.

SkipToMyLou32

ngoat--Just realized we have very similar goals. 125 end of January. My ultimate goal is 2lbs higher at 117, but still very close! AND you live in the same state! I'm in St. Louis!

seripha

I am 100% pro fruit and pro berries. My favourite snack is a smoothie - just milk and frozen berries, sometimes with a dollop of 0% fat plain yogurt to thicken it up a bit. Fruits and berries provide so many essential nutrients and many of them are high in anti-oxidants and other cancer fighting things. Pomegranite and blueberries are like the uber fruits/berries.

I have to say though I had to turn off the sugar counter on MFP just because of how much fruit and berries I eat. There's a lot of natural sugars in them and MFP doesn't discrimitate between bad sugars (in candies and in refined sugar) and natural sugars found in fruit and vegetables. I'd often have days were I was WAY over my sugar limit because I had an apple and a banana, but no dessert type foods. It's not nice to have that -xx number in red staring at you angrily from your screen. So I just turned it off - helps me eat better.

ngoat

ngoat--Just realized we have very similar goals. 125 end of January. My ultimate goal is 2lbs higher at 117, but still very close! AND you live in the same state! I'm in St. Louis!

I am actaully from St. Louis .. moved to Columbia in 04 for school and got stuck here.. but i am moving back to STL in August :happy:

SkipToMyLou32

Nancy--Neat! I moved here from Atlanta in March 2008. My hubby works with Enterprise and his job moved us here. How exciting that you are moving back to stl in August!

Roobean33

seripha - lol to the RED sugar number glaring at you! I feel the same way, and also turned that sucker off.

ngoat - way to workout after a double shift! wow! you are committed!

Skip -great losses already! I'm so excited for you!


AFM - I now am weighing in at 128.2! My lowest ever as an adult. I'm feeling pretty good about that. :-) I hope the rest of January continues to go this way!

lostalykat

Well good morning everyone!!! I have a lot to say today to bare with me hehe. First of all congrats to everyone for making the first steps to having a happy and healthy new year, we are well into the first week and going strong Yay!!

Meag- Trust me I love the fruit too, I do know that I personally have benefited from cutting back a bit on some fruit and making sure I get more nuts and other snacks(I used to only eat fruit snacks and I was up to 5-6 pieces of fruit a day) I am now finding a medium where I can have a few pieces and not go overboard. But yes fruit is a very healthy nice treat to have to help curb a sweet tooth, and has tons of vitamins.

Skip and Rai- Lets just call it a draw with the holidays hehe. I had some gain as well but thankfully it is starting to get off and I am fairly convinced it was mainly water. But what is done is done and we need to move forward woohoo 2011!

Veggie delimma- I know fresh is a good way to go, if you only make it to the store every 2 weeks try either flash cooking them, they last longer and are already partially cooked. Frozen vegetables can also be really good, I have a friend who swears by organic frozen veggies. I hope this helps, there are a lot of resourses on the web too so check them out.

AFM- I am feeling on top of the world today! I started the hundred push-up challenge(on your knees) and made it to 19 pushups! I started week one last night after I came back from a half hour of elliptical action. I really need to change my playlist so I have some new hits. I need a new playlist. I ate really well and even had enough calories left over to have a little mini ice cream. It was soo good and it felt like a reward for all the hardwork of the day. I just signed up for a duathlon in February, I feel a little insane hehe but I am excited to have a race in between now and my triathlon in April. I am so addicted to races now! hehe Love it! here is the link to the duathon

http://www.active.com/triathlon/el-sobrante-ca/du-the-three-bears-and-5k-runwalk-2011

I need to remember how good I am feeling and how this is so worth it! I am sure it helps that I stepped on the scale and it is down 2 pounds so I am hoping maybe a little more is water weight and I can lose those holiday pounds I gained over the past 2 weeks or so. Feeling the high of health and fitness is amazing!!

QOTD-
This is a repeat but I really need some help with music, What is on your workout playlist right now?

If you don't like this question how about- what is the most recent movie you saw, and would you recommend it?

This last week I saw 3 movies hehe, Tron, Black swan and true grit. All movies that are good in their own way. I would totally say go see true Grit such a good movie!!! Black swan was good but creepy, and Tron was decent and very visually interesting.

Roobean33

AlyKat - I'm gonna give you my secret weapon: the most awesome upbeat pump-it-up playlist I have:

Adagio for Strings by Tiesto
Higher by Rokstarr
Escape 2 (Radio Edit) by Kay Cee
Rock that Body by The E.N.D
Only Girl (In the World) by Rihanna
Poker Face (Space Cowboy Remix) by Lady GaGa
The Rocky Song Remixed by Ronald Jenkees
Touch by Natasha Bedingfield
Break Your Heat by Ludacris
Unstoppable by Kat DeLuna

ngoat

AFM - I now am weighing in at 128.2! My lowest ever as an adult. I'm feeling pretty good about that. :-) I hope the rest of January continues to go this way!

AWESOME!!

finncmh

Mary- with you on that. I mean I cant fault my fiancé. He works a crazy labor intensive job 10 hours a day- loading and unloading trucks so he is always famished. Thankfully he really is in to eating healthy in general so it helps me but he just eats SOOOO much hahahaha… I cant complain though it keeps him really fit!!! Hehe . before I forget congrats on the WI that must feel sooo good to see a number that you haven’t seen in a long time!!!

Dteg- welcome! Great group you will love it!

Mkingraham- I LOVE spinning. I have only ever taken one class but we are down to one car right now and the fiancé leaves for work at 430 every morning and spinning at my gym is only offered at 630am… so I have been doing some other things… hopefully I can get back in to it once we get another car back on the road… it’s a GREAT workout

Katecambell03- welcome to the group. So great to see more people jumping in here!

Nancy- love the motivation! That’s what I need more of when it comes to a long day and haven’t made it to the gym… I just need to DO IT! Way to rock it!

Meag- your veggie dishes sound incredible! We need to all start posting more recipes on here again to share!!!

Jill- welcome back glad to hear that NY went so well for ya!

QOTD- I actually have stopped working out with music. I don’t know why I just get more in to a zone without it. Especially when I am lifting. When I am on the treadmill I just pop on the TV with closed captioning and read it… it’s actually a nice treat since we opted to turn off the TV a few years ago (sooo many freakin commercials) so now if I really want to watch anything at home I do it on HULU online with pretty much none!

This past week the fiancé and I got two black and white movies from the 60’s one was called “Straight Jacket” and the other “Homicidal” pretty cutting edge in terms of gory and creepy for their time… but for nowadays pretty silly. Anyway we enjoyed them both.

AFM- This is how in the zone I am right now. I actually stopped in to the store on my day off (in between my house and the gym and the store is closed) so I could hop on the computer to log my workout and measurements…. GONKS thanks for motivating me to do see what my measurement loss were since I started in November! Here goes:
SW- 206 10/17/10
CW- 196.8 1/4/11

First Measurement in this set was taken 10/30/10
Neck- 16” to 14.25”
Waist (at Belly Button) 38” to 36.5”
Hips (at widest across my butt) 45” to 38.5”
* I think the initial measurement was inaccurate but its all I have to go by at this point

First measurement was taken on 11/19/10 for the rest:
Natural Waistline 35” to 34”
Bust 41” to 36”
Back (right below bustline) 34.5” to 34”
Right Arm 13.5” to 12”
Left Arm 12.75” to 12”
Right Thigh 23” to 21”
Left Thigh 22.5” to 21.25”
Right Calf 15” to 14.75”
Left Calf 15.5” to 14.75”


Total inches 22.75 (including the hips which I think were messed up… but its ALLL good) I am super excited about this especially since I was getting frustrated with my WL plateau…

Anyway- killer workout today! Upped some of my weights a bit and it kicked my butt… its hard not to get comfortable with the weights I am at…Definitely challenged myself today and it felt good

Anyway- keep up the great work ladies and gent!!!!

Cait

pags221

I'm pretty new to this site so I don't have any stats for December, but I've got big plans for January!!

skiptomylou32--scale goal: 125, non-scale goal: stop waiting till tomorrow, making excuses, and being complacent with my fitness goals
Lauratx22-to lose 7 pounds! Weighing 163!
Roobean33 - cardio 5X/week, lifting 3X/week, try out CrossFit, lose 2lbs, H20 guzzle, take measurements.
kvr414- 1 hr cardio 3x a week, try 3 new recipes, 12 cups water/day, lose 6 lbs.
meagalayne- curb late-night snacking and emotional eating, limit carbohydrate consumption after 4pm and experiment with new Low-GI recipes once a week, maintain under 130lbs, and complete first 4 weeks of Hal Higdon's Half Marathon Training (Novice)
emmarie1630- lose 4 pounds, 4x a week workout, use wii fitness games a ton, MORE WATER!
wardiemelissa-continue to maintain between 120-125lbs; plan healthy family meals at least 5 nights a week; begin training for half marathon (just need to find one in May or June)
tjradd73-lose 8lbs, 80oz H20 per day, and cardio 3x per week.
Mike (CaptainJim) lose 5-8 lbs, 3x (30-60 min) cardio per week, fit into size 32 jeans (I'm 34's right now)
Finncmh- see a loss on the scale, continue strength training 2x's a week and update the routine at the end of Jan, continue running training- increase to 5 min running intervals, 1 new healthy recipe a week, and get back in to yoga/stretching routine in the am and/or pm
briar_rose: lose 5 pounds, exercise 3x/week, no potato chips
mkingraham: lose 15 pounds by Feb 1., exercise 5/6 x a week with 3/4 days of strength training, eat breakfast everyday (a healthy one), two servings of fruit a day.
GuamGrly (Bethany) - DO NOT focus on the scale. Focus on changing my lifestyle by incorporating fruits and vegetables in my diet more, drinking my water everyday, planning my meals, working out 120 minutes per week, and getting back to C25k traning.
LostAlyKat (Aly) : Be under 170lbs for the end of the month. Do weight lifting or strength 3 times a week, be active in some way every day. Get back into doing Yoga do a class at least 1 time this month. Write down my feelings more often.
Stuartme123: JanSW = 156. Check-in with this thread 3-4x/week, 30 min of cardio 3x a week, Restart and keep up with 100 push-up challenge and C25K, Keep unhealthy snacking to under 200 calories/day, Add veggies that wouldn't normally be there to at least one meal a day, Try one new healthy recipe a week, Lose 1lb a week for a total of 4lbs.
seripha - exercise 5x a week for at least 30 minutes each. Try to eat at least 1 cup of dark green food every day and only 1 sweet thing per day.
miss_amy: to lose 8lbs (38 total lbs), work out 5x a week for an hour & log EVERYTHING!
Ngoat (nancy): Lose 5lbs, Drink more water, and eat healthier dinners!
rai8759: lose at least 4 lbs (164 by 1/31/11); work out 3x a week idevelop a consistent weight training regiment and work my way up to 2x a week weight training; drink 8-10 cups of water per day; eat more veggies; track everything in my food diary!!
Dteg: Scale to lose 5 LBs making under 140 for the first time in 5 years!!!! non scale: to eat more fresh food, eat in more often not going out as much anymore, excerise three times a week
Allie7383- be at or under 155, eat more fruits/veggies, and drink at least 8 glasses of water per day.
katecampbell03- Lose 5lbs this month and make time to fit in a work-out before/during/after work
pags221 - weigh 1.31.11 @ 123lbs / make it to the gym 21 days this month