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

wardiemelissa

Quick update for me...ran 4.5 miles outside today. (Needed it after eating out at Wendy's today:grumble: ) I should've stayed home and ran on the TM and ran in my Brooks but I decided to take advantage of being home alone and ran outside in the bitter cold sunshine. Is it really TOO much to ask people to shovel a teeny-tiny path for me to run on??? I felt like I was running in a track and field event...jumping snow banks like I was jumping hurdles! I even had a lady stop her car in her driveway (knowing I was coming down the sidewalk) and open up her gate to back her car up. I stopped and just looked at her and said you couldn't wait like 15 more second for me to cross the sidewalk? Her response, "I'm cold and in a hurry!" HA!:explode: mumble...mumble...under my breath!!!! RUDE!!!!!

Anyways, 40 minute tempo run tomorrow. Going to stay indoors and run on the TM and use my new shoes

Goodnight everyone,
Melissa:flowerforyou:

meagalayne

Today could not have gotten any worse... My foot is f*cking killing me, I spent 3+ hours trying to get someone competent to look at it, but since I don't have a GP I had to rely on the clinic system here which is AWFUL and my Dr ended up being horrible... I have xrays and an ultrasound booked now and absolutely *NO* more information on what might be wrong with it. It just hurts and I'm not supposed to run on it...

To make matters worse my life stress level is at about an amber alert... and I had to go hours without any food in sight, making me one cranky b*tch (hence the tone of this post).

Don't know when I'll be back to update/comment, but not likely until something decent happens in my life. I am just wayyyy overwhelmed, sad, anxious and generally furious at how sh*tty things have gotten over the last few weeks. Seriously. What does an educated, industrious, creative, hard-working girl have to do around here to catch a break once in a while? :grumble:

Sorry for the downer, y'all. I'll be back in a while!

tjradd73

Allie-great job on the 40lbs, that is awesome!! Have fun snowboarding!

Nicnac-I do Zumba on the wii, and I think that it is soooo fun!! it is a good burn, and goes by quickly You should at least give it a try to see if it's your cup of tea!

Kandace-I feel ya on the nervous and excited at the same time; it seems to have been a really stressful and difficult for a lot of us on this thread?! I am ready to move on and kick *kitten* in March!

Megan-great job on the loss!

Alexis-2lbs is great, WTG!

rawrin-welcome to the group

QOTD-I am just excited to have the freedom to do what I want when I want without having to worry about how cold it is!

AFM-my WI is tomorrow, and I know that I say this every week, but I am super nervous!! Last week I only lost 0.8lbs and as of this morning I am not going to have a very great loss (if any) this week either! oh well, we shall see I guess!?? gotta get back to work!!

KanCrav

~Meag.. Im sorry things suck right now. But if anyone can get through it, its you!~! your a rockstar!~! Keep your chin up.

~Radd.. lets freakin DO THIS!~!~ MARCH MARCH MARCH!~! (i will be in a rehab in march but I will still have PT everyday. So thats 45 min a day where I have NO excuses but to get my *kitten* in the gym, seriously its part of the schedule..lol) I am still going to be able to get online just not everyday like I am now.. so I will keep updated!~!~! MARCH MARCH MARCH!~!~!

~Melissa... wow.. ppl suck!~! your going to have such a better apreciation for all those ppl who DO shovel their driveway!~! I love your motivation~~! Keep it up and keep sharing your stories (im trying to suck some motivation out of them for myself)

AFM... not sure why this month seems to be so hard on so many of us, but I am glad that I get to share it with someone!~! lol. I dont want to condone horrible months, but it is nice to know that I am not the only crazy person who needs some "no stress" breaks in my life. I dont want to jinx it, but the sun is so strong this morning that my basil finally woke up!~! I want to take a nice long walk but I have spin tonight and after my frozen 40 min walk yesterday I dont want to push it. Its my first spin class in almost a year!~!~! I am TERRIFIED!~! LoL .... I am def gonna lay in the sauna after. If I am still alive I will let you all know how it went. Sorry for not commenting on everyone, my brain is not working well enough this morning.

Ta Ta!~!

NicNac86

Just to let you all know I've just had some of my chicken shish for lunch with pasta and salad, it was YUM! Hope you like it

mkingraham

Good Morning Everyone-

I attempted to do both strength training and W6D2 of C25K today, the strength training went great- then when I hopped on the treadmill the running did not go so great. I think my legs are just really tired from doing spinning yesterday. I also think that I should repeat each day because that worked last week. So I only managed to run a little over 3/4 of a mile and then my legs were done. So I just walked it for the rest of the time on my treadmill. We will see how the rest of the day goes with my soreness in my legs and hopefully everything looks good for tomorrow and I can have a killer run!

I will be checking up on everyone throughout the day! Happy Hump Day!

Megan

lostalykat

Meag- I am so sorry about what has been going on with you. I have been in a very similar situation and it is the hardest thing to deal with so much and out busy minds get overactive. I hope you are able to center yourself and remember all the good things you have in your life. I know this is hard as well but pulling yourself out of a funk is the best thing for you right now. Last year I was laid off work and I hurt my back, I really had to focus my energy on positive things to not go into a spiral of sadness and guilt. You are an amazing person and things will look up I promise. Keep your head up girly, we are here for you. It just hasn't been the same without your thesis posts hehe.

GuamGrly

Alexis - congrats on the 2 lbs!! :drinker: Those meatballs sound delish!! And glad to hear that the fire was small and you maintained your composure. I know we all hope thats how it will play out but we will never know until it actually comes down to it.

Nadine - glad to hear that you're all better!! :flowerforyou: Sorry that it took all of that for your body to get some good rest though!

Megan - your dinner sounds delish!! I am thinking about looking into that clean eating magazine since you have been raving about it. :happy:

Cheralicia - hopefully you are able to control your eating especially since it has such negative affects on your health. And congrats on still getting your WOs in. For me, eating healthy and working out go hand-in-hand so if I am not doing one then I will most likely not do the other.

Meag - so sorry to hear that things keep going into a downward spiral. I hope that you are able to find something to keep yourself grounded and figure things out. Its always harder to deal with tough situations when all you want to do is crawl into a hole and escape from the rest of the world. But you are a strong woman and its only a matter of time before everything starts working in your favor instead of agains you!! *Sending hugs and positive thoughts your way*

Tara - as always, I am sure you will kill it during your WI!!! :bigsmile:

Kandace - have fun with your spin class!! I have yet to attempt a class but think about it on a regular basis. But the classes get full so fast that I don't even think I could get signed up in time. :sad:

AFM...have to say that I am very proud of myself after my decisions last night. I had a coupon that was expiring yesterday for kids eating free at Chili's. My daughter has been asking to go there so it kinda worked out perfectly. But Tuesday is also my kickboxing night and missing just one night can make the next week that much harder. I was just gonna take her to dinner and forget the gym but I decided to do both. And I had actually gotten to the gym a lot earlier yesterday so after getting my daughter checked into the kids club and getting dressed, I still had 30 minutes before my class so I decided to hit up the elliptical. Man have I missed it. Kickboxing was a great class last night too!! Then my mom, stepdad, and aunt decided to join us for dinner last night so seems to be a win in my book!! :bigsmile:

Happy hump day all!! Hope everyone has a great day!!

nadine2unfit2bqueen

Seripha – haha yah not really sure what happened? Ohwell :S

mkingraham – I made that recipe too!! That magazine is amazing!! I’ve only bought that one issue so far but I plan to subscribe. I take it with me everywhere, its in my back pack right now so I can plan yummy meals for next week. I love the two week eating plan and how its set for one person. Is that in every issue? I bought another magazine with an eating plan but didn’t really look at it till after purchase and it didn’t make sense at all – all the recipes were for 4 or more servings, some as much as 16 servings, and nothing was reused throughout the week.

lostalykat – good plan! I am learning the value of rest…

cheralicia – sorry to hear your in a funk. That TOM sure makes me hate being female sometimes! I just had mine at the same time as my other stuff that was going on and so I know just how you feel. There was a whole lot of pitty party icecream eating and wine drinking. I hit my highest weight EVER at one point, luckily I must have just be retaining water because it went back down straight away. As for what was wrong its not really serious, it just really really sucks. Since this is our share all thread and I don’t really know anyone here and sometimes its nice to vent I’ll share – when I was 18 I got genital herpes. I know that makes people think I’m “dirty” but that’s a pretty ignorant judgement. It’s a disease you can’t test for unless you have symptoms, most often guys never have symptoms they just carry the virus, and condoms don’t protect you from it because it’s carried on the skin. I didn’t blame the guy, it wasn’t his fault he had no idea, but it is the most painful thing I have ever experienced in my life. Imagine a brazilian that lasts two weeks and times the pain by 10 every time you have to go to the bathroom. I’m sure my neighbors thought someone was being murdered in my house. I haven’t had it in 6 years but since it’s triggered by stress I figure I got it again due to all the injuries and just pushing myself too hard. AHHH feels better to rant about that!

wardiemelissa – running after eating Wendy’s?? Nice work! And yes I get runners aggression all the time at idiots blocking my path! I especially hate idiot drivers speeding through puddles right next to me. Really?? REALLY?? And super old people who don’t know how to look both ways and pull out of side streets as I am trying to run by. I’ve smacked a couple car hoods and flipped the bird before.

meagalayne – Doctors are crap, go to physio for the foot, trust me!! My guy was able to tell me exactly where the problem was, why it was happening and spent an hour massaging my leg and foot when my foot felt all jammed up. He gave me a list of exercises to prevent it from happening again and recommended some none expensive insoles that would help support my funny shaped feet (flat and bunions) If you have extended medical the cost should be mostly covered as well.

GuamGrly – Great job on the workout and finding the balance between doing what you want and doing what you should. Glad you had a nice dinner with family members and were able to enjoy it guilt free after your efforts at kickboxing 

AFM – did my lower body workout this morning. Have my meals all planned for the day with 200 cals extra to spend on dessert or an extra snack if I feel the need. I had my tempo run this afternoon which I’ll be doing on the treadmill since its -10 outside and too icy to be running fast on the road/trails – 15min warmup, 3miles@7mph, 15 min cool down. I am such a reality tv fan – Americas next top model new season starts tonight so I’ll be on the couch at 8 enjoying a healthy dinner and feeling great after my run, the perfect mood to be in watching tall skinny things parade around in fabulous clothes. My favorite is always the awkward girl who is ostracized in the beginning but comes out on top and shows up all the stuck-up catty girls. Can't help but love the underdog

KanCrav

Hey guys, I have about 500 cals left over today from the spin class, which was AMAZING by the way. I know I should eat them but I dont think I am going to be hungry enough. I left my diary open for now just incase I get hungry later but its after 1900 and I dont want to eat that late. Especially since I know that when my high wears off from class I am going to die til the morning. Is having such a big amount left over bad? I over eat some days but not this week. I dont want to stay stuck at this weight!~!

seripha

Kan - Have a big glass of chocolate milk That will take some of the calories down and help your muscles recover

meagalayne

Kan - Have a big glass of chocolate milk That will take some of the calories down and help your muscles recover

Ditto - Have some liquid cals. 1900h is NOT too late to be eating. That whole "don't snack after dinner" line is just nonsense... Don't understand how that mentality is peddled. Calories are calories and if you have 500 cals left for the day - EAT SOMETHING! For heaven's sake! hahah Food is your friend! Choc milk is a great option :happy:

Anyway, I'm still in a major funk but thank goodness for Wednesday's YogaFit class. I'm feeling slightly more balanced. And the class helped to highlight exactly where my foot is weakest, what movements and stretches hurt the most, and where the pain is originating so that should help me help the Dr and technician try to isolate the problem tomorrow... I have an x-ray and ultrasound appt @ 2pm so hopefully we can get it all sorted away this week and figure out what's wrong. In the meantime, no running so that's a major bummer. I guess I'm taking a week's break from my training a few weeks early :ohwell: Oh well. I'll try and make the best of it, I guess. I weighed myself at the gym today out of habit and was at my lowest weight *ever*, after having eaten breakfast, so that's a bit of a shock. Stress and sadness doing overtime burning calories, perhaps? It's a mystery... I'm sure I'll be back to normal by Friday's official weigh-in.

Thanks for the kind thoughts everyone. Quick catch up...

Megan/Nadine - I clearly need to get on the clean eating magazine bandwagon... I knew of the website, but have never ordered or purchased the zine. But I love recipes! I'll check it out! Been hooked on this spice mix I made last week and have been making tonnnns of stir fries with it. So easy and delicious. Here's a really short version for ya.

Serves 4
Mix together:
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp turmeric
salt to taste (I use a few turns of my salt mill)

Stir fry onions, peppers, cauliflower, green beans, broccoli, cabbage or whatever veggies you have/like until just browned on med-high. Toss in the spice mix and coat. Add 1/4 cup water to keep from sticking. Then add it either crumbled extra firm tofu or cooked and shredded meat. Stir to combine and heat through for 5-10 mins (careful not to over-cook veggies). Add in 1/4 cup nutritional yeast and 1 tbsp lime juice, mix. Remove from heat and fold in 1 medium carrot, grated, for texture and colour. And serve! So yummy And very healthy! Full of great protein, fiber, a little healthy fat and tons of veggies! Oh and packed with flavour too I serve mine with fresh pico and over a bed of sautéd cabbage (unless I put cabbage into the stir fry like today). So good :bigsmile:

Guam - Great job making everything "fit" - Life is hard to work around sometimes but it sounds like you are doing really well making things fit with your kids, work, kick boxing and your family. And glad to hear you are figuring out some alternatives for your living situation. I hope your stress level is going down, sweetie - Definitely don't like hearing you freaking out about it :ohwell: I know those feelings all too well.

Thanks Aly :flowerforyou: I know I'll manage. I just have major anxiety and control issues and when it feels like everything is slipping away at once and I've lost all control of my life, I have trouble keeping my head on straight. Thanks for the support. You're a peach!

QOTD - Running and actually being able to FEEL the sun on my skin! Oh heaven... That sounds glorious! I cannot wait for the spring! Also - Tyler is finally moving to my city and not having to commute 35 mins each way to his place on the freeway will be so nice. He'll actually live within cycling distance :bigsmile:

Where's that thyme pork chop and roasted apple w/ pecans recipe!?!? :huh: Someone's holding out!! hahaha... Foooood. That will cure my funk. I have 731 cals left for dinner so mayhaps I will treat myself to some ice cream later to feed my soul a weeee little bit. We'll see what happens! Survivor night tonight with the boy, so ice cream may be in order :bigsmile:

Meag

mkingraham

I promise to post the recipe as soon as I get home from work! PROMISE!

hippiechel

happy hump day everyone!

@mkingraham/Megan - i was supposed to go to orlando over winter break (i REALLY wanted to go to universal.. well mainly harry potter world) and go on a cruise to the bahamas but something happened with our travel company and so the trip was cancelled. SO SAD. i got a wand for christmas so i felt a little better. i am a huge harry potter nerd. there's a seaworld down by san diego too.. i love seeing dolphins in the ocean though!

@finncmh/Cait - hope everything is going better for you! cheer up and we are all here for you!

@allie7383/Allie - great job on completing the GRE! even if you feel like you can't reach your goals by the end of this month, don't feel discouraged.. you're gonna reach your goals soon! HUGE congratulations on 40.5 lbs lost!

@jnlynch - how's the 30 day shred going for you? i stopped for a few days.. i tried jillian michael's 6-week 6-pack level 1 (free on exercisetv) the other day it felt pretty good too! i restarted the 30 day shred last night. it wasn't easy working through the sore and achy muscles.

@echoicmemories/Jess - congratulations on breaking your plateau!

@Rachellynch83/Rachel - at a time when i would eat very very little and lost a bunch of weight, my period stopped for at least a good few months. i didn't exercise much at that time. i started eat a lot after (too much) and gained back weight (too much too) and my period returned.. definitely take a pregnancy test, and maybe up your calories a little bit if pregnancy is not the issue.

@meagalayne/Meag - sorry to hear about the doctor/foot problems. don't let this get to you! there are other blessings in your life.

@Nadine2unfit2bqueen/Nadine - my favorite thing to watch while on the elliptical machine at the gym used to be America's Next Top Model! haha great motivation huh!

QOTD - warm weather + cute clothes for sure. i have practically no warm weather clothes. it's supposed to rain again in socal this weekend. the low on saturday is supposed to be 31F (which is -1C!!!). the lowest temperature i've been in is probably around 36F. i grew up in tropical weather and moved to LA after.. so this is COLD for me. i have immense respect for all you people surviving crazy winters right now.

AFM - i have been binge-free for 3 days now! today will be the 4th : ) however.. my weight goes up and down and up and down and i am now at 143.2 lbs which is a little depressing cos i saw a 140.0 the other day!!! i played tennis on monday with my roommate and did jillian michael's 6-week 6-pack.. ached a lot but yesterday (tuesday) i powered through and did the 30 day shred. today i hope to do the 30 day shred and also the 6-week 6-pack. not sure which one i should do first..

also.. i somehow ripped a pair of jeans a few weeks back (right below the butt, near the inner thigh). my aunt patched it up and i ripped them again yesterday. yeppp my skinny jeans are too tight for me. the sad thing is they are one out of 2 or 3 pairs that would actually fit me now : ((( they are a size 26 (size 6???) but i think i managed to stretch them out. my other pair i wear nowadays is a size 29 and they are also snug!!! all i want is to fit into my other pairs of jeans (& dresses & tops) again as i am too poor to afford new clothes.

ok time to be productive at work now.. zzz.

mkingraham

Ok here it is!

Serves: 4 Hands-on time: 10 min Total time: 18 minute

Pork:
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground black peper
1 tsp safflower oil (or canola oil)
4 bone-in pork chops trimmed of visible fat (about 1.25 lb total)

Apples:
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4 tsp raisins, cut in half
2 small red delicious apples halved, cored and skin pierced several times
1/4 cup chopped unsalted pecan pieces, toasted
2 tsp raw honey
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 packets stevia
pinch of sea salt

One: Prepare pork: In a small bowl, combine thyme, onion powder, salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium high. Tilt skillet to cat bottom lightly. Season both sides of the pork chops with spice mixture and cook in skillet for 4 to 5 minutes per side or until barely pink in center.

Two: Meanwhile, prepare apples: In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tbsp water and cinnamon and pour into medium nonstick skillet. Sprinkle raisins evenly over top, then place apples, cut-side-down, in skillet. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 4 minutes or until apples are just tender when pierced with a fork.

Three: Remove only apples from skillet and place, cut sides up, on a serving platter. Stir pecans, honey, vanilla, stevia and salt into skillet and spoon mixture over top of each apple half, dividing evenly. Serve with pork chops.

I had to add more water in step two because all of mine was gone before the apples were done, but I would highly suggest this, especially with you want something sweet/mapley.

YUMM!

mkingraham

And now for Chile Chicken Tortillas with Avocado Sour Cream

Serves: 4 Hand-on time: 8 minutes Total Time:11 minutes

Ingredients:
Olive oil cooking psray
12 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts rinsed, patted dry and cut into thin strips (think fajita meat)
1 tbsp chile powder
4 whole-wheat tortillas (each 7-1/2 inches in diameter)
3 cups shredded romaine lettuce
1 medium green bell pepper thinly sliced
1/2 cup thinly slice red onions
1 lime, quartered

Avocado Sour Cream:
1 avocado, pitted and peeled
1/4 cup low-fat sour cream
2 tbsp water
Juice 1 lime
1 clove garlic, peeed
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp chopped cilantro leaves

One: Prepare Avocado sour cream: combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth, set aside (if not serving immediately, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours)

Two: coast a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set on medium-high heat. Season chicken with chile powder. Once skillet is hot, cook chicken for 3 minutes or until no longer pink in center, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.

Three: Warm Tortillas according to package directions. Place lettuce, pepper and onions onto each tortilla, dividing evenly. Spoon about 3 tbsp Avocado Sour Cream onto each and top with chicken, dividing evenly. Squeeze lime over each tortilla serve immediately.

I found the 3 tbsp of Avocado Sour Cream to be a ton and that you could totally go with less. This was quick and easy and with so many fresh ingredients it's hard not to go wrong!

mkingraham

In the wings for tonight- Sirloin Beef Wraps. I'll keep you posted on how it comes out!!

meagalayne

I had a variation on this last night and tonight for dinner (left-overs!) - So good!

Mex-I-Can Poached Eggs

Ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1-2 jalapenos, diced (depending on how spicy you like things)
3 gloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp ground cumin, or less to taste
2 tsp ground coriander, or less to taste
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes (most of the juice drained), or 2-3 large tomatoes diced with juices
1 cup of cooked, rinsed black beans (I use canned)
1 cup frozen corn
60 grams (2 servings) crumbled feta
2 cups baby spinach, chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (or to taste)
4 large eggs

Spray the sauté pan with a little cooking spray, and on medium-high heat, add the onions, bell pepper and jalapeno peppers and stir often. Once they have softened, about 5 mins, add the garlic and sauté for another min. Add in the ground cumin and coriander and stir to coat, cook another 2 mins. Add the partially drained tomatoes and lower the heat to medium. Allow the mixture to simmer for 10 mins or so, until the tomatoes thicken. Add the black beans and corn to heat through, 2 mins. Add the feta, spinach and cilantro, and fold gently to combine. Create 4 small divets in the "stew" and fill each with one egg - use a ramekin to avoid breaking shells into the dish and try not to break any yolks! Cover tightly and let the eggs poach soft, until the whites are solid but the yolks are still runny, approximately 5-7 minutes. And then serve, with either a wrap, pita or just on it's own!

I had it just on it's own and it was plenty filling... Breakdown was: Cals 287, Fat 9g, Protein 17g, Fiber 8g. No idea on carbs b/c I don't count them... Probably around 25-30g?

Anyway, it's freaking delicious and super easy! Use fresh beans, corn and tomatoes if they are in season and available to you. Cuts down on sodium big time. Love

lostalykat

Hey Guys, quick update since things have been seriously chaotic! This week has been rough. I am going into work early and leaving at the same time. Thank god it is a recovery week with training so I don’t have to feel guilty missing a workout here or there. I am worried about what the scale is going to say on Friday, but I am focusing mainly on what I can do now and how I can plan my meals accordingly so I don’t get bummed out or starving. It has been really stressful at work so I am not letting food and exercise stress me out even more. Tonight I am going to be solo, trying to figure out what to make for dinner with what I have at home... I know I will have to go to the store to grab a few things for dinner but cooking for 1 is not something I am used to doing anymore heh. I plan to grab some veggies, go home and get dressed for my 40 minute run with a 10 minute WU/CD and then make a yummy dinner and either read a book in the bath or watch some glee. I hope everyone is doing great. Thanks god the week is almost over and it is going to be a chill fun weekend. I will most likely come on later tonight when I am bored to see what everyone is doing.