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

allie7383

Hey all! Wow did I miss a lot over the weekend, but no surprise with this thread!

Welcome to our newbies! Never too late to join this awesome group!

So this weekend eating was not my friend, and I haven’t exercised since my last run with the spins. Not gonna lie, I was plain old lazy on Sunday, but had massive laundry to do. My fam also donated a few garbage bags worth of clothes to this cystic fibrosis drive, so goodbye more fat clothes lol! Went to the movies on Sat night with a couple girlfriends, and saw Bridesmaids, and wow it was hilarious. I haven’t seen a funny movie like that in a long long time. I fell victim to the popcorn, but got a small bag for myself, and snuck in water… Afterwards we hit up Applebees for drinks which led to us all getting boneless buffalo wings.. I don’t even want to know how bad they are… The next morning I woke up to the most awful stomach cramps.. I’ll take that as my sign to stop eating at places like that! Fortunately it’s back to the week, and getting back on track..
I read a quote in another thread which I really liked which said, “in order to climb a mountain, you must first take a step.” I don’t know why but that really got to me, so I’m trying to think of my daily choices as steps to the end result.. I’m still struggling in getting back to the old good habits, so it’s no wonder the scale really hasn’t been moving.. Got my first 5K this Sunday, so I’ll be back to the park later for a trial run.

Tara- so far so good with the no weighing!! The scale is under my mom’s bed so it’s outta sight outta mind. WTG with the fast! I’m considering it. Did you get a plan from a website or anything, or did you create your own? Did you pick a dress yet? Enjoy the potluck!

Mcbody- hope you’re feeling better, that must have been a scary experience. Good luck with the medications.

Cait- love the pink dress! You’re totally rockin it! Hope you had a great time at the party!

Leela- I agree with Tara, don’t pay for his gym pass.. Clearly he’s giving off the impression of not wanting to go, so I say stick with your workout plans and do you lol. If he’s thinking it’s just a time-filler then maybe explain to him that it’s not a hobby, but that you’re trying to better yourself and get healthy… and feel free to vent on here all you want, that’s what we’re here for! I know I went on several times and still do, about how I’m just failing in getting back to what I was doing last year.. it’s forever ongoing..

Kandace- I love BSB!! I was a total big fan when they were big lol. I saw them 4 times haha. One time my friends and I waited outside this music store by me to get tickets in the lottery they had going. I think we were there at 3AM lol. Oh man I miss those days of sans responsibilities.. Rock out girl!! They’re touring with the New Kids, which I was also a huge fan of, however I want to remember them in the glory days, not now as almost 40-year olds..

KanCrav

~ Allie... little secret, I just saw them in concert like 2 years ago. (hehe) I am still a huge BSB fan. I actually had to decide if I should go on my frist cruise with my hubby or on the BSB cruise... lol. Maturity won out and I am going with my husband, but I really wanted to go with BSB. I would cut my arm off to go actually. Now if I could just rememeber that I will be 24 in a month, not 14.


I dont care... BSB... BSB ..... BSB.... :drinker:

tjradd73

Allie-awesome job on not weighing!! it's getting a little more tempting for me...but I still haven't!! LOL As for the fast...it was based off of the "3 day diet" online but i HEALTHED it up a lil bit and kinda did my own thing! Basically I ate 700-800 cals of clean food (fruits, veggies, and lean meat) then I worked out to burn between 400-500 cals to bring me to a net of 200-300 for the day!! I also drank 18 cups of water to flush me out and keep me fuller!! I added a special K protein pack and 2 tsp of benefiber to up those levels for the day and VIOLA' there's my fast!!! Lemme know if you do do it and I will give you my exact meal plans if you'd like

nolachick

KanCrav - you should totally write that down lol. thanks for your support. and you're right one bad meal should NOT lead to a bad day to a bad week to a bad month and that's exactly what I need to stop NOW.

Tjradd - wow you're strong if you could fast for 3 days. i'm not sure that's healthy but hopefully u eased back into eating and working out and not did something crazy like p90x on an empty stomach to make yourself sick.

My NSV scale for the day is - even tho I only slept 3 hours I dragged myself out of bed and went to my bootcamp. I find that if I skip Monday's its hard to jump back in the rest of the week. I want to attend as many bootcamp sessions as I can for the rest of the month!

Hope everyone is starting their week on the right foot. :flowerforyou:

meagalayne

BSB Never Gone tour? You better believe I had FLOOR SEATS to that *kitten*.... :bigsmile: yea, I know. I'm a totally random, curious lady sometimes. All my friends were shocked to learn of my love for BSB. It's a little dirty secret but whatever! This girl doesn't believe in shame

HEY EVERYONE! :drinker: Hope you folks had a great weekend. Mine was filled with ups and downs, crazy work and sleep schedule and a lot of emotional challenges. There's no time or room here to go into it, really, nor is it of great importance. I think that a really good long run today will help to get me back into a good head space and back on track. I just feel like I need the comfort of my own schedule back... I'm in rough shape atm with my mood, but I know that it's temporary so I am just choosing to ignore it, be positive, and work on getting my groove back.

So, I'll just comment on all your posts instead :glasses:

Leela - I know how hard it can be to feel like you're not on the same page as you S/O. Although Tyler is really accommodating with fitness and exercise, and loves being active (and is fairly fit), we have completely different perspectives on food and eating healthy and it can be tough some days. Since I don't know your boy at all, or your journey leading up to making the decision to get healthy and fit, this could be way off but it sounds to me like perhaps he's dealing with the same fears and excuses that many of us used before we finally committed to healthy living. For years and years I had a laundry list of reasons I didn't want to work out, but the reality was that I just didn't have the confidence that I could stick with it, make a change, get healthy and lose weight. I figured I would just fail at it, and the embarrassment and disappointment would be far worse than the energy and effort expended trying to make it happen. It's possible that your boyfriend just "doesn't care how he looks" or how fit he is, but I think it's a lot more likely that he absolutely does care but just doesn't feel like he has the resources, determination, and ability to see real progress. It's scary to just dive in. Especially when you're unfit, overweight, or otherwise "out of your element". I considered giving up running about 45 thousand times when I was overweight because of how embarrassed and foolish I felt.

I think sometimes we can all stand a reminder of where we started and how much we've changed over the course of this journey. Truthfully, I don't think I would even recognize the "Meag" of 2009 anymore. But I can vividly remember how hard it was some days to feel good about myself working out, being healthy and taking control of my life when I just felt like I couldn't see any end or any real progress. It's possible that your boyfriend will never come around, and as Tara has said, we have no right to expect that our partners will want to make the same choices as us and live the same lifestyle. But, there is also a chance that he will see how much work you put in, and what positive results you reap, both physically and emotionally, from all the good choices you're making and will decide after a little while to hop on and give it a try. The best thing you can do is to *not* be pushy, but to try and be as supportive and understanding as possible. Some day he may just say "Leela, I want to give this a shot" and you need to be there to be like "heck yes! what do you want to do first!?!?!" But until then, make his understand that it's important to you and if he doesn't want to take part and be involved, he needs to at least be accommodating and understanding. Good luck sweetie XO

Welcome to the NEWBS! :flowerforyou: happy to see some fresh meat among the ranks! You all know how much I love new faces around here!!

Tara - Impressive dedication and follow through, girl. Hope you feel like you really benefited from it. I think it's great that you're not weighing in right after doing it though, because you'll have obviously registered a significant loss from the huge water intake and general lack of food, and I'd hate to see that influence your eating habits in a way that's unhealthy or regressive. We need to all keep in mind that a good part of losing weight and keeping it off is about learning how our metabolism is working for us, and how to get it working more efficiently to feed our bodies. Screwing around with our metabolism by starving our bodies regularly on fad diets and cleanses can do some serious harm, and really slow down our weight loss over time. So definitely glad that you are waiting to weigh-in! Hope you're feeling refreshed and back to eating at least your 1200 net cals again. End PSA

Nola - Great job getting the gym in today girl! woooot NSV! :drinker: Love bootcamp too. Glad you had fun and got a great burn!

Jess - Really love your goals! I'm a huge foodie and love trying all sorts of new recipe. Keep us posted on what you try, please

Speaking of which... Here's the recipe I'm making tonight, with a few alterations:

http://britishfood.about.com/od/psrecipes/r/spicychicken.htm + http://www.creative-cooking-corner.com/dal-chicken.html

Yea. So I am actually just piecing together bits from each of those to make a spicy chicken dal. Should be yummy! And I'm going to health-it-up with veggies, of course.

I'm also going to make these today if I get a chance: http://www.familyfreshcooking.com/2011/05/01/vegan-almond-chickpea-cookies-gluten-free-recipe/

I'll let you guys know how they both turn out. Much love and keep on kickin' it, ladies!

lostalykat

Happy Monday friends!

Last night was pretty fun. I definitely drank more wine that planned and had 3 pieces of Pizza with salad and a slice of yummy fruit tart. I feel good tho. Even though I didn't hold back to much I also didn't go completely overboard. I also ate really healthy all day and had a great workout. I saw some old friends I haven't seen in a while which is always fun. Now it is back to the grind of work.

Today is my rest day so I think it is a salad dinner and a movie night. We had leftover pizza from the party last night and I am only bringing one slice and some salad for lunch today. I feel great about this week and hopefully I will see a loss on the scale on thursday. Well have a great day peeps! Onward and downward!

QOTD- What is your favorite time of day??

I think my favorite time of day is the morning. If i get up early to take care of things or just lounging on a sunday morning., Weird I know but I do like mornings

finncmh

Helllooooooooooooooo kicking *kitten* group! Feels like I have been gone for years and years and years (and really its been less than a week!). And what a week its been. Like Meag there have been crazy ups and downs but I am going to just continue to focus on the good stuff. I was lucky enough Friday to have the day off and spend some quality time with J, my mom, and my sister at the location for our wedding weekend. It was so great to see how excited everyone was and it was fun to talk more about the little details. We have our actual ceremony location narrowed down to two places: right next to the river there or tucked away in a beautiful pine tree grove. We shall see!!!!

Saturday was our shops Seven Year anniversary party! I would love if you guys checked out our blog about it (the owner gave me a nice little mention in it and made me feel spectacular!) www.highfallsmercantile.com/blog
My new profile pic is me outside the shop with our favorite artist's daughter. I LOVED my new hot pink dress- NEVER NEVER NEVER thought I would wear a dress like that or a dress like that in PINK!!! But I rocked it and got lots of great comments and the most important part is that I FELT AMAZING!!!

Now its just back to the grind of all our other crazy happenings this summer in addition to the daily hum drum. I am ready to get back in to my running schedule but in reality I feel really good about how I managed last week. I am also going to be trialing a free session at a local crossfit place. I have been wanting to try it out FOR MONTHS! But havent gotten the courage to. Its WAYYYY more than I would like to spend but I think it will really take things to the next level for me. I never ever know what to tell my rents what I want for my birthday so maybe I'll ask for a month or two membership from them. Will keep you posted on how that goes.

Sounds like everyone has been doing really well! I am excited to get back to commented regularly on individuals now that this crazy week is behind me. SOOO good to be back!!!!

-Cait

shannonaufman

Hi all! It's been a while since I've commented here. I don't exactly know why... I've been reading, but just haven't been contributing. I'm sorry! I've been really frustrated this month. I just can't seem to get past this little 'plateau' I seem to have reached, and frankly, I'm tired of it. I've been doing well on my calorie intake, pretty good about water, I've been trucking through couch to 5k and I've been sticking with 30DS on my off days from running. And yet, I just can't clear this darn 173 pound mark. I've been losing inches, which is great, and I'm happy about that. So I've been wrestling with that this month... I haven't been commenting much because, well, I haven't really had much to say. But I'm still chugging along, doing the best I can. I know I shouldn't worry about the scale. That I should be happy that I'm losing inches, and happy that I'm improving my fitness. I know all of this. And yet... ugh, I just can't get past it.

I really love reading about the successes y'all are having this month. It sounds like most of you are having a great month, and I really appreciate all of the positivity on the board lately. I haven't exactly figured out my plan of attack for the rest of the month, but I'm sure I'll get through it somehow!

JustBreathe418

Happy Monday Everyone! Thank you all for the wonderful welcomes.

Nola - yay congrats on making it to that bootcamp class! I am planning on waking up at 5:30am tomorrow to go workout as well, and its been a LONG time since I've done that...so I hope I can stick with the plan and not hit the snooze button haha.

Meag - that recipe sounds really good! let us all how it goes, and take pics if possible so we can see

Shannon - I'm glad to see that you are still staying positive despite the fact that you're frustrated. The important thing is to not give up. And you said it best yourself, you're losing inches and improving your fitness/overall health, and that's amazing! If you've been working out you've probably been gaining muscle which contributes to the scale not moving. I know you know this already, but keep going and try not to let the scale bring you down!

Aly- I love my weekend mornings as well! I love waking up, having my coffee, eating my breakfast, and just lounging On the weekdays though, I think my favorite time of the day is the few hours before bed when I get to relax and just take a moment to breathe after the long day.

AFM, just wanted to wish everyone a good start to the week! Keep at it y'all!

lostalykat

I just ordered a dress for my engagement party! Soo excited! Here is the link if you want to see.

http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/donna-ricco-stretch-cotton-party-dress/3156749?origin=related-3156749-0-1-1

finncmh

I just ordered a dress for my engagement party! Soo excited! Here is the link if you want to see.

http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/donna-ricco-stretch-cotton-party-dress/3156749?origin=related-3156749-0-1-1

LOVE! Bet its going to look stunning on you! Cant wait to see the pics :-)

Leela30

Nola: OH?! What part of NY are you from?! I’m pretty sure that it’s been scientifically proven that carbs and sugar crave more carbs and sugar when I’m having a carb food craving, I try and go for an apple, or blueberries, something that is small and will keep my mouth and hands entertained. You’re doing all this crazy work, waking up at 5am for a bootcamp class, why not take the second to really question before you eat something. Don’t undo all of your hard work

Kandace: Thanks, I LOVE free therapy! You’re right. We all have our moments and situations that arise. How is everything going with the counselor speaking of which? The best way to clean is to dance and clean! Pretend the vacuum is your dancing partner or the cleaning spray bottle.. PLUS that way you are dancing and burning calories while cleaning. WIN WIN! Oh, when is your birthday! I’m a June baby too! Well, almost July, I’m June 30th!

Allie: I think that some splurge days are actually good. I think they sort of throw a shock to your system and can rev up the calorie burns. Just don’t let them happen too much lol. Goodluck on your 5k!

Tara: I’m glad to see you’re still holding up on not weighing in. You go girl!

Meag: I love going on runs to clear my head. I have nothing else to think about when I’m running (other than ARG don’t get run over by the bikers!) Get a great endorphin kick, speed up metabolism, clear your head. I think that sounded like a great idea! My boyfriend is a big hippie but I know he wants to get in shape, or at least not be fat anymore… So I just figured what a better way than doing it with me? But I think you’re exactly right Meag, and I didn’t really think of it that way, that he’s just where I used to be (and still am). I still massively compare myself to other girls at the gym, especially the fitter girls, and while it makes me feel bad about myself, I’ve learned to use it as motivation that one day I hope to look like that.

Aly: I sounds like you had an AWESOME night, every now and then we deserve an allowed “over” for the day. I’m especially proud that you ate really well that day and didn’t also go overboard. Oh I love the dress! Yay for more pink!

Cait: I think you look amazing in that dress! And I’m proud of you for stepping out of your comfort zone and realizing that you CAN be bold and make an entrance and feel good about it. What’s a crossfit place?

Shannon: Sister! I feel you! I’ve been eating under my calories, and definitely working out more and yet no results. I’ve weighed the same for months now! At least you are losing inches. And you know that’s a good thing, but I agree it’s incredibly frustrating that there is no number change. Have you been stuck at that weight for month? I unfortunately don’t have any advice because my weight never seems to change to matter what I do, but I just started a new program about 2 weeks ago, so I’ll let you know if that works for me. But just keep your head up and keep trucking along. I really hope you get that scale difference soon. Don’t give up! Have you taken before pictures yet? I’d do that so then even when the scale doesn’t change but you know the inches are, then you know you are making a difference in your body composition. So I’d maybe use those pictures and motivation to stay strong, and see that YOU ARE making a difference!

AFM: I’m bored as usually sitting in class, but then I get to go pick up the boy right after! I’m going to keep logging, (but usually when he’s around I don’t) So to keep logging would be a GREAT NSV for me for these next 2 weeks and still keep up my weight training even if he won’t join me. Maybe I can help motivate him to start acting on caring by being a role model.

QOTD: hmm, I love the early mornings when the sun is just rising and the birds are up (so mostly just on really sunny days. Lately with getting up early for work I’m just too darn tired at night after work and classes. I love LAZY mornings lol

tjradd73

Nola-my WO's during my "fast" were my normal ones(turbo jam, BL cardio max, and YBB-yoga booty ballet=400-500cals burned). I know that was not the right way to lose weight BUT that is not why I did it...I did it to show myself that I can be self-disciplened and follow through with my plans...I needed a MIND cleanse so to say!! LOL :laugh: to each there own...but I do think that daily challenges are the way to go...with each accomplishment you will feel more confident that you can get this done! SO...way to get to the gym, and to beat your daily goal!

Meag-no worries girl!! that is ONE reason that I decided to do it when I did it...I knew that I wouldn't be weighing myself for a few weeks after and I knew that the loss, then probable regain would balance itself out by the time June 1st rolled around and the numbers wouldn't affect what I was doing "eating-wise". I am back to my normal healthy intake of between 1250-1350/ day :happy:

QOTD-I think my fave time of day depends on if I work or not...if I work (@ night) I like the time while I am driving to and from work (430pm-510pm) and (6am-645am) it is my only ALONE time for these 3 days!! For my days off I would say that I enjoy the nighttime (midnight-3am).

Cait-CONGRATS on your successful anni party at the shop...it's always nice to get a positive mention from others! WTG! :flowerforyou:

Shannon-sounds like you have been really doing well with your diet and exercise...the only tip that I could say to maybe help you get past your plateau would be to switch things up a bit...try changing your workout routine, and/or try changing your calorie intake (check your settings and if you are set for 0.5 to 1 lbs per week I would say maybe lower cals, and if you are set for 1.5-2lbs/week I would say maybe increase your cals) Regardless, you are doing great... and this is exactly why myself (and Allie) have put away the scale for the rest of the month! Just stay focused and keep on moving! :flowerforyou:

Aly-what a pretty dress!! great pick...you will look great in it!

Leela-have fun with the bf!!! and you are right...NO scale for me still!!

AFM-today was my rest day but I did get in my ab routine. I have eaten a decent breakfast (300cals) but now I have the damn potluck to compete with for tonight!! I added a bunch of things to my diary that I KNOW will be there and I will change it as I go!! Here's to hoping that I can show some self-control! :drinker:

meagalayne

Love the dress Aly! The colour is gorgeous - you pink ladies are ROCKING it! I'm not sure I could ever rock that dress with my colouring but it sure looks gorgeous on Cait and I'm certain you'll look stunning, as well :bigsmile:

My fave time of day is breakfast. I am definitely a morning person and I love having the entire day to look forward to. I get to eat my fave bowl of oatmeal, which I honestly am excited about every single day, and I am just generally really happy in the morning. It drives Tyler insane because he's such a grouch and I always annoy the snot out of him :laugh: Such a trouble maker!

Leela - He just needs to figure it out on his own terms and in his own time. Turning that competition into a positive, instead of using it as an excuse to put off getting healthy, is a really hard thing to do. It takes a lot of courage to take the first step and workout even when you feel awful, foolish, fat, unattractive, etc. I know! I've been there! And I am so proud of myself for making the commitment and actually following through (everyone should be!) but I definitely had to be at the right place and time to get it done. You can't want it for him. Just be supportive and hope that your progress and positivity will encourage him to want to make the change with you. Good luck!

For those of you "stuck" - I've said it here a million times. Re-evaluate. How much are you eating, how much does your body burn at maintenance, and how much do you workout? Is the DIFFERENCE between what you're eating and your total burn greater than 500 calories? If it is, eat more. Change your workouts. Be diligent and eat clean. And see what happens. Give it 3-4 weeks and enjoy being able to fuel your body. After 3-4 weeks, weigh yourself and note the change. If you're being honest and accountable, measuring properly, and working hard you will see a loss. There's a very good chance you're under-nourished and your metabolism is just slowing down to a crawl. Kick it back up with some real, healthy food and get back to losing!

Tired of my PSAs yet? Gosh I sound like one of those awful know it alls at the gym sometimes... Sorry!

Tonight;s recipe kicked *kitten* and it was thrown together and done cooking in less than an hour. Freaking awesome. Here's what got tossed in...

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 medium onion, sliced
2 tsp ginger, minced
2 large chicken breasts, cut into 1in pieces (mine weighed 366 grams)
1/2 cup water (or so...)
1 1/2 tbsp Arvinda's curry powder (or curry masala of any kind)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 large carrot, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
1 large tomato, chopped
1 cup red lentils (masoor dal)
1/2 cup tomato puree
4 cups water
3/4 cup frozen green peas
cilantro to taste (1/4-1/2 cup)

Heat the oil in a medium sized dutch oven at med-high heat. Toss in cumin seeds and heat until they pop. Then add onion and cook for a few mins. Add ginger (and garlic if you have it) and cook for 1-2 mins, until fragrant. Add chicken and braise on all sides (use some water to scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pot as you go). Once the chicken is browned, add the spices and toss to coat. Add in all the remaining ingredients apart from the peas and cilantro and let it come to a boil, then lower the heat and cook around medium until the dal is soft, approx 20 mins. Add the peas and cook to desired thickness (add more water if you like, or allow to thicken by cooking with the lid off - not exactly a science lol). Mix in the cilantro before serving, and top with dollops of fresh plain yogurt (greek if desired).

Was a little spicy, but not overwhelming. Good flavours and yummy dal goodness. I'm sure it's not a "traditional" dal, but that's what I get for making it up I call it 4 servings because I eat a lot. My folks ate 1/4 of the total dish with some bread, but I just ate it as is with some yogurt. Here's the nutritional breakdown per serving:

Spicy Chicken Dal (serves 4), 1 serving
Cals 346
Fat 5
Protein 36
Fiber 18

Check out that fiber and protein - Super, super healthy! Really pleased with this :bigsmile: Yea, it's carb loaded. But whatever! Super yummy too!

OK I'm headed over to Ty's to finally catch up on the Survivor season finale. Hectic and crazy day but life is good. Hope you folks are making the best of it!

shannonaufman

Wow, thank you all for your responses. I'm really glad to know that I'm not the only one who has been here. I think I'm going to put the scale away for a few weeks (maybe just until the end of the month). I'll just be super diligent with my exercise and keeping under my daily calories. I'll see how things are at the end of the month and reevaluate. I used to be so carefree about what the scale said! And now that it isn't moving, I'm going bonkers!

Meag -- thank you, as always, for your knowledge and insight and articulation of exactly what I need to hear. I am so glad I found this thread and have you to inspire me and keep my rear in gear! How is your foot doing, btw?

Leela -- I've had similar struggles with my husband. He is super supportive and understanding of my recent running/fitness habit, but he has no interest in joining me. I have a lot of 'real life" friends who run and workout with their significant others and sometimes I think it would be nice for Matt to join me. So instead, I use my running and workout time as "shanny time" and enjoy the other things Matt and I do together. We just acquired some mountain bikes, so we're going to start biking together. So maybe y'all can find something fitness related that you both enjoy.. like disc golf or bowling or something.

AFM -- as of about 30 minutes ago, I'm officially a Couch to 5K graduate!! Up next is One Hour Runner. This is the first fitness-related thing I've ever finished, so I feel pretty amazing about that. It's probably the biggest NSV I've had to date, and I need all of those I can get!

McBody

Aly- I absolutely LOVE the dress you ordered. I'm sure it's going to look so great on you!

Hope everyone is doing well today. I am lacking energy again today... did more yoga though and I'm getting rest (at least I'm accomplishing two goals I set for myself)! I followed up with the doctor today, I can't go on heart medication because it would drop my heart rate to about 40bpm, and that's not safe either. So until the cardiologist can give me an ablation, I'll be taking it easy on the cardio and sticking to yoga so I don't have another heart attack!

Have a good night ladies, I need to get some rest- got lots of stuff to do tomorrow and I'll be talking people through workouts instead of actually doing them (it's TORTURE)!

JustBreathe418

Aly - LOVE LOVE LOVE the dress! I'm a fan of pink as well

Tara - Good luck at your potluck! Those things are hard...but it sounds like you've sorta got a plan of attack in place, just eat a bigger portion of whatever it is you're bringing and less of everything else. Let us know how it went!

Meag - WOW the protein and fiber stats on that recipe are amazing! I love having recipes that are low fat, high fiber and high protein. That is one I am going to add to my list for sure!

Shannon - Congrats on being a C25k graduate!

AFM, I had a pretty good day today. Worked out pretty hard at the gym. I did some interval running on the treadmill and also took a body sculpting class, which was good since one of my goals is to do strength training twice a week, so I just have to get another one in to achieve that goal! It was tough though because I haven't done strength training in a while...I KNOW I am going to feel it tomorrow haha.

I'm meeting with my friends tomorrow for happy hour...you all know how THAT goes lol. Lot's of cheap drinks and cheap fatty appetizers for all. Oh boy...

KanCrav

~Meag.... your funny, I would NEVER guess you were a closet BsBer. Your so "grown up" lol. (welcome to our club!~!) Your dinner sounds awesome! I def want to try it. I have been getting bored of the same old, chicken breast with 3 veggies so I dont feel left out of the noodles. I think its time to branch out!!~!! Weird question, have you ever made your own Granola Bars???? I want to make something delicious but the only thing I can bake is Cake from a Box. So I figured if I could make up my own recipe for Graonla bars, that will give me something else to snack on!~! I am just confused at where to start???

~Allie.... LOVE your dress!~~!~!~!~!~! I was born in PINK~!~! my mom made me wear purple til I was six, so now a wear pink whenever possible!~!~! The dress is the exact style I have been looking for! Good Pick!~! Its so awesome, your going to be soooo perrrty!~!

~McBody.... I so impressed with your determination to exercise!~!~! It makes me feel like a spoiled brat being able to do all the cardio I want and NOT doing it!~!~! So, if you dont mind, I am going to do cardio until you can not. How many days a week and how long is your cardio WO. I dont think I will be able to do what you do, but I am sure gonna try. I cant get my but up for myself, so maybe doing it in your honor will give me the boost I neeed!~!~!~!

~Shannon... congratulations!~!~! you rock!~!

~Tara... Pot Luck day is over!~!~!~! Dont worry about it any more!~!

~Leela... good luck with your NSV of logging your food with your boy here. I hope you enjoy your time with him. !~!~!~!

AFM.... I got my hair done today. I like it. It is exactly what I wanted, but for some reason I am not super excited like I want to be. I need to get to the gym and have a good workout. I dont know why I cant keep motivated. Its like every other day is a rest day for me. I do NOTHING but walk. The hardest part is being depressed. I dont want to move, walk, talk, see people. I jus dont want to do anything!~!~! I know I have things to look forward to and I am proud of myself, now I just need to get my body to get up and get going.

Me and the hubby booked a cruise for July 9th. Its a night cruise and my FIRST ONE EVER. I want to be comfortable enough to walk around in my bikini and put on an awesome dress every night for dinner!~!~~! There is a gym on the ship that NEVER closes, pools basketball court and volley ball and mini golf. So there isnt really any excuse to spend too much time laying around. except of course to get the BEST TAN ever and make all my friends jealous!~!~!~! We have already planned a snorkeling excusions in Croatia and a 4 hour wilderness hike in Slovenia. The other ports are two different ports in Italy and our final destination is Venice. I am thinking Bari Italy will be a beach day and Ravenna will be a walking exploration day. We can book a tour guide but we would much rather get a map and get lost in the city. We tend to see many interesting things that way. With a tour guide we could learn stuff, but we enjoy ourselves and get some awesome experiences walking around alone!~! We figure we can learn about history in a book. In Prauge we had no idea how old the buildings were or which famous dead person walked down the center square, but we fell in love with the architecture and got amazing pitures of some random park at night. I would like to tell ppl that I stood where So and So stood, but I had more fun following the clouds around the city!~!

I hope Italy will be the same way. I am going to do a little research on which city is more walkable and which beaches are nicer. I am also trying to keep our costs down as much as possible!

Wow, look at all the rambling I did.... I will stop now!~!

drjennelle

eeeek i have't been on here since friday!!! so much to catch up on, so little time! :noway:

i don't have a ton of time sadly, but just a few quick comments and hopefully more to come later!1

aly - LOVE the dress! its so sweet! that color just makes people want to hug you - great choice for your engagement party - you will be getting hugs left and right

meag - ummmmmm i am going to BSB too!!! at fenway park in boston with NKOTB!!! soooooooo excited! WOOT WOOT!

tara - potlucks are near impossible to evaluate what you're actually consuming in calories, which usually frustrates me to no end haha. however i also think this - before i started on my "health journey" i thought of events like that as free "stuff your face" days - where no one would judge me for eating like a pig because everyone else was too :bigsmile: now, i realize that even if i go over my calories, im STILL being SO mindful - i am actually aware of my choices, including the conscious choice to go over my cals for the night most often! but i can guarantee you my "going over" is SIGNIFICANTLY better than it would have been in the past - and i am SURE the same is true for you. life has events, and we go to them what matters is that we cannot be derailed from our overall mission, our overall comittment to live happy, healthy lives - no matter what comes up! no potluck will ever take that away from you - i've seen your dedication on here and you should never worry about that! :happy:

and i know this was the QOTD yesterday - but my favorite time of day is post-workout time usually now-ish (between 7:00 and 9:00 in the morning) - i feel accomplished and motivated and healthy and AWESOME!!!!! :bigsmile:

meagalayne

Morning ladies and happy Tuesday!

Well I guess a quick little update-y-ness from me first:

I got a call yesterday morning re: a job I applied for in March, working for Torstar Media Group TV. He asked me to come in last min for an interview, so I ended up canceling my plans in the afternoon and driving over for a chat. It went well. Sounds like a really promising job with a ton of growth potential, so it was definitely a positive experience. TMGTV is still a relatively new station and their company is still gaining its footing in the industry, but they've seen tremendous growth in the last 2 years and the position I applied for is actually one that is just being created now, so it would seem that the successful hire would have a lot of freedom and control over the development of the role and it's place in the corporation. Very exciting.

So that happened around 10am... :laugh: Then I went to the gym and ran some speed intervals quickly before I had to get ready for my interview. While I was at the gym I ended up getting a call from the LCBO offering me the job I interviewed for at the end of April... What a whirlwind day of job prospects! Once I got home and had my protein shake I called them back and they asked me to start tomorrow... So my first official shift is tomorrow from 9-5. Craziness. Especially since I'm supposed to call TMGTV back today regarding this other position (which is significantly more lucrative but also comes with a lot more uncertainty in terms of job security). Coupled with all other life stuff these last 5 or 6 days have just been so overwhelming... So much change and so much uncertainty. I so badly need a workout! haha

Anyway, that about catches me up. I have a LOT of errands, shopping, and general running around to do. I'm also planning to get in a spin class at lunch hour, make those chickpea almond cookies which got put off yesterday, and throw together something for dinner (likely pork tenderloin, sweet potatoes and roasted veggies). Busy day!

J- You are SO right! And I'm glad you said it, and not me :laugh: I get so caught up some days thinking "I know how to do this right, how to eat healthy, and how to fuel my body well, so why am I screwing it up?" when my choices are still a hundred times more balanced than they would have been months ago. We can't lose sight of our progress and we definitely can't strive for perfection without expecting to hit a bump in the road now and again. I know that I still struggle with negative thoughts any time I eat processed carbs (last night at dinner I felt such satisfaction sitting with whole grain bread all meal without touching even a morsel - why?) and that my standards for what I should and shouldn't be eating are drastically more strict than they need to be for maintenance, but I also have come a long way the last month or so in realizing that it's OK to only be "really good" 80-90% of the time. We need at 10% or so to account for life getting in the way of our plans and messing them about. It just happens and we can't beat ourselves up. It doesn't derail us. Each and every time life messes us about and then we get back on track without missing a step should trigger a major pat on the back, not a stern hand-slapping. We're learning to LIVE healthy - the key being that we are LIVING. Living life, being human, and making concessions. Instead of punishing ourselves for living, we should be celebrating our determination and strength to stay the course despite all it's challenges. So I'm glad that you've recognized your progress and you can see how much change you've made already. Keep it up! :drinker:

And for those of you going to potlucks or eating at big functions... A few good tips if you do want to count:

1) Always use a plate and cutlery. Don't just graze. You will invariably eat more than you want.
2) Use a small plate - sneaky but it works
3) Put whatever you want to eat onto your plate first, then if you think you might forget, take a quick pic with your phone of your plate so that you can log it later. This will help you to reference portion size and remember exactly what you ate.
4) If you're going to have desserts, use a napkin instead of a plate. You can only juggle so much
5) Go in knowing you are going to treat yourself with a few items, but load up on veggies, salad, and other healthy foods first. Decide what you want to pick as your "treat" items by surveying all your options first before serving yourself. Then treat and ENJOY. If you have a bite of something and you don't overly love it, leave it on your plate. No sense wasting the calories on something that isn't worth it!

Kan - Granola bars - yes! I mean I've never made them myself but there's a million recipes out there for super healthy ones. Are you looking for plain-ish ones, ones with lots of nuts and seeds, or what? What kind of nutritional profile are you looking for? I know some people on here are more hesitant with healthy fats than I am, so figures I should ask. If you search the forums I know there are a bunch posted but let me know and I'll send you one or two I have on the books :happy:

JustBreathe (Jess, right?) - Thanks! Yep - it's a mega healthy recipe and delicious to boot! Loved it :bigsmile: I'm going to be testing out a recipe for curried millet tomorrow in the crockpot which sounds fabulous - Around 120cals per cup, 2g fat, 4g each fiber and protein, and chock full of awesome nutrients. Dried grains, beans and lentils are definitely becoming a big part of my diet lately as I am trying to ease out of my carb-phobia. I'll try my best to post recipes as I go! :bigsmile:

Shanny - Foots doing a lot better actually. Healing up nicely. Haven't had too much trouble on it lately, which is a nice relief. Thanks for asking, dear :flowerforyou: Congrats on finishing up with the C25K and rocking it so hard. I am really excited to see you start the One Hour Runner program and to celebrate in your victories with you. Keep it up, even when it's hard, girl. It will pay off in the end. I promise! <<hugs>>

Wow this was SOOOO not short and quick. Like always! :noway: I'm a mess! haha
Meag