burgers: healthy or not

I thought this was too cute not to share.

Yesterday afternoon, the girls sat down to do a little art project (they like to cut pictures from magazines and make their own pictures with the clippings). Hanna was pointing out all the delicious foods to me. She was craving.....BIG time. After a little whining and asking me if she could actually eat the picture of french fries, she refocused her energy. She made a poster of things NOT to eat, as a reminder of the healthy changes she is making. I thought it was wonderful.

"Except I accidentally put turkey burgers on it." she said. Which I thought was very smart. She knows that turkey burgers are healthy.

Actually, burgers in general aren't all that unhealthy. They become unhealthy when you slather them in sugary sauces, cheese, and bacon, and eat them on a high calorie white bun that turns to sugar the second it hits your saliva. But I explained to Hanna that a burger can actually be a very healthy meal if you use extra lean beef or turkey, top it with veggies like tomatoes, lettuce and onions and skip the sugary toppings like ketchup or BBQ sauce. Even a bun, chosen wisely, isn't bad.

FYI: Are you aware of how much sugar and nastiness goes into BBQ sauce??? (sorry to spoil your fun right before the 4th of July) Try to find a healthy BBQ sauce at the grocery store. I dare you! There just isn't one. I make my own (and very rarely).

We had grilled burgers last night for dinner. Hanna and I chose to eat ours sans bun. They....were....awesome.

Got through the first week

First week of Shapeshifter.....done! It flew by. I took my measurements this morning. I was a little scared. Despite the fact that I followed the diet very closely, did the exercises (except for one day) and tried harder than I feel like I've ever tried, I didn't feel as though I had changed at all.

But.....

over butt: 35"
over hips: 34"
over thighs: 19"
weight: 110.2

I have lost a total of 1- 1/2 inches (overall)!
If you look at my stats from one week ago, you'll see. click to see stats

Like I said, I don't feel different, and I don't look different, but change is happening. 5 more weeks to go!

Sorry to post twice in one day but....

I couldn't wait. You may or may not remember me talking about my 13 year old, Hanna, wanting to jump on the clean eating bandwagon with me. She has also been wanting to workout with me. Like, actually asking if she can workout with me. Not me asking her or bribing her in any way....her actually electing to do it.

It was her dad's weekend to have her and Eden. She had actually packed for a week though because she is done with summer school now and she wanted to spend some more time with her dad. But her dad texted me this morning and said Hanna wanted to come home so she could keep working out with me.

......I was speechless. Who is this girl?

Not only that, but she wants to eat exactly what I eat. She has tried more new foods in the past week than she ever has. And done so willingly and without complaint. She has been more open and receptive of these new foods. And the best part about it is that I haven't had to beg her. This is all her own new-found motivation. Do you want to know what did it? Do you want to know the ONE sentence I said that completely changed her attitude? Ok, I'll tell you.

"You can completely change your body in 6 weeks." - that is all it took. Just knowing that she could feel comfortable in her own skin, be confident in her body and herself before going back to school was what she needed to hear, I guess. She wants a change. She's finally ready for it. How do I know? Because I'm not pushing it on her, she decided that the time was right.

And what better time is there? Over a summer vacation, when we can workout in the mornings together, eat every meal together, etc. This is a great bonus for me as well because I've wanted a workout buddy for SO LONG!

But she knows the road is not going to be easy. I told her that it's going to be damn hard! Because if it were easy, no one would have weight issues. Breaking food addictions is hard. Working out is hard. Doing both at the same time when you rarely cared in the past is really hard. And if it's going to produce visible, noticeable results in just 6 weeks, you are going to have to put all of your effort into it. But it can be done! We are in this together, Hanna. I am so very proud of you.

Tonight I shared my own special "dessert" that I have every night. It's a way to squash my chocolate cravings with healthy food. I had her try my cottage cheese mixed with stevia and cocoa powder. And I threw in a new little twist: fat free, sugar free instant pudding mix - cheesecake flavor. She loved it. I also discovered a way to make chocolate frosting for my healthy chocolate cake (the recipe for which I have shared here). I'm not going to blog the recipe for it yet though. You'll just have to wait ;) It was a freak discovery I made last night. And I cannot wait to try it on top of my cake to see how it tastes!

Saturday

Well yesterday was the Scandinavian festival. That was a good time, and a true test of will power! While it sort of through a kink into my eating schedule, at least I didn't falter and have something that would have been a diet disaster.

I had my normal breakfast and snack. Then I set out a chicken breast to thaw so I could eat it for lunch. But we didn't get home until 3pm so I had no choice but to eat at the festival. Believe me when I tell you that despite the fact that there were foods from 5 or 6 different countries there, there was nothing healthy! I ate a piece of brown bread with smoked salmon on top. And that was it. It was the healthiest choice by far. And while I was a bit disappointed that I ate bread (which was not on my planned menu for the week), I knew if I picked off the salmon and just ate that, I might not have had energy for the rest of the festival.

When I got home, I had a protein shake for a snack. Then right before dinner I had some cottage cheese, because that small lunch just wasn't enough. And for dinner, grilled that chicken breast and threw it in a lettuce salad.

Then, we decided to watch "The Best Thing I Ever Ate: totally fried" on Food Network. BAD idea. My mouth was like a fountain, watering, watching all this delicious and terrible fried food. I mean, everything from french fries, fried chicken, deep fried candy bars and fried brussel sprouts. Even deep fried shrimp heads and get this.....deep fried bacon. As if bacon wasn't heart stoppingly unhealthy on it's own! At that point, I probably could have eaten deep fried dog poop, I was craving. BUT, I switched my mental direction. We went outside and took the dog for a walk. I thought about how in just 5 1/2 weeks, I could be rid of my problem areas. And once I am there, maintaining will be a breeze!

For a bedtime snack I had Greek yogurt and low sodium hot & spicy V8. So, even though I improvised half the day, I still stayed on track.

I didn't workout, but I will just switch when it comes to my rest day. How was your day?

Friday, friday....

Nothing new to report for yesterday. It was a successful day again. I felt great. My workout was a little tougher today because I was sore. My butt and legs...ouch.

Got to go out with just my husband last night. The only bummer was we didn't get to see what we wanted to see, which was a performance by a Norwegian fiddler and accordion player. So we ended up at a different place where we sat staring at the wall until I suggested playing scrabble. There we were, at this hip downtown bar, playing scrabble on his Windows phone like a couple of dorks. Whatever...

I had a small glass of white wine, and an organic lettuce salad with the most fabulous lemon basil vinaigrette known to man. I would buy a vat of that stuff if I could. I've tried to replicate it to no avail. I didn't eat the croutons even though they looked delicious. If I could get that chef to move in with us and make me that salad every day, I would be in heaven. I usually don't get excited about salad but this little plate of greens is far from ordinary. The flavors are just amazing. [this is at the HoDo for any of my in town friends that want to experience the goodness]

Then on to Atomic Coffee where I had an iced coffee with sugar free English toffee syrup. And back home where we sat out on our patio and enjoyed the lovely evening with a cup of detox tea.

Right on track

Yesterday was another successful day. Clean and delicious eating and a great workout. Energy through the roof. Mood was great. Got my evening walk in. It was a beautiful. All was good!

I even inspired my 13 year old daughter to get a workout in! She did the same metabolic circuit I did. It was funny because when we were talking about it earlier in the day she told me "I want you to show me how to do it. Push me, make me cry!". And after her 10 rounds of the circuit, she did cry! It's probably the most I've seen her exert herself since.....well....ever! I was SOOOOO proud of her!

I followed her into her bedroom where she plopped onto her bed, tears streaming down her face, and she looks at me and says "Will you write the exercises down so I can do them at my dad's?" HAHAHA! Now THAT is dedication! Workout until you cry and ask for more! LOVE it!

She had lentils and tofu with me for dinner last night, although she wasn't a fan of the flavorless tofu. So far, she been pleasantly surprised at how tasty clean eating can be.

On my way

My new size 2 skinnies! ;)

Is it wrong to like the darker picture better?? The flash washes out my abs, in the darker picture, I can actually see them better...lol!

Day one of my 6 week journey went SO WELL! I can't even believe it. I followed the diet exactly, not one starchy carb all day and I was satisfied, had energy and wasn't crabby at all! This is going to completely change me!

The workout was tough, not the toughest I've ever done, but tough enough. I liked it. It was brief, which I also liked. I didn't have to worry about my nervous system crashing ;) This morning, I peeped at my workout for today and it looks like it's going to be a killer. But a short killer. So I can do it!

I feel so fantastic. I hope that every day is like this for the next 6 weeks.

Goals for today: 1) get that walk in, rain or shine! 2) take pictures 3) take the girls to the zoo 4) do some laundry

Bon Voyage!

I'm embarking on a journey. Starting today. Ending 6 weeks from now (August 3rd 2011). After this 6 week transformation, I will be a better version of me.

Yesterday I said bon voyage to a few long-time cravings I have had. Pizza, spaghetti and donuts. I ate pizza for lunch, spaghetti for dinner and a custard filled chocolate topped donut for dessert. Oh, and I had an iced coffee with Skinny Cow dolce de leche in it. Wow. I was so full from the pizza at lunch that I didn't eat much spaghetti for dinner. Maybe we have it all wrong, eating smaller amounts more frequently. Maybe eating huge meals is the way to go, that way we aren't hungry for like 5 hours....haha. I know that is not good on your metabolism, I'm just being stupid.

Anyway, like I said, cravings out of the way and I'm full speed ahead. I haven't looked at every single day's menu from my new program yet, but I don't think there are any cheats in there. It could be a looooong six weeks! But, I know that if I follow this, I will get what I want out of it. I am literally only weeks away from MY goal body. 6 weeks goes by super fast, especially during summer. And I don't really want summer to go by fast, but I want this.

I bought the mega super pack (or whatever they call it) with a menu for every single day, shopping lists, even nutrition facts. It couldn't get any easier. Totally stress free. I won't have to think of what to eat for the next 6 weeks. Plus, I ordered some new supplements. I finally jumped on the Prograde wagon. I've wanted to for several years but it's so expensive. Now, I am totally serious about giving my body every advantage possible. I'll be using a post workout drink, BCAAs, multivitamin & EFA icon from Prograde. I chose to stay with the same protein powder I have, since I just bought more not long ago. And I think I will scrap everything else I've been taking, except for the vitamin c and the gingko biloba.

Oh, I have my "before" measurements taken.
weight: 110.8 lbs
over widest part of butt: 35.5
over widest part of hips: 34.5
over widest part of thigh: 19.5

So I can compare on August 3rd. I will post my before and after pictures also.

I won't be posting my exact diet anymore, since I will be strictly following a plan I had to purchase. It would be like giving their stuff away free, and I don't want to get into trouble.

I will be strictly following their workouts as well. Should be interesting, it's ALL bodyweight stuff. Really cool too. If you want to check out some incredible before and after pictures, click  here! Scroll down and check out Deb's results. WOW! Now THAT is what I want!

Ok, here I go! Wish me luck!

I'm a shapeshifter now

Today I became an official Shapeshifter! I have been so excited for the full program to be released and the day finally came! It was the first thing I did when I woke up this morning. Now, I've been sitting far too long going through all the information...LOL. I can't wait to post how the first day went. But first, I have to sit down (oh no, more sitting) and go through my menu for the week, get to the grocery store and get that first workout done!!

And of course, I will give you my diet for yesterday:
*note - yesterday, I did something totally different. Something I've never done before. I decided to eat nothing but protein bars for every meal except my dinner meal. I wouldn't recommend doing this because I generally think of protein bars as nothing more than glorified candy bars. But I had a few in the cupboard that I wanted to use up because I figured that on my new Shapeshifter diet, they probably wouldn't be allowed. Plus, I just wanted to see what it did to my energy levels and cravings, etc.

Breakfast: protein bar (FYI - 20g protein in every one)
am snack: (post workout) protein bar and spinach drink
Lunch: protein bar and broccoli
pm snack: protein bar
Dinner: Chicken and roasted sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts & red onion
pm snack: Kashi cereal with almond milk - probably shouldn't have done this but I was hungry

workout: 5 rounds of shapeshifter from launchpad

And cleaned like a mad woman!!! This house is so big, that in itself can be a workout ;)

Sunday

Warning: Another boring food post ahead

breakfast: iHop for father's day breakfast - I had something from the "fit" menu; whole wheat french toast, 2 turkey bacon strips and scrambled egg beaters. I didn't finish the eggs, I'm not too crazy about egg substitute. Anyway, it was 490 calories or something like that.

am snack: 6 almonds, handful of blueberries

lunch: 4 egg whites on Ezekiel bread with provolone cheese, peppers and onions

pm snack: protein bar (20g) & broccoli

dinner: salmon, salad, broccoli, 1/2 cup brown rice, 1 whole wheat dinner roll w/honey, ricotta cheese

pre-bed snack: Greek yogurt with steviva, cocal powder and sliced almonds

Workout: I used weights today. Went back to basics;
lunges w/ 40lbs
squats w/60lbs - kept these light
push ups, pull ups
weighted bridge lift 25lbs
ball curl
military press 40lbs
bent over row 50lbs
bicep curl 40lbs
tricep kickback 12lbs
reverse crunch w/ 10lb medicine ball
roman twist w/ 10lb medicine ball
bucket drops, mountain climbers
10 minute on rebounder

And I just got back from a nice long walk outside. I took my 13 year old with me. We are going to try and get out every night. She can't walk as fast as me so I kind of left her in the dust. I felt bad but if I walked at her pace it wouldn't be much for exercise. Anyway, it felt great.

Now I'm off to shower, finish my tea and make up my menu for the week. Hope you had a great weekend!

Weekends are hard

Weekends are hard. Oh are they hard.

Today wasn't the best in terms of diet, but I tried. I really had an appetite. But anyway, here it is:
(keeping in mind that the goal is to try and eat as clean as I can)

breakfast: 1 buckwheat pancake dunked into a bit of 100% pure natural maple syrup. Some might frown on the syrup just because it's a sugar, but it is the pure stuff - nothing added, so I consider it "clean". Also, 1/2 cup cottage cheese.
am snack: protein & spinach drink, few triscuits with 1 laughing cow wedge, 1 wasa with natural peanut butter (a big snack...like I said, I had an appetite today)
lunch: (I pre packed picnic food for our hike today)natural peanut butter and all fruit jelly on Ezekiel bread, 1 hard boiled egg, handful of cherry tomatoes
pm snack: protein bar (20g) - by my standards, I don't really think this is "clean", but I was out hiking with the family today and needed to get my protein in. Also had a few more triscuits on the ride home.
dinner: ricotta cheese with sliced almonds, grilled cheese with Ezekiel bread - probably not the best choice considering all the starchy carbs I already had today, but I had cravings today and I decided I better eat something I liked or I'd be wanting to graze all night long.

All in all, a higher calorie day than I have been doing this week, but that is ok. I still adhered to my "clean" plan as much as possible. Tomorrow, I'm going to do a typical "low" day. Then it will be one week down! It went fast! But weekends are definitely WAY harder to stick to clean eating. Maybe it's force of habit. Kids & husband are home and that is when we would typically have "fun" foods. It's very much a challenge and a struggle of mind and will.

Only 3 more days until I can get started on the full shapeshifter program. I can't wait! I could have my goal met by August!! If I'm a good girl and follow this plan - I will! That reminds me, I have officially set a new goal date; August 2nd. Yay! I have a goal to work for. I am ready for it.

p.s. I love when my husband compliments me on my hard body. He doesn't see my flaws, he sees the muscle that I've worked for years building, and I love that.

To Hanna

I am dedicating this post to my 13 year old daughter, Hanna.

Today, Hanna came up to me and said that her pants are starting to feel loose around the waist and she keeps having to pull them up. I just about tackled her I was so happy. I high fived her and then said "SEE!" I hate to be the one to say I told you so but......

I don't think she truly believed that just tweaking her diet a little bit would help. I kept telling her that little things can really add up. So now when I torture her by not letting her drink pop, I can remind her that her pants are loose and that is part of the reason why. Pop is nasty crap.

Hanna was told at her last visit to the doctor (last fall) that she wasn't "overweight" but she should be careful not to gain anymore. Since then, she gained quite a bit. I won't say how much because I know that she is sensitive about it. I have struggled all year with her to try and help her get the extra weight off. Even though she laughs it off when people say hurtful comments to her about her belly, I know inside she hurts.

I hurt with her. I hurt for her. Every time she puts a sweatshirt on to cover up. Every time she crosses her arms over her stomach. Every time she tells me in secret that she wants to lose it....we hurt together. I love her more than she'll ever know. So I have been trying to help her. I am trying to motivate her to exercise but she just doesn't like to. I try to encourage her to make smart food choices but like everyone else, she likes what tastes good and is easy - most of the time it's not healthy.

And I know that part of her weight gain is my fault. I am the one that shops for the groceries, I am the one who prepares the meals, and I am the one who lets her get the giant bacon cheeseburger with fries when we go out to eat. Well, no more! I decided that it was time to get hard core. So I put her on a "diet" that is basically what I would eat. Examples: NO MORE SODA....ever, no fries, she had a turkey burger without a bun just like mom when the rest of the family had beef burgers, no bacon and fried potatoes when we had "breakfast for dinner", no ice cream or other treats during the week but if she adheres to her good diet all week she can have ONE on Saturday, more veggies, no hot dogs, etc.

She hates it. She really hates it. But she does it. She whines about it, but she does it. And obviously it's working. Now that we are playing outside on nice evenings (tag, and kickball, etc) I think that will help even more, especially since getting her to formally "workout" is tough. I know that limiting her treats and food that I would consider cheat foods or naughty foods is necessary. But it's hard. Why does it have to be so hard to deprive her of what she likes, even though I know in my heart it's for her own good? Why do I have to feel like such an evil horrible mom for making her go through this? I know how hard it is. I "deprive" myself of these things too, but I'm way more accustomed to it now. Plus it's by choice and self motivation that I do it - not by force the way it is for her. Tough love, I guess.

I was scared to put her on a diet at first. I felt that people might look at my healthy diet and fitness obsession and think I was inappropriately forcing that lifestyle onto my children. But why should I care, even if that was the case? There are far worse things a mother could be passing onto her children; like smoking, or drinking, or physical abuse. Still, I sometimes think I am picking up on that vibe from other people. As if what I am doing is wrong. For the most part though, I am supported. Afterall, I am listening to the advice of a pediatrician. There is no harm in promoting a healthy lifestyle, even to kids. The earlier they can learn what is good vs. bad for their bodies, the better. I only wish I had a better understanding when I was younger. I am proud to say that I am teaching them to live a healthy lifestyle.

Too often we are told to just love ourselves the way we are, to hell with unattainable standards that models and actresses have set for us. But really, I think that isn't any better. Because then we are saying, go ahead and live your unhealthy lifestyle, become obese, it's ok as long as you are happy and love yourself. Well, I'm not buying into that. Sure, it's no good to promote rail thin bodies as the standard for beauty, but you can't teach kids that it's ok to carry excess fat around your organs either. It's ok to promote health. It's ok to promote fitness. It's ok to promote nutritious foods.

So anyway, Hanna is putting in the effort (not always willingly) and starting to see results. Good for her!

Oh, and I just have to say how proud I am of my sister-in-law, who has also lost weight. She emailed me asking for help about a month ago and I was so super excited about it. I gave her some advice to follow and after a month of devoting herself to new diet plan, she has lost 14 pounds! I am so so so happy for her. I hope she continues to find success week after week until she hits her goal.

For Thursday

Going to be a quick and dirty post today. I'm taking my wee ones to the teddy bear parade. And I'm starting to think I like the phrase "quick and dirty" a little too much.

So, yesterday was Thursday and I'm hanging on! Still clean!

Breakfast: 1/3 C. oats, 1 banana
am snack: pw protein and spinach drink with a small handful blueberries
Lunch: 4 egg whites on Ezekiel bread with a slice of cheese, 1 C. broccoli with a little natural peanut butter (sounds weird, tastes pretty good. Good enough for my kids to beg me to make them BROCCOLI - what is this world coming to?)
pm snack: Greek yogurt mixed with sliced almonds, steviva, cocoa powder
Dinner: I was busy all day and didn't feel like cooking the salmon I had planned so we went out to our fav middle eastern restaurant Aladdin. I had chicken, hummus, salad and 2 small triangles of pita bread. You can still make healthy choices when you eat out!
Pre-bed snack: 1/4 C. part skim ricotta with steviva & cocoa powder

Exercise: shapeshifter

And unplanned exercise: Ran around the yard for 2 hours playing tag and racing (yay sprints!) with the kids. SO MUCH FUN! And a great workout!

Wednesday's log

Yesterday (wednesday) I felt SO GOOD! I felt better than I have in a long time. I don't know the cause of my rut or slump or funk or whatever you want to call it, but it is over and I'm happy.

I had high energy, I got a lot done (laundry ALL done....BAM!). Do you know what I think it is?? Diet. Oh yeah. I've been eating totally clean again for about 5 days now. Getting lots of veggies in, limiting calorie dense food, no processessed or prepackaged food, etc. And now I'm feeling good. Coincidence? I think not. I think my body is finally getting what it wants again.

I had been slowly sliding. Sometimes it happens. But now that I'm back, it's full speed ahead!

Diet for yesterday:

Breakfast: 1/3 c. oats, handful blueberries
am snack: pw protein powder & spinach drink
Lunch: 4 egg white sandwich on Ezekiel bread with peppers, onions, and a slice of cheese (yes, again. will be for a while I'm afraid, it's so darn good)
pm snack: Greek yogurt with steviva, cocoa powder and sliced almonds, banana, 1 cup broccoli
Dinner: chicken, brown rice, peppers & onions, provolone (Made as a one skillet dish. Cooked the chicken, threw in some sliced peppers and onions, then added cooked rice and finally melted some provolone over top. Really good, kids liked it too!) Oh, and a big handful of cherry tomatoes.
Pre bed snack: 1/4 C. part skim ricotta cheese with steviva & cocoa powder & wasa crisp with laughing cow wedge (110 calories) I was hungry because I had only a tiny serving for dinner. I should have added a salad.

I am keeping my calories in check with this routine, that's why I like to eat the same things daily. I think it would probably bore most people who crave variety, but these are all the nutritious foods that I know I need. Why fix it if it ain't broke?

Tuesday's diet

Diet for yesterday: (was good)

Breakfast: 1/3 C. oats, 1/3 C. lowfat cottage cheese
Snack: pw protein & spinach shake
Lunch: 4 egg whites on Ezekiel bread with sauteed peppers and onions & slice of cheese (my new favorite meal....YUM!)
Snack: Greek yogurt
Dinner: turkey burger (no bun) handful cherry tomatoes, sweet potato slices
"dessert": 1/2 cup lowfat cottage cheese mixed with sliced almonds, steviva and cocoa powder (totally cured my craving for chocolate! - next time, I am going to use ricotta cheese)

Exercise: shapeshifter

p.s. I am SO excited for the release of this program!!! If you haven't already, check it out. There is a video with before and after pictures of an Australian woman who lost 8.5 inches in 6 weeks - mostly in the areas that I want to lose!!!! She looked relatively thin, except for her thighs and backside needed slimming (same as me). She lost 2.5 inches from her butt and 2 inches from each thigh. Her after pictures were STUNNING! She completely changed her shape (hence, shapeshifter). AND, she lost cellulite! WHOOT! This is what I want for myself. The full program releases the 21st of June and I'll be eagerly waiting to click "buy"!

To try the workouts yourself, click here. They are giving away a 6 day plan free before releasing their full product next week. Once you are registered, you have access to the exercises and videos. Very interesting stuff!

My routine

Ok, so I wanted to give you a visual of some of my daily habits.

This is spinach in my Ninja. I mix it with a bit of water first. Then I take my shaker glass, mix my protein powder with some water, and pour it into the spinach. I blend it again so it's nice and smooth.

And this is what it ends up looking like. Some days I make it thicker but inevitably, no matter what flavor protein powder I use, it is very green.

I am so into Greek yogurt mixed with cocoa powder, steviva and sliced almonds right now. It's like eating dessert. It is so good. This lovely concoction will only set me back 140 calories and I get a whopping 20 grams of protein and 3.5 grams of healthy fat from the almonds. I always get 0% fat yogurt. Usually I buy Oikos brand but I like the Fage brand because it has LAC (live and active cultures). And it comes in these handy single serving containers.

*please forgive the horrible lighting, blurry photos and bad presentation. It makes me embarrassed as a lover of photography to post such horrible photos. But I was in a hurry.

Below I have photographed all the supplements I am currently taking, which is quite the feat for me since I absolutely hate (HATE!) swallowing pills.

I bought these perfect little containers at the dollar store which are perfect for this purpose. I fill them up in the morning, that way, I never have to think about what I've taken and haven't taken.

All filled up.

As you can see, those triple omega capsules are BIG. Those are my least favorite. The breakfast, lunch and dinner supplements make my tummy upset for a short while. I always feel nauseous for about 5 minutes after taking them, even with food.

Ok, so here are my healthy fats. I am currently alternating days with these two. One day I'll take 1/2 tbsp, twice, of the coconut oil, the next day I will day 3 capsules of the triple omega. I was solely taking the triple omega and just cooking with the coconut oil but now I'm cooking with safflower oil because it has a higher smoke point. The smoke point is the specific temperature at which the oil starts to break down…or in more technical terms, its molecular structure begins to change. Olive oil, for instance, would be bad to stir fry with. That is best saved for fresh use, like on salad.

These next three I am taking for various reasons; circulation, reduce stress, healthy liver & kidney function, healthy skin, etc. I am all about just trying to keep my system detoxified through healthy foods and supplements. I am not sure how long I need to take them before I see any benefit but I really think I am starting to see a massive change in my temperament since taking the Schizandra. I'm talking just a few weeks.

And the Herbalife is something my sister does and swears by. The multivitamin is one that I take 3 times a day because it's fast absorbing and you only get small doses at a time, so your body actually uses the vitamins. The Cell-U-Loss I am just trying for water retention, if I feel like I need it. And the cell activator is one I take twice a day for better absorption of nutrients, although I don't think I will be getting it again.

Joint Juice is also new to my routine. I've been having some issues with my knees and I am taking these daily, which gives me a day's supply of glucosamine. Knee problems run in my family and I want to protect myself any way I can so I can keep on exercising until the day I die! Plus, it helps me drink another glass of water a day!

I know I've talked about taking CLA before. It it one of those supplements that has been shown to prevent cells from storing fat and prompt cells to dump the fat they are already holding. Some people say it doesn't work, some people say it does. But I have read that you need to be taking it for the long haul to see results, like 6 months or more. It's only $14 a bottle, it's worth a shot in my opinion.

My brand of protein powder; Myoplex and Myoplex Lite. You can see that the difference is one has more than double the protein (and also double the calories). I bought the regular first but was always dividing the packets in half because it was just too filling so I bought the Lite and it is much better. I will take the regular when summer is over and I start training and eating to put on muscle.

And this was the brand I was always using before Myoplex. It's just a GNC brand. I still keep some around for variety. It only has 2 grams of carbs per serving so if I want a low carb, high protein shake, I will go for this powder instead of the Myolplex - which has 24 grams of carbs and makes it better for a post workout shake.

And that is my routine! Other than my daily dose of oats, cottage cheese and eggs, but you know what those look like!

And so diet for the day is as follows:

Breakfast: 1/3 C. Oats, 1/3 C. cottage cheese

Snack: NONE - not really on purpose

Lunch: egg whites & veggies on English muffin - not planned but I wasn't home and it was my healthiest option (150 calories)

Snack: Myoplex & spinach shake

Dinner: top sirloin steak with small slice melted Harvarti and sauteed onions and peppers, lettuce salad with romaine, spinach & cabbage, broccoli, and radishes

Snack: Greek yogurt with cocoa powder, steviva and sliced almonds

Overall, a healthy day.

For exercise: Mowed the lawn, took a short bike ride, and did a new Shapeshifter routine. Oh, and of course, rebounding =)

Here we go!

Here we go, Amanda! Our 3 week challenge is underway. I'm feeling that old motivation and passion creeping back and I love it! I love how powerful I feel when I can say "NO" to ice cream and junk food that is not going to help me with my goals.

Yesterday, we went to the beach. Met my brother and his family there for an afternoon of boating and sunshine. I didn't ski because I think the water is too cold yet. In fact, I didn't even want to get in the water but I ended up there anyway (on accident) when our tube went under. LOL

Anyway, typically a day like this would be a diet disaster. You know how it is, packing crackers and chips and granola bars and unhealthy processed portable foods. Then stopping for ice cream on the way home. But I planned ahead, was prepared and made it a successful diet day. I didn't suffer. I wasn't starving. And it worked.

Breakfast: 1/3 cup oats (plain), 1 whole egg, 2 egg whites, 1 cup tomato juice (freshly juiced), 1 cup dandelion tea, supplements
Snack: post workout Myoplex Lite chocolate protein drink with spinach, supplements
Lunch: 1 cup 0% fat Greek yogurt with pure cocoa powder & stevia mixed in, 1/2 tbsp coconut oil, green peppers, radishes, 1 cup dandelion tea, supplements
Snack: 1 can tuna, 1 cup radishes, green peppers (this is what I had at the lake)
Dinner: (was late, almost 7pm) extra lean beef with taco seasoning over romaine lettuce and shredded cabbage, lowfat shredded cheese, salsa, black olives and ranch vinaigrette spray, 1/2 tbsp coconut oil, dandelion tea, supplements

I had this menu written up the day before so I knew exactly what I was going to eat. The only change I made was that instead of having the tuna for lunch, I moved it to snack since I knew it would be more portable and would accommodate me at the lake, whereas the yogurt would have been more of a pain.

Seriously, if you find that eating healthy is the hardest part about getting lean, make up your menu the day before or even for the entire week (although that can be hard, because sometimes our moods change and what we want to eat today, we might not want to eat 5 days from now). I have found that this helps me immensely. I am 100 times more likely to stick to my healthy diet when I don't have to think even a little bit about what I am going to eat for my next meal. I will write up my menu for the next day, tape it to my cupboard where I can see it, and this eliminates stress and keeps me focused. Make sure you do any grocery shopping you need the day before also!

Since my last post I have gotten my energy back. I have not missed a workout in 5 days AND I have added in 3 high intensity interval training sessions in!

Yesterday was a rest day from strength training but I still did intervals. I spent all day (9 to 5) cleaning the house. I didn't just tidy up, I scrubbed! All four toilets cleaned in one day....I don't think that has ever happened. Usually it's so hard just keeping up with vacuuming the dog hair every day and other daily chores that I don't even want to think about the deep cleaning that needs to be done. But I wanted to get as much done as I could so that on the next sunny hot day I could spend all day outside without a care or worry about what I should be doing inside. Laundry is done too, and that always feels good.

Today is another cloudy day, but that doesn't bother me. I'm in a pretty good mood. Just got done with my abs circuit for the day and got a great sweat on. Now, the only thing I have to do the rest of the day is play with my girls. Of course, there is always the basement calling. It needs to be cleaned....badly. But I'm not worried about it.

As of yesterday, I have vowed to eat entirely clean for the next 3 weeks (I'm shooting for the last day of June). It seems that I've slipped a lot lately and I want to get back into the groove. If I set my sights on a short term goal, that will help. As I was making the children lunch yesterday, I went to stick my hand in the cracker box to taste of of their crackers and I stopped myself and said "what are you doing? you can't have that!" ....haha! It worked! So my diet was all clean yesterday. I started off counting calories but tapered towards the end of the day. I'll have to get out the calculator later if I'm interested in finding out how I did. If I can fluctuate between 1200 and 1500 calories daily, I'll be happy. As long as I keep my activity level high. It certainly was yesterday! And if I can continue adding HIIT most days, I should drop fat. SHOULD is the key word here!

I'm glad to have some motivation back!

Hi, self, nice to see you again

Well, I almost feel back to normal again. I got up, ate half a banana and got my butt downstairs and did my workout before anything else. It feels GOOD to have it done so I don't have to worry about fitting it in at some point during the day. I honestly don't know why some days I procrastinate doing it when I know how awesome I feel right now having gotten it over with.

I have been really struggling with eating breakfast lately. I don't know why, I'm usually a good breakfast eater. But lately I feel like I have to force myself to eat and then I feel sick. I'm just not hungry. That's why I only had half a banana and just went to workout right away. I thought, why not take advantage of the fact that I'm not super hungry and get a workout on a mostly empty stomach in?

Now I'm drinking my daily spinach and chocolate protein shake. That is my breakfast today.

I'm really excited for the day. The weather here has been GORGEOUS. Mother nature finally pulled the stick out of her ass and decided to give us some summer weather. So a friend of mine and I are taking our kids to a little lake with a sandy beach this afternoon. I'm already sunburned, so I'm going to need to coat myself in a thick layer of sunscreen. On the other hand, it will be kind of nice to actually have some color on my skin. I am quite the pasty creature!

As far as workouts go, I think I am just past 6 weeks of the circuits. I have revamped them because I was starting to dread them. I'm doing a lot of the same stuff, I just eliminated the exercises I really disliked and replaced them with something similar that I actually enjoyed. Now they take me about 30 minutes and then I add 10 minutes of rebounding at the end. I know I should be adding some intervals about 3-4 days a week but with my energy and motivation in the toilet lately, I haven't done any of that. Hopefully now that I seem to be getting a little of 'me' back today, that will change.

I've felt so crappy the last couple of weeks. Just low energy, low motivation, bad mood, fatigue......dare I say depressed? I don't know why, it's honestly got me baffled. Could I feel this way because my goal date has passed and I didn't accomplish what I was SO SURE I would be able to do?? Maybe. But that just means, I set a new goal and reach for it with the same passion and dedication as before. Now that I have nothing to strive for, I don't feel the motivation. So I will set another date and a goal and get back to you! I'm thinking something around September 1st? We'll see...

pictures

Since my goal date has come and gone (it was June 1st in case you didn't know), I realized that I had promised bikini pictures.

It isn't quite the picture I was hoping it would be.

I was hoping to be able to give you a good behind shot to show off some dramatic improvement, but that didn't happen as planned. I'm not going to complain though because even though my body has flaws, I think it could be much MUCH worse.

I have abs, I have muscle definition, I have low body fat and I have cellulite. What can I say? I'm not perfect.

I went to the mall yesterday to find a dress. Those mirrors in the changing rooms are NOT very kind to someone like me who is very critical of herself. However, I did leave with some happy news. I have some skinny jeans at home that are baggy on me now. I like the fact that they are so comfortable and not tight at all but the whole purpose of a skinny jean is to accentuate your curves, not hide them behind sag. So, I thought, what if I tried on a smaller size just to see....I just about screamed because they fit! My size 4 skinny jeans were baggy and I am now the owner of size 2 skinny jeans. 

I have worked out hard, ate right, and I have a healthy body as a result.





Bounce your way to better health and a better body

I'm starting to get bored with my circuits. So I am going to start regularly incorporating my mini trampoline. Typically, I only bounce on it now and then, but I'm going to start fitting it in daily, here's why:

"Among its many health benefits, rebounding helps to stimulate the lymphatic system allowing the liver, kidneys, and respiratory systems to work harder and better. This has been proven to be more than 68% more affective than just plain jogging." - can't remember the site I took this from, sorry.

I want to better my body on a cellular level. I want to get the biggest bang for my buck, not spin around and around in a hamster wheel to nowhere. The "biomechanical stimuli" is greater with jumping on a trampoline than with running.
No kidding. So you want proof? How does a conclusion based on a study by 4 NASA scientists sound?

Click here to read the study

Am I dark? Or just dehydrated....

Ok, so reading over my last post, I discovered how dark and depressing it got towards the end. I seem to constantly be trying to convince myself of a good enough reason to keep on going with a more rigid diet and exercise plan than average people probably adhere to. It's become so routine and most of the time I actually do enjoy it. I don't know why I have to convince myself that it's ok. Maybe because so many people try to tell me that it's not. "You're too thin. You work out too hard. You don't enjoy life. You are obsessed." - I've heard it all...and often.

I think I've been in a funk. The constant clouds are a factor, as is a little bout of fatigue I've been dealing with. Quite possibly I've had a bug of some sort. My mom thinks I was dehydrated and the more I think about it, the more that could have been the case. To the best of my knowledge, I've never been severly dehydrated before so I don't know what it feels like or what the symptoms are. But my mom used to be a nurse, so I figured she knows what she's talking about.

I've been sluggish, tired, weak, nauseous and I was starting to think it had something to do with all the vitamins I take. (And no, I'm not preggers) I know that it is possible to take too much of a good thing, and certain vitamins don't just get peed out. If you have too much of them in your system, they can be toxic. I probably get most of the nutrients I need just from the food I eat, I take a multi vitamin as assurance to fill in any gaps. But then I also take other supplements for this and that: circulation, joint health, liver and kidney health, heart health, water retention, etc. And sometimes, I wonder if all that is safe in combination. The funny thing is, I am exercising and eating right to avoid having to take pills for conditions later in life that I could have prevented, but now I am taking tons of capsules daily anyway....for prevention and health. So it goes....

But I've also been drinking tons of tea and exercising quite hard, which is what lead my mom to believe I might have gotten dehydrated. I'm starting to feel better, not nauseous or super tired but I am not 100% yet. Working out is still a struggle. I had to quit a little early the last couple of times and today I struggled to get through it all. I'm trying to keep my water intake high and I've cut back to 2-3 cups of tea a day. I hope to be out of my funk by the weekend.

Saturday is my 6 year wedding anniversary. I can't believe how fast time has gone since being married to Andreas. It is my second marriage. My older two girls are from a previous marriage, which only lasted 3 years. That's a whole other story. Many many stories actually. Some of them really dark. I am a completely different person than I was back then. I am a better person. And I owe it all to Andreas. We are planning on going out to dinner at one of our favorite Italian restaurants: Grazzies. Italian food is truly a weakness of mine and so I am low-carbing it for the 3 days prior. Then, I can feast guilt free ;)

It has happened...

I am finally getting bored with my workouts. I was moving along so nicely with my 5 day a week circuit training.. It was kicking my butt, making me burn lots of calories, and getting me excited to get downstairs and get it done.

Now that I am at the end of the 5th week, I am feeling a sense of dread in the mornings before going downstairs to workout. I really really hate when that happens. I guess this is why I never stick with the same thing for too long. But I do really want to keep at this for 12 weeks (or 10 at the very least) just to see what it can do for the shape of my body in the long run. I want to wake up one morning and see lines that were never there before. So I must continue. I need to try and give it 110% for at least 5 more weeks.

I'll let you know how that goes....

And when the time comes to change up my workout routine eventually, I have NO CLUE what I am going to do. I know that at this point I would not be ready to take on heavy lifting again. I have made up my mind not to go back to that until after summer. Maybe around October? Then I will hopefully be happy with the fat loss project and can move on to the muscle building project. It's just that eating enough protein and calories in general to build muscle scares me a little. So I don't know, maybe for a while I will just do some bread and butter compound moves. A lot of repetitions and often.

Yesterday was my goal deadline. I knew it was there but I couldn't get very excited about it since I still deal with the same issues I had at the beginning of the year. I am smaller in size, most of my clothes fit me horribly now as a result (you know how unattractive saggy pants are on a woman?) and I guess I feel at least some sense of accomplishment. Still, it isn't what I wanted. I don't want to just keep getting smaller and smaller, I want to look healthy and fit all over. My upper body is great, I am happy with it. But I don't feel like my lower body matches.

I know that I could stand to lose more fat around my hips, thighs and butt. And I think that if I can just do that, I might see some improvement. The muscle will be more visible being closer to the surface of the skin, once the fat is gone. But I sometimes wonder if I am creating lose skin with this loss, thus making the appearance a little.....I don't know, saggy? Ripply. Droopy. It's anything but taught. I know that can happen in people who have lost significant amounts of weight. But that really doesn't describe me. I have tons of stretch marks all over my legs and backside from quick weight gains and losses, but I am ok with those. For some odd reason, I don't mind the stretch marks, even though they aren't very attractive. They are mostly from pregnancy. I gained weight like my life depended on it when I was pregnant. Strangely, I didn't get them on my belly. Just my butt and thighs. My butt definitely grew faster than my belly did.

Last year, March 2010, I weighed 117.6 lbs and was 16% body fat. My hips were 37 inches, my thighs were 21 inches and my waist was 25 inches. Now, a little over a year later, I weigh 110.6 lbs, and am 13.8% body fat. My hips are at 35 inches, my thighs are at 19.5 inches, and my waist is at 24 inches. That's some pretty good improvement. It's not an earth moving huge amount, especially over a year, but for someone who was already pretty small to begin with, it seems monumental. 2 inches off the hip area is big in any woman's eyes!

This leaves me to wonder....how far am I planning to take this? I am not a figure competitor, nor will I ever BE. So why should I be so obsessive over maintaining this state of leanness - or feel the need to be even leaner?? I ask myself this daily. Especially now that I have gotten smaller and still don't feel like I am "there". I watched this show a couple nights ago called Eat, Pray, Love. There was a part in this movie that was like a slap in the face. I just have to quote it for you.

Here's the scene:
Two woman are at a pizza place in Italy. One woman is halfway through her pizza and the other hasn't even started, she is just staring at it. So the 1st woman says, "What's the matter?"
2nd woman: "I can't"
1st woman: "Why"
2nd woman: "I want to but I've gained like 10 pounds and have a muffin top"
1st woman: "I have one too. Let me ask you this, have you ever undressed in front of a guy and had him ask you to leave? Has he ever walked out? Left?"
2nd woman: "no"
1st woman: "Because he doesn't care. He's in a room with a naked girl, he's won the lottery. I am so tired of saying no and waking up in the morning and recalling every single thing I ate the day before, counting every calorie I consumed so I know exactly how much self loathing I need to take into the shower. I'm going for it. I have no interest in being obese, I'm just through with the guilt. So this is what I'm going to do, I'm going to finish this pizza and tomorrow, we're going to go buy ourselves some bigger jeans."

Sigh......if only I had the strength to look at it that way.

Here is the way I look at it, this is why I am so obsessed with changing my body for the better. Of course, there is the health aspect of it. I want to be around for my grand children and great grandchildren. I don't want to rely on medication to keep my blood pressure at a healthy range. I don't want to get diabetes. I want to be healthy and set a good example for my kids (not an I'm too skinny and obsessed with exercise and dieting kind of example - but a use moderation and keep moving kind of example). And I want to be able to wear a swimming suit at the pool without feeling like I am a 36 year old woman with the lower body of a 70 year old woman. Now I know that sounds drastic, and it is, but there is cause for some embarrassment here. I am young, healthy, vibrant, I workout regularly, I watch what I eat, and STILL my bottom half looks as though I am a heavy smoker, drinker, eater of fried foods that does nothing but sit on her ass all day.

I don't want to to care about it. I want to be able to have child-like fun at the pool, running and skipping with my kids without a care in the world about the jiggle going on in my trunk. I really don't want to care. I don't want to stress out my husband because of my obsession or warp the fragile minds of my 3 young girls. I fear that at this point I am just being selfish and dragging everyone around me down into a dark ugly pit, where I sit and criticize myself and hate myself for not being perfect. For not having the body of a wife I feel my husband deserves. I don't really know where all this desire to improve comes from. I've never been at an unhealthy weight. No one has ever told me that I'm jiggly. I just don't know the root or the cause of it all. Sometimes I wish I did.

But I know one thing - I don't want to feel guilty for splurging on unhealthy food once in a while. And another thing - I don't want to feel guilty for having a dream, a goal, something I will feel proud to accomplish. Nobody else has to understand it, I don't even understand it at times, but for some reason it is important to me, and it gives me the drive to push on. Forever striving to become better than I am now. And to help others with my knowledge, who might have extra weight and not know how to lose it in a healthy way.  All I want is happiness. I want to be happy with who I am. I want to feel like I am a good mother, a good wife, and a good friend. Not perfect, but good. And I want to be ok with not being perfect. I just want to be ok.

shrinkage

I don't know how I'm doing it, but I'm getting smaller. I was elated a week or so ago when I measured myself to find that I had shrunk some. Imagine my reaction when I measured this week to find that I have gotten even smaller still! I put the measuring tape around my hips, looked down at the number and my eyes popped in disbelief. I had to be mistaken. I took off the tape and remeasured, being sure I was over the widest part of my hips. The same number. Then my thighs. Again, a smaller number than last week. Oh. My. Goodness. Even after the pizza, the candy bar, the ice cream, the ice cream again and that big old fatty breakfast. Not to mention, a 3 day workout hiatus.

This whole game of fat loss is such a mystery to me. And half the time it seems to make no sense at all. That is the most frustrating part. I work my ass off day after day, week after week, month after month and sometimes the results are so small and so few and far between that I wonder if it's worth it. But I carry on because I feel that I've worked far too hard and come way too far to stop now. If I just quit, ALL my efforts, all the pain, sweat, tears and exhaustion...will have been for nothing. But, I take a wee break from clean eating and working out and get smaller. It makes no sense. Mind you, I am not complaining, I just wish I could predict it better. Because after all of the literature I've read, every book, every e-zine, every study, I would think that I had a clear understanding of the mechanics of fat loss. But my own body seems to defy all that is normal in this world.

For the curious, my stats:

5/20/11
hips: 35.75"
butt: 36"
thigh: 20.25"

5/24/11
hips: 35.25"
butt: 36"
thigh: 20"

5/31/11
hips: 35"
butt: 35.50"
thigh: 19.50"

So over the course of a week and a half, I have shrunk my hips by 3/4ths of an inch, my butt by 1/2 and inch and my thighs by 3/4ths of an inch. Crazy! What am I doing to cause this sudden change? I honestly don't even know!! But I do know that despite getting smaller, my problems still remain. All I can do is keep shrinking and hope for the best.

I am now taking glucosamine for my joints and some supplements to improve circulation. I'm hoping to notice a difference in two months, so by end of July. All is well in this weird world of mine.