Once You Go Black, You'll Never Go Back

No fuss, just black. That's how my grandma drinks her joe. I usually just put a splenda or stevia in my coffee, but I decided to cold-turkey start drinking my coffee black. Taking out the cream and sugar helps cut down on your calorie intake. Why not shave off where you can?

If coffee is a real treat for you, then I say, find a healthier alternative for your cream/sugar/syrup fixins and let yourself have the occasional treat. It will keep you from going insane with deprivation.



[picture source: biojobblog.com]

Protein Variety

As I look at my twitter and facebook feed I see so many people working hard to be summer-ready. Diets are hard to stick to if you have not yet made healthy eating a lifestyle. The trick is to make your food interesting. Love your seasoning cabinet and you won't miss all those unhealthy foods.

MEAL PLAN
Meal 1: Two scrambled eggs, 2 slices of turkey bacon
Meal 2: High-fiber bean dip with whole grain chips; Canadian stew
Meal 3: La Madeleine petite wild field salade & cup of french onion soup (reason)
Meal 4: Navel orange, Chicken waldorf salad (leftovers) with multi-grain baked pita
Meal 5: DATE NIGHT: Tx LC smoked sirloin and lightly steamed broccoli with cracked peppercorn and garlic
Meal 6: N/A

Eating Right, But Out With a Client

Today I have a business lunch. The persons I am meeting chose La Madeleine. In efforts to stay lean, I wanted to check out the calorie count on my favorite hot sandwich at La-mads for lunch today, the Turkey Bistro. To my horror! 500 calories!!! for HALF of the sandwich!!! Wowzers!!!! Needless to say, I will NOT be getting their turkey bistro!!! But you know...who was I kidding? I always remove the bacon, but there is cheese, a huge white bun, pesto, mayo...need I go on?

After sifting through the menu I have narrowed it down to 2 options.

OPTION 1 (complex carbs, no protein):
Wild Field Salade (Regular) (110)
Vegetable Soupe (60)

OPTION 2 (protein):
Wild Field Salade With Salmon (260)

I can't wait till I can workout for real again so that I can go back to eating high protein+complex carbs. My body doesn't need the same level anymore...soon, Faith...be patient.

21-Day-Recovery-Project: Day 10

NIX NEGATIVE
Feeling stronger today!! I can't stand up straight still, but I am definitely feeling stronger. Score.

OUTLET
Resume fun with my friend, Valerie.
Organized and began plotting things to be removed #springcleaning.
Stared at my canvas.


WORKOUT
Rest. Normally, as soon as I feel strong during recovery, I push myself. This time, I am going to play it chill and let my body enjoy the rest - come on recovery juice, do yo thang.

MEAL PLAN
Meal 1: 1/2 Chocolate Protein Shake (skim milk, chocolate protein) ---weird...low appetite.
Meal 2: too full to eat....also weird
Meal 3: Lamb gyro with fresh sliced tomatoes and chopped lettuce and greek yogurt
Meal 4: too full to eat.....what a weird day
Meal 5: 1/2 of a ginormous green mango....and felt STUFFED....weird, weird, weird.
Meal 6: Vietnamese chicken salad rolls- a la Pei Wei


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Broken tailbone got me down and pouty, so I started the 21 day streak of getting over the despair. #injuryrecovery at its finest!
Days since injury: 29

Kill the Quote? Food is Fuel

I wanted to take some time to write about the concept of "Food is Fuel". The concept that is used to retrain your brain to understand what to put in your mouth to help you perform [on the track, in the gym, carrying groceries, etc] better. This is a wonderful simple statement that really helps you put your grocery shopping in perspective to your goals. It's easy to understand and it's a catchy phrase. THE PROBLEM is we cannot always live like that. Are you supposed to always avoid wedding cake? or never eat your mom's famous eclair? or never make your favorite pot of chili? Food is also meant to be enjoyed.

I usually do not like to talk about food this way, because many people who have not yet created the healthy-eating lifestyle will abuse this epiphany. It's sooooo easy to say "oh well I've been so good, I can treat myself this once". But that is a pit-fall.

Beware, "Food is Fuel" and "Life is too short" need to be observed in good balance.

Know your goals, stick to your goals, but know your limits. If you are too strict, too quickly you will set yourself up for failure.

Enjoy life! Be healthy, be strong and enjoy life!

21-Day-Recovery-Project: Day 5

NIX NEGATIVE
Loving the chance to focus on my upper-body strength, something that's taken a sideline to my half marathon training.

OUTLET
Starting work on my next art piece.


WORKOUT
Off-day (Always important to honor the off day. if you miss a day in your workout, don't think, I'll just make up for it by skipping my off day. WHY? training is way more a mental challenge than you think. Honoring the off day will train you to push it hard in the few days you have to work out because you will know you have that off day coming up. The rest day is just as important as your training days because your body needs a good solid recovery day.


MEAL PLAN
Meal 1: Power Protein Shake (Banana, chocolate protein)
Meal 2: N/A - hard to squeeze that in during church
Meal 3: Unfortunately not good selection at the Church potluck lunch, so after the lunch we rushed home and sauteed some chicken in onions and a bit of soy sauce, garlic salt and cracked pepper
Meal 4: Vanilla protein with frozen strawberries
Meal 5: Easter dinner at the in-laws. Prediction: Grilled chicken, salad with avocado (I'll edit this note if this is not what happens, but I can promise you I'll be eating healthy)
Meal 6: N/A


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Broken tailbone got me down and pouty, so I started the 21 day streak of getting over the despair. #injuryrecovery at its finest!
Days since injury: 24

What I Ate Today

1 scoop of Emerald Green in 8oz water with a dash of Crystal Light SF pomegranate
BREAKFAST: 1/2 c Fiber One Honey Clusters with reduced fat milk
Lipton Cinnamon Apple tea - not sweetened
Peanut butter crackers (pkg of 6) OOPS!
Natural green tea - not sweetened
LUNCH: Pei Wei Vietnamese Salad Rolls (2 of 3) and a hot 8 oz Dragon Oolong tea
Natural green tea - not sweetened
Caramel flavored tea - not sweetened
SNACK: 1/2 zucchini raw and 1 serving Mott's No Sugar Added pomegranate Applesauce

Not bad!

now...Dinner....?hmmm....

Flying the Coup!

Wow...I didn't lose any weight. That's ok. I am proud of myself that I didn't gain any in the midst of the 3 birthday celebrations. That means my workouts are solid. My diet is pretty clean and I make a few exceptions here and there. I am totally loving life and not feeling restricted by diet goals at all!

I missed last night's workout because I was carless. My husband took my car to work (to work again after dinner) and he took both cars' keys with him! haha! I couldn't even run outside because you need a key fob to get back in the building! I tried to do the house work with lots of squatting, deadlift style bending to pick things up, oblique rotations to reach things and all with quick movements to make an almost-cardio out of it. Gotta get it in SOMEhow!!!

I was up till midnight doing laundry and trying to get the place ready for us to leave. I don't want anything growing in my sink or fridge while I'm gone.

My diet will change while I'm in the Philippines just because of what is available (and NOT available). So, starting today, I am going to start prepping my body for the diet change. I am drinking tons of water and eating mostly fruits and fiber with protein here and there. Why prep? My body will be doing a lot of adjusting when we get there - time zone, bad water, weather, dust, humidity... Even though I know the body can handle it, I want to give my body an easy transition, so that I can stay strong and avoid getting sick!

With one day left before we leave I am FINALLY getting excited.

Weight Report: 122.2

Diet and Traveling

This past weekend I went on a road trip with Luke and Steve. Being guys, I knew they would be eating a lot along the way, so I packed some healthy snacks to keep me away from their foods. I also brought some low cal, no-sugar munchies that are not too unhealthy for those moments when I would REALLY be tempted by their chex mix or bag of Cheezits.

My snack foods:
Sugar free wafers: Vanilla, Chocolate, Mocha
Quaker Rice Cakes
Smart Foods White Popcorn
Sugar free gum
Sugar free Red Bull

Their snack foods:
Traditional Chex Mix
Bold Chex Mix
Pretzels
Cheezits
Diet Dr Pepper

I did pretty good on my eating!! Stayed pretty true to my diet with a few minor exceptions - I had a waffle for breakfast with my cereal on Saturday, a waffle for breakfast with my oatmeal on Sunday, pizza for dinner on Sunday. The last one is NOT minor, but our options were too limited on the way home.

I did not workout the entire weekend, but did dance the night away on Saturday at the wedding. When I dance, I dance straight for hours and I dance HARD. I am a dancer so I LOVE to tear it up. I am usually grossly sweaty half way through the night.

I'm not going to lie to myself. I should get a big spanking for the way I handled the weekend as compared to my goals.

I leave for Asia in 10 days, so I only have 10 days of these modern luxuries. I will be utilizing treadmills like a wild woman.

Getting back in the game,
FK

I'm Such a Rebel...(but a good rebel)

Yesterday was date night. We went to TGIF and I ordered the "Thai Chicken Wrap" with a dry salad as my side. I ate nearly the entire thing and dipped occasionally in the honey-lime dressing that normally is IN the wrap, but I requested it to be on the side. That was me eating unhealthy. I am so proud of myself because my "unhealthy standards" are on the "healthy eats" side of the menu haha.

I had a cup of coffee after the meal and a couple bites of my husbands cheesecake. Totally worth it.

Date Night. We bought a super awesome looking journal from Barnes & Noble and brought it with us to the restaurant. After dinner, we ordered our dessert and busted out the journal. The mission - to think of memories we have shared together and jot them down as we think of them. We thought about the first night we noticed each other and each wrote about what we remembered. We talked and laughed as we reminisced that night. We had so much fun reminiscing that one memory that we didnt have time for any others. It was getting late so we called it a night, but the journal is on our coffee table waiting for the next time one of us recalls another memory.

Yesterday was my off day and MUCH needed. my poor legs were killed last week. Today its back on. Cardio and legs. I will do sets of dips in between each leg exercise.

Reaching Your Goal By Having Good Friends

My girlfriend, Nicole, and I were arranging lunch plans via text. After confirming time and location I got back to my work. Time was drawing close to that hour of our meeting and the realization hit me like a charging elephant. I texted her back, "I just realized Zenna [the restaurant] is not in the best interest of my weight loss efforts. Can we just do coffee/tea at 12 and I'll eat my sack lunch when I get back to the office? Sorry to be lame!" To which she replied "Hey if it's not in your weight loss efforts then neither is it in mine! :) coffee sounds super fantastic. I'll pick you up at 12"

We both knew that eating thai food would not be great but for the sake of the fellowship we were going to make an exception. Neither one of us really wanted to make that exception. Sometimes it takes one person to keep two on track.

Thanks Nicole for the awesome conversations over sugar-free, non-fat, vanilla lattes. I loved talking about each others lives, struggles, fitness goals, successes and future travel plans. Thanks for letting me stick to my diet, not judging it as an "obsession" and coming along side me by sharing your fitness endeavors. Good luck with your goals!

Upcoming Entry: "Calorie Counting Will Cause Fat Gain"

Sabotagers beware!!

So you set out to eat healthy, you come up with a great meal plan and you are now officially working out religously. You're on fire. And then, ol' pal janedoe and family invite you to lunch...or dinner...or a birthday party and you find yourself faced with delicious foods...fatty, greasy, sugary, delicious foods. What do you do?

First of all, there is no such thing as will power. You can't bank on your ability to say no. Reprogram yourself to avoid SITUATIONS. Example - If you are out to eat, ask for a to-go box to be brought out with your food, put half of it in the box to eat later. Then you won't have to muster will-power to stop eating.

Secondly, remind yourself multiple times before you go of what your goal is and what you REALLY want. I like eggrolls, but I like lean arms and a flat tummy way more. You only have 2 choices: 1) eat foods to reach the goal of being flabby or 2) eat foods that make you look good in your clothes.

Don't let social life sabotage your goals - STICK WITH IT! Yes, "just this one time" WILL hurt.

It's not depriving yourself when you avoid delicious foods...when you eat those foods you are depriving yourself of a strong body and the happiness you will feel when you are lean and look fabulous.

TODAY I have family in town that have been staying with my parents. They call me because everyone is going to lunch as a goodbye lunch...at the chinese buffet...I mustered the power to head straight for the steamed veggies, moogoo gai pan chicken, and a couple pieces of sushi. I was surprised at how full I was. I still wanted the egg roll, but a girl told me "eating good is really hard, but it must be done" and that motivated me to say no to the eggroll. I feel so proud of myself and so happy because tonight at the gym I wont be kicking myself.