Amy’s 15 Week Challenge – I’m READY!!

So today is the first official day of Amy’s 15 Week Challenge and boy am I ever ready to rock it!


 
In a nutshell, here is my plan:

Start Weight:  194 lbs

Weigh In Day:  Saturday morning

Challenge Goal:  To lose 15 lbs, bringing my weight to 179 lbs.  A one pound per week lose is easily attainable as long as I eat within my 1500 calories/day and maintain my exercise routine.

Reward:  A challenge wouldn’t be very fun without a prize now would it?! I’m thinking an item or two from Lulu would be a fantastic reward!
I’m SO excited to kick butt and lose more weight.  This is a perfect way to stay focused on my health and work towards achieving my goals this Summer!! Thanks again Amy!

As part of the challenge I’m also looking forward to participating in the “Workout Wednesdays” session and the Weekly Challenge!  This week’s challenge is to recreate one of my favourite sinful recipes to make it figure friendly.   So, this coming Friday, I will be re-vamping a yummy Date Square recipe.  Mmm, I LOVE these babies and have a few ideas for making them healthier!

On to my eats:
I ramped up for the day with this yummy Green Monster!  I love to have these things when I’m not feeling anything heavy/carby.  They are perfect because they actually do hold you over for several hours.


This morning’s Monster Mix was a combo of Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze, 3 cup organic baby spinach, 5 strawberries, 1/2 tbsp organic peanut butter, 1 very small frozen organic banana and 1/4 scoop of chocolate whey protein powder.

I packed pineapple for our lunches and munched on the last few pieces straight from the bowl.  This was one of the best pineapples that I ever bought, so juicy and sweet!

 
I did have a coffee when I got to work but it’s so boring taking the same pic every day so I opted not to.  Mid-morning I snacked on the chocolatey On The Glo bar. Mmm delicious!


For lunch I had a piece of the left over quiche.  Note to self:  freezing & re-heating quiche leaves it feeling like rubber.  :(  Still good but the texture was ewwy.

 
A simple salad on the side – baby spinach, cucumber, radish, mushrooms & red peppers.  Drizzled with french dressing.

Pineapple & stewed rhubarb for dessert. Fun fact: Did you know that rhubarb is actually a vegetable?  I was goggling it’s health benefits and read several different articles stating that most people (myself included) assume rhubarb is a fruit when it’s actually a veggie. Weird huh?! :)

Later on this afternoon indulged in this yummy bite of dark chocolate compliments of the Farmers Market. 

I got home and was excited to finally be able to try a recipe from the new Clean Eating Magazine!  On the menu - Balsamic-Marinated Pork Chops & Grilled Peaches.  I only made a few tiny modifications to the recipe, 1) I halved it because I only took out 2 pieces of pork  2) I used a nectarine instead of a peach and 3) I added onions to the pan to caramelize.

Fancy Smancy!

  

Was really tasty, even J agreed!  He’s been getting some pretty awesome meals lately if I do say so myself. ;)

 
Served with a side of vegetable fusilli mixed with pesto & shredded cheese.

 

And of course, my latest obsession – Beet Greens!! These are the epitome of Summer in my mind.  Growing up we always used to have them with BBQ steak & corn on the cob.  I’m all out already, going to have to hit up the Farmers Market again soon.

Dessert was a lovely froyo waffle cone.


That’s all I got for ya tonight. Off to catch up on a few blogs and relax with J.

Feeling More Like Me

I’m happy to announce that I was able to stay the full day at work without collapsing from exhaustion!  It was great.  I am rather tired now but that’s why I have a laptop - so I can browse from my comfy bed. ;)
 
So, much to my utter disapointment it looks like Jillian has left her radio show for the time being. :(  I was so bummed when I went to download her latest podcast this morning and this is what I found:

”Hey Listeners
Hope you are having a fabulous summer! I'm going to be taking a break from radio, but I'll still be out there...connecting with you in other ways. Keep in touch with me at jillianmichaels.com. Thank you as always for your commitment to yourself and your health. Until then, stay true to who you are.
Jillian”

NOOOO!!  Listening to her podcasts were one of my fav ways to walk home.  As soon as I saw this I headed to her message board, and one of the admins stated that she was only temporarily leaving the show.  I’ll believe it when I see it.  *Crosses Fingers*  Luckily, I have 2 years worth of her podcasts already saved on my PC and was able to go back on MediaFly.com and download all the way back to September of 2006 too.   These things are so awesome guys, just full of all kinds of information on health, fitness and wellness.

On to Breaky,  I had a lovely smoothie this morning.

My glass had: 1c almond breeze 1/2c strawberries 1/2 organic banana 1/4c organic raspberries 1/4c organic blueberries 1c organic spinach 1/2 tbsp flax seed 1/2 tsp chia seed

Also munched on a 1/2 cup of the newest Kashi Cereal to hit Canada, Organic Cinnamon Harvest.  Was awesome, I can’t wait to have a big bowl tomorrow!

This combo held me over quite nicely, from about 530am all the way til after 11am. Love it when this happens.  I broke for a light snack, enjoyed a peanut butter oat cake.

Lunch was some of the frozen spaghetti & meat/veggie sauce.  Nothing special, but it did the trick.

Some strawberry cottage cheese for dessert.  This is President’s Choice brand – pretty tasty and lower in sodium than most cottage cheeses.

Mid-afternoon I snacked on the last organic nectarine.  So juicy. Mmm!!

 

I’m definitely saving the best for last, because Supper tonight was AWESOME!!!! Spicy Black Bean Burritos.  I combined this recipe  this recipe to make the ultimate burrito!!

 

These were jalapeno tortillas stuffed with any amazing mix of organic black beans, red peppers, jalapeno, onions, garlic, fresh cilantro, light cream cheese, baby spinach, cumin, coriander, chilli pepper  red pepper flakes.  Topped with a bit of old cheddar, diced tomatoes and chipotle salsa.

 
 
So that was my day. No exercise but I’m cool with it!
Nite!

Food Health-Biting The Bullet

This post could be negative, going over my failures at recent weight loss attempts. Instead, I’m choosing to make it positive.  I rock because:

No matter what, I NEVER give up. I’ve lost over 95 lbs by making lifestyles changes that have stuck.  Going back to the “old” me just isn’t an option because I don’t know that girl anymore.  The new, improved me is educated, knows what she wants and is doing what it takes to reach her goal.

That being said, the mojo just isn’t what it used to be.  Life happens, weight loss stalls.  Sometimes I feel like I’m too “into” it all.  Calories, sodium levels, exercise.  On occasion there’s enough going on inside my poor head to make the world spin.

So, I’m taking a step back and trying not to put so much focus on it all.  I already make healthy choices the majority of the time and I enjoy exercise, so there really shouldn’t be a problem.  I will succeed, and you know what? There is no deadline.  No deadline means nothing to worry about, nothing to stress over.   

Simplicity.  Which is why I re-activated my Weight Watches Online account this morning.  I need to give myself a break, see how far I’ve come and finish what I started at a pace that I enjoy.
 

This morning when I woke up, the sun was shining and I could feel the cool breeze coming from the patio doors.  Definitely has a Fall feel to it.  My favourite season is fast approaching! I love the cooler weather with beautiful sun, the crisp brightly colored leaves, apples, pumpkins & squash and Thanksgiving.  I’m hoping that next Fall we can take a road trip down through New England. 

Breaky was an opened-face egg sandwhich.


One egg fried in a tsp of olive oil on a slice of Ezekiel toast, organic baby spinach and topped with 10g of melted old cheddar & sliced tomato.


Along with some lovely Just Us (with organic sugar & splash of organic milk) and a juicy peach.



Didn’t get a chance to blog last night because I was too busy making these sinful treats for a wedding shower that I’m attending.


Chocolate Skor Cupcakes.  Recipe compliments of ZestyCook.  I admit to having a taste last night and they are heavenly!  According to my math they clock in around 300 calories each.  Good thing they are leaving my house today! ;)


 

Oh and I got our Supper prepped in the fridge.  I used this Balsamic Maple Pork recipe as the marinade (instead of cooking as the recipe directed) and am going to let the pork loin soak all day.  Going to be awesome grilled!

 
I’m off to tidy the house and get ready for the Wedding Shower.  Later!

New Look!

Our fridge has a decent amount of veggies already but I still stocked up on some fresh blueberries,plums, sweet tomatoes (like the ones I had at Jaime’s on Friday night!) organic garlic,chives, cantaloupe, squash and some cool looking mini squash & zucchini. :)


I couldn’t resist sampling the fresh scallops for lunch. Cooked up half a pound in a bit of becel. How delicious do these look?! Mmm mmm!


Used the sweet juicy tomatoes in a side salad as well.


I spent most of the afternoon baking and now have a freezer full of lunch stuff including peanut butter oatcakes, peanut butter granola bars & rolls. I also tried out a new recipe for oatmeal blueberry lemon muffins. Made a few modifications – used almond breeze instead of milk, 1 whole egg instead of 2 egg whites, 1tbsp of oil instead of 2 and I omitted the topping. Ended up having 2 of these yummy guys for breaky this morning.


The best part about yesterday was that I went out for a run as planned! :) I’ve definitely decided against re-doing C25K again, instead I did 10:1 intervals as Amy suggested. All went well, I wasn’t gasping for breath. So glad that I haven’t lost the ability to run, I really was afraid of that. My new plan now is to increase by one set each week, so this week I will be doing 3x10:1 for a total of 3 days. Should work out perfectly to start Half training mid-October!


So, I’m off to clean, clean, clean. Opps and I was supposed to mow the lawn. Eck! We have quite a busy week coming up, only a 3 day work week. Both of us took Friday off to help Holly & Dean with the final wedding errands and then Saturday is the big day! I’m really excited!!

Anyways, that’s all for now!

My Favourite Season Is Here!

September 1st already! My favourite month has arrived and what a gorgeous day it was for it! Sunny skies and a nice breeze. On my walk home I just felt so happy and thankful to be out enjoying the beautiful day. Sounds kind corny doesn’t it? :) I’m really hoping J & I are able to get away for a few days sometime over the next month, just to relax and enjoy the lovely outdoors.

In other exciting news Angie was on Live At Five this evening talking about weight loss and the support she received online with blogging/WWs. She did a great interview, very professional and cute at the same time! Lex was awesome enough to put it up on YouTube for everyone to watch, so check it out here!

C25K Update:
I convinced Hubby to join me last night. It was nice to have him there, he has long legs and that pushes me to go faster to keep up with him. But, to be honest it wasn’t challenging at all. I barely worked up a sweat. Amy gave me some advice just to do 2 sets of 10s & 1s so perhaps I’ll go with that tomorrow. Either way, I’m back with the running.

Another day of spectacular eats pour moi! Breaky was an egg sandwich & coffee.

Whole wheat english muffin with a slice of swiss cheese, egg, tomato slices & baby spinach.


Same morning snack again – peanut butter oatcake. I was really hungry by 9am, not sure why. Breaky was pretty filling AND I was busy all morning at work so it wasn’t even boredom “hunger.”


Like I said, famished by Lunch time. I ate and worked at the same time and didn’t really even taste this. (Opps.) Chicken Noodle soup w/ a yummy roll & side salad.



I had a small dish of Liberte Svelte Vanilla yogurt for dessert but the pic didn’t come out AND I forgot to snap a pic of the nectarine I had one the way home.

Was a burger & fries kinda night! Don’t worry, healthy versions though. :) For Supper I whipped us up some yummy black bean burgers. (Recipe compliments of Kath) I used – (1) organic black beans, 1/3c diced green pepper, 1/3c diced yellow pepper, 1/3c diced onions, 4 tbsp of flour, hot sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper & chipotle seasoning.


Oven Taters – diced potatoes (skins on!) drizzled with olive oil & seasonings. Got the funniest compliment (?) from J, when he said they looked and tasted exactly like the frozen ones. Haha.

It’s Only Noon…

and I already have a freezer full of veggie chili, peanut butter oatcakes (recipe here) cooling, rolls fresh out of the oven and curried cauliflower soup all ready for lunch!





Plus the kitchen is in fairly decent shape. Whoot, love it when I have productive days like these! Lunch-wise we are all ready for another work week. Planning/Prepping always making it so much easier to stay on track.

Speaking of staying on track, got in an hour of HI cardio last night as planned. Did 15 mins of incline training on the dreadmill then switched to running for the last 15. I was able to easily run, which is quite a relief. Finished up with another 30 mins on the elliptical.

I’m still going to take the running slow though so that I’m fully prepared for the Half. Registration opens online the day after my b-day so that will be my present to myself.

Unfortunately, even though I was within my points the scale showed me up 0.6 lbs this morning. No biggie really, should just make for a bigger loss next week.

For breaky, I whipped us up some blueberry pancakes. The recipe is pretty basic – 1/2c ww flour, 1/2c flour, 2tsp baking powder, 1tbsp brown sugar, 1c unsweetened vanilla almond breeze, 1 egg white & 1/2c blueberries. Topped with Pure Nova Scotia Maple Syrup and a side of fresh JustUs! Mmm mmm.



Lunch was a bowl of the curried cauliflower with honey soup. I was searching for simple cauliflower recipes yesterday because I had half of one that needed to be used and stumbled upon this FANTASTIC recipe! I literally licked the bowl clean. ;) Perfect Fall meal, will definitely be making this again.


Of course I had to taste the fresh rolls! The soup was really thick so they were perfect for dipping.



Plans for the rest of the day include working out, doing some laundry and then relaxing. J is going to a bachelor party tonight, so the bride-to be & I will be hanging out this evening waiting for the drunken call to go get the boys. ;)

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!