Crazy Week

Last week was crazy.  I had volunteered at Hudson's school, we went to Nashville for the weekend and during the week I had lots of other things going on.  Sadly, I didn't lose any weight this week...but I didn't gain any either!  I tend to do so well during the week.  I meal plan, stay at home, exercise and cook yummy foods and eat healthy snacks.  The weekends kill me!  We play too much!  Can that be true?  The weekends are usually filled with less workouts and more eating out.  I have really got to work on having a cheat meal instead of a cheat weekend.

I have tons of recipes to post and will do that later this afternoon.  I have all our meals planned for this week and looking forward to trying some new things.  :)  Over the weekend I definitely had some wheat and sugar.  Like I said, I like my pizza with crust and my hamburgers with buns.  We went to the funnest burger place in Nashville with some friends.  It was called The Pharmacy.  They have an old fashion soda fountain and the kids loved it.  The burgers and BUNS were the best I've ever had.

This week is crazy too but I think in a good way for weight loss.  My friend and fellow Zumba instructor got in a car wreck yesterday and while she is okay she got a mild concussion and whip lash. I am covering her classes this week which means I just picked up 2 more classes (5 this week).  A little extra cardio never hurt :)

Gotta run but I'll post some recipes soon.

Week 2: Weigh In

So, I lost another 1.9 pounds this week.  Not what I was hoping for but at least it is moving in the right direction.  I would really like to lose a minimum of 2 each week.  I really need to teach myself to only weigh once a week because the fluctuations from looking every day can really mess with you.  How can one semi bad day make you gain 3 pounds or one really good day make you lose 4?  I do believe that it is calories in and calories out overtime but your body changes daily with water and this weight can be so confusing.

So what is the exact science behind losing weight?  Most people don't truly understand that it is math!  A single pound is 3500 calories.  So if you want to lose a pound you have to burn 3500 calories more than you take it.  I want to lose 2 pounds a week so that means that I have to burn 7000 more than I take in within the week.  If you break that down then it is about a 1000 calorie deficit every day.  You can achieve this one of three ways: eat less, exercise more or a combo of both.  The combo is the easiest.  It would be hard to eat that few calories or exercise that much but if you do both!  That is great!
I will post more about this soon.  I want to cover things like basal metabolic rate and how many calories are in carbs, protein, fats, etc.  These are all things that people should understand, even if you aren't trying to lose weight.  It is basic science!

I am so close to a new threshold on my weight were the digit in the 10's place goes down.  I am going to try very very hard to make it there this week.  I'll need to lose a full 2 pounds!  Wish me luck!

Day 14

Since I was feeling bad about the weekend I tried to really clean up my diet on this day and eat cleaner meals.  When I talk about eating clean that pretty much means only eating foods that God made.  Not eating processed foods but more natural foods.  These include: milk, eggs, meat, fruits, and vegetables.

Have you ever tried to eat clean for a week?  It is harder than it sounds.  It is amazing how many processed foods we eat.  From cereal, bread, and pasta to lean cuisines and instant potatoes.  I actually try to avoid a lot of the processed foods but what can I say, "I like a bun with my hamburger" and "I like bread on my sandwich".  So many things are processed!  Pretty much all the stuff in the middle aisles of the grocery: crackers, granola bars, chips, canned foods, baked goods, etc.

Try eating clean for a week!  It is a challenge!

Last night I also had Zumba and I am not sure why but I just got this extra jolt of energy in the class. We literally killed it!  I almost felt like I was bouncing off the walls.  I wish every class was like that!

Greek Chicken & Quinoa Salad

Greek Chicken

Chicken thighs or breasts

1 C plain greek yogurt

2 TBSP olive oil

4 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 lemon (zested and juiced)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper

1/4 C fresh parsley chopped fine

Put all ingredients in a plastic bag and marinate for at least an hour.  You can grill the chicken or bake it in the oven at 350.  You may eat it separately or I like to chop it up and serve it on top of my quinoa salad with tzatziki sauce.  I also like to add it to a pita pocket with more greek veggies and tzatziki sauce. (from recipefavorite.com)

Quinoa Salad

Prepare your quinoa (1 C quinoa, 2 C water or broth)

+ greek vegetables

• artichoke hearts
• olives
• tomato
• purple onion
• cucumber
• feta cheese

Pour some balsamic vinaigrette over the top.  I like to put about 1/2 C on the whole salad and then stir well.  The quinoa and veggies will saturate it up.  Chill for at least one hour.  If you need to add more dressing, you can when you serve it.  This salad is super yummy and fresh tasting! (by Cheryl)

Tzatziki Sauce

• 1 C Plain Greek yogurt
• 1 TBSP Lemon zest and juice (you could also use white vinegar)
• 1 Cucumber peeled/seeded and chopped fine
• 2-4 tsp garlic
• 2 tsp olive oil
• to taste-salt & pepper
• 1/2 TBSP dill (fresh is best)

These are estimates.  I taste as I go, some people like more/less vinegar or lemon.

Days 12 & 13 (The weekend)

The weekend was not good.  I totally went off plan.  I had a sandwich one day, Travis took the family to pizza one night (I only had one piece) and I totally indulged in a small bowl of ice cream!  Yikes.  It seems like once you head down the slippery slope it is easy to keep sliding.  Not every choice was bad but there were a few major flaws.

It was a busy weekend though.  Saturday I had Zumba and then we power washed our deck.  Sunday I taught a pro bono CPR class for all the childcare volunteers at my church.   The weekend just seemed to go by fast.

Day 10 & 11

To be honest, I can't remember a whole lot about these days except that I survived them. Just seems like I have been super busy lately.  Definitely doing lots of taxi trips with the kids, etc.  Thursday I ate really clean and had a good Zumba class.  It was throwback Thursday so we did some old songs that we hadn't done in a long long time.  It was fun.  One benefit to teaching Zumba is drinking lots of water; in a single class I can easily consume 30oz.  Thursday night I made this awesome Balsamic Pork Roast and some broccoli/cauliflower salad.  Recipes below.

Balsamic Glazed Pork Roast

Ingredients:

1 (2 pound) boneless pork tenderloin (or regular pork loin)

1 teaspoon ground sage

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 cup water

Glaze

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions:

Combine sage, salt, pepper and garlic. Rub over roast. Place in slow cooker with 1/2 cup water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. About 1 hour before roast is done, combine ingredients for glaze in small sauce pan. Heat and stir until mixture thickens. Brush roast with glaze 2 or 3 times during the last hour of cooking. Serve with remaining glaze on the side.

 (original recipe: http://www.candcmarriagefactory.com/2011/01/brown-sugar-and-balsamic-glazed-pork.html)

Broccoli/Cauliflower Salad
1 small head of broccoli and cauliflower chopped
1/2 purple onion
6 slices of bacon
1/2 C slivered almonds
1/2 C sunflower seeds
1 C raisins and/or craisins
Dressing: 3/4 C light olive oil mayo, 2 TBSP rice vinegar, 2.5 TBSP sugar or splenda
(This makes a very large salad, so you may want to make it smaller)

Yesterday was day 11.  I had promised Reese that I would take her to a special lunch at Chic-fil-a and she could play at the playground.  I had 8 grilled chicken nuggets and also against my better judgement I had some french fries (I figured I deserved a treat and they were gluten free, right?).  This really wouldn't have been so bad except that I had 3 very (almost too) ripe bananas on the counter.  I hate to see them go to waste so I quickly made two loaves of banana bread.  My intention was to give one loaf to a friend and one loaf to a neighbor.  I didn't use oil, I subbed out for applesauce and I was out of nuts so I saved some calories by omitting them.  I gave one loaf away but when I asked my neighbor if she wanted a loaf, she said no thank you.  Long story, short...I ended up eating two slices.  

I made a greek dinner.  It was super yummy.  I made greek chicken, quinoa salad and tzatziki sauce.  It is very tasty, healthy and fresh.  I will post the recipes a little later.  

Update

Some of you may remember that I started this challenge with my mother-in-law after their recent visit here to TN.  I committed to eating like her (gluten and sugar free) if she agreed to exercise like me (at least 4x per week, 30 minutes a day).

I am proud to report that she called me last night and she is doing really well.   She has done walking in her neighborhood, she has walked on her treadmill and even rode her bike several times.  I am happy that we are both doing this and holding each other accountable.

Sometimes eating healthy is hard, exercise is hard but I think so many of us take our bodies for granted. We have strong and able bodies!  I have a friend that is in a wheelchair; he would do anything in this world to be able to run...we can run but instead most of us chose to sit.  There are people in hospitals eating cafeteria bland diets or even being fed intravenously and would love to just eat a healthy meal...we take all of this for granted!

When my mother in law was visiting I insisted that we go on a bike ride at the greenbelt.  It is a relatively easy, paved, flat trail.  I think she was a little apprehensive but she did great.  We went 5 miles and we all lived to tell about it.  While cycling we saw a man in an electric wheel chair enjoying the day and taking in the views of the water and trees; how lucky we were to be able to see the beauty from a bicycle and not a wheelchair.

Don't take this life for granted.  Use your body!  Fuel it, take care of it and use it!