Day 2

Today was definitely a little harder.  While I didn't really eat any wheat and only a very small amount of sugar I felt like I over ate other things.  2 helpings of salad, 1.5 apples with dip, extra handful of nuts, etc...you get the point.  It was good healthy food but you can still over eat those too!  I have also been trying to give up diet soda.  I don't drink many, 1-2 a day but they have always been my treat and that cold yummy goodness has probably been the hardest part.

I do love to cook though and I am making some great food.  Here are some of the recipes I ate today!

Autumn Salad
Romaine & Green leaf lettuce
2 pears sliced
1 C of craisins
1/2 C feta cheese
1/2 C chopped pecans
6 slices of lean bacon crumbled

Toss all of this together.  For the dressing you do 75% poppyseed dressing and 25% balsamic vinaigrette.  I use the Newmans Own light.  Shake those together and serve.  Sounds like a weird combo but it is really good.

Since my salad was lacking some good protein and I had some country ribs defrosted I decided to just bake some ribs in the oven.  These were boneless and so good.  I only ate one.  For those of you on a budget these can be delicious and are very reasonably priced.

Oven Ribs
Mix a couple TBSP dijon mustard with 2 tsp of liquid smoke
Coat the ribs with this
Then add a dry rib rub (you can make one or just buy a premixed)
Broil in the oven for 5 minutes
Then bake at 300 for 1.5 hours
Cover with a little BBQ sauce (I use sweet baby rays)
and cook a little longer or broil for a few minutes

They are so tender and taste so good.  A little high in fat but no carbohydrates and high in protein.  If you are are really worried about the fat content then you can trim the ribs better before you start.

Yummy Snack: Apple Dip

I pinned this recipe on Pinterest a long time ago and one of my friends told me about mixing the yogurt and PB together.  Today I tried it!  It is so good.  You should try some.  It makes four 2 TBSP servings and is about 65 calories.

Apple Dip

• 1 container of Oikos vanilla non fat yogurt
• 2 TBSP creamy natural Peanut butter
• 1 sprinkle of cinnamon
• 1/2 TBSP honey

Mix together and serve with apples!  You could also serve with banana.

Day 1

So I am making some realistic goals for the no wheat/no sugar.  I am cutting all wheat but still allowing myself natural sugars like in fruit and milk or sugar that is added to items like ketchup, salad dressing, cheese, etc.  But I will not be eating any refined sugar or anything that is a baked good, soda, candy, etc.  Today I watched sugars very carefully and still consumed about 35 grams.  I think as long as I keep it under 35 that is still good.   I am also allowing myself one dark chocolate square per day.  It is 35 calories and only 3 grams of sugar.

Tonights dinner was Red Beans & Rice.  It is so good and so easy that I have to share.  It is a recipe from southern living.

Red Beans & Rice
1 pound dried red kidney beans
3 celery stalks chopped
1 medium yellow onion chopped
1 green bell pepper
3 TBSP creole seasoning
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 Lb Andouille sausage, sliced into circles
7 Cups of water

Add all ingredients to a slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.  Serve with steamed rice (white jasmine or brown).

Another yummy favorite is berry oatmeal for breakfast, super easy but very yummy.

Berry Oatmeal
1/2 C frozen berry medley
1 half cup old fashion oats
1 tsp ground flax seed (optional)
1 C water
Serve with agave nectar/sweetener and 2 TBSP of half & half

You can either put all of these ingredients in the microwave for 3 minutes or you can cook the oatmeal on the stove and add defrosted berries.

45:15 Challenge

I also started a 45:15 challenge with some of my Zumba peeps and family members.  Here is how it works.  I will try to post a video soon for any of you who may not know what I mean by the names of these exercises.  The challenge is to do 10 minutes every day!  There is always time for just 10 minutes, right?  It is an interval set of 10 different exercises.  You are to do each exercise for 45 seconds and then rest for 15 seconds, move to the next exercise until all 10 are completed.  The best part about this is that it is super short, no equipment, gym or trainer needed.  Literally there are no excuses!  Is it too hard?  Start with 30 seconds of exercise and 30 seconds of rest.

The exercises:

1. Jumping Jacks (regular)
2. Burpees (feet together squat to touch hands to ground, jump feet out to a plank, back in and then stand up)
3. Butt kickers (run in place bringing your heel to your butt)
4. Speed skaters (jump side to side touching the floor in front of you)
5. Jump Rope (in place, no rope required)
6. Squat Jump (squat in place and then jump, 1 dynamic movement)
7. Shuffle jumps (shuffle in a squat position, step together step, 3x to right and then jump shot, then to the left)
8. Plank jacks (hold a plank position on your elbows and jack your feet in and out making a V)
9. High Knees (run in place lifting knees up as high as you can)
10. Mountain Climbers (with your arms on the floor and your body in an elevated plank position, alternate your knees to your chest like you are running)

I know these descriptions are vague but you can google most of these exercises for a quick description. Also i will try to get a video tutorial on here ASAP!  Any of you up for the challenge?  It is only 10 minutes but I guarantee you will be dripping sweat when you are done!

Good luck!

Hello Old Blog

Well, I am not sure why but I have been missing the accountability of my blog.  I still have not reached my goal of losing 100 pounds.  I have had lots of major set backs and some gains and have finally lost again and can start to see the goal in sight.  I only have about 30 pounds to go!  I was thinking that maybe if I started blogging about it again that I would keep myself more in check.  I am hoping to blog every day for the month of September.  I actually became a Zumba instructor almost a year ago and I need to prove to myself as well as to my students that this is the best way to live.  In order to kick start myself and it should be a hell of a quick start I have gave myself a challenge.

The past 10 days my mother-in-law, father-in-law and nephew have been visiting from Idaho.  My mother in law has recently given up wheat for many reasons and while I don't feel like it is a lifestyle change for me I do feel like it would help jump start me to give it up for a while.  I had read the wheat belly diet a while back and I do think that there is some validity to it.  However, my weakness has always been sugar!  So I know that I really need to put that in check too.

So here is the deal.  My MIL was so good with her diet while she was visiting.  We all ate sandwiches, and bread and homemade cookies and she totally refrained.  I never saw her cheat once.  I am so proud of her and the changes she made.  I on the other hand totally indulged in some of the yummy goodness. But...I workout a lot.  I cycle, teach Zumba, cross train, etc and my mother in law pretty much doesn't exercise at all.  This week while she was visiting we had her doing tons of walking, she came to one of my Zumba classes, went on a 5 mile bike ride, swam in the lake and more.  Her body is totally capable but its hard to get that first step out the door sometimes.  She lost weight on vacation!  Who does that??

I made her a deal.  If she would promise me to exercise for 30 minutes a day, 4 days a week for the whole month of September (like I have been doing)...then I would give up wheat and sugar for the whole month (like she has).  I was hoping we could help the other person with our weaknesses.

We are similar in size and can pretty much share clothes.  We took some before pictures and are working as a team to keep this going.  I'll be blogging every day about how I am feeling and what I am eating.  For those of you that see me, if I am grumpy this might be why!  Haha.

Wish me luck, I am going to need it :)

Verde Pork

I made this recipe up a few weeks ago and it is super easy and really good.  I shared it with my two nieces and they liked it too.

Verde Pork

• 1 2.5-3.5 Lb Pork Roast (I use Pork Loin and trim off any fat)
• 1/2 finely chopped fresh onion or 2 TBSP dry onion
• 1 medium-large can of green enchilada sauce
• 2 small cans of diced green chiles
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chile powder
• avocado, sour cream, cilantro (optional garnish)

Put your roast & onions in the crock pot with about a half cup of water or chicken broth.  Let it cook on high for about 3-4 hours.  Drain off any liquid (I use a turkey baster to suck it all out but if you don't have one you can ladle it out).  Mix all of your other ingredients together and poor on top of the roast.  Let it cook for another hour (maybe more depending on size of roast and your croc-pot).  Shred the roast and serve with soft taco size tortillas.  It may be a little soupy but that is okay.  Just serve with a slotted spoon, it will ensure that the meat doesn't get dry.  Garnish with light sour cream, avocado and fresh cilantro.

**Tip: If you are in a hurry, cut your roast in half or in quarters.  It will help it cook faster and you are going to shred it any way.  I shred mine by putting it in my kitchen aid mixer with the metal paddle.  It shreds pork and chicken very easily.

Weekly Weigh In: May 29

Here it is, sorry I am a day late.  We were out of town for Memorial Weekend.  A small loss, about 1.5 pounds.  I am happy and sad about it.  I was 181 on Friday but then by Monday I had gained some of my losses back.  I guess that is what a long holiday weekend of camping can do for you.  It is kind of hard to cook super healthy on the fire grill.  I could have done better but I was tempted with lots of treats.  

We did do lots of walking though.  We walked around our campground a ton of times with the kids and we did a short little one mile hike to the top of look rock.  We stayed in the Smokies on the Foothills Parkway.  The kids had so much fun.  Hudson cried when we left.  He made some good friends in the campground and luckily they live close.  Hopefully we will see them again.  

This week is a week of no excuses.  I have literally nothing to distract me.  I don't have any CPR that I am teaching.  I have some classes but other people are teaching.  Tomorrow we are going to Splash Country but I am going to pack us a cooler and eat from that.  Thursday is our weekly Zumba and Splash.  There are about five of us girls that zumba together and then go to a friend's house to swim with our kids.  It is so much fun!  Friday and the weekend are totally free.  

Hudson is doing so good swimming.  He was even swimming in the deep end last week, jumping off the diving board and swimming to the side.  I want to ensure that he is a GOOD swimmer.  He is starting 6 more private swimming lessons today.  They are at the gym every Tues & Thurs, so I will already be at the gym those days.  He did 6 group lessons and really did well so I think after these 6 private lessons, he will be good to go for this year.  Maybe next year he can take some more just to perfect his strokes :)

I actually did really good meal planning this week and have all the groceries to make 6 yummy, healthy dinners.  I'll try to post the recipes.  

Goal for this week:  To be in the 180's...even if it is 189.9