On the Road

So I'm on the road for work this week. Of course on the shuttle to the hotel, I'm looking scoping out places that I can continue my training.

Yeah..so I ran 4 miles today. Ummm......I've lived on the West Coast for the last 7 years which does not have humidity, and I'm currently in Atlanta where it's only 50% humidity, and I'm dying. Like I'm having a hard time breathing and that's just walking. I busted out 4 miles like a champ, but I thought I was going to die! Okay...maybe not die, but it felt like I was running on day 1 like day 1 of ever working out. I have a 3 mile trek tomorrow which isn't too bad, but I had planned to run the long distance run this week - 7 miles - here. I think I'm going have to re-think that. I just don't know if I will make it.

But anyway, when you're traveling, plan to work out! Pack for it! And if it takes up a little more room in your suitcase, look at it this way, if you keep up the running, soon your smaller clothes won't be taking up the room anymore.

Marathon Training - Week 2

Well, this post is mainly week 1 and 2 wrapped up into 1 post. 

Week 1 - Well, whenever you start anything, you're excited and can't wait for the next day to accomplish your goal. I did well with the miles, and I felt good the paths I was taking. They included hills and sprints and all my miles were staying within the main goal of keeping pace for a sub 4 hr. marathon finish. 

And then life happened.....

Staying up too late...not wanting to wake up the next morning...just saying that "I'll just make it up another day..."..."It doesn't matter if I skip that day..."

Well, let's just say that Week 2 was MAKE UP WEEK. 

My goal, my adventure, my journey for this marathon is follow everything in this training. I want people who are reading this to see the many miles that is put into doing a marathon, and the dedication and commitment that you have to make. Well, okay, not everyone has to do this, but I HAVE TO do this to make sure that I make it through. 

So I made up the mileage. I did an extra couple of miles on Tuesday, and then today, I did an extra 3 miles. I ran a total of 9 miles this morning, and I felt amazing. I ate half of a Lean Muscle Cookies & Cream Bar. Can I tell you...gross? I wanted to throw it up as I was choking it down. There was the taste and the look of Cookies & Cream, but the overwhelming taste of chalk in my mouth was way too much. And my first 3 miles sucked too as a result. I just felt the bar sitting in the middle of my chest. I felt like I couldn't get my breathing under control and that my body was just going into autopilot mode. But I will say around mile 4, that heaviness went away, and I felt powerful. I felt like I could run and run and run...and I did. I had made a plan at mile 2 that I wasn't going to run up this giant hill toward the end, but at mile 7, I had convinced my body of otherwise, and I ran up that hill. I felt amazing! 

I learned a hard lesson this week. 1) Don't miss days, but 2) 50% of this training is really about going through the mental exercise of fighting your body through another mile, another building marker, or just another step to reach the end goal. 

What made me really smile this morning was that my mom had texted this morning, just letting me know that they had made it back home from their trip, and she was wondering what we were doing today. I told her that I had ran 9 miles this morning, and my dad instantly calls me, and the first thing out of his mouth was, "You impress me." I was totally shocked by this statement. I mean, I run 9 miles for fun. It was a challenge, but it was fun. To me, I hadn't thought that it was impressive. Then, my dad tells me that he has to start looking for tickets, so he can watch me run 26.4 miles. I kindly reminded him that it was 26.2, but he said that I have to think 26.4, so I made sure that I run all the way through the finish line. 

Ah..good thinking...

Lasagna Roll

If you love pasta and cheese and cheese and pasta, then you will love this recipe. It was delicious. And the green from the spinach makes this dinner look beautiful! I would recommend making a salad to go with this meal. Having the 1 lasagna roll - which is the serving size - might seem a little small, but balancing off the meal with a salad would make this great. Also, this recipe lends itself for you to add additional items to make this meal hearty. I would recommend adding squash, zucchini, and even ground turkey, since this is a veggie dish.

10 servings | Cals: 240 | Pro: 15 g | Carbohydrates: 25 g | Fat: 8.5 g | Saturated fat: 3.5 g | Cholesterol: 18 mg | Fiber: 5 g | Sugar: 4 g | Sodium: 460 mg | PointsPlus: 6 | PreviousPoints: 5 |

Ingredients

• 10 whole wheat lasagna noodles, cooked to al dente (about 8 minutes), well drained
• 1 (24 ounce) jar marinara sauce (no sugar added, I like Ragu Lite or Amy's Pasta Sauce)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups baby spinach, loosely packed and chopped well
• 1 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
• 1 1/2 cups part-skim, shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese (small curd if possible)
• 1 egg white
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Kosher or sea salt to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Add 1 1/4 cups marinara to a 13" x 9" x 2" casserole dish.

In a large skillet, add oil and heat to medium-low heat. Saute garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add chopped spinach and saute until wilted, about 3 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, combine garlic, spinach, ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, cottage cheese, egg white, oregano, salt and pepper.

On a work surface, lined with parchment paper, arrange lasagna noodles flat, add 1/4 cup cheese and spinach mixture to each noodle, spread evenly to cover noodles. Start rolling the noodle at the end closest to you. Place lasagna rolls seam side down, not quite touching, in the prepared casserole dish. Evenly spread 1 cup marinara over rolls, sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake 20 minutes, or until cheese is hot and bubbly. If desired, serve rolls with additional heated marinara. 

Three Cheese Ziti w/ Turkey

I've finally had a chance to start cooking, which has made me a much happier camper. During my high school years, ziti was a recipe that my mom would turn to every week. It was easy, great flavors, and produced a lot of leftovers. Although the ziti was delicious, it was full of calories. This recipe made it feel just like home but with a healthy twist. Delicious comfort food. And the best part - leftovers!

Servings: 8 | Calories: 289 | Total Fat: 7 g | Previous Points: 5 | Points Plus: 6 | Saturated Fat: 3 g | Trans Fat: 0 | Cholesterol: 20 mg | Sodium: 228 mg | Carbohydrates: 43 g | Sugars 3 g | Dietary Fiber: 5 g | Protein: 15 g

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground turkey, (optional, if you prefer meatless)
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 (24 ounce) jar marinara, no sugar added
• 4 cups cooked ziti or penne shells (cook according to package, about 2-1/2 cups dry shells)
• 1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup low fat ricotta cheese
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded, low fat
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano

Directions

In a large skillet add ground turkey, diced onion, minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and cayenne pepper. Cook over medium-high heat, breaking up meat as you go, cook until turkey has lost its pink color. Drain any fat from turkey and add the entire jar of marinara sauce, stir.

Cook ziti or penne shells according the package instructions, al dente is preferred (firm but not hard). Drain and add to cooked turkey and marinara.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl combine cottage cheese, mozzarella, ricotta and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and oregano.

In a large casserole dish or 9" x 13" pan, add 1/2 turkey mixture (cooked turkey, marinara and cooked shells), top with half cheese mixture, repeat.

Cook uncovered for approximately 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Slow Cooker French Toast Casserole

So I've noticed this recipe a lot, and I have always been wanting to try it, but for whatever reason, I never had any of the ingredients. Well I ended up having a loaf of bread in the pantry, and since this recipe takes 9 slices, it was an excellent choice. This is an excellent item for Sunday morning brunch. Get up, put everything in the slow cooker, go work out, and then come back for some delicious (and healthy) food! Thanks Skinny Ms.!

Yields: 9 Servings | 1 Serving: 2 Triangles | Calories: 227 | Total Fat: 7 g | Saturated Fat: 1 g | Trans Fat: 0 g | Previous Points: 4 | Points Plus: 6 |Cholesterol: 9 mg | Sodium: 187 mg | Total Carbohydrate: 34 g | Dietary Fiber: 4 g | Sugars: 19 g | Protein: 9 g

Ingredients

• 2 whole eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 1 1/2 cups 1% milk, (almond or soy will also work)
• 2 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract|
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 9 Slices whole grain bread
• FILLING:
• 3 cups finely diced uncooked apple pieces (Honey Crisp or Gala are both great in this recipe)
• 3 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/3 cup diced raw pecans
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

Add the first 6 ingredients to a medium mixing bowl, whisk to combine. Lightly spray the inside of the slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.

Add all the filling ingredients in a small mixing bowl and stir to coat apple pieces, set aside.

Cut bread slices into triangles (that's in half, just triangle shaped). Place one layer of bread (6 triangles) on the bottom of the slow cooker, add ¼ of the filling and repeat until there are 3 layers of bread. Add the remaining filling to the top.

Pour egg mixture over bread. Cover and cook on high 2 to 2-1/2 or low 4 hours, or until bread has soaked up the liquid.

3 Bananas (diced) can be substituted for apples.

Note: Drizzle with 100% pure maple syrup if desired.

This is a good candidate for putting it in the fridge and warming it up the next day for breakfast. Unfortunately though, the way that the recipe is designed, the egg mixture goes on the top of the bread, creating a trickle down effect, so some parts are soggier than others, and for me, I am NOT A FAN of mushy textures like flan and things like that, so there were parts of the casserole that I didn't enjoy that much. But overall, the meal was delicious. Great flavors!

The Start of Marathon Training

The day finally came! The reason why I even started this blog. Yesterday, I started marathon training. I've been telling everyone that will listen to me. Of course when I say, "I started marathon training," the immediate return question is, "How many miles did you run?"....hahahahahahahaha. Only 3 miles. But it was a great 3 mile start. Felt good being out there, following a training plan.

The plan that I'm using is marathonrookie.com. Can I tell you that it was difficult to search the internet for a marathon training plan? Most of the things that I did find, I had to pay money for, and then the other collection of training plans seemed too rude. What I mean is like they seemed they were yelling on the computer screen that you shouldn't attempt this plan if you can't run this long. I don't care if you're just walking, you should try and encourage everyone set a goal and accomplish that goal.

So for this marathon, I have 2 goals:
1) Finish it - That's the ultimate goal! The amount of people that start a marathon, do not finish it, and I want to finish it.
2) Sub 4 hrs. - I know, this sounds crazy to try to have this kind of goal for my first marathon. The average time for a woman my age in 2010 was 4:48. I'm saying that I'm going to do it 49 minutes faster than the average. Haha...good luck to me.

I think it's getting the right mindset. Another thing that I also started on Monday was MFP. Well, I restarted MFP. I believe I had a streak of over 430 days, and then it died on Friday. It probably should have happened a while ago. I was only checking in to put one, maybe two foods down just to keep the streak, but then I would be eating bowls of ice cream and handful of chocolate nuts and everything. This start of the marathon training gave me the right start to say, you need to recommit yourself to your body, living a healthy lifestyle, and wanting to be the best that I can be.

Well as the time goes on, I will keep up the blog, so you see how doing my first marathon goes. I hope that I don't turn people away from the idea of a marathon, but there aren't many blogs that showcase the beginnings of the blog. Usually they are geared more to the end. So that is the commitment I am making to you, reader.

So have fun and Happy running!

Excuses Don't Burn Calories

Saw this on pinterest today, and I thought it was an excellent poster. We can come up with every excuse of why we shouldn't work out, but how about coming up with a reason to work out. If you want to feel good about myself, then the enemy aren't clothing designers, and the enemy aren't your genetics, it is all those times when you beat yourself up and told yourself that you are a failure.

You are not a failure...

Broiled Tilapia Parmesan

I've made this several times, and it's GREAT! Quick, easy, and if you can get the tilapia on sale, then this becomes a cheap meal. Just add steamed veggies and black beans.

Minutes to Prepare: 5

Minutes to Cook: 10

Number of Servings: 4

Ingredients

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese 
2 tablespoons butter, softened 
1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons reduced-fat mayonnaise 
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 
1/8 teaspoon dried basil 
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper 
1/8 teaspoon onion powder 
1/8 teaspoon celery seed
1 pound tilapia fillets

Tips

Serve with broccoli and brown rice.

Directions

Preheat your oven's broiler. Grease a broiling pan or line pan with aluminum foil.

In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Season with dried basil, pepper, onion powder and celery salt. Mix well and set aside.

Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes. Remove the fillets from the oven and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Broil for 2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to overcook the fish.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 4
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 177.1

• Total Fat: 10.5 g
• Cholesterol: 63.4 mg
• Sodium: 232.6 mg
• Total Carbs: 1.2 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.0 g
• Protein: 19.6 g

Healthy Coleslaw

Here is a quick and easy recipes from a member on sparkrecipes.com for healthy coleslaw. This was easy to make, and it is a great way to provide something healthy for all those BBQs you will get invited to over the summer. The key to this recipe is to give enough time IN THE FRIDGE. It is sooooooo much better cold. So if you have a function in the afternoon, make this side dish before you go out and do your morning exercise. It will be perfect by the afternoon.

Ready Pac Coleslaw (or shredded cabbage/carrots) - 7.5 cups
Low Fat Mayo - 3 tbsp
Apple Cider Vinegar - 3 tbsp
Sweet Mustard - 2 tsp
Splenda - 2 packets
Salt - few dashes

Optional: Raisins  - I think this is a weird option. Who eats raisins in their coleslaw?? I think for the sweetness, just reduce the amount of vinegar.

Directions

In a large bowl, whisk together the mayo, apple cider vinegar, sweet mustard, salt and Splenda. Add two cups of the coleslaw (or cabbage/carrots), and toss thoroughly. Keep adding small amounts of the coleslaw to the mix, making sure to toss thoroughly, until everything is mixed together. Refrigerate for 3+ hours before eating for best taste. Optional - for added sweetness, sprinkle raisins on top.

Makes five 1.5-cup servings.

Number of Servings: 5

National Running Day - A Day Late

Yes yes...I'm a day late on the National Running Day. I figured since this blog will soon be nothing about running, I should have posted something, but I just didn't have the time. I did run yesterday though...

I went to runningday.org just to find out more information about the day. It is held the first Wednesday in June, and it allows runners, new or veterans, to celebrate the sport. Growing up, I always had a love-hate relationship with running. The only time I would ever run would be because I was playing a sport (i.e. soccer, basketball, etc...). I never just went and ran. And the times that I would, I would do it, maybe once or twice, and then find excuse after excuse to never do it again. I always called myself a sprinter. That's what I was good at, but when it came to long distances...haha....I'll meet you back here at start. If running wasn't intertwined with a sport, like the 1 mile for the fitness test, it was a state of embarrassment. My classmates finishing the mile in under 10 minutes, and I was still going. My only goal during the mile run was not to get lapped. It was discouraging as the teacher just shook their head as they wrote down my lap times and then at the end, forcing the other kids to "cheer" me on. That was the last thing I wanted. People to notice that I was the slow one.

Now, I've been running for the past 10 months. What got me started was my wife. One day, I was standing in front of the mirror, and I was complaining that my legs weren't looking any thinner. At that point, I had lost 40 lbs, but I felt that it was all in my upper body. She looked at me, and said, "Maybe you should start running." And so I did. I picked my first goal of the Long Beach Half Marathon, and now, three half marathons down and planning on starting my training for the Full marathon.

I look back now at my childhood and even through high school and college where my coaches "highly recommended" that we should be running and training in the off-season, that I wish I had believed in myself more back then. I wish I knew that I could have prepared myself for that 1 mile or the 3 mile run for lacrosse in college. I could have done that. I could have accomplished that.

Do I think I missed out? No. I still participated sports and made Varsity and loved every part of the practices and games. What I think I missed was enjoying the ride. I'm glad now that I have confidence in my ability as an athlete. I love telling people that I went running and I ran 8 miles. I just did it. Just because I wanted to. And as I try to encourage other people to start walking/running or just working out, I just tell them that it takes a plan and an ounce of determination. If you start with a plan that isn't daunting and manageable, then there is no way the excuses can creep in and sabotage you.

So I say make it National Running Week!! Oh...never mind. I just looked it up, and we totally missed that week. Ooops... Regardless, summer is coming (unless you live in Southern California, then summer seems delayed right now), and our goal is to feel great in our clothes. = )

A Good Ass Workout

You know when you realize that you have had a good ass workout...

It is when you begin today's workout, and you can feel every single muscle trying to push through the first minute of starting that the DAY BEFORE workout was awesome!

Yesterday workout:
(25) min bicycle - I biked 5.75 miles
(3/25) sets/reps of squats w/ 20 lb free weights
(3/16) sets/reps of walking lunges w/ 15 lb free weights
(3/15) sets/reps on each leg of step ups w/ 15 lb free weights
(10) min stair climber - I climbed 50 floors
(15) min stretching

Whew..... My legs and shoulders were screaming today, but I had to push through. This is what I did today:

(30) min treadmill - As I started on the treadmill, the first minute was the hardest. My legs were screaming at me. It hurt, but it felt so good all at the same time. I know. I'm weird. I'm My average pace was 8:29. I ran 8 minutes of the 30 at HMP. I went from 6 to 8. Not bad in a week. I so wanted to go for 9 minutes, but the person next to me. Oh my....He smelled so bad. Like it's great that you want to shower before a workout. I know I smell kind of awful afterwards, so I can appreciate someone wanting to be clean, but he went a little overboard. He smelled like a cologne factory. Ugh. I could barely breathe. I have never wished for someone to finish on the treadmill as much as I was wishing he would. Luckily he only stayed on for 10 min, but it definitely through my groove and goals off.
(3/10) sets/reps sitting arnolds w/ 15 lb free weights
(3/12) sets/reps lateral raises w/ 10 lb free weights
(3/20) sets/reps push-ups
(3/30) sets/reps bicycles
(3/10) sets/reps side plank raises (each side)
And then I did 3 sets of 10 on 3 different leg specific machines.
(10) min of stretching

I am tired! But my body feels great. And hopefully this great feeling will keep me going through the weekend because I will not be able to work out, but that's okay. I'm going to be walking around all day doing stuff with my daughter, so I will be able to get some exercise in each day. Also, my body needs a break. Always remember to take a break sometimes.

7 Day Challenge - Abs (Day 7)

So I totally finished the Day 7 a couple of days ago, but I am just getting a chance to write about it:

Side Plank – 20 (10 each side)
Rest – 10 seconds
Side Burpees – 10 reps (5 each side)
Rest – 30 seconds
Plank – Hold 1 minute
No rest
Mason Twist – 50 reps (25 each side)

I was being ambitious with this day. I think it was because it was the last day, but I went through this 3 times. Planks for a minute --- whew....This was my first time doing Side burpees. If I didn't hate regular burpees, well, side ones have definitely topped that! I loved the challenge, but more importantly, this regime got me working out again. I had lost that somewhere, but I am back on the wagon and loving it.

For results from this challenge. Yeah, I probably should have been better about that. People want to know if they put themselves through this pain and suffering, will I get results. Well, I'm really not sure. For me, I was doing a couple of things like running and following a Special K diet, so I cannot truly say that this Ab challenge will make you lose "x" amount of pounds and inches. What I can report on is with the additional things going on PLUS this ab challenge, this is what I lost:

Weight - 1.5 lbs loss
Waist - 0.25 inches loss

This is definitely not a science, but I will say what this challenge did help:

1. Feeling motivated and getting back on track
2. Having a new ab routine
3. Setting a goal and accomplishing that goal

With those 3 things, the weight and inches are really the icing on the cake!

I think I found a new challenge. I received an email from Fitness Magazine containing this article:

Wow Abs Now: The Two-Week Ab Makeover Workout

I flipped through the slides, and wow. It looks like a challenge. But I'm totally down for challenges, and it's definitely swimsuit season, so why not?? Watch out for my posts for this 2 week ab makeover, and let's see if I have the balls to post my ab photos online. 

7 Day Challenge - Abs (Day 6)

Day 6 is the same as Day 2. Just as challenging.

The difference about this day was that Mommy A was doing it with me! She was awesome. I didn't do any other type of exercise since having a kid, you can't go to the gym together -- you have to take turns. So I stayed at home while Mommy A worked out. We will have to try out some system or days where she can work out and then I can work out.

No food to comment today because we went out for sushi. I heart sushi! It was great because usually at this new place, we order their 3 item bento box and an extra roll. So with our meal we are getting the following:

Edamame
Miso Soup
Salad
Rice
(1) 8 pc California Roll
(1) Mixed Tempura
(1) Teriyaki Chicken
Extra 8 pc roll.

If we didn't have our daughter with us, we probably would not get the chicken, but they come in little strips and they are great for her little hands and for her to chew.

Well this time, we decided to NOT get the extra 8 pc roll. The other times we have been there, we have stuffed our face and felt pretty awful leaving. This time was different. We ate our food, and we were totally satisfied. Even with those items, we were feeling pretty stuffed. It saves money and keeps the calories down. Now only if we didn't like mixed tempura so much...haha.

I'm excited to wrap this challenge up tomorrow. I can't wait to do a final review of this challenge.

7 Day Challenge - Abs (Day 5)

It was a pretty good day (5) back:

Flutter Kicks – 30 reps (15 each side)
Side V-ups – 20 reps (10 each side)
Push Through – 30 reps
Complete 3 times

Time: 8 min

It was a good coming back. It was weird because I usually take Fridays off from working out, but other than that, I thought I had a great workout. Before the abs, I ran outside. I was itching to get outside. I didn't care how cold it was. So I ran faster to get my body warm and also ran faster to try to avoid the rain. It never came (it's Southern California for crying out loud), but it felt good tackling 3 hills and running it a little bit faster. 

No additional food post. Just did leftovers. Saving money...

I only have 2 more days of the challenge! I'm excited to finish his one up!

Special K Challenge - Day 1

I know, right?!?!

Who does this anymore. I remember as a kid seeing all of the Special K commercials and all the special food and drinks that you had to buy. I never knew anyone that actually did the challenge, but now I am that person leading the way.

The main parts of the Special K Challenge is that for the next 2 weeks, this is what you are supposed to do:

Meal No.1 - Special K cereal w/ skim milk and favorite fruit
Meal No.2 - Special K Protein Shake. Also this meal could be the Special K Protein Meal Bar or another serving of Special K cereal
Snacks - Choose 2 Special K snacks to enjoy throughout the entire day. Those could be the following: Protein snack bars, cereal bars, cracker chips, pastry crisps and crackers. Consume fruit and vegetables for additional snacks. Drink beverages as you normally do.
Meal No.3 - Eat 3rd meal as you normally do. If you check out their website, www.specialk.com, you can check out recipes.

Mommy A saw the challenge on the back of the cracker chips, and she said, "I want to do it." Me not wanting her to do it alone, I said, "I'll do it with you." So I went out to the store and bought Southwest Ranch cracker chips, 2 different kinds of their pastry crisps: Chocolate & Caramel and Cookies & Cream, and 2 of their shakes: Strawberry Banana and French Vanilla.

Cookies & Cream Pastry Crisp:
There are 2 crisps per packet for 100 calories. It was really good and filling. I wanted another packet, but I knew that I had to wait until another day.

Sweet & Salty Pop Corn Chips:
Well, I couldn't tell if it was sweet. The batch of ones I just ate might have been stale, but it was good to have 28 of them for 110 calories. That's nice. Especially for someone that needs that chewing and biting and knowing that I am eating something.

French Vanilla Shake:
My thing with any type of protein shake is that you're not eating anything. I avoided them this whole year with my weight loss because for me, I like eating. I like making it and eating it. With protein shakes, you have to hope that you stay full because if not, then the shake almost becomes pointless. Any way, I had to run and be somewhere this morning, but my plan was to put the shakes in the fridge, so they would be cold by the time I got back home. I forgot. My backup plan was just to pour it over ice. I smelled it warm, and I almost threw up. It smelled so gross. But I knew I was in it to win it, so I reluctantly poured it over the ice, let it sit for a minute, so it would be get cold, and then drank it. Pleasantly surprised! It tasted exactly like a Vanilla shake. I had it 3 hours ago, and I'm still feeling full. I kind of forced myself to have the afternoon snack because I didn't want to be so low in my calories, so I'm excited to try the Strawberry Banana tomorrow. Don't worry -- all the shakes are in the fridge now.

I doubt I will drop a jean size, but I know that this will help my body learn again the proper amount for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. This program is really just to add more fiber and protein to the diet. In this way, it really makes you listen to your body of how full you are and when you should stop eating. Like I said, I forced myself to eat the Corn Chips, but it was more out of necessity to keep my metabolism high and not be super hungry later for dinner and dessert.

I'm not sure if we are going to do the Challenge for the full 2 weeks. We are definitely going to do at least a week. We are going to go on a mini vacation next week, so I'm not sure how that would work (especially since our room does not have a fridge), but taking the snacks and making sure we are eating fruits and vegetables and drinking lots of water are all good things. In addition, while we are out and about, we will share meals and take doggy bags and the same healthy lifestyle type of stuff!

7 Day Challenge - Abs (Day 4)

I love Day 4!

IT'S A REST DAY!!

But I did get up and have the intention to go running, but the bed looked so nice, and my body was tired, so I went back to bed. I can feel it in my abs though. It hurts to laugh or sneeze or cough. I don't know if it's actually doing anything physically, but mentally, I am definitely feeling better about myself and even if the pounds aren't coming off the scale, having self-confidence is even a bigger success!

Also I'm proud that I am half way through this task. It looks like I have a tough 3 days ahead of me, but I'm excited! I can't wait to get started on it.

Oh, last night, I made a chicken stir fry. Nothing too exciting or adventurous. It was easy and quick. I just used a packet of stir fry veggies and diced up some chicken. Made a side of noodles and tossed all those things in low sodium soy sauce and oyster sauce. It was very delicious and kept me full for most of the night.

7 Day Challenge - Abs (Day 3)

So Day 3 was whew... Haha

Routine #1
Mountain Climbers – 20 seconds
Rest – 10 seconds
Scissors – 20 seconds
Rest – 10 seconds
Knees In and Out – 20 seconds
Rest – 10 seconds
V-Ups – 20 seconds
Rest – 1 minute

Routine #2Toe Touch – 20 seconds
Rest – 10 seconds
Air Bike – 20 seconds
Rest – 10 seconds
4 Time Abs – 20 seconds
Rest – 10 seconds
Prone Plank – 20 seconds
Rest – 10 seconds

Do each routine 2 times. 

Time: 10 min

I was exhausted by the end of this round. This was coupled with before this routine, I had ran 30 minutes on the treadmill doing the same speed routine that I did yesterday (which btw I felt better at doing). My legs were spent and all of these exercises require your legs to work out your abs. Haha. I made it through though. 

There won't be any additional posts about food from last night because we went out. Mommy A is a secret diner for restaurants and we rate them mainly on their service -- how fast do they greet and how fast does the food come out. After the meal is done, you fill out paperwork rating the service and food, send it to the rep with the receipt, and they will send you a check in the mail reimbursing you the meal. Free meal essentially. We have been doing this for the past 2 years, and we haven't ran into any issues. 

It was a learning sign last night. My pasta meal was bad. It was the special too: Pesto sauce with Pine nuts sauteed in your choice of pasta. I order the Pesto w/ fettuccine and for an additional $2, I get the grilled chicken. Totally excited about this dish. Pasta is over cooked and tough, and the chicken is dry, even sitting in the pesto. I took a couple of bites, and then tried Mommy A's meal since she, too, had fettuccine, and I just wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy. Nope. Not crazy. Her pasta was cooked to perfection, and my pasta was a total fail. I sat it at the end of the table and didn't take another bite. 

This was a HUGE kudos to me. In the past, I would have sucked it up and ate it because I would have been hungry. We bought an appetizer (which was stupid good), and our meal came with salads. Before the pasta was even there, I was already saying I was way too full. My old self would have ate that bad pasta because I would be hungry and wouldn't have said anything. The transformed me knew that if I was going to eat badly, the food needed to be good. Also, I was feeling really full, and I did not want to force myself to eat it. The manager was kind of enough to come over and ask if there was something that I wanted the kitchen to make, but I declined. It was very sweet, but I did not need ton and ton of pasta to come home to me. 

Stuffed Vegetable Portobello Mushrooms w/ Maryland-Style Potatoes

For Meatless Monday yesterday, it was a serious "what veggies do I have in the fridge?" kind of meal. There are a lot of additional mix-ins you can do like tomatoes, red peppers and black beans.  This is what I came up with:

Mushrooms:

3 - Portobello mushroom caps

1/4 - zucchini, diced

1/4 - squash, diced

1/2 cup - broccoli, diced

2 tbls - onion, diced

5 - black olives

1 tsp - Dried basil

1 tsp - Paprika

1 oz - gruyere cheese

1/4 cup - Panko crumbs

2 tsp - olive oil

Preheat oven to 425. Cleaned out caps by removing caps and cleaning on black with a spoon. Place caps on a cookie sheet. Drizzle 1 tsp of olive oil on caps. Place in oven for 5 min. After 5 min, remove from oven, but keep the oven on. 

Warm up a pan. Placed all vegetables being used in a bowl. Drizzle remaining olive oil. Add basil and paprika. Mix ingredients. Add to hot pan and heat through for 5 min or until vegetables are soft. 

Remove vegetables from heat and put into same bowl used. Add cheese. Mix cheese in mixture. Scoop veggie mixture into caps. Evenly distribute panko crumbs on top of each cap. Place in oven for 5 min.  

Serve warm. 

Servings: 3

Calories: 104 per serving

For the potatoes, there wasn't really anything special. I used 2 potatoes. Cut them into chunks and stove cooked them. I added a tsp of olive oil and a whole lot of OLD BAY seasoning. That's what makes them Maryland style. I should post the Cauliflower soup I made. That was good. Maybe I should make that for dinner sometime this week. 

Sorry, I digressed. The whole meal came out to: 

	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Dinner
Generic - Portabella Mushroom, 1 med (85g)	20	4	0	3	10	1
Generic - Black Olives, Pitted - Small, 3 gr. (6 olives)	5	0	1	0	23	0
Squash - Zucchini, includes skin, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt, 0.33 cup, sliced	10	2	0	0	2	1
Broccoli - Raw, 0.25 cup, chopped	7	1	0	1	7	0
Cheese - Gruyere, 0.33 oz	39	0	3	3	31	0
Iam's - Panko Bread Crumbs, 1/12 cup	23	5	0	1	11	0
Generic - Oven Roasted Potato Wedges 113 g, 226 g	100	22	0	2	0	0
Add Food Quick Tools	204	34	4	10	84	2