Days 5 and 6

Well at least I made it to day 5 without going off the program.  The girls wanted to go out to dinner and we had promised them we would to reward them for their good grades.

So it went something like this:
Breakfast - the chocolate protein shake
9 Round Workout - didn't eat anything after
Lunch - Salad with tuna, vegetables, and a dressing I made out of mustard and EVOO.  Also had 1 piece Ezekiel bread with cashew butter.
Dinner - The Melting Pot.
Needless to say, I didn't do very well.  Yes I ate some bread and cheese.  Had the salad dressing on the side with no croutons (winning.  ha ha).  Cooked my shrimp, chicken and steak in broth.  Yes I ate some (ok most) of the chocolate.  And I had wine.   Yes I overdid it.  Yes I completely blew it.

I came home and tried to drink about 30 oz of water.  I could just feel the salt still on my tongue from the chocolate.  Needless to say I didn't feel very good when I woke up this morning.

My husband's cooking

This morning (day 6) I got up and made my shake with vanilla protein powder, almond milk, almond butter, fiber powder, strawberries, raspberries, and ice.  This one was pretty good.  I am still leaving the greens out though.  I went for a 2 mile walk around the neighborhood.  I really didn't feel like running, so I didn't.  Then for lunch I had another shake.  Same thing, only with the chocolate protein powder.  I was hungry around 4 and had a handful of almonds.

For dinner my husband is grilling a whole chicken, corn on the cob, and grilled carrots.  Might add a salad too.  I generally avoid corn, but I do like fresh summer corn every once in awhile.  The biggest thing today is that I feel really TIRED.  I did just also drink an energy fizz stick.  I probably need to drink even more water.

Day 4

It's the morning of day 4.  Last night I had a chocolate smoothie for dinner on the way to the swim meet.  It was so HOT outside and we were right in the sun.  I kept drinking water but I felt like that I was sweating it all out.  My friend Elaine, who is doing a similar program with Isagenix, was sitting next to me.  At one point I noticed she was drinking a Gatorade.  I looked at her and said, "That kind has sugar!"  (We are pretty good friends so I felt that I could say this to her :) She said that she was feeling shakey and weak and needed something.  So that was good that she listened to her body.  I got home from the swim meet and felt hungry, so I ate some almonds, drank more water, took a shower and went to bed.

This morning I made a shake with the vanilla protein powder:
2 scoops vanilla protein powder
1 scoop fiber powder
1/4c blueberries
1T almond butter
a few coconut flakes
3 ice cubes
Pulse in Magic Bullet until smooth

I left out any veggies today.  I think it's the fiber powder making it taste gritty.  This shake was pretty good, but I still like the chocolate one better.  I'll load up on veggies at lunch.

Although I got up and put on my workout clothes, I have yet to actually workout.  It might not be happening today.

Day 3

This is my 3rd day out of 30 on my 30 days to healthy living.  The first thing that I've learned is that kale tastes like toothpaste grit with put in a smoothie.  Yuck.  That was yesterday's smoothie. Today I made my breakfast smoothie with 2 scoops chocolate protein powder, 1 scoop fiber powder, 8oz unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 3 fresh strawberries, 1 spoonful of cashew butter, and some spinach.  I didn't really taste the spinach in this one, and it tasted pretty good.

I worked out at 9Round with trainer Quinton, who is the owner. He's a former pro football player, and he's really awesome as a trainer.  His workouts are really hard, and today's was a killer.  I was dripping sweat and dying when it was over.  I went home and drank 30 oz of water and a handful of almonds.

Lunch was a salad with spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, mushrooms, and a slice of avocado.  I made some dressing out of mustard, olive oil, garlic, and apple cider vinegar.  I also had a slice of Ezekiel toast (wheat / gluten free) with some cashew butter.

It's 4:15p and I'm hungry.  We have a swim meet tonight, so I'll drink a shake about 5p and call it dinner.   I'm wondering if I'm eating enough. I kinda don't think so.  I may need to add a snack later.

30 Days to Healthy Living

So if you know me at all, you know that I sell Rodan + Fields.  If you're curious, you can check that out here.  I decided that if I want my friends to support my business, then I should, in turn, support theirs.  I have LuLaRoe tops, Shakelee Vitamins, and recently I attended a friend's Arbonne party.  Arbonne is an all natural line of makeup, skincare, and nutrition products.  I had heard about their skincare, since they are a competitor for Rodan + Fields, but this was the first time that I had heard about their nutrition.  You can check out the Arbonne website here.

I sampled their protein powder and drinks, and decided to sign up for a 30 Days to Healthy Living system.  I quit Weight Watchers a few months ago.  After 2 years on WW I just wasn't doing it, and I felt like I was wasting my money.  I never had lost the weight I gained over the holidays (um, hello, it's JUNE), and I felt like I needed something different to get me motivated again. On this plan you eliminate gluten, corn, soy, sugar, artificial sweeteners, alcohol (gasp), and most processed foods.

I got the box last week and checked it all out.  You drink 1-2 protein shakes per day, along with a healthy meal or two.  There's a tea and some fizzy drinks to hold you in between meals.  Yesterday was day 1.  I did my regular 9Round workout and followed the program.  Today I walked 3 miles, and had an extra (approved) shake after my walk.  There is a Facebook page that coaches me along the way each day, which I like.  Although today's post was talking about limiting exercise.  The point being if you eat too few calories, your body goes into starvation mode and holds on to fat.  While I'm not going to limit exercise, I will be careful to eat enough calories.

Let me know if you've ever done this program, and what your results were.  My goal is weight loss (duh).  20 pounds would be great, but seems ambitious.  Gotta go, it's time to drink my detox tea.

Girls on the Run

I recently signed up to be a Girls on the Run Coach at my daughters' elementary school.  Neither of my daughters were interested in running, and they already had other activities that met during the Girls on the Run meetings.  But I wanted to help girls with running, and maybe get an extra workout or two in for myself.

I originally thought Girls on the Run was just about running, like a track team.  I ran track in middle school and some in high school.  I wasn't the fastest, but I could run the 440 (once around the track) and 880 (twice around) okay.  I hated the mile, that was way too far for me back then.  At my training class for Girls on the Run I found out that in addition to running,  there are also lessons the girls learn about empowering themselves and others.  The lessons generally encourage the girls to be their best self, and to be good people.

This past week it was my turn to teach the lesson.  It was about negative self talk, and how to change it. Part of the activity involved the girls writing their negative self talk sentences on stickers that we stuck onto a balloon.  At the end of our run, we all helped to pop the balloon and throw it in the trash.  This hopefully got rid of our negative self talk.  I looked at what these girls had written before we popped it.  Keep in mind these are 3rd - 5th graders.  There were several, "I'm fat," and several "I hate my hair."  None of these girls are fat!  And why on earth would an 8 year old hate her hair?  What the heck is happening to our girls? What kind of messages are we sending them?

I realized that I engage in negative self talk on an almost daily basis. I've told myself I'm fat a million times.  I've struggled with my weight all of my life.  Isn't this the real reason why I signed up for Girls on the Run?  How was I supposed to tell these girls to accept themselves, when I can't do that for myself?  I told the girls at the end of our session that if there was something they didn't like about themselves, they had the power to change it.  But they also needed to find something they liked about themselves, too, and that could be their focus instead of the negatives.  Easier for me to say that to the girls, than to actually do it myself.  I guess it's a work in progress, no matter what the age.

Overnight Oatmeal

I get into a rut when it comes to breakfasts.  When I find something that I like, and that is good for me, I tend to eat it several times in a row.  While this is not always the best thing for weight loss, I find it comforting to know exactly what I'm eating and how many Weight Watchers Smart Points it contains.  I also find that if I start the day off with a good breakfast, I am less likely to blow it later on snacks.  I also like convenience.  Mornings are a hectic time for everyone.  Between work and school and just trying to wake up, I don't want to have to think about making a good choice.  I like to have something ready for those days when I just need to grab something quickly.  I have also discovered that I really like chewing.  So shakes really don't do it for me as a meal. I would rather chew my calories than drink them.

This is where I have come to love overnight oatmeal.  I use mason jars, but you can use a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

Chocolate overnight oats with bananas

Skinny Overnight Oats in a Jar
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 1 • Serving Size: 1 jar •   Smart Points: 5

The basic Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup quick oats (I like Quaker oats in the big round can)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (or skim, soy)
• 1 T Plain Fat Free Greek Yogurt (buy the big tub)
• 1 packet Truvia or whatever sweetener you like
• dash of vanilla

From here, I add in different things:

         Cinnamon and pecans or

         Unsweetened Cocoa powder or

         PB2 peanut butter powder or

         berries or

         bananas

Directions:

Place all the ingredient in a jar, stir, cover and refrigerate overnight. Enjoy the next day!  Can eat cold or hot.

I make several of these on Sundays and line them up in the fridge.  My husband calls the chocolate oats "poop in a jar".  It's so good that I don't care :)

Threw it all away

I went back to Weight Watchers this past Friday.  I decided to just take the hit and see how much weight I gained in my 2 month absence from WW.  It was bad.  Up 11 pounds. I need to learn the new WW 2016 program, along with Oprah. And then follow it, of course. I love Oprah.

One of the tips that Weight Watchers gives you when you start their program is to go through your pantry, fridge, and freezer, and throw out or give away all of the foods that are in in calories / points and are not good for your / your weight loss.

I have been on Weight Watchers on and off this time for over a year and I have never done this.  My excuses were that I had to pack something for the kids' lunches, they needed snacks, I needed snacks, we needed to keep that Halloween candy in the back of the pantry (for emergencies, of course).

On Saturday I was getting frustrated with my 9 year old daughter, because she was fighting me on going to swim team practice.  She's a good swimmer, but she's chunky (like me) and thus slower than her friends.  I was planning to run on the treadmill at the gym while she swam.  So if I couldn't convince / make her go, I was going to miss my window of opportunity to work out.  So now I'm yelling, she's yelling, my husband is yelling and general chaos ensued.

My husband (and I) decided to purge all of the junk food in our kitchen.  We threw out Nutri grain bars, peanut butter crackers, Special K bars, Capt'n Crunch cereal (bought on sale in a moment of weakness), Chef Boyardee, my Luna bars (no!!!), frozen chicken nuggets, toaster strudel, frozen waffles, and a bunch of other crap.  By themselves, most of these things aren't terrible, but they're not whole foods, either.

We all went to the grocery store and bought lots of fruit, vegetables, eggs,  whole wheat bread, Greek yogurt, low fat cheeses, plain Cheerios, chicken, some other healthy (I hope) stuff.

My daughter has a friend her age, that is tiny and stick thin.  At her house their pantry is full of candy, chips, and cookies.  "It's not fair that they can have all of that stuff and they're still skinny!" Sarah said.  She's right  It's totally not fair.  We are definitely not a family who can keep all of that stuff around.  Heck, we can't even keep any junk food around.  Sigh.

I'm hungry, what's for lunch?