Memorial Day Weekend - May 23 Sat

Lazy weekend! I didn't make any plans, I figured a fun break for me would be to get my homework done in a slow and lazy manner. So far so good. 

I ordered a bodybug and I am dying to get it in the mail. I keep checking the tracking updates. 

Breakfast:

Coffee x 3

Spinach, Mushroom, cheese omelet 550

1 biscuit 260

fruit cup 100

Lunch:

Tofu with broccoli and cauliflower 150

Snack:

Chocolate chip scone 610

Total Calories: 1670

Exercise:

Gym, shred workout 45 mins

Friday night with more going out May 22

Ok I am going out with the girls today. I want to live it up and so here I go. 

Breakfast:

River Street Frittata 400

2 slices of sourdough bread with homemade jam 200

Lunch:

Two fish tacos 300 

tortilla chips with salsa 200

Snack:

hippy M&ms 100

Dinner:

Tofu with mushroom and red pepper sauce 235

Cauliflower and Broccoli  50

Beer 2 pints: 200

Total Calories: 1675

Exercise: Rest Day 

Crossfit and Going Out with Heels May 21

Average day but I just felt like getting dressed up and going out with a girlfriend. I wore the heels, drank the wine, and enjoyed the night. I also did Crossfit, I snatched 57lbs overhead pounds. It made me feel pretty awesome!

Breakfast: 

1/2 cup Kashi Cereal with nonfat milk 150

Lunch:

Mixed Salad with tomatoes and artichoke, light dressing 100 

1 fish taco 140 

10 tortilla chips with salsa 120

snack:

1/2 cup pesto pasta 200

liqurice candy 50

hippy m&m 150

Dinner:

Artichoke bisque with balamic reductions 375

2 glasses of 10 oz red wine  515

Total Calories:

1700

Exercise: Crossfit

Workout:

20 snatches- one snatch on the minute every minute, first 5 bar only, second 5 at 50%, 3rd 5 at 60% and 4th 5 at 70% of max.

Work for perfect technique, bar path, stable landing, quickness, start position.

Happy Hour Wednesday! - May 20

I was down on myself for not sticking to the 30 day, no alcohol, no sugar, goal, but I just realized I am doing something better. Tonight I was out with my friends at our regular Wednesday night happy hour. Typically this night would include several slices of pizza and 3-4 pints of beer. But now I am drinking only when I really want a drink. Tonight I didn't feel like any and so I had soda water with lemon. No problem! Instead of pizza I had hummus with pita and grilled veggies. 

So good job, I didn't do the 30 day perfect, but what is just 30 days when I am making choices everyday that are healthy. 

Breakfast: 

Cottage cheese with rasberries 90

90

Lunch: 

Leftover Cod fish with roasted eggplant 170

1 slice of Peet's chocolate chip banana bread 400 (OMG! way too many, don't eat)

570

snack: 5 hippy m&ma 20

Mixed salad 3 cups 40

artichoke hearts 30

honey mustard dressing 70 

160

Dinner:

Hummus with Pita 210

Grilled Veggies 50

8 Tortilla chips 80

Guacamole 150

490

Total Calories: 1310

Exercise: Rest Day. But I did walk 20 mins around downtown for lunch. 

Slow and Steady - May 19

I was thinking about each of the last times I lost 10lbs or more. 1) When I was 19 I lost 30lbs in a month due to severe depression (who isn't depressed at 19?) 2)When I was 25, I lost 15lbs on weight watchers 3)Last year I lost 15lbs dieting and crossfit

What each of these events have in common is that I did it without really paying attention. I mean for two of the three I was dieting and exercising, but I didn't track it with much stress. I just did it, without thinking, just getting up going to the gym and making healthy meals. I think there is something to this, I made it part of my lifestyle. So I think this 30 day thing is a mess. Life happens and a lot can happen in 30 days. I need to make this part of my lifestyle. 

Breakfast: 

1/2 Sausage Breakfast Burrito 250

250

Lunch: 

1/2 Sausage Breakfast Burrito 250

Almonds 160

Komacha 120

530

Snack: 

yogurt 150

mini muffin 50

2 cups strawberries 100

hippy m&ms 40 

340

Dinner: 

Baked Cod 110

baked eggplant 40

150

dessert: 

nonfat cottage cheese 70

rasberries 20 

1/3 kashi crunch cereal 50

140

Total Calories:

1410

Exercise: Crossfit! 

Alley run 2/3 mile

21/15/9 pull ups, 21/15/9 push ups, 21/15/9 squats

Backsquats 60lbs 

cookies! nope not that type.. 21/15/9 pullups, 21/15/9 overhead thrust

Back - May 18

Its hard when you think about how motivated I was the first two weeks. Same story, you get so into it for two weeks and then life happens and you loose your momentum. I had this joke in my head that maybe I should switch to different weight-loss programs every three weeks, just to keep it fresh. 

Ever talk to high metabolism people? I once went out on a date with a skinny guy who had to eat 5,000 calories a day just to maintain his skinny frame. Imagine eating 5,000 calories! With that said, I need to accept that I am a 1200-1500 cal gal and deal with it. 

Breakfast: Kashi Crunch 1/2 cup with milk 150

1/2 Bagel with nonfat cream cheese 200

Lunch: Fish Taco 250

Tortilla chips 3 - 50

Snack: 1/2 Bagel with nonfat cream cheese 200

Hippy m&ms: 200 

Dinner: Hummus and 1 pita 350

Coffee with cream 50 

Snack: Almonds 160 

Total: 1,610

Exercise: 30min jog 1.5 miles - 200 Cal burned

What I learned: I really have to have healthy snacks ready. The bagel and the hippy m&ms were office snacks. When I was having meals more planned, breakfast lunch, I made better choices. Props to my dinner.. I was out at the 515 Happy hour and typically I would have a cocktail and crab cakes... I chose hummus and a pita with water and coffee... oh so hip. But honestly 10 mins later I didn't care that I opted out of my typical meal. 

Honesty

So I guess the point of writing this is being honest. I had one full week that I just got really irresponsible. By that I don't mean binge eating or anything dramatic. Mostly I just mean I had a few nights of drinking alcohol and having a few food items I shouldn't have eaten. It was my last week before the start of Summer School and I just think I wanted to cut loose. Well now school has started and no more excuses!

Breakfast: Go Lean Cereal Crunch with nonfat milk 300

2 eggs 72 * 2= 144

1 Starbuck's Padilla Mushroom 350

Total: 794

Lunch: Large Salad 150

2 sm hard boiled eggs 100

Total: 250

Snack: Almonds 200

200

Dinner: 1 glass red wine 150

Lamb halfjourn 350

450 

1654 Total Calories 

Exercise: Gym 45mins Shred workout

Weekend Challenge Mother's Day

Well, here is the plan:

Saturday:

Wake up: 7am

Gym: 7:30-8:15am (Shred Workout)

Walk Dog: 8:15-8:30am

Breakfast: 8:30-8:45am

Pack for Lunch

Pack for Weekend Away: 8:45-9:00am

Leave to Airport: 9am

Pickup Mom:9:45am

Take Mom to Wherever She wants...

Salmon Dinner

I just have to brag about my lovely Salmon. I baked it with lemon and spiced it just right. Look out beautiful it is! I can't brag so much as to what I had it with, brussels sprouts and brown rice. But the salmon was so tender that it made everything taste great...well not the brussels sprouts. 

Meet My New Love

Here is my secret. I eat one of these every workday for lunch. It is a tilapia fish taco from the taqueria on the corner of River and Water in Santa Cruz. It brings me happiness. I love it. The guy at the counter is named Abel, when I don't come in for a day he asks where I was. He is nice and calls me Carolina, which I like. 

Funny thing too... I swear it has cleared up my skin. I started eating them and my skin cleared up then I stopped for two weeks and had breakouts. Is there science to back this up? Umm, no. But fish does have omega-3s which can improve your skin, nails, and hair. 

Forget $60 face creams, I get my skin cleared up by taqueria tacos.  

What I Eat

To give a gist of my eating:

Breakfast:

Kashi Go Lean Cereal 1 cup

Nonfat Milk 1/2 cup

2 fried eggs (fried with canola oil spray) 

Coffee with coffemate powder

Lunch:

Mixed Green Salad 2 cups

olives, red bell pepper slices, parmesan cheese sprinkle

Salad dressing, organic vinaigrette

whole wheat pita 1

fish taco love (see next post)

tortilla chips (8) with fresh tomato chunk salsa 

Snack:

peanut butter cookie (bad) 

Dinner:

Baked Salmon with fennel 

brussels sprouts 

brown rice 1/2 cup cooked

Shred Day 8

I did my shred workout right after work. My muscles hurt on the way to the gym and so I wasn't sure if it was a good idea not to rest today. But when I got through the work out I realized the workout was designed to be an easier one. 

After the workout instead of rushing out a community meeting I decided to take it easy and treat myself by driving across town to the new New Leaf store. It was so cool looking. I had a lot of fun wondering up and down the isles checking out the interesting food. 

Something I've noticed about this new meal plan is that I never feel hungry.  In fact I am amused that I spend most of the time jamming vegetables and water down my throat. I am finding that I just need to plan my meals ahead. Its when I don't plan and I run out of food that I turn to not so healthy options. 

CrossFit

What is CrossFit?

To quote their website: 

"CrossFit is an evidence based strength and conditioning program built on consistently varied, if not randomized, functional movements executed at high intensity. It was developed to enhance every individual’s competency at all physical tasks. CrossFit started in Santa Cruz and is now an international fitness program with over 450 affiliates worldwide. " (http://www.crossfitsantacruzcentral.com/)

I found out about it through coworkers. Like most office women, you tend to latch on to whoever is looking cute in that new outfit and at the time it was Livia in underwriting coming into work looking fit and happy. She talked me into going and the first time I drove up to the gym I saw a stereotypical ripped, pink spandex, tanned chick doing multiple fast pull-ups. I literally yelled to myself, "Holy Shit!" and turned my car around to leave. A block away I stopped and realized I didn't want to be intimidated from anything and so I went back and signed up. 

For me Crossfit has been a great addition to my workouts. Despite what the number say on the scale I feel stronger and that helps me get through the ups and downs of my week. 

Videos show the whole story. This was the workout where I did my personal best and lifted 182lbs deadlift! yay me! 

First Post! The Whys and Hows

Accountability! That is why I am creating this silly li' blog. For those who may know me well know that I have been through a lot this past year. But now its getting a little too late to make excuses for why I am still a few (ahem) pounds over my healthy weight zone. I need to start now and start focusing on not just numbers on a scale but my own health. 

The Plan

I am using two main plans. One, Jillian Michaels 30 Day shred. Which yes, may sound cheesy, but her gym workouts have me sweating up a storm. Plus you haven't lived until you jump on a treadmill at 9mph. Her eating plan is another main benefit. She lists out what to eat for 30 days and for me right now it is a good push to follow. 

Second, I am continuing my CrossFit workouts which just make you feel like a complete bad ass. They challenge your mind and your body. Plus I enjoy being around women who are very athletic. I admire them far more than the skinny minis around the mall. Plus well, they could kick my ass.  

Status

I am now Day 8 into my 30 Day Plan. So far I am 5lbs down! Sure, that may be water weight but I do feel better and my clothes are starting to get a tad loose. 

Photo Journal

Here is a photo from me about a year ago. While I weight a bit less I think it might be a good "before" photo. I sure as hell don't like it. But that is me.