Need to Get Back on Track

Well, my last post was about how well I did over the holidays.  Somehow over the new year, my weight has gone up.  I have been tracking what I eat, even if it isn't always the best.  I have been keeping up with working out.  This morning the scaled said 138.6.  Not sure why it has gone up so much since after Christmas.  My clothes still fit okay so I shouldn't let it bother me, but it does.

I am trying hard to get back on track.  I stocked my fridge with produce: lettuce, spinach, cabbage, celery, carrots, mushrooms, asparagus, butternut squash, bananas, and kiwi.  For supper tonight I made Baked Asparagus and CousCous.  I made this a few years ago, but don't remember it being as dry as it was tonight.  But at least I have leftover servings and it's low in points. 

I also had an open can of crushed tomatoes in the fridge to use up.  I doctored it up with some Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and Mrs. Dash.  Then I sauteed some mushrooms and mixed in the tomatoes.  It was delicious.

I also went to Zumba tonight and had a great workout.  I found a class here that is like the Zumba classes I was used to before.  Now I need to stay back on track.

Skinny Snowman Challenge

Starting on the Monday after Thanksgiving through December 29th, I participated in a the Skinny Snowman Challenge put on by Brooke Not on a Diet.  I thought that the challenge would be a good way to help keep me on track over the holidays.

Things included in the challenge were:
-lose or maintain weight
-veggies at every meal
-3 servings of fruit a day
-track your food
-think of 5 positives every day
-water intake (64 oz. +)
-exercise
-Meatless Monday
-mini weekly challenge (try new recipe, eat clean for a day, try a new workout, bring a healthy dish to a holiday meal, try a new food)

My goal in this challenge was to maintain my weight.   I started at 136.2 and ended at 134.8 pounds.  Pretty good maintain, I think.  I struggled with getting veggies in with my breakfast.  My breakfast staple during the challenge was egg mugs with spinach.  I tried green smoothies for the first time and decided they are pretty good.  I was impressed with myself that I ate clean for a day-it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.  I developed great habits. 

The new recipe that I tried was Quinoa with Black Beans (I was planning ahead for Meatless Monday leftovers).  I will make this on again.  For supper on Christmas Day, I made Sweet & Sour Brussels Sprouts.  Not sure if the family liked it, but I did and brought the leftovers home! 

It was a great experience and I hope I can keep up with the healthy habits.

Spin Class & Yoga

Yesterday I attended my first ever spin class.  I know so many people that told me they love spin, but it kicked my butt.  I started by telling the instructor I had never done spin before.  She was very nice and helped me adjust the seat and handles of my bike.  She said it would be the most comfortable for riding.  Whenever I sat up straight on the seat I felt too high and like I would tip over.  The seat itself was VERY uncomfortable (and I am feeling it today)!  I consider myself an active, strong person, but when she had us stand and spin, I felt weak.  I could never make it the whole time standing - and it was only in minute intervals.  A few times I tried stopping/slowing down while standing and nearly fell off the bike.  It was not my most dignified workout ever.  I know that I should try it again next week, but I am scared.  It was so hard to make it through the class.

After spin I went to a yoga class.  While not a very strenuous workout, I did get a good stretch and relaxation session in.

After work today, I went to the gym.  I did 3.17 miles in 40 minutes.  I have been going to this gym since September, but I still do not like to treadmills there.  I feel like I could run faster on the treadmills at my old gym.

I took some lean hamburger out of the freezer this morning, unsure of what I was going to do with it.  After looking at lots of recipes, I decided to try a new one:  LaBamba Mexican Casserole.  I made a few changes from the recipe.  It called for ground turkey, but used lean ground beef and added green pepper to the beef while browning it.  I used fat free cheese instead of regular.  I didn't top the finished product with chopped tomato and green onions because I don't keep those on hand.  It didn't turn out as good as the picture looks (they never do). I wish fat free cheese would melt all gooey like regular cheese does.  That would have made it much better! :)  It was good and filling.   

Also--I have gotten my water in the past two days.  Water intake has been tough since moving and starting a new job.  Time to stop using that as an excuse.

A Jillian Michaels DVD Weekend

I have felt like I am struggling the past few weeks.  With Halloween and other events going on at work, there have been more treats and it is so hard to pass up a treat.  I have a bad habit of checking the scale everyday and lately the scale has been up, but my clothes still feel ok. 

Friday afternoon I hit the gym and ran 3.3 miles on the treadmill.  My plan was to hit the gym this weekend too, but Mother Nature had some influence on that.  Saturday morning the roads were pure ice due to rain the night before.  I was psyched to go to the gym, but I decided a DVD would be a better option.  I put this baby in the DVD player:

  

I starts with a warm-up, seven 6 minute circuits, and a cool-down.  Usually when I do this, do 3 or 4 of the circuits.  Today I did all 7!  Even though I hate a couple of them!  I didn't feel very winded like I did when I have done this in the past and I only stopped a few times.  I have very sweaty and very proud of myself when I finished.

Today I decided to do another DVD:

  

 I did level 2 today, as I did level 1 a couple days ago.  I have done this DVD before and level 2 is always more of a challenge than level 1.  It has more plank exercises.  The walking push-ups are a killer and one of the ab moves feels like it puts lots of pressure on my back.  Again, very sweaty when I finished.

Saturday morning I made a pot of zero point soup in the crock pot.  Something I like to do when I feel the need to get back on track. 

My First 10K!

I am so proud of myself!  Today I ran my first 10K!  It was part of the Wild Hog Grand Forks Half Marathon.  Wild Hog is a restaurant in Grand Forks that was main sponsor of the race.  The specialize in barbeque type food.  This was the inaugural event that includes a half marathon, 10K, and 5K.  The race course took us through residential neighborhoods in the southend of Grand Forks.

My goal was to finish in an hour and fifteen minutes.  I figured that if I can do a 5K in 33 and half minutes, that would be double and a little more.  I am proud to say I beat my goal!  I finished in one hour, 6 minutes and 10 seconds!

This is the front view of the medal I received.

This is the back view of the medal.  Check out the fork in the pig's butt! 

This is me after I got back to my parent's house about an hour after the race.

At 34 I ran my first 5K.  At 35 I ran my first 10K.  Will 36 bring a half marathon?

Suicide Prevention 5K Run/Walk

Tonight I participated in my first 5K in my new town.  The past few weeks have been crazy with moving and starting a new job.  It was nice to run.  The 5k was a fundraiser for the Lake Region Suicide Prevention Committee.  I am currently living with a friend until I can get into my own place and she was the chair of the event.  There was also a silent auction and free will offering soup supper.  They had amazing Knoephla soup!  There was not an official time to this race, but I timed myself with the stopwatch on my phone and I finished in 33 minutes and 31 seconds.

Tour de Forks 5K

Today was the Tour de Forks 5k to benefit Altru's Breast Cancer Coalition.  This is the second year I have ran this race.  My time was 33 minutes and 23 seconds.  This was only 31 seconds slower than my fastest time!  I was very happy with this time and it was perfect running weather.  Last year on the day of this race it was in the mid 80's--very hot!  I also won a door prize--a free movie ticket!

Holy Moly!

Holy Moly, have I been busy since I got home from work!  First I put in a load of laundry.  Then whipped up a batch of Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread.  It seems like I always have bananas to use up lately.  This recipe was not exactly low-fat, but I made a few slight adjustments.  I used light margarine instead of butter and used Splenda for part of the sugar in the bread batter.

With laundry going and banana bread in the oven, I then made a batch of quinoa to use for supper.  Then I started cleaning/rearranging my linen closet.  It looks pretty good.  Then I biked to my parents' house to drop off the above mentioned banana bread (saving a few slices for myself).  From there I biked to Zumba.  After Zumba I biked back home and made supper.

Supper was inspired by this recipe I found on Pinterest.  I used a can of corn instead of an ear of corn.  I also added some Mrs. Dash to the veggies as they were cooking.  I think my end product had more vegetables than the one in the recipe, but nothing wrong with that!  I made 2 servings with it, so I have another one for tomorrow.

I'm relaxing now, but do need to do some dishes before I attempt to go to bed early since I did not sleep well last night.

Sensational Sunday!

This has been a great weekend full of friends and fun! Today I went for a run outside.  I love running outside, it has been so hot and humid (80-90 degree temps.).  It was only 72 and overcast, so outside I went.  I ran at least 3.41 miles in 39 minutes.  My GPS quit partway through my run, so I know there was some time in between when the GPS stopped and restarting it.

Had a cookout with some friends for lunch.  Hot dogs, pasta salad (with lots of veggies), fruit, and chips.  I was in charge of bringing the chips.  I brought multi-grain tortilla chips and baked potato chips.  Unfortunately, I had to bring the leftovers home.

My freezer is getting full.  My supper involved using things that I had in the freezer.  I sauteed frozen salad shrimp, frozen corn, frozen green pepper, and fresh onion with some seasoning.  I then used it as the filling for a quesadilla, along with some cheese.  It turned out very good.  I think I'm getting pretty good at making meals using ingrediants that I have on hand.

For dessert, I made some Banana Soft Serve with a couple frozen strawberries and chia seeds.  Yum!  Tomorrow is Monday and it is back to work.  I love having a whole weekend off.

Firecracker 5K

Yesterday was the 4th of July!  Always a great holiday!  I ran in the YMCA's Firecracker 5K and finished with my best time ever!  32 minutes and 42 seconds!  I shaved 10 seconds off my fastest time!  I'll take it!  The weather report said that it was 77 degrees before the race started, but it was cloudy.  It ended up sprinkling a few minutes during the race, which felt great!  A friend of mine also ran.  It was her first race and she did awesome.  She finished 2 seconds ahead of me.  Great job, Tianna!  I'm so proud of you!

Unfortunately, the 4th of July also included hot dogs and potato chips with dip.  Ate too much, but I'm trying not to let it get me down and am moving forward.  For supper tonight I had sauteed zucchini ribbons with spaghetti sauce (similar to this) and chicken breast grilled on the George Foreman.  It was amazing, if I do say so myself!

Have DVD Will Travel!

I am out of town the next few days taking a class to further my education.  I didn't get a chance to workout before I left today because I was busy packing and waiting for the maintaince man that never showed up.  The hotel I'm staying at does not have a fitness center, but I packed workout clothes, running shoes (old ones), a set of 2 pound hand weights, and this DVD:

After I checked into my hotel, I put this little baby into my laptop and got my workout in.  Have DVD will travel!

Dewey Kvidt Memorial

Today I ran in the 5K portion of the Dewey Kvidt Memorial.  There was also a duathalon and a 10K.  I originally wanted to do the 10K, but didn't feel I was ready.  I didn't pre-register because I wasn't sure if I was going to do the race.  I have been having problems breaking in my new running shoes and I have had a cold/allergies for the past week and a half.  But I woke up this morning and decided to just do it!  I wore my old shoes and some band-aids, but I was glad that I did it!  I astounded myself with my best 5K time ever:  32 minutes and 52 seconds!  I couldn't beleive it!  I have know idea how I cut that much time off my run, but I did it and I am proud of myself!

An Active End of the Month

The past two days were spent sitting in a training for work.  Lots of "snacks" were provided, some were better than others.  Cookies, trail mix, string cheese, candy (salt water taffy, tootsie rolls, tootsie pops, etc.).  Yesterday I did pretty good limiting my snacks, and the lunch provided was a taco salad.  Today I felt I didn't do as well.  I really didn't need that second cookie and I didn't need to keep eating the salt water taffy just because a coworker kept putting it in front of me.

Tuesday night I bought new running shoes.  Aren't they pretty?

Wednesday after sitting through a day of training, I headed to the gym to try them out.  Now I know that new shoes need to be broken in so I only ran for half the time I usually do.  I wasn't counting on the back of my foot getting raw.  This has never happened to me before. 

Today is the last day of the month and again I found myself in the predicament of needing to go to the gym to get my 12 monthly visits in.  After another day of training (and too many snacks), I headed to the gym.  I did about 20 minutes of weights since Thursday is Zumba night and I didn't want to miss Zumba.  Well then I got the "smart" idea to walk to Zumba.  I should have left home about 5 minutes sooner than I did because I had to run the last few blocks.  I got there during the first song.  After Zumba, it was a leisurely walk back home.  Here is the GPS info I got on the way home.  1.81 miles one way--a little farther than I thought it was, but that's ok. 

So today's activity included: weights at the gym, walk/run to Zumba, Zumba, and walk home from Zumba.  It made me feel better about all the treats I had. :)

Fargo Marathon 5K

Last night I ran in the 5K portion of the Fargo Marathon.  Despite 90+ degree heat, it was awesome!  I went with two coworkers.  It was their first  5K and my fifth.  This was by far the funnest race I have ran.  There were over 9,500 registered runners.  The whole atmosphere was so inspiring.  Along the race course, there were people cheering the runners on.  With the heat, people along the race route had their sprinklers on and sprayed you with water guns!  There was even a spot where the fire hydrant was turned on to spray a mist!  I wish I had pictures, but I can't take pictures and run at the same time--I'm not that talented!  I forgot to bring my mp3 player, but there were places along the route with DJ's, radio stations, and even people playing music!  It was such a fun experience!  My time was 36 minutes and 24 seconds.

This is me taken shortly after the race.  Very proud of myself.

This is the medal that everyone received for finishing the race.  The back side says "Finisher."

The Smoothie Experiment

I made a smoothie tonight--without following a recipe.  I love the website greenlitebites.com.  I have tried and enjoyed several of the recipes.  One thing that Roni makes often is smoothies, but I never seem to have the ingrediants that she uses on hand.  Last year she posted an "elastic" approach to making smoothies.  Basically it is a way to make a smoothie using what you have on hand.  I have wanted to try this for awhile and finally did it tonight.  This is what I did:

• 1 banana--starting to ripen--put in freezer for a few hours
• 4 whole frozen strawberries
• 1 packet of Splenda

Put ingrediants into fake Magic Bullet.  Add skim milk about 2/3 full and blend.

That was it!  It could have been a bit sweeter, but it was pretty good.  I will definitely try my own smoothies again!

Zumba & Ratatouille

Monday is Zumba night!  I love Zumba, it is always a great workout!  Before leaving I got everything ready to make the Ratatouille Pack so all I had to do was put it in the oven when I got home.  The recipe says it makes one serving, but it is huge!  I wish I had taken a picture to share.  I have made this before and I usually divide it into 2 or 3 servings.  Tonight I decided to combine it with this:

One serving is 9 pieces and only 3 points!  Pasta and veggies with a touch of sauce!  One serving of ravioli and about half of the ratatouille.  Delicious!  I keep impressing myself with my ability to make healthy, delicious dishes!



Busy Weekend

I have been busy this past week trying to get my 12 visits to the gym in for this month.  I have had to go every day for the past 10 days.  Don't get me wrong, I've still been working out, just doing things other than the gym.  Yesterday I worked my parttime job from 8-5.  When I got done, I was tired from standing on my feet all day and my back hurt, but I made myself go to the gym.  I did the 30 minutes workout express.  This morning I did 4.13 miles in 50 minutes.  I now have my 12 visits done!  I need to be better about spreading them out more next month.

I had a nice healthy supper tonight.  I bought this Creamy Portobello Soup last week and decided to try it tonight.  I then took a portobello mushroom cap, chopped it up, sauteed it in a little olive oil, and then added it to the soup.  Very good.  It kind of reminded me of cream of mushroom soup we would have growing up.

The soup was followed up by this:

It was a small piece of fish, but very good.  Only 80 calories and the garlic butter flavor was not overwhelming.  I also had green beans with it.  I think I may have a Skinny Cow ice cream cup before I get ready for bed.

Tomorrow starts a new week.  Weekends always go by too fast!

Good Friday

Personal best on the treadmill at the gym this morning.  3.27 miles in 40 minutes.  Three miles of which I ran without slowing down.  Usually I will slow down to a fast walk a few times, but not today.  I maintained a speed of 5.0-5.4.  Today I pushed through and I did it!

A Few of My Favorite Things

I have been really trying to eat healthy.  I very rarely eat fast food.  I enjoy trying new healthy recipes that I find on the Internet.  Unfortunately, since I live alone I end up eating the same thing for several days.  When I make something, I portion it out into servings right away.  That way I can keep track of just how much I am eating. 

I have a few things in my kitchen that I absolutely love.

**Digital Food Scale--I have had spring loaded scales, but I absolutely love this digital scale.  It is so accurate.  It also has a tare feature that allows you to put a container on the scale and then zero the scale out.

**Vegetable Peeler--This Pampered Chef vegetable peeler is the best I have ever had. 

**Mandolin Slicer--This is just a cheap slicer from Target, but it gets the job done for me.  I've used it to slice zucchini, onion, sweet potatoes.



**George Foreman Grill--great for cooking chicken, fish, quesedillas, etc.

**Crockpot--great for putting supper in before leaving for work!





Weekend over....

Another week and weekend has come and gone.  Back to work tomorrow.  It has been a pretty laid back weekend, due to the fact I had a headache for most of it.  I hate not feeling good on the weekend.  This past few days I have been trying to give my left foot a break.  After running on the treadmill Wednesday and Thursday, my left foot was hurting around the ankle so I figured I would give it a break.  I still went to the gym, but I stuck with the exercise bikes and arc trainer.  I also did the 30 minute workout express which includes cardio and weights.

Yesterday I made a favorite recipe "Zucchini and Spaghetti Squash Lasagna."  I had a package of sliced white mushrooms in the fridge so I added a layer of mushrooms to the lasagna.  I was worried that it would add excess water, but it turned out delicious.  I had all the ingrediants laid out on the counter of my small kitchen and while I had my back turned assembling the lasagna my cat knocked the mozzarella cheese to the floor.  He was happy!  I didn't have any more mozzarella so I had to use a Mexican blend for part of it.  Still good though!

This past week I found a large package of chopped kale at the local Wal-Mart.  Earlier in the week I experimented with kale chips.  They turned out ok, but I used too much salt.  So I still have a ton of kale in the fridge.  Tonight I cooked a turkey burger on the George Foreman.  While it was cooking I sauteed some onion, green pepper, mushrooms, garlic, and kale with balmasic vinegar.  I put it on top of the turkey burger with some Laughing Cow light swiss cheese on a sandwich thin bun.  It wasn't too bad.  It just needed something to hold it together a little better.

Tomorrow is a new week and hopefully it will be a good week, healthy week.