Friday Weigh-in (ideas for creative name are welcome) and Weekend Plans

I decided to weigh in on Fridays, because (in theory) I do my best at eating clean and working out during the week and Saturday is my cheat meal day....i don't know it made sense in my head.

Anyway, last Friday I weight 215.6 pounds.

I weighed in this morning at 216.8 (+1.2 pounds this week, down -23.2 pounds overall)

That's not good.

So what happened?
1. I skipped a bunch of workouts.
2. I decided I deserve ice cream almost everynight because work has been tough.
3. I ate 3 huge cheat meals during the week.

So overall not a good week for me. However I am determined to make it a better week.

I will set some goals on Monday, but over the weekend I have a few mini goals.

1. Only 1 cheat meal and dessert this weekend and it should be a small portion.
2. Workout tomorrow and Sunday for at least 1 hour.
3. Find a fun and active thing to do with Jeff (tennis, long walk, or bowling)
4. Meal plan and shop for the week

This weekend we are celebrating our puppies' birthdays :) They turn 2 today. I am obsessed with my dogs and we are planning on having puppy cake with them (they will consume the cake, not us), opening presents, and then taking them to the beach tonight. They love the beach!

Then tomorrow we are apartment hunting and then possibly going to Raleigh to get my laptop fixed. Of course there will be plenty of homework this weekend as well. Yay...on the bright side only 2 months left of grad school!

What are your plans this weekend?

Clean Eating Veggie Noodles

I did a post last week on clean eating lifesavers. I included a fabulous gadget that makes noodles out of vegetables.

I use this tool weekly to make "pasta" for lunch. I like to use zucchini or carrots, but you have really use any oblong veggies such as sweet potatoes, cucumbers for a cold noodle dish, or even squash. I actually really want to try this with beets by cutting them into longer strips.

You can also just cut the zucchini with a knife or a veggie peeler!

My go to recipe is to take zucchini and make the noodles.

Then I boil them for just a minute or two (this step is optional if you're reheating the next day).

Then take any veggies or meat you want and cook them for the topping. I use red, green, and yellow peppers as well as mushrooms. Saute in olive oil and throw it on the noodles. The top with a little bit of sauce (I use Mario Batali) and you're done. So easy and so delicious. The calorie count on this is extremely low too :)

I didn't even get a picture of the finished product. It was delicious though!

Although it's an all veggie dish, it's very filling and very delicious! It can be made as a side with some salmon or grilled lean meat or paired with a sweet potato for dinner.

I'm nervous to weigh in tomorrow. I definitely did my fair share of stress eating/gym skipping this week :/

Workout Wednesday Linkup

So sorry I have been MIA. It's been absolutely beyond crazy around here lately. Between graduate school, a 45 hour/week job, moving out of our apartment, and everything else that comes with life (cooking, cleaning, working out...) it's been tough to find time to blog. 

I will be weighing in on Fridays every week so stay tuned for that and tomorrow I will post the clean eating zucchini pasta recipe. I promise.

Now on to Workout Wednesday. This is a link up with Skinny Meg (aka my favorite blogger).

If you haven't read her blog definitely start! She is beyond inspiring!

Ok so my workout routine is fairly random. I either go to group fitness classes such as zumba or body pump or workout on my own at 5am :) I usually will do cardio for half and hour and strength training for an another half hour. 

I like to target specific muscle groups. So one day I'll do leg day, then another day focus on arms, then focus on back and abs the next day, and so on...

This is a great leg routine. You will definitely feel it the next day!

Try it! It really gets your legs burning :)

Clean Eating Lifesavers!

I will fully admit that I can be lazy when it comes to cooking. Unfortunately laziness and eating clean are not the best of friends. Some nights it's much easier to pop in a frozen pizza than to make a clean one from scratch (which I'll be posting a recipe for soon- clean pizza is AMAZING)!

Thankfully there are some lifesaving products and tips that allow for some very yummy and EASY clean meals and snacks! I don't like how healthier products are often very expensive, but most of my picks aren't too pricey (a few are, but they are worth it I promise).

The Food Items

1. Quinoa Noodles

 I am obsessed with these and my fiance (aka the pickiest person on the planet) even loves them. That's a win in my book! These are about $3/box, which is fairly affordable

2. Rick Bayless Frontera Sauce

This sauce has no preservatives, is low calorie, low sugar, low sodium, and low fat. Oh and it tastes AMAZING! I use it for clean enchiladas and clean taco rice bowls. It's so much better and healthier than the canned sauces. Also it's relatively inexpensive ($2/pouch). 

3. Justin's Nut Butters

As a former Nutella addict the chocolate hazelnut butter is my favorite thing on the planet when I have a nutella craving and don't want to feel guilty. It's clean and the sugar is relatively low. The price is a bit ridiculous ($10/jar), but a little goes a long way and it's SO worth it!

4. Mario Batali Pasta Sauce (vodka sauce, arrabiata, and the tomato basil are my faves)

This is my favorite pasta sauce on the planet. I fully intend to make homemade pasta sauce and freeze it, but I get lazy and buy this instead since it is so delicious. It's $8/jar full price, but it's often on sale at our local grocery store so I stock up. I know that is expensive for sauce, however it is all natural and healthy and beyond delicious! I use this for many of my pasta dishes that I am going to post tomorrow.

5. PB2

PB2 is dehydrated peanut butter that is has 85% less fat. I use this only in shakes and recipes. I don't eat it plain. It's about $4/jar which is pretty good. If you make recipes with peanut butter or put it in your protein shakes I highly recommend using PB2! It will save you quite a bit of calories :)

The Nonfood Items

1. Small Ramekin Dishes

My fiance and I do not have the same eating habits (he thinks beer and bacon are food groups). Sometimes this makes dinner challenging, because I want to make something clean and healthy, but at the same time I want him to enjoy it. He grew up eating his mother's cooking and his mother cooks like she's Paula Deen (before the diabetes). Anyway, these little dishes allow me to make portion controlled mini casseroles, but I am able to modify them based on our preferences. These are a blessing to couples or parents who have different tastes than the rest of their families. You can omit ingredients or substitute ingredients easily! Buy some- they are inexpensive and sooooo worth it.

2. Noodle Maker
I won't go into too much detail, because this is what my post tomorrow will be all about. You can use this baby to make noodles out of vegetables. I eat carrot and zucchini noodles and am in clean eating heaven. This is my favorite product on the planet! It was $30, but I would have paid double! It's changed my life.

3. Triple Lasagna Pan
I use this to make modified lasagna and larger casserole recipes. I like my lasagna with zucchini strips instead of noodles, so I'll make two rows of lasagna. One the way I like it and one the way Jeff likes it. This lets us also have a good amount of leftovers for lunch also.

4. Jello Shot Cups
I use these to hold salad dressing for lunch and for condiments on the go. I also use these to portion out peanut butter and almond butter for snacks. So easy for convenience and portion control (and awesome to have on hand for some jello shots if the mood strikes you)

Tips

1. Make Your Own Taco Seasoning
There is absolutely no excuse not to make your own taco seasoning. Did you know that the packets (even the reduced sodium ones) contain the same ingredient as those little packets that say "do not eat" that come in new shoes? That's not only very "not clean eating friendly", but it's also pretty gross.

Homemade taco seasoning is:
1. Cheaper than the packaged stuff
2. Super easy to make
3. Healthier
4. Tastier

See, no reason not to make it. I made a big batch 4 months ago and I've used about 1/4 of it (and I use it a few times a week)!

Recipe:
Use equal portions of the following:
Chili Powder
Ground Cumin
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
1/2 amount of Crushed Red Pepper

Put it in a mason jar and shake it up! See- totally easy!

I just bought equal size spices so there was no measuring involved, except to put in 1/2 the amount of the red pepper. You can add more or less red pepper to adjust for how spicy you like your taco seasoning.

2. Use Olive Oil and Coconut Oil Instead of Butter
Both of these are super foods and are much better for you than butter (clean butter does exist but there aren't really any nutritional benefits). I make everything from clean mashed potatoes to stirfrys with olive and coconut oil and it makes everything delicious! Pam also has chemicals in it so buy an oil mister and use it instead of buying Pam or cooking spray.

3. Cook Oatmeal and Rice Ahead of Time for Quick Meals
I make a batch of brown rice and steel cut oatmeal for the week on Sundays. I use the brown rice for quick rice bowls, as a side, or as a base for stir fry meals and homemade clean "fried" rice. It's always good to have it on hand.

Steel cut oatmeal is great for quick grab and go breakfasts. It's good for you and keeps you full. I switch it up by adding different fruits/nuts to it or by mixing in PB2 and dark chocolate chips with 70% cocoa in them when I'm craving a sweet breakfast.

I could go on and on, but I'll save the rest for another post :)

Oh Tuesdays, How I Love You

So this week has not been a fun one so far. I get to have to work late all week :( But on a positive note (work) school gets out in 3 weeks! Then it's summer :) I'll have grad school, moving, and wedding planning to keep me occupied along with lots of exercising! I plan to really hit it hard this summer once I'm not spending 50 hours a week at my job.

I was talking to my trainer this morning about how I only have 3 more weeks of work (I'm a school guidance counselor for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about) and she was saying she's jealous I get the summer off, because she doesn't get breaks to look forward to. On one hand I totally get it, but part of me wishes we didn't have 3 month breaks, because we all (the kids and adults) start to get pretty restless the few months leading up to summer and it makes work a lot harder! I remember feeling sorry for the teachers when I was a kid, because I thought they wanted to be at school and were sad to go home...oh sweet naive little Julia :)

Now that I'm off of my tangent I was going to talk about how difficult it is for me personally to stay focused on nutrition and exercise on busy days. Case and point- last night. After leaving at 6 am and then coming home at 7 pm from work I did not want to cook (like I would have rather chopped an arm off at that point than to stand in the kitchen).

So what do you think I did?

Those of you thinking I put my big girl panties on and cooked anyway are sadly mistaken. We went out and picked up fast food burgers. It pains me just to write it honestly.

Despite my meal planning I just gave it all up and ate crap. And guess how I felt? Like crap! You really are what you eat sometimes.

Although today is another long one I am making a vow to myself to cook a healthy dinner tonight despite how tired I am. Because nothing is worth feeling like I felt today. Food hangovers- no bueno!

Hope everyone is having a terrific Tuesday.

And just because I don't believe in blogging with no pictures, here is a shameless selfie of me at work (in between seeing all of my students)

Motivation Monday

Good Morning!

I'm doing a linkup today with Jess @ Operation Skinny Jeans

My three goals for this week are:

1. Workout at least 5 times this week for  1 hour

2. Drink Shakeology for breakfast Monday-Friday

3. Eat a vegetable or fruit as part of every meal



I didn't do any formal meal planning last night because I got tied down with homework (that I waited until the last possible minute to do), so I was already scrambling this morning.

I had a scoop of  greenberry shakeology blended with frozen mango and unsweeted almond milk for breakfast. It was amazing! If you haven't tried shakeology I HIGHLY recommend it! I feel so much better since I've started drinking it and it's an easy way to get all of your nutrients in. It also keeps you full for a while which is awesome for me :) Let me know if you have any questions about it.

 

For lunch I'm going to be eating one of these Amy's Bowls. They are my staple when I don't plan ahead, I don't rely on them often so I don't feel to guilty eating one today. They are mostly clean and have low sodium. However I do prefer to make my own food so I will be planning ahead for the rest of the week. I definitely recommend having some healthy frozen entrees on hand on those days when you didn't make lunch ahead of time. This will save you from eating junk food or fast food! 

For dinner we will be having grilled filets (pricey but they are the leanest steak that I actually like) and grilled vegetables (I like zucchini and mushrooms and Jeff will probably have mushrooms and onions). 

Happy Monday :)

Diets, Diets, and More Diets....and Clean Eating

I have tried a lot of diets over the years:

Atkins

Weight Watchers

 The Richard Simmons Food Mover (yes seriously)

Somehow I never really lost any weight. I started trying clean eating back in December and the weight started coming off. I went from 229 pounds to 216 pounds within 4 months. With no exercise!

Eating the right will get you to lose weight, however if you don't exercise what is going to replace the fat? I will talk more about exercise tomorrow, back to eating clean.

When I started eating clean I realized there is no way I can realistically eat clean 100% of the time. It's just not doable for me. So I gave it 90%. I decided if I can eat clean the majority of the time I can also have some of those cheat meals or treats that I love so much. This made the process a lot easier for me!

Here are some simple ways I got started:

1. Do a little research: there is a lot of good information on clean eating available. Check to see which ingredients are "clean". Some tend to sound clean, but aren't so if you aren't sure look it up!

2. READ THE INGREDIENTS LABEL, not the nutrition facts. This was a hard one for me to adapt to, but you have to read the ingredients. As a rule of thumb for myself. If I can't pronounce it or don't know what it is I google it. If there needs to be more than one ingredient google I don't even bother, because it's probably not clean. You should be able to recognize the foods as real food!

3. Eat at home. Most out to eat foods are loaded with preservatives. The best way to avoid them is to cook your own meals.

4. Plan ahead. Every Sunday I sit down, make a plan for out weekly meals, grocery shop, come home and cut up the fruits and veggies and cook what I can in advance. This is a pain on Sundays, but it saves me the rest of the week when I already know what's for dinner and don't have to resort to ordering pizza because I'm so tired of thinking of what to make.

5. Eat more whole foods: fruits, vegetables, lean meats (make sure they are REAL with no additives), and nuts. I eat more of these foods and less whole grains and dairy. This has done wonders for me!

6. Make your own convenience food: you can make your own breakfast burritos, pizza, frozen waffles...anything! This will save you money and will be much healthier!


I will be posting a lot of recipes on this blog as well as different meal plans for the week.

My First Blog Post :)

Well here goes nothing...

I have been wanting to start a blog for quite some time now and I finally decided to do it. I hope this helps keep me accountable for my weight loss and also (if someone actually reads it at some point) will help inspire others. I have been overweight my whole life and I don't want to go through life feeling self conscious and always worrying about looking fat. I don't want to never get to wear a bikini or never know what it's like to where all of those cute clothes I see other women wearing.

A little about myself: I am a 24 year old Iowan girl living in North Carolina. I moved down to NC two years ago for graduate school to get my Master's in Counseling. I got very lucky and got hired as an elementary school counselor half way into my program. However juggling a 45 hour per week job, school, and a personal life can be quite a challenge.

I recently got engaged on April 1st (Yes, April Fools Day- smooth move honey) and that further gave me motivation to lose weight. I definitely don't want to be self conscious on my wedding day!

This is Jeff (the fiance). We've been together for a little over 4 years now. He is my polar opposite and I love him dearly. I end up learning a lot from him- although we do butt heads sometimes too. 

This is Miley (the white one) and Lacey (the tan one). They are my 2 year old mini pomeranians. I'm pretty much obsessed with them. But look at those faces, how could you not be?

So that's pretty much it for today. I'm going to be posting workouts, recipes, meal plans, and the daily successes and struggles I go through. I currently weigh 214 pounds and my goal is 135. Let's do this!

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