Monthly Archives: May 2012

May30

What I Ate Wednesday!

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Hi Guys! It’s hard to believe it’s Wednesday already! Long weekends really seem to throw me off.  While time may seem off my run last night was spot on! I did 4 miles and felt fantastic the entire time.  Boston’s skies turned hazy and gray in the late afternoon and thunderstorms rolled in.  With the lack of sun it was nice and cool.  It felt so good to get out and run!

This week I’m trying to get back on track with eating, the holiday weekend had me indulging a bit more than normal.  Many thanks to Jen over at Peas and Crayons for hosting the party! It’s really great that she hosts a link-up for us every week!

Breakfast. 

I kept it simple on the first day of work after the long weekend.  A bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats with my Skinnygirl Daily Cleanse.  What is not pictured is the cup of coffee I took with me in the car.

Honey Bunches of Oats and Skinnygirl Daily Cleanse

Lunch. 

I haven’t had a sandwich for a lunch in a while so that’s what I went with today.  I had Genoa salami, American cheese, spinach, roasted red pepper and mustard on a sandwich thin.  On the side I had an apple and organic sweet potato chips.

Genoa Salami Sandwich with Organic Sweet Potato Chips and an Apple

Snacks. 

Every morning I have a banana around 10am.  For an afternoon snack I packed a cottage cheese double (cottage cheese with blueberries) and Fig Newtons.

Banana, Cottage Cheese and Fig Newtons

I always like to change my snacks up.  For many months I was into Greek Yogurt and granola bars.  It keeps my lunch fresh and fun!

Dinner. 

Yes, dinner can be breakfast!  Eggs can really be part of any meal in my opinion.  I had scrambled eggs with spinach and cheddar cheese.  On the side I had a salad with cucumbers and avocado.  I made a piece of toast too for some extra carbohydrates.  I was so hungry during my run!

Scrambled eggs with spinach, side salad and whole wheat toast

It’s quick, easy and healthy!

What is your favorite kind of cereal? How do you change-up your lunches?  Breakfast for dinner, love it or hate it?  What is your favorite breakfast food for dinner?

May29

Memorial Day Weekend and Weight Loss Updates!

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Happy Tuesday! I love starting my week off on a Tuesday!  Three day weekends are really the best.  We had a fun but very productive weekend.  Saturday we visited our friends and helped them to build a chicken coop.  We all headed out to dinner by the ocean and then ended up dancing at this bar playing awesome 90′s music! So impromptu and fun!  Sunday we spent the day at home ripping up carpet and rearranging furniture before closing out the day with Mexican food and margaritas with Michael’s parents on the patio.  Yesterday was more puttering around the house, moving furniture and the like.  I did manage to get to Lowe’s and get lots of fresh herbs for us to grow.  I planted us some basil, flat-leaf parsley, cilantro, rosemary, dill and lemon balm.  We decided to get out and have a little fun late afternoon on Monday.  We drove to Marblehead, Ma and walked around for a while looking in all the little boutiques and sitting by the harbor.  We had an early dinner before driving the neck of Marblehead.  I’d never been out there so it was awesome to see all of the amazing homes along the water and check out a few of the secluded rocky beaches.  We had so much we wanted to accomplish over the weekend I didn’t even get to workout!  I did learn two things this weekend:

  • Building, ripping up carpet, moving furniture, planting flowers and most home improvement projects are a workout!  Your lifting weight, on your feet and breaking a sweat for hours.  I was exhausted by days end.
  • It’s so easy to plant herbs to have on hand for cooking at home!  For just a few dollars you can buy a whole basil plant and have fresh basil all summer long!  In my apartment in Boston I had a window box and was able to plant basil and other herbs for cooking.  This year I’m trying tomato plants!

Herbs!

Last week’s workouts were good but it wasn’t the most productive week.  I had a few commitments at night which didn’t leave me with time at night or feeling motivated to get up at 5am.  At first I was a little upset with my lack of workouts but then I reminded myself that this is the time to do the other things I need to do, enjoy time with my friends and the like.  Workouts will be there.

Workouts Week of 5/21

It’s been about 2 weeks since I started cutting back on carbohydrates and focusing on portion control.   I also cut back on sweets and started making smarter choices.  So far I’ve lost 2 pounds and am almost back at my marathon weight.  I feel much better and at this point making these choices is pretty easy.  I’m realizing I am just as satisfied with a smaller portion versus a larger portion particularly with sweets and less healthy foods.  I’m going to continue with this plan and hope to lose a few more pounds!

Weight Loss!

Long weekend’s tend to throw off my routine and usually involve more drinking and eating than normal.  This week I want to get back on track with the following goals:

  • Run! I haven’t run in a week so I plan to get out tonight for a few miles and hope to do this again on Thursday and Saturday.
  • Drink lots of water!  We worked outside all weekend and I feel like I didn’t drink enough water.  This week I need to focus on drinking more water and replenishing.
  • Skip the sweets this week!  I had a few extra treats this weekend so I want to skip them this week.  It’s all about moderation!

Running!

How was your Memorial Day weekend?  What are your updates on life? How do you plan to get back to normal after a long weekend?

May25

Life in a Jar

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Happy Friday! We made it to the long weekend and the official start of summer! I always like to take a few minutes to reflect back on the week.  I like to think about the things that I am proud of, the things I wish I had done better and the things that I want to work on in the coming week.  This week was a little out of my normal routine, my priorities seemed to shift a little.  That’s OK, it was a productive week.  Thursday I skipped my morning running to sleep for that extra hour but looking back on it, I wish I had gotten up and ran.  It’s my time and it’s like therapy.  I had a bit of a frustrating week at work but I’m taking steps to change that and take control of my frustrations but I want to better learn to deal with the things I can’t change.  The most prominent thought of the week that I’ve been carrying with my is thankfulness.

Michael and I always chat on and off during the day via gchat.  We check-in in the morning and say hi.  The other morning he told me that he was walking around his house that morning thinking about how thankful he is for his life and how lucky he is.  We proceeded to chat more about how blessed we are.  We are truly blessed, blessed with the best things in life.

We are blessed to have each other and relationship that is nothing but supportive.  Michael is one of my biggest fans and sometimes I think he’s being hard on me or challenging me too much, but in the end I know it’s to make me successful.  We have families that love us and are thrilled to spend time with us, share our lives with us and support us along the way.  We have home to live in, jobs to pay the bills and fund our hobbies, vacations and more, and we have safe cars to drive.  We have friends who love us, support us, make us laugh and are there for us.  We have our health and our families health. We have a lot of good in our lives.  Sure, there are plenty of things we’d like to change but at the end of the day we have the important things, the things that matter most to keep us happy.

It reminded me of this story I read called “Life in a Jar”.

When things in your life seem, almost too much to handle,
When 24 Hours in a day is not enough,
Remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class
and had some items in front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly,
He picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar
And proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students, if the jar was full.
They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured
them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly.
The pebbles rolled into the open Areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous ‘yes.’

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively
filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

‘Now,’ said the professor, as the laughter subsided,
‘I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.
The golf balls are the important things – family,
children, health, Friends, and Favorite passions –
Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, Your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.

The sand is everything else —The small stuff.

‘If you put the sand into the jar first,’ He continued,
there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.
The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff,
You will never have room for the things that are important to you.

So…

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Play With your children.
Take time to get medical checkups.
Take your partner out to dinner.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

‘Take care of the golf balls first —
The things that really matter.
Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled
‘I’m glad you asked’.

It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,
There’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.’

So today I leave you to think about the things that you are thankful for.  Consider whether or not you have the pebbles in your jar first or if they come last.  Think about the sand in your life, do you carry worry and stress around as a result of the sand?  Maybe this weekend you’ll take the time to go have that cup of coffee with a friend.

Source: google.com via Whitney on Pinterest

I hope everyone has a fantastic long weekend!  Spend some time with your golf balls, this is a great weekend to do that.  Memorial day is filled with cookouts and barbecues and family gatherings and most of all laughter! 

What are you thankful for? Have you heard this story before? Do you focus on your golf balls or the sand?  Do you make time for coffee with friends? Is your jar filled in the right order?

May24

Skinnygirl Cleanse: Day 1

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Hey Guys!  One more day to go until the long weekend!  Today is actually a pretty busy day, an early morning run followed by work and a lunchtime yoga class.  After work I’m heading to my cousin’s apartment for dinner with my aunt and uncle and cousins.  She graduates from Harvard Design School today and they are having a little party.  I’m looking forward to celebrating with her and seeing my family! Then it’s back home to pack and get ready for the weekend!

So many of you expressed interest in the Skinnygirl Daily Cleanse when I shared with you that I’m going to be trying it as part of my weight loss efforts.  While I was researching the product I did not find a lot of reviews on it which was a bit frustrating.  The reviews I did find were rather varied so I thought I’d do a little series on my experience with the cleanse.  As always I’ll be completely honest with my thoughts and opinions regarding the product.  For due diligence I’ll say that I bought this product with my own money to try for personal reasons.

The package arrived on Tuesday night, I had ordered it a week ago on Amazon.com.  I paid $39.99 for the cleanse.  This was the cheapest I found it anywhere as most sites had it for $49.99.  You can buy it at a GNC store if you don’t want to order it online.  The package came with 30 individually packaged cleanses in a cute little wooden box with some recipe cards and tips for healthy living.

Skinny Girl Cleanse

I like the box for storing them and I found on the website where you can buy refills without the wooden box.

Skinnygirl Daily

A few nutritional facts for you all:

  • 27 calories per packet
  • 7.5g of Carbohydrates
  • 4g of Sugars
  • 3g of Dietary Fiber
  • 10mg of Sodium
  • Contains a proprietary cleansing blend, proprietary digestive enzyme blend, proprietary probiotic blend, and is sweetened with agave, cane sugar and natural lemon flavors
  • For all the nutritional details, check them out here.

I tried the cleanse for the first time on Wednesday morning.  My initial reaction was, “ew the color  is disgusting”! And thus is the reason why there is no picture of it all dissolved yet.  We need to warm you all up to this!  I smelled it and it smelled like lemon and green tea.  The moment of truth came when I tasted it.  The reviews I had read described it as a gritty texture and tasting nothing like lemonade or tea so I was a little nervous.  It actually tasted pretty good!  It is like a combination of green tea and lemon.  I really didn’t mind it at all!  As for the gritty issue, I think they may not have mixed it enough.  I mixed it thoroughly until it all dissolved and didn’t taste any of the grit.

Skinnygirl Cleanse

I tend to be a pretty regular person thanks to my morning coffee but there are definitely days when I’m not.  I attribute those days to poor eating habits.  I can’t really speak to this aspect of the cleanse yet because I think I need to try it for a few days.  I will say I definitely felt a little bit lighter compared to the bloated feeling I had on Monday and Tuesday.  So that I enjoyed!  I’m going to continue the cleanse for a month.  One thing I noticed on the label is that after you are regular with the cleanse you can increase it to taking 2 packets a day for 5 days and then come back down to 1 packet per day for the remaining days.  I’m not sure I’ll try that but am also not opposed to it.  We’ll see how I feel!

Skinnygirl Cleanse

I’ll be back with an update on day 7! If you have any questions about the cleanse leave them in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them!

Have you tried Skinnygirl Daily?  Have you ever done a daily cleanse?  Is this something you’d try?  Feel free to leave a question for me to answer!

May23

What I Ate Wednesday!

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Happy Wednesday!  I LOVE making it to the middle of the week but you already know that! I’m really looking forward to the upcoming long weekend so I’m particularly anxious for Friday to come.  It will be here soon enough though! Tonight is date night with Michael.  I see a healthy dinner followed by a trip to Berryline for some of our favorite frozen yogurt!  And Modern Family is on tonight!  It sounds like a good night to me!

Let’s talk food shall we?  It’s been about a week since I shared my plans to cut back and focus more on lean protein, vegetables and portion control.   I’m struggling to cut back on sugar and sweets but I knew this would be the case.  That is one craving that’s hard to kick!  I have been eating a lot more vegetables and salads and I’ve really been enjoying them!  Here’s a look at this week’s eats! As always thanks to Jen for hosting!

Breakfast. 

I’ve been rushing in the morning to get out the door.  What is it with rain that makes it so hard to get up in the morning?!  Since I’ve been rushing I haven’t really had the time to make a fancy breakfast.  As such this week’s breakfast has been Cheerios with blackberries on top and skim milk.  It’s quick, simple and delicious!

Cheerios with Blackberries and Skim Milk. Coffee on the side.

I’ve been sweetening my coffee with Truvia instead of real sugar.  I really don’t notice the difference except that the Truvia is much sweeter than regular sugar so I don’t need nearly as much.  I’m still figuring out the perfect amount to add but will definitely be sticking with this!

Lunch. 

Salads have been the name of the game lately.  This salad had leftover grilled zucchini, red peppers, and onions in it with roasted heirloom tomatoes, croutons, cucumbers and a couple pieces of left over sirloin tips.  I used a small amount of balsamic vinaigrette on top.  Delicious! I love grilled vegetables!

Salad with grilled vegetables and steak tips, an apple, Greek Yogurt and a Granola Bar

With the salad I had an apple and dark chocolate granola bar.  Later in the afternoon I had a Greek Yogurt for a snack.  Yum!

Dinner. 

I’ve been trying to avoid carbs at dinner since I usually eat closer to the 8 o’clock hour.  I haven’t really missed them except possibly baguette, that’s so good.  I’ve been sticking with grilled fish, chicken and some red meats with vegetables of some kind and usually a salad.  I skipped the salad on this night and just had sauteed carrots with spinach with lemon garlic marinated salmon.

Lemon Garlic Baked Salmon with Sauteed Spinach and Carrots

Salmon is truly one of my favorite fishes! I love it!

I went grocery shopping this week and picked up a few new things to add into the mix like cottage cheese and fig newtons! Simple substitutions can really make your meals so much more fun!

What is your quick breakfast during the week?  Do you like grilled vegetables?  Do you struggle with a sweet tooth?  What foods do you substitute for your standard meals and snacks?