I meant to
write this post last week but things have been rather busy. February 21st marked 1 month since
I got my act back together and boy does it feel fan-friggin-tastic!
Here’s all
the things I had to celebrate in month one
ü
8 pound weight loss
ü
15.75 inches lost (between bust, abdomen, hips,
waist, thighs, calves, etc.)
ü
Successfully managed to stay on track on
weekends – usually only cheated 1 or 2 times each week and we’re talking like A piece of chocolate –
not crazy cheating (this is enormous improvement for me!!)
ü
Worked out at least 3 times every week, if not
more
ü
Tippled my workout time actually – used to do
only 30 minutes of ciruit training 3 times we week and now I’m doing 1.5 – 2 hours,
3 times per week – now this might sound like a lot but I just get going and
feel so good so I keep going so it doesn’t feel like I’m working out this long.
ü
Started running again – not much but I got my
feet wet at least and signed up for the St. Patrick’s day 5k next month
ü
Successfully made wise choices when going out
for dinner – no more burgers and beer for this girl…I’ll survive! Including going to the movies twice and not getting movie poporn which is just horrible for you - I brought a steak salad and grapes with me last night to the movies lol
ü
Gave up wheat part way through the month – not going
super crazy with this – just really avoiding stuff like breads and pasta - already feeling a difference - just dont feel as bloated
While all of
these are all super exciting, there is something else that feels even better
than all that put together or rather that something else is due to all of those
things added together. There are certain
positive results given to me – I feel strong, I feel powerful, I feel good
about me, I feel happy and I feel confident.
Confident that I can accomplish my goals, continue to excel in the
things I invest time in.
There seems
to have been a lot that has happened this month. I’ve had some sad days, happy days, and
frustrating days but at the end of the day….I’m still standing and I am
stronger than I was a month ago – physically, mentally and spiritually. For years I was in pain and felt like I was
drowning, and all though things in my life are not all ‘fixed’, I can still
stand with my head held high and I can remain in peace knowing that God’s go
this – He’s got me!
One of the
verses I’ve really clung to this past month is Proverbs 3: 6 and it says this:
“Acknowledge
him in all your ways, and he will make your paths straight.”
I may have
made some really poor choices over the years and I’ve had to pay some
consequences for them but as I learn to lean on God and trust him to direct me,
He is and will continue to do so and straighten out this mess I’ve made. I’m so thankful for His grace and His love
and His provision in my life.
Now for some
less serious chatter…
I get asked
a lot what types of things do I eat and how on earth have you managed to not
eat wheat – especially being Italian?
Well the choice was one that I took a long time to make and I did this
in stages. For the most part I had cut
pasta out of my regular diet and for bread I was pretty much only eating a
whole wheat English muffin at breakfast.
Now, I just don’t eat wheat and have found some alternative carbs – I don’t
think my world would go on if I couldn’t have any carbs, I might actually die…no
seriously, I might…
So, here’s
some ideas if you’re looking to change things up and get a sense of what I'm doing....
Breakfast
ideas:
I like to
have protein and some sort of carb so I’ve been having 2 eggs (either
hardboiled or fried – no oil thought) and 1 cup of cooked oat bran. When I cook my oat bran I put in some sort of
fruit (I like mangos and strawberries best) and this week I added some coconut
flakes. I put a little bit of milk in
too and I’m good to go – I made enough for a week’s worth of breakfast and it
works great!
So, why oat
bran – well there is no wheat it in and apparently it’s got a lot of great
health benefits to it – do a quick search on it if you’re interested.
Another great
idea is loaded omelets. You can do a
combination of eggs and egg whites (I usually do 1 egg and like ½ cup of egg
whites) then I add in a selection of other things I like such as: spinach,
kale, onions, peppers, chicken, cheese – often very little cheese, salsa, broccoli,
etc.
I’m still
making my mini turkey meat loaves (I take ground turkey, add some peppers,
onions and spinach and some seasoning and then I roll them in balls – usually about
1 cup- and put them in a casserole dish and cook @ 400 for about 35 minutes-
then I put them in zip locks or a Tupperware container and freeze them and take
them out when I want one). I usually
then have some other veggies like peas or green beans and have some quinoa (I
like mine with just a little bit of butter and salt and pepper).
I also do
salads on Tuesdays and Thursdays – we have salad club at work both days so
everyone who participates brings to ingredients and then you all share – it’s
pretty awesome. And then I bring some
chicken breast and add it to my salad for some protein . If I’m really hungry I’ll have some quinoa as
well.
Dinner Ideas
Well I tried
a few new things this month
I did
chicken parmesan but instead of bread crumbs I used oat bran and seasoned it
and then baked it – I usually a really yummy and pretty natural sauce from Costco
– white linen label I think. And then I
usually have a salad too. I used a little bit of bocincchini cheese on top too instead of cheddar
Here’s one
of my new fav salads too: cherry tomatoes (cut in half) – 2 packages, 1 red
onion (chopped), 2 packs of fresh basil (chopped), boccinchini cheese (cut up
into little pieces), a little bit of olive oil and some salt and pepper. I mix this all up and leave it in a Tupperware
container and it lasts a few meals. I
usually add it to arugula or spinach salad.
I also load a bunch of other random things in my salads – kale, avocado,
nuts, crasins or raisins, green olives, etc and for dressing I usually just put
in a little olive oil and sometimes balsamic vinegar too. When I don’t have a meat prepared I usually
just throw in some chicken breast so and there’s a meal!
Something else
I really like is taking chicken breast, some coconut milk (light is less
calories and fat), fresh basil chopped up and some red curry paste and put cook
it all together. It’d delicious! I put this on top of miracle noodles (0 calorie
noodles) or quinoa.
Snacks:
I usually
portion out my snacks as well (like in mini Tupperware containers or zip lock
bags):
½ cup
cottage cheese, ½ yogurt, ¼ trail mix, fruit, hardboiled eggs, apple with
almond butter, banana with natural peanut butter (ie. No sugar or salt – just nuts)
etc.
I’ve been
having a loaded protein shake in the afternoons too. Here’s what I’ve been putting in it:
Kale,
parsley, spinach, protein powder, pomegranate juice, lemon juice, raspberries,
blueberries and mangos. I put it all in
a magic bullet and enjoy!
What
have I been doing for my fitness you ask? Here are what my workouts looks like:
ü 4 days I walk 5k (my walk to and from work to union station)
ü
3 Big workouts/week – Monday, Wednesday and
Saturdays: 3 curcuits plus ab work and stretching:
ü
Circuit 1 – repeated 3 times
o
10 burpees
o
15 squats with 15 lb kettlebell – plus a pull up
to sholder length – hard to explain
o
15 side pull ups with 15 lb kettle bell
o
10 side lunges on each leg with 10 lb bicep in
each hand doing curls
o
10 Wide shoulder press with squats (10lbs/hand)
o
10 Squat and corkscrew presses (10lbs/hand)
o
10 squats with 20 lbs and kick (10 each side –
20 total)
o
15 dead lifts – 50 lbs
ü
Circuit 2 – repeated 3 times
o
10 sets of: 10 punches each arm, 10 side jumps
each leg and a 1 burpee
o
10 chest flies (10lbs/hand)
o
10 triceps lifts (10lbs/hand)
o
10 back lunges with 20 lbs and kick (10 each
side – 20 total)
ü
Circuit 3 – repeated 3 times
o
10 clean and presses – 25 lbs
o
10 bicep curls – 25 lbs
o
15 squats – 20 lbs
o
10 chest presses – 20 lbs
ü
Abs - I then do some ab work for about 10
minutes
o
1 minute - Bicycle
o
50 - Full sit ups (ie start laying on back and
sit up and touch my toes)
o
50 side to sides with 10 lbs
o
50 Crunches on medicine ball
o
Etc.
ü
I try and do 1 really heavy duty ab workout a week
and do the bodyrock ab video that is about 18 minutes long – usually on
Saturdays
So that’s
pretty much everything this month consisted of.
The plan for the next month is to continue working hard and I’m actually
going to try and add some more cardio workouts in – zumba and running 1 or 2
times a week.
I leave for Cuba on the 17th
so I have something to work towards which is nice and I plan on staying on
track while on vacation…I’m sure I’ll work off lots while dancing all night,
every night! So excited to go away! I
have another trip planned for the end of the year with some friends to celebrate
our 30th birthdays so that will be an even bigger goal to get to for
that trip, but I can do it!
I’ve
included some pics of some of the meals I’ve made and some updated pics of
where I’m at J
Peace out!
Chicken parm and Salad
BBQ Steak and Salad with lots of good stuff - I actually took this to the movies with me instead of popcorn (which is my fav thing to have)
BBQ Chicken and Salad chucked full of good stuff
Spring Salad with mini turkey meatloaf
My fav to salad addition - cherry tomattos, boccinchini cheese, red peppers, fresh basil, olive oil, salt and pepper
Chicken Parm - breaded with oat bran and topped with boccinichini cheese
Here are some of the exercises I've added to my routine too
Finally starting to see some major differences in my face and body which is pretty exciting!
Here is where I started (this was May 2011 - 306 lbs)
Awesome work, Sarah! Truly inspiring.
ReplyDeleteDo you like chick peas and/or soy nuts? I love putting them in my salads for extra protein and texture.
Sarah E.