I'M ALIIIIVE

I am still alive after the biggest eating event of the year and ....wait for it.... MY FIRST 5K! I survived! I did it in 37:01 and thought I was going to die for every second of that. There was a part of me that wasn't sure I was going to make it. I THOUGHT I had looked up the map pretty good and was thinking "okay, its just there and back, I can do this." Little did I know, they route was nothing like it was originally mapped out, and it was there, back, loop de loop, there again, and then back to finish line. I am pretty sure I was my own worst enemy at that point, since I wanted to just quit and whine and cry about how unfair this is. I kept going though, although I had to walk more than I wanted to, since the grass was really squishy and hard to run in. Here I am!

AND.... I haven't run since. We are going to push ourselves to go back to the gym tonight, even though I am dreading it. I am feeling in a slump lately since I leave in the dark and get home in the dark. I feel like I have no time and just want to come home and go straight to bed. I hate the time change!

Other news (not good, but not bad news) is I have not changed weight in weeks. I am a little down about it since we have been running so much, but then I cant be too down about it since I have let my diet slack. I guess its just that double edged sword- I haven't lost weight so I eat more, but I eat more so I don't lose weight. BOO. Suck it up sista.

Couch to 5k progress

I have been sort of cheating on couch to 5k. Well, I guess its not cheating, but I am just not following the program exactly since I can usually do more than I set out to do. Last week, I was doing 3 minutes running/ 2 minutes walking, but a couple times I got up to four minutes running, so I just went with it. This past weekend, I even did 5.5 minutes straight of running! But, then I hit the wall. I know, that is so lame to die after 5 minutes of running. I obviously wouldn't survive the zombie apocalypse with my fitness level. So I was only able to do 5 minutes one time, then walk two minutes, then 3 minutes of running, walk 2, then run 2, and then dead. I am still only at two miles on the treadmill and I have a little over a week to go to the 5k.

So, tonight, I am going to try to follow week 4 of the program so I can not hit the wall so fast and pace myself up to 5 minutes. Tonight's program is 3min running, 1.5 mins walking, 5 mins running, 1.5 walking, then back to three minutes again. I got a real bad cramp last night and couldn't go on, I swear, I felt like I was dying. I hate those damn side cramps, and I don't know how to prevent them or make them go away. I am so worried I will get a cramp my 5k day and not be able to finish. I am starting to get really scared knowing I am only a week away, and sometimes a part of me is saying "its okay, I don't have to do it, I will just skip it this time." But I cant. I have to do it.

On the other hand, Matt is doing wonderful (of course.) He was able to run 30 minutes straight last night. Hes going to be able to run the entire thing while I am back there struggling. But I want him to do his best, and maybe him waiting there for me at the finish will motivate me to get there faster.

WINNING!

I think I will need to come back to this post when I am feeling down.


I just got back from the gym, and I ran/walked 1.6 miles in 21 minutes. I feel AWESOME. Amazing. I am so not a runner, at all, but I was able to run for three minutes straight! I know, that sounds awful, but the C25K program has been my lifesaver and I am totally and completely in love with it. I know my time is not awesome, and I still have to get to 3 miles to finish my 5K, but I have got about two weeks to whip my ass into shape. But even if I do not get a good time in my 5K, I feel great, and if I do say so myself, I think I look pretty smashing in my gym clothes.

Ignore my insanely messy closet. Its sort of a war zone in there.

But anyway, I just thought I should blog about how I feel. Maybe next time I don't want to go to the gym I can remember this feeling, and get my ass in gear.

Couch to 5K finally started!

So, I thought I would be all bad ass and start on week three, thinking "I can run for three minutes at a time." No. I cant. So I quickly switched to week two. 1.5 minutes of running and two minutes of walking for 20 minutes. OMIGOD ITS HARD. Yeah, seriously people, I cannot even hardly run 1.5 minutes straight without nearly dying. But, its progress! I am excited to run again tonight. I know when I get there, I will get that scared feeling in the pit of my stomach, but as of right now I am excited to continue.

On another note, I am SORE. Really, sore from 30 minutes of run/walking. I expected my calf's and shins to be sore, but I didn't expect my butt and my inner thighs to hurt. Really? Inner thighs? What the heck could I have done during this run to work that part of my body? Oh well, I'll take it. God knows I have some extra stuff to get rid of there anyway. But if I am doing something really wrong, please let me know. I am new to running and am not very good at it, so I welcome any tips.

So that's all for today, I am headed back to the gym tonight to do some more running and take a "fitness test" with a trainer. Lets hope he doesn't laugh at me and tell me I have no hope.

My Halloween goal?

Fail. Again. I feel like I have been saying this a lot lately! I am sort of stuck at 162 right now. I just have to try something new. SOOOOOO, I finally got a gym membership! Well, I am getting it in the morning, since I was waiting for my sister-in-law to give me her discount. Awesome! So both Matt and I will be gym members for $50 a month. I am so cheap I sort of cringe at this cost, but I figure that my cheapness will help, since I wont want it to go to waste. I am really excited to jump on the treadmill and start doing my Couch to 5K program.

I feel really optimistic for some reason today about my 5K. The couch to 5K program seems completely do-able and even if I do not make it to the 5K by Thanksgiving, at least I will have tried and be closer to it next time. My excuse for not running is always I do not have a treadmill and do not want to go outside, so someone please kick me if I make another excuse to not use the treadmill.

That's all for now, I have to get back to running around the kitchen island  to work off the dang Halloween candy I snuck today. Turns out running in circles makes you dizzy, but its fun. The cat thinks its funny. Really, this is his entertained face. Lazy sucker.

Day one of Shan vs. Diet Coke

I want to try and stop, or at least cut back. Right now, I drink about 2 cans with my lunch and at least 2 cans when I get home. That's a lot. So, in my first attempt, I didn't pack any soda in my lunch today. It is 8am and I am already dreading my 12pm lunch time with no soda. I don't know how I will survive, but I will try.

Anyway, I watched a semi-interesting documentary last night. Fat, Sick, and nearly dead. A few of my friends have come on board with this "juicing" trend and I wanted to educate myself before I formed too harsh of an opinion on it. First, I definitely think it is unhealthy to only juice for a couple months. And second, I am still not sure I believe that consuming the juice would be the same as consuming all of the vegetables. I guess it was an interesting theory, and maybe worth looking into more as maybe one meal replacement, but as for the entire diet, that just seems like a recipe for disaster. But honestly, I would much rather eat a huge platter of veggies than one glass of really nasty green juice. 

Its really weird to me that I am the one telling them that they have to change their lifestyles and actually believe it. I tried to explain to them that juicing is not the solution, they need to seriously change their habits. Thinking "its only for ten days" is not a healthy way to think, and if after that ten days you go back to how you were, it was all for nothing. I feel like since this has been a hard journey for me, I have knowledge that I didn't have before. I HAVE changed my life, I HAVE changed my thinking on "diets," and when I talk about this journey for me it is something I 100% believe. This is not about going on a diet and exercising, it is about willpower, sacrifice, and breaking habits.

Well, that's my rant for today. I cant wait for the weekend!

Dinners in the Shan household

I like having pictures on my blog so I figured I would share some pictures of our meals. Pictures are fun.

Day one- home made calzones. I just used a jiffy box of instant pizza crust, some sauce, cheese and any toppings we wanted. Not necessarily low in calories, but not too high, much much better than pizzeria calzones, and also you can put whatever you want in it and make it really filling. I only ate about half of mine. And not to mention it only took about 5 minutes to throw together, so that is always a plus.

Day two- Lasagna soup. Its almost like spaghettios with lasagna noodles and cheese. And healthier. Basically just tomato sauce, chicken broth, lasagna noodles, and seasonings. I got the recipe from pinterest. Oh how I love pinterest. We didn't use any meat in ours, and you could probably lower the calories even more by using a lighter pasta, the lasagna noodles we used were pretty high in calories compared to other noodles.
http://thedeenbros.com/index.php/recipes/recipe_detail/bobbys_lighter_tastes_like_lasagna_soup/

One of our favorites- PF Changs copy cat lettuce wraps. So so good. And filling. And flavorful. And easy. http://www.azcentral.com/style/hfe/food/recipes/articles/2011/08/08/20110808lettuce-wraps-crispy-rice-stick-noodles.html
 We used chicken breasts and cut them up really fine, since ground chicken creeps me out. Its really good, healthy, and fun to assemble. :)

And my masterpiece of the week, quinoa burgers with my zucchini casserole. I am new to quinoa, and whoa... how have I lived without it for all the time!? Amazing. All you need is quinoa, egg (I only used the egg white), grated carrots & onion, and seasonings. Mush it up into a patty and cook it in a pan with a teeny butter to get a nice crisp on it. Crazy low calorie and one of the best things I have ever eaten. Here is the real recipe for you recipe followers.
http://eatingwelllivingthin.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/love-my-quinoa-burger/

Don't you guys love how funny my pictures look compared to the professional pictures on the websites? Total fail on all of them. Oh well, I don't really care how it looks as long as its good. And, since I have lost 17lbs it looks like something is working, even though its not pretty. I still need to lose three pounds before Halloween to make my first goal. I CAN DO IT!!


I will leave you guys with a picture from our weekend. We drank a little (sorry diet) and got on a supreme scream type ride. About ten times. It was so much fun. And scary. We went on so many times, but somehow Matt was scared to go on again. So I went alone. 180 feet in the air. All by myself. I must have lost my mind. Matt made me put on my glasses so I would get the full effect of how high we were, excuse my looking like a nerd.  

Hey guys!

Guess what? I got my first "You've lost weight!" from someone who has no reason to tell me this unless they really did notice. A couple people have told me, but I always feel like if they know I am dieting, they will be looking for results. But yeah, it was really freaking awesome to hear it from someone that didn't even know I was dieting. Squeeeee!

Goals, I haz 'em

I just realized I never set any goals for myself. Or deadlines. Yeah, go ahead, tell me I am slow and stupid, but I really never thought about it. I just figured, hey, I wanna get skinny, so here it goes.

Goal one- be in the 150s by Halloween. This one might be hard, since there is only about two weeks left, I got about three pounds to go, and this week I should be starting my period so I know that will be filled with bloat and lots of not wanting to exercise or eat well.

Goal two- Run/walk the 5k on Thanksgiving and not die in the process. That would suck if I died.
Goal Three- Be in the 140s by Christmas. I wonder if it is possible with all of the wonderful holiday treats, but I am going to aim for it.

Also, I want to work out more consistently and more variety. We have not done P90X in two weeks or so (I know, I know) but I guess we got bored and need something new to pump us up. Suggestions are welcome.

So there we go, I will chronicle how these goals hold up, and I can only do my best and hope for success.

Weekend FAIL

Fail fail fail. I hate weekends and so does my waistline. This is pretty much how I look about now.

I guess next week I will just have to try this.

Willpower, can I buy it on Amazon?

5k? HELP.

Okay, so my sister-in-law just sent me text telling me that Matt and I should do a Thanksgiving Day 5k with them. Just hearing this has sent me into the sweats and I am suddenly feeling very anxious. I am terrified, and I have not even decided if I want to do it yet. What if I finish last? What if I cannot even finish? What if I fall over and roll up in a ball and cry? What if I am "the fat girl?"

I don't run. I CANT run. Seriously. I know I am not supposed to say cant, but I physically can not do it. I am doing something wrong. How do people breathe and run at the same time? How do you not get a side cramp? What about those weird foot cramps? I am really scared. I need help.

I have heard of this couch to 5K program, but the last time I tried to download it, it wouldn't fit on my ipod so I gave up. That is how eager I am to run.

So, my question is, I have got right about 6 weeks to learn how to run three miles straight. Is there any hope for me? Any suggestions or tips? I am on the edge right now, someone please talk me down.

One more for today

So I wrote up that (below) blog post yesterday but forgot to post it. So I am going to post today's news. I lost another pound! 17lbs down, I cannot believe it! I went shopping yesterday for the first time in a long time and I didn't feel as terrible as I usually do. For the past few months, clothes shopping has been frustrating in the least, and heartbreaking most of the time. Every time I came home empty handed I just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. Not going to lie, sometimes I do. This extra weight has broken me down much more than it should, but what can I say, I am just not comfortable.

But anyway, I went to my favorite cheap shopping place since I really needed some new shoes (Burlington Coat Factory) and I bought some pants that were a size ::drumroll:: TEN! I know every brand of jeans is different, but I tried on several pairs of tens and they all fit. It has been more than a while that EVERY pair of jeans I tried on have fit, so that was a very nice surprise. It is not always the scale that gives you those warm fuzzies. On another note, I still am not skinny enough to look good in a light wash, no. Definitely not. Lots of praise to girls who looks good in that.

And update to my bloggy dinner, FAIL. We went shopping last night and just decided to go out for dinner. BOO! BUT on a good note, my new favorite vegetable is cucumbers! I love them with a little salt. Yumyum. I never liked them, but wanted to mix up my veggie intake so I figured I would just force myself to eat them since they are so low in calories. Turns out, with a little salt, they are heavenly! I am actually out, I might need to stop at the store and buy a couple more.

Bloggy Dinner

So Matt had a great idea, he said that I should share my wonderful cooking with the interwebs world. So I will try. This first day is not my best effort, but its easy and quick and delicious. 2 cups of rice filled with eggs and veggies and you will be stuffed and clock in at just under 500 calories. Not bad for dinner I say.

I got this idea from the many times we go to Benihana, and wanted to recreate it at home for much less money and calories.

Shan Fried Rice
1 3/4 cups cooked calrose rice
1/4 Cup onion, diced
1/4 cup carrot- grated
1/8 cup green onion
1 Tbsp garlic
1 large egg
1 Tbsp butter
Soy sauce to taste

Melt butter in large pan. Add veggies and cook for a couple minutes. Add egg and scramble. Throw in rice, combine well, and add as much soy sauce as you prefer. I like to let it cook for a minute or two to get it nice and brown. That's it! Easy peasy.

My husband usually adds the frozen vegetable mix, but I like to keep mine simple. We have also been known to add chicken or shrimp in it as well.

Here is how it turns out:

Definitely not the prettiest dish on the planet, but man its good.


Not sure what is on the menu tonight, hopefully something blog- worthy. I am thinking homemade calzones.. Nom.

I am still here!

Just been lazy about updating. Nothing too exciting has been coming my way recently, so my bloggy life is boring.

I did lose another .4lbs, so that is something. I am thoroughly convinced it was due to the 30ds, since it really mixed up my workouts. I obviously need some variation to prevent plateaus, so I will probably be trying anything and everything. I am determined to not go crazy during the holidays, even though I have been seeing some crazy delicious looking recipes for the holidays that have made me think about throwing my diet down the drain.

Did you know ONE fun size bag of M&Ms has 70 calories? There is like 9 m&ms in there, and it is more than like an entire bag of celery. This Halloween will probably not be pleasant for me, since I will constantly be analyzing what I could be eating instead of this candy. I am not sure if that is good or bad, but really, its not like I have crazy cravings or anything, so I am thinking it is a good thing. I have always been a grazer, so if I just control my habits of not eating everything in sight, I should be all good.

One interesting thing I did last week was made my first spaghetti squash. I am in love. It is so easy to prepare, and made a perfect low calorie lasagna. Next time, I will probably just use the squash as a base and put the sauce and cheese on top, since it doesn't really hold shape very well, so the whole lasagna process was sort of a waste. Matt even took the leftovers to work and I got tons of wife points for that. Everyone loved it!

I used this recipe from my trusty skinnytaste.com. Oddly enough, I bought a spaghetti squash at the store the week before just to see what I could do with it. Then of course, my website comes to my rescue like my own personal guardian angel. I really should give that girl a Christmas gift or something, she really is magical.
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/09/spaghetti-squash-lasagna.html

Squash LasagnaSkinnytaste.comServings: 4 • Serving Size: 1 lasagna • Old Points: 6 pts • Points+: 7 pts
Calories: 291.0 • Fat: 13.7 g • Protein: 19.6 g • Carb: 21.0 g • Fiber: 2.7 g
Sodium: 358.3 mg  

Ingredients:

• 2 cups marinara sauce 
• 3 cups cooked roasted spaghetti squash
• 1 cup part skim ricotta
• 8 tsp parmesan cheese
• 6 oz part skim shredded mozzarella (I used Sargento)

Directions:

See instructions on how to roasted spaghetti squash here.

Preheat oven to 375°.

In four individual 5 x 7-inch oven safe baking dishes, ladle 1/4 cup quick marinara sauce on the bottom of each dish. Top each with 3/4 cup of cooked spaghetti squash and spread evenly. Top each with 1/4 cup ricotta
Cover with foil and bake for 15 - 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the edges begin to bubble; uncover and cook an additional 5 minutes.


EASY, EASY, EASY! Loved it. Matt loved it too even though he thought he hated squash. More wife points for making him try something he thought he would hate. Man, I'm awesome. :)

This is getting long. (that's what she said)

But on one final note, I still need to find a Halloween costume. Any ideas? I really wanted to be Princess Leia in the gold bikini and have Matt be Jabba, but I am not sure my body is in good enough shape. Maybe if I lose ten pounds by then, which is doubtful. Someone help me with ideas!

30 day shread?

Am I the only one who almost dies during this workout?

We are on our week 7 "recovery week" from P90X which includes yoga and stretch and general laziness from both Matt and I. So since I figured we were not going to be working out much this week, I have been wanting to try 30DS with Jillian Michaels. It is hard! And what is great about it is its only about 20 minutes! I burn about 225 calories with the 20 minute workout, and with P90X we usually burn upwards of 400 at least, but then again, the workout is a whole hour long. Working out for an hour takes a lot of dedication, and especially on a weeknight when I still have to make dinner. But we keep trying to continue on, we are already done with two out of three months, so there is definitely no sense giving up now.

Now for the bad news. Remember how my last post I said we had been getting lazy with our workouts? Well, I paid for it. I gained 3 pounds back that I cannot seem to shed. I have been keeping within my calorie goals, and working out, but I guess it is just a road block I have to get through.

We are going to Stateline this weekend so Matt can go to a concert and I can gamble. I know we are going to have a lot of fun, but I am pretty worried about our eating choices when we are away for the weekend. I know that I will not be making prime choices, but I just hope I do not over indulge.

And before I go, I just have to praise myfitnesspal again. I absolutely LOVE that I can put all of our "regular" meals into the recipe builder and it will tell you exactly how much calories one serving is. No more guessing how much is in your portion, I just have to split up the portions when I serve it and that's it. I love it.

Hiking?

I have been lazily updating my Blog. Sorry. It is probably because I have been VERY lax in my exercising last week and felt a little guilty. But, I am back on track and really feeling it.

But, instead of exercising, last weekend we went on a very long hike! I think it is about 6 miles round trip. We went to the local watering hole to veg out in the sun and go swimming. My friends are also insane so they like to jump off of the rocks. Here is the one they jumped off:

Yeah, you see that little bit of white shorts near the top? That's my crazy friend. Here is the teeny tiny rock I jumped off and was incredibly scared doing it. It was about 2 feet high. No joke.

I also did not realize that the shadows of the rocks in this picture make it looks like there are sharks in the water. Now I am going to be scared to get back in there.

So anyway, both Matt and I are back on track. We had to redo our 7th week on P90 since we were really lazy with it. Trust me, I think we both are feeling much more out of shape now since we took a week off than we did when we started! It really is hard to get back into the groove when you allow yourself to get out of it. Lets hope the does not happen again!

See, the humans are not the only big ones in the house!

We also have huge pets. I guess we all need to go on a diet together.

So, I ripped my pants this morning.

Yep, as I got out of the car, I ripped my jeans. I guess today will be filled with waddling around hoping no one notices this big hole in my thigh. Granted, these pants have been on their last leg for a while, but it is always a blow to the self esteem to rip your pants. Add to that my own mother says "Well it sure does take a lot of pressure to rip jeans!" Yeah, shes real supportive. Now I have to go jeans shopping, which will also make me want to curl up in a ball and cry. Maybe I should have a drink first. Ugh.

And now, as I am whining about ripping my pants, I am really starting to feel guilty about my workouts. I have not worked out in 5 days. That is bad. I need to get back on it, I just get distracted, and make excuses. BUT, I have been under my calories every day still, so that just adds to the "well, I do not HAVE to work out today since I am under" excuse.

BUT, I made a delicious low calorie dinner last night. Well, it is supposed to be low calorie. I am still questioning it, since it was clearly too delicious to be healthy. I got the recipe from my new favorite website ever, skinnytaste.com. This girl is a genius.

Skinny Baked Broccoli Macaroni and CheeseSkinnytaste.com
Servings: 8 • Serving Size: 1 cup • Old Points: 6 pts • Points+: 8 pts
Calories: 314.9 • Fat: 9.8 g • Protein: 17.7 g • Carb: 44.3 g • Fiber: 6.3 g • Sugar: 4 g
Sodium: 215.7 (without salt) 

Ingredients:

• 12 oz high fiber elbows like Ronzoni Smart Taste
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp light butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 2 cups skim milk
• 1 cup fat free chicken broth (vegetarians use vegetable broth)
• 8 oz (2 cups) Sargento shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar
• salt and fresh pepper to taste
• 12 oz fresh broccoli florets (I used pre-cut bag)
• 1/8 cup grated parmesan
• 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• cooking spray

Directions:


Cook pasta and broccoli together in a large pot of salted water, according to package directions for al dente (or slightly under cook 2 minutes). Spray a baking dish with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 375°. In a large, heavy skillet, melt butters. Add onion and cook over low heat about 2 minutes, add flour and cook another minute, or until the flour is golden and well combined. Add milk and chicken broth and whisk, raising heat to medium-high until it comes to a boil; cook about 5 minutes or until the sauce becomes smooth and thick. Season with salt and pepper.
Once the sauce is thick, remove from heat, add cheese and mix well until cheese is melted. Adjust salt and pepper to taste, add cooked macaroni and broccoli and mix well. Pour into prepared baking dish. Top with grated cheese and breadcrumbs. Spray a little more cooking spray on top.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, then broil for a few minutes to get the breadcrumbs golden.

Here is how ours turned out

Kind of  a crappy picture, but it was Delicious none the less, and so filling. I also tried brown rice noodles instead of the whole wheat, and they were really good! Less calories than regular noodles, but they have a good flavor. I think tonight I might try skinnytastes baked ziti and spinach, since we have the biggest bag ever of spinach that we need to use. Costco does that to you.

I feel like a fool.

Warning: Mopey post ahead.

I am feeling the worst I have felt in a while. I usually try to see the positive in everything, but at this point, I see nothing at all to happy about.

I bought a new scale today. I have been using my Wii scale, which I have always known is not the most accurate, but I figured it might be a couple pounds off. I stepped on my scale and it said I was 24 (TWENTY FREAKING FOUR) pounds more than my last weigh in. I know it is not physically possible for me to gain 24 pounds in 6 days, but now I am at a loss with where to move forward. I guess the only okay thing about this situation is that I do believe the Wii tracked my progress, even though the number was way WAY off, so at least I can still pretend like I really did lose 11 pounds. I knew it was too good to be true that I was almost halfway to my goal without even noticing a difference in my clothes.

I feel really, really dumb that I have to reset my weight in myfitnesspal, make a new ticker for here, and show everyone my REAL weight, instead of my glorified Wii feel good weight. I am not going to lie, I cried about it for a few minutes, but really, what is there for me to do except continue on? I never wanted to be at this weight, and I just hope this gives me a big swift kick in the ass instead of making me throw myself into a bowl of chips.

If anyone has any advice for me or just wants to make fun of me for being so gullible, feel free.

Diet derailing?

Weekends are hard on me. I used to sit and watch TV and eat my weight in potato chips and now I get really anxious wanting to eat everything in sight. So what did I do? I cooked! I have my friends little brothers birthday party tonight, and I always love to make something fun, unique, and good for every party that I go to. Today I decided to make a "chocolate peanut butter pie." Yes, I know, not diet food, at all, but I am just going to try not to eat it. Or maybe just one little sliver...

Definitely not diet conscious. I used an oreo cookie crust, peanut butter/powdered sugar layer, fat free chocolate pudding layer, and a fat free cool whip layer (cool HHWHIP anyone?) topped with chopped reeses cups. MMMM.

But, to not totally derail all of my progress, I made myself a sweet low calorie treat to hopefully get it out of my system before I eat the whole pie.

Yummy. Fat Free chocolate pudding with low fat cool whip for only 200 calories. Healthy and a great way to satisfy that craving without going overboard. I always like to put it in a nice glass so I feel fancy.

So hopefully tonight will not be the death of my diet, I am determined to keep going. I cannot believe we are HALFWAY through P90X now! It really is amazing. I didn't weight myself before the start of all of this, but I guessed on a weight that I knew I was at one point, and from that estimate, I have lost 11 pounds. Yes, ELEVEN POUNDS. I still am not sure I believe it, but I will take an eleven pound weight loss any day.

Hey now Sunny Anderson

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sunny-anderson/baked-zucchini-recipe/index.html

I was so proud of myself for inventing a recipe and now Sunny went and stole it. How rude.

Okay, probably not. I highly doubt Sunny reads my blog (HI SUNNY!!) but it was pretty funny when Matt and I were watching TV and this came on. I was telling everyone who would listen to me about my new creation. Lame, party of me.

MMMMMM

MMMM last night H said I made the best dinner ever. I have to agree. And it was really really healthy.

Our favorite place is benihana, but it does not always agree with our wallets or our waistlines, so we hardly ever get it. About a year ago, I tried to recreate their magical yummy mustard sauce since it is so so yummy and actually makes me want to eat chicken instead of just tolerating chicken. Some trials have gone well, some not so well, but last night it was amazing. So we had chicken breast, zucchini, and white onions, with mustard sauce for dinner. It was amazing and tasted just like we were at benihana. I was so proud of myself and H could not stop telling me how good it was. I wish I would have taken a picture of all this gloriousness, but I was too hungry to stop for a second. It looked similar to this, without the beef, but it looked EXACTLY like benihana, we were both so amazed.

Basically, I just cubed the chicken, and cooked it in a pan with a little garlic, sesame seeds, salt and pepper, and a little bit of butter. With the veggies, I did the same. I cooked the chicken for about 15-20 minutes and the veggies about 10-15 minutes. Here is the recipe for the sauce I made. http://www.food.com/recipe/Benihana-Magic-Mustard-Sauce-25351

• 1 tablespoon sesame seed, crushed and toasted
• 3 tablespoons dry mustard
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 clove garlic, crushed
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream, whipped

You basically throw everything except the cream in the blender and blend it well. Then stir in the cream and serve. 

 I think I used a little less dry mustard since that stuff is really pungent, but it came out great.

On another note, weekends are so hard for me to work out! We did about a half hour of yoga since that was all we could take on Saturday. How sad is it that we are so out of shape we cannot do yoga? Pretty sad. That stuff is so hard. But we were only able to do like 10 minutes of it before, so we are happy. Also Sunday was such a lazy day, I could only drag myself off of the couch for 15 minutes of the workout. How lazy of me! But, I kept in my calories so I guess that helps.

Well, that was unpleasant.

32 days in! Yay! Ready for 30 day progress pictures! Yay!

NO. Those pictures did not come out well. At all. I didn't really notice any difference and of course Matt looks great. He still has a long way of course, but at least he had a noticable differnece! I am slightly jealous of him. But oh well, today is a new day, and I am bound a determined to make this work. I have noticed I do not have that jiggly boob/ armpit fat anymore, which is great, so I just have to tweak my expecations a little bit and hopefully next month will yeild better results.

After talking to some wonderful ladies yesterday, I realize that I may not have had the best results since I might not be eating enough. I have cheated, of course, but mainly I will stay around 1400-1500 calories, BUT I am also working off a ton with the workouts, and not refueling enough. So I have to start watching my diet more closely and tracking dilligantly. I need more protien so I am off to the store tonight to get some supplies.

Also, Matt got us fancy new heart rate moniters for an early birthday present and they have been eye opening! We have only used them twice so far, but I worked 500-something the first day with strength training and 640 yesterday with the cardio! I was shocked. I though I had done it wrong, but looking around online that seems like an average amount for P90X workouts. Its hardcore.

My arms really hurt from the month 2 arm workout, but its a good hurt of course. Goodbye boob fat, hello bikini...well.. someday.

One step forward, two steps back.

I have been feeling less motivated lately, even though we have still been working out. I am kind of in a slump, we are now 30 days into our P90X and I do not feel any different. There was a few days where I felt thinner, but now I feel like I gained it back or something. I hate that my weight can define how I feel in my day to day life.

We had a party at my house this weekend, and I felt like I had a really cute outfit. My friends love to take pictures and always want a girl picture. Bad idea. I hate pictures, I really really despise them. The pictures are so unflattering for me, and I feel especially whale-like when I am sandwiched between my thin friends. I felt so bad after I saw those pictures. I went straight to my room and put on my stretchy pants. It is still hard for me to see myself at this size, and see how tight the clothes are fitting me.

I am really in a slump and I want to get out. I was doing so well (mentally at least) and that really helps to stay motivated. I think we might take our 30day progress pictures tonight so hopefully that will not bum me out more. I have thought once or twice about posting them on here to make myself continue to move forward, but I am not sure I have the strength yet. I was really hoping to see more of a difference at this point.

Oh well, I am done being a debbie downer for right now. It is easy to stay down and get off track, but it is much harder to continue on even if I am feeling bad today.

"If you don't do what's best for your body, you're the one who comes up on the short end"
- Julius Erving

So I don't want to brag or anything

But I did 111 pushups and 54 pull ups last night. Keep in mind I do most of my pushups on my knees and use a chair for support with my pullups. BUT I know for a fact that I am much stronger now than I was when I started. I push myself to do more now, but when I started I would just give up.

I also joined myfitnesspal and I do not know how I feel about it yet. Tracking the food is okay, even though I had a book that I would use anyways, but the exercise part is throwing me off. First off, there is no "P90X ARMS" workout logged in, I have to put in each workout separately. And secondly, it does not count any calories for strength training! I am working my ASS off, I know I am burning some calories! And the last thing I want to do it under-eat. I think I am going to get a heart rate monitor so I can be sure.

On another note, Matt has started to notice his pants fitting looser! I have also noticed a flatter tummy on me as well. I have not felt a difference in my clothes yet, but I will stay optimistic. My hips and thighs have been a problem all my life, so I am sure they will be the last to go.

Indiscretions.

The weekend is my enemy. Summer weekends is when people want to have BBQs, go out for drinks, or have a potluck. I cannot say I did well, but I will also say I did better than I usually would have done.

I am still trucking along as best I can. I missed one day and I am going to do everything in my power to make it up tonight. I hate that I let myself miss a day but I love that I feel guilty about it. That is definitely growth in my book.

I think I might try this for dinner tonight. Looks good, easy, and have all of the supplies at my house.

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/07/easiest-pasta-and-broccoli-recipe.html#more
(my new favorite website by the way)

Easiest Pasta and Broccoli RecipeGina's Weight Watcher RecipesServings: 6 • Size: 1 1/2 cups • Old Points: 6 pts • Points+: 8 pts
Calories: 289.2 • Fat: 7.1 g • Carbs: 48 g • Fiber: 4.9 g • Protein: 11.7 g • Sugar: 1.0
Sodium: 103.7 (without salt)

Ingredients:

• 12 oz uncooked pasta
• 6 1/2 cups fresh broccoli florets, no stems
• 5 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Romano
• 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
• salt and fresh cracked pepper

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When water boils, add pasta and broccoli at the same time and cook according to pasta instructions for al dente. When pasta is almost done cooking, reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water and set aside. Drain pasta and broccoli
Return the pot to the stove and set heat to high; add 1 tbsp olive oil, when hot, add garlic. Cook until golden, reduce flame to low and add pasta back to the pot.

Mix well, add remaining olive oil, grated cheese, salt and pepper to taste mixing well and smashing any large pieces of broccoli to break up
Add 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water and mix well adding more if needed


Tonight is chest and back again. I cannot believe this is week 3! This is most definitely the longest I have ever stuck with anything. I even want to buy a heart rate moniter now so I can track my calories and stuff. I downloaded myfitnesspal for my phone so I can get a handle on my diet as well. I love this new life, it is uplifting to actually care about my body for a change, rather than just eat myself into a stupor and complain about it.

I guess I have to learn the hard way.

Something I will know from this day forward: Just because I am feeling great does not mean I can fit into anything. I put on a pair of pants that fit perfectly just 3 months ago and now I am feeling like a full sack of potatoes. I guess my body has not quite caught up with my mind, and I should not torment myself with wearing too tight clothes until I am a few more weeks in. Bad idea.

On another note, we tried plyometrics again last night. We did better, but still could not complete the video. It is very hard and we pushed ourselves as far as we could, so that is really the best results we can ask for. Maybe by next week we can complete it. This will not be the death of me.

1/12 of the way done

Sounds good to me. Actually, 1/12 sounds bad. But honestly, this is just the first week of the rest of my life. I really shouldn't be counting down the days until I am done because this is a lifestyle change, not a quick fix diet.

We started our second week of P90X last night. Its chest and back again. I really cannot believe it but I was able to bang out more pushups and pullups than last time. And it is probably just my imagination, but my pants seemed to have a little less resistance this morning in going up. Tonight is a redo of our failed plyometrics video. We made it to 25 minutes last time, hopefully we can do the whole thing or at least much more. I have got a good feeling. I need to fight through the pain and reap the rewards.

On another note, I made a great dinner last night! It is a Shan twist on Red Robins Chicken Caprese Sandwich.

Yield 4
4 hamburger buns or buns of your choice
2 boneless skinless chicken breast, butterflied
Pesto Sauce of your choice (I used a knorr pesto sauce packet)
4 Slices fresh mozzarella cheese
Preferred veggie toppings

Cook the butterflied chicken breasts on the stovetop with a little non stick cooking spray. I seasoned with a little salt & pepper, but you can use any seasonings you would like. Toast buns. Once chicken is cooked, spread desired amount of pesto sauce on bun. Place chicken, mozzarella cheese, and toppings on bun. I served this with some baked french fries.

I didn't calculate how many calories were in this recipe, but it is definitely much better than something we would make before. We used the pesto sparingly, and loaded lots of lettuce, onion, and tomato on our sandwiches. I couldn't even finish mine, it was delicious!

I am glad that I am finally starting to control my portions, since that was my biggest problem in the past. I used to be able to eat all day long. Isn't the first step admitting you have a problem? Bring on step two. I am ready.

Bring the pain

Ouch. This is my seventh day on P90X. This means (gasp, could it really be?) REST DAY!! I am beyond excited for rest day since I can hardly move my legs. We did Legs & Back workout on Saturday and the pain is fully hitting me today. I must have done a million calf raises and now I cannot even straighten my legs. This is intense, but I am so happy. I do not think I have stuck with anything (besides Matt of course) for 7 days. I am very proud of both of us.

Friday was Yoga. Man was that hard. I felt like a whale flopping around on the floor and if I ever hear the work downward dog again I might scream. I have so much respect for yoga-ers since this whole workout was pretty much impossible for me. As time goes on, hopefully I can do better.

Saturday was Legs & Back FROM HELL. Actually, during the workout, it was so much fun. I felt great. Mr.Man was saying "okay you do not have to grab weights here if you are just starting" and of course I thought, HA I have been doing this for 5 days now TYVM, I will be grabbing weights! Bad idea. I am in a lot of pain still from this. I can walk if I hunch over and bend my legs and look like smeagol. Smeagols cute right?

Yesterday was Kenpo. This one might be my favorite work out. It is hard, and really gets your heart pumping and ass sweating. Yes, my ASS was literally sweating. Everything was sweating. I could hardly breathe. But it was fun. There is a ton of kicking, punching, grunting, and moving. It made me feel strong and like I could kick someones ass 'til Tuesday.

So, one week down, 12 more to go. Honestly, that sounds awful. TWELVE more weeks. But I am hoping to get in a routine where it is just natural to come home and work out, rather than come home, plop my big butt on the couch and plop a bag of chips in my mouth. We went grocery shopping last night and bought mostly all healthy food. I really wanted oreos but after checking the labels, I do not think I can spare 70 calories for ONE oreo. Yes, each oreo is 70 calories. I used to be able to eat 10 oreos in one sitting, 700 CALORIES IN OREOS?? No wonder I am fat. But, now is not the time to dwell on the past, just to look forward to what is coming now. I sense good things coming for Matt and I, whether it is weight loss or just a healthier life, only good can come from this and I have to remember that.

"Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, and hour, a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever."
-Lance Armstrong

I invented a recipe!

I love to cook. But 99% of the time, I look for recipes or ideas. More of ideas, since I am a terrible recipe follower. But, I had some zucchini that I had to use up and I couldnt find anything appealing to me, so I just went to work and hoped something good would come out of it. Well, it did. It was one of the best things I have ever tasted, if I do say so myself. I will share the recipe so everyone can bask in my wonderful cooking skills.

Zucchini Casserole
1 Large zucchini- sliced (50 cal)
1 cup panko bread crumbs (220 cal)
2 Tbs parmesan cheese (40 cal)
1 Tbs butter or margarine, melted
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400. Line casserole dish with zucchini slices. Combine melted butter, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, salt & pepper in a small dish. Cover zucchini with bread crumb mixture. Bake for 20-30 minutes until zucchini is cooked and topping is golden brown.


Deliciousness!

My first 3 days

Well, for some reason a few days ago, I decided to get off my XL rump and go full force into working out and eating right. Matt looked at me like I was crazy, but to true Matt fashion, he let me do what I wanted and will support me in anything that I want to do. He is really great that he is willing to take this on with me. His dad had a copy of P90X and I decided I wanted it NOW. He went and picked it up and we looked through the manuals and stuff and decided to start the next day.

P90X is intense. Really intense. Work out 6 days a week and follow a strict diet OR within a certain amount of allotted calories. I always struggle (or make excuses) for diets since I am a picky eater. I do not like fish, beef, or turkey, and usually slather butter on my veggies. Brown rice takes unreasonably long to cook for a hungry girl, and white rice tastes so much better. I will be counting my calories, and following what I can, but most likely I will be making my own healthy choices within my calorie allowances. I might be crazy, but I am going for it.


DAY 1: Tuesday
Chest & Back & Ab RIPPER X
This was hard. Push ups, pull ups, fly push ups, some sort of backward pull up. All kinds. My arms and shoulders HURT the next day. But it was a good hurt. Like the kind that I feel it, but I also feel good for doing it. I was pretty good at the pushups, but I can not do any kind of pull up to save my life. Matt helped me by giving me a boost and spotting. But Mr. P90X says you may have to start with a chair holding you up so Matt is my chair. :)
Ab ripper was intense. My abs still hurt. This video is only 20 minutes and Matt and I were pooped. I swear half of these ab exercises looked impossible for me but I just improvised and did the best I could. I guess I did something right since I am really sore.

DAY 2: Wednesday
Plyometrics hell
Plyometrics. I do not know what that means but I am sure it means some sort of torture. Matt and I were huffing and puffing during the warm up. Apparently Plyometrics is some sort of hardcore cardio jumping thing. Lunge, jump, squat, jump, so many jumping jacks, kick your leg over a stool for 3 minutes, jump, jump, jump. After 20 minutes Matt and I were face down on the floor. We couldn't move. We decided not too push ourselves over our limits and stopped the DVD. Coming from 2 very sedentary people, I felt good for even making it that far. We are not going to punish ourselves for not getting through it, we will just have to hope for better next time. My legs hurt the next day so I seems we worked out something, but really it makes you sweat and your heart pump.

DAY 3: Thursday
Arms & Shoulders
I was flying solo today. Matt hurt his arm from all of those pushups from day 1. Since his arm was injured, he was not going to be joining me this night. I  got out my weights and got to work. This one was fun. Not too hard, but I probably need heavier weights next time. I love working out my arms since they are always visible. I felt really good after, but usually the pain does not hit me until the next day around lunch time, so we will see how I feel in a little while.

And to make it worse, his parents were taking us out to dinner that night. Step one is admitting you have a problem right? I have an eating problem. I eat way too much. The greasier the better. Luckily, we went out for Hibachi, which may still be bad, it is not the worst thing on Earth. My trouble is moderation, I just eat and eat until they have to roll me out of there. I tried to remember the workout I just did and eat slowly and savor my food. I did good. I ate my small bowl of fried rice, soup, salad, and some of my chicken and only SOME of my noodles. I can usually eat my whole plate so I was very proud.


Well I am all caught up. This is day 4 of diet & P90X. Tonight will be some sort of chicken with zucchini for dinner. The workout for today is Yoga.  I hope it is relaxing.

This is the beginning

Well here I am. I am ready to do this. I might whine a lot throughout this process but I am determined to do this.

Let me start by saying I have always said I have been "comfortable" with my weight. Never too big, definitly not too small. Well folks, that was a lie. I have never been quite comfortable, but never been in the mood to do anything about it. I am too lazy to work out, to cheap to buy the newest work out product, or too hungry to resist. I have never really sat down and said "okay I am seriously going to do this." I have said, hey look here is a magic pill I can take, look this infomercial says the fat will MELT off! It HAS to work! I have always looked for the easy way out, but today I am proud to say I have realized there is no easy way. It will be hard. Very hard. But I am ready.