Thursday, December 31, 2009

More food

Day two of being home, I had more delicious food, some super cheesy nachos from my favorite mexican food place Pepe's.  And then a beef fajita and jalepeno pizza from the Blue Onion.  So delicious!  I did step back on the scale and thankfully I didnt gain any weight, or put on any of the body fat % that I took off.  yeah!!! 



I used my new Garmin 305 watch again today.  I love it!  I look down at it and instantly know when I need to pick up my already slow pace haha!  I hate running in the cold, so my pace has been slower than normal, hopefully I can pick it up before the big race on the 17th!

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

I'm Back

Sorry for the hiatus.  I was in the Rio Grande Valley for about 10 days and didnt really have access to blogging, that and I was too lazy to start up my mom's computer :-)  I only worked out one day, ran about 3 miles and thats it!  I did eat my weight in sweets and mexican food!  I got there on Friday the 18th and we immediately made a batch of chocolate peanut butter fudge.  I think that I ate half of this pan myself!

Butter and sugar mixture


Chocolate layer


Peanut butter layer


Me eating my first bite!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Weigh in Day

Well I am officially sick again.  Its no fun!  I sucked it up and went to my training session since it was weigh in day.  I only lost 1 lb, boo, but I did go down 2% in body fat and went down 5 lbs in fat pounds, so I guess thats good.  I'm sure I could have done better but when I was sick two weeks ago I didnt eat the best that weekend, so I had more "cheat" meals than I should have.  Oh well, hopefully next weigh in will be a lot better....but I am going home for Christmas tomorrow, and who knows how well I will be eating.  My mom has already said she is making my favorite chocolate peanut butter fudge.  And I love the cabbage tamales they have and the mexican food....yeah so I dont expect to loose any weight this coming week :-(

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Happy Hump Day!

Well I think that I am getting sick again!!!  Have aches and chills, runny burning nose, all the symptoms!  No fun! So I didnt do any cardio today, just didnt have the energy.  I did do my hour with my trainer, chest, triceps and abs.  Plus I was running all around town trying to finish my Christmas shopping, so that should count for something!  Greg went to Wholefoods yesterday and got some of the best salsa I have ever had.  Its super spicy and has great flavor.  I paired it tonight with 4 oz of ground chicken and 1/4 cup of brown rice.  Its super super good!


Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Chtristmas Shopping Day

So I woke up early to get a start on things, and first I called my beloved DMV to find out where my license is.  They informed me that I would have to come down and take another picture.  I politely asked them why I was not asked to do this when I just went re-down there last week.  They of course being the most intelligent people people said I dont know mam the last time I have you in our office is in 2005. ?!?!?  Really????  So now I have to waste another morning at the DMV. 

So I start out getting my shopping done this morning at the mall, then to Barnes and Noble and then Academy, then to my trainer for back, shoulders and glutes, you'll be able to bounce a quarter off of these soon haha!  Then I did 30 minutes on the Arc.  I then proceeded to go back to a different Barnes and Noble because the first one was out of what I needed, then to Franklin Covey, where I was informed that the item I wanted was defective and they would not be making it anymore!  Back to the drawing board!  I got home in time to see Greg leaving to his training session, and to be informed that we would be going back to the mall when he gets done....the whole point of shopping during the day is to avoid the after work crowd, duh!  I still have 50 million things to buy, some of them will wait until I am home, I fly out Friday!  My mom took the whole week off to spend time with me!  :-) At least thats what I would like to believe.

Yesterdays meals:

9:30 - oatmeal with blackberries
11:30 - beef jerky (i was informed it was ok if I did this just this once, too much sodium in it)
2:00 - chicken tomato soup
5:00 - grilled chicken, 1/4 cup brown rice, mixture of steamed mustard greens and spinach
7:30 - 4 oz yogurt

Monday, December 14, 2009

Cheat Meal!


So we held out until Sunday for our cheat meal.  Greg really could care less if we ate it or not, but I was not going to forgo my pizza from Romanos! I love that place!  We shared a 12" beef pizza.  It was so good!  Then I got a piece of carrot cake from the Dessert Gallery. Greg didnt eat any, he let me feel like a giant pig all by myself. 

It was raining here this morning so I didnt do a run outside, not to mention my Ipod wouldnt update to my new playlist.  It only imported over 3 songs. I cant run to the same three songs over and over.  I went to my trainer appointment at noon, to do a leg workout, here it is.

Leg Press: 4 sets of 20
Lunges with weights: 3 sets of 30
Squats with weights: 3 sets of 20 
Inner thigh machine: 3 sets of 20
Hamstring curl: 3 sets of 20
Calve press: 3 sets of 20
Abs: 3 sets of 30

Arc elliptical 30 minutes.

Friday, December 11, 2009

It's Friday!

I didnt do any cardio yesterday!  I know I feel so bad!  but I did to legs, which is like cardio for me!  lol

Thursdays Workout:
Leg presses 5 sets 20
Lunges with weights 3 sets of too many!
Inner thighs 3 sets of 20
Outer thighs 3 sets of 20
Leg extension 3 sets of 20
Leg curl 3 sets of 20
Calves 3 sets of 15

Thursdays food:
9 am - Oatmeal
11 am - pumpkin seeds
2 pm - Protein shake
5 pm - 3 oz grilled beef on a wheat tortilla with oven baked sweet potato chips
7:30 pm  - 4 oz oikos yogurt with a handful of blueberries.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Yesterday was a good day at the gym.  Did biceps, triceps and chest and a few abs.  I just wish the fat would come off quicker.  I normally do at least an hour and a half of cardio a day, and nothing!  Well it doesnt feel or look like anything, i'm not allowed to weigh myself right now because with the muscle i'm building I could gain weight, and I dont want to see that number on the scale!  So I am waiting until my body fat weigh in, either this Friday or next Tuesday, not sure which day she is going to do it.

Here are the days meals!

8:00 - Oatmeal with 4 blackberries, tsp almond butter and agave
11:00 - Protein bar
2:00 - Okios yogurt with a handful of blueberris
5:00 - Grilled Shrimp, brown rice
7:30 - Protein shake, hand full of pumpkin seeds
Here is the shrimp dish, nothing exciting lol




Wednesday, December 9, 2009

I hate the DMV

So yesterday I had to go down to the DMV because my temporary license had expired and I had not received a new one in the mail.  I end up being helped by the same person that helped me the first time.  I had my receipt, that showed I applied for a new license, and that I should receive it by Nov 28, yet when he typed my info in the computer he had no documentation that I had applied for a new one!  He even said he remembered me, yet nothing was done.  So now I have to wait for him to call Austin to find out what happened.  I said well what do I do with this expired license, his advice was, if you get pulled over or if anyone questions you, just explain the story.  Yeah I'm sure thats going to go over really well!  That was 2 hours of my day I will never get back!  I did see some interesting characters there though.  My favorite had to be the man in a business suit, with all of his head shaved, except for the pony tail he was keeping in the middle of the back of his head.  Nothing says professional like a shaved head and ponytail!

Yesterday's work out was in a different order.  I met with my trainer at noon, did chest, shoulders and glutes, then did 30 minutes on the elliptical.  Then at 4, I went back with Greg, he had a session with her to see if he liked training with her, which he did, so he starts today.  While he was training I did 15 minutes on the treadmill, 15 minutes on the elliptical and then another 10 on the treadmill.  My calves are still killing me from Monday's workout!

Oh, my trainer did tell me about a bar that I can eat if I HAVE to substitute in one for a meal, they are called bobo bars, it was pretty good.

Food:
Breakfast 9:00 - 1/2 Bobo bar
11:30 - 1/2 Bobo bar
2:00 - Fish soup with 1/4 cup rice
5:00 - Dessert protein shake
7:30 - 3 oz grilled chicken with tomatoes and spinach

Monday, December 7, 2009

A Case of the Monday's

Everyday feels like a case of the Monday's when you arent working!  At least to me it does!  I dont have any new pictures for todays post.  Have been eating pretty boring bland food, and my trainer cut down my carbs to two meals a day, so that means i can have my oatmeal for breakfast and then a 1/4 cup of carbs after my noon workout.  So today I woke up, ran for an hour at the gym, came home had my oatmeal with blackberries, went to my training session, did legs again for an hour, my legs felt like JELLO afterwords, and then had to do 30 minutes on the elliptical.  After that workout I had a cup of my fish soup with my 1/4 cup brown rice.  No more complex carbs for me today!

Breakfast - 11:00 - Oatmeal with blackberries, almond butter and agave
Meal 1 - 2:00 - Fish soup 1/4 cup rice
Meal 2 - 4:30 - 3 oz grilled chicken, 1 cup spinach
Meal 3 - 7 :00 - 8 oz dessert protein shake
Meal 4 - 9:30 - 8 oz greek yogurt with fruit

And there you have my typical meal schedule!

Today's workout:
Leg press 4 sets of 20
Leg extension 3 sets of 20
Step ups 3 sets of 15
Inner thighs 3 sets 25
Hamstring curl 3 sets 20
Calves 3 sets of 15

Friday, December 4, 2009

It Snowed Today!

Yeah it snowed today!  It rarely snows in Houston, and if it does it hardly sticks.  Unfortunately I woke up sick, and didnt get to really enjoy it.  I had to reschedule my training session today too, hopefully I will feel better tomorrow and be able to go.  Here are some of the pictures of the snow!


Thursday, December 3, 2009


So I don't have anything really exciting to post today.  Woke up, ran 3 miles, ate my oatmeal, went to the trainer, did an hour of legs.  I probably wont be able to stand tomorrow.  We did tons of leg machines then she said ok, now its the end of the session, time for some lunges....????  Um my legs are like jello and you want me to do lunges!  Yes I did them, and now I'm happy that I did them, but at the time, I just wanted to fall to the ground and collapse!  After that I did she wanted me to do 30 minutes on this elliptical machine I havent ever seen before.  I think its called the Matrix Assent.  Not 100% for sure, but this is what it looks like.




I was really tired when I got off, it moves your legs in a more running like motion than traditional ellipticals.
So then I got home, ate my fish soup and now just waiting for the hubby to get home.  Its supposed to freeze and maybe snow here tomorrow, so I'm excited about that.  It rarely snows in Houston.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

So sore today!

So yesterday I had my first day with the trainer, it was a general session to see how fit I am.  I normally don't do leg workouts because of my running, I cant run well the next day because of how sore they are.  Well yesterday I did the squats and lunges and this morning i was SORE! I attempted to run and I was hobeling because my glutes are so sore!  So my running was more of a run/walk today.  Then I had my training session and we did biceps, triceps and chest and a few abs.  I dont even know how many we did, but it was straight for an hour.  I am not going to be able to lift my arms tomorrow. 
My trainer has me eating every 2.5 hours, so this morning I had my usual oatmeal with blackberries.  After the training session I had a cup of my fish soup.  I plan on having 3 oz of chicken and 1/4 cup of rice for dinner, and then at around 7 a cup of yogurt with fresh berries and then 9:30 before bed, a glass of goats milk and some nuts. No carbs after 6 for me, so it has to be protein only.  


I forgot to put up the few pics I took at the Houston Texas Monday night football game I went to last week.  I forgot the real camera, so these are from the iphone, hence them not being very good. 

And here is a delicious prosciutto and arugula pizza I had with my friend Kate the next day.  It looks more like an arugula salad!

And as promised, here is the pic of me during my 25K, its not very good, i had to take a pic of it with my phone from the website b/c they wouldnt let you save it yourself.  So dumb!
 
Yes I was extremely exhausted, that was probably mile 2 haha!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

First Day with the Trainer

So I decided that I needed some extra motivation to get my butt back into shape, so I hired a trainer that one of my friends uses.  I was not expecting to be worked out hard on my first day, which apparently I wasnt, but it sure felt like i was!  I started out on the treadmill for a light warmup, then did 2 sets of squats with the medicine ball, followed by two sets of tricep dips on the bench, next was me stepping up on this step on the same leg 15 times, then switching, i thought i was going to die then.  Then she had me do tricep extensions (the whole time having to push my butt out, arch back, shoulders down, elbows in, it took all my energy to keep the right form! Then another set of the step ups and tricep extensions, then i had to do lunges, followed by bicep curls, and repeat, then the adductor machine, with a posture on it i've never done before, followed by the lat pull down, and repeat!  This was just a a little warm up to see what kind of shape I am in.  I would have to say that I am in bad shape lol!  I go back tomorrow for day two!   I get my meal plan today, all I know so far is that its clean eating, boring, every 2.5 hours.  With one cheat meal a week, no not a cheat day, one cheat MEAL a week :-(  I wont put up my actual weight and body fat %, it scared me enough! But I will update weekly or bi monthly (whenever she re does my measurements) with the pounds/percentage points I am going down. 

So here is the last fattening dessert I will post for a while, since I have to be good on my training program. 

Buttermilk Grapefruit Cupcakes

Monday, November 30, 2009

I'm back! Sort of....

Sorry for the hiatus, but my sister gave birth to a baby boy on Wednesday, so I was out of town with no access to my computer!  So needless to say I didnt do any workouts last week other than monday, but I didnt stuff my face during thanksgiving either, so thats good! I am having some computer problems again, so I am taking it back into the shop today, hopefully I wont be out of commission too long!  I attempted to do my 18 mile run this morning, but at around mile 1 it started pouring, and I am not that person that can run in the rain, especially when its 48 degrees out, so I turned around and came home.  There is no way I will do 18 miles on a treadmill either, so I will attempt to do them tomorrow morning if its not raining.  I start with my trainer tomorrow, hopefully she will kick my butt into shape!

My new Nephew Nathan!


Aunt Heather and Nathan


Greg's brined turkey breasts


Thanksgiving dinner

Monday, November 23, 2009

Happy Monday!

Its a short week for those of you that are working, so it should be a happy Monday :-)  I did quite a bit of baking this weekend.  I got a cupcake cookbook from William Sonoma and went crazy.  This first dessert is from Chobani Yogurt Recipes, even though I didnt use Chobani Yogurt.  I switched it around a bit to make it healthier. 
Lemon Blueberry and Raspberry Loaf:

1 1/2 cups + 1 Tbsp all-purpose wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup plain fat free Greek Yogurt
1 cup plus 1 Tbsp splenda
3/4 cup and 3 tbsp of egg whites
2 tsp grated lemon zest (approximately 2 lemons)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup apple sauce
1 1/2 cups blueberries and raspberries, fresh or frozen, thawed and rinsed
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.
Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup splenda, the eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and apple sauce. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix the berries with the remaining tablespoon of flour, and fold them very gently into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 (+) minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.
When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before flipping out onto a cooling rack. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in (a pastry brush works great for this, as does using a toothpick to make tiny holes that draw the syrup in better). Cool.

My next dessert was German Chocolate Cupcakes.  I dont like them but Greg does so I made them for him.  They came out to soft, need to figure out what I did wrong.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg, at room temp
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped, melted, and cooled to room temp
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whole milk
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter cut into 8 pieces
1 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup pecans, toasted
pinch salt

Directions:
Pre heat oven to 350, lightly spray a standard 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a bowl, whisk together the four, baking soda and salt.  In another bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the sugar and 1/2 cup butter together until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.  Add the melted chocolate and sour cream and beat on low until combined.  Add the four mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk in 2 additions, beating on low speed until just combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about three-fourths full.  Bake until a toothpick inserted int he center of the cupcake comes out clean, 18-20 minutes. During the last 10 minutes of cooking put the pecans on a baking sheet and bake for the remaining 10 minutes to toast them.  Let cupcakes cool about 1 hour. 

Using a paring knife, halve each cupcake horizontally.  Spread about 1 tablespoon of the topping on each cupcake bottom, then replace the tops.  Top each cupcake with about 2 tbsp topping and serve!

Topping:

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the evaporated milk, brown sugar, and butter and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.  Remove the pan from the heat.  Stir in the coconut, pecans and salt until combined.  Let cool to room temperature before using.


The finished product!

Here is what Greg made for dinner last night.  A yogurt curry chicken salad, so good!


Friday, November 20, 2009

TGIF!

Finally Friday!  Well to me everyday is Friday right now while I'm out of work.  So yesterday I started out with the standard oatmeal, added blueberries and blackberries, exciting I know lol. 


Then it was off to the gym for some shoulder work.  I got the routine out of the Oxygen magazine.  I love that magazine!  Then I decided to drive around and try and find some cool sites to take pictures of.  I saw some interesting graffiti on a wall and stopped, it was kind of a sketchy area, think I actually pulled up in the middle of a deal going down, but we wont go there!  Here are the pictures I took.


Had some of my fish soup for lunch that I made the day before, I love it, it reminds me of wedding soup with the spinach and flavor of the broth.  I could eat this everyday! For dinner we went out to Ruggles Green, didnt take pictures, forgot my camera and it was too dark in there for me to use the iphone camera.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Fish Soup

I know I know, I didnt post yesterday, I'm trying to get caught up so I post today what I did the day before. So here is yesterdays update :-)

Breakfast started out as usual, steel cut oats, pinch of sea salt, tsp of almond butter, blackberries and a splash of agave.



Then it was off to 24 hour fitness for some back and biceps.

Ate some of turkey spaghetti for lunch, made with whole wheat pasta.


Then I roasted some tomatoes and peppers for a tomato soup I made.

Then I decided to make a "stay slim soup" that I found in the oxygen magazine, but realized I didnt have all of the ingredients so I improvised!

Ingredients:
1 spritz of pam
1 leek chopped
2 14 oz cans low sodium chicken broth
1 cup frozen edamame
2 baby bok choy
8 oz frozen orange roughy
1 cup baby spinach
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano

Directions:
1. Heat up a pan with the pam in it; add leek and saute for 2 minutes.  Stir in broth and bring to a boil.
2. Add edamame and bok choy, simmer for 3 minutes.
3. Add fish and simmer until it turns opaque, approximately 3-5 minutes.
4. Add spinach and seasonings, simmer for 2 more minutes.


Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Day after my long run



Hello all!  Sorry for the lack of posting yesterday.  I decided to do my long run (13 miles) yesterday morning, and I'm pretty much dead after a long run.  I did do it in my best time ever though, 2.37 yeah me!

So here are so photos of the mexican themed meal Therese threw on Friday for a friend that was in town from Japan.  Greg said it felt like a Goya commerical lol.  Everything was homemade, the salsa, nice and spicy, David's guacamole (which I didn't try since I don't like avocados).  She slow roasted the meat for 3 hours, and then it pretty much fell apart on its own.  Such a good meal, if only I hadnt filled myself up on salsa the hour before everyone got to her apartment :-)






Ok so here is the photo that made me realize I need to start hitting the gym extra hard.  I didnt realize I had let 20 lbs slip right back on me!  So now instead of those pesky last 10 lbs i want to loose, i'm now at 40 lbs I need to loose!  The first pic is last years half marathon.  The second is this years, yeah those 20 lbs show!  And yes I wore a similar outfit on purpose so that I would be able to compare pics more accurately hahaha I know i'm crazy.  I will post the 25k pic as soon as I get that.