Day 115

Well today I turn 31.  I can honestly say I am probably in the best shape I have been since I was 15!  I will also admit I do not yet have a 6 pack. :-(  I think I would have made it by my goal date had I stepped things up the past 2 weeks instead of slacked off a little.  BUT, I am not giving up on my goal.  I still have a flat stomach with abs muscles that have never been there before!  I'm going to keep going with P90X and my diet.  I'm going to get some pics on here so I can compare what I looked like 115 days ago to today.  I know for a fact there's been a big change.  I have lost 14 lbs and gone down a size in jeans since the end of December.

Day 93

This was taken almost 2 weeks ago, but I didn't get a chance to put it up until now.  When I flex you can totally see some of my oblique muscles and upper abs now!  Only a few weeks to go!  I'm not sure if I'll have a full blown 6 pack by my actual birthday, but I know I'll be close!

Protein Smoothies

I've been drinking protein smoothies after weight lifting work outs to help with recovery and to add some needed protein intake.  As I've mentioned, I try to eat mostly vegan/vegetarian foods, so the protein I'm currently using is Pea Protein.  This is my first time using this kind of protein, and it's definitely not the same at whey protein.  To be honest, it tastes like ground up peas....   The plus side, it's 100% pure and natural and packed with natural protein!  I've been playing around with ingredients to see if I can add anything to make it taste better.  Here are some concoctions I've come up with so far:

My Green Machine (my fave so far)

1 scoop pea protein

1 handful (approx 1 cup) fresh spinach/spring mix

1/2 a banana

1 cup filtered water

ice

1 tsp agave nectar (optional)

Purple Protein

1 scoop pea protein

1 handful fresh spinach/spring mix

1/2 cup frozen berry mix

1/4 cup 100% pure pineapple juice(optional)

1 cup filtered water

ice

I use a Magic Bullet to mix the ingredients.  I find it does a great job shredding the ice and thoroughly mixing the protein and spinach.  Sometimes I don't have time to put a smoothie together so I simply mix a scoop of protein with 8 oz of water and chug!



Day 80

Weight: 130 lbs and stuck there for 2 weeks!!  Not that I'm mad, I'm very happy to be at 130!  Gotta kick up my game though to break through this plateau.
Work outs: 6 days a week.  I've added in some P90X videos that my husband does and they rock!  It's great to switch up my cardio with some kempo or plyometrics.  I like the weight lifting routines as well, they really push me.

Meals: Been sticking to my "diet" for the most part.  I did have a slip at at The Drunken Fish last weekend when I consumed almost an entire ball of green tea ice cream wrapped in pound cake then fried!  It was worth it though :-)  Did I mention the whip cream and chocolate syrup?

Staying on track while on vacation.

I recently went to Las Vegas with my mom to see my family.  I told myself I was going to be good while endulging a little....  Though I did well at times, I also gained 4 pounds in 3 days!!!  After reflecting on what I did, and didn't do, I came up with a list of Do's and Don'ts for going on vacation and staying true to your new lifestyle changes.

DO's
-remember your goals
-bring your own snacks and foods so you're not tempted with unhealthy ones
-treat yourself (responsibly)
-continue to work out (window shop, hike, swim in the hotel pool, use the hotel gym, etc)
-carry water with you everywhere
-Have Fun!

DON'Ts
-make multiple trips to the buffet
-skip working out all week/weekend
-eat every bit of the 8 course meal! (try every course though)
-let your family and friends tell you "you're on vacation" "calories don't count here" or "you're too thin already"

After my 4 mile hike in the desert!

Eat More Quinoa!

Here are 3 Quinoa recipes that I've been making lately that I love and wanted to share!  In case I haven't mentioned I eat mostly vegan and vegetarian food, so you won't find a lot of meat or cheeses in my recipes.  I do have seafood from time to time, so one of these has shrimp.

Shrimp and Black Bean Quinoa Salad

1/2 lbs shrimp (sauteed & cut up)

*I saute in lemon zest and garlic

1/2 cup cooked black beans (non canned preferred)

1 cup cooked quinoa

1 orange cut in to small pieces

1/2 cup frozen sweet corn

2 green onions chopped

1/2 red pepper chopped

1/2 small onion chopped

1 lemon

2 tbs EVOO

2 garlic cloves crushed

pinch of pepper

After ingredients are cooked, cut, and ready to go mix together in bowl.  Mix lemon juice, EVOO, garlic, and pepper together well.  Pour over mixture and stir.  Eat up!

Quinoa & Zucchini

1 cup cooked quinoa

1 zucchini chopped

1 yellow pepper chopped

2 kale leaves chopped

1 celery stalk chopped

1 can mandarin oranges

1/4 cup chopped sweet onion

2 green onions

2 garlic cloves

1 lime

2 tbsp EVOO

Saute zucchini, pepper, celery, and onion in EVOO and garlic.  After about 5 minutes add kale.  Once veggies have softened, but still have some crunch, remove and add to large bowl.  Mix in cooked quinoa, green onions, and oranges.  Squeeze lime juice over mixture and stir.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Southwest Quinoa & Chips

(maybe my favorite of them all!)

1 cup cooked quinoa

1 small tomato chopped

1/2 red onion chopped

2/3 cup frozen sweet corn

1/2 red pepper chopped

1/2 green pepper chopped

1 cup black beans cooked

1 garlic clove

1 tbs EVOO

1/2 lime

1 tbs taco sauce/hot sauce

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp pepper

cilantro to garnish

Corn chips

Heat garlic and EVOO.  Add onion, peppers, and corn until peppers begin to soften.  Once beans, quinoa, and veggies are all cooked mix together in bowl.  Add taco sauce, lime juice, cumin and pepper and stir.  Eat with chips!

*tip for cooking quinoa:  Soak or rinse in cold water prior to cooking.  Use only slightly more water than quinoa i.e. 1/2 cup quinoa=3/4 cup water.  Heat on med-low heat covered and do not stir.  Watch carefully when end time nears, quinoa burns easily. 



Day 43

Weight: just under 134 lbs!
Workouts: going well....5-6 days a week.  This week I added scissors to my ab set and wall sits to my leg routine.
Food: I've been sticking to my calories most days....some are easier than others!  Lot's of veggies and I've added a protein supplement on days I work out.  Pea Protein....vegetarian and all natural!  Plus, quinoa is my new best friend!  I'm going to share 3 of my favorite new quinoa recipes shortly. 

I finally took a new picture to compare with my "before" picture.  I'm about 6 weeks in, so I think I'm seeing some improvements!

Here's the before again...ugh!

this was me on January 30th

Recipes I love!

I try a new recipe every week.  Most are for dinner and lunch, but I also make snacks as well.  This week I've made an adaptation of a snack cup recipe I found on Pinterest.  I changed up several of the ingredients to make the snack healthier and all natural!  I'm calling them....

Sweet Snack Cups

Ingredients:

(for 1 batch, double for 24 cups)

Dry

1 cup Thick Rolled Oats (or any kind of oat meal)

1/2 cup almond (slices or chopped)

1 cup dried mixed berries

1/4 cup raisins

1 Tbs flax meal

1 Tbs wheat germ

2 Tbs raw sunflower seeds

Wet

1 Tbs Earth Balance natural buttery spread

1 Tbs agave nectar

1 Tbs Pure Maple Syrup

(you can substitute honey for either of the previous ingredients)

2 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350

Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl

Spray mini muffin pan(s) with olive oil/Pam

Heat wet ingredient in small sauce pan and mix well

Pour wet ing over dry ing and mix well

Spoon mixture into muffin pan and press into pan with spoon

Decrease heat to 300

Cook Sweet Snack Cups for 15 minutes

Remove and let cool 15-20 minutes and then transfer to cooling rack for 15 minutes.

Approximate nutritional value per cup:

Calories: 118  Fat: 4 g  Carbs 19 g 

Coming Soon!

Green Smoothies!

Quinoa & Shrimp Salad

Veggie & Bean Soup



The Burpee

The next 2 weeks I will be incorporating various Burpee moves into my routines.  Last night was my first round, and dannnng they kicked my butt!  I could only do 20!  I have a lot of work to do!  Here are the burpees I was doing last night.  I didn't attempt the challege, just used the video to make sure I was doing the move right.

Dead Man's Burpee



No Excuses!

Also, a tip for not skipping work outs because it's too late, or your show is on, or this or that....  I've been bringing my mat into the living room after I do my cardio and doing my weight sets and burpees during the commercials while watching TV.  Since all the shows I watch just started back up and I work until 6 or 7 at night (and I'm not a morning person) this has been working out great for me!  I get to catch up on Gossip Girl and Grey's Anatomy and work out at the same time!  Not having enough time is always an excuse....the time is there you just have to find it!

Need some inspiration?

An inspiration close to me is my mom!  In February 2010 I got engaged and my mom decided she wanted to lose weight for my wedding and get healthy.  I never imagined the transformation she was going to make!  My mom's weight had been up and down since I was a kid and she was notorious for drinking a lot of Pepsi and having a limited diet of fried foods and few fruits and vegetables.  My mom chose Weight Watchers to help her loose weight.  Her original goal was to lose 50 lbs.  Today she has lost almost 90!  Here is a picture of my mom shortly after she began her journey in our new house Sept 2010.

Today my mom has introduced salads, fruits, and water to her diet.  She rarely drinks sodas or alcohol and also limits fast foods.  My mom walks on her treadmill several times a day and also walks her dog around the neighborhood and at the dog park.  Here she is at my wedding in May 2011.

Since that picture was taken my mom has continued to lose weight and stick with her WW points and exercise.  She is now in the maintenance phase, but continues to lose pounds and ounces here and there!  Everyone is so proud of her success and continued dedication!  When I'm thinking I want to give up I remember if my mom can loose 90lbs I can loose 10 and get toned up!  Here's a more recent picture of what my mom looks like from September 2011, about a year after she began her lifestyle change and about 80lbs down.

(next she needs to quit smoking!)

Day 22

Weight: 136 lbs (slowly, but surely...)
Food: I've been doing pretty good eating healthy.  I did go out to Pizza Shoppe for a work function last Friday...Pizza is not a good choice for me!
Workouts: worked out 6 days last week!

Goo Goo for Gaga

She's crazy...but she's also in shape.  All that dancing keeps her toned and lean!  This week I'm rocking out to some Gaga!

Bad Romance (love this video too)

Love Game (dance those calories off)

Marry the Night (long video)



Snacks

I mentioned earlier I try and eat 3 light meals per day and 2-3 healthy and filling snacks.  Lately I've been on a homemade trail mix kick.  My current recipe is as follows:
2 cups Vanilla Almond Flax Plus Granola
1/2 cup raisins
1 package dried apples (shredded in food processors to make smaller pieces)
1 package mixed dried berries
1 small pkg whole almonds

I mix all ingredients together in a bowl and then separate equally into little baggies or containers.  It's roughly 250 calories per serving, but as you can see it's a decent amount of trail mix!

Back on Track

After several days of poor or no diet due to a medical procedure I'm trying to get back on track!  I picked my new moves for the next 2 weeks as well.  I try to add new cardio or strength training moves every 2 weeks to change things up and keep my muscles guessing.  This week I'm trying out the On the Floor-Abs Challenge from bodyrock.tv. 
It's a combo of the mountain climber and a toe touch move.  Looks tough, but I'm going to do my best to make it the full 10 minutes with minimal breaks.

mountain climber

toe touch



Rocking the pounds of with....

Sick by Adelitas Way

Bad Company by FFDP

Burn It To the Ground by Nickelback

Day 8

Weight: 137 lbs
Last week's workouts: 6 days of cardio, 2 days of abs, 2 days of strength training
Meals: 5 small meals a day (3 light meals and 2 healthy snacks is how I like to think of it).

Counting Calories

I try not to get crazy about counting calories, but I like to keep track of everything I eat in a day and look at it's nutritional value.  It's good to check in a make sure you're eating a balanced diet...good fats and carbs, enough protein to support your muscles, and plenty of vitamins and minerals.  At the same time you of course want to be avoiding too much sodium, bad fats and carbs, and going too high in calories.  It's scary to see how many calories can be in some of your favorite foods, especially when eating out!  My favorite new way of doing this is by using the app My Fitness Pal on my iphone.  You can also keep track of your exercise and water intake.  As of right now I think it only shows calories burned for cardio, but you can track strength training as well if you want.