Bootcamp!

This morning a Groupon offered a great deal: 1 month of unlimited boot camp classes for only $29, (a $129 value!) At first I wasnt sure it would be for me- the boot camp website intimidated me! There are lots of pictures of people carrying tires, doing push ups and looking like they are about to drop dead with exhaustion.




Then I realized the Groupon doesnt expire until July this year and I have time to get fitter (its suggested you are intermediate fitness for this- I feel I am strong enough in my lower body but definitely lacking upper body strength!).

I looked at weather charts for Florida for the year and decided that May is a good date to aim to join the boot camp - heights of 87 degrees (rather than the 90's of June/July), and lower rainfall than usual too.

 So I bought the Groupon and now have three and a half months to get fit enough to handle a boot camp! Eeeeek!!

So how am I going to get there? Currently I can do ONE push-up (sad but true!!)

*Focus on weights at the gym. I do 15 minute weight sessions each time I go then go to the cardio machines, but I will probably need to get a little more serious about this and actually make myself a 'set' of exercises to do and actually research proper lifting technique...and do push-ups!

*Do Jillian's 30 Day Shred at Least twice a week- or P90X - I own both. I assume boot camp workouts would be similar to these DVDs as you dont use a lot of weights/etc.  Its all about using the weight of your own body.

I'm kind of excited about this. I get into workout ruts and maybe a month of boot camp will be JUST what I need this year to push me into super star fitness

Each 60-minute boot-camp session targets a different muscle group with high-intensity, nontraditional exercises that incorporate cardio, strength training, and resistance miming. Coupling calisthenics such as sit-ups, squats, and lunges with nutrition advice, the boot-camp classes transmogrify chub-ridden bodies into lean, healthy machines

Bootcamp inspiration :)

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In other news- I've been keeping to my sleep goal and feeling great! :) WOW, its amazing how different I feel with 7.5-8 hrs! My body seems to go for that rather than 9- if I try to get 9 I just lay there for a while :( Haven't had to have soda or coffee or tea (except for one cup of green tea a day, after lunch)  Unlike last week! Im controlling my snacking more (even healthy snacking eg. almonds- can get outta control!!) and feel more alert :)

The beginning of a New Year..resolutions and highlights :)

We rung in the new year with a balloon drop and champagne + a pool game at our local bar. I love balloons so that was the main draw for me :) And I wanted to wear my sparkly gold dress!

I get this excited about balloons!

However- I detest new years in which I have uncool birthdays. This year I'm turning 26...not cool. 25 seemed quite old enough, thank you very much! Ideally I would have liked to stay 25 for a few years and sorted myself out, figured out my career and finished my schooling....but noooo, I just have to turn 26 don't I...darn! Time goes by so fast :(

Before I share my resolutions for this year, I'd like to first share my fitness accomplishments from 2011.

The BIGGEST accomplishment - I reached my weight loss goal! It is the first time I've ever consciously made a weight loss goal, and achieved it AND maintained it! I wanted to get to 135 pounds and I got all the way to 125 pounds! Wow :)

I feel stronger as a person for having done this, and it makes me feel like if I make new resolutions, I can actually achieve them, they aren't just day dreams..

I also discovered Green Monsters - fruit smoothies with spinach in them and used them in my diet

I gave up coffee!! (holy crap..)

Towards the middle of the year, I brown bagged 80% of my work lunches with at home cooking and had several months where I didn't eat out at all!!

I did Jillian's 30 day Shred

I did Dr. Ian Smith's 3 day Diet cleanse + quite a few of the modules from the diet - until I had wisdom teeth out and had to just drink my food LOL

I actually started working out at the gym that I was about to cancel my membership to...and now I go at LEAST three times a week and feel SO much more alive and have less aches and pains from sitting in the office all day - and I maintained the gym visits while working and going to school full time

I completed a nutrition course at college and got an A in it

I watched 'Forks Over Knives' and read 'The Engine 2 Diet' and watched "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead" whichjust reaffirmed my faith in vegetarianism and healthy eating vs. the typical American diet. BTW This is the best speech I have ever heard http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=es6U00LMmC4

I started blogging to keep me on track with my progress. And it REALLY helped! Reading the posts of other healthy minded people is a big motivator too, especially living in Florida where I'm surrounded by a lot of unhealthy people eating the traditional southern diet!

And I didn't get sick once this year! Last year I had a whole week at home with a  cold, and several days I left the office early feeling sick. Im convinced that eating healthy and working out really helped with this- I ate like I did back when I'd feel like I was about to get sick- fruits, smoothies, vitamin C- but all the time :)
In other big news- my braces are coming off in 12 days!!! WOOOOOT! :) Cant wait to chew gum and eat corn on the cob again!

New Years Resolutions:

Fitness:

Lose 5 more pounds to get to my ideal weight of 120 pounds... calculated with this website http://www.halls.md/ideal-weight/body.htm   Actually, over the past 3 days I've gained TWO pounds from eating out constantly so its going to be lose 7 pounds...

I cant believe how the weight piled on right after NYE and Xmas- I guess I thought I'd gotten past the holidays and relaxed too much- I also ate several tubs of guacamole and LOTS of chocolate + nutella! Oh- and I treated myself to a jar of Marmite which I miss (as a Brit- and I miss Vegemite which is the Australian version too)

 which led to a bit of a bread fest as I took a tasty trip down memory lane with one fresh hot piece of  buttery toast after another.. Its actually kind of shocking to have GAINED weight, its been a year since that last happened!

Develop biceps (which will lead to rock climbing I hope!) I saw a girl out at the club on NYE that had THE biceps I want- defined, but not too bulky- something to work for!

Go to the gym four times a week at least until I achieve the above two goals...if not the gym at least a session of Jillian's 30 Day Shred DVD!

I tracked my workouts over the past 7 months and tallied them all up, and I noticed a pattern. When I went to the gym four times a week I lost weight. Three times a week I maintained my weight. Once I get to my goal of 120 I can go back to the easier to achieve 3 times a week but its going to be 4 a week for now! Which is kind of hard with two evening classes after work, but I can do it! :D

Life:


Decluttering- I've been in the USA for over three years now and though I only arrived with a suitcase of stuff, I know have an overflow of clothing in my wardrobe etc...so I want to go through my stuff and donate anything not worn in the past 6 months.

Less procrastinating

Get an 'A' in Math this semester  and maintain my 4.0 GPA! I'm scared, this is my first college math class wish me luck! P.S. - Im still pretty proud of myself for actually going to college :D

Get a tattoo. I dont have one, and I wanted to get one 'once I got fit' That time is near people!! Im not a big fan of pain but I love artwork and I'd love to have something done...still need to design it though!

Start Writing again.  I loved writing as a teen, and wrote a whole 70,000 word novel once. I want to get back in touch with my creativity (despite deamind job+essays sapping my imagination) It is something that makes me happy.

Travel:

Last year I went to Mexico, and Ashevill N.C. as well as trips to various springs/nature parks and beaches in Florida.

Im itching for international travel- such as seeing my family in Australia (its been 4 years) but I feel obliged to actually see more of the USA before I go abroad. I have Australian friends who have been stateside and seen more of the US than I have. What would the point of travelling home be when I've barely covered the 50 states... I want to go to New York, any of the National Parks...and feel free to suggest any other destinations!
I also realize that some of my happiest memories of 2011 are from my trips! Travel is my addiction and right now I'm torn between being 'grown up and responsible' and studying+ holding down a job vs. selling my possesions and moving around like I've done most of my adult life!

Career:

Well. This one is a toughie. I feel blessed to have a well paying job with people I like when so many people don't. But two and a half years into the same job and something has got to give. Lets see what opportunities 2012 brings...



Favorite 2011 memories:

Visiting the mountains of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and ziplining + tasting fresh tequila!

finding our way around Mexico, anti-resort style and loving the authenticity of it

Waterfall rappelling despite my fear of it lol

suprise camping trip plus Daytona beach for my birthday!

Ty finally graduating from Paramedic school and getting a job :)

Seeing hundreds of dolphins and whales by our boat, including a baby whale!

Fall foliage in Asheville, North Carolina. This pic is on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Getting an 'A' in my photography class!

Buying a new (secondhand) fun car!

Weight Loss Success!!! I acheived my New Years Resolution!

I have a big announcement.......

Well..... today is the last day of summer...aaand the title of this blog is "Fit for Summer" and guess what? I achieved the goal of 125 pounds I thought of as IIMPOSSIBLE at the beginning of the year when I was 143-147 pounds! I have been at 125 pounds for a week now (I wanted to wait to announce it, as I wanted to make sure I stayed at 125) OMG /XD I am so happy!! It wasn't all easy peasy but I DID it =D>

This is the first time I've ever stuck to a New Years resolution by the way...and I feel pretty darn proud of myself...

When I first set my goals, I just wanted to be 135 pounds....I reached that then set my eye on the seemingly impossible 125...and thats where I am at today! :D

I went from a size 10 to a size 6 (or 4 in some brands)


Before:

I went from this....143 pounds

After:  125!!

I think my biggest tip from this journey - work out at least 4 times a week for at least 45 minutes each time. I try to burn 500 calories when I do cardio, and I mix in strength training too! Some days I feel SO tired from work+school but the gym gives me energy, and all my back aches etc. melt away after a gym session!

Eat UNPROCESSED food...you almost cant go wrong if you do this!

 I learnt to veer away from too many processed vegetarian proteins like premade burger patties etc and eat more lentils and quinoa! If you cook most of your meals, and use things that don't come out a box ready made you will see the pounds melt away and your skin clear up and your hair grow longer :D

No rest for the wicked though- I am going to continue going to the gym and eating healthy and see if I can't get to 120 pounds by December! It sounds nuts/impossible but I probably can...I've come to realise with this weight loss that my build is actually petite (fancy that- under all my fat I was hiding small bones! Makes sense- my sisters are all about 115-120, I dont know why I just thought I was the genetic anomaly, the 'curvy one' LOL)....Wish me luck!!

Friday Falafels!

Happy Friday!! So I realize that it is late for Monday for a "Monday's Marvellous Things" post and I also realize there is no way I can tie myself down to a regular posting date with my schedule so I quit...

However, I did have some marvellous things happen recently!!

Ty graduated paramedic school! After over a year of training and numerous weekends consumed with unpaid 16 hour shifts, I'm really happy that it is over!

I'm was also so grateful I had my new T3i camera for the occasion! My old point and shoot camera SUCKS in dark environments and lags! The Te1 was SO fast at shooting I captured single bit of his journey across the stage and the zoom was awesome, as well as its indoor shooting capabilities!



Thats us in the middle, I'm in the blue dress feeling very proud of my man!!




Add caption

  I finished summer school and I just checked my grades

Term GPA:	4.00
SFC AA Degree Cumulative GPA:	4.00
Standards of Progress GPA:	4.00

Yay!!! I'm enjoying this week between semesters, I've been able to cook more!

This week Ty and I made from scratch:

Eggplant, roasted red pepper and potato 'subji' in a tomato based sauce,  with whole wheat flat breads and tzatziki (yogurt+cucumber dip).

 

Ty slicing the broiled peppers




Cooking down the eggplant



The final yummy dish!

 And we made falafels- a ton of falafels and have several tupperwares full of them!

They were SO easy to make- basically combining Bulgar wheat+chickpeas+cilantro and spices in a food processor, making little patties and baking them ten minutes on each side until browned! I can post the recipe if you guys want it, just ask :D


We have been using them to stuff in delicious whole wheat pita breads along with spicy hummus, tzatziki, sprouts and tomatoes! They have been great for lunches at work, in fact I have some with me today- I just put the chopped tomatoes in a separate little zip lock bag so it wouldn't make the pita soggy!

We also went out for a friends birthday dinner to one of my favorite vegetarian restaurants: Chopstix, our local pan Asian place.They do amazing things with tofu, tempeh and seitan and have a LOT of veggie options!  I got a really flavorsome dish of seitan (made from wheat gluten, very much like meat in texture) in peanut sauce with mushrooms, sliced carrots and broccoli (I could eat this daily, I swear- thankfully I've worked out three times already this week) and Ty got this dish of sesame fried tofu:

To continue or not to continue with the Four Day Diet?

I'm so excited to be only ONE pound away from my goal!! Woot woot! I'm at 126 pounds, nearing 125! After I reach 125 I'm sure I will


I'm back at work after wisdom teeth removal! A co-worker cut this out the paper for me...hehe, so TRUE, my cheeks did look similar for at least five days!!

Still have trouble opening my motuh all the way and eating tougher foods. I'm also not sure what I want to do after I can eat normally again- wing it myself, or keep going with Dr. Ian Smith's Four Day Diet?

 Its given me good results, but the week and a half I've been off the diet I've lost more weight, and seem to be doing fine eating healthy by myself! It gives me more flexibility in recipes too, which Im enjoying.

 However, I think I may still do the Vigourous Module. Apparently its one of the modules people really lose a lot of weight- when I can chew normally again!


I went to the gym five times last week, woot woot- usually for 45 minutes to an hour!




Having a purple day- purple workout in a purple gym followed by a purple smoothie!



Weightloss with the Transition Module!! (The Four Day Diet By Dr. Ian Smith)

So after I did the four day detox I went into what Dr. Smith calls the transition phase. And boy have I lost WEIGHT :D !!!  Even with a massive cheat day on Monday-(you may remember I mentioned I had a True Blood premier party I had to host right? Well...I will fill you in on Mondays debauchery later....photo evidence at the end of this post)

However, even on Tuesday I am....wait for it.....127.6 pounds! WOW....Finally down from the 131 I was stuck on for a month!!  And that takes my total weight loss from when I started this year to 15.4 pounds!! That's a LOT- have you ever lifted a fifteen pound dumbbell? Yeah baby, I just worked that OFF my body!! Keep in mind that I am very close to my goal weight- if I was obese I'm sure it would have sounded better eg. 30 pounds! But for me 1 pound is like 30 pounds for a 500 pound person....hard to get rid of, and an accomplishment worth celebrating!

I am SO glad I started doing this eating plan and doing all the recommended cardio too, because it has REALLY worked. It helped kick me of the plateau I was on, and I feel so inspired and motivated! Its been easy in that I didn't have to sit there and try figure out daily calories or anything, I just ate the food I was allowed on my list! :D

I wasn't hungry either, I've felt full the past few days!

So let me fill you in on the Transition Phase.

It is still a very healthy phase compared to some of the upcoming modules (cant wait for the Smooth module, I get to eat pizza :D )

 I was a bit daunted looking at the food list for the four days of Transition- it all looked SO healthy with very little room for creativity!

However, once I hit up the local organic store and came home with a bunch of goodies like blueberries and raspberries it seemed I would be able to make it more fun after  all :D You are allowed two snacks on each day (from a list on page 139 of the book) eg. a small seven grain Belgian waffle (which I didn't buy, instead I made them myself with Hodgson Mill flour!)

I kept a food journal in a little daily planner so I could mark down what I'd already eaten of my list and not lose track.

Writing it down was still way easier thany tallying up calories like I usually used to do!

I dont think ya'll need an overdose of everything I ate though but let me give you a sample day:

Breakfast:

A whole grain waffle with blueberries mixed in the batter and blueberry sauce on top (made with half a cup of fresh blueberries, a little cornstarch and raw honey)

Lunch:


A 2 cup garden salad (spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, kalamtas, cucumbers) and a cup of roasted garbanzo beans seasoned with chili flakes and onion powder and tossed into the salad, topped off with Asian sesame salad dressing (2Tbps) and a Tbsp of lemon juice


A cup of diet lemonade (allowed one diet drink a day in this module- I skipped anything with caffeine in it though, but having pink lemonade made me feel naughty enough for the day LOL without having to resort to sweets!)


Dinner:


4oz of vegetarian protein - Gardein 'chicken' cooked with a light mango salsa, with a cup of steamed carrots and a side salad of sliced cucumber and ranch

I took this with a smart phone, hence the quality!

Snacks:


1 Chobani or Stonyfield yogurt, a pear, an apple

A new fave!!

Strictly more what the diet calls for- no fruit on the bottom!

Workouts:

I did every required day of working out, even the one that called for 30 min in the morning and 30 min. at night ( I did Jillian's 30 Day Shred DVD in the morning, gym at night! I was VERY excited when I could actually do the harder sit up moves on LEVEL THREE for the FIRST time ever!! How far I've come...)

 It wasn't always easy getting to the gym, but I made it my NUMBER ONE priority! I had to skip a few things I would have liked to attend to make it happen. But I wanted to get all my workouts DONE so I could have my 'rest' day fall on Monday when I was having friends over for True Blood!

Monday:


Lets talk about my infamous Monday.....I ate a slice of this

Luscious glazed strawberries nestled on a bed of sweet Bavarian creme, atop a flaky golden crust.


And a slice of this creamy yet tart key lime pie:

And I made Pina Ghouladas like I said I would,and I made it all fresh- pineapple juice, OJ, heavy cream, coconut cream- no pina colda ready mix in MY house thank you very much...!

Here's the recipe:http://www.hostessblog.com/2009/10/halloween-cocktail-pina-ghoulada-with-creepy-speared-eyeball-garnish/

And here is a pic of me with the finished prodcut, including lychee/strawberry/blueberry 'eyeballs' and hard candy 'blood' dripping down the cup! My man and I had SO much fun prepping these!

Everybody loved them! We had fresh popcorn and mini-sandwiches too, but I just stuck to the popcorn!

I guess the message behind my confession of totally not following the four day diet on Monday is that you can STILL lose weight if you have a day off occasionally. Especially if you add an extra day to the module like I am. I'm doing another day of Transition to make up for the one I lost- which basically works out to an extra day of working out.

I wouldn't cheat more than once every two modules though. And I wouldn't cheat for more than a day- if you keep adding make up days to your module it defeats the whole purpose of the way the diet is planned, which is to keep you interested.

 I can only manage one more day of Transition, I'm getting kinda bored with the food list! I'm looking forward to the Protein Stretch phase though! I get to have a soy 'turkey' sandwich for lunch, and I'm going to bake my own multi-grain bread so that its awesome :D

Day Two of the Detox (aka the Four Day Diet)

/hihi!

Today is the first day of summer! Yay :D I love sunshine, BBQs, and being by the water!Even more so after living in England for a bit, I even appreciate Floridas crazy hot summers  after living through the British winter LOL

In the Bahamas in 2010

 And I reached my goal that I first set when starting this blog, of being 130 pounds by the summer time! Now I'm only 10 pounds away from my final goal for the YEAR which is to be 120  pounds! Can't wait!

Day Two of my Detox (aka Dr. Ian Smith's "Four Day Diet")  started out great. I had my tofu scramble for breakfast and it was delicious!!

Basically I cooked crumbled tofu with nutritional yeast, chilli, a little torn spinach, tomatoes and mushrooms (less than half a cup of veggies in total)

I also had a Naked Berry juice for my fruit intake for the day, which contains: 3.25 apples, 1 banana, 27 blueberries, 1 blackberry, 38 mg vitamin b3, 11 mcg vitamin b12, 114 mg vitamin c, 19 mg vitamin b, 4 mg vitamin b6, 13g fiber, 57iu vitamin e.

 (I was trying to load more of my eating towards the beginning of the day- this backfired later though when I was hungry after work and wanted to snack on fruit but had consumed my quota for the day already!)

For lunch I had a garden salad (3 cups) and a cup of brown rice

Dinner was a cup of cooked down spinach with lemon juice (not a dinner I looked forward to haha!) /wahaha

I dragged myself to the gym...well, I went with my man so his enthusiasm gave me energy :D He has been great and really supportive lately! His music player died but he still went and did a 50 minute work out without any music (something I couldn't do!!  My music is the only thing that gets me through work outs!) Having him with me always helps :D

My rock --- >

He is also a vegetarian by the way, (and in his line of work where he hangs out with firefighters all day thast pretty brave!) and very strong even though he hadn't been working out for about a year!

He benched my entire weight + yesterday! =D>

There are a lot of great athletes who are vegetarian-  Bill Pearl and Clarence Bass were vegetarians and a couple other legendary bodybuilders were as well. Robert Dos Remedios, is vegetarian and is a lean 240 pounds and in incredible shape. Jon Hinds is a vegan, in his mid 40’s and is jacked and strong as could be. The greatest tight end in NFL history, Tony Gonzalez is also a vegetarian and obviously it hasn’t hurt him in the least.

I tried my hardest and did my 40 minutes cardio - 25 on the elliptical, 15 running - it was SOOOO hard though! /sweat

My legs felt like lead, my body ached from the previous days work out, I didn't have as much energy as usual.....but I felt a lot better at the end. My sore neck and back disappeared :D

My man and I traded back and calf/foot muscle massages afterwards too and that was great, my body needed it!!  One of my favorite parts of being in a relationship is having someone to trade massages with whenever I need one! /XD

The major downside to living with a man though? Man food. Delicious smelling, cheesy, fattening man food smells wafting through the house at all hours of the day...I had to watch him wolf down his yummy dinner of eggplant, tofu and cheddar smothered tortillas while I munched on spinach LOL

I had to fight the urge to ask for a bite....ahhh!!

When he washed it all down with a new type of blonde pale ale he found at our local organic store I was soooo tempted to cheat but I didnt, having this blog helps me stay accountable! And I REALLY want to lose weight and detox!

I felt fine going to bed that night though, wasn't too hungry. And I woke up half an hour before my alarm on Day Three, FULL of energy :D (weird huh!?!)

I've also been reading comments from people who have done the 4 Day Diet - this one is inspiring:

 went on this diet a year ago…lost 17 pounds in just over a month…I did the first month of modules and then another three modules…at that point I felt I had control of it and I have kept the weight off. I found myself craving salads with beans and rice (instead of things like icecream). He is right, just focus on the four days until you learn portion control. I needed a refresher and this diet (I prefer to think of it as healthy eating) did it for me. I have a bit of arthritis and found when I cut back on meat and focused on fruits and veggies and water (like he states in diet) that my joints didn’t ache as much. It is successful…on vacation I put on three pounds but that quickly disappeared again when I just “focused and remembered” what was good for me. I would now like to take off another 15 pounds and am going to go through it again.

May goals not achieved, but Im still taking steps to building a great life :)

So, I did not achieve my goal of 128.5 pounds for May! /no

I saw 129 on the scale for a few days, but then I've shifted back to staying at 130 :(

I was so elated to actually see 129, and I felt like the goal was so attainable, but it was harder than expected! I havent been in the 120's for over 7 years (gulp- cant believe I'm 25 already loL!) and I guess getting into that range and staying there is going to take even more work than getting to 130 took!

I know I shouldn't- but I was feeling wracked with guilt that I didn't try harder, get to the gym more. I felt a bit puffy and bloated...

My man was so supportive when I told him about my disappointing results though :) He helped take me out of my negative mind set...

yes, i did honestly feel a bit like this

He told me I've been doing great, better than I ever have before in my weight loss efforts. He also told me that I will get there, I just need to keep going. And that's what I'm doing! I'm not giving up, and I think that is the most key thing.

I've talked to a few people this year who seemed to have weight loss goals in January, but by now they have given up, stopped the lifestyle change and gone back to their old habits. I'm NOT going to EVER go back to my old habits!

I saw this the other day, it resonated with me:

On the weekend I was surprisingly inspired by this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Unlimited-How-Build-Exceptional-Life/dp/0307588300

I was in Books-A-Million browsing and picked it up, feeling curious. I read the first chapter...and the next...and the next. I had NO idea Jillian was this deep, or such a great, direct, interesting writer!

An Amazon.com reviewer puts it best

Unlimited" isn't your ordinary live in the now, forget the past, smile, just be happy yada, yada, yada kind of self help book. Being happy, healthy and in control doesn't just happen overnight or gets delivered to you from a genie on a magic carpet. You have to take steps and do the work it takes to achieve the goals you want in your life which are provided in the book. There is no nonsense mumbo jumbo to read or words that you have to Google to figure out what the author is talking about and it's not sugar coated. I found this to be an easy read and didn't want to put it down. Jillian writes, "I can't promise you it's going to be easy... But what I can promise you is that I will cut out the crap and tell you what works. Come with me on this journey, and your life will change dramatically, for the better."

If you are stuck in a rut in life, fitness, anything - I would recommend this book! I'm going to buy it on Amazon =D

By the way- sorry about not having any great photos to post- I haven't been able to find my camera!

Last night I went for a 20 minute walk with my man and our dogs, it was a nice alternative to the gym and the fact that we went out in the dark made it feel more private which I enjoyed! In a college town there are a lot of lewd gawkers hanging out their car windows during the daylight hours! The darkness provided a minor respite from the Florida heat (97!!) though I did have to spray on bug spray (stinky and sticky, I hate it!)

Sure wasn't anything like hiking in Mexico though- gosh I miss being on vacation right now!!

Today's Food Log:


Breakfast:


2 slices whole wheat toast (60 calories each) and 1 and a half tablespoons of almond butter - 130 calories

First jar of Almond Butter Ive ever purchased, I'm loving it!!

= 192 calories   + creamer in my coffee (at least another 100 calories) = 292 calories


Lunch:


I didn't bring anything with me to work today as I had an online exam to do last night and no time to pack a lunch!

( I had home made lentil burger mix and pineapple chutney in the fridge but no time to combine them into something edible LOL)

I had to buy a Greek Salad at work, which is healthy but not as yummy as if Id made it myself! I'm much more liberal with my kalamatas and I always use more spinach than nutrition void lettuce! Oh well...


Dinner:


Today my man and I are going to a restaurant to our friend Ben playing his guitar and singing some oldies- hes really good! We will have to order at least appetizers and some drinks in order to sit and watch him though! I will try to eat light and only have 1 light drink!






PS- I really want to go to the beach this weekend after going through my Mexico photos.

 I've heard on the news that there are Jellyfish off the Florida beaches though! I've been stung by jellyfish in India and it feels like laser beams slicing your skin!

My plan for overcoming this plateau/slump and reaching 128.5 by the end of this month:


1. Work out three times a week at the gym - I will still do walks/work out DVDs but I think I need more gym time!! Good days for me right now are: Tuesday/Wednesday/Friday. I will be SO proud of myself if I can do that for even a week :)


2. I can make my gym time more exciting my doing a MP3 Player overhaul and adding some new songs to my play list

(let me know if you have any favorites for cardio?)


3. Load my calories towards breakfast.  I'm already doing more smoothies, etc, but I need to eat more oats for breakfast and have lighter dinners (I'm inspired to try overnight oats that I've seen on other peoples blogs!!)


4. Really make sure I'm not eating sweets! I brought trail mix the other day and have been picking all the little M&Ms out of it daily LOL...so bad!!

 5. Stop taking melatonin supplements as a sleep aide to see if I'm less groggy the next day + set aside half an hour of time before bed to start the wind down with natural relaxation techniques such as meditation/lavender scents/reading :)