Feeling a little under the weather

One thing I have learned this week is it is better to rest when you are sick then try to work out. I have been fighting a cold all week and stubborn me did not want to give up on my workouts. Part of the reason I am sick is because I have a hard time letting myself rest. Last week I was just go go go and that is not good for your body. Sleep is soooo important!! Try to get at least 6-8 hours a night. You need to let your body rest after your workouts. If you are feeling sick you should follow the above/below the neck rule. If you have a runny nose, sneezing, sore throat you should continue with a low-impact workout. This would be a great day for Yoga or Pilates.  If your symptoms are below the next, such as vomiting, fever, diarrhea you should rest your body. Any day you have to skip your workouts just lower your calories and everything will even out.

I joined a Bootcamp class at my gym this morning. It is 8am MWF. Today I had my first class. I was not feeling 100% but thought I would do it anyways. I got my butt kicked!! Now my cold is getting bad again. I should have just listed to my body and rested. I could be on my way to 100% by now:( Today, I also got a Calorie Point Test done to test my RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate). RMR is the energy required to perform vital body functions. I was told that if I went into a coma, this would be how many calories my body would need just to function. Knowing this number is vital if you are counting calories. I have been struggling with this for months now. I have had no idea if I was eating enough calories, especially with my hard workouts I have been doing. I discovered from the test that I was eating no where near enough calories!! 

My RMR is 1,200. That is the lowest amount I can eat before my body goes into starvation mode. If I eat more then 1,680 without working out, I will start to gain weight. The trainer found the middle number between that which is 1,440. That is my goal number to lose weight and not store fat. If I eat below that number my body will think its in starvation mode and hold onto the fat I do have. On days I do not work out, I need to eat 1,440. On days I do work out, I need to eat 1,440 plus the calories I burned from working out. I have not been eating back the work out calories and that why I have not been able to lose the last 10 pounds! It makes me really nervous to be eating this many calories but I am going to trust the trainer and see if this works. Online you can find calculators to roughly figure out you RMR. I highly recommend doing this if you are not able to get the actual test done. This can truly change your body and help make all your hard work pay off!

Here is the easy recipe for the Fajita Salad I have for dinner almost ever night..Enjoy!

3-4oz Chicken Breast
1/2 Bell Pepper
1/2 Cup Sliced Onion
Romaine Lettuce
1 Tablespoon EVOO
2 Tablespoon Mango Salsa
2 Tablespoon Fat Free Sour Cream
Fajita Seasoning( Soon I will be making my own but for now I use Old El Paso)
1/4 cup Black Beans (Optional) 


Cook Chicken 
Cook Bell Peppers and Onion in EVOO
Combine and add desired amount of Seasoning 
Cook until sauce thickens and add to Lettuce
Top with Sour Cream and Salsa
Enjoy!!

 

Here is a little treat...

I love bananas. I love peanut butter. I love chocolate...Why not put them all together!! This is a recipe I found on Pinterest. I love it because its simple and easy. All you need is...

2 large bananas
1/4 cup nat­ural peanut but­ter
1/2 cup choco­late chips
2 tbsp-1/4 cup milk of choice

Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper or parch­ment. Slice bananas. Spread a lit­tle dol­lop of peanut but­ter on top of each one.

In a small bowl, com­bine the choco­late chips and milk. Microwave in 15 sec­ond incre­ments until you can whisk them together. You want it to be a dipable con­sis­tency(mine was a little too thin). Dip the banana chunks, using a fork, into the melted choco­late. Place choco­late coated bananas on the pre­pared sheet.

Place in freezer until com­pletely frozen (3–5 hours). Remove frozen banana chunks from the sheet and store in a freezer container. Enjoy!!

Pictures Don't Lie!!

Pictures don't lie!! The day I had my first weigh-in, I took pictures of myself in my swim suit. I did this every two weeks. This was such a help through this process! I would go through weeks feeling like nothing was changing and all my hard work was for nothing. I would look at the pictures and see that all my hard work was paying off. I look back on those pictures now and it keeps me motivated. A friend of mine asked me to post the pictures. I would LOVE to but it might take me some time before I'm 100% comfortable doing that. For now, Ill share a picture from our Holiday party in December 2010 and our Holiday party in December 2011

2010

 

 

 

2011

Meal Ideas

Breakfast:

Within 45min of waking up
Egg whites: peppers, onion, black beans, low-fat cheese, spinach, broccoli, etc..
Whole wheat toast with natural peanut butter
Oatmeal/Steel cut oats
Greek Yogurt(less processed and more protein compared to normal yogurt)
Fruit smoothies
Breakfast burrito
Cottage cheese(Apple, strawberries, peaches, cinnamon)
Banana with peanut butter-my fav!

Lunch:

Flatout bread
Sandwich thins
Low carb pitas
Turkey
Chicken
Chicken salad
Tuna salad
Egg salad
Salad with low fat dressing


Dinner:

Chicken fajitas( salad/ whole wheat tortilla) I have this every night for dinner
Fish
Whole wheat spaghetti( Spaghetti squash for less carbs)
Chicken
Ground turkey
Steamed veggies
Sweet potatoes
Turkey chili
Shrimp

Healthy Snacks

Hummus

Almonds

Vegetables

Fruit

Smoothies

Energy Bar

Apple/ Banana w/ peanut butter

Yogurt/fruit

Granola

Turkey Jerky

Low fat cheese

Deli meat

Turkey peanut butter roll up

Whole-wheat pretzels

Baked tortilla chips and salsa

Fat-free pudding cups

Cottage cheese

Edamame

Natural, all-fruit leathers

Avocado chunks

Dark chocolate

Spring roll

Salad dressings

Light Asian toasted Sesame- Kraft

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Raspberry Vinaigrette

Kraft Italian Vinaigrette with Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Ken's Steakhouse Lite Creamy Caesar

Annie's Naturals

1/2 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar, 1 tablespoon Olive Oil, 1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard

The biggest piece of advice..

The biggest piece of advice that I can give is to just choose healthier options. You don't have to eat perfect just be aware of what you are putting in your body, It will take a few weeks to get use to eating this way but once you start seeing results it will be worth it! I use MyFitnessPal to track all my food to see where I'm at for calories and carbs. Its annoying sometimes but if you are eating too many or too few calories you wont lose weight.

Here are some tips:

Eat as many veggies as you want
High protein, low carbs
Limit fruit(high in carbs)
Have a protein snack 1hr before bed
Drink as much water as you can
Prepare food before hand( cut up veggies, cook meat, prepare rice, etc..)
80% diet, 20% working out
I buy a whole chicken, cook it and eat that for lunch for the whole week(cooked and ready to go)
Eat every 2-3 hrs
Limit snacking
Measure food
Eat as clean as you can
Learn to say no!



Healthy options:

Proteins:
Cottage cheese
Beans
Egg whites
Hard boiled eggs
Turkey
Ground turkey
Greek yogurt
Whey protein
Chicken
Beef jerky

Carbohydrates:
Brown rice
Whole wheat(bread, pasta, etc..)
Sweet potatoes
Oatmeal/Steel cut oats

Fats:
Almonds
Avocado
Extra virgin olive oil
Peanut butter

I'm Back!

Well it has been almost a year since my last post..I'm really great at this blogging thing! haha Since May I have lost around 15 lbs. I have keep up with the working out and slipped just a little on the eating. I would love to eat perfect 100% of the time but life and temptations defiantly get in the way. I usually eat the same things M-F and slip a little on the weekends. I have found that having the same thing for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks really helps with maintaining good eating. This is what a normal day looks like for me right now

Breakfast 6:30am: 4 egg whites, 1/2 cup frozen chopped broccoli, a slice of turkey, and a Josephs pita bread

Snack 9:30am: 1/2 cup cottage cheese with 2 sliced strawberries

Pre workout snack 11am: 1 banana with 1 tablespoon Natural peanut butter

Lunch 1:30pm: Salad with apples, strawberries, 1 tablespoon almond shaves, 3oz chicken and 2 tablespoons raspberry vinaigrette dressing. I am trying to research if its best to have a carb after a workout. I sometimes have a open-faced turkey sandwich or a turkey meatloaf muffin with my salad

Snack 4:00: Turkey meatloaf muffin or a chicken/egg/tuna salad

Dinner 7:00pm: Fajita salad. Green peppers, onion, 4oz chicken, black beans, 3 tablespoons mango salsa, and 2 tablespoons sour cream.

Snack 8:30pm: 1 tablespoon peanut butter


I have been giving out advice to my friends and co workers and thought it would be easier to write everything down and have it all in one place. Like I said before, I am absolutely no expert just someone who has done a lot of research and knows what works for me. I am slowly going to add tips and workout ideas. I will give some recipes and meal ideas. Hope you enjoy:)