Going Backwards

So unfortunately I have not been very successful with any of my goals... :(  I'm pretty bummed about it!  I weighed myself this morning and I have actually gained weight since we started this challenge...in an effort to be positive, at least this has created some motivation for me to try harder.  I also had some of my students from Belize asking me about how I am doing with push ups so that reminded me to practice this week!

I stopped taking birth control after Mexico since I had not had my period for 3 months and my hair was thinning etc.  Katie - I don't know how you said that it has been fabulous, it has been miserable for me!  I have been craving SO MUCH food, chocolate, chips, etc.  I have also been so moody.  It was a very difficult month, this next month has been a little easier, not great, but easier.  When I went for my bloodwork she told me that it would take at least two months for it to be out of my system.  Apparently my hormones are out of whack when they are not regulated! 

This is our Holy Week so I am trying to not eat meat and dairy (I was supposed to do that the whole 40 days but that would never happen).  I did ok today, but I did have an Auntie Annie's pretzel. 

My challenge this week will be to not gain anything at Easter on Sunday!

Mandy's Recipe of the Week: Parmesan Chicken Cutlets

This week I made a Parmesan Chicken Cutlets that I found on Epicurious.com.  I ate it over veggie pasta, but you can also make nuggets out of this too!  It's entirely twin-friendly :)

How it turned out: 

Notes: 

• Although it's not the healthiest, it was DELICIOUS!
• You definitely need to use a little more oil than the recipe states so that it doesn't burn.

Will I make it again? Yes, absolutely. 

Back from Belize

I am back from Belize (got home around 12:40am).  I weighed myself this morning and I am about the same as when I left so I guess that is good.  I was hoping to lose a little but the food was not the best and not very filling (a dab of tuna salad on white bread, PBJ on white bread, etc) so we had to supplement with extra breads and snacks.

I am hoping to make it to the gym some this week, we will see.  I brought clothes for my way home but I don't know if I will have the energy.

I really need to step it up in terms of the food as I  have not really lost anything since we started.  I am hoping that now that the trip is done I will be able to focus more on that.   My only issue with this week is I did not have any ice cream so I may need to eat healthy + ice cream :)

The kids had me practicing push ups  because they could not believe that I couldn't do one so at least I practiced that!

I could be talked into yoga this week if it works out to go with someone!

Progress Slows

I'm a little behind, probably because I didn't really make any progress over the last 2 weeks.  I was in Vegas and then CA for work for 9 days so that had a negative impact on any weight I had lost.  Too much eating, drinking and sitting in meetings and not enough excercise.  I've been a little off my game this week too.  Hoping to get back into the swing of things soon, but I may be traveling again next week so we'll see how it goes!

Back from Vegas Update

Sorry for the late update, but getting back into the swing of things from vacation and the events of yesterday, it's all been pretty crazy. On vacation in Vegas I did really well. And maintained my weight! Although my eating habits were less than stellar (liquid lunches, daily ice cream, fruity yard long drinks) with the amount of walking we did everything seemed to balance out. Plus, I made it my mission to have at least 1 fruit/veggie a day and actually ended up buying almonds and apples for me and Chris to snack on during the day. And we carried around a water bottle and filled up as often as we could. 

I'm happy to say that with no real crazy vacations planned until June that I can really start sticking to my diet/exercise plan now. I've been trying to stretch daily and with the weather getting nicer, I'll be running outside more often and getting up early is much easier when the sun is rising with you! Plus, no excuse with the 5K about a month away. And there really is no excuse with eating, I just need to sit down and track everything on WeightWatchers. I"m not paying for the subscription just so I can track my weight every Friday! 

Much love to all of you, as yesterday really puts things into perspective with how precious life is.

Progress??

Well I guess I didn't gain weight which was good :) Didn't really lose any either though so still a bit of a struggle.  I wasn't so good about tracking food this week or with meal planning so I am going to make a better effort next week.  I have found that if I don't sit down on Sunday and plan a menu of lunches and dinners for the week and then go grocery shopping my plan is toast.  So I am going to get better about that!

I am back to the gym which is good and went for a run outside on Tuesday.  Didn't make it as far as I hoped but got to start somewhere I guess!  It's a whole different ballgame outside.  This weekend I think Jimmy and I are going to get out on our bikes for the first time this season so that will be good.

The one thing I don't struggle with is getting in the exercise.  I am even close to my 10,000 steps each day so I guess for me just focusing on the food should be my main priority....if it were only that easy!  Not to mention the weeks that I think I do well and eat right and the scale still shows the same number or sometimes even goes up is soo frustrating.  Oh well, next week is another week and I'll see what I can do! 

Mandy's Recipe of the Week: Fiesta Bean Salad

Last night I made a Fiesta Bean Salad that I found on Skinnytaste.com.  I put it together and chilled it while a filet of salmon was broiling in the toaster oven.  I waited to add the avocado until I was ready to eat it.

How it turned out: 

Notes: 

• It was a very filling side dish packed with fiber and protein.  The tomatoes and avocado gave it a real summery taste.
• I didn't put onion in it because I can't stand raw onions even though I think most people enjoy the flavor it adds.
• It could have used a bit more bold flavor so next time I will likely add more lime juice and cumin.  
• Is there an easy way to chop cilantro?  I got frustrated and probably didn't add enough, but damn that stuff was sticking to my hands, the knife...everything.

Will I make it again? Yes, I think with a few modifications, I will make it quite a bit this summer since it lasts a few days in the fridge.  I even brought a portion of it in today to eat with lunch.

The Diet Before the Long Weekend Vacation

Hey ladies,

So I was doing well last week, hit up yoga and even got into the pool and swam for 60 minutes! The diet was harder because of my sickness, but I managed to lose 1 pound from my Easter weekend, so I was happy. I typically weigh myself every Friday (habit of Weight Watchers) but the weekend and wine riot and other friend get togethers was not good for all of this. I definitely went off track with my diet and didn't get in any exercise. And I think that might be a new goal to add, about sticking to everything over the weekend. Yesterday though, I did monitor what I was eating and stuck to healthy snacks and healthy meals. With the 5K looming ahead, and the nice weather I got out and ran 3 miles! It felt great so I"m hoping I can get in another run tonight before swim practice and then just walk as much as possible while I'm in Vegas. Honestly, as excited as I am to go to Vegas, I can't wait to be home and back into a "normal routine"

Hope people can get out and enjoy the warmth today though!

Soph's Week 2 Slow Progress

So as I mentioned last week when I posted in the middle of the week I was not doing so hot.

1.  Weight Goal:  I technically have lost .4 from when I started two weeks ago but from the end of week 1 to the end of week 2 I gained some weight.  Given all that I ate and drank last week I am surprised I did not gain more!

2.  Size Goal:  Not even looking at this until after one month

3.  Fitness Goal:  
      I worked on push ups!

4.  Yoga:  I practice Crow once!

5.  Food:  Mostly Paleo friendly eating during the week (protein, fruits and veggies), less binging on weekends...THAT DID NOT HAPPEN AT ALL!

So...for this week I am hoping to get back on track with the food but birthdays will create a challenge.  I plan on eating healthy until my birthday on wednesday night and then healthy on Thursday and Friday until Pete and I go out for birthday dinner on Friday night.  I want to at least try to limit it to celebrations and really really really try to not eat the leftovers from celebrations, that will be the hard part!

In terms of exercise I was excited for a good week of working out but I woke up this morning sick and I am just feeling worse as the day goes on so I don't see working out in my immediate future :)  

Amanda's Update

Happy Monday Ladies!  Here's my check in post and how I'm meeting my goals.

1.) Maintain healthy weight gain throughout my pregnancy. -  Met with my doctor and I am very much on track with my weight gain which was a huge relief.  I am allowed to gain about 1 pound per week from here on out and only gain overall about 25-35lbs.  So that means I can't go over 175 EVER!  Even typing that number makes me cringe.  My daily calories allowance should not go over 1,800 calories either. 

2.) Get to the gym 3-4 times a week for cardio.  - I have not made it to the gym, but I did buy a heart rate monitor since I can't get over 140bpm for a heartrate.  I'm not kidding myself though, that's not really meeting the goal.

3.) 10,000 steps a day.  - I haven't quite gotten to this number, but I HAVE been wearing my FitBit everyday and tracking my calories on myfitnesspal.com so I just need to get outside and start walking every day!  No excuses now that it's getting warmer.

4.) Try one new healthy recipe per week.- I have really dropped the ball on this one!

5.) Stay away from processed foods whenever possible. - I have made some real changes in this category during the work week.  I have been bringing in fruit and other healthy snacks to eat during the day and it has helped manage my nausea and keep me on track with calories.

Overall: I'm feeling a lot better these days and looking forward to a healthy and relatively comfortable 2nd trimester.  We even got to hear the heartbeat on Friday which was an amazing experience and really a motivation to keep myself healthy and active.  I actually bought my first maternity shirt yesterday which was really weird, but hopefully I won't be big enough to wear it for another few weeks!

Keep motivated everyone!  Summer is just around the corner :)

Week 1 Progress

A little late on my week 1 progress.  I actually did well!  I started at the gym and went 4  days!  I even lost 2.8 pounds.  However, all of this was before Easter and before I went to Vegas.  I've been in Vegas since Monday eating and drinking too much and then I'm heading straight to CA until Tuesday night so I am very off track with diet and excercise since it costs $20 a day to go to the gym!  I at least got out of the hotel for a walk this morning but that is all the excercise I've had in a week.  Looking forward to being home, Tuesday can't get here soon enough!

Interesting Article

Saw this and thought it was interesting....maybe we should make the boys pay us for losing weight!!

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/2013/04/04/earning-cash-lose-weight-proves-mighty-incentive-study/2j2a4vu7xtPxsVTBDzsF3N/story.html

Week 1.5 Progress: Slow and Steady...

Hey girls!

So last week was awful with me going out to dinner Tuesday-Saturday for Restaurant Week and what not, ending on Easter with snacks, desserts and drinks. Needless to say I gained weight and didn't make it to the gym. However, this week I'm starting fresh and managed to contract some weird stomach bug, so although I didn't make it to the gym I was able to lose all the weight I gained over the binge of eating out and holidays. I managed to go to hot yoga last night and have definitely been eating better when I can.

I know it's easy to get off track and such, but it's baby steps. And I think having a "cheat" day or allowing that one piece of chocolate is normal. I've signed up for the 5K with Ashley for the Saturday morning of May 18th, so I'm hoping that will help me get running. Plus, I love running outside more and with practice starting up again next week I'll be able to do more of that between work and swim/coaching. I'm also trying to sign up more for the yoga classes in advance to hold myself accountable and to go because I've paid. Not just say, oh I'll go today and then never go.

So I've maintained my weight so far and look to each new week. I'm trying to come up with a schedule of working out and what to eat because I feel that works better for me. Plus. cleaning house of crappy snacks and what not. Next week will definitely be interesting/hard because I'll be in Vegas through the last half of the week. But getting in a groove now will only help before I take off.

Here's to us! I've added a motivational link to some great quotes here :)

Week 1.5 Progress Not Going So Well

Hi Ladies! 

So my progress has not been great so far :(  I did not start off well the first week and when I don't start off well I have a hard time getting back on track and not just waiting until Monday to start fresh!

This week has been equally as difficult because of too many nights at school until 7pm and a book club I hosted at my house that resulted in my eating pizza for breakfast and baklava and cake pops for dinner since I had leftovers today!  I am concerned about the weekend with wine riot, Ellie here, and day Pete has planned for me.

Next week will be pretty rough with our birthdays to so I think my goal will be to make it more to the gym and not gain too much before I leave for Belize.

I did work on my push ups last week so that was a positive!

Week 1 progress or lack there of :(

So I started off the week trying this smoothie diet which didn't last too long :)  I decided that 3 smoothies a day just wasn't going to cut it.  I did take some suggestions from the diet for snacks and meals so I will be incorporating some of it into my plan, but not all of it!

I thought I was making good progress by cutting out chips, candy and ice cream completely from my diet....but somehow I managed to gain 2 pounds this week :(.  Might have had to do with some Easter candy I cheated with yesterday :)  Throughout the week I was using my Fitbit to try to get 10,000 steps a day.  I noticed how much sitting at my desk all day has an impact on this so I'm going to make more of an effort this week to try to get in the 10,000 each day.  Also, I going to start logging food in MyFitnessPal.  I hate logging food but realized that I really need to so I can keep to my goal of 1300 calories a day.

So here's to hoping that this week is better and I make some progress in a positive direction!!