Milk Does the Belly Good

This is from about a month ago, but I'm maintaining which is frustrating and gratifying all at once.


Have you ever noticed how filling milk is? I think thats why SlimFast works for some people. Its a big glass of milk. Babies keep themselves full with milk for at least the first 6 months of their lives. Where am I going with this, you might wonder? I'm going to add a couple glasses of milk to my fluid intake. I love milk, what I really love is Vitamin D Milk, which Ryan thinks is disgusting. Lets face it though, I'm not going to loose weight by drinking Vitamin D. No, I'm talking about Skim, which is still filling. So this morning, we were low on cereal. So I grab a Nature Valley granola bar and a nice glass of milk. Granted we didn't get up till 10am, but I wasn't even thinking about food till almost 12:30pm. I thought that was pretty good. Then Danny and I had grilled cheese with turkey. I must say I am pretty proud of myself. I only had one...whereas when I was pregnant I'd have 3 (maybe 4).
I'm done with my part time temporary Census job, which means the vending machines are no longer calling my name from down the hall. Hopefully by being home all day again I won't tailspin into snacking and junk food. Fingers crossed...Also, its 10 more days till my friend's wedding that I want to look adorable at. Conceited, I know, but I'm allowed to be excited about weight loss!

Today I'm making meals for a few friends of our that are having a tough time and for dessert I'm making those peanut butter rice crispy chocolate covered treats. With the casserole I tripled the batch so that we could have some here, but I only doubled the dessert so it wouldn't be in the house once we delivered! Smart lady huh? I love baking, but I have to have someone to give it away to because otherwise I will eat it all myself. I have even been known to make cookies, candies, ect. if there are no sweets in the house. Also the plus side of cooking for people that are not your family is that you are not allowed to lick things clean, its just gross. So I'm wondering if Ryan will be mad if I continue cooking for other people so that I don't keep things here? Or maybe I should start taking orders in hopes that if my hands stay busy my mouth doesn't eat as much. Food for thought...

So this is what the other side of the leaf looks like...

Yes, I'm already having to re-up my New Years Resolution. Seeing as its Spring, I'm turning over a new leaf instead. The New Leaf is creepy. All the Easter candy is gone and I'm left with my trusted dried fruit. I pull back the corner to look at my Old Leaf and see that it is littered with foil wrappers that once wrapped around chocolaty bunnies filled with peanut butter and rice crisps. Empty gold coins are a reminder of the empty calories that now jiggle as I run up the stairs. Oh Easter, why did you make me buy those sweets for my 18 month old that will never eat the entire bag of chocolate kisses on his own?

New Leaf also has a new exercise plan. I am so sick of the treadmill. Its nice outside, so why am I not doing my stuff out there? Here are a list of excuses...

Laundry and other housework
Baby is Napping
Creepy People are out there
Too Cold
Too Hot
Too Buggy
Flower beds to weed

So new plan is this...
Sunday - Sabbath Day of Rest no exercise (Yes God is my excuse for this day)
Monday - Exercise Video during Nap & Evening walk
Tuesday - Evening Walk
Wednesday - Treadmill at Mom & Dads
Thursday - Treadmill at Mom & Dads
Friday - Exercise Video
Saturday - Walk

I think it is definitely doable and hopefully I can stick with it. I think I tend to shy away from running outside because nobody wants to see that. Mom boobs, jiggly butt, and belly, um no thank you. I don't want to see that, so why should I scar some poor old lady who looks out her window as her only form of entertainment. I would be personally to blame if she went blind.

I will admit that since all the Easter candy is gone from the house (because I ate it) I have been eating better. I just don't have the willpower to deny something if its right in front of me. So I don't buy it then I won't eat it. We have a nice break in between candy, carb, and fat loaded holidays that I need to take full advantage of. So here it goes, my New Leaf, oh what fun.

Also, does anyone else get motivated when they watch movies with skinny stars? I know it sounds very Jr. High, but we watched Volver with Penelope Cruz last night. Is it just me or does watching people with cute little bodies make you want a cute little body? Just wondering.

Cheap and Easy...wait that sounds all wrong.

Still vigilant in my search for cheap, easy, healthy, recipes. Here are a few that I've either stumbled across or made up.

Chicken over Corn Salsa (serves 2-4)
2 Grilled Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 Can of Corn
1 Can of Rotel Tomatos with Green Chiles

Drain corn. Add to skillet on medium heat. Add Rotel and simmer till most of the moisture evaporates. Spoon onto plate. Smack your chicken breast on top. Voila!

Spicey Tuna Spread
1 can Tuna in water
1 tsp Ground Horseraddish
2 TBS Ketchup
1 TBS Hot Sauce
12-15 Triscut Reduced Fat crackers

Drain Tuna. Mix with horseraddish, ketchup, and hot sauce. Spread on crackers and enjoy!

Soy Soaked Seared Salmon
This one is super easy. I think people tend to be leary of fish, but its foolproof. Beware though that if you don't like a "fishy" taste, try Halibut or Tilapia.

4 Salmon Fillets
1/2 cup Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce
1/2 TBS Minced Garlic
1 TBS Ground Pepper

Mix together soy sauce, pepper, and garlic in a flat pan (8x8 baking dish is what I use.) Lay fillets down in a single layer for 1-2 minutes, then flip for 1-2 minutes. In a 12 in skillet over Med-High heat lay fillets skin side down and DO NOT TOUCH THEM! 4-5 Minutes depending on thickness, then flip for 1-2 minutes. Salmon should flake away easily from the rest of the fillet. I like this with brown rice and steamed vegetables.
**You may be temped to marinate the fillets in the sauce mixture for longer. Be my guest, but be warned that they can come away very salty if left in the marinade for too long.**

Fell off, then got ran over by the wagon...

Its not my fault. Really. It's not.
Ok its a little bit my fault, but mostly its not. Spring is definitely in the air and plugging up my sinuses. Do you know how hard it is to run when you can at any given time cough, sneeze, and cry all at the same time? Difficult. Thank you ClaritinD. My body is not longer trying to kill me and I can breath through my nose again. What does this mean on the workout front? Ummmm, what workout front? Last night I did my 6 Minute Ab workout video. This is the first time I have attempted to workout in well over 2 weeks. Yes we've been going for walks, but I know I'm not really pushing myself. 6 Minute Abs went well, although I admittingly only did them because I was watching Biggest Loser and I was feeling like a slug.

So allergies ok, no big deal. Then Easter. I love Easter. Do you know how many calories are in a deviled egg? 64 on average (depending on your receipe). Do you know how many I had? Try 8 (over 2 days). Thats 512 calories and it wasn't even the biggest part of my meal. I didn't have any soda though, except I am drinking a Diet Pepsi as I write this. I don't know why. I don't like diet pop. I just went to the vending machine, didn't see anything I liked, but chose a diet pop anyways. What is wrong with me? I've literally taken 2 drinks and remembered why I decided to cut out pop entirely instead of just switching to diet. Diet is disgusting.

I'm off work at 2 and I fully intend to go home and do my Cardio Core Express video. Who names these things? The wagon may have ran me over, but now I'm chasing after it with my sand in my eyes and grit in my teeth.