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.

Spring has Sprung...

Four inches of snow, icy conditions, and blistering winds...hello March 20th. Not very cool for the first day of spring, but I don't think you can expect much else from mother nature in Nebraska. This totally put a hitch in my giddy up. I was really looking forward to exercising outside more, but when Spring gives you and welcome like that...its hard to picture running past green grass and warm breezes.
Luckily today was slightly warmer and the sun was able to melt most of these white devil flakes. I think I know why people in warmer climates are usually more fit. They do not have to spend 4 months of their year running at a brick wall, TV screen with closed captioning, or another stationary runner huffing and puffing right back at you. We went for 2 walks today. The 2nd was right after dinner, more laid back, and with a few extra people in tow. More of a pleasure walk instead of business.
My size 12 capris fit me today! Not that I'll be wearing them for a couple more weeks, but still its good to know I can keep them in my wardrobe family. A few items didn't make the cut. Most for size reasons, but a fair few were just fashion no-no's. Take for instance, my floor length camo broom skirt. So cute 6 years ago, but not so much now. Its almost like going shopping all over again as more and more things start to fit me. I'm amazed at what new cobwebby corner of my wardrobe is opening up for me again!

BIG NEWS! My current BMI is no longer in the obese range! Great right?! Who would have ever thought I would be over the moon about being just overweight? 29.6 baby! This makes me feel even better than my actual pound weight, because its now becoming apparent that I am actually doing something to make me healthier. All the exercising and portion control is paying off!

Vacation Sabotage...Are you saying sandwich? No, I'm saying sabotage.

First off, that is an awesome Office episode...

So my mom and I went to Florida for 5 days. It was warm and much needed. However, it raises the question. Why do vacations always ruin your good routines?! In my opinion you need vacations for your mental health. Tell me I can't take vacations anymore and I'd rather jump off a cliff.

I did a fine job of eating relatively healthy and small meals. I did have pop on vacation, but haven't had it since I got home. I took special care to drill into my subconscious that this is vacation and I should treat myself, but once I was home again...no more pop. That last Coke on the flight home slid down my throat and into my belly like cold silk. I sucked every last bit off of every last ice cube.

Now I'm home and grudgingly getting back into my workout/eating routine. I ran my usual mile last night for the first time since being home. Muscle memory my ass. By the time my LCD read .85 miles I was ready to give up and let my jiggly body hit the wall behind me. I slowed it down to a quick walk, jumped off did some crunches and push ups and that's when I heard it...

*Inhale*
*Exhale*
Eeeehhaa
*Inhale*
*Exhale*
Eeehhaa

I WAS WHEEZING!! Now I was really feeling like I had gained back the 20lbs I'd lost and here I was back at square one. A quick jump on the scale reassured me that in fact I was only up by a couple pounds. Whew, close one. The wheeze isn't anything big. I used to get it in middle school. Exercise induce asthma along with allergy induced asthma...convenient for the lazy 8th grader who doesn't want to run the mile. I had a note.

Anyways, as much as it felt like getting back on the treadmill was equivalent to belly crawling over broken glass and rusty nails, I actually felt really good. Thats when I remembered why I started all this. I want to feel better. More energy, more motivation, and of course showing a little more than just my neck and ankles all year. Swim suit season is around the corner. How cliche of me for that to be my motivation. But in my defense I never was the girl with the smokin hot bod, but why can't I be now? Hopefully I don't loose my boobs along with the weight though...those are my favorite!