4th of July

Having a holiday in the middle-ish part of the week is always fun. On the 4th we went to Top Golf with some friends. Top Golf for those that don't know is an indoor/outdoor driving range. It is kind of like sitting on a patio, hitting golf balls. There are fans, tvs, and waitresses to bring you food and drinks. Even if you don't feel like playing, it is still fun. It is the bowling of golf, and we love it even if I am TERRIBLE.

I ordered a bloody mary (hey - had to get my veggies in, right?) while we were there, and it came with a Beef Jerky Straw!! Who doesn't like getting a free snack with their drink? I did not think I was a fan of bloody marys before, but I think I may be on the bloody mary wagon now. Check this thing out.

After Top Golf, Jimmy had a free ticket to see Iron Man 3, so we went to see that. It's been out for 2 months already, and I honestly had no desire to see it. I was pleasantly surprised and really liked it! After the movie, we came home and grilled veggies and hot dogs. You have to grill things on 4th of July! We have recently become obsessed with skewering and grilling veggies. It is so easy, fast, and really good. I finish my skewer and find myself wanting more vegetables. How often can you say that? Exactly.. And they're so pretty!

We did not go anywhere to see fireworks, but upstairs from our bedroom, we could see the fireworks in Kyle and Buda at the same time! So that was fun. We also had a patriotic dessert!

We didn't do anything too crazy because we had to get up at 5:15 the next morning to go to Camp Gladiator! Jimmy and I were the only 2 there!!! It was a tough workout that focused mainly on arms. I was sore ALL weekend. Edwin (trainer) said that he was going to do that workout again on Monday because he was really proud of it. He did put quite a bit of effort into it. It was all 4th of July themed. We did exercises including the Statute of Liberty, George Washington, Uncle Sam, Firecrackers, and Apple Pie. It is hard to explain each exercise here, but they were very creative.

SO, because I was thinking we were doing the same thing again this morning, I REALLY dreaded getting out of bed at 5:15 this morning. But I did it! Luckily, there were 2 other people there this morning, and we did not do the same exercises. Edwin is really tough, but I like him.

I have been kind of craving pudding lately. Weird right? (No.. I'm not pregnant!) Anyway, I looked at the back of the pudding box at the store, and I couldn't even tell you all the crazy things listed in the ingredients. I've started shying away from buying or eating products that have things that I couldn't recreate at home. I decided to look up how to make pudding!! Turns out, it is SUPER easy!!! I used this pinterest recipe. I added peppermint extract so that it would be chocolate mint pudding. I could not believe I made pudding. It was so easy, but I was REALLY proud of myself. One thing I will say is, the recipe says to stir until the mixture will stick to the back of the spoon. When the mixture got to that point, I did not think it was thick enough, so I continued to stir and kept it on the heat. Bad idea. It is SUPER thick. Other than that, it's good!

I'm not sure why, but Sunday and yesterday I feel like I've eaten EVERYTHING. I just can't stop eating. I'm starving! (Again - NOT PREGNANT). I'm going to assume it is because I'm working out. In the middle of eating everything, I haven't made the best food choices the last 2 days. Normally this would really bum me out. I'm not going to say I'm happy about it, but I don't feel like just because I didn't have a great day that everything is ruined.

I think I've decided that I'm going to get a spiral notebook, a really pretty one, and I'm going to start writing everything down. I'm going to write down what I eat, the days I exercise and what I do, my weight on the 1st and the 15th, and I'm going to start taking my measurements. Some days I get discouraged by the scale, but I can still tell that my body is changing. So if I keep track of all of those things, I'll be able to see it. I also think I need to start taking photos of myself at least once a month so I can actually SEE if I am changing.

Since starting to weigh on the 1st and the 15th, I find myself weighing every single day. Don't do this. I repeat, don't do this! Our bodies, especially for women, change so much each day. Weights go up and down each day. You can see a steady decline over a period of time, but on a daily basis, you are going to gain and then lose. Weighing every day can discourage you. Don't do that to yourself. I'm going to stop doing that to myself. I'm going to stick to the 1st and the 15th. I've got 1 week until my weigh in! Wish me luck! Have a great week.

Weigh-in 2 and other fun things

Well.. these 2 weeks have not been that great. I am only down 2 pounds! A total of 13 since starting my blog and 78 pounds overall. Not going to lie.. it is discouraging to only lose 2 pounds in 15 days. Camp Gladiator starts up again this week, and I'm going to work really hard. I'd like to lose at least 5 pounds by July 15. Here's hoping!

We've been staying busy! It seems like there is always something going on. This past weekend we went on a mini BBQ trip on Saturday. +Jimmy Ho really loves BBQ, and he has started his own BBQ blog! Check it out at http://thesmokingho.blogspot.com. It is pretty difficult to eat healthy when you eat bbq unless you eat chicken, turkey, and beans. The bad part about that is, it is the brisket, ribs, and sausage that are so delicious! I ate pretty small amounts of meat, and I did not eat any bread at the 2 places we went. I did eat some peach cobbler though.. so.. fail, but also, win! Ha.. In between the two places we met up with a friend and went swimming though, so I totally worked out! :)

Sunday we got up and went and worked out at the track. We took the dogs, and oh my goodness, they LOVED it. I was just walking, and Jimmy took off running. The dogs took off with Jimmy, and they led him all the way around the track and caught back up to me. They ran a lap and a half with their stubby little legs. It was SO cute! They would stay with me for a little while, and then they would run across the middle to catch up with Jimmy and run with him again. I'm pretty sure Bentley got in about 2 miles. That made me feel crappy because I only went 1.25!!! I did jog about .3 of that at the end though, and I felt okay while jogging! I was breathing well and moving along okay. I'll take a pic or video next time we take them.

After that, we went to the store and came back to hang out and watch a movie. I had some blueberries that needed to be used before they went bad. So I looked up a recipe for healthy blueberry bread. I found this one. So I didn't have any allspice. I had pumpkin pie spice, which contained nutmeg and allspice. I used that with a dash of cloves and called it a day! While the movie was going, I decided I would make this bread. It also gave the opportunity to use my +Vitamix to grind my own flour! I don't know why I have been putting this off, but no more! I put my wheat berries in my Vitamix, and within 1 minute, I had fresh, whole wheat flour! It is amazing! Check out these pics!

And here are some pics of the final product! I really like it and love all the blueberries.

After some time at home, we loaded the dogs up and took them to the dog park in San Marcos, and then we all went to dinner at a place with a patio so the dogs could go. They had a pretty fab Sunday. Look how happy they are!! And then you can see how tired they were on the way home yesterday evening. Haha.

As you know, we've been cooking a lot at home. We've been making things we like in healthier ways. I made a tuna salad, but like the egg salad I made before, I used avocado instead of mayo. I love the creaminess that avocado adds!

We also really love Chipotle! Who doesn't right?! It is easy, cheap, and healthy to make chipotle type bowls at home. I used black beans, brown rice, homemade pico, a little cheese, and some salsa. It is SO good. You can also add chicken, but I had it for Meatless Monday so I didn't.  I think this is my new favorite thing.

Eating healthy at home is pretty easy (most of the time), but what about when you go out? I live with a man that works out so much he can eat whatever he wants, and most of the time, he does. So Wednesday night, what does Jimmy want to do for dinner? He wants to go to Logan's and eat steak and unlimited shrimp. Does this surprise you? It shouldn't. So we go to dinner. Jimmy gets his steak and unlimited shrimp with mac and cheese and has like 5 rolls. Logan's rolls!! Ugh.. so good. What do I get? A 6 oz sirloin with a sweet potato and a vegetable skewer with no butter on anything. I know right?! So proud of myself! I did have a roll and 1/2, but I was proud of myself for not eating like 10.

This past week I also got to meet up with an old friend from Lubbock for lunch who was in town. We had TexMex, which is my favorite! It is so hard for me not to want to eat the entire basket of chips and salsa with enchiladas and tortillas and tacos.. basically everything. But, in trying to make better choices, I ordered grilled chicken tacos on corn tortillas, and I did not eat my rice. I'm not cutting out carbs, but I am trying to decrease the amount of carbs I eat every day.

We also went to a wedding of two dear friends on the 21st. It was so beautiful, and I'm so happy for them! Congrats to Brad and Nicole! Here is a pic of us from the wedding!

I'm going to try to post more frequently! These last few weeks have been so crazy, but that is no excuse. I think my blog keeps me on track, and it encourages me to cook. Hope you all have a great week!

Weigh-in 1

Well today is June 15. I posted the other day that I wasn't going to weigh in since it was the already the 12th. But this morning while I was getting ready, I saw the scale and thought might as well... 

Drum roll please....

I'm down 3 pounds for a total of 11 since  starting my blog, and a grand total of 76 since I was my heaviest. 

I worked out with the new trainer at Camp Gladiator, Edwin, on Thursday. Holy craaaaap. He is tough! He wants you moving the entire hour. Even when he was explaining exercises he wanted us like marching in place, and to rest and catch our breath, he had us walk a little lap. We did exercises that I've never done before, and I had to do quite a few modifications. Edwin was really nice and encouraging, but he didn't let me not finish an exercise. The last part of the workout he actually made the rest of the people do it again to finish with me and another girl. I felt a little bad about that, but since we are slower it wasn't as hard on them, and they seemed happy to finish with us.

To finish camp Edwin brought some noodles (like for the pool). We played Star Wars; he named it. We used our noodles as light sabers chasing each other around and hitting each other below the waist. If you got hit, you had to go outside of the circle and do some jumping jacks. It was really fun. Edwin is an elementary PE teacher, so I'm looking forward to all of the silly games we'll play. 

That's all I've got for now. Yay Saturday!!

Hump Day!

Has this seemed like a long week for you guys? It really has for me. I started feeling sick on Monday night, I was sick yesterday, and I'm about 80% today. I don't really know what I had because I didn't have any real symptoms except that I felt really tired and achy. Because I did not feel well, I have not been very active, and that probably just exacerbated the feeling tired. Who knows? I'm starting to feel better though, and I'm ready to get back at it.

I don't know if I told you guys that my trainer at Camp Gladiator, Rand, left! His last day was last Friday. I was REALLY bummed because I really liked working out with him. He's a trainer that is very supportive no matter your fitness level. He was encouraging without being mean. He's like Bob from Biggest Loser kind of, and I LOVED HIM. So... yeah, I'm bummed that he left, but he is off to grad school so good luck to him! I think I'll make +Jimmy Ho be friends with him on Facebook so I can keep in contact with him. We had a Camp Gladiator happy hour on Friday to say goodbye. Check out me and Rand.

Such a cutie, right?! Sorry ladies.. he's taken (and he's like 22!)! I got so much stronger working out with Rand. When I first started, I could not do a burpee or jump to hands (click on the links for explanations) to save my life! I did not go to Camp Gladiator last Thursday because when I went last Tuesday it was SO HOT I honestly thought I may die. So instead, I got up at 5 freakin 30 AM on Friday to go work out with Rand on his last day. He made us do 25 reps of like 20 different exercises. It was TOUGH, but you should have seen me doing jump to hands!! I actually did all 25 and was able to jump back and forth. Check me out!!!!

Since I started this whole journey back in March, I have only lost about 8 pounds. I know I'm gaining muscle and all that jazz, but I still feel like I should be losing more. So.. I think it is time to get more strict about my diet. I do pretty well most of the time, but I still go out for drinks with friends and eat pizza and burgers sometimes. To encourage myself to keep pushing, I am going to start weighing in on the 1st and the 15th of each month, and I am going to post here how much I've lost.. or gained.. eek!.  No, I won't put my weight, but I will be honest in whether I've lost or gained. Today is the 12th, so we are going to count this as my 15th weight in and say I'm down 8 lbs overall! I would like to lose 100 pounds by May of next year. That's my ultimate goal. Wish me luck!

Btw - I met the new trainer, but I have not trained with him yet. Tomorrow will probably be my first day with him. I'll keep you guys posted.

Last week was a lot of fun. On Monday night we had concert tickets to see Of Monsters and Men. They are from Iceland, and I absolutely love them. I have been dying to see them for about a year.. after they were here for SXSW in 2012, and I did not listen to a friend about how awesome they were. A few months later, I discovered them and became obsessed. Should have listened to you, Eileen! Before the concert Jimmy and I grabbed some Vietnamese food since it was Meatless Monday.

I don't remember a lot about the food we ate last week except that one night we had some beef fajitas, and they were delicious!

I got my 2nd haul from our local farmer on Friday, and I was really surprised. I got cactus. CACTUS?! I realize people eat it, but I didn't know it was grown locally. So.. I have not tackled it yet. I'm a little intimidated. I also got some grass that a friend believes is Onion Weed. What in the world do I do with that? I got some more Swiss Chard, green onions, peppers, greens, carrots, herbs, garlic, and I think an eggplant. I think I'll just have to start biting things to taste them. Getting produce from a local farm is like a box of chocolates... you know the rest.

I have been having such a sweet tooth lately, but I really need to stay on track. I found a recipe on Pinterest for some oatmeal raisin cookies, and I feel pretty good about them. No flour OR sugar! 3 mashed bananas (ripe), 1/3 cup apple sauce, 2 cups oats, 1/4 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup raisins (optional), 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. I used 2% milk because I didn't have any almond milk. I haven't tasted them yet, but they look and smell delicious!

That's all I've got for today! Hope you guys have a great Thursday and Friday!

Shaking things up...

Lots to share this week! I have been cooking quite a bit this week. Here is a glance at some of the foods I've had.

Veggie patty is under the avocado!

Kale, Raspberries, and Apple

There is chicken under that avocado mixture!

I have also tried some new recipes! One of them is called Bubble Pizza that I found on good ole' Pinterest. You cut up biscuits and use them as the pizza dough. You add your toppings, and pizza sauce then bake for 20 minutes at 400. Then add the cheese and bake for another 5 minutes. Take it out and sprinkle with oregano. Viola!  It was SO simple. I found WHEAT biscuits! I was so excited, but quickly found out that just because it is wheat does not mean it is healthy. I followed the pinterest recipe and used the whole can of biscuits and all of the cheese. You make it in an 8X8 pan, and cut it into 8 small pieces. It ended up being about 650 calories for 2 servings which is just crazy. I may as well had 2 pieces of deep dish pizza from Pizza Hut! So... next time I'm going to use half of the biscuits because there was a ton of dough, and I don't think you would be missing anything by cutting it out, and I think I'll use half of the amount of cheese (that one will be tough!). But, just by doing those 2 things, I will save 260 calories!!! And if I can have 2 pieces for 390 calories, I feel a lot better about it! Here is a pic of each step.

Oh, oh, oh! I did something SUPER exciting this week! I made my first omelette!!!! Should I be that excited about it? Um, yes! Because making an omelette is not that easy. I've tried before, and it was just a mess. I was so excited about it, that I'm pretty sure I texted 3 or 4 people. I used 2 eggs, some pico, and cheese. It was delicious. I'm feeling pretty confident now. Many more omelettes to come!

In continuing our pursuit of a healthy lifestyle, I have been wanting to get most of our produce from a local organic farm. I finally contacted one that is pretty close to our home and makes home deliveries every Friday. Well.. we signed up! We got our first delivery this past Friday. The produce looked and smelled amazing! We got Swiss chard, kale, carrots, potato, a pepper, peaches, leeks, green onion, and some cherry tomatoes. Getting these deliveries every Friday will push us out of our comfort zones to eat things we haven't eaten before, to eat more vegetables, and to learn to cook new things. Here is a pic of our haul.

With that said, we had never had Swiss chard! I took that on tonight. I found a great recipe. For those of you like me and don't venture out with veggies, the easiest thing to compare it to would be fresh spinach. Not so much the taste, but in the way that it looks and the preparation. I sauteed it with olive oil, real butter, garlic, purple onion, carrots, white wine, lemon, and Parmesan. I was pleasantly surprised! Jimmy and I really liked it. It was so flavorful, and I felt like such a culinarian! Even +Jimmy Ho thought I seemed like a real chef! It was pretty exciting. It was so colorful and delicious. Take a look!

Isn't that amazing? I am so looking forward to all of the new things we will start making.

Because I have such a sweet tooth, I NEEDED to find a way to make something that would satisfy it without undoing everything good I have done. This week, I found it!! Thank you to @SmugCookery on Twitter, I will be able to survive. Watch her YouTube video that saved me here. So what did she do? She taught me how to make a creamy, not icy, homemade ice cream in my +Vitamix! It was SO simple and takes 2, yes TWO ingredients. Buy some ripe bananas, peel them, cut them in halves or pieces, and freeze them. After they are frozen use about 2 cups of the frozen bananas and 100 ml (in between 1/3 and 1/2) of a cup of milk. We used 2%, but she used fat free in her recipe. The ice cream is ready in like 30 seconds. It was creamy. It was sweet. It was amazing. The recipe is enough for 2 people, and if you use fat free milk, it is 152 calories per serving (per @SmugCookery). Ours had a few more calories since we used 2% milk, but not a lot. Just another reason to love the Vitamix!!

As you can tell, I had a pretty productive week! I also worked out pretty hard at Camp Gladiator! But.. we made time for some fun this weekend too. We went to a beautiful wedding on Friday night. Congrats to Claire and Tre! So happy for you guys!! We did some yard work and gave the dogs their summer haircuts. We went and saw the new Fast and Furious movie. I know you're thinking really? How can it be good? It is the 6th one! I know.. but it was! It was good! We also checked out Top Golf today with a friend which was really fun.

This was a pretty great week, and next week is off to a good start! We are going to see Of Monsters and Men tomorrow night, and I can't wait! I've been wanting to see them for over a year now. I'll post pics of that next time. Hope you all have a great week!