Can't Sleep, Might as Well Post

As the title would indicate, I'm here writing at a time when I should be sleeping. My husband came home unexpectedly during the night (well, night for me (11pm) & woke me up & now I can't get back to sleep (it's been about an hour)  So I thought I'd get to the post I've been meaning to write ever since Meaghan left a comment from my last post...

Can you talk about what sort of diet you're doing... Like I mean what kinds of food you're eating. Are you trying to restrict calories? Are you focusing on protein or low sugar or something?

I'm not really following any one specific diet per se... But the one that would be closest would be the Eat Clean Diet by Tosca Reno  It involves cutting out processed, high sodium, high sugar foods & having smaller meals with snacks through out the day. Tosca Reno used to be over 200lbs... & look at her now! And she's 51!!! So yea, I'm buying the things she's sayin :)  

I don't count calories, but I'm very aware or portion sizes (specifically of my carbs... I only have 3 portions of whole grains each day (one with breakfast, one with lunch & one with supper)  Usually a slice of whole grain bread (whereas before I eoul have 2 or whatever) or a Weight Watchers bagel (they're smaller) or English muffin or something.  

Lately I've been throwing a 1/4 cup of oatmeal right in with my breakfast smoothie. (Which I have M-F, the weekends it's a 1 egg/3 egg white omelet with veggies & seasonings & a slice of toast.) Later on in this post I'll break down what goes into my smoothies & why. 

I make sure I always have lean protein with every meal or snack... whether it's animal based, vegetarian or through protein powder or something like that.  

And what kinds of work out schedule are you on? Do you alternate days?

My workouts lately (& I hope I can keep this up!) have been 6 days a week. Cardio every day (minimum 45 minutes (time permitting, of course) and then strength training on opposite days, 3 times/week.  So, my week begins on a Monday... I'll leave work early if I can (if Alex is away, while Owen is still in child care) & do 45 on the treadmill (I'm still just walking at a fast pace, but hope to work up to running through intervals once I've lost a bit more weight) I track my time on the treadmill through my Nike + linked with my iPod & it transmits my data to my workout page on nikeplus.com.  There I can view all of my runs, compare speeds & distances, etc. 

Then I do a series of weight lifting exercises designed by my personal trainer Dustin (and by my personal trainer, I mean, he's the guy that you meet with if you're a member of Snap Fitness & I've met with him once so he could give me this workout regime... I'm not, like, meeting with hims 3x/week or whatever... I'm not there yet :)  The exercises all involve using free weights & I'm really glad he taught me how to do them because now I feel confident in the free weight area & don't feel intimidated to be there or like I need to stay in the area with the machines... 

So things have been good with all of that... & I definitely feel like I've been seeing results... now all I have to do is just keep it up for the rest of my life! It's okay though... eventually I'll be able to scale things back to a maintenance routine.

Now... my protein shake...

First.. I recommend having a Vita-Mix blender... for sure... hands down it's the best one on the market in terms of quality & ability. I was using a Magic Bullet before & I was still getting chunks of ice & lumps of other stuff that wasn't blending properly & it was a nasty mess, really.. so when I saw that Costco had them for sale, I sucked it up & bought one & am so glad I did.  These are the blenders that Booster Juice & Starbucks use & I can see why. I can throw 2 cups of ice in with my stuff & it comes out so smooth... LOVE IT!

Shameless plug aside.... this is what I put in a daily breakfast shake...

*about 1/2 c skim or almond milk
*1/4 c fat free yogurt
*1 Danone Probiotic drinkable yogurt
* 1-2 TBSP golden flaxseed (omega 3/fiber)
* 1-2 TBSP chia seeds (see below ... WHY CHIA?)
* 1 scoop whey protein powder (low fat, low carb, excellent source of protein)
* 1/8 c dry curd cottage cheese (Excellent source of protein ...I choose dry curd because reg cottage cheese (low fat or fat free) is SOOOO high in sodium... I just about fell off my chair when I realized how much was in a half a cup of it! Plus, it's getting blended anyway)
* 1/8 - 1/4 c dry oatmeal (whole grains)
* 1 TBSP coconut oil (good source of healthy fats)
* 1 TBSP wheat germ (fiber, etc... see link for health benefits)
* 1 TBSP cacao nibs (antioxidants)
* frozen fruit (assorted, depending on flavor of shake)
* ice

So delicious! I usually can't finish it all, so I save some for my morning snack at about 10 or 10:30am. And because of the Vita-Mix... it's blended perfectly.. no chunks!

WHY CHIA?

Chia seeds are one of the most powerful, functional, and nutritious
superfoods in the world! The chia seed is an excellent source of
fiber, packed with antioxidants, full of protein, loaded with vitamins
and minerals, and the richest known plant source of omega-3. 

Adding just 2 tablespoons of chia seeds to your daily diet will give you approximately 7 grams of fiber (more than bran flakes), 4 grams of protein, 205 milligrams of calcium (more than 2% milk), more antioxidants than blueberries, and a whopping 5 grams of omega-3! (More than Atlantic Salmon)

Workin Out, Feeling Good!

So I've been making arrangements to go to the gym & have been eating well & things are going great. I weighed myself on Sunday (210.5 lbs) & today (208.6 lbs) so at least I'm lower than what I was when I last weighed myself at the end of May.  So the semi-hiatus is officially OVER!

I've been reading a lot of weight loss stories with before & after pictures for inspiration (Women's Health has some great ones)  but the one that has inspired me the most is Michele Lund

Here's her before pic:

 Here's a couple after pics:

 

 

Isn't that FANTASTIC?!! So if you get the chance, head on over to her blog to read about this amazing journey.

Another pic that I'm using for inspiration is one of my sister, from when she was in Mexico.

I would totally love to look like this! So hopefully... if I keep working at it... one day I'll get there!

This just in... Sunday morning weigh in... 207.2 lbs! That's 5.8 lbs since last Friday :)

Still in the Land of the Unknown

So I still don't have the courage to weigh myself again yet.  I don't think the news would be that terrible... I think I just want to go by the feel of clothes for a while... Maybe even until I feel like I'm under 200lbs.  We'll see.

But things have been really good.  I've been working out (at the gym & at home) almost everyday.  I've been doing cardio & every other day doing my weight routine designed by Dustin (Aftershock Fitness) ... he's one of the personal trainers at Snap Fitness (where I have my gym membership).  It's all with free weights & it's a very rewarding feeling to feel like I've graduated from the easy machines to the big boy free weight section of the gym (especially since I've picked up heavier weights than the guys on 2 occasions now! (Alex says sometimes guys use lower weights sometimes for different reasons, but it still makes me feel good!)  But I am thinking of switching to World Gym because they have child care & I'd be able to go even when Alex is away. So we'll see.

Eating has been not too bad.  I've been trying to make better choices, but still have some treats here & there.  I'm mostly focusing on my working out & am trying to develop my better eating habits over time.  I'm reading "Secrets of a Former Fat Girl" right now & it's really good.  Very motivational.

And I've been way better at getting & keeping the house clean... cleaner than it's ever been in my life.  I'm even mopping (well, Swiffer Wet) the floors every other day or so.  So haw am I able to be doing all of this when before I felt like I couldn't get anything done?  I'm attributing the change in my time management skills to my newfound dedication to daily scripture study & prayer.  I was always a slacker at those things too... and since I've been reading & praying every day, it's like a whole new outlook on life & I have stronger desires to be more organized & get more housework/exercise/etc done... It's awesome... I totally recommend it!

Well... I guess I keep at it! Stay tuned for more progress reports!

p.s. it's now Thursday morning & I've just tried on & am now wearing a pair of jeans from way before I was ever pregnant! Woohoo!