It's the Little Victories

This morning was a challenge. I needed to be in Cookeville (at least an hour drive from me) by 8:00 am. I had a conference that lasted till 3:00. If I was at the gym when the doors opened at 6:00 I could make it. 5:00 am came mighty early! It was oh so tempting to just say I'd go in the afternoon. I was even contemplating after I was up for 30 minutes! I finally decided to just GO... and I made it to the conference just in time. And then I sat on butt pretty much ALL day! That's the problem with conferences, too much sitting. I had a victory by default too. They had lots of snacks at the conference, but I didn't like any of them! They had honey buns, and cinnamon rolls, banana nut muffins.... YUCK! None of it even tempted me. The ice cold sodas did, but I steered clear.

I did have Blue Coast Burrito for lunch but I got a small burrito instead of the large. I did eat 4 ounces of cheese dip all by myself.  BUT, I had unsweetened tea. I just don't think I can give up this type of food forever. I might try a short term commitment though, like going a whole week without it.

Sorry, today's blog is kinda boring. All I seem to have on my brain is that I have a book I need to read before Monday and a research paper due Wednesday, that I don't even have a topic for yet. Oh, and a 1 1/2 hour discussion to present and lead on Thursday. I'm so glad I get my Mexican Coke next Tuesday!

Today's Question: What do most of the people you are around find tempting that you don't care for. (Some others of mine are pie, cheesecake, anything with nuts in it, and anything with chocolate and peanut butter together.... yuck, yuck, yuck!)

I'll leave you with this (since I'm all about the commitments)....  Are you in or out?

Tuesday's Theme and Terry

I seem to have a "T" thing going on today! First I want to show off my friend Terry. I am so proud of her! She has lost 30 pounds in 3 months and is down 2 pant's sizes!! Go Terry! She is another one of my inspirations and one I get to see every once in a while. You'd think we'd see each other more since we just live 2 doors down from each other! Anyway, I am very proud of her!

I have had a really good day so far! I was up at 5:00 am, went to the gym, made it to class on time, ate the lunch I packed for myself, locked the keys in the car, and I am about to go to the chiropractor. Okay, so it wasn't perfect, but the campus police took less than 3 minutes to find me and about 15 seconds to open the car door. Plus it is beautiful outside! I will likely go out to dinner with my dad tonight but I will try to be sensible. This morning did prove that I am capable of getting up and going to the gym before class. I really don't have many valid excuses not to now.

In order to keep me motivated to keep blogging I have decided to do a couple of weekly themes. Tuesdays will be recipes! These will be recipes that are either Clean, Cleaned-up, or in some way better for you.

I'm going to start SUPER simple! I have a lot of people that ask me how I make my asparagus. STOP! Before you say, "EWWW!" I used to HATE asparagus. Just give it a try. A little tip on buying asparagus: it is one of the vegetables that you don't have to worry about buying organic. I'll have a post soon on the "dirty dozen." Those are the foods that you should buy organic.

 

Roasted Parmesan Asparagus

Asparagus, fresh

olive oil or coconut oil (I use coconut oil personally)
sea salt

shredded parmesan cheese

Notice, I did not put any numbers. It's really all according to taste and you can make as much or as little as you need..

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Take your fresh asparagus and either cut or break the woody ends off. Rub the stalks with the oil. I just put it on my hands and rub the stalks real good. I find I use less oil when I do this. Place in a single layer on a cookie sheet. (Cover the sheet with aluminum foil for super quick clean up!) Sprinkle the asparagus with the sea salt. Put in the oven for 6 minutes, toss around a little then put back for 5-6 more minutes. As soon as you take them out the final time sprinkle with the grated parmesan cheese. Asparagus is best when eaten warm, in my humble opinion, and it cools off quickly, so make sure this is one of the last things ready.

 

I hope you enjoy it!

Today's question: Who inspires you to do something that stretches you?

 

 

 

 

Not a Total Loss...

Today was my first day of class this summer. I'm in grad school and I am finishing up my last two classes, before I have to start the dreaded problem paper, this summer. They are both only 3 weeks long. Imagine, a whole semester crammed into 3 weeks! I have to have a book read by next Monday and I have a research paper is due next Thursday. That's only two of the things I have to do! I am slightly overwhelmed. I just keep thinking, it'll all be over in 3 weeks. I just hope it's all over with an A at the end!

I started the day off with my Shaklee Cinch protein shake and vitamins. Then I, well I didn't go to the gym. I am glad I went yesterday! Of course that means I have to go every day the rest of this week to keep my commitment. I did take my lunch! I had tuna fish with just enough Miracle Whip to hold it together, a boiled egg white, and an orange. I ate in the Learning Resource Center because I thought it would be safe, except there was food in there for a birthday party and they welcomed us all to it. I had four slices of some cheese. I stayed away from the sweets just fine! My weakness is CHEESE! My mom always called me the cheese kid. I think I could live on cheese and bread for the rest of my life! I went 100 days without caffeine and 100 days without chocolate, but I only made it 10 days without cheese before I gave up! Anyway, all in all, not a bad lunch. Oh, I guess I should mention that my professor passed around a container of fun sized candy and I had 3 fun size Twix felt obligated to take some. They just have 80 calories each...which quickly turned into 240 calories! Yikes! Evil little things!

When I left campus, I pulled out on the main road and heard a horrible bang and then a clunk. No worries, it was just my favorite water bottle flying off the car! I did a U-turn in the middle of the street, stopped in the turn lane and ran out to pick it up! I love that thing! It was no worse for the wear and only sustained a little road rash on the bottle and on the spout. I think I 'll have to file down the spout a little.




It's hard to see but the spout is now a little rough around the edges.

It should have been easy from here on, right? I mean, I'm home! I resisted the temptation of fast food, and most of the junk at school. Well, I could have gone to the gym, but I decided to lay on the couch and commiserate the three weeks I have ahead of me. (I did get to have a wonderful chat with my dear friend from Virginia, Susan Noe too!) I then cooked dinner, chicken carbonara. Not the healthiest meal, but I made it at home so it wasn't full of fake junk. I used 100% whole wheat pasta. I put it in the Lose it Recipe section and it came out with 270 calories per serving. The actual food wouldn't have been a problem IF I hadn't set it on the table instead of measuring some out and putting it in my plate. From now on, I fill my plate and that's it! I had at least 2 or 2 1/2 servings! Then after dad and I had ice cream and homemade hot fudge. The homemade hot fudge is something I am not willing to give up. My mom made it and it is one of the few things I can make that tastes just like her's. I'll work the calories and sugar into my day.

So the day wasn't a total loss, but there was no real excuse for it not to be a great day. I have portioned left-overs for lunch tomorrow and I am determined to go to the gym. I just thought, I have to turn in a research paper 2 days before my weigh day gets here! Perspective! Suddenly a day that felt so far away seems so close now.

Well, tomorrow is a new day. I am thinking blackened salmon, asparagus, and quinoa for dinner. I'm pretty excited about my blog tomorrow! I am starting                                Tuesdays. You'll have to come back tomorrow to see what Tuesday's will have in store!

Question of the day: My biggest weakness is cheese. What's yours?

Weigh-in and Blogathon

I am happy to report that I have lost 4.4 pounds since my initial weigh-in on June 21st! That was 11 days ago. I also went into a new "10s" place! Barely, but I'm there. I do not plan on seeing that number sitting there in the middle again until it has a 1 in front of it! I know I probably won't always lose at this rate so I'm taking it while I can.

Today is the first day of the Blogathon. I have to post everyday in June! This came along at the perfect time (Thanks Suzzanne) and will get me into the habit of blogging. There are some theme days coming through it too.

I was going to go to my chiropractor's office and do the MAX T3 workout with them this morning, but I was too lazy to go out to the car last night and see what time it started. Yes, that would be a very sad, but true, fact. So, I will be going to the gym today instead. I do love my gym. I go to the Jimmy Floyd Center here in Lebanon. There is a large variety of people that go there. I used to go to Sports Village, I actually used to work at Sports Village. It is nice, but I see more of the "120 pound, perfect mom" there. I like the variety at Jimmy Floyd, plus, they have racquetball and as soon as I get to where I don't think I'll have a heart attack I plan on joining the league! I love racquetball and it is a great workout. Jimmy Floyd also has a better variety of weight machines. I think that will be my Sunday challenge, weight training.

                                                                                                                                                

I kept my commitment this week to work out 6 days! WOO HOO! Just 4 more weeks of this commitment. I'm thinking I may do 2 week commitments after this. Like from weigh-in to weigh-in. Maybe that's not long enough. Maybe some should be 2-week and others 6-week commitments.... I DON"T KNOW!

I may or may not have had Mexican for lunch. Okay, I did. BUT it keeps me from going on Sunday when they have a buffet. Tonight I am just snacking on popcorn and an orange because I am not that hungry.

I have been thinking about changing the name of my blog since the focus isn't just Clean Eating. It will be part of it, but it's much more than that. So, here's the question of the day....
What do you think would be a better name for my blog?

My motivation for today, and maybe it can be yours too...

Overwhelmed!

I knew my friends would respond, but I am a little overwhelmed at it still! I even figured out how to make a private group on Facebook, which I named Suzanne's Rocks, because these people are my rocks, so I can let them know when I have blogged. Speaking of blogging, my dear friend Suzzanne (she totally spells her name wrong but won't change it) told me yesterday about a Blogathon that starts tomorrow. It is a challenge to blog every day in June. I signed up, so more on that tomorrow.

I slept in a little this morning, not till 10:00 but till 8:15. Next week I will not have this luxury. I start my summer grad school class on Monday and have to be in Cookeville by 9:00. It takes me about an hour and tem minutes to get from my house into the classroom. The biggest challenge of the next three weeks, besides getting up, going to the gym and showering before class, is going to be taking my lunch and not eating out. You know Blue Coast Burrito? Yeah, they have one in Cookeville. I am thinking I need to specifically plan a day or two to go there. That way I'm not torturing myself for 3 weeks.

Tomorrow is my 1st weigh in since I committed to only weighing on the 1st and 15th of the month. The scale plays opposite games with my mind. When I weigh too often it looks something like this....
Step on scale for initial weight....strict till the next day.
Step on the scale.... if I gained anything my mind says it didn't work so you can cheat today. (even though I know all the science behind it).  If I lost, my mind gives me permission to cheat as well. This is just a 6-week commitment so I can change the frequency if I want to, but I want to see if this helps.

I have kept track of my food intake today, including calories. I am within range for the day! Of course that meant having a kiwi for dessert instead of ice cream and hot fudge. I made a wonderful soup for dinner, it is not necessarily super healthy, but really good! It's a copycat version of Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana soup. It's kinda healthy....it has kale, onions, potatoes, Italian sausage, and heavy whipping cream in it. Pretend you don't see a couple of those ingredients.



I am going strong on my 3 commitments! Hopefully, you will be greeted tomorrow with very good news, aka a loss of poundage!

Today's question.... Do you enjoy anything for dessert that isn't typically considered dessert?

Motivation vs. Determination

I have been reading a blog I heard about on a podcast (I am getting so technology savvy it is scaring me) called Runs for Cookies. It is written by a lady in Michigan that has lost 125 pounds and kept it off. I think we are related. We both chew ice, are closet Eminem fans (guess not anymore), crochet, sew, and that's just a few of the things I can relate to reading her blog. I've never met Katie before, but she is the reason I am on this journey again. When I reach my goal, I am going to have to meet her! (I am not a stalker, I promise!) Anyway, I have started reading at the beginning and read several posts each day. It is always what I need to hear! Today was no exception.

I was in Kentucky last night for a graduation and didn't get home until almost 2:00 am and didn't get into bed until 3 am. Needless to say, I did not get up and go to the gym at 7:00! I got up around 10 and had my protein shake and vitamins. I was NOT in the mood to go to the gym... AT ALL! So I opened my computer and started reading her blog. This is the link to the post I read today. READ IT!It was exactly the kick in the pants I needed to get out the door and go to the gym! I had ZERO motivation, but only I can decide just how determined I am to lose the weight!. I am determined!! Determination trumps motivation....if you have it.

My food intake was better today, probably because I slept most of the day. (I got up at 10 and took a nap from 1:30 to 5:00.) But I had tuna fish with just a tiny bit of Miracle Whip and cheese for lunch, and for dinner..




That would be a filet cooked medium rare with herbed butter, mushroom couscous with parmesan and roasted asparagus with parmesan. Okay, I went a little overboard with the parmesan. I was within my calorie goal according to Sparkpeople....then I had ice cream and homemade hot fudge. Yeah, that put me a couple hundred calories over for the day. But today was the first day I actually recorded everything I ate and it isn't a commitment to keep track or to stay within a range so I am good with it!
I'm still going strong with my no soda commitment!

So, obviously few, if any, people are reading my blog, but I'm not broadcasting to my Facebook friends that I am writing it. That is about to change. I desperately need some readers! I might as well be writing all of this in a journal!

Please do click the links to Katie's blog! (I'm referring to her like I know her or something.) She is brutally honest and inspiring!

Daily question: (something for you to comment on when you have nothing else to say;))
Are you a "closet" fan of anyone?

Happy Thursday!

Suzanne

I Can Cook Again!

It's fixed! Thanks dad!



Of course, I didn't cook like I should have. Instead my dad asked me the most dangerous question, "Where do you want to eat tonight?" It is physically impossible for my mouth to form the word "home" when he asks that question. I ate an entire calzone, with mushrooms, black olives, onions, pepperoni, and extra cheese, which could have easily made 2 meals. On a positive note, I drank unsweetened tea. Today makes a whole week without soda. Actually, it's a week and a day. And I went to the gym this morning. I stayed above 80% of my max HR during each burst and I was able to stay at higher resistances longer. I'm still on the bike. I thought I'd change it up this week, but I'm happy with the bike for now.

Still feeling a bit guilty about the calzone so I'm going to sleep!

Suz
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Yield Not to Temptation...Drink Water

Today is Memorial Day and, of course, my family got together and had a cookout. What goes better with a juicy burger topped with pickle and onion than a cold, fizzy.....sigh, I mean than water. (I did have a cup of unsweetened tea, too.) The cokes were there, taunting me. Ignoring them was difficult. But I did. I comforted myself by eating a whole bunch of sweet, juicy watermelon!

It's less than a week till my first weigh in. (I'm only weighing on the 1st and 15th of the month.) I really need to watch my sodium intake the next few days.

I wrote down a rough menu for this week. I'm going to try to stick to it but my oven isn't working. Hopefully we can fix it tomorrow.
Friday night I was getting ready to cook some chicken and wondered why my oven was taking so long to heat up. This would be why...



Of course they made it where I'll have to pull the whole stove out to fix it.

Finally, this evening I ate 3 of my very own strawberries! They were little, but delicious!


And yes, I washed them off before I ate them. Washed them of dirt, no pesticides on these beauties!

Protein shake, vitamins, and water are ready for tomorrow. Hopefully the gym won't be as crowded as it was this morning!

Happy trudging along!

Suzanne

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5 In a Row!

Woo Hoo! I started this whole thing seriously on Tuesday and I have been to the gym every single morning since then this week! I got a heart rate monitor yesterday (thanks dad for my early birthday gift) to make sure I am working out at the HR range I need to and I am! More on that when I blog about metabolic training, I guess I want to see results before I talk too much about it. But heart rate monitors are expensive! I finally found a pretty basic one for $45.00! That was the cheapest one!

Food wise, yea, lets not talk about that. Here's a picture that sums it all up...



They just opened a Blue Coast Burrito in Mt. Juliet. This is NOT good, but yet it is oh so good!

I bought some strawberry plants today. Organic strawberries are $5.99/lb at Kroger! No thanks!! I bought 4 plants for $6.52, tax and all! I may go back for more....



My dad is a big compost nut, so I have them in great, nutrient rich soil. Now let's see if I can keep them alive. I don't exactly have a very good track record with plants. I keep aloe vera alive because I forget I have it.

I'm 5 days perfect in my commitments. It's really hard not to order a Coke with lime or a Pepsi. They taste so good with certain foods!! I drank 2 liters of water today and 2 glasses of unsweetened tea. I even had tea with my burrito. Sigh, not the same.

Well, tomorrow begins a new week. Let's see how I do!

Suzanne

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Legs of Jelly

March 23, 2013
I'm posting a day late, such is life.

Legs of jelly....While they do jiggle some, that is not what I'm referring to. I'm referring to barely being able to walk after my metabolic training session this morning. They aren't quite as bad as yesterday. I'm not sure if that's a sign I'm getting used to it now or that I didn't work as hard. I went up to 9.0 resistance at first and worked my way down.

My sisters asked me to join them for lunch at Wendy's. I'm sure I could have made a better choice from their menu...but I didn't. I did stick to my no soda commitment and had unsweetened tea and I didn't get a Frosty so I'm counting it as a success.

I rubbed elbows with important people for dinner tonight (State Representative Mark Pody). I took a picture of my food :). (See below).

Well, I resisted soda at a fast food restaurant today, kept to my exercise commitment, and didn't binge on sweets...good day!

Food and exercise log:

Shaklee Cinch protein shake made with dark chocolate almond milk

Exercise: metabolic trading on the bike

2 boiled eggs

Sargento Colby jack cheese stick

Wendy's single w/ cheese, ketchup, pickle, and onion
Small fry
Unsweetened tea

And my dinner...




Everything's set out for tomorrow!

Here's to another day...
Suzanne

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A New Beginning

So....yeah, it's been a while since my last post. Needless to say, I've been off track....WAY off track! I've gained all that I lost back and then some! I'm not ready to post my weight just yet. Maybe I should. One day maybe I'll come back and edit this post.

I'm back to attempt yet one more time. This blog helps me be accountable, but only if people read it, and I need some hint that people are indeed reading it! (Hint, hint...leave comments!)

My commitments:

I commit to going till the end of June without soda (except on June 11th, my birthday, when I can have Mexican Coke that's made with sugar and not high fructose corn syrup).

I commit to doing metabolic training (more on that in another post) 6 days a week till the end of June (5 days this week since I started on Tuesday).

I commit to weigh myself on the 1st and 15th of the month ONLY! I will not be a slave to the scale!

That's enough commitments till the end of June.

My "like to do but not committing to do"s (these may be my next set of commitments):

Write what I eat down in my blog daily for all to see.

Eat at least one clean main meal each day.

I was talking to my dad about the need for a reward if I kept my commitments. I love fabric, but I can't afford the fabric I love, till I get a real job again. So dad said if I keep these till June 30th he'll give me $50 to by fabric with! Sounds like a reward I want to earn!

Daily intake and exercise log:

Shaklee Cinch shake made with dark chocolate almond milk (yes the almond milk has cane sugar in it, but it's the only one I like)

Exercise -metabolic training 12 minutes cycling

1 egg white with sea salt
1 colby jack cheese stick

I had 2 BBQ sandwiches :( but it was homemade BBQ and so so good
A helping of potatoes au gratin
A helping of baked beans
1 brownie...ok, 2 brownies but one was really little

I ate at church for dinner....
Green beans
Mashed potatoes with gravy
Pork chop
Dinner roll with a little bit of butter
Thankfully I didn't like any of the desserts they had tonight!

Daily water intake: 2 liters + 1/2 glass unsweetened tea


I'm all set for tomorrow. My vitamins are set out, protein shake is made, water jug is full, and I'm basically wearing most of my work out clothes to sleep.

Here I go again....

Suzanne

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