baby weight

Week 1: Treadmills, Coffee and an iPhone 6.

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Consistency, Passion and the luxury of a schedule change have been on my side this week.  My first full week back at the gym and clean eating and I’m already seeing some great results.  I may seem a bit obsessive about workouts, eating, journaling and more, but it’s what is keeping me going.

I started the week late for a session, no diary written down and just a mess.  I had the desire, but apparently not the organization.  After 6 pages of “this is not how you succeed” in text messeges from my trainer, and a rearrangement of my schedule I was finally set up for success.  Now it was totally in my court.

I weighed in on Monday and by my Thursday session, I weighed in at a 2.6 lb loss.  This is great, now just to keep it off, if not make that number larger for a full week weigh-in this monday.  I’m still arguing with my trainer about coffee with creamer and the carbs that follow suit.  Still sippin’ my joe. but looking for a good creamer alternative.

My iPhone 4s took a total dump when I updated to ios 8.0..which i think in the long run became a blessing in disguise.  The iPhone 6 with My Fitness Pal is the best ever.  I really like this app. It connects with my trainer and other friends that use it  Plus, the camera on the iPhone 6 is the bomb dot com. You can quote me on that.

 

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1/2 of today's prep #cleaneating #syntha-6 #eattrainlose

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Resolving to Not Resolve (plus Lemon Mint Cucumber Water)

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So, it’s be come obvious to me that I have to make things an obsession if it’s going to work.  What does this mean?  Well, it means that I have to keep up on the Social Media side of things to keep myself in check.  I’m not starting a New Year’s Resolution this year, but I am starting my new journey to babyville.

There. I said it. My husband and I are ready to have another, but I refuse to put my body through that again until it’s healthy..again.  I lost 75+ lbs to get ready for baby number one and then lived the life of a dairy queen who loved cheese, milk, ice cream and tacos.  What?. nevermind, but seriously.  I ate tacos probably 2x/week and ice cream almost daily.  Oh and my friend Mr. Exercise.  I broke up with him.

Let’s just say that Mama was nesting more than in a nursery.  My waistline turned into a large eagles nest and I’ve hung onto it like it’s on the endangered species items of necessity list.

So, I told my husband that we’ll try again once we’re through with our ACM Award / Las Vegas Trip this April with the Radio Station.  So I’m counting down the days til my health deadline, he’s counting down the days til…well, you do the math.

Needless to say, we’re both motivated. ha!

Last night we arrived home after a full week in North Dakota visiting family.  The fridge? Empty.  The Cupboards? Empty.  My Blood Sugar?  Drastically falling like a bad day on Wall Street since I’m officially 8 hours off the “High Fructose Family” diet.  I will admit that my eating was FAR SUPERIOR to most holidays where I graze like a Guernsey on Chocolate, Chex, Meat, Potatoes, Bread, more bread and well anything that resembles anything edible.  This time I watched that I mostly only ate at dinner times and portioned out things if I snacked. Not great, but better than before.

I did a quick Pinterest Search or two and made a list for restocking. This time, with Clean Eating in mind and items that wouldn’t break my bank.

I kinda became addicted to MIO.  In the end, it was just artificial sugar and flavor, not doing much for me.  I still love it, but opted for something new.  Here is one of the water recipes (if you can call it a recipe) that I will drink this week.  I will try to post/try a new one each week!

Detox WaterLemon Mint Cucumber Water (Detox)

  • 1/2 Lemon Sliced
  • Mint Leaves (torn)
  • 1 small/med cucumber sliced

Wash everything, slice em up and add them to a pitcher of water.  let them meld overnight. Then enjoy.  I will continue to refill the pitcher for a day or two til I need to change out the Lemon/Cucumber/Mint.  tada! it’s that easy!

**Note**  the acid in the lemon kinda ate away at my plastic container (i suppose it depends on the container), but I use a glass pitcher now just in case. 🙂
Thanks to FitSugar.com, here’s why you want to add these to your water:

  • Lemon: Lemon water makes for a powerful detox drink; lemon juice helps to cleanse and alkalize the body. Add one thinly sliced lemon to a large pitcher, or squeeze fresh lemon juice into your glass.

  • Mint: Mint adds a touch of sweetness without the sugar to your water, and it also helps settle your stomach and aids in digestion as well.

  • Cucumber: Cucumber water isn’t just for spas. Adding a few slices of cucumber to your water makes for excellent rehydration, and cucumber contains anti-inflammatory properties, as well.

Hockey & Nuts..two of my favorite things (Chile Lime Almond Recipe included)

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Just outside the Ralph Englestad Arena in Grand Forks, ND.

Just outside the Ralph Englestad Arena in Grand Forks, ND.

So it was another balmy weekend in Grand Forks, ND.  Known as Home of the Fighting Sioux and constant potato ass smell from the Simplot Factory.   Sorry, that was offensive.  The NCAA says I have to say “North Dakota Athletics”.  I digress.

My husband and I are proud supporters of UND especially the hockey program. We, along with my Mother and Father In-Law and Brother In-law and his wife, have season tickets to Men’s hockey at the Ralph Engelstad Arena.  It’s a great way to get me home to see my mom and family back in North Dakota that I wouldn’t see half as much and we absolutely love hockey.  So it’s a win-win.  Then there’s weekend’s like this last one.  -16 Degrees TEMP.  Icicles have icicles at this point.  balls.

As much as I dread the “Tundra Shuffle”, the shuffling of feet while you pull all other appendages into your body like a turtle with your freezing breath barreling out of you like a factory on overtime, once you step in to the wonder of “The Ralph” you forget about the rest of the world.  You are standing a midst legends in the College Hockey World.  From the memorabilia on the walls, to the smell of Bavarian Roasted Almonds and Prime Rib Sandwiches, you are here.  This isn’t just a hockey game, it’s like a family reunion with 11,000 of your closest friends.  You fork over your 50/50 ticket cash, take your seat and it’s on!  I wouldn’t change it for the world.  However, when you’re trying to eat clean and lose weight, prime rib sandwiches, Dippin’ Dots, beer, beer and more beer don’t help matters.

BLOG_HOCKEY 2I settled for a Diet Coke that night while my husband partook in the customary silver bullet.  It was the first sweep at home for the Sioux this season and we were so happy to be there.

All weekend long it was holiday baking, eating out, late nights and luckily a few naps.  This is great, but again eating clean and fitness were nowhere to be found.  I’m getting ready to be spending a full week out at the lake and I’m going to have to get a gameplan together to keep my goals on track.  Let’s be honest, staying on a clean eating and fitness track when everyone is singing songs about figgy pudding isn’t easy.  I don’t even know what figgy pudding is, but if it’s Christmas, I’ll eat it.  herein lies the problem.  I’m like the 100 lb Labrador that thinks it’s a Chihuahua, only instead of sitting on people’s laps, I will eat just about anything in sight at such speed I myself might even question it’s happening.

oy.

So, I’ve started putting together a few projects like the Arm-Knitting Scarf Pin, Zippered-Wristlet Tutorial, PJ Pants for Timothy, and even finish my Strip Quilt I started.  There will inevitably be a few culinary adventures as well.  I really want to try this Hearty Roasted Vegetable Recipe 🙂

Last night I made a bunch of Oreo Cookie Balls…you know the Crushed Oreos mixed with Cream Cheese then dipped in chocolate confectionery balls of heaven.  Yeah..about that.  I’m not going to lie, I ate a few whilst creating my masterpieces, but I decided to also partake in a Pin I saw a week or so ago.  Chile Lime Roasted Almonds. BOOM!  I like them alot, but I shouldn’t have tried to eat them right after the Oreo balls…nothing tastes as good as skinny fee….shut up. Oreo balls taste amazing.

So I spent my night making balls and nuts. (insert laughter and random joke here)

Now you can too…enjoy!

Chile Lime Roasted Almonds

Note: I think I was short a few almonds..so I wound up with a little too much mixture on them…I may look to decrease in the future.  I also maybe could have roasted them longer!