Because We're Catching Up- I'm Being Random

And again- almost another week gone by! So this week I'm talking a little bit of everything! Lets start with Halloween, what a fun candy filled holiday... I've always thought I was being "good" by eating the fun size candy bars~ turns out they are not quite so "good"... if you eat 9 (which can add up quickly) you gain a 1/4 pound of fat! Seriously, it's a mathmatical equation. So- I'm going to skip the candy and save my calories this weekend for the number of drinks it will take me to feel comfortable in my costume :) ha. kidding. Kind of.
Boot camp is going well- hard to be as motivated the second time around, I'm less conscious about writing everything down- but it feels great to be working out again. I went for a run yesterday at Lake Murray which was one of my FAVORITE running/walking/thinking spots in college and ran about 4 miles at a decent pace and actually finished feeling ok- like not ready to pass out and die :) It was fun to go to an old place becuase it made me see how far I've come from the days there when 2 miles used to kick my butt.
I have cooked two meals in the crock pot this week, a turkey breast recipe and last night beef short ribs (that one was probably not the healthiest.. but kind of amazing). With the cold fall weather I just think it can't be beat as a way of cooking. With the crock pot I'm even starting to enjoy the process of cooking- finding all the ingredients, reading recipes, putting it all in the pot and letting the magic happen! It's kind of like making potions as a kid. (am I the only wierdo who did that?) However- so far all my experiments have been much better tasting than any of my youth creations :)
Ok and finally to top off this randomness of a post- I will share my recipe for a festive holiday champers drink that was a HUGE hit this past weekend.
1 tbs Sugar
1/2 cup water
1 bottle of champaign (or maybe two in case you want seconds :))
fresh rosemary (available at grocery store)
pomegranet juice
Directions: Heat the sugar and water in a pan until the sugar disolves. Turn off heat and add a few leaves of Rosemary (recipe says 2 tbs) and let it sit for 30 min. Then strain it (to get the rosemary out) and place aside.
In a chilled martini glass pour: 1tbs Rosemary blend, 2 tbs pomegranet juice, and a half cup champaign. Top with a sprig of fresh rosemary.
This delicious drink is not only tasty and beautiful -it's got only 115 calories (I got the recipe in my latest obsession, Cooking Light Magazine).
And on the note of festivites & great drinks- HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATTY! I can't wait to see you next week and celebrate in person!
XO
Chel

Is there anything better than a Friday?

Omg I'm going to cry. I literally had the best post ever and my computer somehow deleted it. Ugh.. if I get motivated and find the time I may repost later. If not- have a great weekend!
Chel

Bootcamp #2 Here I Come...

After a wonderful week off of bootcamp, and a weekend enjoying the midwestern indulgences of Bloomington, Indiana (fried mushrooms OMG) I'm back to reality. Session 2 of bootcamp started this week, and with that comes a brand new food journal which I am considering my jump start to healthy eating. In the last few weeks of my prior bootcamp I had gotten really lax about writing down everything I ate & the calorie content. It's time consuming and challenging to stay in your daily range. BUT it's necessary. Our trainer says- what you write in the book and put in your mouth is 80% of your results no matter how hard you work out.
I found out you can purchase the official food journal of our class (without actually being in class) online at the website www.lulu.com in the search type "fit to wed" and it should show up. It's $20 and a great investment that has you record the time you eat, food, calories, water, vegtetables, etc. It also has some great motivational quotes and is just a more structured format than just jotting everything down. It makes it easy to spot negative patterns in your eating which is the first step in helping you change your behavior.
For me- the biggest things I need to work on are weekend and after work eating. When I get home from work I just automatically head for the fridge or pantry and want to graze. So- the strategy I'm going to work on is eating a healthy late afternoon snack while I'm still at work (in a safe controlled environment :)) around 4pm so when I get home I'm full enough to last till dinner without snacking. A greek yogurt would be ideal for this, as it has lots of protein that will stick with you.
As for weekends... well I'm still figuring that one out. I've been out of town for the past few- so being home should help, we can do more cooking and less eating out. Chris is out of town this weekend for work- so I will try not to be bad because I'm home alone! I'll let you know how that goes... :)
Chel
Oh and PS- bought these sweet potatoes from TJs that were pre-skinned and cut kind of like thick fries. Put a little olive oil on them, with salt and pepper & baked them at 400 for about 25 min. DELICIOUS!

Reasons I'm Enjoying Monday

I am usually SUCH a Monday hater- it's not even funny. I strongly believe we should have 3 day work weeks and 4 days weekends. But I'm actually in a decent mood today so I thought I'd figure out/share why...
-I had a great weekend! Chris's parents were in town and we really had a nice time & got to do some fun things- I actually felt like I was on vacation too! Dinner at Tractor Room was a highlight (plank roasted salmon- YUM) as well as a beautiful hike at Torrey Pines. Finished off the weekend by an evening of reading a great book (Memory Keeper's Daughter) with a blanket by our outdoor fire place with a glass of wine and Ry on my lap. I don't think it gets better than that.
-I have a week off of Boot Camp! There is a one week gap in between the 12 week sessions and I am planning on enjoying it! Brianna my trainer reccomended doing "fun" workouts or things I wouldn't normally do, but nothing too strenous & give my body a chance to recover. Umm you don't have to tell me twice!
-I have as short work week & a vacation! Chris and I are heading to Bloomington, Indiana on Wednesday for a fun weekend in his college town. I'm a little nervous because as we've been making plans pretty much all of them involve some sort of eating or drinking :) But I'll do my best to eat really well this week before we leave & practice some sort of moderation while we're there. (Only one hot dog instead of two at the tailgate?? :))
-And I'm down another pound this week! Even with having company in town & fun dinners last week. To be honest I'm not quite sure how this happened, but I'll take it! Only 8 more to go until my goal weight which is so exciting!
Food wise- I'll share something that's been working for me lately when I'm eating out. Order food a la carte or an appetizer for your main course. It's not only less expensive, it's the correct portion size. I always tell myself if I finish it and still want more, I can order something else- but 95% of the time once I'm done, I'm satisfied. A la carte is good too, because side orders can sometimes contain nearly as many calories as an entree. Or if you decide to order the "meal" ask to see if you can swap the sides for a side salad or fresh fruit. It's not brain science obviously, but it is planning ahead and coming into a restaurant feeling like you have a strategy- rather than just picking what sounds good.
I hope everyone can find a reason to enjoy their Monday!
Chel

Fall Festivites & Week 12 Update

The "Fall" crock pot dinner was a success last night! We had a delicious beef Brisket with a tomatillo sauce. After roasting 12 hours in the crock pot, the meat was pratically falling apart. We served it on top of either a toasted onion roll or cornbred (wheat free for my sister) with a great spicy sauce to pour over top. So good.
Keeping with the fall theme I served a pre-dinner "festive fall cocktail" a cranberry mojito! (warning this is not low calorie- but it's kind of amazing)
1 Bunch mint leaves
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup lime juice (buy this don't try to squeeze that many limes!)
3/4 cup cranberry juice concentrate thawed
1/1/4 cup light rum
20 oz sparkling water
Basically you muddle (mash with a wooden spoon in bottom of pitcher) the sugar & mint together and then pour in the rest of the ingredients. It's tart & refreshingly delicious.
For dessert I had two options, but everyone ended up trying a small portion of each.
One was a berry lemon bar- that was actually low fat & calorie. Recipe at www.recipegirl.com which is a new website I stumbled across & where the cranberry mojito came from too. It's not exclusively healthy foods- but some simple & good recipes. Check out their weight watchers section, she has a TON of dinner ideas.
The other dessert was a scoop of Dryer's slow churned Pumpkin Ice Cream with Lite whipped cream on top. It is heavenly! Tastes like pumkin pie without all the calories & fat of the crust.
And I almost forgot the most important part! Other than celebrating fall (everyone wore sweaters & we listened to Frank Sinatra) we were also celebrating mine & Julia's completion of our 12 week bootcamp! I had my final weigh in yesterday and am SO excited to say that I've lost 15.8 pounds, 13.5 inches & 7.6% body fat! Julia has lost 20 pounds & looks AMAZING. It feels so good to see our hard work paying off! Almost even more exciting than that, I tried on my "skinny skinny" jeans this morning (not to be confused with my "skinny" jeans which I fit into about a month ago) and I could zip them! Still too tight to wear in public but I didn't used to be able to pull them past my thighs. So much fun! Happy Thursday... it's almost the weekend!
Chel

Fall is in the Air

I think Fall may be my favorite season. Keep in mind my idea of Fall is a wimpy California-ized version where only half the trees change color & there's barely enough of a chill in the air to wear a sweater. But it means you can actually sleep with a blanket on the bed, and it's cold when you get out of the shower. I love everything about fall, BUT I think it's a dangerous time for weight gain.
Why? Well lets see.. now that it's getting dark early (and once the time changes, we're really in trouble) all I want to do is go home, change into pajamas and cuddle up on the couch eating warm comfort food (mashed potatoes?) and drinking hot chocolate.
Not helping anything- Fall clothes which I love (sweaters, boots, etc) are a little more forgiving than the bathing suits & tank tops of summer.
So... how to enjoy & embrace the fall season without putting on pounds? Here's my plan:
-Keep working out. I've signed up for another 12 week session of bootcamp and am committed to going 3x a week per my deal with Chris. I know I'm going to HATE coming home & going to workout in the dark, but it will keep me on track.
-Eat my fall favorites ONCE. And make sure they're good. For example, i'm not going to eat average pumpkin pie anwhere, but if we are at a great restaurant and that's their specialty then I may go for it. BUT next time I'm tempted to order it, just remember I've already gotten that "treat" for the season & crossed it off my list.
- Make my Fall Favorites healthy. Lots of meals that appear to be comfort foods can actually be revised with healthier options. When baking- you can subsitute half of the oil in a recipe for an equal amount of applesauce. Choose plain non-fat greek yogurt instead of sour cream on a baked potato. Cut the amount of butter in a recipe in half, or use Pam spray instead of oil in a pan. Lots of ways to cut calories & fat.
-Crock Pot. This is a big part of my fall plan :) Last night Chris and I (feeling the fall spirit) decided to make a delicious Crock Pot dinner for tonight so we went & found a great cookbook with all kinds of ideas! And what was exciting was- they were all fairly healthy and "whole food" type ingredients. But when you eat something out of a crock pot, becuase of the slow cook method, it tastes rich & indulgent like a treat! So I'm excited about this technique & I will let you know how our first recipe turns out tonight!
-Eat Fun Food. Two nights ago, for a side I bought pre cubed squash (think it was spaghetti squash) from TJs. I put a touch of olive oil, salt & pepper & baked it in the oven for 30 min. It was SO good and a great side that was way lower in calories than rice or potatoes. I also bought some sliced sweet potatoes to make "fries" with later this week. Yum- fun fall food!
-Stay Accountable. Through the fall I will continue to weigh myself once a week. That way if I see myself starting to slip & gain weight I can scale back and fix it before a 2 pound gain turns into 5.
Ok- Think that's it... I know it's been a while. I was really sick for nearly a week and didn't eat barely anything other than gatorade & crackers (don't think anyone wanted to hear me blog about that) and then this past weekend Chris and I were in Napa having a very "foodie" trip, which was AMAZING.
But now I'm back & being healthy :) Happy Fall!
Chel