Fresh and Fantastic Friday

I could not possibly be happier that the week is over today and that it's time to start the weekend. I'm really looking forward to seeing family over the weekend for Easter and then the fun continues all the way through next Monday when I put on my parka and snow pants and head to the MN Twins Home Opener...Brrr

Today I decided I wanted in on The Real Food Runner's Fresh Friday! I love seeing everyone's links and I figured it would be a great way to end a long hard week. 

The first thing that made my week fresh and fantastic was the above 40 degree weather we had here, the first time since DECEMBER! I took advantage by only wearing a hoodie while walking my brown dogs outside, the sunshine felt amazing!! Look how excited they are to get outside and go :)

The second fresh and fantastic part of my week was completing week 3 of my C25K. This week seemed scary to me because it varied from running 90 seconds to running 3 minutes at a time. But I totally did it!!! I finished last night and start week 4 on Saturday 

             Day 1                          Day 2                    Day 3            

The third thing on my list was my lunch yesterday. I went out to a mexican restaurant with some co-workers, something we try to do every few weeks and it was really nice to get out of the office, spend time with the girls and eat this amazing fajita salad with fresh salsa and guacamole dressing. It is not the prettiest thing I've ever seen but it was so tasty. It had three colors of peppers, some pinto beans, fajita chicken and I crushed up four chips on top. I will tell you how HARD it was for me to sit and sip my water the whole time everyone was eating chips and salsa and queso dip. But I knew I wanted to have a few chips on my salad and I tend to go crazy with unlimited chips and salsa, however I totally did it! I drank my water and talked and watched everyone else eat tons of chips that I knew I didn't need. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend, whether it means something special to you or not, hopefully you have nice weather where you are and get to spend some time with your families.

Week 2=Done

Happy Friday!!

The bf comes home from his work trip today I'm pretty excited to see him :) I think we both enjoy getting some time apart but it makes it even better when we get to see each other again and spend time together..aww how mushy

Yesterday I kicked my own butt back in gear and decided to be all Jillian Michaels on myself, I was not letting myself be weak yesterday. I wasn't totally feeling energetic after work when it was time for my run but I was like "get on that treadmill and run your heart out!" plus I was motivated because I bribed myself to workout by getting to watch last week's episode of Once Upon a Time while I did it- I'm in love with that show! I completed Day 3 of Week 2 of my C25K Program, joining in on Katie  and Kim's link up party- and it went well! My heart rate was a little bit higher than it was on Monday but maybe that's because I was a bit more tired or sluggish from eating snacks the day before, or because there were two days in between workouts? Also, it was my first run with my new shoes...I have to say they kind of hurt, I don't remember my first pair of Asics hurting when I got them but that was a long long time ago. I didn't get any blisters but my ankle sort of hurt and the bottom of my foot hurt, they just didn't feel *good*...maybe I need to get use to them? Or maybe I need to return them and try something else? I don't know enough about this! I'm nervous for Week 3 but also excited, starting it Saturday.

For lunch I took a yummy new soup I found and poured it over this yummy brown rice and quinoa mix I have, added some green pepper and voila! Insta-lunch. This lunch was 10 Weight Watchers Points Plus- a little high for what I like my lunches to be but very filling.

           

                                               

For dinner I knew I had to make good choices or I would fall onto the snack-binge train again. I recently got these instant sweet mashed potatoes- and I don't need the lecture on eating processed foods since I already know it, but I liked the ease and convenience of them. I also bought these spicy green beans from Target, paired with grilled chicken and I was full and totally satisfied by my dinner yay!!! No bad snacking! I also think that working out right after work helped me not to want snacks and bad food and also I was busy during my most snacky time. Dinner was 9 WW PP.

                              

Did you make some good food choices yesterday? 

Did you do any working out? 

Can you help me understand how new running shoes should feel and if they need a "break in" period or if I have the wrong shoes for my feet?

Why Painting is a Workout

Good Monday morning! Is it snowing and blowing freezing air where you are? If not, consider yourself lucky, because here in MN the cold white stuff is relentless.

I did not post once this weekend, I was really itching to update but truth be told I was working my tail off to get the whole main floor of my house painted. Last weekend I (and a friend) painted the upstairs hallways, which was a breeze compared to what I did all by my lonesome this weekend.

By the way, if you are ever looking for a good workout, PAINT, if a friend asks you to help paint- do it!

Why is painting an extreme workout? I will tell you:

1.) Painting involves lots and lots of movement, you can't sit in one place and paint your house..(unless you are watching hired painters do it), you are constantly standing, reaching, climbing, squatting, sitting (briefly), bending over, carrying heavy buckets of paint...well you get the idea

2.) painting involves bending and stretching like a crazy yoga master- up on ladders reaching my crazy high ceilings, above fireplaces bending and twisting not to rub the part that's already been painted while trying to get the furthest back corner, I was a serious contortionist this weekend

3.) Painting involves arms and legs at all times, your arms are either slowly dragging the brush to paint the trim without going on the ceiling, quickly pushing the roller up and down, or helping stabilize you on the crazy high ladder you are sure will be the cause of your death
Example A:

4.) Painting your house does not involve stopping- sure there was an occasional potty break or snack break, but mostly you can't just do a little painting and then be done, you must finish the project, if a wall is half painted you have to keep painting the whole wall so you are painting wet paint into wet paint, its like a law of  gravity or something...also, you just want to be done SO BADLY that you are driven to keep going, like that sweet little engine that could, only you aren't delivering toys, you are making ugly white walls look modern and warm :)

5.) Painting seems fun but then you are sore, tired and can't take anymore- this is probably the most like a workout ever, you start out thinking that something will be fun and you will be glad you did it, until you start sweating and your muscles ache and you are tired and don't want to do it anymore but you can't quit. Then the next day you get up and do it again until you can literally feel every part of your body ache and then  you can stop. Until the following weekend when you are going to paint the kitchen....

If any of this sounds familiar to you then you have probably painted before...if not...you should try it some time. Here is one of the tall walls I painted this weekend, and you can see the upstairs color from last weekend.

Here are other things that happened over the weekend:

I ran the first day of week 2 of my C25K, which switches to 90 seconds and 2 min intervals, this lowered my distance but it for sure up'ed the difficulty of the workout.

I also went shopping for new running shoes, I didn't realize how sad and worn out my old shoes are, and how much fun it is to shop for new ones, they are all so cute! Here are some of the shoes I liked but didn't buy, because I actually found a pair online and it should be here tomorrow!!!

And here are some things I ate.

Mid-day snack break from painting

Egg white and feta wraps for a protein filled painting fuel breakfast

I tried this new flavor of Chobani bite- coffee with dark chocolate...honestly I'm not a huge fan, coffee and yogurt flavor together was a little strange...

How was your weekend? Did you get in any good workouts? Eat any new healthy treats? Did you paint?! Did you shop? Wow I sound like a interrogator, I swear I'm not trying to stalk you...or am I?

A Tale of Two Foods

Welcome to Wednesday! 

Last night I was getting very exited to go out to dinner with my close friend that I've known since middle school. I love spending time with her because we always have a million things to talk about, she totally gets me, and I end up having so much fun and laughing the whole time we are together, she just recharges my battery. With our busy lives we don't get to see each other as often as we used to, but frankly that doesn't even make a difference because the second we are together we are spurting out old inside jokes, being goofy and having a blast. 

I knew we were going to eat dinner at one of my favorite restaurants that I don't get to go to often because the bf isn't a huge fan. It's called Khans and it is a Mongolian barbecue place. I'm a really bad blogger because I was so caught up in talking with my friend that I totally forgot to take any pictures! Guess I'll have to go back again soon. But basically they have a salad bar style set-up and you fill your bowl with all the different fresh cut up veggies you want, any protein you want and they also have a couple kinds of noodles. Then you put some cooking sauces on it, garlic and seasonings and you bring it to a large round cook top and the cooks stir fry it right before your eyes! I love this place you can pile high the veggies and protein and get a huge healthy plate of goodness. Before I went I wanted to decide if I would get the chicken or the tofu in my stir fry, but honestly didn't know which would be the "better" choice.

Then I found This Site. And I put in my two options, voila! instant comparison. Neat huh? This way I can clearly see that they are nearly the same in calories, with the fried tofu being a bit higher, but the tofu has almost 11 carbs! which in Weight Watchers Points Plus lingo, that means higher points. It also has higher fat and lower protein. So overall, the chicken is the better choice for me. If the tofu hadn't been fried there it might have been a closer call but I think anything fried is gonna have higher fat. 

But isn't that site pretty neat, you can compare any two things you want. Like here is cheddar cheese vs. feta cheese. I have really started to like feta cheese, you can use a lot less for just as much flavor but I never really knew if it was much different than cheddar because I ate different serving sizes. Well here, 100g of each kind feta has about 3/4 the calories, it does have more carbs and less protein which are downsides  but it also has less fat. So really I think it just helps to look at the food in the big picture, whats is important to you? calories? carbs? fat? protein? everyone has different needs to make their body healthy but with cool website tools like this I feel like I can make more informed decisions about what I choose to eat. 

What foods would you want to compare?

I also had a couple non-scale victories I was proud of:
1.) Tracked all my points and stayed with my daily points range for the whole last week
2.) Resisted the donuts, giant muffins and basket of pretzels at a meeting for work this week (even though I sat RIGHT next to the donut table and smelled those evil little pastries for an hour and a half)
3.) Made informed decisions when getting food at a restaurant and only got a plate of veggies and chicken, did not have the appetizer or any noodles

What are your non-scale victories you are proud of?

It's All Greek to Me (SO CLICHE)

Well yesterday for me in the blog world was my first encounter with what I now refer to as "blog drama"...I felt kind of silly trying to explain it all to the bf, he just stared and me in confusion as I told him about forums in Spain and Google translator and hurt feelings and then I realized how totally silly it all was. So another day, another dollar...or whatever that phrase is!

Today I am curious about Greek yogurt, something I recently started eating quite frequently but don't know  a lot about. I like it, I like the variety of flavors, I like the texture, and I really like how filling AND healthy it is. But are all Greek yogurts the same? I will be honest I've been buying whatever brand Super Target generally has on sale, if they don't have a sale, I buy the one with the best price. Usually I find myself going home with either Chobani 0% or Fage 0% with the little flip part filled with tasty goo. I'm curious to see if anyone else knows more or has a preference. If I missed a really good brand or need to try one please leave it in the comments so I can expand my Greek yogurt horizons.

Which Greek Yogurt do   you prefer?
	Chobani
	Fage
	Oikos
	Dannon
	Yoplait
	Athenos
	Other
pollcode.com free polls

Here is something else that happened yesterday after work- day 3 of my newly started Couch to 5K. Annnd the time disappeared for some reason but my distance is still there!

Breakfast, was Chobani pomegranate and berries with cereal (my work paper bowls are so cute right)

Lunch was leftover taco toppings on a bed of lettuce

For dinner I made Chicken and Dumpling Soup

and it smiled at me :)

I'm Not a Loser

What I mean is that I'm not a loser of weight. 

After this last week of being dedicated to tracking points and eating mindfully I didn't lose even a tenth of a pound. There were two times I did not know 100% my points but budgeted as much as possible and also had my weekly flex points. I guess I don't know if those affected my lack of any loss.
I'm feeling a bit discouraged because I thought I planned as best I could for my splurges and they made me feel like I could still be a little normal and not totally deprived. But I guess the only thing I can do is keep going and know that although I may not see a drop on the scale I didn't see a gain! And I feel good, I ate healthy and I can keep trying and going forward.

But not without challenges, I came in to work yesterday to find not just one cake in the lunch room, but FOUR!

Not a crumb passed these lips though!

I also want to say one of my favorite blogs Tippy Toe Diet  has this cool feature called "Rock stars of the Week" and yours truly was featured last week! I've never felt more support from the online community than I did from this. :) feeling like people out there understand my challenges really really helps me keep going.

Breakfast was strawberry goji greek yogurt with berries, this week I have added raspberries to my mix. 

Lunch was a romaine salad with bell peppers, feta, bacon bits, fat free croutons and my favorite champagne pear vinaigrette.

Afternoon snack of turkey jerky and a banana

For dinner I tried a new recipe from Emily Bites, it was so good! Baked Pizza Spaghetti not only sounds weird but it certainly doesn't sound like a Weight Watchers recipe. But 1/6th of the recipe was 12 Points Plus and it was filling and delicious! The only change I made was to add red and green bell peppers.

Here is before the oven

After

and on my plate ready for me to eat!

Apple snack annnnd then time for bed!

Plans fall through

My co-workers and I were planning to go to lunch on Friday, so I did not pack a lunch. And I'm the kind of girl who likes to pack and plan and prepare for everything so I know I won't have any surprises (ask me how well this usually works out lol) Well I DOUBLE checked with everyone that we were going to go out. Guess what?!  yeah lunch was cancelled. My one co-worker who initiated the whole thing wasn't even coming in, my other co-worker still had a lunch from the day before in the fridge, and I had nothing. I don't like that feeling. I was busy at work so I decided instead of going out to get something by myself I would just order Jimmy Johns for lunch. Not ideal. I mildly enjoy their sandwiches but I GREATLY enjoy their Thinny Chips. So it all worked out in the end, but I spent more points on lunch then I would have preferred, especially for a Friday.
I guess you can't plan for everything.
Oh well, TGIF


Breakfast, yummy smoothie using my Aria vanilla protein powder and Trader Joe's mixed berries and cherries.

My vegetarian sandwich from JJ with extra lettuce, it felt like it was a lettuce sandwich, but it was still good after I stuffed some crunchy thinny chips in there.

For dinner I made Flat Out Pizzas, one with turkey pepperoni and the other with some of that pulled pork from the other day and red bell peppers. YUM

One treat that got me through the day was this diet Ginger Ale. I try to limit my soda, especially diet soda, but some days you just need something special.

Tired = Hungry

Today I am what I call a "hungry bear"...it's because I'm so tired, I walk around in my tired daze and all my animal instincts can think of is getting food in my body to give me energy. Why am I so tired you ask? Well the bf had a last minute flight for work and his alarm was going off around 3:45am...After that, sleep is kinda half in half out, sort of back to dreaming, sort of feeling awake and hearing him get ready...Needless to say by the time my alarm went off I felt like a college freshmen after a night of crappy vodka drinks and jello shots...you know when your head feels kinda hollow and light, like maybe your brain isn't in there anymore, and your tummy feels weird and your muscles are tired for no reason at all. Yeah that was me. 

But I held my chin high and hoped getting to work would make things better...until I got my invite to the "February Birthday celebration with cupcakes"....seriously?! Well I did what any strong points-counting temptation resisting girl would do. I fled the scene...no for real...I left the office, had to run an errand and then worked from home for the afternoon. I'm strong but not that strong. Peer pressure people "hey come on, lets go get a cupcake, lets celebrate birthdays, lets get a sugar high". NOPE
In your face cupcake!

 Breakfast. I decided to switch things up a bit from my greek yogurt obsession (and I was totally out of fresh berries) so I made a protein smoothie for 2pp. It involves frozen fruit, today mango, pineapple and blueberries and protein powder from Trader Joes.

 

 Lunch was leftover Chili for 5pp plus crushed up baked blue chips from Trader Joes and carrots

Since I was home alone for dinner I decided to use some of this carving board pulled pork I got, because the bf isn't a huge fan of pork and I really wanted to try it. I made buffalo pork tacos with corn, feta cheese and romaine on top. It was very filling and very yummy. 

Image retrieved from Here

Later in the evening I wanted some dessert and we got a few varieties of the Smart Ones desserts, I like ice cream but the bf LOVES ice cream, so luckily these aren't a trigger food for me. I can have one and it's the perfect amount. I forgot to snap a picture but this is what it looks like.

Image retrieved from Here

A dollar make me holler!

Oh yes I did just quote miss Honey Boo Boo chil'.

And yes I do watch that show, and yes, I even like it, they may be a little crazy and whatever, but at least they are real people and honest.

but ANYWAYS

A dollar really would make me holler...I'm having some issues at work and had to have a pretty intense meeting with my boss today. Don't worry I'm not doing anything wrong, in fact the exact opposite. And I have a lot of life choices to make right now, a lot of soul searching and lot to figure out. But that makes for one stressful little girl and when I get stressed I want to eat...The hardest part of the day was when I got home from work and before the bf got home. I wasn't hungry, but I had that URGE to eat, to fill my face and comfort myself with something junky so that I could momentarily avoid the stress and feelings I have from work. I can clearly see how food addiction is akin to alcohol addiction, or really any addiction. You get used to coping with something and then when you are faced with a high stress situation your brain instinctively goes back to that comfort zone. I'm proud to say I sat down with a root beer Zevia, enjoying its subtle sweetness and letting the bubbly water fill my tummy. Moral of the story is, I anticipated my weakness and cut it off with a counter strike. Maybe replacing my snacking desire with drinking a soda isn't the most healthy but it had zero calories and for now, that's all I can ask for. 

 Image retrieved from Here

Breakfast today was kiwi passion fruit Greek yogurt, fiber cereal and the rest of my blackberries. The bf finished off the strawberries last night...guess that's what happens when you have to share food with someone  haha.

 For lunch I had a big ol' salad...which I forgot to take a picture of, but it was romaine, spinach, feta, bacon bits, and these two jewels, my fat free croutons that are just like their regular friends only less points, and this super yummy sort of sweet and savory Trader Joe dressing, Champagne Pear Vinaigrette. YUUUM

Afternoon snack was this Luna Fiber bar and some grapes.

For dinner we had some sliced up steak, green beans, yellow bell peppers and cheddar mashed potatoes, I know it might not seem like a super healthy meal, but it was all only 9pp. WIN

Then in the evening I had lots of points left so I had two snacks, well three really. Apple and PB, Whole Wheat Goldfish and Dulce de Leche sugar free pudding. I love having little snacks, makes me feel kinda like I'm not on a "diet", like I'm on a sustainable healthy eating lifestyle change thing. yeah