Burn Baby Burn!

7/15/19
So today, I did a thing. I activated my Groupon for Burn Fitness. Holy heck that was crazy. I had an idea what I was getting into, but let's be honest, one can never really know until you go.

Today started with running sprints and doing jumping jacks outside for about 10 min. We came in and continued jumping jacks mixed with boxer stance and punches while listening to the torture, uh, I mean exercises for the day.

I started at a station where we went into plank, jumped to our hands twice, then punched with dumbbells. I couldn't tell you what our cardio break was. (pretty sure there was jumping jacks though). Then we moved to the heavy ropes and did a 1 handed rope slam while holding a dumbbell above our head with the other hand. The cardio break there was plank, pushup, row, repeat. Next we did toe touches around a heavy medicine ball, followed by picking it up and slamming it. The cardio break was ice skaters and jumping jacks (big surprise!). Last was 2 mountain climbers 1 handed snatch. We finished with some v-ups that about made me puke, but I finished it. I will go back. Tomorrow.  To meet up with Andrea.

Trying to get my mojo back.

I’m baaaaaack.

7/3/2019

So, if you’re a child of the 80’s like me, you read that title in a voice like the little girl in Poltergeist. You’re welcome 🤣. 

I really wanted to just hit the test button and start blogging again. Like the title of the blog, I will ramble on about all kinds of stuff - food, weight loss, exercise, softball, pinball, work, family, travel, yada, yada, yada. 

Look for more in the coming days (you know, all 4 people who have ever seen this blog) 

Recipe follow up.

So, the recipes I posted the other day - I've done the carrot soup, the chicken fajita roll-ups, and the Spanish quinoa. The carrot soup was ok. I didn't really get to try it yet, but the tastes I had were good. I *might* have overdone the ginger a bit :). The chicken roll ups were yummy, but I would pre-cook the peppers a bit, as they were a bit crunch for our taste. I paired it with the quinoa, and modified it to leave out the tomatoes as I didn't have them. This was good too.

Nothing much more for tonight.

Clean eating

My new thing is clean eating. I'm working really hard at it and I'm seeing results. I feel better and am starting to look better. It started with my trainer sharing a clean eating plan with me. It took me about 6 months to get on board, but when I did, it was an easy 10 lbs off. Here is what she sent me:

Eat Clean Diet Recharged

Objective – lose 5-10 pounds quickly

Length – 2 weeks ONLY

Food to eat:

1 apple or pear per day (1/2 in morning, ½ in afternoon)

2 cupped handfuls 4 TIMES a day of the following cucumbers, radishes, tomatoes, leafy greens, broccoli, spinach, asparagus, green beans, sprouts, celery, bok choy, kale, zucchini or any other high-water content, non-starchy, low glycemic index vegetables… RAW OR STEAMED ONLY

1 handful per day of cooked quinoa, brown rice, oatmeal, millet OR Cream of Wheat…top this choice with 2 TB ground Flaxseed and 2-4 TB Bee Pollen

1 hand size sweet potato (1/2 in the morning, 1/2 in the afternoon)

1 palm sized portion of LEAN protein 5 TIMES per day of chicken, tuna, egg whites, turkey, bison, elk, or non-oily fish. Protein Powder can be substituted for any protein as long as it is chemical and sugar free (no artificial sweeteners!)

Drink 1 gallon per day of distilled water, fresh water no sodium or clear unsweetened herbal tea

Eat your last meal 4 hours before bedtime.

This is HARDCORE. 

This is ONLY 2 weeks.

How bad do you want it?

Example day:  breakfast – oatmeal with flaxseed and bee pollen, scrambled egg whites…mid morning-grilled chicken breast, steamed green beans… lunch -  ½ sweet potato, romaine lettuce topped with grilled chicken breast, sprouts and squirts of lemon juice… Mid-afternoon - protein shake made with water and 1 scoop protein powder. 1 pear...dinner – Baked cod, ½ sweet potato, steamed bok choy

Week 3

2 portions of fruit per day (berries, grapefruit, mangos, apples, etc)

4 portions of veggies (this can now include BROTH based soups and pureed veggie soups)

2-4 portions of whole grains/starchy carbs (oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa, cream of wheat, Ezekiel bread or wrap, sweet potato, banana, carrots, squash  -note that bananas, squash and carrots fall under this Starchy category) 

6 portions of lean protein ( everything listed in the first 2 weeks, plus 1 cup dairy – cottage cheese, greek yogurt, skim milk, 1 handful raw unsalted nuts, 2 tablespoons nut butters, salmon)

2-3 liters fresh water, no sodium 

Use these sweeteners in moderation:

Agave nectar, maple sugar flakes, Sucanat, Rapadura sugar

Once you reach your goal weight you can add occasional treats (glass of wine, piece of chocolate) Unhealthy sugars and fats are not recommended

Example day:

Oatmeal with berries, flaxseed, and wheat germ; egg whites, water, coffee or tea

Cucumbers, carrots, cherry tomatoes with hummus

Mixed greens topped with diced tomato, grilled chicken and a squeeze of lemon juice; piece of Ezekiel toast

1 handful raw unsalted almonds, 1 pear

Roasted Turkey breast, steamed broccoli, brown rice

IF you are still hungry, nonfat yogurt topped with berries

I was pretty strict the first 2 weeks, and that is what helped. I struggle with the 3rd+ weeks. This week, I spent some time researching some recipes and found these:

Baked Chicken Fajita Roll Ups

Tortilla Chip Chicken with Spicy Avocado Dip

Turkey and Quinoa "Meatloaf"

I also planned a basic taco night and homemade spaghetti and meatballs (using a family recipe).

Today was my food prep day. I try to grocery shop and do food prep the day before trash so my trash can isn't smelly. I started using a bag method for my food. Small baggies contain a portion of veggie or fruit and 3 bags of veggies and 2 fruits go into a big baggie so I know what I need to each for my snacks each day. They can be eaten plain or mixed into my salad or used to add to my eggs. This week I put together baggies with cucumber, yellow sunshine tomatoes, celery, strawberries and blueberries, and a pear or apple

I also cooked sweet peppers (these are amazing and I"m surprised there were any left to put away!), crock pot brussels sprouts, cooked mixed greens, carrots and onions to make soup tomorrow, and hard boiled eggs

I'm hoping this helps keep me focused as far as food goes. 

As far as working out, I've got that covered. Yesterday was a 3 mile run. We were supposed to run stairs at the HS, but something about lighting and metal bleachers didn't seem like such a good idea :). Today, I spent an hour with my trainer and then went and did a 4 mile run. I'm not gonna lie, I was tired. Tomorrow, I'm toying with the idea of hitting the stairs before our 3 my run. If I can drag my hiney out of bed, I'm going to go and do it. If not, I will stick with my 3 mile run.

Enough. 

GSD

So, for me, this is the summer of GSD. What's GSD you say? Get "Stuff" Done! I have no summer job this year, so, my job is getting the house in tip-top shape! I want to get rid of the clutter around here and get some projects done. I lose 2 weeks while I am in Wyoming, but that's ok. I hope to have the main areas clean before I go and hopefully will come home to them clean. I figure if I put it out here, I might feel accountable and GSD.

First up today:
- Work out
- clean island and dining table
- meeting #1
- make daughter clean her stuff off table and island and PUT IT AWAY - not put it on the stairs to deal with later
- stinky has to put her clean laundry away
- get laundry done so I can pack
- meeting #2
- take stinky to a party
- relax.

Seems like a lot for today, but that's my goal.