Cheesecake

When you think dessert you think deliciousness full of fat and calories...well you are right most of the time.  I have found an amazing cheesecake recipe that you should try.  It's easy to mix up for those who like certain flavors. 

Check out my recipes at:
http://cookinitmyway.blogspot.com/2012/01/cinnamon-spice-cheesecake.html

The Biggest Loser Round 2

I have only been at my new job for about three months now and I have already convinced them that it's time for a biggest loser.  The best part is as soon as that email was sent out over 25 people said they wanted to participate....this excited me.  So of course I don't have a ton of weight to lose, but that won't stop me from a friendly competition.  So yesterday was our first weigh-in and I must admit I forgot all about it, it wasn't until I was always out the door did I realize I still needed to weigh-in.  So yes for my first weigh-in I had ate and drank and was wearing heavy clothing....you are now thinking that I am a cheater...and maybe it helped me a little bit, but not enough I am sure as I have heard that everyone else had the same idea lol  With that said I plan on letting you know who I do each week and what I have been working on.  I am going to start 30 day Shred tonight and hope to actually do it 5 times a week...I seem to start off strong but then slack after only a few days...bad me...

Need to Vent...

As you know everyone has a life outside of getting healthy, my life has been rather hectic which is why I haven't been able to work out as much as I want. Not trying to come up with excuses...well kind of....but I work full-time, go to college part-time, have four dogs (one is a puppy), and I am planning a wedding.....it's exhausting.  I bring this up because I hear people complaining about not finding time to work out because they would rather sit on their ass after work and it's starting to tick me off.  Honestly if I can figure out a way to workout so can you, stop with the excuses and step up.  Either you want to become healthy or you don't.  Sorry for the rant, but I am so sick of people saying they don't have time to cook a healthy meal when I have time and I have a busy life.  It's called prepare ahead of time! I write down my menu for the week on Sunday because I want to eat healthy and not eat out to save money and to not eat a plate full of junk food.  If people weren't so freaking lazy they wouldn't be fat, I am so sick of excuses people need to accept where they struggle and fix it! I struggle with snacking so I bring apples to work to snack on instead of chips, every small thing counts people....can you hear me!

It has returned....or has it?

Last week I was snowed in so it was hard to find motivation to workout....and when I finally did....the power went out....this means no treadmill for me and there was no way I was going to go running out in the icy snow.

But this morning my motivation came back.  Have you ever woken up and just felt the need to workout?  Well, this morning that's the exact feeling that I had but unfortunately I had to go to work instead of workout.  Hopefully my motivation continues on until this evening when I get home.  I have tried to make sure dinner cooks for at least 30 minutes so I am able to workout during the cooking process....I am unable to workout after dinner as it makes me wired and I can't fall asleep.  Speaking of sleep, I've noticed that when I workout I sleep like crap, what's up with that? Time to do some googling to find out what's going on with my sleep habits....let's hope there is an easy fix, like a new bed!

Time...

The days have started to fly by faster than I expected, I can't believe today is already January 24th.  Where has the time gone??  This means I only have two months to train for the 12k, yikes it's coming up too fast.  I also have my wedding in 8 months...meaning I need to get my ass in gear to ensure I lose my final pounds.  Since time doesn't seem to be on my side, I have to start kicking butt. 

Comfort Food & Snow

We finally got some snow in the Seattle area and I am loving it, but when cold weather comes so do fatty foods.  Because I love comfort food I have decided to make them in a healthier way.  Today I have some turkey chili slowly cooking in my crock pot. It's smells amazing and it's friendly on my figure too.  Try my recipe below it only has 174 Calories per serving and it tastes amazing! Also check out my website for more delicious recipes: http://cookinitmyway.blogspot.com/.

Easy Turkey Chili
Makes 10 Servings

1 lb - Pinto beans
1.5 lbs – Ground Turkey
6 cups- Water
1 – Sweet Onion, chopped
1 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14oz) – Diced tomatoes
2 pkgs – McCormick White Chicken Chili Seasoning

1. Soak your pinto beans overnight.
2. In a pan place your ground turkey and cook over medium heat until turkey is cooked. Next add a little water, garlic, and chili seasoning. Mix well.
3. Add pinto beans, diced tomatoes, onion, turkey mixture, and water into a crock-pot. Turn to low heat.
4. Cook in crock- pot on low for at least 4 hours. Garnish with sour cream, chopped green onions and Monterey Jack cheese if desired.
   
   
   Nutrition Information:
   PER SERVING: 174 calories, 1g fat, 445mg sodium, 24g carbs, 20g protein

Alcohol....

Ugh...I haven't drank in a while, at least not this much, and for some reason I kept on drink that bottle of red wine. Although I spread out the three glasses over a 5 hour period my body wasn't ready for all that alcohol.  I must say I am not feeling very good this morning thanks to my three glasses of wine...needless to say I will NOT be drinking like that anytime soon...just the thought of wine make me feel ill.  Today my goal is to drink as much water as possible so that I can start feeling better and can workout when I am off work.  Let's learn from our mistakes and keep on trucking!

Baking Healthy

When people hear the word baking they don't associate it with healthy. Did you know there are so many alternatives to baking that can allow your food to be tasty and healthy. For example try using apple sauce instead of butter and use egg whites instead of the whole egg with yolk. Baking doesn't have to be full of calories, check out my cooking blog as I plan on baking a whole lot the next couple of months.  I plan on posting tips and amazing recipes that are easy on your waist.  If you having any questions about my recipes please contact me...or if you need a good alternative for a recipe that you have just ask I am happy to help!!

My cooking blog: http://cookinitmyway.blogspot.com/

Tricking Your Mind

Do you ever wake up in the morning and just crave something fatty...well I did this morning and because of it nothing sounded good to eat or drink. So I decided to trick myself by making a protein shake with frozen strawberries and told myself it was a strawberry milkshake....it actually worked.  My crazy craving went away after I drank it.  Just thought I would share that it is possible to hurdle over those tough days when you don't feel like eating anything healthy.
Morning Drink:
1 scoop - The Biggest Loser Protein Powder, chocolate deluxe
5 oz - 1% Milk
1/2 cup - Frozen Strawberries
3 drops - Liquid Stevia, Chocolate
3 drops - Liquid Stevia, Vanilla Creme

Break Days

Yesterday I took my first "break" from working out and it was tough.  I wanted to get on my treadmill so bad, it's like I am all of a sudden addicted to working out.  But because my body needs a break I forced myself to not workout....I was going to take today off due, but after looking at the scale this morning there is NO way I won't be working out.  My fiancee has informed me that he has already lost a pound, so I need to catch up! 

Morning Yoga

This morning I got up early and attempted yoga at the crack of dawn for the first time...let me tell it was rough!  First off I did the Jillian Michael's Yoga Meltdown video, level 1, and this is NOT a relaxing yoga video.  She does a combination of yoga and cardo for only 30 minutes, but during those minutes you seem to work all muscles in your body.  It was a great start to my day and I may have to do it again in a few days.  I am pretty sore from the last 3 days so I need a break before I hurt myself!

Staying Strong

After yesterday's trail run of 2 miles I am ready to up it a mile.  Today I plan on running/jogging/walking 3 miles.  My goal is to complete the 3 miles in 30 minutes. It will probably take a little longer as I am pretty sore today, but there is nothing wrong with a goal.  Besides exercising I find it important to track what you consume, the site I use it myfitnesspal.com and anyone who is trying to lose weight should use this free site.  It's truly amazing, I even have the application on my phone which allows me to scan foods for its nutrients.  Along with tracking my food I am making sure that my fat stays low like the program recommends, basically I am trying not to go over sodium, fat, calories, protein....you get the point. So to make sure that I stay below I plan my food out the night before and enter it into the website to make sure that I am on track. I am also starting to bring salads for lunch instead of a lean cuisine, A. it saves money and B. I don't have to worry about "mystery" ingredients because everything is fresh and organic. Yay for eating healthy! :)

On the Run

Today is such a beautiful day in Puyallup that I couldn't stay inside and do my usual workout on my treadmill.  It's time to take it on the road.  Since my fiancee is training for the run too, I am dragging him outside with me along with our black lab puppy.  I feel it is very important for a big dog to learn how to go for runs and walks to ensure that get the right amount of exercise.  My goal is to be gone for about an hour and do a combination of running and walking and hopefully burn at least 300 calories.  I have my bodymedia on along with my garmin watch so hopefully between the two I can figure out calories burned, distance gone, and my heart rate.

3 Rules to Reboot Your Metabolism

Because I have already lost of 30 lbs I have found it hard to lose my final 15 lbs.  I came across this article and hope that by eating every three hours, eat healthy carbs, and exercising will help boost my metabolism.  I've always had a hard time losing weight and have never tried eating every three hours, so here goes nothing. Wish me luck as this is going to be very hard for me.


Original article can be found at: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/3-rules-reboot-metabolism

Stalled weight loss can be frustrating. There are a few reasons why you might have a hard time losing weight, and a big one is a metabolism that’s off-balance. Take this quiz to find out if you might be at risk for an off-kilter metabolism. If you are, Chris Powell’s has three foolproof rules that will reset your metabolism to make it optimal for weight loss.


1. Boost metabolism every three hours with a “Power 3” plate.
One of the best ways to keep your metabolism working is to eat a small meal every three hours. The plate should have three small portions – one protein, one carbohydrate or fat, and unlimited vegetables. Small, frequent meals keep things moving, the simple act of eating stimulates your metabolism by triggering digestion. Every time your body digests food, it ramps up your total metabolic rate.

2. Turn up your metabolic thermostat.
Your thyroid acts as a metabolic thermostat. It releases hormones that play a major role in controlling your body’s temperature and the rate that your body burns calories. When your thyroid is working at its max, your metabolism will be sky-high. If your thyroid’s function is impaired, the metabolic rate slows down and leads to weight gain. The key to keeping your thyroid working hard is in eating good carbs, like whole grains, root vegetables and beans. Believe it or not, studies have shown that cutting out carbs from your diet completely can reduce thyroid function by 50%. So, make sure to keep complex carbs in your diet.

3. Build your metabolic muscle.
The number-one consumer of calories in your body is muscle. The more muscle mass you have, the more your body works toward burning calories – even when you’re asleep. It’s extremely important to maintain muscle during any weight-loss endeavor. A great way to build muscle is by doing cardio with light weights. It’ll keep your heart rate up, while sculpting your body to be more lean and muscular.

Change

I feel that if you really want to lose weight you need to change more than just working out.  You need to change the way to eat, you should eat healthy food, but allow yourself a cheat day.  I have found that if I don't have a cheat day my weight loss plateaus which is very frustrating. When you really want to lose weight you honestly need to change all of your habits.  It's easy to go pickup fast food instead of making a lunch or dinner, but you need to change that.  I have found that if you dedicate Sunday to preparing food for lunch and dinner for the weak I am less likely to go out to eat.  Stick with it and let the people around you know that you are going healthy so they need to be supportive and not try to get you go out to eat when they know you can't.  It is so important for everyone around you to understand your change. 

I am lucky enough to have friends that are supportive and understand what I am trying to do.  I have an amazing future hubby that it losing weight right with me, we have changed our lives for the better and although the last few months we slipped a little, I know we can get back on track.

Friendly Competition

Nothing gets people motivated better than a little friendly competition between you and your significant other. Last night I proposed to my fiancee a competition idea that I had. The competition consists of the first people to lose 15lbs wins. Now these 15lbs will help me reach my goal, but they will also help motivate my fiancee to keep up his weight loss to reach his goal. I feel that it is very important to have a motivator to accomplish your goal, it needs to be fun otherwise it becomes something that you hate to do.  I am all about competition and look forward to kicking some butt :)