Really I need to do what if I eat that?

During my morning web surfing I came across an interesting article. http://shine.yahoo.com/photos/burger-worth-7-500-sit-slideshow/burger-king-whopper-photo-2616418-182800940.html

This article compares fast food items to fitness and puts it all into prospective. There are 11 items listed. The one that really shocked me was that a six-cookie snack pack or Oreos is 270 calories, or about 3 1/2 miles of walking. I feed these things to my kids and don't think twice. Heck I sneak them when I am looking for a sweet tooth fix.

Article is worth checking out.

Circuits

I have recently been asked what type of Circuits I do. Here are a couple of the ones I do and love. There are days that I switch out Elliptical for Treadmill. You could easily run in place or do anything cardio in it's place. The goal is to get your heart rate up. You could also modify the workout to do at home w/o gym equipment. 

#1 Circuit est. 35-40 minutes total time.

Total Body

Crunches on stability ball

Step up's with weights

push-ups on stability ball

10 mins Elliptical warm up

15 step up's with weights
1 min crunches on yoga stability ball
15 push-ups on yoga stability ball
3 mins Elliptical level 5 or higher

15 step up's with weights
1 min crunches on yoga stability ball
15 push-ups on yoga stability ball
3 mins Elliptical level 5 or higher

15 step up's with weights
1 min crunches on yoga stability ball
15 push-ups on yoga stability ball

10 mins Elliptical cool down

#2 Circuit est 40-45 minutes total time. 

Lower Body Focus

10 mins Elliptical warm up

30 lungs with 8 lb medicine ball twist

2 mins step up's w/o weights

15 reps leg press

3 mins Elliptical level 5 or higher

30 lungs with 8 lb medicine ball twist

2 mins step up's w/o weights

15 reps leg press

3 mins Elliptical level 5 or higher

30 lungs with 8 lb medicine ball twist

2 mins step up's w/o weights

15 reps leg press

10 mins Elliptical cool down

#3 Circuit est 35-40 minutes total time

Upper Body Focus

10 mins Elliptical warm up

1 min crunches on yoga stability ball

15 reps lat pulldown machine

15 reps dumbbell bicep curls

3 mins Elliptical level 5 or higher

1 min crunches on yoga stability ball

15 reps lat pulldown machine

15 reps dumbbell bicep curls

3 mins Elliptical level 5 or higher

1 min crunches on yoga stability ball

15 reps lat pulldown machine

15 reps dumbbell bicep curls

10 mins Elliptical cool down

**Most days I add a little extra floor stuff before my cool down. I do leg lifts with a 15 lb weighted bar on my leg. I do bicycle crunches. I do planks. I do about 15 minutes worth. I have shin splints now so I add stretching at the end now with a foam roller.

New Mini Van

I finally bought my new mini van.... 2010 Chrysler Town and Country

VEHICLE OPTIONS

• "Power Door Locks
• Power Drivers Seat
• Power Sliding Door(s)
• CD Player
• Anti-Lock Braking System
• Dual-Zone Temp. Controls
• Privacy Glass
• Side Impact Air Bag(s)
• Traction Control
• Fog Lights
• Leather Upholstery
• DVD Player
• Luggage Rack
• Interval Wipers
• Auto Headlight Delay
• Remote Power Mirrors
• Center Arm Rest

• Power Windows
• Power Passenger Seat
• Remote Keyless Entry
• 12V Power Outlet
• Security System
• Tilt Steering Wheel
• Remote Hatch Release
• Electronic Compass w/Temp
• Power Rear Side Vents
• Front Bucket Seats
• 7/8 Passenger Seating
• DVD Monitor(s)
• Heated Seat(s)
• Rear Defroster
• Carpeting
• Overhead Console
• Body Side Moldings

• Auto Express Down Window
• Power Adjustable Pedals
• AM/FM Stereo Radio
• Gauge Cluster
• Air Conditioning
• Cruise Control
• Dual Air Bags
• Trip Computer
• Rear Heat/AC
• Reclining Seats
• Child Proof Locks
• Alum/Alloy Wheels
• Cargo Light
• Rear Window Wiper
• Day/Night Lever
• Fold Down Rear Seat
• Rocker Panel Moldings"

Fruit Infused Water

Fruit Infused Water

Let me first start off by saying that I have not been paid by anyone to promote any products - but I would gladly become a spokes person for the Infuse Water Bottle. I attended a finances round table for work and received this cool water bottle. 

So far I have only tried adding strawberries to it. I am dying to try some of the recipes found on this site. This one in particular. 

Cherry Limeade

What you will need:



• 1 Key Lime sliced thinly
• 6 pitted cherries cut in half
• 1 sprig of mint
• ice and water 

Let steep 30 minutes.

Winner Winner

Winner Winner 

I won Aaron's office contest. I lost a total of 6.97% of my weight in a 12 week period of time. Overall I have lost 46 pounds.

I was going to wait until I reached 50 pounds lost but need a little motivation after a long couple of weekends of bad eating. Here are a couple before pictures of myself at 200-212 pounds. WOW that makes me sick to say out loud. I was 212 pounds. I don't ever want to see that girl again. 

July 2010

December 2009

October 2009 

What's that smell?!

Let me take a minute and start off with a little geography lesson. Sault Ste Marie has two sides.. There is a Michigan one and a Canada one. I have only ever been to the Michigan one. Sault Ste. Marie is the oldest city in Michigan, and among the oldest cities in the United States. The world-famous Soo Locks are found here. Other then that there really is nothing up there.. Okay I used the word up so let me explain. Sault Ste. Marie is in the UP or Michigan's upper peninsula. Which means it's cold and boring. It is about a 3 1/2 hour drive for us plus we have to cross the great Mackinac Bridge. The Mackinac Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac to connect the non-contiguous Upper and Lower peninsulas.

I bet your asking yourself why I am telling you all this... Unless you are trying to hide from one or get away from civilization - why? One word "bowling". That's right once a year all the bowling drunks gather at one place the Dondee Lanes for their annual bowling tournament. One word "boring". But like the good wife I went last year. I went for multiple reasons. First it gave Aaron and I a reason to get away. Second it allows me to babysit and keep him out of trouble or to much trouble.

Last year the whole team carpooled up together; in my van. (see my soccer mom mini comes in handy). Only one other wife went up and thankfully she is a good friend of mine so we have a good time. The team is made up of 5 guys all with totally different personalities. You have my husband who is typically pretty laid back and likes to win but also likes to have a good time. Then we have an older guy who brings his family up with him and doesn't tend to get drunk like the rest of the team. Then we have a couple fun guys who like to drink, bowl, and have a good time. Throw in a single guy looking to score with anyone and well that makes for an interesting time.

Somewhere around mid-day Aaron misses his mouth spills a drink on himself. Not just any drink either, it's a cement mixer. A cement mixer is made up of lime cordial and Bailey's Irish Cream. Looks like this

or this if it sits long enough.

I can't drink it, not sure who or why...

So like a good wife I went to the closest store and picked him up a new shirt and took the mixer shirt out to the van. The night continues with good times, bowling, and of course drinking. After bowling and dinner we decide it is best to shuttle over to the casino (only thing to do in this town). Sadly we didn't have any luck.. not sure that we even played. On the way back to the hotel my wonderful drunk husband attempts to get the shuttle to drive through McDonalds but was unable to so we ordered pizza. In the middle of the night, with a drunk husband and a long day behind us it was the best pizza on earth.

The next day consist of sobering Bloody Mary's and you guessed it more bowling. Thankfully Sunday is a short day. After a long weekend everyone is ready to head home... we open the van... and guess what?! The mixer shirt has become curdled and has stunk up the van. The small is so, so very bad... and we all have to ride home in this van.. I am sick to my stomach with embarrassment.

It is that time of the year again.. We are packing up and getting the kids situated so that we can take our annual trip north. Really hoping this years event ends better then last.

Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I love ya Tomorrow! You're always A day A way!

Woke up this morning to find that spring must have came and gone without me knowing it because it was icy and cold and not spring. Gotta love Northern Michigan. I work in the accounting office for the county road commission and for us this kind of day makes for a long one. The only thing nice is that we switch over to our spring/summer hours next week. This means that I will work Mon-Thursday 10 hour days. 10 hour days have there pros and cons. Pros are that I get 3 day long weekends. The days seems to go faster for some odd reason. Cons I have to work later. Getting the kids to and from things becomes harder. 10 hours sitting on my butt sucks period.

I am having a party for a friend.. I am hosting a Lia Sophia Party at my house tomorrow night. I went out and spent $150 on fun party supplies, food, drinks, etc. Really hoping my friends come and have a good time. I don't host to many events for multiple reasons. First I hate my small, old, crappy house and am embarrassed to have people over. Second I have to clean the place. I decided to have a nacho bar set up and use my new crock pot I got from my mother.

I figure I can put cheese in one, meat in one, and refried beans in one. I picked up a neat tub for iced beverages. Etc. Etc... I will update later with some pictures of my fun set up.

Inch by Inch

Today is a good day... I noticed today that I beat my pre-Jasmine weight by a couple pounds. Heading down to pass my pre-Nicole weight now. Here I come 155 hope your ready for me, because I am sure ready to see you. 


For some additional motivation I found this old blog from last June with measurements and thought I would see how close I am since I am the same weight as I was then. 

Old Measurements 06/2012

Weight = 169
Chest = 39
Waist = 39.5
Butt/hips = 45
Upper Arm = 13.5
Neck = 13.5

New Measurements 03/2013 (taken a 3/28)

Weight = 169
Chest = 37 down 2 
Waist = 36 down 3.5
Butt/hips = 44.5 down 0.5
Upper Arm = 13 down 0.5
Neck = 13 down 0.5

The amazing thing is how I feel inside. I feel like I am healthier then ever before. I don't feel sexy yet but sure do feel empowered! 

BMI Chart

My mother brought up a good point this morning. She was mentioning the standard BMI chart and showed me how close I am to reaching overweight rather then obese. I thought I would add some stars showing where I started at 212, currently at 165, first goal of 155, second goal of 130.

OMG

Hello 166 happy to see you but sure hope you don't plan on sticking around.

Eye of the Tiger

It's Tuesday... There is nothing fun or exciting about Tuesday's. The are actually pretty boring. I decided today to blog about what's all going on in my life this week.. Let's start off with things that directly affect me and my weight... I have two weight lose contest coming to an end this week. We have Biggest Loser with my Aarons co-workers. I am currently down 1.16 % so that means I need to drop 2 pounds plus whatever that woman loses this week. I am shooting for a 3 pound lose. Currently I am down 1 and only have until Friday AM. The second contest is the DietBet I am doing. For this one I needed to lose 4% of my weight in 28 days. I need to weigh in on Monday and as of today I am good/if I can keep this lose off until weigh in. I feel like Rocky. I need to be running up and down some stairs singing Eye of the Tiger.. Okay for those of you who have never seen Rocky or do not know the song; here are the lyrics.

Risin' up, back on the street

Did my time, took my chances

Went the distance

Now I'm back on my feet

Just a man and his will to survive

So many times, it happens too fast

You trade your passion for glory

Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past

You must fight just to keep them alive

[Chorus]

It's the eye of the tiger

It's the thrill of the fight

Risin' up to the challenge

Of our rival

And the last known survivor

Stalks his prey in the night

And he's watching us all with the

Eye of the tiger

Face to face, out in the heat

Hangin' tough, stayin' hungry

They stack the odds 

Still we take to the street

For the kill with the skill to survive

[Chorus]

Risin' up straight to the top

Had the guts, got the glory

Went the distance 

Now I'm not gonna stop

Just a man and his will to survive

[Chorus]

The eye of the tiger

The eye of the tiger 

The eye of the tiger 

The eye of the tiger

To top of my Rocky impression I decided to add some additional cardio to my workout. I picked up an old DVD my little sister lent me and thought I would give it a shot; Jillian Michaels Kickboxing Fastfix. It was wonderful! Some of the moves were on the tricky side but felt good during and after. 

Smashed Cauliflower

Smashed Cauliflower

 

• 2 (16 ounce) bags frozen cauliflower
• 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese or a parmesan reggiano blend
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons light butter

Directions:

1. Bring chicken broth to a boil
2. Add frozen cauliflower.
3. Boil for about 8-10 minutes.
4. Drain -- in case there is too much liquid -- Add cheeses, butter and more broth if it is too thin for your taste.
5. Smash with a masher. Should be the consistency of mashed potatoes.-- yum!

 

Serving Size: 1 (195 g) Servings Per Recipe: 6

Calories 177.1   Total Fat 12.1 g    Sodium 499.6 mg   Total Carbohydrate 7.8 g  Dietary Fiber 3.4 g

Sugars 3.7 g   Protein 11.0 g

 

 

Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf Muffins

Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf
Source: adapted from What’s Cookin’ Chicago?



Ingredients:
1 ½ lbs raw ground chicken breast
1 large egg
1 egg whites
6 T dried breadcrumbs
¾ t dried basil
¾ t dried thyme
¾ t oregano
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ a small onion, chopped small or grated
¾ t salt
1/3 t black pepper
¾ cup Parmesan cheese
¾ cup pasta sauce
¾ cup 2% reduced fat shredded Mozzarella cheese
Optional: dried parsley, oregano or basil for garnish

Directions:
1.    Pre-heat the oven to 350. Lightly mist a muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.
2.    In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken, egg, egg whites, breadcrumbs, basil, thyme, oregano, garlic, onion, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese and lightly mix together. Do not over handle.
3.    Form the meat mixture evenly into the 12 cups of your prepared muffin tin. Spread the pasta sauce evenly over the tops of each muffin. Bake for 20 minutes and remove from the oven. Top each muffin with about a tablespoon of shredded cheese and then return to the oven for 2-3 minutes until the cheese is melted. Garnish if desired. 

Yields 12 muffins. WW P+:  4 per muffin or 7 P+ for 2 muffins
Nutrition Information per muffin from myfitnesspal.com: 147 calories, 6 g carbs, 5 g fat, 18 g protein, 0 g fiber

Stupid rabbit trix are for kids.

My schedule is all out of whack with the kids on spring break. We don't have track practice for either girl, no swim lessons, no gymnastics. I am basically lost. There was even a day this week that my schedule work and home was completely blank. We haven't gotten to really go and do anything fun over spring break but thanks to some nicer days we were able to get outside some. It was 48 here in Michigan yesterday so after work I took my youngest Jasmine for a bike/walk 2 miles. She rode her bike and I walked. The trails still have some snow covered areas and it was a little windy but it felt good to get outside.

I have had a pretty challenging week emotionally. The scale hasn't been as friendly as I would like. I allowed myself to get so wrapped up in these diet contest I am in that I lost sight of the real goal; to become a healthier me. I am currently in the BL contest with Aaron at his office. I am currently leading in percent lost (weigh in today so we will see). We have 2 weigh in's left, today being one of them. The other one is my DietBet I joined. I need to lose 4% of my starting weight by April 15th. Currently I have 2.4 pounds to lose. Both contest seem like impossible to win - when you're gaining weight - like I did this week. Sadly out of frustration and depression I allowed myself to make things worse and well this poor bunny paid the price...

Last night I decided it was time to stop stressing out about stupid contest and regain focus. I met with my personal trainer after taking my 2 mile walk with Jasmine, 1 mile on the treadmill, and 2 miles on the stationary bike. I had a great strength training session. This morning I woke up ate my oatmeal and am ready to adjust my diet and start again. Here's to a new day!

Spring Break

Burr... it's so cold here in Northern Michigan. My poor kids are on spring break and building snowmen.

According to MiKayla my 11 year old; "She is the only one not going away for Spring Break". We looked into going away again this year but after taking a closer look at the budget, decided it wasn't going to happen.  I tried to bring spring to the home at least by making up a fresh table centerpiece. 

I have been battling shin splints for the past couple of weeks. I have tried everything but resting them. My first 5K is scheduled for Memorial Day and I really want to beat my previous times. 

This should say 2012 Results. 

I am not sure why my time got worse in 2012. 44:41 is the time to beat though. Right now on the treadmill I am running a 5K in about 36 minutes without an incline. I really want to try to run outside and see where I come in at but right now it's just to darn cold. I ran 4 miles last night on the ole' treadmill though. I did pretty good but I am paying for it this morning. My legs are so sore. Maybe the outside cold would do my muscles some good.

A couple good things happened to me on the scale and a couple bad. I am currently in 2 weight lose contest. Aaron's office is doing a biggest loser and I am in the dietbet. After Friday's weigh in I am currently winning Aaron's office contest.

As for the dietbet I have a little ways to go as of Friday. 

Here is the problem; I overate on Easter and am having a hard time staying out of the kids Easter candy. Also, I believe Mother Nature is about to curse me again right before my final weigh ins. I am scale stressing which can't be good. Hopefully my run yesterday will help. I am also meeting with personal trainer on Thursday night and hoping that will help also. We will see what happens on Friday - wish me luck!