30 lbs down, 20 to go!

I am now down 30 lbs! It hasn't been easy and I have had my moments of disappointment but MAN it feels good to step on the scale and see results! So, I started to really work at this beginning in August and started the body for life style of eating and kind of adapted it to my needs. I have had a lot of interest in what exactly I have done to lose these 30 lbs. So I thought I would share with you all what has been working for me. Now, most of you know I used to be like 25o lbs about 5 years ago and lost about 65 after eating right and exercising- and the weight literally just FELL off of me-- It was AWESOME! Then I hit the dreaded plateau for like 3 years!! Talk about depressing! Even thoughI continued eating healthy and working out every day but Sunday-- nothing seemed to get the last 50 pounds off that I wanted to lose! Then this past August when I decided to try the body for life style of eating and working out I began to finally see results again!!

So here is an example menu of what I eat everyday:


Breakfast: 1 cup of Go Lean Crunch & 1/2 cup Skim milk and a 1/2 banana or an orange OR
1 packet of Quackers Weight control oatmeal & a glass of water


Lunch: 1/2 cup fat-free cottage cheese mixed with Light yogurt. Carrot sticks, a piece of fruit (usually an apple) and LIGHT string cheese.


Snack: A small handful of mixed nuts or a Special K bar


And for dinner, I usually eat Grilled chicken with steamed vegetables.


I treat myself once in awhile with a ice-cold refreshing DIET COKE (my favorite thing in the world.) This gives me something sweet without the dreaded calories!Exercise: As far as working out goes here is what I usually aim for. I try to Run at LEAST 25 miles each week and then lift weights 2-3 times a week. Occasionally I will put in my husbands P90X dvds (a REALLY amazing tough workout).I hope this will help anyone else out there that is trying to lose weight. You just have to find what works for you and STICK WITH IT!! I sometimes get SO mad when I get on the scale & I haven't lost an ounce for a week! But I promise if you stick to a healthy diet and exercise, you will eventually see results! It's not about dieting-- It's about a healthy lifestyle and making smart choices!

Healthy cooking

Keeping up with my current weight loss (down 28 lbs now!) isn't always easy, especially because I LOVE to cook, and Geoff loves to eat =) But I have been pretty successful in converting recipes into a healthier, waist-friendly version. Having today off for MLKJr day, I decided to try a couple new recipes: White Chicken Chilli and homemade whole wheat bread. I thought I would share these recipes with you all, they have turned out VERY yummy and are still very low-cal and low-fat!

White Chicken Chilli

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced jalapeno peppers
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 3 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
• 3 (15 ounce) cans white beans

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Slowly cook and stir the onion until tender. Mix in the garlic, jalapeno, green chile peppers, cumin, oregano and cayenne. Continue to cook and stir the mixture until tender, about 3 minutes. Mix in the chicken broth, chicken and white beans. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Remove the mixture from heat. Serve Warm

Whole Wheat Bread

• 3 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 packet dry yeast

In a large mixing bowl combine 1 cup of water ( at a temp. of 110 to 120 degrees F ) with the salt, the honey, the yeast, the oil and the milk and stir until mix. Mix in the flour and stir until the dough starts pull away from the bowl. Place the dough on a lightly flour surface and knead the dough for 6 to 10 minutes or until the dough become smooth. Place a small amount of oil in a large bowl and place the dough in the bowl and flip the dough to cover the dough with oil. Cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rise for approx. 1 hour , the dough should double in size. Note: This made take longer if the room is cold. Take the dough out of the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface, shape the dough into a 8 inches log and place into a lightly grease loaf pan.Loosely cover the pan with lightly oil plastic wrap and let raise for 30 to 60 minutes until the dough raises approx.1 inch above the pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F place in center of oven and cook for about 40 minutes after 20 minutes loosely cover the pan with aluminum foil , test if the wheat bread is done by thumping the bottom of the bread it should sound hollow. Let bread cool on a rack then slice.

What a week!

Well, Geoff and I are back in school full swing. I have been working 40 hours a week and also going to school full time at night/online. It has been great. I forgot how much I love to learn, as lame as that sounds. I enjoy discussing things that are interesting to me with people who are on my level. As much as I love my job working with adults with disabilities, I sometimes miss the intellectual stimulation the university provides. It has been interesting trying to manage my time wisely. I usually get home from work at around 4 and eat a quick dinner and head to the gym, then go to the library to study or catch up on reading and then go to class til around 10:30. So I am working for the weekends. Geoff and I see each other in passing but it has been that way since we were first married. My parents keep telling me to cherish this time before kids come along because I will never be able to do this when we are fortunate to have children.

Some crappy news is that Geoff got laid off tonight. The company he worked for (Icon Health & Fitness) has taken a hit with the economy and had to lay off about a 1/4th of their company worldwide and they made cuts based on seniority. So Geoff was one of the lucky! But, we kind of saw it coming so it wasn't a big surprise. Thankfully, with us both working full time since we have been married, and living in such a small affordable apartment and having very few bills, we have managed to save up quite a bit of money. And my job pays pretty well and we can live on it and still save. I feel very blessed with the financial security we have and for parents who taught us both to manage money wisely from the start. It's funny, as soon as Geoff came home to tell me the bad news, we sat down and started looking for a new job! He can't sit still that silly man! That's what I love about my husband- he is the HARDEST worker I have ever met other than my Father and my grandpa. It was one of the first things that attracted me to him! I have to say, it is nice having Geoff home in the evenings- although its quite the distraction-- I am having a hard time doing my homework while having my hot hubby around! ha ha.




Also- I think I have decided to run the Logan marathon in September. I was going to try and run the Ogden one in May but with school being so demanding right now, I am only able to run about 5 miles/day. So hopefully this summer with me taking only one class, I can train for the marathon. Anyone wanna join me?? It's always easier to train with a buddy! I am trying to get Geoff to join but his school schedule is pretty hectic, I don't know if he will have the time.

I hope everyone is having a great week! Hopefully I will be able to post at least once a week to keep everyone updated on our crazy hectic lives! (if anyone even really cares ha ha).

Time for a change!

So I decided I needed to change up our bedroom a little... and by a little... I mean completely redecorate it! Ha ha.

Here is what it looks like now:

I have a confession to make...

My newest guilty pleasure that we bought for Christmas....

It's been quite addicting. Thank goodness school and work start back tomorrow!