Damn life tornado again!

Yes it got me again! I've gained back all my weight, DANG IT! Starting Monday (cuz of Easter) I'm hittin the gym again! This time I'll have my Brudder Jo Jo to work out with until I see him off to bootcamp. :( <-- that's a bitter sweet.
I'm excited to have a work out buddy, and also a pool!! All this because my
Momma moved just a mile and an half from us! Yippie! I love her new place and I LOVE having my mommy close by again! <3

Motivation!

I need some!! I still am down 4lbs from when I first started this weight loss adventure but I am starting to get stuck in my busy/lazy ways again. I HAVE to get focused again!!

Did you just see that!?

Did you see the life tornado just grab me and spin me all around this last week!? Oh my goodness!! What an insane week and weekend I have had. Needless to say the diet did suffer, poor thing. :( I tried my best to keep 'er under control but in Vegas this weekend I failed miserably. Boo.. But my diet suffering did not go in vain!!.. Or did it? That's debatable!! With all my spins of constant busyness I found my dream car!! Finally made the purchase last Thursday after a whole week of searching for her non stop. 

Here she is!! 2012 VW Jetta SEL

Not to mention that the weekend prior I was in AZ working on all my girls. (Two guys! Haha can't include them as "the girls")

Then Friday we left for my daughters club soccer tournament, (West Coast, you know! :P)  she did great in Vegas!! It was her first games back after rolling her ankle.. Twice! (That girl!!) But she did great for being slightly out of shape and it being her first games back. I was a proud momma! 

So we got back super late last night, drove for 6 hours when it should have been only 4. Traffic was horrendous. So today I have been doing errands and feeling blah from no sleep. So diet still suffers, BUT tomorrow is a new day and a restart to the Micheal Thurmond diet.

Wish me luck!!!!

Day one of Michael Thermond

Today I am starting the Micheal Thurmond diet. Well, I'm going to try. I have to eat 5-6 meals a day, pretty small portions. Today I chose the "Rapid" Breakfast which is 3oz of protein and 1/2c of fruit. So I chose from the list of foods that I am allowed to have, since I am level C, 2oz of egg whites 1 oz of turkey bacon and 1/2 of a grapefruit. I figured by the time I scooped it all out all of the grapefruit, it would be about half a cup. I never eat the skin part on the insides.. that line thing that divides the individual slices.. not sure the correct term for that. Not sure if I even explained it well either. Anyway! haha

The egg whites were interesting. I added some of Mr. Dash- Tomato Basil Garlic to add a little flavor to it. By themselves I can tell they would be very "blah". Especially since I am not allowed to use salt. Which of course makes EVERYTHING taste great. :( But I'm not allowed. Boo. :(

Here is to loosing weight by eating right.. something I haven't done in..well.. i don't think i have ever done it. hahaha!!

Pray that I can stick with it!!

Lets spaghetti squash this fat!

My first attempt at spaghetti squash... Results: I'd give it a 7 on "my edible" healthy food scale. Not to bad. The texture is a bit strange, crunchy. It took my brain awhile to adjust because it saw something that resembled spaghetti but yet the crunch and watery taste told my brain a completely new story. After a few bites though, I got adjusted to my new dinner and it actually wasn't to bad. I would eat it again! A friend of mine suggested I bake it next time since it was a bit runny from being boiled. Baking will make it more spaghetti like, she said. We will see because I will for sure be making it again. The meat on top is turkey too, in case anyone was wondering. :)

Liebster Blog thing.... haha

SO.. I am VERY new to the blog world. Still trying to figure out what my friend Christina blogged about yesterday with me being one of her choices for this Liebster Blog award thingy.

This is what she had posted before listing 5 people (me included)..

The Liebster blog award is for blogs with less than 200 followers. It's great for new or up-and-coming blogs!

The Rules

1. Thank the person who nominated you and provide a link back to their site.

2. Copy and paste the Liebster Award logo to your blog.

3. Choose five more up-and-coming bloggers who you feel deserve the award and hope that they will in turn nominate five more.

Here goes me trying to follow the rules of this Liebster thing even though I'm not 100% certain what it means. haha

First Thank you Christina!

1. Bekki

2. Julie

3. Jess

4. Heather

That's all I got! Like I said, I'm VERY new to blogs!

Devon, my handsome son, went riding to the store with me... it was fun!!

Ok, I am starting this workout by my FB friend Katrina Delafonte. The first week I am suppose to do this..

Straight 12 minute cardio workout for the next 5 days, recommend twice a day. Double up on sweats, top and bottom. The challenge is to perform the exercise per the noted time, one after the other. NO BREAKS!!! You are to fit in as many reps as possible in the time given for that exercise. Push yourself.
1min - Step in place (knees up)
1min - Fast step - Lay down Face down Jump up
1min - Frog Jump Ups - See photo example
1min - Step in place (knees up)
30sec - Push ups
30sec - Full sit ups
30sec - Push ups
30sec - Full sit ups
30sec - Push ups
30sec - Full sit ups
1min - Step in place (knees up)
1min - Run backwards
1min - Jump Ups
1min - Crunches
1min - Step in place (knees up)

Then I am pairing it with the Michael Thurmond diet plan. I took the online quiz and found that I am C. My friend (Bekki) had already purchased the whole set so she told me all the foods I am allowed to eat and how to eat them. Here is a quick overview.. 

Eat every 2/3 hours

Breakfast

Snack

Lunch

Snack

Dinner

PM snack- optional

(You can pick from the three, Easy meal, Gourmet meal and Rapid meal)

Breakfast

Easy- 2 egg whites 1/2c oat meal 1/2 apple/banana

Gourmet- veggie omelet (green peppers, onions basil) 1/2c hash browns, fresh fruit salad

Rapid- 3 eggs whites, 1c greens or 1/2 grapefruit

Mid morning

Easy- 2oz chicken/turkey small potato

Gourmet- baked chicken fingers and fries

rapid- 3oz turkey breast 1/2c greens

Lunch

Easy- 2oz chicken 1/2c brown rice 1-2c mixed veggies

Gourmet chili stuffed potato & green salad (ground turkey, onions, bell peppers, stewed tomatoes, pinto beans, chili seasoning)

rapid- 2oz chicken 1/2 brown rice 1-2c mixed veggies

Mid afternoon snack-

Easy- 2oz chicken 1 small apple

Gourmet- Cajun shrimp kabob, zucchini red peppers onions and mushrooms 1/2 rice

rapid- 3oz fresh tuna 1-2c greens

Dinner

Easy - 2oz chicken, small potato 1-2c veggies 

Gourmet- chicken sauteed garlic white wine, steamed asparagus and garlic mashed

Rapid- 2-3oz lean turkey 2c greens

PM snack- optional-

Easy- 1/2 mixed berries

Gourmet- pouched pears with cinnamon and cloves

Rapid- whole Grape Fruit

She's so awesome! She even gave me the list of foods I CAN eat so that I can substitute to make different meals. I think I can really do this! I'm VERY excited to finally get into tip top shape. I feel good today. Although my diet hasn't been the "best" today but I'm going shopping tomorrow and will jump on the diet right away. 

Bad Girl Weekend.. but still positive results!

Still lost 3lbs! Yippie!! Unless its creeping up to get me! 

My weekend consisted of meals like the one on the left...

Oh it was so delicious.. Look at the difference. The photo to the right is what I had for breakfast today, photo on the left was yesterdays breakfast at Pop's Cafe. <-- delicious place!! 

The best thing about dieting is if you fall off the wagon you can easily hop back on!! Don't ever get discouraged or give up, just refocus and start again. Also NEVER drink Soda!! I think thats what saved me this weekend. I ate crappy, but in moderation, and i never had soda! I did have beer though.. oh well! SHAKING IT OFF!! Bad bad girl, now lets get back in the game!

Surprise!!!

My best friend from AZ surprised me yesterday!! She's here for the days today and leaves tomorrow. It's so awesome but of course this is where the dieting demons strike! We stayed at a hotel (my house is a circus during the week) and they have a FREE full breakfast! I did my BEST to continue eating right.

In my omelette I have ..
Spinach
Bell pepper
Ham (just a bit)
Onions

I also had a banana, pineapple and OJ. Oh and of course my COFFEE 😄

I am however going to cheat hardcore this afternoon because we are going I my most favorite Italian restaurant in Newport. Il Farro, they have the BEST gnocchi and bruschetta bread!!

My plan :)

Whew, I'm just pooped...I pushed myself and did Jillians step 2 of the 30 day shred. Wasn't TO bad, but I was definitely battling my self, just wanting to relax and take a nap instead. So in punishment I stepped it up. haha! Here is some, "no duh" advice to myself, don't drink coffee at 8:30pm. I couldn't sleep last night until a little after midnight and was up at 6:40am with the kids. That could be why I am a little extra tired today. I usually get a couple more hours a night. Enough of my whining.

So my friend Bekki (Housewives of Alderaan) told me about Michael Thurmounds Body makeover. I took the online test (Blue Printing Quiz) to see what letter I am. I am a C. So THEN I went to Amazon to look for the diet plan book, because I am not made of money and can't afford to purchase the whole set that costs $120. I found this! (6 Day Body Makeover) and when you click on the photo it shows you the whole book. The WHOLE dang thing! So now I'm just browsing all the recipes, finding the ones that are compatible to my metabolism C.

I am excited about this because I needed recipes for my body type and ideas on what to eat. My diet is so crap. If you left it up to me I'd be eating pizzas, burgers and pastas ALL the time. I'd become GIGANTIC! So now I have a plan. This is what his sample plan looks like....

Sample Menu Plan for Type C

Bananas are a good source of vitamins and help give an extra energy boost, helpful first thing in the morning or before a workout.

• Breakfast: 4 egg whites and ¹/₂ cup bananas.
• Mid-morning snack: 4 ounces of chicken breast and ¹/₂ cup carrots.
• Lunch: 1 cup of green beans, 4 ounces of turkey breast and 1 cup of white rice.
• Mid-afternoon snack: 1 cup asparagus, 4 ounces of fish.
• Dinner: ¹/₂ cup grapefruit, 4 ounces turkey or chicken breast.

I'm a bit more motivated now. I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow, so hopefully I can get my next weeks menu together and start fresh!

LETS DO THIS!!!

Temptation .. I loathe you.

Good morning! So, my adorable 6 year old, who KNOWS he has momma wrapped around his pinkie, came into my room this morning in the most sweetest voice asking "Momma, could you PLEASE make chocolate chip pancakes." That turd!! He HAD to request my FAVORITE breakfast food. But how could I say no? I mean, look at him!!

So I did, I made my little man his breakfast request and I stared temptation in the eye. Now TODAY, I am proud of myself. Not one bite. Not one chocolate nibble. Although, these pancakes were probably the fasted pancakes I have ever made in my life. I think most of the time my eyes were closed. hahaha!! But I whipped them out, cleaned up and got my breakfast cereal.

THIS (photo below) is what I had. Oh man, SO GROSS!! How does my husband eat this? He chows down on it every morning like its frootloops. 

With the passion he displays every morning while eating this, it intrigued me. So since I couldn't have what I REALLY wanted I felt adventurous and decided to try it. Folks. Its absolutely no different then taking the cardboard box, shredding it into bite size pieces and then adding milk. No flavor, weird texture. 3 bites later and I was done. I think in a few I may go ahead and make myself my usual eggs and spinach because BLAH.. that was nasty!!! All the power to him if he enjoys this but it over exceeded my "healthy" food limit. haha.

Tae Bo?... I think so!

Today I am still extremely sore still so I decided to do a more cardio focused workout instead. This was all I had so Tae Bo it is! The outfits in this video are a crack up!! Haha

What the heck???

What on earth was I thinking? I decided to get creative on my lunch smoothie and I do believe I went wrong.. Real wrong! I think I lost track of what I was putting into this drink. It started with

Chocolate protien

Then I added some coffee

Strawberries

... This is where I think I went very wrong...

peanut butter

Added spinach

Yogurt

Grapes

And an orange..

NOT a recommended smoothie! I will drink it though because I hate being wasteful but it is not a delicious drink! BAHAHHAHAHA!!

Eat to live, Don't live to eat..

Eat to live, Don't live to eat.....Eat to live, Don't live to eat.....Eat to live, Don't live to eat... Except on the weekends!! haha! JK JK!! I have to chant this to myself daily. Most of my life I have "lived to eat" because I LOVE FOOD! I'm Italian, I constantly want breads, pasta, steaks mmmmm my mouth is watering RIGHT now just thinking about all the delicious meals I could be eating everyday. I "could" but I won't! My slowed metabolism has denied me the ability to stuff my face and stay skinny. No longer do I have my teenager metabolism.. RIP teen metabolism, you are SO DEARLY missed!! It's even extra hard living with 2 teenagers who inadvertently rub it in every time they feed. Its like a couple of wild lions encouraging themselves right at my dinner table.

My friend Bekki (Housewives of Alderaan) said it perfectly yesterday, when you diet, its like your mind is set on a constant rant "eat eat eat eat eat eat eat eat" Why does it have to be so hard? I ate eggs with spinach and olives and a 1/2 cup of pinto beans and I feel like I am hungrier then before I hate them. WTH? Is it because I am sad that feeding is over? Scared that my next meal won't come soon enough? LMBO!! Its all in my head, I know! I need to learn how to create this way of eating as a daily normal routine, perhaps just staying consistent and hope that in a couple weeks it will get normal. They say it takes 2 weeks to create a habit. Id love to obtain the habit of eating right. That would be so great! We shall see!..

Caught!

My pathetic butt was captured by one of my kids! LMBO! They were laughing so much and teasing me because I'm SO SORE I went up the stairs all day like this. (photo below) oh thats SO sad! Haha. I can't wait until working out doesn't make me so paralyzingly sore. I'm terrified to wake up tomorrow, fearing it will be worse!! Oh man!! *sigh*

Doing good?

On the menu tonight is chicken fajitas! Of course I will have to keep the tortilla and rice intake down to a minimum, but I don't think it will be to bad of a dinner for me. I have been VERY good all day so far. Today I have had:

2 eggs with spinach

A few almonds (I'd guess about 10-15 through out the whole day)

I had my protein shake which included

• 4 strawberries
• small handful of grapes
• 1 orange 
• a leaf of Kale
• 2 tbs of yogurt

I also had a small portion of my left over dinner last night. Just the chicken in red sauce. It was probably about half a cup. Just to snack on some actual food for lunch. hehe.

I hope this is all a good start for me. I really am doing this whole eating right thing blind. If I lived in a grocery store, I'm pretty sure I would do a better job at it but I do not live in a grocery store. I also have 5 other mouths to feed so I can't spend tons of money on "healthy" items for just me. So I am doing the best that I can with what I have to work with and I think I'm doing pretty good so far. Granted, its only day 2...but.. ya know... there are 3 bottles of my favorite sodas chilling on the counter in the kitchen, taunting me, and I have yet to touch them or give them second look. Go me! :)

I MADE IT!

**WHERE THE TORTURE HAPPENS**

I MADE IT! I'M ALIVE! NO INJURIES! I battled the "to sore" excuse, I battled the little voice in my head trying to justify myself to skip todays workout. I battled it and I WON! The ironic thing is now I feel LESS SORE then before the workout. Why do I always forget about that? I think maybe this time I will actually get own to the weight/size I want to be. GOD, I hope so! 

Protien... NOW!!!

EVERYTHING HURTS!!! Man, I hate the day after workout feeling.. it really sucks! I'm going to have to dig deep down and muster up the strength to fight through the pain at my workout today. Whew! Get ready for my blog bitching.... IT HURTS SO BAD!! My abs hurt, gluts, thighs (BIG TIME) chest, arms. Only part that doesn't hurt are my calves, and triceps. Weird right? Anyway... blog bitching done...for now..

Here is what I've started my day off with, in hopes to ease my soreness! I've eaten 2 eggs with spinach (went light shopping yesterday!) and a small handful of almonds. Coffee and WATER WATER WATER. Gimmie gimmie that protein!!!

I bet you all wish to be a fly on the wall during my workout today, it's going to be a hot mess. I just pray my legs will keep me up! They feel so weak. I'm going to look like those puppets on strings.. No control or grace, just flopping around. Throw in a few yelps of pain and you'll be highly entertained.. and THAT right there folks, is why I work out ALONE!! hahaha. Wish me luck!!

What a first day! Whew!

Oh man I can already feel my muscles being sore! My butt is sore too! So weird! I didn't even think I worked out my gluts. Today eating wise I think I did just OK. I really tried but I got caught by the garlic bread. Damn! Here is what I ate today ...

Drank 48oz of water today

Breakfast- 1 cup of coffee (with teeny bit of cream)

2 eggs with onions

Lunch- Protein shake with 5 frozen strawberries, a handful of frozen grapes, 1/2 cup of yogurt, one leaf of kale and lemon juice.

About 10 almonds (snacked)

Dinner- 1 cup of whole wheat pasta

Shredded chicken in tomato sauce

Slice of garlic bread (about 1.5"x3" hehe)

Dessert- An Orange :)

That's all! It's actually 100% better then what my usual diet has been, but I am beating myself up a bit about the garlic bread. I know that's a big No No. :(

Well day one COMPLETE! I'm dreading the morning when the soreness kicks in full gear... Uhhh man, prepare for the b#$*%ing tomorrow! Haha

First Day Back!

 

Here goes the first step of eating healthy! I am going to try and follow my FB friend Katrina DeLafonte nutrition guide.. see below.

. 

I will probably tweak it a bit because some of the things I don't like or don't have but I will try to keep it all comparable.  This morning I had eggs with onions, I would have used spinach if I had it. :(  

I later took my before photos.. Katrina DeLafonte  has a FB group that I have joined to help keep me motivated. One of her homework assignments was to take before photos in our classic before photo wear, and to also take before photos in an outfit that we wish we could fit in. I found one dress that has never been flattering on me so lets see if someday it will be! Those photos will be posted mmmaaayybee in a week or so.. LOL have to see some results before I embarrass myself. haha

I chose Jillians 30 Day Shred to start off with! Its pretty easy for me and I REALLY want to be successful so I didn't want my first day to be a complete bombardment! Here are my measurements and final first day weigh in!

• Weight: 138 (I know! I lost a pound already LOL)
• Bust: 35.5"
• ((I measured 3 mid section spots))
• Hips: 36.5"
• Love handles (that inner tube area): 36.5" 
• Waist: 31"
• Thigh: 22.5"
• Arms: 12"

The BEST part after a workout, shake time!!! Yummm.. Well like I expected the workout wasn't to bad! Sad thing is I CAN FEEL IT!! My butt is sore and my legs are jello! haha Oh man... haha! Well I'm on an Oovoo date..Post more later!