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It's Friday and Saturday only!

I can't wait until lunchtime!!!

Awaiting the hour of reprisal

It's Friday. I got to wake up another day. My little family is doing great. I have my job and food in my belly. I feel awesome!

Thursday = 50% good eating day (which equals a bad day!) Oh well, I had the most amazing brownies so I'm not that upset.

Workout - Ramp it Up - Damn you squats and doggy lifts!! (thanks Lynn!)

I cooked dinner last night so I was too beat to get in any time on the elliptical. But I am satisfied with the workout I got in so, again, I'm not too upset.


Recipe
The awesomest Veggie casserole EVER!

Tomato Vegetable Casserole (courtesy of Food Network)

1 medium potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium yam, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced into rings
2 small or 1 large zucchini, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick pieces
Salt and pepper
2 large ripe tomatoes, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons dried Italian-style bread crumbs
Fresh basil sprigs, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Toss the potato, yam, bell pepper, carrots, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss until coated. Spread vegetables evenly over the bottom of the pan.

Arrange the onion slices evenly over the vegetable mixture. Arrange the zucchini over the onion. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange the tomato slices over the zucchini.

Stir the Parmesan and bread crumbs in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the Parmesan bread crumbs over the vegetables in the baking dish. Drizzle with the last tablespoon of olive oil.

Bake uncovered until the vegetables are tender, and the topping is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Garnish with fresh basil sprigs, if desired.

Makes 6 servings

I only used 3 tablespoons of olive oil instead of 5 and it came out great! I also used one slice of bread for bread crumbs (toss in food processor with Italian seasonings and voila! Italian style bread crumbs). I misread how much of the breadcrumbs I needed so that's why there's half a cup instead of 2 tablespoons (oops!). Also, I omitted the Parmesan cheese and basil. And I used a sweet potato instead of a yam (but they're the same thing, right?)

It came out super yummy and super flavorful. Seriously. The boyfriend isn't a big veggie fan but he said it was really good. And his parents gobbled up their serving. I figured out the nutritional info using Calorie King:

Calories: 185, Fat 8 (this may seem high, but it's a good fat), Protein 3, Fiber 5. Weight Watcher Points: 4

(these are approximations. I did count high, though.)

Have a great weekend everybody!

Tell it to me slowly

Wednesday was a 72% good eating day. That's a bad eating day in my book.

There is some good news though.

I did HIIT on the elliptical for 15 minutes. I could only do 15 because I started Ramp It Up. I seriously got my a** handed to me doing that workout and didn't have much energy or strength to get in a full half hour on the elli. Wow, I forgot how tough Ramp It Up is. My limbs felt like falling off of me and running away. Okay, okay, I'm exaggerating. But my legs and arms did in fact feel the burn.

Oh..

Do you know what leg lifts are? Or are they called butt lifts?
You can do them with a bent leg like this:

Or with a straight leg like this:
Well, whatever they're called and however you do them, I hate them with a fiery passion. I cringe when Debbie Siebers says "Okay, now onto the floor on all fours...(or something like that)" because I know soon, my butt cheeks will be on fire.

I just don't like them.

But I do them anyway because after 6 weeks, my butt will look sweet. And all that pain and suffering I went through will be TOTALLY worth it.

=)

I wake up every evening with a big smile on my face

I ate too much and I hated it.

I went on a bit of a donut binge yesterday. And I'm really paying for it this morning. I won't be doing that again.

My workout consisted of Slim in 6: Start It Up. I am done with the first workout. The regime is supposed to be as follows: six days of working out, 1 day of rest. The first workout is Start It Up. Do this for a couple of days just until you get comfortable with it. I did it for the first six days just to build up my strength a bit. The next workout is Ramp It Up; do this workout for about a week to a week and a half, just until you are comfortable. I'll probably do this for two weeks. The last and final workout is Burn It Up; do this workout for the remainder of the six weeks. That will be three weeks for me. And then I am done with Slim in 6 and I'll have the hot body that I've always wanted.

Not really. I'll probably start the 30 day shred workout and next, probably a kickboxing DVD (thanks for the idea Natalia!) I'll be on the look out for some more workout ideas. I cannot wait until it starts to get warmer and then I can take my workout outside! I am really looking forward to the spring!

Through the storm we reach the shore

Monday was my first 100% good eating day in a while! Hooray for good eating days!

I cooked dinner last night to give my boyfriend's mom a break. Plus, her cooking has been pretty blah lately. So, I was way too tired to get in my elliptical workout. But I did do Slim in 6. Today is my 6Th and last day on the first level of Slim in 6! Tomorrow, I start Ramp It Up and let me tell you, I am not looking forward to it.

RECIPE
I found this recipe in an issue of Cooking Light (October 2009). Now, you know I only try the things with inexpensive ingredients and easy ones. This recipe was cheap and super easy!

Where have all my capers gone?

Chicken with Lemon-Caper Sauce
4 (6 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons capers, drained
3 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley

1. Place chicken between 2 sheets of plastic wrap; pound to an even thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and pepper. Place flour in a shallow dish; dredge chicken in flour.

2. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 3 minutes. Turn chicken over. Add broth, juice, and capers; reduce heat to medium, and simmer 3 minutes basting chicken occasionally with sauce. Sprinkle with parsley; cook 1 minute. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

3. Bring sauce to a boil; cook 2 minutes or until thick. Serve over chicken.

Yield 4 servings (serving size: 1 breast half and 1 tablespoon of sauce)
Nutritional Info

Seriously, this recipe was super easy and super yummy. The chicken came out very moist and flavorful. The only thing I would do different is once I've cooked one side of the chicken, I would turn it over and cook for 3 minutes, then add the liquids and capers. I followed the recipe and added the liquids right after turning over and the chicken did not cook all the way through so I had to cook it separately from the sauce for a bit. I also used dried parsley instead of fresh. It still came out awesome!

You're trying my shoes on for a change

Good morning to all!!

I'm happy to say I had a loss this week. I was down 3.4 pounds. I am so relieved. This number is pretty much the lowest I've been in a really LONG time so any number that I hit under 256.4 will be my greatest feat ever. I'm just so happy to finally see the scale going down again.



Kimmi and Sophie were so kind as to award me with this beauty:

The instructions that come along with this award are as follows:
Copy the image and display it on your blog.
List 10 things that make you happy.
Try to do at least one of them today.
Pass on the award to 10 bloggers who brighten your day.

10 things that make me happy:

1.the boyfriend
2. little black cat
3. Visiting my family
4. Buying presents for my niece and nephews
5. Waking up to find my kitty sleeping around my legs
6. Playing Super Mario on the Wii with the boyfriend (we're almost done!!)
7. Baking and cooking
8. Getting mail
9. Paid days off
10. Seeing people helping those in need

Thanks for the award chicas!!

It's going to be a great week!!

And pretend that none of us see the fall

Friday - SI6 Start it Up (day off from the elliptical)

Saturday - Me and the boyfriend decided to take a day off from working out.

Sunday - Back to the grind SI6 Start It Up and 30 min HIIT on the elli

My eating has just been ok. I can't give you percentages because I can't think straight right now. I am STARVING. I'm just waiting for the boyfriend to finish up his sweat session so we can pick something up. Don't worry, we'll be splitting it so it won't be too bad.

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and is ready to tackle another Monday morning.

By the by, GO COLTS!

Can't help but think of yesterday

Thursday was a 62% bad eating day. So it's going to have to go under the Bad Eating Day file. sigh, I'm beginning to see it really isn't worth working out and then messing it up by eating crap food. I'll see just how much it sucks when I weigh in on Monday.

My workouts have been great though. I did my beloved Slim in 6 and then HIIT on the elliptical for 30. That elliptical is seriously killing me. But I do feel great afterwards, drenched in my sweat. It's starting to feel really good to workout. I'm hoping I'm at the point where I don't have to think twice about it anymore. That it has become just one more of my daily rituals. Only time will tell.

This weekend is going to be a challenge only because weekends always are. I know my eating will be on plan (since I don't have money to be eating out), but I have to see if I can get my workouts in. Weekend days are lazy days and NO ONE likes to work out on lazy days.

Today seems like a good day to burn a bridge or two

I had a good run while it lasted.

On Wednesday, my eating was about 70% on plan. That constitutes as one bad day of eating. Somebody brought in some cookies to work and this was me for the rest of the day:

Coookies!

So as punishment, I decided to do a double workout. I went ahead and did the 30 minutes of HIIT on the elliptical machine. But first, I indulged in this doozy of a workout:
It's a love/hate relationship between me and Debbie. I love this workout because the results that I get from doing it are amazing, but I hate it because it gets pretty hard in the second and third levels. Oh well, I just have to suck it up.

I was wondering, Do you think it matters in what order you do your workouts? In respects to cardio and strength training? I like to do the strength training before the cardio, because the strength exercises make me stronger, thus making the cardio part more bearable. But to get maximum results, which one should go first? Or does it not matter at all?

Cardio before Strengh or Strength before Cardio?

Is this a simple case of déjà vu

I hate to sound like a broken record but I got my HIIT on the elliptical machine yesterday (Tuesday). I did the 2,1 minute intervals and it seriously kicked my butt. I lessened my warm up time so that I got in exactly 20 minutes on the fast speed.

Yesterday, I read a post by a blogger saying that their workout felt like it was getting harder. I left a comment saying something like my workout only feels harder when I skip a day. I definitely spoke too soon. The workout yesterday was a killer! My legs were feeling it big time and it seriously felt like the machine was set at the highest tension. It wasn't. Everything was how I normally do it. I guess that's what I get for opening my big mouth lol.

My eating was about 85% on point. I stopped at Target during lunch and indulged in the awesomeness that is their popcorn combo. How could I resist? You get a drink and a popcorn for $1.50! I love me some popcorn. That was my only bad snack for the day. Everything else was relatively healthy and in my plan for the day.

Kudos to me.



Dear Boyfriend,

I wanted to thank you for making me breakfast these past couple of weeks. You don't know how much they have helped me stay away from McDonald's or Burger King. You are very much appreciated.

But this morning, something changed. This morning, my sandwich was missing. I blame FIFA. I know I told you I would eat an oatmeal at work. My oatmeal is still in the kitchen pantry. So I was forced to pick something up.

I hope you know my breakfast fail was all your fault.

(I still love you though.)

Sincerely,
Your Girlfriend

It never really mattered too much to me

Monday was another great day.

My eating was 100% on point. I ate everything that I had planned to eat. There were no detours on the way home. You don't know how badly I wanted to stop at a Wendy's yesterday after work. Their Value Menu was calling out to me. But I was planning on making an apple upside down cake (courtesy of cooking light) so I just decided to let a slice of that be my treat for the day. So no hamburger or nuggets for me. That battle was won, but the war goes on.

I got in my 30 minutes on the elliptical machine. Instead of doing the 5, 2.5 minute intervals, I changed it to 2, 1 minute ones. This really gets my heart rate up. It's one minute less on the fast speed, but it sure feels like a more tougher workout. I think I'll stick to this set-up for a bit.

Even though I have been eating right and working out, I feel a bit fluffy. I'm thinking it has to do with my pal. I hate this feeling. It's a bit disappointing after all the hard work I've been putting in. I have to remember that it'll be gone in a couple of days. Sometimes, I hate being a girl (not really).

The boyfriend thinks I should stop blogging for a bit. He thinks it distracts me from doing what I have to do to lose weight. Like the majority of the time, I think he's wrong. Blogging has helped me stay accountable. Plus, they're are so many supportive and motivating bloggers that I have come across. It might sound weird but sometimes I eat good and workout just to not let YOU down.

What do you think? Has blogging been beneficial to your weight loss journey?

Monday, Monday it was all I hoped it would be

Happy Monday to everyone!

I have been in such a great mood lately. And I think I know why. It's because I got to wake up one more day to my awesome little family. And because I've got food to eat, a roof over my head and a job to go to. I am so, so grateful for all of my little blessings.

I took a rest day on Friday. That's allowed. I continued on Saturday and Sunday with HIIT on the elliptical machine for 30 minutes.

I'm pretty proud of myself. It has been a long time since I have had one week of consistent exercise. I think the longest I've ever gone was 2 or 3 weeks. I'm really trying to break that record. I'm 33.333333...% done.

I didn't get to weigh in this morning. I was running late and totally forgot to. I have been peeking at my weight this week and it doesn't look really hot. But my little pal is in town so that could be why I'm not happy with what I was seeing. I guess I'll just skip this week and weigh-in next Monday.

Ain't gon' feed you, Ima let your starve

TGIF!

Last night's workout was another great one. HIIT on the elliptical machine for 30 minutes. HIIT is seriously kicking my butt. But I love it.

There was one whoopsie with my eating, but it's ok. The great thing is that I didn't turn one bad meal into a whole day of bad eating. That used to be me. That's just how my little brain worked. I eat one bad thing, then, hey, why not eat another bad thing, and another and another, until I've consumed about 5 gazillion calories for the day. That did not happen yesterday and I'm pretty proud of myself.

I don't have much planned for the weekend. The boyfriend and I are going to go have our favortiest for lunch tomorrow: hibachiiiiiiiii! I am so looking forward to that! Then I'm going to have to try to convince him to go to some thrift shops with me. I'm on the hunt for some small apothecary jars and a dessert tray. Wish me luck.

Enjoy the weekend!!

The damage is done so I guess I be leaving

Another good day was had by all.

Workout wise, anyway.

I did my amazing HIIT on the elliptical machine. Felt great.

My eating was a bit conflicted. There was mexican food and birthday cake involved. Oh, gawd, I'm such a sucker for birthday cake. Any cake for that matter. I love me some cake!

But it's okay. We are moving on.

No more bread and butter, no more toast and jam

Another good day has gone. My eating was waaaay better. Not 100 percent perfect, but much better. One day at a time I always tell myself.

I did get my HIIT on the elliptical machine. And I did the intervals properly. In regards to timing, I did use the 2:1 ratio. 2.5 minutes of warm-up, 5 minutes high speed, 2.5 minutes slow down, 5 minutes high speed, etc., etc. for 30 minutes. Let me tell you, this is a MUCH better workout. I feel like I'm dying those 5 minutes but after a bit of a recovery I'm ready for the next 5 minutes and ready to feel like dying again. It's great!

I finally got some cooking in this weekend. And all three meals that I put together were a success.

The first meal I cooked was lunch on Saturday. I decided to go with Pasta Fagioli from the awesomeness that is Gina's Weight Watchers Recipes (Oh gawd, I just saw these little suckers. They look so good!! I'm going to have to try these soon.).

Doh! I remembered to take a pic when I was almost done with it.

I'm not really one for soups but this looked good so I decided to try it. It was super easy to make and it came out super yummy. I paired it with a turkey and swiss panini and it made for a nice lunch. My household was pretty happy with it.

The next thing I made was lunch on Sunday. Now I don't know if this is really considered light food. After all, one chicken leg is about 200 calories (that sounds good to me calorie wise, but might seem a little high for some). The reason that I'm mentioning it is because the marinade is excellent and I'm sure it would go great on some chicken breasts. So I present to you Colombian Style Roasted Chicken Legs (courtesy of My Colombian Recipes).

These are next day. I wish I would have gotten a pic when they were right out of the oven. They looked heavenly!

Ingredients
(Serves 4 to 6)

12 chicken drumsticks, skin on
Cooking spray
5 scallions, chopped
3 cloves garlic
½ cup chopped white onion
¼ cup fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon paprika
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons white vinegar

Directions

1. In a food processor, place the scallions, garlic, onion, cilantro, thyme, vinegar, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper. Process to a paste.

2. Place the chicken in a zip –bag and add the marinade. Move around to cover evenly. Refrigerate the chicken overnight.

3. Cover a baking sheet with foil and coat with cooking spray. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and heat the broiler to high.

4. Place the chicken legs on the baking sheet. Broil for about 10 minutes and turn the legs one time and cook for 12 to 15 minutes more or until the chicken is cooked and the skin is browned. Let it rest for 5 minutes and transfer to a serving plate.

I didn't use thyme and I used parsley instead of cilantro, but these chicken legs still came out Oh-so-good!

*The other meal was Waffles with Strawberry sauce but they were in no way waist-friendly, so I won't talk about them anymore. They sure were good though!

She's Got It Out For Me But I Wear The Biggest Smile

Monday was a great day. I ate most of what I had planned to eat. There were a few discrepancies, but hey, I ate no fast food and drank no soft drinks. Those are two of my BIGGEST weaknesses, so any day without them is an AWESOME day in my book.

My workout was HIIT (Thank you Karen!) on the elliptical. It was the WoA (Workout of Amazingness) divided in half. I've decided to just concentrate on cardio this week. I'll probably start up again on the weights next week.

By the by, I just wiki'd HIIT. Now I know how to properly time my intervals. Tonight's workout should be very interesting.

Feels like I'm in a race, but I already won 1st place

All of that above is a little less than under 100 calories. Clementines are my new best friend!

I haven't been around because I haven't been doing much. My weigh-in this morning was pretty weak. I have gained 2.2 pounds. Yikes! Not really a good way to start of the New Year.

I know I've said this over and over, but seriously it's time for me to take this weight loss thing seriously. I will not waste another year being overweight. I just can't do it anymore.

Running out of ways to run

I didn't get my workout in last night. I decided to go out on a date with the boyfriend. Dinner and then a movie. We saw Avatar and it has got to be one of the best movies I've seen. I loved it.

So, no workout and my eating was...well, let's just say it was bad.

But you know, I shan't dwell on the past.

My new favorite snack:

Strawberry yogurt and Kashi Go Lean Crunch. These two are yummy squared mixed together.

I think I might have asked this question already, but I need some new ideas.
What are some of your favorite snacks?

I want your love and I want your revenge

I have 2 nights of completing my workout of amazingness. Sunday and Monday. The workout of amazingness consists of 30 minutes on the elliptical and some work with weights. I seriously love it. LOVE IT! I sweat so much and I can just feel the fat flying off. And now that I got one of these babies, I know I am going to see results. And soon.

My eating went really well yesterday. I ate way less than I have been eating lately. This past weekend me and the boyfriend did some major damage. Hibachi dinner one night. And twice out to eat Mexican food (If you have never eaten at On The Border, you must try their Dos XX Fish Tacos). After all that food, I was ready to start a little bit healthier eating. And I did. I did allow myself a treat though: some Haagen Dazs ice-cream and 2 mini snicker bars. Like I always say, moderation is key.

Okay, enough about weight loss.

Remember when I said I needed to be more organized? This is what my bathroom vanity looked like before:

I really should be embarrassed about posting this. I mean, you can see how dirty my mirror is.

And now, thanks to my boyfriend, I have this to work with in the morning:

I feel so much better getting ready with a nice, clean, and organized vanity. Now let's see how long I can keep it like this.

Shopping Post

I simply adore Old Navy. They have great prices and their clothes fit. Being a fluffy girl, it's hard to find clothes that I feel comfortable in. And Old Navy clothes fit me nicely. Don't get me wrong, there are clothes at Old Navy that I look hideous in, but the majority of the time, they really work out well. So I headed over to Old Navy on my lunch to use up this gift card I got for X-mas. I scored 7 shirts for 27 bucks*!! I am so proud of myself. I only shopped the clearance section and I had a 20% off coupon that I got from here (check this site out weekly for some great coupons). Being fat and being a tightwad is not a great thing. Big girl clothes can be way overpriced (*cough* Lane Bryant *cough*). But I feel like I can get a great shopping fix from my dear friend, Old Navy.

*This may not sound like such a big deal to some, since I have heard of people getting even better deals, but I had just spent 20 bucks on 2 shirts from Kohl's, so understand my excitement over my 7 for 27 deal. (Yes, those Kohl's shirts are going back.)

The love of my life enjoying his X-mas gift:

Yes, that's him...sleeping. He has such a hard life. <3>

Resolution Post

I know it's not the first of the year, but my NEW YEAR officially starts the Monday after New Year's Day. I need that weekend to recuperate and get my bearings in order.

So, Happy New Year!!


My New Year's resolutions:
1) Be happy (duh! there are a lot of subcategories under this one but overall, I just need to try my best to be truly happy)
2) Lose weight (every year this one makes it on my list, but seriously, this year I need to get rid of it once and for all.)
3) Be more organized (My life is a mess! From my car, to my closet, to my desk at work, to my underwear drawer. I know I'll be lots more happier with some order in my life.)
4) Save more moola (No explanation needed)
5) Be more girly (Face it: when you look good you feel really good. So, I want to start making more of an effort to look nice everyday. If I need to wake up half an hour earlier to make sure my make-up is nice, my hair done up, and my outfit/accessories looking good, then I should do it. I'm worth it, aren't I?)
6) Cook more (I love to cook. And I don't do it enough.)

I can feel it, it's going to be a GREAT year!