I Declare a Mulligan!!

I have fallen so hard off the healthy train I think there may a permanent imprint of the golden arches on my forehead!  I'm back to eating junk, and it has been well over a month since I've worked out. I can't believe I let myself revert to the "junk food mom".  Much of it had to do with stress related to work - such is the life of a sales rep.  Numbers are down, you've got to get them up.  Most of my evenings and nights entailed working, working, working and eating out.  No fun at all! 

Well, I can happily say my numbers are back up, so I'm declaring a "Do Over"!  I can't wait to get back on the healthy train.  My main goal is to tone, tone, tone.  I went swimsuit shopping a couple of weeks ago, and it was depressing with a capital D!  I went to several department stores and to Just Add Water but all of the swimsuits looked horrible on me.  I was ready to cry.  I even called my husband and told him be prepared to shell out several grand for a new set of boobs!  And I was not kidding.  I was ready to start looking for a plastic surgeon that week. 

Luckily for my husband, I made one last stop at a local outlet mall that had a Swim n' Sport.  This place was awesome!  They had several cute suits on the rack.  I think I must have taken in 10-12 suits to try on.  I prayed that one of them would work.  I was ecstatic when the first suit actually looked good on me.  I had boobs!!  Turns out several of the suits were super cute, and I spent an hour trying to figure out which one to buy.  It was a toss up between two.  Since I am horrible at making decisions, I ended up buying both!  It's amazing how much $$ such little fabric costs. I must admit they are well worth the money though.  My husband didn't want to know the final damage, but I told him it was much much less than a boob job, lol!

Here is a pic of one:

The brand is La Blanca and is really great for the not-so-well endowed ladies.  If only I looked like the model above! 

I couldn't find a pic of the second suit, but the brand is Skye and looks very similar to the one above.  I'm hoping that if I start working out this week, I can tone up and rock these suits!  We shall see....

Here's to hoping I can stay on track!!  Thanks for reading!

JFM

The Insanity Continues!

So, I completed my first full week of Insanity last week!  Let me tell you, it felt great!!  I can already feel the difference in my stamina and subtle changes in my muscle tone.  My arms are becoming a bit more defined, and my abs are starting to reappear.  I hope they enjoyed their three year vacation because I refuse to let them disappear again!!

I did skip a few days of working out due to life getting in the way... well, some may call it laziness! :)   Saturday I actually painted my master bedroom.  I'm not finished yet, but it looks great so far.  I hate to admit this, but on Sunday, I pretty much sat in my big comfy chair the entire day and watched all 5 episodes of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and played on the net.  I heart Jamie!  I love his message and it has really motivated me to eat healthier.  But, I still have a ways to go in trying to reduce the amount of processed crap I put into my body.  Baby steps, right?

Ok, so back to Insanity... After a four day hiatus, I decided it was time to get off my hiney and begin the next week of torture.  Today's workout was the Cardio Resistance and Power.  I did notice an improvement from the first time I did this DVD.  I didn't come nearly as close to dying! I still can't get the moving push-ups, however.  I just don't think my body is that coordinated!  I'm looking forward to the rest of this week's workouts.  I'm lovin' the burn!!

For those that are following any at home workout programs, let me know what you're doing and how things are going!  One of these days, I'll get back in the gym, but for now working out at home is going awesome!

Did you say Chocolate?

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, oh my! I recently bought my first ever Clean Eating magazine. As I began to flip through the magazine (back cover to front, of course!), the first recipe I came across was for these delicious looking cookies. They are gluten-free, dairy-free, and are low in suger. I'm a sucker for chocolate, so I knew this recipe was a keeper!



The ingredients are pretty simple - almond butter, egg, baking soda, cocoa, salt, sucanat...wait, what?! Sucanat? What the heck is sucanat? I had never heard of this before which probably isn't too surprising since I rarely set foot in the kitchen or a grocery store. But even my husband had never heard of it. I sent him to the grocery store on a mission to find sucanat and he succeeded! He found it in the health food section of our local HEB. And, if you're wondering, sucanat is non-refined cane sugar.

The cookies were super easy to prepare. I think it took about 10 min prep time and another 10 minutes baking time per dozen. Here are some prep pics:





And the final product!



Overall, for the first try, I was pretty impressed with how the cookies turned out. I think I added just a little bit too much salt, so I'll have to make sure I don't add too much next time. Also, make sure to let the cookies cool completely. I would definitely recommend this recipe for a cleaner version of chocolate chip cookies! Let me know how they turn out if you bake them. :)

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Clean Eating March/April 2010
Makes 24 cookies
Hands on time: 10 min
Total time: 22 min

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted almond butter, stirred well
3/4 cup Sucanat
1 large egg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
3 oz dark chocolate (70% cocoa or greater) broken into small pieces

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together first 5 ingredients until blended. Stir in chocolate.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and let cool for 15 more minutes.

Nutrition per Cookie:
Calories - 110; Total Fat - 8 g;
Sat. Fat - 1.5 g; Carbs - 10 g;
Fiber - 1 g; Sugars - 3 g; Protein - 2 g;
Sodium - 55 mg; Cholesterol - 10 mg

Feel the Burn: Part 2

So, I completed the second DVD "Cardio Power and Resistance" on Friday; and I have to say, it wasn't AS difficult as the first workout. Don't get me wrong, it still kicked my butt, BUT a few of the exercises I could actually push through and complete. The most challenging aspect of this DVD was all of the pushups. I mean, who has the strength to do "walking" pushups?! Obviously, I don't. I had to modify my pushups so that I didn't fall flat on my face, lol!

I did break down and buy a heart rate monitor at Target, yay! My max heart rate during the workout was 186. I'm sure it would have gone higher, but I slowed down at that point. I was afraid I was going to have a heart attack. My average rate was in the high 170's. Overall, it was a great workout and Shaun T is hottie to watch!

As far as the soreness factor goes, I was at a 9 yesterday. As soon as I stepped out of bed, my calves and quads started screaming at me. They were saying, "go back to bed!". It's pretty bad when you have to waddle to the bathroom and you're not even pregnant! Today my soreness factor is about a 4, thank goodness. :)

Unfortunately, my diet still stinks. Friday night I went out for Mexican with the girls. LOVED the margaritas and had a little too much fun!! Saturday was left-overs for lunch and pizza for dinner. I have got to get to the grocery store for some fruits and veggies. I did make the almond butter chocolate chip cookies, and to my surprise, they were actually pretty good! Recipe and pics to come...

Feel the Burn...ok, Torture: Part 1

I completed the first DVD workout of the Insanity series this evening!! It kicked my a$$! My face was beet red, and I felt like passing out afterwards! I think I stopped to rest about a thousand times. I can't remember the last time I did suicide drills... middle school basketball practice, maybe? It was a great work-out and I'm sure I'll feel it for the next few days to come. Heck, I think I was still sore from the Fit test I did over a week ago. :)

Other than the fact that I'm completely out of shape, I think the most challenging aspect of Insanity will be pushing myself to "dig deeper". It's so easy just to take a rest or to not finish the last few seconds since I'm at home and by myself. I'm seriously thinking about buying a heart rate monitor to gauge how hard I'm exerting myself and to make sure I'm not about to kill myself. If anyone has any good recs, let me know!

As far as my diet goes...it stinks! I was doing really well for about about a week or so. I was eating clean and eating 6 small meals a day. But once Easter weekend hit, forget it! We ate so much candy. I think all my son ate for two days straight was candy, candy, and more candy! This week I've had chick-fil-a, pizza, fajitas, and tonight will be hot dogs and chips. Definitely not on the plan! I'll have to get back on track. There is a recipe for Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies in my Clean Eating magazine that I can't wait to try! I'll have to post the results after I bake them. They look yummy!

Am I Insane?!

I am completely INSANE!! I finally broke down and bought INSANITY last week. I had been wanting to buy it for several months now after seeing the 2 AM infomercial (I love staying up late!), but kept pushing it off because of the cost. Once I decided to commit to getting back in to shape, I thought the investment would be worth it. I was so excited to get it, I actually ordered it for overnight delivery! :) I ordered mine through amazon but you can also order from beachbody.com.

Holy Crap!! This workout is tough! Prior to actually starting the 60-day program, you are supposed to complete the FIT TEST. Essentially it sets a baseline so that you can compare your progress throughout the program. You count the number of repetitions you can complete in one minute for each exercise (there are 8 in total). You only get one minute of rest in between. No problem, right?! Wrong!!! I was dying after the first couple of minutes! I swear I wanted to puke at the end. Luckily, I held it together so no cleanup was necessary. :)

Today I could barely walk! Almost every muscle in my body is sore. The only area that isn't sore are my arms, but that's only because I couldn't even do the Push Up Jacks (exercise #7)! I watched the first actual workout today, and it looks CRAZY! I don't think I'll be able to get through the warm-up, let alone the actual cardio workout! I guess that's what I get for ignoring the fact that you should be in relatively good shape before you start this program, lol! I have such a LONG way to go!!!

Now I just need to focus on my nutrition. I've tried to be good, but it's so hard! My goal is to make a weekly meal plan for next week. Plus, I need to buy a chic cooler to take all my healthy food with me while I'm working. If you have any idea where I can buy one, please let me know. Thanks!

OK, so for my own tracking (and accountability) purposes here are my FIT TEST results:

1. Switch Kicks: 70

2. Power Jacks: 33

3. Power Knees: 50

4. Power Jumps: 15

5. Globe Jumps: 5

6. Suicide Jumps: 3

7. Push-Up Jacks: Big Fat Goose Egg!

8. Low Plank Oblique: 34 (or 72 if you count each leg separately)

I'll re-post my results at the 14-day mark. I hope to see much improvement! I did take before pics, but I'm too embarrassed to post. Maybe if I get drunk enough one night, I'll be brave enough to post them!

Oh, and if you want to watch part of the infomercial for INSANITY, click below.

Who am I and Why am I doing this?

My name is Natalie. I am a 30-something, self professed junk food addict who loves all things sweet, salty, and with too much fat. I eat fast food way more than I care to admit (ok, usually 4+ times per week). Throw out the name of a fast food restaurant, and I can tell you which number I typically order off the menu before you can blink!

Growing up, my diet consisted of Domino's, McDonald's, Popeye's, Burger King, etc. with the occasional home-cooked spaghetti, pork chops, or meatloaf. My bad eating habits continued into adulthood. I never learned to cook, so eating out on the cheap was my sole source of food. Luckily, I married a wonderful man who loves to cook! However, even with him cooking many nights during the week now, I still find myself gravitating toward fast food during lunch and snacking on junk food in the evening. In addition, I have been falling into the convenience trap of feeding my son over-processed, crap food too - frozen chicken nuggets, microwaveable mac and cheese, too many kid's meals, chips, ice cream, candy, you name it!

So, why am I starting to blog now? Really for three main purposes:

1. To stay motivated to get back into shape and literally clean up my eating habits


2. To set a good example for my two year-old son


3. To document my typically average daily life that includes family, friends, and the occasional night out (I have the worst memory ever!)

I'm not sure what this blog is going to morph into, but if you happen to check it out, thanks for reading! I am going to try to post my journey into health and fitness, post "clean" recipes, and will add some miscellaneous postings as well. Now I'm off to eat my #5 from Chick-Fil-A (8 piece chicken nugget, fries, and a diet coke)... :)

Oh, and since I love bloggers that post pictures, here is one of me with my son!