Wednesday, August 31, 2011

New. Wear. And. Fare. Wednesday.

Just a quick and short one tonight. Been short on sleep this week! As I say, "I'm busy." ;)

WARE
A casual day for work. I got this shirt a while ago and can't seem to work it in a lot. Today, I wanted to find a new way to get it out of my closet. 

Shirt: Logix, purchased at Arc's Value Village
Pants: Mossimo, Target
Shoes: Onitsuka Tiger, purchased in Australia
Scarf: One I think I purchased at a market in Australia

And just so you see the shirt doesn't look so psychedelic from close up! 

FARE

Ok, so since I've been so busy, I really haven't had much time to make many new creations! I will get better at this when things in life settle down. I thought that I would bring this back to a DAMY Health recipe though that I mentioned just the other day. I mentioned the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Protein Balls. I swear, these things are to die for! I've been mentioning the site so much because as you've all noticed, I've been getting the results I want, I'm not hungry, I eat ALL the time (I feel like I eat more than most 6'5" men some days!) and I think this is the healthiest way I've ever lost weight as well as have been gaining muscle and losing body fat percent. DAMY's recipes are outstanding! The fact that they give some of them away for free on her blog is astounding! There are so many great recipes on the blog for clean eating, but also many more that you can obtain when you become a DAMY member! I'm going to leave the link here so you all check it out. The recipe is on her blog. When you get to the main site, hit blog and then you can search for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Protein Balls. So good! Try them for a great healthy and clean snack in your day!


Yum! I love them with my coffee as a morning snack!

Hope you all had a great Wednesday!

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

When. I. Am. Busy...

Often times when I post, I tell you guys, "It's been so busy! I haven't been able to post in a bit!" I was thinking about this the other day and thought, "Maybe they need to know just what I mean when I say I've been busy." After all, if I was reading a blog, I would begin to wonder just what keeps that person so busy that they can't even post on their own blog! It only takes but an hour or so to create a blog, right? I decided to tell you guys just what I mean when I say busy. This was my busy yesterday!

8 AM: Alarm rings.

8:40 AM: I actually get up this time (this is my one day a week off from my 8:15 - 4:30PM job and I work just a few hours in the afternoon at a second job, but this allows me time to work on my business).

9AM: Making breakfast at my house and enjoying a quick bite while making some phone calls. Scheduled a chiropractic appointment (try for a least once a month with my current budget, but it keeps me tuned up!) Some business phone calls about ordering some more supplies and arranging a pick up to my storage unit for 5:30PM.

10:15 AM: Hopped on my bike for another business duty to order some shirts. Finished ordering shirts and biked to chiropractic appointment.

Bike, bike, bike!
11:15 AM: Crack, snapple, pop! Adjusted! :)

11:45 AM: Biked back home to get a snack. Sent out some business emails. Checked out some stuff online. Relisted some pants on Ebay. Changed and packed up my pannier for a bike ride to the beach.
And again!
1:00 PM:   Beach time! A quick stop for some relaxation and ME time! Read a book and caught up on my DAMY Health program for weeks 8-12!

                     My favorite view at the beach.                    Listening to tunes and readin'.

2:00 PM:   Bike ride back home. Ate some quick lunch and hopped off to work!

4:00 PM:   Errand for my employer and then a quick jaunt back to Minneapolis for business supplies!

5:35 PM:   En route to deliver supplies to storage space. Upon arrival, unloading and placing into storage.

7:00 PM:   Bike ride to the Wedge Coop for some goods for DAMY Health cooking night!

Rosy, my bike and me on a mission.

8:20 PM:   Trader Joe's for some OTHER foods for cooking and the rest of the week! Salad! Yum!

Late evening grocery shopping!
9:00 PM:   A night of laundry, cooking and cleaning! I've been so busy lately, my place has been a disaster! I like to cook all of my meals ahead of time for the week. This makes it easy for me to get other duties done during the week. I prepare a bunch of DAMY Health snacks, like these Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Protein Balls! So good! I cook up meats and keep them in the fridge so I don't have to do that during the week. I get my lunch ready for the next day, coffeemaker on, dishes clean and my breakfast out on the counter.

DAMY Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Protein Balls!


As I said, my place is chaotic! I've been so busy planning my business, working out and everything else that it seems hard to keep my head above water sometimes! I really need to get this place cleaned up! I got most of the STUFF picked up, but I have yet to vacuum, dust and mop tomorrow! My bathroom has just become too gross! I should be embarrassed to put this up, but I know that others have the same problems that I do in keeping up with house work, so I'm willing to put it out there!

Wowsers. Super cluttered.

Disgusting stove top!

Ew! Soap leftover, gross sink! Time for a scrub!

Laundry is always a task at my place with the laundry room in the basement and me three floors up. Plus, it seems that my sheets always get tangled in the dryer and I can never get them fully dry...even after two cycles! I let them hang out to dry in my place with the fans on. By morning, they are dry.


Alternative drying methods.

2:00 AM:  Time to lay down and catch some shut eye. Definitely not enough hours of sleep for me! I will have to finish the rest of my cleaning and some additional snack and food preparation tomorrow. I will also have to get in a workout and a quick after work business meeting! A lot of work and little sleep, but all worth it to come home to a clean house! :)

Much better for the most part!

This is what I mean by, "I've been busy." :)
Hope you all had productive and busy days too!


Saturday, August 27, 2011

The. Weekend. Update.

Doing my check-in for my weekly weight loss! I can't believe it! I'm 2/3 of the way there!!! I have 4 more weeks to go with the DAMY Health program! I'm a bit scared I will be at a loss as to what to do after! Time to start researching that!

My photo updates:

                               Last Week                                                   This Week

                           Starting                                                           Week 8
                        Weight: 159                                                    Weight: 141
                          Bust: 36"                                                         Bust: 34"
                         Waist: 29"                                                       Waist: 27"
                        Hips: 42.5"                                                      Hips: 37.5"

Wow! Look at how far I've come! My legs look like they don't even belong on my body! They look like completely different legs! Very exciting!

This week in review:



Ah yeah, remember those shorts up above that were visibly way too small for me? Not so much anymore! I'm going to need a belt!

It's been a great 8 weeks and I'm going to finish this DAMY Health program and my goal! 
I'm even beginning to realize that junk food isn't as appealing to me as it once was. I can have some and then be done with it! What a great way to live!!














Wednesday, August 24, 2011

New. Wear. And. Fare. Wednesday.

On the right day for once! Here it is!

WEAR

A cute new dress that I got at Urban Outfitters!

As I've been out-shrinking most of my clothing, I've been working on selling some clothes and replacing them with some new stuff. I needed a cute little summer dress. This one is so nice, light and cool! I love the pattern too! I visited Urban Outfitters looking for some flats to replace my other ones that are wearing out. I got super lucky! I went in to the store and didn't have time to buy this dress when I first found it. I returned late that night and BOOM! it was discounted $30! (Good thing because, in my opinion, Urban Outfitters is wildly overpriced. Every now and again you can find a good deal on their sale racks but I'd rather shop at thrift stores most of the time.) 


FARE

My fare hasn't been super snazzy lately. As I've become busier with things, I've been focusing mainly on meals that cut out time and serve my nutritional needs. I've been playing around with my breakfast a bit to find some quicker ideas. As I continued eating overnight oats a couple of times, I realized there was something about it that made me nauseated. I don't know what. I thought it was perfectly good the first time! I tried it the next couple of times and something about it just made me feel...bleh! I love these protein pancakes I've been making but they are more time consuming in the morning. For the last few days, I've been doing this:


Protein spiking my oatmeal! I've been adding one scoop of protein powder (I got a French Vanilla Creme one from bodybuilding.com (imagine my neighbors' faces when I got a box that said, "bodybuilding.com" HA!), ground flax, apple pieces, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon and oats. Heat it up and chow down! I was having trouble in the past getting my protein AND the oats. Then I thought, "Well, duh! How about combine them?!" I like it. The  powder gives it a nice vanilla-ish flavor. Makes me happy and satisfied! Give me my cup of coffee and soy creamer and I'm good to go!

Hope you all had a fantastic Wednesday!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Goal: Check!

One more goal off the list! I FINALLY have made my own food! I can't say my garden was as successful as I hoped this summer. My squash seems to be dying, carrots are clearly meant to be left to the experts, and strawberries need a few years to produce anything. On the other hand, tomatoes and basil are booming! The word is still out on the green peppers!


These were the best of my carrots. Epic carrot fail.

As I said though, tomatoes and basil have been booming! My basil has been growing so quick I've been bringing BAGS of it into the food shelf to give away! So, I finally took the liberty to use some and can some salsa! My first successful canning project is going to go to my landlord as a thank you for allowing me to use the space in her garden. She even cut down her own plants so I could use the space! How generous is that?!

Here is how my canning process went!


 After picking the tomatoes, I blanched them.


Peeling off the tomato skins.


Next I cored them and removed seeds.

I made a salsa that came out of the Ball Blue Book. It was Jalapeño Salsa! I made a batch for work one day too! That was my first attempt at canning and I didn't have enough tomatoes to fill the jar for canning. My coworkers really enjoyed it though! My one coworker said it was, "the bomb!" That made me pretty happy!

After making the salsa up and heating the jar and lids, I put the jar in it's water bath and away I went - canning! I was rather skeptical, I have to admit. I also realized, I need a deeper pot! That'll be an investment I'll have to make!

Here were my results:


Yes! A successful canning project! Perfect seal and hopefully no botulism! ;)

I'm going to make it pretty and bring it over to my landlord tonight!

Glad to be crossing these things off my list, one by one. (I am going to go and check it off the list now!) I was thinking today about how much progress I've made in the past year since leaving my job. I'm so happy for moving forward and not looking back - focusing on what brings me joy and fulfillment!

Here's to salsa and only looking forward!









Saturday, August 20, 2011

Incredible. Shrinking. Woman.

Back for another update before I zip out to get some errands done and work on the biz! I went to the gym to do my leg workout and weighed in. Here are the results!

                                Week 6                                                             Week 7
                             Weight: 144                                                    Weight 142.5
                                 Bust: 34"                                  Measurements: Do it again next week!
                               Waist: 27"
                                Hips: 38"

                                Starting                                                              Today
                             Weight: 159                                                    Weight: 142.5

I can't believe I've almost lost 20 lbs! Wow! What a journey - a fun and exciting one! I didn't think I would lose another pound and a half today. To be honest, I haven't been following my diet as strictly as I should be. Some "unclean" foods have been sneaking their way into my diet every day at work. This is partly due to the fact that it seems I have been feeling more hungry. Once I finish my snacks, I have been eating what is around me at the food shelf, which hasn't been nutritious food! I am going to speak with Amy at DAMY Health about this and see if I need to be eating extra snacks! I have a very physical job at the moment, so I think this is part of it. Next week, I'm determined not to let those unclean and sugary foods sneak back in! Nonetheless, I'm quite happy with my progress! I'm starting to see some definition in my belly! Exciting!

Today, when I went to do my leg workout, I really didn't want to be there. I was talking to a trainer at the Blaisdell YMCA and said, "Yeah, I don't want to be here. I just have this workout to do, but I'm lacking motivation." He asked, "So, what are you going to do about it?" I said, "Well, I can either suck it up and do it and later feel glad that I did and see results OR I can go home and eat potato chips. Today, I choose the option that's going to make me more fit!" I chose that and I felt great after I completed it! 

Everything in life is a choice. You can choose to think positively and be happy about something that, although difficult, yields the results you desire. Or you can choose to take an easier path, but it may not bring you the joy in your life that you seek. 

What are you going to choose?


Thursday, August 18, 2011

Maybe I should switch the name to "Ware and Fare Thursday"???

I have been an exceptionally poor blogger! Like I said, I've been busy with goal of business. I think soon...very soon! Without further adieu (or excuses) here it is!

WARE


I wore this new dress with tights and boots to work one day. Sine all of my clothes have been falling off of me, I had to shop a bit to come up with some new clothing! I'll be selling a lot of my other clothes.

Tights: Sportsgirl (in Australia)

FARE


Roasted Red Pepper Hummus! These are the steps I followed!


Firstly, I cleaned and seeded some peppers and place them in the broiler in my oven until they blackened.


Next, I covered the peppers for a few minutes so there is steam and the peels will loosen.



Next, I peeled the skins away from the peppers.


Then, you food process all ingredients together! 
NOTE: I first processed the chickpeas, tahini and garlic (this is supposed to ensure a smooth hummus) then I added the red pepper and fresh basil from my garden!

Brought this to work to share with my coworker and she loved it! It's great to share new treats with friends! 















Sunday, August 14, 2011

I. Am. Fitness.

Back to update you on the weight loss progress. 
I would love to get more blogs in about other subjects but I've been busy with working on getting the business up and running! I'll be a much better blogger in a couple of months! 

I am, however, ecstatic about my progress this week. Not only because of my measurements but because of another goal that I never even told you guys about that I realized today I have accomplished! When I originally started doing strength training, I wanted to lose body fat percent. Without much change in my diet, I went from 29% to 26% with strength training. My goal was to get to the "fitness" level  of body fat percent. I never thought it would be possible! Today, when I stepped into the gym though, besides getting my measurements, I wanted to look at my body fat percent. Six weeks ago, I was 26.5%. Today, I came out at 23.6%. Just within the 'fitness' body fat percent! I was SO happy to see that number pop up! I haven't been anywhere near that number...well, ever (from what I can remember!). 23.6% may sound like a lot, but remember, women are supposed to have more body fat percent than men (we have to make the babies, ya know!) ;)

                              Last week                                                     This week


                            Starting                                                        6 Weeks
                           Bust 36"                                                        Bust 34"
                           Waist 29"                                                     Waist 27"
                           Hips 42.5"                                                     Hips 38"
                         Weight 159                                                   Weight 144

Making some great progress and I'm going to keep it up! It's a lot of hard work but it's great to see results. My legs are throbbing today after my leg workout yesterday! I have one more workout today though and then I get a rest day! Yea! Hope you are all enjoying a happy and healthy weekend! 




Thursday, August 11, 2011

Wednesday. Ware. And. Fare...On. Thursday. Oops.

I've been so awful at keeping you all updated this week! It has been a very busy week but with exciting things happening! Still working on my business, getting fit (which at least 3 people this week have said to me, "Wow! You look like you are getting fit!" That is so nice!) and keeping clothes that I don't often wear to keep coming into my daily wardrobe. So here's this weeks update (albeit late!).

WEAR

My little black dress! I wore this dress this weekend to my friend Kenna's birthday party. I love this dress and to be honest, I hardly ever have worn it! Why? Because I've never been a huge fan of my legs! However, as of late, I'm proud to show these babies off! After I took this picture and looked I realized, "Wow! I've come a long way and am getting healthier every day!" It feels great!

Dress: Merona - Target (this was from a year ago I believe but I just saw some there just like it!)
Shoes - Buffalo Exchange - American Eagle (only $15!)
Earrings - A pair I snagged in Australia

One of my FAVORITE features on dresses and skirts are POCKETS! I don't know why but I love me some pockets! Another reason I absolutely adore this dress!

I saw these shoes at Buffalo Exchange when I was recently looking for new skirts/dresses to fit me since my others are getting way too big! They were too cute to pass up and I have many clothes with which they would match. What girl doesn't love a new pair of summer strappy sandals?!

 Side view.

FARE

All ingredients together!

Overnight OATS!

I found an awesome new blog this weekend and I'm so excited about it! I've added it onto the 'Blogs I Love' section and you should check it out! It's called Eating Bird Food. I've been checking out her recipes and they are great! Another great thing is that it appears she's on a new workout and protein eating habits so if you are working on improving you, this would be a great blog to follow!

Going into the fridge!

Another reason that this interested me is that I am NOT a morning person. So the quickest thing that I can make for breakfast is usually what I have. You just put your oats and other ingredients in the fridge before you go to snooze and then wake up, pull them out for 15 mins when you are getting ready and then eat away!


Finished Product!

1/2 C Old Fashioned Oats
1/2 C Vanilla Almond Milk Unsweetened
Cinnamon (add as much or as little as you like)
Lime Zest (the site recommended lemon but I only had limes at home. It added a wonderful zing!)
Fresh sliced banana on top

I was supposed to have some bananas with this today on top for a little extra fruit but I didn't have any at home! I had left my wallet at a coffee shop yesterday so I couldn't go and purchase any in the morning! Boo! Tomorrow's oats will have some fruit on top!

What breakfast meals do you have in the morning that are both quick and nutritious?