Look Back, Not Forward

Look back, not forward??  I'm sure that is the opposite of every thing you've ever been told.  But it's the one thing I'd tell myself if I could go back in time to last year.

This time last year I had lost about 8 pounds and 10 inches.  I'd just finished my 6th week of T25.  I was down a pants size and feeling great.  I walked into Target to get new shorts.  I took shorts in my new size into the dressing room.  Cute mint green shorts, size 11/12.  I put them on and the material wouldn't even touch.  Much less the button to the hole.  I immediately lost it.  Ugly tears.  I was angry... Beyond frustrated.  I wanted to quit.  Why keep going when it wasn't paying off?

Truth is... It was paying off.  The proof was in the progress pics I'd been taking.  The proof was in my energy level.  So why did this send me over the edge?  Easy.... It was the reminder of how far I still had to go.  It looked daunting back then.  It seemed hopeless.

I'm forever grateful that I didn't give up on myself.  I kept going.  I am thankful to have given myself the opportunity to have my next ugly cry.  It was in American Eagle in August of last year.  I went to try on jeggings.  I took in 10s and they were too big.  Cautiously I asked for an 8... Not wanting to get too excited.  They fit.  Cue the ugly cry... I was excited.  I was in disbelief.  It was happening.

When this journey seems to much, think about where you began.  Congratulate yourself on your accomplishments.  The journey is long... It's a marathon, not a sprint.  If you're in this for the right reasons, you will be rewarded.  Hang in there.  I know what it feels like.  I know it feels impossible.  But it IS possible.  I'm proof.

first 12 weeks of my journey

70% kitchen, 30% workout

The first 30 days of Insanity Max 30 are in the books.  I've tracked my Max Out times and pushed myself to surpass those times as the weeks went on.  I have almost doubled my Cardio Challenge time (which is a program goal) and I more than doubled my Friday Fight time.  The workouts were fun, yet challenging.  I love, love, love Shaun T so I knew this was a logical purchase for me.  

This brings me to the title of this post.  I gave 100% to the workouts.  I pushed myself farther and modified way less.  My results were good but my diet is holding me back.  There is no such thing as a bad workout.... But bad nutrition is very real.  And you can't undo a bad diet with great workouts.  

We have been cleaning up our diet.  Jon, Kara and I have found a lot of new recipes that we all enjoy.  They can be found under my recipes tab.  I haven't packed a sandwich for lunch since this began 30 days ago--which is HUGE for me.  I was a peanut butter and banana every day packer for years.  Since this began, I've been a spinach salad every day packer. 

So what am I doing wrong?  The occassional 2:00 pm run to the soda machine (I know, I know).  The handfuls of almonds while I'm making dinner.  The Dairy Queen run the night of the power outage. The BoJangles on Friday night because the first week back after Spring Break meant I "deserved" it.  Ugh... I deserve that?!?  What was I thinking!?

What I deserve is for my hard work at 4:45 am each morning to not be for nothing. What I deserve is to stick to the planned meals I've already got prepped.  What I deserve is not having to go through caffeine withdrawal the next day because I had to have a soda.  I deserve to be fighting disease, not feeding it.  Most importantly Kara deserves all of this.  If I can't be strong enough for myself, the next 30 I will be strong enough for her!

Results:

3 pounds lost in 30 days

3.25 inches

Another pant size down.

Almond Crusted Chicken

Almond Crusted Chicken


 Ingredients:

1lb bag of raw unsalted almonds
Egg Whites
Paprika
Garlic
Onion
Salt
Pepper
**This makes much more breading than I need, but I just bag it and refrigerate the rest until the next time I make it again.
Directions:
 
Almond Flour: Blend all ingredients except for egg whites in a food processor to taste (honestly just toss about a tablespoon each spice in and then just a dash of salt and pepper) until it is very fine and soft, almost flour like...It's ok if there are still bits of almond that aren't ground up all the way.  I actually had larger chunks in mine and it tasted really good!  I loved the texture!

Start with 6-8 raw chicken breast; trim off all of the fat and cut them into individual portion sizes. Place each breast between plastic wrap and pound until they are thin. Then, I dredge each piece of chx thru either an all egg white bath or sometimes i'll just use water. Shake off the excess egg white (or water) and then dip both sides of the chx breast in the almond flour/breading put on onto aluminum foil lined baking sheet and cook.

I like my chicken crispy on top so I bake it the following way: 325 degrees for 20 minutes. Half way through the baking process I pull the chx out and flip so the underside isn't soggy... then with about 4-5 minutes left I put the broiler on and let them get nice and golden brown on top!

Chicken Tacos

• 1 pound chicken breast--cubed       

               *cook and season with paprika, chili powder, garlic powder and cumin. I don't measure, I just shake

• Pico de Gallo
• Greek Yogurt
• Black Beans--cooked
• Wheat Wraps
• Quinoa--cook according to the package directions

After the chicken, black beans and quinoa are cooked, assemble your taco to your liking.

Salmon with a Teryaki Marinade

Teriyaki Marinade
I stumbled upon this Teriyaki Marinade when I was looking for a clean eating alternative to commercial marinades.  This is super delicious!  I use it on salmon, but I'm sure you could use it on other things as well!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp maple syrup
2 tsp finely chopped garlic
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp sea salt
Combine all ingredients and place meat or fish in shallow baking dish and marinate for 20 minutes in refrigerator.  I turned the meat a few times to distribute the marinade evenly.

If you are going to make the salmon preheat your oven to 350 degrees and place Salmon in 9x9 baking dish that has been sprayed with clean cooking spray.  Then bake in oven for 20 minutes, baste with leftover sauce.  You can also grill the salmon as well!
This dish is great with brown rice and asparagus.

Clean Eating Raspberry Vinaigrette

CLEAN EATING RASPBERRY VINAIGRETTE

(Makes approximately 1 1/4 cups)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup avocado oil (or other light flavored oil)
• 1 cup fresh raspberries
• 1/4 cup honey (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon prepared dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (or to taste)
• Pinch of salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Blend all ingredients together with a blender until smooth. Store in an air-tight bottle or container for up to 2 weeks (give or take)

Nutritional Content:
(Data is for 1 tablespoon – based on a 20 tablespoon yield)

Calories: 65
Total Fat: 6 gm
Saturated Fats: 1 gm
Trans Fats: 0 gm
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 3 mg
Carbohydrates: 4 gm
Dietary fiber: 0 gm
Sugars: 4 gm
Protein: 0 gm
Estimated Glycemic Load: 2

Read more: http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-raspberry-vinaigrette/#ixzz3WLlM3j9h 
© The Gracious Pantry. All rights reserved. 
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Ranch Dressing... 21 day Fix Approved

Ranch dressing can be loaded with fat and calories. Make your own homemade ranch with this healthier recipe.

Total Time: 10 min.
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cooking Time: None
Yield: 5 servings, about 2 Tbsp. each

Ingredients:
1/3 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1/3 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 Tbsp. Ranch Seasoning Blend

Preparation:
1. Combine yogurt, buttermilk, and Seasoning Blend in a small bowl; mix well.

Clean Creamy Avocado Dressing

CLEAN EATING: Creamy Avocado Dressing

5

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Yield: 1-1/2 cups

Serving Size: 2 Tbsp

Recipe from The 21 Day Fix

Ingredients

• 1 medium avocado, seeded
• 1-1/2 cups nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 4 Tbsp chopped herbs (I used cilantro, but tarragon, parsley, and mint work too)
• 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• dash of ground pepper
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Put avocado, yogurt, herbs, lemon juice, salt and pepper into a Vita-mix or blender. Cover and blend until smooth.
2. Continue blending avocado mixture and slowly add in oil until well blended an creamy.
3. Store in refrigerator, tightly covered, until ready to use. Can store up to one week.

Notes

Cal: 25 Fat: 3g Protein: 2g Carbs: 2g Fiber: 1g Sodium: 31mg

Weight Watchers Points+: 1

That's so 'high school'

I have been out of high school for 13 years now... holy crap.  That was hard to type :)  High school was a fun time, but also a time of a lot of tough stuff for me.  I know high school isn't a cake walk for most people, so I want to take some time to put it all out there so you can begin to understand where I started... and how I got here.

You guys see my highlight reel on a day to day basis.  If we've never met, don't hang out or work together, you only see my high points--the stuff I want you to see.  Heck, even if we are close, there are things I'm sure you don't know.

Some essentials needed to survive high school:  A best friend (like in the whole wide world), the 'right' clothes, play sports or be involved in the FFA/Drama/Band or a combination of those things, and THICK skin.

I had a best friend.  And I developed thick skin.  I had to.  My best friend since kindergarten wore all the right things, said all the right things and everyone adored her.  She was the 'hot' girl.  I was the funny girl.  I didn't live in the 'right' neighborhood or have the 'right' circle of friends.  I wanted desperately to be in the 'cool' crowd.... desperately.  To this day, I still think I'm the reason that kept her out of the cool crowd.  I was slightly overweight and had left softball in the past due to the politics that surrounded Little League softball (I didn't come from the 'right' family to make travel ball or anything like that--even though I know I had the skills).  My hair was naturally wavy which never did what I wanted it to do.  My humor saw me through.

I got to hear almost daily how pretty my best friend was.  Did I have friends?  Yes... most were the most awesome loving people I've ever met.  Others were those I wanted desperately to be friends with.  So much that the incessant chants of "Chewbacca" (because of my hair) were let go.

Chewbacca....

So why is this significant?  I was able to get by.  I got pretty decent grades and made it out relatively unscathed.  I ended up dating guys that went to other high schools because I wasn't in the 'in' crowd at mine.  I ended up pouring myself into my after school job, that ended up being a 40 hour job, while still in school.  I developed a work ethic like no other.  This focus got me to where I am today.

So fast forward to today.  The best friend since Kindergarten... well I haven't spoken to her in almost 9 years.  I can't tell you what she's doing or how she's doing.  The people who were my friends, real friend, in high school I try to keep in touch with, but it's getting tougher.  And that girl who was overweight with crazy hair?  Now gets herself up every morning at 4:30 to work out and then spends 30+ minutes flat ironing her hair.

I don't want apologies.

Please hear that.  I don't.

I don't want sympathy.

I'm simply here to show you that the things that you experience in life are there for a reason.  I am still a huge people pleaser.  Before I post anything on social media, the thought crosses my mind "What will people think?"  I still want so badly to impress those kids from high school who were so cool.  I want to wear the right things and say the right things....  But this past year has changed me.

I am no longer the girl who disguises who she is when she's around others.  It may take me a while to warm up... but once I'm warm, you get it all.  I work with some of the most amazing people I've ever met and at no point have I ever felt judged for being me.  I'm also more willing to share what I've been through, regardless of what others think.  Because I've had the fortune of knowing what it can mean to that ONE person who can relate.

I also want to be a model of strength and hard work for my daughter.    I had it modeled for me... and I sure as hell am going to model it for her.  I want her to have a healthy self-esteem, feed her body with knowledge and good food, and know that she is enough.  I want her to rely on her work ethic and sense of self to propel her through life.

...and, if she inherits my hair, maybe a good flat iron...