Composure Regained

After the fallout of my diet for those few weeks, I jumped back on the train. I made better choices at food and started my day off everyday this week with oatmeal. Except for one day at ihop when I got an egg white omelet and turkey bacon! Btw, I don't think Ihop cooks their turkey bacon all the way. I like it crunchy and theirs seemed a little floppy for my tastes... But anywho, lost the five pounds I had put back on and am now down 15 from my original weight of 160. Very happy with my results this week. I've been sick the past few days and haven't made it to the gym except for a brief jog/walk with my daughter yesterday. My goal is to lose 3 lbs next week and kick up the exercise intensity and quantity. Gotta keep the steam engine rolling! Nothing tastes better than skinny!

I'm Back!

So Ive been gone for a little while.  Just been busy lately!  I have been so so on the diet.  Been good on the gym.  Been going to the gym probably 4-5 times a week.  My meals have been about 60% good, 40% bad. I need to up my game.  Im down approximately 15 pounds since my initial post.  Im happy with my results but after putting together my before/after pics tonight Im a little disappointed.  So Im posting them to put some fire under my ass and tell myself "Get it together Jordan!"  I need to work on staying on track with the diet and I think I will notice a bigger difference in my muscle tone and leaness.

Update- 15 lbs. down!

So I've been off and on with my diet lately. Gym has been better than diet. I would say 80% of the time I eat on my diet and 20% off. But I've continued to lose weight. Here is my weight now, down from 160+! Wow! 145 lbs. is the lowest ive been since having been pregnant with Mia 5 years ago! (If you don't know I'm also 5'8".) Don't mind the toenails, my 4 year old painted them! Lol

Week 7

So I kinda took off for the past two weeks, eating, exercising, yea it wasn't happening...
I wouldn't say I went all out, but I just did OK.  Some days I did perfect, others I did terrible.  I didn't gain any of my weight back (shewww) but I didn't exactly lose any either!  Here are my update pics. I didn't throw them in photoshop with beginning photos because 1.) Takes too damn long 2.) I didn't have my usual spot I take my photos at due to us moving our office upstairs in the loft.  And I couldn't balance the camera on a leather chair very well, making the pics lopsided! 3.) I probably don't look too much different than my last update!

Ehrmergerd

Like the best stuff ever. My late night snack. A new Peanut butter with cinnamon, raisins, and peanuts. Yum-diddly-umptious

Long time no see!

So it has been awhile since I posted. I've been so busy with birthdays, weddings, and working lately I haven't posted in a week or two! I wasn't 100% on my diet last week but I picked it up and got on track Tuesday. I have worked out everyday since Monday and even started doing cardio in the mornings in addition to my weight lifting. I've kinda just maintained my 10 lb weight loss over the past couple weeks but I expect to lose next week since I started adding in the cardio. A Results picture will be up tomorrow and I will get back on it!

Week 4 Results

Been kinda lacking on the blog this weekend.  Had a lot of events going on.  These pictures were taken Friday morning.  Lost 2 lbs. for Week 4 for a total loss of 10 lbs.  My measurements were taken Thursday.  Lost 1 1/2 inch around my waist and a 1 1/8 in. around my hips, legs stayed the same which I think is me just retaining the muscle.  A whole month and Im doing good.  Now to just make it through this month!  If I have the same results as last month, I will be ecstatic!

Hit gym hard today! Can't wait for tomorrow...

The best part of working out is feeling the burn the next day. It lets you know you did good. Lets you know that the hard work was worth it. I did two classes (really 3 if you count 15 minute abs) at urban active today with Tatiana, first a cardio class, then a little ab class and lastly a weight lifting class. I think I will be somewhat sore tomorrow! Hopefully! But that is one thing I noticed though... Since I've been working out more my recovery time has drastically shortened. When I used to lift weights (back in my almost purely cardio workout days), I used to be so sore the next day I couldn't walk. Now when I do an even more intense workout, I'm not as sore and it doesn't last as long. I don't know if that is a good or bad?!

My diet today was on point I would say.

Breakfast: protein shake with a cup of watermelon

2nd meal: 1 c. sauteed onions , steak and chicken stir fry.

3rd meal: Protein bar (brand was Protein Crunch. Hands down best protein bar I've ever had!)

4th meal: watermelon

5th meal: 1 rib (2 pictured, but mia stole one off my plate), corn sauteed w/ onions, turkey bacon, chile powder, salt and pepper. Also more watermelon! And a 30 calorie turkey stick.

Can you tell I had to use up my leftover watermelon?

Week 3 Results

Yea well, week 3 sucked. I actually didn't lose anything this week. (i may have gained a pound even...) I drank too much, ate too many carbs, and didn't work out enough. Lesson learned: even though it says whole wheat, it is still a carb. I will be checking my carbs more this week. Also my alcohol intake was more than usual. Add to that I am bloated like no other and you get no weight lose for the week. Boo. I feel like my arms, chest, face look thinner but stomach and bottom half I don't see a great change. I focused more on legs the last 2 days and added a few more ab exercises today. Hopefully week 4 looks better!

Favorite product finds this week: Edemame hummus (healthier than regular hummus and tastier... I didn't think that could be...), Slender Soy (chocolate and cappuccino are delish!), and 90 cal Fiber One brownies for when I get that sweet tooth! I also tried baking my own tortilla chips out of low carb tortillas but they came out chewy. I will have to perfect this this week!

Also vietnamese food rocks and I suck at cooking steak. Or I am just too cheap to buy the good cuts!

Edemame hummus?!?! Whaaaat!?!

It was even better than regular hummus! Yummmmmmm....

Avocado Milkshake

So yestetday was a really random food day for me. I started breakfast off with a piece of whole grain w/flax seed toast with sugar-free jam. My second meal was 1 egg white and an avocado milkshake I improvised (recipe follows). Avocados may look like a high calorie high fat food, but they are healthy fat, and I <3 them! Third meal was a whole egg, 1 egg white,  a snack size turkey stick, and I cheated and ate half of a snack size bag of doritos before I smacked my own hand and put it down. My fourth meal was miso soup, a salad with grilled chicken. My fifth meal was a 100 calorie bag of popcorn.

Avocado milk shake:

3/4 of a whole RIPE avocado
1/2 c. Plain non-fat Greek yogurt
1/2 c. Skim milk
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
4-5 Truvia sweetener packets
1 c. Ice

Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Add more milk if too thick. Add more ice if too thin.

Calories: 310 calories
Protein: 16 grams

Next time I am going to add a little vanilla protein powder for more protein, and you can cut the avocado portion down to half an avocado, if you want to cut the calories and fat  down.

Dishes will be the death of me...

One thing that had been a real pain in the ass this week, dishes. I've been cooking breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks at home which means ALL dishes I eat on PLUS the cookware and tools I use for prepping have to get washed. I've been cleaning the kitchen at least 2 times a day. Coupled with the time it takes to prep and cook and eat the food, the majority off my day seems to be in the kitchen. I'm definitely going to need to find a solution for this or I won't be able to get nothing else done!

Other than that, I didn't work out today.  My calves still feel like they are hanging on by threads to my bones after doing an Insanity workout on Sunday.  The hurt like hell! Still! I even tried to make em feel better by doing a weight lifting class yesterday, but no, they hate me right now.

My diet today was on track.  Hee is my food journal for today:

1st: half a whole bagel with a wedge of Laughing Cow strawberry cream cheese. Also added 1/4 c. Egg whites and 2 slices turkey bacon.

2nd: 1/2 cup egg whites scrambled with chicken, onions, and a wedge of Laughing Cow swiss cheese.

3rd: cocktail shrimp with cocktail sauce. 1 serving Special K cracker chips with 1 TBSP fat free cream cheese.

4th: 2 fresco chicken soft tacos from Taco Hell! Also, I had a sugar free pudding afterwards.

Also had a coffee with lite chocolate soy milk. (my new best friend, Slender Soy).

Final calories were 1410. I think this is where I need to be at calorie wise. Goodnight, need to get rest so I can work out tomorrow!

Been cooking like a mad woman

Lately I've been cooking like a mad woman! It's a control issue I think. When I cook at home I can count every calorie that goes into my food. When I'm out at a restaurant either they 1.) Don't list the calorie content and I have to guess OR 2.) I feel like there might be more calories in the food since most restaurant workers probably don't adhere to the correct portion size.  Sooo, I have been cooking. A lot. Last night I marinated chicken in a tarragon citrus marinade, the same I had last week. I grilled it along with peppers, onions and corn. Yum is all I can say! I also decided to try and make kale chips, a healthy alternative to regular chips. That was a partial fail and you will see why in the pictures below! So tonight I used the leftover chicken and made pizza. On my portion I put bbq sauce, chicken,  onions, cilantro,  real bacon bits (which are surprisingly low in calories), and part-skim mozzarella cheese on a whole wheat crust. Again, yum! Not the cleanest food to eat, but I ate only one piece and had a salad before with lite dressing to fill me up also. I was stuffed! I added up my calories tonight and realized I didn't eat ENOUGH throughout the day today! Especially considering I burned a good amount of calories withUrban Iron tonight at the gym (a weight lighting class at Urban Active). So here is my food journal for today and of course pictures of the food to accompany it!

1st:  1/2 whole wheat bagel with a wedge of Laughing Cow strawberry cheese spread. 1 egg white

2nd: a bowl of miso soup

3rd: 6oz. leftover chicken and 2/3 ear of corn

4th: side salad with romaine and cucumber w/lite Annie's Gingerly dressing. Pizza w/ bbq sauce, chicken, real bacon bits, cilantro, onion, on a whole wheat crust.

Also had a double shot espresso with skim milk giving me a total of 995 calories for the day. Not enough. I should've ate more during breakfast and middle of the day.

Pictures:

Kale chips with a worm! (protein)

Okay. Week 3 didn't start off a good as I thought.

So I'm going to have to call myself out today. Started off good this morning, 2 egg whites and a whole wheat bagel with a laughing cow strawberry wedge. Then my lunch ended up being vietnamese food. Steamed summer rolls, and a noodle bowl with grilled chicken, pork, beef and shrimp. Wouldn't have been too bad but I felt like I was in a food coma I ate too much. Missed my workout today (hey, not totally my fault!) Then I had chicken lettuce wraps I made at home (good), a few flaming hot cheetos and popcorn (no good). AND, I also made baked peaches in honey and cinnamon with lite-no sugar added butter pecan ice cream with protein granola on top. (roughly 300 calories, not too bad?!) Couldn't done better today! (but the peach concoction was heaven!) Tomorrow I've got a mud run so sure to get my workout in then!

End of Week 2

Okay, so today is the end of week 2.  I lost only 2 lbs. this week, but that is okay with me since I am going more for the structure and tone of my body, not the weight.  As I look at the starting pics and my pics from this week, I am very happy with my progress.  I can tell I have thinned out and look less bloated.  Today my diet was as follows:

1st meal: Sugar free Oatmeal
2nd meal: cucumber, tomato, mozzarella, and basil salad.  AND a sugar free pudding
3rd meal: nothing
4th meal: 2 hard boiled eggs, (only one egg yolk)
5th meal: foccacia with pesto, mozz, and tomatoes, grilled seabass with boursin cheese, stirfry veggies, and spinach alfredo. PLUS 2 glasses of wine.

(I kinda messed up on dinner, but didn't go overboard.  Also, I skipped a meal 3 which is a no-no but won't do again!)

I have been fairly motivated this week but I have lost a little steam since my first week.  Planning to go hard core for my Week 3.  Stay tuned for results as I think they will be better than this week.

Here are my before and after photos.  (Starting photos vs. End Week 2 photos)  plus some my trainer took of me.

Food Log

Today, I remembered to write down everything I ate. Here is what it looks like:

1st meal: Protein bar (240 cal.)
2nd meal: open face sandwich with turkey, fat free  cheese slice, and dijon mustard (200 calories)
3rd meal: Panera Bread, sesame chicken salad and black bean soup (340 calories)
4th meal: 1 TBSP natural peanut butter with 6 small multi grain crackers (125 cal)
5th meal: marinated skirt steak, boiled broccoli with a laughing cow cheese wedge, 1/2 c. whole grain rice, Yasso Greek Yogurt popsicle (420 cal.)
6th meal: sugar free pudding (75 cal.)

Total calories today: 1,400 calories

Today I felt especially hungry for some reason.  I also craved fatty and sugary foods more than usual. Maybe bc I drank less water today? Who knows, but today really tested my will power! I didn't really eat as clean as I could've which is probably why I feel a little heavy and bloated today. My salt intake was probably more than it shouldve been also. Another reason could be bc i didn't make it in the gym.  Well, tomorrow its a new day.  Got my training with Kevin which may make me a little more motivated than i was today.  It is also time to go grocery shopping! Anyone who really knows me knows this its one of my favorite things to do! Ciao!

Colorful food tastes better!

Tonight, my mom cooked me a delicious, healthy dinner! Grilled squash, corn, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, and mini peppers with tarragon citrus chicken. Along with a side salad with mint, broccoli slaw, sunflower seeds and lite balsamic dressing. Beautiful, healthy, tasty food!  Yum yum yum yum!

Social Gatherings Prove to be Challenging...

I started off good today: scrambled egg whites, 2 slices turkey bacon, whole wheat bagel.  Yes!  My snack 3 hours later: 2 egg whites, an apple slice, and popcorn. Eh, not bad, but probably didn't need that popcorn. Then we went to a baby shower. With food.  Duhn duhn duhn.  This was my test. There were hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken wings, pasta salad, chips and dip, banana nut bread, and cupcakes! So I tried to stay strong as I made it through the food line: Got a hamburger (no bun, no cheese. only mustard, lettuce and ketchup), one chicken wing (baked, not fried, in bbq sauce), and about a 1/4 cup of pasta salad.  So not so bad bc I tried to steer away from the bread and sugar, BUT I did eat the pasta salad which is a carb and more than likely that dressing on it wasn't light! Plus I probably should've done away with the ketchup and bbq sauce, has sugar. Then it was cupcake time.... yummy, sweet, sugary, moist cupcake time. The cupcakes were being passed around and my eyes watched as each person took theirs. My mind was telling me "It won't ruin your diet! You can do it this one time!"  My mouth was watering and  I kept imagining how good that sugar must taste.  But I held strong and knew that that cupcake didn't taste as good as victory would when I'm ripped! WINNING! That little small victory of avoiding the wrong foods for me set me up to continue my success tonight for the rest of my meals.  I think if I would've ate the cupcake I would've just chalked the rest of the day off as a cheat day and made my previous effort this morning null and void.  But bc I felt good about my little victory, I came home ate steamed veggies in olive oil and eggs and two more hardboiled eggs for a snack.

Even though I did veer away from what I probably would've eaten if I hadn't been in a social situation, it was definitely a learning experience!  I just have to maintain my motivation and stick to my guns and VICTORY SHALL BE MINE!

My favorite breakfuusstt!

Egg whites, 2 pieces turkey bacon, whole wheat bagel with fat-free cream cheese and sugar free raspberry preserves. Not pictured: cup of coffee with 1/4 c. skim milk and 3 Truvia packets. lol

Totals incl. coffee

Totally Calories: 260

Total Protein: 22g

Total Fat: 7g

End Week 1 and First Blog!

So I have taken to blogging.  More so for myself, so I can track my changes in my fitness lifestyle.  Annndd, because if I know even if 1 person reads my blog, I will have some form of accountability and will be less likely to veer off the path.  So as much as I hate it, I will be posting pictures of my weekly progress (bikini, ick!) and maybe will keep my food journal here if I have time.  Also, I will put my favorite healthy recipes here just in case anyone is interested in them too! I love cooking and I'm pretty good at it if I may say so myself!  My initial goal weight is 145 lbs.  When I get there, I will reevaluate to see if I like this shape or not. Really, I'm just trying to get healthy and LOOK healthy.  I would really like to get Mia, my 4 year old in healthy eating habits too, so most of the recipes I make will also be made for my family.  I will let you know if they give them a thumbs up/down on those! Soooo here is my starting picture and after Week 1 of working out and eating good! Down 5 lbs!  And if anyone is interested, my trainer is Kevin Johnson, at Fitness Factory.  He is truly the best and great at working with everyone on a personal basis!  He will whip your ass in shape, BELIEVE me!  Let me know if you want his info!

Starting Weight: 160 lbs.  Week 1 Loss: 5 lbs.