Back from Vacation!

The past week and a half I have completely fallen off the radar. I'm up a few pounds (3 to be exact) but honestly I was expecting a lot worse. I have been tracking everything I eat and there were more than a few bad days. Suffice to say I won't be meeting my exercise/within calorie range goals for this month. I probably won't make my weight loss goal either (I'd have to lose about 5 pounds in 5 days to do so). 

First, I went to Shreveport for my friend Cathy's birthday with a few other people, where we gambled, drank, and ate....and ate....and ate.

 

Before we ate 5 pounds of crawfish.

The boys...before they ate...whatever they ate.

Ready to go gambling!

Then I was off to Irvine, CA for a business trip for the better part of last week.

The John Wayne Statue at the airport. It was HUGE. 

Had to get a cheeseburger at In N Out ... animal style!

These beautiful flowers were everywhere!

Heading back to Dallas on the plane. 

My mom was here visiting this weekend for Easter and I went to a friend's housewarming part on Saturday. We planted some pretty flowers for my patio. 

And for now, I'm working from home today, and I'm enjoying a grilled cheese with tomato soup, a Hitchcock movie, and the thunderstorms outside. 

The perfect rainy day meal.

Creating New Normals: Grocery Shopping

I was in line to check out at the grocery store today, and I looked down at my cart and it struck me as so strange how the items in my cart would've looked so different just a little over three months ago. I think the biggest difference is that I buy very few microwave-prep items. I used to live off of Jimmy Dean D-Lite breakfast sandwiches, a Lean-Cuisine-type meal for lunch, and something quick for dinner (another frozen meal or drive-thru food). I can't remember the last time I went through a drive-thru other than Starbucks. Every once in a while when I'm driving back from work or the gym, I'll think that it would be so easy just to stop somewhere and grab something quick. Not even something unhealthy - a salad from Wendy's, a wrap from Chick-Fil-A, or a couple of Taco Bueno chicken tacos - but I just don't do it.


When I looked down at my cart, I saw fresh fruit (tangelos, tangerines, bananas, and strawberries), meats (chicken, salmon, and crab), vegetables (artichokes, lettuce, and mini bell peppers), wine, walnuts, goat cheese, Weight Watchers snack cakes, baked kettle chips, fat free ranch dressing, and a single serve (NOT a pint) of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia. Nothing microwave-ready. It was a weird feeling to see that change without even realizing it. I got so proud of myself that I went and bought myself some flowers. (They were only $4, and they make me happy, so why not?)

Also, because I want to post the picture, I went putt-putt golfing for the first time in probably ten years, and it was so much fun. And there was a bunny.

See?

Crab Cakes and Football, That's What Maryland DOES!

Bonus points for getting the reference. Sadly, there is no football today, but I did make crab cakes! I made some crab cakes years ago, but they were expensive to make and pretty disappointing, so I resigned myself to ordering them at restaurants whenever I wanted some.

I was looking in the frozen seafood section at the grocery store, about to get another bag of tilapia fillets, when I saw some frozen crab cakes. That sounded better than boring tilapia again, so I turned the package over to check the label - 190 calories per cake, not bad - and then checked the price. $8! For two cakes! Yikes! I put the package back and sadly grabbed the tilapia fillets. But in the cajun foods section, Zatarain's had some mixes for salmon, tuna, and crab cakes! They were a little pricey compared to Zatarain's other mixes (I'm in love with their jambalaya) but it's pretty much all-inclusive; all I had to get was the canned seafood and then add mayonnaise, an egg, water, and olive oil, and I was ready to go!

Yield: 8 cakes (2 per serving)

Ingredients:
1 package Zatarain's New Orleans Style Crab Cake Mix
8 oz crabmeat (I used canned Bumble Bee white crabmeat)
1 egg
1/4 c Hellman's Light Mayonnaise
1/2 c water
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided


Preparation:
1. Combine Zatarain's mix, crabmeat, egg, mayonnaise, and water together in a non-metal bowl. Let sit in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
2. Pour 1 tbsp olive oil in oven-safe skillet, place in oven, and heat to 375 degrees.
3. Form mixture into 8 balls, then flatten into patties. Place the cakes in the skillet with the oil, and place in the oven for 20 minutes.
4. Drizzle the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil over the cakes, flip each cake, and place back in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Serve on top of mixed baby greens with fresh lemon juice. Yum!

Rule #76: No excuses, play like a champion.

Weekend Brunch: Breakfast Burritos

Good morning! I woke up craving Whataburger taquitos (SO good). Instead of going through the drive thru, I made some healthier breakfast burritos. For less than the calories of one Whataburger taquito (450 calories, 28 grams of fat), I got to eat two yummy egg, sausage, and cheese burritos.

Yield: 2 burritos per serving

Ingredients:
2 whole wheat tortillas
1/4 cup egg beaters
1 slice low fat cheddar cheese
4 turkey sausage links
4 tbsp chunky salsa

Preparation:
1. Cook egg beaters in a skillet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray over high heat; stir constantly until done.
2. Heat turkey sausage links in microwave according to package instructions.
3. Heat tortillas in microwave for 15 seconds.
4. Split eggs, sausage, cheese, and salsa evenly between the tortillas. Roll up and secure with a toothpick.

I also cut up half of a grapefruit and half of a tangelo and topped it with 1/4 tsp of sugar for a quick citrus salad. Delicious!

Workout Playlist for April 2011

While I'm sitting here watching Save the Last Dance (don't act like you don't love it) and waiting on my laundry to finish drying, I decided to revamp my workout playlist. I use my cheap little Sansa MP3 player to workout since it's tiny and if I drop it, it's no big deal because (a) it's flash-based so the chances of it breaking are minimal and (b) if it does break, it cost about $20.

I am not a person that can workout without my music. Seriously, if I forget my MP3 player I just turn around and go home, because there's no point. I won't push myself as hard, and I get so bored that it's miserable, and I don't want working out to be a miserable experience. Usually music solves this problem, but I've been listening to the same playlist for the last month and I'm starting to get bored with the same 10-12 songs I listen to every workout. I need to mix it up, so I've taken to the internet to find some new workout tunes.

I've settled on the following songs for my April playlists. Enjoy, and feel free to give me any suggestions!

1. Ridin' Solo - Jason Derulo
2. Better Than Revenge - Taylor Swift
3. Born This Way - Lady Gaga
4. Cowboy Casanova - Carrie Underwood
5. Dancing on My Own - Robyn
6. Evacuate the Dancefloor - Cascada
7. Right Round - Flo Rida
8. Sexy Bitch - David Guetta
9. Beautiful - Akon
10. Miss You Being Gone - The Band Perry
11. Somewhere with You - Kenny Chesney
12. King of Anything - Sara Bareilles

UPDATE: Now the Scale Is Just Messing with Me

And I'm down another 2 pounds the day after I'm supposed to meet my goal....oh well. :)

Monthly Weigh-In: March 2011

March's Goals:
Weight: -4
Work out at least 15 days



March Progress:
Weight: -2.8
Days in calorie range: 15/31
Days worked out: 18/31

Total YTD Progress:
Weight: -19.8
Days in calorie range: 52/90
Days worked out: 42/90



April's Goals:
Weight: -7.2
20 days in calorie range
20 days working out


So for some reason even though I was below my goal a few days ago, I've gained back a little under 2 pounds. Who knows what my body is thinking - I've been eating at my calorie levels and working out every day since I posted that I met my goal. Go figure. 


Now. Considering that I went on vacation this month for a week (after which I weighed six pounds more than I did at the beginning of the month), I did pretty well. That said, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. 


Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I've been doing really well with working out. (At least 5 days a week at the gym! Me! Crazy!!) I definitely need to learn to manage my time better now though. Before the gym workouts, I had plenty of time to come home, cook a delicious meal, eat, and then write the recipe down for all of you to enjoy. Now, as I'm sure you've noticed, I haven't had time to do any of that since I've been staying at the gym until at least 7 every night, sometimes later. I've been getting takeout more (usually healthier choices, but still, it makes it difficult to track calories exactly) and I've also been hungrier, so I've been allowing myself to flex more with my calorie intake. 


I think the theme for my April will be balance. I was watching the A&E show Heavy the other week and I wrote down a phrase that one of the girls said about her time at the weight loss facility: "Creating new normals." Sort of like how people always say weight loss is a "lifestyle change," but her phrasing didn't make me want to roll my eyes. I need to just get used to working out and cooking well for myself. It's creating my new normal. 


So my official April goal will be to work out at least 20 days and eat within my calorie limits at least 20 days. I have no vacations planned for April, so there shouldn't be any sudden weight gain. The only big plans that I have are Cathy's birthday (when we will go out to eat at least once) and Easter, but I think my mom is going to come down to visit and we'll probably eat mostly healthy stuff, so that shouldn't be an issue. 


To end on a positive note, the consistent working out has really made a difference in how I feel, how I look, and how my clothes are fitting, even if the scale isn't reflecting the changes ... yet. That's why I'm not too down about this month's outcome, because I think once I build a little more muscle the pounds will start coming off again.