Goal Met: New Charm AND Early Reward!

After a LONG month with very little progress, I finally hit my goal for this month this morning!! My total loss right now is at -21.4 pounds, so I've officially crossed over the 20 pound mark. It's very exciting! I can't wait for the -27.5 mark, which will mean I'm halfway to my birthday goal. I decided I get a large reward (like a new nice purse or something) when I hit the halfway point, so I'm trying to decide what that will be. 

Anyway, this month has been really long and I honestly wasn't sure if I was going to make it to goal or not because of vacation and building muscle while working out 5-6 days a week, but I'm so glad I made it. In the past, I might think that this month was a failure because I only set a goal of -4 pounds, but the whole point of this system is for that to be okay, as long as I stay on my long-term target. Six pounds a month will get me where I want to be in September, so there's no reason to be down on myself as long as I stay on track. Even though people always say you can lose 1-2 pounds a week, that doesn't mean you should set your goal to make that 2 pounds every week. I have faith that this will work if I just stick to the goals I set for myself and celebrate those. 

Now for the fun part...I'm going to order a charm for my bracelet and I also get a mani/pedi this month (which is really, really necessary). As part of the Memorial Day Challenge with Cathy, we also will get a new outfit to go out out in uptown, have a nice dinner, and go dancing next weekend. Can't wait!

PS I promise I have some recipes to post once I get a chance to sit and write them all down. They are coming!

Mid-Month Update: Even More Workouts

I haven't been updating as often with my recipe posts because I haven't been cooking that much (which is bad). Because I'm going to the gym a lot after work with Cathy, we either get something to eat on the way back or have something at her place. She did make delicious pork and vegetable wrap one night that was delicious and low calorie. Since my last post, I went to a lot of workout classes and had my first personal training session.

FYI: You don't look like this while spinning.

I went to spinning on Monday, which was the class I was most terrified of taking, but I ended up LOVING it. I even got a thumbs up from the instructor about forty-five minutes into the class. It was as if something just clicked and I got in the zone and just pushed myself. It was awesome, and I really want to make that a weekly class. On Tuesday we took zumba, which was just ok. It was fun, but I feel like I didn't get as good of a workout as I would have on my own.

The personal training session was on Wednesday. The trainer was very nice, and the exercises we did were good, but I just wanted a more kick-my-ass type training session, and this wasn't it. She did show me how to use a few of the weight machines to target the places I most want to work on toning, but other than that, it wasn't anything special. I have two more sessions left in my package, but I'm not sure if I'm going to buy more or not at this point.

Thursday was an off day, but I did walk a couple of miles downtown for the Blackhawks game on St. Patrick's Day! So much fun. I also ate delicious Mexican food at Chuy's and went WAY over my calorie range. Friday and Saturday were just plain ol' elliptical days with some abs and weight machines thrown in for good measure.

So I'm pretty proud of myself for actually making it to the gym five days this week, but the problem is that I need to reign in my calorie counting. I haven't lost any weight this month (although to be fair I did gain a few pounds while in Rhode Island, and I did lose that) and there's only eleven days left. I definitely think I'm gaining muscle from working out, and I've gotten way more comments about my weight loss from people at work this past week. Even so, I am really going to have to buckle down to meet my goal this month.

Back from Vacation!

I haven't posted in a while because I have been on vacation! I went to visit Alicia in Providence, RI for almost a week and had such a good time. It was definitely a last-minute trip planned about two weeks in advance, which is something that I never do since travel is the one thing I do get crazy anal retentive tendencies about, but I'm so glad I did. Full disclosure: I didn't stick to my calorie limits (and didn't intend to do so - not what a vacation is for), but I did log all my calories every day. Still up a few pounds from where I was before vacation, but I'll get it back down.

Did I mention the Lady Gaga concert in Boston? And how she had a giant fish puppet that she called the Fame Monster? And how we had floor seats about ten feet away from the stage? Best. Show. Ever.

Now that I'm back, my co-worker/friend Cathy and I have decided to combine forces in a Memorial Day Challenge. Our goal is to lose six pounds a month (minimum) until Memorial Day, but the focus is on going to the gym five days a week and doing something active the other two days (going for a walk, dancing, whatever). This ties in with my Lenten promise - working out at least five days a week at the gym until Easter. I've decided to join 24 Hour Fitness so Cathy and I can easily work out together, and all the group classes are free!

I'm focusing mainly on cardio, so I have been working on the elliptical for 40 minutes doing intervals. I try to get an elliptical with the arm movement - it's funny how much of a difference that makes! That puts me at about 450 calories burned according to the elliptical machine. We're also alternating strength training for abs, arms/back, and legs/glutes. This is where Cathy comes in handy - the first day we were doing abs, she had us do 30 reps of front, left, and right crunches (that's 90 total) and then looked at me and said, "Okay, now let's do two more sets!" I almost murdered her, but I would never push myself that hard on my own. Same thing with actually getting to the gym; it's so much easier to talk yourself into going when you make plans with someone. 

We even went to a class this morning called Kickboxing Boot Camp. The instructor was probably about 7 or 8 months pregnant and bouncing around the gym like she didn't have an almost fully-grown child in her uterus. I kept that in mind when I felt like I was going to die during the workout. I really liked the class though and I'm definitely going to try out the other classes available to keep me from getting bored. I'm still a little intimidated going into the gym, but everyone seems so friendly that it makes me less nervous every time I go. 

One other change since I posted last time - since I burn at least 400 calories per gym session, and I've found that my 1200-1500 calories a day wasn't cutting it while I'm burning all these calories at the gym. I haven't been grazing for food like that all year, and I was going nuts trying to find something that would keep me full after dinner. So in order to avoid a mental breakdown, I've decided on gym days, I can eat up to 1800 calories if I feel like I need it; with the exercise factored in, that still puts me at 1400 total for the day. We'll see how that goes over the next couple of weeks and I'll adjust it if I'm not seeing the results on the scale. 

To leave on a happy note, I celebrated St. Patrick's Day at the Greenville Ave. parade yesterday, and it was so much fun!! Lots of green, ridiculous costumes, and pretty much the only day of the year when morning drinking in the streets is socially acceptable - what's not to love?

I wish I could wear this headband every single day.

Monthly Weigh-In: February 2011

February's Goals:
Weight: -7.2
Track budget


February Progress:
Weight: -9.2
Days in calorie range: 18/28
Days worked out: 8/28
Budget Tracked: 28/28

Total YTD Progress:
Weight: -17
Days in calorie range: 37/59
Days worked out: 24/59


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


I've done really well the past month, but quite a bit of that can be attributed to the fact that I was sick for two weeks, so I didn't eat. I did do well tracking my budget and actually saved money this month even with buying a $300 plane ticket, so I say that is a success! I will continue to track that for the rest of the year. 


I didn't work out the whole time that I was sick, so that number was really low. I want to make up for it this month by working out at least 15 days. Especially now that I'm working out at the apartment gym; I think it will make a big difference this month. I will be going on vacation during March, so that will present an extra challenge as well. 


For my rewards I got a new pair of shoes, a pair of pants, and two floral shirts for spring. Since I kept the weight off after I met my goal early, I also get to pick an extra reward. I haven't decided what that will be yet. Maybe a new food processor since I seem to have misplaced the blade attachment for my old one. 


The goal seems small for March, but I've decided to stick to the monthly goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year. The main point is to stick to reaching my goal by my birthday. If I do it a month or two early, great! If I get a few more rewards up front, great! I set small goals at the beginning of the year for a reason - they are achievable. It would defeat the purpose to change them all just because I did well this month. (Remember last month? When I didn't meet the goal? Yep.)

Opa! Baked Falafel

The only other time I've made Greek food before was a horrible attempt at tabbouleh a few years ago. However, I've been craving falafel and I can't find a restaurant around me that makes it the way I like it. So I tried this recipe, and I'm so glad I did! 

Yield: I got 7 patties out of this, but I probably could've gotten 8 to make it even. Nutrition is per falafel, so 1/7 of the recipe.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil, divided

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 c diced onion (use frozen if desired)

1/4 tsp garlic powder

2 tbsp dried parsley

2 tbsp dried cilantro

Zest of small lemon

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/3 c flour

1 egg, beaten

Preparation:

1. Coat a metal pan (I used a skillet) with cooking spray and 1 tbsp olive oil and put it in oven. Preheat to 375 degrees.

2. Pulse chickpeas, onion, garlic powder, cilantro, lemon zest, parsley, salt, cumin, pepper flakes, and baking powder in food processor until minced (not a paste). Transfer to bowl and stir in the egg and flour.

3. Drop mixture in golf ball sized amounts in the pan and bake 20 minutes.


4. Brush (or drizzle) falafel with remaining oil, flip, and bake another 15-20 minutes until golden brown on both sides.

Serve with pita bread, tabbouleh, and yogurt sauce (6 oz fat free Greek yogurt, juice of 1/2 lemon, salt, and cayenne pepper to taste). For the bread I used multi-grain Itsy-Bitsy Pita Pockets - they are only 40 calories each, and they were the perfect size for the falafel!

Shredded Chicken Nachos (with Homemade Baked Tortilla Chips!)

Today was my first day back to work and I decided to have a really good dinner to clear my head. I'm feeling much better except for my ears, which are still stopped up (like that feeling you get when your ears pop on a plane), and I'm about to go nuts listening to myself breathe really loudly all day. Couple that with the fact that I could only hear about 80% of what people were saying all day -- you get the idea. I needed some good food.

This started out as tostadas and by the time I got done, it ended up as delicious nachos. Mmm!

Servings: Listed as serving 1, but of course multiply by as many as you want

Ingredients:

1/2 chicken breast, grilled and shredded (or really any protein you like...lean ground beef, steak strips, ground turkey, meatless crumbles, etc)

3 six-inch corn tortillas, each cut into six to make 18 pre-chips

1/2 c fat free refried beans

1/4 c Mexican blend shredded 2% cheese

1/2 c shredded lettuce

1/2 c chunky salsa/pico de gallo

1 tbsp diced jalapeños

1 1/2 tbsp light sour cream

Canola oil cooking spray

Salt and lime juice to taste (optional)

Preparation:

I almost burned these...

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and lay the tortilla pieces in a single layer. Make sure that there is space between the edges of each chip - if you put them too close together, they won't crisp up. Spray the tops of the chips with the cooking spray, and then sprinkle salt as desired. Once the oven is heated, put the chips in and bake for 8-10 minutes, until chips become crisp. Be careful not to let them turn brown, they can burn quickly!

2. While the chips are baking, heat the refried beans in the microwave for about one minute fifteen seconds, until hot. Get all your delicious toppings ready!

3. When the chips come out, scoop them on a plate and start layering. My order? Beans, chicken, cheese, lettuce, salsa, jalapeños, and sour cream, with a little fresh lime juice drizzled on the top. If you like your cheese extra melty, put it in the microwave for 30 seconds after the cheese goes on top, then finish with the cold toppings.

Experiments in Fashion Inspiration

I've been crazy bored out of my mind the past few days while I've been sick, and I decided to channel it toward something (somewhat) constructive. I've been looking at what to buy with my weight loss reward this month since I'm pretty sure with the plague that I have I'll make it to March 1 without regaining five pounds, and the online shopping has been out of control.

So for those readers who are less than interested in fashion inspirations, I'll make these posts after the jump for you. You are welcome.