How are the Holidays Going?

Wellll... To be honest, I haven't been perfect. Holidays and food seem to go hand in hand and my holidays definitely reflect this. Fortunately, the major feasting is now over and I can get back to my normal, healthy choices. I definitely have to be grateful that even when things are busy over the holidays, I can still keep a consistent workout regimen. Without my workouts, I would surely fall victim to the holiday pounds.

I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays as much as I am. Remember, don't fret if you haven't been as healthy as you like... just get movin'!

What's for Lunch?

Throughout my journey of being healthy and maintaining my weight there has definitely been one significant change. I make most of my meals. I love cooking and have gotten better at it throughout the years. The truth is simple. When you make your own food, you can control what you eat; you choose exactly what goes into your mouth.

The easiest meal to eat at home is breakfast, of course. Cereal, oatmeal, or toast and yogurt are easily prepared and eaten. The next easiest meal to prepare yourself is lunch. Now think about something for a minute. If you choose to always prepare/make your lunch, you already have 2 meals a day that you are in complete control of.. and 2 outta 3 ain't bad. When I started making my lunch everyday was when I really started having a consistent, healthy diet.

For this post I thought I'd share a very frequent lunch of mine. Take a look at the salad I just had for lunch:
Ingredients are romaine lettuce, chicken, apple, avo, almonds, celery, little bit of feta, and a fat-free (low sugar!) balsamic vinaigrette. I like to think of my salads as somewhat hearty because they actually make me full. I find that if you have too much lettuce and not enough protein, you can get hungry shortly after. Also, I like to put apples in my salad because its delicious and helps kick hunger. This salad I had for lunch happened to have chicken breast in it, but normally it's just good ol' deli turkey breast slices. Recently, I've cut out most of my cheese-eating, but I feel like a little bit in your salad won't hurt. If you can omit cheese altogether, great.

You may have noticed my little "low sugar!" note above. When/if you choose fat free dressings (or other fat free products for that matter) make sure to check sugar. Often fat free = tons of sugar, which is no better for you.

So, that's it. That's what's for lunch. If it's not salads, it's sandwiches, but the idea is always the same. Make your lunch yourself and pack it with all the healthy "goods" you can.

Life Changes

I want to take a moment to talk about life changes. There are two people in my life right now who have made the decision to live a healthier life and I have got one thing to say to the both of them.. I AM SO PROUD OF YOU! Both have decided that it's time to jump into action and even lose some unnecessary weight. Having made that decision myself, a few years ago, I know that it can be hard to finally choose to be healthier and can be even harder sticking to your goal. But here's the thing - YOU CAN DO IT.

Everyday that you get yourself up and choose the healthier food and choose to go for a run,walk, or do any other exercise, just know that I am proud of you. Be proud of yourself for changing your life.

Yesterday I was in a wedding and there were people there who I hadn't seen in years. One told me that he hardly recognized me. At first I didn't get it. I thought, 'I'm still brown-haired and freckle-faced, what's so different?' After thinking about it, I realized that the last time this particular person saw me, I could have been 20 lbs heavier. Kind of a big difference in appearance. Take a look..


Before (probably my heaviest and most unattractive picture):


After:


After losing that 20 lbs. I am happier and take pride in the healthier choices I make. For me, I didn't have a goal weight, I just knew it was time to make some changes. Also, it didn't happen over night. I am happy to say that I didn't lose weight trying a fad diet, using supplements, or starving myself. I lost weight the old fashion way- watching what I ate and working out. The choices I made may have made it a longer process, but it has proved a successful one since I am still maintaining my weight.

So to the two of you and any others that have made the decision to live a healthier life, I applaud you. You have a happy, healthy future to look forward to.

Back At It

When things get crazy in my life I have a hard time keeping a consistent work-out routine. Luckily, I finally seem to be getting some control over my schedule and I've been working out like a good girl :) This week, I should get 5 days in, which ain't too shabby, if I do say so myself.

Although I've been working out more, I still haven't been doing a good job of keeping up this blog (as you may have noticed). This is partly because I feel like, "What do I know?" and "Who am I to offer advice/suggestions?" But again, that's just not the point of this blog. I'm doing this to keep myself healthy and if I say something of interest to you along the way, great.

So what I'm saying is.. I'm gonna try and be better about updating (Do I hear crickets chirping?). Talk to you soon!

I Know What You're Thinking..

Where have I been? Well, to be honest, I am so busy I feel like my days/weeks/months are FLYING by. In this incredibly busy time I've come to realize a few things:

1) Thank goodness for organized sports - I play outdoor soccer every Sunday and sub on a Thursday night indoor team. If it wasn't for organized sports, I'm not sure I would be getting in enough exercise during this busy time in my life. With organized sports you have to schedule the workouts, making it more likely that you will do them.

2) It's all about balance - As busy as I am now, it's hard to get even three workouts in a week. Therefore, if I'm not getting it done in the gym, I need to get it done on my plate. It's all about balance. I know that I need to watch what I eat even more than usual when I am not burning up calories in the gym.

3) Sleep and water, water and sleep - When you are busy, stress levels are high and your body is working overtime. Right now I am really trying to keep healthy with as much sleep as possible and keeping hydrated with lots of water. Sleep and water aren't just healthy for your body, either; the two contribute to mental health, as well. So drink up and catch some Z's!

A Look into my Cupboards

I did a little reflection today as I was whipping up a turkey sandwich for lunch. While I was putting together my delicious sando, I noticed something about my cupboards... They are a pretty decent refection of my diet. I know what your thinking. Something like, Duh Nikki! That is where you get your food to eat, but what I mean is... as I looked around I saw a lot of whole grain, enough protein, good fats (like nuts, etc), plenty of dairy, lots of fruit, but something was lacking. Can you figure out what it is?



I'm lacking vegetables! I do have some, I have salad, edamame in the freezer, and stir-fry veggies for tonight, but I just feel like it's not enough. A recently read an article in Runner's World about plant-heavy dieting and how beneficial it is for you (not diet as in dropping a quick 10 lbs, diet like what we eat everyday). It must of been what led to my reflection in the kitchen. Here's the thing, I love veggies. I could eat them all the time. AND I never met a veggie I didn't like. BUT veggies go bad so quickly, I hesitate to buy them. Am I the only one that feels this way?

So here's a question; what do you do to keep your veggies fresh? I'd love to hear some answers. Or, if you feel the same as me, I'd love to hear that too. Leave your comments!

Quinoa Chili

I got this recipe from my sister-in-law and it is delish! If you haven't heard of it before, quinoa is a superfood that is really good for you. Quinoa is somewhat new to the health world, but quickly gaining popularity. So far, this is the only quinoa recipe I have, but if I find more I will let you know. You can find quinoa at your local health food store OR you can get a bag of it at Costco for $8 (the bag will take me months to get through).



Quinoa Chili

2 cans kidney beans, rinsed & drained (really you can use any beans and different beans offers different health benefits, find one right for you)
2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 med. onion, chopped
2 tsp. salt
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2/3 cup quinoa, rinsed in warm water
1 cup frozen corn
1 can tomato sauce, low salt (about 2 cups)
1 cup water

Heat oil in pot over medium heat. Add onions and saute until tender. Add salt, garlic, pepper and spices. Saute for 5-10 minutes. Add rinsed quinoa and stir in. Add corn, tomato sauce, and water to onion/quinoa mixture. Simmer together 20 minutes. Add beans to the pot and simmer another 15 minutes. Serve with grated cheese, sliced avocado or anything else you like on your chili. Makes 6-8 servings

I've Been Bad

So, the last time I posted was the last time I ran. Yikes. During the run, I felt pretty good and was happy I did it, BUT my coughing got worse again and my doctor recommended no running until I was REALLY over my sickness. Bummer.

Here I am, 11 days later, feeling like a cow, with only 1 workout under my belt (yesterday, I played soccer- cough seemed fine). This isn't the first time I've had a setback in my working out. This time it was because I was sick, but come on, we all go on vacations, or have lapses of no motivation where the last thing we want to be do is work out.

Here's what I'm going to do..

• I am not going to fret. Setbacks happen. Sitting around pouting is not going to work off the possible extra lbs. I packed on in the last week and a half.
• I am not going to weigh myself. Everyone is different with scales. Personally, if I actually see that I have gained weight, I can get really down on myself. After a solid week or so of working out, I will hop on the scale. This usually helps because maybe you've already cut a couple pounds off and then will feel less depressed about what you have to accomplish.
• I am going to get moving. I plan on running a few times this week and also will plan ahead at least one work out class at the gym (love, love, love kickboxing).

That's my plan. To be honest, I was a little embarrassed to talk about my weight gain on the blog, but I'm over it. That's not the point of this blog. Bottom line is, what I've done, needs to be undone. So here goes nothin'.

No Motivation

It's happened again.. It creeps up on me without warning, leaving me to feel victim to its attack.

I am lacking motivation to work out.

I've been sick, I had a super rough 8 mile run Saturday, I have work in an hour and half, I'm feeling tired.. Can't I just put off my run one more day?

I hate the feeling of having no motivation. I feel guilty for feeling it, and also, can't shake myself out of it. What to do? What to do? Honestly, as I write, I'm still not sure. I could go quickly before work and get it done, or wait until after work. The problem with waiting is that I know this feeling of having no motivation could increase after a 5 hour shift of waiting tables. Maybe I should just go.

This time I'm not going fall victim. I'm gonna get my stuff on right now and not think about it for one more second. I'm gonna start running before I can tell myself "no." I know once I start, the battle is over. Okay, I'm off.

A Healthy Speed Bump

In a perfect world, we would be able to follow our work out plans and training regimens to a "t", without interruptions. BUT, come on, that's just not likely. Life seems to throw speed bumps at us sometimes, and to that I say, "Relax, it's no big deal."

My speed bump this week came in the form of a killer cough and cold. I've been laid out for the past few days, unable to run, work out, or even get out of the house (except a quick stop by CVS for some meds). It can be frustrating to be stuck at home and feeling like I am falling off the work out wagon. Thinking things like, I have a half marathon in a month and a half and haven't worked out since last Thursday!! This is the truth, but I really believe that worry and stress aren't going to help anything. Obstacles can come out of nowhere sometimes, in all different forms. Just remember to calm down. When you can get back to working out, you will- maybe even with a little more motivation than when you left.

When life throws you a speed bump, just remember that it will only slow you down for a little bit. You can still make it to your destination in time.

Jot Down Your Workouts

One tactic I like to use to stay healthy and keep on track is writing my work outs on a calendar. This way I have a record of what I've done to both be aware if I've slacked off a bit, and also to see what I've accomplished (being proud of your work is great motivation). Personally, I use my iCal, but any calendar, journal, etc. will work. Here is what my month is looking like so far.



As you can see, my second week of August was a little lax (I was on a ranch in the mountains, nearest gym was at least an hour away), but after that I picked it up and did a 4 day work out week.

This isn't something that takes a lot of time to do. Just jot a quick note and move on with your day. This little thing has been a great motivator for me. I love seeing what I've accomplished, and believe me, when you're not feeling like you want to hit the gym, but notice you've only been once in the past week, you will get your butt to the gym.

So, try it out! I don't include my walks with my dog, but you may want to. It's your tracking system, do what you want with it!

Meal in a Muffin

This recipe is easy, healthy, and delicious. After I got an email from Nate at work saying, "mmmmm... Meal in a Muffin," I thought I should share.

I am yet to try substituting Splenda for the sugar, but I'm sure it will work just fine. Personally, I don't think there is enough sugar to worry about.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium carrot, grated
• 1 lg apple, grated
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c olive oil
• 1/3 c sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 c coconut (I bought flaked coconut)
• 1/3 c craisins (or raisins if you prefer)
• 1/3 c chopped nuts
• 3/4 c whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c oats
  
• 3 Tbl wheat germ
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg

Mix all ingredients. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full (batter made 12 muffins for me). Bake at 375 for 20 mins.

Get Up and Do It

When it comes to making sure you complete your work outs I've got one thing to say, "Get up and do it." By getting up in the morning and doing your work first thing, you will have less excuses and be more likely to get your exercise in for the day.

I've read this in many fitness magazines, but it really became apparent to me when I started training for half marathons. While training for these races, it's not the weekend long runs that are hardest to complete (actually, they are probably the easiest because you have a week to mentally prepare for them). The hard runs are in fact the shorter, middle of the week runs. The shorter runs are just as, if not more important than your long runs, but the motivation to do them can be lacking. This is probably because it's the middle of the week and we are usually our busiest. So to that, I repeat, "Get up and do it." Get your work outs done and move on with your rest of your day. You will feel refreshed and won't have to think of that pesky 4 mile run you need to do later.

Why This Blog?

Here are the facts. I'm not a Nutritionist, Personal Trainer, or Lifestyle Consultant. I am just an ordinary girl trying to live a happy, healthy life. This blog is not a place where I plan to dictate to you how you should be living your life, or the right and wrongs about health. No way. Not me.

What I do want to do is write about health in a true, unfiltered way: the ups and downs of weight loss and weight gain, the difficulties of implementing health into our busy lives, etc. I want to share recipes, workouts, and/or goals that I hope others will benefit from.

And, this blog is not just for you. It's for me too. With this blog I will be accountable for my fitness and health, to help keep it on track.

So let's do this together, one post at a time.