End of Year Shenanigans

I'm back!  Sorry it has been so long since my last post. I feel like these last few months of 2014 flew by. Thank you to my blogging buddy Gwen for reminding me to get my butt back here. For those of you who don't know Gwen she writes a blog called The Sunny Coconut. If you are looking for honest, sincere, and success please check out her page. When I am feeling blah I read her posts and they usually get me moving again.

Even with all the craziness I am proud to say I have kept up with my workouts and yes, counted ever calorie and carb that went in my body. Even wine. On days when I knew an afternoon workout wasn't possible I got up early to at least get a run in.

5:21 a.m. I took this photo as workout proof for
 trainer Mark that I got a run in

So what else have I been up to...

Work holiday party. This is now a favorite outfit!

No complaints about the food by me...yum!
I shared leftover with my dad later that night

Hanukkah! The best part of Hanukkah for me, is watching my nieces open there presents. Now that they are older and really appreciate things, the look on their faces makes me a big puddle of Aunt Cindy.

Hmm, yeah they got a few presents

Hanukkah selfie with my favorite girls

Can't forget a silly selfie

I think this is our first family photo in many years.
thank you to the Iphone timer feature

And just to add to my fun and shenanigans, I got to ride with my fire company and Santa around town. Still not sure who gets more excited about Santa coming around town the parents, the kids, or me.

Great people, fire trucks,
candy canes, Santa, a lot of fun and so many laughs!

That's the quick and fun of my last month. I know everyone is big on New Years Resolutions, but I must admit it's not my thing. I try and look at every day as an opportunity to grow and enjoy even the little things.  Something that I do like to do throughout the year is make goals. Big ones and small ones. So what are some my goals? I want to play more in the kitchen and share my ideas and yes even failures with you. My goal to health, fitness, and weight loss is an ongoing process.  I would also love to save up for a new camera so I can play around with my photography skills a little more and be creative. These are just a few.

I would like to thank all of you for reading my posts and wish you a very happy, healthy, and safe New Years!!

On a Quest for Protein

One of the biggest things I have come realize is the large role food plays in our daily lives. I don't just mean because it tastes good or stops your stomach from grumbling during a meeting. I have noticed how certain foods make me feel. Some fuel me for a workout while others make me want to take a nap. Finding the right food for me to eat before working out has become a large part of my journey. I have discovered some really good food options, check out my chicken in a can blog post for that delicious option, I absolutely love eating that on just my cardio days. On days when I train with Mark I am really pushing myself and started feeling like I need a little something extra. I asked around the gym and found a lot of people drink protein shakes or eat protein bars. The next time I was good shopping I checked some labels and was bummed. A lot of them are FULL of carbohydrates, high calories, made with soy, gluten, tons of sugar, and not what I wanted. There goes that idea I thought, until one day on twitter someone mentioned QuestBars. I decided to check them out and was very pleasantly surprised.

My favorite flavor of QuestBar
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

The QuestBars weren't full of sugar at all, low in calories, gluten free, low in carbs, not full of so many crazy ingredients that I can't even pronounce. I was excited, but thought how good could these taste. I found out they sell them at the GNC down the street and off I went. I picked up a bunch of different flavors like, chocolate chip cookie dough, cookies and cream, white chocolate raspberry, and apple pie. These are just a few of the flavors they offer. The next day before my workout with Mark I ate the chocolate chip cookie dough bar. I loved that I was able to eat it in the car on the way to the gym, my meeting ran late and I wouldn't have had time to sit down with a fork and eat anything else.  So how did it taste you ask?  DELICIOUS!!!!  I loved it. Perfect texture, perfect flavor, didn't leave a weird after taste or leave me craving for more sugar or bad stuff.  Now the big question...how did it hold up against a Mark workout? PERFECT!  I was well fueled throughout the workout and even earned the nickname tiny beast.  I now have a bar before every workout.

There are so many different delicious flavors for you to choose from
Trust me you won't get bored!

I tried most of the other flavors and have to say the chocolate chip cookie dough and cookies and cream bars are my favorite. I buy them by the box at GNC. I have also used them as a dessert substitute. There aren't many desserts I can enjoy these days without feeling yucky after or guilty. One night after having dinner with my family I felt a little blah because I wanted the dessert, but knew I would regret it. I remembered I had a bar stashed in my purse so I took it out and got to enjoy dessert with everyone else without feeling guilty. I wouldn't recommend doing that all the time as the bars are high in protein, but for the occasional treat with friends and family I say indulge and have fun.

The box description talked me into giving them a try
so very glad I did

For more information about the Quest bars and ingredients check out the Quest website at http://www.questnutrition.com/ingredients/

Disclaimer:  I am in no way affiliated with Quest. I just love their product and wanted to share my new favorite find!!

Holiday Weight Loss Determination

I know it's been a while since my last post, I'm sorry about that, the month flew and I got swept along with it. Unfortunately, that meant I didn't workout as much and some days I slacked in watching what I ate. The end result....no weight loss and hardly any inches lost. On the positive side, seeing the numbers not change has snapped me back into gear. With the holidays approaching I know it can be a scary time for those of us trying to get in shape and be healthy; parties, food, drinking, and crazy schedules.

True, so true!
http://www.shoestoshiraz.com/2014/11/fitness-and-me-through-ecards.html

I am not afraid this time around, I am determined! I will not let the winter blues sideline me, the parties are meant to be social and have fun not to eat all the food. Most important, my workouts!! I have my amazing trainer Mark, who keeps me constantly challenging myself and trying harder. The entire staff at the gym I go to is really fun to be around, I look forward to going and seeing every one. Tomorrow Mark and I are meeting to go over a plan and my goals for the next 6 months. I'm looking forward to it. I may have slacked last month, but this is a brand new month and the best present I can give myself, is taking care of me and not losing sight of that!!

You can't change the past, but you can use the knowledge you gained and grow from it!

How are you planning on staying healthy this holiday season?

More Than Weight Loss

A few months back when I starting eating healthier, working out, and reading labels, my plan was to mostly lose weight and feel less sluggish. I had no idea how many twists and turns this journey would lead me on and how much I would discover about myself along the way. 

Look inside yourself for the strength you need to keep moving forward

Now, my hard work means way more to me than just losing some weight. This journey has made me look deep within myself and wonder, what am I made? Who am I? What do I want for myself? While I don't have all the answers yet, I am way more aware of my thoughts and feelings. I realized I am a lot tougher than I even knew, both physically and mentally. 

Excuses are easy...being true to yourself takes commitment to yourself

I look back at how I have treated my body over the years and wonder why I disrespected myself so much. I ate terrible foods, didn't work out, was miserable in my own skin and never took solid action to change that. I would say I can't do it, I will never be a gym person, but I just want to eat what I want. Now I am learning to treat my mind, body and soul with respect. In some ways I feel like I am experiencing things for the first time with clear eyes. I don't want to eat the food that makes me feel sluggish inside, it might taste good, but I love myself enough to fight the urge. Now when I miss a day or two of working out I feel it and I miss it. I even decided to step out of my comfort zone to attend a conference to learn more about my job. In addition, I discovered I love to dress nicer, do my hair every day (unless it's raining), and take pride in who I am. It feels amazing!!

I love playing with different styles these days
I wore this dress to a wedding a few weekends ago

I don't let anyone else disrespect me why would I do that to myself. I'm sorry it took me so long to get here, but glad I finally have!  I'm sure I will have many more ups and downs along the way, but I believe if I stay strong and believe in myself I can achieve anything my heart desires.  

Self love is the biggest lesson I had learn and
never knew I was lacking

Be Honest With Yourself

Growing up my parent's taught us to be honest. If you did something you shouldn't have done own up to it, deal with the consequences, and move on. I have taken that teaching with me throughout my life. My close group of friends know that when they ask me a question they will get the truth, I will always try and word it nicely, but it will be the truth. Recently, I realized the one person I am not always honest to is myself.

It's not always easy, but it's the truth

I block, sugar coat, and ignore some of my own feelings and actions because I don't like how they feel. If I overeat on calories one day, I might happen to forget to enter them into myfitnesspal, almost as if I don't enter the information I didn't overeat and then I can look at the scale and wonder why did it go up. With dating, if I am with someone and they do something I may not like I will leave that story out when talking to my friends. If I don't talk about it, then it didn't bother me and all is right in the relationship. If I am feeling scared about something, but I say I am not, then I must be okay. You see what I mean?

I wouldn't trust a friend that didn't tell me the truth,
why should I trust myself if I can't tell myself the truth

It's okay to be scared. It's okay to fail sometimes. It's okay to be excited. The biggest lesson I am learning right now is being honest with myself. It's okay. Don't deny how something makes me feel just because I don't want to feel that way. Own my feelings with myself. I am not any more perfect than the next person. I can't grow as a person if I am not willing to know myself inside and out.

I want to know me the good, the bad, and the scared

Dating Highs and Lows

Time for a dating update post....

For those of you that are happily married can I just say I am jealous. 

If you are fortunate to have found the person
who became your last first date, I'm jealous. First dates are rough 

Dating is hard and I feel like dating is harder now that I am in my 30's for so many reasons. In the earlier dating years when I met a guy it was is he hot, does he have a nice tush, what type of car does he drive, does he have a job. Now I find myself thinking does he have a job, does he have lots of roommates or live at home with his parents, does he have kids and an ex-wife, can he pay his bills or will I be supporting him, does he want a family and yes the does he have a nice tush is still an important question.  Just to add to the questions, if you are looking online it's even more of a mystery if the guy you meet will match what he wrote and posted on the site. 

I believe this will happen for me someday.
My heart may have been broken before, but it has made me who I am today

Now for my personal update...I met someone through mutual friends. My friend and her husband played wingman and wingwomen for us. We text for about a month before we finally had time in both of our schedules to go out. The night was a lot of fun, we laughed a lot and he even sang some karaoke...yes the man can sing! We both didn't want the night to end, he didn't drop me off until about 4 am the next morning. I know I went to bed with a smile on my face.

Since that night it has been a mix of many emotions. When you are dating at this stage in life you both have a past, you both have other relationships, romantic and not, and things that stick with you. As much as you tell yourself to not let the past sneak in to your present thoughts, I honestly don't think it's possible not to. If you have been hurt before or let down, you notice everything the other person is doing. You wonder did I miss something last time and feel very determined not to miss it this time. I am guilty of all of that. I should have seen things in past relationships, or I did but I blocked and didn't want to admit them, and for that I got hurt and was angry with myself for not saying something sooner and especially for not walking away from the relationship before I could get hurt any further. I will say, that this guy has surprised me on many occasions, he is wonderful at talking and communicating and yes has even called me out on some of my behavior to make me aware and in return I have done the same for him. 

It's not fair to blame someone for what someone else did 

The scariest part is not what you see on the surface, it's what you feel deep inside as you start caring and liking someone more. You are opening your heart and being vulnerable, and hoping the person you care about will treat it right, that everything they tell you is the truth. Hoping that they are falling for you as you are falling for them. There is no secret to dating, there are no guarantees to any relationship; there is a lot of putting faith in the other person, hoping they will do right by you as you will by them, and trusting your own instincts. 

I don't have a crystal ball to know what will happen with the man in my life at this time. I hope we continue to grow together and enjoy everything we do. I can tell you my heart is open and while it's really scary, it's better than being closed off and missing the opportunity to find something special. 

Most important advice I ever received,
be yourself and be true to you

Have any good dating advice or stories please feel free to comment and share them!!

Fall Into Fun

Fall time...to me it means leaves changing, pumpkins, hay rides, and festivals. Usually by this time my family has already been to a handful of fun events, but this year between my nieces busy social life of birthday parties, my new dating life, and other scheduling conflicts it has been more a challenge to get us all together, but we did it!  This past Sunday, it just happened that all of us were free and we took advantage of the moment and went to a harvest festival a few towns over.

My dad, nieces, and me waiting for the hayride

Well...it definitely wasn't as big as the promotion lead us to believe but we were together. The wind was blowing, but the sun was shining. 

My sister and me on the hayride...could you tell we are sisters?

My dad and brother-in-law hanging out on the hayride

They didn't have the best pumpkins to pick from, but we wandered around the fields and my nieces enjoyed saying ewww at every squished pumpkin. Some of the bushes had prickles on them, Kaitlyn helped me pick them off after. Maybe she will grow up and be a nurse like my sister. 

I'm pretty sure she was saying ewww look at that one!

We could have waited for the tractor to come back and get us from the field, but since we are a family that is healthy together these days we decided to would walk the rest of the way. Now I felt even better about the festival, I got my workout in for the day since I overslept that morning. 

Group shot my mom took from of us walking back

Not much else was really going on at the festival, but don't worry dad and I make any place fun! Oh look a wheelbarrow....

Who needs a festival of events when they had wheelbarrows
Good thing I lost some weight!

So the festival definitely wasn't the best one ever, and will probably not be one we attend next year, but we got to spend some time together walking around and laughing. Luckily they also didn't have much tempting festival food like funnel cake, french fries, and cookies so it didn't make it hard to resist. Since we were all hungry after the wind walking we decided to head over to a local restaurant and have a good dinner with plenty of healthy and delicious options for all of us to enjoy!  

This is called a warming up in the restaurant and excited for food selfie

To Wine or Not to Wine

No I am not talking about the type of whine you hear from me after an arms workout; I am talking about the wine made from grapes. I bet I have your attention now...

Wine makes me happy inside

When I started cleaning up my diet at the beginning of the year, I only wanted to eat and drink foods that I felt would be healthy and have nutritious benefits for my every day life. Alcohol didn't seem to fit into that category so I cut it out. I had a glass of wine on February 1 at a fire department function and didn't even have a sip for months after that.....until recently. 

Let me explain. Lately I have been thinking about maybe adding in a glass sometimes, I admit after a tough week it is nice to unwind with a good glass and relax your crazy week away. So I looked up the nutritional value and found that a 4 oz glass of Barefoot Moscato (I love Moscato) contains 120 calories and 11g of carbs. Hmm would it be worth it to consume my calories and carbs in the form of a drink that had really no big benefit to me drinking it except I enjoy it??

Hmm... I like the way this guy thinkshttp://www.stelladot.com/

And then last weekend happened...I had a date. I was sort of set up by a friend of a friend and for some reason I was nervous. You would think after so many dates, especially with being on match for a few months I wouldn't even be phased, but that night I was feeling my nervousness.  When we got to the restaurant I decided tonight would be a great night to slowly get back into drinking wine. I ordered my drink, very much aware that I hadn't had anything to drink in a while and I didn't want this to go to my head too quick, so I sipped extra slow and enjoyed. It tasted delicious and I admit it helped me to  relax just a little and enjoy the evening. We had fun that night and yes we have seen each other since. 

Ha ha, yup

I was pleased the next morning when the scale stayed the same, I wasn't feeling yucky at all, and I got right back into my workout routine. So here is my thinking, it's okay to have a little indulgence occasionally, as long as it's not something that will make you sick due to an allergy or sensitivity, and the rest of the time you eat and drink healthy and continue to workout. Moderation and balance is the key. 

I have no idea what the future holds with dating and the new guy, but I do know wine is now back in my life!

Mind Over Body For Success

Last week was my first full week back to the gym since the beginning of summer. I started with my new trainer Mark and made some new gym buddies. I loved being back in the gym atmosphere. I switched up my cardio a little to break away from my safe treadmill, have you ever heard of a seated elliptical? I definitely didn't until that day and now I love it. The guy next to me had to show me where all of the adjustments were, but once I got going I was hooked. The biggest change was the new trainer.  My first trainer when I joined the gym started off great and then went down hill, I wasn't sad when he was no longer at the gym, the next trainer was okay but definitely didn't keep me coming back for more (hello summer off). I spoke to the assistant manager before setting my appointment and after talking to her a few minutes she said she knew exactly who I should train with. I went with her gut and set the appointment. I am so happy I did.

I want working out to be a part of my every day life.
If I enjoy the process, I will come back for more

Mark is amazing!! I now workout with him two times a week. The first time we met it was mostly to go over food, my goals and expectations, took all of my measurements and even did my weight and body fat % (yikes). Next was our workout, it was tough, but I enjoyed it. For the first time I was sweating and feeling like I was really working towards my goal of not just weight loss, but overall tone and health. The next workout was arms...um ouch. What I really like about the workouts he teaches, is that I feel confident enough to go in and do it by myself on days I am not training with him. One the biggest reasons I had for getting a trainer was to learn how to do it on my own, without being afraid.

Knowledge is power...
When I am done with my training sessions,
I will know how to continue my workout success and not be afraid

I also love that he not only pushes me, but he encourages as well. He is such a positive influence and has this amazing energy to be around, he somehow even manages to keep me laughing throughout my workout. Last night's workout was legs. Mark pushed me to the point where my legs felt like jello and shaking all over. I was dripping with sweat and at one point was ready to give up. He wouldn't let me, he kept telling me to push myself, to do it for myself, I had it in me and not to give up. At that point, instead of thinking about my jello legs I concentrated on his words. I thought about my body and how I want it to look. I thought about all my hard work and how good it was feeling. I thought about not letting myself down and not letting him down. I could do and I did do it. I finished all my reps and went through the entire workout routine. I was exhausted, sweaty, and shaking, and couldn't have been more proud of myself. I also can not wait to workout with him again next week.

This is exactly how I felt walking this morning!!
At least I was laughing while trying to walk

I realized sometimes it's your mind letting you down, telling you to give up or you can't do something. I believe for the most part if we tell our mind to be quiet for a second, be positive instead of negative, and believe in ourselves you can accomplish anything!!

I'm not done until Mark says I am done,
 and then he tells me to do more

And yes my legs are hurting big time today, but I will still be in the gym this afternoon for my cardio routine telling my head to be quiet I can do it.

Excellent Egg Muffins

As you know, I love eggs! They can be cooked so many different ways, combined with different foods, and so filling. 

I started back at my gym this week, which feels painful and wonderful at the same time, and I wanted to try switching up my pre-workout snacks. I was looking for something full of good protein and fat, not too high in calories, and of course low carb. One of the trainers I was talking to suggested making egg muffins. Egg muffins!  Why didn't I think of that. They are so easy to make and I can stick a couple in a zipblock bag to take with me. Off I went food shopping...

Ingredients: 

(Makes 12 muffins)

10 eggs

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

6-7 Broccoli florets

Salt

Pepper

Cooking Spray

Egg muffin ingredients; eggs, broccoli, cheese...sounds easy, because it is!

** You can use whatever cheese you like, and also add in any type of vegetable. I think next time I am going to try it with bacon added in. YUM! **

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray the muffin tin with the cooking spray. 

Crack all 10 eggs in bowl. I like to crack the eggs first just in case some shells sneak past me I can get them out easier. 

Cracking the eggs and trying to not get any shells slip past me

Mix the eggs up and then it's time to add the 1 cup of cheese (add more or less to your tasting).

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese added to the mixture

Since I am not the most professional or technical I just took a couple of broccoli florets and broke them apart with my fingers, it was quick and easy. Then just add your salt and pepper to taste.

Broccoli adds another level of nutrition and deliciousness

I used a 1/4 cup measuring spoon to make sure each muffin tin received the same amount of the mixture, it also helped me when figuring out the nutritional properties to enter into myfitnesspal. 

By using the measuring cup I knew exactly how much mixture
was going in each tin

Ready for the oven!

I set my timer for 15 minutes and was very excited to see how they turned out. Light and fluffy and delicious!!

Low calories, low carb, highly delicious egg muffins!

I love how easy they are to store!

These are an easy to store and quick to grab and go snack idea

I will definitely be making these again, just as soon I finish this first batch! 

Support from all Over the Globe

Life is crazy, complicated, wonderful, full of joy and lots of surprises, and so many ups and downs. Every day is a new adventure (thank you Debbie for that line). What matters most is how you get through those times, the good and the bad. Some days I wake up and feel like I can conquer the world, other days not so much. But I have the most amazing support team and a lot of them I have never met before...Confused? Let me explain...

Thank you Jack Sparrow for your words of wisdom!

When I first started trying to lose weight my mom told me about this app called Myfitnesspal. It is a free site that lets me track my weight, exercise, calories and other nutritional information that I choose. It even let me customize my goals since I follow more of a low carb diet. I can use it on my computer or on my phone so no matter where I am I can keep track of my daily intake and goals. I was really enjoying the site, and then I discovered the chat boards. People write questions and talk about their experiences, many sounded similar to my feelings. I started becoming "friends" with more and more people. It was neat keeping up with their success and them with mine. 

This app is more than just counting calories
It's a community to help you succeed with your weight loss
and get healthy dreams

Not too long ago one of those not so easy days happened and I was completely frustrated, my usual support team of people I turn to were busy and I didn't even want to bother them with my frustration, so I turned to the site and posted my thoughts and struggle. I didn't expect any replies or answers, but it felt good to vent my frustrations. So imagine my surprise when within minutes I had comments from all over the globe, people who had never met me before or even talk to me on the phone sending me support and encouragement, reminding me why I started my journey for better health and not to give up. It really helped! I was able to take a step back and work through my thoughts and realized I didn't really want the chocolate bar. That was just one time, other times I have asked for suggestions on a fitness tracker, food ideas, and even workout plans. I get just as excited for their success stories and try hard to support and encourage them when they have down days too. It is this really supportive group of people, who come together and have one goal in mind...success! My kind of people! 

Nothing better than going through the
good and the bad with people who believe and never give up!

If you are looking for a good (did I mention free) app/website to track your information I recommend myfitnesspal and I highly recommend you take advantage of the community boards and make friends. These people have nothing to gain by helping you, they just really want to, and you never know who you may help with your story and experiences. 

Thank you to all my friends on myfitnesspal!