Mission Accomplished..for the Week

What a week! You know those weeks where you aren't sure if you are coming or going? Yeah that was my week. It actually started last Saturday when I had my friend's bridal shower. Thanks to shopping in my mom's closet I had a cute outfit to wear and I was armed with cheese sticks in my purse, just in case there was nothing for me to eat. What, not everyone keeps cheese sticks in their purse? Haha. The party was a good time.  I can also say for the first time, I was toilet papered. Yup you read that correctly...I was nominated to be the model for a toilet paper wedding dress. It was definitely a funny moment!! As it turned out I needed my cheese sticks. There was nothing there I could eat and I was starving.  I can't wait for the wedding and  don't worry I will stash some cheese sticks in my purse for that too. Mission Bridal Shower: Accomplished!

Getting my toilet paper wedding dress

Next up..my work convention. We left early Sunday morning and thanks to a marathon and road closures I got to my first meeting 15 minutes late. My amazing and wonderful boss was totally great about it and understood, I had called him from the road to warn him. The meeting went well and then I rushed off to lunch. As I mentioned in my previous post Food Food Everywhere my coworker got me cobb salad, it was really good and thankfully filling. I meant to take a picture for this post but it didn't last long as I had to rush out to education sessions. Need a nap yet...I did! Dinner time was my favorite, we went to a restaurant in the hotel where I got to order Rib Eye steak with side veggies and shared shrimp with my coworker...recharged and feeling good for the evening events, which included our dessert reception. Cupcakes, pastries, ice cream, chocolate everywhere!! Being tired and in the room with that deliciousness was not easy, but thanks to my filling dinner and feeling good I didn't even take a taste.

Yup, it tasted as good as it looks

Dessert reception...
good thing sugar can't jump through my camera or I would be in trouble 

The next night was our big event, the Awards Banquet. As I was getting dressed I thought back to previous years, and usually by this time I felt run down, miserable, and wasn't overly thrilled with my outfit thanks to my efforts to try and cover up as much as possible. Not this year...this year I found an outfit that I absolutely loved and loved wearing it. As I got up in front of crowds and walked around to help people, I truly felt confident and was so thankful I changed my eating habits these last few months. It made that moment so much better!

Every girl should add a little sparkle sometimes
The night was so much fun, I even got up and danced a little (sorry no pics of dancing)

I knew every morning I would only have the option of muffins, bagels, and pancakes...that just wasn't going to work for me. I needed more than cheese sticks in my purse for this. So this time, I packed hard boiled eggs, salad, olive oil, and some shredded chicken to keep in my room. I used a few ice packs to keep the food from spoiling, and it worked they stayed perfect before I could get them into my hotel room fridge. Now I got to start every morning armed and ready to conquer the day and feel good about it.

Not what most people pack to eat away,
but this helped me start my day off right.
I was full until lunch and had tons of energy

The next few days were similar to this one. Run around, food all over, me being happy my pants fit and I had the energy to keep up, amazing how much a year can change. Last year I was eating anything and everything, worst part was I could barely keep up and felt awful the whole time. Not one dessert or bad food passed my lips this entire trip! Mission Work Convention: Accomplished!

Next up:  Italian Festival with my family tonight....

Nature Walk

Last night my mom stopped by my place for a little to help me pick out some outfits, catch up on my online dating stories (that's a post for a whole other day), and just fun girl talk. I love our time together, It was so much fun! While we were talking about eating and working out she asked me why I stopped walking. I looked at her confused and told her that I am on the treadmill every morning at 5:30. She said that's great, but what about your outdoor weekend walks and walking in the park. I thought about it for a second, why had I stopped walking outside around town or in the park. I didn't even find other parks to walk in like I had hoped to do this summer. Okay sure the summer was a little humid, but not terrible and the bugs were annoying, but not the worst. Even after she left I couldn't stop thinking about my outside walks. I love those walks. I always felt so refreshed and rejuvenated after one of those walks.

Nice way to start the weekend and my workout! 

This morning when I got up and went to get into my normal workout clothes and hop on my now normal treadmill routine, I stopped myself, time to go back outside. It was around 6:30 and pretty chilly...I loved it!! I had on long sleeves and my headphones and loved every second of my walk. I watched the sun finish rising, the squirrels start running around for the day, the air was calm and pretty quiet with not too many people up and out yet. I did about 3.5 miles, it wasn't my fastest time, but I really enjoyed taking everything in and being in the moment. You can bet this will be back on my weekend routines!! I'm so glad my mom said something to me and reminded me how much I love my outdoor walks.

My squirrel friend
Stayed in front of me for at least a 1/2 mile before
finding just the right tree to hop in

Hope everyone has a great weekend and if it's nice out, go outside and enjoy it!!

Love the fall weather.
I'm definitely looking forward to more weekend walks

My after walk low carb breakfast
Eggs over messy with some cheese, a little salad
and a big cup of coffee

Bring on the Filling Healthy Food

I wanted to share some new favorite food finds for the week. Last I told you I was going to try and incorporate some more protein and healthy fats into my daily menu. After shopping and talking with my mom I got some ideas and decided to try them out. I know it's only been a few days, but what I can tell you is I have way more energy than I have had in weeks and my thoughts aren't always about food and what will I eat next. Instead I have been able to concentrate more, I am working out after work and tonight I even went shopping with my dad to Sports Authority. He was helping me find a new belt to hold all my stuff when I go for walks.

Let's talk breakfast. I love eggs, cooked all different ways. Lately I have been enjoying them cooked overeasy, mine usually come out somewhere between overeasy and overmessy, but still taste just as yummy. To add extra protein and healthy goodness I added some shrimp on the side; and for my veggie fix I cut up half a zucchini, cooked it in coconut oil with garlic, salt, and pepper. DELICIOUS!! And very filling.

Eggs overmessy (Cindy style), shrimp, zucchini cooked in coconut oil

My next idea was for snack time before the gym. I really don't like going to gym and feeling like I have no energy or halfway through I am starving. I also needed to find something that I could eat at my desk at work. I took some romaine lettuce, spread spicy mustard, added Boar's Head Turkey (less process and no nitrates like other lunch meat) and Colby-Jack cheese. It was so filling and delicious. I used 3 oz of the turkey and 1 slice of cheese cut up. It was surprising how many lettuce rolls you can make with all that.

Easy and healthy snack idea for work

Lettuce, turkey and cheese rolls

I can definitely get used to eating this way and on a lighter note, my pants aren't suffocating me when I button them. WOOHOO! 

Feel free to share any other food finds that might help me along my food and health journey and I hope you like my food finds if you decide to give them a try. More to come....

Family Brunch

Happy Father's Day! I hope everyone had a fun filled day whether you were celebrating with your family or doing something else.

I decided to start the day off right, I went for a 4 mile walk with my headphones on and my energy high. My mom let me know halfway through that we would be celebrating the day over brunch. Okay I admit I was a little frustrated, my breakfast is my favorite part of my day and my routine after my walks is just as much enjoyable. After I was done with my walk, stretching, shower, and yes pouting I decided to not let it stop me from having a great time and off I went to my parent's house.

My mom was already cooking away in the kitchen and it smelled amazing! The good thing is my mom and I are really big into lower carbs/more protein meals. She was making eggs, bacon, sprinkle pancakes and even picked up a delicious fruit bowl. I was feeling pretty secure I could make it through this brunch and not completely blow my eating for the day.

But then it hit me, the growling stomach, I hadn't eaten since my walk and I was starving!! Okay Cindy remain calm, do not reach for the sprinkle pancakes. I reached for some fruit instead. Soon my growling calmed down and I found it was actually easier than I thought to not indulge in sprinkle pancakes, in fact, I didn't even want them. Now that was a very good feeling and I was feeling pretty proud of myself. I may have overindulged a bit with the grapes and blueberries, but I like to think that was better than indulging in pancakes and later cake.

We had a fun day and I'm guessing my dad did too, when I was leaving he was out cold in his recliner snoozing away, and I'm pretty sure there was a smile on his face.

I'm really thankful my family, especially my mom, respects my food choices and always has something yummy for me on hand. I can't even tell you the last time I saw my mom buy a fruit bowl, but it was absolutely a lifesaver for me today and I think she will be getting them again for future fun family events!!

Cindy