The Starbucks(less) Challenge: Day 3

I enjoyed my Green Tea Latte so much this morning I think I need rehab.

The Starbucks(less) Challenge: About, Day 1, Day 2 & Amendment

aka solving potential conflicts creatively

Monday Menu-Plan #7

Found myself a bit uncomfortably full last week.....

Weigh-In # 5

It's still Wednesday in my timezone!

Starting Weight:  Goal Weight:  Current Weight:

197.0 lbs healthy 175.0 lbs

Is it me or is there something missing from this?

Nope, something's "missing". It turns out I've been reading my scale wrong. 

It turns out what I've been assuming is my BMI is, in fact, my Body Fat Percentage. Which is apparently normal. In fact, according to an online BMI calculator a friend practically had to shove in my face because I can be mule-headed sometimes and refused to believe I did something wrong, at my current weight my BMI is a mere 27.4. Which, as this website explains in simple laymen's terms, doesn't mean a darn thing.

That aside, in a way it's a good thing I've been so fixated on that number popping up on my scale. It's still the important number and the only one I should really care about. Which isn't to say I still won't be excited when I lose poundage. :)

My Body Fat Percentage This Week Is..... 

*cue drumroll*

30.9

Which puts me just inside of the acceptable range! Yay!

I still have a long way to go until I'm happy er happier with myself (4 more percentage points should do the trick), but I've been making steady progress despite multiple slip-ups and sickness, and I'm confident I'll continue to make progress! 

On a side note, my mental health has been rather stupendous this past week too! Accomplished a challenge my trainer gave me, which is going to be replicated tomorrow, and haven't had any panic attacks! Woohoo! Go me go!

Oh, almost forgot (as usual).....

Did anyone else notice I broke that plateau I was stuck on? 

It's all thanks to my husband (and my trainer, Reven)! With a Starbucks bribe in hand, he got me into the gym. And onto a treadmill. And shamed me into a jog with his gazelle-like stride. Then left me there for 15 minutes with an internal Reven daring me to stop. It was very motivating. After that torture DH reminded me I'm supposed to be working on my leg strength to help with my riding, per Reven's recommendations, and showed me the weight room. 

After that day, what with the whole not dying due to an asthma attack after freakin jogging when I haven't jogged in ages, I've been pushing myself harder when I'm at the stable. 

I guess all I needed was to know I wouldn't end up in the hospital if I tried harder than my comfort level. :)

To use an MLP fandom phrase, I made everything 20% Cooler! 

Monday Menu-Plan #6

I've decided to (semi) continue my diet from last week!

How could I not?

I feel so much more energized and healthier than before. 

Plus, I'm not hungry at all! 

Recap

Last week I mostly completely cut out packaged food and grains and stuck to fruit, veggies, red meat and lots of milk. I did cave a few times - but I kept it to one instant mac and cheese (the outrageously bad for you kind), some oatmeal-raisin cookies (I'm going to need to make a new batch if I'm going to send them to anyone) and one celebratory shrimp dinner at Red Lobster (my trainer told me I'm 95% perfect). 

Breakfast: I had a starbucks drink and a whole grapefruit (sans sugar).
Lunch: a no-sugar-added simple fruit smoothie.
Snack: a slim fast shake.
Dinner: red meat and veggies.
Dessert: milk tea and a cookie.

This week isn't going to be as stringent. Lunch, snack and dessert will be the same... but... Breakfast will continue to include starbucks, but will be with either yogurt with raisins, oatmeal or half a grapefruit (if I said I was full after just half this past week, would you believe me?). And...

Dinner

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

Curried Chicken with Rice & Veggies Leftovers Beef and Mashed Potatoes Joe's Crab Shack - Lobster Pot Pie! Chicken with Rice Beef with Broccoli & Carrots Beef with Broccoli & Cheeeeeeeeese

Well, that's all I have to say. Except the next two days need to go by faster - I can't wait to see if I've lost any weight doing this thing!

Don't forget to visit/like my facebook page for more self-serving chatter and my daily smoothie recipes! :D

Disclaimer
I am not a doctor. I did not consult my doctor. This "diet" is of my own making and I came up with it on a whim. I have no idea what I'm doing. I am trying this at my own risk. If you try it, you are trying it at your own risk.

Weigh-In # 4

Why is this late?

Because AWESOME happened!

On Tuesday my trainer told me I'm 95% PERFECT in form! And on Wednesday I didn't have an asthma attack or such after running at the gym! I spent the evening celebrating with an Earl Grey latte from Starbucks*, lovingly cleaning my saddle**, followed by dinner and a movie*** and lots of sweet sleep.

Woohoo!

Starting Weight:  Starting BMI:  Goal Weight:  Goal BMI:  Current Weight:  Current BMI:

197.0 lbs 35 % healthy under 24.9 % 180.0 lbs 31.2 %

*really just a milk tea - aka just tea with milk added (trust Starbucks to fancify it)
**it takes hours when done properly and is akin to triple the amount of time spent meditating
***left-over Red Lobster shrimp and Total Recall

Monday Menu-Planning #5

Awesome grocery trip! Including the last one! I have such a surplus of meat that I wouldn't be surprised if it lasts well into next month.

A contributing factor to that statement is that I am changing up my diet for at least this week. Inspired partly by another friend successfully juicing for a whole 10 days (yay Matthew! you rock man!), I'm girding my loins for an epic battle between my wants and needs. The biggest obstacle is that my husband is not participating.

Summary

No packaged foods (other than my frozen veggies) and no grains. So no bread, pasta, or dessert. Unless it's homemade. And even then it's limited to one (1) chocolate chip cookie a day. 

The Diet 

Morning Lunch Snack Dinner Dessert

(1) venti Starbucks chai and a whole grapefruit (possibly with sugar sprinkled on it) a fruit smoothie! (I'm going to try to make a different kind each day) Slim Fast shake (if I'm about to snap I'll make an extra and add a whole banana) red meat and veggies (a heaping amount of red meat - mmmmm) chocolate chip cookie and milk-tea

With this diet I'm less cutting calories and more just cutting back on sodium, preservatives and other chemicals that like to cause bloat and linger around.

As much as I love losing weight, the advice of a euro gamer dude friend of mine has convinced me to focus on the big picture of being healthy and not obsessively counting calories and driving myself cuckoo.

Note: When cutting a grapefruit in half you want it to come out looking like the picture. Also, click here for 4 Powerful Reasons to Eat Grapefruit.

The Smoothies

I'm not going to do anything fancy-schmancy... just use the fruits I already have on hand. 

I have:

• red delicious apples
• bananas
• strawberries
• blueberries
• raspberries
• kiwis
• grapefruit
• oranges

If I begin to run out (such as with strawberries, which the husband gobbles up much much much too quickly), I'll just pick up more at my commissary. Thank goodness they're cheap there!

& Last But Not Least.....

.....My Latest Grocery Trip!

I bought:

1% milk  dozen eggs butter (2 packages)  orange juice  strawberries  apples  grapefruit  blueberries  raspberries  bananas  lemons

slim fast powder  prepackaged sf shakes (for hubby)  miniwheats cereal (2 boxes - for hubby)  powdered sugar  stew meat (I like buying these because they're cheaper, cook faster, easier to portion out and just as delicious)  frozen veggies  onions  kitty food  kitty litter

Total: $113.04 

Upon getting home I realized we forgot heavy whipping cream, lysol wipes, a tub of oxiclean and toilet paper, so I'm estimating the overall cost will be closer to $130.00



Disclaimer
I am not a doctor. I did not consult my doctor. This "diet" is of my own making and I am came up with it on a whim. I have no idea what I'm doing. I am trying this at my own risk. If you try it, you are trying it at your own risk.

Content Update Compilation

Summary:

Monday Menu-Plan
Wednesday Weigh-In
Calendar Cupcakes

Sorry for the lack of updates... Despite the inclusion of caffeine in the excedrin formula, I still find myself sluggish and capable of not much more than laying around like a boneless husk.

Had to reschedule my riding lesson for Tuesday too, and even then only made it there with the assistance of my darling husband, who tacked up the mare for me. All I did was catch her, clean her hooves and use her neck as a pillow. Yes, I almost fell asleep while on Chloe. I was that out of it. Just typing this much is honestly wearing me out.....

Monday Menu-Plan #3

My grocery trip last week went better than expected! Not only am I going to have a surplus of meat at the start of the next paycheck, but the only thing I need to restock on for this week is milk. :)

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

soup - cream of mushroom mcdonalds   >.< soup - tomato chicken with rice beef with veggies beef over rice chicken with veggies

Wednesday Weigh-In #4

Starting Weight: Starting BMI: Goal Weight: Goal BMI: Current Weight: Current BMI:

197.0 lbs 35 % healthy under 24.9 % 181.0 lbs 32.0 %

At least I didn't go up in pounds... right?   >.<

It's totally the below recipe's fault by the way. Totally. When half of the dozen was left, I found out putting them sans wrapper in a bowl with a little bit of milk poured in and then zapping them in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute resulted in a taste out of this world. Especially when the milk was mixed with heavy whipping cream. 

Calendar Cupcakes: January 2013

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Chocolate Chip Frosting

aka Diet Busters

Beware! You WILL pig out on these!

The cake is moist and the frosting will have you making more just so you can eat it on it's own. 'Nuff said.

Cupcake Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Cupcake Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 
2. Cream butter, sugar and eggs together until fluffy. Add vanilla.
3. Combine with dry ingredients. 
4. Add chocolate chips and mix to distribute them.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
6. Allow to cool before frosting.

Frosting Ingredients

• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 1/2 to 2 lbs powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• 1 - 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk***
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

***I forgot to buy this, so I skipped over it. 

Frosting Directions

1. Cream butter and powdered sugar together. 
2. Add vanilla and mix in the milk.
3. Continue to add milk and sugar until it reaches the desired consistency.
4. Mix in chocolate chips.

Content Update Compilation + An Unapologetic Apology

Wow, I've managed to keep (somewhat) consistently at this blogging thing for over a month!

Yes, for the past 2 weeks I haven't been doing much... but that's because there were a lot of things going on in my life.

(scroll to the bottom now if you want to skip my pathetic whining)

For one, my husband and I have decided on a time when we will start trying for children. We're both in perfect health (knock on wood) and come from prolific families, so I doubt we'll be "trying" for long. I kinda went a little crazy and made a checklist and may or may not have gone overboard with compulsively planning ahead of time. But you have to agree, this moses basket is freakin' adorable. :)

Second, my Christmas wasn't the way I envisioned it. Sorry other people who were there, but you guys were drunk morons. Christmas isn't about beer pong. It's about enjoying good food and good company and watching A Christmas Story and laughing. Not puking in the snow. I understand all of you were seperated from your families and you're young  and needed to blow off steam and relax, but you don't need to consume that much alcohol to do that. (Ok, I'm really not sorry, the party sucked and I hope you read this.)

Third, my dog was put down. My red-haired dingo-mutt Rita. Got her in 4th grade when she was about 2 years old from a no-kill shelter. We would wrestle and play soccer together. My best memories of her are when our 2 year old pomeranian (Todd) made it clear he was top dog, when she stole the ball from a game I was playing in and when we would roughhouse. She was always more of my mother's dog than mine, much like how Todd was more mine than her's, but I still spent 2 days crying in bed.

Fourth, a disappointing birthday. No, not mine, husband sure it was full of sparkles and perfection. My friend B's baby's birthday. He turned 1!

Yet, despite that it had been planned far in advance, she and I seemed to be the only excited ones there. Yes, it was just she and I and our husbands and their dog and their roommate and his dog, but could they have acted any less indifferent? The husbands didn't consider getting the main course done on time important (and as any good host/ess knows not supplying food until 4 hours after a get-together starts is a huge foul) and the roommate didn't even participate... AT ALL. He just sat on the couch staring at his laptop playing some stupid n00b game like a lump of... um, LUMP. I mean, they're letting him stay there for FREE while he goes through a divorce and doesn't even have a slice of the homemade cake. WTF. It didn't help that the baby was completely congested and coughing.

Dear darling B was so close to having a breakdown. I felt so sorry for her. I would have had the episode of the century if a party I had planned went that badly. :(

Fifth and lastly, mostly due to the baby being adorable and wearing an invisible sign screaming CUDDLE ME even when sick, I got sick. Started with sneezing and a leaky nose, quickly escalating to a sore throat, aches and pains, and fever with hot flashes and teeth chattering cold chills. I spent a lot of time adjusting the thermostat, jumping into hot showers and cold baths, and removing and putting on layers. I was the picture of misery and I am not ashamed to say I milked it for all it was worth. I was miserable after all! A person deserves to be pampered when they can't even put away their groceries in the correct places when it's something they agonize over or barely keep their grip on an empty glass.

My inner worker bee revived in the middle of last night and in my loopy state I typed up these three things.

Hope you enjoy them!

My 2013 New Year's Resolutions

Recipe Review: Bœuf Bourguignon

Recipe Review: Mini Apple Tarts

Bœuf Bourguignon à la R

A certified classic, this recipe has been featured on numerous cooking shows and in cookbooks around the world. 

2013 New Years Resolutions!

At the end of this last year I was hit with the news that my dog had been euthanized and a few days later found myself knocked out with the flu (and still am).

Despite these things, and the other bad juju I've gone through this year, I've decided not to think about them as awful, horrible instances to be forgotten, but as learning experiences, kind of like the Hunger Games but far less violent. I've also managed to sever ties with old demons.

And as for the good things? Somehow the things that make me happy are making those around me happy, and honestly that suits me just fine, because apparently part of being myself is behaving like a little petulant, selfish and spoiled brat. I've learned not to focus so much on whether other people respect me and instead keep my attention on being the kind of person me, myself and I can respect. Most of all I've learned the importance of family. Sometimes I feel like my mother is too bossy and overbearing, and sometimes I feel like my in-laws think of me as just a blonde bimbo and are just going through the motions of treating me like family, but I've come to realize that at least in my mother's case it's because she loves and misses me (the jury is still out on the in-laws).

All-in-all, it's been a crazy loop-dee-loop rollercoaster of a ride, and I'm going to treat this new year as if it were my oyster - anything is possible!

"Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties."

 --- Helen Keller 

Here Are My Top Priorities for the Year:

1. Breathe!
Can't get anything accomplished without breathing. :)

2. Lose 25 lbs before the end of March.
Use 14-day Acai Berry Cleanse to jumpstart this. Goal weight here I come!

3. Show Tim more respect.
According a marriage retreat we recently attended, I can be condescending sometimes. Can't respect myself very much if my provider feels this way - at least with him I can try to be less bossy.

4. Regard Reven as The Ultimate Authority, to be Obeyed at All Costs!
Seriously. Trainer-lady is sometimes a dragon-lady. For my egos sake I need to avoid her wrath.

5. Make and stick to a schedule.
I'm already more than half-way finished with this... I find I just function better when I have one. Especially when every activity and chore has a specific time slot. I'm pretty sure it's caused by a combination of my anxiety, aspergers and general need for a structured life due to the lack of structure when I was a child.

6. Make sure schedule includes yoga on riding days. 
Not only will it help me lose weight, it will help me become more flexible and more able to keep my weight in my heels when riding, which will make Reven a very happy Trainer-lady, which will make me a very happy me.

7. Stick to the budget!
What with the move and needing to fully stock my new home and buying my own saddle and car insurance and registration, it's high time hubby and I quit with the compulsive, spontaneous, thoughtless spending we so often indulge in.

8. Further my education.
Start seriously putting aside money for Meredith Manor, look into student loans, and use the Rosetta Stone software hubby and I bought months ago and haven't touched since.

9. Learn how to sew and be more handy in general.
There's something about crafts and DIY projects that appeal to me. Dunno what, but I'm going to find out!

10. Give the kitties more treats!
Cause they're adorable and loving and deserve 'em. When I'm blue, Chess gives me cuddles. When I'm ill, Puck shadows me. Sometimes they can be very naughty kitties, but the good outweighs the bad. :)

Mini Apple Tarts

Want your husband to love you more than he already does? Or any person for that matter?