"Good" Pasta

I think every household hits a point in time when they feel like they are eating the same old thing over and over and over.....and over.  Well, this household has been going through that for a while.  When Bryan and I were going over the meal plan for the week, we hit a roadblock after 5 meals.  I refuse to go shopping without a plan and specific items on a list, otherwise I will wind up spending a whole lot more money and wind up not really having complete meals for half the week.  I put my thinking cap on and came up with a pasta creation that I hoped would fly with the kiddos.  We had it for dinner tonight and the results were interesting!  See the judges results at the bottom of this post.  (The picture below is not a full serving...it is a kid sized serving)

                 Ingredients:

        1 box whole grain penne pasta

        1 container of cherry tomatoes

        Olive Oil

        3 cloves of garlic finely chopped or sliced

        1 cup of chopped fresh zucchini

        1 cup of chopped fresh summer squash

        1 bag of Kraft Italian Five Cheese

        Italian seasoning 

        Salt & Pepper

Boil the pasta until cooked.  Set aside.

In a small pan put 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil and two cloves of garlic and simmer on low heat.    Add a pinch of salt, a dash of pepper and a dash of Italian seasoning to the oil & garlic.

In another pan place zucchini and summer squash and the other clove of garlic.  I used a zero calorie butter spray to saute the veggies, but you could also use a little bit of olive oil.

Mix pasta, olive oil mixture and sauteed veggies together.  

Place 2 cups of pasta mixture in a bowl.  Add 6 halved cherry tomatoes and 1 tablespoon of shredded cheese.  ENJOY!

Chef's comments:  I really like coolness of the cherry tomatoes mixed with the hot pasta. As well as the fresh raw flavor against the cooked flavor of the garlic & zucchini & squash.  If you prefer, the tomatoes could be sauteed with the other veggies.  Approximately 500 calories per serving.  Perfect for my husband, but probably 1 and 3/4 cup would be more appropriate for me.  I think I will add grilled shrimp next time and cut back to 1 cup of pasta.

Judges:

Tabitha:  Enjoyed thoroughly.  Went back for seconds

Ember:  Enjoyed until she got a rather potent slice of garlic....then it was all over

Rory:  Ate the tomatoes and pasta, but picked out the zucchini & summer squash

Oh...and if you are wondering...the other meal we decided on was an omelet.  Another one of our favorite "go to" meals.  So we only changed up one meal this week, but it is a step in the right direction.  

It's all in the Numbers

Those of us on the weight loss train often judge our progress based on numbers.  The number of calories consumed, the number of calories burned, the number of pounds shown on the scale, and the number on the tag of our jeans.

While some of those numbers are important (calories in versus calories out), the others can have varying levels of validity. The number of pounds on the scale can be influenced by so many things and deserves its own post.

The funny thing about jeans is this:

1.  You can buy two exact pairs of jeans....the exact same size and one pair is too tight while the other fits just right.  You are trusting in someone (or something) else's cutting/sewing skills to guage your success.

2.  Your size fluctuates based on the style, manufacturer, and store.  Ever go to a store and tell them you are looking for a size XYZ and get something you can barely get your big toe in even though that is what size you wear at your usual retailer?? 

3.  The styles these days include a fair amount of stretchy material in their jeans.  So you may buy a pair one size up because they feel too tight (apparently you must have gained a few pounds), but upon wearing the one size up for an hour, they are falling off of you.

As a society, we are trained to focus on size and pounds to determine our success.  As a society, we need to retrain ourselves to focus on a different set of numbers.  Try these on for size.....

How many stairs can you climb before getting winded....(or how many times do you stop at the bottom, look up and decide to take the elevator instead?)

How many pushups can you do?  How many pounds can you press and how many reps?  How many miles can you run?  What is your resting heart rate?  What are your cholesterol stats?

There are so many ways to use numbers to set goals & gauge how you are doing with your fitness and nutrition...why not focus on some of those?  Focusing on those types of goals force you to get in shape the right way, while the scale and clothing size can tempt people to use quick fixes like diet pills or eating too little.  I know our programming can be tough to re-write, but maybe just a few modifications can help us along the right path. 

I personally have a weight and a size goal that I want to reach.  I will eventually reach those goals, by meeting smaller, more defined & easier to control goals along the way.  Below is a sample of some of those goals. 

1.  A daily 1,000 calorie deficit with a calorie consumption set between 1650 and 1750 (this means I need to be active enough to burn between 2650 and 2750 daily)

2.  Strength training 3 times a week, cardio 3 times a week

3.  Try to serve a wide variety of fresh, whole & unprocessed foods each week

4.  Take a multi vitamin or drink my Shakeology daily

As an accountant and a fitness enthusiast, numbers dominate my life.  I make it a point to worry about the right ones daily and the others will fall into place.

Catching 2010 Up

Holy Cow!!  It's January.....2011!!  My last post was in September 2010??  Oye. 

I can share all kinds of reasons why.....you know....excuses.  But I'm not gonna.  Why?  Well, excuses aren't going to get me anywhere but further away from the actual doing, and the actual doing is where I need to be!

Here's a quick recap of 2010.

The Exercise Front:

I finally got approved to start P90X when I was 13ish weeks postpartum.  I proceeded to do the first 30 days of the program.  I loved it and I hated it.  The program is hard, it gives you results, but it is too long!  Bryan has done two whole rounds of P90X faithfully. I started my round in the middle of his second round. We really struggled to get both of our hour long workouts in (there isn't room to workout together), in addition to taking care of all 4 kids, the house, errands etc.  I made it the first 30 days and lost 7lbs and a few inches (can't remember now).  I decided to shelve P90X till this summer as I am going to be moving back up to a full time schedule sometime this month.  I have fallen back to ChaLEAN Extreme which is also a muscle building program, but the workouts are much shorter. I just started week 3 on Friday, so I will be posting 30 day results in a week and a half or so.  I also got a Bodybugg...but I will elaborate more on that at another time. 

The Family Front:

Everyone has settled in nicely with Ashyn.  The older kids adore her! She is now sleeping all night long and most of the time in her crib.  I will say that I let her sleep with me much longer than I did with any of the other three kids.  I think it has to do with her being the last and wanting to hold on to every last second of her "baby" stage. Bryan and I have developed something of a routine with the new baby, the new taxi schedule (Tabby to the bus stop, Rory to preschool), and my being back at work.  I miss my kiddos so much when I am at work, and am dreading the step back up to full time.  I just need to keep focused on April 15th and the end of tax season.  Tabby had her first progress report and is doing exceptionally well in school.  In her teacher's words " Tabby is the student every teacher wants in their classroom".  I couldn't be more proud!  Rory is also doing very well in preschool and the teacher's describe him as a very balanced well rounded student.  I think we can expect great things out of him come Kindergarten as well!  Ember and Ashyn get their time with mom and dad when both of the older kids are at school.

The Business Front:

My Beachbody business is doing very well now.  I have been promoted to a Diamond Coach and am excited to see what this year brings!  I am hopeful that the option to stay home will be available in another 2 years.  I still am not certain I would take that option as I like what I do for work, but I would like to have the ability to choose.  I have set a few goals for myself and my business.  First, I would like to be more organized and more consistent with some of the things I need to be doing.  Second, I need to learn how to use twitter.....but haven't yet convinced myself to take that step!  Third, I need to keep working on improving my own fitness and helping others with theirs.

O.K. so maybe that wasn't quick.....but it could have been much longer.  Trust me!

Chaos Reigns

I am pretty well healed from my c-section (not yet approved for exercise other than walking yet) and trying to get a routine figured out for our new kindergartner, our new half day preschooler, our 22 mth old who is ready to be potty trained and the newborn who still doesn't have any sort of routine herself.  Oh yeah and the house, the piles of laundry and dishes we go through daily, our workouts, our business, oh and might as well throw our sanity in there as well! 

Some days are definitely better than others.  We are lucky to have some pretty well behaved kids, but even well behaved children have their off days.  I strive to get a little bit of one on one time in with each of my kids, even if it is just reading a story or chatting about their day at school while cooking dinner. In order to accomplish one on one time I often have to push something else to the next day.  I need to get things figured out because I still haven't really done much for working out....and really need to figure out how I am going to fit a P90X/TurboFire hybrid into our routine, along with my husbands workout.  He works nights, so there is also the sleep factor that we have to work around : )  I will be returning to work, part-time, November 16th and will need to work that into my routine without losing all of the other stuff.  Ugh!  I have a lot of work ahead of me!

How exactly am I going to accomplish all of this without losing my sanity?

That is a good question!  It is a work in progress and I plan on sharing anything that works for us here.  I know I am not the only mom with a ton on her ever shrinking plate!

To do lists are great...if you can find them!

I have everything I need to do daily on a dry erase board, in addition to my extra "to do" items (for example, removing all out of season clothing from the kiddos dressers and tagging Rory's old clothing for a yard sale) to help keep me on track.  I used to keep lists and lists of things scattered around the house, but then I would lose them to a creative mind with a marker or crayon.  The dry erase board will hopefully help me get these things up where I can see them and can't lose or forget them.

I think this is a step in the right direction....hopefully there will be more steps to follow!

Sweaty Pleasure - we meet again!

At the bottom of my "naptime" list of things to do was get in my workout (haha...get your mind out of the gutter!).  I dutifully checked off all the items on my list and got to the last.....Turbo Jam 20 minute workout.  The kids are still asleep and so it is a perfect opportunity to get this item checked off.  I have tried this workout several times over the past few weeks and each time been very anxious about putting in too much effort and harming the healing process of my c-section.  All the same fighting off my desire to jump right back on the wagon and forget that I had a major surgery.  My apprehension has been growing lately because I really want to start P90X when I get the a-ok to resume normal activities at my 6 week check-up on the 30th, but I am getting a nagging feeling that P90X really should not be considered a "normal" activity.  Would I recommend to anyone else that they should start P90X so soon after a c-section????  HELL NO!  So why, you ask, am I determined to do just that?  I dunno....I blame my parents.  One (or both) of them gave me a stubborn gene and it is near impossible to ignore the urges that stem from it!  I will revisit this issue when the time comes.....

Anyway..back to today's workout.  I started off just as timidly, as I have in the past, and slowly added a little bit more energy and bounce paying careful attention to any strange twinges or sensations as I went along.  Before I knew it the workout was over and I was going full intensity!  I felt awesome!  No discomfort...just the awesome feeling of being hot, sweaty & full of energy after a great workout.  Today was a success & it isn't even half over yet : )  Can't wait till tomorrows workout!

Shakeology 3 Day Cleanse - Results!

The Shakeology Cleanse was developed after I got pregnant, so I have been itching for the past 7 or 8 mths to try it.  Now that Ashyn is here and I am feeling pretty good, I decided to do the cleanse as a way to kick off my fitness regime since I am not yet comfortable doing any of my fitness programs this soon after a c-section.  I made it through the 3 Day Cleanse and was very  happy with my results!

The Cleanse:

When you wake: Green Tea (no dairy or sweeteners...plain!)
Breakfast:  Shakeology (can have fruit in it, water & ice)
Snack:  1 piece of fruit
Lunch:  Shakeology (only water & ice)
Snack: Shakeology (only water & ice)
Dinner:  Salad with 6oz of white meat or fish (greens plus 3 servings of vegetables, low or no fat dressing)

Drink between 2 and 4 liters of water each day.  Absolutely no dairy during the cleanse! This is done for 3 days.  Don't forget to measure your waist & weigh in before you begin!

My results:

7am on 1st day     183 lbs starting weight    37 5/8 inches
7am on 2nd day    178 lbs                          35 1/2 inches
6am on 3rd day     175 lbs                          35 inches
7am on 4th day     173.2 lbs ending weight  34 inches


I measured & weighed in early morning the first day of the cleanse and made sure to try and weigh in and measure around the same time each day to stay consistant.  My ending weight & measurement was taken in the morning following my last day of the cleanse. 

Of Note:

I did just have a baby 2 weeks ago, so part of my weight loss could be natural loss that occurs after having a child.  I also hadn't been eating very well the last two months leading up to the cleanse, so I had a lot of cleansing to do : )  I followed the regimen to to the letter.  No nibbles of anything etc...... I wanted to get good results so I didn't cheat myself out of them.  My pre-pregnancy weight was 158 and I weighed 199 when I went in for Ashyn's delivery.  I have NEVER been able to get within 15 pounds of my pre preggo weight in just 2 weeks after delivery : )

You can learn more about Shakeology by clicking here.  To buy a monthly supply it costs about $4 a shake.  However, you can sign up as a coach (we call it a preferred customer if you don't want to run your own business) and save 25% on your purchases.  If you would like details on how that works, let me know.  I also can sell enough for just the cleanse for $45 plus the cost of shipping....contact me for this option as well.

Reflections

As I sit here with little Ashyn, I am thinking about how different each of my pregnancies have been.  Each time I have improved a little on my eating & staying active throughout the pregnancy.  This last time I worked out fairly regularly until I was about 7 1/2 months along before I lost my motivation.  I know that, for me, as soon as my workouts stop I succumb to poor eating as well.  This results in low energy levels and high cravings for foods that help keep my energy levels low, in addition to packing on the pounds.  Towards the end of my pregnancy I was so tired all the time and the reason was that my eating was very poor.  However, I was able to meet my goal of keeping my weight under 200lbs (thanks to the first 7 1/2 months!).  I successfully kept 11 of the pounds I had gained with the other three at bay.  I am not yet able to pick up a rigorous workout routine and am focusing on walking as much as possible and staying on my feet during the day.  Once I am sure my c-section is completely healed & ready for action I will start a new program and work on tuning up this old body of mine!  The things I CAN and AM doing right NOW are the following:  Sleep - 8 hours each night....if I don't get it I nap and I HATE napping, but I know sleep is vital for my body to repair itself properly.
Water - 6 bottles a day (approx 168oz) 
Snacking - cut it back to 2 snacks & 3 meals rather than eating every time I get an urge (side effect of poor eating at end of pregnancy)
Shakeology Cleanse - today is day one the Three Day Cleanse....this should make my transition to clean eating so much easier
Exercise - walking, stairs, laundry dishes, chasing the kiddos etc... working up to Turbo Jam

All in all it is a slow start and frustrating for me, but important that I do what is best for my body.  After all this body has produced 4 wonderful little personalities and I wouldn't trade that for anything!