WED & THURSDAY!

Wednesday's work out was Salsa Jam & Hatha Yoga; My food counts for the day were: F (31) C(66) P(119) Pretty satisfying day!!

Thursday:

Breakdown of Meals:

Breakfast: 3 egg whites, 1 yolk, 1 ezekial bread (194 kcal)

Snack: Ultimate Muscle Protein, Vanilla, (Beverly International) 1 scoop (120 kcal)

Lunch: 4 oz chicken, 1/2 c sauteed peppers and tomato 2 c romaine and 2 tbs light dressing ( 260 kcal)

Snack: UMP Vanilla, 1 scoop, (120 kcal)

WORK OUT: 45 min Cycling class, followed by 45 min weight training

Dinner: 1 lean cut pork chop, sauteed with onions and spinach and mushroom in a light wine reduction, 1/2 medium sweet potato ( 400 kcal)

Snack: 4 medium strawberries, raw, 2 tbs light cool whip (35 kcal)

TOTALS:

F (40) C (72) P (115)

CIRCUIT:

6 squats ( bar + 25 each side), 12 walking DB lunges (25), 25 Leg extensions (40)

Rest 2 minutes, repeat 3 times

6 Leg Curls (70), 12 stiff leg deadlifts (25) 25 hamstring rolls on body ball

Rest 2 minutes, repeat 3 times

6 Dips, 12 tricep extensions (25) 25 Rope Pull downs (40)

Rest 2 minutes, repeat 3 times

..I ran out of time for this last circuit and I will tack it onto Saturday's work out but it goes like this:

6 seated DB curls (25), 12 Standing Barbell curls (EZ bar; bar + 10-15 each side), 25 standing cable curls (30)

Today is an off day; I'm pretty sore from this week's workouts.

Saturday will include Spinning and a fast paced circuit...

Blessed!

Well good news keeps flooding my life. I just accepted my first full time RN position at a hospital system in the area. I can't wait for that first pay check!! Been working for this moment for a very long time and it really is just surreal. Thank god and whatever guardian angel I have working very hard for me lately!

Dinner was delicious! Everyone in my family had 2nds!! I doubled the chicken in the recipe however, but everything else I kept the same! If I make this dish again, I believe I will increase the quantity of the chicken broth/cornstarch/soy sauce & ginger mix; there was just not a whole lot of 'sauce' in the pan, but perhaps that's what's keeping it low cal.

Last nights work out included a 45 minute cycling class and lifting (Chest, back, shoulders) I've posted this work out previously; but will post it again.

The work out is 3 circuit sets; each circuit is designed to be done back to back to back, with rest only after completing the 3 items; each circuit is done 3 times before moving onto the next one:

6 Incline Dumbbell presses; 25 (I grab my dumbbells and a body ball and do these and the flyes on here)

12 reps on chest machine; 85

25 incline dumbbell flyes; 25

Rest 3 Minutes; 3 times total

6 weight chins/ pull ups (I use the total gym and do 6 pull ups; try to put the least amount of my body on the bench so that I'm going against gravity more)

12 cybex back machine; 6 plates

25 seated cable rows to neck (the cable rows were being used; so I grabbed a resistance band and threw it around a pole; sat down with some distance to create tension and began there)sfs

6 seated dumbbell presses; 25

12 seated lateral raises; 12

25 upright cable rows; 50

Finished with a set of 100 body ball crunches

TODAY:

Salsa jam & Hatha Yoga!!

Cook With Me Tonight!! Less than 300 calories per serving!

On the Menu:

Pineapple Chicken Stir-Fry with Whole Grain Brown Rice

(makes 4 servings)

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 cup fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

3 teaspoons EVOO

1/2 large onion, chopped into 1" pieces

1/2 large red or yellow bell pepper, cut into thin slices

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 cups chopped broccoli raab (Italian Broccoli)

3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips (Pounded)

1/2 cup fresh pineapple chunks

1/2 cup dry whole grain brown rice (Uncle Bens) (serving size is 1/2 c cooked; 1/2 c dry makes 2 cups cooked)

Place the cornstarch in a bowl. While whisking, gradually add the broth until the cornstarch is dissolved. Stir in the soy sauce and ginger and set aside.

Follow cooking instruction on rice package.

Heat a nonstick wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the oil and heat until the oil shimmers. Add the onion and pepper. Cook, tossing, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until crisp-tender. Add the garlic. Toss until fragrant. Add the broccoli raab. Toss for 2 minutes, or until the broccoli raab is wilted. Transfer the vegetables to a platter.

Return the pan to the heat. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and heat. Add the chicken. Cook, without tossing, for 1 minute, or until browned on the bottom. Toss and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until most of the pink is gone. Add the sauce. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute, or until thickened. Add the pineapple and reserved vegetables to the pan. Toss just to combine.

NUTRITION:

Chicken Stir Fry: 177 calories, 6 grams fat, 9.3 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams sugar, 22 grams protein

Rice (1/2 c cooked): 85 calories, 1 g fat, 18 g carbohydrate, 2 grams protein

TOTAL: 262 calories, 7 grams fat, 27 grams carbs, 24 grams protein

**Depending on what you need for macronutrients that day, you may want to adjust your rice or chicken.

For me, I may have only 1/3 c of rice and throw a few extra pieces of just chicken onto my plate.

My macronutrients going into dinner look like this:

F (14) P(80) C(27)

My goal today is to keep my Fat lower than 35, Protein in the 120's, and Carbs less than 60.

Regrouping/Ranting/Raging

Alright, ENOUGH, I've had ENOUGH! GAHHH, too much celebration too much temptation. I'm all done. This is serious business people. Week 6, 1/2 way into the game. A little more than 5 months (165 days) to go the wedding. My dress will be here in a few short weeks. I'm hitting this last half of the competition hard & fast. If it's not fresh, if it's not clean, if it's not pure, I'm not eating it. I celebrated my accomplishments with desserts and ice cream and wine, I've celebrated football with BBQ, pasta salad and cookies, and my stomach has had enough. Setting the bar a little higher and pushing towards it. This is more than looking good for my wedding; its about changing my lifestyle. The first 4 weeks I ate clean, healthy foods, and I felt amazing. After these past 2 weeks I've seen how the foods listed above can really decline my health and how I feel. It's not a feeling of guilt, it's a feeling of yuckiness and I don't care for it very much.

Like I said in my last post, I'm 8 lbs smaller and I've lost inches everywhere; somewhere totalling 4 inches and I dropped 1.4 % body fat in 4 weeks. I'm setting a goal now and I WILL WORK TOWARD IT. Lets go for an additional 2% body fat and 6 inches by March 7th.

Let's Get CrAzY!!!...

Breakfast: 3 egg whites, 1 egg yolk, 1 slice Eziekel Bread, 1 tsp sugar free raspberry preserves

Snack: 1 scoop protein (that's it, no silk no banana)

Lunch: today i'll be grabbing a tuna packet and 2 cups romaine with 1 tbs EVOO and a few splashes of balsamic vinegar

Snack: Fage 2% Greek yogurt, 3 sliced fresh strawberries

A few questions you may have: what's eziekel and why fage greek yogurt?

well here are some answers...because they're CLEAN WHOLESOME PRODUCTS!

Ezekiel 4:9® Organic Sprouted Whole Grain Products

Inspired by the Holy Scripture verse Ezekiel 4:9., "Take also unto thee Wheat, and Barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and Spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make bread of it..."

Ezekiel 4:9® Organic Sprouted Whole Grain Products are: Flourless, Organic, Complete Protein,and Sprouted Whole Grain

"We discovered when these six grains and legumes are sprouted and combined, an amazing thing happens. A complete protein is created that closely parallels the protein found in milk and eggs. In fact, the protein quality is so high, that it is 84.3% as efficient as the highest recognized source of protein, containing all 9 essential amino acids. There are 18 amino acids present in this unique bread – from all vegetable sources – naturally balanced in nature."

Ezekiel 4:9® Bread, made from freshly sprouted organically grown grains, is naturally flavorful and bursting with nutrients. Rich in protein, vitamins, minerals and natural fiber with no added fat. Try it served warm to release its exceptionally rich nutty flavor.

This Biblical Bread is Truly the Staff of Life

source: www.foodforlife.com

Now, here's my spiel about Greek Yogurt..LOOK AT THE LABEL!

(well i guess that goes for any food products; but look at the label people! )

We get stuck on this craze that if it says greek it must be good for me; But When I look at a container of Yoplait/Dannon Greek it's all Sugar.

(Chobani has a plain 0% greek yogurt but I've yet to find that at the store)..

you might as well have a freaking cookie.

Fage Greek Yogurt Plain 0% has 7 grams of CHO/Sugar and thats only from the milk used to make the yogurt, NOTHING ADDED; and then a whopping 18 grams of protein.

I don't think there are many who can eat this stuff plain, so THEN add your fruit and sweetener; have control of what you put in your food.

I add 4 small-med sized strawberries, sliced up into a bite size piece and 1 packet of splenda.

by doing that I've only added 4-6 grams of sugar, that is ALL NATURAL.

See the pattern here??

I'm no expert, but look at the label, look at the ingredients. I read a quote by someone, somewhere, If the label has words that you can't pronounce and look more like a chemical compound then something edible, why the hell would you want to eat it?

To find out more about FAGE greek yogurt visit: http://www.fageusa.com/

(P.S, they were rated top yogurt of 2009!)