Wednesday Recap

It was so nice to have the day off from work today...welcome Thanksgiving Break! The day started out with a big bowl of oat bran with yogurt and peanut flour balls.

Here are some other snacks as well from today...greek yogurt with carrots I had for lunch with a side of pita chips and turkey (not pictured)

Don't these protein cookies look delish...right...I popped them in the oven while making breakfast and completely forgot about them until 20 minutes later...my apartment has a burnt crisp smell to it now lol.

Some egg whites and jelly, best combination ever :)

Lately my blood sugar levels have been all over the place waking up in the morning. I have started to notice that I am starving when I wake up and if I don't stay on top of my every two hour scheduled meal...I have a blood sugar attack. I have a feeling it has something to do with not increasing my calories and increasing my swims on the weekends..my metabolism must b e catching up. I usually don't track my foods at all, but I decided to just to see how many grams of proteins/carbs/fats I am in taking. I entered every food item on The Daily Burn and here are the stats:

1,800 calories total

53 grams of Fat

175 grams of carbs

178 grams of protein

So as you can see I get my fill of protein and probably need to up my fat/carbs a little. My numbers on the Daily Plate tell me that to maintain my healthy weight of 135 I need to consume 2,400 calories a day at my activity level...this is scary. Today I added an extra huge handful of almonds to my morning meal before my workout. I know it is not much, but it is really hard for me to add in extra calories when I am not that hungry after my meal. I know overall I would probably have a little more energy to give if I ate more. I am not saying I need to go eat junk, just add some extra fruit and nuts in my diet. Plus...tomorrow is Turkey Day and I am 100% sure I will get my fill of calories :)

So this week so much has been going on it has been a roller coaster, I would love to say that it is full of joy and bliss...but unfortunately it has not been. On Monday I received news that a former co-worker of mine from my old district took his life. I was shocked. This guy was young, a runner, and always seemed to love life. I still can't get over the fact that just a year ago I was talking running with this man and now he is no longer around, and to even think he took his own life. Tuesday I had an emergency call from my school district, and we were called into a crisis meeting. Since I work in a very small district (1 High school and 2 elementary schools) everyone knows everyone. Three teenage girls were speeding down a main highway I drive everyday and flipped their car. One of the teens died and the other two are in the ICU. These girls were very well known in the community, and many of my co-workers children were friends with these girls. The media has been crazy around our district. From these past two terrible incidents that have happened this week, it really makes you thankful for your own life and what you have to appreciate. Enter in my own situation..on Saturday night while resting on the coach I started to notice a slight twinge/pain in my chest. I brushed it off, but this pain has continued throughout Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Finally today, I broke down and called my Mom and she immediately thought I needed to see a doctor because it was in my chest. No coughing, no cold, just pain in my chest. I took my Mom's advice and to be honest with you I am glad I did. Because the pain had continued I was really starting to worry and started to think of all the possibilities that could be wrong with me. The doc did a quick EKG and the results came back normal. The only abnormal thing he did notice was that my pulse was very low...which he claims is normal for me being so athletic. He said my EKG really showed how good of shape I am in. The doc reassured me that there are many muscles around my chest, and his best guess would be that they just might be a little overworked from exercise but nothing serious, I seem to be in perfect health! I walked out of that doctors office feeling like it really was Thanksgiving, I had my health to be so thankful for.

Do you ever track your food just because of curiosity? Do you worry about overeating?

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

I Want To Tri

I'm telling you what..every time I jump on the stationary bike or dive into the pool, the more and more I think about doing a Tri. I have even been researching some local tri's around Omaha and lurking on tri websites for training advice. I did find one that will happen in May and it is an all women's triathlon. Of course with Omaha weather, I know the options of tri races in the local area are slim.

When it comes to the swimming, I think I am decent. I can now swim a mile and a half but I am still swimming 100 yards in two minutes (pretty slow). I could improve this by adding in some intervals.

Running...well considering my ankle is more on and off then anything anymore I am just going to see how it feels come Spring. I am hoping the more I continue to stretch it and stay off of it when it comes to running, it will improve. I plan on doing a Sprint Tri for my first one, so I think I can handle the 5k run.

Now the biking is what I am worried about. First of all I just have a mountain bike, which gets around on the roads fine but it is nothing fancy. I was amazed at how much Tri bikes are and I will not spend an arm and leg on a bike until I know that I am more serious about racing. Also, how the heck do you go about learning how to change tires and the chains on your bike...I am horrible about maintenance. Finally, I really hate the idea of training on city roads. I have known several people who have been killed from cycling on roads and I am deathly afraid to go that route. I wonder if I could perform just as good with doing some of my rides on the stationary bike using intervals.

If anyone of you have done a Tri, help...I need advice!!

Eating out of the Boundries

Don't these pics just make your mouth water. Yesterday I had an hour to kill before Craig came home from his hunting trip so I decided to bake some cookie bars. This is what is in the mix:

1 cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup sugar

1 cup chocolate chips

6tbsp butter

2 eggs

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup peanut butter

Mix together flour/baking soda and salt, set aside

Mix butter, eggs, peanut butter, vanilla, and sugars

Add the flour mixture in along with chocolate chips

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes

Craig was very pleased with the outcome :)

For dinner last night Craig and I made homemade pizzas. I had stopped earlier at Trader Joe's and picked up two kinds of pizza dough (only a buck!). We topped our pizzas with low fat cheese, lean ground beef and he added some pepperoni on to his. I also added a side salad with mine topped with almonds and cranberries.

This dinner was a little out of my so-called "safe zone" for me. Sunday I woke up around 5am starving and following my workout I felt drained and tired. I figured it had something to do with my eating and my hard swim workout on Saturday..body was having a hard time recovering. So I figured eating a good carb meal would do my body wanders. I will have to admit, I got very angry with myself. The entire dinner I kept worrying about how much carbs I am in taking and how this is going to make me gain weight. Luckily the thoughts passed and I enjoyed the pizza and did not overeat. I am not dumb, I know in reality it does not matter how many carbs you consume or how many grams of protein you eat in one day..weight gain comes from more calories in verses more calories out. I just get depressed at times how my eating disorder can just pop up out of nowhere and start to cause me anxiety. I think this will always be something I have to work hard on everyday. When coming from a past of being 100 pounds and binging and purging, it can be hard to know just how much food I should eat to feel full, it comes to really listening to my body. I am happy that I have learned alot about eating healthy, the right portions and how much of what I should eat. At times though, it can be annoying to know so much about eating healthy, when it starts to trigger your mind how many carbs are in this serving or how many grams of sugar something has.

Do I still avoid some social situations if I know I can't order off a menu or there is something healthy for me...yes

Do I still get anxiety if I can't make a workout on a regular scheduled day...yes

Do I still eat certain foods because they are safe...yes

Do I still freak when my jeans fit tighter...yes

On the other hand

Do I allow myself several glasses of wine one night a week to relax...yes

Do I always make sure to at least take one rest day a week from the gym...yes

Do I eat well over 2,000 calories a day...yes

Am I at a healthy 136 pounds...yes

Do I eat a variety of healthy, some fat filled foods...yes

So I think I can come to the conclusion that parts my eating disorder still exist...especially the structured eating schedule and not allowing myself little treats here and there. On the other hand there are some parts of my eating disorder that I have improved on. I really honestly love eating healthy, and sometimes I would rather have a protein shake then a chocolate chip cookie because I know the cookie will leave me feeling tired and worn out.

The Pool Brings Results!

I know more than anything you just wanted to see some nice half naked photos of me, right lol. Anyways, these pictures are to prove anyone out there who claims that swimming is not a workout. For the past several months the majority of my cardio has been in the form of swimming, just basic free style laps. I must say I have noticed a HUGE difference in my abs as well as my back shoulders and arms.

I love having a workout that gives me the endorphin high as well as great results with little to no impact on the joints.

Besides taking pictures of myself in the mirror all day, it has been a pretty busy Saturday for having Craig gone.

Woke up and completed an hour swim of laps followed by some ab work

Came home and refueled with a protein shake and rice cakes with pb

At again an hour later...forgot about how great wraps taste!!

Turkey, cheese and mayo wrap baked in the oven..crispy and cheesy!

The afternoon was spent watching the game at a friend's house for a football party (Go Huskers!) then followed by a trip to my parents house to pick up more photos for my wedding slide show.

Came home and decided to fry up some lean ground beef hamburgers for dinner :)

Honestly, this is the first Saturday in months that I have stayed in from going out. I have to admit, if feels so good to be laying on the couch and watching Lifetime. Sometimes socializing on the weekends can wear you out.

What workouts give you the best body results?

What are you doing this weekend?

Love/Hate Friday

Yes!! It is Friday!! I don't know about you guys but it has been a long week and I am happy the weekend is here :)

This morning started out with a rocking 50 minute swim. I swam my first mile with no stops at all! Usually I stop after the first 10-15 laps to catch my breath, no breathers today. I am glad I forced myself to hit the pool today. I threw it the wayside the past few days in favor of the elliptical. To tell you the truth, I get more of a workout swimming then I do the elliptical, I think because my body is so used to the elliptical. After my workout I re-fueled with yummy yogurt and a protein cookie (1 scoop of protein microwaved with a little splenda and baking powder).

Last night for dinner I enjoyed a new combination. Salmon stuffed portabella mushrooms. This creation was super good but super messy to eat. Portabella mushrooms are not the easiest to cut. In the mix went:

3 oz canned salmon

1/2 cup cottage cheese

Mixed together with onion, parsley, garlic, and pizza sauce

Stuff ingredients into the mushrooms and broil for 10 min.

Served with a side of roasted veggies topped with chili powder...I love chili powder!

For a nice recap of how the five day work week went...here are some of my loves and hates...

I love the fact that I am getting married in three months....

I hate the fact that I have the added workload this week of picking up flowers and spending my plan time at school making more appointments to meet with people to finalize the wedding plans

I love the fact that I can swim my butt of for almost an entire hour now

I hate the fact that my stomach ends up being a never ending bottomless hole of hunger

I love the fact that we have only one more full week of school until Thanksgiving break

I hate the fact that Thanksgiving break is only three days long

I love that the sun is now rising when I head to work

I hate that it is dark on my way home and I have to be extra cautious to watch for deer

I love that I get to spend time with my friends tomorrow to watch the game

I hate that the Husker game is at 11am tomorrow...I refuse to drink that early!

I love having the apartment to myself this weekend because Craig is deer hunting

I hate that I do miss him and I do get a little lonely

I love being in love with pumpkin pancakes

I hate that I ate them 4 out of 5 nights for dinner....come on variety girl!

I love the fact that I managed to run a total of six miles this week

I hate that my ankle still feels a little stiff

What are some of your loves and hates of your week?

Love Hate with Rest Days

I am so happy! I discovered a way to get into my blog at my work. I can't actually view my blog, but I can still create and edit posts, which makes me ecstatic. Don't get me wrong, I do work but I also have some down time during my lunch hour and after and before school when my papers are graded were I can find some time to throw up a post.

Today is Wednesday, and I wish I had a WIAW post for you today, but honestly nothing exciting on the food front today...oats, almonds, egg whites, turkey and mushrooms with yogurt, etc. Pretty boring day food wise. I really have a love hate relationships with Wednesdays for one reason, it is my all out official rest day from the gym. I love rest days because I do get to sleep in a little later, I let my muscles recover so they are fresh for the next day, and I don't have to rush so much in the morning before work. I hate Wednesdays, will simply because I am not getting my morning "pump" from the gym.

This quote explains it all. Really, I don't go to the gym day in and day out because I think that I am fat or that I need to change the way I look...I go because I really do LOVE IT. If I could spend 100% of my day in the gym, I probably would. Last week I watched the MTV True Life "I am Addicted to Exercise." This really struck a place with me. No, I do not spend 8 hours a day in the gym as one of the guys on the show did...but I dream about working out, think about working out, blog about working out, eat to get the most benefits from my workout, etc. I can take a day off from the gym ( which I am doing today) but it is physically hard for me mentally. I love getting the rush from a workout, and I am addicted to the rush. One of the reasons I work out so early in the morning is due to the fact that I know it is the one time of day that nothing can interfere with it. When it comes to nightly activities, I always make sure during the week I am home at a decent hour to get my rest (not hard when you are 29). If a weekend event does come up, I am pretty good about letting a Sunday workout go and I will make it up by not having my rest day on Wednesday. Sadly, I would have to say that yes I am addicted to exercise. But is it bad that I am? So what if I spend an hour and a half of my day at the gym 6 days a week, I could be doing worse things. I think there comes levels when it comes to addiction. Needing the high from a workout everyday verses needing the high from a workout every couple of hours.

So yes, exercise is part of my daily routine, and even though it is one day or two days I take off...I feel like my day is just not right.

So sometimes, discipline comes in all forms. It can be making yourself get up at least three times a week to exercise or it can even be forcing yourself to take a break from the exercise and let your body recover. Either way, discipline is hard. Discipline can be forcing yourself to eat more food because you know you need the energy or saying no to those tempting brownies.

Do you consider yourself addicted to exercise?

What is something that you have to have discipline towards?

Grrr

Today I was feeling quite like this...frazzled!! So many things are happening all at once, and it seems as if there is not enough time in the months to come before our wedding date in Feburary to get them done. Running through my mind has been addressing and putting together the 300 invites for our wedding, getting the slideshow pictures for my slide show party next weekend, finding my shoes for my dress, meeting with the singer/band/floral designer to finalize everything next month/get the tuxes ordered/pick up the bridesmaids dresses for my cousins out of town and ship them off to them in time to get alterations/finding a guest book/finding a bus to go bar hopping/ordering wedding favors...and the list goes on and on. Now this would not be that bad, only I do work full time and tying to find the time to meet with all these people outside of work is kind of stressful...even more stressful with the fact that I live thirty minutes outside of the city, so I have to make a trip to meet with anyone. Ok enough wedding venting.

Today I was a little irritated. Craig is going on his hunting trip this weekend. I am very happy to have the apartment to myself and cuddle with this little guy, but at the same time I feel guilty. I feel like I should take advantage of the time I have away from Craig and party it up with my friends. Truth be told, I don't want to. Isn't it horrible. The older I get, the harder it is for me to push myself to make time to be with my friends. Don't get me wrong, I love dinner, coffee, movie nights with the girls and I am always 100% up for those, but when it comes to long nights at the bar and crashing on a couch or my parents house for the night, it just does not seem pleasing to me. No matter how healthy I have always been, I have always given myself one night a week to get a little crazy. Within the last year, I am more happy now with having a glass of wine and going to bed by 10, waking up Sunday morning and being productive..going to church...working out. I just don't want to take the time/energy to do it all anymore.

My weekends are more relaxing with my finance or cuddling with the pup rather than being out all night partying.

Ahh, that felt good to get that off my chest. I need to remember to do what makes me feel happy and not worry about what other people think.

My workouts lately have been pretty stellar I must admit. Saturday I knocked out a 55 min swim workout followed by 15 minutes on the stair master. Yesterday I ran a mile (ahem no pain whatsoever) and did another 30 minutes on the Stair Master. I love having the options back into my routine again, and I have been keeping up on all my foot and ankle stretches to keep it strong. Here is my plan for the week:

Tomorrow-swim/lift legs

Wednesday-rest (must do this week!!)

Thursday-swim lift biceps and back

Friday-Elliptical/run-abs

Saturday-swim/lift legs

Sunday-elliptical and cycle

Now this is subject to change. I find it nearly impossible to do any chest or shoulder work after swimming, my arms are just worn out so lifting lower body works out well. Also, I find it helps to swim every other day, I can do more laps this way without my arms getting so tired. It also helps my legs recover in between workouts.

What does your weekly plan look like?

Need to vent...please share!

Finally Blogging

I have been a horrible blogger this week! It seems as if there was just so much going on work wise, that by the end of the day I have been too zonked to even pull out my labtop and blog. The picture above explains how my week started...yes all my students had to wrap themselves in toilet paper to become a mummy...and I wondered why I had a headache when I came home Monday night.

For my lunches this week I have been on this quick of huge fresh mushrooms with barbecue sauce and turkey. YUM! Now on to my new obsession for dinner...pancakes with squash.

My first experiment was on Tuesday night with pumpkin and Wednesday night I bought some Acorn squash. Not a huge fan of this squash, not as sweet as pumpkin and it left my batter pretty runny. Tonight I tried some pumpkin and peanut flour pancakes..perfection!

Here are the latest easy quick recipes I have been working with:

Pumpkin Pancakes

1/2 cup pumpkin

1 egg

1/4 cup egg whites

1/4 cup cottage cheese

tsp baking powder

1/8 cup oats

1/2 tsp gaur gum for thickness

splenda for taste

Acorn Squash Pancakes

1/2 cup acorn squash

1/4 cup egg whites

1/4 cup cottage cheese

1 egg

tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp gaur gum

Splenda for taste

1/8 cup oats

Peanut Flour Pumpkin Pancakes

1/2 cup pumpkin

1/4 cup peanut flour

1/2 cup egg whites

1/2 tsp gaur gum/baking powder

splenda and sugar free maple syrup to taste

After work today, I was greeted by this wonderful invitation to my own Bridal Shower in the mail! My future sister in law put these together and I think she did a great job. I still can't believe that my wedding is now 3 1/2 months away and that everyone is coming together to do this for me!

On the workout front, I have a confession to make. I worked out six days in a row this week and I am really regretting it. I usually take Wednesday off as a rest day mid-week, but figured since we would be out of town on Sunday that I would just place my workout in on Wednesday. My body remembered very nicely that it needs the rest mid week between workouts. My Wednesday and Thursday workout dragged. I completed cross training for 50 minutes both days, but my lifting really was difficult. I was low on energy. Today my energy returned and I am looking forward to a good swim workout tomorrow. Monday, I am planning on a 1-2 mile run. My ankle has felt wonderful this week, bout I have stuck to strictly cross training.

I think sometimes I talk myself into thinking that I am this amazing athlete who can work over 40 hours a week and still manage 6 hour and a half workouts. I will admit though, I do really watch my calories. I make sure I don't overdo it with the carbs and keep my fats in check. I have a feeling that if I let myself go a little more, I would have more energy to fuel my workouts. Here is a sample of my daily diet:

Pre workout: 1/4 cup oats, greek yogurt 0% (80cals)

Post workout: 1 scoop protein powder (110 cals)

Meal 1: 1/2 cup oat bran, 2oz chopped apple, greek yogurt 0%, tbsp flax meal and 1/2 scoop protein powder

Snack: handful of cut up raw veggies/almonds 1 oz/2 hard boiled egg whits

Meal 3: 1 Flat out wrap (100cals) Can of tuna with 1/4 cup cottage cheese and chopped apple with side of green beans

Snack: 1 scoop protein powder with 1/4 cup oats and 1 tbsp flax meal

Meal 3: Pumpkin Pancakes with large bowl of veggies

Snack: 1 scoop protein powder with 1/8 cup peanut flour

**I try to make sure all my meals are balanced with carbs/fat/protein

What is a sample of your daily diet? Do you ever wonder if you get enough cals for your workouts??

3 Things

It's Tuesday, that means only four more days till the weekend. Okay, that is horrible that I am already counting down the days until the weekend. Today was quite a busy day, with the students being hung over by sugar, I had to be on my toes all day long with them. Enter 3 things I despised today, 3 things I was most shocked about today, and 3 things I loved today.

3 Things I HATED about today

1. I hated the fact that I had to stretch so much today. I know, I know, it helps your muscles recover...but I HATE taking the time to do it!

2. I had an observation today. Meaning my principal comes in my room and watches me teach for an entire hour. I hate when all eyes are on me.

3. How my puppy Cooper ran away from me today. Somehow I had strapped his chain on wrong and it snapped mid-way through our short walk. He went sprinting down the street with me running after him like an idiot.

3 Things that Shocked Me Today

1. Doing lunges at Physical Therapy. Shocked how much my butt had a great workout, and also shocked that physical therapy can be a workout itself.

2. I know this is old news, but come on...really I heard they lasted 72 days! Pathetic!!

3. My new protein powder arrived and I was shocked with how good the basic chocolate flavor tasted. I always tend to order the fancier flavors (Ice Cream Sandwich, Rockey Road, etc.) For just being chocolate, it tasted pretty darn good!

3 Things I Loved Today

1. My brand spanking new North Face Winter coat. Craig bought me a new one for putting up with him and his friends tailgating this weekend..he he he.

2. The fact that I had no papers to bring home and grade tonight..woot woot!

3. My mile swim workout today. It was hard and I felt exhausted at the end of my workout...sometimes it can feel great to be exhausted.

Now tell me, what did you love/hate/or were shocked about on this Tuesday?