why? WHY?!?!?!

Do you ever commit to something and ask yourself "why"? Yeah, that's what I'm doing with this stupid push-up challenge. And the fact that I'm on my own in this blasted thing is making it even harder.

Boo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoooooo.

At least, I've stuck to it!

inspiration

I'm sure many of you know Lindsay and have already read her blog but I HAD to share it here. She contacted me a few months ago asking general diet and exercise questions. We stayed in touch for a few weeks but our correspondence kind of fizzled. Then Sunday night I saw her blog and her amazing, inspirational transformation and I got goose bumps. Literally! She is so beautiful (always has been) and her story is just so relevant and real. I've asked her to do a guest post with more details which will come soon but for now I encourage you to go to her blog and get inspired.

get in my belly

I had a conversation with a friend the other day about eating/exercising/weight loss and she asked me about my personal eating habits. After giving her the scoop she told me I should share them here. I know I've mentioned some of my "tricks" in the past but I felt like it would be a good idea to share my tips for staying in control.

I have a hard time restricting myself from any food. When I say no this and no that I always end up binging on it. So instead of going on food lock down I alter my initial instincts when it comes to eating.

I try to use a smaller plate whenever possible. I have 2 salad plates at home that I like to use for meals. I end up with less of a portion than a dinner plate would allow and am never left feeling empty or unsatisfied. On the rare occasion I end up using a dinner sized plate I ALWAYS feel over full/stuffed/uncomfortable at the end of the meal.

I never go back for main course seconds. Let's be honest, lasagna has about 50 bajillion times more calories than the steamed broccoli you served with it. And although a fruit salad has alot of natural sugars it's a way better "double dip" than the sloppy joes. If I need more after my salad plate portion I'll go back for seconds and dish up on healthier sides.

When we eat out Michael and I always split our meal. If we go fast food we'll order one value meal, split the drink and fries and each get our own "entree." It does get obnoxious sometimes though because he is a very picky eater. I'd say that almost always one of us ends up compromising on what we really want so that we can split. It may sound annoying but it's cost effective with both calories and dolla, dolla bills. :D I also split food with the kids because alot of times I'm not as hungry as the drive through menu would have me believe. I'll end up with a few left over nuggets and some fries. It's enough to keep me satisfied until my next meal, even if it comes earlier than normal, which I can make healthier anyway.

If there is a time when I go out and order my own entree, I won't order anything else. If I go to In N Out I get a cheeseburger animal style, of course, and nothing else. No fries for me thanks, I already have a giant cheeseburger to clog my arteries with. If I really, really want a whole meal I will get a kids meal. I've heard that a kids meal is actually the appropriate size for an adult anyway.

I love to eat fruit before a meal. When I start cooking dinner, I'll rinse some grapes or cut up an apple. This helps begin to fill me with a fibrous food that is relatively low in calories. I end up eating less of the dinner that I've made which could be anything from homemade pizza to alfredo. I also eat the same kind of fruit numerous times in a day. I don't know why but I used to not eat more than an apple a day because I felt like I wasn't supposed to or something? But now, when I buy the Costco packs of apples I treat them like a constant daily snack morning, noon and night. I will eat 2 or 3 apples in a day and it feels and tastes great. I get fiber, quick energy and nutrients. If you have lots of fruit, eat lots of fruit. The same goes for veggies too of course.

This may seem like alot of things but I like having a whole arsenal of tricks to help me in various situations. If I can make wise portions a part of my daily diet I know that I won't gain weight no matter what I eat.

Now the next part of this post (it's long, I know) is about why I can eat what I do and stay the same size. I exercise a lot. I burn at least 600 calories every time I teach. Add that to the small portions and you get success in maintenance.

Do you know how much you burn during your workouts? I've used this example before but let I'll share it again. If you run a mile, you burn 100 calories. If you walk a mile you burn 100 calories. Picture it like this, if you heat up some left over pizza in the microwave it takes 1 minute. If you heat it up in the oven it takes 10 minutes or so. The same level of heat can be achieved using different methods at varied lengths of time. Now, if I burn 600+ calories in a one hour Zumba class, it is equivalent to me going 6+ miles. If I wanted to go the 6 miles in the same amount of time I teach a Zumba class I'd end up with 10 minute miles. Basically all of this break down is to show you that I burn a lot of calories and eat fatty foods in smaller portions to end up staying where I'm at. If you don't know how much you burn I would recommend getting one of those watches or some kind of Body Bug that tells you. It's nice to know.

If you want to lose weight you have to burn alot and eat less. It is a simple equation: calories in and calories out. The first being the lesser of the two. I AM NO EXCEPTION TO THIS RULE. If I were to stop exercising like I do and keep eating the fatty foods, even in smaller portions, I would gain weight.

Do you have any questions?

"deenra"

My husband is the king of saying words in a funny way.

He adds an 'N' to words like 'pickle,' 'thirsty' and 'with.'

They then become 'piNckle,' 'thirNsty' and 'wiNth.'

It's silly and he is silly and that's part of why I love him.

So tonight, I'm making 'deenra' rather than dinner.

And this is what's on the menu.

SPINACH ARTICHOKE LASAGNA

For the full recipe go here. I also want you to know that I originally discovered this on www.justcookalready.com.

Fabulous little blog.

(Actually, not so "little" anymore! Yay!)

grapes and cottage cheese

This was on my menu today along with steamed broccoli (good thing my husband will be studying in the other room all night long!) and lots and lots of water.

What healthy, QUICK food/snack can you share with me?

I've also reinstated my trips to Sunflower's for produce.

I heard some health guru say once that if you buy the produce, you'll eat it.

I know it sounds like, "well duh!" but it's a truth that can be forgotten and then we end up with a cart full of fruit snacks and granola bars rather than produce.

Sigh....eating right is harder than exercising. Boohoo.

say no to crack

(Rather than giving you the "I'm the worst blogger in the world" speech, I'm going to assume you don't care and pretend it hasn't been a century since I've posted.)

So CRACK, yeah, like real, addictive, druggish crack. I'm on it. It looks like this.

SOUR PATCH WATERMELONS!!! EF!!!

These little babies are screwing me. So I've decided to say, "screw you," right back!

As of tomorrow (I know, I know, cliche) I will start a diet. Not an I wanna lose weight diet. It's more of an I need to get healthy diet.

I really love that my workout regimen allows me to basically eat whatever I want in moderation. That being said, it's high time I give my body nutritional love in the same way I give it exercise love.

I know I need to straighten out my diet and it's big enough for me to blog about. Not sure if you remember but I am the self proclaimed worst. dieter. ever. This is where you come in.

You wanna join me?

I swear it will be easy to clean it up seeing as how there is a bounty of fresh fruit and veg coming into season lately.

Wanna? Should we?

Yes?!

Yes!

Go!

p.s. I am also officially starting the push-up challenge again tomorrow too. It's high time I conquer that sucker for reals. Just like I conquered my bread baking after producing salty brick after salty brick for 5 years. Join me in that too if you wish.

new challenge

How about before and afters? Since the push up challenge bored some of you to death (and me too) what do you say we try some before and after shots? I have a couple sweet ones I can already post from before I had a baby and now but Michael wants to do like a six week serious program starting with befores. I am so tired. I am rambling. You get the idea. You in? Even if you don't lose a ton of weight at least you'll most likely be more tan by the end and that can help anyone look better. ;)

can't we just start over?

Anybody finish the 100 push up challenge? That's what I thought. Anybody wanna start over? Anybody not do it the first time and wanna start with us? You know you can do this program on your knees too right? It doesn't have to be military push-ups. So who's with me? Whaddya say we take the initial test this weekend and training begins on Monday? Everybody put one hand in the center and...GOOOO TEAM GOODBODY!!!

breakfast

If you're like me, you don't want to have to think hard about breakfast. I don't like a complicated meal first thing in the morning or most times of the day for that matter. Usually because I am rushing to get to the gym but also because I am not 100 % with my brain power at that time of day.

For me a successful breakfast has some fiber and some protein.

If I have a slice of whole wheat toast (for the recipe go here) with a bit of peanut butter, I call that good. If I have the same toast with delicious, fatty regular butter and a glass of milk on the side, I'm still good just not as good.

I like the idea of smoothies too. I think Lindsay mentioned this and I started to brain storm some ideas that would make it even quicker. I have a magic bullet blender but any blender would probably work. If I loaded the blender with all of the fruits/veggies I was going to put in my shake the night before and stuck it in the freezer, all I would have to do in the morning is add the liquids. I could pop it on the blender base and wha-la! Breakfast. Even if you don't do the night before bit, it's still pretty quick. Also, to get some protein in your smoothie you could add milk or yogurt or a vanilla protein mix.

*Little side note here, most of you have probably heard that it is wise to consume protein after a resistance training workout. And that it is. However, you don't need to fork out money on a fancy pants protein shake if you don't want to. Drinking one 8 ounce glass of milk can serve as the necessary amount of protein your body needs to help your muscles rebuild. Sweet. Cheap.

Other good breakfasts are eggy breakfasts. I will say this though, if you go the egg route, try and eliminate at least one of the yolks and don't have more than three eggs. In fact, two is probably sufficient. I also don't recommend eggs everyday. Way too much cholesterol. If you want a night before type of egg breakfast, try combining your eggs and veggies in a plastic bag in the fridge. Then when you wake up, you can boil the baggie in a pot of water (girls camp style) or dump into a frying pan to scramble or make into an omelet.

Do you like pancakes? How about making a healthy version, freezing individual servings into plastic baggies and then nuking them. You can toss with a touch of powdered sugar or drizzle a small amount of syrup on them right into the same bag. Then use the bag as a wrapper and no utensils are required.

Other simple breakfasts off the top of my head.
yogurt and granola
oatmeal (not the instant, sugary flavored stuff) with nuts, dried fruit or peanut butter
hard boiled eggs and a piece of fruit
peanut butter and banana

I hope this helps. I've said it once and I'll say it again, I am a terrible dieter. If I give myself too many restrictions, like most of you, I will fail at whatever my dieting goals are. I really think that the idea of protein and fiber in my breakfast is easy and flexible. Wait, did I mention why you should have protein and fiber? Duh! Sorry. Fullness. That's why. It will help you get through to lunch or if not that far, to your early afternoon snack. I hope this helps Chelsi. Any other questions, let me know. xoxo

hey thanks

Being sore is your bodies way of thanking you for using it to its best abilities. The next time you sit down on the pot and your legs speak up, tell them they're welcome and smile at the service you did for your quads.

breakfast

I just saw that Nutri-Grain bar commercial again and it got me to thinking. As hillarious and silly as it is, they have a point. Along the same lines as 'make a change, and a change will happen,' breakfast really is the perfect place to start.

Riddle me this, if you head to Magelby's Fresh for breakfast and totally smorgasbord, is there even a fart in he11 that you are going to 180 your eating habits for the rest of the day? No, I didn't think so. Start right and yes you may screw up an hour later but the chances are smaller for a screw up then they would be if breakfast is already screwed. You know what I'm saying?

Secondly, personally I don't think a Nutri-Grain Bar is a very good breakfast but if it's a breakfast where there normally isn't one, then so be it. For all of you non-breakfast people out there, I'm gonna smack you. Seriously, it's called break-fast for a reason! Your body has been burning up all its energy stores over night and if you don't give it something new to burn guess what? You'll end up storing the first thing you eventually eat at lunch. I know breakfast can be hard, ever since having a baby my breakfast appetite has plummeted. But if you neglect your body of its natural needs then you are going to end up with a poor outcome. The same rule would apply if we are talking about holding our urine. Neglect your body of the need to pee and well...you get the idea. Give your body what she wants and needs hey? Okay.

So there is a little healthful rant for you. Make breakfast the best meal you can because if you start off on the wrong foot you are most likely screwin' yerself for tha rest o' the day. Argh. (That was the random pirate in me trying to scare you into taking this seriously.) Non-breakfasters, come on, give it a try. Just try and stomach something simple and small like a piece of whole wheat toast and a banana. Happy eating in the morn' to all. xoxo

yupdate

Yup, it's official, I'm subbing more classes than you can shake a stick at. Check out the left side bar for the dates.

On to bigger and better things. I don't know if any of you saw on my FB page about ayayay doing a special on their T-back tanks. If you become a FB fan and post what you do in your ayayay, you can get half off a T-back tank. They are so cute and sassy. Even if you "aren't ready physically" to wear this style of top as one of my cute friends put it, you could wear this top over your swimwear. It would be so cute to show off your suit but still cover a bit too. Just an idea.

Lastly, I just wanted to publicly recognize my good friend Heather. She successfully completed the 21 day challenge along with the other four gals mentioned below. I feel so TERRIBLE that I forgot to include her. Part of my penance is public recognition. I hope you can all give her a virtual high five because we all know it was a major feat to accomplish. Hooray Heather!

Oh and just one quick question? Have you fallen completely off the band wagon or maybe just had a nibble here or there? I hope it's just the appropriate occasional nibble but I would NEVER judge if you had done a 180. xoxo!

and the winner is...

Seirra!!! Hooray to Seirra Prina from Prina family! I have tried and tried and tried, that's three 'trieds', to get a stupid video to upload on this dern blog to no avail. I filmed myself randomly choosing a name out of a bowl so that everyone could see it was kosher. Sorry that I can't get it to work, you'll just have to trust me on this one.

Here is a pic of the final four. I don't remember how many we started with but you gals are the last ones standing. Can you believe you did this?! Can you believe that you are still doing this?! I am so proud and so inspired by all of you. I feel sad that I can't get an ayayay item for everyone but that would cost me close to 200 bucks and I just don't have that kinda cash right now. I'm so, so, so sorry that I can't. You have no idea. However, I do believe that after the initial, "aw shucks I didn't win" wears off, that most of you will remember the prize you have given yourselves and be okay. Thank you so much for sticking with this and for teaching me new ways of looking at food. I am overwhelmed with joy for all of you. xoxo

To all of the people out there who joined and didn't quite make it to the 21 days, hooray for you too!!! Congratulations on challenging yourself and succeeding. I hope that somehow, this little challenge helped you. Maybe just being able to initially evaluate your daily diet and say, "what can I fix" helped. Whatever it was, I am so glad that so many people stepped up to the plate and so glad that I have friends who are willing to indulge me and my silly little blog. Love to all.

Seirra email me what you would like and what size you are and your address to katillac765@gmail.com. If you have any questions about sizing or anything let me know.

160

No that's not my weight, thank goodness, although when I was pregnant.... Whoa, totally getting side tracked here.

Anyway, did you know that the average American consumes 160 pounds of sugar a year? Holy Moly that's alotta sugar!!! I just thought that all of you anti-sugarites out there would like to know that after the 21 days is up you will have consumed 9 pounds less sugar than the average peep. Niiiiiiice. No wonder everyone who has sworn off the sweet stuff is showing results!

motivation?

Not sure if this is considered motivation but I just wanted to know what all of you are planning on doing after all of this is over?

Don't feel embarrassed to say that you are going to go right back to your old ways if that's what you'll do. Maybe some of you will return to the old habits just not in the same full force way as before. I don't think that many of you will become addicted to Diet Coke again. I do think that the no sugar crew will eventually, gradually add in the occasional sweet treat which is wonderful and okay. I guess I should stop assuming and ask again, what will you do? I wanna know. There is no wrong answer here so be honest.

one more time with feeling

Forgive me for sounding redundant but I feel the need to once again clarify the point of this whole exercise. I know we are more than half way through here and I know I have been overly wordy (sorry, that's just in my nature) about what this whole thing is about but I have run into some speed bumps that have confused me. So I guess this is more for me than you but hey, you can post your success at the bottom of this rant for day 12 so there you go.

Anyway, it's late and I'm a touch peeved and I should probably sleep before posting but the problem is I won't sleep if I don't get it out. And since my husband is on call tonight and definitely won't be sleeping that means all of the driving to Disneyland will be left to me tomorrow. I gotta get it off my chest so I can sleep so listen up.

The point of this 21 day challenge was not to starve any of you, deprive any of you, hurt anyones feelings, push you beyond your limits or brain wash you into a diet. It was to help hold you accountable for your own eating habits. Whether they need a healthy boost with some extra veggies or a stiff shock with the zero sugar idea, it was to help. That's all. I thought that it would be nice to offer a support group and an incentive. I also thought it would be nice to coach you through and make sure that you truly challenge yourself. One of my besties who is doing this challenge originally posted her diet plan in the beginning. I called her out asking her for more and she politely declined my "invitation" to do more. She explained why her 21 day plan was right for her and why it would be an adequate challenge. I agreed with EVERYTHING she had to say and let her make her own decision. She has been successful and has even shown results on the scale and in the mirror. Good for her. For balancing the challenge with what works for her. Good for her for sticking to it and good for her for saying NO when I said MORE.

Have any of you seen the Shawshank Redemption? There is a line in that movie after Andy Dufresne escapes from prison that goes, "he crawled through a tunnel of es-ach-aye-tee and came out clean." That is applicable here in a sense. I don't want anyone to literally go crawling through poop. I do want everyone to come out of this clean. I want you to see a light at the end of a poop filled tunnel and fight hard through that dookie to make it there. You may get some in your eye, puke at the stench or have to stop and pinch your nose but keep going. Keep fighting. Keep holding yourself accountable and you will come out clean.

What is to happen when all of this is over? When the 21 days are done what will you do? Well shucks, I guess that is just up to you. Isn't that awesome?! It's your choice whether you fall back into your old ways, you find moderation and balance between a ton and none or you keep going on a hard core track. You choose.

Remember last weekend when it was Violet's birthday and I made the decision to indulge? Remember how for me that was justifiable grounds to splurge and enjoy good food in the company of people I love? You can do that too. Go ahead! I don't care! I want you to be happy. If you are miserable without your Diet Coke, please stop this silliness and drink a freakin' Diet Coke!

I was so stoked, surprised and inspired by Darise on Sunday when she passed up her Mother-in-laws homemade apple pie. Isn't that just awesome?! Then a couple days later, she ate Oreos. Oreos! She passed up the apple pie and ate the Oreos. Isn't that just hilarious?! I love it. It's perfect because it's real life. (Sorry Darise if this example makes you feel exposed but I figure you posted it in the public comments so it's fair game right? And besides, it's so rad. Just the realness of the whole thing. I mean that. We've all been there.)

Is any of this making sense? Can any of you honestly tell me that you are ready, willing and able to make it through the next few days? Can you? Do you even want to? Because I've got news, if you don't want to, no one is making you. I don't care as long as you are happy and satisfied. It's about you. Hmmm. That sentence sounds familiar. :) Please don't blame me. Please don't hate me. Please don't pass the buck and please, for the love of homemade apple pie, do what is best for you. I love you all and I want you to succeed.

real age test

How old are you? Now how old are you inside? The Real Age Test takes approximately 5-10 minutes and can not only calculate your health according to your lifestyle, it can give you great tips as to how to live younger. I have taken this test twice and the second time around I am younger! The first time I took it I was 24 and my Real Age was 20.8. This time I am 26 and my Real Age is 19.4. Sweet hugh? I found this motivating and I think you should try it. (Beware of some of the questions, if you click yes without reading they can spam you stuff.) I bet all of you are much younger than your true age may suggest, especially with how clean you've been eating. :) And if that isn't motivation enough, consider this, you are more than half way through the challenge! Hooray for Spring diet cleaning!

p.s. To Heather, the beautiful bum face who called me out about my push-ups, I am not doing very well. At all. In fact, my last day was last week and I completed day 1 of week 4. I feel terrible that I let it drop and am recommiting myself now. Right here, right now. I have the website already pulled up and I'm rearing to go. Wish me luck that I can accomplish day 2 of week 4 after being dorment for so many days. Yes I can! Yes I can! And if I can't, I'll try again and again until I can.

Ahem...

Excuse me? Where are you? I love you. I miss you. I want you back. If you fell off the wagon today, get back on right now. Not first thing in the morning. Not after your last cookie. Now. xoxo

success!

Motivation for today, success! The word, SUCCESS. All of you have obtained it and keep grabbing more each day. You are successful. You are healthy. You are winning and you are choosing to do it all on your own. You. Congratulations on your success. I love it.

sweet success

Doesn't your success taste almost as sweet as your favorite dessert? I mean really, do we even need the sugary concoctions when we can get such gratification from rocking this 21 day challenge? No. The answer is surely no. :) Congratulations to all of my successful challengers and congratulations to those of you who have slipped and come back. It's good to make this a daily fight if for some reason temptation gets the best of you. I KNOW everyone is going to come out the other end of this feeling clean, mean and accomplished.


As you all know last night was Violet's birthday party. A few of my friends were discussing their "trigger times" or the times of day that they feel the most temptation to binge on sweets. Here were some of the most common times of day:

Anytime between the hours of 2-5 p.m.
This is because everyone experiences a natural slump in energy during this time of day. I think we crave sweets because we want a pick me up.

The evenings between 8-bedtime.
I think this is because we are three things, tired, thirsty and sitting down. Our hands aren't moving, our minds are moving slowly and (most of us) are finally kid free.

Anytime you are thirsty.
Have you ever woken up from a nap and wanted a giant bag of gummy bears? Or been driving home from the gym only to stop at a Circle K and buy a huge freakin' slurpy instead of a giant water bottle?

After a meal.
I don't know if there is a biological reason for this or if it's because us fat Americans like a sweet dessert after a salty dinner? Whatever the reason, it is a common pitfall for many of us.

Ask yourself when and why you crave sweets. Once you have it identified, take control. Help yourself know what you really need before you sugar yourself up. I know that not all of you are warding off sweets but this can be a helpful tidbit to anyone. Or at least I hope it's helpful. Do any of you have other trigger times? Lemme know.