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Food & Workout Journal – May Week 3

Happy Sunday guys!

As promised, I want to share my food and workouts with you as part of my renewed focus on my health and well being. Similar to my weight loss journey with Weight Watchers back in 2005, I find that tracking my food and workouts as well as sharing them with you on the blog helps hold me accountable. I am not counting calories or points this time around, just focusing on eating primarily healthy, natural foods. When it comes to workouts, keep in mind that I am currently recovering from a strained hamstring and bruised cuboid which have limited my workouts. In the coming weeks there will be a more high intensity workouts and running but for right now, I’m listening to my body and doing what feels good.

I am tracking my workouts daily but only tracking my food Monday morning through Friday afternoon. While it may not work for everyone, I find that allowing myself the freedom and flexibility to enjoy on the weekends helps me. I am also limiting alcohol to Friday and Saturday, with a goal to have no more than five glasses during the course of the weekend.  You will also see that I am a creature of habit.  This week I had the same breakfast most mornings and almost an identical lunch. Keep in mind that I work from home most days and therefore I try to buy enough salad ingredients to make a week’s worth of salads. Sometimes the salad varies based on leftovers in the refrigerator but I try to keep the base the same.

at home lunch
Food

  • Monday
    • Breakfast: Unsweetened iced green tea, banana and Starbucks perfect oatmeal
    • Lunch: Salad (spinach, grilled chicken, egg whites, celery, tomatoes, carrots, red peppers, salt, pepper, olive oil, lemon, and red wine vinegar)
    • Snack(s): Apple with almond butter drizzle (~ 1 tablespoon), 2 cups natural popcorn
    • Dinner: Healthy Mexican Grilled Shrimp Salad
    • Water: 9 glasses
  • Tuesday
    • Breakfast: Coffee w Unsweetened Almond Milk, Fage 2% yogurt, 1/4 cup Purely Elizabeth granola, 1/2 banana, chia seeds and flax seeds
    • Lunch: Salad (spinach, 1 egg + 1 egg white, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, balsamic)
    • Snack(s): Apple with almond butter drizzle (~ 1 tablespoon), 2 cups natural popcorn
    • Dinner:Healthy Mexican Grilled Shrimp Salad
    • Water: 10 glasses
  • Wednesday
    • Breakfast: Coffee w Unsweetened Almond Milk, Fage 2% yogurt, 1/4 cup Purely Elizabeth granola, 1/2 banana, chia seeds and flax seeds
    • Lunch: Salad from Potbelly (Spinach, hummus, tomatoes, grilled chicken, cucumber, egg white, avocado, dressing on side)
    • Snack: orange + 1 serving almonds, unsweetened iced green tea
    • Dinner: Salmon, roasted broccoli and fennel & kale salad from Little Beet
    • Water: 8 glasses
  • Thursday
    • Breakfast: Coffee w Unsweetened Almond Milk, Fage 2% yogurt, 1/4 cup Purely Elizabeth granola, 1/2 banana, chia seeds and flax seeds
    • Lunch: Salad from NYC deli (Spinach, grilled chicken, edamame, tomato, carrots, cucumber, celery, green peppers, salt, pepper, olive oil & balsamic)
    • Snack(s): orange + 1 serving almonds, 1/2 serving popcorn (without butter) at Lincoln Center during King and I
    • Dinner: Homemade Greek salad (romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, red peppers, feta, chicken, olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice)
    • Water: 11 glasses
  • Friday
    • Breakfast: Coffee w Unsweetened Almond Milk, Fage 2% yogurt, 1/4 cup Purely Elizabeth granola, 1/2 banana, chia seeds and flax seeds
    • Lunch: Refrigerator leftovers salad (spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, 1/4 avocado, onions, 1 egg + 1 egg white, balsamic
    • Snack: orange + 1 serving almonds, green tea
    • Water: 7 glasses
    • bar method

Workouts

So there you have it! After the first week I’m down three pounds and hope to lose one pound per week, on average, until I am back at my healthy weight and my Summer clothes fit again.

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My Favorite Healthy Breakfast Recipes

Last week during a work happy hour, a co-worker who is getting married in six weeks asked me how she can lose 10 pounds before the big day. While I am neither a dietitian nor a personal trainer, I spent the next thirty minutes sharing with her a few of the tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years.

Since she and the other co-workers continued to ask me questions for the duration of our happy hour, I thought it was only kind of me to share the discussion with you guys.

Over the next few weeks, I am creating posts inspired by the questions asked during the conversation. Some of them may be more basic and less relevant for readers who are already practicing a healthy, balanced lifestyle. But, for others, I hope that these tips, tricks, workouts and recipes will serve as inspiration to improve even just one aspect of your day.

As you know, my goal is to inspire each one of you to lead healthier, happier lives regardless of your stress levels, commitments or daily life demands.

Today’s focus is BREAKFAST.

via GIPHY

Now, I’ve never been one of those girls who can survive on water and coffee alone until taking a lunch break. While I know many people who just “aren’t breakfast people” I am not one of them. Growing up, my parents never let us leave the house without eating breakfast. Over the years this meal evolved from milk and cereal to toaster strudels and Jimmy Dean sandwiches until finally circling back to the balanced, healthy meal of oatmeal or eggs. In fact, eating a healthy breakfast makes me feel like SuperWoman the rest of the day.

via GIPHY

Not on team breakfast yet? Maybe these facts will convince you.

  • Breakfast eaters tend to have better diets overall, consuming more fruit, vegetables, milk, and whole grains than non-breakfast eaters. (Consumer Reports)
  • Studies show that breakfast can be important in maintaining a healthy body weight. (Johns Hopkins)
  • Breakfast needs healthy protein and fat in order to satiate you and stabilize your mood and cravings. (AnnetheRD)

A creature of habit, over the past ten years, since taking charge of my health, I rotate through the same four breakfasts depending on the season, my workout schedule or mood. Similar to my workout habits, my breakfasts have evolved for the better over the past year. I’ve spiced up each of the breakfasts to have a bit more staying power, nutritional punch and flavor by adding protein sources, fruit and spices. Gone are the packs of Quaker Oats Weight Control oatmeal, of which the banana nut flavor was a favorite during my Weight Watcher weight loss era from 2005-2007. Friends and resources like Anne have helped me understand the importance of being able to pronounce each ingredient. I don’t need to buy prepackaged oatmeal with many unknown ingredients. Instead, I can save money and eat healthier by making my own oatmeal concoction, inspired by seasonal flavors.

quaker oats nutrition facts

Below, you’ll find a round-up of my favorite healthy breakfast recipes for each of my four breakfast rotations.

Healthy Breakfast Round-Up

Oatmeal/Quinoa/Chia

Smoothie

Eggs

Yogurt Bowl

How about you? What is your favorite breakfast? 

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Reset

Greetings from New York City where the current time is 9:51pm. My body feels and thinks it is 3:51am however since I’m still very much on Europe time after spending 13 days on that time zone. You know what’s really fun though? Flying out to the Pacific Northwest tomorrow at 6am so my body can be really, really confused.

Yup, by the time I land in New York City Friday evening, I will have logged 21,000 miles in less than a week. That is insane and hard to fathom. What’s even harder to fathom is having a super, strong PR worthy 10k race on Saturday morning during the New York Road Runner’s Oakley 10K.

Instead of throwing in the towel on this race, I’m doing the opposite and revving up my system for a great race by focusing on myself this week even though I’ll be traveling. This means plenty of sleep, back on the vitamin and supplement wagon, strong but efficient workouts, stretching, and smart eating and drinking choices. It won’t always be easy but I know that a PR will feel sweeter than any late nights or 3rd glasses of wine. You see that? I’m not being silly and saying no wine, I’m saying moderation.

Here’s how I started the reset process today in between a long work day and an evening filled with both fun and tedious errands including another shellac manicure, long line at the post office, dry cleaning, and meeting with the movers (!!!?!).

IMG_9176IMG_9177IMG_9180IMG_9182

From top:

Peach Protein Oats including 1/2 c rolled oats, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp almond extract, 1 scoop Designer Whey vanilla protein powder, water, and 2/3 c peaches.

Salad #1 for lunch including mixed greens, beets, red onions, grilled chicken, egg whites, apples, tomatoes, salt & pepper, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

Speed workout on the treadmill is the perfect way to end a long day when torrential rains force me inside. Today I did 1/2 mile pick ups (6.2, 6.4, 6.2, 6.5, 6.2, 6.7) for a speedy 5k while jamming to Justin Timberlake, Usher, Ludacris, and Icona Pop.

Salad #2 for dinner including a large bowl of mixed greens, walnuts, tomatoes, grapes, strawberries, beets, red onions, egg, tomatoes, salt & pepper, 1/2 portion blue cheese, and light balsamic vinaigrette.

I also stuck guzzled over 64 ounces of water today and limited my caffeine to one cup of coffee around 3pm when my body and mind were both hitting a jet lag slump.

We’ll see if I can keep this up beginning tomorrow morning when I hope on a plane out west. Goal #1 is to drink at least 3 bottles of water during flight and baby my calf muscles with compression socks.

If you could fly anywhere tomorrow, free of charge, what would be your destination of choice? Mine would be New Zealand or Australia! Both countries have been top of our list for ages but are such a trek and quite expensive!

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