Last Meal

If I was to chose the last meal I would ever eat it would have to be what I had for breakfast/lunch/dinner today.  We woke up and watched TV for a while, can I tell you how amazing it was to just sleep in and relax the morning away.  I haven't done that for a while!

We packed up and then headed to Hash House for breakfast.  Man vs. Food has gone to this restaurant so you know its going to be good.  It was noon and we decided we would just have one big meal today.  I like that, I was able to indulge and get exactly what my body/mind wanted too. I wasn't about to order a salad.

Billy and I ordered a snickers pancake and waffles with fried chicken to split.  

I don't remember the last time I had fried chicken.  It was glorious.

There was bacon infused in the waffles.  I don't need to say anything more.

Back on the road again.  I am going to read Runners World, watch Friends and nap.  Life is good.

P.S. Veggies, lean proteins, whole grains and fruit have never sounded so good.  This next week I will be eating enough of those things to feed an army. My body is craving nutrients.  I have good news... for the first time in twelve years I don't feel guilty about my unhealthy food choices that i made this weekend.  My body is telling me that it LOVES to eat healthy foods and that once in a while it loves to eat fried sugary goodness and then pass out in the backseat of the car.

Tell me what your body craves after a weekend of indulging!!!

-Back to broccoli galore and 6 a.m. spin classes for me!

Clothes, Buffets, Serendipity and Pictures Galore

Today. Was. Amazing.

Have I told you I love Vegas?

We started the day with a little sweat, even though I said I wasn't going to work out.  I will take a break tomorrow:)  Shelly and I hit up the state of the art gym at our $55 dollar a night hotel room that the four of us shared.  We do Vegas cheap.  Okay, really the machines were at least 20 years old.   At least they had an awesome bar to practice up on my ballet. I did an hour on the elliptical and it felt so good!

Showered and went to Blueberry Hill Family Restaurant.  So Good.  We were so hungry, it was already 11 AM and I am used to having breakfast by 8 AM. I had egg whites and a waffle with sugar free syrup.

All together.

We then went to the tracks to watch drag racing but tickets were $55 a person per event. Yeah, no.  Instead, we went shopping for hours, people watched, walked miles up and down the strip and the best part was Serendipity 3.  For lunch we split a frozen hot chocolate and a ginormous donut among the four of us.... I don't remember the last time I ate a donut.  If you were like me and you cut donuts out of your diet, DON'T.  It was so good and you only live once.

I find it interesting that I would rather spend our savings in the Nike store than any other store in Vegas.  I will own every color of tempo shorts someday.

Bellagio Gardens

Foodie heaven, too bad we were stuffed. Next trip to Vegas I am saving myself for this store.

This post is ridiculously long, sorry but not really.

After going to H & M for 2 hours we were finally ready for dinner.  Enter Mandalay Bay Buffet.  I started off good.... but it went all down hill from there.  I am one great healthy living blog. One day of bad eating never killed anyone:)  Maybe it did, I don't know.

Many plates later, we filled our table with desserts.  The best was the fruit tart in a chocolate shell with raspberry mouse.

Now we are cuddling on the couch at our hotel.  There were some hilarious Halloween outfits today.  I saw a little too much skin and hairy chests/backs for one day.  Long live The Vegas.

On the road....

Stopped at Subway in Fillmore, Utah for dinner.  I go for the foot long.  My stomach stretches to fit as many vegetables as necessary.

I felt like I had stepped into one of those movies about small towns in Fillmore.  The whole town was at Carl's Jr. (Billy got din din there) after the high school football game.  Everybody knew each other and they were all gossiping about some lady tattle tailing to the cable company about them stealing cable.  It was awesome.  Probably the best subway sandwich I have ever had, thank you Fillmore from the bottom of my heart for the sandwich full of fresh delicious toppings and the entertainment.

Time for some skittles and movies on the laptop! We can see the lights of Vegas reflecting in the sky and we are still pretty far away.  I can't believe how much power that city uses up.

Let the good times begin.

Edited to add:  This is what I did when we got to our hotel at 11:30 at night.  Wow I am lame and how the heck did I fall asleep like that?

What's your favorite thing to do in Vegas?  Remember I am Mormon:)

 

 

Beyond BMI

Workout:

15 Minutes Stair Climber

45 Minutes Spin

45 Minutes Pump Class

I have officially worn myself out between school and working out so that I don't go crazy sitting in the car for the next 6 hours.

School was crazy today, everyone was on a sugar high including the teachers.  I dressed up as Eliot from Scrubs.

(My Best Teacher Friend and I)

I read an article this morning on the Women's Health website that really got me thinking, 'Can You Be Healthy at Any Size?' Basically, it was a debate between those supporting fat acceptance and those against the idea of fat being healthy.  Both sides had great points about why their position was healthier.  One thing I couldn't believe was that London University says that if you do not have a BMI that is lower than 30 than you do not get a diploma.  Also, Whole Foods gives their employees a bigger discount for a lower BMI!.

What do you think?  Is a extra fat healthier than being underweight?

-I definitely think that we should do away with BMI charting.  The BMI does not take into account muscle, heavy bones, and genetic factors linked to a heavier weight.  I think that we should base health on how active we are, our daily diets, lifestyle, our body fat percentage and our body fat placement.  Pants size should NOT be our governing tool as to what is healthy but rather keep in mind the importance of our heart not being asked to power a body that is unhealthy.  We have to find a healthy center..... not too skinny and not too overweight because both have negative consequences on our health.

Oh and happy National Oatmeal Day?  Did you have oatmeal today? I sure did.

Pizza Pizza

Carbs, cheese, veggies and sauce.  The cure to any craving.  Billy had a review tonight so I did what any normal person does and went to Costco to walk up and down the aisles.  I came home and made some dough and when Billy got home we made his/her pizza's. Bet you can't guess who's is who's....

The answer:

We used this recipe for the dough.  On my half I had red onion, tomatoes, zucchini, mozarella and pizza sauce.

Perfection.

And we split a carmel apple with Oreos for dessert... thanks Allison!

It is friday in 131 minutes (FYI I am a numbers freak) and we leave for Vegas in 20 hrs and 11 minutes.

What is your favorite carmel apple topping?

- Mine is carmel, white chocolate and cinnamon sugar.  Yum.

 

Anxiety about Exercise

Workout: 30 minutes stair climber and 30 minutes elliptical. Same old same old breakfast, lunch, and snacks.  After school my mom called me to meet up with her for an after school treat.  It was the perfect timing!  I was craving some good old yogurt and fruit.  She also got me an instyler.... score! My straightener and blow dryer died on the same day, I have been having some rough hair days.

My yogurt: Pomegranate, vanilla, fruit, gummy bears and weird gelatin balls.

I am going to start this topic by saying I have already come a long way in my addiction to exercise and I already know that I need to continue working on it.  I am posting this so that you don't just see me as a picture but as a real person and so that if anyone else struggles with these things we can work on it together.

Billy bought an awesome car, 1967 Barracuda.  We are thrilled.  He loves working on cars and he found this one for an amazing deal. When I got home he asked me if I wanted to go to Seattle next weekend to pick it up.  Um...yes!!! Seattle is one of my favorite places ever.  I started thinking about how fun this road trip with my bestie was going to be and how much fun we were going to have in Seattle going to Pike's Place, the most gorgeous Nordstrom ever and of course seeing Billy's face light up when he first see's his new car. Then the good old anxiety kicked in.

-We are going to Vegas this weekend.... that means two full weekends of not teaching spin, normal exercise routine and a whole lotta eating out!

-In my crazy mind I think I will gain 10 lbs from sitting in a car for a total of 40 hours over the course of the next two weeks and tempted to eat junk the whole time.

-I will lose some of my strength and endurance that I have worked so hard to gain by skipping 6 workouts in total.

-I love ENDORPHINS

Then I realized I was being 100% totally crazy.  Life is not about working out! How in the world could I even compare not being able to exercise to how much fun I am going to have with Billy and time off work.  I needed a change of perspective.  I needed to remind myself of what REALLY matters in life.  Taking a few days off will be so beneficial for my sanity and for my body to take a break from constant training.

 

What are your tips and strategies for vacations/car rides/lots of eating out and staying sane?  I know I sound like I have it all figured out now but I need some help for the times that I start going crazy again to bring me back to reality.

The bigger the better

After I teach spin the only thing that sounds good to me for dinner is a huge salad.  That it was.  Pretty sure I put every vegetable possible onto this huge plate along with tuna and some Halloween candy on the side.  I am full and my bed is calling my name.

My Spin Playlist:

Break it off, Rhiana:  Warm-up/jumps/stretch

Double Vision, 3oh!: 15 seconds isolation/ 15 second sprint repeat (out of saddle)

Raise your glass,Pink: Crank up the tension for chorus and run hard out of the saddle.

Papercut, Linkin Park: 10 seconds arrow/10 seconds sprint in the saddle

Check it out,  Niki Minaj: Jumps

Hard, Rhiana: Hill climb in the saddle

Show Me the Money, Petey PabloStep Up Soundtrack: Hill climb out of the saddle

Take it Off, Keisha: Fast, faster, fastest sprints

Starstruck, Gaga:  Figure 8 and super man

DJ Got Us Falling in Love, Usher: One leg at a time, increase tension every 30 seconds

Club Can't handle me, Flo Rida:  Squats off the bike

Dance, Dance, Fall out Boy:  High tension isolations

Only Girl, Rhiana:Combination of everything we have done in class

Uprising, Muse:  Hill climb

In My Life, Nelly:  Cool-down and out the door.

Any good song recommendations to work-out too?

 

Sub 3 Hour Marathon

All day I couldn't stop grinning.  It took me a while to figure out why I was even more happy than usual but finally I came to a conclusion.  I remembered my dream from last night, in which I accomplished my biggest goal that I have right now..... I ran a sub 3 hour marathon.  That is 240 seconds faster than my last marathon and that is about 9 seconds faster per mile.  I know I can do it, after all that was only my third marathon.

The first thing that popped into my mind was that my knee is feeling better and so I better get my training going! I mean Boston is only five and a half months away.

Then, I realized that the best thing that I could be doing right now to reach my *DREAM* is to continue to let my knee heal and rest.  I have been in constant marathon training mode for the last year, it is time for a break.  It is time for me to fuel my body with nutrient-dense foods and to get stronger..... speaking of which I went to a killer pump class this morning. My muscles were shakin towards the end.  I also did 15 minutes on the stairs.

Did I mention I had to scrape snow off of my car this morning.  That is ridiculous!  On the bright side... bring on the Holidays!

Food:

Started the morning with some vitamins and oatmeal (pb and apples). For lunch I had soup and a salad.  Afternoon snacks included a special K protein bar, 2 apples and a cheese wedge.  Do you like the face I made with it.

During PE I kicked a home run in kickball.  Come on, I needed to brag about it somewhere!

Tell me your biggest fitness goal!  Leave a comment so I can get to know you better and we can keep up on each other's goals!

Denny's for Dinner?

You've seen the commercials. Denny's skillets always look so good to me. Let's be honest there is no way those can be good for you!

I decided to take the challenge to healthify Denny's breakfast skillet.

Ingredients:

Spinach

Broccoli

Potato

Onion

Zuccini

Egg

Seasoning Salt

Parmesan Cheese

I lightly steamed the veggies and turned on the oven to 350 degrees. Just layer the ingredients on a skillet and stick it into the oven until the egg is cooked to your liking.

It smelled so good and it was very filling!

After Dinner I cleaned the house up a bit and then went and met my sister-in-law for some fro-yo. We had a buy one get one free. Score. Isn't it crazy how much we will spend on frozen yogurt (44 cents an ounce) when you can go to the grocery store and buy a gallon of ice cream for way less. I guess we are paying for the experience and the toppings!

I got acai/natural with gummy bears, strawberries and yogurt chips. We ate our fro-yo while watching a snow storm. Seriously why do I live in Utah?

Billy is home!!! See you tomorrow.

How does one do this.....

My elbow has been hurting all day.  Finally, I went into the bathroom to check it out and this is what I saw.....

How it was done: I burned myself with my curling iron on Saturday.  My subconscious blocked the event from my memory in hopes to prove that I really am not that clumsy.  Who burns their elbow with a curling iron? Sad but true.

I made it to the gym by 5:30 a.m. woot woot.  I was thrilled to wake up feeling so good and ready to climb some serious stairs.  I got to the gym and glanced over at the stair climber and to my suprise someone was on it at 5:30 in the morning.

At first I was mad at the girl.  How dare she exercise the same way that I wanted to.

Then, I thought logically about the situation.

Seriously Gold's. Seriously.

1 stairclimber and 27 elliptical.  Yes, I counted them because I was so upset. Where does all that money go?

Workout:

20 minutes elliptical.

45 minute spin-class.

25 minutes stair-climber. It was finally available after spin. P.S. when you use the stairclimber don't lay on the handlebars. Try not to use them or just barely clasp the bars.  If you fall its not that far so don't get scared.

Food:

Breakfast: The usual yogurt creation.  I may have put a little bit of apple crisp in it before I left and it may have been the best decision I have made this far.

Snack: Lunch is at eleven on Tuesday and Thursday. No time for a snack.

Lunch: Spinach salad and leftover homemade soup.

Afternoon snack: Popcorn, apple and laughing cow.

Billy is being responsible and finishing his homework tonight in the lab.  What to do? What to do? Probably watch Spirit of the Marathon again and bake.  If I can't run I might as well watch other people do it and eat the calories that they are burning.

 

Dinner for one....

First, Jillian Michaels is crazy.  Level 2 is so stinkin' hard.  I was panting and sweating in a 60 degree house.  I definately recommend 30 day shred for anyone that wants to get a great strength training session in as quick as possible.

20 minutes of burning> me wondering around the weight room wondering what to do and bored out of my mind.

Billy was on campus all night doing a lab.

A night by myself= cooking and baking.

Too many math equations in one post.

For the chicken I simply sliced the breasts in half.  I placed one tsp. garlic, 1/8 cup mozzarella cheese (1/4 cup for Billy) and tomatoes inside of the breast and folded it over.  I then drizzled olive oil and italian bread crumbs over the breast (plus more cheese for Billy).  I cooked them for 35 minutes at 350 degrees. He actually might see this post before he even makes it home to eat.  I had a baked potato on the side along with steamed broccoli, carrots and snap peas.

Close up on the Chicken

Soooo Good.

After about three episodes of 30 Rock and organizing my workout clothes drawer (nerd alert) I decided I would bake something for Billy.  This was purely selfless on my part, I don't enjoy dessert:)  My favorite fall dessert is apple crisp.  I used this recipe. It looks amazing.  Let's see if I can actually wait a few hours to eat it with Billy.  I will be honest, I am going to have some apple crisp and make it in bed by 9:00 PM.  I feel real good about my plan of attack.

 

It worked

Today went really well and it all had to do with my perspective.  I started the morning with a great workout.

10 minutes stairclimber- I love using the fat burner program because the intervals kick my trash.

45 minutes spin class (this instructor loves to do sprints and squats and my legs are already feeling it)

20 minutes elliptical- VH1 top twenty was watched and thoroughly enjoyed.  We don't have cable so I get all my TV time in at the gym.

10 minutes shower and get ready at the gym (I consider this part of my workout because my heart rate is anaerobic the entire time because I am trying to rush my buns to get to school).

For breakfast I had a yogurt mess (oatmeal, pb, apples, yogurt, cinnamon and oatmeal)

Snack- More pretzel sticks than you can imagine

Lunch- Eaten during 5th period because I had an interesting meeting with a parent! Spinach salad, apple, laughing cow and a wrap.

Went home when the clock struck 4 and resorted to my emergency stash.  Yes, I hid my skittles that my mom gave me in the vegetable crisper because

#1 I like cold skittles

#2 I knew Billy would never even think to look there (even though he doesn't eat candy very often or ever)

I ate half the bag... saving the rest for another snack attack emergency.  What's your go to treat when you really just want/need something S.W.E.E.T? Do you hide it or are you a generous person that actually doesn't mind sharing your skittles?

 

Off to try level 2 of Jillian's 30 day shred.  I have too much energy from skittles to just sit around. I used to go for a run everyday after school.  Now with my silly knee I have turned to the Nazi (aka Jillian) to help me release some energy.   See you after dinner.

 

 

Sunday Feast

Nieces and nephew are the best.  You get to spoil them and get them wild and as soon as they are smelly or crying you can give them back to their parents.  Can you believe her hair, she is four years old!  Don't mind the holes in my socks.

Somebody liked their rolls.

The soup was a success.  Everybody really liked it.  Probably not the most healthy dish but it was high in fiber and protein. Everything in moderation.

Soup, veggies and dip, and whole grain bread with strawberry preserves.  I went back for more soup.  I promise I am going to start being creative and eat something other than soup.

I can't think of anything I would want to do more than spend my Sunday nights beating little kids at Monopoly.

Last but not least...... Dessert.  Gooey brownies (no nuts thank you very much) with ice cream and a glass of milk.  Got to get that calcium in!

At about 8 o'clock on Sunday nights I start to get sad.  I love my job but I love the weekends so much more.  Today I am changing my PERSPECTIVE.  I am going to look forward to my early morning workout and getting to go to a job I love.  Just like with running or anything else in life your thinking can make anything a good or a bad thing.

"There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so."

-Shakespeare

How do you talk yourself into loving Monday?

One Pot Bean Meal

1 lb. hamburger

1 C catsup

3/4 lb. bacon

1/4 C brown sugar

1 large onion chopped fine

1 T liquid smoke

2 cans (16 oz) pork and beans

3 T balsamic Vinegar

1 can butter beans

2-3 cloves garlic chopped fine

Salt and Pepper to taste

Brown hamburger, drain and put in crock pot.  Brown bacon and onions. Drain. Add to crock pot with remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

 

A winning effort begins with preparation

Sunday's are by far my favorite day of the week.  Sleep. Eat. Family. Prep.  Wait prep??? Yep, I really enjoy preparing my breakfast and lunches for the upcoming week of school days.  I promise if you do it all at once it will be so much easier because you already have all of the ingredients out and ready to go.  So many teachers at my school are always complaining at lunch because either they had nothing to eat or because they had to run and get Mickey D's because they didn't have enough TIME in the morning to grab something for them to eat that day.  Make it easy on yourself, your waistline and your budget by preparing all of your meals and snacks for work beforehand.  We got some yogurt messes (yogurt, pb, apples, peaches, oatmeal and cinnamon) for breakfast, hard-boiled eggs for snacks, wrap's galore, salads and homemade vegetable soup, string cheese, laughing cows and apples galore (not pictured).  As I prep I watch biggest looser on my laptop... who wouldn't enjoy this thrilling activity.  Wow, I am turning into an old person.

By the time we woke up (10:30 oops) I did my prep stuff and foam rolled my sore muscles from yesterday it was lunch time.  All I could think about were veggies.  Salad with every veggie possible, tuna and enough salsa for a fiesta.  On the side I had soup leftovers.

Went to church and guess what I snuck in.... oh yeah probably had about three servings.  There are SEVEN servings in that little box. Who honestly stops after fourteen pieces?

Over the summer we were living with my in-laws and we went to their church each week with them.  After a few weeks there was a rumor spreading that I was pregnant.  The reason for this rumor.... the women couldn't understand why I was munching on snacks throughout the meeting.  The only reasons that they thought someone would do that is if they were 6 and under or pregnant.  I need to eat often!  Off to my parents house for dinner.  I made their requested one pot bean soup.  I am on soup overload.

Helmet Head

So we did both.... mountain biking and the grocery store.  Smith's grocery store was hopping.... I guess it's the place to be on a Friday night.... that's Provo, Utah for ya.  Billy is so stinking good at mountain biking and goes way fast, I on the other hand freak out on steep hills and jump off my bike and run it down the cliff (okay hill) before Billy turns around and realizes he married a wuss.

The first helmet that actually fits my head.  Seriously its huge.  Also my running shoes are a size ten.  Billy and I share rock climbing shoes.  That's weird.

At the grocery store, Billy scored 10 for $10 pasta in a box thingee's, he is pretty excited.  His goal is to spend less than a dollar per meal. That means I can spend a ridiculous amount of money on produce and candy right??  Earlier today I threw in two chicken breasts, potatoes and taco seasoning into the crock pot. Why do they call them that? Anyways, when we got home I finished making the soup.  In the mix......

- Chicken, potatoes, taco seasoning, chili powder, chicken broth, carrots, zucchini, cabbage, butter beans (have you tried these. Do), corn and tomatoes.  Random but it turned out so good.  We also made some corn bread to go get in my usual daily copious amounts of carbs.

Definitely went back for seconds.

Time for the couch and Glee.  It is date night after all.  Every week I officially declare one night to be date night.  This is when we do the same thing we do every other night but I call it date night to fulfill my crazy estrogen need to be cheesy.  Oh, and somehow I keep digging into my bag of Ghiradelli chocolate chips.  I bought them to make cookies but they will never make it that far.

Do you have any good soup recipes for me??? Tis' the season for hot soup!