Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Eating Clean... again
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Eating in the first trimester
When I'm deciding what to eat, I don't think, "what would be healthy?" Or "what sounds good?" Its no longer a battle between wanting to eat crappy foods and knowing I should eat healthy foods.
I now think, "what would taste OK if it came back up?" Or "what could I eat that doesn't make me want to gag just thinking about it?"
So basically, I'm in survival mode here. I just eat things that don't sound disgusting. Yesterday it was Minestrone soup. Today its watermelon and Macaroni & Cheese.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Change of plans
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Update
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
FYI
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Let's get serious
I am determined to lose about 5 lbs in the next couple weeks. I'm not going to do anything ridiculous. But I am going to workout a lot more and I will cut my calories down to 1,200 - 1,300 each day.
As extra motivation I will be posting pictures. I am about to take a "before" photo in my swimsuit. On Monday June 29th I will take the "after" photo. Things are about to get awkward around here.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Counting calories and Kashi
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Toning your arms
Anyway, I just read a little blurb about Cameron Diaz and it really motivated me to be more committed with my weight lifting. Check it out...
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Not much to report
I wish I had something cool to say, but I just dont. Hmm...
Monday, May 11, 2009
Ashley's favorite things
These are things that I'm loving right now:
1. Sweet potatoes
These got a bad rap with all the low-carb craziness, but the Eat Clean author raves about them. They are very nutritious, low in calories, and DELICIOUS. You don't have to put anything on them. They are so good on their own. I just bake them in the oven or I make sweet potato fries (baked) which are delish. So try them out!
2. Salad Spritzers
I like the Balsamic Vinaigrette kind. I spray it on lots of stuff- not just green salad.
3. Protein shakes
They are an awesome and tasty way to get your protein. I used to have such a hard time eating enough protein and with Eating Clean you combine protein and complex carbs at every meal. This is a good alternative when you can't think of any kind of protein that sounds appealing. I have a good quality protein mix from Costco and I use half milk and half water (to save some calories), plus a frozen banana. Its great.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Hi Ho, Hi Ho...
P.S. Does anyone else prefer running on a treadmill as opposed to outside? I think I'm the only one.
Here's what I hate about running outside:
1. Its about 100 times harder.
2. The weather isn't always ideal.
3. You feel like everyone is staring at you.
4. Its a lot harder on your joints.
5. You can't track distance, calories, incline etc as easily.
6. You can't watch T.V. to distract yourself. (My gym has a T.V. on every machine.)
7. It sucks.
Who's with me? No one? Ok, cool.
I blame...
Ok- not really. But imagine for a minute that your garage was FULL of every candy bar and snack food imaginable. Yeah, that is what I have to live with. Nate has a vending business on the side and he keeps his stock in our garage. At first, I was cool with it. He was really serious about it and he would say, "This is not our candy. Its for the business." I was like, "Sure, no problem." Well, slowly but surely we (mostly me) started to relax a little bit. A candy bar here, a little bag of cookies there. And all of a sudden... what the hell! I've gained like a million pounds. Yep.
Needless to say, Nate will now be moving his entire stock to a hidden location. Phew. Let's try this again.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Getting back on track
Up until December I was doing really well with counting calories everyday and working out 4-5 times per week. I got down to a weight that I hadn't been since I was about 16. Then I got pregnant and developed a fear of exercize. Even though I knew it was irrational, I was afraid that I would somehow hurt the baby if I worked out too hard and I didn't know exactly what "too hard" was. So I stopped working out completely and stopped counting calories as well. Then the holidays came around and I pigged out. The next thing I knew, I had gained 10 pounds and I wasn't even past the first trimester. After my miscarriage in January (which was obviously not caused by exercize) all I was left with was FAT. No baby. Just fat. Thanks.
During the first few weeks of this blog I lost about 5 pounds by counting calories and exercizing. Then I stopped counting calories and started Eating Clean. I still believe that Eating Clean is the best way to eat, but I am a person who needs some limits. Counting calories has always worked for me. It helps me to know how I'm doing all day long and it keeps me focused. I can still have some treats, but that might mean that I have to stop eating by 7 pm or so if I've used up all my calories for the day.
So I am back to counting calories, but I will be doing my best to Eat Clean (natural, unprocessed) as well. Some people think counting calories is such a pain and so restrictive, but it works. You might think you're not eating that much, but when you right it all down and add it up its a real wake-up call. So that's my plan for now.
I know how to lose weight. I've done it before. It just comes down to making sacrifices. Its hard, but I know its worth it. But its still hard. Really hard. But its worth it. (If you can't tell, this entire post has basically been a pep talk for me.) So really... I'm gonna do this. Really.
PS. This is a good website for tips and motivation: http://oxygenmag.com/index.php
Friday, April 10, 2009
Failure
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Let's try something new...
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Here's a trick...
Monday, March 30, 2009
The Basics of Eating Clean (in a nutshell)
Progress
Sunday, March 22, 2009
"Clean" Meals
1/3 cup all-purpose flour and 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup quick cooking oats
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk mixed with about 1 TB lemon juice (equivalent to buttermilk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg
Place everything in a food processor and pulse until pretty smooth.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/3 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot. (With applesauce on top.) I also did some with bananas and blueberries in the mix! Yum!
LUNCH:
Option #1: Whole Wheat Pita with Tuna Salad
I make a tuna salad with Albacore tuna, chopped celery, a couple sliced grapes, dried cranberries, nuts, and a little bit of Miracle Whip.
Option :2: Light Egg Salad with Whole Wheat Pita or Bread
Here is the Egg Salad recipe.
DINNER:
Option #1: Stir Fry with Chicken, brown rice, and veggies from Costco
Self explanatory
Option #2: Salmon with brown rice and veggies
Costco has pretty good prices on Salmon. We make it with Johnny's seasoning, lemon juice, dill, etc. There are lots of good recipes out there.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Deep Thoughts, by Ashley
Just think about the way this country is heading with obesity, heart disease, etc. Its really scary. And more than that, I think it is immoral. That sounds a little harsh, but I'm directing this at myself also. It is easy to judge people in the world who abuse drugs or alcohol. We might think, Wow, that's messed up. I would never do that. But what about those who abuse food? It is just another dependency... a method of coping with life, or handling stress. But it happens to be more socially acceptable than drugs or alcohol. I'm not saying that being overweight means you are a bad person or something, because I am just as guilty as anyone else of "abusing food" to some degree. But I just think we should all try harder to take care of ourselves. And for many people, that means getting educated about how to eat healthy, and how to exercise. It is worth taking the time to learn.
It is so frustrating to me when people just accept that they are overweight and stop trying to improve. That is not the way we should live our lives. I completely understand that losing weight is difficult. It takes a lot of discipline and sacrifice. But we should always be trying to be healthy. To just give up and eat crap all the time is not what Heavenly Father would want for us.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
I suck
Monday, February 23, 2009
Update
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Something new
Friday, February 13, 2009
Chocaholism and Night Eating
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Eating Clean
Monday, February 9, 2009
Havana Salad
1 cup Roma tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tsp cumin, ground
1/4 tsp black pepper, ground
4 cups brown rice, cooked
15 ounces black beans, cooked, rinsed and drained
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Now add the rice, tomatoes, beans, parsley and cilantro, and mix thoroughly.
Let the salad chill in the refrigerator before serving.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Progress
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Kettle Corn... and other nonsense.
In other news, I'm doing well with working out regularly and eating healthy. Ya know- eating less than you normally would is a big sacrifice. It sucks sometimes. The decision to make that sacrifice is really hard when you've been so used to eating whatever you want. Over the holidays, I basically pigged out. Now I have to completely change my mindset and realize that if I eat whatever I want, I will continue to gain weight, which will make me miserable.
The good news is, making the sacrifice to eat smaller portions, and healthier foods gets easier with time. When you get into good habits, junk food starts to seem even junkier, and being sedentary starts to seem even sendentarier. Don't you think?
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
So far
I'm only a few days into this, but I'm doing well so far. I've been staying under my calorie limit, and I've been doing Turbo Jam also. I just got it in the mail on Friday, and I like it. Today I will be running at the gym. I'm sure most people already know this, but I've really learned lately how crucial it is to have good music to listen to when you're doing cardio. It really helps me to stay motivated and sometimes I even forget that I'm working out.
Here are some songs from my workout playlist:
(some are on my blog playlist, if you want to hear them)
Shake it- Metro Station
We're in Heaven (techno)- DJ Sammy
Cry for you (techno version)- September
Hot and Cold- Katy Perry
Disturbia- Rihanna
SOS- Rihanna
Umbrella- Rihanna
No One- Alycia Keys
Hips Dont Lie- Shakira
La Tortura- Shakira