Me again

I've decided to start posting on this blog again. Having a weight loss/fitness blog is kind of embarrassing because so far it's pretty much a record of my failures to lose weight. But I found that when I used to update regularly last year (before I had Halle), it did help to have that accountability. Just knowing that someone might be reading this makes me want to stick to my goals and finally lose this baby weight.

My dedication and my weight have fluctuated so much in the past 5 months, and it's been stressful for me. When I am eating junk and being sedentary, I just feel so conflicted inside and I feel weak. It's hard to be successful in other areas of my life when I'm failing at being healthy. So that's why losing weight and being fit are important to me. I sometimes worry that having this blog makes me seem vain or shallow, since it's focused on something physical, but I believe that the way that we take care of our bodies is a reflection of our self-worth. It's important. Obviously, what's on the inside of a person is what really matters, but it's hard to be happy and at peace when you're not taking good care of yourself. At least for me.

So anyway, my goal over the next month is to eat clean everyday and exercise (weights and cardio) at least 4 times per week. Obviously I can't eat clean 100% of the time, but just making a real effort all day is something to be proud of.

Our trip to Hawaii is in a little over 4 weeks. It would be awesome if I could make some real progress by then. Swimsuits are not very forgiving. I have high hopes for myself. I took some "before" photos, so when I reach my immediate goal weight I will post the before and after pics.

Ugh.

Since I had Halle 5 months ago, I have lost and then gained back the same 5-6 pounds 3 times. I get super motivated and determined for a couple weeks and lose 5-6 pounds quickly, but then I just kinda go crazy because I feel too restricted. I obviously can't figure out how to make realistic changes in my diet/lifestyle.

In 8 weeks our little family is going on a trip to Kona, Hawaii. You'd think that would be some major motivation to get swimsuit ready. You'd think.

 

 

 

Come on, Ashley. Just do it.

My favorite recipes

Turkey Meatloaf Muffins (I really love these!)

Nutrition per muffin

Calories: 80
Fats: 2 grams
Carbs: 4 grams
Protein: 11 grams

• 2 lbs ground turkey (or chicken)
• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp dry yellow mustard
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp chipotle pepper spice (I used about 1 tsp. of cayenne pepper instead)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp garlic powder (2 cloves minced)
• 1 small onion (finely chopped)
• 2 celery stalks (finely chopped)  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
   
2. Spray muffin pan with canola or olive oil.
   
3. Mix all your ingredients together in one large bowl.
   
4. Roll the mixture into balls and place in muffin pan. Muffins should be about the size of a racquetball.
   
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
   Makes 12 muffins 

Turkey Burgers

Ingredients

• 3 pounds ground turkey
• 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup finely diced onion
• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix ground turkey, seasoned bread crumbs, onion, egg whites, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper. Form into 12 patties.
2. Cook the patties in a medium skillet over medium heat, turning once, to an internal temperature of 180 degrees F (85 degrees C).

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 183 | Total Fat: 9.5g | Cholesterol: 90mg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baked Chicken Nuggets

 

3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (not actually "clean", but you don't use a lot)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon dried basil

 3-4 egg whites

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Cut chicken breasts into 1 1/2-inch sized pieces. In a medium bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, salt, thyme and basil. Mix well. Put egg whites in a bowl for dipping.
3. Dip chicken pieces into the egg whites first, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Place the well-coated chicken pieces on a lightly greased cookie sheet in a single layer, and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. 

These are even better the next day after the flavors soak in.

Clean Meals

So the idea of eating clean is to combine lean protein and complex carbs at every meal. Each meal is usually 200-300 calories, and you eat 5-6 meals a day.

Here are some examples of clean things to eat:

 

 

This is my breakfast almost every morning. Oatmeal with cinnamon, blueberries (frozen) and a little bit of banana. And then for the protein I have one whole egg and one egg white, either scrambled or "fried." Today I added mushrooms to my eggs, if you're wondering what that is. Breakfast is often my largest meal. Oatmeal and eggs are really filling.

 

 

 

 

 

This is a typical clean dinner. Chicken with just spices on it, sweet potato, veggies. Yum.

I like onion powder and garlic powder on my chicken and vegetables. I should also add that both of the plates in these pictures are salad plates, not a regular sized ones. I like using smaller plates to keep my portions smaller.

 

 

 

Here are just a few examples of clean meals and snacks:

 

 --Breakfast burrito:  1 egg and 2 egg whites, veggies, spices, wrapped in whole wheat tortilla

 

--Eggs (scrambled or fried) on whole wheat toast

 

--Kashi Cereals:  I like Go Lean Crunch and Go Lean Crisp a lot. These are great because they have complex carbs and protein in them. Most cereal have little to no protein. Go Lean Crisp is my favorite. Costco sometimes sells it. I also prefer almond milk instead of cow's milk. That's just my preference. Almond milk is cool because it's low calorie and still has lots of calcium.

 

--Tuna wrap: mix tuna with a tiny bit of light mayo (which is not clean...oops), sliced grapes, walnuts, celery etc and put it in a whole wheat pita, tortilla, or on bread. It's like chicken salad.

 

--Whole wheat spaghetti: I use a healthy spaghetti sauce and add veggies and ground turkey

 

--Turkey burger: ground turkey mixed with onions and spices, cooked on the stove, and then add tomato, lettuce and avocado on top and put it on a whole wheat bun

 

--Stir Fry: chicken, veggies and brown rice (use a small amount of low-sodium soy sauce)

 

--Cottage cheese + a pear or peach

 

--Apple + almonds

 

--Greek yogurt + some fruit or veggies or Kashi cereal on top

 

 

Progress

Up until last week, I was not able to stick to my healthy goals after I first posted almost 2 months ago. I love to eat. And I especially love to eat cookies and ice cream. So... yeah. You can imagine that losing weight is difficult when you are pretty much addicted to certain unhealthy foods.

But last week something just clicked. I finally got really tired of not fitting into all of my clothes. I have only been able to wear a few things (over and over) since I had Halle and the last thing I want to do is go buy a bunch of bigger clothes.

I started eating clean again and now I feel so hopeful that I will be able to lose this weight and feel better about myself. I have lost 4 pounds in about a week. That's a lot for one week, but I know it will slow down as I keep going. Eating clean makes me feel at peace with myself. When I'm able to cut out sweets and other junk, and focus on eating as healthy as possible, I just feel so proud of myself. It's also helping me to fix a problem I've been having with depression.

After I had Halle, I definitely felt depressed for a while. I am actually feeling a lot better now, but it was really tough for the first 3 months. I think it was a combination of:

1. Postpardum hormones
2. The stress of having 3 kids (especially a newborn)
3. Nate being gone a lot for work 
4. MOVING
5. MOVING
6. MOVING

It has been really, really hard. But I'm finally feeling better about life. I think eating healthy and exercising are mandatory for my mental health. So as long as I can keep up this healthier lifestyle, things will be good! :)

I'm ready!

I am so ready to lose some weight. It has been about 9 weeks since Halle was born, so there is no reason why I can't get serious about this.

On Saturday, Nate and I got a membership at an awesome gym. I went today and I love it. It's huge! They have tons of equipment, group classes, 3 different pools, childcare, etc. I plan on going at least 4 days a week. It's going to be so nice to have a little break from the kids and to get active again. I feel so lazy.

Counting calories and trying to eat clean always works for me, so that's what I will be doing in the diet department. I'm nursing, so obviously I won't do anything drastic, but just cutting back on the sweets should make a big difference. I'm currently addicted to baking cookies, so that habit needs to stop immedietely.
Well, wish me luck! I have a weight loss ticker on top to track my progress.

Good luck to all of you in your health goals!

Hello there

I'm going to start updating this blog again. I like the fact that it gives me some accountability and it's a place to share my frustrations.

Here I am again... losing baby weight. Fun stuff. I am currently about 8 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight, but I would love to lose 12-15 lbs in order to be at my ultimate goal. I wonder if I will ever get there though.

I wish I could just be laid back about getting this weight off, but the truth is that I have almost no clothing that fits right now. Pretty much all of my pre-pregnancy clothes are quite tight and it's just frustrating. That's my big motivator right now.

After I had Kate, it took around 8 months to get to a weight that I felt good about. That felt like forever. People always say, "It took 9 months to put the weight on, so it may take 9 months (or more) to get the weight off."  It's true. I know it. I just don't like it.

I will post more about my goals and my plan later. Anyone else on a weight loss crusade right now?