Workouts: Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

I have read a lot on WeddingBee boards and other places that Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred (she's the trainer from the Biggest Loser) is a great workout video. And lucky for me, Nola bought it for for Christmas; and it was just in time because the Harvard gyms aren't open again for a couple days.



So, I tried Level 1 yesterday, and for a 20-minute workout, I thought it was pretty tough. She has you do squats, bicep curls, lunges, abs, push-ups, some cardio, etc. and if you really go all out for the 20 minutes, it seems like it'd be pretty helpful in getting you toned. I still think it'd be nice to do it every day along with some other cardio; but also, Levels 2 and 3 might be a lot harder, I'll let you know when I try them! (Btw, you can get the video on Amazon for only $7.50 - http://www.amazon.com/Jillian-Michaels-30-Day-Shred/dp/B00127RAJY/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2AJBXRE4S66O7&colid=H6LNXWVP831G).

New WW Recipe: Hashbrown Casserole

Sorry for the long hiatus, this is like the longest I have gone without blogging, but I am sure everyone else had Christmas, etc. and so were also not having "checking blogs" as #1 priority, lol! So, while I can't say I didn't eat anything bad for me over Christmas, I was very proud that I made a WW recipe for Christmas breakfast - a healthy hash-brown casserole! It was so good - of course, not as good as the one from Cracker Barrel, but still super yummy. I actually made the recipe with low-fat sour cream instead of fat-free because fat-free sour cream, cream cheese, etc. is always really gross to me, lol. (Oh, and you can use reduced-fat cream of chicken soup in exchange for the condensed milk, they use cream of chicken soup in the original Cracker Barrel one). And it must have been a hit because my family ate a ton of it! Here's the recipe:

1 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 cup (4oz) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons stick margarine (melted)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (32 oz) pkg frozen Southern-style hash brown potatoes (thawed)
1 (16oz) cartoon fat free sour cream
1 (10 3/4 oz) can low-fat condensed milk

1) preheat oven to 350. 2) combine all ingredients in a large bowl, and stir well. Spoon mixture into a 13x9" coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 1 hr bubbly. Yield: 9 servings (servings size: 1 cup). in weight watchers this is 3 points exchanges: 1 starch, 1 fat, 1/2 veg

Definitely try it, it's very easy to make and tastes good re-heated as well!

Food Recap - Dec. 21st and 22nd

Monday, December 22, 2008

Man, it is so hard to eat healthy at home & near the holidays, I am just trying to stay positive by thinking of all the stuff I would normally be eating but am not! Um, also, REALLY hard to stay healthy when your brother is in cooking school and making tons of yummy stuff for you!

Sunday:

Brunch: 8 points

Omelette w/Egg Beaters, Spinach, Red Peppers & Lowfat cheese - 5 points; Homemade "southwestern" hashbrowns (actually much healthier, just made by chopping potatoes into slices, then into tiny cubes, and cooking them in a pan with a little butter, no oil, and with pepper & chili powder, you can also add green & red pepper) - 3 points.

Dinner: Veggie Enchiladas - really have no idea for the points for these, my brother made them, they were so yummy, I was proud I only ate one! They were made w/a flour tortilla, spanish rice, onions, peppers, black beans, and topped with spicy cheese and red enchilada sauce.

Also, I would like to comment that I went to the movies today and ate NO popcorn - not even one bit of the popcorn my mom got, I am not sure I have ever done that in my life!

Monday:
Breakfast: Yogurt - 1 point

Lunch: Weight Watchers Fettucini Alfredo w/Broccoli frozen dinner - 6 points; Goldfish - 3 points

Snack: 1/2 Auntie Anne's pretzel (I tried to resist, but I was SO hungry at the mall!) - but 4 points for it isn't the worst

Dinner: Veggie Chicken Patty w/Cheese, Spicy Mustard on a bun - 7 points

So that's 21, plus I am sure I consumed enough extra goldfish somewhere throughout the day to account for the other 4, lol!

Food Recap - Dec. 20th

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Breakfast: 4 points

Sweet n' Salty Almond Crunch bar -these things are SO good, they are not chewy not a traditional granola bar, it's basically a bunch of nuts stuck together - I figure they always recommend nuts as a good diet thing - source of protein, etc. - so why not?

Lunch: ????

Today was Ape's bridal shower, so I can't claim to know how good/bad anything I ate was for me, but here it is:

Snow peas & ranch dressing (for someone like me who often just feels the need to eat something, anything, snow peas are great, you can buy packs at the grocery store and keep them around for snacks)

Hashbrown casserole
1 slice broccoli cheese quiche

I didn't eat a single dessert, I was proud!

Dinner - 11 points

Subway veggie sandwich - 8 points
Baked chips -3 points

Back to Blogging - Food Recap, Dec. 19th

Friday, December 19, 2008

Sorry for the couple day hiatus, I was in a mad rush to get done with my finals, and now I am, yay! So I can start again with posting my food every day, some recipes, workouts, etc.!

Here's what I had today (I think I am gonna try to start adding in more pictures and links for food, it makes it fun I think):

Breakfast: Terra Sweet Potato Chips - 3 points

I couldn't get any food before getting on my flight b/c I had to immediately get in the hour-and-a-half security line, so I ate what they had on the plan, which was Terra Sweet Potato chips - a very odd breakfast choice, but SO good, a great healthier alternative to the amazingly yummy sweet potato fries I love so much!

Lunch: Subway Veggie Sandwich - 8 points

I went to the only fast food place that truly is delicious AND nutritious - Subway, yum! I had a veggie sandwich with swiss cheese (I also add the chipotle sauce, which probably isn't super healthy (it adds 3 points), but the veggie is so low in points to start that I don't feel bad)

Dinner: Weight Watchers Nachos - 7 points

I finally have a recipe to share, yay! This one is really simple too and has very few ingredients - it's very simple and can be altered pretty easily if you don't like some of the WW toppings, or if you want to add some (like chiles or black olives) - this particular one is "Nachos Grande" but WW has other versions too.

Recipe (makes 4 servings, each serving has 7 points):

4 oz baked low-fat tortilla chips (I buy baked Tostitos scoops)

9 oz. fat free refried beans

1 cup shredded reduced fat Mexican-style cheese

1 cup salsa

1/2 cup guacamole (you can also do sour cream instead)

And basically all you do is get out a cookie sheet w/aluminum foil on it, spray it with cooking spray, then lay out the chips in a single layer & top with everything but the guacamole or sour cream. Heat at 350 degrees until the cheese melts, about 10 minutes, and top with the guacamole or sour cream. It's delicious!

Snacks

Pirate's Booty, 1 oz package - 3 points (you already know how much I love Smart Puffs, and these are from the same company, it's so good, and a lot of food for 130 calories). If you've never seen these, it's probably because they aren't in the regular chip aisle, they are in the organic foods section - http://www.robscape.com/files/prod-pirate-booty.php.

This is the Dream

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

This picture of me from 2004 are basically my weight loss dream - it's not me at my thinnest, I am not trying to be 140 pounds or anything; I think this picture is me at around 155-157. Really, 160 is my main goal (I am 5'11, so that'd be right around the "recommended weight" for my height) - I am now around 177, which doesn't seem that far away, but losing that 17 pounds will I know be really hard.



I have come down from an all time high of **I can't believe I am going to say this out loud, or that I ever let myself get to this!** 192 pounds in Summer 2007, so I am just going slow & steady towards my ultimate goal. So, I am hoping these pictures will inspire me :)

Dec. 15th & 16th - Food Recap

Sorry for the lack of a food recap for yesterday, I was crazy busy studying! So here's a recap for both days:


Monday:

Breakfast: I hate to admit it, but I forgot about breakfast again - I know, so terrible! For some odd reason, when I go to the gym to train with Kerry in the morning, I don't get hungry til lunch - but I know I should still eat something.


Lunch - Pizza Pretzel - 6 points - this sounds like it would be bad for you, but it is actually from the organic food section of the grocery store, and is fairly low in calories (280) and real high in protein (as a vegetarian, I have to try to get the protein any way I can)- it is made by Kim & Scott's - http://www.kimandscotts.com/ - if they have them in your grocery store, they will be in organic frozen foods.



Dinner - Vegetable Maki - I LOVE sushi but recently gave up fish, so I decided to try vegetarian sushi - it was really good; and according to WW online, the 2 whole rolls were only 8 points combined.



Snack - Smart Puffs - 4 points - http://www.robscape.com/files/prod-smart-puffs.php - if you're a big snacker & sometimes just feel like you need something salty (this is totally me, no matter how hard I try, I cannot completely give up chips), these are great because they are actually really good for you & made with real cheese, and an entire bag has an absurdly small amount of calories, like 450 or so.



Tuesday:


Breakfast: Cottage cheese (low-fat), 2 points


Lunch: Vegetable sandwich - 7 points (wheat bread, american cheese, lettuce, tomato, green pepper, onion & spicy mustard - I used to love mayo on these sandwiches, but have now substituted mustard, which is an easy way to save some calories).


Dinner: Went out to dinner tonight at Hard Rock Cafe; and there wasn't much to eat vegetarian, so I got these southwestern spring rolls, which were basically black beans in a spring roll wrapper. I have a feeling the toppings weren't so great for me, but since I had a light day otherwise, and I could have done way worse for a night out, I am proud :)