Weight Loss Journey: Nephew Adventures, Gym Etiquette and Meal Prep

A few weekends ago we had my nephew Logan over.  He is almost 5 and really energetic.  We decided to surprise him and take him to the beach on Saturday.  He had so much fun playing in the sand and at the playground we found.  He and I even walked through the Battery at Fort Columbia.  My only problem was he kept running off from me and it was freaking me out.  I am not up to 5 year old speed yet.

At the park, I decided to see if my skills were still up to par.  Nope!  I realized I could not hang for any more than a few seconds.  So I set a goal for myself to be able to do Monkey Bars again at some point.  I did climb the large toy in the center of the playground.  And while I was too afraid to do much else, it felt great to be up there.  I also clocked in 8 flights of stairs on my FitBit by going up and down.  If you think, because you are a Mom, you don't have time for a workout, you are wrong.  Just get out there and play with the kids.  Plus, swinging is so much fun!

I have been at Planet Fitness for 4 months now and have made a few observations I would like to share.  These are not be being judgmental, just things I see:
#1 - Get off your phone while you are working out.  Leave your phone in your locker and enjoy your workout.  I see people sitting on machines, texting or even talking.  It's rude to other people in the gym and there is no way you are focusing on your workout.
#2 - Light gray yoga pants are not a smart choice.  Just an observation but when you sweat, that color yoga pants changes color.  I felt bad for one woman.  It looked like she had wet herself.
#3 -  Make friends.  If, like me, you go to the gym at a certain time every day, it is likely that you see some of the same people.  Say hi, smile, be friendly.  You are both there for the same reason.

Through this journey I have spent many Sundays meal prepping.  Honestly, the biggest plus is that I can sleep in a bit.  My most recent set of prep included roasted vegetables (carrots, zucchini and broccoli), boiled chicken and quinoa.  I prefer to eat this kind of food for breakfast, having a morning snack at 11 and then lunch at 2:30 after my workout.  This particular week, my 11 am snack was the Kale Power Salad that I have talked about before and my 2:30 salad of greens, ground turkey and feta.  After the first day, I decided to modify the base meal and have a hot breakfast.

Here is exactly what was in each day's meal:
1.25 cups Roasted Vegetables, 1 cup boiled chicken thighs, 1 cup cooked quinoa (480 calories)
Day 1:  No Modification
Day 2:  Add 2 over easy eggs (add 147 calories)
Day 3:  Add 1 cup chicken stock (add 80 calories)
Day 4:  Add 1/2 cup egg substitute (add 62 calories)
Day 5:  Add 1/4 cup egg substitute and 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese (add 101 calories)
It was so good, healthy and filling.

From July 15th to August 15th, I only lost 6 lbs.  It was a rough month.  My weight loss has definitely slowed down.  In fact, I had not gained but I hadn't lost in over 2 weeks.  I did some research online, asked my fellow Blog to Lose ladies and contacted my nutritionist.  It turns out I haven't been eating enough.  I had been sticking to about 1800 calories and burning about 3800 in a day.  Well, that had slowed my metabolism and put my body into starvation mode.  So after talking to a few people, I upped my calories to 2300 to 2500 as my target.  After 2 days, I lost 3 lbs in 3 days.    I had just reset my body and my total loss is 87 lbs.  I am just 13 lbs from my 100 lb goal and 16 lbs from being under 400 lbs.

March Goals - Week 1

It's the first of March and I am heading into another chapter on my journey.  I set myself a goal to plan and make nearly all of our meals for the week.  My plan was to spend some time Sunday morning making a menu.  Then, from that, I could make my shopping list and head to the store.  Well, I was woken up Sunday and had less than 30 minutes to shower and get dressed for breakfast so my plan went out the window.  No problem though.  I had a general idea of what I needed to buy so we went shopping anyway.  I discovered a lot of stuff in the WinCo bulk section so we may start shopping there again.  (We had a bad experience with some rotten chicken there and it really turned us off.)

Here is my menu for the week:

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Overnight Oats	Salad with Chicken	Chicken Quesadillas	Clementines
Breakfast Wraps	Salad with Tuna	Chicken Broccoli Casserole	Cheerios
Carrot Bran Muffins	Mozzarella Salad	Lime Cilantro Chicken	Greek Yogurt
Leftovers		Steak and Roasted Broccoli	Popcorn
		Shrimp Stir Fry
		Jambalaya

As you can see, I haven't assigned days for anything.  It helps me to have a general plan but some days I come home and really just don't feel like cooking.  This week, my easy, minimal cooking meals are Chicken Quesadillas and Steak with Roasted Veggies.  I have all the  ingredients on hand for all of these dishes so it makes my week easy.

Monday
Last night I made us each a jar of Blueberry Overnight Oats for breakfast.  They really were delicious.  I will include the recipe for them below.  For lunch I had my normal salad with chicken, carrots and cherry tomatoes.  When I got home, I gave Roger the option of what he wanted for dinner and he chose Chicken Quesdaillas.  He loves them.  To save myself from all the carbs I did open face ones for me.  Cherry tomatoes, chicken and a little cheese on a crispy tortilla was almost like pizza!

Tuesday
Another new breakfast item for us today.  I whipped up some Healthy Breakfast Muffins last night.  They are packed with goodness including banana, carrot, oat bran and oatmeal.  (Recipe below)  I brought 2 for breakfast and then had a salad for lunch.  Today I didn't add any meat so that I could use the leftover chicken I had for dinner.  I mentioned to my sister, that I was going meatless today, and her question was, "How are you getting protein?"  I never even thought about that.  Luckily, I had a Special K Protein Bar in my desk.  Tonight I am making Creamy Chicken Quinoa and Broccoli Casserole.(Recipe below)  It's one of my favorites.

Wednesday
Last week, after my plateau, I reset my parameters on MyFitnessPal.com.  I brought my calories down from 2500 to 2000.  Monday of this week, I had 1536 and yesterday I ended with 1153.  A good thing about making dinner at home is that I control the ingredients, but my favorite thing is the leftovers.  I am not a huge breakfast fan.  I don't like waffles, pancakes, cereal or french toast so leftovers for breakfast are perfect for me.  My salad today is sans meat but I included some bocconcini (fresh mozzarella balls) for protein.  Dinner tonight is another new recipe, Lime Cilantro Chicken Thighs.  I will probably serve it with roasted vegetables.  I am really getting into cooking again this week, which makes me happy.

Thursday
Another day of Overnight Oats and Mozzarella Salad.  The Cilantro Lime Chicken turned out ok last night but I wish there was a bit more flavor.  The lime came through but I wanted more salt or spice.  Going to have to rework that recipe before I share it.  Roger is begging for something that isn't chicken so tonight I planned on Steak and Roasted Broccoli.  However, I forgot to take steaks out of the freezer so I suggested Shrimp Stir-Fry.  Well, Roger said he was tired of vegetables so he said he would make his own dinner.  I had Stir-Fry with Quinoa and it was delicious.

Today was a rough day.  I had my Oatmeal at 7 but I was so hungry that I ended up eating my salad at 10.  That left me with only a protein bar to last me until 5 when I would have dinner.  I ate it around 1 and was fine until I got home for dinner.  I don't know why I felt so hungry.  Yesterday I was pretty hungry when I got home but my daily calorie intake was 1598.  Tonight after dinner I am up to 1386.  I will probably have popcorn later tonight.  I find it to be really filling for very few calories.

Friday
I think I figured out my hunger problem the last few days.  Besides the Chicken on Wednesday, I haven't been getting enough protein.  Tuesday I had less than half of my daily intake, I was about 25% low Wednesday and 40% low yesterday.  To combat this, I got up this morning and made myself a quick breakfast wrap with a low carb tortilla, an egg and some crumbled bacon.  It got me 24 grams of protein and only 11 carbs.  I ate that at 6:15 and then my oatmeal at 8:15.  I had a garbanzo bean, mozzarella and tomato salad for lunch and then for snack tonight.  I made Steak and Roasted Broccoli for dinner before Roger left for his Poker game.  I spent the remainder of the night cleaning out my office/craft room.

Saturday
I was in full Spring Cleaning mode today.  I woke up at 7:30 and cleaned until 4 when Roger got home from the auction.  I literally went through every scrap of paper and piece of clothing.  I got through the office/craft room, the bedroom and 3/4 of the way through the cat/storage room.  I didn't eat all day so I rewarded myself with Pizza, finally.  I limited myself to the wings and 2 slices of pizza for a total of 1228 calories.  While this isn't the best idea, I am ok with the decision. I got a lot done and I got to indulge a little.

I honestly don't know where all the energy came from.  Let's be honest, you don't get to be my size by being active.  I live a very sedentary lifestyle but I just couldn't stop today.  Every time I sat for a few minutes I had to get back up and keep moving.  My body wouldn't let me rest.  I am sure I will pay for it tomorrow.  I hope this is a positive side effect of my new lifestyle.

I think I did pretty well on my week one goal.  I basically stuck to making dinner every night and I had lunch and breakfast everyday.  I hadn't really thought at all about my week two goal until I sat down to write this tonight (7:45 on Saturday night).  I think this week I want to focus on fitness.  My goal is to do 3 different types of exercises at least 3 days this week.

Check out the recipes below for two awesome breakfast ideas and one quick weeknight meal.  Also, you can find me on Facebook and Instagram (@KristyRunyon81) if you want to follow me on a day to day basis.  Check back in next Sunday to hear how my week went.

Blueberry Overnight Oats
1/2 cup Oats
1/2 cup Vanilla Almond Milk
1 container of Blueberry flavored Greek Yogurt
1 tbsp Vanilla Pudding Mix (dry)
Calories: 301   Fat: 4g    Carbs:  50g   Protein: 17g
Put the oats and pudding mix in first, then the yogurt and finally the milk.  Put the lid on and shake until combined.  Leave in the fridge overnight.  You can heat it up in the morning but I prefer it cold.
*You can add fresh fruit if you desire.  The flavors can be changed out depending on the yogurt or pudding mix you choose.

Healthy Breakfast Muffins

1-1/4 cups Oat Bran

1 cup Rolled Oats
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 Banana, mashed
1 Egg
1/3 cup Vanilla Almond Milk
3 tbsp Light Olive Oil
1-1/2 cups Shredded Carrot
Yields 12
Calories: 128   Fat: 5g    Carbs:  22g   Protein: 3g
Mix mashed banana, almond milk, oilive oil and egg in a bowl.  Add in the brown sugar and mix until well combined.  Add in the oat bran, oats, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Fold together until fully incorporated.  Then add the carrots and distribute them throughout the batter.  Spoon the batter into a 12 cavity muffin pan and bake at 400 for 22-25 minutes.
*You could add in nuts or dried fruits if you so desire.
**If you substitute the Olive Oil with Unsweetened Applesauce and also add Walnuts, the nutritional information changes to Calories: 132   Fat: 5g    Carbs:  23g   Protein: 4g

Chicken Broccoli Quinoa Casserole
2 cups Water
1 lb Chicken, cubed (Rotisserie is what I used)
3 cups Broccoli Florets
2 cups Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
1 cup Milk
1/2 cup Flour
1 cup Dry Quinoa
1/2 cup Shredded Cheese
Makes 4 servings
Calories: 338   Fat: 8g    Carbs:  48g   Protein: 22g
Mix all ingredients, except the cheese, in a large bowl.  Pour into a prepared 9x13 cake pan and bake at 400 for a total of about 45 minutes.  Check on casserole every 10 to 15 minutes and give it a stir so that the quinoa cooks evenly.  In the last 5 minutes, add the cheese to the top and cook until just bubbly.
*These are pretty generous portions so if you are serving with something else, this could yield 6-8 servings.

Diabetic Journal Week 7

Wednesday February 25, 2015
I made this awesome mix last night and had it for breakfast this morning.  I am not sure exactly what to call it.  It's like a cold salad but if you heat it up, it's like a casserole.  Seems like all the best foods don't photograph very nicely.  I know it looks like a pile of stuff but I promise, it is so yummy.

Chicken, Quinoa and Avocado Salad
1 cup dry Quinoa
2 Avocados, cubed
Juice of 1 Lime
2 cups Cherry or Grape Tomatoes, halved
1 1/2 cups low-fat Ricotta Cheese
1-1/2 cups boiled Chicken Breast, diced
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cook the Quinoa according to the package instructions and then spread on a plate and put in the refrigerator to cool.  After it is cooled completely, just mix all your ingredients together.  I let is sit over night and then heated up a serving for breakfast.  It was delicious and full of power foods.  It makes 4 heaping servings.  You could add it to some greens for even more nutritional value.
Each serving has 420 calories, 16 grams of fat, 42 carbs and 33 grams of protein.

While this journey is a very personal one and I am doing this strictly for myself and my health, all the support I have received from friends and family near and far has really kept me accountable.  Not only do I not want to disappoint myself, but I would hate to disappoint anyone else.  At times I may overshare but that is part of my charming personality.

Thursday February 26th, 2015:
I am a tad bit discouraged today.  I have hit a small plateau.  My weight hasn't changed at all in almost 2 weeks.  What this tells me is that it's time to put in some work.  The first 30 pounds came off fairly easily by just cutting out processed sugar and lowering my carb intake.  Now is the time to work on portion control and incorporating more exercise.  I had set a goal for myself to lose 50 lbs in 2015.  While that is a great goal, I think I need to set myself some smaller short-term goals that I can easily achieve.

So, for March, I am going to set one goal for myself each week.  Since the 1st is on Sunday, that will start my first week and my first goal.  I got the idea from the YouTube channel Mind Over Munch.  She has some great healthy recipes, workouts and home hacks.  She does an amazing trick with a Quest bar, making it into cereal.  I was sure it wouldn't work but it turned out so crunchy.  I bet you didn't realize that YouTube was more than cat videos.  There is actually a bevy of information on the site.  From recipes to workouts to tips and information on almost anything.

Friday February 27th, 2015:
My name is Kristy and I am an addict.  I am absolutely obsessed with food.  It is constantly on my mind.  I am always thinking about what my next meal will be or a new recipe to try or a way I can cut calories somewhere.  My biggest struggles are dinner.  Sometimes I get home and have no idea what I am going to make.  This leads to wanting to order in.  Pizza is one of my absolute favorite foods.  I haven't had it since January 1st.  Three days this week I came home without a plan for dinner.  All three days, I threw something together instead of ordering pizza.

This leads me to my first goal for the first week of March.  My goal for the week is to plan and make at least 5 of each meal.  Meaning 5 breakfasts, 5 lunches and 5 dinners.  Weekends are the hardest part but we have no plans for that weekend so it should be fairly easy.  Last night I made our first batch of Overnight Oats.  These will be great for breakfasts.  While the chocolate one was really nasty, the blueberry flavor was awesome.  I will share the recipe in my next blog so I can post a picture with it.

Sunday March 1st, 2015
After the small disappointment earlier in the week, the weekend was spent with friends at parties.  Friday night my sister and I went to a Passion party at a friend's house.  I brought a veggie tray because I wasn't sure what food would be there.  Our hostess, Hollie, had chocolate dipped fruit, fruit kabobs, large and small wienies and cheese dip. I ate mostly fruit and vegetables but had some of the wienies too.  I also didn't drink, which was weird for me but not really that difficult.

Saturday night I went to a birthday party for another friend where I also didn't drink.  I packed an apple and a tangerine with me and got a 10 piece McNugget on the drive up, around 3:30 pm. I wasn't hungry the rest of the night so I felt good about the decision.  They all had pizza in the lounge area and I didn't go with them because as I talked about earlier, it is my trigger food.  So much so that I am going to be trying cauliflower pizza crust this week.  I am crossing my fingers.

I look forward to sharing my week with you.

Turkey and Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

I wanted to quickly share this twist on a classic Stuffed Pepper with you all.  This one includes the super grain Quinoa, ground Turkey and some Mexican flavors.

Turkey and Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers
1 cup Quinoa, rinsed
2 cups water
4-6 Large Bell Peppers (your choice of color)
1 can of Sweet Corn
1 small can of Diced Green Chiles
1 small can of Enchilada Sauce
1 lb of Ground Turkey
1 tbsp Cumin
1tsp Garlic Powder
1 tbsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Salt
Place the Quinoa and water in a small pot, bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.  Meanwhile, brown the Ground Turkey with Cumin, Garlic Powder, Chili Powder and Salt until fully cooked.  Combine all the ingredients except the Peppers and just heat for a few minutes.  Prep the Peppers by cutting off the tops and cleaning out all the membrane and seeds.  Make sure they can stand up on their own.  Place them in a greased cake pan.  (I cooked 4 but there was enough for 6) Fill each Pepper with the Turkey and Quinoa mixture.  Place any extra in the bottom of the pan.  Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.  You could add cheese to the top if you want.

When we ate these, we both realized we didn't like the taste of Bell Peppers so they didn't go over that well but I thought the filling was really good.  Try them for yourself and let me know what tweaks you would make.

My Diabetic Journal - Week 2

Saturday January 17th, 2015:
I was away from my house all day today so I knew it was a day where I would have to make smart choices on the go.  I started my morning at Starbucks where I used the rest of my gift card by buying the Spinach and Feta Wrap, a Bacon Breakfast Sandwich, a Tall Skinny Vanilla Latte and a Venti Black Iced Tea.  I can hear you saying "Girl, that is too much."  Calm down.  I was being smart.  I ate the wrap and drank the coffee on the drive north.  It was 8:30 in the morning and I wasn't sure when I would be having lunch so the second sandwich was an emergency food supply.

I went and dropped some things at my sister's house and spent some time with my nephew then headed farther North to hang out with a friend.  By 11:30 I was getting hungry and I could tell I needed to eat.  I ate about a quarter of the emergency sandwich while driving out to Yelm.  I was glad I did because we didn't have lunch until 1:15.  We stopped at a KFC/Taco Bell.  Not many healthy choices to make but I did find a Chicken Cantina Power Bowl.  I was actually quite disappointed in it.  There was more rice in it than lettuce.  It had 490 calories, 20 grams of fat and 49 carbs.  But, it was very filling and I wasn't hungry again until around 5 when I got home and ate the rest of the breakfast sandwich.

I was home for about 30 minutes in which time I did my nails, my makeup, my hair and got dressed for Roger's Company Party.  I had two drinks while at the party.  One Long Island Iced Tea and the second was an Apple AMF.  They had a nice buffet set up with a ton of food I can't eat.  They had pasta salad, mac and cheese, rolls and a ton of desserts.  I did find some good stuff.  I had salad, steamed vegetable medley, pork loin, roast beef and chicken breast.  I also had a very small scoop of mashed potatoes.  I needed some carbs ya know?  It was a nice party with 2 hilarious comedians.

It was a whirlwind day of being on the go but I thought I did really well.  I woke up in a good mood and it continued all day. I think today proved that I am on a good path.  I didn't have a hard time making a good choice.  In fact, nothing on that KFC/Taco Bell menu really looked good at all.

Sunday January 18th, 2015:
I was pleased that after a few drinks the night before, my blood sugar was 109.  It had to have been the amount I drank last time and the Red Bull.  Today is game day so we headed out to our regular Sunday breakfast.  Roger's parents joined us today but I made sure we were out of there by 10:30.  I really didn't want to miss the 12:00 kick off.  We did a quick grocery shopping trip which included a bunch of meat and vegetables.

Since the weather has been so rainy and I found some Pork for Posole on clearance, I decided to make a Pork Vegetable Stew.  I threw in a can of green beans, a can of corn, a can of black beans, carrots and some diced red potatoes.  I also made some barley to toss in and used some cumin and garlic powder to season.  It was delicious and the perfect accompaniment to some Sunday Football.  However, watching the Seahawks game was making me sick.  My stomach was in knots.  Until those last few minutes where my Hawks pulled that stuff off.  I never doubted them and knew a miracle was headed our way.

Monday January 19th, 2015:
I woke up in a terrific mood again today.  The Hawks are heading to the Super Bowl to play the Patriots and I am heading to a healthier year.  I finally ordered a scale online that weights up to 550 lbs.  It should be here next week.  I don't want to weigh myself every day but once a week or so should be fine.  I have never been one to obsess over a number on a scale.  I want to feel better, that's it.  And so far, so good.

Yesterday I was craving a Diet Coke so instead of getting a 2 liter (or 3) like I used to do.  I paid twice as much for a 20 oz.  It was gross. I hadn't had a soda since Christmas.  I've been drinking water, herbal tea and iced tea.  The soda coated my mouth with a film that I just hated.  Guess that proves that I have beat that bad habit because I don't want that anymore.

I roasted 2 chickens last night so I could have extra chicken for salads and later on in the week, I am using some in a recipe.  Either Chicken Enchilada Zucchini Boats or Creamy Chicken Quinoa Casserole.  To go with the chicken, I also made Roasted Broccoli.  It is my favorite way to eat broccoli and is so easy.  All you do is put your broccoli into bite sized pieces, put them in a bag, add a little olive oil, garlic powder and parmesan cheese, shake it up and bake it at 400 for like 20 minutes.

Tuesday January 20th, 2015:

My Suburban (aka The Party Bus) is in the shop so I am driving my husband's truck (Johnny Longbox).  Yes, we name our cars.  I've already shared my story of Juanita our Chrysler Imperial.  Anyway, this means I have to get up at 4:30 to take him to work.  Oh Joy!  This morning I decided I was going to take him to work, exercise, shower and then go to work.  I found a fitness show on TV and thought I would give it a try.  I lasted about 15 minutes.  Which is actually longer than I thought I would.  I then laid down and fell back asleep until 6:30.  I still had to shower and get my lunch together.  I was only 5 minutes late but ended up with a salad for breakfast.

I am being tested today.  The guys had Big Ass Sandwich today which is this amazing food truck in Portland.  They are so delicious.  They come with fries on them.  Anyway, the boss brought them in and they smelled so good but I had my lunch, I was fine.  Now I get a call about my Suburban and the guy says it is going to be $1900.  This is completely depressing because it will pretty much wipe out my savings.  This makes me want to drown my sorrows in a juicy cheeseburger and some fries or a pizza but I won't.  This is too important.

After we finally got home last night, I deboned the rest of the chicken from the night before but was too tired and depressed to make one of the recipes I was going to try.  I made Roger Chicken Quesadillas and I had Breakfast Hash.  It was quick and easy.  I went to bed early, dreaming of a miracle for my car.

Sunday January 25th, 2015:

I missed a few days of journaling.  I have been running around like crazy.  Let me quickly catch you up. Wednesday night I made Creamy Chicken Quinoa Casserole.  It was one of the best dinners I have made in a long time.  It had chunks of chicken, broccoli and quinoa without any of that canned cream of whatever soups.  Roger is being pretty good about at least trying everything and he has okay-ed quinoa to enter our staple items.  

I got my vehicle back on Thursday.  I got new calipers, u joints and brake pads.  In total, it was only $800 so I was pretty happy.  And I got it back just in time to head north on Friday to spend time with my sister and nephews.  We made cupcakes for a baby shower for our cousin and just had a great time.  I will share one of the cupcake recipes and the casserole recipe when I can.

One bad thing was how I ate on Friday.  I had breakfast at home at 7:30 but didn't eat again until almost 1 and I was on the road so I grabbed a burrito from Taco Bell.  It had 55 carbs in it.  Yikes!  Then, we went to Jack In The Box for dinner because Kari and I were heading to a party about 45 minutes away.  I had a large fry on the way there and then a Chicken Fajita Pita before bed.  My blood sugar in the morning was 137.  I was pretty disappointed in this because I had been doing so well.  I hadn't been above 120 in a week.

Tried my hand at Kale Chips today. They were actually really good.  I have been missing a crunch in my diet and this really satisfied that.  I took about 4 cups of cut and cleaned kale, drizzled a tablespoon of light olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt.  I spread them on a baking sheet and cooked them at 300 for about 25 minutes.  Roger even tried one and said it was ok.  And he is opposed to anything green so that says a lot.

Heading to the kitchen to make Turkey Quinoa Stuffed Peppers.  I will fill you all in next week.