Green Smoothies!

I have been a skeptic that anything, especially something as terrible sounding as a green smoothie, could actually help to reduce sugar and general food cravings. I thought I'd test them out, as at this point I've plateaued and am looking to kick start some weight loss. I think they may be the key to pushing me through this 129-133lb land I've been living in for so many weeks. I want to get to 120-125 land!

Last week I started drinking them just for breakfast. Now I'm on Day 3 of drinking them for both breakfast and lunch. I drink half a jar every 2 hours starting at 8am. Then I eat a healthy and veggie packed dinner. So far I'm down to 131 from 133 on Tuesday.

Here is my recipe:
1 cup plain kefir (packed with probiotics and lean, lactose free protein)
2 cups water
1 small steamed beet (I used the pre steamed from Trader Joes)
1/4 cup frozen pineapple (my fav) but any fruit will do
1/2-1 scoop green powder, I like ProGreens or GreensSuperfood
As much spinach, kale and romaine I can cram into my blender
Juice from 1-2 lemons
Blend on high for 30 seconds
I do this twice to make about 8 cups, 2 quarts. I divide this between 3 mason jars. I also add 1 tsp of chia seeds to each jar. I give each jar a good stir and a shake. Make sure to chill them in the fridge.

Plain Kefir, love this stuff!

Powdered Greens and Chia Seeds

This green smoothie has settled and needs to be shaken up before drinking

So far I feel great drinking them all day! My cravings are much more under control and my digestion is superb. (TMI) I also think my skin is looking pretty fab! I will do one more day tomorrow of all day smoothies and then most likely go back to only mornings on the weekend and eat a simple lunch.

Tracy says to save your calories for one meal a day and eat super low calorie for the rest of the day. This actually seems to work for me as I love to relax at the end of the day and have a nice meal with wine to unwind. I'm hoping that green smoothies will continue to help me achieve my goal!

Cheers!

Greek Pita Club

 Who doesn't love a sandwich?! I found this great recipe in the May 2011 edition of Better Homes and Gardens. I adapted it to make the sandwich a bit healthier and around 400 calories. It's packed with colorful veggies, has tons of flavor and is cheap and quick!

1. Take 2 whole wheat pita pockets and slice in half, length wise.

2. Spread the insides of each layer with a thin layer of hummus

3. On on layer add 2 leaves of hearts of romaine, bell pepper slices (1/3-1/2 a pepper) and 1 small tomato.

4. Top with another pita half and place on top, hummus side up.
5. Top with english cucumber slices (1/4 cucumber), 1/2 ounce fat free feta, and 4 chopped kalamata olives
6. Drizzle a bit of red wine vinegar, olive oil and sprinkle dried oregano on top.

 7. Finish up with the final pita half, cut and enjoy!

New Breakfast and Turkey Salad Sandwiches

I've been in a bit of a food rut and have been trying to come up with some new meal ideas that are 

a.) easy 

b.) fast 

c.) cheap

d.) tasty

and most importantly

e.) healthy!

For breakfast I varied my normal ezekiel/kashi cereal, coconut milk and strawberries for oatmeal, almond milk, a scoop of protein powder, berries and cinnamon. 'Twas delicious and filling! So nice to have a warm breakfast too! Calories are at about 285.

 I roasted some turkey cutlets (about 22 ounces) to make turkey salad to take to work all week. I just seasoned with salt, pepper and thyme. Roasted for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Chopped it up and added 1/4 cup slivered almonds and 2 Tbs. low fat mayo.

 Served on a slice of sprouted multi grain bread with seeded Dijon and a side of spinach and tomato salad with fresh lemon juice. Voila! Only 305 calories.

I also would add in some sliced apple or celery or use walnuts or pecans in place or almonds. I'll be eating this all week as it makes 5 servings. I will mix it up with what other ingredients I can find at work. All in all it's a good base for a healthy lunch!
I've got more ideas coming! I'd love to hear yours as well!

Cheers!

Day 56 Complete!

Hi all! Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mom's out there! I hope everyone had a great weekend! Mine went pretty well and almost according to plan. Definitely splurged a bit on food and wine but I don't think I went too overboard.

I maintained my goal to do all 4 days of Hip Meta level 6 daily and about an hour of dance cardio as well. I'm so glad that I own all of Tracy's dance workouts, it really prevents boredom. If I stay on track I will be done with level 6 by Friday. Saturday, I may start level 7 or take a yoga class with my sister. I have no plans to take a full rest day unless it's unavoidable, which I'm sure will happen. Tue-Thur I will do my ms work but no dance cardio, just long walks with the two year old I take care of.

I got down to 128.8 on Sunday morning, down 3 pounds. However, I'm up to 132.4  overnight! Must have been the delicious curry veggie ramen I had last night or the onion rings I shared with my hubby or possibly the cupcake I had with my family for Mother's Day. I'm not worried about it because overall my calories weren't too out of control and I think it's healthy to splurge on the weekends to reset your metabolism. I hope to be be at 128 by Saturday.

I also met up with friends Saturday night for a birthday dinner. I was very proud of myself for just having a smallish serving of the Italian foods that were offered and just a bit of cake. I went home after dinner while my friends carried on at a club. I'm trying to find a balance and felt really good to be able to get up Sunday morning, exercise and put on my cute flowered dress for brunch with my mom, instead of being super hungover and tired.

My weekly diet is pretty much the same as last week.

This has been my standard post dance cardio protein meal, egg whites and turkey bacon, 1 slice sprouted grain toast and I added in sunflower sprouts today.

Dinner is some kind of protein (tuna, chicken) and lots of raw or steamed veggies. I'm loving cucumbers, celery and carrots with a little salt. I figure I need the salt with all the massive sweating I'm doing!

I haven't been feeling hungry but maybe a little weak in the afternoon because of the intensity of my workouts. I'm doing my best to take my multi vitamins as well. I want to be sure I'm getting enough calcium and B vitamins.

I also went into Lululemon for the first time and could not resist buying some new leggings! I also got a dance headband in yellow and grey to mach my shoes. Super pricy, but now I won't be embarrassed to go to yoga or the supermarket for that matter! Gotta get my monies worth! Not the best (or most flattering) pic but can you see the ties on the side at the bottom!!! so cute!

Feels great to get the week started off on the right foot! I'm sure those pesky pounds will be gone soon if I keep consistent with my plan. I'll check in again soon!

Cheers!

Weekend Update and Starting Tracy's "Old" Diet

Saturday was such a blast at the Self Fitness in the Park event! The day was divided up into 20 minute fitness classes at three different stages. Our favorite classes were Yoga Body Sculpt, a Bollywood inspired dance class and Retro Robotics a 80's inspired dance workout. I think Tracy would have approved! My sister and I rocked out for the full four hours except one 20 break to chug/chow down on some of the free coconut water, hint water and luna protein bars. The sun was shining all day and honestly it was so much fun!!

After our workout we went out to Mediterranean food and ate all that we could! All in all it was fairly healthy and we definitely needed to refuel after our intense workout.

Sunday was okay. My husband and I had brunch plans that didn't go as planned. We had bought a Groupon for this place near the water (Ferry Building) in a somewhat touristy part of town. I've never felt so ripped off. Food/service/place was nasty. We couldn't get out of there fast enough. We ended up wine bar hoping to drown our sorrows. That was a lot of fun actually! Ended up at home with some take out curry veggie ramen soup from my favorite place near my house and watching the news about OBL's death. Yikes! 

Anywho, this week I am using Tracy's older diet as a guide for my new diet plan. Here is what breakfast, snack, lunch and dinner pretty much looked like the past two days.

1/2 cup cereal with 1 cup coconut milk and  3 large strawberries for breakfast. I may have turkey bacon and eggs some days but this really fills me up and keeps me going for at least 3 hours.

Blackberries and blueberries with a tiny bit of honey over greek yogurt. This is delicious and fills me up!

That is a piece of whole grain bread with a teensy bit of mustard on it with micro greens on top along with 2 carrots, 4 celery stalks and 2 hard boiled eggs. Love this too! Lots of crunch and filling.

We've got broccoli, green beans and spinach with about 4 ounces peppered and smoked wild salmon. I wanted to get fresh salmon but the wild type is about $20 a pound! I'll be subbing in canned tuna with salad or organic chicken as well.

This all comes to around 1,050 calories so I have some wiggle room during the day. My goal is to stay between 1,200-1,500. This means I can have 1 glass of wine and some chocolate! Today I made banana/oat/chocolate chip muffins for my kiddos and didn't feel guilty sampling one. They were pretty great, if I do say so myself. So far I haven't been hungry or weak, like I usually am when I'm counting calories. I hope to stick with this plan during the week days and have some cheats on the weekend and hopefully see some results.

Fitness wise, I took Sunday off, unless you count running for the bus and strolling around the Embarcadero. 

Monday, I had a facial at the iSpa and they have a great fitness room so I did 50 minutes on the elliptical machine. Felt like a breeze!

Today I walked with the baby about 4+ miles, 3+ were very fast walking, 1/2 uphill, the other slowly walking with the little one. I also finished Hip sequence 5 today! yay! I've been doing it during nap time but I need to start motivating to get up early again. I was doing so well for awhile and fell off the 5am wagon. I feel much more rested, to be honest, sleeping in until 6:45. I'm trying to find a balance with that still. I won't be able to workout at naptime when the big kids finish up the school year or take my lovely walks either. Unless they are in camp...hmmmm. It's always a juggling act!

I haven't weighed in for awhile and I probably won't until Friday. So until then, have a great week!

My Metamorphosis is beginning!

Welcome to my new blog! I hope to inspire and encourage others along their path to wellness as some many others have for me!  I am starting out here to find a way to keep myself accountable to my goals as well as a place I can vent, share tips and tricks and just have fun along my journey!

All my adult life I have been active in dance, yoga and running, even running 3 half marathons. But I've never been truly disciplined enough to see real and lasting results. I began really working on my fitness and nutrition goals in the beginning of this year. I have been working our consistently using the Tracy Anderson Method Perfect Design Series and Dance Cardio and doing my best to stick with a healthy diet consisting of lean meats, healthy fats and lots of fruits and veggies with the occasional whole grain. I was even able to have a "cheat meal" on occasion and wine/chocolate a couple times a week. I was doing really well! The scale was shifting, my clothes were fitting loosely and my measurements were the proof I needed that this was working. However, I had a minor set back last week, I got this horrific cold and it totally threw me off my game. I couldn't work out as my head was pounding all the time and my nightly little indulgences got way out of control. I think I was missing my daily endorphin rush from exercise and was trying to get it through food (chocolate) and also my energy was so low I was eating to get through the day.

I am headed to Mexico with my husband for a much needed vacation in 13 days. I finally braved the scale and it was up 4.5 pounds since last week. boo!! I'm trying not to panic and am sure it's some bloating from not exercising and eating crappy for a few day, but it's not making the idea of getting into a swim suit seem at all appealing! I was getting so close, it's tough to have such a set back!

Let's start out with a look at my goals.

Short Term, as in the next two weeks:

1. 30 minutes minimum of dance cardio daily, as much as 60 minutes
2.1 Tracy Anderson's Metamorphosis Hip mat workout daily, switching to next level after 10 days.
2.2 Repeat abdominal and arm exercises 2 times, add in additional arms when time allows
3. Stick to the Meta diet, except for Feb. 13th, 19th and 20th when I have plans, I will make adjustments.
4. Loose 10 pounds. I know that sounds crazy but 4.5 of them should just fall off and the other 5.5 will be sweat and dedication.

I will revisit my goals after I return from my trip to see where I am at and what looks like it needs work.

I am writing this on Saturday but Friday was my first day, and it went well! Here are my starting weight and measurements:
Height: 5' 4.5"
Weight: 134.4
Thigh-22.5
waist-27.75
lower waist- 29
hip-34.5
butt-37
bicep-11
calf-14
bust- 35
under bust- 29

In my next blog I'll discuss how the exercise is going and start discussing the diet Tracy has prescribed.