Day 45: Next Level Ish

Welp, today is half way point of my little adventure. I asked Q to take my measurements to check the progress. We measured my waist, leg and hips. I have lost a total of 6.25 inches. The largest loss coming in at my waist with a little under 4 inches. I don't know what I was expecting, I guess some kind of miracle, because I surely thought 6 inches seemed low. Q assured me I was crazy and this was actually better than she expected, so we are certainly on track.

Day 45 is not something I was exactly looking forward to because I knew what it meant. The first half of this journey was getting me used to eating clean and cutting back on alcohol, the next 45 days are going to be me kicking it into overdrive and saying goodbye to everything except eggs, coconut and almond milk, protein powder, plain oatmeal, green veggies, spinach, brown rice, quinoa, couscous, sweet potatoes, and fish. I was kind of stressed out about it because I was scared I wouldn't be able to do it, but I think I will be okay. I keep reminding myself I have gotten this far. I can do anything for 45 days.

Throughout the day I had organic plain oatmeal and 3 eggs, a protein shake, salmon, green peas, baby spinach, cod, baby sweet potatoes, and mixed long grain brown rice and quinoa. Check out my pretty fish with its 4 different rubs. I used wasabi, Dijon, jalapeno sriracha, and horseradish mustard. I had the sriracha and Dijon today. OMG Delicious. I think this is the first time I have ever had cod. I may be in love.

 

 

Other than the regimented eating, my training is being taken up a notch too. This morning I did something called a grid-iron workout which included 4 rounds of sled pulls, battle ropes, tire flips, 14 pound medicine ball tosses, kettle bell swings, and planks till failure. It was exhausting, but good stuff. I intended on going back tonight for KB class, but I got caught up packing for tomorrows staging and didn't get out of the warehouse until 6:30, so I missed it. Honestly, I probably got just a good if not better of workout in at the warehouse moving couches, pulling down tables and chairs, and packing up accessories for 3 hours. Trust me when I tell you my job is not in the least bit sedentary and I LOVE that!

 

On that note, I must be off to get my beauty rest as tomorrow's property is a big'n and I will need the energy. So, goodnight my loves, I'll talk to you tomorrow. 

 

 

Day 30: Spaghetti Sauce & Spaghetti Squash, YUM

You guessed it, still sick. I woke up at 6 am with a crick in my back, so I proceeded to lay in the shower for an hour, then over to my inversion table, then back to bed. Needless to say I did not make it to Crossfit this morning. When will this ever end?!

Once I did make it out of bed I headed over to Costco and Wegmans to do some grocery shopping. I went to grab what has become my standards: salmon, salad, brussel sprouts, peas, bell peppers, pot roast, ground beef, fruit, tomatoes, coconut milk, almond milk, a billion kinds of fancy waters, and eggs. So many eggs.

For dinner tonight, I decided to make a version of my mom's spaghetti sauce. I subbed  95/5 beef instead of the normal 80/20 and used baked spaghetti squash as the noodles.  Everything turned out pretty good except I wasn't loving the substitution of lean beef.  The flavor wasn't as potent, which was expected.... but what I wasn't expecting is the weird way it clumped into these ball like structures. It ended up being like a thousand tiny meat balls.

For my sauce I put in:

29oz crushed tomatoes with garlic
29oz tomato sauce
8 oz tomato paste
4 cloves minced garlic
4 bay leaves
1 Honey Onion
3 Bell Peppers
2 Pounds 95/5 lean ground beef
Garlic Powder
Oregano
Fresh Cracked Pepper
Fresh Ground Himalayan Sea Salt

I sautéd the meat, onions and peppers prior to putting them in the sauce, then let it all the ingredients simmer for a couple hours.

For the "noodles" I took 2 spaghetti squash, cut them in half, sprayed them with a tiny bit of olive oil, sprinkled Himalayan sea salt, baked them 45 minutes, shredded them into a casserole dish, sprinkled some romano and parm, and placed it back in the oven for 10 minutes.

Once everything was done I threw some squash in a bowl and topped it with the sauce. It was pretty magical as far as healthy food goes.

I stole this picture of the interwebs because I didn't take a picture of the finished product, but this looks just like it. I promise.

So if you decide to make this thing, or some version of it, let me know how it goes and what you do different. I'm off to do something productive. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Day 14: Shop the Perimeter, Check!

When I first joined ETC, I learned about this fancy idea called “perimeter shopping”. The idea is to shop the perimeter of the grocery store, where fresh foods like fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat, and fish are located and avoid the center aisles where junk foods live. I put this in action Sunday as Joey and I roamed around Costco. I picked up delicious fresh salmon, chicken, ground turkey, roast, grapes, blueberry’s, raspberry’s, kale, peas, 5 pounds of nuts, and 7 grain bread.  Eating healthy is a lot less challenging this go round. Probably because I am learning to look at food as fuel for its nutritional value instead of a pleasure source. A side effect to this is that I am learning how delicious truly fresh and non-processed foods are. Overall, I’d say I am winning. One step closer to being even more fabulous! ;-)

Day 13: Gym, What Gym?

I woke up this morning to one of my favorite things, a house full of people. (I'm quite serious, I love company. We have an open door policy, everyone is always welcome.) See, we have a fully stocked bar in our basement and one rule, if you are drinking here, you are staying here too. Friends don’t let friends drink and drive. So needless to say, I woke up and cooked breakfast for everyone.

Ugh, let’s just talk about trying to cook a healthy version of a regularly fattening and delicious breakfast pastime.

One of my most favorite breakfast food objects is french toast casserole in all of its fattening glory. Mmmmm butter, whipping cream, white bread, maple syrup. Yes. PURE deliciousness. This whack adventure consisted of wheat bread, sugar free syrup, skim milk, and cooking spray. Ugh it tasted like cardboard. Thank God for cinnamon and nutmeg, otherwise there would have been no flavor at all. I do have the best friends a gal could have though, they were all so kind to pretend to like it, even though I told them they didn’t have to eat it. Note to self: come up with better healthy recipes for groups.

Needless to say, I had big plans for the day, but it all went to hell as soon as we sat down and started watching Kevin Hart stand-up. He is so hilarious, it just sucks me in. I finally got up about 3pm and headed out for work. I worked until 8ish then headed home.

I wish I could say I went to the gym today, but I didn’t. I did, however, walk around IKEA for an hour dodging horrible people and small children coming at me from every direction... but at least I still ate healthy, it’s the small victories that get me through.