!!!!!

militaryfit-bombshell:

I have never seen this so I am posting it! I found it on my pinterest. Enjoy!

AMAZING

jartiste:

Need to remember the lesson here. 

(Source: fitbxtch)

Frozen Creamed Spinach. May sound silly, but this stuff is fucking amazing. Pair it with Trader Joe’s Guiltless Tortilla chips, and you got yourself some instant Spinach dip that tastes amazing, is barely any calories, and offers TONS of fiber and several servings of vegetables.

Birdseye Creamed Spinach (1/2 package)
Calories: 90 
Fat: 4g
Carbs: 9g
Dietary Fiber: 4g
Protein: 3g
Vitamin A: 40% (SERIOUSLY)
Calcium: 15%
Iron: 8%

Best of all, it comes in a tray, so you don’t even have to dirty a dish when you pull it out of the microwave.

A lot of you know that I started this blog hoping to hit a specific goal for my friend’s wedding. While the goal wasn’t met, I think that it’s important to take a look back and realize that, despite this failure, I’m winning overall. 

Before

Bride-to-Be and I in Spring 2007

During

The Bride and I in October 2011

Good morning, Tumblees! I hope that all of you hopped out of bed this morning bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Well, if you did do that, than I am infinitely jealous of your ability to do so, because no matter what time I go to bed, I never want to get out of it in the morning. (Snuggled up next to my puppy in my huge, queen bed under a down comforter? I call that Heaven, and no one leaves Heaven willingly).

However, in an attempt to change up my habits and get control of my life again (because, seriously, my time management has been failing miserably), I have been trying to get myself out of bed a full hour before I leave, and it’s been a struggle. I can proudly say that this morning, I managed to get my feet on the ground within the allotted hour, but, I still found myself rushing to get everything done. Haha, as soon as you give yourself more time you fill it up, right?

What did save me some time this morning, and the reason that I’m writing, is to gush about Trader Joe’s. Now, I will write an entire post about why Trader Joe’s is freaking amazing, but, for now, I’ll just tell you that if you don’t have a Trader Joe’s…well…I’m sorry. Your life probably isn’t worth living. I’m kidding…sort of…not really.

In any case, anyone who is trying to eat healthy, is poor, and wants convenient, quick food (especially if you’re cooking for one) will tell you that Trader Joe’s is a gift from the almighty. Not only does it offer low-fat/organic/gluten free/high protein/low carb/whatever the hell your diet needs are foods from around the world, it also offers them at great prices, and the food is of top-notch quality.

To give you an example of how Trader Joe’s saves my life every day, last week I picked up a container of “8 Healthy Chopped Vegetables.” Now, some of you may be gasping in horror that I picked up a batch of pre-chopped veggies when I could (theoretically) save money by buying the veggies and chopping them myself.

Several things about that: 1. This is true. I’m not going to deny it, but I think that it’s MORE true if you’re cooking for more than one person. This blend contains EIGHT amazingly healthy vegetables that the geniuses at TJ’s have determined would taste lovely together when stir fried/grilled/boiled/whatever. Now, I don’t know about you Bobby Flay’s out there, but sometimes when I cook vegetables they just taste…well..bland, and I’m trying to cut back on the salt/butter/unnecessary fattening seasonings that try to make healthy food taste edible. The great thing about this mixture is that the combination of these vegetables flavor each other, so the sweetness of the carrot and the red onion blend perfectly well with the crisp celery and cabbage bits. Yum. 2. Okay, okay, so, now you’re thinking, “Well, you could just write down those veggies and make this yourself.” True…true. However, I’m a single gal living alone. I cook for one. A lot of times when I buy produce, it’s just too much. Have you chopped up 8 veggies before? It makes A LOT of vegetables. And, honestly, they get brown and icky before I can use them all. This way, I can still experience the flavors/wonders of all eight vegetables without half of them rotting away in my fridge. 3. Well, if you’re not buying those arguments, then let’s make the “busy” argument. I’m a busy girl. Much as cutting up these veggies myself might save me a few cents (yes, cents), taking the time to peel, chop, etc is difficult. I know it doesn’t seem like a lot of time, but it’s much harder to convince myself to cook at 10pm at night (or 4am in the morning) when all of the prep work is in front of me. Having these instantly available takes away a lot of my excuses. Know thyself! 4. Lastly, the great thing about TJ’s, is that giving into laziness (there, I’ve admitted it), isn’t going to cost you. A huge container of this shiz (enough for a week), was only $3.50. Considering I didn’t have to select, individually purchase, peel, chop, season, etc these veggies, that’s a pretty good steal to me. So, if you know yourself (like me) and know that making time to prep your veggies isn’t one of your strong suits, then, shortcuts like these at an affordable price are available in spades (YES SPADES) at TJ’s.

As a result, I had an insanely healthy, protein-packed, low-fat breakfast that was also amazingly delicious. And so, I give you MY FIRST POSTED RECIPE:

                          Swordfish Egg Scramble

Now, I know that some of you are thinking, wtf, SWORDFISH?! Who the hell can afford SWORDFISH?! I get it, trust me, I do, but really, we can just call this LEFTOVER Egg Scramble. A few days ago I went for dinner, ordered grilled swordfish at this amazing Greek restaurant, and, of course, it was way too much food. You can do this with any of your leftover meats from dinner! Grilled chicken, breakfast turkey sausage, grilled salmon, shrimp, really anything! If you’re vegetarian, you can even throw in some broccoli or steamed spinach. Really, it doesn’t matter. All I know is that it helps me clean our my refrigerator and is full of awesomeness!

Ingredients

4 egg whites
3 oz grilled swordfish (or whatever leftovers you are using…see above)
1 cup chopped veggie mixture (I used the TJ’s mixture mentioned above, but you can make your own. I recommend: garlic, red onion, celery, mushroom, red cabbage, and broccoli chopped very fine)
OPTIONAL: 1 serving WW sprinkle cheese (Mexican flavor is better for this, I think)

Instructions

1. Spray pan with non-stick spray (like Pam) and warm pan on a low heat (I use between “low and medium”)
2. Add veggies and allow them to saute until soft
3. Add meat/extra veggies/whatever you decide until warm
4. Pour egg whites over mixture in pan. Everyone has their own technique for this. I usually allow the mixture to sit until the edges are slightly firm, and THEN I begin to mix the eggs into the typical “scramble.”
5. Once egg whites are about half-way cooked, add the serving of cheese (if you want it)
6. The key to a great scramble is to SLIGHTLY undercook the egg whites, because they continue to cook in the pan (and on your plate) for a few minutes. Please make sure that you notice I say SLIGHTLY. This means that the egg is firm, but it still has a moist/gleaming appearance but is NOT runny. I find this especially helpful, because I’m always packing up mine and reheating it at school (so I can have a hot breakfast), and I don’t want rubbery eggs!

The great thing about this is that it’s super low-calorie and low-fat, so you can eat quite a lot of it. I split it into two portions (large, wonderful portions) and brought half for breakfast now and half for tomorrow. Cooking more than one meal at a time is a great time saver, but also saves you money, especially when you’re cooking for one. I always pair this with coffee (and some fat free pumpkin creamer!!) and 1/2 grapefruit (yum). When I eat something like this, I find that I have way more energy and focus than when I just eat 1/2 a bagel or some cereal. What do you guys like to put in your scrambled eggs? I’d love to know so I can try your recipes!

So, in the name of continuing self improvement, I present a few goals for the week:

• Eat 1/2 grapefruit 30 minutes before every meal
• Eat 5 servings of vegetables (not fruit!) a day
• LIMIT MY CARB intake!! (and only whole grains)
• LIMIT MY CHEESE intake!!
• Only 1 Diet Pepsi a day (I might die)
• Eat more lean protein (tuna, grilled chicken, shrimp)
• Workout 3 hours a week (at least)
• Sleep at least 6 hours a night

Let’s see how it goes!

I promised that I would start posting what I’m eating, and now that I’m officially eating well again, I guess I will follow through.

Here are my abbreviations:
cal = calories
f = fat
c = carbs
p = protein
fb = fiber

And here is what I’m supposed to consume each day (if you have questions about what YOU should consume, I calculate mine with a modified version of p90x’s nutrition guide, which I explain here). Remember, these are guidelines, I’m not perfect, but I do try to keep these ratios in mind when I pick what to eat.

Water: 14 cups (112 oz)
Protein: 7 servings
Dairy: 3 servings
Fruit: 1 servings
Vegetables: 4 servings
Fat: 1 serving
Carbs: 1 serving
Snacks (defined as a protein shake, protein bar, etc): 3 servings
Condiments: 2 servings
= 2,400 calories a day

Breakfast:

1 Dannon Light and Fit yogurt (vanilla): 80 cal, 0g f, 15g c, 5g p, 0g fb
2 tbsp vanilla protein powder (added to yogurt): 150 cal, 0g f, 25g c, 42g p, 0g fb

Snack:

12 baby carrots: 35 cal, 0g f, 1g c, .5g p, 2.5 g fb
2 tbsp Trader Joe’s classic hummus: 80 cal, 5g f, 6g c, 2g p, 2g fb

Lunch:

Trader Joe’s Chicken Gyoza Potstickers (7 potstickers): 230 cal, 3.5g f, 36g c, 13g p, 2g fb
Pineapple (1 cup): 82 cal, 0g f, 22g c, 1g p, 2g fb 

Snack:

1 bag Trader Joe’s Lite Kettle Corn: 110 cal, 4g f, 19g c, 2g p, 3g fb

Dinner:

2 cups Steamed Broccoli: 50 cal, 0g f, 8g c, 4g p, 4g fb
1.25 cups Trader Joe’s Lobster Ravioli: 390 cal, 6g f, 63g c, 18g p, 3g fb
1/2 cup Trader Joe’s Organic Vodka Sauce: 90 cal, 4g f, 12g c, 3g p, 2g fb
1 chicken sausage: 120 cal, 5g f, 1g c, 15g p, 1g fb

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My total caloric intake for the day was: 1,417 calories

Ack, that is almost 1,000 calories lower than I’m supposed to be consuming in a day, and yet, I can tell you, I’ve been absolutely stuffed all day. Now, I will say that I woke up and went straight to the gym, and then to work before eating my first meal (I don’t like to eat before working out normally), so typically, I would have had a larger breakfast (best meal of the day!). So, I’m hoping this won’t be a habit.

Ugh, this just goes to show you how much food you can eat when you’re eating well. I feel like I’ve stuffed my face all day, and I’m still waaaaaaay under my RMR intake level and, considering that I worked out today, that is NOT a good thing.

I will try to do better tomorrow, hopefully eating a larger breakfast and maybe a few more protein filled snacks (and less carb filled ones).

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As far as exercise goes, I went to the gym today (I go to a Planet Fitness b/c it’s sooooo cheap!) and completed the following:

- Ran on the elliptical at 80% heart rate for 2 miles, 65% heart rate for 1 mile, totaling 3 miles, 30 mins, and 345 calories burned
- Completed Planet Fitness’ 30 minute express workout (this mostly involved keeping your heart rate elevated at a low intensity while completing a circuit of machines that exercise all muscles in the body)

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Additionally, I limited myself to only 1 diet pepsi today (I typically drink about four…), and I had all of my water (not difficult when you’re at the gym).

How did you guys do today?

Honesty, I think, is one of the hardest things to accomplish in one’s life. I’m constantly lying, to others, to myself, and it’s a difficult trend to break. Sometimes a lie is just so much easier to face than the truth.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a trust-worthy person, and these lies aren’t the typical ones that come to mind, but more of the lies that we tell ourselves to justify our actions.

I’m not going to the gym today because it’s late, and I’m tired. How many times have I said this to myself? And while it may be true at the time, I know myself, and I know that I’m going to get home and stay up until 2 am watching Glee on Hulu. So, clearly, I have time to make the 1 hour pit stop at the gym on my way home.

It’s okay to eat this, because I haven’t eaten anything else today. Um, I am so guilty of this statement that it’s almost as ridiculous as the statement itself. First off, why haven’t you eaten today?! Don’t you realize that that’s just going to slow down your metabolism, make you tired, and make you not want to work out? Additionally, putting crap into your body isn’t going to fuel it through the day either! Now, while I’m an advocate of the occasional splurge/treat (because, hey, that’s life), that piece of cheesecake should never substitute for breakfast/lunch. 

You know what constantly amazes me? How I know that to get a good job, I have to work hard at a good internship. That if I want to buy something expensive, I know that I have to work hard to save up the money. I know that if I want to be smarter, I have to study, and that if I want to be a better singer, I have to practice.

Then explain to me why I don’t exercise, eat crap food, and still get upset when the number on the scale increases? Why do I expect results without any work?

I know in my head that it’s not possible for me to lose weight without dieting and exercising and yet, when I stand on that scale, my brain still goes, “WWWHHHHYYY?”

Well, you know what? I’m done with the why. This is the answer: because anything worth having is worth working for. And you know what’s the most important thing I own?

It’s not my designer bags. It’s not my MAC makeup, or my clothes (which are slowly going down in size!!!) or even my Clemson University diploma. No.

It’s my body.

Because, guess what? It’s the only one that I’ve got, that I’m going to be given, and it’s time to treat it like the most precious thing in the world, because it is. Once it’s gone, so am I. When I reflect on the way that I treat it (late nights drinking with friends, stuffing it with poor nutrition foods, torturing it with heels), that’s a pretty scary thought. Because, I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to learn to like this world, and I’d like to be a part of it for quite awhile.

So, let’s repledge ourselves. Not to starvation diets or to neurotic exercising, but to treating our body with respect. Let’s pledge ourselves to feed it good-tasting, healthy, nutritious food, give it the ability to run free without tiring, and to pamper it with the occasional massage and hydrating lotion.

I’m tired of hating myself. Instead, I choose to love myself and to show my body that I mean it this time.

No more lies.