Sunday Funday

Sunday is usually my hang out at home, go to the grocery store, maybe see a movie, lazy day. However, today I had a Sunday jam packed full of fun and happy goodness.  I am much too exhausted to give you all of the details but it involved

• A favorite (quick) breakfast
• Traveling to Roanoke
• Brunch at a place I love
• A trip to BubbleCake (which I will not be partaking in the consumption of until later in the week)
• Fall clothes shopping (including some really cute sweaters from The Limited)
• Movie watching with the hubs when I finally made it home.

One of today's fall purchases (LOVE)

How was YOUR weekend??

Read Full Post »

One (The Sequel)

Remember earlier in the summer when I went to celebrate the birthday of one of my best girlfriend’s baby? Today was part II as another great girlfriend had another sweet baby turning one.  After my weigh in and run this morning the hubs and I rushed around to get ready for the 2 hour drive up to Richmond. I decided this would be one of the last weeks I could get away with a really summery dress so I took full advantage! It seems like only yesterday I was buying this thing.

We packed up the car and headed on our way.

We arrived (fashionably early) to an Elmo Birthday Bash! Tiff and Robert had the house looking completely adorable all decked out in Elmo swag!

There was tons of food (and plenty of healthy options) though I was glad that Saturday is my “flex” day in terms of calories because there were tons of goodies too. I also tried a new cheese which was fabulous. It was a white cheese with cranberries. I’m not certain if it was a Stilton or Wensleydale but it was fab!

After lunch Tiff and Robert “helped” the baby open his mountain of gifts. There were lots of Elmo themed toys but the baby was most interested in a book. 🙂

After the Birthday boy finished inspecting all of his new loot everyone headed into the dining room for cake from Chandlers Bakery in Charlottesville, VA. This cake was amazing. It tasted more like fab wedding cake than Birthday cake.   Even better is that I planned for it so there was zero guilt in having a slice.

The Birthday Baby was not as pleased with the cake as I was. He refused all bites of cake (adamantly refused- heh) and opted for yogurt instead. Maybe he’ll be a healthy living blogger one day! 😉

It was great to share in the family’s special day. Tiff and Robert and have been in my life for so long. I was so thrilled to celebrate their sweet guy’s first Birthday!

After the party the hubs and I spent another two hours in the car chatting and made it back to Lynchburg. We had planned on another date night but nixed it in favor of a night at home.  Ever since our trip to Margaritaville I have been craving a BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger. Obviously the calories are out of control so we decided to recreate this meal with lean beef, center cut bacon, fat free mayo 1/2 tsp, BBQ sauce 1/2 tsp, 2% cheddar, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onions sauteed in olive oil. We paired it with some organic shoe string potatoes. Fab! To see how the swap works out click HERE. The main difference tonight was the addition of sauteed onions, and larger wheat buns.

Have a Happy And Healthy Weekend!

Read Full Post »

Weigh In #14

So I “made good” on my promise and headed into Weight Watchers to face the music this morning. Apparently its been nearly two months since I weighed in. (What’s that noise I hear?? Oh yes it’s 80 bucks going down the toilet. Ahem.) Needless to say this shook me up enough that I was fearing a horrible gain. I had summer, the beach, Chicago and about a million other things going on since I last set foot on a “real” scale. But there I was anyway-standing in my yoga pants and tank ready to face what I had done.

This week’s weigh in was a gain of 2.8lbs bringing my total loss down to 32 pounds. There are a million excuses reasons that I gained nearly three pounds-late dinner last night, sharing salty popcorn with the hubs, drinking too much caffeine. The truth is I went off plan. I worked out, watched my food intake, stopped weighing in and tried to live “normally”.  The good news is I was able to maintain my loss (more or less). The bad news is I have a long way to go until the maintenance phase and the sooner I accept that the faster this is going to go.

It felt good to weigh in and walk out. Having time to process before the meeting on Monday will help me tremendously. Now, I am off to run. My mileage is increasing which I hope will be great for my weight loss/fitness. Even though today was somewhat disappointing I will still be the first in line for Weigh-In 15 next week. Facing the music is so much better than trying to block it out. True Story!

Read Full Post »

Three Cheers for Friday!!!

Cheer 1: My New Netbook. After work the hubs and I were running errands and moseyed into Best-Buy. We had talked about getting a netbook for traveling purposes (plus I had total netbook envy in Chicago!) and while I was in LOVE with a pink one by HP the hubs was trying to get me to settle for one that was a little more practical. However, today he came to the understanding that the heart wants what it wants (hehehe) and I am the proud owner of a new pink netbook. Woohoo! (Thanks hubs. I heart you!) Writing Running in Pink Project on a pink computer-how perfect is that?

Cheer 2: Date Night. While I love running errands with the hubs (looking at you Target, Groomer, and Bank!) it is always nice to have some one on one time that is just for fun. Tonight the hubs and I had date night on the cheap and went to the dollar movies (yup it’s really a dollar-isnt that awesome?!?!) to see Knight and Day with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. As you can see the movies are a little older but sometimes we just wait it out. I mean it’s a dollar-come on! When the hubs and I watch previews we look at each other and will either say “Real Movies”, “Dollar Movies” or “Not Interested”. It’s a foolproof system for the most part though Dinner For Shmucks did trick us into paying full price. Ha! Anyway, tonight’s movie was really fun and we finished off the day cooking dinner at home. It was very relaxing and much needed.

Cheer 3: Weekend Kick Off. Frankly this cheer is attached to every Friday but I am especially excited for this weekend. My oldest (in years not age) and best pal Tiffany is throwing a birthday party for her little guy. He turns 1 this week. So the hubs and I are headed up to Richmond to get our party on Elmo style. I am excited to catch up with Tiff, Robert and their families and hold some precious babies. Good stuff! Also on tap for the weekend: some craving curbing (burgers), a movie (Step Up 3D or The Other Guys), and some fall wardrobe shopping on Sunday.  You all know how I adore some shopping and as an added bonus it gets me out of seeing Piranha 3D (true story) with the hubs and some of his pals.

So tell me:

What are your weekend plans?
And
What are your “must have” clothing/accessory items for fall?

I leave you with a photo of my precious pup right from the groomers so fresh and so clean! Have a Happy and Healthy Weekend!!!

Read Full Post »

Kill Your Cravings (And an Awesome New Grocery Find)

Cravings- everyone gets them. Since starting this weight loss/fitness journey I have learned the harder you try to fight a craving the worse it gets. During the Healthy Living Summit we learned that giving your body exactly what it is asking for can prevent you from eating lots of other items in a (usually failed) attempt to kill said craving. Of course this does not mean you say “hey my body is craving taco bell so I’m going to hit the drive-through” but rather “how can I healthfully curb this craving I am having? My craving this week: Tacos.

Since there is no way I was throwing away tons of claries/points on some greasy mess I made my own healthy organic(ish) tacos using:

• 93% Fat Free Ground Turkey

• Lettuce

• Tomato

• 2% Sharp Cheddar

• Hot Sauce and tons of spices (cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, cumin, black pepper, garlic powder).

And since it was crunchy tacos I was craving I had two of these awesome new shells I found- Ortega Whole Grain Shells. Each serving has 5 grams of fiber and only 150 calories. Yum! This is one of my favorite new finds.

I successfully killed the taco craving for only 9 WW points (with a side of fruit).

(not my photo BTW. I forgot to take a picture *gasp*)

Have a Happy And Healthy Dinner!

Read Full Post »

Peace Out Summer- We’re Done

I know I know, it is insanely selfish of me to get through my trip to the beach and my visit to Chicago and then declare I am through with summer. Summer is great of course. There are vacations, longer days, swimming, flip-flops, sundresses and cookouts, which are all wonderful. I would be lying though if I did not acknowledge fall as being the very best time of year (at least in my eyes). So in the spirit of bidding farewell to summer (at least summer “reserved” as it does not officially end until September 23^rd) here is a list of things to love about fall.

Pretty Boots

Got these last year. LOVE them! (& love Gossip Girl)

Sweater Shopping

Hot Coffee (Iced Coffee and I are breaking up)

Leaves Changing

Football (Go Cowboys!)

Last season my face was a little rounder. 🙂 Ahh progress!

Soups, Chillis, and Stews (Oh My!)

Disney in the fall

Wine and Dine ½ Marathon (Who else will be there??)

Christmas shopping (I start early!)

Baking

Hallowscream

Cool afternoon runs/bike rides/walks

Wine Festivals

(source)

My Wedding Anniversary

What is your favorite thing about fall?

Read Full Post »

My Scale

My scale sucks. There is just no other way to put it. I got on my scale 3 times in a row this morning and it said 3 different weights. Now, I am not just being picky about an ounce or two but I am talking pounds. That is no way for a girl to live. It’s just not. I think this is the universe’s way of nudging me back to Weight Watchers. I pay for it, their scales are right, and there is tons of support there. Why not go?

Well I will tell you. When I have a bad day or a bad week I find myself not wanting to face the music. The ugly truth is there is no way to improve without looking at the goal, the barriers, and the possible solutions head-on. Attending the Healthy Living Summit was so valuable in teaching me a few lessons about myself.

• I have not been giving this all I could

• There are tons of people who do this successfully and I can be one of them

• Support is only a meeting/blog post/phone call away

• I am worth the trouble this is causing me

As much as I love some of the changes I have made I still acknowledge this journey is taking a physical, mental, and emotional toll on me. If I needed any evidence of that I got it when I flipped out during day two of HLS and had a crying fit in my room. But the beauty of this process is learning you are better than your breakdowns and better than your mistakes. The spirit is a remarkable tool.

I am going in on Saturday morning and weighing. I am facing my demons. I will face them every Saturday morning from now on. I will take the weekend to process and attend meetings on Monday nights. I find that going to a meeting right after a weigh-in does not work for me. I am too emotionally charged to really take it in. Taking 2 days to process in between should make a huge difference.

I am probably going to be disappointed in what I find on Saturday. But, I will leave the center and head out for my run knowing I am finally putting forth the effort I should have been putting forth all along. It turns out the
journey is not as bad when you are really moving forward, the frustration comes from staying still.

Read Full Post »

Sara Eats and Moves

The Eats:

Yesterday I had a serious problem. The entire day I just felt like I was starving. I am not talking about eating from boredom or stress but rather the “sick to your stomach because you are so hungry” feeling. Sadly, the result was eating pretty much everything in sight at my house last night. Not good. So, I decided to approach this from a healthy perspective and think about why my body felt it needed so much food. I asked myself the following:

• Did you get enough water/fluids yesterday? (Yes)

• Did you eat frequently throughout the day? (No)

• Did you follow your good health guidelines? (Yes)

• Did you eat a lot of junk the day before? (No)

• Did you eat a balanced breakfast? (No)

The last question gave me my light bulb moment. I had a healthy breakfast yesterday but not a balanced one. I did not have any substantial protein or healthy fat. I pretty much just had whole grains and fruit. During the Healthy Living Summit I learned at one of the sessions that your morning meal sort of sets the tone for how your body will metabolize food the rest of the day. That is why it is good to eat from all food groups in the morning if you can so your body is an efficient fuel machine for the rest of the day.

This morning I started off with a skim milk latte (1 point).

Then I made some yummy smoothies for the hubs and I. (this recipe makes 2) by blending:

• 1.5 cups low fat vanilla yogurt (thank you Stonyfield and HLS for the HUGE free sample)

• 1 large banana

• 1 ½-2 cups frozen strawberries (buy frozen or freeze fresh the night before)

• 2/3 cup pineapple juice.

The smoothie ends up with a “point” tally of 4-5 points and you get in 2-3 servings of fruit and 1.5 servings of dairy.

Along side that I had a whole grain reduce calorie English Muffin (1 point) with an egg (2 points) and lean ham slices (1 point).

I used 9 points for this meal but it started my day off on the right foot, I was less hungry throughout the day, and I had buckets of energy.

The rest of today’s eats included two of my “in a pinch” recipes:

Whole Grain Pasta, Turkey Italian Sausage, Spinach, and Parm for lunch

& Veggie Spaghetti for dinner

Spaghetti in a Veggie Sauce

I also snacked on some fruit (not pictured).

I met all of my good health guidelines, easily stayed within my WW points and, most importantly, felt good about my choices.

The Moves:

Today for my Wine and Dine ½ marathon training I jogged 4 miles. That is not a feat for some but I am still impressed with myself when I make it through. I am continuing my jog/walk intervals and feel much more confident about the upcoming run then I did before the Princess ½ last year.

The rest of this week’s moves are shaping up like this

Wednesday Cross Training ( I think I might try Zumba!)
Thursday: 4 Mile Run
Friday: Rest
Saturday: The Long Run (8 Miles)
Sunday: Gentle Cross Training (Yoga or a Bike Ride at 5 miles or less)

What is your favorite cross training workout?

Read Full Post »

Healthy Meals On A Budget

We have probably all done it-spent a little too much on vacation, had some unexpected expenses arise or simply not budget properly. Sometimes we end up with a week left to go in the month and a super small grocery budget. While it is tempting to reach for chicken nuggets, white bread, and other inexpensive items you are better off  stretching your dollar in a different direction and scooping up some healthier finds. Here are a few tips for healthy eating on a budget.

• Buy multiples when things are on sale. You always have a little stockpile of whole grain pasta, tuna, canned or frozen veggies and other items to use in a pinch.

• Two Words: Farmer’s Market. You can get really inexpensive produce here. It’s fresh, yummy, and has a longer shelf life since it hasn’t spent days riding in a truck to make it to your grocers shelf.

• Go meat free. Pasta, beans, and legumes are filling and hearty without the hefty price tag that comes with hormone free meat.

• Brinner. Breakfast foods are a little cheaper and it’s kind of fun to eat breakfast for dinner (Brinner).

• Cook in bulk. Making a huge pot of soup or a big veggie lasagna can provide dinner for a couple of nights and help you to avoid buying items to pack for lunch.

• Brown bag it. Taking a bagged lunch to work leaves those extra dining out dollars for more groceries.

• Get creative. You can combine things you never thought of before like tuna and pasta or beans, corn and salsa.

• Oatmeal. You can get a HUGE container of the slow cooking (3 min in the microwave oats) for under 2.00. This is a week’s worth of breakfasts!

• Check your grocery store daily. There are often managers specials on items that need to be used right away. I got some gorgeous lean pork chops this week for under 3.00!

What is your favorite tip on saving money at the grocery store?

Here is a look at some of my “in a pinch” creations!

Poppy Seed Pancakes with Sugar Free Syrup and Turkey Sausage

Easy Cheesy Mac with Veggies and Green Beans

Spaghetti in a Veggie Sauce

WholeGrain Shells with Italian Turkey Sausage, Onion, Spinach, & Parm

Oatmeal

Organic Peanut Butter on Wheat

Brinner

Read Full Post »

A New Voice ~ A New Groove

I am getting organized and it’s about time! The Healthy Living Summit
session on Time Management for a Healthy Lifestyle really lit a fire
under my booty and I am making some changes. At home I am cleaning,
organizing cabinets/closets, selling/giving away items and finding a
spot for everything. At work I am making prioritized to-do lists and
really giving 100% for the time I am there as opposed to working over
my regular hours (an occasional late day is inevitable of course) In
life I am purchasing a personal planner to keep track of all of the
small things that somehow turn into big things when they are not taken
care of in a timely manner. I am menu and workout planning for
variety’s sake. I am finding my groove so to speak

I thought I owed the blog that same courtesy. After spending time with
some amazing gals in Chicago and reading so many different blogs it
has made me really want to find my niche in terms of writing this blog.
I find that just chronicling my day is tedious and difficult to read
through. So I started thinking-What do I really want to talk about? Of
course the main staple of my blog is the “project” that is my health
and fitness journey. I want that to stay at the core of my writing. I
also feel it is important to emphasize the all natural way I am
choosing to lose the weight (ie: no supplements or surgery). Now, here
is where is gets tricky. Food and Fitness blogging is fine but there
is always life throwing a wrench into things. I think it is really
important to continue to include those “real life” scenarios that can
trip up our journeys in just an instant. And last but not least is the
aspect of fun. Getting healthy and fit is such a long process-why not
try to have a little fun along the way?

See even reading that description is tedious! That is why I am going
to start categorizing my posts. There will still be “real life”
chronicling but it will now go along with fitness oriented or food
oriented posts. This might mean multiple blogs in a day but they will
be shorter, more concise, easier to search, and more applicable to the
overall tone of the blog. I am looking to file things under strong
body (fitness and weight loss posts), fabulous food (menus, recipes,
nutrition, meal plans), and fearless (posts on life, day to day
journaling, feelings, observations, fashion, and fun).

This should make the blog easier to read (for you), easier to write
(for me), and a more enjoyable experience (for everyone!). So look out
for my first categorized post tonight: Healthy Eats on a Tiny Budget.

Read Full Post »