New Year, New Start

Halfway through December I had the itch to blog - since it's been FOR.EV.ER.



But then I thought I might as well just start fresh in January, and that brings us to today: Monday, January 3rd!  (Ideally, this would've commenced on January 1, 2011, but who can start something new on a Saturday?!)

I know I've said this before, but this time I'm telling the truth.  I am absolutely committed to this lifestyle change.  I have felt like complete crap the last couple of months.  Because of my ankle sprain, I was unable to workout as often as I liked - which led to more time to drink wine with friends - which led to gaining back the weight I had lost.

I am past the whole I want to be a size zero supermodel phase.  I just want to be healthy.  I want to feel good.  And that will happen when I am eating better and exercising more.

Oh, and I don't want to look like this in the Keys in March:

Source

I have done two things the past couple of weeks that I believe will help me.  First, I committed to my school's Biggest Loser competition.  I have to weigh in every two weeks in front of other people; that's motivation in and of itself!  Second, I joined this website: Fat Secret.  Essentially, you log your weight, what you eat, your exercise, etc., and it's all public information.  Again, if other people see it, it's accountability and motivates me to get my butt in gear.

Hence restarting this blog.  I am "getting back to my roots" and am going to document absolutely everything that I eat and exactly how I exercise.  Obviously, there will be random musings, too.  For example, check out the Books Tab at the top; I read three books over my winter break!

So, let's get started!

Today was an easy eating day, as I had everything figured out last night: what I was going to eat, the calorie/fat/carb/protein count, etc.  All I had to do was grab it and go!  I think I'm definitely going to need to utilize the plan-ahead method more often!

For breakfast, I had a Green Monster and a cup of coffee with a splash of caramel creamer:

In the mix: a splash of UVAB, 2 cups of spinach, 1/2 banana, 3 strawberries, 1/4 cup of blackberries, and a scoop of protein powder.

According to the nutrition plan that has worked for me in the past, I packed a morning snack of an apple and two hard-boiled eggs...and more coffee.

Beautiful picture, huh?

According to the Farrell's plan, I should eat six small meals a day, and each meal should consist of 30 grams of carbohydrates and 15 grams of protein.  It was a lot easier to do last year when we weren't on the block schedule...I'm going to have to figure out something new this year because my "meals" were out of whack all day!

For lunch, I brought along a giant salad:

In the mix: half a bag of hearts of Romaine, 1/2 cup chopped cherry tomatoes, 2 100-calorie packs of cubed cheese, diced dates, chopped cucumber, and Goddess dressing (to die for!).  I also brought along an iced tea, but I told myself I could only have it when I finished my Nalgene of water.  However, I did not finish that until around 3:00 and by then was not at all in the mood for caffeine: I am planning on sleeping tonight, after all!

As an after-school, pre-workout snack, I had a Snickers Marathon bar.  I know they're not the best (210 calories, 8 grams fat, 26 grams carb, and 13 grams protein), but oh well.

It really energized me for my workout.  I went to the Y with full intentions of doing cardio, weights, and my favorite abs/back class.  However, I am battling a chest cold and after a decent workout on an elliptical/stair-climber machine (anyone know what it's called?), I decided to just head home instead.  My chest was burning.  According to the machine, I "ran" nearly three miles and burned 360 calories in 30 minutes, so I figured that was better than nothing.

I came home, showered, and cooked a delicious dinner: an adaptation of brown-butter gnocchi.  I added sun-dried tomatoes and baby portobellos and (shockingly) completely forgot to add the cheese.  It was awesome.  But before I show you the finished product, I have to show you how I didn't cook it:

Can you believe that up until today I have cooked everything in that itty-bitty pan?  Yeah, me neither.  Thanks to my 'rents, I now get to cook in style:

O...M...G.  How did I ever survive without this?  (And look how pretty!)

I accompanied the final product with some steamed cauliflower:

Not the prettiest plate I've made, but it was tasty!

I'm hoping to workout before school, so I need to hit the sack early tonight!  I'm going to sign off, plan tomorrow's meals, finish my second Nalgene, and crash!

Today's grand total:

Calories: 1296

Fat: 49 grams

Carbs: 148 grams

Protein: 73.5 grams

Water: 88 ounces

Exercise: 360 calories burned