Workouts and Recipes

Well, I obviously did not post yesterday like I said I would.  Here are my excuses: I completely crashed after my workout and slept for another two hours before having to go to work.  And when I got home from work, I slept for another two hours.  Then, I had a meeting for another hour, ran lots of errands for my sister's upcoming bachelorette party, ate dinner with BFF, and finished reading a book.

There was plenty of time for blogging (had I not slept or read), but apparently those two things needed to happen.  And so they did.  :)

Monday's workout was kickboxing at Farrell's.  It was not, however, our normal kickboxing class.  Instead, it was a lot of cardio while we moved between bags, either shuffling or doing lunges, high-knees, or butt-kicks.  While I was sweating like a madwoman, I didn't so much care for this type of workout.  Yes, it was decent cardio, but I didn't get a good workout on the bags, which is why I like kickboxing so much.  I felt like I was too rushed to get from bag to bag (since there was a line of people behind me) that I didn't stop to concentrate on my form or my power when punching and kicking.  Normally my back, shoulders, and arms are totally feeling it after a kickboxing workout, but they were not so much at all on Monday.

Oh well.  At least I got my sweat on.

Now let's talk about recipes.

Last week I did not make a meal plan, and we all know how well that turned out (hint, if you don't know, it was a miserable failure on the healthy-living front).  This week, I was sure to make a meal plan, and I did so by trying to use up all of the random ingredients we had hanging out in our fridge.

And in doing so, I only spent $71 at the grocery store.  That is $71 for TWO people for ONE week, and it included expensive-ish items like a pound of shrimp, loads of produce, and a couple of different cheeses.  I was pretty pleased with myself.

On Monday, The Boy and I made grown-up BLTs for dinner.  We toasted whole wheat bread, spread on a thin layer of olive-oil mayonnaise mixed with chopped scallions, a couple pieces of baked prosciutto, tomatoes, a handful of arugula, and about an ounce of goat cheese.

We also baked some sweet potato fries and chopped up a cucumber (and topped it with salt and pepper) for our side dishes.

You guys: this was seriously amazing.  And, it came together in about 15 minutes, including the time it took to bake the sweet potato fries.  I'm pretty sure it will be on the menu again next week.

For now, I'm off to work!  I hope y'all have a wonderful day, and I hope to "see" y'all tomorrow!

Note to Self

Working out in a non-air-conditioned gym is a lot easier at 5 a.m. when it is 70 degrees outside than it is at 4:30 p.m. when it is 95 degrees outside.

Yesterday, I decided that after a night of winning trivia (get at me!) and staying out too late, sleeping in a bit was a better option than waking up at 4:20 to hit the gym.  Apparently I should have checked the forecast for the day prior to making that decision.

It. was. brutal.

There were times that I seriously had to slow down for fears of passing out.  Apparently my "Level 10" for the day differs based on temperature of the room.

And I'm okay with that.  I'd prefer to stay conscious while exercising.

Note to self: don't sleep in on workout days in the summer.

It was so hot that when I got out to my car and tried to check my phone, this was the screen that I saw:

Oops.

Note to self: don't leave iPhone in the car in 95-degree heat.

And now on to a completely different topic: dinner.

I had fully intended to create another step-by-step recipe post for y'all based on last night's delicious dinner:

Huevos Rancheros Tacos and Roasted Peppers

But, as I started photographing the step-by-step process, it became quite clear that I was, essentially, chopping stuff and piling it on in various layers.  Clearly it is a super easy recipe that does not warrant it's own step-by-step process.

Anyway, ingredients you will need:

• Corn tortillas
• Mexican shredded cheese
• Black beans
• Avocado
• Pico de gallo
• Cilantro
• Lime
• Black pepper

Broil the tortillas until they are just a smidge on the crispy side and then top with cheese and beans and broil for another minute or so.  Then, top with a fried egg, pico de gallo, avocado, cilantro, and black pepper.  Serve with a lime wedge.

For the roasted peppers, I bought a bag of the mini peppers and cut them up on a foil-lined baking sheet, spritzed with olive oil, and roasted at 350 for about 20 minutes.  (This "recipe" was courtesy of my mom.)

Oh, and I was also famished after my evening workout and craving salt like it was going out of style, so I convinced The Boy to run down the street to Qdoba for some chips and queso:

As you can imagine, that didn't take much convincing.  We loooooooooooooove Qdoba's queso.

Please go make the huevos rancheros tacos ASAP.  They are easy, they are healthy (minus the queso), they are cheap, and they are so fresh -- the perfect summer meal.

Note to self: make these again next week.

Any delicious meals you've tried lately?

Five Things Friday

I was thinking about doing a "Five Things Friday" random-ish post today, and then when I was catching up on all of my favorite blogs, I realized that there is actually a link-up of the same name going down today.  So, I decided to join in the fun.

Since this is my first official link-up, hopefully I do it correctly.  Technology and I sometimes don't get along.  I must get it from my mama (who, by the way, needs to get back to bloggin'!).

But I digress.

1. School's out for summer!

I hope you all sang that in your best Alice Cooper voice.  While I love my kiddos, summer could not have gotten here soon enough this year.  It was a rough year for some reason, but I made it and am looking forward to getting refreshed (and jazzed for next year) this summer.

Per tradition, we had our annual golf outing as soon as final grades were submitted.

The weather could've cooperated a bit more (it sprinkled on us for about 20 minutes and was just an overall dreary day), but we had fun nevertheless.

I had a blast with one of my besties, Mindy, and two of our awesome guy pals.

(Side note: Mindy is one of the two friends I have had the longest.  She and I met the summer prior to our freshman year at Drake, were good friends all four years of undergrad, started teaching together at the same school in 2005, went to graduate school together from 2008-2009, and have been besties since.  I love this girl and am so thankful she's in my life.)


2. Birthday Weekend!

The Boy's birthday is on Sunday, and I have quite the weekend planned for him.  I'll fill you in on his major birthday present later on, but suffice it to say that it is pretty much the hardest secret I've ever kept -- and pretty much the best gift I've gotten anybody in the history of ever.  I. Can't. Wait.

Tomorrow, we are having a grill-out at our apartment.  Cross your fingers that we won't actually get the storms that the meteorologists are predicting, as right now we have 20+ people coming and cannot hold that many in our itty-bitty one-bedroom apartment.

As soon as I finish this post and put on some real clothes, I'm going to head to the store and spend approximately a bazillion dollars on groceries -- and then cook the day away.  I'm so pumped.


3. Party Time, Excellent!

Ah, good ol' Wayne's World.

Anyway, like I said before, I'm headed to the store soon to prep for the party tomorrow.  Here's what's on the menu:

• Mediterranean Orzo Salad with Grandma's Greek Dressing
• Judy's Baked Beans
• Cupcakes!
• Sangria with apples, berries, and serrano peppers
• Homemade salsa
• Hamburgers and hotdogs
• Carne asada and chorizo (courtesy of The Boy)

My sister is going to come up and help me cook today, which will make the process even more fun!  Eeeeeeee!

4. Coach Emily

I had my first official duties as a Farrell's coach last night, and tomorrow I'll head back to the gym for the initial testing of the new 5 a.m. crew.  You know that I absolutely love Farrell's and cannot wait to inspire the new crop of Extreme Bodyshapers.


5. A Free Week

I have been super dedicated to eating well and working out like a madwoman the past ten weeks, and while I've stuck to these principles for the most part this past week (Week Eleven of the transformation), I have been a little more lax.  I skipped both resistance-training days this week (Tuesday and Thursday) and have not been super great about what I've been eating.  For example, yesterday I inhaled a bowl of ice cream as well as some Whopper's.

And it was glorious.

In addition, I know that this weekend (well, pretty much tonight through Tuesday) will not be my healthiest due to Birthday Fun, but I pretty much don't care.  While I haven't felt deprived lately, I haven't given myself free reign to eat whatever the heck I want either.  I'm still planning on being relatively cognizant, not going totally overboard with unhealthy foods, but I'm not going to be eating salad and half a chicken breast either.

I'll get back to Dedicated Emily on Wednesday.


Happy Friday, y'all!  What are your weekend plans?

Drop It Like A Squat

As I'm sure I've told you a million and one times before, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays are resistance training days at Farrell's.  In addition to the scripted exercises, we also throw in some cardio, and in addition to kickboxing on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, we occasionally do some strength training as well.

I thought that I would share with you some of my favorite exercises as well as ones that make me want to crawl into the fetal position in the corner.

So, without any further ado, here are my FAVORITES:

Back Exercises

I love working out my back doing exercises like the seated row, for example.  The back is one of the strongest muscles in the body, and therefore I can move up bands like no tomorrow.  Obviously, this makes me feel like a beast, which is always a good thing.

Fire Hydrants

The dog must be a favorite animal among fitness buffs.  Yogis practice downward dog, and we practice fire hydrants.  On all fours, we lift our legs like we are puppies relieving ourselves and then lower our legs back down to repeat approximately 8,000 times.  This hurts...a lot.  But, it hurts so good.  My hips have always been my problem area, which means I love working them out.

Adductors and Abductors

These exercises also work my problem areas, which is one reason I love them.  The primary reason, though, is that I get to lay down while exercising.  How's that for lazy?

Sit-Ups

As I have gotten older, I have noticed that my tummy is not nearly as flat as it used to be.  I like the good old-fashioned sit-up to really target that area.

And now, let's talk about the exercises that are the BANE OF MY EXISTENCE:

Lunges & Step-Back Lunges

These burn oh-so-bad.  It's awful enough when we have to do either lunges or step-back lunges, but when the instructor has us do both exercises, I pretty much want to die.  I know they're helping my legs and my hips and my booty, but I just cannot stay positive when I feel like there is fire searing through my muscles.

Lat Raises

(Or, let's be real: anything that involves my shoulders.)  The progression of bands at Farrell's is as follows: yellow, green, red, blue, purple.  Because I am now in my eleventh week (get at me!), I should be well into the reds and blues; however, I cannot seem to move past the yellow (the yellow!) on any shoulder exercises.  Seriously.  It's embarrassing.

Mountain Climbers

I am starting to hate these less and less, but for some reason I just cannot stand this motion.  I would much rather sprint across the gym 100 times than get into plank position and move my knees into my chest repeatedly.  I have no legitimate excuse as to why I hate these so darn much, but I do.  A lot.

Crunches

One of my friends Facebook-posted this article about how crunches are bad for you.  Interestingly, my back has been killing me for several weeks, and I think it's largely due to the number of crunches we do at Farrell's.  If we're not doing "real" crunches, we're doing some form of ab exercise that mimics the crunching motion: toe-tappers, shin-kicks, Russian twists, etc.  And every time we do these, my face contorts with pain.  I think I need an alternative.

Weird Planks

Regular planks are bad enough as is, but when you add leg motions, side planks, arm twists, and more, I feel like I am the most inflexible, uncoordinated, unfit person in the entire universe.  I don't know what it is about my core, but it does not like plank-jacks, Spiderman planks, hip drops, or whatever else the instructors are trying to make it do.

I could go on and on and on about exercises that I love and exercises that I hate (but mostly the ones I hate), but I'll leave you with this list to ponder for now.  I'm sure I'll have updates for you as I continue this next leg of my journey.

Have a fabulous Tuesday!

Ten-Week Testing

Well, friends, my first ten weeks with Farrell's is finito.  But, my lifestyle change is just getting started.

Beaverdale Farrell's: 5 a.m.

Overall, I am quite pleased with my results.  Here are the numbers for the entire ten weeks:

• Weight: lost 13 pounds
• Body fat: lost 2.6 percent (although I strongly disagree with the method of measurement for this one)
• Chest: lost 2.75 inches
• Waist: lost 5.75 inches
• Arm: lost 0.5 inches (and the muscle definition is awesome)
• Thigh: lost 1.75 inches
• Hips: lost 3.5 inches

I lost a total of 14.25 inches.  Unfortunately, only 2.75 of those were in the last five weeks.

Let me repeat: I am overall happy with the results.

But, I'm not going to lie: I was quite bummed at first.  I mean, how did I lose eleven-and-a-half inches the first five weeks and then not even three the last five weeks, especially when I was doing more than what was "required" of me?  I was doing everything absolutely perfectly, not cheating at all on my nutrition plan, and adding running to the mix.  What the heck else could I have done?!

So yes, I was initially disappointed.  However, a few things happened that altered my perspective.

Source

First, after my testing was done (more on that in a second), I was visibly upset, and my coach could see that.  Later in the day, he texted me to ask how I was doing.  When I said that I was fine and returned the question to him, he said that he was bummed because he knows how hard I tried and how disappointed I was.  He then told me that I was his mission for the year-long challenge and that I have come a long way and look pretty darn good.

Me and my coaches

Second, we received our before/after photos last night.  (I was really, really hesitant on showing you these.  I mean, I am not at all happy with my after photo.  In fact, several of us were talking about how we should really consider our after photo our beginning photo, as we are seriously considering this a lifestyle change, not just a ten-week experiment.)

Clearly I won the how-much-body-oil-can-one-girl-use contest. 

But I digress.

After sharing photos around the table, one of my teammates said, "You know, I would love to have my after photo look like your before photo.  And I would die to look like your after photo.  You look great."  That really put my glumness in perspective and made me appreciate what a change I made in my own body.

Me and The Boy

Finally, I talked to the Nutrition God (aka my brother) today about how to adjust my macros to take into account my extra workouts.  (One thing my coach and I worried about was that I wasn't getting enough calories -- specifically carbs and proteins -- to make up for the running that I was doing, especially since Farrell's only takes into consideration their workouts when assessing the amount of food we should be eating.)  When I told him how bummed I was about the lack of progress the second five weeks, he said that that was exactly how it should have been: I no longer have as much to lose as I did the first five weeks.  He then equated it to The Biggest Loser: the contestants lose 12 pounds a week because they weigh 400 pounds.  I cannot lose 12 pounds a week, nor can I expect to lose a bazillion inches in five weeks.  He said as long as I continue doing what I'm doing -- eating healthfully and conscientiously and working out like a madwoman -- I will continue seeing results, albeit not as quickly as I did initially.

He then warned me to not get discouraged about these lack of results because then I will want to quit, and that is not okay.

Lindsay and I being goofballs.

So, there you have it: my ten-week results.

As I have said repeatedly, though, this is not just a temporary thing.  Rather, it is a lifestyle change.  In order to ensure it is a forever thing, I emptied my bank account into the Farrell's cash register and signed up for a year of kickboxing, resistance training, and nutrition guidance.  And, I was asked to become a coach.

Starting June 8th, I will be helping a group of athletes who are brand new to the Extreme Body Shaping program.  And I couldn't be more excited.

Stay tuned for a Dam to Dam recap tomorrow!

Peace out, yo.  :)

Strength-Training

As I have mentioned before, Farrell's consists of three components: cardio, strength, and nutrition.

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, we are huffing and puffing like crazy while we kickbox.  This is a great cardio workout that burns over 600 calories.  We start the session with a brief warm-up, follow that with five minutes of stretching, continue with ten more minutes of cardio/shadow-boxing, and then roll out the bags to start punching and kicking with power.  We finish the session with a group stretch.

On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, however, we keep the wraps, gloves, and bags stowed away and instead focus on resistance training.  A surprisingly large number of people forgo strength-training, as they fear that they will bulk up and not look as slim as they would without the muscle-building.  On the contrary, building more lean muscle mass will actually pump up your resting metabolism, causing you to burn more calories for a longer period of time.  So instead of bulking up like a body-builder, resistance-training will actually cause you to burn more calories and shed more weight than if you only focus on cardio.

As opposed to CrossFit or Body Pump that focus on free weights or a gym that boasts top-of-the-line weight machines, Farrell's advocates for strength-training with resistance bands.  The bands are easier on the joints than free weights, and it's much easier to isolate muscle groups using resistance bands.

We alternate upper-body and lower-body days.  On upper-body days, we exercise five muscle groups: the chest, the back, the shoulders (which suck...a lot), the triceps, and the biceps.  On lower-body days, we exercise another five muscle groups: the quadriceps, the hamstrings, the abductors/adductors, the gluteals, and the abdominals.  Regardless of the day or type of set, we complete four exercises for each muscle group (with the exception of abductor/adductor -- we complete one exercise for each -- and gluteals -- we complete two exercises).

There are three ways we workout with bands:

• Classic Sets: we complete three sets of 16 reps for each exercise.  The first set of 16 is slow, and it is followed immediately by a fast set of 16.  The goal is to burn out the muscles to the point of not being able to finish the second set.  After the fast set, we take a brief pause and then complete another slow set of 16.
• Drop Sets: we complete three sets for each exercise, but we start with 12 very slow reps with a band two colors above our normal choice, then we drop down a band color and complete 16 faster reps, and then we drop down to our normal color of band and complete 24 fast reps.  The goal here is to find the color of band that makes it impossible to complete the set of 12 reps: we want to achieve muscle-failure.
• Super Sets: we complete two sets of 16 (one slow and one fast) for each of the four exercises in the muscle group, and then we go back to complete the final slow set of 16 or each exercise in the muscle group.

I really enjoy drop sets, as using a much more difficult band is quite the challenge.  Super sets are also super difficult, but it's too frustrating for my liking since I achieve muscle-failure almost immediately with this workout.

Today was interesting, however: we did more of a circuit-type workout and incorporated classic sets, drop sets, and supersets while mixing up muscle groups (i.e. adductors + quads, for example), and in between sets, we did a pyramid of push-ups, jumping jacks, and mountain climbers.  So in addition to the hellish lower-body workout, I also did 120 push-ups this morning.  Lovely.

In addition to simply completing the workout, we are asked to log our progress by identifying the specific exercises we complete each day, the band color we use to complete the exercise, the type of sets and number of reps we complete, and our goals for the next round.

While I feel like the nutrition part of Farrell's is super logical and just makes total sense, I am also always starving on strength-training days.  Seriously, my stomach generally starts growling when I am halfway through the workout, and my appetite is hugely insatiable for the rest of the day.  My body loves getting stronger, but it also thinks that it needs a whole lot more nutrients in order to do so effectively, apparently.

It's getting better as we progress week by week, but the tummy is still a-rumblin' every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.  Ugh.

But you know what?  My tummy is just gonna have to deal with it.  After all...

Now go do some squats.  Or lat raises.  Or shin tappers.

And love the burn.

What is your favorite strength-training exercise?

Five-Week Testing

Believe it or not, but I have been on this crazy healthy-living journey for five weeks now.  After five weeks of perfect attendance at Farrell's (three days per week kickboxing and three days per week strength-training) and five weeks of nearly-perfect nutrition, I am proud to say that I am kicking major butt.

Remember how I broke up with the scale?  How I haven't stepped on the scale for the last five weeks?

Well, that all changed yesterday.

Before we get to that magic number, let's talk about inch-loss.  At Farrell's, they measure inches in five areas of the body: chest, waist, arm, thigh, and hips.  In total, I lost 11.5 inches.

Yes, let that sink in: eleven point five inches.

I lost 2.25 inches in my chest.  This is unbelievable to me, as my boobs are still spilling over my bra.

I lost 5.25 inches in my waist.  Again, this doesn't seem to make sense because I don't feel like my pants are any more comfortable, but I guess the measuring tape doesn't lie, huh?

I lost 0.5 inches in my arm.  I was one of the only people to lose inches in this area, as our strength-training really builds up muscle, which in turn increases the measurement of the arm.  I have a lot of fat yet to lose in this area, but as soon as that's gone, I look forward to this number increasing as I get buffer and buffer.

I lost 0.25 inches in my thigh.  Again, this number generally goes up rather than down, as our legs are bulking up like crazy.  I can feel the muscle here, so I'm okay with a small number of inches lost.

I lost 3.5 inches in my hips.  This is the area where I feel I need to lose the most inches, so I'm pretty pumped that the number is already that big.  I look forward to it decreasing a whole bunch more in the next five weeks.

My body fat percentage only decreased by 1.2 points, but I really don't think the method they use to measure this is accurate.  So, oh well.

Regarding fitness testing, I pretty much rocked it: my push-ups increased by 26, my sit-ups increased by 11, and my mile time decreased by ten.

And now, folks, the moment you've all been waiting for:

I lost eight pounds in the last five weeks.  While eight pounds doesn't seem like a whole lot, I want you to consider the amount of muscle I've been building.  Eight pounds is a whole heck of a lot of weight when you consider how ripped I'm getting.

And while I don't feel like I look crazy-different, The Boy assures me that I do, and my besties are all quite complimentary, too.

FF and I were so excited about our testing results yesterday that we decided to partake in a little too much celebration.  Both The Boy and BFF called this the "anti-Emmy" day since it was everything I don't do on a normal day, and they were both proud of me for "letting go" and enjoying myself.

I'm proud of me, too, but there is no way another way-too-much-fun day can happen anytime in the near future.  I'm still recuperating!

But you know what?  Eleven point five inches was something totally worth celebrating.

Yay, me!

Snack Attack

Well, this was going to be a post solely about the snacks that I've been enjoying while completing the Farrell's 10-week challenge, but as soon as I titled the post, I thought of this video and can't seem to get it out of my head.

You're welcome.

Side note: I'm pretty sure my brother and I (my sister was too young) watched every. single. one. of the Saved by the Bell episodes -- at least five times.

But I digress.  Back to the topic at hand: snacks.

As previously mentioned, the Farrell's nutritional plan suggests eating six small meals a day, and according to my weight and body-fat percentage, I am to be eating 33 grams of carbohydrates and between 14-18 grams of protein for each "meal" (with the exception of the "before-bed" meal, which calls for as few carbohydrates as possible).

Because I was used to my snacks consisting of Sour Patch Kids and/or Flamin' Hot Cheetos, it took me a while to figure out exactly what a quality snack would look like.

Here are some suggestions that I have been loving lately:

Morning:

The nutritional plan recommends consuming all fruit for the day prior to noon.  Therefore, my morning snack usually consists of a banana or an apple with some other protein-y things.  I have found, though, that apples keep me longer than bananas, so I tend to go that route.

Oh, and generally I scarf this down while grading papers or between passing periods.  It's lovely.

Medium Granny Smith apple, 1/8 cup wasabi peas, two Babybel Light cheeses

I have also found that I am one cranky lady if I do not eat fruit.  Therefore, I try to over-buy every weekend, yet I always seem to run out come Friday or Saturday.

Another of my favorite morning snacks is an apple, two tablespoons of crack sunflower butter, and a piece of Babybel or string cheese.

Full Circle Sunflower Butter

Seriously.  If you haven't tried sunflower butter, do it.  Now.  I have gone through a jar of it each week for the past two weeks, and I'm well into my third jar already.

OMG.

But moving on...

Afternoon:

What I eat for a snack in the afternoon largely depends on what I have going on for the rest of the evening.  If I have a chill afternoon at home watching Jeopardy! with The Boy, I might opt for this:

Carrot sticks, hummus, Babybel cheese, and savory edamame crackers.

Or, I might opt for my absolute favorite snack of late:

Tomato, two ounces of fresh mozzarella, multigrain wheat thins.

If I have a busy evening or have to run with the kiddos or have meetings or errands or whatever after work, I generally grab something that is more easily on-the-go:

A chocolate-dipped coconut Luna bar (usually accompanied by a piece of Babybel or string cheese).

Obviously there is a plethora of protein/meal-supplement/nutrition bars out there, but I found that Luna meets my nutritional requirements and tastes pretty darn good, so that's what I'm sticking with for now. The chocolate-dipped coconut bar is seriously delicious and is almost a "treat" in the middle of the day.

Evening:

Because I am not supposed to have too many carbohydrates before I go to bed, my evening snack is usually a protein shake.  I couple 1.5 cups of Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze or Unsweetened Coconut Almond Breeze with a scoop of protein powder:

Arbonne Essentials: Vanilla Protein Shake Mix

When I make the shake with the Arbonne protein powder, I generally only put in one of the suggested two scoops so that it's not overly chalky and so that it tastes like liquified cookie dough.  For real.

(Also, if you are interested in purchasing Arbonne protein powder -- seriously the best I've tried -- please let me know, and I'll put you in contact with my provider.

Side note: despite that sounding super shady, I swear AG is not a drug dealer -- unless your drug-of-choice is spectacular protein.)

But I digress.  As usual.

Random Comments About Snacks:

As I've said before, the Farrell's nutritional plan specifically says to not count calories and to only worry about proteins and carbohydrates.  However, I still find myself analyzing the magic calorie number like a crazy woman.  Most often, I stay within a 1,500-1,700 range, but there are a few things that I try to take into consideration when planning out my snacks:

• If I have Dessert Oats for breakfast, I do not accompany my morning fruit with sunflower butter. Two tablespoons of that heavenly goodness contain 200 calories, and I do not need a quarter of my daily calories coming from a condiment.
• While I love me some cheese, I do try to limit that intake as well and not have it for every snack.  First of all, it's expensive.  Second (and more importantly), it generally has a fairly high concentration of saturated fats, something that I certainly want to watch.

So, there you have it: the current favorites in my snack rotation.  I'm sure I'll totally OD on some/all of this sooner or later, so hook me up with your yummiest of yummy snacks.

What is your first choice for healthy bites?

A Day of Eats

If you follow me on My Fitness Pal, this post will likely be old news, as I'm going to rehash exactly what a "day in the life of the Farrell's nutritional plan" looks like for me.  Without further ado, let's analyze Sunday, April 7th:

I "slept in" until 7:00 when I had to wake up to take The Boy to the airport.  The lucky duck gets to spend a couple of days in Boston, a city that he loves and that I have never visited, for work.  When I got home, I decided that I couldn't fall back asleep and instead brewed some coffee and whipped up breakfast:

First, I know how disgusting this looks.  (Also, I spent a lot of yesterday learning how to take better photos with my point-and-shoot, so look forward to that.  Maybe.  If I decided to not be lazy.)  Second, this is a recipe from my mom's (and my) good friend Mary Lu.  Third, it did not look anything like the ones my mom has made.

Anyway, I made this "pancake" with oats, cottage cheese, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and just a splash of Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze so that it would blend in the Magic Bullet.  I know it doesn't look like it, but this was delicious, especially since I topped it with a tablespoon of sunflower butter and half a banana.

Here's the breakdown:

• Calories: 296
• Carbs: 30g
• Fat: 11g
• Protein: 16g

For my midmorning snack, I ate a green apple, a piece of string cheese, and a fourth cup of wasabi peas.  (I didn't take a photo because I was gobbling these down in the car, just like Bethenny advises not to do.)

Here's the breakdown:

• Calories: 252
• Carbs: 39g
• Fat: 7g
• Protein: 9g

Considering I'm supposed to be getting 33 grams of carbs and 14-18 grams of protein per meal, this one was kind of an oops.

For lunch, I had Orange Marmelade Glazed Tempeh, courtesy of Kath Eats atop spinach and carrots.  You guys: this meal was soooooo good and soooooo easy.

I had never had tempeh before, but I really like it and could see marinating it in a variety of different goodies: different jams, soy sauces and chili pastes, etc.  It has quite a high caloric content, but besides that, I'm in love with this food.

Here's the breakdown:

• Calories: 386
• Carbs: 37g
• Fat: 18g
• Protein: 22g

Again, this meal was a little "oops," as it was too high in both carbs and protein.  Oh well.  I feel like it was okay since it was too high in both categories.  :)

For my afternoon snack, I munched on carrots, two mini Babybel cheeses, edamame crackers, and two tablespoons of hummus.  I'm not going to lie: initially I had planned on a half cup of pistachios, but those things are a PAIN to shell.  I got lazy and resorted to this.

Here's the breakdown:

• Calories: 280
• Carbs: 25g
• Fat: 8g
• Protein: 15g

I was a little low on carbs, but oh well.

I already told you all about my dinner -- the best crab cakes in the universe (with some roasted asparagus).  I truly hope y'all make those sometime soon, and please let me know how much you love 'em.

Here's the breakdown:

• Calories: 284
• Carbs: 28g
• Fat: 14g
• Protein: 14g

Again, I only had one of the crab cakes, topped with the salsa, and a side of asparagus.  I did not account for the oil on the asparagus (since I make it a little differently than BFF), but I was likely still within range nutritionally.

For my bedtime snack, I had the usual: a chocolate protein shake.

Here's the breakdown:

• Calories: 142
• Carbs: 2g
• Fat: 5g
• Protein: 23g 

I am not supposed to have carbs before bed, and while this is a little too much protein, it's the best I can do without carbs.  And this shake is goooooood.

Overall for the day, here are my totals:

• Calories: 1,640
• Carbs: 161g
• Fat: 63g
• Protein: 99g

While this is pretty darn good, I still have some work to do.  First, while Farrell's advises against counting calories, I would still like my daily intake to be less than 1,600, even with the crazy workouts that I do.  I didn't workout yesterday at all, so the 1,640 seems especially high to me.

Second, according to The Nutrition God (aka my brother), the ratio of carbs-fats-carbs should be 40%-30%-30%.  According to this handy-dandy pie (mmm, pie) chart from My Fitness Pal, I'm a little off base with the percentages.  I need to work on upping my protein intake and decreasing my fat intake.  While I'm not eating many "bad" fats, I still need to strive for lowering my saturated fats and decreasing fat intake altogether.

Please feel free to ask me any questions about this particular nutritional plan.  I truly believe in it whole-heartedly, as I do not feel deprived at all, and I feel like it is something super realistic that I can keep up for months and months and months.

(Remind me of that in a few weeks, mmkay?)

I'm Freeeeeeeee!

I have already talked about the meal plan that I am currently following: I eat six meals per day, and at each meal, I try to get 33 grams of carbs (except for the last meal) and 14-18 grams of protein.  While it's not part of the plan per se, I try to limit saturated fats, sugars, and sodium.  (Although, I should probably be paying closer attention to that last one -- I love me some sodium.)

Part of the meal plan is, however, to have one free day per week.  This is included for a number of reasons.  First, it is important for the body to not feel "deprived," to not feel "restricted."  Second, it helps with discipline: it is much easier to say no to fro-yo during the week if I know I can have it on my free day.  Finally, it helps to show what I used to feel like when I ate the "cheats" on a daily basis.

While we technically have an entire day to "cheat," I try to be relatively healthy nevertheless.  After all, I don't want to feel like poop (literally) the following day, and I don't want to undo all of the hard work that I put in the rest of the week.

In addition, Farrell's recommends taking the free day on Sunday: you don't have to exercise, and you don't have to follow the meal plan.  I, however, am choosing to take my free day on Saturday: I wake up early and work out, eat relatively healthfully during the day, and splurge on a nice dinner and a glass of wine (or two or three) without fearing feeling icky for an early morning workout.

So, without further ado, let's review my free day:

I woke up at 5:30 and went to resistance training at 6:00.  When I came home, I made some dessert oats before crashing on the couch for a couple of hours.  For my morning snack, I ate a leftover marshmallow Peep (didn't taste all that good, surprisingly), and approximately five jelly beans followed by my "real" snack of string cheese and an apple.

For lunch, BFF and I headed to the Drake Diner, and I had half a vegetarian omelet (with portobello mushrooms, spinach, tomatos, onion).  There was a heck of a lot of cheese on top, so I scraped a good portion off to make it a bit healthier.  Instead of hashbrowns, I paid extra for a fruit bowl (and only ate half of it), and sided the whole shebang with a piece of wheat toast and mixed berry jelly.  For going to a greasy diner for breakfast, I felt like I made a pretty darn good choice.

And really, that filled me up until dinner time.  For dinner, The Boy and I had "date night" and headed to Haiku for sushi.  To start, I had a squid salad and a glass of malbec, and The Boy had a cup of miso and a dirty martini:

For dinner, we ordered the rainbow roll, the Alaska roll, the Philadelphia roll, and a crab tempura roll:

This was seriously the best sushi that either of us has ever had.  It wasn't caked in tons of rice, and the flavors were absolutely amazing.  And, it was affordable!  The entire bill -- with appetizers, drinks, and tax included -- was only $50.  For a night of sushi, that is nothing.

When we got home from date night, The Boy and I put in The Invention of Lying, and I promptly fell asleep just after the opening credits.  This is not unusual for me and absolutely drives The Boy (a former film major) absolutely crazy.

Prior to crashing on the couch, though, I had a handful of Whoppers (I estimate about 15) and another small handful of jelly beans (around five or so).

Despite the not-so wonderful choices I made (and the 800-calorie dinner I enjoyed), I still did not do too horribly:

I was only 21 calories over what was allotted to me by My Fitness Pal (including calories that I am allowed because of the morning workout).  I do want to clarify, though, that while I did my best entering everything accurately, restaurant-made food is nearly impossible to record with 100% accuracy, as you never know how exactly it is prepared, what oils they use, etc.

Despite eating relatively decently on my cheat day, my stomach still wasn't super happy with me this morning, just proving yet again that healthy eating is the way to go.