Motivation Nation

Since doing the 3-day detox, Brian and I have been kicking fitness' ass! Working out 5 to 6 times a week and eating well balanced (and portion controlled for me) we are well on our way to our summer bodies! I was never overweight, but I find that when I gain a few extra "comfort" pounds, or just forego exercise for a period of time I am less comfortable in my clothes, which is reflected in the rest of my day. Winter, Christmas to be exact, does a number to my hips. But having Brian as a workout partner and a health food advocate makes getting in shape, and staying in shape, that much easier. 

I am so lucky to be surrounded by friends and family who are motivating, encouraging, and sometimes demanding (which I need). I am also grateful that those friends and family are spread out throughout my everyday life. 

I have Heather from work - she has lost 70 lbs. on Weight Watchers and is a hardcore gym go-er. We send each other our meal plans each day, share recipes, our favorite healthy snacks and push each other to take the stairs and drink more water each and every day. 

She gets married in about 80 days so she is in full blown crunch mode and if that doesn't scream motivation, I don't know what does!



Heather - Left: After, Right: Before



I have Brian at home, who loves me thick or not but has always been active and I can count on him to be eager for a new workout. He's completed P90X once and now we are on his second and my first go at it.

Then I have my sister and Steph who are both into Body Pump at our local gym and are constantly walking the 7 mile lake here. Steph also works in my building so we can have lunch together and keep each other on track. I must talk to my sister 45 times a day so she is willing to listen to me anytime I need to ramble about my latest meal or workout. Not to mention she is 6 months pregnant and put a whoopin' on me last night at Body Pump.  

I recently signed up for Motivation Mail, which is organized by Tone It Up - you provide your e-mail to the organizer and she assigns you a Motivation buddy. You and that friend exchange addresses and a package of all of your favorite things to keep you motivated. I am excited to try this and will definitely be sharing what goodies I send and receive!

I am thankful that all of my friends, and some of Brian's co-workers, have even taken to my skinnytaste.com meals and weight watchers recipes! Even weight watchers desserts lose the "low fat" quality when you eat an entire pan so it's nice to have folks willing to get them out of the house for us!

I am excited to record my progress here and look back at all of the tips, tricks and recipes for future motivation!

So far this is Brian and I’s all-time favorite healthy recipe… summed up in one word: addicting. This tastes JUST like the real thing, add some shrimp, chicken or steak for protein!





Of course this was found at my favorite site: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2014/03/cauliflower-fried-rice.html

Cauliflower Fried Rice

Servings: 4 • Size: heaping 1 1/3 cups • Old Points: 2 pt • Points+: 3 pts

Calories: 108 • Fat: 3 g • Carbs: 14 • Fiber: 6 • Protein: 9 g • Sugar: 1

Sodium: 868 mg • Cholesterol: 47 mg

• 1 medium head (about 24 oz) cauliflower, rinsed
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 egg whites
• 1 large egg
• pinch of salt
• cooking spray
• 1/2 small onion, diced fine
• 1/2 cup frozen peas and carrots
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 5 scallions, diced, whites and greens separated
• 3 tbsp soy sauce, or more to taste (Tamari for Gluten Free)

Directions:

Remove the core and let the cauliflower dry completely. Coarsely chop into florets, then place half of the cauliflower in a food processor and pulse until the cauliflower is small and has the texture of rice or couscous – don't over process or it will get mushy. Set aside and repeat with the remaining cauliflower.

Combine egg and egg whites in a small bowl and beat with a fork. Season with salt.

Heat a large saute pan or wok over medium heat and spray with oil. Add the eggs and cook, turning a few times until set; set aside.

Add the sesame oil and saute onions, scallion whites, peas and carrots and garlic about 3 to 4 minutes, or until soft.

Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the cauliflower "rice" to the saute pan along with soy sauce. Mix, cover and cook approximately 5 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until the cauliflower is slightly crispy on the outside but tender on the inside. Add the egg then remove from heat and mix in scallion greens.

Enjoy!

I should have kitten pictures in every post...

This past weekend was a good one - Saturday the weather was beautiful and we took advantage of that by having our fence installed! Thank you, sweet baby Jesus. I can't tell you what being able to let Anchor outside through the back door has done for our household but it's similar to this:

And we are certain she loves it just as much. She will spend countless minutes (I'd say hours but she is far too ADHD for that) running laps and looking back at us as if to say "you two ROCK"... yes, yes we do.

That night we ventured out for drinks with a good friend of Brian's to celebrate his poker winnings on his dime, which I think is a very sweet gesture but totally unnecessary - we would've come and paid and still celebrated. Regardless, it was a good time and Brian and I (in typical form) danced, one of us sang on a speaker - you can guess who - and acted like complete fools. It's our favorite past-time.

Brian's goodtime caught up with him the following day and some serious vegging out was done Sunday. Monday was a snow day which allowed us to have a longer weekend and we made the most of it by hanging the art from my paint party:

Making a window sill mason jar herb garden:

And starting on the oars for our living room:

I'd say we can check productivity off the list for our weekend.

This weekend we have nada, nothing, zilch... (if you are fluent in other languages, feel free to insert those here) on our agenda and I can say I couldn't be happier. It's a rarity in our household to have one free day, much less three. I am hoping the nice weather leads to some gardening, a hike around the lake and dinner on the grill. Two, three day weekends, sandwiching a three day week... this is the life.

Yesterday Brian and I finalized our agenda for our first trip of the year, we are heading to Savannah, GA for a long weekend but first making a pit stop for the night in Hilton Head for some golf and shopping... what we do best. This past summer a good friend of mine had a bridal shower hosted in Savannah (her home town) and I fell in love... I mean: love at first sight, head over heels, hopelessly... in love. I will retire there. The people are kind, the weather is beautiful and the area is so comfortable, for a lack of better words. I am so excited to share this with Brian and am so grateful it was shared with me. So far we have SC, GA and Mexico on the agenda... I have a feeling this is going to be the best summer yet.

Dr. Oz 3-day detox cleanse - Review

Well we have officially completed the Dr. Oz 3-day detox cleanse! Here are my take-aways:

The first day was TOUGH. The first day of anything is typically the hardest, the smoothies were tolerable and the next morning I was already down 2 pounds.

Day 2 - 4 pounds down and feeling good, my motivation at home was a little behind but I was extremely focused at work and could feel the effects of the detox.

Day 3 - Knowing it was the last day made those smoothies all but unbearable. I choked them down as fast as possible and attempted not to gag. The texture is a lot for 3 days. 5.5 pounds down!

Would I do it again? Yes.

Why? I can feel benefits from the detox, I no longer crave diet pepsi (which was a habit I was hoping to kick) and healthy food seems more appealing to me than ever. I think it was the perfect jump start to my resolution to be healthy in 2014.

What was my motivation? Mexico. We head to Georgia in June and Mexico in October and I would like to feel my best in a bathing suit beside my husband. Also, one of my best girl friends is coming with her husband to Mexico and she is a whopping 4.5 pounds soaking wet so I have got to be able to look half way decent next to that! :) Wanna be skinny and have motivation? Have skinny friends. Works every time.

How did Brian do? He did fine until it came to the last day and we had to pack real food for lunches for the next day and he all but bit my finger off in the process. He was a real trooper and I am proud of him for sticking it out with me! He didn't need to do this but he was helping me reach a goal and I couldn't ask for a better husband than one who will give up food for 3 days for me.

First meal post cleanse?

Egg white mushroom omelet with siracha, turkey bacon and a slice of wheat toast

My tips for being successful - Stay busy: do not sit around a house full of food, Brian and I took Anchor for walks, to training, he golfed, I went to a wine and design. 

Finished product

We made sure that even though food was on our minds we didn't put ourselves in a vulnerable state. Water down lunch, and have a straw handy: lunch is THICK and hard to chug at times. I learned adding some water and using a straw helped me tackle those mamajamas. And last but not least; Have a partner in crime: don't do this alone, have someone you are accountable to... who will motivate you and will not cave even when you're weak.

So now that you've listened to me ramble on for 3 days about this detox, it's time to recap my weekend!

Friday we met up with friends for beer at a local bar and had a good time, it's always nice to get out of the house... especially to a place where beers are 2 dollars a piece and a whole pizza is 6!

Saturday I had 11 girls over to paint canvas' for our office. I will post the final product soon. I had the best time. 5 bottles of wine and a bottle of champagne. These girls had me laughing until my stomach hurt. I have some amazing girls in my life and wouldn't have changed a thing about Saturday. I will be doing this again very soon!

Sunday was low key and just what the doctor ordered.

This weekend we are hoping to crack out some serious house projects! Wish us luck :)

Day 3, light at the end of the tunnel

So far I am down 4 pounds and feeling pretty good. The shakes are getting harder to drink and food is on my mind, not so much food as crunch. I just want to crunch something. Surprisingly the thought of something healthy is much more appealing than any junk. I think the cleanse is doing what it's supposed to do - getting out the junk!

Day 2 of Detox

I can not believe Brian and I made it through day 1. Believe it or not, the urge to chew something is much stronger than you would imagine when it's taken away from you. I just keep reminding myself it's only 3 days and we are half way there!

Last night I tossed and turned a bit but woke up this morning feeling fresh and relaxed - and actually looking forward to my breakfast smoothie.

The lunch smoothie is MUCH harder to drink, the texture and size alone are show stoppers. I managed to chug mine yesterday in 3 hours and was too full for a snack.

Dinner is pretty tastey, the spicy kick isn't my favorite but knowing the benefits of cayenne pepper makes it worth it.

I am hoping tomorrow is as easy as today and we can have a good breakfast Thursday to make this all worth it!

Dr. Oz - 3 day detox cleanse

On Brian and I's pursuit to get healthy (not just fit) we are attempting the Dr. Oz 3 day detox cleanse! I am way more excited about this than Brian, but he is a good husband and he is chugging right along with me... juice pun, you're welcome.

The inspiration for this cleanse, and the woman who will receive the hate letter from my hungry hubby was MacKenzie from a blog I read called Bell Bliss: http://bellbliss.blogspot.com/2014/03/dr-oz-3-day-cleanse-review.html, she is also the reason we will go to Thailand and ride elephants but that's a whole 'nother post.

I want to document this cleanse so I can review it and hopefully give friends and family guidance if it's something they choose to try.

The Plan

The first step is of course the shopping; I was unable to locate lavender oil so I purchase natural lavender empsom salt instead. And coconut oil, that's a 3 page post on the adventure that was finding coconut oil. Wal-Mart was the only place we could find it and if you know me, you know I hate Wal-Mart - point 1 for my dedication to this cleanse. Between Brian and I we spent roughly 150 on the grocery and supplements. I spent 3 hours in the kitchen preping all of our smoothies for the next 3 days (that's 24 smoothies, peeps) so we have no excuse not to complete!

Our shopping haul!

So far today I've had the detox tea (I personally will cut back to a 1/2 a tsp of stevia... it's too sweet for my liking) and the breakfast smoothie. If I could just drink these for 3 days I would be a happy camper. It's a raspberry/banana explosion of yumminess. Hopefully the following two are just as delightful.

Yuummmmm, swamp.

And detox baths - since bath taking is my favorite past time, I am seriously looking forward to this.

Stay tuned for more.

Weekend recap

I.LOVED.THIS.WEEKEND.

It all started Thursday when a good friend of mine hosted a "wine and design" party - definition: drink wine while an instructor attempts to teach you to paint. I had a blast. The instructor was hilarious, the picture was beautiful and I was surrounded by good girls. No complaints here. Finished product:

My finish product

After work my nephew Jarred asked to come and stay the night, he is a great kid and we were more than excited to scoop him up and take him to Asahi Japanese Steak house (sushi for me) and hang out watching movies for a low key Friday night. Anchor didn't mind either!

Saturday we woke up bright and early to drop my nephew off and head to Cambridge, about 3 hours away, to visit Brian's Aunts and cousins on the eastern short and pick up an awesome game table they've generously handed down to us! We made a pit stop at the outlets (and of course we couldn't miss Hardees) and headed back home. We wish they were closer; we would love to see them more often!

Can't leave outlets empty handed

First of many games to come

Sunday we enjoyed the BEAUTIFUL weather and bunkered down for the cold front that was Monday morning. Work was closed Monday and yesterday we had a four hour delay and Brian and I took leave for the remainder. It is never worth it to risk driving in the ice and snow for 4 hours of work.

2 snow days = a spotless and organized house. I'm not mad at it!

Coming back to work after 4 days with Brian is always tough for me. This is why I write this blog, I am sure our marriage will not always be easy, we will tackle our fair share of obstacles and I will use this as a tool to remind myself of the days I cried because we had to go back to work and I will miss him that much.