Kind Words from Strangers

We woke to snow this morning! Just a small dusting but enough to get me excited about future snow and to make it feel a bit more like the Christmas season. I was a bit late heading to the gym because I wanted to avoid the morning rush hour and people trying to head to work, with snow on the road.

I started off my work out with a mile run on the treadmill while I waited for an arc trainer to free up. I was about 20 minutes into my workout when a  middle-aged lady I had seen around the gym took over the machine next to me. She was on hers about 30 minutes and before she left she made it a point to pat me on the back and say "you're doing great! keep it up!" She didn't give me a chance to take my ear buds out of my ears to respond before walking away. I should have been the one praising her. She KILLS on the arc trainer everytime I see her. She carefully logs all of her workouts. Me keep it up? Lady, you simply rock! YOU keep it up!!

So thank you, random gym lady! Your words of kindness and encouragement were over-appreciated!

Goal Update & Modification

I just posted the other day that I wanted to lose at least 3lbs by Christmas putting me at 165. I'm not sure how it happened but I hit 165 yesterday blowing the 3 lbs out of the water. Therefore I am re-evaluating my goal and shooting for 160 by Christmas, which is the 5 lbs I wanted to lose.

Always nice when you can hit a goal way quicker than expected and it's such a burst of confidence. I pulled my tote of "skinny clothes" (size 10's) out of the basement the other day to find that every single pair fit me, and some even a bit loose! That puts me down 2 clothing sizes since June and that means I am wearing clothes I haven't worn since having my daughter 4 years ago! I don't think it's realistic to be a size 5 again, like I was before having kids, but at this point everything seems likely!

BRING IT ON!

(total weight loss since April 2010: 35lbs)

Sneaking in the Fitness

I'm always trying to get the little bits of uncounted exercise into my daily life. You know the few you never count but the ones that probably matter in the long run. Here's how I sneak in a few extra burn.

- Taking the stairs. I know this seems basic but every little bit counts. Even in my house I always try to make the most out of my stair trips. We have split level house so there is no way to avoid them. If I'm in the basement I have to go upstairs to use the bathroom, to get a drink, to grab a snack. It always makes you rethink whatever you're craving when you know you have to walk all the way upstairs. I carry items upstairs one at a time. Every trip counts! Plus I always run up, as fast as I can.

- Watching TV. I never sit still while watching TV, even when laying down I am constantly moving, even if its as simple as shaking my legs. Some days when I feel like I didn't get a good work out in I will walk in place while watching TV.

- Folding laundry. I think this is the perfect time to get some squats in! Every time I bend to pick up an article of clothing I squat or I lunge. I also do not simply stand. I do the basic aerobic move where you step left, step right and tap, step right, ect... Since normal walking doesn't utilize these muscles effectively it's a great way to work those other muscles that you don't normally use.

- Counter push-ups. Whenever I am heating something in the microwave I do counter push ups while my food heats (usually just 1 minute), if it' requires a longer heating time I usually alternate counter push-ups and standing crunches, in 1 minute or 30 second intervals.

These are just a few ways you can squeeze random exercise moves into your daily routine and it's great for every day, whether you've been to the gym or not!

Carrot Zucchini Bars with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

I saw a recipe for Carrot Zucchini Bars on The Domestic Wannabe and immediately decided that these wouldn't be too bad made vegan! She altered the original recipe from Real Mom Kitchen and I have since combined bits and pieces and made my own concoction. I've made them twice and I think I've found a concrete recipe I will keep making. Using a 9x13 pan these are roughly 152 calories (sweetened with honey - less with Splenda, obviously) with 16 servings. This has been my go to breakfast before heading to the gym and my snack as soon as I return home. The good news? I tried freezing these and they thaw out decently!

Carrot Zucchini Bars
1/2 cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce + 1 tsp. Baking Powder (egg substitute)

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 cup milled flax seed + 1/2 cup orange juice (oil substitute) (you may use water -- I did the first time but the taste of the orange juice is divine)

1/4 cup honey (or 1/4 cup Splenda) (I used honey the first time and was out the second time making these- I had Splenda + Fiber on hand and I like the extra sweetness it adds)

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cup shredded carrots

1 cup shredded zucchini

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional but recommended as there is no protein in these with the egg removed)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. all spice

Frosting:

3 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 Tbsp. powdered sugar

1 tsp. orange zest (I usually just zest into the bowl until it takes on an orange taste)

1. Pre-heat oven to 350. In a large bowl whisk together apple sauce + baking powder, brown sugar, milled flax seed + orange juice, honey (or splenda), and vanilla. Next fold in carrots, zucchini and walnuts.

2. In another bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon and all spice. Whisk to combine.

3. Add flour mixture to the wet mixture until just combined. Spread batter into an ungreased 13x9" pan.

4. Bake about 25 minutes or until a toothpick entered in center comes out clean. Immediately spread cream cheese frosting. Allow to cool completely before cutting.

5. While the bars are baking prepare the frosting. In a small bowl combine the ingredients and fold together until fluffy.

6. When the bars come out of the oven immediately frost with the frosting (you want to frost while hot so the frosting melts and spreads evenly over the bars).

This recipe has been made vegan to avoid unnecessary calories. Subbing out the oil for milled flax seed makes for a sticky, gooey bread. It may not be everyone's style but I'd take it over the additional calories. The first time I made these they needed some more spice to them. If I had ground nutmeg I would have added 1/4 tsp. as well.

Goal & 30 Day Shred

I've decided that I'd like to lose another 5 pounds by Christmas. I see this as not very likely but it averages out to about 1.25 lbs a week. I'd really be happy with losing just 3 pounds by then which would put me at 165. However, I feel like I am going to aim for the 5 pounds, I think it will be a better push than the 3 I would easily lose.

So today I have a boy with "tummy sickies." Being that I just got over a week of being sedentary while my daughter had this a few weeks ago I decided that in trying to make this goal I should get up and do something. I broke out the 30 Day Shred for the first time in probably 10 months. I grabbed my 5 pound hand weights and went at it. Now, lets go back to April 2010 when I first started this long journey. I was dying by the end of the jumping jacks at the warm up, let alone the 18 minutes to follow. I remember sweat pouring off me and thinking my legs were just going to give out if I had to do one more lunge. I did this for 30 days and lost 16 pounds. Even at the end of the 30 days I struggled with this.

It was such a wake up call as I was doing this when I realized how out of shape and miserable I used to be. Now I could do this is in my sleep! How far I have come! It was so empowering. I even followed up with a 5k walk around my subdivision while pushing the kids in the stroller.

So answer me this: in one word how does exercise make you feel?

Me? Capable. I realize that I am much more capable than I thought I was. Capable of doing more and capable of reaching my goal.

Thanksgiving Work Out

I started off my 2011 Thanksgiving by a trip to the gym! I got in a 1000+ calorie burn and I felt good about whatever crossed my path yesterday. I figured if I started with a trip to the gym I could eat without remorse. So I took a day off from my diet. Although I don't think I did too horribly until Josh offered a milkshake and I counter-offered a Reese's McFlurry. I didn't eat pie so I figured this was my Thanksgiving splurge!

As of yesterday morning I was already down 2 pounds for the week! It was only Thursday! PLUS I had a missed gym day this week! This is the lightest I have been since right after giving birth to Dalton! (I didn't have long to stay at this weight since I got pregnant again when she was 4 months old) So excited!

I hope everyone had an amazing holiday. I truly enjoyed spending it with my family, and best yet I enjoy that my in-laws and my grandparents can have holidays together! I have been blessed with the best family.

Body Design

I'm pretty sure I died a little today. I've been trying to get back to the gym early in the morning to attend the express fitness class. I miss all the people in that class. However, today 2 of the ladies convinced me to try out this class, which they regularly attend. I decided I'd try (I'm not one for trying too much on my own). I am so glad I went! I do believe it is called Body Design but I could be wrong since it's not on the schedule. It was an hour of working your muscles, every muscle, with lots of reps. It was definitely a challenge and I think I might add it to my weekly gym line-up. Except next time I do not think I will start with express fitness, instead I think I will go to the class and then complete 45 minutes-1 hour of cardio.

So what does a mom do when she takes an unexpected fitness class and that changes up her whole gym plan? Since I missed out on cardio (got about 15 minutes in at the gym), we came home and I let the kids ride their power wheels (it's a beautiful day) in the back yard while I ran with them. I managed to get about a mile in while I helped them avoid crashes and getting stuck.

Now its off to finish the 4 large loads of laundry that have been piling up and to clean the house for Thanksgiving. Now if I can just avoid the 2 bowls of chex mix I made earlier I'd be OK!

Illness & a Birthday

We've been cooped up this last week. First it was because Dalton had bronchitis and Zein had a cold. The week then ended with Dalton having "tummy sickies" on Thursday and continuing until last night. In all of this sickness we still had a birthday party for the boy! 3 years ago today I gave birth to a tiny 10lb 11oz, 21.5" blonde headed boy!

Despite being sick, and missing family members due to illness, Zein had a great birthday party on Saturday! He got a remote control jeep, which he calls in part gibberish a "truck djfhskdh mote." He also got the Imaginext Dino and a power wheels 4 wheeler (in Zein speak a "feel wheel"). On the day of his actual birth (being today) he awoke at 4:30 a.m. and saw Daddy off to work. While laying in bed with me this morning we talked about the day of his birth. Now he is taking a nap on the couch while Dalton and I watch animated Christmas movies. This is my favorite time of year, nothing better than cheesy Christmas movies, with poor acting and similar story lines!

So after taking a week break from the gym (due to children's illness) and even at home work outs (due to pure laziness) I am anxious to get back! I am hoping that Dalton keeps food down today (so far so good) and maybe we will head to the gym this afternoon.

Fall Cleaning

I just spent the whole morning (and a bit into the afternoon) cleaning and organizing the kids play room. I try to do this every fall. With 2 birthdays and Christmas we always seem to run out of room if nothing is done. This room hasn't really been touched since we moved at the end of April and we packed in such a hurry things were just thrown in toy boxes and boxes and some stuff hadn't even been unpacked. Unfortunately there are no shelves in the closet or even doors hung in this room, which poses quite a problem with organization. But I tried and with the little I was able to do it was a huge accomplishment. Let's see how long my hard work lasts! I'm so glad that it is done! 

The next part of the house to attack is the garage. Much like the play room the garage has become our junk yard and is such a mess it's an embarrassment to even have our garage door open for the neighbors to see!

At a stand still

My scale has been stuck at the 173 mark for the last month. I can't complain so much since my motivation has gone stagnant. Maintaining is more than half the battle but if I ever want to lose these remaining 33 pounds I need to figure something out and quick.  I have started to become that mom that takes my kids to the park and I walk circles around the play area. I probably look like a crazy lady but I think that I am rather smart! It's better than me just sitting there watching my children play (I do watch my children, we purposefully frequent a park that doesn't have many, if any, children at it).

I had a bunch of gala apples in my fridge that needed to be eaten before they went bad so last night I made myself some apple pie filling and ate that warm with a scoop of fat free Cool Whip and yum! It was so easy to make and very tasty!

Apple Pie Filling

4 c. sliced apples (skins removed would be best, I left mine on)

Juice of choice (enough to cover apples--I used Acai Pomegranate since it was all I had on hand)

1/4 c. maple syrup (I used sugar free)

Cinnamon/all spice to taste

1/2 t. vanilla

1/4 c. sugar

1/8 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. Corn starch (I used flour since it was all I had)

In a small crock pot I combined everything except the corn starch and cooked on high until apples were soft. I then added the corn starch to thicken the juice and let it cook for about 20 minutes.

It was super easy to make and was a nice change to my normal desserts. Plus it was a little chilly out last night and it made my house smell like fall!

I'm "COOKED"

I just spent the last 5 hours in the kitchen! Phew! Spaghetti sauce and waffles from scratch! Such a random combination of separate goodness! :)

A good friend of my husbands had given us a huge box of very large tomatoes that had some bad spots in them. On top of the tomatoes I had bought, and the ones Great Grandpa sent home with us. Here I am knee deep in tomatoes and you can only make so much salsa. I always remember my grandma making spaghetti sauce once a year with all her over ripe tomatoes.

So my niece and I piled into the kitchen and started the task of peeling/seeding tomatoes. This was a tedious process, after the hour of doing so we finally had the +/- 12 cups of tomatoes ready to go! By this point we were up to our elbows in tomato juice and my poor counter top was dripping with overflow juices. We need not mention my sink. I was PRAYING it would not clog my drain or garbage disposal. I tried to get it all in that trash but sometimes it's not possible.

Fresh Tomato Spaghetti Sauce

2 T. olive oil

2 Large onions chopped (I used 4 baseball sized onions)

1 bell pepper, chopped 

2-3 cloves of garlic (I used 3T. of the diced garlic from the deli section)

12 cups fresh tomatoes, peeled and seeded

3 - 6oz cans tomato paste (I used the Italian variety)

3 T. sugar

1 T. salt (to taste)

1 t. pepper

3 T oregano

3 Bay leaves

Heat olive oil at the bottom of a large pot, add onions, bell pepper and garlic. Cook until tender and onions are clear. Reduce heat to simmer and add all other ingredients one at a time stirring well after each ingredient. Cook for 1 hour - 1.5 hour.

I'm hoping this sauce freezes well since we just had spaghetti on Friday. However, I couldn't make it the first time and not eat some of it! So the niece and I had bowls of left over spaghetti with fresh sauce on top! It was a little chunkier than I prefer so I will probably blend it a bit after thawing it.

Then the waffle obsession of my children! Since last Monday I have made 6 batches of waffles. 3 of which were eaten last week and 3 made today. I do believe with my kids turning into waffles I should invest in a larger, more efficient waffle iron, because really making waffles for the last 3.5 hours makes me want to go buy Eggos from the store. & let's face it, my kids wouldn't care. But what mom can do that when your 3 1/2 year old tells you "mom, you make the best waffles EVER!" So here is my infamous waffle recipe.

Mom's Best Waffles EVER

2 eggs

2 c. flour (i use 1 c. all-purpose and 1 c. whole wheat)

1 3/4 c. skim milk

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1 T. sugar

4 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

1/2 t. vanilla extract

Cinnamon to taste (I just dump, no measuring here!)

Preheat waffle iron. Wisk eggs well in large mixing bowl until fluffy. Beat in remaining ingredients just until smooth. (I use my wisk on the hand mixer for this step or it could take me all day when making more than 1 batch) Spray waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray (I use Pam and just a light dusting will do). Start by filling the center and use a rubber spatula to spread to the sides (fill in with extra batter if needed). Cook until a golden brown.

Make extra and cool completely and freeze! Or throw them in the fridge. Either way throw them in the toaster to reheat! My kids love these with peanut butter and sugar free syrup!

Don't forget to enjoy your Spaghetti Waffles! :)

Walden Farms

I've recently became obsessed with the Walden Farms line. 0 calorie indulgences! What more can a dieter ask for? My favorite has been a variation of strawberry short cake.

Strawberry ShortFake

1/8 Sugar Free Angel Food Cake

2-3 Sliced Strawberries

2 T. Fat Free Cool-Whip (I use the Kroger brand)

2 T. Walden Farms Chocolate Syrup

Pile the ingredients to your liking and enjoy! A yummy dessert for right around 100 calories!

Another one of my newly found favorites is a Banana Split.

Make-Shift Banana Split

1 Banana (sliced, whole, halfed, your choice)

2-6 T. Fat Free Cool-Whip

Walden Farms Chocolate Syrup

Walden Farms Caramel Syrup

1 T. Strawberries sliced, mashed and sprinkled with Splenda

Pile on top of your banana in the banana split fashion and throw into the freezer until the banana is frozen. OR  you can eat it without the banana being frozen but being that it's so hot this summer I love the frozen aspect of it!

Again, less than 100 calories!

Who is Amy?

The name is obvious, but if anyone didn't catch it, I'm Amy. An Arizona native transplanted to Kansas. I'm goofy and I love to laugh. I'm on a quest to decorate our first home on mostly garage sale finds, while trying to make everything mesh together perfectly. I'm an aspiring DIY'er, and I believe a can of spray paint is the key. I'm currently on a weight loss journey and I've been at it for a long time since my motivation fizzles out every few weeks. When starting I had a total of 60lbs that I wanted to lose and I am down to needing to lose 36. I'm just learning the ropes of running and enjoying the sense of pride when I finish a run and manage to self-motivate and dig deeper and go further than I thought I could.

So onto the 3 people in my life that make me who I am: my 2 children and my husband! Dalton, my oldest, and she is just so matter of fact about everything. Then there's Zein, who is a complete carbon copy of his daddy, from the way he looks to the way he acts. Their dad, Josh, is an amazing man who works very hard for his family. His job requires a lot of travel, the kids and I miss his very much while he's gone and cherish the little time we get with him at home.

So there's a little bit of Amy for you!