Dedication last week lends a nice weight loss...

So, I lost 3 pounds last week...felt awesome! I ate healthy, BUT I worked out. And it paid off. However, this weekend was a BBQ and I came home to a fridge with no food. So, I really haven't eaten right since yesterday.

Time to grab a few things tonight to get me through this week before I move...WOO HOO!

Delicious & Healthy 'Burgers

So, I'm a big burger girl. I don't really like red meat a lot UNLESS it's in a burger. But I can't eat red meat all the time.

As an alternative, we've all had the turkey or chicken burgers. BUT...I took it to the next level this evening. I made a sweet & spicy turkey burger.

Serves 4

1 package 98% fat free ground turkey
1 small can roasted diced green chilis
1/2 cup pineapple chunks
1/4 cup cilantro
4 whole wheat buns

Put chilis, pineapple & cilantro into processor. Pulse to break up pineapple & then blend for 5 seconds.

Put turkey into large mixing bowl & add chili mixture to ground turkey. Knead into meat, but be careful NOT to over-knead. Mixture will be wet, but you need this as turkey dries out.

Form patties. Salt & pepper top side. This S&P'd side should go down first. Then add S&P on the other side once on the gril. Cook on each side for 4-5 mins on grill.

I used Heinz57 as my condiment but you could use a chipotle-lite mayo, mustard or BBQ sauce.

I also made my spiced sweet potato fries as a side. Which is just 1 sweet potato cut into fries. Put into a bowl and then dust with your favorite spices. (I use chili powder, cumin, onion POWDER, garlic POWDER, paprika & ground mustard.) Bake 30-45 mins @ 400 & then turn the broiler on to fully crisp-up the fries.

ENJOY YA'LL!

Motivation

As with most things in life, there has to be some self deprecating thoughts to actually psych yourself out of something. And I believe this is what I did with this little weight loss competition. I really haven't dedicated myself to this as I should have nor as I wanted.

This is pissing me off, and it's my own fault. I read another health & fitness blog where a woman was having the same problem until she signed a contract for herself. She made copies of that contract, posted it around her house and lost the weight she wanted.

Worth a shot...only thing I have to lose are a few sheets of printer paper...and some L-B's.

A Trip to NYC...

I haven't been on to blog for Celery in awhile...but I've been neglecting my own blog more, so I don't feel TOO awful about it.

Last week, I took a 2 1/2 day trip to NYC with my friend, Chip. We threw together our travel plans in 4 days, but I found the spontaneity of it enjoyable and youthful. My biggest fear while in NYC was the food. As we all know, NYC restaurants are some of the best in the world; however, Chip was on his own diet and didn't want to really indulge.

Still, we grabbed a late dinner at an Irish pub after seeing Promises, Promises Tuesday night, which consisted of an overly salty Rueben & fries. And Chip granted me my wish of finally visiting Peanut Butter & Co. in Greenwich Village...with the most delicious PB sandwich I have every had. Also, our last meal in NYC was at the Olive Garden in Times Square. So, when this past Monday hit, I was a little nervous.

What I saw during my weigh-in was even more surprising...I had lost 2 lbs.

I am thinking that all the walking we did each day paired with the healthy snack choices we made each day (nectarines & veggies at the deli up the street), really saved me. I found walking in NYC a lot different than in CHI. I enjoyed it. And we did A LOT of it...at least 5 miles a day.

Glad to see that I had lost something. And with the good feelings from the weigh-in, I ordered a new pair of walking shoes (Reebok Easy Tones) and 2 new pairs of running shoes (Nike LunarGlide & Nike FreeRun). I also ordered some yoga classes for a local studio & am starting tomorrow with my 1st "Intro to Yoga" class.

I'll be up in the *gym* (really yoga studio or outside) working on my fitness!

Another truth....

I have noticed that no matter how hard I try to keep my Facebook friends community from knowing how much weight I've gained or how different my body looks, they can always find out from your pictures?

I am afraid to change the picture on my FB, Twitter, LinkedIN & Blogspot profiles because the one I have up right now, I loev. It's from when I was at my healthiest weight a couple years ago.

Arg...I think I need to chalk up to the truth & change it.

Coming to terms with reality

The reality of my life is....Food has been an ever-present friend. My best friends are spread across IL, MO, WI, AZ & NC. It isn't easy for me to just hop in the car or take a bus to see them throughout the week. Even more difficult is to meet a cool person that you bond with like you do your best girl friends from HS & College.

So, food became a comfort pillow to lie my head. Except, when I started eating, I couldn't stop. It's sad when, instead of calling my friends to discuss a bad day, I would just come home & start noshing.

I need to get more active in things....volunteering, networking, etc. So, I made a decision a couple weeks ago that I was going to try getting back into musical theather, because I truly miss having that musical/creative outlet. I had called to make an audition appointment about a week ago for a community theater in Arlington Heights; however, ALL their audition times had been filled. So, they put me on a wait list in case of a cancellation, which I pretty much came to terms that I wouldn't be auditioning for that theater. And I started looking at other opportunities.

Well, yesterday, I got a phone call from the theater company that there had been a cancellation & I was up for audition tomorrow (today, Tues 6/8) @ 8:10pm. I immediately went into audition mode, picked my song, edited my resume and searched for a musical theater monologue. I'm not good at memorizing lines. But instead of eating all night in stress, I went for a walk, calmed down & rehearsed the song a bit before bed.

I'm just nervous about the audition, because I am quite visibly NOT the body type for stage anymore. And if I want to start performing again, I need to have a better body, endurance & overall health. It's depressing to realize that the weight gain might affect their overall idea of me in consideration for their principal parts.

But I'm hoping getting more involved will bring better mental and physical health benefits to my life.

Battle of the Bloat

Since the holiday weekend's food stuffing competition, I have been feeling bloated beyond belief. I'm pretty sure it's from the fatty & highly preserved (salty) foods as well as lack of water.

Some experts say if you are not hydrated enough, the body retains weight. I recently read an article that if you properly take in 10-12 cups of water a day, you could lose up to 5 lbs that first week of full hydration. Not sure about that....but I'm going to try watering myself like a thirsty little flower.

I need to start taking in more veggies this week to make up for the 2 days this weekend/Monday when my meals were more so based on my favorites vs. meals based on fueling my body. I need to get off my ascot and work out tonight when I'm back from all my work stuff.

The hardest part for me has been the exercise!!!

Happy Memorial Day!

I have to concur with Jenn's post. There is an obscene amount of food over holidays. And when it's a Summer, national holiday such as Memorial Day, the food is too delicious. Brats, hot dogs, burgers, salads, etc.

I definitely tripped up this weekend. Saturday started with a healthier version of orange-blueberry bread, but after 2 1/2 slices, not so healthy. Later that afternoon, I had 1/2 a serving of the Cook Yourself Thin green chile enchiladas that were left with a fresh tomato & avocado salad on top. Not too bad. Dinner, however, wasn't as good as it should have been. Subway (6 in. turkey on wheat) but I got a Cherry Coke (instead of water) and Sunchips (instead of apple slices). NOT SMART! Sunday started off good with Multigrain Cheerios & fresh blueberries but soon got wrapped up in a chicken salad sandwich for lunch and "breakfast for dinner" (pancakes, sausage & eggs). Then topped it off w/ some ice cream while watching movies.

Still after all this, I was down 2 lbs first week. So far so good...just need to stop the madness on the weekends!

Shout out to the troops. May God protect you and bring you home safely!

Easy, Healthy Lunch

During summer, people don't want to be loaded down during the day. Thus, they won't eat heavy lunches. I like salads and wraps, like most people, but today, I wanted something fruity and different.

So, I switched up the game. I made an organic yogurt & fruit parfait.

In a cereal bowl, I combined a pre-packaged Whole Foods' 365 peach (fruit on the bottom) yogurt cup, 1/4 cup fresh blueberries & 2 large strawberries. I then added about a 1/3 cup of Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal & mixed.

Considering I had veggie, protein, dairy & grain for breakfast, this fit in a serving of fruit, grain, protein & dairy. All around a good decision, because I am satisfied but not full.

*FUN FACT: I can sing in 7 languages!*

My Thai Food Catastrophe

Everyone knows I have a problem. I admit it, too.

I'M ADDICTED TO THAI FOOD!

Well, with this whole diet thing, you'd think I would know I can't have Thai takeout. And I do know this; however, after being stuck in the car from 5pm to 7pm to just go 30 miles, I did NOT feel like cooking or eating another salad (which I had for lunch).

So, Thai was the name and regretting it is my game. While I was ordering it, I kept thinking to myself, "This is bad, very bad, very bad. Don't you do it! DON'T YOU DO IT!" And then I ate the whole thing in the course of my watching Dear John.

Geez, this is a broken record. After a long day & lots of traffic, the best thing to relax is Thai food & a girly movie. It's official, I have completely fallen off the wagon. HELP!

This may be a fluke, but....

Did I REALLY lose 2 pounds in 2 days? No freakin' way. I think my scale is playing tricks on me!

Tuesday, Monday's slightly younger sibling

You know, when it's sunny and hot out, I don't really crave a lot of warm, starchy foods. What I want are chilled and refreshing foods. So, for my morning breakfast, I made a smoothie.

Yesterday's grocery shopping weilded an abundance of berries. So, here's the recipe (1 serving)

1 cup low fat content Greek Yogurt
1/3 cup blueberries
1/3 cup strawberries
1/2 cup ice cubes

Throw it all into a blender and enjoy.

My findings/tips:

• Greek yogurt (plain, like I used) is NOT sweet but is high in tangy flavor & protein. Use vanilla greek yogurt or other flavors for more flavor.
• The shake isn't sickenly sweet, even for me, so I would recommend adding more berries or juice.

Straight from the Foodie's mouth

My friends know many different things about me, but one truth runs more clear than the rest. I'm a foodie. I love to cook, eat, entertain, nosh, taste, snack and create. Part of this comes from my family, because all of them are involved with food somehow.

When I was younger, I was active in sports and dance. So, weight was never really a big problem for me. It wasn't until I got into college when things changed a bit. I didn't gain the "Freshmen 15," but over the last two years of school I did. But after a bad break-up with the love of my life, it dropped off. It wasn't until recently that I needed to come to terms with the following things:

1. I wasn't eating proper portions
2. I stopped exercising like I had been a year prior
3. I gained weight through stress eating due to work
4. I was depressed at the size I had become at my own doing

Now, while many people say stress causes them to eat, I just don't know why I had to eat ALL of what I was eating. It was like an internal voice that kept calling out for differing flavors that threw me over the edge of reason. Part of this may be as a compensation of a diet that was a bit too strict about a year and a half ago.

Around this time two years past, I was at my peak health since going to college & not having the activity as I did when I was younger. I made the conscious decision to start working out, got a trainer (which wasn't a good experience) and ate a very strict diet. During this time, I trained with a few friends for a stair climb, but as soon as that puppy was over with, the diet and exercise went out the window. Thus, the weight gain.

Oy to the vey.

This process is going to be a lifestyle change. I know I can do it, but I know what I won't do. I'm not cutting out bread or rice or pasta or cheese. But it's going to be in moderation mixed with voluminous veggies and incredible exercise.

What can you expect from me? Sincere, and slightly brutal, honesty, humor, healthy recipes & dedication. I'm a normal person. There's nothing truly remarkable about me but what I do have is a chance. And I don't want to blow it. I'm ready to change my life and take charge. Hopefully, it'll allow some gifts to come back into my life.

Your Faithful Foodie-

Mer