The final 10.

I have decided.  The final 10 lbs is the worst and will be the hardest!!!!  This is the time to remember to keep going, don't eat that huge awesome sour dough baguette tonight (even though it looks so tasty and you'd love to put a bunch of garlic and cheese on it and throw it in the broiler) and remember the hard work it took to get here - and how amazing I feel.  I definitely enjoy myself, don't get me wrong - but there is a time when the going gets tough that the tough get going and it's time to work hard. 

A++++

I had a perfect diet day yesterday...couldn't get much better than my Thursday.  No late night snacking, no fro-yo and 5 small meals a day with 4 servings of veggies and 2 huge bottles of water (72 ounces!)

Thursday 2/21 =
5:30 AM = Trayning
8:15 AM = 3 egg whites with spinach
11:00 AM = Turkey jerkey (4 pieces - all natural, low sodium)
1:30 PM = 1 cup quinoa (spinach, zucchini, bell pepper with hot sauce) and 1 cup spinach / zucchini soup
6:00 PM = 45 minute sauna session
8:00 PM = 8 pieces sashimi (light soy sauce and only a little bit)

THAT'S IT!  so proud of myself :)

Pre cooking for the week - veggie style!

It's been a bit of a hectic week.  Since getting into my 'goal weight' last Wednesday I've been moving and shaking to Palm Springs and back - definitely enjoying a bit.  I've come to realize that pre-cooking is the number one way to success and always making sure you have food available to eat every couple hours is important.  I decided to cook for the week and came up with some great recipes to share below.  I also roasted a whole head of cauliflower which is simple and good for snacking.  on a pan just cut the cauliflower so it's in little flowerlets, drizzle with olive oil, a bit of salt and pepper and throw in the oven at 350.  You can see when it's browned on top.  When done, pull out and package up to bring to work for an afternoon veggie fix!

Spinach and Zucchini Soup

What you need:
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
big pinch of salt
2 1/2 cups potatoes (2 medium) cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 1/2 cups zucchini (2 medium), loosely chopped
4 cups vegetable stock
4 cups fresh spinach leaves, loosely packed
1 cup cilantro, loosely chopped
one lemon

I did a variation of this soup adding celery and carrots although I do not recommend.  I often feel celery and carrots to over power the flavor and turn everything into a celery and carrot soup.  I also was not generous with the salt as I am trying to be as low sodium as possible to not retain water for weigh ins so I did not add salt (but I would recommend as the soup could be a bit bland).

 First in a large stock pot I added the carrot, celery, onion mixture with olive oil and cooked until the onions were a bit translucent.  I then added the zucchini and potatoes (although my potatoes were already cooked) and LOW SODIUM vegetable broth.  I brought this to a pretty good boil for about 7-10 minutes.  Once cooked, I threw a bag of spinach leaves in the soup and mixed until wilted (which only takes a minute).  With my handy IMMERSION BLENDER (WHICH I TOTALLY RECOMMEND) I mixed it all up.  Notice - this soup is pretty veggie forward.  I'm into that sort of thing because I am trying to eat 5 servings of veggies a day but you'll want to add salt and negate the carrots and celery if you make on your own.  I drizzled the top with a bit of olive oil.  Also, I used the quinoa from the rice cooker with the soup and it was actually awesome....

Jen + Parker's AMAZING quinoa recipe!!

1 1/2 cups of organic WHITE quinoa (you can get RED but I don't like as much as it tastes a bit gritty)
1 can Cajun black beans (Trader Joes are awesome)
1 jar fire roasted yellow and red bell peppers (again, Trader Joes although you can go fresh if time allows)
1/2 bag of spinach
1 can green chilis (Traders....)
3 small zucchinis

I cook my quinoa in a rice cooker (this time cooking the quinoa with vegetable broth instead of water).  The rice cooker makes it very easy and cooks perfectly every time.  Once cooked I throw in a large pan with all the stuff above.  I usually use only 2/3'rd the can of cajun beans and 1/2 the jar of bell peppers as well as 1/3rd the can of the green chilies as they're a bit spicy!  I cook the spinach separately as well as the zucchini and add to the skillet after.  I cook the quinoa for about 15 minutes constantly stirring around.  This recipe will make a LOT but I eat this throughout the week as it's the best snack.  Also I add hot sauce (Tapatillo, Chalula, Mucho Aloha....it's the best on the quinoa!)

UPDATE on Goal wEEEEEK....

So I made my goal.  Back in the day (7 months ago when I started on this venture), Tray told me "man, the 130's are going to look so good on you"....me, because I was in my largest weight at the time and tired and bloated about 90% of the day thought "You HAVE to be kidding me...130's?  What are you smoking?" but low and behold --- hard work and dedication paid off.

This brings me to a business venture....

Is there anyway you can "rent" designer jeans because my new black Paige denims are too big now haha

Goal wEEEEEK....

So this week is going to be an interesting one.  Since I've been in a silly plateau not losing much since my birthday (a couple lbs) we've decided that this week is the week to get to that next level.  In order to do this I need to drop those pesky 2 lbs that have been annoyingly hanging on to my mid-section.  This is going to take serious will power because I have a MILLION things planned in terms of dinners and events.  It's hard enough when you're eating what you want and can control your meals...every two hours, small meals, planned out...but when you go to your sister's house for dinner on Monday, your boyfriend's uncle's 60th at Ballpark Pizza on Wednesday, your mom's birthday at Boiling Crab on Thursday and Palm Springs for the weekend how do you swing not eating salt and getting your work outs in?  I'll tell you one thing that will happen..morning work outs!  I'll be at the gym w a long sleeve and a sweatshirt getting to my end goal by Friday because I know I can and I love a good challenge :) 

Happy 5k's?

Whoa whoa whoooooaaa....what a weekend!  THE COLOR RUN was by far one of the most fun 'fitness' events you can be a part of.  It made me so happy to see a large group (10,000 people!) gather to not only have a good time but to burn some calories and encourage fitness as well.  I have been gearing up for this event for some time and just after the first of the year Tray and I have started to increase my running.  I learned that I run stiff.  I don't pick up my feet off the ground and - what do you know, you're actually supposed to lean forward while running and there is a correct form!?  In any event, this Color Run was a perfect way to work toward a goal of running a 5K and to keep a slow and steady pace.

The best thing about this event was that my awesome sisters joined in the fun times and came to LA with me to run it!  It made the event one of the best sister bonding times we've had in awhile.  Even my sister Lauren who has had two stomach surgeries (babies) and 3 knee surgeries was able to run the whole time and we were SO PROUD!  Also - my great friend Zoe came to join in the fun too and was an honorary sister for the day!  Whoever does the marketing for the Color Run is awesome because all the swag is retro in style and so awesome.  We got hoodies. hats, socks and a free t-shirt (with the sign up) to commemorate the event.  I love my retro hoodie with the colored hood!

The next local Color Run is in Irvine in May.  I totally recommend this event to anyone (any shape, any size, kids, adults...etc.) as it's an event that you can walk or run.   This event is focused less on speed and more on crazy color fun with friends and family (and in my case - BOTH!).  You run through zones where each kilometer of the event is associated with a designated color (yellow, orange, pink, blue...etc.) 

My next step will be the Disney 1/2 Marathon in September with my sister Tiana.  This event made me realize I can do it and I look forward to it!  I did the Disney 1/2 in 2009 when I was in the best shape of my life (aside from right now which trumps that) but running through Disney in September (13.1 miles) will truly be a sign of my fitness being back on track.

Whoa January!

Crazy January....let's keep it up!! 30 work outs in 31 days....how many can I do in 28 days of February!?!?