30 Day Shred: Day 1

I have been thinking about starting 30 Day Shred again. I just have to finish it. I have tried to do it before and I made it a few days here and a few days there. Heck, I have never even made it past level 1. This time I am determined to make it happen. I plan on doing level one Monday-Saturday with a rest day on Sunday. That is 6 days. Then Monday-Thursday will complete level one. Friday will be level 2 with Saturday and Sunday being rest days. Level 2 will continue Monday-Sat with Sunday being another rest day. That is 7 days on level 2. Monday-Wednesday will complete level 2. Thursday-Saturday on level 3 with another rest day on Sunday. Monday-Wednesday on level 3 with a rest day on Thursday and Friday. Due to my community college graduation on May 8. That is 6 days on level 3. Saturday-Tuesday will complete my 30 Day Shred. Day one has been completed. Tomorrow I will measure and weigh myself so I know exactly where I am starting from. I got this!

Green Smoothies?!?! Really?!?!

 I never understood this fascination with green smoothies or green juices. I would always think to myself, "I would never want to eat kale so why would I ever want to drink it?" They just look unappetizing and the thought of it made me want to gag. I would just imagine the smell of brussel sprouts or some other vegetable that I don't like or have not tried. This would cause me to have to keep myself from vomiting profusely.

I happened on a show called Fat, Sick, and Nearly dead. I was captivated. Although, I would never be able to drink all my meals. I love food way too much. It got me thinking that maybe it would not be so bad until I remembered that it would mean drinking vegetables. Then I came across this recipe for Kale, Blueberry, and Almond Milk Smoothie and a light bulb went off. I thought that this might work because it is not all leafy greens and my boyfriend loves all things vegetable so I figured we would try it. Yuck! It was not that good I did have to modify the recipe and with a few modifications I made it drinkable. Although I did add too much lemon so next time I will have to remember less is more. I call it the Blue-Green Smoothie.

Blue-Green Smoothie

Makes two servings. 205 Calories per serving.

• 1 1/2 c. rough chopped kale
• 1 c. unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 c. frozen blueberries
• 1/4 c. frozen mango chunks
• 2 TBS. chia seeds
• 1/4 lemon with peel on

Combine ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. 

Chocolate PB&J Protien Shake

This is similar to what it looked like.

The protein shake I whipped up this morning was fantastic. It was a different take on my normal protein shake, but I realized after I started blending my shake that there were no more bananas left in my house. Panic set in and I imagined drinking a chalky mess and that just was not going to fly. I scanned the fridge and came across grapes. A light bulb went off and I thought "I eat grape jelly with peanut butter so it could work." It tasted fantastic.

The picture is similar to the one I whipped up, just imagine small pieces of red grape peel in it as well.  Really I did not take a picture of it because I was in a hurry and wasn't sure if it would really taste that great. I know it sounds super gross and at first the thought of having to chew the peels was unsettling. Fortunately the shake was thick enough you don't even notice the pieces of peel. Without further ado, here is the recipe as promised.

Chocolate PB&J Protein Shake

Makes 1 Serving. Approximately 250 calories

• 1 Scoop of Chocolate Whey Protein Powder
• 1 Tablespoon of PB2 (powdered peanut butter)
• 1 Cup of Blue Diamond Unsweetened Almond Milk Original
• 26 Red Grapes
• Approximately 5 Ice Cubes (more or less depending on desired thickness)

Throw ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth.

Breakfast Regrets Turned Around By Dinner

This morning I opened the fridge to make breakfast and the first thing I see is leftover Papa Johns. Score! I heat up the last two pieces of the large All Meats pizza and think nothing of it. That is until I went to track it on MyFitnessPal. 740 calories!!! Really?!?!?! In two pieces of pizza. I was floored! Instantly regret set in, then I started freaking out about the fact that I just ate HALF of my daily calories in the first meal of the day. I felt like I had to go crazy and watch every single calorie. It was totally overwhelming and this is something that would have thrown me into a downward spiral of regret which would have ended with me throwing everything out the window and just giving up. Not anymore. The more I thought about it the more I realized that there was still silver lining in every dark cloud.

Silver Linings I Found:

• It was the last two pieces of pizza. I can't eat it if I don't have it.
• One misstep is no reason to give up.
• Tomorrow is a new day!

These silver linings that I was able to find shows the growth I have experienced with the mental aspects of changing my lifestyle. I really have Fitness Ridge to thanks for that. The week I spent there was amazing and I learned so much about myself as well as ways to combat my negative self talk. This is totally a non scale victory for me. Not only did I get back on track, but it was accomplished in the same day. That is a total win! I made very healthy choices for dinner. I made sauteed mushrooms with grapeseed oil, and steamed asparagus with 1 tsp of butter. The main course was a baked, panko crusted, stuffed pork chops. The pork chop was so tasty although it was slightly unhealthy that's no big deal. The whole dinner was under 300 calories so it was still a win. I was able to get over my bad food choice from breakfast and had a renewed sense of accomplishment by dinner. 

I Give Up!

APRIL FOOLS!!!! Me give up? Really? It is actually the opposite I am more determined than ever. I found my fitbit one this afternoon and there is something about that device that keeps me accountable to myself. It makes me want to do better and keep doing better. I plan on starting tomorrow since my fitbit will be charged. My short term plan is to just track everything I consume. Everything. My goal is ten days consecutively and I don't plan on watching my calories as much as I plan to track everything. I will also be starting Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred again. This time I really want to complete all 30 Days. I can so do this. I also need to purchase another scale so I can track my progress by weight and I will be taking measurements. I will not fear the scale. It does not control me. I control it and only I can change the number on the scale! I can and will do it!

Spring Break

I made it to spring break in one peace. My half term class is now over so I will have Tuesday and Thursday to get to the gym. Although knowing me and midterms coming up it won't happen until probably April. Why do I always put everything off? Well I'm off to do more studying.

Facing the Music (or rather the Scale)

I know, I know. I feel off the face of the Earth again. But as I mentioned I will be focusing on my studies since I will be graduating in May and I really want to keep my GPA high for scholarship potential. I was so afraid of the scale that I actually threw mine out. I know some people feel free without the scale, but I have had so much anxiety from not knowing my weight. If I don't know it I just automatically assume the worst and then go directly to self-demotivating/binge on bad food mode. I gained it all back so what is another package of chips ahoy, or girl scout cookies at this point. I need to get a better handle on my pity me just eat everything mood. In reality, it does nothing but make me feel even worse because now I have actually ate everything. Literally.

I have been sick for about two weeks now and I finally decided to go to the Doctor. There I have to face my now arch-nemesis because they ALWAYS make you step on the scale. I closed my eyes. I didn't want to look. Finally, once back in the exam room I had to know so I asked the nurse who was entering my information. What the hell was I afraid of this whole time? So I gained half a pound! Since January! I even had not been consistently going to the gym, just not using the elevators on campus. Which is not fun when you have a class on the fourth floor! I got this! I just need to maintain, or not stress, because I also stress eat. Lucky me. Well, I will update again in a couple of weeks as midterms are just around the corner.

Feelings from the 10 Pound Challenge

Studio 5's 10 pound challenge ends in a few days and all the excitement that I felt in the beginning is now completely gone. I have not stepped on a scale since I gained those two pounds in the second week of January. I am disappointed in myself for not sticking with it. I was on such a rush after coming back from the Fitness Ridge and I felt unstoppable. Life sure showed me. I am still weary of scales and have not stepped on one since. I guess I just feel like if I do step on one and I gained then I failed and this will never work. Its great how that happens huh? Well, I am just focusing on getting through this last semester at Salt Lake Community College. One big push, then I have the summer to focus and have more time getting my act together and eating the way I think I should.