Hump Day Routine

Now that I am getting back into my normal every-day-routine, I want to start sharing my daily meals and exercise routines with you.

On Monday, I did go back to the gym, but can't say that I ate super clean (covers hand over face). My fiance has friends in from out of the country, so you know what that means.... lots of dinners and what not! I do try and eat as healthy as I can when going out for dinner, but since the summer is over, I will treat myself to that extra piece of bread here and there.

Today I brought an organic banana for breakfast, grilled chicken with quinoa for lunch, and pretzel crisps with hummus for a snack if I get hungry a little later. I have a long day ahead of me, and probably won't be able to eat dinner until around 8:30. My gym routine will consist of boxing tonight, so that is about 60 minutes of HIIT. If you live in New York City, walking everywhere is usually the best option. The boxing gym is about 24 blocks from me, and since the weather is still nice out, I usually like to walk there and back, totaling 48 blocks =).

Since I won't be eating dinner until later, I am just going to make myself 2-3 scrambled egg whites, and a piece of wasa bread with organic peanut butter.

I absolutely HATE eating late at night, and it is so bad for you. That is how you gain weight. You are not giving your body enough time to digest before bed.

Tomorrow I will be going to the gym to do some cardio and weight training. For dinner I will either be making zoodles, or my cheesy zucchini bread.

Over the next couple of months, my main focus will be getting to/sticking to a weight that I feel most comfortable at, and toning up as well.

Getting Back into the Groove

Getting back from a trip at the very end of summer can be pretty rough. I am finally en route to starting my wedding diet, and I could not be happier!

I am cutting down drinking for the next couple of months (not that I drink much to begin with), but I will not be socially drinking as much as I usually do. A glass of wine here and there or a vodka soda here and there will do the trick for me over the next couple of months!

For me, it is not a huge deal to stop drinking. I know it will make a HUGE difference in the way I feel. I am also going to start lowering my carb and sugar intake. I have to sort of ween myself off of the two in order to cut them out completely.

I am still going to be meal prepping for lunch during the week, and cooking dinners instead of ordering in (which my fiance and I have been pretty good at over the last few weeks).

Getting back into my normal gym routine this week, and then the dieting will officially begin! I have also signed up for boxing, so that will help motivate me even more!

Stay tuned....

Zucchini Cheesy "Bread"

I have been wanting to make this zucchini cheesy "bread" that I saw a video of on Facebook for the longest time, and last night I finally made it! It is soooo delicious and very low in carbs....well, because there is no actual bread in the making!

I researched a couple of recipes and took some ingredients from each, and kind of just measured everything out by eye.

The recipe is very simple. Here is what you will need:

• 2-3 zucchini's (depending on how many people you are feeding)
• Garlic powder or freshly chopped garlic
• Grated fresh mozzarella
• Grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1-2 eggs (also depending on how many zucchini's you use... I only used 1 egg)
• Corn starch (to help thicken up your zucchini crust)
• Salt & Pepper
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Chopped Parsley and Italian Breadcrumbs are optional (I did not use either of these, but some recipe's called for it)

Grate your zucchini's into a medium sized mixing bowl. Zucchini contains a lot of water, so you will have to use a cheese cloth or paper towels to squeeze the excess water out. Take your grated zucchini out of your mixing bowl to drain the excess water.

Once you have drained most of the water out, transfer your zucchini back into the mixing bowl. Add your egg(s), garlic powder, salt, pepper, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, about 1/3 cup of the Parmesan, corn starch, and mix together. With the corn starch, I put in a couple of tsps. You will know if you need to add more, because the mixture may start to turn a little watery.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer your zucchini mixture onto the paper, and form your crust in a rectangular shape with a spatula. Bake for 25 minutes.

Once your 25 minutes is up, take your crust out (it should be golden brown by this time). Add more mozzarella on top, red pepper flakes, and parsley (if you would like to add some extra color). Pop it back in the oven for another 8 minutes (or until cheese has melted completely).

You can heat up some marinara sauce for dipping, or whatever your heart desires. I did not dip it in anything and it was still so yummy! You don't even taste the zucchini!

Here is the finished product....

End of Summer Doesn’t Mean End of Diet…

Although it will not start to get cold right away, this weekend closes out summer 2017. Labor day weekend is just a few days away, and I am sure we are all going to be drinking, eating, and celebrating how great this summer was! Hopefully, we will also be celebrating how great we look from working out so hard over these past few months!

Summer is not exactly over for me just yet, so I can’t completely start my strict diet until I get back from Vegas! Once this weekend is over, I will have about a week and a half to detox before my trip. No drinking, and just gym up until the day I leave! I may even try a 3-day juice cleanse right before my trip. Juice cleanses are not a long-term cleanse that you should be consuming in order to lose weight. They contain a lot of sugar, and once you are off the juices, you are more likely to gain weight back much quicker. I have never stuck to a juice cleanse before, but if it is only for a few days, then I think it is much better and efficient than if you were to do it for longer than a week. I could also just stick to my grilled chicken and veggies, but we will see if I am feeling up to it, and I will let you guys know my thoughts on the juice cleanse if I actually do it.

Once I am back from Vegas, I will be drinking A LOT less, and preparing my lunches every week (and hopefully most dinners as well). I have just signed up for a boxing gym, so I will be switching up my workout routines each week.

Boxing is not for everyone, but it is definitely for me! I love HIIT workouts that make you sweat a lot, and feel very accomplished/good. If you are looking to lose weight AND tone up at the same time, then I suggest you look into boxing classes or studios near you. It is well worth the money if you are going to stick to it.

I hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday weekend!

More workouts and wedding diet plans to come throughout the months ahead ;) !!

Wasa Bread

For those of you who do not know what Wasa bread is, I suggest you go check it out if you are looking to add a low-cal/low-carb into your diet.

This bread is perfect for a snack, lunch, and obviously losing weight! I actually was turned onto this bread by my college roommate. When I first tried it, it kind of tasted and felt like I was eating cardboard, but once you dress it up with some turkey and cheese or some peanut butter, you will begin to acquire the taste. I have started bringing Wasa for breakfast with some of my organic pb, and also for lunch with some honey turkey. It is only 40 calories, and 10g of carbs!! You definitely can't beat that!

So if you are looking for healthier alternatives, and want to stick to a healthy diet, then I suggest you try Wasa! There are all different flavors you can choose from as well!

Below is a picture of my lunch from the other day... the pieces are pretty small, so I like to take 3-4 pieces with me just in case I am not super full =)

Best Abdominal Exercises for A Flat Tummy

Abdominal exercises are probably the easiest exercises you can do, where you will see results rather quickly. That is why you don’t have to do them every day. I usually try to work on abdominal's at least 2-3 times a week, for about 10-15 minutes (which is really all you need). When you are doing other exercises, you don’t realize that you’re usually working out your core majority of the time.

Here is a list of the abdominal exercises I like to do at the gym, or even at home…

• Exercise ball crunches (upper abs)
• Front planks
• Bicycle crunches
• Flutter kicks
• Side planks
• Seated medicine ball twists

All of these exercises are great for targeting both upper and lower abdominal.

                                                 

                                              Feel the burn!!!!

How to Accomplish a Smaller Waist

This is what I would like to accomplish within the next couple of months, so I obviously have to write about it as I conduct my research =)

Working on maintaining a smaller waist is not just based off of exercise. You have to really be aware of your daily calorie intake. This means that eating more fruits and veggies, lean meats, and whole grains in smaller portions, is what is going to have to be done in order to maintain that tiny figure. Of course, cardio and weight training should still be included in your diet, but your meals is what will really determine your outcome. This goes hand in hand with my previous posts about portion control and meal prepping during the week.

If you eat more whole grains, you are likely to lose weight faster, compared to eating fruits which contain sugar. In order to maintain a healthy weight loss, losing 1-2 pounds a week is the norm. Losing more weight in a week would be unhealthy, unless you are overweight.

 This is something I have been wanting to accomplish for so long, but I just do not have the will power. I guess now that I have my wedding to motivate me, that makes things a bit easier.

This time, I really have to cut out sugar for a while and actually stick to it. If I do want some sort of after dinner snack, I will keep some fruit in the house, but try not to eat too much of it. Egg whites every morning for breakfast, sometimes with some turkey bacon on the side is what I will have. For lunch, it will be chicken and veggies, and sometimes fish. For dinner, also some sort of chicken or fish dish with veggies.

I will be tracking my progress once I start. It will most likely have to be next week when I have time to go food shopping over the weekend.

Stay tuned…..