Don't Hibernate Because of Weather Change!

Just because the seasons have changed, and the temperature is slowly starting to drop, doesn’t mean go into hibernation and become a couch potato! This is the absolute best time to start losing weight/toning up for the summer! I know, I probably sound crazy talking about next summer when it is months and months away, but the perfect body doesn’t happen overnight!

This is what many of us take for granted. We have to push through the cold fall/winter nights, and get our butts to the gym! If you’re the type of person who has to bring their gym clothes to work in order to make sure you go straight to the gym instead of home, then by all means… DO IT!

Even if you work out 3 times a week, that is better than nothing! Take a class at the gym, or put together a routine like I do! Right now, I’ve been focusing mainly on cardio, but I have noticed that my ass has definitely lost its shape and is looking a bit flat -_____-, so I am going to focus more on my butt and thighs over the next couple of weeks, and then I will switch over to arms. The key to my workout, is to really be strict with what I am eating. Today, I brought shrimp stir fry for lunch. No rice or any sort of high carbs in the stir fry, just shrimp and veggies! I also used a low-sodium teriyaki sauce to sauté with.

Football season is also upon us, so on Sunday’s, I will make those my cheat days =). Starting off with one cheat day a week, and then once I get used to it, I will try for every other week. I am sure you guys already have it down that I am a HUUUGEE sweets person. I found these Lara Bar Bites at the CVS by my office, to keep in my desk for when I’m craving M&Ms. They are double chocolate brownie, and are made with dates, almonds, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, coconut flour, and sea salt! One of these little brownie bites will satisfy my sweet tooth, and then I don’t feel as guilty.

If you are a big snacker like myself, start buying healthier snacks to keep at your desk and in your home. Hummus and pita chips or veggies is also a great snack to keep in the fridge at work. Just don’t take advantage and overindulge, or else you will defeat the whole purpose of healthy snacking.

Sweet Cravings

Since I LOOOOOOVE sweets so much, it is extremely difficult for me to cut them out of my wedding diet. I have tried substituting water for sweets, or buying healthier options (which are not as good) such as flourless brownies or having a piece of dark chocolate, etc.

It is a good thing that I have 6 months to go, but obviously I would like to start seeing results by January/February of next year. I also started buying Del Monte fruit cups to substitute for that cookie or Ben and Jerry’s I may be craving at the moment. Believe it or not, it actually has started to work! I always pour out the liquid from the juice cup and just eat the fruit because I don’t want that extra added sugar. They are only 100 cals, but you have to be sure that you are not eating these every day because the sugar content is a bit high. I guess the sugar content is lower if you pour out the liquid, but not by much. This is also one less thing I want to be hooked on to satisfy my sweet tooth.

Eating fruits later in the day/night that are high in sugar, are definitely not recommended if you are trying to lose weight.

Another way I try to curb my sweet cravings is to make sure I have a filling dinner that will leave me with absolutely NO ROOM for dessert. I know over the next couple of weeks when I start getting super super serious, it will be a no-brainer, but for right now it is KILLING ME!!!

For the most part, I am pretty good with not over-indulging when I do eat dessert.

How are some ways you control your cravings when you are on a diet?

Balsamic Chicken With Chopped Brussel Sprouts

I have been trying to find healthier chicken alternatives to make for my lunches during the week because I am just getting so sick of grilled chicken and quinoa!

I decided to research balsamic chicken recipe's, so that my chicken has a bit more flavor than plain old grilled chicken that is seasoned with some salt, pepper, and garlic.

What I found was a very simple, easy, AND healthy recipe for baked balsamic chicken and veggies. Now, you can bake everything on the same pan, lined with parchment paper, OR you can bake your veggies and chicken separately. Before I left for my boxing class last night, I marinated my chicken, so that I could just pop it in the oven when I got home.

The marinade is very simple. All you will need is 1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup of avocado oil (or regular olive oil), salt, pepper, freshly minced garlic (or garlic powder). You can also add parsley or thyme to give it more of an earthy taste. Whisk all of your ingredients together, and pour about 1/3-1/2 of the marinade into a zip lock bag with your chicken breasts. I let it sit in the fridge for about 2 hours.

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Chop up your veggies (in my case, I only used brussel sprouts). You can add carrots, broccoli, tomatoes, cauliflower, etc.! I placed my chopped brussel sprouts into a small glass pan, seasoned with some salt and pepper, and added the remaining marinade to them, and popped them in the oven to start cooking. I then transferred my marinated chicken into a separate glass pan, and placed in the oven. I like to use thin cut chicken breasts because they take less time to cook. I baked the chicken for about 30 minutes, flipping it every 10-15 minutes. I like my brussel sprouts a bit more well done, so I decided to leave them in for 45 minutes. The marinade did not make them crispy, but they still came out the way I would've wanted them to!

This is a very light and enjoyable meal. I recommend making this during the week if you don't have enough time to prepare dinner, or your lunch for the week.

Enjoy!

Falling Back into Your Routine

Man does it feel good to be back in my normal, every day, routine! I have officially started my wedding diet, so hoping to see results sooner rather than later! Right now is the part where I am slowly trying to ween myself off of sweets, alcohol, and bread. I am not going to cut carbs out completely until a few weeks before my wedding, so I do have some time!

This week's gym routine has consisted of more cardio than weight training due to the fact that I want to start feeling like the old me. Once I start feeling good about myself again, I will start to add more weight training to my every day routine. I am not overweight or anything like that, but I am used to seeing myself look a bit thinner, and I know that will be the only way for me to feel comfortable and feel extremely happy/sexy in my own skin. Some people like to call me crazy, but I just call it motivation and wanting to feel great about myself every day!

I have meal prepped for the week, and stopped eating after 9pm. Dinners (for the most part) have also been home cooked. I am definitely in that phase where I am getting more strict on myself again about what I am eating. Socially drinking will have to come to an end soon as well. As I have said in previous posts, I do not drink much, but when I do drink, I hate the way I feel the next day, and it also does NOT help with weight loss. If I do go out, and I feel like having a glass of wine, I will have one glass of wine and that will be my limit. Everything should be done at your own pace when it comes to dieting. Some people get crazy into it and show results rather quickly, while others may take some time because it is not something that comes easy for them.

We all have goals in life, and right now, this is mine. I am motivated and determined to look a way that I have envisioned in my mind for a while, and will not stop until I have reached that goal! I hope that you too will stay motivated when it comes to accomplishing your weight loss goals, or any goals you have in mind for that matter!

Gym Routine:

• Treadmill sprints at 9.5 for 20-30 second intervals for about 20 minutes
• Jogging on an 8.5 incline at 3.8-4.0
• Walking on an incline at 8.0-9.0
• StairMaster or Elliptical for 15 minutes
• Backward lunges
• Jumping squats
• Free weights
• Abs with exercise ball
• Burpies 

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....