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Sunday, January 31, 2010

The Best Blueberry Pancakes



Kristy made me the best blueberry pancakes I've ever had. The best part is they're healthy. I thought that it would be nice to post a few of my favorite recipes that we come across from time to time.






Ingredients:
2 cups frozen wild blueberries
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup Fage 0% Yogurt (Greek)
1 cup King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt.

Directions:
Combine the blueberries, water, and sugar in a saucepan and cook over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring often, until the blueberries break apart. (This will server as the syrup)

Beat together the cottage cheese, yogurt, eggs, and lemon juice. Mix the baking soda, flour, and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the dairy and mix just enough to blend.

Heat skillet over medium-low heat. Coat with a nonstick spray and add batter in large spoonfuls (about 1/4 cup). Flip when the tops begin to bubble, 3 to 5 minutes, and cook the second side until browned. Serve with the warm compote (blueberry mixture)

Makes 4 servings

Nutritional information:
310 calories
8g fat
3.5g saturated)
500 mg sodium
47g carbs
20g protein
6g fiber

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Spin Class From Hell

OMG!!! That spin class whipped my butt big time. It was 60 minutes of pure torture. For those of you who have not had the pleasure to participate in a spin class before, It starts out with a five minute warm up and then you go all out full force for the next 50 minutes. Several times through out the work out, you are instructed to turn the resistance up to 95% and stand up while you ride. At this rate, you are simulating going up hill or a freaking mountain.

For several minutes, I was able to keep up with the rest of the class, but my stamina did not last for long. I was forced to sit on my seat and just peddle my heart out. Several times through out the workout, I was tempted to quit and walk out of the room. I really felt like I was way out of my league, but when I looked down at my watch, I realized I only had 15 more minutes to go. I was determined not to quit. 15 minutes? I can do anything for 15 minutes. I just did everything I could to keep up. I was drenched in sweat and breathing very hard, but the minutes went by one by one. Then came the cool down. THANK GOD!!!!

I did it. My first spin class and I made it all the way through. You can't imagine how happy I was. I am looking forward to the next class.

On The Scale

Today's weight was 226.5. I had a feeling it wasn't going to be a good week for me. I had sporadic workouts and after 3 weeks of great weigh ins, I knew it was going to slow down eventually. Still a pound lost is a pound in the right direction. That's a grand total of 32.3 pounds. I just have to keep focused and my eye on the prize. I have only a little over 5 months before the triathlon; a long way to go in a very short time.

This morning, I am going to go to my first spin class. I hear it's pretty tough and I am a little intimidated by it, but this week has been filled with many firsts. Why not one more?

28 Laps

Who would have thought that a Friday night would be a popular night at the gym. We planned our swimming around the fact that hardly anyone would be there. I guess it's safe to say that we're not the only ones without much of a night life.

Anyway, it wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be. To my surprise, I wasn't as big a spectacle as I thought I would be; nobody seemed to care that there was an overweight, 45 year old woman in a swimsuit splashing around in the pool.

Kristy, I started off by walking a few laps while Deena dove right in to a full freestyle swim. As I said yesterday, I haven't really swam in several years so just walking the first few laps had my breathing a bit labored. After about 5 minutes or so, we started swimming our laps. Though I couldn't do a single lap without stopping for a second to catch my breath, I was able to complete 28 laps within 45 minutes.

By the time I got home that evening, I could barely move my arms and I was so exhausted I had to go directly to bed. I never slept so well in my entire life.

Friday, January 29, 2010

In To The Deep End

Well, tonight's the big night. To start preparing for the swimming portion of the upcoming triathlon, I am going swimming, in public, in a swim suit, for the first time in about 20 years or longer.

Kristy and I joined LA Fitness this week so we could work out together with our friends. I already have a gym membership at work, but I really wanted to get Kristy to start going to the gym with me. Now, instead of going out, we are going to the gym.

Acting as my swim coach, Kristy will be teaching me the fine art of swimming laps. One of my co-workers informed me that 400 meters (the distance of the swim portion of the triathlon), is equivalent to 28 laps in the pool. Ouch! I don't think I've ever done more than 2 consecutive laps before. This is really going to hurt.

To be honest, I am not as worried about the swimming as I am about the swim suit. The pool is in the very front of the gym and is surrounded by glass. Not only is it visible to the people in the gym, but people driving by can see me as well. My fat legs, belly and ass will all be hanging out there for the entire world to see. What the hell was I thinking?

Wish me luck, I'll give a full report of my humiliation tomorrow after weigh in.

By the way, if any of my co-workers or my employers are reading this, I am writing this during my lunch. :-)

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Yeah Baby!!!!!

I got on the scale today and I weighed in at 227.5. That's 16 pounds in 3 weeks!!!!

If I had to point out one thing that I think contributed the most to my weight loss this week would be keeping my food journal. I have been told probably a thousand times that if I kept a journal I would loose more weight. Well, I guess it took some time for that to really kick in, but it did work.

In my opinion, keeping a food journal is something that should be taught at a younger age. Heck, they will teach you to take care of an engine in school, why not teach the kids to treat there bodies like an engine. If you put a ton of cheeseburgers in your gas tank, your engine is going to quit. Same holds true for your body and heart. I'm just sorry I waited until I was 45 to get it through my thick head.

I can only imagine the amount of calories, fat and sodium I was putting in my body on a daily basis. No wonder I'm a short fat girl.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Eye Opener

Well, I had my first test yesterday and didn't do very well. Our friend Sally came over for dinner and to watch the playoffs. We started the evening with a couple of beers, Miller Lite for Kristy and I. For dinner, we made Cilantro-Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa, tomato-lentil cous cous, a mixed green salad and dinner rolls. Writing it all down like this seems like a lot, but at the time it did not. On my salad, I add very small amounts of blue cheese, sunflower seeds and cran raisins. I also had two dinner rolls with a small amount of margarine. Then for desert, we had 1 cup low fat ice cream.

All of that, plus the rest of my food intake for the day took me to a total intake of 2215 calories. That's 727 calories over what I should be taking in. That's half of the calories I usually eat in one day.

It goes to show you, if you want to loose weight, you really have to pay attention to everything you put in your mouth. I would have been perfectly satisfied yesterday without the beer, rolls and salad toppings. Everything I ate yesterday was due to not paying attention and falling back into the same old bad habits. I was enjoying good company and conversation while mindlessly eating at the table.

Next time, when I'm finished with my meal, I will get up and clear my plate from the table. Maybe that will help.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Drum Roll Please!!!!!!


Lost 5.5 lbs this week!!!! That brings a total weight loss of 12 . 4 lbs in the last two weeks and 27.20 overall.

I did learn something this week. Yesterday, I had a really busy day and did not take the time to eat what I should have. I had my normal breakfast, but I did not have any snacks in the morning or afternoon, nor did I have much of a lunch (salad only). By the time I got home I was ravenous. I went straight for the refrigerator. Kristy told me to get away from the fridge and we went for a walk. We had a nice steamed shrimp and baked fries dinner, but by bed time. I was hungry again. I had plenty of calories left to eat so I had a double serving of low fat ice cream and a piece of veggie cake. None of it nutritious in any way.

After all was said and done, I still didn't go over my calories; however, I did recognize the tendency to really fall back into some really bad habits. Left unchecked, I really could have blown everything I worked so hard to achieve this week.

Moral of the story, I need to pay better attention through the day to make sure I am eating enough.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Remebering Mom

19 years ago today at the age of 48, I lost my mother, Gwen to a heart attack. Living with diabetes and being heavy smoker, she had been in poor health for many years. Not to mention her terrible eating habits. She wasn't obease but until the last years of her life she did struggle with her weight.

Then, almost three years ago, I lost my father to a heart attack too and it appeared that I was walking in their footsteps unless I made some drastic changes in my life.

After years of half hartedly trying to loose weight, on my last birthday, I came to the realization that I was only a few years away of being the same age my mother was when she died. I guess you can say that's when the panic finally set in.

So hear I am, still a short fat girl, but with a triathlon only 142 days away.

Today's workout was for you mom.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Sleeping In

The alarm went off at it's usual time this morning; as usual, I didn't want to get up and go to the gym. I woke up and started slowly moving around. My excuse for today was I was going to be too sore to work out this morning since I had such a grueling workout yesterday. I told Kristy I was not going to the gym today and she re-set the clock for 6:00 and around 6:30 I rolled my butt out of the bed and headed down stairs.

When I got down stairs, it was the usual routine; pet the pups, head to the coffee maker and then booted up the laptop. Before I took my first sip, I decided to hop on the scale for a mid week weigh in. To my surprise, I had lost another two pounds since my weigh in on Saturday.

Needless to say, I immediately regretted not going to the gym this morning. I really wasn't that sore after all. So, I went upstairs and packed my workout bag and decided to go to the gym after work. I have a meeting with the doctors tonight which will probably make me miss my muscle works class, but nothings stopping me from jumping on the elliptical trainer.

One more day of motivation. The fight starts again tomorrow.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Cardio Kick Boxing

After a two week hiatus, I started back with the cardio kick boxing class today. It was like starting from the begining again and by the end of the class, I could barely lift my legs to walk out the door.

If it weren't for my friend Betsy being there, I think I would have given up half way through the class. For me, the hardest part was the warm down. They make you lay flat on a on a mat on a cold, hard concrete floor and start stretching. For some reason, I am unable to press my back fully flat which made it practically impossible for me to do some of the stretches. I don't know if it is a weight thing or a back thing. I looked around and didn't see any other people having any problem, but there weren't any fat people there either. I guess only time will tell. As they say fake it until you make it.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Nothing More Motivating


Nothing can motivate you more to loose weight than going clothes shopping.
To begin with, the fat girl or "women's" department is usually on the basement or ground floor nestled between the children's department and the maternity department.
After picking out something to try on from the meager selections, the next stop is the dressing room. For some reason, I look much better in my own mirrors at home than I do in a fitting room. It didn't matter what I put on, I looked awful in everything I tried on. I ended up only buying a couple of items to get me by for work and walked out of the store vowing to stay on my diet and drop this weight I promised myself I would do. I can't wait to shop on the main floor of Macy's

Saturday, January 9, 2010

The Results Are In

I stepped on the scale this morning and it read 237.1. That is a lost of 6.9 pounds this week!!!!

I did several things this week that I would credit towards my weight loss.
  • Wrote everything down - no matter what it was; what went in my mouth, was written on paper. I calculated all my calories, fat, fiber, carbs protein, and sodium.
  • Did not drink any soda this week. That was extremely difficult for me. I can't remember the day that I went without drinking at least one Diet Coke
  • Did not drink any alcohol. I was very proud of myself for that accomplishment. Went to Deena's house to watch Alabama v Texas championship football game. First time I watched a game without drinking at least one beer. Amazingly enough, I was ok. I could have been due to the fact that Georgia wasn't playing and there was no stress involved.
  • Water!!!! - That is the only liquid other than coffee that I drank this week.
  • Worked out - Though I only got three days in this week, they were all good. The weather has been extremely cold; I haven't even been able to walk the dogs. They aren't very happy with me by the way.

I guess the best thing I did this week was to pay attention to everything I ate. I was surprised to find that some of the foods that I thought were fairly healthy, we actually very unhealthy.

Some of the improvements I need to make are to eat more fiber, less carbs, more protein, and way less sodium.

Wish me luck!!!

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

I Know I Need To Do This.

Well I did get up and get to the gym this morning, but not without trying to talk myself out of it again. I don't know what my problem is. I know that I need to do this if I want to do a triathlon. I know that I need to do this if I want to loose weight, I know I need to do this to get healthy. I know I need to do this to stay alive. What is it then? Why can't I just shut up and get my lazy butt out of the bed. I really don't think this has anything to do with willpower. I think its more of a mental disorder of some sort.

Anyway, enough beating myself up. I did I get up and go to the gym and had a fairly good workout. It did seem a bit harder today than it did yesterday. I didn't get to bed last night to almost midnight. I am going to try to get to bed a little earlier tonight and get a better night sleep.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Hearing Voices

The alarm went off this morning at 5:00 AM. As usual, I ignored the alarm and waited for Kristy to hit the snooze. Kristy then reminded me that I wanted to get up and go to the gym. For the next 5 minutes I just kept saying to myself that I didn’t get enough sleep and I can just go tomorrow. Then this little voice spoke to me “tomorrow never comes Lisa” I swear, my eyes popped open and I dragged my butt out of bed, got dressed and headed out into the bitter cold morning of 18 degrees. I arrived at the gym at 5:30 AM, spent 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer and was back home by 6:30 AM.

Now lets see if I can do it tonmorrow.

Monday, January 4, 2010

What Santa Brought Me



What an awesome sports watch. I use the word watch sparingly, since the actual watch function is on another screen and is so small, I can't see it without my glasses. What this watch does offer is a wireless heart rate monitor, GPS, calories burned, pace, and distance. I can use it for walking, running, cycling, and multi sports such as a triathlon. I've walked several different routes and differences and then compared the routes with Google Maps and the distances were right on. I love this thing.

Back In The Saddle Again

Well, I totally blew it over the holidays. Not only did I blow it, I gained 8 pounds!!! Like I always say, if your going to do it, you better do it right!

Now that the holidays are over, and the new year is here, it's time for a fresh start. This past weekend, I offically registered for My First Triathlon at Lake Lanier Islands on Saturday, June 5, 2009. Me along with some great friends are making a commitment to do this. I have to say that they are in much better shape than I am, but that isn't going to stop me.

Keep an eye on my website, ShortFatGirl.com to track my progress.