Clean Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I mentioned in a previous post that I had made my sister, Caryn's, pumpkin cookies.  I have learned a lot about what clean eating really is since then.  Today I decided to experiment with her recipe again and see how clean I could really make it.  I found a very helpful conversion table at http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/how-to-convert-recipes/.  I have loved that website.  She has some great recipes too.  I used the table to convert the butter and I found out that you only use 1/2 the amount of sugar when you are substituting it for honey or maple syrup.  I did a dozen without chocolate chips for me and the rest with them for my family.

The Best Clean Pumpkin (Chocolate Chip) Cookies
1/4 c applesauce
2 TBSP oil
3/4 c honey
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 c quick oats
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c chocolate chips

Combine ingredients and bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.  Do not over bake, cookies should be soft.  Makes 36 cookies (about 60 calories per cookie, without chocolate).

This is what I have to deal with

I am an RN and I work at an Endoscopy Center where we do colonoscopies and EGDs. Our doctors have their offices in the same building. About twice a week we have drug reps bring lunch to our office. This is an example. Usually I would have eaten the sandwich, salad, and a cookie. I'm not a big chip fan. I brought my cooler, of course and I steered clear of the break room. Kudos to me;)

Hi, my name's Lisa and I'm addicted to sugar.

I know that this is my third post for the day, but since this is more of a journal than anything, why not?!?  Yesterday I took my daughter to Brigham City, Utah for a gymnastic competition.  While she watched videos, I had a lot of time to think.  I have been back and forth on the whole "treat" debacle.  Should I or shouldn't I have an occasional sweet?  When I began this a month ago, I didn't have any processed sugar until book club last week and a half of a pumpkin muffin at work the week before that.  I haven't had anything sweet, but dark chocolate since.  On our way home, I stopped at a bakery and purchased clean bread for me and cinnamon rolls for my family (I have to give in to them once and a while or else there will be mutiny).  I'm not a big fan of pastries, so I haven't been tempted by these.  The bakery and lunch on Friday got me thinking: I have done so well not treating myself with sweets, should I just call it quits all together.  I explained it to my husband that I am like a recovering alcoholic, but instead of alcohol, I'm addicted to sugar.  Why even have a little bit?  In December I have a wedding shower and a wedding that I will be attending.  I will be in Las Vegas for 4 days for the shower and Arizona for 5 days for the wedding and to visit my little sister.  These events will be laden with processed sugar and flour "anti-foods."  I have decided that I will not eat any sweets at these events. Better yet, no sugar for the rest of the year.  Maybe I'll let myself have some Dove Dark Chocolate on Christmas.  I'm going to do it!!! I am not afraid! Well, maybe a little bit.

I read a post on the Eat Clean Diet facebook page that said that treats don't have to be food.  This weekend I treated myself to some colorful skinny jeans because I lost 10 pounds.  One pair was a little on the tighter side (none of them gave me much wiggle room), but they are so cute that they are inspiring me to kick it into gear.  My next treat will be to get a new dress for the wedding (I haven't bought a new dress in 2 or 3 years) and maybe some shoes.  These might be more expensive than a piece of cake, but so much more worth it!

Week 6: Prepping for the Half Marathon!!!

I don't have any new goals for this week.  This Saturday I will be running in a half marathon, so I'm not going to do anything too strenuous after Wednesday, especially lower body related.  My 3 mile run on Saturday was just the perfect distance for my sore leg.  Because of this, I'm going to keep my runs at 3 miles this week.  I'm going to continue with my strength training regimen and just add in short runs as I see fit.  As for my eating, I will continue with the "Cooler 2" meal plan.  I'm not going to add any new foods this week.

Fears

According to Tosca Reno, I need to dig deep and excavate the reason I fear success. So I made a list of my fears. Just be warned: I'm a little bit whiny in this post!

1. I fear that if I lose the weight that I want to lose, I will just gain it back again. About 2 years ago I lost 13 pounds. I worked with a personal trainer and I ate the meals that she assigned me. I kept the weight off for a few months, but it slowly crept back this past year and a half. At the time, I thought that I would continue eating like that forever, but after awhile I picked up my old habits and I gained all of it back. This past year I went from drinking 1 can of diet soda to 44 ounces. I also was eating up to 3 sweets per day. I'm afraid that I will resume those old habits.

2. I'm afraid that I will have to buy all new clothes. I have some items of clothes that I really like, that I don't want to get rid of. Some of my jeans were a little bit pricey and they are super cute. I know this is really a dumb fear, but I don't enjoy clothes shopping. I'm a little bit embarrassed to admit this fear, but I'm just being honest.

3. I'm afraid of being offensive when I don't eat the food others have prepared. I have 3 sisters and in the past much of our socializing has involved food. In the next 2 months I will be spending 3 weekends at 2 of my sisters homes and I have anxiety about taking my own food. I also spend a lot of time with my sister that lives 3 miles away from me and we eat at her house often. I don't want to be rude when they prepare food that I won't be eating.

4. I'm afraid of being embarrassed. I have found that when I tell people about eating clean, most people are critical of it. The only exception so far has been my hair dresser. She even liked The Eat Clean Diet on Facebook. I get so tired of being told "oh yeah, you can't eat that."

On Friday, I went to lunch with some of my extended family. I told them to choose where they wanted to go. As I was leaving work, my friend said something about how she thought that I wasn't able to eat out because she thought I was on a diet. I told her that I'm choosing not to eat out as much as I used to, but still it was frustrating.

My family decided on a bagel place. Usually I get the lunch special- bagel sandwich, soup or salad, and a diet coke. This time I got just the bagel sandwich. It was still a "treat" though because the sandwich had chipotle mayo and bacon on it. When we sat down I was asked why I didn't get the salad, which is doused in mayo and has cornbread and cheese in it. Then I only at my sandwich with half of the bagel. Someone else snickered and asked what I was saving the other half for (which I threw away). Then after the meal, the 4 of them, shared 2 cookies. I'm happy to say that I didn't even have a taste.

When I left, instead of being proud of myself for not consuming probably 1000 extra calories, I felt totally dejected. This is my family, people that should be supporting me not criticizing me. Also, I have lost 10 pounds. I'm very excited about this, but not one of them seemed to notice. Like I said, I felt totally dejected and also irritated that they don't get it.

5. This fear is also referred to by one of my sisters as FOMO or fear of missing out. I have already turned down a few lunch invites, dessert at Chilis for a friend's birthday, and going out to dinner with friends. I'm afraid that if I continue to turn down invites, it will ruin some of these invitations. I just don't want to waste my "treats" every week on eating mediocre food at a chain restaurant.

6. The last fear I will address is that I'm afraid of explaining this lifestyle to people. As I mentioned in the past, when I do tell people about eating clean, their responses have been critical. I don't feel like I should have to defend myself. It's my life, my body and the choices I'm making are only going to effect me positively. I also don't want to be mocked, so I haven't told anyone (except for my blog and my clean eating buddy, Priscilla) that I have decided that I can get a bikini body. I'm afraid that my friends and family will be critical of that goal.

So, I have dug deep and excavated my fears, now I just need to overcome these fears so that I can reach my goals.

The End of Month 1

So I officially started My Year of Healthy Eating on September 24.  That is when I attempted the LA Weight Loss route.  I have learned so much in the past month and I really feel a sense of accomplishment.  I have been eating clean for 3 weeks now.  I feel so much more energy and I love that my clothes are feeling loose and comfy.  I am also starting to look forward to my strength training days.  My inner thigh has been bothering me after my long runs, so I'm excited to complete my 1/2 marathon and Ragnar in November and then I can concentrate more on strength training.

I found 2 really fun things this week.  First, I have been experimenting with Tabata training a little for awhile now, but I haven't loved it.  However, this week I found out how much fun YouTube is.  I found so many fun, 4-minute Tabata videos.  The ones I have done so far have been challenging and I am sore in places I haven't been sore in for a long time!  Success!  I tend to come up with excuses to get out of doing my lower body strength training days, but these videos really worked my calves, and glutes.  OUCH!  My favorite videos are by genghisgirl or BexLife.com, look for 4 Minute Tabata Workouts.  Thursday was my "rest" day on my strength training schedule and since I had ran 10 miles on Wednesday, I did 4 Tabata sessions with 5-10 minute rest breaks on the elliptical, just to shake things up. It was lots of fun!!!  Today I worked abs, back and chest with a 30 min interval warmup on the elliptical.

This week I felt a lot less tempted to eat sweets.  I don't know what changed, but it was just easier to eat clean.  I bought a bigger cooler on Wednesday for the days that I work.  My struggle is that when we are super busy at work it's really difficult for me to get my mid-morning and mid-afternoon meals. I have been drinking a protein shake for these times, but sometimes I need a carb too. I'm going to have to do some more research on a drinkable lp/cc quickie meal.  Overall, being prepared is proving to be the key to success.

This week, I also continued to cook clean meals. I did make some family favorites like fajitas, but I just made sure it was clean. I still have some unclean food in my pantry that I am slowly weeding out. Since I don't live alone, I won't be able to toss out all unclean foods,  I just won't eat them. I would get in lots of trouble if I threw out Mike's smarties and cookies. All in all, I feel pretty good about what all of us are eating. My family is being very supportive, which makes it so much easier and enjoyable.

I had to look over my October goals to make sure that I accomplished everything I wanted to this month. I actually met all my goals except I haven't tried out kefir yet.  I still have 5 days though, so it will get done!  I still have my ups and downs. I actually felt pretty good about all that I've done, until today. I still struggle with wanting a flat belly- TODAY!!!  I have to keep reminding myself that THIS IS A PROCESS!  In all the success stories I have read, it took the person at least a year and some even took 3 years, to get a bikini body.  I just need to be patient and not give up!!!

Week 5: Praying for some self control

As I sit here in our office, I'm looking out the window at this cloudy, cold day and I'm thinking "maybe this is it, maybe this weather is what is wearing me down."  It has been everything I can do not to go grab the bag of M&Ms out of my child's hand and just dump them down my throat.  I want some comfort food.  I want pasta or potatoes smothered in creamy sauce.  And then maybe some pie.  Seriously, this has been a difficult week and I just need some self control and some inspiration to get me through this next week.  I asked my husband if he wanted me to make cookies and he said "you don't want to fall of the wagon now, do you?"  Do I?  NO!!! NO WAY!!!  I'm committed to this for the entire year. I am getting the feeling that my family is in need of a clean diet break though, so this week I'm going to only try out two clean meals and then make my family dinners that they like, but that I don't.  This way I won't be tempted to eat it.

This week's goals:

Exercise:  I'm a little stressed because the Ragnar course has changed for the third time this month.  I originally had about 25 miles, then it went up to 26.2, but the course stayed the same.  Now it is 26.1 miles, but the course totally changed.  My first run was originally all down hill, now its rollers.  I'm not excited about this.  Because of this change I'm going to run 8-10 miles on Monday, Wednesday, and then Thursday or Friday (depending on if I do a local run on Thursday).  As for strength training, I'm going to continue with the muscle makeover I addressed in my last post.  I probably will only lift 3-4 days per week, so I will just pick up the schedule where I left off, instead of assigning day 1 to Monday, day 2 to Tuesday, etc.  This way I will have some flexibility, but still continue with getting a full body workout.  On the days that I run and strength train, I will only lift.  But on the days that I don't run, I will add in interval training.  The weather for the week looks terrible, so I might be doing my elliptical some days too.

My husband cleaned up, organized, and restructured our weight room last week.  He uses it too, so it wasn't just for my benefit, but I really appreciated it.  At this time I am going to continue to use our home gym until I decide to either join the gym or hire a personal trainer.  I have done enough classes at the gym and I even had a trainer a few years ago, so I know proper form.  I just need to really concentrate when I lift and maintain that form.

Food:  I'm going to stick with it!!!  I will continue to eat clean, to get a lean protein and complex carb with each meal.  Eat when I'm hungry, not bored.  And not eat sweets, only an occasional treat (no more than 2 per week).  I also need to make a date with my husband and go out to eat at our favorite local Mexican food joint  (as a treat).  I'm also going to add in more leafy greens to my diet.  Someone suggested adding spinach to my smoothies, which I used to do, but have dropped the ball somewhere along the way.  I also need to focus on getting more veggies period.  I naturally gravitate to fruits and starchy carbs, so I need to replace these with veggies.

My extra goal for the week: Hang in there and don't give up!

Week 4 Recap: Ups and Downs

This week was full of ups and downs.  Ups because I made really great choices.  I never did it that brownie that I didn't even have.  My mother in law brought my kids my new favorite Halloween candy-M&M candy corn and I haven't eaten one.  I kept my food clean all week, HOORAY!  Tonight I have book club, so I am going to have a "treat" and eat a piece of cake.  I also started Tosca's Muscle Makeover (more on this later) and I did strength training 4 days this week on top of running 36 miles this week.  And my clothes are all feeling looser!!! I have drastically increased my water intake and I only had crystal light one day, but I haven't had pop for 10 days.

The downs: lots and lots of temptations everywhere I go, my friends and family not getting what this diet is, negative self talk and criticizing, and I had a bit of a cold.  I was very irritable on Wednesday and Thursday.  I think that I was sick and not handling stress very well.  I do think that my healthy living helped me to kick the bug faster than my friends that were sick (that's an up).  I also did not incorporate kale into my diet, I totally forgot. I guess that the biggest down was that I just wanted to quit, but I am so glad that I didn't!!!

I really get frustrated because I want to tell everyone about how awesome eating clean is, but when I tell people they just look at me like I'm a complete idiot.  I have one friend that is constantly saying "oh, you probably can't eat that."  That is totally not what it is about, it's about what I CAN eat.  I am rarely hungry, and when I am then I eat something. No matter when I last ate.  I just make sure that I have a lean protein and a carb.  It's really not that difficult.  Actually, I'm ready for lunch so I'm off to eat a sweet potato, chicken, and salad.  I prepared it last night, so I will have it ready in about 5 minutes.  I love being prepared. It has made this so much easier.

Tosca Reno's "Your Best Body Now Muscle Makeover:"
Day 1: Calves, shoulders, upper back and abdominals
Day 2: Biceps and triceps
Day 3: Rest Day
Day 4: Back and Chest
Day 5: Glutes, abs, and shoulders
Day 6: Rest Day
Day 7: Upper and lower legs plus bonus round of glutes and abs

I want a brownie!!!

Today was the hardest day yet in this process. I got up and did a great bicep/tricep workout. Then I worked for 8 hours. That was not so great. I really wanted a diet coke. I really wanted the giant cookies and chips that a drug rep brought. It was the 4th busy, crazy, stressful day at work (I did have 2 days off in between). I didn't eat any of that junk food though.

After work, I ran 6 miles of hills, wind, and cold. When I got home I took a bath and made dinner. It was a clean recipe of chicken curry. I didn't think my family would like it so I didn't make extra, thinking there would be plenty of leftovers for lunch tomorrow. While I cooked dinner I packed my cooler. Then the kids and my husband came home. They loved the dinner and ate everything. So here I am- exhausted, grumpy , and wanting a brownie at 9 pm and I still have to make me a lunch. Instead of eating a brownie, which my husband brought to my attention that we don't even have, I cooked up salmon and sliced veggies for a wrap for lunch tomorrow. 

Instead of giving up, I guess I can be proud of the choices that I made today. The brownie really wouldn't have been worth the guilt. I just needed to vent a little.  I'm so thankful for my extremely supportive husband. He really gets what I'm doing, even though the majority of my friends and family don't. It's a process;)

I could be a boy scout!!!

I'm so prepared!!!

It's 9 pm and I just packed my cooler for tomorrow and planned most of my meals for the week.  It really is a relief to know that all my groceries for the week are purchased and I'm ready for whatever the week brings. 

Question: Is it still considered clean if my kids picked all of the veggies out of their dinner?  Seriously!!!!

Week 4: Cleaning up my act!!!

This week I really want to focus on cleaning up my food.  I purchased The Best of Clean Eating 2 cookbook and I have set a goal to try 4 recipes out of it a week.  I already made an oatmeal recipe for breakfast and tonight we had stir fry.  I warned my husband on Saturday about what I would be doing.  I told him that he and the kids don't have to eat the "clean" meals, but I won't be cooking 2 dinners.  So if they don't like what I make, they are on their own to find themselves dinner.  My kids really liked the stir fry I made tonight, my 12 year old even went back for seconds.  I gave them the choice of rice (yes, it was white) or quinoa.  I had them try the quinoa first.  They both really liked it.  My 9 year old even wanted to eat it plain.

My daughter helping me make clean zucchini muffins

I'm also going to follow Tosca's advice and plan out my meals in advance.  I already sat down and planned out my dinners for the week,  three of which will be clean.  On one of the days that I'm working, my husband will make the one meal he knows how to make: a roast in the crockpot and mashed potatoes.  The roast will be ok for me to eat too, with a salad.  For breakfast, I'll just stick with my smoothies or oatmeal and eggs.  Lunch will consist of wraps and sandwiches.  I will cook up a bit of chicken and boil some eggs for my sandwiches and wraps.  I work everyday but Monday this week so I will have to be organized and make sure that I have all my food planned out the night before.  I would really like to find some clean lunch meat for sandwiches . . .

For exercise I'm going to commit Tuesdays and Thursdays to strength training.  I just started that section in Tosca's book, so I will follow her instructions (I haven't read far enough to have my plan yet).  I have been running everyday lately and it is taking its toll.  I think that taking these 2 days off of running and switching it to strength training will really benefit me.

As for my superfoods I'm going to try out kale this week.  I'm still debating if I want to try adding flaxseed and wheat germ back into my oatmeal.  I have used both of these ingredients in other recipes, so I'm continuing to use them in small quantities.

Just a thought: I have struggled with a sweet tooth all of my life.  Especially chocolate.  These past few weeks, since I started eating clean, the only sweets I have had have been ones that I have made "cleanly."  Today I snuck some chocolate chips when I was making zucchini muffins as a "treat" not a "cheat."  I have found that when I am really wanting something sweet, I will eat one of Tosca's snack ideas: 1/2 c berries, 1/2 c greek yogurt, 3 TBSP granola.  I love it.  It really takes the edge off of my craving.  I'm actually going to make me some right now!!!

Week 3: How did I do?

Remember-THIS IS A PROCESS!!!!  Maybe I need to add that this is a journey too.  I had some ups and downs this week.  Some unexpected road blocks.  But in the end, I feel that I made the best of bad situations.  I have learned a lot about myself and how to get past these road blocks.

How did I do with my goals?

Protein:  I tracked my protein Sunday thru Wednesday and was averaging around 90 grams of protein per day.  I did order some vanilla flavored protein powder, which I have not received yet.  I also bought some pre-made protein shakes that I use at work for my mid-morning snack.  I was struggling with finding the time to eat a healthy mid-morning snack at work, since 10-11 am is the busiest time. The protein shakes are easy to pop open and drink between cases.

Water:  I have divided my water up into my 6 meals.  I just make sure that I get 16 oz before breakfast and then between meals.  This also helps with tracking my water consumption.  I was able to get 3 liters all but one day this week (I was 8 ounces short that day).  I also have been slowly eliminating soda and the Crystal Light energy.  I have decided that diet soda will be a "treat" once in a while, not a daily occurrence.

Super foods:  Wow!!!  My digestive system was not a fan of flax seed and wheat germ.  I added a tsp of each to my oatmeal for 3 days and it was not pleasant.  I'm not even sure where to go with these 2 items.  I will re-evaluate them later.  I did find a yummy black bean quinoa burger recipe that I will definitely make again.  I still prefer Edamame with sea salt.

Exercise: I included 2 days of 20 of strength training. It was a good start back. I love feeling a little sore the next day and knowing that I worked those muscles. I ran 37 miles this week. I'm having some weird thigh pain so I have been cutting back.

What I have learned/gained this week: This was an exciting week because I received the books that I had ordered.  I started filling in my Eat-Clean Diet Companion and reading Your Best Body Now.  Both by Tosca Reno, yes I'm becoming quite the fan.  I then realized that I skipped over her book about clean eating, so I ordered that.  Every time I sit down to read Your Best Body Now, I have an aha moment.  As I was reading about Tosca's journey I kept contrasting my life to her and thinking how I was never thin, that I never would have been rated a "10" body.  Then when she was telling about how she started doing competitions, I thought that I could never do that.  This is the story of my messed up psyche.  Why am I so critical with myself?  Why would I ever think that I couldn't do something.  I don't ever see myself wearing a bikini in public, but I need to change my thinking to "I CAN get a bikini body!!!"  Why not?  Why not be positive???  Today when I put on my scrubs for work I noticed that the pants that once were very form fitting, were now baggy.  I was really excited!!!  These are the small changes that I need to celebrate.  Once again, this is a process.  It might take me the entire year, it might take two, but I will get a bikini body!!!

Another aha moment came when I read about how Tosca jump-started her program.  She writes "I began acting as though my mind and body were already where I wanted them to be.  I pushed intimidation and self-consciousness aside, and ate and exercised like I was already in top condition . . ."  I have struggled with  intimidation and self-consciousness these past few weeks.  None of my family, friends or co-workers that I associate with on a daily basis are anywhere near living the clean-eating way.  When I talk to them about it, they just look at me like I'm nuts.  Before I started, I was going to lunch with my sister, my husband or friends almost everyday.  Now, I don't want to eat out.  It's easier to eat my own food.  Food that I know is not processed or unhealthy.  I also feel like I have to make excuses for my new lifestyle.  I need to stop caring about what other people think and take ownership in my healthy new way of life.

Week 3: This is a process!!!

Last week I was getting dressed and I felt very discouraged with what my body looks like.  It was then that I decided that this is a process. I'm not going to see instant results because I'm making little changes, not crash dieting. That's why I'm committing to a year. I thought about going back to week 1 and editing it, since my plans have changed. But I decided that because this is a process, I'm allowing myself to alter it as I go.  It will be through research and experimenting that I will figure this thing out.

Goals:
This week I'm focusing on drinking more water and eating the right amount of protein. I'm also going to add in a new power food or two each week. Last week I tried out quinoa and edamame.  This week I'm adding flaxseed and wheat germ. I'm adding these as small amounts at a time so as not to overwhelm my system. This morning I added 1 tsp of flaxseed and wheat germ to my oatmeal. I'm still looking for recipes for edamame and quinoa.  I ate the edamame with just sea salt and the quinoa with honey, banana, and walnuts.

I currently drink an average of 72-84 oz of water per day. I'm going to push this up to 3 liters. I will be tracking this daily.

I have been researching how much protein I need daily. It appears that a recreational athlete (which I believe myself to be) I need 0.5-0.75 grams pet lb per day. So that means I need 65-100 grams per day. I will track my protein consumption this week and adjust accordingly. I'm debating whether or not I want or need to add a protein powder.

Exercise: I ran 48 miles last week, so obviously I've got the cardio down. What about strength training? Well, what about it?!?! Ok, so I need to add it.  I'm going to add 2 days of strength training this week, 20 minutes for each session.

Rosemary Lemon Roasted Turkey and Vegetables

I tweaked one of my niece's, Valerie Kukahiko, reicpes.

Whole Turkey Breast, remove as much fat and skin as possible
2-3 medium red potatoes, diced into about 1" pieces
1/2 onion, sliced
1 lemon, sliced

Marinade:
5 TBSP EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
4 cloves minced garlic
2 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp kosher salt 1/2 tsp pepper

I made the marinade and then tossed my veggies (the recipe called for fresh green beans, but I forgot to add them) in it.  Then I poured them into my crockpot, leaving some of the marinade out for the turkey.  I placed the turkey on top and used my hands to rub the rest of the marinade into the top of the turkey.  I also stuffed some of the veggies and marinade into the cavity of the turkey.  I set the crockpot for high and let it cook for 4 hours.  I didn't like how it looked after 4 hours, so I transferred it to the oven at 450 degrees for about 30 minutes.  It was delicious.  Even my 12 and 9 year old loved it!!!

For more of Valerie's recipes, check out kukikookbook.blogspot.com

October Goals

I have become a Tosco Reno fan!!!  A friend lent me her book, "Just the Rules!" and I loved it.  I thought, this is really something that I can do.  I loved her and the book so much that I ordered her book, "Your Best Body Now: Look and Feel Fabulous the Eat-Clean Way" and "The Eat Clean Diet Companion."  I also ordered "The Best of Clean Eating 2." Reno stated that the key to success is setting goals.

My weekly goals
I will be setting these on a weekly basis, of course.  These goals I will put in my weekly blogs.  Since this is a process (my new motto), I will be figuring out these goals as I go.  Sometimes they will be exercise related and sometimes they will be diet related and other times they might include both.  For instance, for the week of October 8, I am focusing on my water and protein intake.

My monthly goals 
By this time next month
1) I will have added 2 strength training sessions of at least 20 minutes in length per week.
2) I will have added these 5 super foods: quinoa, kale, flaxseed, kefir, and chia seeds.
3) I will read labels and only buy/consume food with less than 5 ingredients.
4) I will cut out diet soda and Crystal Light Energy

Long Term Goals
By this time next year
1) I will have stuck with this program for one year!!!

Week 2: I'm just trying to figure this thing out!!!

Monday: My husband and I decided to take advantage of the kids being in school and run 9 miles. I stashed a water bottle for us at the 1/2 way point thinking that we wouldn't need any other fuel. Everything was going great, we were staying under 9 min/mile (it was mostly downhill) until we hit 6 miles. It was then that we had to climb a hill. It wasn't a huge hill and it was about 1/4 mile distance. But I hit a wall. I was hungry, thirsty, hot and just grumpy. My husband, being the fittest person I know was chipper. This made me even grumpier and I was not pleasant for the next 3 miles. What did I learn: fuel, fuel, fuel. I need to make sure that I get a gel or sports drink of about 100 calories every 45 minutes.
Tuesday: I'm finding that it's harder to get my protein and fat compared to my carbs. Today I made a conscience effort to divide each of my meals into the 50/25/25 and it worked so much better. I'm eating some rice with my dinner in hopes that I'll have a little more energy for my 12 mile run tomorrow morning.
Wednesday: I felt fabulous on my run!!! I went with my friend, Priscilla, and we talked a lot about clean eating so I'm going to reaerch that some more for next week. I went to lunch with my sister and husband at our favorite Mexican food place. I got my usual but I stayed out of the chip bowl. Little steps:).   I also went grocery shopping and I concentrated on whole grain and fruits and veggies.
Thursday:  Need a quick meal idea? Just google it!!!  I wanted to make tilipia, but I don't make fish very often. I googled it and then I was able to come up with a simple dinner in minutes.  I just baked the tilipia, sweet potatoes, and zucchini tossed in a French vinaigrette dressing. It was delicious!  I have had a terrible craving for chocolate today. I have been dreaming of what kind of chocolate treat I'll eat on Sunday.
Friday: Today I ate very clean until dinner. I went for an 8 mile run after work, about 3:30 pm. I ran about 5 miles of rolling hills and then 3 miles downhill. I felt so good!  Then I decided to get pizza for the family. I got my self a thin crust vegetarian. It had a white sauce and tons of cheese. When will I learn??? Now I'm bloated and gassy and I feel miserable. I just need to limit my dairy to Greek yogurt only. I think I would have done better with a marinara sauce and took off most of the cheese.
Saturday: I'm still feeling the effects of that pizza. I felt sluggish on my run today. For lunch, my sister and niece wanted to go to chilis. I got the Santa fe chicken salad without the tortilla chips and dressing on the side. It was really good. What I'm most excited about is the pumpkin lasagna a made. I actually didn't eat the noodles and I'll make some changes next time (more mushrooms and zucchini and less onions). I used the rest of the pumpkin to make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I substituted the white flour for wheat and honey for the sugar. My son said they were the best cookies.  They are more like pumpkin bread than cookie,but still super yummy. I'm not quite sure how I feel about the butter. Part of me wants to find a substitute, but the other part of me thinks that once in a while a little bit of butter is a good thing. The recipe called for a 1/2 cup for about 40 cookies,so that's  about 1/2 tsp per cookie.

Here I go

A couple of months ago my friend, Holly, and I were out on a 15 mile run and I was lamenting how frustrated I was with my weight. The thing is, I work out A LOT, but then again I also was eating a lot too. I have a love/ hate relationship with sweets and diet coke.  Love, because they are delicious.  Hate, because of what they do to my waist!!!  My friend gave me this idea of a year of healthy eating. She said that we would probably lose the weight that we wanted and be healthier if we just ate good for a year instead of crash dieting. At the time I was getting ready for a marathon and I just couldn't wrap my head around counting calories or depriving myself at all.  The marathon was September 1, so no more excuses!!!

Since that run, I have been thinking about this dilemma  and contemplating how to best go about a year of healthy living. I have another running buddy, Jacque, who has lost 12# in 5 weeks by doing LA weight loss.  On several of our runs we discussed her success and she inspired me to get off my butt and do it!!! She gave me a copy of her food journal that she uses and I started it on Monday of last week (Sept. 24). The only problem was that by my Wednesday morning run was unable to run farther than 2.5 miles and I spent the next 2 miles trying to put one foot in front of the other. Jacque told me that she had felt like crap the first couple of weeks, but after her body adjusted, her runs became easier.  After the run, I came home and immediately ate a 500 calorie breakfast.  Since then I have been more careful about making sure that I ate all my food and I have felt much better.  I weighed myself yesterday and  I did had lost 2.4 pounds, so I know that I need to stick with this "year of healthy eating," but I'm haven't been entirely convinced that her diet plan was right for me.

This weekend I did some research and I found an article in Runners World about diets for runners. http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-304-310-7771-0,00.html  I thought that it was a great article, so I'm going to try it out this week and see if I feel better on my runs.  My plan for this week is to eat 1200 calories a day. I have a note on my phone where I divided it up and I can log my progress. I will eat 300 calories of starches, 300 of fruit and veggies, 300 of protein, and 300 of fat. For every mile I run I will add 100 calories (50 carbs, 25 protein, and 25 fat).  I'm currently training for a half marathon (November 3) and the Las Vegas Ragnar (November 8-9), so I will be logging some longer runs.  Also, I am allowing myself one free day a week.  Not an all out, whatever I want day, but a day where I can make cookies and eat without writing anything down.  My free day will be Sunday, for a few reasons:  its notoriously my lazy day anyway, I usually do my long runs on Monday, and it will give my something to look forward to during the week.  One of my dear friends, Monica (she's a fitness instructor at Gold's Gym and my inspiration) only eats 2 sweets a week.  I have tried and failed at this.  I just have to have one day that I only eat sweets because if I say 2 sweets a week then it turns into 3, then 4, etc.  I'm still trying to decide if I will get to have sweets on my birthday (which is in July) and on Christmas and Thanksgiving.  If I do, then I will have to forgo Sundays.

And Diet Coke?  That's a thorn in my side.  I really do believe that it is affecting my runs, but I love that stupid addiction.  I have started drinking Crystal Light Energy to help curb the effects of caffeine deprecation, but every now and then I just want a 44 oz Diet Dr. Pepper (I love that even more than Dt. Coke right now).  For now, I'm not going to make any promises.

Why the blog?   A few weeks ago I watched "Julie and Julia" and that's where I got the idea of committing to a year and writing about it.  I have to force myself to write this blog every Sunday, to report in.  Maybe no one but my mom and maybe my sisters will ever read this (my mother will just tell me what grammatical errors I have made), but by putting it out there I'm hoping that it will keep me motivated.  The other inspiration was my friend Priscilla.  She has a blog spot about her experiences going from a non runner to a marathoner.  She is very inspiring.  So I guess that I have a lot of people that have inspired me to start this: Holli, Jacque, Monica, and Priscilla.  Thanks girls:)

Here's a sample of my food journal.  I put it in my Iphone and then I just delete the day's info and start over the next day.  I hate having paper and notebooks sitting out on my counter, so this is what I have found that works for me.  Also, I always have my phone with me.  I have my calorie breakdown also listed above.  I'm aiming for at least 3 veggies a day.  They are not my favorite and I struggle to get them all in a day.

Protein 1/2 (100 calories each)
Veggie 1/2/3 (about 150 calories total)
Fruit 1/2 (about 150 calories total)
starch 1/2  (150 each)
dairy 1 (100 calories)
fat 1/*2/*3 (100 calories *my protein fats: peanut butter and nuts)

Then I track my food:
Breakfast:
Snack:
Lunch:
Snack:
Dinner:
Snack: