Temptation Island

Well, I am in Sin City this weekend and temptation is all around me. I walked into my in laws house to find a fridge full of cookies, chocolate and ice cream. Just great. Needless to say, I had to made a trip to the grocery store for some healthy food. I am trying to be strong and stay away from the cookies, but I must admit I had half of a sugar cookie yesterday that Summer had left laying on the counter. :( I also have been digging the pecans out of the the buttery pecan ice cream. But nuts are okay, right? LOL

Anyways, I'm not sure how good I'm gonna be while I'm here, but I am trying. I went to a Jazzercise class yesterday morning and think I'm gonna go again today, but I might just got for a long walk instead because no one else is up to watch Summer right now. I tried to pack in a good workout for my shoulders and legs before I left, but I am already missing the gym. I feel like I need to go workout, but I don't really have a gym to go to. If they are anything like trying to find a liquor store in Vegas, it may be next to impossible. Last night we drove around for 30 minutes trying to find one. Can you believe that? When we finally did find one, I told the guy I couldn't believe how hard it was to find a liquor store in Vegas. He said most grocery stores sell liquor. We passed a ton of those in our search...if I had only known. I am hoping Merlot is on the list of things I can have on my diet, but I doubt it. At least not the amount I consumed last night while singing karaoke. :) It was fun though and I am hoping all the dancing I was doing while singing burned away a few extra calories. I have heard though that once you start drinking, your body doesn't burn calories the right way or something. Not sure if that is true, but I should probably ask my personal trainer. I could ask her questions all day long, but I don't really want to be a pain so I will try to save them for when I go see her when I get back. I just hope I haven't gained a few pounds by then.

Well, I better get off here and find some sort of way to exercise so I can get on with my day and not feel like a complete slacker. But, isn't that what vacations are for????

My second "counseling" session

I went to talk to another personal trainer today about what I need to do to get ready for the competition. I'm going to have to cut out my new cardio sculpt classes and opt for slower / less intense cardio workout. So, this means "easier" cardio for me. But, along with the easier cardio, come a harder weight routine. I've got to work on my legs and butt, and then do a little more legs and butt, and when I'm done with that MORE LEGS. I also need to work my shoulders and back and I should be good to go. Gotta get my arms to shrink a little too. Overall, she made it sound like I could do good in the competition if I want to. I just need to decide if I really want to. I am thinking yes because I have nothing else stopping me right now. I have plenty of time to dedicate to the exercise portion. I also think I may be able to CAN find the will power to commit to the diet portion. Now where is it hiding at? I better go try to find it and come up with some more ways to keep me motivated.

Fried Chicken

I ended up going to my mom's house for lunch yesterday which was good, but bad. She cooked a good country meal loaded with fat I am sure. I managed to stay away from the macaroni & cheese and cornbread, but I wasn't so great at avoiding the fried chicken and mashed potatoes. She also had Greek spinach and pinto beans which I helped myself to plenty of each. I tried to use those two things as the filler and the "bad" two I ate just enough of to satisfy my taste buds. LOL

Today has not been that bad although after dinner I still felt like I was starving. So I finished off the lowfat cottage cheese in the fridge. I will probably have a protein hot chocolate when I finish this post. Yum. I am at least hoping not to break down and eat a bag of popcorn when I watch a movie with my daughter. I don't know what it is about being on a diet that makes me want to eat more. I guess I just feel like I am depriving myself so therefore my brain will not let my stomach be satisfied with the foods I am supposed to eat. This is the crap I hate the most - feeling like I CAN'T have something to eat...at least something I want. Fight the urge, fight the urge, fight the urge. Maybe if I keep saying it over and over I will win tonight's battle. Maybe not.

Today is a new day!

Let's just say that I had two cheat days this weekend and leave it at that. Of course, I enjoyed every minute of it and don't really regret it one bit. I'm sure I'll be hitting the gym sometime today if not tomorrow. Last night I danced the night away with some friends. It was a lot of fun and the best part is I didn't get too drunk (which unfortunately I have a tendency to do). :)

Today I am going to be super good girl. LOL I really need to go get some breakfast started. I'll probably have the usual around here - 2 eggs and oatmeal. I may even boil the eggs today. That would probably be best because I doubt I really need the yellow part after last night. I'm not really a big fan of boiled eggs. Until last week I don't think I had eaten a boiled egg in probably 15 years or more. Probably more. Wow! The things we will do to achieve our goals.

I have been wavering a little on my goal because the guy that turned me onto the competition has taken some time off from working out. This makes me think he isn't going to do the competition now and he was my inspiration. :( Kind of bummed about this, but what can I do?
I know what I need to do is to go see our friend Matt. He is a personal trainer and I need to take a bikini up there so he can look me over. Holy crap. That so does not sound fun. I just saw a dimple on my butt cheek this morning. It wasn't pretty!

Healthy Cooking

I have been cooking "healthy" since the first of the year. I cook my chicken breasts in a skillet with a little olive oil. I season it with onion powder, garlic powder, seasoned salt, and pepper. Sometimes I may add a little dried minced onion. Then I cook some broccoli seasoned with salt & pepper and maybe a little garlic powder. Or I'll cook baked potatoes which we eat with just salt & pepper (Clint likes ketchup on his). Sometimes I make mashed potatoes with only milk, salt and pepper which are surprisingly good. Even with no butter in them! We might also have a spinach salad with grape tomatoes and carrots sprinkled lightly with homemade italian dressing (1 tbs. for me). Sometimes I also cook green beans and corn or some "noodles" for Summer and Clint. There is one recipe for a yummy veggie which I really like - Greek spinach. I'll share that recipe today in case anyone ever does start reading this blog and cares to have it.

Greek Spinach

1 tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
1 can spinach
1 can diced tomatoes
1 handfull white rice

First heat the olive oil in pot. Add onions and saute for a few minutes until they look cooked (kind of clear instead of white). Then add your spinach, tomatoes & rice. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until rice is done. You can also add salt to your taste if needed.

Like I said this is one of my favorite dishes that my mom used to make growing up. I am sure you could substitute brown rice if you want to be even healthier. Beware the spinach is hot and may need to cool especially if you are serving little ones. Be sure to stir their spinach after a minute or two on the plate as it seems to be well insulated. LOL Enjoy!

I'm rumbly in my tumbly

Or something like that.

I am up early because Summer woke me up to help her pee at 6:30 and then I couldn't go back to sleep. Started thinking about what I was gonna do for working out today. LOL I must be crazy. So here I am at my computer, planning vacations and looking at blogs with a hungry tummy. I guess I should go eat, but I have been cooking breakfast everyday and eating with Clint & Summer which has been nice. I don't want to wake them up, so I guess I'll just piddle with the computer a little longer.

Yesterday was a pretty good day. I ate mostly healthy. Not perfect, but there was no butter or bread. Don't think I wasn't tempted though. When we left the gym, we went to the Arbys drive-thru. Clint told me to order for him so I did. Then I ordered me a sandwich which he told me I wasn't allowed to eat. So I told the lady to scratch my sandwich and ordered Summer one. I was not very happy. I know the sandwich I was gonna order (and almost got away with ordering except for my conscience aka Clint) had bacon, ranch, and cheese on it. All of which I am not allowed to eat. I couldn't bring myself to order anything else or leave anything off. It was all or nothing for me. So I got NOTHING. When we got home, Summer had about half of her sandwich left and she did not want it. I was so tempted to eat the roast beef sandwich, but I resisted. When I walked in the door, I fixed myself some hot chocolate (chocolate protein & water) and quickly gulped it down. Then I fixed a bag of popcorn (94% fat free) which I split into three bowls hoping everyone would do their part and help me eat the bag. They did NOT. Summer and Clint had a few bites of their bowls, but left the majority for me. Oh well. I didn't feel too guilty about it because I drank two bottles of water while eating it (which I paid for all night long).

As for today, not sure what I'll do for exercise today. Maybe a bike ride with Summer or pushing her up and down hills in the stroller. My ankle is still bothering me from when I rolled it Monday before last. I know I am not resting it enough, but I am on the go all day and I just don't sit down for long periods of time unless I am waiting for everyone to wake up in the morning. I think I'd have to take some sedatives to sit down for any length of time during the day. :) I guess I get that from my Granny. Holy crap. That is scary.

Well, I guess I'm gonna sign off. Tonight is my cheat meal. I am thinking Italian. YUM.

Enemy Territory

Last night I crossed over into enemy territory. The evil land of BREAD AND BUTTER. After we hit the gym yesterday afternoon, we went to eat dinner with some friends. Usually I am able to resist the bread, but this is the second time this week we have been to Longhorn and I just couldn’t help myself. I am a little disappointed to have been so weak in front of my friends who know that I am wanting to be in this competition. But, what is done, is done.

I also snuck a caramel filled Hershey Kiss last night. I suck. Oh well, at least it wasn’t two. I don’t even think it was worth it. :(

Oh yeah, Summer finished the can of miniature Oreos yesterday afternoon. All but two little chocolately sides and a few fine crumbs. But, don’t worry, she gave it to me. Thanks Summer! She is not very supportive of the diet. She always wants to share her good stuff with me which is nice in theory, but not very helpful when dieting. I wish she would just share it all with Clint. But, for some reason, I am her favorite.

Other than those minor (LOL) violations, the day was pretty good. I ate some tuna rolls which Clint brought me home (supposedly they were for me) from Sekesui. I didn’t feel too bad about eating them at 9:30, but I probably should’ve. They are pretty healthy except for the fact I am not supposed to eat carbs at night.

I’m sure I will work it off today. I’ve got to teach tonight and then we are going to the Rush so Clint can get his workout in too.

Now, if only I can be a good girl today. Only time will tell….

Getting Fit (whatever that means)

I have been having a hard time committing to my fitness goal. I decided a month or so ago that I wanted to be in a figure competition. I knew it would be lots of work to hit the gym everyday, but I really don't mind at all. The hard part is the DIETING!!! What I mean to say was HARDEST THING I'VE EVER DONE.

The first week wasn't that bad. I ate pretty much perfectly (if there is such a thing) and seemed to be ready to achieve my goals. I had my first cheat day, better yet "meal," and went on my merry way with the dieting. Then I went to Bunco. Bunco was NOT a good thing for my diet. AT ALL. But, I had decided prior to going that I would take that as my cheat day for the week even though it was only Tuesday. I didn't do too horribly bad. That day anyway.

A day or so later I had a complete meltdown. I devoured 1/2 box of chocolate turtles, the rest of the cocoa chex mix, and a few hand full of miniature oreos. All just before bedtime. :( I haven't had that bad of a day since then, but I have been what I would call "cheating" a little. I mean even if you only eat two nacho cheese Doritos, it is still not good. Right?

To make up for it, I have been trying to attend more classes at the gym. Of course I need to be doing that anyway if I am going to be in a bikini in front of a row of judges and other spectators. So to get my body ready for the big day I have started doing some cardio after I do weights. I try to stick to a diet that consists of eggs, oatmeal, whey protein, chicken, fish, veggies, and cottage cheese. I try to only eat red meat twice a week. I try not to eat too many fruits. I don't eat breads. I have recently gotten addicted to trail mix. I don't think it is supposed to be on my diet, but like I said I am having trouble with that. I already am not allowed to eat my yogurt which I was so looking forward too. :(

Anyway, this is me on the start of my journey for the "perfect" body. LOL