My First "Plateau"

So I know it's been a while since my last post, but I've been really busy because of the holidays and coming back home again. I stepped on the scale and it hasn't moved at all since my last "ten pound celebration". Could be a mixture of things: I haven't been keeping up with my workouts as much as I should, I have been sick (a cold and then stomach flu), and also...the holidays. haha.

I'm not letting this get me down, instead I feel like I'm going to have to work even harder to get past this. After all, they say "the first ten pounds are the easiest" so here we go with my battle...and I'm willing to fight!

Hope everyone has a happy new year :)

Just some meals I've prepared :)

I've been cooking my own meals, instead of eating nasty processed food. It costs more this way, but has a much bigger payout! I'll explain the meals, too, in case anyone is curious on how to make them :) I've been on a super Cajun kick lately...it's just so freaking good.

Chicken Stir-Fry

This was one of my favorites to make...it is mostly veggies, but super amazing.

I used:
Thin-sliced chicken breasts
Broccoli (cut into florets)
1 whole white onion
1 bag of pea pods
1/2 bag of shredded carrots
garlic (i use a lot because i love it)
2 cans of water chestnuts
1 can sliced mushrooms
1 can baby corn
1 bag of sprouts
1 packet of stir-fry seasoning mix
soy sauce (I like the low-sodium kind)

Cook it all based on the seasoning mix's directions, serve over noodles or rice!


Cajun Shrimp Ramen

Super amazing, I love anything with shrimp! Me and my sister split this, so this is for 2 people.

16 jumbo uncooked shrimp (peeled)
1 clove of elephant garlic (my new best friend)
cajun seasoning, garlic powder, garlic salt, onion powder
fresh parsley (added as garnish)
1 pack of ramen noodles (I didn't use the whole packet of seasoning, just a bit in the water it boiled in to give the noodles more flavor.


Mock-TGI Friday's Cajun Shrimp and Chicken Pasta

I love TGI Friday's (where I work) Cajun Shrimp and Chicken Pasta...but it's packed full of calories and fat (1026 calories!). Making it myself gets rid of the excess butter that restaurants use, as well as a lot of the fat and calories. I'm not saying this is the healthiest recipe, but everyone deserves to splurge every now and again. Here we go!

Chicken Breast (cut into strips)
Jumbo peeled shrimp
1 clove elephant garlic (seriously...amazing)
1 box fettuccine noodles
1/2 jar Newman's Own Low-Fat Alfredo sauce
 Cajun Seasoning

Cook the chicken, shrimp, garlic, and cajun seasonings while boiling the water for the noodles. Strain noodles, give them a quick rinse, put back in the pan with alfredo sauce and more cajun seasoning. add the shrimp and chicken and garlic, mix up, and enjoy. AMAZING!


Hope you guys enjoy this stuff, I know I did!
Thanks for reading,
Laura

10 Pounds!!!

I moved away to finish college three months ago, and since I moved I haven't stepped on a scale because I don't own one at my new place. Today I visited home for the first time since moving, and stepped on the scale...I'm down ten pounds!!! :)

I know ten pounds isn't a crazy amount lost, but it really makes me feel good (especially since I was at a constant weight for a while, and wasn't losing anything!).

Anyways, this Thanksgiving I am not going to overeat, overdrink, or overanything (except for overhug my little brother...lol)

Thanks for reading! :)

Single Digits!!! :)

For the past week or so, my size 11 pants have been feeling pretty baggy. I thought they were stretched out a little, maybe I needed to give them a good spin in the dryer to tighten them up a little. Then I had an idea...I went to the bottom of my jeans drawer to find these pants that I used to love, that were size 9 and didn't fit me when I first moved here in August (3 months ago). I put them on, and they zipped up easily and didn't give me muffin top...holy cow, my first single-digit pants I've worn in over a year AND they are non-stretch!

(Seriously...they don't stretch at all...much to my butt's dismay)

I know it's not MUCH to celebrate, but it's my first accomplishment in my quest for wellness...and I'm proud of myself for this.

Much love, everyone!

-Laura

Cooking at Home!

So, I'm attempting to commit to a home-cooking routine...no more pizzas (unless I'm rewarding myself), no more food from work (though, when I do order food from there, I try to share it with someone so I don't eat all of the calories myself haha). The other day I made tacos! I know some of my ingredients weren't the healthiest, but they tasted great and I was able to control what I put into them. Here's my recipe:

1 lb of lean ground beef, browned and drained (You can also use ground turkey, it's healthier!)
1 packet of Taco Bell taco seasoning (it's honestly the best!)
3/4 cup water

cook all of that together, bring it to a boil and simmer for ten minutes, stirring often

Toppings:
Sliced Avocado
Pico de Gallo
Mexican Cheese
Lettuce
Sour Cream
Salsa

Seriously, soooo good haha. I love the pico and avocado, it really made the tacos taste super fresh.

Tonight I'm going to make a chicken stir fry, and I'm going to use the lower sodium soy sauce and a bunch of fresh veggies. It's going to be great!

Also...I got my Dance Dance Revolution dance pads in the mail yesterday, so I'm totally going to use this for extra cardio every day (or every other day, haha).

My tacos, haha

Fitness testing and results

Alrighty, so about a week and a half ago I endured the fitness test for my class, which included quite a few things. Here are my results!

Core Test:
One minute of regular planks, then 15-seconds each of right/left arm sticking out, right/left leg sticking out, right arm/left leg lifted up, left arm/right leg lifted up, followed by 30 more seconds of regular planks, totallying 3 minutes. If anybody collapsed/fell/etc then they failed the core test. I passed! So yay!

Pushup Test:
How many pushups can you do in one minute?
I did 31, which for women is "Excellent" (and i did the "full pushups" not the modified ones)

Situp Test:
How many situps can you do in one minute?
I did 21, which is considered poor.

Basically, I have upper body strength but not very much abdominal strength.

Run Test:
I finished a 1.5-mile run in 17:02, which is "average" but I found myself taking many walking breaks...I am a fast runner but I have poor endurance, so I have to work on that by running more during my workouts.

Flexibility:
I am poor/average when it comes to flexibility, so I'm going to start my days doing flexibility exercises and stretches so that I am able to have a better range of motion.

BMI/Waist-Hip Ratio/Body Fat Percentage

I am overweight and moderate health risk, with 32% body fat. I hope to be in the mid 20% range once i'm done with my training.


These fitness tests helped me set my goals and assess where I am at physically, so I suggest to anybody starting a new routine to do these tests. If anybody has questions, please feel free to ask me!

-Laura

Tomorrow, a fitness test

Tomorrow marks my first fitness test for my class. This involves flexibility, core strength, upper body strength, and the ability to run a mile and a half. Needless to say, I'm a little nervous. I've been trying to eat healthier by cooking my own meals and not eating work food (I work at a restaurant, and their food is to die for...but if I ate it every day, I'd literally die.)

I'm also re-joining SparkPeople.com, which is a free website FULL of ideas/motivation/other people like me. It's an an entire community of people who either want to change their lifestyle or meet a weightloss goal. You can track everything! (weight, measurements, calories, meals, exercise...it's amazing)

Tomorrow marks an important day for me, a day that will both humiliate and motivate me haha. I'm just looking forward to my "after" photo this summer!

Take care.

-Laura

Day One...

Hey everyone, this is my first post. I have decided to take control of my health and my weight by eating healthier and taking a "personal fitness" class at my school. This blog will archive links that I find, workouts that I create, and updates on my progress. I'll also attach photos of myself or others who are meeting their goals. I'll post a shot of myself at the end of this post as well, so you all can see what i look like at the beginning of my journey. But first, let me tell you my story and why i decided to work towards a state of "wellness."

I was skinny all my life. High metabolism, good genes, etc. I was athletic (I played softball for 8 years, I ran around outside a lot, rode bikes, etc), and I was always physically active for various reasons. That being said, I ate like crap. During lunch at school I would get an order of french fries and "zebra cakes" and drink pop all the time, snack snack snack, until I started to get a little "pooch" on my belly. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but once I began working (first at taco bell, and then arby's), I ate all the time at work. I gained maybe five pounds from my freshman year of high school until my junior year, which was normal because I was still growing taller...but from junior year to now, I have gained 40 pounds of fat. I am now 23 years old, 160 lbs, and I'm 5'4". My BMI is 27.5, which is in the overweight category. I don't fit into my favorite clothes the way I'd like to, I get out of breath easily, I get tired of walking or running very easily. Last year I hired a personal trainer, and she helped me learn how to work out correctly and it was very beneficial, but since I stopped going to her I've gained it all back by not keeping exercise and diet as a habit. SO, here I am now, overweight, not confident, and just feeling ugly all the time. I am going to make a conscious effort to change my lifestyle, because your metabolism and genes will only take me so far...it's time for me to be back in control. I hope that if anyone ends up following me on here, they gain some tips and inspiration from me :)

My goals:
Lose 40lbs by next summer
Drop down to size 5 (I'm an 11 right now)
Wear a bikini in the summer
Be able to run a 9 minute mile
and more goals to come!

So, wish me luck, and I'll post on here the workout routines I create, great healthy recipes, and tricks i pick up in order to help others!

Thanks for reading, here's my official "before" photo! (I know, horizontal stripes are a no-no for fatties, but it's just such a comfy shirt haha)

That's all for now! Seeya.