Yes I Did!!!

Just last week I posted a few tips that I planned on using while on vacation, and I have to share that yes, I did follow these tips! Here's proof! Check out that red, sweaty post workout face!  I did my workouts two out of the four days, went swimming every day, and walked a lot! Let me just say, it was not easy waking up early to get a workout in, but what a relief to have it checked off of my list before heading to the beach for the day. And yes, I did have ice cream while on vacation, but I limited it to two times instead of the usual every single night! I felt a lot less guilt too. :) Let's keep it real here though people....it IS vacation. So we ate rally well for breakfast and lunch, and within reason for dinner. I chose grilled shrimp, steamed lobster tail, and grilled chicken for dinner. I only indulged in crab cakes the last night. I also chose veggies as my sides for every meal. It definitely was a much better choice than the loaded mashed potatoes or mac 'n cheese that most meals came with. Being on the coast made it easy to want to choose fresh seafood though....so delicious! The point of this post really is to just encourage you that you can still go on vacation, enjoy yourself, eat well, and feel good about the choices you made. I tried new things and they were so good. I did not for one second miss any deep fried, fatty, fatness that would just lead to guilt and regret. So if you're headed for a vacation this summer, just plan ahead a little. Research some of the menus for restaurants you plan on going to. Try new things! But most of all, have fun! That's what vacation is for!

Easy Breakfast Burrito

Can I just say that I LOVE Mexican food?!?!?!? I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! And today, it's my breakfast. I found these awesome low-carb tortillas that are only 60 calories each. Yes, you heard me right, 60 calories. And they're huge! I mean, they're the size of a real burrito-sized tortilla. You might be thinking, "I'm not so sure about the taste of a low-carb tortilla!" But let me tell you, they are so good!

Today's breakfast consisted of one of these yummy tortillas, one egg and one egg white scrambled with a little bit of spinach and green onions. Then I topped them off with about one tablespoon of chopped cilantro and one tablespoon of salsa verde (green salsa). Delicious! I love how quick and easy they were too!!!

Nutrition breakdown for tortilla & eggs:

Total calorie count: 147 calories

Total fat: 6.5 g

Dietary fiber: 7 g

Keeping Off the Weight on Vacation

So here we are coming up to vacation season, and it's always a challenge to at least maintain your weight when you're away from home. When you plan for a vacation you of course plan out your itinerary, car rental, flighs, hotels, etc. But what about your food & workouts? My husband and I are going on a little getaway soon here, and I've been busy planning all of the above...including our food & workouts. Call me crazy, but I really don't want to throw away all of the hard work I've put in these last few months. I want to enjoy my vacation, but I don't want to bring back more than just souvenirs, and that includes a few extra pounds along the waistline. So, here are a few things that we're doing to avoid that problem.

1. Rent a condo or hotel room with a small kitchen. We like to do this because then we're in charge of our food for at least breakfast and dinner. We always plan on going out to eat for dinner, but at least we know the first two meals of the day and snacks will be healthy. 

2. Look up the menus for restaurants online. Since we do go out for dinner, I like to look at the menus  for the restaurants we plan on going to. Plan out what you're going to eat ahead of time, and stick to it! These are well known things, but always stick with grilled lean protein, veggies, salads (no creamy dressing). Get a to-go container if the portions are too big. You have a kitchen already with a refrigerator. Use it! You could always eat the leftovers for lunch the next day. 

3. Plan a grocery shopping trip for your first day of vacation. Write out a detailed list of what you plan on eating for breakfast, lunch, and snacks for each day. Then stick to your list when you're at the store! Don't forget bottled water if you'll be on the beach. You need to stay hydrated. 

4. Workout first thing in the morning. Get it out of the way so that way you can enjoy your day and not have that nagging feeling lurking over you of "Awww man! I still have to workout today!" At least that's how I feel if I don't get my workouts done in the morning. :) Bring exercise DVDs and resistance bands to use in your room if your hotel doesn't have a fitness center. Or if it does, plan to run on the treadmill first thing in the morning. 

5. If you know there's a special treat you want to have while on vacation, plan for it. There's this little ice cream shop that my husband loves to go to when we're on vacation, so if I know we'll be going there that day, I like to account for it with the rest of my food that day. That might mean forgoing those pancakes in the morning and swapping them for a healthy veggie omelette. 

6. Last but not least, don't get down on yourself if you don't make the wisest of choices on vacation. That's the whole point is to get away to rejuvenate your mind, body, and soul. So enjoy yourself, but make sure that you won't regret it too much! :)

Happy start of summer!

Sweet Tooth Cravings

Do you have a sweet tooth like me??? This is the best dessert that I've found to help with my sweet tooth, and it's so easy! It's just vanilla Greek yogurt, sliced strawberries, and this granola. I use 1/2 cup of vanilla Activia Greek yogurt, 4 sliced strawberries, and 2 tablespoons of the granola. Yum! Yum! It totally feels like I'm cheating, but I'm not! (I sometimes will use just plain vanilla Activia yogurt - not the Greek stuff. Equally as delicious!)

Food is Everything When Trying to Lose the Last Five Pounds

I'm so sorry this is sooooooooooo long.....

Here's my breakthrough moment for the day/week/month/year, whatever you wants to call it....So, I've been trying to just lose the last 5 pounds to reach my goal for quite some time now. I have been so close so many times, to just blow it completely and throw in the towel when it comes to eating properly. I am human, and I love treats and sweets too! And you may be thinking....she doesn't have anything to lose. But I do because there are still clothes in my closet that I REALLY would like to fit into comfortably without having the muffin top problem. And....let's just remember that we each have our own realistic goals, and this just happens to be mine. Darn you Lucky Jeans that cost lots of money!!!! (yes, that's my goal.....fit into my SUPER expensive jeans that I REALLY want to be able to wear again). Okay, let me get back on track... I was watching a youtube video by the 21-Day Fix creator about what she eats in a day. (See attached link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sb5ineu8sQ). It really helped me get some perspective on what's healthy. While I know what's healthy and I try to eat like that, I have to admit that I was cheating way too much!!! I'd walk by one of my kid's snack cups and grab some goldfish crackers or a few vanilla wafer cookies or whatever they happened to walk away from and leave on the table. Or, I'd grab some M&M's out of the cabinet after dinner and pop those in my mouth. The problem was, I wasn't counting those calories in my daily intake. Then I'd stand there at the scale every morning wondering, "Why am I not losing anything?!?!?" DUH!!!!! But I'm telling you, after I watched the youtube video, it's like a light bulb went off in my head. If I'm going to be promoting eating clean and taking charge of your health, I need to be honest with myself and with all of you. So now I truly do count everything that goes in my mouth. Like you may have seen earlier this week, I had all of my lunches packed up on Sunday night ready to go. And I am so proud of myself for doing that because it has truly helped keep me on track this week. Now don't get me wrong, it IS okay to cheat SOMETIMES, but not every single day like I was doing. I guess my whole point in this is to challenge you to truly be honest with yourself. If you ever have stood at the scale and wondered, "Why am I not losing any weight?", you might need to re-evaluate your eating habits. Are you eating too many carbs or too much sugar? Are you not getting enough calories and causing your body to go into starvation mode? Are you eating mostly one food group over another? Are you getting in your veggies??? Are you "cheating" like I was doing? These are all good questions to ask so that you can try to make positive changes. Let me also say that plateaus happen, and don't get down on yourself if that happens. But that just means it's time to re-evaluate what you're doing and trying your best to change it up a bit to break through that plateau. That's what I'm here for, and what I hope I can help any of you with.  Bottom line.....be honest with yourself, be realistic, but also allow yourself the opportunity to be human and realize that we all will never be perfect in this life. We can just do our best and know that we were all created uniquely with a purpose, trying to live out that purpose to the best of our abilities! Thanks for listening if you made it all the way to the bottom of this SUPER long post! I'll also have you know that I'm now only 1.5 pounds away from my goal weight. BAM!!!! That's how it's done! LOL