meal planning, week 5 - and more dog food.

Happy Sunday! I apologize for being such a bad blogger this week. There's been a lot on the table on all fronts, and I'm pretty sure if I got the chance to sit down, it was mostly to sleep. And eat. I never forget to eat. Ever.

On the wedding front, we had a big decision to make - we decided to cancel our local wedding reception, intended to be held two weeks after the big day in Hilton Head. As to be expected, it wasn't an easy choice, but we've decided to focus our energies and efforts towards the actual wedding celebration with just close family and friends - after the initial "bummed-ness" I felt, I'm happy to say it feels good to know that this year old build-up until the big day will now culminate in what I imagined as my dream wedding for as long as I can remember. Knowing I'm not trying to plan essentially two weddings has reduced my stress level infinitely.

In addition, on the home front, this weekend has been Operation: Fix the Leak at our house. This whole thing should really be titled "as seen on HGTV," but we've managed to make it work. It's been a long weekend for everyone, the dogs included, and I can't tell you how fantastic it is to have such supportive friends and family willing to help us out. In a nutshell, this is what my weekend looked like:

So, if you can imagine everything being taken out of our bathroom, can you begin to imagine where it all is? Yes, scattered around our house. There's a vanity in our office, drawers all over our kitchen table and a bathroom sink in our living room. There are mud rags and shovels in the entryway, and countless paper towel rolls, water bottles and dirty t-shirts in our kitchen. As most homeowners can attest to, what is supposed to be a 1-day project has turned into a full weekend of repairs, and that's assuming Rob finishes up today. To say it's put a dent in my meal planning and organized structure I live by would be an understatement. But, never fear - I've done my best.

I lost .2 at this past week's weigh-in. Am I disappointed? Absolutely. I am at the very bottom of a "decade" (a set of 10's, for those of you who don't give a damn about weight loss - ie, moving from the 140s to 130s, which is not where I am, but wish I was), and I peeked at the scale the day before weigh-in and, you guys, I was in my new decade. I was in it!

And then, because my body hates me, I got out of it for my actual weigh-in. The body is a bitch that way sometimes. Despite that, I did get a 9 mile run in on Friday - a fantastic one too, I won't even lie. I maintained an 11:09 pace, had negative splits for the first 5 miles and finished strong. More importantly, I felt strong. It's the first time in a while I've felt that confident in my running, and I hope to God it doesn't go away. I took a rest day yesterday, then hit the gym this morning where I did a timed 1 mile on the treadmill (9:26, yay!), and finished with an upper body/core strength session. I'll pick the miles back up next week, but I wanted to give myself time to recover. The best part about my house currently being a hot mess, is that the scale is buried somewhere in bathroom drawers and pulled up tile pieces, forcing me to live without it. This is so good for me.

If you didn't check in on last week's meal planning post, you can catch up here. I made a delicious new recipe - Crunchy Cashew Thai Quinoa Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing (which is way too much of a mouthful, so I call it Thai quinoa salad). It. Was. Delicious. I made a dinner of it by adding Emily Bites' Thai Chicken Skewers (I made them in a pan, not on skewers on the grill), and Rob ate the leftovers all week. I'd highly recommend this!

YUM. No other caption necessary.

I had meals planned out all weekend, but late nights of leak-fixing allowed me to only make one of these and feast on the leftovers last night instead of making my second meal. Leftovers all weekend means I have a rollover meal from last week, leaving me with too many meals planned next week - if that's even possible. This week's meal plan is a little funny, just because we're not going to be around Labor Day weekend and I needed to pick up some "cookout" foods for the weekend. In addition to our normal groceries this week, I picked up soda for Rob, which is an added $10 I hate spending, but he demands on occasion. So, here are the details:

Total spent: $97 + $15 spent Friday to pick up english muffins, PB2, and some fruit
(this includes meat to last us through next weekend, 4 cases of soda on sale 4/$10)

Sunday:

Emily Bites Taco Cupcakes (rollover from last week - already have the ingredients)

Monday:

BBQ Chicken Quinoa (new recipe - pretty excited!)

Tuesday:

Emily Bites Pizza Logs,  roasted veggies

Wednesday:

Skinnytaste Meatloaf Cupcakes (I don't make the mashed potato topping), corn on the cob

Thursday:

BLTA's

Weekend: Hamburgers, chicken sausages and Schmidt's Bahama Mama's (yumsauce)

*My 1-too-many meal: garlic & herb chicken using Land O'Lakes Saute Express butter cubes (both the butter cubes and chicken, frozen, will last until next week, where we can use them one night)

Things I already had at home: all the ingredients for Taco Cupcakes (this was a rollover from last week), BBQ sauce, one giant zucchini from a co-worker's garden, and corn on the cob (I bought a bunch from the local market last week)

This week's grocery list looks as follows:

Produce:

cilantro

2 zucchini

1 yellow squash

head of lettuce

2 tomatoes

grapes (fruit for the week)

avocado (2)

white onion

Dairy:

Saute Express butter cubes, garlic & herb

2 carb-master yogurts (for snacks)

1 good block white cheddar cheese (splurge item!)

cheese slices, for hamburgers

shredded colby jack cheese

mozzarella string cheese

Meat:

chicken tenderloins

bacon

chicken sausages

Schmidt's Bahama Mama's

hamburgers (these came on sale in a pack of 10 - I separated them into two packs of 5 and froze them, so we can use them as a meal next week, too)

ground turkey

chicken breasts

pepperoni

Aisles:

egg roll wrappers

pizza sauce

soda

black beans

frozen corn

quinoa

Honestly, it was a pretty long list and I'm fairly surprised I survived for less than $100 - again, without a single coupon. I always go into panic mode when my dinner plans are thrown off course, but I've gotten fairly good at just looking at my week's meal plan, picking the meal with the least perishable items and holding it off until the following week. It takes some shifting around of what I had originally planned, but it works out. 

Lastly, I'll leave you with this little fun fact: Friday, I picked up dog food for both pups. You may remember my original post about dog food here, but this time I needed two 30-pound bags. The cashier had to have thought I was a nutcase for throwing one bag over my shoulder and asking her to lift the second bag onto my other shoulder. "I have someone who can take those out to your car, ma'am," she said to me. I told her I was fine - that I had lost 67 pounds and I needed this 60 pounds on my shoulders as a reminder of how far I've come. It sounded good in my head, but I'm pretty sure she still thinks I'm crazy. Regardless, by the time I got to my car, I was winded, my knees hurt and I was already sweating.

This is what 60 pounds looks like. This is what I carried on my body for years, never realizing how much easier my life could be without it. These two bags of dog food are a constant reminder that I shouldn't fuss over the minor details, and a visual representation of what I carried around with my every day. I'm so thankful for these two bags of dog food, you will never ever know. I will carry them out every single day until I am 90 years old and cannot lift them any longer. I don't need the extra weight, but I need these bags, and I will for the rest of my life.

Here's to a great week!

meal planning, week 4.

Happy Sunday, friends! If you're here in sunny Ohio, I hope you're making the most out of the beautiful weather we've had this weekend. It's been a nice change from the grey weekends we've had so often this summer, and I managed to make the most of it by getting outdoors, spending some much needed time with Rob and the dogs, and getting in some seriously awesome activity. But that's for another post. You're here for meal planning, right?!

I'm pretty excited about this week's finds. After last week's expensive trip, I was feeling discouraged about my grocery shopping trips and my ability to provide you with the best bang for your buck. That being said, we had some pretty awesome meals last week - we tried several new recipes, which you may remember from last week's meal plan and Rob even requested a few of them again this week - WIN! I always get nervous when I invest in ingredients for a new recipe, for fear that we'll HATE it and I will have wasted the money for nothing. Last week's menu included these fabulous new additions to our regular meal catalog:

Emily Bites Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese "Muffins"

Skinnytaste Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps &
Skillet Mexican Zucchini

I'd make both recipes again in a heartbeat. The only thing Rob and I weren't a huge fan of was the blue cheese flavor in the mac and cheese cups - I don't like blue cheese anyway, but I think when I make it again, I'll use low fat ranch dressing instead of blue cheese. The turkey taco lettuce wraps with skillet mexican zucchini are on this week's list again! I would highly recommend them both - but obviously the lettuce wraps are probably better for you in that they're full of whole, natural clean ingredients. But god, I love me some mac and cheese.

In addition to leftovers for lunches this week, I am making Thai quinoa salad - a new recipe recommended to me by a friend who recently made it and loved it. It holds up great for leftovers and I plan to munch off it all week - it's packed full of veggies, protein and tons of flavor and will go well with our Thai chicken planned for Tuesday. It's also something different from the inevitable go-to salad. Speaking of salads, though - Kroger has these pre-made guys and I love picking up one to break up my boring lunch routine:

At just 6 Points Plus, this guy makes a fabulous addition to your lunch hour. Just sayin. I've also been looking for low-point snack options and something to curb the insatiable sweet tooth I've had all summer. Rob and I, despite being better about eating out, have made more ice cream runs than real runs this summer, putting a dent in our weekly budget and a couple extra hundred calories added on to our days. To combat it, I've picked up an idea from Weight Off My Shoulders - she uses VitaCakes mixed with fresh strawberries and a dollop of fat free Cool Whip as a delicious dessert for just 1 Points Plus. I also picked up individual sized ice cream cups (tell me you've seen these) for Rob - who, unlike myself, doesn't last long on the low-fat dessert alternatives. This at least gives him some portion control, and who doesn't like things that are mini?

Now that we've got dessert covered (in the words of my grandmother, "Life is uncertain, eat dessert first") we can move on to the real meat of this post - the meal plan and shopping list. Here's the dirty details:

Total spent: 

$81.00, + $7 spent at my fancy local market to get a few items = $88 total

Sunday:

Garlic & herb chicken, corn on the cob

Monday:

Hamburgers on the grill, sweet potato fries

Tuesday: 

Thai chicken with Thai quinoa salad (SO excited to try this!!)

Wednesday:

Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps with Skillet Mexican Zucchini 

Thursday:

Spaghetti squash with Italian turkey meatballs and marinara

Friday:

out to dinner

Saturday:

Emily Bites Taco Cupcakes

 Before I make my grocery list, here are the things I had at home and didn't need to pick up: 1 pound of frozen chicken breasts, sriracha, sesame oil, low sodium soy sauce, PB2, honey (all the ingredients for Tuesday's thai chicken skewers are worth the investment - you'll have them on hand and only need chicken and a few fresh ingredients to whip this meal up), queso cheese and salsa for my taco cupcakes, cilantro paste (purchased last week for skillet mexican zucchini), and cheese slices for hamburgers. I know this sounds like a lot, but once you invest in the ingredients once, they tend to last at least two rounds (or more), so I just so happened to be on an off week for purchasing them. 

Produce:

corn on the cob

3 limes

lettuce head

spaghetti squash

4 zucchini

cilantro

1 tomato

green onions

1 jalapeño

1 red pepper

1 red onion

1 white onion

red cabbage

shredded carrots

4 baked potatoes (for today's potato skin lunch)

strawberries (fruit for the week)

Dairy:

Land O'Lakes Saute Express (Garlic & Herb)

Low-fat sour cream

reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese

Laughing Cow Queso wedges

Egg Beaters Southwestern

Meat:

chicken

Italian turkey meatballs

1 pound ground beef

4 hamburgers

99% fat free ground turkey

Aisles:

Cashews (ended up omitting these from my quinoa salad - nuts are too damn expensive)

marinara sauce

black beans

hamburger buns

VitaCakes

fat free Cool Whip

And, since every week, I find myself learning something new, here are a couple observations:

- My list was heavy on produce, light on aisle foods - proof that buying fresh foods isn't always more expensive than its processed enemies in the neighboring aisles. 

- Nuts are expensive. I ended up omitting them completely. I also hesitated big time on making the quinoa salad because it does call for tons of fresh vegetables, which add up in cost. I played around with my meal plans to see where else I could use the ingredients, and found that I'd use green onions, red peppers, onions and limes in at least one other recipe. Winning. 

- Spaghetti squash isn't really in season until this fall, so when you catch them in the store through the summer, I'm more than willing to plow someone down in pursuit of it. That, paired with Italian turkey meatballs and marinara sauce, is a super cheap meal that you can do for about $6 total (we get 3-4 servings out of it, you do the math). This always helps keep my bill down, and I fully intend on experimenting with different spaghetti squash recipes this fall. 

- I've learned that the ticket to actually eating the meals we plan is to make sure they're good. I mean, it may take a little more work, but this whole thing is really just a trick of the mind. I tend to crave "bad for me" food on the weekends, so by planning Emily Bites' taco cupcakes, I'm more inclined to eat at home. Loaded with meat, beans, queso and salsa, these babies totally hit the spot without ruining your diet. 

Alright - I think that pretty much wraps it up. My apologies for making this entirely too long. I clearly get really excited about food. Understatement of the year. I wish I could rant for this long about workouts? Hope everyone has a great week! 

weighing in.

Today, in my Weight Watchers world, is weigh-in day. And more importantly, it's the start of a new week - a fresh set of points to track, and a blank slate to mentally refresh from the past week's successes and slip-ups. Despite my poor history of tracking points, this is the one thing I do really love about Weight Watchers. It's like a weekly chance to start over - no judgment or baggage follows you into your new week. It's a brand new 7 days, and it's waiting for you to mold it into whatever you want. Weekly weigh-ins and seeing that fresh start? It's half the reason I've stuck around this program for so long.

That being said, I've learned that I have the best chance at success when I really sit down and evaluate the last week's eating choices before diving head first into that shiny new set of points. It's tempting to want to box up a bad week, and put it in the back of your mind where you store things like cleaning your baseboards and your credit card debt - things you know you need to evaluate, but don't want to deal with. But fessing up to yourself is the hardest, and most important, part of your journey towards being healthy. The food still goes into your body, regardless of whether you mentally acknowledge it - and the calories remain in there even though your mind knows you had a busy schedule and couldn't squeeze in those workouts.

So today, and probably on future Thursdays, I'm going to weigh in on my weigh-in. I lost .1 today. Point. One. I am less than 1 pound from being in a new "decade" - a decade that I've subconsciously deemed my "goal decade," and for the love of God, I just can't break through it. I've maintained, despite bachelorette parties and other indulgences, for over a month - that tells me that once I hit goal, I'll be the poster child for maintenance, but it doesn't do me a lot of good in the meantime. I shouldn't be surprised, because let's look at this past week:

• I only got in four days of activity, plus one 3 mile walk on my rest day. I know I shouldn't be complaining about that, but my body needs more. I logged 16 miles running, 3 miles walking and 1 bootcamp workout, but only got exercise in on Saturday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I need to work on spreading out my runs so I don't get the inevitable runner's burnout midweek. 

• This week's indulgences? Orange Leaf, Dairy Queen, a piece of chocolate silk pie, Chipotle, BBQ kettle chips at German Fest, a Subway breakfast sandwich and a delicious serving of sundried tomato tortellini salad with lunch yesterday. All that - and I still maintained. I guess I should be celebrating, because that has to be some kind of miracle.

• I've been a bad snacker lately. I've been hungrier than normal - probably because of the mileage I'm putting in, but I haven't been prepared with the right kind of snacks. I've munched on peanut butter and saltine crackers instead of almonds, string cheese and fruit. Prepare for hunger, Lauren. In the words of Scar, Mufasa's horrible brother, "Be prepaaaarreeeddd!" (extra points to you if were singing that in your head)

• I make a lot of excuses for myself. It's been a mentally tiring few weeks. They say that when it rains, it pours. Between wedding planning, unexpected and expensive home repairs, and feeling out of control of life's unexpected twists, I'd be lying if I said I didn't eat my feelings a little. I need to start asking myself again, like I was a few months ago, if each choice I make is bettering my life or hindering it - when I actively engage in my choices, I usually make better ones. 

• I didn't track. Once again, after an over-indulgent weekend, I decided it would be too much of a hassle to track so I decided to forego it completely and decided to just eat "mindfully" for the remainder of the week. This is a shitty sort of logic, incase you were wondering. 

Reading, and forcing myself to see the ways I can improve, helps me solidify goals for this upcoming week. Here are a few I'm gong to focus on - and keep in mind that my goals may be simple and obvious, but small changes often lead to big results.

• Track. Everything. No excuses. Starting today.
• Vary my runs. Focus on two short runs (3-4 miles) and one long run this upcoming week. My workouts tend to run Sunday - Saturday, while my WW week runs Thursday - Thursday, but I am planning a 9 mile run within the next week or so. 
• Go back to Zumba. Running, as of right now, is my only cardio and thus becomes a source of burnout for me. Switching it up with Zumba, a good hour of cardio that I love, will help me vary my workouts and look forward to my runs.
• Don't binge eat this weekend. Weekends, like most of us, are my downfall. I'm planning NOW, so I can stay on track and stay focused. 
• Get good walks in on my rest days. Walking the dogs, even if it's just a couple miles, gets me moving and helps me make better choices the rest of the day. 

There you have it, folks. Here's to a new week, and hopefully a better loss next week. I'm so close to that new decade I can taste it (it tastes like cheesecake). Hopefully being honest about it here, in public, will help me stay accountable through the upcoming week. Happy [almost] Friday!

What are you going to do to stay on track this upcoming week? How will you battle the inevitable temptations of the weekend?

Transformation Tuesday - who inspires ME to transform?

Over on Instagram, Tuesday is known as Transformation Tuesday. Often times, people post pictures of themselves with friends as kids, and then as adults - it's cute, really. But more often than not, the hashtag is littered with people who have before and after pictures of their weight loss. It's ridiculously inspiring to see, really. I am such a visual person, and I've always searched for before and after pictures when I'm looking for some motivation. People change their lives. I mean, you hear about it all the time but seeing it never gets old. These people - everyday people with busier schedules than you, three kids, newborns, six dogs, sick relatives and medical problems, full time students, women over 40 - I mean, these people are literally transforming. If they don't make you believe it's possible, nothing will.

I owe so much of my success to those people. Reading all the articles, all the meal plans and all the exercise plans in the world won't give you the kind of inspiration that a real life person will. As of late, I have desperately needed the inspiration - and I continue to find it in the girls whose picture I'm going to share with you. These girls are me. They are you. They are anyone in their 20s faced with challenges like happy hours, bar nights, weddings full of delicious tempting food and open bars, boyfriends and husbands who eat like the manliest of men, and the overwhelming desire to watch hours of ABC Family instead of go workout. They have full time schedules, full time lives and zero time for bullshit. They juggle in-laws, multiple pets, social circles, volunteer and personal obligations, and can often feel the sometimes impossible-to-combat laziness of their pre-healthy lifestyle creep back in all too often. They are you. They are me.

But each of them, in their own way, made a change in their lifestyles. It starts with a decision, it continues with a choice to sign up for things like Weight Watchers, try a new bootcamp, step outside their comfort zones in a city where they either know nobody or they know too many people to feel comfortable trying something new. They spoke up - they admitted they were unhappy with their health, their bodies, their frame of mind. They wake up at 4:45, 5:30, 6:00 - any time before some people normally roll out of bed, and they take one small step towards their goals. They run, workout, pack their snacks for work, lay out workout clothes and set meat out for tonight's planned dinner.

They also ditch workouts, struggle with small gains, falling off the wagon and indulging in too much happy hour. They eat pizza, don't regret it, and often times regret it so much that they run crazy miles to mentally make up for it. They are real, and they are constantly battling the odds. They prove to me daily that if they can do it, I can do it. And so can you.

Today, I share with you two "Transformation Tuesday" photos that will make you jump off your ass and put your dusty old running shoes on. They will make you put down the bag of chips.

Kelly has lost 80 pounds, and is still going strong. EIGHTY. EIGHT-ZERO. Do you know how much that is? She consistently proves that, even as a busy career woman constantly on the go, you can still succeed at eating healthy. This girl pre-plans snacks for meetings and overnight travel, gets her exercise in even when she's away from home and even roped her boyfriend into having weekly weigh-ins with her. And guess what else? She is still a fan of happy hours, delicious food and all the things you'd never expect from someone who makes those kinds of changes. 

Kim has detailed her weight loss and fitness journeys on her blog, Fabulous Fit Foodie. This girl, despite only recently getting back to Weight Watchers, has already lost over 13 pounds - but it looks like she's lost way more. She strength trains using online bootcamps you can do in your home or at the gym, she runs, and she's a recent triathlete. TRIATHLETE. Seriously. She indulges in all life's goodness, including pizza, her favorite beers and wine flights at happy hour, but she still makes fitness and eating right seem so incredibly approachable. Her motivation and inspiration is endless, and her perspective on maintaining a healthy lifestyle is always what I need to hear.

I can't tell you enough how inspired I am by these women. They are proof that reaching your goals seems so much more attainable when you're surrounded by like-minded individuals who care and support you. They provide constant words of encouragement, and them, along with every other girl as part of our Healthy Habits group here in Dayton, have provided me with infinite inspiration.

My advice? Find your own inspiration and let it guide you through your journey. Find people who want you to be a better person, strive to help you reach your goals and don't let you settle for anything less than your absolute best. Use their before and afters (or before and "during" as these girls tell me) to help fuel you when you need the extra push, and chances are, they'll be using you for the same inspiration.

Happy Transformation Tuesday, friends - may you all find the inner strength and motivation needed to make the transformation (or continue with it) that you know deep down will make you the best person you can be!

meal planning, week 3.

Happy Sunday, friends!

Thought: I think I'm happier doing meal planning posts on Saturdays or Sundays, as opposed to Mondays. Most people have done their shopping for the week by Monday, and posting it then doesn't seem all that helpful. Anyway. Moving on.

Rob is on his way home from his bachelor "weekend" at Put-in-Bay, which means time is quickly running out for me to silently soak up this clean house, relaxation and some Harry Potter (a must when Rob is out of town). This has been the first weekend in over a month that we've had nothing going on - needless to say, I took full advantage of the opportunity to lounge around, eat in my pajamas and be on my own schedule.

This past week has been, to say the least, a hot mess. I've lacked motivation in the eating and exercise department, my recovery from last weekend's bachelorette festivities has proven less than stellar, and to top things off, we had a broken HVAC and now a mystery water leak in the house. It was all I could do to just keep treading water this week - which, unfortunately, does not burn calories. Not surprisingly, I had a small gain this past week at weigh-in, my heart hasn't been in my runs, and yesterday's planned 8-miler turned into barely squeaking out 5. I know, 5 miles is nothing to be ashamed of, but half marathons are quickly approaching and now is not the time to lose steam.

It's safe to say this weekend is exactly what I needed. I finally got our bridal shower gifts put away, did some much needed cleaning and organizing, and some much needed R&R with my puppies. Speaking of which, today is Scout's birthday! My big baby girl turns 4 today - I still remember bringing her home on a cold November night from the humane society at not even 3 months old. Cannot believe how old she is getting - she's the absolute best. Everyone say happy birthday to Scout!

This weekend, I managed to get in my five mile run, as well as a short walk with Brody on Friday night, and a 3 mile birthday walk with Scout this morning. Overall, it's about 8.5 miles for the weekend, which makes me feel at least slightly better about my half-ass run yesterday. Heading into this week, I feel more focused and ready to tackle my goals. Rob and I are finally at the "calm before the wedding storm" where we have ZERO planned from now until the big day - I'm hoping I can relax, finish up planning and focus on my weight loss and preparation for my two half marathons this fall.

This week's farmer's market finds - not pictured: the 50 cent hotdog
I bought to eat while I browsed the selection. Obviously necessary. 

So, want to see what's on my grocery list this week? Let's get down to it then, shall we? This week was an expensive one - I know, you're all here because you like seeing cheap grocery lists, but not every week is a $100 or less deal, unfortunately. I ended up spending $114 at the store today - in addition, I spent $12 on fresh produce at the farmer's market yesterday, totaling $126 for the week. My grocery budget is about $400 per month though, so with the past two weeks' cheap trips, I'm well under budget for the month.

In my defense, I will say I do have more meals planned now that we're both going to be in town this weekend. I'm also trying a few new things, and taking on a few more recipes since I finally feel like I can breathe. We also have a guest for dinner one night this week - this doesn't really merit buying more food, but I had to take into consideration that we probably won't have leftovers from that meal. In addition, I originally planned a pot roast in the crockpot for tonight, but wasn't a fan of the cuts of meat at the store - I made a last minute swap to have steaks on the grill instead, which obviously costs more.

Sunday: 

filets on the grill (on sale at Kroger), roasted asparagus, corn on the cob

Monday: 

BBQ grilled chicken, baked potatoes, roasted zucchini

Tuesday:

Chicken pesto kabobs, corn on the cob, roasted zucchini/yellow squash/red potatoes

Wednesday:

  Turkey taco lettuce wraps, with skillet mexican zucchini (trying both of these for the first time) 

Thursday:

Buffalo chicken mac and cheese "muffins," salads from Kroger

Friday:

  Buffalo chicken potato skins, roasted veggies

And the shopping trip begins. Don't think shopping
with your list is cool? Think again. I'm also close to
bringing a calculator with me. No judgment.

We have a few days with no leftovers for lunch, so I added 1/2 lb of ham to my list, as well as bacon to make BLT's with avocado (make the bacon ahead of time, assemble the wrap at lunchtime). Breakfasts are, again, southwestern scrambles in a mug or oatmeal.

This week's grocery list was a long one. I'm tackling several recipes that, while I can reuse the ingredients, do require random purchases at the store. I also forgot some things. Because heaven forbid I only go to the store once a week. Before I show my list - here's what I have to go back for tomorrow: grape tomatoes, 1 bell pepper, 1 small onion, and about 4 baked potatoes - and probably something else I'll discover halfway through the week. Oy.

Produce:

Asparagus

1 bag red potatoes

Basil

Garlic

Lime (2)

1 Jalapeño

Bananas

1 cantaloupe

1 bag grapes

1 head iceberg lettuce

Cilantro paste

1 avocado

2/$5 pre-packaged salads (for my lunches)

Dairy:

1 package cheese slices (for Rob's ham sandwiches at lunch)

1 block sharp cheddar cheese

1 6-pack eggs

2 small Egg Beaters, southwestern cartons

Fresh queso blanco

skim milk

Meat:

1 lb ground turkey

Chicken (this was not remotely close to being cheap at the store today, so I made the last minute decision to buy Perdue's individually wrapped breasts in packs of 5 - two packs were $12.00, as opposed to spending $21 on the chicken I normally buy)

2 filets (honestly, the bulk of my meat expenses this week)

bacon

1/2 lb Boar's Head ham (I'm a deli meat snob, not even sorry)

Aisles:

high fiber macaroni

makeup remover

high fiber wraps

1 4 oz. can tomato sauce

Applegate chicken sausages

Looking at my menu plan for the week, here's a few things I'm noticing as the causes for my hefty bill:

I planned more for lunches this week. I bought two pre-packaged salads for myself, as well as ham and cheese for Rob to make sandwiches and bacon for us to make BLT's (this will probably take place on the weekends more than through the week). I know we'll have some leftovers, but I don't know how many and I noticed myself picking up lunch a few times last week because of a lack of leftovers. We'll see how this works.

My favorite weekend lunch or quick dinner: BLTA's -
a BLT on a high fiber wrap, loaded with avocado. Lots
of good fats, without sacrificing on taste! Yum!

I planned meals for every night. I'm ready to get back to cooking daily. I love it, honestly, and my body can't handle eating out. I didn't plan anything for this upcoming Saturday - I'm planning on a date night one night this upcoming weekend, so Friday's meal can be used Saturday (or even for lunches) if need be.

While I'm able to reuse my protein in the buffalo chicken, I'm still making two separate meals with it, costing me more in ingredients. I'm also making a couple sides that are multi-ingredient worthy, as opposed to buying a $2 bundle of asparagus as my side every night. 

I bought filets. I mean, there's no sugar coating that one. I'll own up to it. 

Alright, friends - there you have it. Meal planning, week 3. All my meals, except for the mac and cheese "muffin" night, are pretty low in carb, almost entirely "clean" and packed with protein and veggies. Every meal falls into the daily points I typically allot for dinner in my Weight Watchers tracker, and there are enough carbs going on to fuel me for my longer runs or more intense cardio sessions I have planned this week.

Here's to making it a great week - what are YOU eating this week?

running: it's not for everyone, but it could be.

Of all the thousands of ways in the world to burn calories, running seems to be the most elusive. It shouldn't be, but to the general public, running 3, 4, 10 - or the ultimate 26.2 miles - for "fun," seems like a suicide mission appropriate for the craziest of the crazies.

But it doesn't have to be.

I hate running. It's what I hear from most people who don't do it, my fiance included. It's so haaaard, they say. And they're right. It is. And sometimes, it's downright awful. And honestly, it's not for everyone. But in my most unprofessional opinion, I really think it could be. Just because it's hard, just because it isn't always fun, doesn't mean it isn't for you.

So here's what I've got. I've had several people over the course of the past year or so, ask me how I started running. What programs did I use, what intervals, what pace, what distances, what shoes, and what kind of sanity did I have when I fell in love with this crazy sport. I don't think people ask because they think I'm good. I think people ask because let's face it, I won't shut up about it. And I'd like to think that, despite setbacks, roadblocks and momentary lapses in motivation, I've made running seem approachable to people who otherwise would have deemed it only for the already athletic "gazelle." More on gazelles later. I've provided you with the basics - the basics on how I started running, what I did, what I used, and how I managed to keep going after I got to the end of my street and realized my body was screaming at me for putting it through such torture. It's my best advice, however unauthorized that may be.

Get fitted. Getting fitted for proper running shoes is essential. The people at running stores - I mean true running stores, not Dick's Sporting Goods - are knowledgeable. They'll watch you walk (or even run on a treadmill) and be able to fit you with shoes that will work for you. Don't think you need fitted? Think again. Check out this article from Runners World and see just how many weird things your feet can do. It can be a costly trip, but seeing chiropractors and podiatrists for the next year because your feet are throbbing and your back aches will be more expensive. And painful.

Pick a running program. Or start your own. When I first started running, I used the Couch to 5k program. It sets you up with 9 weeks of running schedules to prepare beginning runners for a 5k race. But truth be told, I didn't love the schedule, or the intervals. I experimented with the first few sessions, but then adapted to a pace and interval I was comfortable with. I started on a treadmill so I could easily monitor my time and distance. I did intervals of 2 minutes walking, 1 minute running for about 30 minutes. Then I'd move it up to 1 minute walking, 2 minutes running. From there, I just played with intervals until I was running 5 minutes at a time, with 3 minute walk breaks. I started running for 30 minutes at a time, then vowed to run a full 3.1 miles (a full 5k) using those intervals. In time, I was running the whole thing.

Walking is cool. When I first started running, my ultimate goal was to never take walk breaks. Not stopping to walk during a run was the ultimate sign of success for me - the entire point of running was, at the time, to actually run. When I caught the running bug this past spring again, I started experimenting with Jeff Galloway's half marathon training program. He talks a lot about intervals, and bases it off your average pace (and a few other super fancy factors). It was a mental struggle to come to terms with walking as a major part of my runs, but now I cannot live without it. Prior to using this technique, I was running a 5k in about 38-40 minutes. Now, my 5k PR is below 33:00. I run faster and farther because my walk breaks, which start early on in my runs, give me the opportunity to preserve energy. Don't let anyone tell you walking isn't cool.

Get a good playlist. Good music is essential to getting in the zone. I envy the ones who can run sans headphones. I update it constantly - especially when I'm lacking in the motivation department. Pick songs that pump you up or motivate you to be better. Don't be afraid to sing along while you run. Seriously. Whatever gets you through.

Understand that it will be hard. The most common reason people stop running is because it isn't easy right from the get go. If you run to the end of your street and you're already ready to puke, I promise you aren't alone. We've been there. Well, I have. I was over 200 pounds when I started running - carrying that extra weight on my knees made even one mile seem impossible. My advice? Don't stop. Do not get discouraged. Go back out the next day. Do walking and jogging intervals, and tell yourself you'll go two driveways farther than you did the day before. Keep going. Whatever you do, get up the next day, and go again.

Get a cool app. Tracking your runs, however obnoxious it is to see on social media outlets, is motivating. People like to see their mileage and calories rack up. Invest in a heart rate monitor (one with a fancy GPS if you want, too), or just download the Nike+ Running app and hear famous athletes and runners tell you how awesome you did after you end a good run. Whatever you do, invest in some sort of mobile app to track what you're doing. If you do post it to sites like Facebook, you'll be motivated to make the post a "worthy mileage" for others to see. I don't care what they say, caring what others think can be strangely motivating.

Take care of yourself. Carb-loading is really only necessary for long distance runs, but drinking 3 margaritas and eating Taco Bell on Friday and then wondering why your Saturday morning run sucked probably won't end well. Eat good fats, whole foods and lots of protein. If it has more than 5 ingredients on the label, you probably should skip it. Get enough sleep. Get. Enough. Sleep.

Allow yourself to think about other things. Running is more of a mental struggle than anything else. When you first start, it's hard to think about anything other than the run, especially if you're also overweight. All I could feel in the beginning were my knees aching, my lungs screaming and my fat jiggling up and down as I shuffled like a basset hound down the street. Make valid attempts at looking at that ugly pink house down the street and forcing yourself to think about something other than running until you pass that house. Distracting your mind from what your body is doing will disconnect the notion that you can or can't do it.

That being said, engage yourself. On the runs when you know your body is quitting out before your mind is ready to, you have to play the game. You know your body better than anyone, and you have to determine if you should listen to your body, or mentally push yourself because there's no way you're going down on this run without a fight. You choose your success. You push yourself. The moments when you don't want to do something because you're tired, hungry, pissed off or your socks don't match - what you do with those moments is what determines your successes and failures.

Be realistic. If your thighs rub together, giving you the infamous "chub-rub," don't wear super short running shorts that set you up for failure. Invest in a good bra (like this one I wrote about recently). If you know you're exhausted and busy after work, forcing yourself to run when you're already burned out from the day is probably not going to promote optimum success. Deciding you're going to pick up running today and you're going to run your first half marathon in 2 months is probably going to make you miserable, too. No one says you have to go from zero to marathon in 26.2 minutes. Deciding to get out there in general already makes you a rockstar.

Invest in some self discipline. Just like school, driving a car and learning the ropes at a new job, learning how to run takes practice. It takes discipline to get up and run when you'd rather sleep, to skip happy hour to get the run in or to not binge drink the night before a race. It takes training and effort to continuously go out and run. Nobody is going to hold your hand and make you go. The only person who can do that is you. Hold your own hand. Push your ass out the door. Just. Go. You never regret it, I promise.

Envy the gazelles, embrace the basset hound. I wrote a whole post on basset hounds and gazelles. Those skinny, already-athletic people who make running look effortless are enough to make us basset hounds want to scream. Basset hounds are people like myself - as an overweight runner, I sometimes feel like I'm shuffling like an over-heated, slobbery basset hound running through a field in the middle of August. I envy the shit out of gazelles - they push me to be better, run faster, run harder. But once I embraced my inner basset hound and learned to love the runner I am, I was much more at peace with my running. Know what kind of runner you are, and be that well. Push yourself, be the best you can be, but never hate what you are. Ever.

Most importantly, give it time. You will not be a marathon runner overnight. It may take you two weeks to feel confident with a 1 mile distance. And that's okay.  Everyone is different, and that's what makes running so great. I have several "running friends" who can share similar running stories and experiences over happy hour drinks for hours, but every single one of us got here differently and at a different pace. But the one thing we all have in common is that we all decided that we wanted it bad enough. I can't promise the sore knees and the blisters will go away forever, but I can promise you that if you stick with it long enough, one day you'll get a rush from knowing what your body is capable of - and from knowing that no one else but you pushed it there.

Good luck, friends!

Monday Meal Planning

Happy Monday, friends! I hope you're all well-recovered from your weekends and resting comfortably in your office chairs. Hey, we can all dream. Realistically, I just hope you haven't fallen asleep or bashed the coffee pot over your co-worker's head yet. Oh, Monday.

I am recovering from a weekend of bachelorette fun with my family and girlfriends - it's safe to say that we celebrated in style, but I'll save you the details. The short story is that we started a conga line around a tiki bar and made out-of-this-world blueberry pomegranate margaritas. That's all you really need to know.

But since it's Monday and weekends away can't last forever, I figured what better way to get myself back on track than to give you my weekly rundown? I had to make this week's grocery list after I got home yesterday afternoon, and after a weekend of carb-indulgence, I wasn't ready to go back to my low-carb reality. Some of you found last week's post on meal planning helpful, and since I managed to sneak out of the grocery store again having only spent $62, I figured I'd share this week's menu. I will admit, this week is a little light since Rob won't be around next weekend, but we still bought enough for five meals at home. In addition, one of this week's meals is a semi-leftover from last week. We ended up not eating our spicy sausage pasta and Rob used half the ingredients for other things (I call this "man cooking," when he "creates" new things while I'm away). Instead, we went out to dinner with friends (see, this is why meal planning every night of the week is always a huge fail). Even though I had to pick up more of those ingredients he ate, it did help to have some of the stuff at home already.

Sunday

Dinner: Chili cheese dogs with macaroni and cheese (I told you I wasn't ready to go back to healthy yet)

Monday

Lunch: leftover hot dog, small salad from grocery store salad bar

Dinner: Garlic & herb chicken, corn on the cob, roasted asparagus

Tuesday

Lunch: leftover chicken and corn/asparagus

Dinner: BLT wraps with avocado, roasted zucchini and yellow squash

Wednesday

Lunch: leftover BLT's - I usually make it a BLT "salad"

Dinner: Breakfast for dinner (eggs, hash browns, rest of bacon from BLT night)

Thursday

Lunch: TBD (if I'm bacon'd out, which is almost impossible, I'll grab a salad from the salad bar)

Dinner: Emily Bites spicy sausage pasta (re-do from last week)

Friday

Lunch: TBD

Dinner: leftover spicy sausage pasta

This week's breakfasts: Southwestern scramble in a mug, oatmeal

This means that this week's grocery list looks as follows:

Produce:

1 package sweet corn

1 bundle asparagus

1 melon (fruit for the week)

1 avocado

1 tomato

1 iceberg lettuce head

2 zucchini

1 yellow squash

Dairy:

1 small block pepperjack cheese

1 1/2 dozen package eggs

1 small block sharp cheddar (for chili cheese dogs, duh)

2 containers Southwestern Egg Beaters

1 package Laughing Cow Queso Cheese

1 package fresh shredded hashbrowns

Meat:

1 package chicken tenders

1 package hot dogs

1 package chipotle chicken sausage

1 pound bacon

Aisles:

1 can Rotel

1 package Applegate chicken sausages

1 box macaroni and cheese (don't judge me)

hot dog buns

Misc:

1 bowl of chili for chili dog night from the hot bar

Things I already had at home: Land O'Lakes Saute Express cubes, low sodium chicken broth, 1 box high fiber pasta, green onions, and high fiber wraps for BLT's. 

Since I wrote about my meal planning last week, I found myself paying more attention when I do my lists. Here are some things I'm noticing that I LOVE, and a few that I wish I did better. 

- Using one meat more than once during the week helps tremendously with my grocery bill. The one pound of bacon I bought this week will be used for at least two dinners, if not more during lunch. 

- I highly recommend going meatless one night to help save money. Rob refuses, but if I were on my own, I'd take advantage of at least one meatless opportunity to save some cash.

- This may be bad, but I visit the salad bar at the grocery store sometimes instead of buying salad stuff in bulk. I get salad'd out SUPER easily, and can't really predict when I'll want one and when I'll be totally over them. Sometimes, I buy bags of lettuce or fresh heads of romaine, only to have it go bad - and same with several of the goodies I like in my salad. Instead, I'll pass on all the stuff up front, but swing by Kroger when I want a salad at lunch. Mine have never cost me more than $3 (I get the small size), and honestly, the price works out about the same as if you were to buy all those salad goodies every week. 

- This week's purchase of hot dogs, buns and boxed macaroni and cheese made me harshly aware of how much cheaper it can be to eat processed foods sometimes. I'm a big believer that healthy eating can be inexpensive, but knowing that one package of hot dogs and one package of buns could theoretically give us dinners for an entire week makes it easy to understand how people can be swayed to make unhealthy choices more frequently. 

- Boxed macaroni and cheese, regardless of who makes it, is delicious. And disgusting. All at the same time.

- Take inventory of what you've got before you go shopping. Go through your fridge and your pantry before heading out - or, if you're me, make your fiance do it while you sit on the couch and "menu plan." Don't buy doubles, and if you've got some produce leftover from last week that you know won't last another full week, plan a recipe within the next couple of days to utilize it instead of throwing it out. 

I think I'll post weekly menus for you guys on Mondays. It helps hold me accountable for what I'm eating, and it forces me to plan well so I can share with you my plans without snipping a single coupon. 

Happy Monday, and happy eating, friends!