Snacking & Grazing

So I have found out that what I do between the hours of 1:30pm and 4pm (generally) on workdays is called ‘grazing’ and not ‘snacking’ as I have been calling it.

Okay, that makes me feel like a total cow.

Who comes up with these terms?!

When you sit down with bag of chips and finish the entire thing during a movie, that’s grazing. The constant munch, without really thinking about what you are doing, grazing. A snack is more like a baggie of chips or a conscious mini-meal.

When they say eat 6 meals a day, they really mean 6 snacks.

Snacks in between meals? That’s cool, keeps you full. They say keep your snacks at 150 calories or all of a sudden it’s no longer a snack, or at least, not a healthy choice.

I have large Tupperware containers full of broccoli, baby carrots (sometimes), and cauliflower which I graze on (there is that ‘omg I’m a cow’ feeling again…) all afternoon. Which isn’t as bad as it could be, if I was grazing on something more high calorie… but still probably not a good habit to keep.

Now I remember reading this in ‘Eat This Not That’ but apparently if you are not hungry, snacking in between meals isn’t a good idea, since snacking in between meals is not proven to cut down on the amount of food you eat during your actual meal.

Would you believe, I’m writing this post while snacking on cauliflower? What can I say, I need my inspiration!

Now to help me with snacking while I am at home or on the go I always have pre-cut veggies in the fridge. I’m sorry but it makes it sooo much easier to make good decisions if you can just open the fridge pick up a baggie and snack.

If I didn’t have these prepped what do you think I would prefer? You know how lazy I am, if I hungry and had to eat something I would much rather make myself an omelette or Dukan muffins (going over my daily oat bran allowance) than to prep a green pepper. But if it’s cut up already, the decision is made for me, I don’t have to do anything so I’d might as well just go with the veggies.

I don’t ever buy pre-cut veggies though, too expensive. So I prep all my veggies early in the week all at once. I also prep my chicken breasts for the week all at the same time. Just makes it so much easier to make those good decisions.

I also eat a LOT of raw veggies, so I know they wont be going bad in the back of the fridge.
When I was eating extra lean ground turkey I would also make that, season, add veggies, in big batches and Prawn and I would just add it to our eggs, our grilled veggies, anything as a little added oomf.

It’s all about being more efficient with your time and making things easier for yourself.

Still hungry after that cauliflower, now moved onto celery and orange pepper. Would you look at that, all of a sudden I’m grazing.

Moo.

xoxo

Top 5 Reasons People Don’t Want To Get Healthy

1. I love food too much

I don’t understand this one. I know, you love food. I think the problem here is that you either don’t consider healthy food ‘food’ or that you associate dieting with starving yourself. I have said it 100 times and will say it again, I eat SO MUCH. Too much, but you can still eat really reasonable portions and lose weight, in fact you should never be hungry while dieting, ever. You don’t lose weight on an empty stomach, you lose weight by eating a lot of healthy foods.

Also, healthy food is food. Some of the best meals I have ever had I have made for myself while following Dukan. Stir fries, mini quiches, butternut squash soups, my mustard chickens on the bbq… mmmmm. I have never eaten better in my life, and I have lost 110 lbs! You can eat delicious meals while dieting and being healthy. You don’t even need to be that creative about it.

2. I don’t have the time

Now this would be more for hitting the gym, prepping meals, that kind of thing.
I was one of you, for the longest time when it came to hitting the gym. I know you have heard it before, but seriously, there are so many websites just filled with instructional videos on home workouts, and they are free. Buy a wii for you and your kids and do that, go for a half hour walk, hit the gym. You don’t need to spend an hour in there, just get a run out of the way and there you go. You don’t need to spend a ridiculous amount of time at the gym every day to be active or healthy.

Now, I understand that prepping meals, as well as cooking, it’s difficult. I can imagine it is even more difficult if you have to also make your families meals, clean up after them, workout, work, as many of my gorgeous readers have to do.

I’ll suggest to you to make your lunches the night before, prep meals in bulk, and use the slow cooker to it’s full advantage.

Also, how much time does it take to season chicken breasts and throw them on the bbq or in the oven? You do have options, even with your busy lives.

3. I don’t want to diet, I want a lifestyle change

Oh yes this one, I have ranted about this before. Especially with regards to the Dukan Diet.

I think the problem is that people need immediate results. Well I’m sorry honey, but they don’t always come and if all you are looking for is immediate results without the want to keep some of your newly developed good habits for the rest of your life, stop. You will just gain all the weight back.

With something like the Dukan Diet, you are looking at a lifestyle change. You can’t just eat an entire pizza for dinner every night and assume you wont gain any weight, even if you are on Phase 4 of the Dukan Diet. I really feel that this diet especially has taught me the life skills I need to go on with my life making healthy choices throughout, do you know what that is… a lifestyle change.

& Although I am an advocate for Dukan, you should treat any diet this way, as a way to boost your life back on the healthy track and not as instant results that you can not learn anything from and go back to eating McDonalds every night once the weight is off without any consequences.

4. I have tried so many diets before, none of them work

Another peeve of mine. DON’T GIVE UP! Try again, and then try again! If I had said, oh boy, I tried all these diets and none of them worked, I wont bother trying the Dukan Diet, I would have never lost 110 lbs! Are you kidding me?

It’s so ridiculous, people that give up like that. You always have to keep trying, as long as you make sure every time you are trying a little bit of a different approach, then you are guaranteed to eventually find something that works!

If Dukan had not worked for me I would have tried something else, and eventually something would have clicked and worked for me.

I was thinking about this with regards to working out. There is no way that if I try something new every few months for the rest of my life and don’t give up that within my lifetime I would not find a way to get myself to stick with the gym. No way.

Then guess what I did, found something that worked for me. Yes!

5. Too expensive

If you want to follow a diet, and the diet is too expensive to follow… don’t follow that diet.

There are so many different diets out there, you will never be stuck with an option that is out of a comfortable price range, in fact, there are SO many diets that don’t have a registration fee or weekly food costs, you just have to get the book so you can be informed on the diet, or you could look it up online.

You will never be forced to pay money into a diet, and if you can’t afford it, then just walk away and find something that works for you in every aspect.

Food costs is another expensive part of any diet, because you always have to eat, right? If you are looking at a diet that has imported seafood as mandatory breakfast, lunch, and supper courses… maybe you are looking at the wrong diet.

In my mind Dukan, or any other healthy diet revolved around eating natural wholesome foods that don’t need to be organic, is an inexpensive diet. Just because how terribly I was eating prior, the restaurant costs, the late night snacking. I mean, a bag of chips every day ontop of dinner, dessert… what does that add up to in a year? Much more expensive than my chicken breasts with broccoli, eggs, steaks, any Dukan food really.

xoxo

St Louis - Dieting On Vacation

Now I wrote out a few posts throughout my trip in March to Florida about traveling while on the Dukan Diet. This trip to St Louis has opened my eyes to how easy I had it traveling with my grandparents and how difficult following a strict diet while on vacation can really be.

Now I am following a "modified phase 2" since I am training to compete in a Fitness Competition (just beginning to train, barely any results, definitely not bikini ready... but I digress.) In this modified version of phase 2 I eat fruit, no dairy, no bread, but still eat my celebration meal.

Anyways, this is hard! The most difficult part I think is that I don't have someone that is following Dukan on my side this entire trip, but you know what, seriously, the women I have traveled here with are so amazing and supportive <3 I'm very happy.

So there was the issue of the 13 hour trip here... We drove to Syracuse and then flew through Washington to make it to St. Louis. Number one, I am exhausted. We all are. Number 2... I didn't pack nearly enough food for myself this time. I don't know what I was thinking.

During the 2 hour drive to Syracuse (at 3am) I ate cauliflower, broccoli and baby carrots (while my friends at croissants and muffins... ugh. We have all been there.)

Then once at the airport in Syracuse (waiting, waiting, waiting...) my friends gave me the fruit cups that came with their sandwiches.

Once in Washington (3-4 hour layover) I became really hungry, and then so hungry I was not really hungry. We looked all over the place for something Dukan friendly and after walking all over the airport and me giving up, my friends forced me to continue searching and we found a Subway where I bought an oven roasted chicken breast salad and DEVOURED it.

I had boiled chicken breasts for the trip, really underestimating how many I would eat during the 4 days in St Louis, they were, however, checked in the plane.

Once we finally metro-ed down to our Hotel, which is quite lovely, checked in and found our hotel room, I basically ripped through 1/3 of the chicken breasts I brought because I was so hungry. Terrible.

WE DID END UP GETTING A FRIDGE! Lovely. Generally they are available on request and might cost extra depending. But if you are traveling I strongly recommend doing the fridge thing or bringing a small cooler to fill with ice from the hotel. We went out and did some groceries, I had brought a can opener so I got green beans, tuna. I bought veggies to snack on as well as fruit for breakfast.

I think I will make it and have enough food for the trip. Will be having my celebration meal tonight since we are going out for dinner. I think we are going to a burger and shake place. Yummm.

I feel kindof left out of their food, they all did their groceries together and will be eating all the same meals, not me. We will probably go out to dinner again on Sunday, if I can't have anything where we go I might just end up eating once we get home, but you know, my friends have been super welcoming and not going to places where I can't eat. I love them, this is awesome.

I'll let you know if anything exciting happens.

xoxo

When You Have It All Figured Out

I know I have said this before but I’m not sure if I posted it here, do you know what is cool about finally finding a diet that works for you, as well as dropping all the weight you need to drop?

The fact that I don’t buy magazines anymore!

I still catch myself looking at them, and I know it’s goofy, but what graces the cover of every magazine?

‘Drop 10 lbs in a week!’

‘Look fabulous by New Years!’
 
‘Get your body bikini ready!’

There are always so many different weight loss articles, and it makes me smile but I don’t need to leaf through the magazine to read what they are anymore.

15 new superfoods you can’t live without? No thanks, I’ve got Dukan.

How did Jennifer get her body beach ready? Don’t care, I did Dukan.

It’s hilarious!

Not only do I not need to lose any weight (or so they say) but if I did I know exactly what I would do, a mini attack phase and The Dukan Diet, because I have finally found the diet that works and clicks for me, so why would I need to try anything else?

I know how to lose weight and be healthy, all the secrets I need are right in my handy light blue covered book.

It’s such a weird, relieving feeling, for me as well as for my wallet.

Just a thought, enjoy your day. Make GREAT choices!

xoxo

The Importance of Portion Control & Prawns Progress (Finally!)

OOH MAAAAH GOODNESS! Finally, finally FINALLY after a very long and excruciating 3 month long plateau, yes, 3 months of weighing himself day in and day out The Prawn has broken his plateau.
Not only that... k wait, I need to say this again... PRAWN HAS BROKEN HIS PLATEAU!

My little discouraged partner, finally! I'm so relieved.

Not only that, he not only broke it, but he has finally caught up to me at 110 lbs lost! Oh no! Soon he will beat me! That bugger.

The determination of my Prawn impresses even me, he weighs himself every day you know?

Now I can guarantee you he doesn’t cheat on the diet. That isn't to say he wasn't doing anything wrong, the whole point of this post is a little thing I like to call "Portion Control".

This is so important, especially if you have been following the Dukan Diet for a long time. I find your body gets used to your new way of eating and it stops the weight loss completely. You need to do something different. It isn’t enough to cut out the sugar and carbs, you need to also cut down on your portions, switch it up a little so your body can remember it’s supposed to be losing weight.

Now Prawn hit his first 2 month plateau around month 7 of us following Dukan, I hit my 1 month plateau around the same time. What got me out of my plateau and through to my target weight? I cut down on my portions and cut out dairy.

Prawn was getting incredibly discouraged with this latest weight stagnation. Was considering going into an altered phase 3 where he could enjoy daily cheese and a weekly celebration meal. Just getting desperate for either weight loss or some overall change. I told him I would prepare his meals for a week, and that if he cut down on his portion size for that week he would lose.

Would you look at that, as usual I was right. He really should start listening to me. :P

So congratulations Prawn! Keep up the great effort, you know what works now so keep losing!

To all of you having followed Dukan for a long period of time, who have stopped losing, before considering moving onto Consolidation you should try doing what I got Prawn to try, it worked for both of us. Now remember, we were on Dukan eating A LOT of food for 7 months before our first plateau. We are currently at just under 11 months following Dukan.

Prawn also lost 100 lbs before his first plateau and I had lost about 90 lbs. We are both in our very early twenties so take all this into consideration, your results might not be the same as ours.

Also, by cutting down on portion sizes I am ABSOLUTELY NOT condoning starving yourself or ever being hungry. Be reasonable, and most certainly do not give up!

xoxo

Craic in St. Louis, On the Road Again!

Thursday morning I’m leaving on another trip! All sorts of exciting.

This time I’m not going somewhere tropical, like the Florida trip I came back from mid-March, sadly I must say. I am going to St. Louis, visiting yet another State I have never been to, Missouri!

I’m pumped for this trip, feels like I have been thinking about it for ages and I can’t believe I’m leaving so soon. Once again I have not packed yet. Ugh.

Now I wont be staying in the comfort of my grandmamans home this time… so I’m stressing out about food. Since I have made the decision that I want to train for a bodybuilding competition, I have gotten a lot stricter with what I eat and I’m not sure if our hotel room will have a fridge. It has to have a mini fridge right? I don’t want to be stuck eating only fresh vegetables and canned green beans for the entire trip, right? I’ll die, seriously.

I would want to boil some chicken breasts and bring them in my suitcase, as horrendous as that sounds. Totally stressing about the fridge situation.

Any of my readers live in St. Louis? Can you check it out for me? :P Just scope out my hotel room?
Kidding of course, but if you are from St. Louis, speak up! What is there exciting to do in your lovely city?
I will be travelling with friends from my hometown University Celtic Club, two of those girls are long-time best friends of mine whom I have travelled with before, to France actually. I’m seriously looking forward to this trip.

Why in the world are we travelling to St. Louis? We will be attending an Irish Convention. I got into Irish dancing through one of the ladies I am travelling with, started doing group dancing (called Ceilis) probably 4 years ago? & have attended the monthly Ceilis for about 2-3 years now.

So I’ll be dancing for hours, learning how to play tin whistle, speaking Irish. Just engrossing myself in that culture from Thursday night through Sunday.

I have gone to one of these ‘meetings’ or ‘conventions’ before, but it was a much smaller one several hours from where I live. It was also in Canada, and long time readers should know, I love travelling out of the country and visiting new States. It’s on my bucket list to visit every U.S State and so far I have not made a big dent….

Although to be honest so far this year I have scratched 5 off the list and will be scratching off another veeeery soon.

So in this community we have a word that replaces ‘fun’ basically. It’s ‘craic’ (pronounced ‘crack’). There is your Irish language mini lesson for the day. So go out and have come craic with your diet today! Make something new and Dukan friendly. I’ll be here probably losing my passport, not packing, and stressing about food. Absolutely no craic to be found here! Ooooh goodness.

xoxo

Being Bullied While Following a Diet

I truly love my readers and I want to share an experience that happened to me while following Dukan with you all.

Now I’m in my very early twenties, so I don’t have a family of my own and friends mean a lot to me, let me tell you, when I talk about Fat Friends (a few posts down) I truly mean it, I know what I am talking about.

In the very beginning of the Dukan Diet, up to about 50 lbs lost I had this entire group of fat friends I hung out with. I was really treated badly by them though the entirety of our friendship, and until I cut them out completely from my life. Terrible people.

Anyways.

It started off with the comments, the comments I get from everyone who hears about the diet. That it wont work, that I will gain all the weight back once I get off it (so far not true… I would like to point out, at almost 80 days through Consolidation), that it’s an unhealthy diet, etc. I’m sure you have all heard the comments. They come innocently from the friends who care for you, and judgementally from those who don’t.

The bullying progressed. I once had one of the girls from this group tell me that she could never see me as not fat, that no matter how much weight I lost I would always be the fat friend and she could never see me as thinner than her.

In comparison, one of my best friends in the entire world who was definitely NEVER a terrible fat friend, has told me recently, after seeing one of my ‘before’ pictures, that she was really shocked and surprised to see it because she never saw me that fat. She always saw me like I am now, even though we have known each other for years and years and years.

When I was with this group of friends we would go out to eat, they would never make an effort to accommodate my diet and would always insist on me eating their Chinese food, or pizza or whatever not-Dukan allowed foods they were having that day. They would pressure me, but hey, I resisted.

The comment I would always receive from them, and that I have received from many people, is that ‘just one bite wont make you gain all the weight back’. Yes, but have you ever stopped to think maybe I don’t want to eat that one bite? That I’m not suffering and can make my own decisions as a grown adult about what I want to put in my mouth?

Once we were in the food court and after the ‘One fry! One fry wont make you gain 30 lbs back, this is why it’s impossible, etc etc’ comment one of them thought it would be a great idea to press that fry on my mouth. Not just waving it in my face but taking that extra step and putting it on my mouth. When you are craving fries, what could be worst?

Oh I’ll tell you what could be worst…

One time, after they convinced me to go to yet another restaurant I could not eat at, and ordered chocolate cake for me, even though I insisted they do not do that, because I would not eat it. They all bit into it telling me how absolutely delicious it was and the ‘mmmmss’ and ‘ooooh my goodnessss you need to have a bite of this, best chocolate cake I have ever eaten!’

Well after all that they then tried to fork it into my mouth, like with the fry. Taking the extra step of hiding behind me in turn trying to catch me off guard while I was talking. They ended up getting some in my hair and on my glasses. Fantastic.

Would you believe I didn’t drop them as friends at that point?

It took them starting to exclude me, not invite me to things because ‘why bother, she can’t eat with us anyways’ and I’m going to say, although it might sound egotistical, just out of jealousy, for me to stop all communication with them and move forward with my life.

And I haven’t looked back.

So if you are being put in situations that make you feel uncomfortable, don’t hate yourself, don’t think it must be your fault and second guess your decision to be healthy. I would never want a fat friend to progress into a fat bully for you. Keep your eyes open for terrible people, because they exist my dears.

Keep up the great work, all of you! Don’t cheat today, just work hard and get to your goals because that is the number one way you can rub your success in their faces. By making fabulous new friends and moving on with your life.

xoxo

Bodybuilding, My New Secret Passion?

Now if you have been following my fitness goals and fitness progress, you might know that I have hit the gym every day for 25 days now. After a month in total of daily gym visits (sometimes 2-a-days) I will calm down to 5 days a week minimum for 2 months.

Now when I hit the gym I don’t spend hours and hours there, working every body part, getting a super-solid workout under my belt.

I started off just doing my run, usually running between 15 minutes and half an hour at 6mph on the treadmill.
I then added bicep curls when I got more comfortable and moved up from exhausting myself at 10lbs to 20lbs in these past 25 days.

I will randomly do crunches, shoulder presses, and tricep extensions, but I really had no idea what I was doing, so I would stick to the easy stuff. I will sweat during these workouts, but I don’t spend an extremely long time at the gym. When I’m done, I’m done, and I’ll tell you, going every day is really exhausting.

I have been following the progress over the past few months of this girl I knew from high school. She is a total inspiration to me. She started off at 230lbs and over her months of dedication has gotten so fit and fabulous it’s crazy. She is into bodybuilding so through her I have kindof gotten an impression on the fitness world and the sport of bodybuilding and you know what? I’m digging it!

Now this is obviously a long term goal and dream of mine. I don’t care if it takes me 3 years of hitting the gym but I think I would love to compete in a competition for women! I was floundering, without a clear picture in mind of where I wanted to be, fitness-wise, or what my ideal physique would be. I now have a clear image in my head and I want to strive for it and put in the effort.

I think I can actually do this!

Now there are several different categories of competition, ranging from bikini to bodybuilding and my ideal body type would be bikini. It’s muscular but it’s a lean muscle and allows for a higher body fat percentage.
There are a few minor changes I will have to make to my diet, but it’s still all Dukan-friendly which is so important to me because I am really in love with this diet.

The differences I will have to make to my diet are so minor:

1. Cut down on portion sizes (which I have been meaning to do anyways). 6 meals a day, including protein after my workouts.
2. Protein and carbs in the morning, for breakfast. I do this anyways by making my gallette with egg whites and oat bran. So I’m all set.
3. Only one serving of fruit, and eat it in the morning. This will actually be the most difficult thing to change since I have been so in love with fruit lately. But I can do it. And actually, this will be forcing me to be more Dukan, since in Consolidation I am only allowed a serving anyways.
4. Can still eat a cheat meal.
5. Cutting out all dairy.
6. No alcohol. I was allowing myself a binge-drink a month, cutting it out will be sad for me, but not impossible.

I’ll of course be keeping you guys updated with my progress, hopefully a year and a half to 3 years from now we can all look back at this post as the one that started it all.

xoxo

My Modified Phase 3: Day 77/550 (Also New Before/After Picture!)

One of my best and dearest friends sent me this before picture. Nuts! I had no idea I was this big, like really no idea. Can you imagine? That is 264.8 lbs me. Bad. This 'After' pic was taken really recently before I hit the gym, you can really see the tummy difference eh?

So I have been following phase 3 for a while now, not nearly making a dent in my 550 day consolidation, but it’s something.

Start Weight: 264.8 lbs
Consolidation Weight: 154.8 lbs
Weight At 77 Days: 158.6 lbs

This slight weight gain doesn't bother me, the entire Consolidation phase I have been teetering between 155 lbs and 161 lbs, but I have never gone over this and I plan on it staying that way.

Now I have not been following Consolidation nearly as strictly as I followed the first 2 phases. Here are my modified phase 3 rules and habits:

I eat over a serving of fruit a day. Sometimes eating 3-4 servings of fruit within the day. I don’t eat grapes, cherries, or bananas though, as instructed in the book.

I will sometimes eat over my limit for oat bran going from 3tbsp allowed and eating over 9tbsp on some days.

I do not eat the 2 slices of whole grain bread a day. Or rather, I eat it rarely. In the past month following phase 3 I have eaten the bread maybe three times. I eat it when I want it, and I know I am allowed. I just don’t crave the bread or feel the need for it, so I don’t force myself.

I have not eaten a pasta meal since mid-March. Once again, I just don’t want it. I’m not a fan of whole wheat pasta and I don’t want to force myself. I’m just not in the mood most weeks to make a pasta meal so I don’t eat any.

I rarely eat the daily serving of cheese allowed in Consolidation. I eat the cheese more often then the bread, but it's really just when I crave it, which is maybe once a week.

Long-time readers will know that I put in place my own alcohol rules with regards to phase 3, I have been half-following those rules. I do not have my weekly drink but have been strictly following my 'one binge drink maximum' a month rule. Success!

I have been eating one celebration meal a week. I want to cut down on it but once you get that one cheat meal a week in it's hard to let go. Friends invite me out or dinner with my family and I have a hard time using my phase 1 and 2 excuses. So I celebrate and have my one meal.

Sometimes I overeat during these celebration meals and feel really sick the day after. I think on weeks where I have no invites or plans I will try to skip it and not force the celebration meal on myself.

So that's that. I have not been following it... at all really. What I am really doing is following a modified phase 2 where I eat as much fruit as I want, up my daily oat bran, and include a weekly celebration meal. 


I feel like this way is more of a lifestyle change and less of a diet. I am happy eating this way and know I can have the bread, the cheese, the weekly starch meal. I choose not to and don't feel deprived. Maybe I was in Cruise too long and don't feel like changing the eating habits I made over 8 months, maybe I have matured when it comes to food and I realize I don't need to fill my body with junk.


Is this sustainable long term? Should I start my 'Consolidation' countdown (550 days) when I start eating the bread and cheese daily, or should I start it where I hit my consolidation weight (February 6th 2012). I'm not sure.


xoxo

Mmm Apple Chips - Recipe

These are yummy and REALLY EASY to make. Just pop in the oven and forget about it!

Now I'll tell you guys right now, I prefer these the night after, the chip leftovers. I don't know why, but once they have that overnight sit, they just taste better to me. I'll let you be the judge.



Like I said, easy, so your

INGREDIENTS

Apples, 2 per baking sheet
Cinnamon
Splenda

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.

Line a cookie sheet (or two if you are using 4 apples) with parchment paper.

Now I thought I was slicing the apples a little on the thin side. I was using a vegetable peeler and they were coming out a little uneven. If you have a mandolin, go for it, really. Must be so much easier.

I also didn't core the apple, since I don't have an apple core-er. Do that, please core the apple. I have read that makes it MUCH easier and also less wastage. I ended up slicing half the apple and eating the rest just on it's own. 

The thing is when I ate them at night, they tasted weird, I thought it was because they were so thinly sliced. When I ate them the next morning MMMMMMMMMmmmmmm so good, and it was because they were thinly sliced!

Now I sprinkled the cinnamon (freely) and then the splenda all over. Did not turn them over and sprinkle the other side.

I suggest you dip them in a bowl filled with a cinnamon and splenda mixture or at least flip the little apple slices over so you get both sides covered. I'm sure it will make a difference to the taste.

Pop em in the oven, after an hour take them out and flip them, then bake for another hour. Your house will smell like delicious apple slices.

Take them out, let them cool, put in a airtight container and pop in the fridge, the next morning you can enjoy your delicious apple chips!

Now you know what they say about not being able to eat just one chip? Same goes for these. I finished the bag in like... 3 minutes not even. But at least they were apples!

xoxo

The Problem With the Celebration Meal

In case you are just tuning in now, phase 3 of the Dukan Diet is the Consolidation Phase and something you get to look forward to while following this phase is the CELEBRATION MEAL.

A couple things you should know about the Celebration Meal:

1. It’s a meal, not a day.
2. You can eat absolutely anything you want to eat, anything you have been craving, anything!
3. You are not allowed a second helping of your Celebration Meal.
4. In the first half of phase 3 you are allowed one Celebration Meal a week, in the second half you are allowed two.

A Celebration Meal, as discussed with me by some of my readers, is something you should plan for, something to get you through the week. For instance, looking forward to Friday night when you go out with your girlfriends to such and such a restaurant.

Some of my readers have suggested not making an entire meal of ‘cheat’ foods, but rather adding on side dishes that you enjoyed pre-Dukan to your meal.

So eat your usual Saturday night steak, but add those mashed potatoes you have been craving and a yummy dessert.

This seems all nice and swell doesn’t it? Eating those foods you have been just aching for. If you have a sweet tooth you can finally enjoy a slice of apple pie with a scoop of ice cream to finish off your dinner. You can enjoy a glass of red wine with your supper, or really… anything you could dream of! As long as it’s just the one serving.

Now, having been on Phase 3 for almost 70 days now (where has the time gone?!) I can tell you there is a small problem with the Celebration Meal, at least for me.

I find, even though I have planned the majority of my Celebration Meals out in advance, that because I have allowed myself through the Celebration Meal, to taste a little ‘freedom’, that temptation is harder to resist during the actual week prior to the meal.

This is hard to explain, and I have resisted all temptation, but I feel like I did in the beginning of the diet. When someone would eat a cinnamon bun, slice of pizza, or other delicious food in front of me I would get this sortof pang. I missed the food. Through the many months of following Dukan very strictly I found I had these cravings less and less and by the end of it all, could watch anyone eat anything and not feel a thing.

I didn’t miss the food anymore.

Now that I have opened the floodgate, by allowing myself this ‘Cheat Meal’ basically, I find those feelings are coming back, and it sucks.

I feel that… wanting feeling, and then I think to myself (every time) that I could just move my Celebration Meal up a few days and eat whatever I am craving right then and there. I have (so far) resisted the temptation. But it’s getting more and more difficult.

Also, I was really doing Celebration Meals wrong prior to my vacation, overeating and was always left feeling sick. Just so you are aware, if you eat a proper amount of food you shouldn’t feel ill like I was feeling afterwards.

The meals are fleeting, you finish eating and always realise that you could have totally done without the Celebration Meal. I don’t quite understand it.

xoxo

Shrimp-Stuffed Tomatoes - Recipe

The finished product.

Trying out another one of the recipes off the new Dukan Diet cookbook newly available in Canada and the U.S. This one is found on page 246.

Shrimp-Stuffed Tomatoes, doesn't that sound yummy? I'm a big fan of shrimp so I just had to try this one out, and the picture in the book looks really appetizing.

The recipe was a success, even though it didn't look at thing like in the book and wasn't nearly as delicious tasting as I had anticipated it would taste.

INGREDIENTS:

4 eggs
1 lbs 2 ounces tomatoes (I just used 4 large tomatoes)
Salt and pepper
1 1/4 lbs shrimp, cooked and shelled with tails removed
1 tsp mustard
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup ff plain Greek yogurt

Hard boil the eggs. (The book goes into extensive detail on how to boil your eggs. I wont be posting it word for word here, but if you don't know how to boil an egg I suggest googling it.)

Now the book is written pretty confusingly about the next steps. Jumping all over the place. I have re-arranged the instructions for your reading benefits, this isn't the first time I have had this issue with Dukan recipes. Ahhh well.

Hollowed out tomatoes and mashed shrimp and egg filling.

For the Actual Tomato Part

Cut the tomatoes in half and scoop out their insides. I would keep the insides to make a homemade salsa or to put on salad, the book insists on discarding them, does that mean throw them out? Don't throw them out. Wasteful book suggestions, obviously not Dukan-ing on a budget.

Now, sprinkle the hollowed out tomatoes with salt to taste and place on a plate to drain (I just left them upside down on the cutting board.)

Now, cut two of the hard boiled eggs in half and, in a food processor, combine with the shrimp and pulse until the mixture is finely chopped. Since I do not have a food processor I simply mashed the mixture and it was absolutely fine.

I suggest adding a teensy bit of dill to make this "sauce" even better. Prawn says it was very mustard-ey, he isn't a fan of mustard to begin with though.

For the "Sauce" (Not Pictured In The Book)

Now cut the other 2 hard boiled eggs in half. Take the yolks and crush them with the back of a fork in a small bowl.

Add the mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper. I didn't have lemon juice so I mixed in some lemon and dill seasoning.

Mix in the yogurt and stir until thoroughly combine.

*****

"Deviled Eggs" made with the leftover egg whites, leftover shrimp and some of the "Sauce"

I really liked this "sauce" so what I did instead of throwing out the egg whites not used in the making of the "sauce", I made "deviled eggs" by taking the egg whites and stuffing them with the "sauce" and adding a leftover shrimp. It was pretty yummy! Not mayonnaise? You could have had me fooled!

When ready to serve, top the stuffed tomatoes with the yogurt sauce.

Tried broiling the tomatoes, didn't really notice a major difference in taste. You could easily eat this raw.

Now in the picture the tomatoes looked somewhat cooked? So I thought maybe he skipped an instruction and you had to broil it or bake it or something. I put it in the toaster oven and it did absolutely nothing in terms of taste, and cooking the tomato made it mushier than I would have liked it.

Prawn says the tomatoes pictured in the book were torched. Ah. Well there you have it.

This recipe isn't a meal, it was more like an appetizer. Really yummy nonetheless.

xoxo

Fat You and Your Fat Friends

Doesn’t that sound like a book title? A book title for an incredibly mean book?

This post is all about fat-relationships and how they change after weight loss. Now a fat friend doesn’t have to be overweight, just someone who shares the same bad eating habits as you, or as you did before changing your lifestyle, and when you change your eating habits they try to bring you down.

A fat friend can be your family member, your significant other, you can have a whole group of friends who I would consider fat friends, or maybe you just have the one fat friend.

There is a show on TLC called ‘My 600 lbs Life’ a 4-part show that follows cases of extreme stomach stapling patients throughout 7 years of their lives.

I have not seen a single episode where the 600 lbs persons family was thin. Ever.

In this show I have watched the fat family of the patients make fun of them, be mean to them, eat food in front of them and tempt them. Not accepting to make the change in their own lifestyles and instead trying to bring down the person. A little side note, none of the 600 lbs patients kept the weight off throughout the 7 years.

Prawn was a fat friend of mine. Throughout our weight loss journey we had to change our relationship from fat friends who ate out at restaurants all the time, and shared most of their interactions over food, to people who actually did other things together, ate healthy together and cooked their meals at home. It’s a very difficult concept to explain, but if Prawn hadn’t changed his eating habits to match mine, I would have lost him as a friend.

When you change from a fellow fat friend to someone who eats healthily and makes good choices, your fat friends seem to disappear or try to bring you down back to their level. When you are eating McDonalds every day, you like having friends who don’t judge you when you order your 2 double cheeseburgers dressed like bigmacs. You want fat friends who support your decision and sit in front of you with their burgers and fries and pig out just like you.

When you step away from fat friend status what happens? Now all of a sudden you are sitting in front of them with the salad you brought from home while they chow down on the food they feel guilty for, and especially guilty because you are making good choices. Sometimes they feel like you are rubbing your health in their faces, your results, your weight loss, and you lose them as friends.

Can your friendship last? That’s what separates a fat friend from an actual friend. I have definitely lost fat friends throughout this journey. People who I thought were actual friends, but in reality split after I achieved success with my diet and stopped making the same bad eating choices as them.

I was picked on by my fat friends before I stopped communicating with them. Picked on and made fun of. I was bullied by some of them, but that’s for another post.

Dieting is so difficult on it’s own, who needs someone bringing them down? You need to surround yourself with positive people who motivate you to better yourself, not jealous people who try to bring you down.

Just because someone makes bad eating choices doesn’t make them a fat friend, not at all.

So how can you spot a fat friend? Someone is a fat friend if they:

1. Make you feel badly or guilty for making good food choices,
2. Don’t accept whatever food decision you are doing and try to pressure you into eating bad or not allowed foods,
3. Repeatedly tell you the diet wont work or that you will gain all the weight back when it’s over, even after you have told them to stop,
4. Make you feel negatively about your body or about your new healthy habits.

If someone tries to pressure you continuously or makes you feel sad or guilty, you should probably stop communication with them. Jealous of your success, these fat friends will keep pushing and pressuring and maybe someday they will catch you on a bad day, you will cave and cheat and then how will you feel?

Terrible.

Good luck, and keep on losing! I’m always so proud of you guys for trucking on and losing the weight, as slow and painful as it might seem. You rock.

Surround yourself with positive people, make new, healthier friends.

xoxo
　
　

What is the Least Healthy Food In Your Home Right Now?

Today I ask you, what is the most unhealthy thing you have in your home?

Now I know the majority of my readers are women with husbands, or kids, so maybe I should rephrase this question… What is the most unhealthy thing you have eaten in the past week? Month? Or what is the most unhealthy thing you have in your pantry or fridge for YOU.

Its a good question. Well, think about it.

Now you should have a hard time with this. I know I did. Thinking about it I’m like… mustard? Oat bran? Steak?

Its so hard to think of the most unhealthy thing you are eating when everything you are eating is healthy! This is such a great thing to realise. I am not starving myself, and yet, everything in my house is healthy, and I am happy with that. I hadn’t even realised!

Now take it back to a little over 10 months ago… what was the most unhealthy thing I had in my house then? Oh man, I have a hard time with this as well, but only because there are SO MANY options.

Kraft Dinner? Twizzlers? Pringles? The frozen dinners I was eating every day? The sugary cereal for my breakfasts? The muffins, cookies, ice cream? They are all so bad for me and any one could compete for the place of ‘unhealthiest food item’ in my home 10 months ago… not anymore!

A little something to think about and maybe if your answer came a little faster than mine (for instance, the chips you have tucked away as an emergency snack) just chuck ‘em. If you let it into your home you are inviting it into your stomach and wouldn’t you feel so much better without the temptation?

Anyways, make good choices today you guys!

xoxo

Oat Bran Cinnamon Chocolate Cookie - Recipe

The first recipe I try out of my new Dukan Cookbook and would you look at that, a total success! Even Prawn really enjoyed them.

*A little note, I tried instead of microwaving these, to put them on a stovetop pan... They came out mushier and really delicious. Make sure to watch them so they don't burn. Cook and then flip like a pancake. Yummy!
INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp oat bran
1 tsp cocoa powder
Dash of cinnamon
2 tbsp skim milk
1/4 tsp sweetner, I used just 1 satchet of Sweet n Low
1 drop vanilla extract

The cookie pre-microwave.

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Make sure it is a small bowl, I used a big one and it was sortof a pain to scrape the 'cookie dough' out. Also, make sure not to put too much cinnamon, you can really taste it because the recipe doesn't yield a ton of batter.

Transfer cookie mix onto a microwave-safe plate. The book says to form into a cookie shape, but it's easier to just drop it into a round dollop and not play with it.

The cookie after 1 1/2 minutes in the microwave (I wanted it not too soft and not too crispy.)

Microwave for 1 minute on high. For a crispier cookie, microwave on high for an additional minute and let it cool for 2 minutes.

I really enjoyed it. Doesn't make too many cookies so you end up binging. Just the perfect sweet-snack. I recommend it!

I'm really glad the first recipe I try out of the book made for something good. I was kindof scared. Yay!

xoxo

The New Dukan Diet Cookbook - Picture!

I was out at the mall yesterday, stopped into a Coles bookstore looking for Fitness for Dummies or Running for Dummies, or Bodybuilding for Dummies... with a giftcard my dad gave me for Easter since I wanted to skip on the chocolate.

I successfully skipped out on the chocolate by the way. Wasn't even that difficult (I know, so hard to believe). :)

I couldn't find anything so I walked out of the bookstore and then stopped. Just stopped. I remembered the new Dukan Cookbook I didn't end up pre-ordering and went back in. A lady asked me if she could help and I asked her where it is but my eyes landed on it immediately.

At the checkout she asked me if I enjoyed the Dukan Diet and when I told her I lost 110 lbs on it she was completely floored. I felt so happy and proud and I still can't stop smiling.

I know the recipes in the actual Dukan Diet book are a hit and miss, but I'm looking through the recipes in this book and it seems they have made a few changes to a few and they look yummy, actually.
There are even some pictures, really well taken pictures. I'm excited to try a few of these.

An example of how they changed some of the recipes is where for the White Sauce recipe I tried earlier this week, he suggests putting cornstarch in... I guess he read your comment on my post Sonia :P

Anyways, I am already picking up some ingredients to try out some of these, namely Shrimp Stuffed Tomatoes and Cinnamon Chocolate Cookies. Very excited.

Also with regards to my fitness, I am on a complete winning streak! Yesterday marked a full 2 weeks straight of working out and today I have convinced the Prawn to come workout with me!

Only another 2 weeks of daily workouts and I can calm down to 5 minimum a week. I took another progress picture in my undies. I feel that motivates me the most because I want to see results. So far only a little bit of a change in the belly area, otherwise, nothing too drastic. Prawn says my butt looks rounder... thanks Prawn.

xoxo

Oat Bran and Herb Crusted Baked Fish - Recipe



This was a good recipe, as usual there are a few things I would do differently next time. For one... I would use WAY less oat bran.

INGREDIENTS

4 large fish fillets (I used Basa, but any other white fish would probably do.)
1 egg
1/2 cup of oat bran and spices. I used a blend of garlic, Epicure's Pueblo Bean Dip, lemon and dill, salt and pepper as well as a couple other spices to coat the fish.

Beat an egg.

Take 4 basa fillets, defrosted, and give them an egg wash.

As you can see here the oat bran at the top couldn't soak up all the egg so it just ended up sitting there. With less oat bran and more spices this fish dish has the potential to be really delicious.

I then coated the fish in the herb and spice mixture and baked them at 350 until I ran a fork through them and they were flaky and cooked.

I put too much oat bran to try and make the coating crispy but because I put so much the oat bran at the top didn't soak up the egg and the oat bran at the bottom couldn't crisp up enough. Next time I will put more spices and less oat bran.
Also, I think next time I cook them I will try pan frying them in a little oil, maybe the coating will be crispier.

xoxo

Green Cabbage Gratin - Recipe



Oh, I was on such a winning streak when it came to the Dukan Diet book and it's recipes. This one was a definite miss.

Not only was it bland but the white sauce curdled when it was cooked. There are a few things I think could be changed to make it better because it does have the potential to be good. This recipe can be found on page 216 of the Dukan Diet.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 lbs green cabbage, washed and corsely chopped
1 tsp salt
1 recipe White Sauce
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 375

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the cabbage, cook for 5 minutes on high heat.

Add the salt and drain the cabbage.

With the white sauce and the egg before putting it in the oven.

Place the cabbage in a baking dish and stir in the White sauce.

Beat the egg and pour it over the cabbage.

Fully cooked, golden brown green cabbage gratin.

Bake uncovered for 25 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Now, Prawn says it wasn't bad, it just wasn't good. I think the bland-ness is to blame for that. Prawn says it would be really good with grated ff cheese on it. If I were to remake this I would add ff cheese (if I could find some) or I would make it with scrambled eggs and ham or reduced fat bacon.

xoxo

White Sauce - Recipe

INGREDIENTS

2 raw eggs yolks
1/2 cup nonfat milk
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup ff plain yogurt

Beat the egg yolks in a bowl.

In a double boiler, heat the milk until it is slightly warm. I didn't have a double boiler so I made one by placing a bowl that was conductive of heat and safe to use on the stove over a saucepan of boiling water. If you are making a double boiler make sure the bowl is substantially larger than the pan or pot by at least 2-3 inches. Apparently this method actually works better than an actual double boiler.

You just have to be careful not to burn yourself if steam escapes from around the bowl while it is over the pan.

Once the milk is heated add salt and pepper to taste.

Pour a small amount of milk over the egg yolks and mix thoroughly.

Incorporate the egg-and-milk mixture into the double boiler and beat until thoroughly incorporated.

Add the yogurt and mix thoroughly. Serve immediately.

Now I made this to go with the Green Cabbage Gratin, after cooking it in the oven the yogurt curled. I didn't mind the sauce though before it curdled, I think it might be good with fish. A little bland. I don't know if I would recommend this sauce though.

xoxo

Sports, Fitness & Overweight Parents

I hit my first ever fitness goal! Obviously I set the bar too low. In only 9 days of hitting the gym daily and running on the treadmill I hit my goal to run for 30 minutes straight at 6mph.

I feel so proud of myself.

This time last year I couldnt even jog on a treadmill at 5kph for fear of spraining my ankles (again).

This time last week I couldnt even jog at 5mph for more than 10 minutes without basically DYING.

I really feel like I achieved something here.
So now what?

I think I will try making my way up to 6mph for 30 minutes at a 5% incline!

I want a goal I will have to work extra hard for, for longer than 9 days. Im hoping to be able to hit it by this time next year.

I never in my life thought I would be a runner. Can you imagine?

As of today I have hit the gym for 11 days in a row, which is also a GIANT accomplishment for me.
I guess I am just in the right place mentally.

I took pictures in my undies a week into working out, I want to take one every 7 days to keep me working extra hard. I think its a great idea for me.

The other day I went outside and played volleyball with my younger siblings. I then went to the gym, ran for half an hour, and then played basketball with my sister. I had FUN! I was running around with them, being active and it was so much fun.

I think I want to join a sports team! If you knew the old me, the overweight, lazy, me, you would be just as shocked as I am currently. I think I will actually join a volleyball team or something. I feel so pumped!

It has made me think, overweight parents must have such a difficult time keeping up with their kids, having fun with them. Playing sports with my siblings has made me so thankfull that I never had any kids when I was as heavy as I was before. I couldnt have had any fun with them. Playing with my kids would have been a chore and I cant imagine how much my heart would have broken.

I mean, dragging along an extra 100 lbs while trying to keep up with your little monsters must just be exhausting, even more exhausting than regular parenting. I can't imagine.

You can look forward to a couple recipe posts tomorrow by the way, sorry about the wait. ;)
xoxo

Yet Another Reason Losing Weight is Awesome for You

People who start liking themselves start taking better care of themselves in all areas of their lives. this is something The Prawn has opened my eyes to and as usual, I will explain further.

At the end of my weight loss I guess I must have started feeling pretty good about my body, can you blame me? I was no longer 265lbs, I was no longer even 200lbs! I had achieved something and felt good and happier.

I started brushing my teeth 3 times a day instead of 1, maybe 2 times.

Now I know this doesn't seem like something crazy. It's a good habit I picked up and Prawn explained to me why... because I started to like myself, so I started taking better care of myself.

I now choose to eat fruit, vegetables, as snacks. I care about my body.

I find it easier to resist chocolate bars, and other sweet things because I care about my body now! I get my eyebrows waxed, I wear contact lenses rather than my glasses, I wear makeup more often and I love getting my picture taken!

It has been noticed by a few of my friends that I don't untag myself out of facebook pictures anymore, that I let people take pictures of me and have had a surge of new pictures uploaded of me on facebook, for the world to see, I never did any of that when I was bigger because I was ashamed of my body and how I looked.

And although I still have issues, my thighs, my arms, my belly. I think I'm flabby and my chin is still ugh for me. I am not happy with how I look but am happier and have made steps towards being healthy, huge steps and as a result, am taking better care of myself.

Just a thought.

xo

Why You Are So Thirsty On Dukan - Acid and Alkaline Levels

Woah woah woah! HOLD THE PHONE!

My mom said something to me that just CLICKED! Basically, this information is genius and is something you must know before following and during your Dukan Diet journey.

I'm really excited to share this with you, this is something that might make a lot of sense to the people currently following Dukan.

I want to look more into this... obviously I'm not anything close to resembling a med student, but here it goes.

All the foods we eat have either an acid balance or an alkaline balance.

Wait... before I start let me tell you this: for the past few months Prawn and Is hands have been cracking, our skin feels tight and dry, our lips are in pain from how dry they have become and we are always THIRSTY.

Please note that we have been following the diet strictly for almost 10 months now.

I think I just got your attention, if you follow the Dukan Diet you always feel THIRSTY (at least I have seen a few people mention this problem). I am so thirsty I have to drink over 6L of water just to feel ok and not dehydrated.

Why is this? Why do we feel this way?

It's because when following a diet like Dukan, heavy in meats, we are drowning our bodies in ACID.

Our bodies need to have an alkaline balance, not an acid balance. Here, check out this list my mom sent me. You might notice that although on Dukan we do not eat a lot of the foods on that list, almost all protein that we can and do eat, happens to be on the acid side of the list. Terrible!

I'm going to start eating even more veggies... maybe that will help.

Also, another realization, a lot of people I talk about the diet to get sick. I have had at least 4-5 women start and get sick within a few weeks and then quit the diet. This is (I'm assuming) because their acidity levels are too high because of the diet! Maybe some people can handle less acidity in their systems.

My mom says she has strips to test your acid and alkaline levels. I will test this out Easter Sunday and let you know if it's true that my acid levels are through the roof. I feel like they must be, how else to explain that my body is reacting in a way a person, poisoned with their acidity levels though the roof would react...

xoxo

Why the Dukan Diet Works for Me When No Other Diet Does

Had a long and nice talk with my dad yesterday. Number one, he definitely doesn't read my blog. You suck dad :P

(He doesn't suck, my dad rocks, but I digress)

He is the only person in the entire world who knows me better than I do... well maybe my mom. But let's focus here.

Why does the Dukan Diet work for me while no other diet will? How come I am having trouble motivating myself to workout, when I have proven that I can indeed motivate myself to do something difficult and succeed?

Well thanks to my dad, I can tell you all, and maybe motivate you to either start the diet or teach you a little something you might not have known about yourself.

I motivate myself using self deprivation, also, I am lazy.

That's it, that's exactly it.

How come I can be disciplined and save money? Because I don't have to do any actual work, I don't have to take action, I just have to deprive myself from buying things.

How come I can't do a calorie counting diet or Weight Watchers points? That's actual work and I am lazy, but a diet like Dukan works for me because I don't have to keep track of anything or do any actual work, there is a list of foods I can eat and I don't eat any of the foods not on that list. So easy and simple. I don't have to put in any extra effort, I just deprive myself of foods I'm not allowed and tah-dah.

I have not cheated while on this almost 10 month journey, not because of any actual effort I did. I didn't have to track anything, I didn't have to get up and go to the gym. I dropped the weight by deprivation because that is how I motivate myself to succeed in anything.

I'm also lazy and love to eat and snack, which I did the entire diet. I have not felt hungry this entire dieting process. Am I doomed to fail in phase 4 when I am not surrounded by such strict rules? I couldn't tell you but it scares me to death about gaining the weight back.

Such a hard thing to learn about myself. I feel pretty hopeless about the whole working out thing. My dad says I should try and motivate myself by telling myself that if I don't work out I will not allow myself to touch my iPhone or have internet for a day-week-whatever.

It doesn't work that way though, I know I will just cheat and do it anyways.

But I have to try something! I need to stay motivated with the working out.

So instead of being the kind of person who finds inspiration and motivation in working hard and going for things, I am the kind of person who can find success in having things taken away from me.

Ugh.

xoxo

An Update On My Fitness

I think I have finally figured out the secret to getting myself to the gym!

This  whole 'goals' thing has totally worked so far, I'm at a record breaking 4 days straight of hitting the gym!

Whaaaat? I know right!

I am having a really hard time coming up with goals that follow the 'SMART' method when it comes to weight lifting. It is harder to measure and I'm not entirely sure where my fitness is currently at or what to strive for. Making a running goal was easier but still pretty difficult. I find myself just staring at the computer screen, not really knowing what to do. I have wasted a lot of time just unsure of my goals and as you can see (if you click the tab above) I still have only one goal to go for.

I hit my first mini goal the other day and I was so proud to do it! It almost killed me, I'll have you know, but literally 30 seconds after I hopped off the treadmill I felt fine so I am very glad I kept at it for the entire 10 minutes. I feel so proud of myself!

I don't know how I can possibly run 30 minutes... but hopefully I can work my way up to it.

I have basically been getting in the gym, hopping on a treadmill right away and running. Once my 10 minutes is up I have been hopping off and going home right away. That way I don't have the excuse that going to the gym takes too long. It's literally a super-quick workout and then it's over and I can go home to eat dinner.

I even ran on my lunch break at work! Drove the the gym, hopped on and had a quick shower.

Making good gym choices has even affected other aspects of my life. I could have picked up Greek yogurt or deli chicken after my workout yesterday to munch on but instead I picked up berries. Yum!

I'm really happy right now, I can't wait to figure out goals for other aspects of my fitness and really get it done.

xoxo