I've officially lost 2 pounds!!

I weighed myself the other day and the scale showed that I lost 2 pounds but I didn't want to get too excited because I know that our weight flucuates. This morning I weighed myself just to make sure and sure enough I lost 2 pounds!! This past year I have gained 15 pounds-which I like to attribute to starting a "real job" but whatever the reason was I am not having it!! I have always been athletic and my 5 foot 9inch frame carries the weight fairly evenly but my desired weight is 145lbs. I am on my way!...Funny story, yesterday's post I confessed to sleeping a total of 14 hours and once my hubbie read my post, he was like "are you sure you want to tell them that you slept that long?" I laughed, and told him that he obviously doesn't understand why I am blogging about my life. It's not because I want to look good it's because I HAVE to hold myself accountable and I HAVE to get back on track! And as Charles Stuart Platkin from I Want To Save Your Life says, "living healthfully is a about evolution not revolution".

Sorry that I eat this same breakfast so much. It just sits so well. BORING, I know!
Gabe made an early dinner of Barbeque Chicken Pizza. I would share the recipe, but it wasn't the healthiest. It was one of those splurge meals. But I am proud to say I only ate these 2 pieces! That is quite the triumph for me with pizza.
Our landlord lives above us and he and his wife always bring us treats. They are seriously the nicest people ever. They are for real new yorkers, and if you were on their bad side I'm sure life would be hell. But luckily they love us. Probably because I am a clean freak and we don't party;) They bring us treats ALL the time. I am usually not the biggest fan. I am picky about my treats. But it was so nice of them and we are very grateful. This fruit dessert was caked in sugar, which I just think is unneccissary. The fruit is totally sweet enough on it's own. I ate a bite of it and passed it on to Gabriel.
Tonight's snack was some parmesean goldfish. The way I keep myself in check with these sort of snacks, you know the ones where you could eat the whole bag if you didn't pay attention, is measure them out before hand.
The picture is not great, but this is what one serving of goldfish looks like. Not a bad snack for 130 cals.
I needed my chocolate fix. This sugar-free chocolate and vanilla pudding did just the trick and coming in at 60 calories I was a guilt-free gal afterwards!

Work-out:
-Gabe and I kicked up the mileage today to 4 miles. We signed up for a 10k on the 4th of July and we will be running it with my fitness guru brother, so we are ready to kick up the training to a new level!

The weekend is over but at least it's warm outside. Sunday nights I find to be the hardest of the entire week, but I am going to try to stay positive! Do you gals have a hard time on Sunday nights?

Obama loves me.

Hope everyone is having a relaxing and enjoyable weekend!! Sorry I didn't post yesterday, sometimes you just need a day off. Today was so refreshing! I slept for 12 hours and managed to take a 2 hour nap. That may not even be healthy but I was pleased with it!

Gabe wins the sweetest hubbie award today again, he woke me up to this scrumptious smoothie. I love that you can add in fruit that is just a little bit too ripe and it tastes just the same. We got some Vanilla Almond Breeze to put in mix. It is really delicious-90 cals per serving, a great alternative to milk for the vegan's or lactose-intolerant readers.
Again, he added a carrot to mine after pouring his own. He's missing out!
After waking up from a nap I ate some whole wheat english muffins with cheddar cheese. I burned these a bit but they were still quite tasty.

So, tonight we weren't sure what we wanted to do so we just got on the train into the city and stopped at 14th street. Right when we got off the train we saw all these people collected around 6th avenue. We didn't even know what we were waiting for but within five minutes of standing around trying to figure it out here comes all these police on motorcycles and helicopters over head and OBAMA! Yeah, so that was what all the fuss was about. That's what I love about New York. You never know who you are going to happen upon.
He's in the back seat. He waved at me. I'm certain it was me who he waved at, specifically me.
After our OBAMA experience we traveled over to Phebe's Tavern and Grill. I had a barbecue chicken salad. This baby had a kick to it!! I guzzled 3 diet cokes to try to save my tongue from burning off! I have very sensitive taste buds!
Tonight was the ultimate splurge...chocolate mousse cake. I am totally salivating looking at this picture!! It was so damn good. So f-ing good.
After our delicious meal we walked around the city like crazy, just soaking up the beautiful weather. We walked around for a couple hours and I was craving a trashy gossip magazine and a little snack for the train ride home.

Work-out:
-I still want credit for my yesterday work-out! I ran 3 miles with Gabe. I could really feel like I am getting in shape. I was ready to run another 2 miles at least!

-Today I just walked, walked, walked. About 2.5 to 3 miles in all.

You all have to check out this giveaway at Zesty Cook, Zesty Giveaway: Blog Makeover.
Thanks for reading friends!

Migraine Momma

Today I would have happily forfeited sharing my eats for the day...but I'm in this for better or worse. Perseverance is going to be key to attaining the level of fitness that I want to reach. So today I got a MAJOR migraine and had to come home early to sleep it off because that is the only thing that works. I get super scared when I am getting a migraine because I have epilepsy and my seizures always start with a migraine. So I went home and fell dead sleep for 5 hours. I probably would have slept longer but I had to pee.

I had time before I went to work this morning to eat out of a civilized bowl. This is quite the treat.
When I woke up from my crazy long nap I wasn't in the mood to make dinner and Gabe wasn't getting home till late from the office so we ordered Chinese. I never feel right after eating this sort of greasy food and it is for that reason that I ask myself, why do I bother eating it?? But, life happens and sometimes I am not up for fighting the fight. I only ate about half of this and then my stomach started talking back and I just threw it away. Blah!!! On the bright side I got a pretty sweet fortune in my fortune cookie, "You are given the chance to take part in an exciting adventure." and "You will be traveling and coming into a fortune." That's good news, right??

Work-out:
-nadda! Migraine kicked my butt out of commission.

Sorry about the measly post. I'm going to walk the pup now. Hope you guys have some fun plans for the weekend!!

Power of positivity

I said it was going to be a better day, and it was. The power of a positive attitude never ceases to amaze me! Now I just need to apply that more often! Today really did just fly though. Hope you all had a great hump-day as well:)

As I am always running late in the morning I usually eat cereal and other such easy meals, but today my sweet hubbie made me a smoothie before work. So, so sweet.
Gabe put a carrot in mine and I liked it better with it because all the fruit can get a bit sweet. The carrot tamed it down.
My whole wheat english muffin peanut butter and jelly sandwich just looks pathetic but it really it was yummy. I have been cutting down a lot on the diet soda but today I had a hankering for it that Pelligrino could not satisfy.
Pre work-out snack.
Another all American meal. Tonight was my first grocery store rotisserie turkey though. It was soooo good! Like I've said before I'm really picky about the meat I eat, if I eat any at all and this I highly recommend. This entire meal was under $10 for the both of us and there is plenty left over. What a freakin deal!
I snacked on some fresh pineapple while watching So You Think You Can Dance? I certainly wish I could dance!!
We grocery shopped tonight and Pellegrino's were on sale. You have to get so creative with space living in nyc...this particular arrangement gives my interior design husband an ulcer.
Late night munchies was so satisfying. This is my first time trying Laughing Cow cheese. 35 calories per wedge. You all HAVE to try this cheesy wonderment out!!!

Work-out:
-Fitness Club. Today we FINALLY got equipment for my club!!! It's May and I ordered it 5 months ago but whatever it's here and it's wonderful. This little gift definitely contributed to my day being better. In our shipment we got mats, resistance bands, exercise balls, medicine balls, lots of sports balls, cones, and it was like Christmas opening up all those boxes. I feel so official.

Today we took advantage of the resistance bands. I wanted to use the exercise balls as well but I couldn't find a pump this afternoon. You can get such an amazing work-out from resistance bands! Here's what we did...
-Lateral Raises 12 reps, 3 sets
-Bi-cep curls 15 reps, 3 sets
-Tri-cep kickbacks 12 reps, 3 sets
-Military Press 12 reps, 3 sets
-Seated Calf Raises 15 reps, 3 sets
-Hip Flexors 12 reps, 3 sets
-Lunges 10 reps, 3 sets
-STRETCH!

I am spent friends. You guys seriously have no idea how much blogging and your support has changed my life. I am making such better decisions because I am accountable now. I can't imagine that my life is that crazy interesting for you to keep up on but I will continue to try to share my tips and secrets and offer encouragement. By the way I've never mentioned that I am a Certified Personal Fitness Trainer through AFAA as well as a Social Worker, so hopefully I will have some info. and resources that will be useful. Thank you all for helping me be a better person:)

Is today Ground-hog's day?

Today felt like Ground-hound's Day the movie. Like I was just going through the motions. I am a year out of college now and it's nearly been a year at my job and I am still not used to the monotony of a 9 to 5 job. Do you ever get used to that feeling?? Hopefully I am just feeling a little Senioritis because it's coming up on Graduation for my High Schooler's. Hopefully. Minus the fact that I am not a Senior or a student for that matter. Anyways....

I started the day with my Power House Go Lean Kashi. When I got off the subway this morning I realized that I had the cereal pellets all over my shirt. Sweet. It's a good thing no ones cares in New York, I'm pretty sure I would have to only be wearing cereal pellets in order to be stared at;)

Morning snack. I love baby carrots. I just love them.
This is certainly not the most attractive picture but I promise it tastes better then it looks! Kashi Rachero Beans. This is my favorite Kashi microwave meal.
While I was working out I starting feeling dizzy so I ran up to my locker and had half my Kashi Bar. I'm really glad I had something to eat in my gym bag or else I would have quit mid-exercise. Planning ahead is critical!!
Gabe and I were slackers this weekend about planning meals ahead and we were feeling defeated today so we met up at the 5th Avenue Cafe near our apartment. I was trying to make a healthier choice by ordering a salad but this salad did not serve me justice. It was far too meaty. The meat you see here isn't even half of it either! Groddy!...(I was a vegetarian for years and I eat mainly vegetarian now, still don't care for too much meatiness). I ate about half of it and then gave in and ordered a grilled cheese.
Grilled cheese sandwiches are the ultimate comfort food. Eating a grilled cheese is like getting a big hug from your cuddly grandmother. It's that good.
My Edy's is all gone:(

Work-out:
-20 minutes eliptical trainer on interval setting
burned 223 calories
-20 minutes treadmill at level 8 incline 3.6 speed
burned 228 calories
(Putting the treadmill at a higher incline will dramatically increase the amount of calories you burn.)

I hope you all had a much less robotic day then mine. Tomorrow is new day, and I am determined to make it a great one:) Good night friends!

Happy Memorial Day!

Hope you all enjoyed this Memorial Day! Since my brother joined the Air Force I have a whole new appreciation for this day and our country for that matter. My Parents go all out on Memorial Day, my Pops put 25 American flags in their front yard! I wish they had sent me a pic so I could share with you, it is quite the sight! I think they even put flags up in their neighbors yards! Gotta appreciate the Patriotism:)...So today was beautiful and New York shopping was treating me well! 40% off kitchen appliances at Macey's, so we bought a blender. I am so excited to make smoothies! Gabe and I have been married for 2 and 1/2 years and we have yet to get some kitchen essentials so we are still working on that.

I doubled up on the strawberries this morning with my fage and granola. What am I going to do when strawberries are out of season???
We ate at Buddies Burrito and Taco Bar in Brooklyn. This place is such a steal! $2.65 for a stacked vegetarian taco. So filling and delicious. This guac is too die for! If you're in Brooklyn you have to check this authentic Mexican restaurant out.
After lunch we went into the city to shop at Macey's. Afterwards I needed me a Red Mango fix. This is REAL frozen yogurt. Like they literally froze yogurt, you are probably like, "duh" but it's different and it's hella good! 120 cals for a small and the chocolate chips are another 100 cals. Chocolate is most always worth it;)
Trying out our new blender. We added 2 bananas, a cup of strawberries, 1 mango, 1/4 cup of milk, and some ice.
I calculated the cals on Calorie King and this big shake containing 3 servings of fruit came out to only 165 calories! I can't wait to try all sorts of smoothies.
After some hard core shopping I fell asleep on the coach and Gabe didn't wake me up till 8:30pm and I was hungry! While waiting for my dinner I had a 100% Whole Wheat english muffin with some cheese melted on top.
This Lean Cuisine french bread pizza hit the spot tonight! Can you believe there are only 340 calories in this bad boy?!
After dinner and the Jon & Kate Plus 8 Season Premiere (makes me so sad they might get a divorce, I'm hoping it's just a promotion scheme) we walked down to King Tomatoes, the produce GOD. I was thrilled to get a TON of fruit this week for our smoothies:)
Can you believe we have a bowl big enough for all this fruit? Gabe talked me into this wooden bowl (it's freaking huge) but it was a deal-$20 at Amazing Savings. I like it, it just takes up a lot of space, that we don't have. Oh well, the sacrifices you make when your married to an Interior Designer;)

Work-out:
- I did some research on how many NYC blocks make a mile. Here is what I found...
"In large cities the number varies depending upon the original grid layout. In NYC (Manhattan) the number of north-south blocks per mile is 20. East-west blocks (between avenues) are typically just under 5 north-south blocks in length, so the number of east-west blocks per mile is 4."-WikiAnswers
-With this info Gabe and I walked about 1.5 while shopping today
-I also did some upper-body lifts at home. I used 10 pound dumb-bells for this entire work-out.
-Military Press 12 reps, 3 sets
-Tricep Extensions 12 reps, 3 sets
-Shoulder Shrugs 15 reps, 3 sets
-Bicep Curls 12 reps, 3 sets
-Arm Raises 12 reps, 3 sets

This weekend has been so absolutely wonderful. I am not ready to go back to work but at least it's a short week. I just wanted to say, thank you to you all for reading and supporting me:) I have been so much healthier since I started this blog. I'm happier and I just feel better about myself. So thank you, thank you, thank you:)

Tracy Morgan and me are TIGHT!

Well, we saw each other on the streets of Manhattan at least. 30 Rock is one of my favorite shows so I was floored, minus the fact that Tracy looked like a pompous a-hole. So we didn't ask for his autograph or a picture. He was walking with a chick and he didn't look like he was in the mood. Anyways, there's my claim to fame...Today has been so absolutely beautiful and glorious. We had a bbq with the neighbors, we won raffle tickets to Avenue Q, and we were able to enjoy a late night in the city because we don't have work tomorrow!!!
There is some Fage Total 0% and granola under those banana's and strawberries. This breakfast makes me feel so healthy and ready to take on the day.
Gabe made these cream cheese brownies for our neighbors bbq. We got the recipe from Smitten Kitchen. Visit it, they have THE BEST dessert recipes! I also ate a hot-dog and a big salad for lunch. I didn't take a picture because as I was trying to explain to my neighbors about my blogging, they just didn't get it. We don't know them very well and sometimes it can just be awkward. So with that I kept my camera turned off:)
Gabe and I are huge on trying for raffle tickets at Broadway shows. We have won them at Wicked and now Avenue Q. You go to the show about 2 hours before and put your name in a box, have your ID and about $40 in cash ready and you are on your way to front row seats. My name was called tonight and I realized that I didn't have my ID. I felt so dumb! Luckily, very luckily Gabe's name was called. Avenue Q was hilarious. A crude spin on the Muppet Show.
Dinner before the show was beloved Chipotles. I tried the salad for the 2nd time tonight, I really like it! I counted the calories on Calorie King and my salad is about 400 calories. A lot better then my 800+ calorie rice bowl:)
After the show I was craving something sweet and since I had already had a brownie (or 2;)) I decided on some fruit.

Don't you just love the beginning of summer weather?? It just seems like everyone is in a better mood, maybe it's just that there are more tourists in nyc! Either way I feel recommitted to living a healthy lifestyle and being my best self. Do you guys feel more motivated to live healthy when it's warm weather?

3 Day Weekends MUST become the norm

3 Day weekends are so relaxing. I think I would be a better person if every weekend was 3 days long:)...So, yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting some incredible blogging ladies!! Living in NYC really has it's advantages.

It was so inspirational to meet these women. They are so passionate about living a healthy lifestyle, it was truly a gift to meet them. Thanks for the invite Gina!!!

Melissa, Ashley, Megan, Gina, Gena, myself, Meghan, and Katie.

Today was so beautiful in Brooklyn. I didn't even wake up till 11:30am, (I seriously don't know how I'm going to manage waking up early when I have a child!). Right when I woke up I had a hankering for greek yogurt but sadly I didn't have any strawberries:(

Lunch was leftover whole wheat spaghetti. Do you notice how much pepper I use. I am a pepper feign!!

Gabe took me on a date tonight to Coney Island. The restaurant we planned on eating at didn't pan out (it was a bit too fancy for what we were looking for) but luckily we found this Caribbean restaurant right next to the boardwalk, Footprints Cafe. The ambiance left much to be desired (there were these really obnoxious flashing lights all over) but the cuisine was DIVINE!! I'm a fairly fussy eater and have not typically been excited about Caribbean food but this salad changed my mind. It was goat cheese wrapped in that potato, I don't know exactly what everything else was except that it was soooooo yummy. If you come to New York it is worth your travel to Coney Island to check this place out.


After dinner we walked the boardwalk and we were lucky enough to come across this performer...I actually don't think he was intending to perform for anyone else but himself but it was quite the entertainment. I am so surprised we have not be beaten up for all the pictures we have taken of random people in New York:) I got a soft serve Chocolate cone and then headed home because it was freezing next to the ocean!
I got the munchies late and this Banana Bread was calling my name.

Work-out:
Gabe and I were ambitious with our work-out today. We managed 5 200 meter sprints. Sprinting is a great way to change up your work-out and it's quick and effective!
-Warm-up run, about half a mile
-Stretch
-3 200 meter sprints at 70% exertion, 30 second break in between sets
-2 minute break
-2 200 meter sprints at 85% exertion, 30 second break in between sets
-Jogged half a mile

It's late here and puppy needs a walk....see you manana!