Brooke's Ball Buster

I'm BA-ACK...for real:)

2010-09-06T19:35:00.000-07:00

I am thrilled to announce that I am returning to the bloggosphere! I am now personal training and participating/conducting a biggest loser challenge so it's absolutely perfect timing to pick up on my nutrition/fitness blog...to catch you all up on the last year of my life would take a year to explain since so much has happened but here's the abbreviated version....bought & remodeled house/gabe's grad school/still in adoption process/opened own restaurant, the crepery! That's the low down on life since my last post. I'll fill in more as I get warmed up. It feels great to be back!:)

Breakfast on the go.

Rumbi grill...yummm. Except for the fact that I always feel a little ripped off when I go there. $8.50 for a small bowl of noodles and a few veggies:P I'm embarrassed that I don't just go home and put this together for myself. Life is just too busy sometimes.

I didn't get a pic of my pepe le pesto crepe. Too bad to bc it's quite a beaut! Smoked turkey, parm. cheese, & sun dried tomatoes.

Dinner was tuna fish sandwich with a side of almonds. Gabe seems to think that pickles are the nasty of nastiness but I think the exact opposite. Love em!

I'm on my way to get a soft serve ice cream cone from micky dee's. I'm sort of in love with them these days.

I'm going to post a daily calorie expenditure from my BodyBugg...

Burned: 2902...I'll have hit my 3000 goal by midnight

Workout: Spin class

Have a fab night ya'll!

I'm ba-ack!!!!!....in Utah

2009-07-03T23:10:00.000-07:00

I am embarrassed at how long it's been! This past week and a half has been a whirl wind! We drove across the country-we moved across the country in fact and we are now in Utah. Yes, Utah. I'm sooo happy to be near family and friends again but I have to admit I am extremely and totally stressed at being currently unemployed, not having a home, etc. Anyways, I'm just ready to get established here and get back into the swing of normal life.

Breakfast at my parents. Real fancy. I felt like a little kid again sitting in my parents living room in my pajamas eating sugar cereal. It was a good way to wake up.

Lunch was at Sweet Tomatoes. It's this healthy buffet. It's really delicious and I've missed it! I started out with a humongous salad, with a little bit of everything on it.

This cream of chicken soup was YUMMY! Gotta eat it with cornbread.

I splurged on an afternoon dessert. You know, considering it's 4th of July weekend and all that;)

Dinner I cooked up some salmon for my brother and hubbie. I haven't had salmon in awhile and I forget how much I like it. So healthy and so tasty.

Tonight we went to a Salt Lake Real Soccer game. It was a good time. They had David Osmond sing after the game and fireworks to follow.

We ended the night with Red Mango. It felt like I was back in NYC but better because we were there with our best friends:)

Work-out:
-I've got to get credit for my run last night. We ran up a mountain. Seriously just ran up a super steep mountain by my parents house. It was crazy hard and the altitude kicked my butt! Tomorrow my bro, Gabe, and I are running a 10K. I'm nervous, wish me luck!

I've missed you all!!! My goal is to get back to the daily update. Thanks for sticking with me! HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

Last weekend living the city life.

2009-06-21T20:03:00.001-07:00

Our last weekend in NYC is officially over:( I am trying to just look forward to what we have planned in the future rather then get depressed about leaving. Focusing on the past just makes it harder then it needs to be. We've had a truly amazing time in New York. I am so grateful for the opportunity to experience this city. I have grown up a great deal and I feel like I am leaving a more confident woman. We didn't do anything paramount to celebrate our last weekend, we simply walked around the city and visited The Highline, which is a new park in nyc that used to be train tracks. It's a really cool addition to the city. If you are visiting or live here, you need to check it out!

Me at the Highline on a nasty rainy day:P

Gabe protesting me taking a pic of him. Too bad.

Easy breakfast of toast this morning.

After we cleaned out the fridge we made a smoothie of frozen strawberries and pineapple. Delicious!

Lunch was a Smart Ones ravioli. I am definitely buying Smart Ones from now on. They are cheaper and seem to be more filling then Lean Cuisines.

We walked around the Cobble Hill area in Brooklyn for awhile again today and ate dinner at a no fuss Bar and Grill. My veggie burger and fries was just what I was craving!

My sweet tooth was on fire tonight! I started off trying to satisfy the bugger with some Rocky Road ice cream. But that wasn't enough....

So I moved on to strawberries and chocolate. My sweet tooth kept barking at me even after these two treats,

so I just had to pick up some kettle corn. That did the trick:)

Work-out:
-Deep cleaning the apartment! Scrubbed the oven, refrigerator, stove top, inside all our cupboards and packed a few more boxes. I was curious as to how many calories you actually burn cleaning and this is what I found at Eddie on Everything. Given this info. I burned over 600 calories! Hey-oh! That is fantastic!

Hope you all had glorious weekends and are ready to take on another busy week:)

Friday is my favoritist day!!

2009-06-19T22:46:00.000-07:00

So today is our last Friday living in NYC. It still doesn't feel very real that we are going to be leaving next week. This is such a bitter sweet experience. It is sooo hard saying goodbye to my students and to this incredibly lively city but it is comforting to go back to a familiar place where our loving family is. In the end this move is what's best for our marriage, and that is what is most important to me...Thank you for all the motivational ideas, Ellie, Katie, and Isha. It is your ideas that got me to work-out today. Thank you!

Quick and nutritious breakfast-Kashi Honey Puffs cereal.

Since it's my last Friday I thought I would treat myself by going out to lunch-Quiznos. Sooo yummy! I had a turkey, ranch, and swiss sandwich.

I wanted baked bbq chips-I actually like the taste better then traditional potato chips but this was all they had at Quizno's.

We wanted to spend our last Friday night walking around our favorite area of Brooklyn-Cobble Hill. We tried this new BBQ Restaurant that just opened up 2 weeks ago. I again forgot to pay attention to the name-I will try to remember to walk past it this next week because this place is one to remember. These pulled chicken sandwiches were to die for! Holy moly they were delicious. There was coleslaw on the sandwich-which I was a little bit skeptical of b/c coleslaw isn't always the best. But this was by far the best chicken sandwich I've ever eaten!

My sweet tooth was craving some chocolate ice cream tonight. Too bad, Tasti-Delight was neither tasty or delightful. How can an ice cream place screw up ice cream?? Maybe because it's low calorie and low fat or maybe it's because I am now accustomed to the taste of Pinkberry or Red Mango. Either way I don't recommend Tasti-Delight.

We ate dinner pretty early tonight so I got some late night munchies. Cinnamon toast did just the trick! It made up for my not so yummy chocolate cone.

Work-out:
-The motivational ideas worked! I got out there and ran tonight with Gabe. Thank you ladies! I will continue to utilize your ideas to inspire me. I <3 you girls!

Hope everyone has fun plans for the weekend! Enjoy yourselves!

Lacking motivation....

2009-06-17T19:41:00.000-07:00

So friends, I am going through a severe streak of being unmotivated. Maybe it's a result of all the stress we are undergoing with the move next week but either way I am having a hard time exercising. I know I will feel better if I just work-out so why isn't that enough to get my butt moving?? Can you please offer me some suggestions about getting motivated when you are just feeling too stressed?? I need some help!

Da, da, da, dahhh....strawberries, granola and fage!

I am loving these Smart Ones microwave meals. They are seriously tasty! I'm liking them quite a bit more then Lean Cuisines.

Perfect afternoon snack:)

I was seriously craving some diner food tonight but we are really trying not to eat out in order to save $$. Eating out can really drain the bank! So we brought the diner home. Gabe cooked me up a fierce grilled cheese.

We even got some steak fries. Not quite the same as diner fries but they did the trick.

So what gets you guys motivated to exercise?? I am seriously struggling!

Schools out for summer!

2009-06-15T21:06:00.000-07:00

I didn't have too shabby of a Monday. I hope the same went for all of you! It was our last day of school! Hey-oh!! "Schools out for summa! Schools out foreva!"-My tribute to Dazed and Confused...anywho, graduation isn't till next week because the kids have regents for the next week and a half. NYC schools don't get out till sooo late. They hardly have any summer break! Oh well, they sure as hell have a lot of days off during the school year. I played whiffle ball for like 2 hours and pretty much tore it up. I nearly lost my voice I was screaming so loud, trying to get everyone into it. I have this giddy 13 year old girl immediately under the surface of my skin that comes out whenever anything is whatsoever exciting. Kind of ridiculous. I just about lost my voice playing whiffle ball.

Kashi Honey Puffs. Love this stuff. Kashi should give me a shout out and send me some free goodies I advertise for them so much.

Lunch was a new type of microwave meal I've never tried before, Smart Ones. This was way more filling and cheaper then Lean Cuisine. I am very pleased with this purchase.

School lunch provided pizza and watermelon. I fended off the pizza till about 3:30 and I finally gave into a slice. The watermelon was such a bonus.

Gabe is so sweet. He had a great American meal waiting for me when I got home. If you haven't tried it yet, you have to try rotisserie chicken at the grocery store. Such a steal. They cost about 5 bucks and they provide at least 5 servings of delicious meat. I 'm super fussy about the meat I eat too, and I love this stuff.

Dessert was some Rocky Road ice cream. It's 140 calories per serving, not too bad. Considering I eat at least 2 servings at once.

Work-out:
-Does packing count?? Oh yeah, I played whiffle ball for 2 hours. Didn't even feel like a work-out it was so f-ing fun! Tomorrow I'm running. Seriously.

Life is chaos!...

2009-06-14T21:18:00.000-07:00

Please forgive my slacker ways lately. I have been a bit distracted with the move and getting everything wrapped up in nyc. I wish I could just be more calm about it all, but I am so high anxiety about having everything in life "in order". Whatever that means! I am not thrilled about starting the job search in UT. Not one bit. But I am very happy to be close to my family again. I miss them soooo much! Anyhow, we've got a lot going on right now and I am really trying to stay healthy and maintain my exercise schedule. I have to be vigilant about running this next 2 weeks before we move-only 3 more weeks till our 10K! Hold me to it!

Breakfast of champions-granola, strawberries, and fage! I'm getting nervous for the end of strawberry season!

We tried this fabulous Middle Eastern restaurant right here in Brooklyn. I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't pay attention to the name but I am sure we will make it there again before we leave new york. I had falafel and salad. This meal only cost $7. What a steal, huh?!

You can't eat Middle Eastern food without having a little baklava. Yummy!

We are trying to clean out our freezer so we just cooked up a frozen lasagna for dinner. Nothing special.

I promised the winners of a contest I did in my College and Career class home-baked goods. The 2 girls that won wanted chocolate chip cookies and chocolate cupcakes. No complaints here! Some of the chocolate cupcake batter may have fallen into my mouth. Just maybe;) Gabe always makes fun of me because I get batter ALL OVER my face whenever I eat it. Just like a little kid. I didn't let him photograph it, just a little bit too embarrassing:)

I'm excited to frost these bad boys and put some sort of sprinkles on them!
I'll include that pic tomorrow.

I hope you all have absolutely fantastic weekends!

p.s. I lost another 2 pounds! Blogging is really paying off!

15 Best Foods For Runners

2009-06-10T20:48:00.001-07:00

I'm going to try something new every week, reviewing fitness and health articles. I've recently started training for a 10K for the 4th of July and as I've been building my mileage I have been wondering if I am replenishing my body correctly. With that, today's article comes from Runner's World, The Best Food For Runners. One thing they mention, I totally agree with, "Most supermarkets stock more than 30,000 items, yet every time we race up and down the aisles of the grocery store, we toss into our carts the same 10 to 15 foods." Is this not totally true? Which isn't bad if you are getting the right items, but I think in my case I could use some diversifying of the diet. Here are the 15 Foods that they listed as must haves for runners: almonds, eggs, sweet potatoes, whole grain cereal with protein, oranges, canned black beans, mixed salad greens, salmon, whole grain bread, frozen stir-fry vegetables, whole grain pasta, chicken, frozen mixed berries, dark chocolate, low fat yogurt. Almonds: Almonds offer good source of Vitamin E, that most people supposedly do not get enough of. Eggs: Egg protein is the most complete food protein short of human breast milk! Wow, I certainly didn't know that. Sweet potatoes: Just a single 100-calorie sweet potato has over 250% of daily value of Vitamin A. They are also a good source of vitamin C. Whole grain cereal with protein: Look for cereals that offer at least 5 grams of fiber and 8 grams of protein. Great balance of carbs and proteins for work-outs. Oranges: Oranges supply over 100 percent of the daily value for the antioxidant vitamin C, and a recent study from the University of North Carolina Greensboro showed that taking vitamin C supplements for two weeks prior to challenging arm exercises helped alleviate muscle soreness. Canned black beans: One cup of these provides 30 percent of the daily value for protein, almost 60 percent of the daily value for fiber, and 60 percent of the daily value for folate, a B vitamin that plays a key role in heart health and circulation. Mixed Salad Greens: Each variety offers a unique blend of phytonutrients that research suggests may fend off age-related diseases, such as Alzheimer's, cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Salmon: Besides being an excellent source of high-quality protein (you get about 30 grams in a four-ounce serving), salmon is one of the best food sources of omega 3-fats. Whole grain bread: Runners need at least three to six one-ounce servings of whole grains per day, and eating 100 percent whole-grain bread (as opposed to just whole-grain bread, which may contain some refined grains and flours) is an easy way to meet this requirement since one slice equals one serving. Frozen stir-fry vegetables: Most ready-to-use stir-fry veggie combos offer a potent mix of antioxidants by including red and yellow peppers, onions, bok choy, and soy beans. And frozen vegetable mixes save lots of prepping time but still provide the same nutrition as their fresh counterparts. Whole grain pasta: Pasta has long been a runner's best friend because it contains easily digestible carbs that help you restock spent glycogen (energy) stores. Whole-grain versions are a must over refined pastas because they contain more fiber to fill you up, additional B vitamins that are crucial to energy metabolism. Chicken: Just one four-ounce serving of chicken can supply about half a runner's daily protein needs. Frozen mixed berries: The colorful compounds that make blueberries blue, blackberries deep purple, and raspberries a rich shade of red are called anthocyanins--a powerful group of antioxidants that may help stave off Alzheimer's disease and some cancers. Anthocyanins may also assist with post run recovery and muscle repair. Dark chocolate: Dark chocolate contains potent antioxidants called flavonols that can boost heart health. Wa-hoo! Low fat yogurt: Besides being a good source of protein and calcium (one cup provides 13 grams of protein and 40 percent of the daily value for calcium), low-fat yogurt with live cultures provides the healthy bacteria your digestive tract needs to function optimally.

I hope you enjoy this Review!!

Woke up to a simple piece of toast.
There's something about a small glass of orange juice in the morning that just feels right.
Just got some new cereal Kashi Honey Puffs.
After an afternoon nap I woke up to some crackers and Pellegrino.
Dinner was easy, breezy, beautiful; it was a Green Giant frozen meal. You stick in the skillet and it's done in about ten minutes. Do you see all those veggies? Can't go wrong with the Green Giant!
Dessert: my very own speciality;)

Work-out:
-Ran 4 miles with Gabe
I felt so strong today. It was exhilarating. Next run we are going to tack on another mile!

I hope my review was helpful. Let me know what you think. I'm afraid it was too long. Just trying to mix it up a bit!

When is summer break???

2009-06-09T21:02:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or does it feel like it should be Thursday today? Every day lately has felt like at least the equivalent of 4 regular days all packed in one. I need a vacation! Please tell me, do you ever get over that feeling that you deserve the summer off??? I'm nervous that I will never overcome that feeling of, "it's summer so now work should be over!" Please, please tell me that it gets easier with time!!??

Off to a much better start today! Such a power house of a smoothie-banana, raspberries, mango, and a few peaches with some ice and almond milk. Absolute heaven. Gotta try it.
Doesn't this just look amazingly delicious??....It was:)
Left over spaghetti for lunch. I think I'm one of few out in the world that doesn't like my leftovers reheated. In my opinion reheating food just changes it and messes it all up. Much rather have it cold!
Dinner at what other then Chipotles!! Today I subtracted the medium salsa, it's been a bit too spicy for me lately. Tonight's mix was fab like always.
Rainbow Sherbet for dessert. This just makes me feel like a kid. It brings back good memories:)

Thought I'd add some more pictures of the casa for you all. Sorry if these pictures are way random. I just figure I share a lot of my life with my readers, might as well share my home! Check out the pictures of my puppy Reggie on our wall. Ridiculous, huh? We blew a picture of our dog up and we have it framed in our dining room. Out of control!

Carb Madness!

2009-06-08T20:58:00.000-07:00

Wow, blogging what you eat is so informative! It really opens your eyes to what your dieting consists of. And sometimes that aint too great of a realization! Today I was severely carb crazy! Yikes. It's crazy how you deprive yourself of so many necessary nutrients when you're simply not paying attention. Due to a lack of planning today, here's my carbalishious eats....

Sorry, same pic from yesterday. Toast is all too easy for breakfast but not enough to make a healthy balanced meal to start your day.
Kashi Honey Toasty 7 Grain for morning snack.
Turkey sandwich for lunch. No fruits or veggies to accompany it. I'm embarrassed!
This snack I'm not so embarrassed by. It was just what I needed after staying at work late.
Spaghetti was actually the hubby's choice. At least he bought me some capellini noodles. They are really thin whole wheat noodles. They are delish!
Same ole, same ole. Don't fix it if it aint broke.
This particular flavor of Ritz Toasted Chips is comparable to crack/cocaine. I've never tried the drug but I'm pretty sure these chips are just as addicting. I literally can't stop putting them in my mouth. This was definitely a splurge snack.

Work-out:
-nadda:( should, woulda, coulda.

Reviewing your daily food journal really illustrates the weaknesses and strengths of your diet. It's so important to take good care of our amazing bodies. I feel like I owe myself more then eating like I did today. We all owe that to ourselves!

Sorry I went AWOL!

2009-06-07T21:00:00.000-07:00

So sorry I've been MIA lately!! Life has been extremely hectic, I'm having a hard time finding a second to even watch last weeks episode of New Jersey Housewives. That's when you know I am for real busy! haha. Anyways, this weekend has been packed, trying to get the moving process started within our apartment. I think I am the only person in the world that doesn't mind packing up a house because it means I get to organize it all more thoroughly. Crazy! I know.
I was just feeling some whole wheat toast with a smidge of butter. I am in love with Bread!!! Pretty sure if I could have one food for the rest of my life it would be Great Harvest Honey Wheat Bread. Absolute heaven on earth:) I have missed Great Harvest so much while living in New York! Have any of you been there before?We were on a roll with packing and it took me till 3 to realize I haven't really eaten much today and that I am really hungry! We went down to the grocery store and picked up sandwiches. Nothing too fancy but it did the trick of tiding me over while we were packing the guest room today.

Dinner tonight was nothing short of A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Whole Foods buffet. I totally got more food then I should have though. Gabe and I spent $34 just on the buffet. Yikes! Word of warning: do not go to Whole Foods on an empty stomach!!!

Dessert was again my favorite mixture of fage, strawberries, and granola:)
We took some pictures of our living room before packing up. I love how Gabe has decorated it, so I just wanted to share it with you:)...usually we don't have that big vase of orange flowers sitting on our coffee table. That was just for the effect. Gabe does do a pretty good job at keeping fresh flowers around the house though:)

Work-out:
-Ran 4 miles, today my legs felt like lead! It was such a struggle to get through the run! I think stress is wearing down my body, hopefully I'll manage it better this week!

I hope everyone had a seriously relaxing and enjoyable weekend! Thank you again for always being there for me Olga, Ellie, and Katie and for all my readers that keep checking in day to day:) You are the best!!! Love you!

Happy Thursday!

2009-06-04T20:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Thursday! Not much interesting to report today, it was professional development day at work. A 7 Habits workshop facilitator came and it was pretty torturous-only because I've been through the entire workshop twice before! I'm all for Franklin Covey's 7 Habits, don't get me wrong. But having a loud mouthed guy scream in your face all day was not motivating. Some facilitators are just better then others and the guy who presented was certainly not the best Covey's got to offer! Have any of you read 7 Habits for Highly Effective People? What do you think about self-help type books?....
I tried some cinnamon raison granola with my fage this morning. It was a nice change. I love granola! It's so filling, I just wish it didn't have so many calories. Blah.
Lunch was catered at the school. Under this saucy mess is Parmesan chicken. Not the best. But at least it was free:)
I had to stay late tonight to interview new students for the upcoming school year. It was hard to get into it when I know I'll never get the chance to get to know them. It was actually pretty hard. But it's alright, I know everything will work out....I'm glad I had packed my peanut butter sandwich. I was starving after school.
Dinner was not the very best choice. I ate 3 pieces as well. I kind of threw in the towel with choosing Freshetta. What are you gonna do?
I had a little cup of rainbow sherbet for dessert. Delish! Only 120 calories per serving as well.
We walked our doggie, Reggie down to King Tomato-the produce sanctuary. We are ready for some more delicious smoothies! I tried to buy some more veggies to try out. We'll see how it goes!

Work-out:
-I didn't make time for it. When I have to stay late at work then I know ahead of time that in order to get a work out in I must go in the morning. This morning around 5:45am it just wasn't happening!

So happy for the weekend! Hope you all have fantastic plans!

Exercise=Sanity

2009-06-03T20:36:00.001-07:00

It was a much better day today, thank goodness! I can say that exercising helped quite a bit as well. However hard it is to get yourself to work out, (especially when life is pure chaos), it is soooo worth it!! I feel healthier on every level after I get a work out in; emotionally, mentally, and obviously physically! I also feel like I'm more in control when I exercise, which is critical when you feel like your life is a falling apart. I truly believe in many ways that exercise=sanity, at least in my case....So there's my feelings about exercise;)
I was disappointed to be reminded that we ate up all our berries with all our smoothies. No strawberries for my morning fage and granola:( I forgot my camera at lunch. It was nothing special, Quizno's turkey, ranch and swiss sandwich and some baked bbq chips. I really adore Quizno's sandwiches and my lunch of choice only weighs in at around 400 cals. for a small sandwich.
Here's me being a weirdo taking pictures of my food in a busy subway station. I managed to get people to stare at me. Quite the feat in NYC!
The weather was so erratic here today! It was so muggy and hot and then right as I'm leaving work it starts to pour rain. Just my luck:P I still had a smile on my face though because we were eating at my fav, Chipotles.

Tonight's salad was actually a little bit TOO spicy for me. I think I need to go easy on the double salsa's next time!

I hit up my 3rd fast food restaurant at Wendy's for dessert. The simple, the perfectly satisfying, the classic Frosty.

Work-out:
-Fitness Club!
-Warm-up 1 mile run
-Leg work-out:
-lunges 30 reps, 2 sets
-lunges where you hold your leg out straight on the kick-back 30 reps, 2 sets
-umpa-lumpas 30 reps, 2 sets
-wall-sits, as long as possible, 2 sets. We did it contest style, and I won one of two times! Hey-oh!!

Hope your Wednesday was good to you all!

High Anxiety!

2009-06-02T21:26:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the lack of post yesterday. Last night, literally right when I was sitting down to post, Gabe walks in from walking our dog with the downstairs neighbor in tow. Who he found locked out of her apartment. We invited her sleep on our couch. I am really glad she took up our offer-it was 12:30am and she looked exhausted. But I am actually kind of surprised she did because we've only met her once before in the year that we've lived here. New Yorkers seriously keep to themselves. Anyways, that's what kept me from the blogging world yesterday:)....Today was high anxiety in my world! Gabe and I have recently decided to move back to the west. The hubbie is going to back to school for his graduate degree. There is a long story behind it all and it's a quite emotionally exhausting, especially considering I am not totally ready to leave the madness that is NYC. But my priority is my family and this is what's best for us, so moving onward. The high anxiety part of my day comes with the fact that I put in my formal resignation at work. Not fun. At all. The Administrative staff was really supportive, which I am sooo grateful for. It's not an easy decision, what so ever! This post could go on forever and I don't want that! So I am going to keep moving along.......

Gabriel brought me home some flowers for high anxiety day. So sweet:)

Blackberries are smoothies greatest compliment. This smoothie mixture was our best yet.
This is all I ate today. I was stuck in the Principles office for most of the day. I didn't even realize I was hungry until like 5pm rolls around and at that point I bought some comfort food-bagel & cream cheese.
I fell asleep for a little bit when I got home. I was emotionally exhausted! I woke up to what was supposed to be my lunch, Lean Cuisine Mac & Cheese.
This day was all discombobulated so I thought it only fitting to eat my favorite breakfast for dessert.

Work-out:
-Does being really emotional count?? I feel more tired after crying then I do after running a half-marathon.

Sorry for the excess of explaining in this post! It is so therapeutic to work through your day like this. I'm just so grateful for everyones support:) I LOVE THE BLOGGING COMMUNITY!!!

I've officially lost 2 pounds!!

2009-05-31T20:37:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-05-30T21:12:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-28T19:23:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-27T20:58:00.001-07:00

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?

2009-05-26T19:46:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-05-25T20:41:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-05-24T20:41:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-23T21:05:00.000-07:00

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!

Karma has kicked me in the butt...and then spit in my face.

2009-05-21T20:24:00.000-07:00

So, remember yesterday's post? You know the one where I pleaded with you all to pray for the Swine Flu to hit my school hard enough to close the school down with out me getting sick? Yeah well that came back to slap me in the face. I am sick as a dog! Like hellishly sick. I am not afraid of the Swine Flu but I am definitely coming down with something. Karma is a be-otch! What sucks extra bad too is that I had to stay at work sick all day because half the staff was sick! Stupid Swine Flu.

I needed COMFORT food! This bagel did just the trick. It's so hard to stay on track when you feel like crappola.

I didn't anticipate staying at work all day so I didn't pack a lunch. Hence my random collection of snacks. I wasn't all that hungry anyways.
Afternoon snack uplifted my spirits just a bit:)
Since my lunch was weak I had this when I came home...and then I took a 4 hour nap.
Hubby made me some more comfort food when I woke up, spaghetti(with whole wheat pasta):) What a sweetheart. Tonight we thoroughly enjoyed So You Think You Can Dance. I almost feel alright about The Biggest Loser being over with the help of SYTYCD. Did any of you guys watch it??
I swear I am almost done with Edy's. Almost.

I hope I do some speedy recovery by tomorrow so I can make it to the blogging lunch!! Gina from Fitnessista invited me to a raw food joint Caravan of Dreams and I reallllyyyy want to go. Blasted karma!

Swine Flu might get me some vaca

2009-05-20T19:50:00.000-07:00

You may think I would be upset by the Swine Flu epidemic, but I am totally not. I think New York schools are making it a way bigger deal then it needs to be. More people die from the normal flu then the Swine Flu but if it gives me a vacation then hell yes I am thrilled!!!! I am awaiting the morning news with much anticipation:)...like 5 students have the symptoms and possibly the flu so I am really hoping the Department of Education pulls through for me! With this news, today wasn't too shabby...
This cereal is seriously so filling. Add a little splenda and it is a superb breakfast.
Lunch was Kashi-licious. This meal is so perfectly seasoned. I'm not the biggest fan of spicy food because it can really upset my stomach but this meal is just right. Lots of protein-12 grams, amongst other good vitamins. Try it out friends! First time for these TLC granola bars, same exact taste as the Nature Valley's. I think TLC's has less cals though. Pellegrino is soooo helpful in weaning me from excess Diet Pepsi.
Afternoon snack of berries. Blessed berries. Love this season...minus the blackberry juice that stained my fingers, shirt, and I managed to get it on my freshly dry-cleaned pants. Sweet.
I had to stay late at work today for a new student orientation and I was getting real hungry after Fitness Club. I was thinking to myself, I am about to make a very poor decision(greasy food around the school). But luckily I packed these Chic Peas for just this situation. Planning is our greatest defense against diet failure!
Came home to some divine Edy's. You probably will be seeing a picture of this each day till the carton is gone, sorry! Can't resist the chocolately goodness.
Finished the night off with some mango. So f'ing good. I still have some for tomorrow as well:)

Work-out:
-Fitness Club! We warmed up with a run, probably about 1 and 1/2. Then we did some exercises on Exercise TV. Great resource for work-outs.

I am pleading with everyone to pray for the Swine Flu to spread just enough to shut down my school with out getting me sick:)...j/k, seriously though I need some time off.

One more day down till a long weekend

2009-05-19T19:27:00.001-07:00

Today flew! Thank goodness, one day closer to a long weekend:) I had to recruit at another high school in Brooklyn this morning and I got majorly lost!! So I walked in late and unbenonst to me I had to give a speech in front of a full auditorium of New York City high schooler's. Yikes!! I hate being unprepared. Hate it. It's also not my favorite thing to entertain nyc teenagers. It's sort of impossible, unless your P. Diddy or Rihana, neither of which I am:)

Instead of eating my favorite breakfast on the subway this morning I ate it on the bus. I have to say, I despise the New York City bussing system. I really prefer the subway. I just couldn't enjoy my breakfast with the old guy staring me down for not giving up my seat for him....I'm not a cold hearted b. He wasn't THAT old.

Snacked on some baby carrots while waiting for the bus back to work.

Lunch at Subway. Turkey and Ham and every veggie, except tomatoes(ewwww!) and mustard.

Met the hubbie at Chipotles. I again ate only half of this rice bowl, thinking I was awesome but then we ate dinner early (5pm) since Gabe took the day off, so I ate the other half at like 8pm. Whoops.

Some more Edy's Frozen Yogurt for me. Yummmmm.

Work-out:
-Got lost when trying to find high school and had to walk 1.5 miles from the bus. I hauled butt to get there too. I almost think power walking is harder then running, especially in heels. Ahhh.

I am happily watching Tori & Dean: Inn Love on DVR. I have to get it in while the husband is distracted(he's taking a shower), there are just some shows he can't stand(Real Housewives, MTV, Kardiashians) I LOVE DVR!!! Are there any shows that you have to watch without your loved one??

Whew...I'm exhausted

2009-05-18T21:02:00.000-07:00

This weekend was fun filled and action packed! Gabe and I could start our own tour guide business after all the tours that we have given this past year in New York. My favorite part of this weekend was the Harbor Lights Cruise we took last night. So charming. New York has so much rich history, it's neat to be apart of it...anyways, I didn't make the best food choices this weekend. Something about vacation and visitors that just makes me want to go hog wild. And that's exactly what I did this weekend. We ate at a bunch of restaurants and it was fun to check them out, especially because my Mom was kind enough to finance the food bill:) Thanks Mommy! So my bro and sister-in-law left tonight and we are back to the grind. Gotta love Mondays...

Birdseed(Kashi Go Lean) did me right this morning. It really fills you up for longer then most cereals. Must be the extra fiber.

Lunch was scrumptious Quizno's. This turkey, ranch, and swiss sandwich is supposed to be a small but this isn't looking very small. If it was then it actually isn't too many cals for how satisfying the meal is. This chili is my favorite. Only 125 calories for the chili, 410 for the sandwich.

Afternoon snack consisted of Banana Bread LaraBar; this flavor is officially my favorite as of now. It tastes like real banana bread. Crazy.

My brother left behind these chips. I don't especially like Salt and Vinegar but a few chips hit the spot.

Since I took a long (4 hour nap after work, yikes:P) we didn't make dinner together. Lean Cuisine for me.

Finished the night off with some Edy's. Only 120 cals per serving. I always eat at least 2 servings but that's still not bad for a chocolatey delicious dessert.

Work-Out:
-(I'm hanging my head in shame) none:P

I am absolutely exhausted. I've got to get back on the horse again tomorrow....I will work-out! Hope you all had a pleasant Monday!

Say hello to a professional New York tour guide

2009-05-16T20:31:00.000-07:00

This weekend we've got visitors! My brother and sister-in-law came in from Utah last night. Gabe and I absolutely love visitors because we get so homesick. We have been sooo busy touring the city last night and today...whew I am one tired girl. We have had a blast though, my love for New York is definitely renewed by having enthusiastic visitors.

I fed the fam my favorite breakfast this morning; greek yogurt, granola, and strawberries:)

We went to lunch at the Gatsby Bar and Grill in SoHo. This guacamole was to-die-for!

I had a garden burger at The Gatsby. The texture was bit off for my liking; a bit too soft and mushy. I should have done away with the fries but I excused it for "vacation".

We totally look like tourists, huh??

Dinner took place at Hummus House. It was my first middle eastern restaurant, EVER. I'm kind of embarrassed by my naive taste buds. This restaurant was outstanding! I was so impressed; food A+, ambiance A, price A++!!! If you guys ever come to New York you have to check this place out.

We started the meal out with a collection of different hummuses. They offered whole wheat pitas that were fresh out of the oven.

I had a little bit of everything. My favorite was their falafal's. I felt so satisfied leaving this restaurant, it's been 4 hours and I am still full-but in a good way:)...We also had Baklava for dessert. OMG it was so freakin' good!!

Work-out:
-Walked around and shopped SoHo for 3 and 1/2 hours
-Stood in line for Wicked tickets for 3 hours...and didn't get them:(
-Toured the city for another 2 hours after dinner

It's bedtime folks. I'm looking forward to tomorrow, we are going on a boat tour. I've wanted to since we moved here a year ago but my hubbie and I have been too prideful to do that sort of touristy thing. I guess we've come down to earth, or we've lived here long enough to not care. Either way I psyched! Hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend!!!

I'm a slacker!!

2009-05-15T07:16:00.001-07:00

I have not been on top of my game these past few days. I have been so overwhelmed with work and home responsibility it's been out of control. These are the times that I have to cling to my resolution to be healthy. These are the times when I want to abort mission; Get Healthy and just take the easy way out....fast food, no exercise, comfort eating. All a very bad combination. It's easy to make excuses. We all have 1001+ reasons why we don't make it to the gym or why we didn't have time to make a healthy nutritious meal but the truth of the matter is that, that's life and if we don't learn how to adjust to a hectic schedule then we will never reach our goals. That is not a possibility for me. It is times like these in life that our resolution should be stronger then ever to make good choices. When we are overwhelmed, overworked, under-rested, is exactly when we need to eat right, get adequate sleep, and exercise! Do you guys have a hard time sticking to your healthy regime when life gets chaotic? How do you deal with it? I need better coping mechanisms. I need your help!!!

The Biggest Loser Finale Tonight 8pm/eastern

2009-05-12T19:53:00.000-07:00

Tuesday is the Ultimate TV night. The Biggest Loser and American Idol. Tonight was TBL Finale and it was phenomenal! So inspiring. I have genuinely considered gaining 150lbs. and trying out for the show. I probably should strive to be one of the trainers rather then a contestant but it's just such a fantastic show. I am so grateful for it's inspiration and the influence it has on our nation:)

B-fast was the filling Kashi 7 Whole Grain Nuggets. Although this cereal has more calories(210) per serving then most cereals it's worth it because it is so filling. Real quality calories.

Lunch was a Lean Cuisine Fettucine Alfredo. Delish! I'm not happy about the sodium content but like I said in previous posts it's better then what the corner store has to offer. My goal is to cook more meals that give me healthy leftovers....I didn't take a picture but I had some greek yogurt, honey, and granola and Starbucks after work.

Dinner was the All American meal. Meat and potatoes. This chicken looks heinous but it's one of those rotisserie chickens you can buy at the grocery store already cooked, so yummy! My hubby added a tiny bit of butter and brown sugar to the sweet potatoes and they were so good as usual. I just wish corn had more nutritional value. It's one of the least nutritional veggies but it's my favorite. Hate how that works out.

Dessert tonight was Klondike Sugar Free Krunch Bar. This is such a satisfying treat weighing in at only 170cals. You've gotta get some, people.

Workout:
-I have been sorta sick all day. Not sure if it's allergies or cold but it sucked the energy right out of me. I should have gone to the gym to at least walk on the treadmill but I didn't;P

Oh man, Helen won??? Ahhhhhh!! I was rooting for Mike. Gosh dang it.

I've got a case of the Monday's!

2009-05-11T19:39:00.001-07:00

Like the Office Space reference? I certainly had a bad case of the Monday's today. I don't think I ever got into the swing of things. And now I'm not sure if I have allergies for the first year ever or the beginnings of a nasty cold....blah, can't it just be the weekend already??!

Birdseed(Kashi Go Lean) for Breakfast. I was totally against ever trying this cereal because it looked gross, but it's totally not. 140 calories per serving, 13 grams of protein, 10 grams of fiber, only 1 gram of fat, best of all it tastes really good!

I'm trying to cut back on the Diet Pepsi intake so I've been drinking more carbonated water. It's a good substitution. It was funny today because all my students thought my Perrier was alcohol..."Yo, Ms. Brooke you drinkin' at work??" My reply, "hell ya, I'm gettin' crunked in this jiz-iont!" ....well not really but I should have said that:)

This blog has really helped me to pay more attention to what I eat. For example, this pizza was home-made and I probably would have just gotten some Crisp and Tasty's before I started this blog. Next time I am going to look for a whole wheat crust, but at least I'm making progress.

I'm so grateful for the introduction to LaraBars from Gina and Sammie.
Today's flavor was not as good as yesterday's. Cocoa Mole still my fav.

My hubbie got some chocolate eclairs for his "treat" tonight and I am proud that I didn't surrender to those little devils;) Instead I chocolate dipped strawberries...you can purchase this chocolate dip anywhere I'm sure. It hardens if you give it enough time but I usually don't wait that long:P I count out the wafers into it's serving size before I stick it in the microwave. 10 wafers allows 3 big strawberries to be coated and it's only 150 cals and you are getting a serving of fruit. What a deal, huh?

Then there is no guilt complex when you want a 2nd serving!

Work-out:
-Fitness Club, I lead a fitness group at the high school I work at on Monday's and Wednesday's. Last week we weren't able to have it because there were too many fights breaking out within the neighborhood. Scary!!! Today was great though. I had 2 new students come participate and I got them to run 2.5 miles with me! Then we did lunges, and some aerobics. I'm sore, so I am hoping the kids aren't too too sore. Whoops! Good times had by all, none the less.

Hope everyone had a good start to the week. I have a feeling it's going to fly by!

Hope you had a splendid Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T19:58:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day momma's! I'm hoping this will be my last childless mother's day:) We didn't do anything TOO special today considering my momma and mom-in-law are 2,200 miles away. We did hit up some sweet street fairs in the city and we tried to do some intense shopping but we are just a little bit too cheap;)

I added extra strawberries today to my FAV breakfast(greek yogurt, granola is under there)

Hubbie and I shared some Chipotles for lunch.

Watermelon means summer to me. Love it!

This was my first LaraBar ever. Let me tell you, it was AMAZING! Best health bar ever invented. It tasted fresh, like it was just baked. So so good. I got lots of flavors so I'll keep you updated.

Dinner was Gabe's favorite, spaghetti. I should have made 100% whole wheat pasta but I was too lazy. My bad.

I was still hungry a couple hours later so I satisfied that with some Cinnamon Life. Oh yeah, I also had a Sugar Free Klondike bar. It totally hit the spot.

Work-out:
-Shopping the streets of Manhattan for 3 hours!!!

I really hope you all had a fabulous weekend and that this week will be even better. Thank you for everyone's support. I'm still trying to figure out how I want to run this blog but I'm grateful for your comments. Thank you for reading!

Please don't judge me....

2009-05-09T19:30:00.000-07:00

This Saturday was the ultimate INDULGENCE day. It was glorious!

My hubbie is the sweetest man ever! Yesterday I mentioned that I was craving a Sausage Egg McMuffin(I know, I know;) so he woke me up this morning with what other then a Sausage Egg McMuffin. It seriously didn't sit well, at all, but sometimes I need a reminder of why I don't eat Mickey D's. I just don't feel right after....but my husband still wins the sweetest person EVER award! So, what's the best thing to do after you eat a big ole sausage, cheesy, fatty sandwich?? Take a nap. And that's just what I did. A four hour nap.

I woke up to a little snack of walnuts and chocolate chips. Then we made our way into Manhattan for a date night. We tried a new diner, Hollywood Cafe. I had the best veggie burger I've ever had! I only ate about half those fries but I ate every last bite of the burger. Yummm. Gabe's not quite used to taking pic's of food yet...so he was caught off guard a bit.

We finished the night off at pinkberry. The yogurt was so delicious. I had mine with chocolate chips and cookie crumbs but Gabe's was better with blackberries and raspberries.

Work-out:
-none, it was indulgence day!

I hope you all are enjoying your weekend! Hopefully the weather is as beautiful where you're at as it is in New York!

Is it Friday yet??

2009-05-07T19:57:00.000-07:00

I'm just glad tomorrow is Friday. The rain is supposed to calm down and it'll probably be humid enough to take a sponge bath outside...so you know that's a good thing, right??

Same ole fav breakfast, greek yogurt, strawberries, and granola.

I hit the snooze button a few too many times and didn't have time to make my lunch. Obviously I'm just making excuses for eating a bagel and cream cheese for lunch but that's just what I wanted. The corner store doesn't offer much health food and they certainly didn't have whole wheat bagels. I also ate a banana and some pretzels....are bagels really that bad for you?

Pre-workout snack. Berry is the best SoyJoy flavor by far.

I was sooo hungry after my work-out so I got some oriental snack mix and fruit leather to eat on the subway home.

Dinner's recipe, Chicken Pot Pies was under the "intermediate" level and that's 1 level too hard for me but my husband chose it and cooked it so no complaining here;) It was a healthy version of the traditional pot pie being made with phyllo dough instead of fattening crusts. Try it out soon, you'll enjoy.

Ditto last nights dessert. I can't see myself getting sick of it, EVER!

Work-out:
-15 Min Stair Stepper (106 cals)
-25 Min Treadmill (225 cals)

Do you guys have any fun plans for the weekend?

Today was sort of rough...

2009-05-06T20:08:00.000-07:00

Today was my father-in-law(who passed away almost a year ago)'s Birthday. It was a hard day, especially having to watch my husband be in pain. I want to lift his burden so badly but I am at a loss. Loosing a parent has to be one of the hardest things anyone has to deal with, especially at a young age(my husband was only 26). So I try to be supportive but some days you can simply feel defeated...on the bright side I ate healthfully despite being depressed which I am very proud of.
Breakfast was some of my fav Kashi Go Lean cereal. It totally looks like bird feed but it's quite tasty:)

Morning snack was delish. I am in love with strawberries.

This Kashi pasta was a lot better then it looks. I'm not too happy about all the sodium in these meals but it's a lot better then eating out at the greasy restaurants near my work.

Tonight was no fuss Black Bean Tostado's.

This is such a simple, healthy, yummy meal. I definitely recommend it.

After dinner we made our way to the grocery store, to pick out a "treat". I was seriously craving Ice Cream Cake, dieting sabotage. But I was strong and I made the smarter choice of some chocolate dip for my beloved strawberries. It was satisfying and I am proud of myself for making good decisions:) Just when I thought I was in the clear the late night munchies hit me....

I try to not eat past 10pm. I usually am eating at that point because I'm tired or bored but I guess I didn't eat quite enough to tide me over for the day because I was hungry at 10:30pm. So I popped an english muffin in the toaster, added some pb and was a full, happy, sleepy girl.

Work-out:
-none. I got my nails done instead. I know, lame. But I just needed some pampering today.

I hope everyone else's day was a bit brighter then mine! Thanks for reading:)

Can I get a shout-out for Mental Health Days?!

2009-05-05T18:33:00.000-07:00

This morning 6:45 rolls around and there goes the alarm. And you know what I was just not having it today. I thought through my day at work and I was like, today I just need a Mental Health day. So that's exactly what I got. I was reminded how pathetic day time TV is but sleeping in till noon was such a treat! I feel rested and rejuvenated and I'll be ready to take on the real world tomorrow....but for now I will blog while watching my favorite show, The Biggest Loser, and enjoying some time with my hubbie and puppy.

This morning was nice to be able to eat my greek yogurt, granola, and strawberries in my beautiful Fishes Eddy dishware. Isn't this mug great?...we just replaced all our college mismatched plates for Fishes Eddy.

I got to finish off my Chipotles for lunch. Yummm.

I've never taken pictures of my food before yesterday and I have to say that some foods just look a lot more appetizing photographed then others. This fine plate of mess was a first timer in the Anderson home, "Jamaican me crazy chicken". I've never tried Jerk seasoning and I have to say I was not the biggest fan. Let's just say the crock-pot smelled a lot better then the meal tasted.

Since I only ate a few bite of the Jamaican chicken I turned to some Cinnamon Life to tied me over. Cinnamon Life never lets me down.

Work-out:
-3 Mile Run

Thanks again everyone in the blogging community for all your support:)! You have no idea how much it means to me. This blog is holding me accountable for my decisions and I look forward to the progress it will help me make in my life. I love you bloggers!

My very first entry!

2009-05-04T18:40:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to finally start my blog! I have been putting it off the last few weeks, thinking that I'll have my diet perfected by then or something. But I have come to accept that it's never going to be "perfect" and I just need to get this started already! So here it goes... Breakfast is usually in a ghetto styrofoam cup because I am ALWAYS running late and I tend to have to eat on the train to work...my husband thinks that it's pretty gross to eat on the subway but you do what you gotta do;) Anyways, who's going to pass up Greek yogurt, granola, and fresh strawberries?

Morning snack a golden delish and SOYJOY!

I heated this bad boy up for lunch. I could eat mac & cheese everyday!...it was kind of weird taking a picture of my food at work especially in front of teenagers (I work at a high school).

Pre-workout snack. This is my favorite protein shake.

After my work-out I was craving caffeine and salt...so probably not the best choice but my diet is a work in progress.

My hubbie is big on Monday date nights. So tonight we made our way to Manhattan for Chipotles and the new X-Men movie. My favorite restaurant is chipotles. As you can see in the pic below I split the rice bowl in half to make it into 2 meals since it's not the most diet friendly meal.

This half will be my lunch tomorrow! I am looking forward to it.

I'm not proud to put this snack choice up on my first day of fitness blogging, but I wanted to be genuine. So this was my movie snack; a handful of combos and a mini almond joy. I'm not gonna say I regret it.

Work-out:
-15 min. stair stepper at level 6.
-3 sets 12 reps overhead tricep ext.
-3 sets 10 reps military press
-3 sets 12 reps concentration curls

I'm not in the best shape right now. That's my reasons for starting this blog, so this is all a work in progress. You have no idea how much all your support means to me:) I look forward to getting to know and support of you!!!