Shredding It

Well, well, well... long time no talk!  I can't say that I'm surprised it's been so long.  My work projects have filled my days and by the time I'm done with work for the day I tend to stay away from the computer screens.

In all honesty I haven't done much blog worthy activities in the past month either, but that's not to say that I'm not enjoying my down time.  My best friend Kristen (MOH Navy for those of you that followed me on WeddingBee) is back in the states with her little son, and son #2 on the way.  It's been amazing just to hang out and catch up on life changes during her time in Japan.  San Fran/Napa plans with Corinne are coming along - flights have been booked and hotel/bed & breakfast reservations have been made.  I don't think I'll make it to August without some sort of trip, so Chris and I are starting to look at a weekend road trip.

And then there has been this:

Mom got this crazy idea from her sister to try out this new diet and roped me into it.  We started right after the Superbowl and are now nearing the end of our 5th week (we took a week off when we both made trips to Florida for work).  I'm not going to lie, after throwing up on day 1 I did not think I would be able to make it through 6 weeks of this.

But surprisingly, I'm getting it done.  5 weeks in, 16 pounds down and I just feel better in general.  

I'm now walking/jogging 1-2 times a day, 6-7 times a week and I honestly look forward to this time.  I used to enjoy my morning walks with Gypsy, but as the weather got colder and with the loss of my walking partner I just stopped.  Now, I look forward to my lunch break everyday so I can get away from work, listen to my iPod and just think about anything and everything.  I even packed work out clothes and made it to the hotel gym twice during my 3 day trip to Jacksonville for work.  Everyday when my mom gets home and goes for her walk, I join in.  It's a great time to catch up on our days and just get in some quality mother/daughter time that I know I will miss when we move into our own house.

When it comes to food, there have been some hard days (I'm not a big fan of veggies, but I'm getting better) but for the most part I've never been hungry.  I guess that happens when you're having 4 small "meals" (which can range from protein shakes, smoothies and salads to chicken and veggies) and 3 snacks a day.  This diet has really helped us to look at the labels when we're grocery shopping and think twice about what we order when we eat out (we tend to do the diet for the majority of the week, allowing ourselves one night to eat out).  That food knowledge and increased physical activity are the two improvements that I know we will take with us once this diet is complete.  

Have you ever had success with a diet? 

Off To A Good Start

Well something is better than nothing, right?

As the new year rolled around I knew I wanted to refocus on the fitness section of my 30 before 30 goals.  I know, I know...we all say it every year.  What is going to make this year different?  For me, I know I need to make the lifestyle change.  I've gotten to a point I'd rather not be anywhere close.

I've done it before, but the last time was almost 5 years ago.  I was living on my own and just starting the whole match.com scene.  I was able to cut back on eating out, stock up on fresh foods and work out all the time.  I lost nearly 30 pounds and was in better shape than I was in college.

Then I met this guy.

I don't blame it on him whatsoever, but all those date nights out and getting into that comfortable relationship didn't help the motivation.  And so the weight crept back.  I tired of being tired (although that probably has more to do with my low iron) and I'm ready to make the change.  Lucky for me, the whole house is in on changing for the better.  We've stocked up on fresher foods, started taking a daily vitamin, looking into better recipes and I'm feeling really motivated.  One of my goals was to work out 3-4 times a week for 2 months straight.  Weeks 1 & 2 are now down in the books.  Hopefully I reach the goal by the beginning of March and keep it going for many months after that!

What are some of your goals for the new year?

Workin' On My Fitness

Going along with our fitness kick, I decided it was high time to finally update my workout gear.  I'm ashamed to say that I've been wearing some of the same work out clothes that I wore back in high school.  It's sad, but true.

After a trip to Target, my workouts will now be styled with some new sports bras and shorts.  Hopefully the new clothes will be an added motivation to step it up in my work outs.

Do new clothes motivate you?  Either for working out, work, or heading out on the town.

"It's Like Running Barefoot"

That's what our friend B said when we first saw his new running shoes, the Vibram FiveFingers.  They look like gloves for your feet, a little weird but cool at the same time.  B is an avid runner, competing in marathons in college and enjoying events like Jailbreak now.  He even wore them to our wedding rehearsal.

The site claims that their "revolutionary design makes feet healthier by allowing them to move more naturally and freely."  Chris was intrigued.  He is much more of a runner then I am.  Which is funny since I competed in track for many years, on a club team when I was younger and then all through middle & high school.  Long distance running was never my forte, I loved a quick sprint.

With our post wedding goals of being more active, we knew that we needed to step it up with some new running shoes.  My shoes are almost falling apart, it's really sad.  To my surprise, when I got back from my lunch with the bees I found out Chris went shoe shopping without me.  This is a rare occurrence, so I couldn't wait to see what he picked out.  Along with a boring pair of work shoes, he picked up the newest FiveFingers - Komodo Sport.

After the first week of testing them out, Chris' opinion is that "they are very comfortable and easy to run in".  I'm tempted to try them out, but may just stick with regular shoes since most of my workouts do not include straight running.

Have you seen these shoes?  If you were an avid runner would you try them out?  Are there any cool accessories that you use for working out?

Green Monsters

Along with our goal to work out 3-4 days a week, Chris and I have been trying to incorporate more veggies into our diet.  This is pretty hard because he is not a fan of vegetables.  Back in the day I had no problems adding broccoli, beans and carrots into my weekly meals, but when I began cooking for him I started to slack.  He wouldn't eat them, so why bother to cook them?  I am getting better though.  I started to buy the veggies for myself and will just cook them on the side.

Chris will eat salad (normally just Caesar) but when tasting for our wedding menu he found a love for spinach.  After reading online about green monsters, a way to add another serving of veggies into your day, I decided to try it out.  There are several recipes online at Green Movement , but I normally just wing it with what can be found in our kitchen.

 Spinach, frozen berries, banana, strawberries and milk.

Stick it all in the blender and you're good to go.

The greener color depends on the ratio of spinach to fruit, as well as the type of fruit you're using.  Normally when I make them with the darker berries like frozen blueberries they turn out darker.

When I made them with just spinach, strawberries and bananas they turn out more green.

Ooo, fancy glass making a rare appearance in our kitchen 

They're tasty and a great way to add in some veggies after our morning work out.

Do you have to find interesting ways to get your spouse to eat veggies? Or is your spouse a veggie lover?