Week 1 - Level 1

Nerd herd!
Oh I have missed you!  Let me say this has been a great week.  They probably won't all be that way but I will have to push through them.  So, Saturday (Jan 18th) was my first training session. I was nervous all week only because I didn't know what to expect.  I showed up at 10 am ready to go but without dread (which is odd for me!). He taught me importance of warming up the muscles before you actually stretch.  I always thought stretching was warming them up but I thought wrong.  I was shown isometric exercises that I could do in my home.  For example, one of my exercises required me to act like I was grabbing an orange and clenching as tight as I could.  While tensing these muscles, I would lift my arms alternatively while focusing on breathing.  Doesn't sound like much but after tensing several groups of muscles, you begin to feel them burn.

I even got to do a little bit of boxing. I felt kinda cool. I won't lie..

Cammy from Street Fighter

My "homework" for the week was to walk and keep a food journal.  That's it.  Well that's it so I thought.

I did great on my first week according to my trainer.  He suggested that I incorporate more healthy fats (ie avocados), increase my greens intake and watch the milk.  I eventually want to incorporate raw dairy but I have set a goal to purchase organic milk or just use my almond milk.
I will list a few days as examples for you!

Monday
I made sure to pack different tastes in my lunch (Sweet, salty etc)

Breakfast:

• Medium orange, 1 cup hot black tea with 1 tsp honey and a slice from my orange

Lunch:  

• Turkey and Mozzarella (organic) on Ezekiel bread (sprouted bread).

Snack: 

• Chai tea (with milk, honey) and a handful of almonds

Dinner:

•  Baked chicken breast (3 oz) (spicing with paprikia, pepper and pinch of salt)
•  1 cup quinoa with broccoli and onion sauteed.
•  2 fresh dates for something sweet.

Wednesday
Let me preface this with.... FOOD TRUCKS ARE AWESOME...when you're not watching what you're eating.  *sigh*  anyway my favorite food truck came to work..the chicken and waffle one. omg..the smells. People bringing in their fried, sweet Sriracha chicken..*drool*
But I made it. I just went and ate MY food when I started getting hangry. Yes. Hangry. Hungry + Angry. It's real folks. Nothing will put the fear in you facing a hangry female that smells fried chicken. *Shivers*
Onto the foodz!

Breakfast:

• Smoothie (Pineapple (fresh not canned), Organic Strawberries, banana, spinach (YES! I didn't taste it at all), 1/2 c coconut water.  (All fruits I bought frozen at Trader Joe's)

Lunch: 

• 3oz leftover Tandoori chicken (I made it myself..recipe to follow)
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• Spinach and Arugula Salad with cucumbers, carrots and my honey lime dressing (2tsp honey + juice    from one lime - DE-LISH)
• 1 cup black tea, 1 tsp honey  

Dinner

• Sprouted toast x 1
• Scrambled eggs (2) cooked in coconut oil
• 1 cup quinoa with broccoli and black beans

Now, we can't have our greatest of days and not have some fails too right?

Saturday
I did my workout. I got home and immediately left again so the hubby and I could run errands.  He and his mother wanted Taco Bell. While he is on board with me losing the lbs, he still wants his fast food.  It's ok, it strengthens my will power.  I did well. I didn't even bite when he offered.  I did snap at him "NO!!" all dramatic like haha.  But we ran around a bunch of places. Hit the store - got a few things for his mother she needed. Got home and I was starved.  I ate well when I got home (eggs and a piece of toast and an orange). It was that night though.. I went out with friends and it was somewhat last minute but I love impromptu friend time!  I just failed to eat something at home and then we went to Chili's.  I did not eat a whole entree. I split an appetizer with a friend. While it's not as bad as it could have been. I can't justify it.  But I can't dwell either.  So we move on and its one in the books.
I just have to do better at my meal planning for the week and for the day.  If I had been eating like I was supposed to, I -probably- would have been ok.

Pusheen the Cat (www.pusheen.com)

Coins (Budgeting)

My "favorite" topic. How do I budget for life, bills and my good foods?
So the beginning of the month is tight just because we have to manage alot of our bills and sometimes that eats into our food budget.  Well this being the beginning of the week, we've already bought what we could afford for this week so I have to make it last.  I decided I needed to plan for the week to help me stick to cooking for dinner and lunches but also keep me from eating badly.
I took a pen and my notebook and set out to the kitchen to scour my cabinets and refrigerator with the items I DID have. I created a weeks worth of good meals for dinner and lunch on what I had without having to go to the store.

Hearts (Recipes)  

Rummaging for food to put things together really required me to get creative.  I had to search out for new recipes but that was fun.  I was able to find simple ones that wouldn't take tons of prep and easy to cook.

My favorite find was the hummus recipe!!
I had to add a small amount of water to loosen it up because it was really thick. I thought it was a little bit salty so I would probably cut that down.  Tahini (seasame see paste) is located is most international grocers. I did not have any of it around so I used a tablespoon of almond butter. It seemed to mellow the tartness of the lemon juice. Anyway, its super good with veggies.  It's inexpensive and tasty *thumbs up*.

My next favorite is the Tandoori Chicken recipe I found on All Recipes. I did not have the ginger but it didn't ruin the dish.  I don't have a grill but I just cooked these in a pan with a teaspoon of coconut oil (yum) and it was great!  I know its not "real" Tandoori chicken but the flavors of the spices go well together.

ACHIEVEMENTS!!!! 

And last but not least (hopefully you've hung on through this), I said I was going to start a small list of achievements for myself to work on.  And here are just a few. I will add to this list (especially as I knock them out) and hey if you know of something creative to add (within reason), comment below!
 Complete 5 days of isometric excercises every morning before work.

1. Complete the Xbox Fitness Achievement "That was my Everest":  
2. Jumped, climbed and squatted the height of Mt. Everest (8,848m).
3. Lose my first 10 pounds since January 10th.  
4. No soda for 1 month.
5. Buy a juicer!
6. Complete a 3 day juice fast
7. Complete a 5 day juice fast.
8. Earn 25 Starts on Xbox Fitness: The workout stars are awarded based on your cumulative fitness points (FP) for the session. To acquire this achievement, you simply need to have 25 workout stars. It's like leveling up when you do a workout.

Well that's all for now..Thanks for coming along Player 2.  Hope to have some interesting things to write about in the next week! If not..well..sorry I guess.  ha! Have a great week everyone!