Switch Witch

Halloween is tomorrow and that means our houses will be filled with so much unwanted candy!! Ok fine, we want it we just don't need it. My friend Kristi (shout out) told me about Switch Witch and it is how we will be handling all Caleb's candy... 

Here is the poem I found online:

Do you know the witch of Halloween night?

The Switch Witch is coming; she’s coming all right.

She flies by the moon and down with a swoop,

She’s in with a blast and out with a whoop.

It’s candy she wants, and candy she’ll get.

Stuffing it into her black little net.

She wants your treats for her sugary face,

Leaving a special toy in its place.

So pick out 5 pieces you want for yourself,

Eat 1 right now and stash 4 on a shelf.

Bundle the rest in a trick or treat bag,

Tie it all up with a zig and a zag.

Leave the bag on the table and jump into bed.

The Switch Witch is coming, just like I said.

Have a Happy and Healthy Halloween

We will be trading Caleb his candy for movie tickets to see Free Birds this weekend! 

Keeping Track

Here lately I have been asked a couple of times how I keep track of my foods. Do I have a journal? Do I have an account on www.Myfitnesspal.com (MFP)? Do I wing it?

Well to be very honest, I wing it! I hate (and I mean hate) logging my food and counting my calories with a passion. I have used MFP before but I always end up stopping after a few days/weeks. I have tried the whole journal thing but I don’t like writing down anything so I always end up letting Caleb just color in it.

How do I wing it and lose weight? That’s the next questions I get a lot… well, when you eat clean it makes winging it so much easier! About 95% of the time I eat only fresh meats, veggies and fruits. Eating that way allows me to not have to be so “strict”. Now, please know I am not training for anything right now, just living healthy. If I were training for something (let’s say a figure competition) I would have to totally journal or keep a log of some sort (depending on my trainer) for sure!  

Here is what I try to keep in mind when I do eat:

1.   Protein is key. Eat it at almost every single meal

2.   Fruit is your friend, in the morning and early afternoon time

3.   Veggies are okay any time and any amount IF you cook them correctly (not fried obviously)

4.   Carbs are okay if they are good carbs (whole wheat rice, sweet potatoes, oats, etc.) and treat them like a fruit and only eat in the morning and early afternoon

5.   WATER!!! Drink half my body weight in water a day!

6.   Protein before bed no matter what

7.   Eat every 3 hours even if I am not hungry

Really, that is it. If you are eating clean (nothing frozen, nothing pre-made, no fast food, no canned foods, etc.) and you aren’t training for a certain thing, then you don’t really have to log (unless you just want to).

My motto – if a caveman could have eaten it, it’s okay for me... And I am pretty sure that cavemen didn’t log their food on MFP (but I could be totes wrong)!!

Yall have a happy and healthy weekend staying active!!!

I need your opinion...

Last week was a REALLY rough week for me, eating wise, working out wise, staying motivated, etc. Now I am sitting here thinking if I should repeat week 2 of Phase 2 over again since it ended up so badly… what do you think?

Last week started off great, like the past 5 weeks have been going. Then Monday afternoon my schedule got messed up a little with my parents coming in town and staying at my house. I did workout but didn’t do as much cardio as I should have done.

Tuesday I took off work so that I could attend my great grandmother’s funeral. Before the funeral I made it to the gym and completed my entire workout, I loved the empty gym! Then we went to the funeral and it just happened to be at the same cemetery my Gaga was buried and it brought up some emotions that I hate dealing with… so instead of dealing with them, I turned to food. I mean like right after we went to a local Mexican joint and I ate more carbs then you can imagine!

Wednesday I did my work out over lunch and skipped about half the cardio because I was in a hurry so that I could leave work a few minutes early. That night my family came over (brothers, sisters, spouses, kids, the whole nine yards) and had dinner at my casa… a dinner my Momma made (she was happy to cook for so many people again and went overboard, like always). And… I ate it, plus some!

Thursday I trained with Lo, which was a killer workout but it also meant I skipped my cardio because later that night was my dear friend’s wedding! I had 2 huge sugar cookies for my appetizer along with some vodka sweet tea (oh my gosh yummy) and then we went to Fuzzy’s and ate some more… bad!

Friday was HORRIBLE and where it all went down hill… yes, it was going downhill since Monday afternoon so I guess this is where it crashed and burned!!! I woke up 2 hours late (hello vodka sweet tea), had to skip lunch (and my work out with Lo) to make up time, enjoyed Happy Hour with my girlfriends after work (instead of going to the gym like I should have). On the way home, I stopped at Sonic (duh) and bought not only a diet coke but also a Sonic Blast (mini but still). Then I went home and ate dinner… I felt so miserable but couldn’t seem to pull myself out of it.

Saturday was the pity party (sorry you missed it, it was GREAT fun… not)! Seriously, it was COLD (I get cold with any temp below 70) and all I wanted to do (after watching my nieces volleyball game) was lay on the couch and watch tv (and eat) all day long. I did NOTHING all day! NOTHING! That night Casey made me get up and go with him to buy him a new belt and he made me try on some Miss Me Jeans, which fit but instead of using that as a pick me up, I went back home (with Whataburger) and ate and sat on the couch!!!

Sunday was a wake up moment and I started to dig myself out of the rut… we all went as a family to the last day of the State Fair of Texas to cheer on my nieces cheerleading team (they won 1^st place baby)! I ended up walking a lot but I also ate the fried food so I am going to say I broke even (probably not but oh well a girl can dream). Then Sunday night instead of ordering food from a drive through or delivery, I went home and cooked… It wasn’t 100% clean eating but it was a heck of a lot cleaner then eating out.

Now here we are… its Monday again and I am really trying to push past this crap! I have been drinking my water (almost ¾ of the way done) and have stayed on track with my eating. I just left the gym and while I was there I really felt like I should re-do week 2 of Phase 2 since I slacked so badly. I want this 12 week trainer program to be the best ever and so that is why I think I should repeat… but wanted your thoughts before making that decision!

So… what do you think? Should I repeat week 2 of Phase 2, Yes or No?

Pumpkin Protein Bars - Recipe!!!

The other day I told you I would give you the recipe for my Pumpkin Protein Bars I made… well today is your lucky day!

I found Jamie Eason’s recipe on www.Bodybuilding.com (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-easons-livefit-recipes-pumpkin-protein-bars.html) and I went off that the best I could, however I did have to make a few tweaks…

• ½ C Xylitol Brown Sugar Blend (Ideal) – I could not find this so I used Splenda Brown Sugar
• 1 - 4 oz. jar baby food applesauce  - I used some un sweet all natural applesauce I already had at home
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 ½ tsp. ground ginger – I didn’t have any of this so I didn’t use any
• ½ tsp. ground clove – Same as the ginger, just left it out of my recipe.
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt – I do not have any salt in my house so this didn’t make it in either
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 large egg whites
• 1 - 15 oz. can of raw pumpkin
• 2 C oat flour – I made my own out of Oats (see previous blog)
• 2 scoops vanilla whey protein  - I was out of vanilla so I used chocolate… oh my gosh YUMMY!!!
• ½ cup almond milk – I used skim milk
• ½ C chopped walnuts (optional) – I chose to add these, and I am glad I did!

I followed the rest of Jamie’s directions just like she gives ya on her site (mentioned above).

• Preheat the oven to 350.
• Spray a 9 X 13 Pyrex dish with non-stick spray.
• Combine first 11 ingredients and mix well.
• Add the final 3 ingredients (4, if adding walnuts), and mix until incorporated. Spread batter into the Pyrex dish and bake for 30 min.
• Makes 24 squares.

Let me know if you make any and if you like them or not!! Oh and they were a HUGE hit with Caleb and Casey too!!