Work does pay off!

I've learned so much since I started losing weight. I've learned to love myself, motivate myself, encourage other, lead by example, have basic health, and the list goes on and on. I think the best thing I have learned though is that no matter what, I have to keep pushing. I have to never give up no matter what it is that breaks me down, it could be school, family, work, anything. I have to push through the pit falls to get what I want.

Starting this journey I could barely run 1/4 of a mile without dying, now I can run over three miles and still have enough energy to lift weights! Before I wasn't able to do girl push-ups, now I can do a few sets of regular push-up (granted some aren't so pretty but I can still do em!:P). When I first started I had medical conditions, PCOS, I was at  high risk of diabetes, had constant knee and back pain, now PCOS is gone, there is no sign of diabetes in my future and the only reason my knees hurt is because of the weather change!

There are so many more changes that I can't even list because there are too many. I have grown into a stronger person, physically and mentally. My confidence has taken a 180 and I love myself! It feels so amazing to say that.

The struggles have been hard but I have pushed through all the pain to reach a goal. All the physical trials have led me to now, this quarter of school, I guess you could say the straight away of my weight loss.

Soo...

Over the last month and a half my weight had plateaued. I was a gym junkie, health freak that wasn't seeing results on the scale! Boy was that disappointing, but after getting help from my nutritionist and focusing more on my life as a whole I have been starting to see a change in the scale! GOOD CHANGES! I've been lifting weights, taking a cycling class, doing yoga and INSANITY. All that hard work is starting to show! This last week I reached a point in my weight loss journey that truly amazed me, I finally reached the 100 lb weight loss marker. I have lost 100 lbs!

I remember thinking back when I had lost 30 lbs telling myself "man it's going to be awesome when you lose 100 lbs!" Let me tell you, it feels way better than I imagined The way I look at life is completely different. More than just my weight has changed and THAT is what amazes me.

I pushed through my plateau, I pushed through every hard workout, I pushed past the people that didn't believe in me and showed them I still could.

The moment I stepped on the scale and saw 180 lbs was the moment I realized all my hard work was worth it. Every workout that I wanted to give up during and every time I decided to not give in to my temptation of bad food payed off. It feels so good to know that it really does work if you keep going and don't give up!

So with that said, I have 20 more lbs to lose. I wanna lose it by my birthday (Jan 15). Let me tell you, I'm going to work my butt off to see 160 on the scale the day before I leave for Vegas. But, don't get me wrong, if I don't reach my goal by Vegas, I know without a doubt in my mind that when I step on the plane I will be 100% confident with the work I did to reach whatever goal I'll be at. I never leave the gym or kitchen regretting anything, that's why I'm so confident that where ever I am, I know I will have worked hard for it.

I hope you guys are inspired to lead a happy healthy life! That's what matters.

Thank you for following my journey, I have 20 more lbs. I'm gunna keep pushin to reach it! WOOT!

Week 6 of 10 WK Challenge

Well ladies and gentleman, I am proud to say I lost weight over Thanksgiving! WOO! I lost 4 lbs in the last 2 weeks. It feels great. Here's my progress shot for the Challenge:

Before Week 1
 

End of Week 6
Weight lost: 8 lbs

 

 Boom BOOM! I personally don't see that much of a change in these photos, BUT when I look at my arms flexing and my legs squatting, dang! I'm so proud of my progress! Just goes to say, don't judge your success on a photo, or the scale. I am starting to judge my success on how I feel and how I look. I love waking up to a thinner stomach, stronger legs, and smaller arms! It makes me feel like what I'm doing is really working, because IT IS! :) Woooo! My mindset has changed so much over the last 3 months. It's truly amazing.

I hope you guys are staying motivated and honest with yourself, in all ways.


Till next time, drink water and enjoy a kiwi in your oatmeal! (it's the bomb!)

Week 5 of 10 WK Challenge

Hey guys, I'm half way done! 5 weeks down, and 5 to go. I'm happy to say that when I wake up in the morning I am becoming more and more happy with what my stomach is looking like. I've noticed it's the little changes I need to celebrate, it makes life a whole lot easier! 

Start

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

I get to weigh in next week, so I'll tell you guys how much I've lost! As long as I'm working hard and not regretting my workouts or the food I'm eating, I'm growing to be happy with the results. Don't get me wrong though, I for sure what to reach my goal weight by my birthday. I believe I still can, just gotta keep pushin. 

Till next week, learn to love your body and have a piece of fruit! :) 

Healthy Holiday Recipe: Light and Luscious Pumpkin Pie

Here's another healthy holiday recipe! Pumpkin pie. When I saw this in my cookbook I freaked out, I LOOOVE pumpkin pie and to see a recipe for one I can eat, well I was all over it. It's from "The ultimate low-calorie book" By Better Homes and Gardens

PREP: 30 minutes BAKE: 40 minutes OVEN: 450 F/ 375 F MAKE 10 servings

Ingredients: 
1 recipe Oil Pastry Sugar (recipe below)
1 15-ounce can pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup evaporated fat-free milk


Directions:

Oil Pastry Sugar: In a medium bowl stir together 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add 1/3 cup vegetable oil and 3 tablespoons fat-free milk at all once to flour mixture. Stir lightly with a for until combined. Shape into a ball. Makes 1 pastry.

Pie:

1) Preheat oven to 450 F. Prepare Oil Pastry. On a well-floured surface, slightly flatten pastry. Roll pastry from center to edges into a 12-in circle. Wrap pastry circle around rolling pin; unroll into a 9-inch pie plate. Ease pastry into pie plate. Crimp edge as desired. Do not prick pastry. Line pastry with a double thickness of foil. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for 5 minutes more. Cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 375 F

2) If desired, combine the reserved pastry scraps; flatten to 1/4  in thickness. Using desired cookie cutter, cut out shapes for top of pie. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. If desired, sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 7-10 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack; cool.

3) For filling, in a medium bowl combine pumpkin, 1/3 cup sugar, honey, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg. Add egg and vanilla. Beat lightly with a fork just until combined. Gradually stir in evaporated milk. Pour filling into baked pastry shell.

4) To prevent overbrowning, cover edge of pie with foil. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until filling appears set (edges of filling may crack slightly).

5) Cool on wire rack. if desired, top with baked pastry cutouts. Cover and chill for 2 hrs.

Nutrition facts per serving: 196 cal, 8 g total fat, 28 g carb. 5 g protein.

Healthy Holiday Recipe: Heart Healthy Cheesy Potatoes

This Thanksgiving and Christmas I'm gunna stick with eating as healthy as I can. But I still want to enjoy it so, I have a low-calorie cookbook that I'm using to make my holiday season most enjoyable! The Books called "The ultimate low-calorie book" I'm gunna share with you some recipes i'll be using.

Heart-healthy Cheesy Potatoes
PREP: 15 minutes BAKE: 1 hr 5 minutes STAND: 10 minutes OVEN: 350 F MAKES: 12 servings

Ingredients: 

1 10.75- ounce can reduced-fat and reduced-sodium condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
1/2 cup fat-free milk
1/2 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup finely chopped onion (1 small) or 2 tablespoons dried minced onion
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 30 or 32-ounce package frozen shredded or diced hash brown potatoes, thawed. (I think grated potatoes       would be okay too)
1/2 cup crushed cornflakes or crushed wheat cereal flakes

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 2-quart rectangular baking dish; set aside. In an extra-large bowl combine soup, cheese, milk, onion, sour cream, and pepper. Stir in potatoes. Transfer mixture  to the prepared baking dish.

2) Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Stir potatoes; sprinkle with cornflakes. Bake, uncovered, for 20-25 more minutes, or until heated through and bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition facts per serving: 129 cal, 3 g total fat, 11 mg chol, 20 g carbs, 5 g protein

ENJOY!

Protein Pumpkin Pankcakes

Alright ladies and Gentleman, I am so happy to introduce a new recipe to you! Pancakes! I have come across some GREAT alternatives to pancakes like egg white french toast and such, but when I saw a recipe for pancakes that had no flour in it I was as happy as a kid in a toy store! Now, I don't know about you but when I think of pancakes all I think about are carbs and more carbs. Flour, eggs, water with a pool of syrup! Don't even get me started on syrup. I won't touch it with a ten foot pole. The base of this recipe is from a guy I follow on Instagram (maityz). It consists of Oatmeal, egg whites, and banana. I've made both versions, the recipe just mentions and obviously the recipe I'm going to share with you. BOTH are very good! What I love about this simple basic recipe is it's sooo easy to alter, substitute. You can pretty much do what you want with it. Yay! This recipe is makes one portion.

Here's what you'll need:

Blender
 1/4 cup Oatmeal
3 Egg whites (Or whole eggs if you want)
1/4 cup Almond Milk ( Haven't tried regular milk, I don't see why it wouldn't work though)
3 tbsp Libby's pure pumpkin
Cinnamon
Non-stick spray

Directions:
1) Mix oatmeal, egg whites, almond milk, and pumpkin in blender.

2) Mix until smooth
3) Spray non-stick on a pan, pour mix in pan. When I made this mix I had to kinda pat the pancakes with a spatula to flatten them a little or spread them so they're larger.

4) Let cook till bubbles show throughout all the cake.
5) FLIP!

6) Let the other side cook.
7) TADA! ALL DONE!!

Note: For my last pancake I added some Cinnamon to the non-cooked side before flipping.

I make eggs and protein "frosting" to go with my pancakes. But top with whatever you want! :)

Frosting: 

Ingredients:
1/3 scoop Protein powder
1/2 tbsp Peanut butter
Almond milk

Directions for "frosting"

1) Mix peanut butter and powder together
2) add almond milk till consistency you like
3)TADA, all done!

So simple and quite delicious.

CALORIE COUNT: 385 calories, 17 g Fat, 21 g, Carbs, 41 g Protein

This is my weekend breakfast! If you guys try it tell me how you like it! I would love to hear some feedback.

Till next time, discover a new healthier version of food you miss and love!

Week 4 of 10 WK Challenge

Hey guys! So after this week, I saw the nutritionist and got my macros in order. Bonus, I lost 2 lbs!

Start - 188

Week 1
Total lost: 1 lb

Week 2
Total lost: 3 lbs
-

Week 3
Total lost: 2 lbs
(1.8 lbs gain)

Week 4
Total lost: 4 lbs

I'm still pushin! You have to, it's the only way to make it! I hope you guys are trying to get the body you want, FOR YOU and only YOU! It has taken me a while to realize who I'm doing this for, but I'm so proud to say that it's for me.


Going to try and post some awesome recipes I have run across in the past few weeks this weekend. Stay posted, I personally think they are amazing! :)

Till then, eat right and work your a$$ off!!

Week 3 of 10 WK Challenge

Hey guys, here's my 10 WK challenge post. I wasn't too happy with what I saw on the scale, gained 1.8 lbs. But I'm not letting that stop me. I saw the nutritionist today and she told me how many calories I should be eating. She also mentioned the amount of macro nutrients I should consume. We realized I was eating too much fat and not enough carbs. Peanut butter has good fat but too much for how much I eat, gotta cut back on the nut butter. :( Here's my results thus far in the Challenge:

Start

After Week 1

After Week 2

 



After Week 3

I'm gunna keep pushin and work hard. Now that I know what I should be eating, I should really see a change on the scale. Wish me luck!

 

Till next time, leave the gym happy. :) 

Week 2 of 10 WK Challenge

Hey guys, I've been so busy with school and working out that I have not had time to make any posts. I'll try and make one this weekend. Here's my results from week 2 of my 10 Week Challenge. I lost 2 pounds also! Yay! I didn't reach my short term goal, but I'm still pushing hard and leaving the gym soaking wet. My cardio has been increased and I'm still seeing my trainer for weight training.

Start- 188 lbs

After week 1
Total lost- 1 lb

After week 2
Total lost- 3 lbs

Seeing little tiny changes. I'm happy with my results, because I know I'm working SUPER HARD to get where I want. That's all that matters to me now. Thank goodness. :) I can honestly say I'm doing this for me, and only me. It feels amazing.


Till next time, keep hydrated and do it for yourself. :)