stomach virus? no big deal!

So I've been having an issue with a weak stomach/ stomach virus since last week. I haven't been able to exercise properly since then and it has a bit frustrating.  I have, how ever been able to eat good.

I slipped back into eating not as healthy but staying within my calorie limit.  I switched back to eating clean and smaller portions. I feel better, and hopefully soon I will be well enough to get back into working out. I miss running and lifting.

But I am super close to my first private goal and my first over all goal!

And here's some food porn:

Try it, you might like it!

Nopales

Nopales are a veggie from the pads of prickly pear cactus. They are very rich in vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber. Nopales have been known to help control blood sugar. The benefits from them are endless!

When I first tried this veggie, I was very skeptical. I thought I wasn’t going to like it. Boy was I wrong. I absolutely love nopals. In fact I put it in almost everything from Eggs, tacos, and even chili. It’s a great way to add texture to your meal.  I like to add it to my meals like I would pickled jalapenos. To be honest with you, it might kind of creep you out. They can be slimy sometimes, but it’s not that big of a deal.  Just think of it as a canned French green bean and that’s pretty much the texture of it.

You can find it in a variety of ways. Fresh, canned or pickled. I prefer the pickled version of it.  You can even find it in some salsas.

Here are a few websites that offer wonderful information about the mighty nopal:

www.diabeteshealth.com - nopals

Wiki -Nopal

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Nopalitos con Huevos

(I have never been good with writing down my recipes; I tend to just eyeball it)

3 large eggs (I normally use just eggs whites)

Pickled nopales (you can add as much or little)

Salt

Pepper

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Whole stewed tomatoes (I tend to use 2)

Few dabs of Texas Pete hotter hot sauce (optional)

Your favorite salsa

Extra virgin olive oil

Flour or corn tortillas (I prefer corn tortillas)

Prep:

-          Heat your tortillas. If you are using store bought corn tortillas suggest patting them with a little bit of water before you heat them up. They tend to be dry.

-          Chop your noaples and whole stewed tomatoes in large chunks and set aside.

-          Whisk your eggs, seasonings, hot sauce, noplaes and tomatoes in a bowl.

-          Heat your pan to medium and lube with  the olive oil

-          Once your pan is heated properly, pour in egg mixture. Stir gently and cook to your desired doneness.

Serve your eggie goodness in to your tortillas and top it off with your favorite salsa.  Really, you can top it off what whatever you like; Cilantro, jalapenos, fresh chopped onions, black beans or even cheddar cheese.

 Yesterday, my husband and I made chicken tacos and added a ton of noples to the mix. It was amazing. Your diet doesn’t have to be boring. You just have to be willing to try new things.

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Come to think of it, I also like them in my grits…. Lol. It is very simple to make and perfect for any time of the day. If you do not know what grits are here’s a link that can help explain it: Wiki -Grits

Grits, Egg, and Nopalitos :

For the grits-

Grits (your desired serving size)

Smoked paprika

Salt

Pepper

Garlic

Cumin

Smoked cayenne powder (optional)

Chili powder

For the egg mixture-

2 large eggs

Salt & pepper

Chopped nopales

                Prep:

-          Follow the instructions on how to cook the grits on the box. Once the grits are almost done mix in the spices.

-          Once the grits are cooked, set aside and let them cool. While it’s cooling cook up the eggs like the Nopalitos con Huevos recipe

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My husband loves to eat his with cheese and a lot of hot sauce.  I on the other hand just like it the way it is. Lol.  Hopefully I typed this out to where it makes sense. I’ve never been the type of person to write/type down what I make. Normally everything that my husband and I do in the kitchen, we tend to just wing it. Believe me, this is one habit we need to break. My husband has made some bad ass meals in the past, but we could never recreate them because we didn’t write them down. lol

damn it, lol.

When it comes to our health, it’s easy to think that we are invincible. Some of us smoke cigarettes and some of us binge drink alcohol knowing that it is bad for us. Yet we still do things that harm our body. We completely neglect that fact that food can harm us just as bad. Sometimes we know better and still indulge in greasy fast foods and super sugary treats.

Annnnnnnd it’s so easy to fall off the healthy life style bandwagon. Sneaking in some sweets every once in awhile slowly turns to sneaking in sweets every day. Drinking sweet sugary beverages slowly turns into a nasty addiction, where you HAVE to have it or you’ll have an awful day. Or worse, you get angry at your significant other/co-worker/children.

Maybe it’s because we are afraid to change or maybe it’s because we don’t have a strong willpower? Whatever excuse we make to justify our gluttony with bad food just isn’t going to cut it. There are plenty of healthy choices out there, yet we choose to turn our nose in the air and head near the closet burger joint.

I will admit that I have a vicious cycle of falling off the healthy life style bandwagon. It’s easy. Sometimes I didn’t even realize I was eating badly. Even after going gluten free and feeling happy, I still managed to go back to eating gluten and feeling like crap. I never really went back into drinking soda thankfully. Soda was the hardest habit to kick. Eating bad food for nostalgia is a bad thing. Lol. I tried to justify that eating it every once in awhile was okay, only if it was in moderation. Boy was I wrong…. Lol.

And here I am, starting this healthy life style all over again. I am really excited to try this all over again. My taste buds have changed, so healthy eating isn’t so boring anymore. the only thing I am going to miss is the cinnamon coffee cakes and sandwiches from the publix deli. So far I have been gluten free for a week. I am slowly learning how to enjoy coffee without a hint of sugar.

Almost There. Close to the first weight loss goal.

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Weight Loss Tools

 

I know that I said that I wasn’t going to blog before I moved, but this is so special that I couldn’t keep it in. lol.  I just realized that I am 3 pounds away from my first weight loss goal.  To this day, I have lost a grand total of 47 pounds. I am pretty fucking happy. I can’t believe that by hopefully the end of the year I have lost 50 pounds.  

It wasn’t an easy process. I had to fight through crazy food additions, learn what to eat, and force myself to exercise.  With this big move on the way, I am a little worried. I tend to eat out of boredom. But luckily for me, my husband cannot stand fast food, hates sugar and is gluten free. we basically have the same diet, so it’ll be a lot easier to pack things to eat. 

Also because of this big move, i really haven't had a chance to work out. As soon as we get to Georgia I plan on getting a gym membership, hopefully my sister in law will join me. I am excited for what the new year brings.

Where to start when dining out.. partie deux

Let’s say you are a working lady and it’s time for lunch break. What are you going to eat for lunch? Chances are you’re going to the nearest fast food joint to grab a quick lunch…. The only problem is, you started a diet. What do you eat now? 

Lucky for you, most restaurants have jumped on the healthy food band wagon!!!! Is it too good to be true? Yeah, it probably is considering that salads they have are loaded with SODIUM, FAT and CALORIES…  yowza!

Read more>>>

Where To Start When Dining Out

 It’s pretty easy to go on a diet. It’s doesn’t have to be torture. There are plenty of good foods you can eat on a diet.  I myself tend to cook at home rather than go out. But if you are the type that love the restaurant experience or can’t cook, there are things out there you can enjoy:

Read more>>>>

Monthly photo progress November

click to enlarge

I’m really excited with the results. I still can’t believe that I am doing so well with this diet, and I can’t believe that I lost 43 pounds! It’s insane, and seeing the progress inspires me to keep going. I still have roughly 57 pounds to lose before I meet my overall goal of 100 pounds. On my post yesterday I said I was really impressed with the weight loss on my back. If you seen me right before this weight loss you know that my problem areas were my lower stomach and my lower back. Well, I still have a little bit of a gut, but my back looks amazing. I’m still a little hesitant to show my pictures, but part of this blog is to grow into a different person and gain confidence. I never thought that losing weight could be this easy. It just shows that you can do anything you put your mind to.

Read more>>>

Crash and fad diets are a piece of shit

To me a crash diet should be considered to be a type of eating disorder. The definition of an eating disorder is extreme emotions, attitudes, and behaviors surrounding weight and food issues. People are constantly pushing their bodies to the point where they might be harmful. Deprivation diets and intense exercise can be extremely harmful to your heart. Why do people think that it’s okay to push your body so hard? Times have changed and food has changed.  Food portions at restaurants have tripled, which are causing people to become fatter and fatter.  People aren’t as active as they used to be. People are sitting on their asses all day watching tv, staying on the computer or staying on their beloved video games all day. Then they wonder why they are gaining all that weight. Well, since I have been exercising and changed my eating habits, I no longer feel sorry for people. It’s like they have an excuse for everything. It’s not hard to get off your butt and go for a walk; it’s not hard to give up soda or other junk food. You have to be willing to change. One positive change to your life style will reward you and will inspire you to make another positive lifestyle change.  It’s like a domino effect. 

With more and more people gaining weight, more and more crazy diets are popping up left and right. Some diets tell you to eat nothing but cottage cheese, eat cabbage soup, and just eat lima beans for a certain amount of time. Sure you’ll lose weight, but you will also make you sick. Rapid weight loss can lower your metabolism and cause you to gain all that weight back eventually. Not to mention that a long term low calorie intake (anything below 1,000) can lead to heart damage. All that “yo-yo” dieting can cause heart muscle loss which leads to all sorts of heart problems.  

People are so impatient and want rapid results. They never consider that the crazy diet they are doing can lead to death. I don’t know about you, but I am not dying to be skinny. If you really want to lose weight or be fit, you should stick to a healthy life style change and stick to it.  I know I’ve said this a lot, but losing weight takes time. 

Dinner plans for Thanksgiving (aka That Holiday of Gluttony)

So, as thanksgiving is creeping up, I am having a hard time trying to figure out what I want to cook for my family. Only my husband is eating the same type of “diet” as I am, and the rest of my family pretty much eats bad anything. How do you cook for a group of people who don’t care about what they eat? Easy, you focus on yourself first and then consider what they would like to eat. After all you are the one that is working in the kitchen all day cooking for them. Lol. I am going to make two different kinds of corn bread stuffing. One gluten free (for my husband and I) and one regular. I am still not sure on the sides I am going to make, but I have come up with a small list:

Dinner

• The Turkey
• Gluten free stuffing and regular stuffing
• Some kind of potato (mashed or oven roasted)
• Steamed summer squash and zucchini
• Asparagus
• Dinner rolls (I won’t be eating)

Dessert

• Apple and peach pie (I also wont be eating)
• Fruit cup (melons, grapes, coconut and pineapples)

There’s really no sense in stuffing your face full of food on Thanksgiving. Seems like these days people focus more on eating than spending time with their family. Thanksgiving is so gluttonous. Do we really need all that food? Also dont forget to thank the person that cooked the meal, it's an ass kicking meal to make.

42 pounds in 4 months

My journey for losing 42 pounds has been easy so far. I’ve completely changed my eating habits around.  But my first step to losing weight wasn’t from food, it came from soda. I was a coca cola junkie and I really don’t know where it came from. i always did everything in moderation, soda, fast food and sweets. But for some reason I really stopped caring and did whatever I wanted to do. Before you know it, not paying attention to what I was eating lead me to gain 50 pounds within a short period of time.  

Soda was my biggest problem. I would drink up to 3 20oz sodas a day, and then what ever I drank at a restaurant.  i would feel sick to my stomach if I drank to much coke, and I would feel sick to my stomach if I didn’t have a coke. I realized I had a problem when my mom would point it out.  I got on the scale to see how much I weighed, and it was waaaay to much. I freaked out. I don’t know how it got this bad.

Okay first step was to cut soda out. Oddly enough I had withdrawal symptoms. My head hurt so bad, I had violent stomach pains, and mood swings.  From the time I cut soda out to now, all I drink is water and from time to time coconut juice.  I lost 7 pounds just cutting soda out, within 2 weeks.

Second step was cutting out sugar, fast food, and other junk food. Again, I had a hard time cutting fast food out because it was just so addictive. After a week of not consuming fast food I started to feel a lot better and my complexion started to clear up. Giving up sugar had given me energy that I never had before. Again,  giving up sugar gave me bad withdrawal symptoms. Lost another 5 pounds giving junk food up.

Third step my husband convinced me to go gluten free. He had researched that gluten intolerance is linked to PCOS.   Going gluten free has helped me out with my most of my PCOS symptoms, cleared my complexion up even more, gave me more energy, and most of my digestive problems have gone away.  The gluten free substitutes can sometimes be expansive, so learning to live without bread was the route I had to go. However, Jason’s Deli has really awesome gluten free bread that is amazing! Whenever I get the chance I always get a turkey sandwich with hummus.  Going gluten free helped me lose another 5 pounds.  (for information on what gluten intolerance is, check out this website)

Fourth step was running everyday on my treadmill.  Giving up all this crazy junk food and going gluten free has given me all this energy and it was a lot easier to start working out this time.  The rest of my weight came off from exercise.  My legs are more toned than they used to be, and my confidence has gone up. Shopping for pants is a lot easier, and fun. 

I am working on step number five. It’s weight lifting. So far it has been an awesome experience, I just need more weights to continue going. I can already tell I have lost some fat in my upper arms and back, and have already gained some muscle weight. Muscle weight isn’t bad, but it’s kept me at the same weight for about 2 weeks now. Not a big deal for me, I like the idea of getting super toned.