Staying On Track

Posted in Meal Planning by

How do you stay on track with healthy eating and exercise?

I’m on day 10 of The Whole 30…applause please. No cheating here. But I’m still fighting lots of cravings and old bad habits.

Tonight, I wanted a cheeseburger. But instead I made bacon wrapped, spinach stuffed chicken with steamed broccoli. Go me.

And instead of watching TV and being tempted to snack, I grabbed a glass of ice water and my new magazine…

image

…and decided to see how many paleo recipes I can find to make.

It’s all about finding your balance – knowing your weaknesses – and preplanning for success.

I think I made up that word preplanning. But hey, I like it.

Oh and someone told me I was looking thinner and “on point” today. That’d a compliment right?

So how are you going to stay on track this week? Let’s hear it!

image

Desperate Times Call For…

Posted in Goals by

Yup, desperate measures. Clean eating and I have been on-again, off-again for a few months now and I’ve just had enough. Have you been there? Like, if I don’t do this all the way, then I don’t want to do it at all?

And my pants are too tight. And bathing suit season is *gasp* just around the corner.

So this week, my husband and I re-started The Whole 30. Today is day 7.  Do you know what day 7 is described as in the book? Something like, “Just give me a nap already!”

image

And that’s how I feel, so I guess I’m right on track. I’m excited to share results with you. But if I’m going to be excited about the weight loss, I probably should share me starting weight. Right?

Ok, here goes.

…

…

…

…

…

Oh you’re still reading. Ok, my starting weight is…gulp…159.2

Shame.  Last year when I did The Whole 30, I went from 164.5 to 152.  And I gained most of it back.  Shame.

So this time, my goal is to lose 10 pounds this month, to feel refreshed, full of energy, see my acne decrease, feel my hair thicken and be better prepared to continue a healthy lifestyle.  And I hope to keep this up after the 30 days…because really, that’s the key to long term success.

So, since we all love photos…here’s a few from the first week.

 

image

image

 

image

image

Ready for Some March Madness

Posted in Goals by

So, the U.S. may be coming to an end here in a few short months (say both sides of the aisle over their perspective own candidate and also the opposing). I think you have a few viable options for this month of March Madness. You can stock up on cans of soup and dry goods preparing for the inevitable invasion of Putin and the USSR or Crazy Kim and the North Koreans (solid option, no shame in it). You could update your passport and work on getting a Visa to move to Canada (although I hear they are building a wall already though, sorry). You could pretend like none of this is happening, go out and buy a ton of stock in Blockbuster Video because its bound to get real big again and sit down to a huge meal of pizza, wings and ice cream, because those things are always good for you.

Or… Or… Or…

You could say this is March Madness in its fullest, so I’m going to set a goal and rock out March for me rather than for anyone else and let the craziness of the world spin away. I love that term March Madness. I love the NCAA brackets and the fact that Izzo and my Spartans are going to OWN IT this month! I actually am 100% flabbergasted by everything that is happening politically which is contributing to the MADNESS of March as well. But the biggest reason why I love March Madness is because this is when I tend to make my goals. I’m not one to do this in January, because let’s face it, there are WAY too many people at the gym in January and way too many diet fads out and about.

No, in March is when I set my goal because spring is almost here, shorts, tank tops, swimsuits, etc. are right around the corner. So, I have a goal for this month. Particularly because there are going to be some awesome pictures being taken in April when I celebrate 12 years of marriage to my awesome hubs. I’m already 1 lb down for my goal and know that I can take away the other 8 before mid-April as long as I work-out hard and continue to eat what is GOOD for me and not what got me the extra 10 in the first place.

So that’s my goal – 9 lbs before mid-April. I’m putting it out there. What’s yours? Here’s to an awesome March Madness – we can do this. Oh, and in case you thought this MA resident wasn’t still a true mitt lover – I sport this look most days.

Steph Land Hand

StephSig

Tips for a Successful Workout

Posted in Goals, Motivation by

I wish I could tell you all right now that every time I go to the gym I have an amazing workout. That I lift more each time, do more reps, push myself harder on whatever cardio machine I am on, and that people flock to me at the gym just to watch my incredible form as I do a squat.

Yeah, right.

Most days at the gym, I am thankful that I can mentally focus on the task at hand for 30 or maybe even 45 minutes before my mind starts to head back to work and all of the stuff that has to get done. That’s right, you heard me – 30-45 minutes. I’m definitely not one of those people that gets to the gym and spends 2 hours there. I get in, work hard, get out and get on with my day. Because of that, I have found that I really have to focus when I go. Here are some things that I have found helpful for me, so that way, when I am at the gym, I let the work stuff go for a few minutes and focus in on actually getting a good workout in.

  1. I drink a cup of coffee about 30-60 minutes before I know I am going to go workout. This actually has helped tremendously as it takes that sluggish feeling away and gets me going (especially since I never really want to “get going” to the gym).
  2. I make myself do one thing I hate. So, if I am lifting legs, that means that I will be doing lunges at some point in the workout. If I am doing arms, then I will do resistance bands. If I am on cardio, I will make myself go 10 minutes longer and harder. Let’s face it, I am good at quite a few things. I rock my squats. I can bench pretty well and feel good doing it. But I absolutely HATE lunges. They hurt, and they make me hurt later because they work out a muscle that isn’t normally getting any action. So, I force myself to do one thing I hate each workout. It helps me have a better workout and not just do the things I’m good at over and over again.
  3. Keep it interesting for yourself. I rarely do the same thing each week. This past week, I focused on cardio all week long, cause I was feeling a bit sluggish and I knew that this would wake me up. Some weeks, I’m all about lifting A TON. Some weeks, I’m all about lifting longer with less weight. I change it up each week making sure to continue to work on my whole body and not just one area.
  4. Get some good tunes. I know that this really has nothing to do with an actual workout, but I find that I have my best workouts when my jam comes on! I could be in my 40th minutes on the elliptical machine and want to quit, and then all of a sudden Missy Elliot comes on and I’m like, yep, you got this! Chubby waist, be gone! Yeah, yeah, I know, I know – not what that song means, but still.

Anyhoo, those are my tips. Really, they are no brainers, but somedays we just need the simple reminder to keep at it. You do this because of the goals you have. You do this, hopefully, because you enjoy the feeling you get from feeling good about yourself and what you are accomplishing. Remember…You Rock

StephSig

Zucchini Pasta with Rosemary Butternut Creme Sauce

Posted in Food by

First of all, gahhhhhhh nomnomnom this is good. It’s just as good as it looks! If you’re craving a warm, comforting pasta dish, this is it! Second of all, eating it twice in one week is the limit. Three meals and you’re overdoing it. Don’t overdo it. Here comes the recipe!

INGREDIENTS
  • 1 medium butternut squash
  • Coconut oil (around 3T total, use throughout recipe)
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 4-6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed (to release flavor)
  • 1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk (don’t shake the can, scoop out the fatty stuff)
  • ½ cup chicken broth (or vegetable)
  • 1 pound sliced mushrooms (shiitake are great!)
  • 4 large zucchini, spiralized into whatever version you like
  • 1 tsp salt (or more to taste)
  • Pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Set oven to 375.
  2. Roast butternut squash for 30-45 min until tender (slice lengthwise, scoop out seeds, spray with oil or rub with coconut oil, place cut side down in glass dish, place uncovered in oven).
  3. Let squash cool. Once it is cooled, scoop out the flesh and place into your blender.
  4. Add 1 T coconut oil to a pan over medium heat & add the onions & garlic. Saute for 3 – 5 min until onion is translucent and garlic is fragrant.
  5. Add the garlic & onions, rosemary, coconut milk, broth, & salt to the blender with the squash. Blend until smooth (an immersion blender works also).Picture1
  6. Add 1T coconut oil to a large pan. Add the mushrooms and saute for about 2 min just before they get too brown.
  7. Prepare your zucchini pasta. I spiralized mine right into the pan. So pretty & green!IMG_5777
  8. Cook the zucchini for about 3 minutes, until it is almost tender.Picture2
  9. Add the sauce to the pan and continue to cook until sauce is hot and zucchini is tender.                                    Picture3
  10. Garnish with freshly-ground black pepper and serve hot.

I hope you enjoy this yummy dish! Next time, I’m planning to add some red pepper flakes. Let us know if you try it out first!

BeccaSig

Five Things I Learned in Rehab

Posted in Motivation by

A few weeks back I started accumulating hours at a substance abuse treatment center as part of my master’s program requirements. On my first day, someone told me that I looked like I had just gotten out of jail, the next week a man who looked a little like Santa called me “middle-aged,” and throughout it all, I learned six things about fear that I applied to my own weight-loss and health journey.

#1 Fear is Normal: At the beginning of every new journey, there is fear. Sometimes fear is good and helps us guide our decision-making process, other times it is stunting and paralyzes. In either form, it is there, normal, and expected.

#2 Fear of Missing Out: This seems silly but how many of us binge just before starting a diet, or lament all of the things that we will miss out on? We have a serious case of the FOMO (fear of missing out)! When I think about this, I try to remember that for 30+ years, I have enjoyed those things and that now is the time to choose healthier things. And what am I missing out on? Future heart issues, diabetes, heartburn, icky skin? Nope.

#3 Fear of Failure: Whether we have been eating clean and exercising for one week or 2 years, living a healthy lifestyle is challenging. It is a process. There are times when we doubt ourselves, fall short of our goals, or act completely the opposite of how we have resolved to act. This is a mind-warping fear because the fear itself causes what we fear to happen (failure) to actually happen. At that point, we can conclude that we don’t have what it takes, or we can keep pressing forward.

#4 Fear of Success: This is kind of like the fear of failure. Hmm, we don’t plan to self-sabotage but it happens. We feel that we are doomed from the start and let self-doubt and fears of what other people think keep us from sticking with it or trying. This fear is rooted in thinking that we can control the future. We can’t!!! I’ve learned to be present in this health journey. I’m not getting lost, focusing on what might be or could be. I am focusing on today and making good decisions.

 #5 Fear of Losing Identity: This one might hit a little hard. Our bodies are part of our identity. This is true for everyone, no matter the body. After years (or a lifetime) of having a one identity, (cue social media names: MzThickness, PHAT Girl Hottie, BigBoi, etc.) it can throw us off to think of having a different identity as our bodies change. This fear can stop us in our tracks. Identity is also fluid; it changes. We are not who we were at 13 years old and we’re not who we will be at 70. Check yourself out in the mirror, accept the new you, and realize that it is just a piece of who you are!

If you’re still reading this super long post, just remember:  fear is normal but we have to find out what is perpetuating that fear and kick it in the face! Fight it with truth! Go get em!!!

Not Your Grandma’s Roast

Posted in Food by

When I was a kid, I remember going to my grandma’s house (she was German and loved to cook all things food in LARGE portions). Without fail, at every visit, she would make a roast with mashed potatoes dripping in butter, carrots, peas and about four other sides with some pie at the end. As all good Midwesterners, we took our roast beef and squirted ketchup all over it for some good eating (don’t judge, I would probably still do it today because ketchup goes on almost everything).

Now that I’ve grown up, I find myself realizing that I can make an awesome roast beef recipe, but since I married a dude from southern California, I make my roast beef into a spicy shredded beef, put it into a little lettuce wrap, top it off with some guacamole and call it an awesome meal. This meal is perfect for a Saturday in the winter. It is spicy and warm, which feels good on the incredibly cold nights, plus the spice helps to kick whatever is going on in your sinuses. It’s great for a Saturday cause you stick it in your oven or crockpot in the mid-morning and come back ready to eat it in the evening. Hope you get a chance to try it out and enjoy!

Spicy Shredded Beef Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

  • 3-4 lbs boneless beef roast
  • A culmination of spices (1 T garlic powder, 1 T onion powder, 1 T ground cumin, 2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, salt and pepper)
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, smashed
  • 4 oz can of diced green chiles (I use the hot ones)
  • Chipotles in Adobo can – chop up 1 of the chipotles to use and use 2 T of the adobo sauce
  • 1-2 cups beef broth
  • A packet of ancho chile powder (you will use this at the end, so just set it aside)
  • Bibb lettuce
  • Cilantro & Guacamole (optional, but I find it is awesome to have on hand)

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Get out a dutch oven and put that on medium heat on your stove with a little olive oil. Season your beef on all sides with your spices and brown the beef on all sides for about 3 minutes or so. Add in the onions, garlic cloves, green chiles, chipotle, adobo sauce and beef broth. Put the lid on your dutch oven and put it in the oven for 6 hours. You could also season your beef and simply add everything into a crockpot, putting it on low and coming back in 6-8 hours. Your choice.

After you have had an awesome day and your kitchen has made your whole house smell amazing, take your dutch oven out of your oven. Get your beef out of the big pot and put it into a bowl. Begin to shred it up (this should take no time at all, it will literally be falling apart). Get a big cast iron or skillet on your stove over medium-low heat. Put the ancho chile powder packet in the skillet with some of the leftover broth from your dutch oven till it forms a consistency between a paste and a soup. Add the shredded beef into this and mix it all around.

Get out some bibb lettuce, add in your beef, top off with some homemade guacamole or avocados, some cilantro and enjoy!!

Mexican Shredded Beef

StephSig

What’s Stopping You?

Posted in Goals, Motivation by

So, honesty time.  A few weeks ago, I had an allergic reaction, ended up having to epi pen myself and took a nice ride in an ambulance. Don’t worry, all is well here in my world. You know what happened though for the entire week after this little episode? Nothing. That’s right, absolutely nothing. My throat closed up for a morning and I got spooked BIG time. I didn’t go to the gym the entire week that followed, and I can admit, I was scared. I was scared that my asthma was going to get in my way if I tried to do some cardio, that I was going to have an asthma attack in the middle of my gym and that I would be the biggest huffing, puffing mess in front of a bunch of fit strangers.

So, I didn’t go to the gym. Instead, I let my fear get in the way of my goals. Has this happened to you? What is it that stops you dead in your tracks? The thing that gets in your head and repeats over and over again that you simply can’t do it. You can’t become the thing that you want to be. You can’t be that amazing person that works out and eats well and achieves their monstrous goals. That you can’t be anything more than the blob you always have been. I don’t know what it is for you, but for me it is that elephant in the room that stares me down every time I head to the gym – my lungs.

Well, thank goodness for my husband. After a week of fear and laziness, he simply said, “Hey, when are you getting to the gym?” I love this. He wasn’t saying that I was fat (believe me), he wasn’t calling me lumpy or overweight or anything like that, but he was simply calling me out, because he knows what my goals are and what I want to do. I need that. I need that accountability and reminder to get going. I need the reminder to let the silly fear in my head go and to simply go be me – work out hard and do what I am capable of doing (not the extremely built people that lift more than my bodyweight times 5). And you know what? It worked. Last week was a crazy busy stressful week, but I got to the gym – 4 times. And this week, I’m heading there again, at least 4 times.

Bench Press

We can either continue to live in our fears, letting those conquer and settling to be what we always have been, or we can acknowledge what our fears are and push pass them to become what we want to be. I’m for that. So, keep rocking it out and getting it done, Fit Mitt Reader World. Hope that it is a great week for you all!

StephSig

 

Around the Way Chili

Posted in Food by

It is FREEZING outside and you need Around the Way Chili. That comforting, warm-your-soul-but-still-make-you-wanna-slap-the-person-next-to-you-if-it’s-spicy-enough chili. When I tell you that I make this once a month, I’m not playin! I make this on Sunday afternoons and split it up for lunches throughout the week. Yum.

Whatchu need (Ingredients):

  • 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
  • 4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2-4 T oil (avocado, olive, whatever you like)
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1-2 stalks celery, diced
  • 4 medium carrots, sliced
  • 2 T chili powder (I use Mexican hot & do 3T)
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional, use 1 tsp if mama said to knock you out, huuuh)
  • 2 large zucchinis, diced
  • 1 15-ounce can tomato puree or tomato sauce
  • 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
veggies

HINT: Look at labels! Many people don’t realize that there is sugar in almost every can of tomatoes! Check out the ingredients.

Doin it & doin it & doin it well (Instructions):
1. Sautee your garlic in a little oil until it gets lightly golden. Then add in your beef and cook until browned. Drain fat & set aside in a bowl.
2. Place your pot back on the burner  & add oil, onions, celery, carrots, and seasonings, cooking over medium heat until the onions are translucent (like 5-7 min). When onions are golden & veggies are almost cooked, add zucchini & cook for about 2 min. Stir like crazy! This is a stickyish, seasoned pot of veggies. (If you want to season mildly for the whole crew, but want to have spice, just add hot sauce to the finished product!)
12540370_10153785132255792_259952869_n
3. Add beef & tomato ingredients & stir well. Bring it all to a boil, stirring frequently. Then simmer for about 20 min or so.
12540047_10153785132275792_1945148339_n
This chili will have you licking your lips lik…well if you haven’t caught on to the lyrical references yet then you must be headsprung.
BeccaSig

(3) More Unexpected Rewards

Posted in Motivation by

So earlier this week I posted about four unexpected results of a new healthy lifestyle that don’t involve the scale.

And today I have three more to share that are physical rewards.

Clearer Skin
I have struggled with acne since I was 13. So ten years now (wink) and it’s uber annoying. I’ve tried prescription meds, creams, exfoliators, you name it. Some of it has worked for a time, but never long term. But when I started eating better, my skin decided to get on board too. At first, it purged. As in, total breakout. But then, beautiful, pink, skin. Yay! Drinking lots of water helps the purge to go faster too.

Strong Hair and Nails
I’m a nail biter by nature (mam, I’m revealing all my vices here). But part of the reason excuse for biting my nails is how weak and brittle they are. When I started fueling my body with healthy foods, my nails got stronger…and longer. Woot!

Smoother Potty Sessions
Sorry. But yeah, I’ve also dealt with my fair share of stomach (read: colon) issues. I’ve never really been regular. Until….yes, until, I started eating better. Healthy fats likes avocados and olive oil. Coconut oil and mango. Lean meats and lots of veggies. It’s like my body said, “Yes, this is what we needed to regulate and move food through.” No more tums, antacids, antidiarrheal meds…you name it.

So there ya have it. What more do you need to be convinced that a healthy diet will change you? Literally, from the inside out.

RahSig