I’ve Moved!

I’m no longer hosted on WordPress, so please check out http://iheartvegetables.com for the latest posts!

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Christmas Eve: What I Am…

Doing

Pretending I’m an elf, wrapping presents like mad. And practicing Christmas songs for church. Thankfully, reading sheet music is like riding a bike. It comes back surprisingly easily.

Eating

I’m obsessed with Gingerade Kombucha. And do you see that Chobani in my fridge? It’s proof that my parents read my blog, and take my recommendations. Carrots, pita chips, & hummus was dinner last night… in a pitiful attempt to balance out all of the cookies I’ve been eating.

Wearing

This awesome lobster sweater. This might be the most comfortable sweater I own.

Pinning

As if I haven’t been baking all month, these are the recipes that are making me want to bust out a muffin tin right now. Banana Chocolate Chip? Yes please. Click on the board to follow me on Pinterest.

I’m keeping it short today, to go spend time with family and friends. I hope you all have an absolutely amazing Christmas!

What are you doing/eating/wearing/pinning?

Breakfast 101

I love breakfast.

I think it’s the only thing that gets me out of bed. (Assuming coffee falls into the breakfast category.)

I’ve never understood people who don’t eat breakfast. How do you find motivation to throw off the covers in the morning? And how in the world do you make it all the way to lunch? These are just things I’ll never understand. Like people who don’t like peanut butter.

Back in college (you know, way back when…) I used to eat the exact same thing for breakfast every single morning. One Three bowls of Special K with Red Berries Cereal. Every day. I still think it’s delicious. The issue was, I was literally eating 3 servings, and I was still starving by lunch. As it turns out, a breakfast made up entirely of carbs doesn’t really keep you full.

Now I’ve gone through a few different breakfast phases. I’ve made more of an effort to start the day off with a little protein and fiber, to keep me satisfied unti lunch. So here’s a round up of my favorites:

Green Smoothies

This is my default breakfast. I have variations of this 90% of the time. I love it with cacao coconut butter, but since that’s a little pricy and I don’t always have it on hand, I sometimes just have it with a scoop of peanut butter on the side.

Yogurt Bowls

No no. Not just a little container of some aspertame-laiden lame-o yogurt. Go for the good Greek stuff. Chobani is the obvious favorite. I a bowl of plain 0%, a little stevia, tons of blueberries, and a little granola for crunch = perfection. If you’re really trying to get extra protein, try adding a scoop of vanilla protein powder instead of stevia. It’s delicious and it packs in a crazy amount of protein!

Protein Pancakes

Craving some bread-like carbs in the morning? These banana bread protein pancakes are delicious but still loaded with protein so you’ll stay satisfied through lunch time. Finally, a protein pancake that doesn’t taste like rubber!

Mini Donuts

Ok I don’t eat these for breakfast often, but for a weekend treat (or when people are over!) these are adorably delicious and only about 40 calories each!

With the exception of the donuts, all of these meals are things I often eat for dinner. What can I say? I love breakfast for dinner. Especially cornbread waffles. Although I can’t vouch for the nutritional value of those.

What do you eat for breakfast?

What I Learned…

This is it! I’m in the final week of the Get Well Challenge! It’s been a great three months, and I’ve had so much fun with the challenges, and I’m thankful that Ellwood Thompson gave me the opportunity to participate!

I lost a little weight, I lowered my body fat a bit, and I learned a lot along the way.

1. Sometimes, you’ve got to face the numbers

Let’s just get over the obvious- no one likes stepping on a scale. I realize that this is not for everyone. For some, it’s best if they manage their weight by how their clothes fit. For me, the number really helps. Plus, it was cool getting an actual body fat assessment! And the people at the wellness center were quick to answer questions, and help me reach my goal. Did I make it all the way? Nope. But I’m going in the right direction!

Sorry for the foot picture. Is that gross? Maybe. (Probably.) But the whole electrode body fat thing was so cool to me.

2. Tracking your food can be hard

I liked meeting with the dietician. It was helpful that she was a vegetarian (so we could skip the whole “how do you get your protein” conversation) and she gave me ideas for some lower carb vegetarian meals. I tried to keep track of my daily eats, but I definitely had days where I… *forgot*… to track some things. But hey, I did alright.

I recently switched from using the Daily Plate app, to using the app compatible with my Body Media band. Both are great, and even though it can be a lot of work to track everything, I will say it’s the best way to stay focused on your goal! I didn’t do a perfect job, but it really does make you more aware of what you’re eating!

3. Get a support system!

One of the best parts of the challenges was having a group of people to support me! Ellwood Thompson set up a Facebook group for us to connect, and I made some new friends throughout the challenge! Sometimes, just knowing we were all going to our weigh-in was enough encouragement 😉 But you don’t need an “official” group to have a support system. Get a few co-workers on board! (Hey Conor, I’m going to keep making you take those walks at lunch with me.)

Sometimes it was Jillian Michael’s with my roommate, sometimes it was a group fitness class, occasionally it was a run with friends, but whatever it was, working out with other people makes a sweat session 10x more fun. It’s a fact. Try it.

So did I accomplish my goals? Kind of.

I don’t think I got exactly where I want to be, but I did learn a lot of great tools to continue on a healthy path! I’m going to keep on tracking my food, keep on working out, and keep on trying new ways to keep myself from getting bored 😉 And it’s not about the destination… it’s about the journey… right? Something like that.

What have you learned recently?