It's Snack Time!

Today is Day 10! Planning on hitting the gym for some upper body weights, though will have to go easy as I have strained my shoulder. But looking forward to it nonetheless. I feel bloated until I have had my gym time each day!

I also thought that today would be a good time to make some SNACK TIME suggestions for those of you following the Challenge! Remember, 3 meals a day and 3 snacks? Here's some ideas:

1) Protein smoothie- whey protein shake mix (vanilla or chocolate) + your fav 100 cal fat-free yogurt + a small handful of frozen berries, blend!

2) Protein-packed Yogurt- just add a serving of low-fat cottage cheese to your fav 100 cal fat-free yogurt

3) Fruit & Yogurt parfait- layer your fav 100 cal fat-free yogurt with 1/2 cup mixed berries

4) Cheese and fruit- 2 low-fat string cheese sticks + 1 small apple

5) Peanut butter crunch- 1 tbsp natural peanut butter spread on celery or 1 small apple

6) Bagel & hummus- 1/2 whole wheat bagel + 1 tbsp. hummus

7) Eggs and toast - 1 boiled egg sliced with 1 slice whole wheat toast

8) Roll ups- 1 slice of 98% fat-free turkey or ham, wrapped around 1 low-fat string cheese stick

9) Luna bar or other supplement bar under 200 calories with good protein/carb balance

Do you have any healthy snack ideas??? Please SHARE! Post them below! Happy snacking!

For Chelsea, Starbucks/McCafe' Swap!

Here's a iced frappa-coffee swap that won't wreck your diet, courtesy of the fabulous Hungry Girl!

Ingredients:
1 tsp. instant coffee granules
2 no-calorie sweetener packets (like Splenda or Truvia)
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. fat-free or light caramel dip (like the kinds by Marzetti), divided
1/4 cup light vanilla soymilk
One 60-calorie sugar-free caramel pudding snack (like the kind by Snack Pack)
1 1/2 cups crushed ice or 8 - 12 ice cubes
2 tbsp. Fat Free Reddi-wip


Directions:
In a tall glass, combine coffee granules, sweetener, and 1 tbsp. caramel dip. Add 1/4 cup very hot water and stir until ingredients have dissolved. Transfer to a blender. Rinse the glass, if needed, and set aside.


To the blender, add all other ingredients except the remaining 1 tsp. caramel dip and the Reddi-wip. Blend at high speed until completely mixed. Transfer to the tall glass and set aside.


Place remaining 1 tsp. caramel dip in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 10 seconds, or until very warm.


Top drink with Reddi-wip and drizzle with the warm caramel dip. Enjoy!


MAKES 1 SERVING

Serving Size: entire recipe (about 12 oz.)
Calories: 158
Fat: 2g
Sodium: 289mg
Carbs: 34g
Fiber: <0.5g
Sugars: 13.5g
Protein: 2.5g

One week down, 11 to go!

Today is Day 7!!! That's right, one week down and 11 more to go. Realized looking at the calendar that my 12 weeks will end on July 3rd. Maybe I will post an "after picture" in a patriotic two piece??? :)

How will you celebrate your 12 week Challenge conclusion???

Day 6, How Much Protein/Carbs per day??

One of the blog followers sent me a message asking me about daily protein and carb intake per day. The short answer is that they should be equal, for example 100g protein and 100g carbs.

For a person who is working out (like we are) it is recommended that you take in 1 gram of protein per lb. of body weight. You want to try and keep the protein intake consistent at all meals. So.....if your ideal weight (goal) is 150 lbs. you would want to take in 25 grams of protein at each of your 6 meals.Your carbs are basically the same thing. If your goal is less, then adjust your intake accordingly. A great tip is to limit your starchy type carbs to during the day....only at meals 1-4. Then for meals 5 and 6 eat only veggie-carbs along with your protein. The science behind this is that in the evening you don't burn as many calories and therefore don't need the carb intake like you would when you are active during the day.

Hope this helps.....we are all learning together!!!

Free Day Guilt!

Friday was going to be my Free Day this week. But I think that my habits are forming quickly, because although there were MANY temptations available to me (donuts and muffins at school, free italian ice, pizza night at home, etc.) I really struggled with breaking down and indulging. I couldn't even bear the thought of skipping my gym time. So instead, I went and did a upper body weights session, followed by a 200 calorie protein shake and a killer ab workout. Then around 3pm I had a boiled egg. OK, so it's my free day and so far I am under 300 calories at 3pm. :o

I met a friend for dinner at Carrabas. Started with a glass of red wine, and a Caesar salad. Ordered the Chicken Bryan, which is grilled chicken with sun-dried tomotoes and goat cheese, and a small side of whole wheat spaghetti. The chicken was great, the pasta was gross. WHAT? Since when did I lose my appetite for pasta!?!? But I pushed it aside and instead had a few slices of the bread on the table. When I got home, I didn't feel like I had been too "bad!" So I snacked on the half-eaten chicken tender in Sydney's to-go box, and the 1/4 cup of plain jane penne. UUUUGGGGHHHHH!!!!! It was almost instant that I felt SICK! Processed carbs are obviously becoming a bad thing....who knew just 5 days in that my body could form such a strong opinion! So I vowed to hit the cardio hard this morning, and will end today with a p90X dvd, just for kicks and grins.

This getting fit thing is getting addictive..................

On-the-go protein!

I'm sure that I am not the only mom being pulled in every direction. Between sports, ballet, school obligations, work, working out...it can get hard to get those healthy meals in there! But I have discovered a secret that has really helped me this week. Grilled chicken breasts! I grilled a whole pack of them 2 days ago, and then put them in the fridge. Yesterday I warmed one with some steamer bag broccoli, 10 minute boil-in-bag brown rice, and 2 tablespoons of light teriyaki sauce. Who needs take-out!? Today I warmed, sliced it and put it in a wrap with one of my FAVORITE "approved" condiments, Mango Salsa! Oh...my...yumminess!!! So, when you have time, grill some protein up in a big batch, and then you can have "on-the-go protein" at your fingertips too, without blowing your calories or your budget!

Here's my wrap, this time with a flour tortilla, but only cause I need to pick up some more wheat ones. I would not normally eat the white ones, but still, 2 of these was only 400 calories!!!

See Mom Get Fit reviews Protein Shakes

Part of my plan to get fit is to increase my daily protein intake. Not being the carnivore that my husband is, increasing protein in a little hard for me. Enter PROTEIN SHAKES. This week I'm using Jillian Michael's Triple Chocolate Protein Whey. I have now tried it 3 different ways. The first attempt was simply following the directions on the tub, 1 scoop to 8 ounces of water. The result was anything but palatable. Luckily, I have raging allergies which have stolen a good bit of my sense of taste, so I was able to get it down. The next attempt, I decided to add a heaping teaspoon of peanut butter to the mix and blend it with ice. This was a little better, but still not great. This morning, I decided to add a scoop to my old-fashioned oatmeal before cooking. The result is CHOCOLATE OATMEAL! Add a little Splenda and hey! This is not bad at all. And I doubt that I will be hungry for a while!!!
I have been advised that the most appetizing way to drink the shake is to mix it with Light Chocolate Soy milk and ice in a blender. I'll be trying that next, and hopefully the result will be a protein shake worthy of my post-workout snack each day.
It's funny, but drinking protein shakes makes me feel more like a health nut already! ;)

Day 1

Started my day without eating breakfast because I was late for work. By 10am I was starving. So I  ran into Walmart and grabbed a Luna bar. I really heart Luna bars. And instead of my usual Diet Coke, I opted for a water bottle. Lunch at home around 1pm was steamed spinach and raw red bell pepper sticks plus water. Snack was a fat free blueberry yogurt. Yes, I have already missed my protein requirements. Hopefully my protein shake after my workout made up for the absence of it earlier in the day. Tonight will probably be a piece of fish and brown rice with some steamed veggie or another.

Gym
Today was my upper-body workout day at the gym. My strength training program is as follows:
Each exercise consists of five sets with one minute of rest between each set, starting with a set of 12 reps, then increasing the weight and doing 10 reps, adding more weight and doing 8 reps, adding more weight for 6 reps. Then reduce the weight and do 12 reps. Immediately perform another set of 12 reps without the minute of rest. I prefer to use the machines instead of the free weights.

Today: chest press, seated cable rows, preacher curls, tricep pushdowns, and lateral raises.

I finished in 30 minutes, but when I left I felt like I couldn't pick up a pencil. The lat raises really did me in today!

Tomorrow is Cardio....

Approved Food List

Here is the "Approved Food List" for the Challenge. I will try to post some recipes along the way as well.

Proteins:
Chicken breast
Turkey breast
Lean ground turkey
Swordfish
Orange roughy
Haddock
Salmon
Tuna
Crab
Lobster
Shrimp
Top round steak
Top sirloin steak
Lean ground beef
Buffalo
Lean ham
Egg whites or substitutes
Trout
Low-fat cottage cheese
Wild-game meat
Turkey Bacon

Veggies
Broccoli
Asparagus
Lettuce
Carrots
Cauliflower
Green beans
Green peppers
Mushrooms
Spinach
Tomato
Peas
Brussels sprouts
Artichoke
Cabbage
Celery
Zucchini
Cucumber
Onion

Carbs
Potato
Sweet potato
Yams
Squash
Pumpkin
Steamed brown rice
Steamed wild rice
Lentils
Couscous
Kashi
Bulgur
Whole-wheat pasta
Oatmeal
Barley
Beans (black, kidney)
Corn
Strawberries
Melon
Apple
Orange
Fat-free yogurt
Fat-free milk
Whole-wheat bread
High-fiber cereal
Whole-wheat tortilla
Whole-wheat pita bread
Whole grains

Healthy Fats
Avocado
Sunflower seeds
Pumpkin seeds
Cold-water fish
Natural peanut butter
Low-fat cheese
Low-sodium nuts
Olives and olive oil
Safflower oil
Canola oil
Sunflower oil
Flax seed oil

Welcome to the Challenge

Welcome to the Challenge. That is the 12 week Challenge to becoming a more fit mom. Did you know it takes 12 weeks to make (or break) a habit? My hope is that by the end of this Challenge that I have increased my ability to stick with the new and healthy habits learned during the Challenge. And to shrink a few sizes. And to feel better when I look in the mirror. And to have more energy to keep up with my two kids. I could go on...

You may be wondering, what are the daily goals of the Challenge. I will summarize:

1) Eat 6 meals a day consisting of a portion-controlled protein + carb from the "approved list." Unlimited veggies, so long as they are also from the "approved list."
2) Spend 45 minutes per day in the gym, alternating days of cardio and strength training.
3) Rest on the 7th day of each week, and no restrictions on food (but within reason of course!)

Pretty simple and straight-forward, yes? Oh, you are wanting to know what's on the "approved list" of food you say? I will save that for my next post....