Taco Night and Back to Blonde

Officially 6 days in a row of 30 day shred! It's definitely starting to get a little easier, and yesterday I was sweating slightly less profusely, so that's good? I even considered going for a short run afterwards, but tacos were waiting at Tom's house and they won me over.

My eating has continued to be on point and I'm still tracking everything with My Fitness Pal. Last night Tom and I made his and hers tacos (hah) -- I wanted something more traditional and Tom was in super Top Chef mode and made himself something a little more unique (pork belly, collard greens, smoked mozzarella).

On mine I had ground turkey, salsa, Mexican blend cheese and some homemade guacamole. Yum!

Inspired by my sister, I also made us some delicious little mocktails with crushed watermelon, basil and seltzer.

Very refreshing!

In total other news I got a haircut on Monday and decided to go back in the blonde direction! I wanted it to look very subtle and natural, but you can't really tell the difference in the photos. It's definitely not the blonde it used to be but it's on the way. I'm very happy about it!

It looks like I have 4 eyes

 Happy almost Fourth of July! People in my office keep setting off those party poppers and I keep thinking I am hearing gun shots from a very tiny gun.

Wonderful Weekend

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Mine was awesome! And I'm happy to say that I did pretty well with sticking to my goals. Go me!

On Friday I got home from work and did 30 day shred before making dinner. After I was done I heated up the very last of my baked ziti, served with a peach and some cherry tomatoes.

The rest of the night was spent lounging with TKO and eating some frozen yogurt. We went to my favorite froyo place, Mixx, and I actually practiced some restraint! I got a pretty small portion of yogurt and topped it with mostly popping boba (my fave) and fruit. I added a very small amount of treats into it for good measure (peanut butter cups and gummy bears).

On Saturday I woke up to a great breakfast: two over easy eggs, a piece of bacon, a slice of toast and some watermelon.

I had some errands to run in the afternoon, so after breakfast I threw on some gym clothes and did 30 day shred. 3 days down!

I sweat like a monster from this video. I think it's partially because my living room is 100 degrees, but it's a serious workout!

Attempted red, sweaty face photo

Around noon I went over to the Prudential to hit up Sephora for some makeup. I am all out of my usual Clinique foundation, but decided to try something different. I've heard a lot about BB creams and so far I really like this one. It's very light weight and lasts pretty long. Perfect for summer at least.

After Sephora I met Tom at Warby Parker so he could pick up glasses and I could get mine tightened. I have never been into funky glasses but I randomly liked these purple and green ones! Maybe one day.

After Warby Parker we went to Boloco for some lunch. I ordered a small burrito bowl with brown rice, black beans, salsa, cheese and guacamole:

It was DELISH. Especially the guacamole.

And finally it was on to Marathon Sports for the last errand of the day. I'm embarrassed to say I haven't bought new running shoes since before my half marathon back in March, 2011! I was clearly really in need of some new kicks and finally gave in. I ended up with the updated version of my favorite Brooks Adrenalines.

These shoes are always so boring looking (light blue and grey) so I was thrilled to see Brooks hop on the neon bandwagon!

Love them!

After errands I went home, showered and got ready for a night out with friends. We went to Blue Dragon for dinner and it was fantastic. I forgot to take pictures though, woops! Ming Tsai (the head chef and owner) was there expediting and bringing out dishes to tables...I was a little star struck, especially since I had just watched him as guest judge on an old episode of Top Chef!

We ordered a few drinks and split a bunch of dishes. We tried:

- Whipped Edamame Hummus with Spiced Pita Chips
- Mushroom and Garlic Chive Potstickers
- Panko Fish ‘n Chips - Local Cod, House Fries and Chinese Black Vinegar Aioli
- Hamachi Carpaccio with Avocado Puree and Crostini
- Garlic-Sake Clams with Udon Noodles
- Beer-Steamed Mussels with Taro Fries
- Chinese Broccoli with Garlic and Chili Flakes

The portions were on the smaller side so this was the perfect amount of food for four of us. I really liked everything but I think the fish n' chips and clams with udon noodles were my favorites of the night.

After dinner we went out in the Seaport for some more drinking and dancing. I did my best to stick to my 3 drink limit but may have gone a bit over (in total I ended up having 4 or 5 drinks).

To me, going overboard is never as detrimental as the aftermath is. Usually if I have a poor night I slip back into bad habits and stay that way. It was important for me to wake up on Sunday and have a healthy day, so I started it with another great breakfast:

After breakfast I got ready and met some friends for kayakng on the Charles River. A few weeks ago Tom and I bought season passes so it was time to put those to use. I love kayaking on the Charles and it was the perfect day for it -- not too hot and not 100% sunny. Luckily the supposed thunderstorms never happened either!

We spent nearly 2 hours kayaking, then went over to Area Four in Kendall for some lunch. Area Four has a great beer list, but I stuck to iced tea since I had overdone it a bit the night before. For lunch I ordered the marinara pizza, which didn't have cheese on it (besides a sprinkle of romano) and added mushrooms. The menu at Area Four didn't have THAT many healthy options. There were two salads to choose from and a cold aspargus soup, but other than that it's really just pizza. Considering the options I think I went with the best choice for me and I'm proud for ordering a cheese-less pizza -- I love cheese!!

When we got home I was pretty tired, but knew I had to get in my 30 DS workout so I immediately changed and got to it. 30 minutes later, done and done!

After working out I went to Whole Foods with Tom to pick up some groceries for the week. This is a weird week (4th of July) so I didn't have to get too much. I also picked up some brown rice sushi for dinner and ate it with a peach (yes I know, weird combination) once we got home.

That was it for the weekend! I'm really happy I stayed active and made fairly good choices all around. Yay for me!

I am getting my hair cut tonight and possibly going to a BBQ so I woke up early to get 30DS in. 5 days down! I took my measurements last Thursday so I'm excited to see the changes once I've been doing this for a while.

After I finished working out I checked my work email and learned the internet was down on my floor so I'm currently working from home. Not sure what's going on there and why it's taking so long to fix. Here was breakfast at my desk this morning:

365 Honey Almond Flax Crunch Cereal and a banana

I forgot to mention, I've been tracking my food and exercise on My Fitness Pal since last Wednesday. I don't LOVE it, but have to say it's pretty simple and getting easier. We'll see if this lasts!

30 Day Shred & Weekend Worries

Woohooo it's Friday! I practically sprung out of bed this morning because I was so excited it was the weekend.

Last night I dug out the old 30 Day Shred DVD I got for Christmas a few weeks ago. After spending some time talking to my sister (hi Liz!) I decided to give an at home workout a try. I really haven't been into my gym lately and thought if it worked, it could be a great option.

After work I stopped at City Sports and picked up some cute neon 3 lb hand weights.

As soon as I got home I got changed and popped the DVD into the player to get going. The last time I did 30 Day Shred I was in a lot better shape, so level 1 was really hard! Luckily it's only 30 minutes (including warm up and cool down) so as soon as I was about to collapse, it was over! So awesome.

30 Day Shred is made up of 3 level workouts and you're supposed to spend 10 days on each level before progressing. I don't have an actual plan in mind for 30DS, but am just going to see how it goes. I definitely don't want to stop running, but I know doing these workouts will be really helpful in that category. Here's some of what the level 1 workout consists of:

Push ups
Squat + press
Jumping jacks
Basic crunches
Dumbbell rows
Cross punches
Static lunges + bicep curl
Side crunches
Butt kicks
Jump rope
Side lunges + chest raise
Chest flys
Bicycle crunches

Definitely a pretty well rounded workout. I'm going to do the DVD when I get home from work today, and maybe something else. We'll see!

So I've been eating very healthy since Monday and am feeling nervous about the weekend. This will be my first real test and I'm just worried about falling out of this little routine I've started. The best thing I can do right now is set some goals for the weekend, so here goes:

- Drink no more than 3 drinks throughout the weekend
- Start Saturday and Sunday with a healthy breakfast
- Stay active! Do something both Saturday and Sunday
- Limit eating out, and if so, order something healthy!

Wish me luck!

My Secrets to Weight Loss

If you read a book on my short life history you'd probably think I was really good at losing weight. And I guess I am? How many times do you have to do something until you officially become an expert?

I don't know how many times I've gained and lost weight. I can think of 3 specific very successful times on the "major" losing side, but there are countless more experiences on a lesser scale. So why is it so hard this time? Why am I cringing through my salads and spending a half hour just motivating myself to get up and move? How did I get to this faraway place?

I've made a small goal: lose ten pounds. That's it. For some people 10 pounds is huge, but for me it's just a small step on a path I MUST get back on. I made this goal on Sunday and have been going strong since. For a little motivation, I posted this countdown sign on the wall by my door:

For each pound lost I'll cross off a number. I can't wait to post a picture with 10 Xs!

So I've been thinking a lot about my past and when I've been the most successful in losing weight, and I've come up with my own "secret to weight loss." And no, I'm not just trying to increase my SEO! This exercise was totally for my own purposes -- I needed to remind myself that I have the tools to lose weight, now I just need to do it!

So here it is:

1. Track your food - doesn't matter how you do it, just do it! I've always done my best when I'm writing down what I eat. Google spreadsheets work best for me since I spend all day on my laptop at work and don't focus too much on calories, but lots of people like My Fitness Pal, Sparkpeople, Livestrong, or plain old pen & paper.

2. Surround yourself with inspiration - the last time I lost a major amount of weight I became borderline obsessed with health and fitness blogs. I don't think it needs to go that far, but being surrounded by other people with the same struggles or other people who are living healthy lifestyles can be both helpful and motivating.

3. Put yourself first - make getting healthy a "top three" priority. Make keeping a trip to the grocery store or the gym as vital as keeping a dinner date with a friend or a work meeting.

4. When in doubt, eat real food - plain and simple. Go for fruits and veggies when you're not sure what to eat.

5. Find an exercise that you enjoy and run with it (no pun intended!) - I fell in love with zumba and continued doing it for about 2 years even though it may not have been the highest calorie burning exercise out there. It's important to enjoy yourself a little bit (or more!!) and not feel like you're constantly forcing your way through exercise.

6. Set short term goals often, and REFLECT.... - Again, at my best I was setting (and sharing) weekly goals on Monday and reflecting on them on Sunday night. It helped to cut the daunting weight loss into weeks and kept me from falling off the wagon completely, even if I had an especially bad week.

7. ...but keep perspective of the long term - It's great to focus on short term goals, but losing weight has to be a lifestyle change. I thought I had this down, but I guess I didn't!

8. Share your goals with the important people in your life - the people who love you can be your biggest champions in weight loss. Let them help you!

I should really print these out and carry them around with me as a reminder!

And now, for what I've been eating this week:

This new cereal for breakfast everyday with skim milk and fruit. It's just okay, not as good as I thought it would be!

Turkey and avocado sandwich, strawberries, and a raspberry seltzer from Flour Bakery...soo good!

A plate of watermelon and cherry tomatoes. Yum.

Homemade whole wheat baked ziti. All about the portion sizes with this one.

A very strange last night's dinner -- roasted potato and ketchup, banana with peanut butter, and a sting cheese (I only ate one)

Today's lunch: salad with watermelon, feta, grilled chicken and cucumbers with some homemade balsamic dressing

That's all for today. Catch ya later!

Weekend Recap!

Happy summer! I'm sooo happy these days because my golf tournament for work is OVER! Out of the events I have to plan the tournament is by far the most fussy. There are so many moving parts and the stress of potential bad weather probably left me with a few gray hairs. I didn't take many photos at the tournament but here's a few fun ones:

Congratulatory flowers! :)

This weekend was great because I had lots of time to relax and recover from a crazy few weeks. Friday was spent hanging out with some friends and then hitting the hay early. On Saturday Tom and I went out to Ipswich to go strawberry picking!! For such a fruit lover I can't believe I've never gone berry picking before. It was so fun!! We went to Marini Farm in Ipswich and came back with tons of beautiful, red berries.

We also left with a few dozen farm fresh eggs and a big watermelon!

Since we were near the coast we couldn't help but look for some good seafood to eat. After a little yelping we discovered the Clam Box was just a short drive away. I ordered the clam strips and Tom got a lobster roll:

We spent the rest of the day lounging around until it was dinner time! I am very intimidated by Boston's Chinatown, and although I love all types of Asian food I tend to avoid it. Well, enough was enough and I decided Tom and I were going into Chinatown for dinner! We ended up at Taiwan Cafe and ordered a bunch of dishes to split:

After dinner it was off to bed early for me because I had a race in the morning.

Yep, you heard right! I ran my first race of 2013 and first race in just under a year on Sunday morning....in the 90 degree heat. For such a small race it was really well run. The course had a couple of rolling hills but went through a cute neighborhood. Number pickup was a breeze and the after party was awesome! There were 3 beer vendors and a cider vendor giving out unlimited drinks -- so crazy!!

I'm happy to say I once again got that giddy feeling you can only get when a race starts. There's just this sense of community and excitement and non-judgement that I've only found at these fun runs. I love it! This race definitely gave me the motivation to hit my goal of 5 races for the year. I think I can do it!!

At the start!

After the race I spent a few hours cooling off and eating those eggs and fruit we got at the farm!

Yum.

After relaxing for a few hours we headed to the garden to do some watering. I am SO excited to say that we had our first vegetables!!! 3 little green beans!! Go us.

We also planted a few more bean plants so I expect lots of those this summer.

I'm feeling motivated from the race yesterday to get back on a health kick. I went food shopping last night and did lots of prep. I am forcing a few salads into my lunches this week! Starting with this one...

Paired with some AMAZING strawberries. Thank you Marini Farm!