Monday, August 8, 2011

Weekly Check In August 8


It feels good to bring some discipline back to my exercise and eating habits.  In the mornings, I've been doing aerobic exercise in the form of Zumba videos.  If you aren't familiar, Zumba is an aerobic workout based on movements from various latin style dances (like Salsa, Samba, and Meringue) mixed with hip hop and belly dancing. At night I try to do some mild strength training with crunches and small hand-weights.  I've been less successful at being consistent with the evening routine but that gives me something to work on.

I've been doing much better at eating healthy.  I've been working on cutting out all of the sweets and desserts that tempt me and I've been working on breaking the habit of eating right before bed.  Ideally, I'll get to the point where I don't eat anything at all after dinner except on nights that I go dancing.

All in all, I've made some nice strides toward re-adapting my healthier habits and it's starting to show results!

Statistics:
Last Weigh-in: 217.0
Current Weight: 215.8
Starting Weight: 207.4
Highest Point: 218.6
Lowest Point: 206.4

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Recipe: Chicken Mole

This makes a nice thick sauce that I liked enough to save even though there wasn't any leftover chicken!

Recipe: Chicken Mole
(from The South Beach Diet Cookbook)

Ingredients:
  • 1-1/2 lbs chicken tenders
  • salt
  • ground black pepper
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 large green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 TBSP chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
  • 2 TBSP unsweetened natural peanut butter
  • 2 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
Directions:
Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper.  Coat a large skillet with olive oil and heat over medium high heat.  Add the chicken to the skillet and cook for 8 minutes, turning once.  Remove the chick to a large plate.

Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic to the skillet and cook for 3 minutes.  Stir in the chili powder, cinnamon and cloves and cook for 1 minute.  Add the tomatoes (with juice), peanut butter and cocoa powder and mix well.  Return the chicken to the skillet and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer, stirring every few minutes, for 25 minutes.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Weekly Check In August 1

So, it's been about a month since my last check in.  And during that month was my sister's wedding.  Aside from the problematic foods featured at weddings and the general inactivity of driving all around the state, I've learned a few things.
  1. I eat when I'm stressed
  2. Stress makes me crave sugar and carbs
  3. Weddings are very stressful, especially when you have to clean the entire house for the visiting relatives
So having gained weight, it's time to kick it into gear with daily exercise and eating healthy


Statistics:
Last Weigh-in: 211.8
Current Weight: 217.0
Starting Weight: 207.4
Highest Point: 218.6
Lowest Point: 206.4