The end of week 3 of 6. If you will recall at the beginning of the week I had set a very lofty goal of 3-4 pounds this week. (Buzzer sounds... Wrong!).
I have experienced the 'Biggest Loser Week 2 Curse' in my week 3. No weight loss this week at all. Well, okay, the scale says down (.2).
Disappointing? Yes. Fully Explainable? Not really. I had one of the best week's (and weekENDS) of clean eating ever. I exercised in line with the previous two weeks. And.... (drum roll please).... the scale didn't budge.
Am I going to let this discourage me? HELL NO! I've been here before. I have seen my clients be here before. And, I have seen those damn Biggest Loser contestants here before.
When I look back on the week, there are a couple of things that happened that made me wonder half way through the week what today's self-weigh-in was going to be like. First, on Tuesday I woke up extremely puffy and bloated. I had about 5 painful pimples trying to come out on my face (the kind that hurt really bad). I also had phantom cramping pains (I say phantom cuz I don't have a uterus anymore). Oh, and I felt like a raging lunatic emotionally!! Yes, I was totally in full blown PMS!
Me and my lone ovary go through this every other month. I suppose I should be thankful it was now and now three weeks from now. And, I am. I think my body just needed to deal with that.
So, I am moving on. My plan for the upcoming week will not change. I will continue working hard and have another stellar weekend in hopes of making up for 'not lost' time :) This will be a fun weekend at that. Tonight I have dinner at Moxie Grill with one of my clients and his girlfriend. It is our celebration dinner from our last biggest loser competition together. He's buying...need I say who won that one? Hehe. Then on Saturday... I have boot camp in the a.m., my niece Mara is having her first communion party in the afternoon, and then Frank's brother is having his 50th birthday celebration at Traditions! Lots to celebrate. On Sunday I will be spending the entire day at SUNY taking my AFAA Practical Yoga Instructor Training. My friend and colleague, Kelsey, has inspired me through our yoga practice (going on 3 years now) to venture out into the yogi world. I am very excited about this.
The Best Laid Plans...
If I think about what I would like you to take away from today's blog, it would be to realize that just because something doesn't work out the way you 'planned' it, doesn't mean it is not worth working toward or continuing to work toward. We all hit roadblocks in our quest for a healthy life. There is something to learn from those roadblocks. You have to figure out what it is. For me, it's patience. I strive for greater patience every day. Often we just have to See, Stop, Let it Be, Let it Go.
Hope all is well. I would love to hear your comments and questions on my blogs, so feel free to leave them when you want to. I promise to answer. I would love to be able to hear about your own successes and trials.
Until Later.... Today I Will Give Everything I Have :)
Traci
Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Power Smoothies
Hi !
Protein Smoothies make great snacks or meal replacements! In addition, the sky is the limit! Start with the following basic smoothie recipe and add whatever you like (just be sure to add in the calories)
Base Protein Smoothie:
8 oz water or skim milk (0 - 90 Calories)
1 scoop of your favorite whey protein powder (100-150 calories) (I like GNC 100% Whey Protein) (you may also sub soy protein powder)
To this you can add any combination of countless items, fresh or frozen! Such as Banana, Strawberries, Any Berries, Mangos, Peanut Butter, Chocolate Milk 1%, Oatmeal, Flaxseed & Wheat Germ, Carrot Juice, Coffee! You can even do vegetable smoothies. Check out http://www.smoothieweb.com/ for ideas. if you have an iphone you can also download the app for your phone.
Happy Smoothies to ya!
Traci
Protein Smoothies make great snacks or meal replacements! In addition, the sky is the limit! Start with the following basic smoothie recipe and add whatever you like (just be sure to add in the calories)
Base Protein Smoothie:
8 oz water or skim milk (0 - 90 Calories)
1 scoop of your favorite whey protein powder (100-150 calories) (I like GNC 100% Whey Protein) (you may also sub soy protein powder)
To this you can add any combination of countless items, fresh or frozen! Such as Banana, Strawberries, Any Berries, Mangos, Peanut Butter, Chocolate Milk 1%, Oatmeal, Flaxseed & Wheat Germ, Carrot Juice, Coffee! You can even do vegetable smoothies. Check out http://www.smoothieweb.com/ for ideas. if you have an iphone you can also download the app for your phone.
Happy Smoothies to ya!
Traci
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Happy to Live in The Sinus Valley!
Ugh! If you haven't detected my sarcasm in the title, let me tell you, I am being sarcastic. Yesterday and today have been HELL with allergies. I have vertigo and my head feels as if it may explode. Oh, and not to mention that I have PMS. Haha! And all I have left is one lone ovary! Days like this make me appreciate the many many days that I feel healthy and happy.
More tomorrow when it doesn't feel like my eyeballs will pop outta my head every time I am on the computer....
More tomorrow when it doesn't feel like my eyeballs will pop outta my head every time I am on the computer....
Monday, April 26, 2010
3rd Monday :)
Good Morning!
A little more than two weeks into my biggest loser challenge with 'The Boys', and I am feeling fantastic! The best thing about this particular Monday is that I made it through an entire weekend without a 'cheat day'. What does this mean? Well, first of all, waking up this morning without a bloated belly felt SO GOOD. And, second, I think this will end up being a stellar week of weight loss. My goal is 3 pounds, but we'll see what happens. I may surprise myself and take off 4 because of my great weekend.
Averages:
From Saturday, April 17th to Friday, April 23rd these were my averages and my workouts:
Average Daily Calories: 1602
Average Calories from Fat: 25%
Average Calories from Carbs: 39%
Average Calories from Protein: 34%
Average Calories from Alcohol: 3%
Workouts -
Sat/Sun Off - in Philly for wedding
Monday: 1 hr spinning
Tues: 1 hr spinning; 1 hr weight training; 1 hr yoga
Wed: 1 hr spinning
Thurs: 1 hr spinning (am); 1 hr weight training; 1 hr spinning (pm); 1 1/2 hr hot yoga
Fri: 1 1/2 hr hot yoga
Have a fantastic week my friends! I will post again soon :)
Until Later...
Trace
A little more than two weeks into my biggest loser challenge with 'The Boys', and I am feeling fantastic! The best thing about this particular Monday is that I made it through an entire weekend without a 'cheat day'. What does this mean? Well, first of all, waking up this morning without a bloated belly felt SO GOOD. And, second, I think this will end up being a stellar week of weight loss. My goal is 3 pounds, but we'll see what happens. I may surprise myself and take off 4 because of my great weekend.
Averages:
From Saturday, April 17th to Friday, April 23rd these were my averages and my workouts:
Average Daily Calories: 1602
Average Calories from Fat: 25%
Average Calories from Carbs: 39%
Average Calories from Protein: 34%
Average Calories from Alcohol: 3%
Workouts -
Sat/Sun Off - in Philly for wedding
Monday: 1 hr spinning
Tues: 1 hr spinning; 1 hr weight training; 1 hr yoga
Wed: 1 hr spinning
Thurs: 1 hr spinning (am); 1 hr weight training; 1 hr spinning (pm); 1 1/2 hr hot yoga
Fri: 1 1/2 hr hot yoga
Have a fantastic week my friends! I will post again soon :)
Until Later...
Trace
Friday, April 23, 2010
Week 2 of 6 Week Transformation --- The Results are in!!
Hopefully none of 'The Boys' are reading my blog to see how great I am doing. I would like to keep it a surprise...haha. I told two of them this morning that I gained weight since we started. Of course, they didn't believe me for a second.
So, Week 2. I weighed myself in this morning at 148.6! I am down 5 pounds in 2 weeks. Right on schedule for a 15-18 pound loss over 6 weeks. I had a cheat day over the weekend and still lost 2 pounds this week. There is NO pizza (my favorite food) in my plan for this weekend, so Week 3 goal is 3 pounds.
Finding your perfect formula --> So here is the deal... I have been doing this a long time, that is figuring my perfect formula of losing or maintaining my weight. For almost a year, as I mentioned in the beginning of this blog, I have been maintaining a healthy weight within a 5 pound range. Based on trial and error for many years, I found what worked best for me. On the flipside, I also know exactly what kinds of foods and how much food in combination with how much exercise that I need to lose x amount of pounds in a week. Pretty much, I wake up on Fridays, and before I get on the scale I am pretty sure about what number will pop up. It is pretty simple science actually, calories in/calories out. My FitDay program really helps with that in the Overview section where it shows my past week on a graph of calories in versus calories out. 3500 calories equals a pound. So if you want to lose 2 pounds in a week you have to have an intake deficit of 7000 calories over your calories burned. On a day to day basis that means over a 7 day period to lose 2 pounds, you have to burn 1000 more calories a day than you take in! It's that simple! And, it works.
So, how do you do this? It takes a little work to figure yourself out. The only sure-fire way I have found to learn this about yourself is to JOURNAL your food intake and exercise. I can't say it enough. No one said this was going to be easy.
The truth is that our food industry wants us to believe that we need so much more food in a day than we actually do. Go to any restaurant and just look at those gigantic portions swimming in butter and/or oil. We have to EDUCATE ourselves as to what we are putting in our mouths and how much. Start paying attention today! It's never too late.
Today I will give everything I have...
Traci
So, Week 2. I weighed myself in this morning at 148.6! I am down 5 pounds in 2 weeks. Right on schedule for a 15-18 pound loss over 6 weeks. I had a cheat day over the weekend and still lost 2 pounds this week. There is NO pizza (my favorite food) in my plan for this weekend, so Week 3 goal is 3 pounds.
Finding your perfect formula --> So here is the deal... I have been doing this a long time, that is figuring my perfect formula of losing or maintaining my weight. For almost a year, as I mentioned in the beginning of this blog, I have been maintaining a healthy weight within a 5 pound range. Based on trial and error for many years, I found what worked best for me. On the flipside, I also know exactly what kinds of foods and how much food in combination with how much exercise that I need to lose x amount of pounds in a week. Pretty much, I wake up on Fridays, and before I get on the scale I am pretty sure about what number will pop up. It is pretty simple science actually, calories in/calories out. My FitDay program really helps with that in the Overview section where it shows my past week on a graph of calories in versus calories out. 3500 calories equals a pound. So if you want to lose 2 pounds in a week you have to have an intake deficit of 7000 calories over your calories burned. On a day to day basis that means over a 7 day period to lose 2 pounds, you have to burn 1000 more calories a day than you take in! It's that simple! And, it works.
So, how do you do this? It takes a little work to figure yourself out. The only sure-fire way I have found to learn this about yourself is to JOURNAL your food intake and exercise. I can't say it enough. No one said this was going to be easy.
The truth is that our food industry wants us to believe that we need so much more food in a day than we actually do. Go to any restaurant and just look at those gigantic portions swimming in butter and/or oil. We have to EDUCATE ourselves as to what we are putting in our mouths and how much. Start paying attention today! It's never too late.
Today I will give everything I have...
Traci
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Today's Lunch... Black'n'Bleu Salad w/ Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Black'n'Bleu Salad (379 Cal); Side of Mashed Sweet (45 Cal)
2-3 cups butter lettuce (20 cal)
5 oz Grilled Organic, Grain-fed filet of beef (from Wegmans) (200 cal - only 7g fat)
1/4 cup crumbly Bleu Cheese (119 cal)
balsamic vinegar
1 tsp olive oil (40 cal)
1/2 cup mashed sweet potatoes (Ore-Ida steam'n'mash - avail at wegmans in freezer by icky french fries) (Cal 45)
Total lunch calories : 424 - ate at 11:30 am - only took me 15 minutes to prepare!
My lunch on days like today is higher in calories because of my work/exercise schedule from 12-9 pm tonight. I will have about 3 more 'snack' meals to keep in line with eating every 3 hours rest of day.
So, really you could make this for dinner and have an under 500 calorie dinner that leaves you extremely satisfied!
Enjoy!!
2-3 cups butter lettuce (20 cal)
5 oz Grilled Organic, Grain-fed filet of beef (from Wegmans) (200 cal - only 7g fat)
1/4 cup crumbly Bleu Cheese (119 cal)
balsamic vinegar
1 tsp olive oil (40 cal)
1/2 cup mashed sweet potatoes (Ore-Ida steam'n'mash - avail at wegmans in freezer by icky french fries) (Cal 45)
Total lunch calories : 424 - ate at 11:30 am - only took me 15 minutes to prepare!
My lunch on days like today is higher in calories because of my work/exercise schedule from 12-9 pm tonight. I will have about 3 more 'snack' meals to keep in line with eating every 3 hours rest of day.
So, really you could make this for dinner and have an under 500 calorie dinner that leaves you extremely satisfied!
Enjoy!!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Grilled Chicken Salad Recipe
Grilled Chicken Salad with Feta Cheese & Fresh Strawberries
3 cups of Baby Lettuce (baby spinach also a nice substitute)
4-6 ounces of Grilled Chicken Breast
1/4 cup Crumbled Feta Cheese (full-fat please)
1 cup of diced fresh Strawberries
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp-1 TBL of (four leaf) Balsamic Vinegar
Total Calories ~ 390
You can use a TBL of balsamic vinagriette dressing instead of the oil and vinegar for a little more flavor. Just know you are probably getting anywhere from 20-80 calories more.
Also, if you grill your chicken in any oil, be sure to add the calories. I like to prepare it on the grill outside or on the stove in a fry-pay with Pam.
This is very yummy! Try it!
3 cups of Baby Lettuce (baby spinach also a nice substitute)
4-6 ounces of Grilled Chicken Breast
1/4 cup Crumbled Feta Cheese (full-fat please)
1 cup of diced fresh Strawberries
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp-1 TBL of (four leaf) Balsamic Vinegar
Total Calories ~ 390
You can use a TBL of balsamic vinagriette dressing instead of the oil and vinegar for a little more flavor. Just know you are probably getting anywhere from 20-80 calories more.
Also, if you grill your chicken in any oil, be sure to add the calories. I like to prepare it on the grill outside or on the stove in a fry-pay with Pam.
This is very yummy! Try it!
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