New Year's in September?

I'm starting to think in some ways I took the summer off.  It wasn't intentional. I won't go into the long list of excuses (if you've been following the blog you know some of them), but I basically maintained instead of lost - losing and gaining the same couple of pounds. 

I still want (and am going to) lose somewhere between 40-50 more pounds which means...

I really need to kick my butt into gear BIG TIME and soon. 

Why wait until January to make a big change? With the summer winding down, kids starting school again, colder weather coming, and the holidays creeping up, it's actually the perfect time to start something different/ramp up a goal.

I read most of this month's Health magazine this past weekend. It has lots of good info, but the part I liked the best was an article on page. 97 "One Month to a Wow Body". Now I don't like the title because we all know that it is false advertising, but I do like the content. It talks about setting a goal of completing a race (either a 5K,10K or half marathon) & also setting a goal to "reclaim your weight". Here is a link that includes some of the info, but the hard copy is better/easier to navigate through...so you may want to pick it September's issue, if it sounds like something that interests you...

We have company in town over labor day weekend, and I don't want to be overly strict then so I am reclaiming my New Year's as September 5th. I am already training for a race, so I have that box checked. But I need to be more strict about portions and overall food/drink choices. I am either going to do a magazine's meal plan for a few weeks, start counting points again, or try another recent meal plan I've heard about to ramp up weight loss (the 17 day diet). 

Again if you know me, I am against the fads/gimmicks and anything that promises immediate results but I just need something to jump start me back into portion control (and less cheese, wine and beer!). 

I'll report back soon with what I chose and how it's going. 

SONG THAT KEPT ME RUNNING THIS WEEK: Ready to Run - Dixie Chicks. I am not a big country fan, but to add this song to my playlist this week was a nice change of pace from my usual. This song makes me smile even while sweating profusely. 

RANDOM TIP OF THE WEEK: If you want a quick jumpstart, a lot of the monthly magazine's have weekly menu plans like Clean Eating, this month's Health (and sometimes Self) - these menu plans help take some of the guessing out of it in terms of portion control, variety etc. I really like Clean Eating's and Self's plans (when Self has them).

THIS WEEK'S RECIPE: Arugula, Watermelon & Feta Salad. This may sound like an odd combo but it is soooooo good. I've heard of people making this and then Gina posted her version and I had to try it. I love red onion so I added a bit more than hers has. The peppery arugula is completely offset by the sweetness of the watermelon and the tang of the feta and dressing. So good!

Arugula, Watermelon & Feta Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients: 
3 cups of chilled watermelon (seedless), cubed 

1/2 cup crumbled feta

8 oz arugula (washed and dried very well)

1/2 small red onion, sliced very thin (use a mandoline for best results, mine was only $18 and I use it all the time...) 

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt and fresh pepper

Directions:
In a large bowl whisk vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Then toss with the remaining ingredients and serve.

Nutrition: 163 calories, 11 g fat, 11 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 4 g protein, 4 pp+

Stress Eating?

I feel badly that I haven't posted in soooo long! I have to apologize in advance for the long post. 


Originally I was only taking a few weeks off because I went on an unexpected overseas trip (that was wonderful!). But things became crazier and crazier when I got back, and I have been under a great deal of stress. The stress wasn't about bad things - it was just stress (much was just made up in my mind).


A lot of the stress I was putting on myself was unneeded stress. Stress about things that were/are out of my control. That's just how I am wired. Unfortunately I worry about things that are far down the line; things that are completely out of my control. I am a natural born worrier, and it takes a toll on me sometimes. 


I said when I started this blog that I was going to stay true in my journey and tell you what I am thinking and doing as it relates to overall health and weight loss. I haven't changed that and this is probably the most open post I have written to date. 


The recent stress made me realize I truly do have a problem with food in some capacity. I found myself (during what were moments of what I thought to be real stress) turning to food (mainly carbs) for comfort and eating so much faster than normal. I felt better the moment I was eating and when I was "full" - but felt much worse the next day. 


I haven't been like this in so long - at least not since I've started this journey last year.  I do truly know that there are certain things that have been against me gene wise - as I was put on my first diet at 12 (even being an extremely active athlete at the time). However now I realize there is so much more to it. The mental factor is definitely there too which has made it a double whammy of sorts. 


I am so glad that I am now in a healthy, normal eating stage that makes me realize that what I was doing during those stressful times was abnormal, and I was able to get them under control.


My goal at the last post was just to maintain for June and then pick up the weight loss again for the rest of the summer. 


Over the past month I've been losing and gaining the same 2 pounds. I finally weighed myself this morning and I am up one pound since I last checked in with you. I hope to keep losing and losing now. I would really love to lose 50 additional pounds total but I'll just keep losing (even if losing slowly....) and see what feels right :).


One other update... the person that I was working with to update the blog fell through and I have a lot going on this summer. I am going to update the blog to make it much more user friendly. Including a navigation bar with an organized recipe tab, downloadable song recos etc. It's just going to take longer than I had originally hoped. Please be patient on this front :). It will eventually be great. I promise! My friend did design an amazing logo for me - that I was going to wait to show you until the blog was redesigned, but I will update the facebook page with it this week.


Hope you are all doing well! Welcome to all the new followers :). 
SONG THAT KEPT ME RUNNING THIS WEEK: "Party Rock Anthem" LMAFO. It's a good running song as it is upbeat and I have it on my playlist now before I get super sick of it from how much they are probably going to play it on the radio this summer! :)

RANDOM TIP OF THE WEEK: If you find yourself turning to food during stressful times - try to catch yourself before or doing and do something else. I would have loved to take a walk or un during those times but often it wasn't a possibility. My new favorite alternative is "tension tamer" tea. I don't know if it is mental, but it seems to have worked wonders on me :). 

THIS WEEK'S RECIPE: Chicken Paillard - the perfect summer dinner. You have to make this if you like arugula :). My friend Evie made this at her house one night for dinner, and I had to have the recipe to make again for my family and to share with you!

Chicken Paillard

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 small shallot, chopped
• 1/3 cup pure olive oil (reserve 2 tbs for dressing below)
• 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground fresh black pepper
• 4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, pounded thinly
• Salt
• 1/2 pound arugula
• 2 ripe beefsteak tomatoes, diced
• 1 small red onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional for garnish (taken from 1/3 cup above)
• Lemon slices (slice them thinly into circles) for garnish

Directions

Yes, I grill.

Whisk together lemon juice, shallot, olive oil and black pepper in your favorite marinating pan, big bowl. Add the chicken, turn to coat and marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour. The longer the better!

Preheat grill to high. Remove chicken from marinade, season with salt on both sides and grill for 3 to 4 minutes per side or until golden brown and just cooked through.

Combine arugula, tomatoes and onions in a large bowl, toss with the vinegar and oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place each paillard on a large plate, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and top with some of the arugula-tomato salad. Garnish with lemon halves.

NOTE - The key to this recipe is pounding the chicken SUPER thin prior to marinating it. If you don't like to deal with raw chicken and the clean up. Buy it from a butcher and have them do the pounding for you :).

Nutrition Information: 280 calories, 19 grams total fat (please note - this is based on the recipe above but the actual dish most likely has less as you don't use all the marinade to cook the chicken!) 3 being saturated, 9g carbs, 2g fiber, 17g protein. 7pp+