Get Movin'!

I think for me personally, two of the hardest parts of losing weight are 1.) making the decision to change your lifestyle and knowing you are ready to stick with it, and 2.) having the energy to get exercise into your routine. I've found that just making the initial change to eat healthier is a good start to boost your energy levels. These last few days, I have been waking up earlier without an alarm (I am not a morning person by any means). I've felt like getting off my oh-so-comfy couch to actually get moving around the house, and today I went out for a walk. It's beautiful out there in the snow, and though I didn't walk for long, the fresh air felt so good for a change. This has been a difficult winter for getting outside, but I plan to make more of an effort. Not just an effort to be outside, but to get more active in general. I aired up my trusty old exercise ball, and it seems I had forgotten how those muscles worked! If you have some unused exercise equipment laying around, dust it off. Even 10-15 minutes a day is a start. And we can't reach any goal if we never start. Have a great day out there!

Healthy Egg and Avocado Quesadillas

I had to brave the slippery mess on the roads today to go get groceries. Nearly out of all my fruits and veggies, I can't take the risk of just eating something convenient from the town diners, or that would throw my whole day off. So now I am stocked up again and for dinner tonight, I decided to try something new.  I love guacamole, and saw a recipe a long time ago for an egg and avocado sandwich. I wanted to spin that a bit and make a quesadilla, with a low carb wrap. 

Here are the ingredients I used: 

2 Low carb wraps, a little shredded cheese, finely chopped fresh cilantro (not pictured), 1 avocado, 1 tomato, and 2 hard boiled eggs,  a lemon and lime

Chop the avocado, tomato, eggs, and cilantro into a bowl. Squeeze a little juice from both the lemon and lime over and mix together.

Spray your frying pan with non-stick spray, and place tortilla on medium heat. Sprinkle a small amount of cheese around tortilla and spread veggie mix on top. 

Let it heat through until tortilla is golden brown.

Top it off with a little fat free sour cream if desired. I didn't have any, but I think black beans would taste good in this, too. 

This recipe makes two servings and only takes about 15 minutes to make if you have boiled your eggs in advance. 

Hope some of these recipes are giving a little variety to your meals! 

Spaghetti Squash with Pesto

I finally decided to make spaghetti squash! I've been wanting to try it for a long time, and finally had a little extra time tonight. I found a recipe to make it with pesto and thought I'd photograph the process. 

First, cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds and insides. 

Brush some Extra Virgin Olive Oil over the squash and place on a baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. My recipe said 45 minutes, but it was a little on the crunchy side, so next time, I'll bake it longer. 

Once baked, gently scrape the insides out with a fork, and into a bowl.

There are plenty of recipes for home made pesto, but I opted for the convenience of buying it ready made. I LOVE the sun dried tomato flavor. 

Mix some pesto in with the squash, add chopped tomato, avocado, and shredded Parmesan cheese if desired. This is an easy recipe that looks and tastes great! Take the time and enjoy!

Just Keep Going...

It's only been a few days since I'm started; this blog, being healthier, etc. I'm down 1.6 pounds. Some folks may not see that as a lot, but one thing I always remember is a Weight Watchers sponsor telling us at a meeting years ago; look at a stick of butter. That's a 1/4 pound. So again, 1.6 pounds may not seem a lot, but it's slightly more than 6 sticks of butter. Use that as a little perspective the next time you're not happy about a small weight loss number. Just keep going. I know I need to. 

Where's Your Will Power?

Good Afternoon, All! So I went grocery shopping the other night, and it just reminded me HOW EXPENSIVE healthy produce costs! Oh, my word, I don't make a ton of money, so this will be another challenge all on its own. :) I bought some good stuff, though.

My sister has been raving about this fresh salad she has been making. I tried it out myself, and it was delightful! I ate the whole thing, which is okay since it's a very healthy and filling meal. It can be split in to a couple different meals, though, too.

Here are the ingredients:

Any type of tomato
Avocado
Cucumber
Feta Cheese Crumbles
Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

Chop the ingredients to any preferred size, and mix together with the Feta and the dressing. You can eat straight out of the bowl, put it in a pita, or a wrap, or I put mine on a big lettuce leaf to have as a lettuce wrap. If you'd like, you can add green onions and alfalfa sprouts, too.

I have always had the habits of overeating, and late night eating. I still struggle with it at times. I live alone, so when I cook a meal, it seems to be fit for an army of people. I guess I get that from my mom. She likes to prepare big meals for the family and then there are leftovers. Leftovers are great, unless you are me. I have this weird habit of making, for example, a big pot of Chicken Broccoli Alfredo, and I would eat 1-2 servings at first, put the rest away, and it always seems like an hour later, my brain is centered around this delicious dish in the fridge and I feel like I have to eat more. I want to quit this behavior for obvious reasons, so I have done a few things to hopefully help me out:

I began buying various "detox" items to put in my water. Apparently lemons/limes are good for suppressing your appetite. 

I found this list of benefits on Pinterest (Such a useful and addictive site!)

I also made this "Motivation Board." I put it right next to the handle as a visual reminder if the importance of staying on track. Another idea from Pinterest. :)

And I haven't actually started this yet, but I will also be tracking my progress visually with jars and stones...

...and my "Pounds to Lose" jar will be much fuller at the start. :)

Those are just a few thoughts for the day. I am very fortunate to have such a great support system in my family. I talk to my sister daily, and it's great to have someone to discuss this with and not feel like I'm being judged. So no matter how you feel about yourself, remember that no one loves you as much as your family. Don't try this alone. Involve them. Let them know your goals. They will be there as your support system, too, because your health is what is important to every member in your family. If you have kids, grandkids, anyone you love, get started and you'll be around a long time to come. 

No More Excuses

Another excellent motivational piece. Look for more motivations and healthy recipes as I find them.

You ARE What You Eat

I have always been a person who would hide what I was eating from people. It was something that I would stupidly rationalize; "If no one sees me eat it, then it's like I didn't actually eat it." Like eating healthy in front of others was enough, but when I was alone, I threw all good sense out and binged. Bad move. I recently found this saying and LOVE it! It's so true!