IM GOING VEGAN: day 19

I have a lot of thoughts so I'm not focused as much on food. I should be focusing on my THREEE graduate courses. But I received a great tip today about taking one of my courses online during the summer. I think this is an AWESOME idea!

Today I wokeup wanting steak and I didn't workout in the morning. We discovered that curtains in the bedroom would block out the sunlight.. so I woke up sooo late.

Meals:

Watermelon chunks
banana
bean burger, collard greens, sweet baby rays, 1 slice soy cheese, green beans
bean soup, grilled chick'n (soy), green beans,
Ginger Ale/Whiskey

Water: 60oz

Workout:
Legs -- 380 cals
Turbo Fire Sculpt 30

IM GOING VEGAN: day 18

OMG I'm like 4 days away from completing my 22 days vegan challenge!!!! aaahhhh

Still going strong. No meat cravings. No Chocolate cravings.. perhaps I should continue on for another 22 days??

So for my meals I've been obsessed with beans for the past few days, so I did something awesome and created my own bean burgers --recipe coming coon! it was quite delish!

I wasn't feeling motivated to workout today. I've been going strong with #nodaysoff but today I was like ... ummm so maybe I should have a "rest" day and just do yoga... nopers. I was feeling quite lazy and I have my goal of burning 500 calories (or more) per day. So around 8pm, I popped in Turbo Fire and it got me motivated. I burned 573 calories! woo-hoo ... #noexcuses Chalene Johnson pumps me up! I love her energy!

For some reason I think I should lower my food intake into 1340 instead of 1500... ugh I can't wait till my appointment so I can know my accurate calorie intake...

On another note. Is it weird that my "beachbody coach" no longer follows me (or contacts me) on ANY of the social media sites. Duped... much... nah, its outside of my control so I will just comment on it here and move on from my life.

Tomorrow I have an action packed evening so I need to get a workout out in the morning and one before my organization event.

Meals:
1/4 cup old fashion oatmeal w/ 1 tbsp peanutbutter
almonds
Bean soup
2 slices wheat bread, 3 bean burger patties w/ 2 slices soy cheese, raw collard greens, onions, sweet baby rays & whole green beans

Workout:
Turbo Fire
- sculpt 30
-core 20
- hiit 25

Water- 90oz in progress

I'm actually kinda hungry after my workout so maybe I'll snack on some grapes.

Oh yea I went grocery shopping and bought a LOT of leafy green veggies and less meat substitute products. fun times.

Heavenly Hibernating Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato, Spinach Curried Soup #nomnom

Hey Kids,

As you know I'm trying to get my life together by working out and eating right. I've gained a workout buddy/Beach Body coach (Shanee) and we meet at her house to do Turbo Fire (at 6am!). We've also been hitting the gym for the Total Body X, TRX (Shanee also blog's. Click the link to see her latest post), Zumba, and Spinning classes (I LOVE Spinning!). I even tried out P90x (not a huge fan) and Insanity <--- iDIED!

Shanee and I have motivating each other and made a goal to burn 1000 calories. I've hit that 1000 several times, which is super exciting. I'm in my 4th week of consistently working out (6 days a week) and on Sunday I'll be re-measuring myself. Hopefully I lost some inches. I don't think I lost any pounds. My husband notices a difference but that might just be him encouraging me. He also tries to bribe me with CHIPS! (smh)

Spinning & TRX

So today we did a Turbo Fire HIIT 25 session, and only burned 192 calories. I didn't push hard, like at all. I need to work on getting my legs off the ground. Darn you thighs! grrr! I've only had a tablespoon of peanut butter since I've been up (545am), and I want a burger... chicken wings... french fries... brownies.. reeces cup, steak... sigh I need to get my life!

I keep saying I'll make a green smoothie: kale, baby spinach, frozen strawberries, and celery. <-- hasn't happened yet!

But the thought keeps annoying me! For some reason I have lasagna in my fridge!!! Darn you hubby. I don't even want pasta but I keep glancing at it. lol

Trying to motive myself to eat healthy and workout, is getting harder. It's colder. I want to snuggle & cuddle. Watch K-Drama's. I have my final class for this semester, something about literacy and I'm determined to ignore it.

Go away school, papers, discussion classes! 

I'm pretty sure I should be hibernating right now! 

To get my mind off school work, that annoying pile of laundry I've created without a recipe my very own Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato, Baby Spinach Curried soup! #yum .. I think I'll make this soup for Thanksgiving! <--deets coming soon :)

1 butternut squash
1 medium size sweet potato
2 tbsp purple onion chopped
2 tbsp purple onion blended *
1/2 bag of baby spinach 
5 baby carrots

almond milk** as needed. I used maybe 3 cups for this soup.**

Culinary Broth Thai Coconut Curry** as needed. I used over half of the container for this soup.**

ground ginger
1 tsp Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste **I added in maybe 3 tsp**
2 tsp cayenne pepper

olive oil

1 garlic clove blended*

1 garlic clove chopped

Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste

1. Roast: Butternut Squash & Sweet potato on 400 F for 1 hour. I sprayed Pam's olive oil spray on both veggies, placed them on a tin foiled cookie sheet.
2. Once the veggies are done. Put them in a bowl, with a top. Pop in the fridge for the rest of the day.
3. Use a pot: heat the olive oil over medium heat and stir in the chopped garlic & onion 
4. Blend the sweet potato (skin included), pour almond milk & the culinary broth in the container. Once blended add to the sizzling oil, garlic, and onion. Don't forget to stir!
5. Pour in 1 cup of almond milk
6. Blend the butternut squash, garlic clove, onion, baby carrots, culinary broth, almond milk (skin included, discard the seeds and the stringy stuff) --don't forget to chop off the root. Add to the pot. STIR! 



NOTE! Make sure you check your blended items. You don't want chunks in the soup. That'd be rude! :)

7. Between adding the squash, et, al- to the pot, throw in some baby spinach leaves. Stir it in the pot. Add in the curry paste as well.

If your soup is sitting low, add in more culinary broth. We want the broth to be a bit higher than the veggies. I'm aiming for a creamy soup. If you want it thicker add flour.

1. Add in the rest of the baby spinach. Remember I used half a bag. 
2. STIR!
3. Please note I did not add in spices yet! Taste the soup. It should be sweet. 
4. Now turn the soup low, give a few shakes of cayenne pepper (I like spicy food), several shakes of the ground ginger, and a healthy shake of black pepper. 
5. As of now I have not added in salt. I'm aiming to reduce the sodium in my life. :)  I also let it sit for awhile and than added in 1 tsp of butter, just for a bit of richness.
   

   

   Bon Appetite.

   ps. omg I love Korean dramas!!! Currently watching The Princess's Man via Hulu. Also check out Moon Embracing the Sun via Hulu. I can sit on hours and just watch K-Dramas!
   
   
   pss. I'm also annoyed because I've noticed the water is drying out my skin & hair. I'm super itchy and now I'm on the hunt for a water filter or water softner. Any suggestions? 

Detox. Green. Spicy. - Pinterest Inspired

Hey Kids,

My body HURTS! Calves, abs, thighs. Lemme tell you how serious I am on loosing 20 lbs by T-Giving! I took a detox bath the other day -- filled the bath with Apple Cider Vinegar -- I didn't feel a difference but it was relaxing. I've been going hard core with my Turbo Fire, burning calories left & right.

 Last week I burned over 600 calories, it felt so good and my heart rate stayed up.

Yesterday I jogged 3 miles (at a very slow pace, maybe 2-3mph) in 40 minutes. I'm used to jogging on the treadmill and running on actual ground is so much harder. The inclines, the declines, the cars passing by looking at you struggle. Sheesh it was a hot mess. Beyonce almost didn't get me through it. I was so over pace, I would speed up during hills but I just loathed the entire process. BUT I'm feeling it. I am feeling it!!!! Did I mention I was FEELING IT!!! RAWWWRRRR

Anyhoo, yesterday I took another detox bath (hydrogen peroxide & ground ginger) ... I saw it on Pintrest (shrugs)

So clearly DETOX is my thing this week. and again inspired by Pinterest. I made a Green Detox Soup and again I failed to use measurements.

olive oil (to fill the bottom of the pot, an inch worth)

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

diced purple onion (I like a lot of onions)

fresh ginger, peeled and chopped (maybe a teaspoon)

fresh broccoli, cut up (I used one full tree)

1lb fresh spinach leaves

4 baby carrots, chopped (the original recipie called for parsnips, which I don't have, a quick google search told me potatoes or carrots. I went with carrots, although I LOATHE cooked carrots).

2 ribs of celery, chopped

parsley, like 6 shakes

1 can of bean sprouts

Fresh water (8 2/3 cups)

Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste

Apple Cider Vinegar (cap full)

Cayenne Pepper

• I only have 1 pot (which means I need to go pot shopping! woo hoo)
• heat the olive oil over medium heat and stir in the garlic, onion, and ginger, broccoli, and bean sprouts & bean sprouts water (After being in Korea, my husband and I have fallen in love with bean sprouts...so delish with the right seasoning)
• Add the broccoli, spinach, celery, carrots
• Add water throughout. (I like my soup - soupy.. So I added lots of water to cover the veggies... probably too much so feel free to cut back.--  but don't add too much water in the beginning, wait till the end/middle)
• I cooked everything a low simmer, covering the pot. I think I cooked it for 20 minutes or so until the veggies are softened.
• Add ACV.
• Add Cayenne pepper, I went heavy on this.

**The soup smells so good! I sprinkled parsley on top before consuming**
---
So how does it taste? A little watery but spicy. I think I'll play with it more next time.

Loving my Korean bowl & chopsticks.. and the mat and the little plate in front. haha

Enjoy :)

***** Stay Motivated. Help Keep me Accountable. Follow me on MY FITNESS PAL APP, username 87PageS http://www.myfitnesspal.com/87pages ***********

INSPIRED BY: 
http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2011/01/detox-green-soup-recipe-with-broccoli.html?m=1

#bodyrevolution #90daychallenge #turbofire

Hey Kids,

So its been 14 days since my last post. I've been working out! Spinning, Zumba, Treadmill, Elliptical you name it. I've been using my leftover IT WORKS WRAPS (BODY APPLICATORS) and I just started TurboFire this week. Today I did High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) 15, it was a LOT of jumping! I'm loving it. Feeling the workout and feeling skinny. I doubt I lost anything in the past 2 weeks but I feel better now that I'm active.

I am also altering my meal plans. Someone in my fitness group mentioned "studies had show people who ate the same or nearly the same thing daily lost more weight than those who ate different foods all the time. I guess it's because your body knows what it's going to get and so it settles in to losing or maintaining?" 

It's going to be hard but I can do it. Here's my Meal list for every day. Dinner is up in the air because I usually cook for my husband, so I'll just limit that to every day. Breakfast-Snack-Lunch-Snack will not change. At the end of the week I'll post my dinners on here. I'll stick to one small plate.

8:30 Breakfast - Cereal

12:30 Snack - Green Smoothie ... assortment of veggies & fruits

1:30 Lunch - Plain tuna wrap w/ hummus

3:30 Snack - Almonds (10)

6:30 Dinner - small plate, free choice, one serving

No eating after 7pm. <---- I will struggle with this. 

More info on TurboFire

My name is Star and I am a Chip-a-holic

The struggle is real. It's hard. Many can attest that it is SO easy to snack, chow down, have one last bite... and many more will testify how hard it is too loose those snacks, bites, second helpings. I'm not sure how it happened. It was an lethal assualt and I am fighting the scars. Since the middle of June I have gained about 15 pounds. The same 15 pounds that I was able to easily snip away in Korea.

The Korean weightloss clinics how I miss them so. If I were to walk into a clothing store, Adjuma would bustle me out because indeed I would be "too big" because they only have "small size." I find it interesting that I instantly compare myself to other women, exulting that "at least I'm not as big as her" or "why can't my thighs get smaller. Whilst in Korea, I was quick to revile the Americans in-tuned with food. Now I only revile myself and the bad habits I have eagerly leaped towards.

I wish it was only McDonalds or Burger King, but I haven't even tasted a chicken nugget since being in America, and only last week did I taste a BK chicken wrap. No my demon is my lack of activity. Eating healthy was a chore in my younger days. Now, I'll drink a kale/strawberry/apple smoothie and forgo the Krispy Kreme donuts that have been haunting my footstep since I left Korea. (note, I only had the delicious donut once while in Korea... it's a plague on my sensibilities... its soooo good).

The first day of Autumn (my fave season) is only a few days away. I'm determined not to succumb to the pressures of being an American food-whore ... no matter how tasty it is. I am also pledging to be active... a 90 day challenge of activeness. Ideally 2 hours of activity per day. In my house, on the street, in the gym, in the pool. I'm going to do it. I refuse to enter the New Year heavier than when I entered it.

No bueno.

Join me in my 90 day challenge. Starting today. September 19, 2012 - December 18, 2012

We will work out 1.5-2 hours. Eating light & healthy.

My food plan for the next 90 days will consist of; a variety of fish, turkey, and chicken (not fried), raw & cooked veggies, raw fruit, fruit/veggie smoothies. Tortilla wraps; but sparingly. I might throw in some crackers every now & then, but they'll mostly be for the hummus.

Wine & beer occasionally -- look don't judge me. I'm dropping chips, the number 1 threat to my thighs. So hush and let me enjoy my Merlot. -_-
 
I'll be drinking lots of water so there.

Want to join me? Watch my progress? Boo or Encourage: tweet me @87PageS