The Big Green Hump

Happy Hump Day, bloggie peeps!  I've been on a big green smoothie kick this week, and I have a new recipe to share with you.

Lately, it's been all about the bok choy for me.  It's one bad ass vegetable.  Similar taste to baby spinach, perhaps a bit more bitter, but not much.  Like most greens, it's a nutrition powerhouse.  Five leaves of bok choy (about 1 cup, shredded) only contains 9 calories, but provides 104% RDA of vitamin A (as beta-carotene), 35% RDA vitamin C, 27% RDA vitamin K and 12% RDA of folate. When it comes to minerals, five leaves contain 70mg of calcium (7% RDA) and small amounts of most other minerals.

I don't use bok choy a lot, but every few weeks I'll try to get it in the mix.  Below is my favorite bok choy smoothie recipe.  Enjoy!

1 orange
1 frozen banana
1 cup frozen strawberries
¼ cup avocado
2 cups fresh bok choy
1/2 cup water

Blend, drink, repeat.

First Ever TUESDAY Fat Stats (Week 37)

I know, we're crazy, mixing it up and all. But Monday Fat Stats were always horrible. Nothing like ruining the entire week right off the bat by hopping on the scale Monday morning and seeing all your weekend screw-ups right there in front of you.

So, Tuesday Fat Stats is the new thing around these parts. It gives us one extra day to work off the weekend. And when you have to much fun on the weekend (read: Oktoberfest and 1 liter steins), that extra day is so, so, so needed!

Let's get to it, here are FGS's numbers:

Fat Girl Slim's Week 37 Numbers:

 And, here are mine:

Muffin Top's Week 37 Numbers:

This weeks loss was NOT what I was hoping for. If I'm going to be at 160 by Halloween, 1 pound a week is just not going to cut it. I'm working out about as much as I can handle, I literally cannot fit in any more. I have been going over my calorie goal, an average of 292 calories per day. But my average daily calorie deficit has been at 1,251 - so those extra calories shouldn't be that big of an issue.

Over the last week my total calorie deficit was 8,757. That SHOULD translate to a 2.5 pound loss. In fact, on Saturday morning I was at 169.6. But after the beer and pretzel frenzy that night I was up 4.4 pounds on Sunday morning.

My conclusion? The booze has got to go!!!

Not forever, of course, but for a while so I can see if that is the problem and, hopefully, make some real progress.

So, my plan of attack is actually twofold:

1. Stay within my daily calorie target of 1,680 calories per day.
2. Do not have any alcohol until Halloween.

Here goes nothing...

Mondays Suck

Why, oh why, did we EVER think that Monday of all days would be a good one for doing fat stats?

That was just straight up stupid.

So, since Mondays suck, I am officially cancelling Monday fat stats.

Yeah, you heard me right. I have the power baby, and I'm using it!

Really though, I'm just going to move them to Tuesday fat stats.

But, admit it, you were impressed with my power for a second there, weren't you?

See you tomorrow baby!

I Guess It's My Turn

Fat Girl Slim busted out her fall bucket list yesterday, so I guess it's my turn.

Let me get this out there first - the beginning of fall depresses me. It means the end of warm weather. No more tank tops and shorts, and flip-flops. No more camping by the lake. No more nights where the kids can play outside at 8 because it's still light and warm out. No more clear blue skies.

I want to cry just thinking about it.

Fall isn't completely horrible though - that is, when it's more of an Indian summer, which is totally what I'm praying for!

So, back to the bucket list...

Here's some things I'd like to accomplish this fall:

1. Weigh 160 pounds by Halloween.
2. Dress up in a fun costume for Halloween.
3. Go to the harvest festival
4. Go on the pumpkin train & carve pumpkins with my kids.
5. Rake leaves and jump in the piles.
6. Go for after-dinner walks with the family.
7. Make hot apple cider and carmel apples.
8. Seriously consider and decide whether or not I want to run the Eugene Marathon.
9. Continue to be consistent with my exercise and healthy eating.
10. Weigh 150 pounds by my company Christmas party.

How about you? Any exciting fall plans or things you'd like to do?

The Big Fall Bucket List

It's that time again!!!  A new season is upon us, so I figured it would be a great time to kick off another bucket list.  I really have a thing for lists.  I feel super accomplished when I can check something off!  Also, I really, REALLY have a thing for Fall.  It's my favorite season ever.  Don't you remember that line from You've Got Mail??

“Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.”

I would send each and every one of you your own bouquet if I could!  That's how much I love this season.  What's on your Fall bucket list??

• Watch a local high school football game
• Go through a corn maze
• Go on a hay ride
• Take a trip to the local pumpkin patch
• Take Fall pictures of my kids in the leaves (ok, my hubby has to do this one)
• Make carmel apples
• Take a hike in the woods
• Pick apples and make homemade applesauce
• Make my mom's pumpkin cookies
• Spend lots of time at the park
• Make hot apple cider
• See The Rocky Horror Picture Show and make sure I'm well versed on the audience participation parts
• Make a huge pot of beef stew
• Bake a pie
• Buy some new yummy, fall-scented candles
• Find some new flannel sheets for my bed
• Buy a new plaid shirt
• Take one more trip to the coast (Oregon has gorgeous beaches in the fall)
• Learn a new casserole recipe

I'm sure there is actually a lot more that I want to do, but this list is a pretty good start, don't you think?

Did you ever...

Did you ever have one of those moments where absolutely nothing is right with the world?

Where you and your husband are completely at odds...

Where you feel like such a horrible parent that you wonder if you should have even had children...

Where your job is nothing but a headache causing, ulcer inducing nightmare...

Where you feel utterly alone and without hope...

Yeah, that's me

Monday Fat Stats: Week 36

We've been neglecting doing the Monday Fat Stats, but no longer. We're back and equipped with GoWear Fit's!

I gotta say, I've been totally loving this little gadget! It's a little on the spendy side, but I'm really thinking it's going to be key in finally getting my weight down to where I want it.

I mean, look at all the information I have at my fingertips every single day:

With that said, let me tell you, the scale is a temperamental bitch. I've worked really hard the last few days, and this morning when I got on the scale I was up 1.8 pounds from Sunday morning. WTF?! I did have fries (which are included in my calorie total) so maybe it's water retention? Whatever it is, it was a real blow to me. On Sunday morning I was at 170.4, only one half a pound from finally being in the 160's. Then I wake up today and it's all gone to shit.

I'm not giving up or anything, don't get me wrong. It just sucks. So. Bad. I've got to learn to take these fluctuations in stride. To not let them discourage me.

So, now that you've heard my whining - on to Fat Girl Slim's epic weigh in. Here's her newest numbers:

And, unfortunately I have to put up my numbers now, here goes:

You might remember from Friday that FGS and I were doing a little competition to see who could do the most physical activity, burn the most calories and have the biggest calorie deficit over the weekend. Here's the results:

I Got A Go Wear Fit... And I've Fallen In Love With It.

Better get this out of the way... No one from the Go Wear Fit company or Body Media or anyone else for that matter is paying me to talk about this. I mean, c'mon. Our blog has like, fifty readers max? Trust me when I say NO ONE would pay us for this.

That said, I'm in lurve with a piece of technology, and you guys need to know about it. I want to marry and have little Go Wear Fit babies with it. I've only had it for five days, but I'm not sure I'll ever be able to live without it again. For those of you not in the know, a Go Wear Fit is a little device you wear on your arm. While you go about your business, it measures everything your body is doing for you. Heart rate, steps taken, temperature, etc. Hell, it even measures your sleep efficiency!!!! This thing is freaking amazing. And better than all that, it plugs all the information into easily readable graphs, as well as letting you plug in your food intake!! Genius. Pure, freaking genius.

Behold.... The magic maker....

I've been coveting it ever since I started reading the Body By Pizza blog [because I want anything Rachel has, natch], but I don't think I realized how WAY useful that sucker is. Today is a prime example of the epic usefulness. Due to some SERIOUSLY poor food choices, I'm already 1911 calories in at 4:00pm. Well have no fear, dieting friends. My handy dandy GWF [that's Go Wear Fit, for all of you not into acronyms] will help me out. I will work out tonight until I burn enough calories to make up for it. I WILL achieve my 1000 calorie deficit. And I also will not eat dinner. [That's kind of a given, right?] Not that I'd even be hungry anyways. I'm sporting quite the food baby from my never ending pasta bowl.

I totes need this shirt today!!!!

To add to the recent GWF fun, Muffin Top and I decided to do a little competition. Stay tuned on Monday for that. Whoever burns the most calories, has the biggest deficit AND has the most logged exercise time will win a prize, or something. I'm always game for a little healthy competition. And there is no cheating, because the numbers don't lie, my friends!!!!

I hope you all have a fan-freaking-tabulous, calorie burning weekend!!! We'll see you Monday and show you all the results!!

The Big Green Hump -- A Day Late.

Yesterday was my birthday, so I'm TOTALLY going to milk that as an excuse as to why the hump smoothie is a day late. Never fear though, at least I didn't forget completely, ala last week. What can I say, I've been lacking a muse.

Even though I definitely haven't been blogging frequently, I HAVE been giving my blender quite the work out. [Along with my vibrator. Did I mention my husband has been gone for EIGHT weeks now?] Anyways, here's a really delish recipe I threw together last weekend. Total yum and SO good for you! Antioxident power and all that.

"The Week Eight"
1 cup pomegranate juice
2 cups frozen cherries
1/2 cup raspberries
2 bananas
2 cups kale

Blend it up, baby!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

My Dear Fat Girl Slim,

We're gonna party like it's your birthday.

We're gonna sip Bacardi like it's your birthday.

You know we don't give a fuck, cause it's YOUR BIRTHDAY!!!

Here's hoping all your wishes come true!

Don't do anything I wouldn't do...

And show 'em what you got, no matter how old you are :)

Happy Birthday FGS! If you had a cock, I'd totally suck it ;)

Is Anybody Out There?

Gonna give it to you straight and simple - Fat Girl Slim and me are having a hard time with motivation to post.

If we knew that someone, anyone, was reading our ramblings - it would make it SO much easier!

So here's my challenge to you: if you are here, and you are reading this, please post a comment. Please. Let us know you're out there...

What to do? What to do?

I'm in a quandary (10 point word! Woot!)

I ran a half-mother-fucking-marathon beyotches!!!

So, um, now what? I don't think that I am ready to commit to an entire marathon at this point. And I can guarantee you that Fat Girl Slim is not going to be running one with me anytime in the near future. So what do I have to work toward? The few workouts I've done since the half seem almost pointless. Like, what am I doing this for???

I know there's the whole losing weight, getting in shape, feeling better about myself crap. But I really need more.

I've thought about doing the Insanity, but I just cannot work myself up to doing a workout that makes you feel like you are going to vomit excessively.

I've thought about signing up for another half, but I don't want to do a run in January when it's only THIRTY degrees out!

I've even thought about saying screw it all, but that's just my frustration speaking.

So, I'm throwing it out there to you all. What in the hell should I do??? Give me your suggestions, please, please, pretty please, with a cherry on top?!

If It Wasn't For You...

Our little blog has THIRTY SIX followers and FORTY SEVEN google reader subscribers! Sure, in comparison to some sites out there, these numbers might seem laughable, but to me they are epic! It blows my mind that anyone would want to listen to me rant, whine, ramble and cuss. But you DO! You really DO!

It is really and truly a big deal to me that anyone shows up here. I feel a certain sense of obligation, like I've made a promise to you guys and I have to follow through.

Here's a couple (possibly) little known facts:

Fact: If I wouldn't have had to post about it, I might have given up on my half training.

Fact: If it wasn't for the fact that I knew I would have to fess up to you guys, I might have walked the last mile of the half marathon.

Fact: If we didn't have any readers, I would not be so determined to jump back up on the (healthy eating) wagon.

Fact: I lurve each and everyone of you guys :)

Wuv. Twu wuv...

So, what's the plan, you might be wondering? Good freakin' question. Me and Fat Girl Slim have been pondering that very thing. Our blog is to half marathon. Yeah, well, we did the half (YEAH US!). So what now?

Well, most importantly, we absolutely, without a doubt, unequivocally must get our eating under control. If we are burning upwards of 700 - 800 calories a day and not losing weight... We are screwing up somewhere. And I think we all know where that is - our big, fat pie holes.

On that vein, as of today, we both have a copy of The Spark. It looks very promising and motivational. I plan to read most of it tonight. We'll try and get you a review by Friday.

I have a lot of other, more concrete goals, but I'm feeling like I need to really iron them out so I can present them to you all at once.

We've Come A Long Way, Baby.

On Sunday, September 5, 2010, Muffin Top and I did the unthinkable. We ran a half marathon. You know, the one we set out to run when we started this journey. The one mentioned at the top of this blog, you know, in the title. Honestly, I can't believe we actually did it. [We have pictures to post later, trust me, I got proof!] I know it happened, hell my hips and knees may never be the same! But still, the magnitude of the whole thing is still sinking in. I'm not going to lie though; I definitely got a Super Woman feeling from the experience. I ran 13.1 freaking miles, and if that's not proof that I can do anything I set my mind to, what is???  The world is my proverbial oyster.

This brings me back to nine months ago, when we started the Couch to 5k. That first work out we did was a bitch (at the time). For shits and giggles, I made MT actually do said workout with me at the beginning of last week, just to see how far we've come. It was a JOKE to me how easy it was. Please, please, please don't get me wrong. There was a time when that run almost killed me. The thought of running even a mile was ridiculous back then. But you know what? We stuck with it, and we made it happen. I'm beyond reason proud of us!!! It's amazing what you can accomplish when you really put your mind to it. MT even went and got herself a little post-race "present" today, but I'll let her tell you about that later.

So where do we go from here? That seems to be the million dollar question today. I can't speak for MT, but I know I need a break from long-distance running. Before we did the half, I had grand plans of heading straight into marathon training once it was done. I no longer have these plans! I want to do something a little easier on my body for a while. Oddly, I have no specific goal at the moment. I'm going to really mull it all over before committing to another lofty work out goal.

Don't be confused though. Even though we accomplished the half marathon, we have LOTS to accomplish still in the way of health and fitness goals. Personally, I hope to shift my focus away from exercise [which is pretty much a given at this point] and work more on my food intake. Don't forget, I still have another 30 pounds I'd like to lose [at least]!

So stick around, ok? There is definitely more to come.