It has been a long while! I was out of the gym for a few months, which originally wasn't my intention. However, it gave me time to think and I realized I was no longer happy with my usual routine. I had grown weary of the group fitness approach. The schedule was wearing on me and I needed more flexibility and control over my workout choices and schedule.
So, I joined my local Anytime Fitness and am now utilizing Fitness Blender.
Fitness Blender provides free full length workout videos, workout routines, healthy recipes and more.
I'm easing my way back in so it's just stretching this week. The heavy stuff starts next week. I need to get my body ready for the pain that is to come.
For the first time in forever, I am once more excited for my workouts! I've missed that feeling.
Just like the title says 👆👆👆 I am linking the original recipe but will share my tweaked version here:
INGREDIENTS
1.5 cups mayonnaise
3/8 cup white vinegar*
1 tablespoon sugar**
3 tablespoons yellow mustard
1.5 teaspoons pink Himalayan salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1.5 stalks celery finely chopped
3 tablespoons sweet relish
3 tablespoons chopped pimento peppers
2 tablespoons chopped red onion
4 hard-boiled eggs, diced
2 5-ounce cans of tuna
1.5 pound elbow macaroni cooked and drained (6 cups cooked)
*if you're math-challenged like I am, that's just 1/4 cup plus a half of a 1/4 cup (1/8 cup, and that one I didn't have to look up 😂) I made the original recipe plus half on just about everything
**I didn't want to add a lot of sugar because I love tart things and that sounded like too much sugar, so I did not increase this for the recipe; I only used 1 tablespoon, but feel free to adjust according to your tastes
DIRECTIONS
1) Mix together the mayo, vinegar, sugar, mustard, salt, and pepper.
2) Add in the celery, relish, pimientos, onions, eggs, and tuna and mix well.
3) Add in the pasta and mix well.
4) The original recipe says to place in the fridge overnight. I ate some right after it was made as it was dinner, but it made so much, I was able to store the rest in the fridge. This will allow the flavors to blend nicely.
*Tip: Boil eggs and pasta night before and store in fridge. Cuts down on prep time. Would also help to chop both the celery and onion ahead of time.
ORIGINAL RECIPE HERE 👇
Classic Macaroni salad is an easy side dish you can make the night before your next picnic or potluck with an easy creamy and tangy classic
So it turns out that when I "remove" food addiction from the picture, I'm actually a very picky eater. Who knew? I went from stuffing everything into my face to giving away parts of my lunch because I'm too full. Who am I anymore? It's stupid but I miss my old coping mechanism. I mean, trying to unlearn a lifelong habit (30+ years) is bound to be like losing an old friend.
So I felt like walking before yoga and strength classes tonight. I don't know how or why and this is especially odd because I think I'm pmsing right now. I have no energy, no stamina, I'm super emotional and sleepy, and hungry ALL THE TIME. But I felt like walking today before class and I wasn't going to argue with that.
Well, I'm a stupid sillyhead. For some reason, I got it into my skull that this bet was 2 months long. No sir. February only. So I pretty much shit away a good 10 days of this challenge subcombing to my stupid emotions and PMDD. Fuck. So 12 pounds in one month would have sounded very daunting if I had paid attention. I did a double take tonight when I realized what I was supposed to achieve. 12 pounds in two months was pushing it, but 12 in one month was straight up nah. But I don't expect to actually meet the challenge goal, just get as close as I can. Still, though...12 pounds in one month. Yikes.
So only a few more days. Think I may try at least one more after this, now that I'm paying full attention.
THIS HAPPENED 👆👆👆 TONIGHT!!! I did a muthafuckin’ reverse plank! For the first time ever, I believe. Can’t recall a time when I’ve been able to do that. Despite my “I need to shit” expression, I am actually very ecstatic in this photo. And my shoulders are shaking as the rest of me jiggles. But I fucking did it! 🙌🙌🙌 Praise Jeezus.
First photo was when a week ago when I started my DietBet. The second photo is today. I haven't done my official weigh-in for progress yet but I'm up one pound. I am struggling with food (as always) and I am now PMSing (like fucking clockwork), which for me is actually PMDD, so I am in mega-bitch feed-me mode and extremely lethargic. It's just not a good fucking day and I want to cry.
I'm am going STIR CRAZY, y'all! It is cold and snowy and I haven't been able to go on a walk in freakin' forever. So my eating habits are suffering.
Time for a jumpstart. Enter DietBet. I've known about it for a while, but just now decided to join a $10 game to see how it goes. Looks like there will be some challenges to complete along the way as well as keeping myself accountable through daily check-ins. I'm a little excited but mostly nervous that betting on myself to lose weight was a mistake. Ugh. We shall see, I guess.
Here's a link to the game I joined, in case anyone wants to look into the whole DietBet thing: http://dbet.me/cumdTv
So I haven't been doing so well on my eating the past two weeks. And then I began to run low on funds. I saw that as a good thing because now when the urge for junk food hits, I cannot indulge it. I have plenty of food in my fridge; a few Hello Fresh meals to cook up. The weekend was going to be fine because I'm clearly not going to starve. So...good, right? Except now I feel like murdering things. Nothing tastes good to me, not even the delicious meals I cooked up ahead of time. I am extremely aggravated. I ate wonderfully this weekend - but I feel extremely hungry and even nauseated at times. Withdrawals? I don't know. I just feel like if I don't get any "real food" soon, I'm going to Hulk out, despite eating real, healthy food this weekend. It's an addiction. It has to be.
I get paid in two days. I may splurge on a burger and salad. Hopefully I stick with the salad and forgo the fries. Ugh.
Day one was a success, but I'm in the honeymoon period. I expect the carb cravings to return with a vengeance and then shall the Kraken be released. But today was good. I did start to crave something to nibble on after dinner so I made myself a cup of my homemade low-carb cocoa. Hit the spot. I should take my blood sugar reading on my way to bed. Also, depression is kicking up. So that's especially shitty.
I don't normally make new years resolutions but this year I am making an exception. I need to clean up my eating habits so I'm doing a reset. For the next six weeks, I will be very strict in what I eat. I have gotten way too lax lately. So, for the next six weeks, I will most likely be a huge, carb-craving beeotch so I apologize in advance.
To help me stay on track, I'm throwing it back to elementary school by utilizing a good ole sticker chart. I actually tried doing this in December (hence the Christmas-y stickers in the photo) but that month just descended into sheer holiday madness and it was ultimately a no-go.
Here's a good example of a diabetes-friendly substitution - swapped out the jasmine rice for cauli rice in the Japanese Panko Chicken recipe. I think I actually did use a little tiny bit of rice just to see what the texture would be like. Asparagus rounded out the meal. Also, it was another red wine meal.
I've been weighing whether or not a meal delivery service is worth the coin. After all, it can be a little expensive. But the shopping has been done for me, the ingredients are quality, and most of the prep has already been done. The prep that you are responsible for is not terribly time consuming. After a busy day, it is not a daunting task to cook at home. And the other serving is automatically the next day's lunch. My favorite benefit, however, is that it takes the guesswork out of meal planning! The planning is already done! Halleluyer! Of course, with the ole diabeetus, I make whatever low-carb substitutions I need to in order to keep myself on task.
So far, I'm a fan!
*This is not a paid endorsement for Hello Fresh. Just sharing my experiences with food and meal planning in general and, right now, that includes my experiences with Hello Fresh.*
I subscribe to Graze box and a $30 Hello Fresh coupon was waiting for me in the bottom of my last box. I did the math to see if I could afford a box this time around and thought, "Why the heck not?" So I bit. Went to the site, picked out my meals, put in my coupon code, and a few days later, the box was on my doorstep.
Of course, I have to watch my carbs, so that factored into my meal choices. The meals strike me as very well-balanced & healthy. I figured I could always make substitutions and tweek whatever I needed to fit my my diet. First up: French Onion Burger with Kale Chips.
I chose the classic plan, 2-person meal. I was concerned about the portion sizes; even though my appetite has gone down in the past two years, I can still pack it in at times. Surprisingly, one meal was enough for me! I saved the second cooked meal for lunch the next day and that worked out well, except for the kale chips. They were great hot 'n fresh out of the oven, but were not so tasty to me the next day.
Hello Fresh also recommends a wine to pair with your meal, which they also sell on their site. I opted to grab some wine that vaguely matched at my local Safeway. I don't know wine, so I very loosely paired my selection. Hello Fresh recommended a red variety so I chose a red variety. Don't know if I nailed it. Don't care. It was good anyway. And who do I have to impress? Just myself. And I was impressed with my frugality.
One thing I could have done differently with this particular meal: scoop out some of the bread in the bun. Would have saved me some carbs. All in all, I was very pleased with this first meal and I was eager to try the next one.
If you want to try it yourself, you can use my coupon code. Hello Fresh is not sponsoring this post and I am not being paid for this post at all. However, if anyone tries my coupon code, I will get a lil sump'n sump'n off my boxes. Works for me!
Any time I can eat my entire dinner from one bowl, I am happy: pork roast from the crockpot with cauliflower mash and gravy. #lowcarb #porkroast #cauliflowermash #mashedcauliflower #veggies #protein #goingofftherailsonagravytrain #crockpotsrock
