...And she laughs without fear of the future

"She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future." - Proverbs 31:25

[shecanlaughwithoutfear]

First homemade green smoothie: baby kale, chia, pineapples, strawberries, peaches, & water (+ a hefty dose of Splenda.) I wish I could text this picture to myself as a child. She would freak out (and not just because she wouldn't know what a text is.) I was absurdly picky as a child - something this green would've made me gag on sight. How far that picky eater has come (and how far she still has to go!)

[shecanlaughwithoutfear]

FOCUS T25 Beta: Days 5-10

Well, I meant to write a post last weekend telling you about my workout on Friday. And then I meant to write something yesterday to give a mid-week update. Woops! Better late than never I guess.

Day 5: Upper Focus & Core Cardio

Double day! Yay?

Upper Focus is all arms and upper body, surprising absolutely no one. As you can imagine it involves weights and bicep curls and pushups and tricep dips and really the whole nine yards when it comes to upper body. Something I'm noticing about Beta is that the focus is really more on strength. You're still going to get your heart rate elevated and work up a sweat, but for me, it's not as intense as some of the Alpha workouts. Which is kind of funny when you think about it, but I think it's nice that we're getting more strength and muscle focused workouts.

The other workout was Core Cardio, which I discussed in my last post. Ah, squats, will they ever get old? (Yes, yes they will.)

You know what else happened on Friday? I got my first T25 related injury. Check out this bad boy:

I know, horrible right? ;) This happened during Upper Focus. I was doing one of the alternating punching reps, and WHAM...totally gauged my thumb with my other thumb nail. I kept going, hoping I wasn't going to get blood on the carpet. (I didn't.)

Days 6-7

I am sad to report that I ate like garbage over the weekend. What else is new? I've really got to get over that somehow.

But it was Valentine's Day weekend and my recently single bestie and I spent Friday night eating pizza and Thin Mints and drinking wine while watching Lance Bass's wedding special. Ah, a special day indeed.

Then the next day we went to go see Potted Potter. It's a a satirical Harry Potter show! It was a lot of fun! They "perform" all 7 books in just 70 minutes. It was actually really similar to The Complete Works of Shakespeare: Abridged, if you've ever seen that. Here! You might as well watch it now!

Sunday I did my usual thing of teaching in kids' church, then attending "grown-up" church (lol), then rushing home, eating, grocery shopping, and doing T25 Stretch. My Sundays are really truncated, because of my weird work schedule. Did I ever tell y'all that I work from 3 am - noon? I do. I work for a local morning news program, so I have to be IN BED between 5 and 6 pm on Sundays.

Anywayyysssss......

Days 8-10

Monday was Dynamic Core again. Just as difficult for me and my hip flexors as before. And I laughed again at the poor fitness model who Shaun T allows to have a break because he is literally making these pathetic noises during one of the V holds. Fitness models! They are just like us. (Kind of.) 

Tuesday was Core Cardio. I'm modifying some of the plank moves because my back is still a little stiff and I just think that jumping into a plank is going to put unnecessary strain on it.

Wednesday was Rip't Circuit again. I used my 5 lb. weights again, but I think I might try the bands next time? Change it up a little. They look slightly confusing though. Also on Wednesday? I ate a crepe. Woops. It was really good though, I'm not gonna lie. And my birthday is on Saturday. I'm calling this a birthday treat.

Look at this! It's a s'mores crepe! Nutella, graham crackers, and marshmallows! I die.

At this point I feel like I'm in some kind of stasis. I'm not gaining any weight because I'm doing T25 five days a week, but I'm not losing because, well...did you see that crepe?

I'm hoping after my birthday I will feel a renewed determination to clean up my diet. *fingers crossed*

[shecanlaughwithoutfear]

FOCUS T25 Beta: Days 3 & 4

Day 3: Rip't Circuit

I was dreading this one. Based on its name, I thought it would be similar to Total Body Circuit. Plus, this is the first workout where you need to use weights or resistance bands. So I was fully expecting it to suck. But, it actually wasn't that bad! I mean, yeah it was hard, but there was less cardio so I didn't feel like I was 100% about to keel over and die like I normally would at the end of Total Body Circuit.

This workout focuses on strength. So there's a lot of controlled moves while lifting weights. There are some traditional things like bicep curls and presses, and then there's some more complex moves as well. There are some cardio intervals like any T25 workout, but nothing that made me want to jump out of the window.

Day 4: Dynamic Core

This one is more like the direct counterpart to Alpha's Ab Intervals. It's all focused on the abs & core. The first part of the workout utilizes standing ab exercises, which are great if you have back or neck issues! Then the latter half of the workout takes place on the floor. Your abs will definitely be burning by the end! Even one of the fitness models has to take a break, which I found hilarious.

And once again, this one's not heavy on cardio. So I didn't feel like my heart was going to explode out of my body, which is always nice.

If you have really tight hip flexors, like me, some of these moves will be difficult. I had a major problem with one of the "butterfly" moves, because I guess I just have like, the worst hip flexors in history? I don't know.

Anyway, today is doubles. :( Although I guess I'm not dreading it as much as I would normally because I have one new workout to "learn." I'm still in the slightly curious, "honeymoon" phase of Beta. Where you're kind of excited to do them because you want to see what they're like? I'm sure that will fade soon enough.

Happy Friday and Happy Valentines Day! I hope you treat yourself this weekend, whether you're single like me, or have been married for 25 years! <3

[shecanlaughwithoutfear]

FOCUS T25 Beta: Days 1 & 2

*deep sigh*

A new week, a new cycle of T25, a new level of torture.

Okay, maybe that's ever so slightly overstating things.

It hasn't been that bad. Yet.

Still pretty bad though.

Let's talk about it!

Beta Day 1: Core Cardio

Hey do you think this workout focuses on your core and cardio? If so, you would be mostly right. I mean, it definitely "does what it says on the tin." You are going to work those things. Buuuut, guess what else it focuses on? I'll give you a second.... This is Shaun T we're talking about here, soooo: THIGHS. Yeah. I've written before about how Shaun T is obsessed with squats and lunges and this workout is no exception. My quads were SUPER FRIED at the end of this. *Lorelai Gilmore voice* OY WITH THE SQUATS ALREADY!

I also modified several of of the plank exercises because I'm being wary about my back. It's still slightly stiff. (Alliteration is fun!) 

Overall, it's not THAT MUCH harder than some of the more difficult Alpha workouts. Hard, but doable. There are a lot of things that you'll recognize from Alpha, taken up a notch. You'll be doing a lot of jumping (what else is new?) and a lot of "high knees" and twisting. Also, some really hard plank stuff (hey, it's a core workout after all.)

Beta Day 2: Speed 2.0

Ah, the Speed workout. I had a love/hate relationship with Speed 1.0 and I foresee the same for its Beta counterpart. 

Speed 2.0 is set up a little differently than all the other T25 workouts so far. There are two "Levels." Each Level has about 5-7ish moves. The first round you do each move for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Second round you repeat that circuit again faster, doing each move in about half that time. You do it again even faster at about 8 seconds for each move.

AND THEN at the very end, after you've done Level One and Two, you do them both in succession REALLY FAST. Twice in a row.

It's interesting. Changing up the format definitely kept me interested and on my toes. In fact, I was *literally* on my toes for the majority of the workout. HAAA. I'm hilarious.

But yeah, a lot of these moves are going to be similar to other speed moves you did throughout Alpha. Variations on jumping jack feet, "speed and agility," standing mountain climbers, squat jumps, all stuff you've seen before. You're just doing it REALLY FAST. And over and over again. And there are new twists on stuff. There's like a lunge twist-jump thing that combines previous moves.

I liked the workout, although my calves were hurting again. So much jumping. This guy loves jumping. Have I mentioned that?

Tune in tomorrow (or the day after) for more on the Beta workouts!

[shecanlaughwithoutfear]

The view from my desk right now. I've resisted so far. Willpower don't fail me now. #thestruggleisreal

[shecanlaughwithoutfear]

HALFWAY THROUGH T25

Whaaaaaaaattttttt?!

I am officially halfway through FOCUS T25. That is bananas to me. Somehow it went by both quickly and mega-slowly.

I am starting Beta today. Eeeek. I am slightly terrified.

My back started hurting a little bit last week, and I debated taking a few more rest days just to make sure I don't injure myself. In the end I decided that I am just going to go ahead today, but do modifications. Heck, I'll probably have to do modifications anyway! I'll reevaluate how my back feels after a few days. I think it has something to do with the fact that I didn't do the stretch DVD last week, and the fact that there are so many moves where you jump in and out of plank. Because that's the part of my back that hurts. Just below my shoulder blades. So I'm also going to make sure my form is on point. I actually recorded video of myself doing Total Body Circuit last week so I could see my form. (Maybe I'll post some if it here???? Ha.) I just want to be super careful because if there's one thing I've learned it's that you DO NOT WANT to eff up your back. My mom and two aunts have back and joint problems and it's soooooo prohibitive for so many types of exercise.  So, caution will be my watchword this week.

Anywayyyyyyssss, I've got a whole new set of workouts to familiarize myself with now. Today is something called "Core Cardio." I shudder. But look out for reviews of the Beta exercises this week.

Happy Monday, y'all. (This is my "it's Monday" face. It's also "I'm experimenting with flat-iron curls and don't know how well it turned out" face.)

[shecanlaughwithoutfear]

Last night's dinner, another T25 Nutrition Guide recipe.

Now, this was supposed to be quinoa patties on a bed of spinach. Obviously it turned out a little differently. My patties mostly fell apart when I flipped them in the skillet. And then when I tried to transfer them to a plate they completely crumbled. So it kind of turned into a quinoa scramble.

This was my first experience cooking quinoa and it was...messy. It got all over my kitchen. Just quinoa everywhere. This dish was fine, if slightly bland. I had to add more seasoning than the recipe called for to give it any kind of umph.

[shecanlaughwithoutfear]

Week 5!

Ah! I cannot believe I'm FIVE weeks in!

And I can't believe it's already February, which just so happens to be my birthday month....

Have to say, I'm disappointed in myself a little bit. For the third weekend in a row, I've basically sabotaged myself with terrible eating. I had another girls' night out on Friday, and it just sent me down the bad food path all weekend. Do y'all have any tips for avoiding the weekend slump? I feel like I used to be so disciplined, back in 2012, when I lost most of my weight. I don't know what my problem is now...

Anyway, I'm not going to let it get me down, I just spent a ridiculous amount of money at the grocery store. I decided to change it up from the Hungry Girl diet and try some of the recipes in the T25 nutritional plan.

Here's today's lunch:

Chicken Waldorf Salad (grilled chicken, grapes, apples, walnuts, citrus vinaigrette)

It was pretty tasty! And really easy to put together.

Today's Workout is Total Body Circuit. This week, the last week of Alpha, you do Total Body Circuit 3 times. UGHHHHHHHHH. Help me.

Oh, and last Friday was my last time ever doing Speed 1.0. You don't do it at all this week! Weird!

Happy Monday friends, let's all kick this week - and this month - in the butt!

[positiveolive]

[shecanlaughwithoutfear]

Hey y'all! I did a little vlog about my workout today! I'm sweaty and my makeup is mostly gone, but there I am in all my "glory."

Happy Friday!

[shecanlaughwithoutfear]

Week 3 Wrap Up & Week 4 Update

Weird week again.

My mom came down last Friday and we hung out and went to Univseral on Saturday. As much as I thought I might try to be good with my eating, that ended up being a joke. You really can't eat well at a theme park. I mean we absolutely HAD to have some butterbeer. ;) We had a great time! Diagon Alley is hella cool (we've already been to Hogsmeade several times so no pics there.)

Mom and me in Diagon Alley, with absolutely atrocious lighting.

A much better picture of me at Grimmauld Place.

But the fun weekend threw everything into disarray. I didn't have time to meal plan, go grocery shopping, or prep AT ALL. I've been subsisting on sandwiches and Lean Cuisines all week.

I did however, keep up with my workouts! Last Friday was really hard, because I actually did my workout WAY late, so I was super tired. But hey, I got them done.

T25 Week 4 is interesting, here's the order:

Monday - Cardio

Tuesday - Total Body Circuit

Wednesday - Lower Focus

Thursday - Total Body Circuit AGAIN!

Friday (today) - Ab Intervals, Speed 1.0

Sooooooo, Total Body Circuit TWICE this week. MOTHER TRUCKER.

As always, things are getting easier. I can tell I'm building up more stamina. But I'm still modifying some things. Mostly lunge-squat progressions (MY MORTAL ENEMY.) Doing Total Body Circuit twice and Lower Focus made me realize something: 

SHAUN T LOVES SQUATS.

Holy cow, y'all. I am not playing around. He is obsessed with squats and lunges like wowee-wow.  It's intense.

Something else I realized? I've been spelling his name wrong! It's Shaun T, not Sean T! Woops. Sorry Mssr. T.

I can't believe next week is my last week of Alpha! TBH, I'm not as far as I thought I'd be. I haven't lost as much as I wanted. But that just means I've got to buckle down next week, especially on the food, and really kick the last week of Alpha in the butt!

Happy Friday y'all!

[shecanlaughwithoutfear]

T25 (and diet!) Week 3 Update

Been a little MIA this week.

It's been totally weird. I had doctors' appointments both Monday and Tuesday and it totally screwed up my meal planning!

It's kind of my own fault because one of the appointments was 2 HOURS AWAY. Yes, I'm an idiot. It's my dentist. I've been seeing this dentist my entire life though, and I can't bring myself to find another one.

Tuesday was a local appointment, so I actually had time for meal prep.

Still the wonkiness of those two days messed up the whole week in a way. I've been eating too many snacks, because I felt like I didn't have time to prepare what I needed. *sigh*

Oh and GUESS WHAT DIDN'T HELP AT ALL??? THESE got sent to my work! (I work in news, so we often get free samples of new products in advance of their release.)

Not even gonna lie, I ate two. (Verdict: good but not great.)

I still got all my workouts in though!

Let's talk about them, eh?

Alpha Day 15: Total Body Circuit

January 19, 2015

IT'S STILL SO HARD. Like, obviously I'm getting better at it, but I know it'll never be an "easy" workout. It's not supposed to be! That would defeat the purpose. But oooooffff. Thighs on FIRE.

Alpha Day 16: Speed 1.0

January 20, 2015

Speed 1.0 might be my fave? Because it always kind of tricks me. It starts off with nice cardio and stretching intervals and then ramps it up. And I think maybe because I'm not expending as much energy at the beginning of the workout I feel able to GO HARD during the burnouts. I did this one without modifying! 

Alpha Day 17: Lower Focus

January 21, 2015

I was almost looking forward to this? Because Week 3 is the first time you do Lower Focus by itself. During Weeks 1 and 2 you do it on Friday, paired with something else, so it had been hard for me to gauge how this workout was by itself. And hey, it's hard! But I kind of like focusing on my lower body because that's the area I feel needs the most improvement, so it felt good. BUT IT'S PAINFUL. Major burnage. I usually don't make a lot of noise when I workout other than breathing hard, but during this workout I'm making all kinds of groans and exclamations. And so are the people on the DVD, so I know I'm not crazy. If these insanely fit fitness models are feeling it, I'm going to as well.

Alpha Day 18: Cardio

January 22, 2015

Cardio almost feels like an old friend at this point. I was like, "Oh hey Cardio, how've you been??" It was strange to have gone so long without doing it. I checked "Nailed It" on the calendar even though I modified a little, because I KEPT UP with them.

================================================

Today is Friday so that mean DOUBLES. Yuck. Also, this weekend is going to be interesting, food-wise. My mom is coming into town and we're going to go to Universal! That means a lot of theme park food. We'll see how this goes.

[shecanlaughwithoutfear]

T25 Week 2 Wrap Up

What a weird week.

Alpha Day 11: Cardio (again)

January 15, 2015

Again with the cardio! Felt pretty much the same as I did when I did it on Monday. Still modifying a little, but less and less every time!

Alpha Day 12: Lower Focus & Ab Intervals

January 16, 2015

Ah, the dreaded double day. Actually, I wasn’t dreading it as much this time. Because I saw that I wouldn’t have to be doing Cardio or Total Body Circuit as my second workout. Now, Lower Focus and Ab Intervals are no joke, but they’re not quite as cardio heavy as some of the others. Plus, I liked the idea of working on my abs, buns, and thighs on the same day because those are my problem areas. Still did some modifications. Also, the calf hops didn’t make me want to cry this time! Progress.

Alpha Day 13: STATurday

January 17, 2015

This is where things get janky. Well, that’s not entirely true. The whole week, I felt bloated. And I just kind of knew that I wasn’t losing any weight. Everything was just…off. I felt like my body was not responding to anything. And come, “STATurday” I was pretty much right. I gained a pound back.

R U SRS?

Ugh. But you know what? I was expecting it. So I didn’t freak out. I don’t know what’s going on, if my body is just reacting weirdly to something, if I’m not drinking enough water, or what. But I’m not going to lose it. I know that this is a long haul process and that I’ve got 8 more weeks of T25 to go.

The only good news was that I somehow still managed to lose an inch in my thighs? Bodies are weird y’all.

My eating on Saturday night was terrible, but not in response to this weigh in!!! I promise.  I had always planned to cheat on this night because I knew I was going to a girls’ night party. I determined that I was going to let myself enjoy the evening and eat snacks and junk food with my friends. Because I knew that the next day I would be back to reality. I promised myself that I wasn’t going to go into a junk food spiral. I don’t want to be the kind of person who can’t enjoy a movie night with friends. I know that as long as I’m not doing it ALL the time I’ll be fine.

Alpha Day 14: Stretch

January 18, 2015

Once again, the Stretch “workout” felt great. Especially for my poor hips. My calves are actually doing much better. I guess they’ve gotten used to the amount of jumping going on. My hip flexors are still in a state of shock.

Overall, a really strange week. But I’m ready to put it behind me and get started on Week 3. Health and fitness is about instituting habits and making a series of small scale changes that will add up to something bigger in the future. So, here we go Week 3!

[connoisseurofhumanfolly]

#TBT

Please forgive this very, very vain thing I am about to do…

August 26, 2012

August 26, 2013

Read More

[shecanlaughwithoutfear]

#TBT to the beginning of my weight loss journey about 2.5 years ago! Crazy to think about. I lost 30 lbs. from August 2012 to May 2013. I've gained about 10 back, hence renewed activity on this blog.

Aaaaannnnndddd, here's my current picture: I'd really like to gain  muscle tone, and lose just a few pounds to look a little leaner. Whenever I get mad at myself for gaining 10 lbs. back, I try to look at all my pictures from 2012 and remember how far I've really come.

[shecanlaughwithoutfear]

First time trying jicama in this Hungry Girl BBQ chicken salad!

(Fun fact: I had to go to Fresh Market to find it, and when I checked out, the cashier had to ask me what it was to put in the code.)

[shecanlaughwithoutfear]

T25 Week 2: Mid-Week Update

I decided I wasn't going to write a post for every day this week like last, because it's all the same exercises in a slightly different order. But I thought I'd do a little update on how things are going!

Alpha Day 8: Cardio

January 12, 2015

So this was my third time doing Cardio. It was definitely much easier than the last time I did it, which was the Friday before, on the double day. Because I was fresh and my legs weren't as dead, I did much better. I still modified a little, but less than before. Getting close to "nailing it!"

Alpha Day 9: Total Body Circuit

January 13, 2015

Do you know what I wrote in my fitness journal next to this one? :(

Just that. Just the sad face emoticon.

So hard. Still. For some reason I was feeling really weak this day. I decided to eat an extra snack for some energy!

But yeah, those 180 degree jumping squats are BRUTAL, Y'ALL.

Alpha Day 10: Speed 1.0

January 14, 2015

NAILED IT! I very confidently checked off the "nailed it" option on my calendar this day. I did the whole thing with no modifications! Now there were times when I wasn't going as fast as Sean T and his minions, but I did the "normal" unmodified versions the whole time. I had kind of forgotten how this workout eases you into a false sense of security by alternating stretching and cardio intervals to begin with then SLAMMING YOU with a hard core "burnout" at the end. I was sweating all over the damn place.

So, that's 3 workouts down this week, 3 to go!

[shecanlaughwithoutfear]

The Hungry Girl Diet: Week 1

Yesterday marked one full week on the Hungry Girl Diet! I thought I'd walk you through my experience last week as well as introduce you to the concept. This post ended up being a little on the long side, but stick with it! Especially if you are really interested in this diet!

The Hungry Girl Diet In a Nutshell

The premise of the Hungry Girl Diet is basically portion and calorie control while maintaining healthy nutritional balance. Not a complicated concept, but sometimes you just need a little structure to get you there, you know?

So here’s how it works:

You get three choices for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the first week. You can mix and match the 9 choices as much as you like. You also get three snacks a day. The author, Lisa Lillien, provides the recipes for the meals and a list for the snacks (snacks tend to be around 100 calories.) Altogether you’re getting around 1300 calories a day. You get more meal options and recipes during weeks 2-4, but the basic concept remains the same.

Week One, Step One: Prep

I had a bit of an advantage going into this because I had actually tried about 1.5 weeks of this diet back in October. Then I went on vacation and promptly left it in the dust. Oops.

Anyway, I knew from my experience last October that I would need to plan and plan THOROUGHLY. In October, I did a poor job prepping to go to the grocery store and so ended up having to run back out there multiple times in the week. No one wants that. So this time I was gonna PREPARE, DAMMIT. Here's a picture of what my prep looks like now:

So, that's my daily food & exercise journal, my laptop with my master Google doc where I keep track of EVERYTHING (exercise schedule, meal plan, weight & measurements), my Kindle with the Hungry Girl Diet book pulled up, and my magnetic meal planning board that ends up on my fridge.

(Under the cut: pics of food and other tips!)

 Also not seen in the above picture is my phone (because it's being used to take the picture, obvi) with the Hungry Girl Diet app.

GUYS, if you're going to try this diet and you have a smart phone GET THIS APP. It's been a lifesaver. As you can see, you can browse through all the meals and snacks, create a meal calendar, and CREATE YOUR SHOPPING LIST. That, for me, is the vital part. Once you pick out which meals you want for each day you can then generate a shopping list for those days! It makes everything WAYYYYYY easier.

For example, here's my meal calendar for today:

And here's my most recent shopping list:

As you can see, she breaks it down into sections, you can check things off once you get them, AND she provides little hints and tips for some items.

I try to do my prep & shopping on Saturdays because my Sundays are always totally packed and I never have any time to go shopping.

Week One, Step Two: Cooking

If, like me, you're not a very experienced cook, fear not! These recipes are actually fairly easy to follow! Most meals are going to take you about 30 minutes once you get used to it. But for the first week or so, it might take you a little longer. Once again, the key element is preparation. Try to read the whole recipe over again before you start and don't just go off and start cooking willy-nilly. Get all your ingredients out and ready to go. I'm still not perfect at this by any means. Just yesterday I started cooking something on the stove top only to discover that I needed to add a cup of chopped vegetables that I had definitely NOT chopped yet. At that point it was like a race to get them chopped and added before things started burning. It's a learning process!

All the recipes are single serving too, which is perfect for me! But keep it in mind when shopping and cooking if you need to make more than one serving.

Another thing to keep in mind, some of these recipes keep better than others, and some of them can be prepared ahead of time and others can't. Remember that when you're planning.

Week One, THE FOOD!

So, now you've prepped and prepped and shopped and cooked, but how does the food taste? Pretty good! I took pictures of some, but not all, of the Week One meals:

"Mega" Fruit & Yogurt Bowl - this is one of your breakfast options. Greek yogurt with a little cinnamon and Splenda (optional) with chopped fruit mixed in and topped with fiber cereal and nuts. It's really easy to prepare. It looks prettier when there's something like strawberries or blueberries in it to give it a pop of color, but here I've made it with bananas which kind of blend in with the yogurt. I usually get this ready the night before.

(And yes, that's my bathroom sink. I eat my breakfast while I get ready for work!)

Egg Scramble & Bun - look at the color on this one! Scrambled egg whites or egg substitute topped with chopped tomatoes, served with light sandwich thins and berries.

She wants you to eat raspberries or blackberries but I don't like either of those, so I subbed in strawberries. Another nice thing about this diet is that it gives you options like that. You can sub in strawberries as long as you realize that they will have less protein. This meal's also easy to prepare, but you can't really do anything until you're going to eat it.

Veggie & Bean Bowl - a lunch option. Lettuce, beans, veggies, and low fat feta cheese drizzled with balsamic vinegar. Lots of options on this one too: you can pick any number of veggies, whatever kind of beans you like (black, pinto, red, etc) and whatever kind of vinegar you like or have lying around ( red, white wine, balsamic, etc.) Very easy to prepare ahead of time and take to work!

HG's Special Stir Fry - a dinner option. Chicken breast and veggies stir fried in whatever kind of low cal, low sodium marinade you like! Pretty simple! Not really something I would make ahead and take to work, although I suppose you could reheat it in a microwave if you wanted to.

These are just some of them. I forgot to take a picture of one of my favorite meals the "Hungry Girlfredo Bowl." It's a healthier version of chicken alfredo using broccoli cole slow, fat free sour cream, and low fat Laughing Cow cheese wedges.

Snacks

The snack options tend to be around 100 calories. They could be anything from 100 calories worth of fruit or veggies, to Fiber One brownies, fat free yogurt, rice cakes, air popped chips, low fat popcorn, etc. There are also recipes for some more "fun" snacks like "Cannoli Bites," "Parmed Up Broccoli," "Butternut Fries," and lots more. It all just depends on whether you want to grab it and go or spend more time preparing it!

Week One: Pros and Cons

Pros - 

Pretty much everything is tasty! I've yet to come across a recipe that I absolutely hated.

Lots of tweaks and tips! If there is an ingredient or something you don't like, she almost always provides you with a secondary option. There are also some tips to make cooking faster ie: using frozen pre-cooked chicken breast instead of fresh, cooking veggies in the microwave, etc.

Flexibility! You can swap pretty much any lunch for any dinner. There were two days last week when I was running low on time and I had to do this, when I didn't have time to prepare the meal I had planned on eating.

Doesn't feel "restrictive!" I mean, not really. Obviously, you can't have french fries or pizza, but if I feel like I'm DYING to have chocolate, I can have a Weight Watchers Fudge Bar or a Fiber One Brownie as my snack. The meals are filling and varied. You're not cutting out carbs or proteins or anything like that! You can have bread, you can have crunchy, salty stuff, you can have dairy. It's not like you're cutting out any one thing like so many diets.

Cons -

Time Consuming. Yeah, as you probably have gathered this is not really an "grab and go" kind of diet. I mean, it's less time consuming than doing a lot of juricing or smoothie making I guess, but it's not like you're just grabbing a frozen NutriSystem meal and heading out the door either. If you don't have the time to cook about 30 min. for lunch and dinner and about 15 minutes for breakfast (more if you're doing oatmeal, which is one of the mainstays) then maybe this diet isn't for you. Oh, and cleanup is a bitch.

Not a lot of "make ahead" options. I make my lunches a day ahead, and they're usually fine, but I wouldn't try making them several days ahead like I'd like. I just don't think many of them are going to keep well for 4 or 5 days. Ideally I would love to prepare all my lunches over the weekend and then just grab them the day I want to take them to work. You don't really get that with this diet.

Fairly expensive. Yeah, I'm spending way more than I used to on groceries. It's all that produce! I mean, obviously it's great that this diet utilizes lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, but THAT ISH IS EXPENSIVE. So is meat. For someone used to grabbing a couple of Lean Cuisines and sandwich stuff and calling that a grocery run, the sticker shock has been real.

Not a great vegetarian/vegan option. Many of these recipes have meat and dairy. She provides you with several meatless alternatives (one of the pros!) but if you're looking for true vegan options they're not there. There's a LOT of dairy.

Week One: Conclusion

A note on hunger. You're not going to get ravenously hungry on this diet, but I'm not going to lie, you will probably be a little hungry at some point. It's 1300 calories, so if you're used to 2 or 3K, it's going to be a challenge. HOWEVER, there is always the option to supplement with extra snacks. Especially if you have a lot of weight to lose or have an extremely rigorous exercise regime.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with it. It's only 4 weeks, so I'm definitely planning on sticking with it. Once the 4 weeks is up, I have another Hungry Girl cookbook and I'm thinking I will mix and match recipes from both books. I will probably not be doing this much cooking all the time in the future, but for now, it's doable.

I'm already on Week 2! Here's what my meals look like this week.

Happy Eating!

(Sorry for the length!)