Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Good AND Bad News Bears

Lots n' lots of news on this post. Good and bad. Do you prefer which first? Well you have no choice. Good news #1: I have lost another pound. I am down to 156 and lost a total of 5 lbs total. Bad news #1: I have cheated. After trip 3 to the lake in a period of 10 days, I fought temptation, ate my brown rice chips, lots of fruit, and lots of chicken but the last dinner at the lake, Bricey's family made HOMEADE fried chicken, fried catfish, french fries, and HOMEMADE onion rings. To top that off, Brice's dad found a recipe for Raising Cane's sauce that he made to pair with the feast. This was my first cheat. Today marks 1 month since I've started my health binge. And I am proud of myself thus far. I have "cheated a few times since the first but have made good decisions (ex: stopping when I'm full).

Good news #2: I GOT A JOB! Last Friday I was given an offer by Methodist Children's Hospital in San Antonio for the PIMC (pediatric intermediate care) unit and I TOOK IT! I'm super excited. My job starts on July 30 so things are moving fast! Bad news #2: Time for goodbyes. There is nothing in this world that I hate more than goodbye's. I am having to say goodbye to the families that I have babysat for so long, watched their kids grow up in front of my eyes and who love me like I'm their own. I'm having to leave my family in Dallas, leave my boyfriend in Oklahoma, and start a new life 4 hours from friends and family and 7 hours from Bricey. Hopefully things will progress quickly and he can meet me in SA soon! In the meantime, I get to move closer to Brice's family, and friends that I haven't been able to spend much time with!

That means PRIORITY 2: getting a job is checked off the list! (priority 1 was passing the NCLEX). Onto priority 3: finding my own place to live. This will be occurring next week with mommy dearest. Because Bricey's family is from the area, they gave me lots of suggestions about places to live. Friends have also been helping out because I am unfamiliar with any part of SA.

Good news #3: I have started Bikram Yoga. I bought a Groupon (for $24!) for unlimited yoga for 1 month and I also asked for a membership for my birthday! Because of the move, I will be using my membership in San Antonio but I'm required to use my groupon in Dallas SO I started this past Monday. Holy friggen heat! Bikram Yoga is yoga in 105 degree room for an hour and a half and is THE HARDEST workout I have ever experienced. I'm still aching. However, you feel like a cirque de soleil performer when you finish. Its totally worth it and I think this is how I got my rockin' bod 2 years ago. I have gone twice this week already and besides being in Duncan today, I plan on going the rest of the week! I talked my best friend, Katie into going with me tomorrow and Bricey's going with me on Saturday. This will be fun. I seriously recommend this to any and all of you who are still reading at this point. I started week 3 day 1 of the couch to 10k program this past Sunday but haven't decided if I will continue while I'm doing yoga.

Like I said, I have been off the diet somewhat. I haven't been limiting myself but I have been making healthy decisions. For example, last night, Bricey and I had whole wheat tortellini and today for lunch we had BBQ chicken salad. I stop when I'm full and the fullness happens quickly which means my stomach is shrinking (YAY!)

Today is Bricey's birthday. He turned 24! Can't believe his old self ;) We're going to the city tonight for dinner and to run some errands! I came up last night and leave tomorrow but a day really makes a difference in a long distant relationship. I don't care how long I see him, it is just nice to be spending time with him. I'm soaking up these 2.5 hour trips before I move 7 hours away!






Thursday, July 5, 2012

Birthday Wrinkles

Well I'm one whole year older. I turned 22 on Tuesday, July 3rd and I'm feeling elderly. Thank goodness for antiaging cream and sunscreen for keeping my skin looking positively brilliant. I am enjoying my 10k training. The last weekend in June, Bricey and I went to his family's lake house. Lots of relaxation, tubing, and running! Twice that weekend we headed out early to do our 1 minute of running and 4 minutes of walking for 45-50 minutes. Thankfully, we got outside quick enough before the sun got too excited. On our running adventure, we encountered many grasshoppers...not a fan. I was dancing everywhere because they obviously thought their new habitat were my legs. No. Thank. You. I also saw a cow, UP CLOSE, with her little baby calf. She was scared to death, but all I wanted was a picture. So she gladly posed :) Thanks cow. Also, Brice decided to get down and dirty on dancing. The run was getting a little boring at the end so he decided to spice it up a little bit.

We also tubed. Talk about a WORKOUT! Oh. My. Gosh. The whole family was sore in the morning. One serious arm exercise. I love that burn that makes you realize you just worked muscles that you haven't worked in 10 years. Thank you body.

Onto more exciting news, while shopping for an outfit for the forth, I stumbled upon these SIZE 6 SHORTS! I said the only reason I'd buy them is for the size. I don't even care if the retail guy said "they run big". Just so everyone knows, I decided I didn't want these $80 shorts but I'm saving the picture

Bricey came to the city for my birthday! On the big day, I got up SUPER early, like...7:00 am. I'm crazy! My lovely family had the kitchen decorated in birthday decor with a birthday tiara on the table. Jay enjoyed wearing the crown. We went to the lake to run, got a free birthday eyebrow wax (me not Bricey), and went to Chuy's where I had an awesome Cobb Salad. Yum! We then went to the new Spiderman movie which I must say is pretty awesome. I adore Emma Stone and think she is just fabulous.  One of the best compliments I have ever received was "You're like an unscripted Emma Stone" THANK YOUUUUU! The movie was a little long but the story was pretty easy to follow (for those of you who have a really hard time following action movies, like me).

For dinner, I researched brown rice sushi in my city and found Blue Fish, my family LOVED it and I thought it was really amazing as well. I have to stay away from the tempura rolls but besides that, I can be just like everyone else!

On the 4th, one of my favorite days, Bricey and I headed back out to the lake to meet his entire family there. We enjoyed some taco cabana. YUM! The Cabana bowl (which is pretty much like a salad with rice and beans) is really great and fills you up quickly! In less than 12 hours, we caught up with family, ate some awesome BBQ chicken, played with the kiddos (my fave), went out on the boat, and watched fireworks.

On a side note: I love small world(s) when you realize no matter what, someone would be put in your life, someway, somehow. For example: one of Brice's best friends, was an intern at the same company my brother's best friend, Kimberly worked at. And he edited a story on my brother....a year before me and Brice met. AND I just found out that another best friend of Cameron's, Jessica, was in Brice's cousin's wife's sorority at Baylor. Now I know that's a lot of connecting lines BUT for a couple who had NO mutual friends when we met, I think it is pretty amazing.

As I promised, I weighed in on my birthday, hoping to lose 2.4 lbs to hit 155 lbs. I only lost 0.4 lbs which is a total of 4 lb lost. Bummed, but I am feeling better about running AND making healthy choices. So I'm proud of my 4 lb loss. I also said NO to corona & lime, chocolate chip cookies, and margaritas.  Let me have my proud moment. I made my mommy's homemade salsa for our 4th of july fiesta and opted for my rice chips instead of tortilla chips. It was a HIT and mmm mmm mmm so good!

Bricey had to work Thursday and Friday so were in little D but were heading back to the lake for the weekend! So excited :)

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

The Results are in!

Thanks to all of you who have continued reading the blog...it is you that keeps me motivated! I'm beginning to get this whole eating healthy thing down. I no longer crave sweets or bread and am not mad about making the right choice but my problem still remains with portion size.  I once heard it doesn't matter what you eat it matters how much you eat. Carrots may be healthy, but when you eat the entire bag it has lost the meaning of healthy. I've been super good about measuring my cereal and rice but when it comes to anything else, I'm failing hard. Like last night for example: we went to chipotle and I ordered a chicken salad with all the fixins' on it. It was super delicious but because I was always the "clean your plate" child, it is so hard for me to put down my fork and either toss it or save it for another meal!  Any help with this? I'm going to try Bob Harper's Skinny Rules to see if this will help me be able to control my portions a little better...and live a healthier life.



Like I said in my earlier post, I weighed in. My goal was to lose 4 lbs by the 2 week mark and I lost 3.6; close but not cigar. Kind of disappointing. I must say though that I did not exercise much at all and still need much help with my portion control but I'll take the baby step.  So with my current weight of 157.4 my next goal weight will be by my 22nd birthday, next Tuesday, to have lost 2.4 lbs to make it to 155. This would be a total weight loss of 6 lbs in 3 weeks.

I have decided for my birthday that I will not be drinking (alcohol). It is something that I know deep down I will regret and is not worth it. Also, for the 4th, although it will be hard, I'm praying there are plenty of fruit and veggie trays to keep my mind off of the other festive dips and munchies. Holidays are so hard.

I found some flexible measuring tape so I decided to take some measurements. I wasn't really sure the correct measurements to make so this is my Measuring in Layman's Terms: Boobs (36"), Under boobs (32"), Waist (30"), Belt (35"), Hips/Pones (40"), Upper Arms/Mashed Potatoes (12"), Thigh (21")

I'll have to refer back to this when I measure myself again...exactly one month from now!

Last night I watched Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition. I used to love this show but haven't watched it in forever!! So inspiring! The woman on the episode last night was 30 years old and in 1 year went from 355 lbs to 148 lbs...that is 207 lbs in 365 days. HOLY COW!! During the show I decided to whip out my 8 pounder dumbbells and do a few reps. I felt like a lazy butt sitting on the couch watching someone work their ass of on tv so I figured I'd do my part to contribute.

Yesterday morning I decided to start something new: Couch 2 10k.  An iPhone app that trains you for a 10k race. Something I have always wanted to do. I've done many 5k's but no 10k's! I have tried this app before and have completed about half of it but have never finished. The first run is a warmup of 5 minutes and then alternating between 30 seconds of running and 4.5 minutes of walking for about 45 minutes. Now, this has always been one of the easier runs but at 9:30 AM in Texas heat...this is what I would imagine hell to feel like people. Completely drenched, nauseous, and awful! Who says they feel amazing after a workout...in 100 degree heat. No thanks. But I will keep it up, because it means a lot to me. 

Before I ran I found this website with so many good tips to running. Check it out! Find Your Motivation Chaffing is genetic in my family so I decided that wearing a good pair of spandex under my running shorts would be the best choice for me. It worked! I ran in my neighborhood, with lots of hills and I accidentally had the sound turned off for the app (that tells you when to walk and when to run) so I was walking for like 10 minutes to my music without hearing anything and thinking..hey this is pretty damn good. Oops! Have to turn on the sound Lauren! So I missed 2 runs but definitely made up for it on the run UP the last and WORST hill of the neighborhood. Ouch. I also ran an extra one at the end to my house.  On the run, I saw a 10 year old boy running on the opposite side of the street, little did he know, he was my inspiration. When I got home to stretch Jay baby wouldn't leave me alone. Poor baby needed some attention. So she lay at my head and pawed at my face.



 Today I will try running in the evening so hopefully it is not so miserable. If there is one thing I hate in this life it is the heat. I'm not one for summer...

Today I will be eating brown rice for dinner and will be starting to cook at home more. I should not be spending money that I don't have to eat out when I have rice and frozen chicken at home. Need to start eating more blackbeans, for the obvious of reasons; at least obvious to me. 

I really DO want to take picture but hate the "phone in the mirror" look and don't really feel comfortable asking my brother to take pictures...I don't know, we'll see!

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

One Fit Registered Nurse With Her License!

Well its official folks! I'm a BSN, RN (this is the correct way of order in case you were confused-your degree goes first, then your license, then your certification...Thanks Jed Nguyen). I took my boards last Wednesday, I didn't want anyone to know because I wanted to pass them for me and not for anyone else, or the stress of anyone else. I found out early Friday morning and just couldn't believe my eyes when I saw "pass" on my score. Ahhhh priority 1 complete. Now onto the job hunt. Any of you with contacts..send them my way ;)

I had a fabulous long weekend with Bricey with so many delicious foods. He really supports me and this whole health binge thing. Wednesday night we ordered out our favorite Chinese and I ordered the spicy hunan vegetables and a side of brown rice. Mmmm! For Thursday lunch, we had brown rice with baked chicken mixed in and for dinner we had grilled salmon, a 1/4 baked sweet potato, and pineapple.  We then took off for a date night at the drive-in. One of our favorite things to do 45 minutes north of the small town Bricey lives in. We watched the sunset which was absolutely beautiful before the movie started.  We saw Madagascar 3 and What to Expect When You're Expecting, both movies I've seen before. Totally recommend Madagascar 3 (again), without children this time, totally hilarious the 2nd time around when you can pay more attention to the movie and less attention to the amount of candy the kids have already inhaled.We munched on carrots and hummus, wasabi peas (YUM!) paired with water bottles.



 On Friday I found out I now obtain my Texas Registered Nursing license. So exciting..can't say it enough. No one understands how hard that test is unless you've been to nursing school. Bricey told me it was my night to celebrate so I could choose what we did for Friday date night. (side note: I've realized since we're doing this whole long distance thing that every night we're together is a date night). We called around and found a restaurant in OKC, Saii Asian Bistro, that serves brown rice sushi. SCORE! We headed out that way and found a farmer's market grocery store that we stopped at before dinner. Got Bricey excited about eating organic so we bought some rice chocolate milk, organic chocolate flavored and coffee flavored drinks, fruit twists, and brown rice chips. Once we got to the restaurant they had us seated immediately (thanks Bricey for the reservation ;)) We ordered edamame and 3 rolls (no tempura rolls of course) all substituted with brown rice instead of white. It is pretty awesome that this restaurant does ANY roll with brown rice.  The sushi was fabulous and I must say could not tell a difference between brown and white rice sushi. We headed back and passed out, so tired!



On Saturday, our lazy day, we slept in until 1:00, yes one o'clock peeee emmmmm. Did lots of chores around the house and just relaxed, I believe we ate chicken and rice again for lunch and for dinner Bricey and I made THE MOST AMAZING burger patties I have ever tasted in my life. With extra lean ground beef we made 4 thin patties added minced jalapeno (with the seeds taken out) and minced red onion) mixed inside the meat. Then we put a slice of pepper jack cheese in the middle and put another thin patty over  the cheese.  Grilled to perfection! Paired with sweet potato, baked beans, and pineapple! Fabulous dinner.



For dessert I decided to make something off of pinterest. I froze 3 bananas cut up into 1'' circles. A few hours later I blended the bananas in a blender (could use food processor) until creamy and served (mine plain, Bricey's with chocolate chips). He enjoyed, I wanted to barf bananas. It was good but for a regular at Braum's, I'd like to stick to my fro-yo



On Sunday, we got up and went to church. Something I always want to do on Sunday but for a late sleeper it is so hard! I really do love going to church (even in the crazy bible belt where most days they preach about who is going to heaven and who is going to hell). The topic today was depression. Interesting topic and I completely appreciate that they spoke on this because I don't think most churches would but there were a few things I disagreed with. All in all I'm glad we went. For lunch we made lettuce wraps. Southwest mustard, mesquite turkey, pepper jack cheese, tomato, and avocado! Totally filling.

We took a nap, or Bricey did at least, I pinterested. Long relaxing day and then for dinner I made BBQ baked chicken with  brussel sprouts and fruit salad. I adore brussel sprouts and this is a new addiction starting this past year. Today I bought 20 brussel sprouts (or 1 lb) and cut off the ends and then cut them in half long ways (down the white line). then just tossed them in a little olive oil and garlic salt until they were toasty brown on the bottom. So delicious. Paired it with fruit salad: strawberries, bananas, and pineapple! Both the strawberries and pineapple are AWESOME this season. Go getcha some!



I left town yesterday to come back to the city to babysit. I had Fuzzy's grilled veggie salad for lunch and cheerios for dinner. I was totally exhausted yesterday and took a nap for an hour in the morning and 4 hours when in the evening...may have to get that checked out sometime soon. Couldn't be good for me.

I had a bowl of cheerios this morning and a bowl of brown rice for lunch right now but I'm rushed to pick up the girls so I'll have to update tomorrow morning on everything else!

I weighed in and measured myself so the next post I'll let you know the results! Stay tuned ;)




Thursday, June 21, 2012

Phase 2

Alright folks! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'm BACK! One. Crazy. Week, Yall. Still haven't cheated, still on the health binge, still kickin'. I'm excited to weigh in on Monday because I think I've lost in my belly. I'm feeling confident and can't help but do a double take when I walk by a mirror :) I do wish I would have measured on day 1...maybe if I can get my hands on a tape measure I'll go ahead and do that.

Yesterday I surprised Bricey by coming to Duncan a day early and man did I get a reaction out of him.  I always give him a hard time because he has the worst of the worst reactions.  I parked my car down the street in the school parking lot and when he got off of work he called me. I muted the phone when he walked in the door so he didn't hear the door opening on the other end of the line and when he turned around...SUPRISE! IT'S ME! Deer in the headlights. Priceless. I told him I don't feel as safe when I'm with him because he should have freaked out a little more considering there was a body in the house that he wasn't expecting ;) So happy to be spending the rest of week/weekend with him.

Now, I won't go into meal detail for the last week because it was all pretty much the same thing with the oatmeal, rice, frozen yogurt, and healthy choices when I went out to eat.  I did however move to the next phase of the health binge yesterday because Tuesday was the last day of my 9 days (yay!)

This next phase is for 3 weeks! So I will be finished with this on July 11th, Bricey's birthday!. Remember...no alcohol allowed. This has not been an issue for me much but we did go out after the Rangers game (which was so fun) last Friday, I went to two bars and didn't have a DROP of alcohol! Yay for my 21 year old self :) One negative thing that I'm either 1. going to have to cheat or 2. really going to suffer is...My 22nd birthday is on July 3rd and I really would like to have my last 21st drink...stupid? Let me know!

                                                           Us at the Ranger game <3

For phase 2, continue with the vegetables. I've really been enjoying celery and hummus, carrots for my movie snack, and BEANS BEANS BEANS to keep me, well, regular. Now I'm going to list off a bunch of veggies and grains allowed but feel free to scroll on, this is just for reference: broccoli, collard greens, dark green leafy lettuce, kale, mesclun, romaine lettuce, spinach, watercress, acorn squash, butter squash, carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, black beans, black eyed peas, chickpeas, kidney beans, lentils, corn, green beans, lentils, corn, green peas, lima beans, artichokes, asparagus, bean sprouts, beets, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, eggplant, green beans, green/red peppers, mushrooms, okra, onions, parsnips, tomatoes, brown rice (2 cups of cooked rice every other day), avocado (1/2 per day maximum)

Now for meat. It is so hard for me to go without chicken...which is why I think I would have a hard time going vegetarian! Yesterday I enjoyed my FAVORITE salad from corner bakery, the chopped salad. It has chicken, avocado, and blue cheese with an AWESOME dressing. Yum!! Now the rule for meat is a serving size the size of a deck of playing cards, or for those of you who have a food scale (which I do not), 3-4 oz. Meat allowed includes: chicken (without the skin & not fried), turkey (baked without the skin), ground beef (extra lean or ground sirloin), sirloin steak (broiled), or lamb (broiled).

In this phase we can also add Seafood! My favorite food is sushi. I could eat it all day, everyday. However, remember...NO WHITE RICE! The only brown rice sushi I've ever found is sold at whole foods...let me know if you know of any other restaurant that serves brown rice sushi!! Seafood allowed includes: halibut, tuna, salmon <--YUMMY, snapper, and striped bass. For these fish, allow only a 3 oz. serving size, NOTHING FRIED. Also, shrimp (4 large), mussels (3 oz), Oysters (6-12), and clams (3)

Eggs! I said "NO" on Sunday to Father's Day brunch1  My mom made the family a sausage souffle casserole and I opted for fruit instead. I'm finally gathering the strength to deal with temptation in a healthy way :) For phase 2: 4 egg whites and 1 whole egg either scrambled, boiled, or poached is allowed. Yay!!

For milk & cheese: 2 & 1/2 cups of low-fat, skim, or soy milk. I'm not much of a milk drinker (only when I'm eating brownies, cookies, or cake which isn't an issue on this health binge.  Cheese (1 oz which is equivalent to 1.5 slices). And of course MY FAVORITE 6 oz low fat yogurt (2 times per day). Don't worry folks, I'm still getting my fill of Braum's...everyday which brings me to my next story.  Last Saturday, me and Bricey went to Six Flags with our friends and I was having a serious craving for my shake.  We tried to make it to Braum's after the Rangers game on Friday but with the traffic we couldn't make it. So we went well out of our way, finally found a Braum's in the middle of nowhere and ordered my shake...I wrote a "note" on my phone so I wouldn't forget the experience. Here's what it reads: "Braums just told me they don't have skim milk so I asked for 2%. They don't have 2% but 'their milk is already lowfat'. Then I get the shake and there is DEFINITELY chocolate syrup in there and they tell Bricey that they are out of chocolate frozen yogurt for his twist. So they totally made my medium chocolate shake made with chocolate frozen yogurt and skim milk no chocolate syrup please into a medium chocolate shake made with vanilla frozen yogurt and 'braums lowfat milk' with chocolate syrup. Oh and to top that off they gave me another flaccid straw. Braums you fail at life".  Needless to say, I was ticked..BUT I did drink it :-\ Lesson learned: stick to the large frozen yogurt twist in a cup.


Add cereal! Not gonna lie, the oatmeal is getting a little hard to eat. There were a few mornings that I just had a bowl of fruit because I didn't have the patience to force feed myself the oatmeal...I will be allowed 1 & 1/2 cups per day (cold) or 1/2 cup per day (hot). Cereal brands allowed include corn flakes, cheerios, oatmeal (blah), cream of wheat (ehh), total, bran flakes, life, rice crispies, puffed wheat, shredded wheat (YUM), wheaties, special K, and chex!

Now, 4 tsp of sugar or sugar substitute is allowed but I'm not a fan of adding sugar when something is naturally sweet...so I think that this add-in isn't that great

Spices and herbs: LOVE ME SOME SALT! 2 tsp allowed. Also, my mom heard recently (maybe on Dr. Oz?) that pepper helps burn belly fat and I really pour on the pepper. As much as you like :)

Flavorings: 2 tsp of fat free dressing, 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp of fat free mayo (!), and 2 pats of butter (2 tbsp). I definitely take advantage of that olive oil.  I like to grill veggies on the stove with olive oil and also olive oil+basalmic vinegar makes an great salad dressing

Drinks: at first I was excited about this but I decided to celebrate phase 2 yesterday with a DDP for dinner and I was a little disappointed with myself. Afterall, I suffered a caffeine headache for a week and finally got over it, PLUS my skin is LOVING the water :) However I am allowed 10 oz cup of coffee, 3 cups of tea, 5 cups of club soda, 2 cans of diet soda, 1 cup of freshly squeezed fruit juice, iced tea (no more than 2 packs of sugar substitute), flavored seltzer or tonic water (unlimited), and unlimited water! I am a big fan of perrier with lime. It is carbonated water with just enough flavor and so fab.With the drinks I think you are allowed 1 of these options, you can't have coffee, 3 cups of tea, AND 2 cans of soda silly!

I hate to be a debbie downer but here is the list of foods not allowed: white rice, white potatoes, bread/english muffins, white/whole wheat pasta, pastries/donuts/danish, cake, cookies, brownies, ice cream, potato chips/corn chips, tortilla chips, popcorn, chocolate, bacon, sausage, ALCOHOL, fried food, fast food, regular soda, sweetened juices (bottle or can), milkshakes, frappuccinos, cafe latte or cappuccino. 

Just a few tips. Don't eat the same fish or meats twice in the same day. Try to separate the meats by at least a meal. Try to leave some of the food on your plate when you get up from the table (this has always been an issue for me). Only snack on fruits and veggies after dinner. Remember, portion size, less is more!!

I promise to write more from now on...

Friday, June 15, 2012

Becoming a regular

Has a child ever asked you if you were pregnant? Well that just happened and it sucks as much as it sounds like it would...Thank God I started this health binge this week and that I know I'm on the road to a size 00 (don't do a double take you saw my double zeros correctly). Sorry I didn't blog  yesterday, I didn't cheat I promise but I was so pooped when I got to bed last night that I just crashed! So to Kellie Parnell who was waiting up until the wee hours of the night for my blog to post...I do sincerely apologize ;)

Yesterday was an alright of a day. I had my same ol' oatmeal for breakfast, ordered Zoe's Kitchen for lunch (my ALL time favorite). Last summer they had my ordered memorized and knew my face when I walk in the door and for a healthy restaurant..I was proud :) If you haven't tried it out, check you're local listings (I've always wanted to say that) and check it out!! For dinner I enjoyed a salad from Chipotle which I had no idea that they served brown rice but they do...may not be healthy though (read below)

 Today started out an already fabulous day because Bricey comes down for the weekend. Woke up and ate my oatmeal, studied a little, and headed out to get the girls. Decided I'd make it a fun day and took them to Chick-fil-A...my biggest fight for temptation for the day and huge accomplishment, and a movie.  For those who know me, know I could DRINK chick-fil-a sauce out of the container.  Each container is worth 150 calories and that right there could make you sick to your stomach. But. it. is. so. GOOD! So I decided to opt out by ordering nothing for me and 2 kids meals for the girls.  Also, this has never happened to me before but I believe it was God's way of seeing just how strong I'd be with this health binge but this lovely looking lady was handing out "free samples of our chocolate chip cookies" but they weren't samples they were the whole damn cookie. So the girls got one and I took one home for Bricey. Didn't. even. touch it! Thank you God I passed temptation for the day!!!!!!!

We then drove over to Walmart to grab a few things. I'm completely and utterly OBSESSED with chips and hummus. Would marry it if I could, and became fixed on chips that are only sold at walmart...because that was the only thing in my little small town where i went to school. So now back in the city I have to find a walmart to get these chips but they are FABULOUS!!! They are BROWN RICE chips and the brand is "Riceworks". They have seasalt flavor (the blue bag) which is my favorite and amazing with hummus, they also have sweet chili which I had to get today because it was the only flavor left. It wasn't as good with hummus but I've tried it before with salsa and it is pretty good. They are also gluten free so I know there is no wheat products in them. So good. Mmmm

My favorite hummus (besides the hummus from Zoe's Kitchen) is Sabra hummus-classic flavored. I could eat it with a spoon it is so good. So I got some of that and I also got a bag of carrots for my movie snack.  I let the girls pick out their movie candy and some water bottles and we headed out. I had to eat quickly in the car so we could make it to our next adventure but it was an okay lunch.

We headed to the movie, Madagascar 3, with the windows down and the music volume up. Now, if you ever want to be labeled as the coolest person ever in the eyes of a child, I recommend doing this. Very inexpensive and so fun.
They. loved. it. Finally got to the movie and ate my whole bag of carrots, don't judge. Also the movie was hysterical and not bad for a sequel!

When I got home from picking up the girls, Dr. Oz was on.  Some guy that was some author of some diet...sometimes I have trouble paying attention...was talking about the importance of certain foods. He said that fiber is important in your diet because it keeps you full and gives you that hour glass figure that is so gorgeous (not so gorgeous when your hips take over a little more than they should of the lower half but I digress).  It also helps keep your regular. Now, when I first heard the term "regular" when I was a tween..I thought it meant that foods like Activia, made you have your period. WRONG. The word regular, people, means you take nice long poop, yes I'm talking shapes here, everyday. Which brings me to my next topic. Any of you out there know about the BRAT diet? Bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. Well this is the diet for the patients who have diarrhea because it really firms you up...get it ;) So when I'm eating 3 of the 4 items you can only imagine the curse words my bowels would love to confront me with...if they could move. This is where the importance of black beans are involved. Oops! Forgot to be eating those...I did have some yesterday with my Chipotle salad though and my body thanked me. I've had lots of fiber today so during Dr. Oz I decided to celebrate in the bathroom. So sorry for all of you out there who are uncomfortable with talking about bowel movements but you signed up for it when you started reading a blog with the word "nurse" in it! It's natural...so punny!

Dr. Oz also talked about how brown rice and restaurants could be the unhealthiest choice because many restaurants use butter to cook their rice in. So from now on...always ask before you order and if they look at you like you're crazy...don't order it!

Tonight me and Bricey and a bunch of his college friends are catching up at the Rangers game! So fun, so hot, so Texas <3

More to come tomorrow!




Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Flaccid straws

"Before" pictures are coming soon, I just haven't had a second do take them. Been crazy busy seems like.  I'm ready for everything so slow down a bit so I can enjoy my summer...

I stole a few packets of regular oatmeal from Bricey's house and drove 3 hours back to the city! I ate a bowl of maple brown sugar oatmeal and a green apple for breakfast. I enjoyed an egg white scramble mixed with vegetables from a fabulous little hole in the wall restaurant with the kiddos today.  I had a red apple for a snack and ended the afternoon with a serious migraine but a little nap did the trick. 



Woke up to some crazy hail outside. The newscasters were saying baseball sized hail but the biggest piece I saw was between the size of a ping pong ball and a golf ball...



My older brother, Cameron, and I went to Fuzzy's tacos for din.  Ever been?  The first time I went I was on this health binge and so the only thing I could eat in the restaurant was the "grilled veggie salad" with the house dressing and each time I go back that is the only thing I get health binge or not because it is so yummy. I totally recommend it to all of you out there.

Packed up Jay in the car and had a "date" with Bricey...we both drove to Braum's at the same time, different city, just like old times and ordered our ice cream in the drive thru and waited for each other to get their ice cream (or fro-yo) and then cheers(ed) to each other...or the radio :) Its the little things in life! I thought Braum's gave out little doggy cups with vanilla ice cream but nope! Poor Jay was so darn freaked out by the whole thing she was turning in circles the whole time. Like I said, she gets a little freaked out by the out of norm things...and this trip was out of the norm. So they gave me a straw to go with my shake but failed to mention they were out of the normal pink braum's straws so they gave me a crappy flaccid (medical term for limp) straw that wouldn't allow me to suck the thick milkshake up into my mouth. So! I drove to the nearest McDonalds, walked in, grabbed a straw, and walked out. If you ever felt the need to get a weird look, I recommend doing that one day....



Speaking of braums, I know I mentioned my shake order yesterday but thought you should know a little history of my complicated orders.  Its the joke between my friends and I how complicated every one of my orders are.  I'm not the type of person that complains about service or food or anything of that nature but my orders always tend to be a little on the long side.  For example my hot starbucks order is "a grande nonfat extra hot caramel macchiato with only 1 pump of vanilla".  My cold starbucks order is "a grande nonfat iced caramel macchiato with light ice".  My braum's ice cream order is "large frozen yogurt twist in a cup". My braum's shake order is "a medium chocolate shake made with chocolate frozen yogurt and skim milk, no chocolate syrup please". You really have to emphasize the no chocolate syrup (right Holly Botts?!), otherwise it tastes like chocolate milk and by the time you finish your shake, you're doing donuts in the braum's parking lot...My precious boyfriend has all of these orders memorized, which makes him even more of a gem. Love love love.

Still think my body is experiencing withdrawal from no caffeine, after all, I was drinking like 2 cups of coffee and 2 DDPs a day...my poor body.  My plan tomorrow is to walk to hills in the morning and maybe even the lake...one of my favorite things to do here in the city, and the sunset is so pretty on the lake.  Totally looking forward to this weekend! Only 2 more days :)