I haven’t talked much about running lately.  Mainly because I haven’t been doing much of it!  I seem to go for these stretches of time when I just get burnt out.  This morning, I decided to hop on the treadmill and give it another whirl.  I wasn’t feeling very strong, so I opted to do 1:1 intervals to break in slowly. 

And before I knew it, I finished up a little over 2 miles!

The GYMBOSS was happy to be back in action!  I ended my workout with 10 minutes of weights – biceps, triceps, front lateral raises and shoulder presses.  I’m trying to be consistent with strength training at least twice a week!

After the workout, I whipped out the blender for a Green Monster breakfast …

In the mix …

• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 scoop Pea Protein Powder 
• 1/2 banana, frozen
• 8 strawberries, frozen
• 2 BIG handfuls fresh baby spinach

I forget how much I like these!!

Then, it was off to my niece, Nikki’s apartment for a Girls’ Lunch.  She kindly invited the Aunts and Grandmoms, along with her Mom and sister for a delicious healthy, homemade lunch.

We started with Spinach and Artichoke Dip, pita chips and almonds while we toured her apartment…

For our lunch, Nikki made White Chicken Enchiladas adapted from this recipe …

Served with mixed bean salad…

Yummy cornbread …

And a fresh citrus salad made by my SIL (her mom)…

I devoured everything on my plate!  It was all so good…

The gang…

Our get- togethers never seem complete without some kind of dessert!  Nikki knew this, of course, and made these beautious chocolate mousse cups …

And my SIL made an Apple Pecan Cake, too …

Decisions, decisions!  I actually felt very satisfied with my meal, so I just indulged in a small taste of cake …

Delicious and just enough to satisfy my curious taste buds.

Thanks to the hostess for a great lunch!

I’ll be back tomorrow for leftovers.

After such a lovely lunch, I wasn’t into making much fuss for dinner.  Pasta and salad is the best fuss-free option…

The husband and daughters wish EVERY night was fuss-free!   No such luck… it’s my job to torture them with “fancy” food. 

Have a great day, everyone!

What is your favorite fuss-free meal?

Hi guys!!  Thanks for your supportive comments on my last post.  I know many of you could relate to the holiday food struggle.  I was a little harder on myself than I have been in a while.  I have learned so much and moved forward in dealing with emotional eating in many ways that it was defeating to take such a big step backward. 

The difference this time is that I didn’t stay in that negative place for too long.  I have collected a strong arsenal of tools the past few months to help pull me back together and back on track of eating mindfully.  I’m using those tools and, in some areas, starting at the beginning to familiarize myself with the processes again.  I’m calling it a “reboot”!

Starting my day off with a good breakfast is the first step in a reboot!  Boy, for a few days there, cookies were becoming my breakfast of choice.   I’m happy to say that all cookies have left the building.  Sayonara! 

And eggs and veggies have reappeared …

Scrambled egg whites, baby spinach and sauteed mushrooms topped with lite mozzarella along with a slice of Ezekiel toast …

Breakfast of champs.

I wasn’t much in the mood for exercise today.  I normally take the weekend off from formal exercise, but decided I could use a dose of sweating.  I headed to the basement and did an easy 25 minutes on the elliptical with a few crunches thrown in at the end.  Workouts are often hard to start, but I’m always glad to get them done.  You never regret a workout!

After getting worked up at big daughter’s basketball game, I came home for lunch.  The fridge and pantry were in need of a restock, but I managed to put together a decent lunch.  Turkey, hummus and baby spinach on an Ezekiel sesame bun  …

Along with carrots and a beautiful red pear …

Reacquainting with my hunger cues has been really hard the past few days.  It’s amazing how quickly I got back into being snacky in the afternoon.  I have to constantly check in with myself to discern whether I’m experiencing true hunger or just having  food thoughts.  Today was one of those food thought days, so I worked myself out of those and focused on other tasks that needed to get done.

Before I knew it, it was time for dinner!  I’ve been feeling like I’m coming down with a cold or something for the past few days.  I keep downing Vitamin C tablets, B12 and doing the neti pot to try to outrun it.  A big bowl of soup couldn’t hurt either, right?

Chicken soup is supposed to be good for the soul, but I think  Lentil Pastina Soup is even better!  I made a big vat of it on New Years’ Day;  swapping out the pastina for a hearty whole wheat elbow pasta for this batch.  So hearty and nourishing!

Served with roasted sweet potatoes for a little extra Vitamin C and beta carotene …

Do your work Vitamins and give this cold the boot!

Have a great day, everyone!

What is your favorite remedy for warding off a cold?  I’m a big fan of the neti pot!  If I hit it at the right time, it often kicks my cold to the curb or at least, shortens the duration of it!

I am amazed at how quickly this holiday went by!  Both kids and the husband were home from Christmas until New Years, so we had lots of togetherness!  We all seem to still like each other after that, thankfully.

The holidays were pretty much a total fail in the eating department.  I had every good intention of enjoying myself, but with mindfulness and staying aware of my body cues to keep me from going hog wild.  Yeah, well….snort, snort. 

Instead, I lost ALL focus.  I’m not sure if it was the busyness of the season, the anxiety of getting it all in or just the party feeling.  Whatever it was,  it really threw me for a loop.  I pretty much went numb, had no awareness of what I was eating and stuffed myself silly.  I can’t tell you how many freakin’ cookies I ate, but it had to be a record number.  And with the family home and in vacation mode, we ate out quite a bit where my choices were less than stellar. 

I’ve thought about it a lot these past few days;  trying to figure out why I lost focus.  I realize the reason why is diligence.  It takes focus and diligence.  Just as with a diet plan, recovering from emotional eating, becoming a mindful eater and forming new habits all require diligence. 

The definition of diligence (according to dictionary.com) is a constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken; persistent exertion of body or mind.  Constant…earnest…persistent…effort.  These are all actions that were not a part of my days during the past couple of weeks. 

I felt a little disheartened that I let myself backslide.  Why is it so easy to do this???!!!  I know in my heart it will take a while for the old habits to be replaced by the new ones I am working on.  It made me think about how, many years ago in my 20’s, I used to be a smoker.  Shocking, but true!  I didn’t think of myself as a heavy smoker, rather more of a “social” smoker.  However, I did smoke close to a half pack of cigarettes a day for probably about ten years!

Before I got pregnant with big daughter, I quit cold turkey.  It was hard at first, but then I became pregnant and knew that smoking and drinking were out of the question.  It wasn’t good for my health or my growing baby.  I haven’t had a cigarette since that time (it’s been 16 years!), but I can remember for the LONGEST TIME, I yearned for a cigarette.  Like years!!  I used to like the tempting smell of cigarette smoke.  Then, all of a sudden one day, I thought it was the grossest thing ever.  I had no desire to smoke, hated everything about it and couldn’t imagine even trying it again. 

I understand now that my new behavior of not smoking finally replaced the old behavior of smoking.  I made a constant, earnest effort to not smoke.  Although quitting cold turkey made this effort seem like it happened overnight, the desire to smoke was still underlying for a good five years until the day came I thought it was gross. 

What my long, drawn-out story here reminded me is that reframing my brain and body the way I am working to do is going to take a while.  Diligence has to become part of my core being.  Every day, I need to be persistent and the change will come.  These setbacks are where a deeper learning happens and willingness to persevere become stronger …

(source)

It’s worth the effort.

Have a great day, everyone!