Gallon Water Challenge

Alright, week one is done!  How is everyone feeling?  I successfully walked a minimum of 3 miles everyday last week.  I have zero intention of dropping this habit because that is exactly what I intend to make it... HABIT!  Now I am sure that you must be questioning the impact on my weight.  I can truthfully say that I have no idea.  I am thankful for measurements because some number are a tiny bit smaller.

In the past few years I have come to have what I think is a pretty serious digestive issue.  To put it gently, I have a difficult time "getting rid" of my food intake.  I know, gross, but it is what can seriously attribute to weight loss.  You literally have to get rid of it, and I for some reason, am not.

I feel like I can confidently rule out that lack of movement is not the issue.  In my research that was a top recommendation.  Been there, done that, no change.  Now to try something different.  Since I have worked on adding movement, I need to better focus on another goal that should help in movement too.

Water is the biggest rage.  Everywhere you go, everyone you meet; WATER, WATER, WATER.  It is so fetch.

I am terrible about water.  I partially blame my profession.  Being an elementary school teacher is like being a hamster in a cage.  There is no leaving, and unless I run relentlessly on my wheel, all hell can break loose.  I get in the zone and before I know it, it is lunch time.  I have had no water or liquid intake since my one cup of morning coffee.  At least I do not have to worry about getting someone to cover me to run to the bathroom all day.  I have accidentally trained my body to survive long periods of time without water.  Bring on the zombie apocalypse, I am ready.

This year I am moving to teach fifth grade.  It means my daily schedule will change a little and I now will have more time to do things like use the bathroom.  To which I present to you...

The Gallon Water Challenge

Some doctors recommend that the amount of water you consume should equal to at least half of your body weight in ounces.  Granted, I do not weight anywhere close to 260 pounds, but there are a lot of people who swear by the water challenge.

Just drink one gallon a day.  Be sure to pace yourself, you should not be remembering your lack of water intake late at night, you are too late!  After a lot of research, I put some pace markers on my gallon to make it easier.  Plus I have my mini sidekicks today to help keep me focused!

Different people report different results which I find believable, we are all different!

Regardless, here is what I am hoping to gain from this challenge:

1. Less bloating - I am all bloat - yuck!

2. Better digestion - more weight loss!

3. More energy - will help with overworking and moving!

I challenge you to join me for a week.  Just one week.  If you can do it, push it to the full 30 days.  If you can, take before and after pictures, let me know if you see any changes.  Oh, and do not forget to keep moving!

Favorite Running App

In October, my school will be hosting a 5k.  Last year I kept saying how I wanted to run it but fell short.  Between injury and illness, I could not catch a break.  Never the less I still walked it and had a great time.  This time I set a smaller goal for the 5k, I want to at least run SOME of it.  I have my Weight Watcher's partner Robin vowing to join me in my walk/run attempt.  I am just crossing my fingers that her girls' soccer does not interfere with that since I believe they had a tournament last year.

To help me get ready for this I am using a couch to 5k running App on my iPhone.  I had a gift card and purchased the app, Zombies, Run!  I know, I know, you must be laughing.  But it is addicting.

I am a girl with the strangest interests, although I have found that they are not as rare interests as I had originally thought.  I love the fall because that is when the TV shows that I enjoy the most come back.  I am obsessed with FX's American Horror Story and, of course, AMC's The Walking Dead.  I first got into The Walking Dead when it was halfway through the second season.  It was the winter break and the perfect time the curl up in a blanket and binge watch the show.  I was hooked.  My mother thought that I was crazy, but, and this is a *spoiler alert* if you do not watch and want to... she was sitting in the room as I was finishing up the first half of season two, when Carol's daughter, Sophia, is missing.  She was in shock when Sophia came walking out the barn door.  My mom does not have a stomach for graphic or horror, as it gives her nightmares.  That being said, she got interested.  She tried to watch, but could not stomach the zombie head bashing.  She does ask what is going on, so I give her some credit.

There are two Zombies, Run! apps, and one is a 5k trainer.  I am currently using the 5k trainer, and the reason I love this app is because it is totally distracting.  If you haven't already guessed, you are in the zombie apocalypse.  There is a short first walk to get the story started.  You become a runner than they are training, and you can link in a playlist to come with you.  The story progresses and before you know it, your session is over.  I have done some days with a few friends and even though they laughed, they enjoyed it.  It is like living in a video game.  I am suspicious as to what is going on in the story which is what makes me come back to it again and again.  When I am done with the 5k app, I will move to the other which is similar but has many different seasons and opportunities.

I just registered for IC's CreepyCrawl 5k and you should register, too!  You can walk or run and it is a family event.  Costumes are encouraged!  I am currently researching my costume options that will allow me to actually run.  I asked my mom today if she could help make me a Belle costume.  I will keep my fingers crossed.  I hope that you will be there, too!

New Recipe!

How is the moving going?  I am lucky because I live by a big industrial park.  I know that that may sound strange, but the place is enormous.  They have a ton of nicely paved sidewalks as well as some trails entwined with some water.  It makes me sad how low the water level is, come on rain!  If I walk far enough, there is also a trail through some conservation land.  I have not been brave enough to peruse it myself, I watch way too many true crime shows and am freaked out.  Normal.

Not impressed.

Today was a tough day.  A slowpoke customer came in the store at 9:40 last night, so I was not able to leave until close to an hour later.  By the time I got home I was still wide awake.  I woke up this morning completely out of it.  I felt like my head was a balloon and the very end of the string was connected to my neck.  Quite the feeling.  The last thing I wanted to do was leave my house.  But I signed myself up for public accountability by writing this blog.  I pushed myself to get up and out for a walk and I only slightly regret it.  With the humidity I wound up feeling a lot worse.  I have spent the majority of the day on the couch.  Some Sleepytime Tea and an early bedtime are in my future.

Anyways, I have to admit that I used to despise eating chicken.  I find baked chicken to be so bland and boring.  That being said, I love to make my chicken better than baked.  Sunday I made some Chicken Cordon Bleu.  I love Swiss, heck, I LOVE CHEESE!  I played around and got this recipe, although I may have to tweak a few things.

Ingredients:

8 - chicken breast cutlets

8 - slices of Thin 'n Trim Virginia Baked Ham

8 - slices of Sargento Ultra Thin Swiss

1/2C - 4C Japanese Style Panko Seasoned Bread Crumbs

1/4C - grated Parmesan

3T - Egg Beaters

1/3C - Liquid All Whites

1T - water

salt

pepper

garlic powder

*4C makes a Gluten Free breadcrumb, and substituting that in will NOT change the Weight Watchers Points

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450.

2. Wash and dry the chicken; sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

3. Take one piece of ham, I like to pick it apart and place on the chicken.

4. Take one slice of cheese and cut in half, place each piece on top of the ham.

5. Roll and secure with tooth picks - be sure to warn your eaters!

6. Combine egg products and water to make an egg wash.

7. Dip rolled chicken in egg wash.

8. Roll in mixture of breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese.

9. Repeat for each piece and place on baking sheet prepared with cooking spray.  (I like to line with foil as well)

10. Cook for 25-30 minutes, make sure that the chicken is cooked thoroughly and no longer pink!

Each piece is only 4 Plus Points.  You can eat just one, or easily get away with two at 8 Plus Points I had mine with 1/4 cup of quinoa and fresh cucumbers.  I LOVE this time of year.  All the orchards are loaded with locally grown produce, nothing beats it.  I need to sneak over to my mom's and let her give me some of her own!

I had A LOT of egg wash left over, oops! The meal itself was delicious and has been a great leftover to takeout of the fridge.

I will give you guys a break for tomorrow.  I am hoping to properly sleep off whatever strangeness I am feeling.  Tomorrow's tentative plan is an early 3 miler and a hot yoga sesh with my bestie Margaret in the evening.  This time I will remember to have a good snack before going!

Goal Setting and Weekly Challenge

I think that before starting a goal, it is important to know where you are starting from.  Here is where I am currently.  I want to start with three things that I love about myself.

The starting point.

1.  I have a killer smile.
2.  My skin is pretty awesome and low maintenance.
3.  I love to laugh at just about anything.

Positive, positive, positive.  But trust me, it is hard.  This picture is from the beginning of the month at my dear friends' wedding.  I had a blast from beginning to end and only cried a little because love is beautiful.  Weddings are awesome.  This picture is beautiful and I look beautiful, but, truth be told, I also think I look awful.

Next is where I want to be and how I want to improve myself.  Notice my word choice in that sentence.  IMPROVE myself.  I do not want to change myself, I am already awesome.  But like a fine wine, I certainly can get better with time.  Here is where I want to be and three things I want to improve upon.

Senior year of college me.

1. Drink more water.
2. Move everyday.
3. Incorporate more veggies in my diet.

These goals are attainable and reachable.  I would love to set a weight goal, but I think that can be silly and detrimental.  Obsessing over a number is not going to make me happy.  Do not get me wrong, I love watching that number fall, but that is all it is, a number.  The number I want to attain is fitting back into my size 4/6 jeans.

Numbers and looks can be deceiving.  Look at the picture of where I want to get back to.  There is plenty that is unseen.  You probably cannot see the hives all over my legs from stress, those shoes did not fit by the end of the night due to the swelling.  My slightly orange legs and Jersey Shore hair were the tell-tale signs of my hott mess express days.  But still at "my number."  I was not healthy at all.  Keep in mind I do not regret a thing, I think some people need to have a crazy period in their life to figure things out.

In my first picture I love what I see from the neck up.  But in my second picture, I like what I see from the neck down.  I am in an awesome place right now and it is time to let that be seen on the outside.

This morning I did weigh myself.  Turns out I gained .2 from last Monday.  I am not too distressed because of some other factors.  I can chalk it up to not drinking enough water.  Besides, today is the new day one!  With that being said I also took my measurements!  This will be more beneficial to getting into those jeans.  Take measurements of each upper arm, thigh, waist, hips, and your chest.  Remember that a pound of muscle and a pound of fat weigh the same amount.  A pound is a pound no matter which way you cut it, HOWEVER, muscle is LEANER and takes up less space!  Do not be tricked by that number!  I am sticking to weighing in on Monday mornings ONLY.  Your weight fluctuates throughout the day and the week quite naturally... get those measurements!

CHALLENGE TIME

Every Monday I will start a new weekly challenge.  Feel free to join me!

This week's challenge involves adding in the movement goal.  Let's be real for a minute, exercising is the WORST.  I have a full blown internal argument with myself everyday.  No more excuses!  This week we will start small.  Celebrity trainer Kit Rich uses the mantra of 3 Miles OR 30 Minutes EVERYDAY.  Extra snaps if you can do both at the same time #fitgoals.  It is totally manageable and not extreme, which is right up my alley.  No need to get crazy, just get better!

I am an avid Fitbit user, add me!  I am going to get up (gulp) EARLY for the rest of this week and knock out my three miles.  Throughout the course of the day I will definitely get more, but it is a great benchmark to start from.  More movement in Weight Watchers means more activity points, and more activity points means more YUM!

If I can keep this up for the week, I can better celebrate Jessica's birthday (that is her in the college picture!).  The plan is to enjoy both wine and cake.

Check in with me throughout the week and tell me how you got your movement in.  I will be walking all week long.  Tomorrow will come with my first recipe, somewhat healthy chicken cordon bleu!

Get moving!

New Blog, New Me

Welcome!

When I started writing, I began a teacher blog.  I feel that I am pretty creative and that I have a lot to share.  But in February, everything changed.  I entered a Biggest Loser competition and started blogging about what I was eating.  It turned out that more people were interested in my changing lifestyle as opposed to my teaching.  #teacherproblems

I fell off the wagon and now I am back in action!  I have created this brand new blog to help me, and who knows, maybe even help a reader or two.  I found that as people started liking my healthy food options, I was more committed.  One flop of an idea and I stopped writing and started putting weight back on.  I made one new post and felt like I had come back to life!

My goals of this blog are to start cooking and sharing new recipes, made by me!  I also plan to share my exercise practices.  Please remember that I have no training and am certainly not a doctor.  I am just trying to find out what works best for me.  I also have my workout buddy, Nugget, but you can join me too!

I am currently back on Weight Watchers and plan to work this into my daily lifestyle.  It is time to get back on track with loving myself inside and out.  And while I have been on WW since the beginning on August, I am going to consider tomorrow, August 24th, 2015 to be day one.  So follow me!  I am sure hilarity will ensue.

Tomorrow will bring a new post and a weekly challenge.  Please be sure to subscribe at the top of this page and share, this is bound to be something you will not want to miss!

Last but not least, this is a JUDGE FREE ZONE.  Positive vibes only!

Stay classy, fit friends, I'm Gayle Farrington?