...And the Results are in!

So after more then 2 weeks of waiting I finally got the results from the MRI I had done on my knee. So good news is that I do not have a torn meniscus but bad news is I have a non-displaced fracture. Where you might ask is this fracture... not entirely sure. I got the results while driving in Vermont last weekend with my old college roommate, Molly, and the PA who called was not very specific in this description. Today I had a CT scan done to see... not entirely sure but I think they told me its to be able to see a better picture of the bones since it is a fracture. I love how after a several weeks of waiting to see what is wrong with my knee I still don't know. It has been almost a month and a half since I was first hurt and none of the results I have gotten back are conclusive in the least. I am hopeful that after it taking almost 2 weeks just to get the MRI results that they are a bit quicker to get back to me with these results. I am tired of being scared that I am going to hurt my knee more if I work out too hard or push it before it is fully healed and make things worse. I don't want this to be a set back that keeps going on forever and ever. 

Lots of challenges ahead but I promise to be positive and look to the finish line as a checkpoint in my journey but never the less to enjoy the journey all the same.

Ps. New goal to be added to my journey:
Train & Run in a 5K, 1/2 Marathon and Full Marathon one of which must be in San Francisco so that I can hang with Molly!!!

Health Check

With this being my first post since I have been back from Memphis and my most recent injury I wanted to give an update about what I have been able to do since then but more importantly what I have been eating since the working out has been extremely limited. Since being home I have seen an orthopedic surgeon to look at my knee and tomorrow I go for an MRI to see what internal damage there may be since he seems to believe that I have a torn meniscus and if that is the case I will be having surgery ASAP. Since I am still is some pain from whatever is wrong with my knee I have not been doing any cardio other than walking since this has happened. Luckily enough walking on crutches did help raise my heart rate some when I was using them. I have been off of crutches for about a week but still don't trust my knee to not buckle to walk on a treadmill or ride a bike. What I have been doing is still seeing my trainer once a week to at least get some abs, back and arms worked out. It still keeps me accountable to make sure that I am still going in and still have someone to report to essentially. I never thought I would miss going to the gym when I couldn't go anymore.
My diet has been more important then ever since this has happened and to be honest I haven't always eaten the best since I have been injured. But that has changed over the last week. I put together meals for the week and I'm not eating the crap that they call food at the cafeteria at work. Granted the food isn't all that bad but it most defiantly is not the best but more than anything its expensive and by brown bagging this last week i've saved so much money I can't even fathom it! 
While writing this post what I realized more than anything is that I don't necessarily have a problem choosing healthy options I just have a problem with portion control. I tend to eat way more then I need to and it clearly shows. 

Memphis in May

My trip to Memphis started as optimistic as one could be. I'm going to excercise daily before going to the competition grounds keep doing my smoothies and eat relatively healthy when most of the food is anything but that. First couple of days were great the weather could have been better but other than that I would say that I was doing just fine. On Friday however things took a turn for the worse, being the clumsy person that I am I twisted my right ankle while stepping half on the grass half on the sidewalk while heading to my teams booth and when I tried to catch myself before falling I popped my knee and am in an extreme amount of pain. So much so that I took a trip to the urgent care center for X-rays. Good news is nothing is broken but I'm on crutches for the foreseeable future and need to keep icing it. 
Other than this unfortunate incident on my art my time in Memphis and later in Nashville was fairly enjoyable.

My BBW team Too Sauced to Pork did very well with 2 calls to the stage meaning 2 top 10 finishes. And what was even better was a 1st place finish for our Vinegar Sauce!!!!! Our other call was for 6th place in Ribs which for the Super Bowl of Swine where we are competing against the best of the best we couldn't be more happy to finish where we did!!

Here's some evidence of our awesomeness!!

Not only did we get a trophy and bragging right but also a giant check!!!

Too Sauced to Pork showing pride while accepting our award!

Vinegar Sauce concoctors!! Frank and Dave from New Hampshire

We also love sharing the experience with so many people from around the world, Check out this link!

http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/story/25532504/bbq-fest-welcomes-teams-from-across-the-world#.U3e2GYBYye8.facebook

Peach Mango Smoothie

I find that changing up a smoothie helps the same way that changing up what workouts you are doing. It makes life more interesting and helps to make it something new that you want to try. I started with going to the frozen fruit section of my supermarket for inspiration. I found peaches and mango and knew I already had strawberries at home. Then I looked into add some other ingredients to make it more interesting. I decided to add some ginger root to my smoothie. While ginger isn't commonly used for weight loss it does have use in other cultures to help with the common cold. I figure that if it can help fight a cold it may be able to help prevent one too and have been sick several times this past winter. Plus it tastes great in this smoothie!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Tropicana Farmstand Peach Mango Juice

1/4-1/2 cup Milk (use whatever you have around; regular, soy, almond, etc) 

Handful of frozen Peaches

Handful of frozen Mango

1/2 Handful of frozen Strawberries

1/2 inch of peeled and finely grated ginger root (I use a microplane)

Large Handful Spinach

1/2-3/4 scoop unflavored Whey Protein Powder

Layer in Blender and blend on high until smooth. Start with 1/4 of milk and add more if needed to help blend the ingredients.

***Notice that I don't use any ice in my smoothies. If you use frozen fruit in your smoothies you won't need to use ice and on top of that they won't be watered down. And Bonus frozen fruit is less expensive then fresh fruit!! If you have a good farmers market near you go there to get good seasonal fruit and you can always freeze them yourself for an even better deal.




To freeze your own fruit, follow this process:

1. Find the freshest fruit that you can. Don't use fruit that is over or under ripe because once you freeze it, the quality will remain at that state. 
2. Wash, skin and trim the fruit depending on what it is. For berries with leaves, wash and trim the leaves off. Make sure to dry the fruit thoroughly before freezing other wise you will have a lot of ice crystals which you don't want. Anything like melon or stone fruit (peaches, nectarines, etc) cut to the size you want before freezing. 
3. When ready to freeze place on a cookie sheet and place in freezer overnight. When completely frozen, remove from pan in store in ziplock bags. Stores well for 6 months.

Making the Time

I have never realized how many things I have going on in my life until this week. Starting to add these workouts into my days are not necessarily making things more difficult but making them slightly more challenging to get stuff done in. Always worrying if I have enough time to get to the gym, get all my errands done, get my lunch made for work and be showered and ready for work without losing my mind in the process. 
I wish I had a solution for adding hours to the day but I can't. I can only make the most of the time that there is in a day.

I am working to still make this new life style be a part of my life and not the thing that keeps me from having a life. But I will not alter my mission. I thought about changing it but in reality changing my mission isn't going to help me at all. I need to keep being encouraged to keep going to keep working towards my goals. Please comment your encouragements to me and I will be sure to keep telling you of my journey and the struggles I may encounter along the way.

Recipe Watch

I found this recipe while being inspired from a new Instagram member. I love researching and finding new and healthy protein packed deliciousness! I know that this may seem to have a lot of fish. If the portion is too much and I think for me it would be you can also just top a piece of salmon with the filling and bake for a little less of the time. 

Stuffed to the Gills | Salmon Stuffed with Spinach, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, and Feta

Serves 2-3 generously. If feeding a larger group, increase the size of the salmon fillets and double or triple the filling ingredients. Also be prepared to adjust the baking time. Make sure that your fillets are very similar in size and have a relatively even thickness throughout. If the fillets are thick in the centre and thin at the ends, you will end up with cooked ends and an uncooked centre, or a cooked centre and overcooked ends, which would be a real shame. 

2 fresh salmon fillets (skinless), about 1/2 pound each and 1 inch thick

1 TBSP. olive oil

2 heaping cups of fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped

1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil (drained and roughly chopped)

1/3 cup + 2 TBSP. crumbled feta cheese

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 lemon, halved

Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray a shallow casserole dish or baking sheet with non-stick spray. Lay one of the fillets down in the baking dish. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-heat and saute the spinach until just wilted, about 1 minute. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and the garlic, and stir for another minute. Remove from heat and stir in 1/3 cup of feta cheese.

Spread the mixture evenly on top of the fillet. Squeeze half of the lemon over top of the filling. Lay the second fillet over top of the first, lining it up as evenly as possible. Squeeze the other half of the lemon over top, and then liberally sprinkle with salt, pepper, and the remaining feta cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the salmon is just cooked through. Please note that the baking time will vary greatly depending on the size and thickness of your salmon fillets, so adjust accordingly. I suggest keeping a close eye on it after the first 20 minutes.

This recipe would be perfect for a lunch or dinner. For a simple lunch pair with a greens salad and a small piece but for dinner kick up the flavor a bit some citrus and herb orzo salad and of course some nice steamed broccoli.

Recipe and Pictures courtesy of onceuponarecipeblog.com 

Power Up Pre-Workout Breakfast Sandwich

I never realized how much a good meal can help make sure you are ready for a workout no matter how hard. Day 1 of this challenge I ate some cereal and a banana and I almost passed out twice and after that I have been making sure that I have a good meal and for my case a good breakfast since I have been going to the gym in the morning. Many people think that working out without eating first will help them burn more calories or build more muscles but the truth is not eating first can make working out harder to do and can essentially be unsafe if you do not have food in your system before hand. 

Don't I look Delicious!!!

This is what I like in the morning before a workout something with a little bit of carbs, a lot of protein and some good vitamins from some veggies. Here is my Power Up Breakfast Sandwich.

Ingredients:

• 1 Bagel, Bread, Sandwich Thin, Roll (Whatever you have on hand or whatever you like)
• 2 Organic Cage Free Eggs, whisked
• 1/2 Smithfield Ham Steak or thick sliced deli ham
• 1 Large Handful Spinach
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tomato slice (For this I get the largest tomatoes I can find so one slice will fit on the bagel or whatever bread product you are using. If you can only find small tomatoes use a couple of slices to cover the bread.)
• Cooking Spay if not using a non-stick pan

Spray pan and heat over medium high heat. Cook eggs like you would an omelet not moving then except only slightly around the edges to allow the raw egg from the top get into the pan to cook. 

When eggs are almost cooked spread spinach and then the cheese and allow to melt slightly before folding in half. Allow the spinach to wilt before removing from the pan. Place ham in the pan to heat through, about 2 minutes on each side. Toast your bread product if desired.

When assembling the sandwich, cut the egg in half first and then assemble in the following order.

• Bread Top
• 1/2 the Egg
• Ham
• 1/2 the Egg
• Tomato
• Bread Bottom

I like my eggs a little more on the well done side of things. (Eww slimmy eggs) But you should cook the eggs to your desired amount of doneness.

Time to Set Some Goals...

One thing that is making this journey a little easier to travel through is the fact that I have some goals in mind for what I want to do and how I want to feel at the end of it. For the immediate I want to lose weight, eat better and gain some energy. While these goals are great ones to have, they are vague. One thing I have found is that my goals need to be concrete. I have to have a timeframe, a number or a size to shoot for. Now timeframe in this instance is my best friend Makayla's wedding on October 11th. I have about 6 months to lose about 30 pounds. I think this is a great and realistic goal which is always a good thing. I'm not a contestant on "The Biggest Loser" who doesn't have a job to do everyday except to workout and eat right and do what the producers tell me to do. I have a job, friends, commitments, family to juggle as well as a trip or three planned as well as working out and eating right. 
Now that I have chosen to make my health a priority finally, I don't want to screw it up so goals are going to be a sure fire way to make sure that I stay on track and keep my eyes on the prize.

My Overall Goal is to be a healthy weight for my size, be happy and finally feel like the thin girl I have always wanted to be.

My first checkpoint to get there is to complete this 100 day workout challenge I have decided on and to measure my success initially on how I feel and not necessarily how I look or what the number on the scale says. Now of course those are important things too, like finally breaking free of the "300 club" or going down a size or two when I go shopping. A big part of this goal is also to be taken off all of the meds I am currently on. 

My next checkpoint is to make sure that when we take pictures at Makayla's wedding in October they are finally pictures that I am proud of display on my desk at work. I want to look at the picture as see all the hard work I have put into getting to that point and be happy that day for all the right reasons and not be self conscience that I am still the "BIG" girl in the bridal party. Now granted I will most likely still be the biggest size dress in those wedding pictured but that won't matter because I will have still dropped a couple of sizes from when the dress was first tried on and I can take it to the Bridal Shop and prove that snotty dress consultant wrong. (I would like to take this opportunity to point out that I have the most amazing friends [aka Makayla] who if I hadn't stopped her would have gone up to said dress consultant and would have either punched her or at least verbally bitch slapped her. You are the best friend a girl could ever have)

After that my next checkpoint is that I will once again fit into the racing suit that I wore when I swam in high school over 7 years ago. Or for that matter, feel comfortable in my own skin.

After that checkpoint I don't have anything else in mind at this point but I'm sure I will come up with something crazy to make sure that I keep working towards a goal and better life.

Workout Update

Day 5/100 Completed... 
As you know I also got a trainer so day one was my evaluation day, and oh boy was it bad. I was completely out of breath the whole time, every muscle in my legs were burning in the first 10 minutes oh and I got dizzy twice. But no matter what I powered through and I didn't quit so what if I had to stop for a little bit. I didn't QUIT!
Day 2 I took it a little slower since I was extremely sore after that first workout. So 30 minutes on the bike it was. 
Day 3 I did not go to the gym but I did dance when I got home from work. Some zumba, some hip hop, just moved.
Now Day 4 is where things got tough... and hour long cycling class. What the hell was I thinking! But again I powered through. I may not have done all the jumping and running and whatever else they call it but I biked over 20 miles and pushed myself do do something I haven't ever done before. I couldn't be more proud and thankful for Ray for inviting me to go. I think its going to be a regular Saturday morning thing.
Ray probably gave me the most encouragement.

"Just keep pedaling, go at your own pace and don't look around and see what everyone else is doing. Do you and after a couple of classes you will be able to do must of this stuff too."

Being that day 5 is a day off from work and a Sunday I wanted to make it a light day when it comes to working out but none the less I was up early this morning and out walking 2 miles with some amazing people. I am so blessed to have this kind of support system and I really just hope that it continues and that I also learn when to accept the help from others and know that I don't need to do everything on my own. I have people in my life that want nothing more then for me to succeed and I know that not everyone has that type of support. I would hope that eventually everyone has someone they can lean on in a time of self discovery.

Post Workout Smoothie

This is my go-to after workout smoothie this week. I got a little of the inspiration for it from my favorite coffee chain, hence the cup but as a former barista from this coffee chain I had an idea for a smoothie with a little more real fruit and some protein powder to help recover after the workouts that I know in the future will become increasingly hard.  

What you will need: 

Equipment:

Saucepan, blender

Ingredients for Smoothie Base:

1 bag frozen strawberries

⅔ bottle Tropicana Farmstand juice blend peach mango flavor

In a saucepan over medium high heat bring all ingredients to a boil and allow liquid to reduce by ¼. Let cool slightly before blending until smooth. Store in airtight or beverage container until ready to make smoothie. This is the flavor combo I am doing this week but whatever is your favorite fruit will work too. For this I use the frozen over fresh fruit because it all gets blended up so do you really need to spend a ton of money on fresh fruit when it's getting ground up basically, I think not. 

After you work combine the following ingredients in blender and blend on high until smooth. 

1 c frozen strawberries

1 banana minus a bite (I'm usually so hungry after a workout I can't wait for the smoothie)

3/4 c Smoothie Base

1/4- 1/2c Milk (your favorite flavor i.e. Regular, soy, almond) 
1/2 scoop 100% whey protein powder unflavored (This can be kinda hard to find. I got mine at GNC. I don't like the fake taste of flavored protein powders but you can always use a flavored one if you like it.)

1 handful of spinach

Layer the ingredients in this order for best results.