Monday Voodoo

Something peculiar was going on today. Some sort of magical Monday voodoo. First of all, I woke up energized and happy. ON A MONDAY! It was mild out and raining instead of snowing and freezing. IN FEBRUARY! IN OHIO! Work was not a hectic, stressful or a panic fueled nightmare. DURING THE LAST WEEK OF THE MONTH!

I'm not sure what the hot heck is going on here but I'm just going to go with the flow. Shhhh. Pretend I never mentioned it. Don't want to ruin the good karma flow. Ohmmmmmmm........

BREAKFAST (meal #1) at 9:15am.

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup wheat bran
• 1 1/2 cups water
• cinnamon
• pumpkin pie spice
• pinch salt
• Splenda to taste
• 1 tbs flax
• 1 tbs sugar free peach preserves (Smucker's)
• 2 tbs PB2

My coworkers always drool over my oatmeal breakfasts. Calm down everyone! It's just a magnificent bowl of warm oats that took me 5 minutes to prep. Anyone can do this. All you have to do is put a bit more effort in. I quickly shimmied past the drooling onlookers, shut my door and hid in my office. This oatmeal is mine and you can't have it. MINE YOU HEAR?! I had my usual sexy food photo shoot behind closed doors and then slowly devoured every last bite.

RANDOM TOPIC TIME:

I'm having some closet woes. I'm well aware of the weight loss vs buying new clothes rules. I watch enough What Not To Wear to KNOW that I'm doing it wrong! Waiting until I reach my goal before purchasing new clothes is unnecessary torture. I KNOW that I should reward myself for what I've accomplished already. However, funds can't allow me to splurge on a new wardrobe every 2 months. DILEMMA! Here's what I'm currently struggling with.

• Most of my pants are either to big or still too small. (I never let go of my smaller sizes from when I first lost weight YEARS ago. I know. This is another NO NO!)
• I'm SWIMMING in all of my gym clothes.
• My boobs fall out of my LARGE bras every time I raise my arms. This also happened with a sports bra at the gym the other day. HA! NOT GOOD!
• I look sloppy most of the time because of this.
• Winter is almost over. I feel like waiting for Spring might be a good idea. Can I do it? Not sure at this point.
• My closet is a nightmare!! I've got sizes ranging from Small to X'large and I'm completely out of room! HELP!

Anyways, I just wanted to rant a bit. All done now. If you have suggestions PLEASE SHARE. Perhaps a raid of the local Thrift Stores is in order!

LUNCH (meal #2) at 12:15pm.

I had a nice salad today. I went a little wild in the produce department last Friday and my fridge is FULL of fresh veggies. MUST EAT THEM ALL before they go bad!

• Sweet butter lettuce
• Sugar snap peas
• Cherry tomatoes
• Orange bell pepper
• Black Bean Burger (from Morning Star Farm's)
• Drizzle of Spray Butter

We had the most exciting break away from the office today. WAIT FOR IT..... WAIT FOR IT..... I fueled up my car. Can you handle the excitement? Then we.....WAIT FOR IT..... WAIT FOR IT...... went to HomeGoods and roamed around aimlessly for about 30 minutes. We both left empty handed. WILD right?

SNACK (meal #3) at 4:00pm.

My beloved Oikos and I were reunited once again. I think we both realized that we can't go more than a few days without each other. Why fight it? We're meant to be together. I diced up a sweet Bartlett pear and topped it with cinnamon infused Oikos and a sprinkle of Back To Nature chocolate delight granola.


WORKOUT!

After work it was off to the gym for back, chest and cardio day. Not one of my favorites but I rocked it. The leg still feels funky so I struggled on the Elliptical a bit but worked through it. I kept the resistance down. I hope it gets back to normal by Saturday so I can do my complete lower body workout. I only half assed it last Saturday! :(

Lateral Pulldown with V-bar (cable)

70lb x 15

60lb x 15 (2 sets)

Seated Chest Press (cable)

75lb x 15 (2 sets)

60lb x 15

High Row (plate loaded)

90lb x 15 (3 sets)

Seated Chest Press (plate loaded)

60lb x 15 (2 sets)

50lb x 15

Low Row (plate loaded)

50lb x 15 (3 sets)

Advanced Chest Press (plate loaded)

30lb x 15 (3 sets)

Elliptical Cross Trainer, 2.6 miles, 30 min.

Interval Training, levels 6-8, 356 calories

SNACK (meal #4) at 7:15pm.

I made a delicious smoothie to refuel. It perked me right up. I was starving by the time I got home. Having another one of those BOTTOMLESS PIT DAYS today.

• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze
• 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
• 1/2 cup frozen banana
• 1/2 frozen mangoes
• 1/4 cup frozen pineapple
• 1/2 ice
• 1 cup Spinach

So SO good!

DINNER (meal #5) at 9:00pm.

I decided to make another veggie loaded dinner. Are you at all shocked? Oh I bet not!

Cauliflower mock mashed potatoes

• 1 head of cauliflower, boiled, drained and mashed
• 2 tbs fat free sour cream
• 1 tbs Spray Butter
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• S+P to taste
• 2 tbs Parmesan cheese
• 1 serving Feta (28g)

Once the cauliflower is nice and tender, drain it and toss the florets into a big bowl. Mash them until desired texture is reached. Some people like them chunky. Add the rest of the ingredients, stir and enjoy.


Sauteed sweet and sour vegetables

• 2 bunches of broccoli
• 1 zuchini, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 cup sugar snap peas
• 2 cups white mushrooms
• 2 tbs Thai sweet chili sauce
• 1 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tbs teriyaki sauce
• splash lime juice
• 1 tbs rice vinegar
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 packet Splenda

Toss all of these ingredients into a large, deep frying pan (or Wok) with a lid and cook until all the veggies are tender on medium heat. Takes about 10-15 minutes. Couldn't be simpler.


Flax and wheat bran crusted Mahi-Mahi

• 2 fillets of Mahi-Mahi (roughly 4oz per fillet)
• 1 egg white
• S+P to taste
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1/4 wheat bran
• 2 tbs flax

Pat the fillets dry. Make sure to remove as much moisture as possible. Whisk together the egg white, soy sauce and the salt & pepper in a shallow bowl. Blend the wheat bran and the flax together in a shallow bowl. Dip the fillets into the egg white mixture and then into the bran/flax mixture. Bake them in a preheated 400 degree oven for 13-15 minutes.


Diner was ridiculous! Seriously, seriously ridiculous!


Time to unwind with an episode of Dexter now. I didn't get to bond with him at all this weekend. I miss his blood lustful ways. Have a great night!

XOXOXOX
Ildie