A Little Wild!!

Hello lovelies. Happy Saturday.

Today has been such a fun day! GLORIOUS! I woke up at 8:00 and stumbled around the house in a hazy fog. The smell of my chocolate chip cookie flavored espresso slapped me right out of it though. I managed to scrape enough grounds out of the bag for one last cup and now it's all gone. NOOOO! I must find it again! I came across it while digging around at HomeGoods. I've never seen the brand anywhere else. Sigh!


I woke up hungry and remedied the situation with a tasty oatmeal concoction.

BREAKFAST (meal #1) at 8:30.

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 wheat bran
• 1 tbs flax
• 1 tbs unsweetened dark cocoa
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Splenda to taste
• 1/2 frozen blueberries

I frolicked and lollygagged in my BlogLand while enjoying my steamy bowl and then it was off to the gym. I had an amazing workout today!

Treadmill warmup
6 min., 3.0 speed and 2.0 incline
Leg Extension
90lb x 15 (3 sets)
Outer Thigh Machine
75lb x 15 (3 sets)
Inner Thigh Machine
65lb x 15 (3 sets)
Seated Leg Curl
90lb x 15 (2 sets)
80lb x 15
Hack Squat
50lb x 15 (3 sets)
Reclined Leg Press
180lb x 15 (3 sets)
Stiff Legged Deadlift
45lb x 15 (3 sets)
Elliptical Cross Trainer
30 minutes, 2.61 miles, 366 calories burned

I did two ten minute sessions of the following...

min. 1 (level 5)
min. 2 (level 6)
min. 3 (level 7)
min. 4 (level 8)
min. 5 (level 9)
min. 6 (level 10)
min. 7 (level 11)
min. 8 (level 12)
min. 9 (level 13)
min. 10 (level 14)

And then I did level 8 for the last 10 minutes. WHOOPED MY BUTT!!! ;)

When I came home refueled with pure liquid protein perfection.

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

• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze
• 1 scoop chocolate whey protein
• 1 tbs sugar free chocolate Torani syrup
• 1/2 cup ice cubes
• 1/2 cup frozen bananas and pineapple mix

What does this combo equal? DELICIOUSNESS! YEAH!

After my smoothie I changed and then proceeded to spend my kidneys at the grocery store down the street. BLEK!

I came home, restocked my fridge, cabinets and pantry and fixed myself a quick lunch. I basically loaded a plate with all the flavors I was craving. Sweet, savory and tart/sour.

LUNCH (meal #3) at 3:30pm.

I toasted an English muffin and smeared pumpkin butter on one half and superfruit jam on the other. SO GOOD! I was also craving eggs so I made a scramble with 4 egg whites, chopped spinach, pink salt, red pepper flakes, black pepper and drizzle of Sriracha. For dessert I sliced up a gigantic navel orange.


The rest of the afternoon got a LITTLE WILD. I'll just apologize ahead of time for what happens next. It went a little something like this.

Me: Hey Nick, let's drink.... It's the weekend, let's enjoy it.
Nick: Okay....
Me: Want to do a shot?
Nick: Sure, (we pour two shots of Sailor Jerry's rum and down them..YUK!)...
Me: Wine sounds good... ( I crack open a bottle Riesling and start sipping it...)

Nick: Ohhh, I have some Red Stripe in the fridge! (he dives right in...)
Me: Let's watch Dexter, cuddle, snack (I made a bowl of pretzels and hot wasabi peas) and hang out in our pajamas all afternoon while enjoying our cocktails of choice.

Nick: Sounds good. Want another shot of rum?
Me: Why yes polite Sir., thanks for asking. (OH MY!!!)

So uhm yeah, THAT'S how our ENTIRE afternoon was spent (starting at like 5:00). And you know what? I HAD THE BEST TIME EVER! ;) We chased each other around the house. Had tickle sessions. WRASTLING sessions. A push up contest, WHICH I LOST! Declarations of love for each other followed by massive amounts of SASS talk and threats of unnecessary bodily harm (in a comical way). I love my crazy man!

In the midst of all of this insanity, we somehow managed to finish season two of Dexter. LOVED IT! Seriously. If you're not familiar with the show, GET HIP! It's simply amazing, brilliantly written and perfectly casted. I'M IN LOVE WITH A SERIAL KILLER! Well wait, let me clarify. I am in love with my adorable Nick AND a made up fictional serial killer character on the best damn TV show ever! Except for House MD. of course! Nick doesn't mind. He understands my "television needs" and desires. :)

DINNER (meal #5) at 9:30.

The only thing that sounded good tonight was something that required NO COOKING or preparation of any kind. What does this mean? LEFTOVER CHILI FROM THE FREEZER OF COURSE! I'm so glad I made extra the other day. I had no desires at all for cooking tonight. I'm too consumed with cuddling, silliness, lovey dovey talk, wine, Dexter and lazyness. I guess you can say I'm taking the night off from the usual.

HA! (wine's a talking)..... Loving this weekend!!!!). I topped my bowl with shredded fat free cheddar cheese and fat free sour cream.


SO TASTY!!!!! AHHH!

GOODNIGHT EVERYONE! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!!!
XOXOXO

Ildie

Suburban Gangsta!

It's Friday and I couldn't be more exited. It's been a long and difficult week and I'm super glad that it's over!

Today was such a good day. The sun was frolicking in a brilliant blue sky and shining brightly with all it's magnificence. My beloved, glowing, fiery star, you warm my soul. I've missed you so!! NEVER LEAVE ME AGAIN!

Drum roll please..... I lost another 1.4 pounds. To be honest with you, I was shocked. After the Triple Birthday Party Beer Fest last Friday and my Sushi Filled Saturday, I was expecting no loss. I'm so, SO happy with my accomplishments up to this point. This puts my total weight loss at 43.5 pounds. When I first started eating right and working out, I found it HARD not to obsess with the task and goals ahead of me. They just seemed so FAR away and unobtainable. I wanted to lose 75-80 pounds total and I'm more than halfway there already. I'm enjoying this journey very much and I'm glad to be sharing it with all of you wonderful people. LOVE YOU!

Now let's talk about breakfast so I can distract you with YUMMY pictures before I update you on the rest of my goals. Gotta keep you WANTING MORE!

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

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 wheat bran
• 1 1/2 cups water
• dash cinnamon
• dash pumpkin pie spice
• dash sea salt
• Splenda to taste
• 1 tbs flax
• 1 tbs sugar free cherry preserves (Smucker's)
• 1 tbs Naturally Nutty Chocolate Cherry peanut butter

I wanted to give this brand of peanut butter a solid review because I think it's just perfect.


Thick yet creamy, not too sweet, great texture, fabulous flavor and great consistency. I just love everything about it. I've already tried and rated their vanilla coconut peanut butter and I must say that both are delicious! I can't wait to try the vanilla almond butter. The chocolate cherry variety gets a brilliant 10 out of 10. I LOVE it!

Okay, now for the update on how my goals are going. Weeeeeeeeeeeell, not all of them are going great.

• Water consumption - I've been doing "okay" on this. I've not reached my gallon goal at all this week. It's been closer to 100oz a day. Still great!
• 2 green teas a day - Doing okay on this one. I think I skipped one day completely and had two days where I only drank 1. No big deal.
• 1 coffee only a day - TACKLED!
• Doing more ab workouts - complete FAIL. I hope to step this up next week. Gotta work on my human fanny pack. MUST get rid of it. ;)
• New recipes - Again, a complete FAIL. I've been sticking to the "safe" recipes and eats this week. I hope to try something new next week. Or maybe tonight!
• No carbs for dinner 3x a week - TACKLED! Yeah!
• Protein smoothies 5x-6x a week - TACKLED!
• Two 1 hour sessions and three 30 min. sessions of cardio a week - I only did so-so on this one. On one of the 1 hour days I only did 42 minutes due to the weather and on two of my 30 min. days I only did 20 min. Still great though.

Well, there you have it. All in all not a bad week. I'm feeling good about it.

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

I packed leftover veggies from dinner last night along with edamame, a red bell pepper, a wedge of light Swiss Laughing Cow cheese and a whole grain & flax FlatOut. I did a little voodoo and turned it into an incredible veggie wrap with more veggies on the side. Twas DELISH!


I got all of my grocery shopping done on my break today. I love doing this. It saves me so much time after work. I can only do this while it's still freezing out. It turns my trunk into the perfect freezer/refrigerator while I'm at work. Once my beloved heat returns, I'll have to resort to going after work again.

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

The most AWESOME sister in the WORLD gave me one of her Oikos today. I DEVOURED IT. I was all out of Greek yogurt at home and NOT happy about it. The grocery store was also completely sold out! DAMN IT! THANKS ANN!


I jazzed up the yogurt with a sprinkle of Back to Nature chocolate delight granola and a single sugar free heart Peeps, which I violently tore into sticky little decadent pieces. SO GOOD!

I hustled home after work to put the groceries away, tidy up the house and get started on two different types of chili. We're having friends over for dinner and games tonight. A glass or two of wine MAY sneak in there as well. Hard to say for sure. ;)

DINNER (meal #4) at 7:30pm. (only had 4 meals today, saving room for vino and possibly some dessert....)

To start, I made a quick and delicious bowl of guacamole. I tossed the following together and it turned out delicious.

• 2 very ripe avocado
• 2 tbs finely diced red pepper
• 2 tbs finely diced red onion
• dash dried cilantro
• S+P
• dash cayenne
• 2 tbs fat free sour cream
• 1 tbs lime juice

The chili recipes turned out great! I can't confirm which of the two won the chili battle though. I didn't want to indulge in the beefy, greasy Man's version and ruin my delicate palate. I can assure you that the Ladies version was delicious though. I think the secret ingredients really added a nice burst of flavor without being overwhelming. It was subtle layer of flavors. Both recipes are below.

MAN'S CHILI RECIPE

• 1 lb ground beef, cooked and drained
• 1 large onion
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• Can black beans
• Can pinto beans
• Can diced Mexican style tomatoes
• Can stewed tomatoes
• Can tomato sauce
• 1 tbs chopped garlic
• 1 packet Hot McCormicks Chili seasoning
• S+P to taste

LADIES CHILI RECIPE (meat free)

• 2 servings (110g) Morning Star Farms grounds
• 1 large onion
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
• Can black beans
• Can pinto beans
• Can diced Mexican style tomatoes
• Can stewed tomatoes
• Can tomato sauce
• 1 packet Hot McCormicks Chili seasoning
• S+P to taste
• 1 tbs chopped garlic
• 2 tbs unsweetened dark cocoa (secret #1)
• dash nutmeg (secret #2)
• 1/2 roasted acorn squash, cut into bite size pieces (secret #3)

I cracked open this wine for us to enjoy....


Sadly though, we hated it. So much so that after dinner my friends offered to make a beer and wine run. Yay! While they were gone I quickly finished this post. I'm so sneaky.

They just got back so I have to run. Delicious wine, friends and competitive games beckon me. I don't like to lose. Neither do they. Should be fun! LIVIN WILD ON A FRIDAY NIGHT! Yeah, that's how we roll. SUBURBAN GANGSTA!

Have a great Friday evening!

HUGS!!!
Ildie