TCTBTF: Week 14 – Healthy Breakfast and Hoop Dancing

I have been so good this week! Let’s see:

1. I removed the skin from the fried chicken Donny bought before eating it.

2. I had two big bowls of grilled chicken salad while everyone else had Wendy’s.

3. When I realized that I left for class last night w/o my dinner (salad), I didn’t stop at fast food. I did; however, get a yogurt parfait from Starbucks.

4. I’ve worked out every day this week. Yoga, step aerobics, light boxing, and crunches up the butt. Well, not up the butt literally.

I’m down….. *drum roll, please*… THREE POUNDS this week. As my white friends say, “Woot!”

That’s -10lbs in 14 weeks. I’m over thinking about how much more that would be if I were on track the whole time. It is what it is.

My dedication to working out is thanks to www.socialworkout.com which I talked about last week, but more on that in a bit.

Today I want to talk about breakfast, my favorite meal of the day. In fact, we probably have brinner (breakfast for dinner) once a month at our house. It’s also usually a good indication of the kind of day I’m gonna have. When I have a good breakfast it keeps me from being so hungry by lunchtime that I have no patience or will power to make good decisions. (Lunch is usually my worst meal of the day.) What I love about breakfast when eating healthy is that there are so many good things you can eat, and lots of it!

Some of my favorite breakfast items/combos are:

1. Whole wheat toast w/ ICBINB, scrambled egg whites, juice, yogurt.

2. Fruit, multi-grain Cheerios, tbs of peanut butter

3. 1 cup of oatmeal with a  little sugar and butter.

What are some of your healthy breakfast ideas?

I mentioned last week that I’m doing this April Workout Challenge at Social Workout. You have to work out 26 days in April. I’ve decided I’m only resting on Sundays. So far, so good. I really love reading the blogs of the other people taking the challenge. I’ve found lots of interesting and motivating information.

This one girl mentioned hoop dancing in her post, and when I asked her what it was, she linked a few of her performances. I want to share one with you now. Unfortunately, she hasn’t been on since sharing the links so she hasn’t seen my request for an interview. If she does, and agrees, maybe I’ll feature that in an upcoming TCTBTF blog.

She’s so great. Her name is mARTa. Ladies, doesn’t that motivate you to keep at the crunches and keep the fatty foods to a minimum? It does for me.

TCTBTF: Week 13

Thanks to Emily, I’ve taken the SocialWorkout.com April Workout Challenge. I don’t know if that’s the official title, but it pretty much works like this:

Get off your lazy booty and work out for 26 days in April. I’ve been keeping a workout journal at the site which I’ll also share here. It’s been fun reading everyone else’s entries for the past three days. If you sign up, let me know your name over there.

Here’s my entry from last night, April 2nd:

Sore. In That Good Way.

I prefer to work out in the morning, but when you’re up throughout the night with a newborn, you sleep in if he lets you. Today I had so much running around to do, and I was bummed to realized that I wouldn’t have time to workout until after class (9pm.)

Working out in the morning means that I’ll make better food choices during the day. Where some may think that working out early allows them to “cheat” or “treat themselves” to temptation foods, I look at it as wasting hard work already put in.

On the flip side, if I know I’m gonna work out later in the evening, I may be tempted to eat poorly during the day, pledging to “work it off” later. Rarely happens!

Thankfully, I was good today. My only splurge was a caramel macchiatto – needed to keep me up in class this evening. When I got home, I did 30 minutes of aerobics, 25 minutes on the elliptical, and 100 crunches.

I’m now sore. In that good way.

G’nite

This morning I weighed myself and I’m down 3lbs! That brings my 13 week total to -7. I’m kicking myself for slacking off for four weeks. Can you imagine how much weight I’d have lost by now if I hadn’t fallen off the wagon? Also, down three pounds this week and I only worked out 3 days, had Starbucks three times, AND McDonald’s. Yeah, I will be on fire when I TOTALLY behave.

Last night my Mom packed a bag for me to take to class. A large Rubbermaid container with a salad; lettuce, cucumbers, and shredded carrots which adds a sweetness, I think, bottled water, and a plum.

When I got home, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to work out when Donny and my Mom told me that Jack pretty much cried the whole time I was gone. He’d had immunization shots earlier in the day so he was super cranky and I think his legs were stiff and sore from where he’d received the shots. Poor baby.

Surprisingly, he fell alseep easily (with his face pressed against mine, oddly enough) and after Donny took him up to bed, I was able to get the workout in mentioned above.

This morning I did about 20 minutes of step aerobics and some light boxing. I had to stop because Jack decided he didn’t want to watch anymore, and would rather participate. And by participate I mean, “sit on my feet.”

I’ll get on the elliptical this afternoon and do some yoga for about an hour. Then it’s 100 crunches before bed.

Next week, my TCTBTF blog will be dedicated to my favorite meal; breakfast!

How was your week?

3 down, 23 to go, Emily!

This is the pic at SocialWorkout.com that motivates the hell outta me!