Smoothies....My New Love

I love smoothies! I never thought I’d be able to say that. Now, I dislike the smoothies with the milkshake texture, but I love the ones with the slushy texture. The key to getting the slushy texture is to use more ice.

I have wanted to try the at-home smoothies for quite some time. So on Monday I decided to give them try. I've had some frozen canned Chiquita smoothies in my freezer for the longest time, so that's what I used. These things have been in the freezer so long that I hope they're not discontinued. Anywho, I tried Peach Mango and added some kale and unsweetened pineapple juice. They were so delish! I was able to get 3 servings from the one can. I have one can remaining and it's the Berry Blend flavor. When I blend my last can, I think I will add spinach to the mix as well.

I have emailed the company asking if it's discontinued or not. I'm still waiting on a response. I have the Jamba Juice smoothie packs in the freezer that I am going to try as well.

Just Going with the Flow

It's been a looong time since I've blogged, so here's an update...

I went on a family vacay last month with my mom, stepdad, 2 sisters, brother-in-law, nieces and nephew, my husband and our kids. We had a great time. When my sis (the one with the kids) and I were growing up, my mom made it a MUST that she take us somewhere during our summer vacation. I plan to start this tradition with my family as well. Pics coming....

I'm back to working out on a regular basis. I even plan on trying a session with a personal trainer. If all goes well, I will purchase more sessions.

My knee has been giving me some slight pain since vacay. I tried the 20 min Turbo Jam and it put too much pressure on my knee, so I've been doing low-impact exercises via the YMCA, dvds and my treadmill so that I won't put too much stress on it. Last time my knee was inflamed, my PCP prescribed Naproxen. I hate taking the Naproxen regularly, so I am hoping that I can discuss this with the trainer next week to see how/if I can rehab it.

I had my annual "Well Woman's Checkup" last month and to my surprise, I haven't gained any pounds. Although, I've maintained, that's not good when you have a lot to lose. I am aiming to lose 30-50 pounds before the NEW YEAR.

I've been kinda, sorta low-carbing it, but not really. My primary focus is to get at least 3-5 servings of fruit and veggies in daily. I have found that I can knock out a couple of those servings with smoothies. More on those smoothies later...

My baby boy is 16 months old, busy and into everydamnthing within reach. He's gonna whip me into shape if the trainer doesn't, for sure!

Today, my sis (my workout buddy) and I will be taking our "BEFORE" pictures and measurements to share once we reach goal. She started the Turbo Fire Hybrid this week. Go Britt!

In a nutshell, that is what's up with me!

No Scales Allowed

Scales are no longer welcome in my home!  I am so OVER it.  After I started over in Induction, I was 100% committed to Atkins. When I didn’t see any pounds come off, I was discouraged.  I was so discouraged that I let a few bad habits creep back into my life.  Up until yesterday, I hadn’t exercised in a minute (was having knee issues). 

I went to the doctor last week to check up on my knee and come to find out, I had inflammation surrounding it.  Years ago I had a similar issue…..She reminded me of her findings from that time; the cartilage around my knee was thinning.  She told me that I shouldn’t ever do squats.  Disappointing because I want/need to do some sort of exercises for my bootay.  Anywho, I was happy it wasn’t arthritis.  I will just have to find other exercises to work that area.  For now, she prescribed 550MG of Naproxen and I can only use the recumbent bike when I go to the gym for the next 30 days.  BooORrrrING…But I’m willing to do what I MUST to lose this weight because that is a contributing factor.  

Yesterday was my first day back at the gym and it wasn’t SO BAD, just a little boring.  I think I will use this time to start focusing on my upper body and weight lifting so I can make good use of my time and membership. 

All About Bryson

Cool shopping day with mommy

1st Birthday

He'd go shoeless if I let him

Sleeping peacefully

My sweetie on Easter

Helping me with my pedi

I'm eating, get that camera outta here!

Starting Over w/Atkins - Induction Day 3

I HAD to start over. As far as eating goes, March was a horrible month for me. My son's 1st birthday was March 24th and my birthday was April 2nd. Not to mention, Easter....So you can imagine the amount of sweets that were floating through my home. Surprisingly enough, I'm only up 2 pounds for the month of March; thank goodness!

I'm trying new recipes because I find that eating the same things over and over again the same way, gets boring. For example, last night I made a single-serve pizza with sausage in place of the dough. It was really good, next time I want to use more veggies. I'd also like to try the low-carb version of chicken parmesan and fried chicken tenders with egg batter.

Anywho, I'm on day 3 and still haven't cheated. Go me for being 100% dedicated!

Low-Carb Meals

Grilled chicken salad

Salad w/steak


Spinach omelette with 2 sausage patties

Sugar-free peach jello w/sliced strawberries

Rotisserie chicken and spinach

Breakfast casserole w/eggs, spinach, cheese and bacon

Chicken Quesedillas

the tortilla shells contain 5g carbs (pardon my chipped polish... LOL)

Shrimp scampi with broccoli and cauliflower

We Fall Down...

I’ve been a bad girl.... Last week I only exercised once and didn't quite eat the Atkins way. To make matters worse, yesterday was Love Day, so I HAD to eat chocolate, right? Am I upset about the lack of effort? Nope! In the past when I've gotten off track, it was hard to get back on because I would be so disappointed in myself. I now believe that when I don't quite do what I should, it's ok.....Not because I wanted the junk food more than I wanted to lose weight, but because I have a made up mind to lose weight this time for good. Knowing that I am not perfect and will have slips ups is all part of this journey. I am chosing to learn from my mistakes and move past them, rather than make excusues and dwell on what I could've and should've done. I hope you will do the same! : )

Last night's exercise consisted of 20 min Turbo Jam and TurboFire - Fire 55 EZ Class/Stretch. I didn't make it through the entire TurboFire workout, but my sister kept me motivated to PUSH as far as I did. After our workout, I wanted to have breakfast for dinner, so I had an omelete with spinach and cheese with 2 sausage patties, followed by an apple cider vinegar, grapefruit juice cocktail. The grapefruit juice isn't Atkins approved, but because of past success with this cocktail, I want to see if I still experience weight loss in conjunction with Atkins.