Weekend Project Update: Front Yard Complete!!

Alrighty so this past weekend I finally finished up the front yard! When my mom & sister were here, we planted the first batch of orange & yellow marigolds and red & purple verbanas. This past weekend I went back for more to fill in the rest of the bed.

First round planted with Mom & Taylor

Whole bed filled in! And yes, the grass needs cutting...

I also bought a large pot to sort of anchor the back corner of the bed while they were here, and it took my awhile to decide what to put in it, but I found a super full hanging basket of petunias at Ellis Pottery (local place were I like to buy all my flowers - same prices but better quality than Lowes/Home Depot!) so I decided to go with that. And then I bought these small pots of purple flowers (don't remember the name right now...) to put next to the big pot so it wouldn't look too large and out of place.

And then the last thing was that I kind of went crazy and decided to dig out a new flower bed around my crepe myrtle tree in the front yard. Since my front yard kind of slopes uphill, all these pretty little flowers aren't super visible from the street, so I thought it might be nice to have something else further forward in the yard.

View from the street... those flowers are far away!

At first I thought I'd test out using a shovel to dig up the area, but that quickly failed. So I headed over to Lowes thinking I would buy a hoe, but instead realized there was a much better tool for the job: a pick axe! So I bought one similar to the one below, but a 2.5lb version, which was a little easier for me to handle.

from www.lowes.com

And then I went to town. Before I went to Lowes I also had attempted to clear the area a little bit with rake, hoping that might making it easier to break up with the shovel (which totally did not help) and in doing so I established a nice little border marking the area I wanted to dig up. 

And then I got to work... wish I had a picture of me wielding the pick axe (or technically the 'mattock pick') but I was a woman on a mission. Sam had gone out for a run and I think he was a little scared of me when he came down the street and I was tearing up the front yard with an axe. :) In the end I was left with a nice little flower bed and a lot of pulled up grass scattered around the lawn:

I decided to plant begonias here because I wanted to get some more pink in to tie things together. I'm not sure I accomplished that, since the whole front yard is just a giant mismash of colors now, but it makes me happy so whatever.

In the end, I wish I had made the bed around the tree bigger, but I've been sore the past two days from digging it up so it is probably for the best. And it started raining as I was finishing up, so I'm glad I didn't try to do too much more. Maybe I'll dig it out a little further next year?

But I am now happy to call the front yard complete - it has definitely come along way from the beginning of this year! Check out the first two front yard progress posts here and here. 

Before - I don't have a good wide shot, but it was a mess!

Very first steps - clearing the bed!

Nice and empty - that was a lot of hard work!

Bushes in!

Final product!!

Overall, I spent about $650, and I think that definitely saved me some money vs. having someone else plan and do the work. Almost $200 of that was flowers, which is a lot considering they are all going to die this year, but I'll try not to think about that! Over half was for the bushes, which are definitely an investment. They still need to fill in some for it all to really look good, but I know that will take time.

Who else has been up to lawn projects? It's that time of year. I have big plans forming in the back of my mind for in the backyard, but that'll all have to be next year. As far as projects go, I'll be trying to finish up some more around here (I need to get re-started on my Dude Get on that Already challenge!) and prepping for the major kitchen remodel I'm hoping to do this fall - I'm excited and nervous for sure!

Monday Weigh-In

Time for the weekly weigh-in! I put a lot more effort into exercising this week and it paid off:

Monday Weight In

Start of Week: 140.4

End of Week: 138.2

Pounds Lost: 2.2 (score!)

Total Lost: 31.8

It feels great to finally be below 140 and see the light at the end of the tunnel! If I want to make 130lbs by my May 12 goal, I need to continue to lose 2.2lbs/week, so I'll have to keep stepping it up!

Today was also my first day of working a three week unit outage at work - I'll be working 6AM-6:30PM for the next three weeks (7 days a week!), so it will definitely be a challenge to get the exercising in. As far as food goes, I did a little extra preparing this week by making some pasta salad yesterday that I can eat for several dinners/lunches and also pre-portioning by yogurt & blueberries into tupperware containers for easy grab & go breakfasts. Sam is still going to cook a couple of nights this week, but I'm not planning to do any cooking since I'll probably be pretty tired after several days of this schedule. The most difficult part will be losing my weekend - I'll be off my normal routine, so I'm thinking maybe meal planning Friday night and grocery shopping Saturday night? That way I can do some meal prep Sunday night, we'll see how it goes!

Sorry I don't have any other ramblings on weight loss tonight, but I'll be back tomorrow with a weekend project update - I celebrated my last weekend for a while by finishing up the front yard landscaping yesterday!

Low-Cal Recipes: Corn & Black Bean Salad

So today's recipe is hot off the presses table - we literally just ate this for dinner 45 minutes ago. This recipe is quick and easy and the proportions aren't super important to the end result, so work with what you have around! We've made it with and without chicken - it works great as a vegetarian main dish or as a side item too.

Corn & Black Bean Salad

20 minute prep
Serves 4

Veggies prepped and waiting on chicken to finish baking!

Ingredients

1 can black beans, rinsed & drained

2 cups frozen corn kernels

1 red bell pepper

1 red onion

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp ground cumin

lemon or lime juice

fresh cilantro (optional)

8 oz chicken breast (optional)

Instructions

If using chicken, bake chicken breast at 350F for 25 minute or until done. Shred chicken and mix with all other ingredients in a large bowl. Serve! (Nice and easy). If you are using frozen corn kernels like I did, it's good to go ahead a mix everything up while the chicken cooks so the corn has time to thaw a bit.

Dinnertime - yum!

Nutrition Info (per serving)

Calories: 320 (260 w/o chicken)

Carbs: 46g

Fat: 7g (5g)

Protein: 22g (10g)

Sodium: 360mg

Sugar: 10g

Fiber: 9g

(all are approximate)

Enjoy! This one is super easy for a busy night and makes for easy lunch the next day since it doesn't require reheating.

Weekend Project: Lighting Up the Laundry

As I mentioned yesterday, I was feeling a bit under the weather this past weekend, so I didn't complete any projects. But luckily I have a small project from a few weeks ago that I haven't blogged about yet - replacing the light fixture in the laundry room.

The previous light fixture wasn't bad, but it was definitely boring. And since this room is open to the living room, I thought it might be nice to have a little something pretty to look at out of the corner of my eye while on the couch!

Here's the boring before:

Replacing a light fixture is actually pretty straightforward, provided you have your breaker box labeled! I had my sister help me label the box when we was visiting last year (picture me flipping breakers and Taylor running around the house to see what turned off... good times) so it was simple enough to cut the power to the laundry room. After that I just followed the instructions that came with the new fixture.

It took about an hour, but only because I had some issues with the wiring box being pushed too far into the ceiling, which meant the screws provided were too short... but eventually I was able to fix that with some longer screws I had on hand. If everything had been normal, this probably could have been done in 15 minutes.

I didn't take any pictures in the process (I was too mad about the whole thing taking an hour to remember to take pictures!) - but here's the upgraded after:

I hadn't been to much of a fan of drum shades like this before, but for some reason I really liked this one at Lowes and I've liked it since. So maybe my tastes are changing! Still not sure if I like the look of the drum shades on ceiling fans, but maybe I'll be converted to that next (if I can keep up my flossing/vitamin taking well enough to earn some $$ towards new fans!!).

Oh and ten points to anyone who can spot a few future "Dude, Get on That Already" projects in the pictures above. Need a hint? One will involve ceiling paint (I don't currently have any that matches) and the other will make good use of my printer and some photo paper... like I've said, I somehow end up with a lot of unfinished projects...

Anyway, the total cost for this upgrade was around $60 for the light fixture, which was a little more than I wanted to pay, but it makes me happy to see the new light every day. I probably could have found something for cheaper online, but sometimes there are just too many choices online - am I crazy that I sometimes like it that the store narrows it down for me?

And in other news, today I weighed in at 139.4!! So it was a good redemption for yesterday's slight disappointment. And today is Day 100 since I started this whole calorie counting thing, so I guess it was fitting to hit a milestone by finally breaking 140. Here's to hoping the next 10 pounds will come off at the same rate and I can meet my May 12 goal!!

Monday Weigh-In & Tips for Eating Out

Sorry I've been MIA from the blog for the past few days! I was at a training class for work on Thurs/Fri, which threw off my schedule a bit, and then this weekend I wasn't feeling too great - better now though! 

But speaking of being off my schedule/feeling under the weather, I had a slightly disappointing weight in today, probably due to both of those factors:

Monday Weight In

Start of Week: 141.0

End of Week: 140.4

Pounds Lost: 0.6

Total Lost: 29.6 (still not quite to 30!)

I really wanted to a see a number below 140 this week - but at least I can look forward to getting there for sure this week! I've learned not to get too stressed on the off weeks, because I stuck to my calorie goal, and even though I didn't get too much exercising in, I still lost weight and that's something to be excited about! Plus I had a big week last week with 2lbs lost. Hopefully this week will be another big one to balance it out!

So in addition to the weigh-in, I thought I'd give you guys some tips I've learned for being able to eat out while still meeting my daily calorie goal. I will say right up front that it is not easy and  can take a lot of self control to eat at a restaurant without busting your calorie goal for the day. In fact, I hardly ate out at all for the first 6 weeks I was counting calories (good-bye social life!). But now, I usually eat out once or twice a week for lunch or dinner - here are some strategies I use to make it work:

1) Plan ahead & pick restaurants that publish nutrition info - This is a huge one, because its the only way you really know what you are getting. This can definitely be a challenge, as lots of places to do not post nutrition facts online, but you can find plenty of places that do. This way, you can look at the menu and calorie counts and have a plan of what to order before you even show up at the restaurant. This takes some prep time, but I've found that if I have a plan, I'm much more likely to stick to it! You can also use some of the databases online (like on MyFitnessPal) to see estimates other people have put in for some restaurants that don't have published nutrition facts. Although you can't really verify the accuracy, it can be a useful tool.

2) Save up calories - If you know you are going out to eat, try to have fewer calories than normal at breakfast/lunch. I'm not saying starve yourself, but 100-200 calories extra for dinner can open up your options and allow you to treat yourself a little bit.

3) Skip the bread/tortilla chips -  Enough said. So delicious, but the calories add up quick, even for an innocent tortilla chip or two... or twenty. This takes a LOT of self control if you are a bread lover like me. If you absolutely can't resist the chips & salsa, just avoid Mexican food altogether. Or implement tip #2.

4) Avoid sauces - If you are following tip #1, you will quickly learn that restaurant food can have a shocking amount of calories. So if you can't get the nutrition facts, stick to ordering something where you can identify all of the ingredients so you can add up the calories yourself (like you would at home with a recipe). Great things for this: steak, chicken, naked fish (or any other meat you can order plain), salads (because you can see all the ingredients - but beware, lots of potential calories), and steamed veggies. And even french fries and baked potatoes are predictable in terms of calories, although they may have too much for your daily goal. Basically, avoid anything with an unidentified (although delicious) sauce - you have no idea how much butter, oil, etc. is in the sauce and I guarantee it is a lot!

5) Bring your own dressing - This one might sound a little crazy, but consider bringing your own salad dressing. Most restaurant salads are pretty decent on calories, but the dressing is the killer. And you cannot rely on 'light' dressings to really be that much better than regular. So bring a little tupperware with your own fat-free dressing and you can enjoy your salad guilt free. I have done this, and felt like a crazy person, but whatever, I was glad I knew how many calories I ate!

6) Bring your own food - So this one might sound even crazier, but sometimes you just have to be hardcore. The first time I met Sam's sister Kelly, I'm pretty sure she thought I was crazy (or just really determined!) because the whole weekend we spent in Austin, I had brought food with me for almost every meal. But honestly, there was no way I could have eaten out for all 3 meals a day and stayed on track. I also do this when I go to training classes for work, like last week, because it is impossible to know what they will provide for lunch. My go-to lunch for travel/training is apple + peanut butter. It is high enough calorie to count as lunch, but it is also portable and doesn't require a fridge like most of my lunches do.

7) Splurge once in a while - It won't kill you to go over your calorie goal for one day if it is a special occasion. Allow yourself to have a few extra guilt-free calories - remember it takes 3500 calories to lose a pound, so it you eat 350 extra, its only a difference of 0.1 pounds this week. Just be careful you don't find a reason for a 'special occasion' every other day haha... or eat 3500 calories for dinner (you laugh, but it is totally do-able a most restaurants!)

I hope that is somewhat helpful! Just like the entire calorie counting/weight loss effort, it's really about putting all distractions and temptations aside and just doing it! You might have less options but it will be worth it in the end.

And in other news, my parents started calorie counting a few days ago! They decided to give it a try after my Mom came to visit and she saw I could actually eat 1200 calories without having to totally deprive myself haha. Anyone else feeling motivated?

Low-Cal Recipe: Quick Chicken & Dumplings

So I'm a little late on my post tonight, but I did want to share another of my favorite low-cal recipes. We had this 'Quick Chicken & Dumplings' last week - I've made this one twice (maybe three times?) and it is consistently easy and tasty! Sorry for the tupperware picture... I forgot to take one at dinner, so I figured the next day would be better than nothing!!

Quick Chicken & Dumplings

Recipe & picture from www.cookinglight.com

20 minute prep

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tbsp butter or margarine

1/2 cup chopped onion (try buying frozen!)

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken breast (~8 oz)

1 box (10 oz) frozen mixed vegetables

1 1/2 cups water

1 tbsp all-purpose flour

14 oz fat-free chicken broth

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

8 flour tortillas (6 inch), cut into strips

Instructions

Melt butter in skillet over medium-high heat

Add onion, saute until tender (~5 mins)

Add chicken & vegetables, cook until thoroughly heated (~3 mins)

Combine water, flour & broth, and gradually stir mixture into chicken mixture

Stir in salt and pepper (add a bay leaf if you have one) and bring to a boil

Reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes (don't worry if it still looks a little liquidy at this point)

Stir in tortilla strips and cook 2 minutes or until tortillas soften, serve immediately!

Nutrition Info (per serving)

Calories: 370

Carbs: 40g

Fat: 9g

Protein: 30g

Sodium: 650mg

(all are approximate)

Hope you enjoy, this is one of my favorites and also reheats well if you add a little water. Also great to do in the same week as the Chicken Tostadas, since you will already be buying 6" tortillas and chicken!

New Goals for April/May/June!

The first 3 months of the year have come to an end, so how did I do? Let's recap - my goals for the first quarter of 2012 were:

1) Lose 10 pounds - Clearly, complete!! When I started the year, I was hoping to lose 40 pounds, so I figured 10 pounds every 3 months was reasonable. Little did I know how focused I would get and how much progress I would make!

2) Run a half marathon - Also complete! My brother and I completed the Beaumont Gusher Half Marathon on March 10th, and it was tough!

3) Landscape front yard - Mostly complete. I've completed the major work on the project as detailed here and here, but there are still some major tweaks to come. I'm not going to post a weekend project update this week, but while my family was here we did start planting some flowers in the bed:

4) Floss more - Not so much progress on this one. Although I can legitimately say I flossed more, it's still not as frequent or consistent as I'd like. I have plans to accomplish this one in the second quarter (see below).

So all in all, I think it was a pretty productive first three months of the year! Plus I got started on the Dude, Get on That Already challenge, so a few other things are getting done too. The blogging is definitely keeping me honest!

So, what are my goals for the second quarter and how do I plan to accomplish them? Well, without further ado, here they are:

1) Reach Goal Weight of 130lbs by May 12 -  Keep doing what I'm doing!

2) Learn to Love the Treadmill & Run 3 miles at a 9 min pace - Sam & I bought a treadmill a few months ago and although I've spent some time on it, I haven't really adjusted to treadmill running. In fact, I think it tends to hurt my knees/ankles worse to run on it! But the most likely reason is because I don't feel 100% comfortable on the treadmill and I adjust my stride awkwardly to compensate. So before the hot TX summer months get here and I can't run outside anymore, I want to get better acquainted and adjusted to the treadmill. And accomplish Part 2 of this goal - to improve my speed and reach a 9:00 min mile pace for 3 miles. (I typically run 10 minute miles no matter if I'm doing 1 mile or 10 miles... doesn't make to much sense, does it?)

3) Floss & Take a Vitamin Daily - So I have an actual plan this time around.  I'm planning to use a whiteboard marker on my bathroom mirror to keep track of how I do and reward myself accordingly.  I'm thinking the system will work like this: if I floss & take my vitamin every day for 5 days in a row, I will put $25 aside for a reward, which I am thinking will be new fans for the whole house (seriously, I'll post some pictures later, but they are wayyy outdated).  If I miss a day, I have to start all over again at Day 1 until I get to Day 5. Does that make sense?  This works out great because I already have a decent amount of home improvement money saved so it won't cost me anything - it will just give me permission to use some of my savings!  I think the visual reminder plus the rewards system will help and I'm sure once it becomes a habit, I won't have to pay myself to floss haha.

4) Keep the Car Clean -  Pretty self explanatory I think. I am really not good at all about keeping my car cleaned out or cleaned up. I've done much better in the past few weeks at clearing the clutter and trash as I go, but I'd like to get into a routine of vacuuming out and washing the car at least once/month. And maybe even getting the fabrics cleaned. We'll see!

5) Buy a Paint Sprayer & Test it Out-  So this is kind of a crazy one, but it is all leading up to remodeling my kitchen this year (hopefully in the late summer/fall). I definitely need to start planning, and one part of that is to make a final decision about what to do with my cabinets (paint, stain or replace) and whether or not to do it myself or hire it out. I've found some great cabinet painting tutorials online, so I want to buy a paint sprayer and do a test run to see if I could potentially do the kitchen myself. And I've decided the testing grounds will be the cabinets over the washer/dryer (aka the least visible in case it doesn't go well, and the cheapest to replace if it REALLY doesn't go well). More to come on this for sure! 

So that's it! I think it is a pretty challenging list, but there is also all different types of goals - from daily 2 minute tasks to a major project, I think I've covered it all. I'll be working 12 hours shifts and weekends for 3 weeks in April/May and also be gone for the cruise in May, so hopefully I'll have enough time around the house to get it all done, we'll see!! 

Is anyone else with me on the goal setting? I think the 3 month timeframe is so much more motivating than a whole year! And even if you only set a small goal, I guarantee it will be so satisfying to complete it!

Monday Weigh-In & How to Make a Change: Slow & Steady!

Drum roll please.... here's the Monday morning weigh in:

Monday Weight In

Start of Week: 143.0

End of Week: 141.0

Pounds Lost: 2.0

Total Lost: 29 (so close to 30!)

If every week was like this week, I would reach my target weight of 130 pounds by May 10th, ahead of my target date (May 12th) - yay! And I really didn't do so great with exercising this week, so it was encouraging to still see the weight come off!

Several people have asked me what motivated me to start losing weight this year, and to be honest, it's a little bit hard to explain! In some ways, I felt like it was time to just do it, but in other ways, I can see that the last few years have prepared me to be ready to 'go all out' like I have been this year.

I can't say enough about how important it was for me to not have everything change at once. I don't think that going from where I was a few years ago to the system I have in place this year is possible overnight. 

For example, until a couple of years ago, I basically never exercised. More importantly, I didn't consider myself to be a person who exercised. I just wasn't "that type" of person. But then in 2009 I started biking a little bit here and there with friends, and in 2010 I had the crazy idea to sign up for a triathlon with some friends from work. Training for the triathlon taught me that I could exercise (even though I didn't always enjoy it). After 5 months of training, I still couldn't run more than 4 miles straight, but I finished the triathlon and it definitely felt good to accomplish my goal! 

I'd like to say that I kept up with an exercise routine after the triathlon, but I didn't. I really didn't do anything consistently until a year later, when I started running again last October to prepare for the half marathon I ran this year. But the most important thing that the triathlon taught me was that I could exercise, I could train for something and that there is not just one type of person who can exercise - anyone can! Some people are just most naturally athletic or enjoy it more, but we can all do it!

The other changes that had to take place in my life were to be more aware of what I was eating, and also to cook more at home. Last summer I went on a half hearted attempt to lose weight that didn't really work, but it did prepare me for this year's weight loss - I started cooking more, and I signed up for (an occasionally used) the MyFitnessPal account that I use now every day. I was never very consistent with counting calories, but when I did, it made me much more aware of what I was eating. I did start to enjoy cooking, and once Sam and I started dating and we were cooking together (for two people, not one - makes a big difference!), I started cooking a lot more. This definitely built my confidence in the kitchen, because before I also didn't really see myself as '"that type" of person (see a trend here? its pretty silly now that I think about it, but it was true).

Anyway, I share all of this to say that weight loss is a lot of work, and depending on your starting point, it may be a long journey to get there. If you are just getting started, and you are like I was, I would spend a few months just adjusting to cooking for yourself and learning how to exercise before worrying about counting all of your calories and planning all of your meals to meet a calorie goal, etc. Start by making manageable changes to be healthier, and as they become a normal part of your life, add a new challenge. You will get there eventually!

Which brings me back to why I decided to lose weight at all. Obviously, I wanted to look better and have clothes shopping be easier and overall improve my confidence about my appearance. But it is also about having a healthy lifestyle. One wake up call for me was when I thought about where I would be in 25 years. My mom & I have often commiserated about our weight and how clothes never fit, and how (even though we both know exercise & fewer calories = weight loss) it is so hard to lose any weight! But the reality was, even though we were around the same size (although I was a bit heavier), I am only 25! When my Mom was 25, she was about 110 pounds! And that's when I realized that if I didn't do something about my habits, I would be well over 200 pounds in 25 years. So I think that's what really put things in perspective and kicked me into gear - thinking about my future. (And no offense to my Mom - if I look like her in 25-30 years, I'll be quite happy with that!)

I don't know what your motivation will be, but thinking about my long-term well-being and building heathy habits that will last a lifetime definitely helped me start taking my health seriously. So I would encourage you to start small & slow and set yourself up for success. Try to build a sustainable system that can last for years, rather than a fad diet to lose weight quick. Being patient with yourself is more productive than burning out or regaining all of your lost weight because you didn't build good habits along the way!