feast!

Helllllooooo friends!

I wanted to write all of this fantastic stuff down before I forget!  I had the day off school yesterday, and took it  as a sign to make a last feast before the semester gets out of control.  Italian was the theme, and I think it went great...  Every time I cook for my boyfriend and his house, it is always a small victory for me when they like it because I always make it "healthier"... So here was the menu:

Whole Wheat Pesto Garlic Knots (dough made in the bread machine :) )
Ravioli: Lean Ground Beef with Cottage Cheese (instead of ricotta), Parmesan Cheese, Fresh Parsley, Onions, and Garlic
Ravioli: Zucchini, Onion, Garlic, Carrots, Red pepper, Parmesan Cheese, Some cream cheese, Fresh Parsley
Homemade tomato sauce (with red wine of course)
Asparagus wrapped in cream cheese and Proscuitto
Salad with olives, tomatoes, onions, and blue cheese crumbles

It came out great! I used won ton wrappers for the raviolis, and found they did fall apart some when I boiled the raviolis, but that is ok, they were still delicious.  I need to figure out a way to serve the raviolis and have them not stick together too.  Next time ;)  I am wondering if i made homemade ravioli wrappers if the same thing would happen.  Ironically, the Today Show has a chef on this morning that's making ravioli, I will watch him and perfect this!

I woke up this morning so angry, has that ever happened to you?  I hate it, it sets such a poor tone for my day.  I am planning to hit the gym later (well see though) and hopefully that will get rid of this feeling.  I need to perfect walking on an incline and reading Chemistry... then we can have productive, calorie-burning workouts!

My motivation has been a little better.  I didn't dread running yesterday, and did 2.75 miles.  It would have been 3 but the cold weather does a number on your lungs, I hate that feeling when every breath is like you are wheezing.  My legs felt a bit stiff, but feel great today.  Can't wait for nicer weather and my training runs for the half marathon start!  I will be training during my road trip to New Orleans, pretty excited to explore Nashville, New Orleans, and Lexington on foot! Maybe we can drag the boyfriend too ;)

Even though I haven't been to active, I am not getting sore after I do work out.  However, one part of my body really does bother me, and it's my back.  i think when I run, I carry a lot of tension in my back.  Any hints how to help with a tight back after runs?

Who knew!

It is really cool to experience that the efforts you put into something are paying off.

I have recently realized that I am really on my way to becoming a nutritional expert and Registered Dietitian.  I have been asked a few questions by peers and my family regarding food choices and nutrition, and I found myself providing information to them that was reliable and sound.  Thanks Rutgers, your education is actually working! I know it a bit corny, but I am excited about it.  I enjoy the reinforcements that my education isn't going to a waste (as I felt at times with my first Marketing degree)...  and the fact that I am excited and willing to deliver this information to others helps increase the confidence that the decision to go back to school was the right one.  BIG SIGH OF RELIEF.

As I mentioned in my last post, I am struggling with some things that I seem to always be struggling with, not losing weight, having problems areas, feeling bad about myself... Ater I posted that entry, I went back and read a few previous entries from over a year ago and realized that these issues aren't new.  I shouldn't be stressing about them because they haven't been fixed, and it is a continuing challenge I face.  I have always had the trouble with losing weight in my stomach, and being able to wake up in the morning feeling 100% confident and proud of myself.  In a way this is a little reassuring because maybe it is a cyclical set of feelings.  The winter is a hard time for everyone, especially after the holidays pack on a few pounds.  I know that I feel down and out now, but once the seasons change and maybe I find that motivation I lost, I WILL feel better.

Another thing that I know I might do is overlook the truth about my diet and lifestyle.  i asked my boyfriend to help me with this and tell me the truth when it comes to my eating habits.  So, last night I was bored and took the Dr. Oz transformation nation quiz.  He looked at how I was answering the questions and helps me pick the most truthful answer when I may have provided my personal bias int he question.  (For example: How often do you overeat? I said occasionally, and he informed me that I often complain about being too full.  Haha, oops...)  Anyway, Dr. Oz told me that i have a fairly healthy lifestyle, and improvements can be made by becoming active more frequently during the week, which I already knew.  So hooray for that small victory.

I plan to take a run today... it is raining though.  I am going to get dressed with my sports bra on and bring my sneakers to the boyfriends house so that there is no excuses.  I am helping one of his roommates girlfriends deep clean the house today, so after that, I will put the sneakers on and run to the beach and back.  (After all he does live about two miles from the beach! I mean who wouldn't love running to one of the best places on earth!)

Here's to a productive day, and finding the small ways to improve your life! (I say that because it is something I really need to work on ;) )

Frustrations with Health

I have found myself faced with some new-ish frustrations regarding my health and fitness in the past year.  I decided to list them out to make myself more aware of them, and also provide some of my thoughts not hem to see if there's any great feedback from some of my readers (if there are even any left?) how to deal with them. 

- Finding time and motivation for the gym.

I have discussed this before, and I know that if I just GET to the gym I am golden.  However, finding the time in between classes, working, sleeping, studying nonstop, and eating is nearly impossible.  I am not exaggerating when I say that during school I can go weeks without having a day off from classes or work, and it makes it really challenging to find the moments to get to the gym.  I usually work weekends, and schedule my classes for entire days to cut back on my commuting.  Studying took a lot of priorities last semester because I needed to get C's in the classes that I was failing.  Unfortunately, I put studying before fitness, but it was a necessary evil.

- Eating the right things.

This is almost ridiculous for me to worry about since I am going to school to become a dietitian, someone who tells others what to eat.  However, looking at my diet, I find that I don't eat bad AT ALL.  Ok, fine... maybe I eat too much sugar, but honestly I cannot think of other things that might be wrong with my diet.  Sure, I could cut back on carbs, increase fruit intake, yadda yadda, but in the grand scheme of diets mine is not bad at all.  

I have done a lot of reading on clean eating and find it makes sense and is something that we should all strive for... but as a poor (really poor) college student, living home with mom and dad still, buying fresh produce and great for you foods is just too expensive.  Maybe that's my excuse, but I don't know if it would even be worth it for me to convert to a clean diet.  I never really bought the idea of eliminating things in your diet, instead keeping them in moderation, which is why I know it might not be a good fit for me. 

I am trying to increase my intake of veggies, tea, healthy sources of calories instead of eliminating the bad ones.  Perhaps this is just setting me up for weight gain because I have been extremely bored over the last month.  I will admit the only thing on my mind is food, so yea, it probably isn't helping me!  The lack of a routine makes it difficult, but I am going to be back into a routine come next week, and look forward to being able to control my eating a little bit better.

- Retention of water and Cleanses

I have always considered doing a cleanse, but am just not totally convinced that they are really worth it.  if you were to do a cleanse vs. just eating clean for a weeks what is the difference?  Your body is a crazy machine and will eliminate toxins if you stop consuming them... so wouldn't eating clean for a week achieve that?  I find it very appealing that some of the cleanses are good tasting, super easy, and take out the thinking of meal planning... but they are all way out of my budget (which is none haha). What really sparks my interest of these cleanses is that I feel like my clothes are all a bit tighter.  With the scale only reading three pounds more than a month ago, that might be it, but i feel like i am retaining a lot more water than normal.  I have made efforts to consume more water and tea, but feel like it just stays around my abdomen and makes me feel bloated and my clothes fit tight.  I haven't figured out a way to fix this yet, but maybe a cleanse would do it?

- Image

As always, there are parts of my body that I am never satisfied with.  That should be enough motivation in itself to make me get to the gym, but even when I was going everyday these problem areas didn't disappear.  I think it was a little due to my high-carb diet (I really love bread and cookies)... but I have lost hope at making them ever go away.  This lack of belief contributes to the lack of motivation to get to the gym.  I have talked to a few friends of mine who have a similar problem, and she recommended cutting out sugar.  Like other things I've been doing, I have tried to increase my consciousness of the added sugars I eat.  From this I really only noticed added sugars I am eating are in the coffee creamer in the morning, yogurt in the morning, and whatever cookie or chocolate I eat int he evening (which hasn't been that much lately!).

I don't know, I am just stumped.  Maybe I am jaded and just am not seeing what I am doing wrong.  I know I could increase my exercise and it would help, but I am trying to figure out what in my diet is wrong and how I can fix that.  I have always struggled with this, and haven't found a solution yet.  For me, the exercise portion is so easy to attain... heck I am starting half marathon training soon and will continue that through the summer too (maybe triathlon revenge in August too!)... I just have to get my diet in check.  I know that I am not willing to buy into a popular diet but that take the concepts that are successful for a lot of people and apply them to my life.  I need to make a diet that works for me and isn't an extreme of anything.  I will continue thinking about this and hopefully will find the light at the end of the tunnel sooner rather than later.

Updating on Life

yep, it's been awhile.  Honestly, it's fine because there just wouldn't have been time to even update this thing in the past few months.  And, let's face it, I just have been too lazy in the past year.  So... on with the show.

Life:
School is still a major thing in my life.  If you remember, I dropped my office job to return to school to become a dietitian.  I am currently about to start my fourth semester of an unknown number, and am scheduled to graduate in Decemeber 2013.  It is a messy situation with timing because I really only wanted it to last two years.  after arguing with Rutgers about classes and transferring them in to meet the requirements, I found myself stuck at graduating in Dec 2013 with taking only one class that last semester. It's hard, time consuming, frustrating, discouraging, but I am confident that it will be worth it in the end.  I just cannot wait until the end is here... December 2013 hurry!  I will be a part time student after this semester which will open up more time for work and play.  I successfully passed my classes with semester with the lowest GPA I have ever received, a 2.5.  Heartbreaking to a former straight A student, but Chem and Bio at the same time at Rutgers is just insanity.

I am currently on winter break, and it a nice break. I just am a terrible person to sit around and relax all day.  I have been trying to motivate myself to get my buns to the gym, as is everyone else.  My motivation has just gone out the window with the cold weather.  I mean, maybe it is also gone because I literally had NO TIME from September to December to work out, so I fell out of my routine and just stopped making exercise a priority.  But let's face it, something had to go and I need to eat, sleep, work, and study, so yea...

I am working at a hospital in their diet office.  It is the experience I need for my internship and career, which is excellent.  it's a job, and I surprisingly do not hate it.  Helps keep me focused on my career choices and reassures me that doing this career change is the right choice.  I will be looking for a second job during the summer, because working only weekends (and sometimes only two weekends a month) is not conducive for a 25 year old trying to save for a future.

I booked a trip with my boyfriend for March to take a road trip.  SUPER excited about it because one of my life goals is to hit all 50 states before I die.  We are going to Nashville, TN, New Orleans, LA, and then to Lexington, KY.  I am eager to spend the quality time with him and see the sights that the southern US has to offer.

Nutrition, Fitness, Healthy Living:
As mentioned above, it is more of a lack of fitness.  I have been struggling with a small 3 pound weight gain from the holidays.  I had no self control, and that coupled with no exercise is the perfect storm for weight gain.  I am confident that I can lose the weight, it is only three pounds after all.  I have been making sure I am regaining consciousness of my eating and what I am putting into my body.  I struggle with a few things though, and I am actually going to make a separate entry about these this morning.

I have made a effort to get to the gym, but I find myself becoming too lazy, too tired, too careless to even get there.  I really never have had this issue, so I am struggling with it.  I love how I feel when I work out, I love sweating, but the idea of just getting dressed and getting there is the hardest part.  More details on this in that entry I was talking about.

I have signed ups or my third Jersey Shore half marathon in May, so I am hoping that will help provide me with the drive and motivation to get my butt moving.  I ran this race last May and broke the two hour mark by 15 seconds, and was more than excited to have met my goal.  I got a little lazy and down on myself after I got food poisoning in August and couldn't participate in the triathlon.  I just have enjoyed sleeping and relaxing too much, and need to make the change to get back into the swing of things.

I really think that's the long and short of my life updates... i am going to make an effort to post again, but no guarantees since when school starts I am anticipating another semester from hell.  I think that having this blog helps keep me in check with my body and weight and want to make sure that is a priority of mine in the coming months.

I need some help!

I get really frustrated because I don’t make terrible food and life decisions. I rarely drink, I do not do drugs, I don’t binge on junk food (well… sometimes), I make smart choices, and I avoid most of the “bad foods.” So what gives? Why do I still feel like I have bad days, most of the days? Weight’s only a number, but mine fluctuates a lot, and I don’t understand! I feel like I hardly eat (let alone in excess!) sometimes (but I do eat all 3 meals so no worries there.)

I can’t even decide what else I can do. Training for a half marathon didn’t stabilize my weight, and not working out definitely doesn’t. It’s so frustrating because I DO make good decisions, but I feel like good decisions and exercising just isn’t enough for my body. So, I am looking to improve my diet, again. I think one of the major sources of my weight craziness might be added sugars. Do you try to avoid added sugar? What are some tips and tricks? How do you determine what foods to avoid and what foods are OK? Please let me know your feedback!