Weekend Warrior

In the past, the weekends have been my collapse - the end-all to any healthy behaviors and efforts until Monday rolled around and I could boldly reclaim my commitment to my diet. This weekend, I feel like things have been very different. While I still felt it challenging to not snack during down time, I stuck to the 5-ingredient, no sugar rule as best as possible.

The difficulties started on Thursday night, with a 6 p.m. conclusion of Max Life rolling right into shower and prep time for our ICubs skybox seats at 7:00. I thought I would have a difficult time getting in a healthful, Advanced Plan approved dinner, but I was able to whip up a protein shake with almond milk, a little peanut butter and some cocoa powder to do the trick.

Next up, Friday, with a lunch scheduled with a friend visiting Des Moines and a dinner date - yikes! To my surprise, with a few requests, I had a fantastic lunch at Centro! Grilled flank steak with caramelized onions and provolone cheese. It was originally on the menu as a sandwich, but I had them hold the bun, mayo and pesto. The meal was fantastic and definitely hit the spot!

A series of unfortunate events landed us at the mall food court for dinner. I grabbed a snack of almonds and my final brownie to ensure I didn't go into dinner starving, and thankfully that move saved the day. I ordered the veggie entrée at Famous Wok. It wasn't a whole lot of food, but I was more than satisfied.

I coached softball Saturday and Sunday. Ballparks always prove to be a challenge, but I equipped myself with snacks during our long stretches of games. I feel like I probably had far too many servings on nuts than desired, on both days, but I know for the future to only take what I need and leave the rest of my money in the car. The ball park is prime for selling nuts, so in addition to my serving of almonds I had a cashews and peanuts.

Tyler and I had breakfast this morning before our busy days started. Our usual Cozy Cafe changed their hours so we were stuck with Perkins. I got their new Mediterranean omelette loaded with spinach, held the hollandaise sauce and stuck with the feta and a couple roasted tomatoes. It was the perfect start to my cold morning!

Lunch was a protein shake with PB, coconut milk and cocoa. I did buy more nuts to have as a snack for the afternoon. I just whipped up my brownies for the week and managed to have a spoonful of almond butter during prep time. Tonight, I plan on browning turkey for taco salads.

I know I have some room for improvement on the weekend, but I feel I did the best for the circumstances and odd meal times with games.

This morning I enjoyed a fantastic four-egg omelette with spinach, mushroom and onion. I decided to make this last night and throw it in the fridge for this morning. It was perfect! I enjoyed waking up to a fantastic breakfast and actually got to eat with at home instead of on-the-go. I definitely foresee myself using this technique more in the future. 

The rest of my day consisted of leftovers and a snack of celery and almond butter. After tomorrow I will be just about done with the leftovers and will give another meal a shot. I did have a brownie this evening for dessert, but stuck to the single serving and still have three servings left, even after sharing!

The Max Life workout was killer today! They don't call it challenge day for nothing. I sweat my butt off, but recorded 136 burpees! Goal was to get at least 100. 

Tomorrow will prove to be a bit of a challenge as Tyler and I will be meeting friends to watch the Iowa Cubs baseball game in the sky box. However, I'm very confident in my plan and how I feel after sticking to it for three days now, so there's not doubt I will be strong. 

Looking forward to whipping up another dessert for the week on Sunday. Still haven't decided on one yet. Looking forward to something new now that I know the brownies can always be my go-to if needed. =)

My love my Italian... Spinach Soup

Today was an extremely crazy and busy day with Wellmark hosting the Grand Blue Mile. Since I wasn't going to be home in time to make the scheduled Italian Spinach Soup, my lovely Italian boyfriend decided he'd take the reigns on this one. And I must say, he did a fantastic job! 

Here's what he had to say about preparing this recipe:

• Rolling the turkey meatballs was a little tricky, but he managed to get them to stick together when they were about the size of a golf ball.
• The coconut oil smelled like sunscreen on the beach when he fried the meatballs, but he was surprised that they didn't have the slightest taste of coconut when they were fully cooked. 
• He doubled the spinach, broth and parsley after discovering that it didn't seem like enough to cover the meatballs. 

Overall, this recipe was great. The soup was full of flavor and the meatballs were excellent. We have enough left over to reheat for a quick dinner tomorrow night. 

On my way out the door this morning I blended together a smoothie of whey protein, almond milk and ice. While I do not have the organic, grass fed whey protein, I'm hoping to invest in some soon. In the meantime, I used the HyVee brand 100% Whey Protein. 

I packed leftover Asian Turkey Wraps for lunch, but grabbed a serving size of natural almonds and half a brownie on my quick stop home. As I'd mentioned before, I was super excited for pickle wraps, but had a tough time finding pickles. I improvised and wrapped green onion in the cream cheese and turkey. While my breath was less than pleasant, the snack really hit the spot and I was able to get through the timed mile run fully energized. 

Tyler sent me the link to this video today! I envy the person who wrote this script - what talent! If you're in need of some motivation you've got to check this out. No need to even watch the video, just take in the message and feel empowered to be the determined winner you are! 

Holy Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps!

I know it's only my first day and I have many more recipes to dive into, but I'm pretty sure I've found a new fave in the Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps! The flavor was out of this world; even Tyler approved. And the best part - LEFTOVERS! Looks like I'll be excited for lunch tomorrow! Seriously, check these out, they even look amazing! 

My lettuce "wraps" were more like lettuce boats, but they worked nonetheless. This recipe is in the green Maximized Living Nutrition Plan book. I highly recommend checking it out and exploring more recipes in the book. On deck for tomorrow: Italian Spinach Soup! 

So I knew this would happen, but the moment I started my week I knew I needed to adjust my meal plan. Packing lunch for work can be a huge chore - I need to take advantage of leftovers! So, I made a few minor switch-a-roos and think I've got a meal schedule that is a little more flexible. I'm still sticking to the meals I picked in my original plan, with a few substitutes in the lunches so I can use up my leftovers. 

I started my day off with a cup of yogurt and about a half cup of blueberries. I remembered the Advanced Plan says "berries in moderation," so I figured I shouldn't follow up my berry breakfast with berries in my lunch item. I went with a salad of spinach, kale and broccoli with an olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano and parmesan dressing. I added crunch by tossing in some natural almonds and, of course, packed half of a wonderful brownie for dessert. 

I was really looking forward to having pickle wraps for a snack, but had a tough time finding pickles that didn't have crazy additives. So I went with celery and peanut butter for a snack today. I grabbed a few nuts on my way out the door to the Max Life workout. It looked like two cashews, an almond and maybe three peanuts. I was energized and felt great during and after the workout. 

With day one down I'm feeling super confident in this meal plan and excited to explore more recipes. I didn't I realized what I was missing by sticking to the low-fat/no-fat options. I felt much more satisfied after each meal today, which made it easy to stick to my plan. 

I own this plan. I am in control and I WILL succeed! 

Grain free/sugar free brownies

As part of my weekend assignment I needed to find two dessert recipes that were Advanced Plan approved. I found this fantastic brownie recipe and made a few minor adjustments to make it grain free, sugar free and simply divine! I added Hershey's Sugar Free Chocolate Chips (sweetened with Maltitol) and shredded, unsweetened coconut for added flavor and texture.

The verdict: The brownie was rich and satisfying, exactly what my evening sweet tooth is looking for. I was more than satisfied with one brownie- no need to go back for more. They are fairly dense and the coconut provides some texture. I will definitely be enjoying these the rest of the week and will use this recipe in the future! 

Now for the more critical review from my skeptical boyfriend:

Tyler's verdict: "They are good... just different." "It kinda reminds me of carrot cake- I can feel the grainy coconut like the carrots in carrot cake." "It almost tastes like an Almond Joy." 

If you're hesitant about giving up sugar, don't be! These guilt-free brownies will reassure you that you will thrive in a sugar free environment! 

Grain Free/Sugar Free Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chunky almond butter 
• 1/2 cup canned coconut milk (full fat)

• 2 eggs

• 2 t vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp. salt

• 1/4 cup Truvia
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1/3 cup chocolate chips (Hershey's Sugar Free Chocolate Chips)

• 1/3 cup shredded coconut 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom of 9×9 inch pan.
2. In a medium mixing bowl whisk together almond butter, coconut milk, eggs, vanilla, salt and sugar.
3. Add cocoa and whisk until fully incorporated.
4. Fold in chocolate chips and shredded coconut. 
5. Pour ingredients into prepared pan and bake for 18 minutes, or until center is firm.

3 to-do's and a "big why"

I met with my amazing Max Life Fitness and Nutrition coach Melissa Grandon on Friday to discuss how I am going transform from a carb-scarfer to a fat-burner. She handed me the small, paperback Maximized Living Nutrition Plan book and promised I would find some pretty amazing information in it. After the meeting she sent me important documents to live by and a few "to-dos" for the weekend. She also asked me to identify my "big why" - the reason I want to commit to this journey.

So to kick things off, it's only appropriate to highlight my "big why" (without getting too sappy and drawn-out, of course).

I've been struggling with binge eating for almost a year now. I moved to Des Moines a week after graduating from South Dakota State to take an internship with a prominent health insurance company. They hired me with promise that, based on my performance, there may be a job opportunity after the summer internship. I put a ton of pressure on myself to make sure I met those expectations and to become the best candidate for the position.

The daily stress, change of lifestyle and loneliness in the new location sparked binge eating. At one point in college I'd lost 20 pounds and kept it off for a year, but managed to gain it all back with the binge eating in just over a month. Binge eating became my coping mechanism, and while I still maintained the healthy category on the BMI scale, I am far from healthy.

A few months ago I met an amazing man, Tyler. We feel crazy in love with each other and enjoy spending time together. We joined Max Life together in March after purchasing a LivingSocial coupon. We both loved the workouts and decided we'd buy a membership to continue our great progress we'd made in our first 40 days.

Recently, the stress at my job started getting to me and I have been struggling to suppress the urge to binge eat. When I binge eat, I have extremely low self-esteem and confidence. I am constantly on edge, preoccupied with defeated thoughts and put-downs.

Ok, here it comes, my "big why" for wanting to apply the Maximized Living Advanced Nutrition Plan to my life is to make me the best me I can possibly be in my relationship with Tyler. By eliminating the binge eating, regaining my self-confidence and starting to love myself again, I will become the person I want to be, and the person he is in love with. Now don't get me wrong, I want this so badly for myself, but he is a constant rock and motivator to keep me striving to be the best me.

Alright, now on the to "to-do's" for the weekend.

1. Look at the ingredients list on foods and choose those that only have 5 ingredients or less.
2. Try two new Advanced Plan dessert items. 
3. Plan 3-days worth of meal plans and send them to Melissa to make sure I'm on track.

I plan to clean out the cupboards and donate all food that does not apply to the 5 ingredient rule. As for number two, you better believe I'm all over the desserts! I have at least four recipes to try already! And finally, my food plan is below.

Day 1
Breakfast: Organic Full Fat Greek Yogurt and berries
Lunch: Raspberry Pecan Summer Salad
Snack: Turkey with cream cheese and pickle
Dinner: Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Day 2
Breakfast: Spinach Omelette
Lunch: Italian Spinach Soup
Snack: Celery with Peanut Butter
Dinner: Buffalo Chicken Rolls

Day 3
Breakfast: Mint Choco-nut Dream Smoothie
Lunch: Left-Overs from Day 1 or Day 2 dinner
Snack: Hard-Boiled Eggs stuffed with hummus
Dinner: Taco Salad