Moving & Renovations Complete

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Rebecca

After a whirlwind 2 weeks, we got most of our major renovations completed – paint, kitchen, flooring, and lighting – and moved our things in last weekend.  We were up 18-hours a day for the entire 4 day weekend but it paid off when we looked around at how much we’d accomplished.  Here are a few pictures of the completed interior.

The foyer looks so much better with the pale green paint.  (SW “Spinach White)   The kitchen got new countertops, new cabinet hardware, and a good scrubbing.

The family room turned out much better than expected.  We replaced the worn carpet with hardwood floors, and purchased the 2 bookshelves.

The bedroom was a little disappointing because our bedroom furniture was a tight squeeze, but the color turned out great (SW “Dockside Blue”), and huge wall of windows is amazing.  The color also turned out well in the bright bathroom with new white trim.

We painted the other 2 bedrooms green (SW “Haven”) and yellow (SW “Butter Up”), to coordinate with our spa-color theme.  They both turned out great, and we intend to paint the wood trim white at a later date.

Finally, there’s the basement, which we painted a cool blueish grey (SW “Icicle”), along with the 4th bedroom upstairs (not pictured).  This is also knows as my husband’s “Man Cave”, and includes a game room and a gym.  We just finished that room today and I don’t have any pictures yet! 

The backyard is one of the reasons we bought the house. It’s .7 acres and wooded, with a big gazebo, fire pit, and basketball court.  The dogs are really enjoying it too and have claimed the gazebo as their giant dog house.  In the summer and fall, you can’t see the houses beyond the woods, and we’ve already had 2 deer sightings.  There is also a walking / biking trail that runs beyond our property lines, through the woods and in and around our little town of Powell, Ohio.

 

Next steps, back to the diet!  I have a big conference next week, but hope to start utilizing our home gym in the mornings, and make a big grocery fun to stock up on healthy food options.  After several months in transition, I have missed having a stocked refrigerator!

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Moving & Diets Do Not Mix

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Rebecca

My husband and I successfully completed four days of the Cinch Fast Forward Phase.  I ended up getting down to 133 pounds (5 pound loss), and my husband got down to 204 (9 pound loss).  Overall, we were very pleased with the results, but were struggling with energy after 4 days without real carbs, and trying to prepare for a move at the same time.

So now we’re in full renovation and moving mode in our new home, and diets have gone by the wayside.  Why is it so hard to eat healthy when you’re stressed and pressed for time?  It’s not like the fast food restaurants don’t have healthier options (I should know – I work for Wendy’s), but it’s so dang hard to choose a salad or grilled chicken sandwich over a big greasy burger and ice cream.  It’s easy, delicious, and temporarily eases your stress. 

See, don't you feel happier and less stressed?

Perhaps I should get some moving stress off my chest.  As discussed in previous blogs, my husband and I decided to move from Knoxville, TN to Columbus, OH in the Fall so that I could pursue a great new career opportunity.  I don’t regret it at all - the job is going great - but the move has been much, much harder on me (and my husband) than I expected.  First, we lived separately for over 3 months, during which time I threw myself into work, but did not take very good care of my body and mind, often ending the day depressed and eating ice cream in front of the TV.  We finally sold our house, after a very stressful two months of haggling with an FHA buyer.  In the end, it did close, and we were grateful for that in this crazy market.  So after 3 long weekends of house-hunting in Powell, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, we finally found one that felt like home.  That probably doesn’t seem like very long, but after about 30 houses, it starts to get tiring, and you begin to wonder if you’ll ever find the right house.

New home in Powell, Ohio

 Here is our lovely new home.  As my grandmother said, “it looks like a mansion” from the outside.  Yes, it’s a nice home, but not without problems.  It’s by far the oldest home we’ve ever purchased, compared to our first 2 practically new homes, so it comes with 18 years of someone else’s wear and tear.  It’s also much bigger than we had planned to purchase.  We had been looking for houses 1/2 this size, but our realtor showed us this one becuase it was such a great location, great wooded lot, and a great price.  So despite our family and friend’s opinions that it’s way too big, it just felt like the right house.

So since closing last Friday, we’ve been in a frenzy to get it cleaned up and fixed up before we move in our stuff.  First off, it needed new paint throughout the house.  I’m not a fan of tans, and they made the woodwork look yellowish, and most of the house was painted a sort of dijon mustard color.  So after many weeks stressing over paint color, we finally chose some, for better or worse, mostly in the cool green and blue family.  The main living area is Spinach White by Sherwin Williams.  It does look much better than the dijon color, but a little more “minty” than I’d imagined.  It’s still a work in progress…

I’m having a really hard time dealing with all the imperfections of this house.  For as much money as we spent, I feel the strong need for it to be perfect.  Blame it on my genes, I’m a perfectionist, and I’ve been obsessing over paint splatters on my woodwork, mostly from previous sloppy paint jobs.  The new painters seem to be doing a much better job, but still not quite to my standards.  Sigh… I must learn to deal with imperfection.

Staying in the kitchen and family room, shown above, the countertops are also being replaced this week.  Yet another obsession over which color granite.  The floors are a brilliant emerald green, the cabinets are oak, and the appliances are black.  So we went with a Black Ubatuba countertop, which is being installed on Thursday.  I hope it looks as good as I imagine.  I need for something to look as good as I imagine.

Then there’s the lighting.  Oh my.  The lighting fixtures were either painted black, or very dated and brass, so much of it had to be changed out.  We did our best to choose good fixtures, and I do like all of the ones we chose, but suddenly it struck me that the styles are a little different.  For example, the traditional swirly, kitchen light (shown above), does not necessarily mix with the contemporary fan in the nearby family room (which was not yet changed out when we took that picture).  Maybe that’s not a big deal, but it bothered me.

More obsessing over home projects in the next post…

Do you have any home quirks you’d like to share?

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Cinch Day 3

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Rebecca

It’s a snowy day in Columbus and I’m feeling very unmotivated to get out of my PJ’s and off the couch, although we plan to hit the gym for a light workout shortly.

Even the dogs are feeling lazy…

Before we got started on Saturday, my husband and I both had to do our pre-Cinch weigh-in.  I think we were both a bit shocked at how quickly you can gain weight when not watching what you eat!  I had, umm… female issues… that cause significant bloat, but still, seeing 138 again was disappointing.  My husband was at 213, still much less than his peak of 230 a few years ago, but with a goal of 185, we’ve both got a ways to go on this new Cinch adventure.

Days 1 & 2 went well, although we were both pretty sluggish.  I guess it’s our body’s reaction to the lack of complex carbs.  So it’s Day 3 now and we’ve both already lost a few pounds, mostly water weight of course, but it feels good nonetheless.  Below is a recap of the 5-day Fast Forward eating plan.  For my husband’s higher caloric needs, I’m adding an egg with breakfast, and extra yogurt and nuts with his snacks.

I’m glad I was off work and planned to spend New Years at home, because the grocery shopping and food-prep is always a little time-consuming.  I suggest starting on a weekend!

I consider myself somewhat of an expert at the grocery store and know very well how to dissect a food label, so I was surprised to find that it was a little challenging to find acceptable forms of my 5 ingredients.  Below were my findings, which are based on 1 person, so I had to buy double this for both of us:

  • 15 cups of raw spinach, approximately 2 large 10-oz bags.

  • 20 cups of raspberries, which I split between fresh and frozen; about 4 pints + 4 10-oz bags.  Fresh tastes a lot better, but are much more expensive, so I use those for the fruit cups, and use frozen for the parfaits and smoothies.  Be careful and check your labels because some frozen varieties contain sugar!  You can also sub other types of berries if you prefer – try a mixed berry blend of raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries.

  • 2 cups of sliced almonds.  You can buy the sliced almonds in bulk in the Organic section at Kroger.  But if they don’t have any bulk at your grocery store, you can also find bags in the Baking aisle.

  • 10 Tablespoons of natural RAW almond butter, about 1/3 of a 16-oz jar.  Target and Kroger both have a couple of good options.  MaraNatha All Natural RAW Almond Butter is my favorite in terms of flavor.  When in doubt, read the ingredient label and be sure all that it includes is “raw almonds”… no oils or sugars.  You can also sub peanut butter, but once again, be sure there are no ingredients other than peanuts.

  •  60 ounces of non-fat PLAIN yogurt, 2 of the 32-oz tubs.  My husband despises bitter plain yogurt, so I got plain yogurt for me, and Dannon’s Light ‘n Fit vanilla yogurt for him, which overall contains about the same natural sugar content as plain.  Greek yogurt is a good option too, but is even more bitter.  Your not supposed to add any artificial sweeteners, but I usually sprinkle a tiny bit of Truvia into the yogurt to make it more palatable.

  • 10 large eggs.  There are different sizes and types, but I like Eggland’s Best LARGE eggs.  Careful not to get extra large!  You’ll also want to boil 5 of them when you get home so they’re ready for your dinners.  You can store un-peeled hard boiled eggs in the fridge for about a week.

  • 4-5 tangerines (for flavor & salad dressing)
  • Seasonings  - herbs (salt-free) cinnamon and nutmeg (plain, without sugar), balsamic vinegar.  NO SALT!

 

MEALS

  • Meal 1  (9:30 am) - scrambled egg with spinach; raspberries and almonds.  2 cups water.

The egg & spinach combo was a little bland and the spinach flavor really stood out.  Remember, NO SALT!!  Overall, not bad, but we made it into an omelet on Days 2 and 3 and thought it was a little better.  The fruit and almonds were very yummy.

 

  • Meal 2  (1:00 pm) – yogurt parfait with raspberries and almonds.  2 cups water.

This was delicious and tasted like dessert!  I sprinkled a little cinnamon and nutmeg on each yogurt layer and that really spiced it up.  I might also add a few sprigs of mint next time (I grow mint in my kitchen).

 

  • Meal 3  (5:00 pm) – spinach salad with raspberries, almonds, boiled egg, homemade tangerine balsamic vinaigrette .  2 cups water.

This meal was my least favorite, although it looks pretty, because I’m not much of a salad fan, and no not like the taste of fresh spinach or vinegar.  For Days 2 and 3, we ate the ingredients separately – boiled egg, cooked spinach, berries & almonds.

  • Meal 4 (9:00 pm) – smoothie with yogurt, raspberries, almond butter, ice.  2 cups water.

The smoothie was great – kind of like a fruity milkshake to finish out the day.  I had to add a little bit of water to help it blend, and also added a sprinkle of cinnamon.  For those that are used to a super-sweet smoothie (my husband played guinea pig), you might find this a bit sour or bitter due to the plain yogurt and raspberries.  Give it time for your taste buds to adjust.  By the end of 5 days, you are supposed to have a new appreciation for natural flavors.  For my husband, I subbed the Dannon Light ‘n Fit vanilla yogurt, and natural peanut butter instead of almond, and he loved it.

 

Have you started a New Year’s diet?  Joint he conversation!  Happy New Year!!!

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Cinch 2012!

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Rebecca

It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since I started Cinch.  After losing 14 pounds and reaching my goal weight (130 pounds), I maintained my good habits and my weight through the summer, but fell back into some bad habits in the Fall during my moving turmoil.  So, it’s time to start fresh for 2012!

My husband is going to join me this time around, which should make it much easier!  Today was grocery day for the Detox “Fast Forward” phase.  Below is what $100 of berries, yogurt, spinach, almonds, and eggs looks like!  So that’s $50 per person.  It seems like a lot, but if you consider how much you’d normally spend on food, it’s about average.


Some might wonder why I’m starting a couple days before New Years, but I find that the fast forward phase is much easier on a weekend since there is quite a bit of prep work.  Plus, I find it easier to eat healthy at home rather than surrounded by temptation and peer pressure at work.

For anyone that’s new to Cinch, or new to my site, I recommend going back through my blogs from December 2010 – January 2011 (use the drop down box on the bottom right of the screen).  I went into a lot of detail about the plan, the book, and details about each day.  Although I hope to share similar details this  year, I probably won’t have as much time this year, and there no need to repeat everything!

Also, I highly recommend reading the Cinch! book, or at least reviewing Cynthia Sass’ website before getting started.  It’s very helpful to understand all the reasons behind the foo choices and how it works to help you lose weight and create better eating habits.

My new goal is 125 pounds.  Tomorrow will be Day 1!

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Holiday Mayhem

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Rebecca

It’s December… let the holiday mayhem begin.  I haveven’t been the gym for a formal workout in almost 2 weeks, but I think running around town shopping for presents should count as something!  I have also continue to give in to my sugar demons, and have a new desktop friend:

We actually bought this as a Christmas present for a family member, but then found another one later that we thought would work much better for them.  I think when the M&M’s are gone, he will be moved (and preferably kept empty) to the Tennessee-themed basement in our new home.

For those who are interested in Cinch, I do plan to start the program once again after the holidays are over, so stay tuned! 

Daily Menu & Workout Plan:

  • 5:30 am – No work out today.  I don’t even remember turning off my alarm.
  • 8:30 am – Greek yogurt with blackberries and granola, carrot juice and vitamin pack
  • 12:00 pm – Lowfat chicken salad sandwich, handful of M&M’s
  • 3:30 pm – Dried fruit & nuts
  • 7:30 pm – Business dinner at BBQ restaurant (sounds real healthy)
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Adjusting to a new place

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Rebecca

Meet my new office nemesis, Mr. M&M.  This seemingly harmless character is actually a 4-foot tall diet devil that frequently calls my name at about 3:00 in the afternoon when I’m tired, stressed, and starting to get hungry.  Unfortunately I cannot avoid him, so instead I must once again work on my will power.

 

Adjusting to a new place is never easy, and this move has been particularly difficult.  I’m on my own for the first few months while my husband finishes school and sells our house.  I thought that would actually make it easier to focus on eating right and have extra time to work out, but on the contrary, I find it much more difficult to go work out and not have ice cream and cookies for dinner when nobody is around.  Plus, I’ve done quite a bit of travel, and LOTS of business dinners, so that can wreak havoc on a waistline as well.  As for working out, I no longer have an office gym and I miss it terribly!!!  We are building one (due to open Fall 2012) and I managed to get myself on our Wellness Committee to help develop the new gym, as well as company wellness programs.  In the meantime, however, I joined a gym close to my office and temporary apartment and have been trying to adjust to early-morning workouts.  I manage to go most work days at about 5:30am, but find that I don’t have the same energy levels that I did at lunch.  So I also tried packing a gym bag and going at lunch, but I guess I got pretty spoiled with towels, bathroom appliances, and toiletries being provided at my old gym, and did not realize what a pain it would be to pack and maintain all of those things.  Plus, I often have other obligations at lunch and cannot get away.  I’ve also tried after work, but I’m often dead tired by then. 

So I’ll stick to morning workouts for now, and do my best to maintain my weight through the holidays.  I made a friend here in town (yay Audrey!) and hope to start over on Cinch with her in January.  I will blog all about it!

Daily Menu & Workout Plan:

  • 7:30 am – 1/2 cup Grape Nuts with strawberries and pecans
  • 11:30 pm – Plain 0% Greek yogurt with berries
  • 3:30 pm – Kashi frozen entree “Mayan Harvest Bake”
  • 5:30 pm – Strength training (arms, abs), 30 minutes cardio
  • 7:30 pm – Avocado, tomato, peppers, rice, beans, and light sour cream in a whole wheat tortilla wrap.
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Gone, but not forgotten!

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Rebecca

Hello world.  For those that looked forward to my blogs for your daily motivation / laugh / meal ideas, sorry for the 3-month hiatus!  A lot has changed since my last post in August.  Shortly after that post, I started a month of whirlwind interviews all over the country for several great new jobs that sort of fell out of the sky into my lap.  Opportunity was knocking, and I opened!  Since then, I accepted a new position at Wendy’s corporate office in Dublin, Ohio, and have been going through the unpleasant task of relocating.  Yeah, finding a temporary apartment, selling the house in a down market, hubby looking for a new job, comparing moving companies, researching rent options if the house can’t sell… blah, blah, blah.  Add all of that to the pressures of starting a new job + 3 weeks of business travel in my first 6 weeks.  Needless to say, I’ve been a little busy, and my diet took a back seat, but so far I’m really liking the Columbus area!

I’m happy to say that despite my diet being temporarily de-railed, all is not lost.  I’ve managed to keep my weight steady in the low 130′s, joined a nearby gym and go most mornings before work, and joined the committee that’s working to build an on-site fitness center in our office.  Plus, this community is very committed to healthy living!  There are tons of good parks with long trails for walking / jogging / hiking, sidewalks on nearly every street, lots of bike paths, a gym every few miles, and lots of good grocery options (hello, Trader Joe’s!).  Now if only I could do something about the cold weather and the wind…

On the down side, my absolute favorite food is ice cream, and this is “ice cream heaven” with tons of super-premium ice cream shops in close proximity to my work and home.  Needless to say, I’ve been to these ice cream shops often, and too often their pints have made their way into my freezer and been devoured in a matter of hours.  Ahh well, I have some work to do to get back on track, but we’ve all go to start somewhere.

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Lots of Food

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Rebecca

Hello world.  Bill (husband) and I had a very productive weekend – the house and yard got a thorough cleaning, and I prepped lots of food!  Those darn Skittles continued to plague me, however.  They constantly caught my eye, so colorful in the pretty crystal candy jar, beckoning to be eaten.  After several handfuls, Bill and I agreed that they needed to be moved out of sight… and I haven’t thought about them since.

Speaking of Skittles, which are straight sugar and high-fructose-corn-syrup (the worst kind of sugar), I read that sugar is thought to be a leading factor in premature aging.  I already knew it aggravated my skin, but this latest news definitely gives me one more reason to stay away!

So it seems like a good idea to start with 5-minute Chocolate Cake.  Yes, you read right… I’m professing that you should stay away from sugar, but telling you about chocolate cake.  No worries, I used a sugar substitute and it was pretty darn good for a quick, easy, and not-so-unhealthy cake!   You can click on the link above for the recipe, and I suggest subbing the sugar with 1 tablespoon Truvia (or equaivalent), and use extra-dark chocolate chips (such as Ghiradelli 60%).  I made a double recipe in a small mixing bowl instead of a mug, and did not need so much!  We could only finish half.

 

Next up, Coconut & Banana Pancakes.  I used an Atkins Baking Mix, but you could also sub whole wheat flour.  I also used unsweetened coconut milk (which I’m not crazy about and wanted to use up), but you could sub regular milk or almond milk.  I topped them with sliced bananas and a delicious coconut syrup that I brought back from Hawaii, but a regular sugar-free syrup, or mashed berries would work too.  The final consensus is that they were good, not restaurant quality or anything, but probably much better for us!

  • 1 cup Atkins Baking Mix
  • 2 tsp Truvia
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
  • 1 whole egg
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut

 

Now, it’s time for my Sunday ritual of weekly food prep.  Basically it starts like this… emptying my fridge of anything that needs to be used up, including leftovers, or any ingredients I had bought for the upcoming week’s meals.  (I added more stuff later… eggs, spinach, and feta cheese for omelettes.)

 

2 hours later, it looked like this.  Breakfast, lunch, and snack for 3 days, plus 1/2 the zucchini lasagna that I froze for future meals.  The below includes:

  1. 2 Spinach & Feta Omelettes
  2. 1 leftover pancakes
  3. 2 cups fresh berries with Greek yogurt
  4. 2 Mexican Veggie Mix lunches
  5. 3 servings Zucchini Lasagna

 

Mexican Veggie Mix: a bed of brown rice, topped with black beans, avocado, jalapeno, & tomatoes; garnished with cilantro, cumin, & a lime.

Zucchini Lasagna, made with zucchini and sqash in place of pasta, and lean turkey meat in place of beef. (See the original recipe in Favorite Recipes tab)

 

So there you have it – 2 hours of prep will easily save me more than 2 hours of work and stress during the week.  Plus, if you’re like me and always pressed for time, having the food ready in advance (even breakfast in this case) prevents the inevitable moment of choosing between a healthy homemade meal and being late.  And since I’m also very opposed to wasted food, having the food prepared in advance helps steer me away from eating out during the week, saving both calories and money!

 

Today’s Meal & Workout Plan:

  • 7 am – Spinach & Feta Omelette
  • 12 pm – Mexican Veggie Mix
  • 12:30 pm – Strength (upper body), 30 minutes cardio
  • 3:30 pm – Berries & Greek yogurt
  • 7 pm – Turkey sausage with green peas
  • 8 pm – Long walk with the dogs
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Eating Healthy

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Rebecca

Seriously?  112 degrees!?!

I am feeling much more motivated the past few days and doing pretty good at sticking to my healthy eating habits, although I will admit I’ve had a small handful of Skittles each day (about 150 calories).  Darn my husband for bringing home a 54-ounce bag!!  They look pretty in our crystal candy dish, but are a terrible diet trap.

Anyway, my sister was asking for advice on preparing healthy meals each week, and that got me thinking about what sort of advice I’d offer to those that don’t want to spend much time in the kitchen.  So here’s a few tips I came up with:

  1. Find things you like and stick to them.  Then prep in multiples and have handy for meals.  For me, that’s berries & yogurt, homemade granola bars, almonds, fish, and often a mix of rice/beans/veggies.  Meal planning is much easier when 1-2 meals a day is the same thing.  If you get bored, switch it up.
  2. Keep healthy staples on hand at all times.  The less time you have to think about what you’re making, the less chance you’ll eat something bad for you.  I don’t always choose my staple foods, but they’re always available.  Similar to above, I always have fresh berries, Greek yogurt, reduced-sodium canned black beans, avocados, almonds, frozen / canned seafood, and various veggies on hand.
  3. Set aside a little time each week for food prep. Sorry, but there’s no way around doing a little food prep if you want to eat healthy, and I bet it takes less time than going through a drive-thru over and over again.  At minimum for me, it’s 1 hour on Sunday nights, plus a few minutes mid-week.  Often, I’ll make large batches and divvy them up into containers, which can also eliminate prep at end-of-day dinners, which most of us are most likely to reach for junk food.

So there are a few of my ideas.  What works for you?  Do you enjoy or hate food prep?

Daily Menu & Workout Plan:

  • 6 am – homemade granola bar, vitamin
  • 6:30 pm – 5 mile run
  • 9 am – 1 cup strawberries & blueberries, 1/2 serving hazelnut Nut-Thins
  • 12 pm – layers of brown rice, tomato, black beans, avocado
  • 3:30 pm – mango coconut SoyJoy bar, 10 almonds
  • 7 pm – Zucchini Lasagna, Becca’s Coconut Brownies

    Layers of brown rice, tomato, black beans, avocado

 

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Terrible Tuesday

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Rebecca

Having a pretty crummy week so far.  I’m sure this is a factor in two nights of restless sleep.  I laid staring at my alarm clock this morning, wondering if it was worth skipping my run, but I knew laying in bed another hour would not make me feel any better.  I had a decent 5-mile jog, the saving grace for my otherwise horrible mood.

 Then my sweet husband came and took me to lunch to try and cheer me up, which was great, albeit not in the least bit healthy, but it did cheer me up!  No worries, a bad meal is not a diet killer, but it does mean you have to balance it by having healthy meals the other parts of the day. 

I spent so many years thinking I had to eat perfectly all the time to succeed at losing or maintaining my weight, but it’s all about calories in and calories out.  If I need 1,600 calories per day / 11,200 calories per week, I can afford to eat a few high-calorie meals as long as it balances out.  To see how many calories you need, use one of the tools posted to the right under “Helpful Links”.

Daily Menu & Workout Plan:

  • 6:00 am – Homemade granola bar, vitamin
  • 6:30 am – 5-mile run
  • 9:00 am – Cantaloupe, 14 almonds
  • 1:00 pm – Five Guys grilled cheese, 1/2 portion french fries; Marble Slab ice cream
  • 6:00 pm – 3.5 oz grilled chicken, zucchini, sweet potato
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