From the category archives:

Healthy Living

Update: Project Get Healthy

by agirlandhermutt on January 19, 2012

Good morning friends! Its been a while since I gave a Project Get Healthy update. It doesn’t mean that it hasn’t been on my mind! I got a few emails asking about my blood pressure and how I’m doing at WW so I decided to look back at my goals from back in July to see how I have done. Yes, I was down an additional 2.2 lbs this week at WW, but was I doing everything I could to get my health under control?

Uh. No. Not so much.

Ha! Ready to see a few serious goal FAILS?

1. Give up my beloved soda. I LOVE Cherry Coke Zero. Its crap and I know it.—NOPE. I do it on and off for bits at a time, but it seems to always sneak back in. I don’t do so great with the whole nothing at all approach so I’m going back to the only on X day. Is this going to work? I have no idea. I have a serious caffeine issue! Anyone have good advice? Oh, and don’t say water. I drink water like I can’t get enough. How do I drink so much all day?!

2. Track my food intake better to make sure I’m getting all my veggies, fruits, protein, etc in appropriately. You can now follow along with what I’m eatin’ on my newly created “DAILY EATS” page.- Ugh. My Daily eats has been neglected. The food tracking hasn’t, but I haven’t been so great with the photos. I WILL get this back up and running, but it might be more like a Weekly Eats.

3. Commit myself to exercise/activity 5x/week. .- I’ve been doing ok here. I told you guys that I’ve been trying out the whole gym in the morning thing. I’m trying to get that in 3x/week and then do yoga the other 2 days. Some weeks have been better than others. There are times when I feel almost angry that I have to get up so early. Who the heck am I mad at?! I have no idea. The Scientist is definitely a motivator in this department though. He goes with me every.single.time to the gym! Plus, he doesn’t act like it is easy either. Thanks for that.

4. Make healthier choices when out with friends/family. I want to continue being social and go out often, but I want to stay on track while doing so!- I do ok. Not great, but ok. Tonight I skipped the beer and went for a water. There isn’t much weekday boozing and I am trying hard to keep my going out to dinner down to just 1-2x a week. I know that seems like a lot for some of you, but going out to eat is the main way my friends and I get together. I’m ok with that. However, I possibly could have skipped the fried pickles or the glass of wine though a few nights ago. When I say possibly I mean I totally should have.

5. Continue to work towards my “feel good weight” by adding up 1-4 listed above. Smile - Right. Lets try it again, shall we?!

Wow. It is really not fun to admit on my little spot on the web that I failed at a couple of my goals. However, its kind of a learning experience. Rather than get all upset and drink my little heart out with Cherry Coke Zero, I’m just going to suck it up and get back to it. There isn’t a timeline on these goals! My blood pressure is doing ok (with meds) and I am doing well at WW, but I’d love to be doing better. I choose not to give up. I choose to move forward.

Ready. Set. GO!

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Benefits of Becoming a Morning Person

by agirlandhermutt on December 7, 2011

I’ve officially decided what my 2012 resolution is going to be. Kind of early? Sure. I like to think about these things thoroughly though. This resolution is totally different from my goals or 31W31 list and is typically just one simple thing. Well, simple probably isn’t the right word.

I want to become a morning person.

Eek. Kind of sounds daunting for this night owl. I love staying up late and sleeping in. Unfortunately my body doesn’t. Keeping with the whole Healthy Living Project I need to make a change for the better.

I’ve already started to take steps to reaching this goal. For the past few weeks I’ve been getting up a bit earlier and hitting the gym before work. It is such a small change, but is making the world of difference in all aspects of my life.

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1. I eat a better breakfast.

I’m excited to get home from the gym, shower, and whip up a quick but super delicious breakfast. My favorite right now is 1 egg w/ 1 or 2 egg whites, diced up peppers or grape tomatoes, a little Frank’s Red Hot Sauce and 2 pieces of soy bacon. I change it up regularly, but this is by far my fave. I love that I have time to cook it and eat it my little kitchen table instead of my desk at work. I feel so much more adult-like!

2. I have time to get ready for work.

I like being able to style my hair and do my make-up without looking at the clock every five minutes. I’ve even curled my hair! I try to get together my clothes every night before bed so this gives me even a little more time to get the whole outfit together. A more style me= A happier me.

3. I have a ton more free time after work.

I love being able to go out with friends or The Scientist without feeling guilty that I’m missing the gym. Plus, I’m able to get some basic errands done that I would usually have to get done on Saturday morning. I’m enjoying my time after work so much more these days.

4. I’m bringing lunch and staying on track throughout the day.

By starting the day off on a healthy note I’ve found that I am trying harder to eat healthy throughout the day. I start drinking water earlier in the day. I remember to bring my lunch from home. I track my snacks a little better. Overall, I’m much more conscious of the work that I did in the morning and trying not to ruin it.

Thanksgiving Roll-Up: Flatout, turkey, Laughing Cow cheese wedge, 2 tbsp Cranberry Sauce

5. I’m done by 7am.

I love knowing inside that I’ve done something good for myself and I’m totally done exercising for the day by 7am. Anything else I do that is activity is bonus and things that I’m doing for fun. Plus, I love having something over on a few people. Is that wrong? Totally wrong. Right?

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I hope you guys are having a good week! I’m diligently preparing for some holiday festivities this weekend. So far I know what I’m wearing. Ha. I probably need to work on what I’m giving for a gift, what I’m bringing, etc.

What is the latest you can sleep in? Are you a morning person or a night owl?

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Easy Peasy Meals Week

by agirlandhermutt on November 8, 2011

Part of me keeping on track with Project Get Healthy is to stick to a schedule as much as possible. Don’t skip breakfast! Eat your lunch on time! Make sure to eat dinner at a normal hour!

In some ways this can be really irritating for me, but in other ways it is extremely comforting. I can use my schedule as a crutch when it starts to get hard to say no to going out for lunch or stopping for Happy Hour drinks. I’m like a little old lady that has her cute little routine.

But life happens. Weekends in NYChappen. Grocery shopping sometimes DOES NOT happen.

After eating my way through Manhattan AND Brooklyn, I am back in action and back on track. I got off work and headed straight to the grocery store. This week’s menu theme is : EASY PEASY.

Nothing on my menu takes more than 4 ingredients and requires less than 10 minutes hands on time.

My CSA has finally ended so my stock pile of greens has been dramatically reduced. I knew I wanted some collard greens or kale for the week and was super overjoyed when I saw a GIANT bag of shredded kale all ready to cook. Ready to cook, already shredded kale is so easy and going to make sticking to my meal plan that much easier.

The other new to me product that is making mealtime a bit easier this week is Flatout Flatbread. These flatbreads come in a variety of flavors and styles, but I stuck with The Original for this week. I’m not a huge flour tortilla fan, but the spongy texture of this flatbread was perfect for a wrap, pizza, or pita chip like snack. I’ll be using these for a few turkey wraps this week. *Random Note: My mom calls these the Hungry Girl wraps. Don’t ask for them like that at the store. They won’t know what you are talking about. *

Hopefully my Easy Peasy approach to eating this week will allow me to get back on track after our marathon eating weekend and STAY on track through a bit more celebrating this upcoming weekend.

What are your easy peasy products that you always have on hand?