Weightloss Weapons of the Week

Sometimes I find it really difficult to stay motivated. When I get that way I really need something extra to push me to get me outside and moving. Then I found Charity Miles and if I don't fit in my daily walk or run I feel super guilty. Charity Miles is great! I get the workout I need while also helping others.

"How it Works

It's as easy as this: get moving. Bikers earn 10¢ a mile and walkers and runners earn 25¢ a mile, up to our initial $1,000,000 sponsorship pool."

You can check them out here: http://www.charitymiles.org/ and be sure to download the app

I don't know about you but there are days I DO NOT want to count my calories and I just feel STARVING and I need to eat something! I don't get out of work until 6pm every day so waiting until I get home to eat is nearly impossible. I always need a snack around 3 or 4. When I get ravenous but it isn't quite dinner time yet I like to nibble on a Mini Babybel Light. They taste amazinggg, have 6g of protein, and keep me full until dinner.

What helps you stay motivated throughout the week?

Get Happy

I'll admit I have been a bit of a grump lately. I'm sorry everybody that has had to put up with my Negative Nancy behavior. I've just been in such a bad mood that I couldn't seem to shake it. So I sat down and wrote a couple things that always make me happy. I feel like I'm perking back up.

 Thank heavens! 

1. Listen to music.
This is always my number one go-to feel better trick. I even have a playlist on Spotify specialy made for cheering me up. My Happy Playlist

2. Take a walk around the block.
Some days at work can be so stressful that I just want to cry or scream or a combination of both. Those are the days that I find it especially important to take a walk during lunch. There is a nice little loop that I can walk around the buildings that clocks in at about a little over a mile and it's the perfect way to calm down and take a break.

3. Do a quick exercise routine.
Elle Woods said it best "Exercise gives you endorphins.  Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands" A quick little workout sometimes is all it takes to turn that frown upside down. My favorite quick workout is this one from thinfithot.tumblr.com

4. Phone a friend.
Sometimes all it takes to cheer me up is a familiar loving voice. That's when I call my best friend or my mom. They both know exactly what to say to make me feel better. Or as my mom sometimes says "wake up and stop feeling sorry for yourself."

5. Count your blessings.
When I'm in a really terrible mood I don't want to sit down and think about all the good in my life. I just want to dwell on what's making me mad. But it's always so much better to think about the positive. Even better if I write down a couple things that are particularly great at the moment and realize that life is pretty great.

6. Take a nap.
Other times I just want to give up. When things are that bad it's best if I just take a nap. My bad mood is probably coming from a lack of sleep anyways. I'm not normally one who can take a mid-day nap but when I do you'll know it was because of a particularly terrible day.

7. Drink a cup of tea.
I'm not really all that crazy about tea but I do have to give some credit to Sheldon Cooper when he said "Social protocol states when a friend is upset, you offer them a hot beverage, such as tea." It really does a bit of cheering up when I'm down.

8. Go outside.
Just being outside feels good when the sun is shining. Take a blanket and a good book and just sit outside in the sunshine and read.

9. Take a hot shower.
Pretty self explanatory. Showers are awesome.

10. Take a deep breath.
When I don't have any time to actually do any of these little tricks all I can do is take a deep breath. In through the nose out through the mouth. Just a couple of times and I'm a little calmer and can think a little straighter.

What do you do to cheer up, get happy, or get rid of stress?

Saving Money with Homemade Freezer Food

I've been trying my hardest to save money lately. I have an addiction to weekly retail therapy and I love going out to lunch. But since I am going to Italy in May! (I'm so freakin' excited!!) I really need to buckle down and save as much as I can. I thought what a better way to save than to start bringing my lunch from home everyday. I began this mission last week and the only thing I could think of bringing for lunch was Lean Cuisines and Progresso Soup, that is until I was totally sick of it and ended up getting Chick Fil A because I couldn't stomach eating one more Lean Cuisine.

Then I thought about making freezer burritos. Less calories than the ones at the store and less mysterious. It seemed easy enough and I do love burritos.

The ingredients were simple, too. Just flour tortillas, shredded Mexican cheese, black beans, Target's Cilantro lime rice (it's in the freezer section and it's just like Chipotle's  rice but with corn in it) and shredded chicken.

The chicken I made ahead of time by throwing it in the crock pot for 8 hours on low with a little taco seasoning and hot sauce. 

Prepare the cilantro lime rice as instructed on the bag and added the can of black beans. 

Take a heaping scoop of the rice and beans and plop it on the tortilla.

then add the chicken.

(Brian wanted to add more spices and hot sauce to his burrito) then sprinkle on the cheese.

roll the tortilla up as tightly as possible.

Then individually wrap each burrito in saran wrap before throwing them in a large zip-lock and putting them all in the freezer.

Whenever your ready to eat one just take it out, remove the saran wrap and microwave for a minute. It's a really quick and cheap work lunch alternative and it's pretty healthy.

The next thing I decided to try was pancakes. I make pancakes almost every Saturday morning. I LOVE PANCAKES. But, I always have left overs and never end up finishing them all. I don't know why I never thought about freezing them before.

First off, I cheated and just made a double batch of Bisquick blueberry pancakes. (I am on the hunt for a low calorie healthy alternative that doesn't call for crazy ingredients that I would never normally have on hand. I'll keep ya posted if I ever find one.)

After stuffing my face, I began stacking the pancakes with wax paper in between each one.

and then I just stuck them all in a Freezer Ziploc Bag. 

When you're ready to eat them, take out as many as you want and nuke them in the microwave for about 45 seconds to a minute. 

Time & money saving deliciousness!