Over the past two months or so, I've been trying to get more physically fit for various reasons. One being that my family has a history of high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes and I know that staying healthy can hopefully prevent all or some of these.
The other is because I want to be a healthy weight before I start trying to have another baby. I know it seems fatalistic to do all of this work and then gain 40lbs during my next pregnancy. However, I figure if I do it now I'll only have to lose 10lbs instead of 30 - 40lbs.
Anyway, I've been doing a lot of things got get fit. I've been doing Jillian Michaels' "30 Day Shred" workout DVD for 4 mornings a week (it helps that Colin is willing to be a workout partner), I'm also doing a Jillian's "Yoga Meltdown" DVD in the afternoons and running/elliptical at least 3 days a week. On top of all of that I've cut my calorie intake and tried to cut back on processed foods using a meal plan through www.jillianmichaels.com . It's actually been really fun to try new and healthy recipes. Here's one of my favorite ones so far because they taste so good and they are really filling without a lot of calories:
FYI: I made a double batch of these and put them in the freezer because they reheat very well.
Cottage Cheese Pancakes
Ingredients
1 cup(s) flour, whole-wheat
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup(s) cottage cheese, fat free
2/3 cup(s) milk, lowfat (1%) (I used skim)
2 large egg(s)
1 tablespoon honey (I added about 1/2 tbsp more)
Preparation
In a large bowl, stir together flour and baking soda. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cottage cheese, milk, eggs, and honey. Stir wet ingredients into dry ones.
Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium. Working in batches, drop pancake mixture by 1/4 cupfuls into pan. Cook until bottoms are set and tops have small bubbles, about 1 minute. Turn pancakes and cook until just firm in the center, 1 to 3 minutes more. Repeat. Serve with fresh strawberries, blueberries and/or bananas (add an additional 91 calories).
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 10 mins
Nutrition Facts
Number of Servings: 4
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 193
Total Fat: 4 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 110 mg
Sodium: 221 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 26 g
Dietary Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 15 g
All of the workouts and calorie cutting has really paid off. So far I've lost 12lbs, in a little over 2 months. I have about 5 more pounds to go to reach my goal weight. Hopefully just in time for swimsuit weather! ;)
Before I began doing the "30 Day Shred" DVD a friend of mine and I were doing the "Couch to 5K" challenge. I wanted to continue doing that too, but I really cut back on my running. So, when I entered for a 5K this weekend I didn't really know what to expect.
The 5K was in Huasna Valley and was GORGEOUS! It was a fundraiser run for a girl named Holly Navolt (they called it Hike for Holly and you'll soon find out why), she's an 18 year old girl who has severe Cystic Fibrosis and needed a lung transplant. The plan was that I would run and Colin would walk the 5K with the boys in the stroller. We had heard that that the route was pretty flat except on section that had a pretty steep incline. WRONG!
When we got there you couldn't tell where the 5K trail was because of the surrounding forests. It wasn't until the actual run that I found out that it was more of a hike than a run. There were several steep hills that had rocks, sticks, deep holes (from cattle and possibly ground hogs), mud, etc. They weren't just little hills, they were hills that were hard to walk up AND down let alone run. If I would have known I would have taken a camera with me to prove it to you.
Needless to say Colin couldn't make it up the first hill (which was the most mild of them all) with the stroller and Jackson was devastated that he couldn't "run" with his mommy. However, the trail looped back near the starting line a little less than half way through, so Jackson did get to cheer me on then. It was SO adorable to hear his little voice yelling, "Go Mommy, go!"
There was a straight away at the end of the race where the boys met up with me and Jackson could "finish" the race with me in the end. He was very proud of himself. Although I added about 5 minutes to the 3 mile time I ran earlier in the week, I'm still VERY proud of my 35:59 finish time.
Even though they couldn't participate in the run, the morning was still really fun for the boys. The event planners really did a great job. They had a bounce house, a band, a BBQ and a mini petting zoo. The boys had a great time ... we all did.
However, I'd have to say that the best and worst part of the morning was when Jackson had a melt down as we were leaving because he dropped his uneaten banana on the ground and his balloon animal popped out of it's shape. He yelled through angry tears, "now I won't have anything special from the race!" It was probably one of the worst public tantrums he's ever had. It was also a REALLY good opportunity for me to remind him of the reason why we were doing the race to begin with. We talked about Holly and her sickness and how she needed new lungs because hers were broken ... it was a good reminder for the both of us that we shouldn't be so focused on ourselves.
