Weekend Recap

Hi everyone! I hope you had a fabulous weekend full of healthy choices.

I was pretty successful in eating well this weekend.  I only had one small plate of food and one cakepop at my cousin’s shower, so I call that a success!

Since I wasn’t able to workout at all on Saturday, I knew I couldn’t go the whole weekend without a good sweat, so I hit the gym with my dad on Sunday morning. I did the following high intensity interval training on the treadmill.  These speeds may seem fast to some and slow to others, so adjust so it is comfortable for you (but not too comfortable!).

This seems like a confusing workout, but it really isn’t.  Walk 2 minutes, run for a minute increasing the speed by .5 mph each time you run.  Once you hit 8.0, decrease by .5 mph each time you run. It will get you sweaty for sure!

What’s your favorite HIIT workout? Post links in the comments!

Halloween Over-Indulgence

Happy November 1st! I hope everyone had a lovely Halloween! I am writing this while waiting for trick or treaters and digesting from a day of way too much food.

At work, we are very spirited about holidays.  We had two days of costumes and a Halloween Bake-Off yesterday.  Almost everyone brought in a baked good and we had to vote for our favorites based on test, presentation and Halloween theme. 

I won Most Creative Costume for my portrayal of Lambchop:

And I also was the runner-up for Most Delicious treat in the Bake-Off for my Pumpkin Spiced Cupcakes with Apple Cider Frosting! It was super moist and amazing.  I will definitely be making them again soon, maybe for Thanksgiving!

In order to be a fair judge, I tried almost all of the treats.  I didn’t eat each treat in its entirety; I just had a bite or two to get the flavor, but there were so many that I know I over-indulged.  I never eat this badly, so today did a number on my body. 

I feel so sluggish and tired, full and bloated right now, so I know I need to do a mini detox.  The rest of this week I plan on detoxing with the following foods:

• Tons of water with lemon-the lemon helps aid in digestion and cleans everything out
• Fresh fruits and veggies to put more water in my system
• Lay off the caffeine to avoid headache
• Consume brown rice and a few whole grains for some fiber
• Limit meats and dairy
• In general, just eat clean

I’m chugging lemon water now and I already feel better.  If anything, eating like I did yesterday inspires me to eat better today because I don’t like the way those foods make me feel.

This is the season of over-indulgence, so I am going to try harder to limit my intake for the rest of the holiday parties by choosing what looks best. I will write a post soon about how to decide what is worth eating during the holiday parties!

How do you detox after a day (or week) of over-indulgence?

Do you have any tips on being selective about what you eat during parties?

Surviving Thanksgiving

So yesterday was potentially the biggest eating day of the year. People go wild, eating everything they can get their hands on, filling their plates multiple times. I considered this to be the biggest test of my self-control and determination of sticking to eating healthy. We had all of the usual Thanksgiving sides; delicious stuffing, squash, corn, green beans, mashed potatoes, rolls, and cranberry sauce. I decided I only was going to have one plate of food with no seconds. I only ate a small amount of stuffing and squash and tried to fill up on the corn and green beans.

My mom and I cooked the stuffing so we took steps to make it a little healthier. We used only whole wheat bread and used eggs and milk to soften the stuffing. It turned out to be delicious and a little bit healthier. We also made a healthier chocolate pie. We used a whole wheat pie crust from Whole Foods and made sugar-free Jello Pudding. I had a small sliver just to ward off cravings for the other desserts, but I only had a few bites. While I was eating the pie, I realized I didn't even want it or any of the other desserts.

Originally, I was fully prepared to go all out and eat whatever I wanted yesterday. I was going to allow myself November 25th and December 25th to eat desserts, but I think I've gotten past that point. My cravings for sugar have basically disappeared, which has made situations like yesterday much easier to endure.

Did you make any healthy modifications to your Thanksgiving cooking? Share them in the comments section!