Day 22-26

So this week was a good week. I tried a new recipe, Tandoori Chicken. Came out great. I'm trying to add at least one new recipe a week to my plan. I don't want to add too many, in case I don't like them, but a lot of the ones I've tried have been really good, so I've been incorporating them in. My favorite so far has been Zucchini Italiano. It's ground beef, cooked with tomatoes, garlic, and oregano. Then I sautee up some zucchini, and baby spinach, and put the beef/tomatoes over top of it. I made some for Kevin and I the other night, and he loved it! It's great when he enjoys what I'm eating too. It makes it easier for me to stick to it!

So in terms of working out, I switched things up a little this week. First of all, I worked with a trainer on Tuesday to get a regimen in place. I didn't feel like I was doing enough, and wanted to add some weights to my workouts, but wasn't sure where to start. She worked with me to figure out the right weights on a circuit of weight machines. The cool thing about my gym is that we have these smart keys, which you put into the machine you're using, and it tracks your exercise. For example on a treadmill, it tracks the miles and calories. On a weight machine, it tracks the weight, the reps, etc. Then you "check out" of your workout, and it shows you what you did and how many calories you burn. The other neat thing about it is, my trainer can load my regimen on there, and the machine will tell me how many reps, at what weight, etc, so I don't have to think about it! So that was the first change.

The second change I made to my workouts, is I decided to start working out in the mornings. Previously, I had been working out in the afternoons after work. I would work out, go home, make dinner, and then be wired for the evening and couldn't fall asleep. The next day I would be exhausted all day, until I worked out again. It was a brutal process, and I was miserable. I didn't feel like I was getting any of the benefits of working out. So Wednesday morning, I got up at 5:30 and hit the gym. I was really tired all day, but I was also used to getting up a little later, so I expected this. I crashed at about 8 that night. Thursday I got up at 530 again, this time it was easier, and let me tell you, the difference was incredible. I felt AMAZING. I had energy ALL day, all the way through work, and after work, and I was able to get to sleep at a decent hour. Today I woke up and did it again, and again I feel great! I never thought I would be getting up at 530 to go to the gym. I have NEVER been a morning person, and always valued my sleep, and getting a lot of it. But making this small change has made such a difference. I can even feel my metabolism speeding up because of it. It's amazing. f

So because of my workout change, I had to change up my eating a little bit, so here's what today looked like:

Preworkout:
Eggs & banana

Post-workout:
Oatmeal and protein shake

Snack 1:
Grapes

Lunch:
salad w/ chix

Snack 2:
Apples & pb

grapes, cheese and crackers (<-- This was a little bit of a cheat. I was starving after work and hit wawa. cheese and crackers are a no no, but they aren't the worst thing in the world)f

Dinner:
Tofu stir fry (This was a new recipe I tried last night. It wasn't bad, although I think I'm going to switch up the spices a little bit next time, and the veggies)

I'm also really excited to make this Indian bread called roti. My coworker Raj was telling me about it. It's basically pita, without the sugar. It's simply flour, and water. You slowly add water, while kneading the flour and mixing it. You let it sit for an hour, then you cook it in a pan. He said it's very soft, and goes great with anything. This will be great to eat with guacamole, tuna, hummus, as a wrap...all sorts of things. I've been searching for a good wrap, but couldn't find anything, so I'm excited to try to make these this weekend!