Healthy gifts!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas! I certainly did. Christmas Eve was a day spent running around visiting family and friends. Santa tagged along with us...



...he stole the show really. He's just so adorable...of course, I'm biased.

On Christmas day the husband and I had no plans except to hang around the house and go see the movie AVATAR, which was amazing! On Christmas morning we opened gifts together, he did such a good job of shopping for my new lifestyle this year! Last year several of my Christmas gifts revolved around alcohol, this year my gifts revolved around fitness and I love that! :)

I got a heart rate monitor.

Wii Fit Plus and my new favorite movie.

Some bath salts for aches and pains.

My husband really did great this year with the gifts. He even filled my stocking with some helpful kitchen gadgets. I think his fear of me impaling myself with a sharp object while trying to core an apple inspired the apple corer/slicer. :)



Our Christmas was nothing fancy this year. It was just us, enjoying the day together. That's really all I needed to make this one of the best Christmases yet.

Was Santa good to you? Did you get any gifts that reflect your new lifestyle? Tell me, tell me! :)

What a difference a year makes.

My "Before" picture was taken 1 year ago on Christmas day. Since I know I will be busy on Christmas Eve and on Christmas day the only thing I plan to do is stay relatively "unplugged" and enjoy the day with my husband, I decided to take my "1 year later" shot today. So here it is, the difference 1 year of healthy living has made.



44 lbs lost.
A 5k Ran
A healthy lifestyle learned and maintained
An "I can do whatever I set my mind to" attitude that I have never had before
Respect for myself, physically and mentally.

It's been an amazing year. Some of the changes I've made have been easy, others not so much...but the changes I have made I know will be permanent.

I still have some pounds to lose, I wasn't as good around the holidays as I had hoped to be but you know what is different this year? I didn't beat myself up over it. I indulged, most of the time in moderation but not always, and the next meal it was as if it never happened. There was no "Oh well, I went off the wagon..." free for all. I just accepted the fact that this is a busy and difficult time of year, did the best I could and will move along. I know that January will bring back routine, healthy eating and regular schedule will resume.

I am so proud of myself. It brings tears to my eyes to think how far I've come and how much I disliked myself and the way my life was going a year ago. While being overweight was a big part of it, it definitely wasn't all of it. Once you begin fixing things, it makes it easier to continue to do so.

The difference a year can make can end up saving your life. I know it very may well have saved mine.

I want to thank you all for reading my blogs, giving me support and encouragement and continuing to do so. I honestly feel as if blogging has been a huge part of this journey, holding me accountable in a way that makes it easier to say no. Thank you. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas (or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa) and a wonderful 2010!

Vegetarian Monday – Baked Tofu

 

For the first official Meatless Monday dinner I chose the Baked Tofu recipe that TJ posted on her blog, TJ’s Test Kitchen.

I was leery at first, I’ve had tofu before but I don’t remember liking it.

I followed her directions to press the tofu between layers of paper towels and marinate it in a soy and ginger mix before baking it in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. (Excuse the post-yoga hair and clothes)

I paired it with some lightly baked kale that I baked alongside the tofu for about 6 minutes.

My friend Kelly joined me for dinner and we were both really surprised by how tasty this dish was! I totally forgot I was eating tofu. The marinade made the tofu so flavorful I didn’t miss the meat. The Baked Tofu was a little time consuming, but if I would have thought to press the tofu before I started yoga I could have multi-tasked and saved some time.

So the verdict is: Baked Tofu=delicious! Go try it! :)

Another day in the life

 

Today I started and nearly finished all of my Christmas shopping. The most favorite gift I bought? I got our niece a Mrs.Potato Head! I’m pretty sure I only bought it because I want to play with it because I loved my Mr.Potato Head as a kid…but I still think she’ll like it!  

Well, I hope she does. :)

I started the morning with a pretty decent (for me) 3 mile run at 10:27 pace and some weights before breakfast. Since it’s my day off that was around 9. Then I had some oatmeal and got ready to head out shopping. I hit the Outlets first, lots of walking around outdoors in the cold and that’s when I realized…my breakfast wasn’t enough.

After the outlets I had to go to Wal-Mart and on my way there I would pass…Taco Bell. Taco Bell always used to be a binge fest for me. You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen me polish off  6 tacos in under 30 minutes…wait, you don’t want to see that. I looked like a rabid animal. I was starving and I needed gas and this particular Taco Bell is attached to a gas station and I still had hours of shopping left to do and some of that shopping involved groceries. I can’t grocery shop hungry, it’s bad for the bank account.

I pump my gas and honestly question if I should have Taco Bell or if that’s going to send me into a binge frenzy. I decide I can handle it and I get 2 Double Decker Taco Supremes and a Diet Pepsi. I ate one in the Wal-Mart parking lot before going in to shop and then I had the other one when I got home as a snack. Now, I know you’re thinking this is no big deal…but to me it is. I could have easily gotten entirely too much food and eaten until I was sick. I would have before and not thought twice about it. This time I thought and I enjoyed and it was enough.

Now my Christmas tree has presents under it, my tummy is happy and satisfied and I successfully enjoyed something I thought I could never enjoy without gluttony. It was a good, although very cold, day.

Super Quick Sweet & Spicy Squash

 

I found myself in a common predicament tonight. My plans changed and I had nothing planned or thawed out for dinner. I had 1/4 of a butternut squash in the fridge leftover from another recipe and I remembered that last week I made some butternut squash in the microwave and it was really good. So I figured this time I would pay attention to what I did and share it with you, so here it is!

Super Quick Sweet & Spicy Butternut Squash

1/4 Butternut Squash cut into small cubes

1/2 tbsp Agave Nectar (you can use a combination of 1 tsp oil and 1/2 tbsp brown sugar as well)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp red pep  per flakes

Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a microwave safe bowl.

Place in microwave for 2 minutes 30 seconds, covered.

 

Stir and then microwave for an additional 1 minute. Makes 1 serving.

I served mine on the side of a Boca Burger and it made for a quick, easy dinner! No defrosting required!