Lunch Options: Lean Cuisine

This week I tried the Lean Cuisine meals for lunch. I was pleasantly surprised with the Santa Fe-Style Rice and Beans. It might not have looked appetizing at first. It smelled really good though. I loved that it had 2 types of beans, and the sour cream and mild chile sauce made my lunch taste just right. This is one of the best frozen meals I had yet.

Nutrition Information:

• Calories: 290
• Fat: 5g
• Fiber: 4g
• Protein: 11g
• Sodium: 590mg
• Carbohydrates: 50g
• Diet Exchange: 1/2 Lean Meat, 3 Starch,  1/2 Skim Milk
• Weight Watchers® Points: 7

I also tried the Alfredo Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli. It was great too, although I wish there could have been more chicken and broccoli. (I don't have a second picture for this meal. I was so hungry I ate it so quickly!) One of my favorite meals, but I think the Healthy Choice meal was better. 

Nutrition Information:

• Calories: 260
• Fat: 5g
• Fiber: 2g
• Protein: 17g
• Sodium: 600mg
• Carbohydrates: 37g
• Diet Exchange: 1 Lean Meat, 2 Starch, 1 Vegetable, 1/2 Skim Milk, 1/2 Fat
• Weight Watchers® Points: 7

Disclosure: I was not compensated for writing this review.
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Weight loss Challenge: The First 2 Weeks

I'm so excited about the things I have been learning! I already learned so much over the past years of trying to lose weight. I started being concerned about my weight after I graduated high school. I was 180 lbs, and with Weight Watchers I lost 30 lbs. But the weight loss didn't last. I stopped counting points and gained the weight back, plus an extra 20 lbs.

I wasn't concerned about changing my lifestyle and learning how calories work. Last year I had personal group training and I learned a lot about adding protein to my diet and combining cardio with weight training. I enjoyed exercising, but I couldn't get the food part working properly. I ended up gaining weight and feeling stuck between 200-210 lbs. I even tried raw vegan but I was still missing something.

It took another year to finally put all the things I have learned together. Eat clean. Exercise regularly. Eat enough calories to keep your metabolism running. Eat less red meat. Eat less carbs. Minimize processed foods. This is what I am working on now. I will add weight training later, once I get my calories in balance first. Then I can add more exercise and balance again. This is what it's all about.  Balance.

I need to brag about Calorie Count for a minute. The past 2 weeks have been great. Sometimes I forget to log in foods, but I fill in the blanks the next day and be as accurate as possible. I use Map My Run to calculate my distance and calories burned more precisely. 

When you log in your food and exercise, the program calculates a net calorie. Recently I was wondering, "How do they figure out net calories?" So I did a basic Google search. The first result took me to Calorie Count's forum, where some of the members were talking about the balance between how many calories you eat and what you burn. What I learned today is that with the daily exercise I do, I have to have a deficit of at least -500 or less to make sure I had enough "fuel" to keep my metabolism up. What does that mean? I means I have to eat MORE food. I was trying to keep my calories less than 1500, but when I ate a little more, the net calories balanced out. Now I have to figure out what to eat to keep a lower negative deficit.

I also like how you can write something to close the day, and people can comment and support you. Nothing like support to keep me motivated!

There's even this cool weight loss ticker that I can add to my blog for more motivation.

Hey everyone, I've lost 5.8 lbs so far! I told myself I am not celebrating until I get under 200 lbs. But I can't help it. I am going to celebrate!

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Lunch Options: Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers

I try to bring my lunch to work every day (mostly leftovers). But the past couple of days have been difficult. So for lunch I went to Target and bought a few frozen meals. I made the effort to look at the calories of each meal. I chose one from each of the "healthier" frozen options to choose from.

Today I tried Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers' Grilled Chicken Pesto with Vegetables.

NUTRITION FACTS (from Healthychoice.com)

• CALORIES: 310

• FAT: 9g

• FIBER: 3g

• PROTEIN: 21g

• SODIUM: 550mg

• CARBOHYDRATES: 34g

Inspired by Top Chef, the meal was delicious with a light basil pesto sauce. I was hoping to find more vegetables in the meal though. There were large chunks of chicken instead and plenty of pasta.

I liked the fact that it did not taste like a frozen meal. Sometimes frozen chicken has an unpleasant taste. I don't even like reheating leftover chicken for that reason. The chicken was tender and very good. The meal was especially satisfying with the pasta, which I needed today because I had a small breakfast.

Disclosure: I was not compensated for writing this review.

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I'm getting my gym back!

I woke up this morning with a mission: to get my gym membership, one way or another (finally).

Here's the short of this long story. I've been working at a university for almost 5 years now. I was taking classes and working part-time. Now that I finished my bachelor degree in Sociology (in December 2011), I was hoping to get a full time job on campus with benefits. That way I can do my graduate classes fo FREE! That's right, FO FREE. This is why I wanted to get a full-time job on campus in the first place.

Anyways, it's been almost a year and a half, and no luck getting a full time job in the same position. I love my job, and I love helping the professors. The department has been trying to hire me for full time every since I graduated, but the higher ups are not budging (yet). So what the department had to do was keep me as a part time 20 hours a week employee, and they are paying me overtime of 20 hours. So I am working full time, with lower pay and none of the benefits. It's been frustrating at times, but I hope things will change by next month.

This lack of a full time position has stopped me from getting the benefits that I want need right now, especially a lower fee for using the gym monthly. So this morning, I woke up with the determination to get my gym membership back! If I can get a staff I.D. (since I am working full time), I can pay less monthly to use the gym. If I can't, I am still an alumni, and I have to pay $10 more than staff.

Either way, I am getting my gym back! It's been so difficult trying to exercise on my own. I have been eating better, but I need that extra time on a machine. With the gym on campus I get free classes, access to the pool and SHOWERS (thank you God for showers)! I worked out at another gym that had no showers. I felt so awkward going to work a sweaty. NEVER AGAIN.

 It makes me sad when I can't fit into my fat pants anymore. These extra pounds have got to go! NOW!

Recipe: Greenie morning smoothie

This year I started incorporating more fruits and vegetables in my diet. I try to make a green yummy drink every morning to start my day. It's very simple to make. All you need is:

• Orange juice (1 cup or more, depending on how many people you are serving)
• One handful of spinach (more to make it super green!)
• Bananas ( I usually put 1 or 2 whole bananas)
• 1 cup or water (optional)

You can add additional fruits or veggies, like kale, cucumber or tomato. You can also add nutritional yeast or protein powder. As long as you have enough orange juice (or any of your favorite juice) and water, you will not taste the spinach. You will only taste the juice, I promise you! Blend these yummies together and you get a great green breakfast drink!

The best thing about this greenie is that you can drink as much of it as you want, until you get full!

Let me know if you try this out or what you mix to make a morning smoothie. :)