Sometimes you just need to be drunk and ridiculous

Alright people.  I don't know if it's boredom, the events of the past week weighing on me, or just plain nostalgia, but I need to escape.  My chosen escape, you ask? Junior year of college.  Quite possibly the most amazingly stupid and ridiculous time of my life.

Best times. Best friends. No worries. Lots of fun. Lots of rum. Possible arrests. Memories that deserved to be relived and redone.

Before life gets really real and someone has a baby. 

But hopefully not in a bar.

Work out Wednesday

I have successfully completed two, count them, two boot camp classes and I hurt. We are talking serious pain in muscles that have not been used in a long time.

That being said, I really, really enjoyed my classes.  Monday was a bit tough at some points, but by yesterday I had learned to accept the pain and push through.  The real turning point came when last night's workout was over, I was actually sad. Weird.

If you would like to get a sample of what we have been doing, feel free to watch HERE .

Progress:

As of Sunday morning I was down 3.2 lbs just from a week of diet changes that included very limited carbs and sugar and 6 small meals per day. By adding in workouts this week, I am hoping to see even greater improvement!

Struggles:

My true struggles have come at the hand of my good ole' buddy boredom.  During the week, RJ works at least 4 out of 7 nights until close to 10, leaving me at home from around 5 (now 8 with bootcamp) until 10:15 or so when he walks in the door.  During this time I have to fight to keep myself busy or else I find myself snacking for no good reason.  I'm not saying I'm eating potato chips straight out of the bag or anything, but even too much healthy food is too much food. Therefore, I have devised a strategy to keep my hands busy.  Whenever I go into the kitchen and catch myself looking for food, instead of food I get a big glass of ice water and leave.  Not only am I filling my stomach, I am also training myself to resist my urges to eat.

Meals: 

This week's biggest success thus far is the Healthy Chicken Parmesan.

It was easy, healthy, and delicious!  Just a few common sense swaps, some inventive choices and you can have something that is just as comforting as the original.

We used boneless, skinless, chicken breasts coated in a mixture of Parmesan cheese, Panko, and garlic. Then we sprayed the outside with Pam and baked at 425 for 25 minutes. Delicious, crispy, yet healthy, chicken. For those of you who are not aware, tomatoes have very high sugar content, prepared tomato products (Ketchup, marinara, jarred pasta sauce, etc) even worse. So to mimic the topping without the fat, we used a chopped tomato, basil, bruschetta.  Turns out it tasted even better and much fresher than the normal saucy coating.

Recipe:

5 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

1/2 sweet onion diced

1-2 cloves garlic chopped very finely

Lots of fresh basil leaves rolled together and sliced to create skinny strings (chiffonade)

A splash or 2 of extra virgin olive oil

Salt and black pepper to taste.

Mix it all together and let sit in the fridge for at least an hour. Then top anything you care. Crusty whole wheat baguette, chicken, fish, even use as a sauce on whole wheat pasta.

And now for a little confession.  Today at work we had a pizza party. I ate a piece. Not the healthiest lunch, considering I brought a salad from home, but a little cheat every now and then won't kill me.  I only had 1 piece and I made sure to pick veggie, by not restricting my diet every single day I figure I can turn this into a true lifestyle. That includes the occasional bad for me food.

Any tips/tricks you have to keep yourself motivated and on the right track?  Feel free to chime in.

           



I might be crazy, but here goes nothing

I have never been a "skinny" girl.  Let me rephrase, I do not remember ever being a skinny girl.  From the time I was born until I was 5 I was apparently pretty scrawny and classified as underweight, but back then there was not a body issue in sight and therefore, I didn't notice.

What I did notice was being overweight pretty much my entire childhood, adolescence, and early teen years.  It just seemed that the weight kept creeping on and no matter how many fad diets I tried, it never seemed to budge.  I cannot explain how many times people made, what they thought were helpful, comments about my weight, my looks, how I could lose it, etc, etc, etc.  Even more, what I can't explain is that until someone makes a decision to do something for themselves, no amount of audience participation, bribes, threats, or guilt is going to work.

For me, I made that choice the spring of my junior year of high school.  I made the resolution that no matter what it took I was NOT going to start college as the fat girl. Over the next year an half I lost almost 100lbs.  I felt proud of myself and I have managed to keep it off (save the same 10lbs that I tend to gain and lose a million times).  The kicker, I'm still not skinny. After losing all of that weight I am still 30 lbs away from my true goal.  I became complacent in my journey and settled for good enough.  When I hit that plateau, instead of pushing through, I decided maintaining was easier.

Fast forward 8 years and I am ready to get back in the trenches.  Ready to slim down and tone up what I left behind.  The first time around I focussed pretty solely on diet with a little exercise thrown in for good measure, this time I know that to get where I want I am going to have to sweat. 

So, I signed up and am starting boot camp classes this afternoon.  This is my public admission and cry for help to keep me accountable and motivated. 

I plan to share my progress, healthy meal ideas, tips, tricks and all else attributed to a changing lifestyle every week( you can keep me accountable for this too).

So, here goes nothing! Hopefully I can still walk tomorrow.

New year: Not new, but better me!

I know that currently the whole world is updating their blogs with all their amazing plans for themselves and their lives in the upcoming year, so sorry to be another of the same.

2011 was a year of extreme changes in my life.  I left what I had always known in Chattanooga for the extreme unknown in Memphis.  So far it has been an amazing experience that has pushed me and forced me to grow in my professional and personal life.  I can no longer hide behind the familiar and safe, I have had to challenge myself to try new things, let go of old habits, and re-evaluate the plan that I thought I wanted for myself. 

This year I have set some lofty goals for myself to continue my transformation from complacent little girl into a content women with purpose.

1.  Make friends in Memphis.  This is difficult because, as I have discussed with a few of you, I feel like no one I meet will ever live up to the amazing friends I already have so why bother... However, I miss having someone to do things with.  A female presence in my daily life, not just by phone, text, or now facetime.

2. Live healthy.  Since moving here I have realized I have become sedentary.  I work, sleep, spend time with RJ.  I hardly ever go outside and my energy level is zilch.  My plan is to eat whole, real foods and exercise at least 4 days a week.  RJ is doing this with me and we have set goals and plan to keep each other accountable.  I am not particularly trying to be one of those new year's dieters, I just want to treat my body right and hopefully accept a new lifestyle.

3. Fall back in love with books.  I used to love to read and would usually have a book or two on my bedside table, but when I am working all day the TV is much less maintenance. I got a bunch of new books for Christmas and instead of watching TV together in the evenings RJ and I have been relaxing and reading together.

4. Notice the little things.  All too often I find myself finding fault in everything that is going wrong in my life.  A pointless argument, a missed opportunity, a day that didn't go as planned, an accident that no one could have avoided.  I let it ruin my day and my mood.  Instead what I strive to do this year is make a point to notice the little things.  The fact that RJ made the bed so I wouldn't have to (not the fact the pillows weren't right), the little accomplishments at work (even if I didn't get my whole to-do list crossed off), my sweet puppies' kisses (not the mess they made with their toys), etc, etc.

5. Possibly the hardest thing for me, but what I feel may bring the most change in my life.  I want to stop comparing. Stop comparing myself, my life, my boyfriend, my home, everything.  I know that it is instinctual to compare yourself either as a benchmark of success or as a means to feel superior.  Either way it is not healthy.  I want to learn to be content and grateful for what I have and not feel jealous or bad about myself for what I perceive I am missing.

So there you have it. Some pretty big goals.  Feel free to offer encouragement and suggestions for success.

Love you and miss you all!

Merry Christmas from Memphis

Hi everyone,

I don't have a whole lot to say today.

I just wanted to pass along a link.  I hope you all will take the time to watch it and then consider becoming a supporter.  You don't have to give millions of dollars.  All you have to do is spread awareness and be a champion for these children. 

Carol of the Bells

This is why I moved to Memphis.  They are why I get up and come to work everyday. 

"No child should die in the dawn of life" Danny Thomas.

Pass the message along.  You never know who may see it.

Love you,

Lindsy

Love, Change, and Sacrifice

Sometimes it isn't the big, life altering, major, things that can show you are actually in love.  Sometimes it is the tiny battles that you concede, the witty comebacks you swallow, and the traditions you alter that show you are willing to be a "we".

In the past 6 months I have come to realize that, although I did make a HUGE, life changing, major, sacrifice by moving 5+ hours away from my family, it is the little things that show me I've changed.

Packing up my life and moving to Memphis was, in part, about being near RJ but it was also about the opportunity to work where I do. It was a tough decision, but it wasn't selfless by any means. I see the "we" in the sometimes forgotten little things that inhabit our every day lives. 

It's the fact that this year I will have a REAL Christmas tree in my home.  I have never, and never wanted or planned to have anything other than beautiful plastic.  RJ had never, and never wanted or planned to have anything other than pollen laden, fire causing, straight from nature, pine.  Thus, I conceded and I am giving the real thing a try, against my mother's wishes.  Hopefully we won't die in a tragic house fire.

The second reason that I know I love RJ is because I made his very favorite meal for dinner last week.  Chicken and Dumplings. To some this may not seem like a sacrifice or a big deal at all, but they do not know my history with this food.  Once upon a time when I was about 12 years old my mom made Chicken and Dumplings for dinner and they were good, delicious actually. However, that night I was more sick than I have ever been in my life. Although I cannot be sure it was the dumplings that made me this sick, after that night spent in pain on the bathroom floor, I vowed to NEVER eat them again.  So when he begged and got his grandma's recipe I very reluctantly agreed to make but not eat them.  Then I tried just a little bit of the broth, and then just a piece of the chicken, and then just one dumpling, and then a whole bowl.  They were amazing and I did not get sick.  If it had not been for RJ and giving in to HIS wants I would have missed out on this comforting and delicious food for the rest of my life.

Last but not least, I have somewhat altered my sassy personality.  I think we all know that my lack of care for what people think and extreme love of snarkasm is not always well received.  The first time I saw the honestly hurt look in his eye after, what I thought, was an awesome remark I realized that I had to the power to hit the buttons no one else could.  Having this power comes with the responsibility to not use it, no matter how funny it may be.

There are a million little things that make up the person we are and I am not saying that to be in love is to completely lose yourself to the other person.  What I am saying is that sometimes it takes love to point out and help improve the things about you that you need to change regardless.  For me it is giving up a little control, realizing that my way is not the only right way, being OK with change and spontaneity, and having ever lasting patience and tolerance.

The best lesson I ever learned about relationships is to spend each day loving and making the other person happy and to find someone who does the same.  In our relationship if each of us put the other before ourselves we will surely live a blessed life.

Here's to the little things.

Scratch that

I don't know how my life can sometimes be so boring and hectic at the same time, but it is.

That being said, I am not the greatest at remembering to blog about the things that I mean to, and have the best intentions to, so I give up.

Not on the blogging world as a whole, but on set deadlined topics.

You get what you get when you get it.  AND YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO LIKE IT!