Synergy Fitness and the End of a Challenge

This first Sunday in September marks the end of the Summer Sizzle Challenge. But it certainly doesn't mark the end of the summer HEAT and HUMIDITY. Stupid weather.

I have been a terrible challenger this summer. I got bored and then I just didn't care to track and then I just didn't care at all. I blame in on the aforementioned HEAT and HUMIDITY that caused me to lose my motivation and eat lots of frozen yogurt. Yes, I really am blaming the weather and I'm not ashamed.

But the challenge was good in many ways---

• I met new bloggers/challengers
• I learned more about myself 
• I learned tons about true organic foods and about those evil monsters at the Monsanto corporation
• I increased my fitness awareness and level
• I discovered Phil Campbell's Synergy workout program featuring the Sprint 8
• I walked quickly up three flights of stairs and did not have to stop at the top for a few minutes before continuing to the car

So even though I wasn't very good to the challenge, the challenge was very good to me.

And Rochelle? She's just the best challenge host EVER! I adore her! Her leadership qualities are phenomenal and her care for the challengers was felt and appreciated by all.

All in all, I only lost about 10 pounds- at least that's what I can figure from my best guess. And that's fine. It's not about the weight loss at this point. I'm focusing on increasing my fitness level now and I'm pouring 100% into that.

Yes, I need to lose a bunch of weight. But the weight gods (as Rochelle calls them) are not in my corner right now. So I called forth the fitness gods and we're kicking ass!

I'm keeping a daily journal of the Synergy workout plan that you are more than welcome to read by clicking here. And feel free to leave comments there too! I've just completed Week 2 of the 8 week commitment and I'm already noticing differences in shape and fitness!

I won't be posting any before and after pictures from the challenge. HOWEVER, I am planning on posting before and after shots for the Synergy program. Only 6 weeks left.

There are some leaves from one of the neighbor's trees falling into my yard right now. Which is a promising sign of fall---even though it's hard to appreciate when the temperature is 91 degrees. The weather app on my phone says the humidity is only 66%. The weather app is lying.

I'm not joining in another challenge for the fall. I'm on my own with this Synergy workout. BTW, I emailed Phil Campbell (the guy who wrote the book) and he emailed me back! He also put me in touch with the woman who is gathering research. She lost 80 pounds just doing the Synergy program. And I do believe here because she's not asking for money. LOL Seriously, head over to my Synergy tab and follow the links. Maybe this is something that will work for you!

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Regardless of your personal journey- I wish you great success!

Summer Sizzle- And a Rant

It's time for the Summer Sizzle update for the end of Week 12 and the beginning of Week 13! And guess what Week 13 is? Our final week! WooHoo!

I really did begin my Synergy workout this week. I even made a page devoted to keeping a Synergy journal. It's at the top of the blog if anyone wants to see how the first week went, or you can just click here. I thought that keeping the journal right here on the blog would help keep me accountable. We'll see.

I would love to tell y'all how I have enjoyed rocking the hell out of this challenge, but that would be a lie. I haven't- as far as weight loss goes. However, as far as fitness is concerned? I think that I might have. Remember those 3 flights of stairs? And now that I've started the Synergy workout, I have to say that fitness has become a major goal.

Weight loss stopped being my main focus a while back when it switched to healthy eating. I can't tell y'all how much better we feel now that we're eating only organic foods- veggies are certified organic and from local farms; dairy products and meats are from small, family owned farms that don't use machinery or give growth hormones or antibiotics to their livestock; grass fed beef, free range chickens/turkey, wild caught fish (fresh from the docks I might add); sugars are only organic cane sugar or honey; flour is unbleached and gluten free; we buy spring water that had to be researched just so we could be sure it was actual spring water with little processing (OH, and there are natural springs right here in our state and one is close to us so I'm going to start filling up there...it's FREE); soaps and shampoos, etc. contain no chemicals... And I know it makes a difference because, two weeks ago, we were out of conditioner and I had some left over from when I bought any old thing from Wally World. I didn't stop smelling that stuff for 3 days and it gave me a headache and made me all itchy...yep, won't be buying anything like that ever again.

And now for the rant portion of the post: I've learned so much about fitness and healthy eating. I've learned which manufacturers to avoid because they claim 'natural' but are not organic and which ones are affiliated in any way whatsoever with the Monsanto Corporation. I've learned that it is nothing less than a complete and utter travesty that our government is allowing big business (and this has been going on for AGES) like the Monsanto Corporation to produce GMO crops and tell the American public that our food is safe and nutritious and even the supreme court who enables Monsanto to run the small, family owned farms out of business. Disgusting. And I don't even know the half of it, I'm sure. But that's enough to make me sick and tired of it. And scared, to be honest. It's not good when our food supply is not only being tainted but being allowed to be tainted--dare I say- encouraged to be tainted.

So, yes, I've lost weight. But that's not the best thing or even the most important. My fitness level has improved tremendously and I'm completely motivated to boost it even more. The foods I feed my family and the products we use are healthy and chemical free. There's no turning back now! And we're all the better for it! And we are more encouraged than ever before to go off the grid. It's time to say, "ENOUGH."

Week 12 - (begin August 19) - SURPASS YOUR FITNESS/WEIGHT GOALS FROM WEEK 10
I definitely surpassed my fitness goals from Week 10 by beginning the Synergy workout!

Week 13 - (begin August 26) - LOW CARB WEEK & NO EATING OUT
We don't eat that many carbs in a day or week and we rarely to never eat out, so this really shouldn't be a problem.


Have a great last week of Summer Sizzle y'all!

Summer SIZZLE...In the Rain

Believe it or not, I'm on time for the Summer Sizzle update for the end of Week 11 and the beginning of Week 12! It MUST be a miracle! :)

No wrenches thrown into the mix this week, thankfully. I've been running again- in 100% humidity. That has NOT been fun at all but it's been doable. And, now that summer has rounded the corner and might actually leave (PLEASE, PLEASE leave!) before we all suffer extreme consequences, I'm acclimated. Figures. It has been nice having some rain though. And storms. I love storms.

I decided to step on the scale just to see- and I'm three pounds down. I'll take it. Though I have no idea how much I've lost during this challenge. Way to keep up, I know.  Anyway, that means there is no picture of my weight loss in terms of food which was our challenge from last week.

Everything pretty much remains the same here with eating only organic foods and nothing processed. And water is my only drink except for that cup of coffee in the mornings. I've never been a coffee drinker but I found this espresso blend at Trader Joe's and I AM HOOKED! Oh how I LOVE that buzz burst of energy morning cuppa! Although I am looking for a recipe to make my own organic ginger ale. Anybody have one?

The challenge for this week is to surpass your fitness goals from week 10. Since week 10 had me down with hay-fever, I'm thinking this won't be that difficult. :) Tomorrow is the first day of Synergy for 8 weeks (I know I've said before that I'm starting it but I am this week for real because I just can't put it off any longer). I'm expecting big fitness improvements and will also be incorporating some 5k training in there thanks to Birdie.

And there you have it. Hope everyone has been enjoying a fantastic weekend!

Two Weeks Behind- YIKES!

It's past time for the Summer Sizzle update for the end of Week 9 and the beginning of Week 10 BUT I'm just in time for the end of Week 10 and beginning of Week 11. Confused? Me too.

I had a couple of wrenches thrown into play the last couple of weeks. During week 9 we had family visiting and, while I did plan the menu and kept it organic/natural/healthy, I paid no attention to how much went into my mouth. We were having way too much fun for that! We also did quite a lot of sight seeing so when you couple that with walking/running the dogs first thing in the morning- I walked many, many miles that week.

But the BEST thing of all that week? Well, besides the fact that we had family visiting? Ok, get this: we went to the farmer's market on Saturday morning and we parked on the third level of a parking garage across the street. Of course, we NEVER consider taking the elevator so we hit the stairs. Three flights. Going down, not a problem. Going up? Are you ready? NOT A PROBLEM!!! What?! That's right folks! I had no trouble walking up those three flights of stairs! This is a FIRST!!! The exercise is paying off! I am getting fit! I was leading the line going up too so the pace was not slow. And I made it! And I didn't have to stop or think I was going to pass out or have to stop and rest at the top before walking to the car! AND I could still breathe and talk! 

Then Week 10 hit and so did a MAJOR case of hay-fever. UGH. It has interfered with EVERYTHING except walking the dogs. It's rather difficult to exert oneself when you're hacking up a lung and stopping to blow your nose every 10 seconds. My hope for this week is to begin the Synergy plan which is an eight week commitment.

Nothing will change with the food as that has become our daily nutrition at this point.

I'm still staying off the scale because I'm sick of letting it rule my mood about losing weight. I hate being ruled by anything, especially a inanimate object. There's no sense in setting myself up for failure. However, just knowing that my fitness level has increased has made for a tremendous uplift in the mood!

That's it in a nutshell! How are y'all doing?

I'm Late! I'm Late!

For a very important date! I'm a day late posting the Summer Sizzle- Week 8 Update: Week 9 Deets! Sorry!

Well, kind of sorry. It's not like it wasn't crazy around here all week with the 21st birthday and Birdie coming home from London and all 4 of the lovelies and their boys being here all weekend! Whew! It's a wonder I'm still alive!

It's also a wonder I didn't gain any weight this week because I didn't really pay attention- I was just too busy. Although, everything I did eat was healthy. Unfortunately, we still have to watch those stupid freaking calories.

For our weekly challenge, I joined up with Julie who was kind enough to take time out of her incredibly busy days to set up a virtual 5k for us! I can't sign up for an actual 5k until the fall because the one I hope to walk/run is on Thanksgiving day. Anyway, I did get a 5k in even though the time was far from great. It has motivated me, though, to get out there and get my time down!

I mentioned before that I was planning on implementing the Sprint 8 into my exercise routine. I tried it a few days and it's not bad BUT I decided to buy the book that tells more about it and I'm glad I did. There's way more to it than just running (or whatever) sprints.

The book is Ready, Set, GO! by Phil Campbell. He lays the whole thing out for you including the science behind the theory. He gives you exercises WITH pictures (cause y'all know I have to have a picture or I won't understand) and schedules. He also gives detailed instructions so that you can get the best out of the workouts and avoid injury. I'm digging this book.

My dad and stepmom are coming this week with my two nieces so I will put this program into practice beginning NEXT Monday. I just hate doing things like this with an audience.

I saw a piece on Olympic race walking this morning and am going to work on my pace trying out some of their techniques. Though I'll probably look more like the Today Show team than anything resembling an athlete of Olympian proportion. I am not a Today Show fan but prefer the NBC local team over the others so I just happened to catch this. I found a video of it HERE if you want to watch. It was cute!

I'm still sitting on my exercise ball while at the computer- well, I WAS. Until I pulled my back out on the dang thing. That's right. I finally understand that engaging the core means torso NOT abs. Sheesh. I don't know if it's all the groovin' I'm doing while sitting on it, the fact that I'm on there having such a time that I don't realize 2 hours have passed OR a combination.

Ok, this week's challenge: Week 9 - (begin July 29) - NO SUGAR (unless it's all natural) AND NO SNACKING AFTER DINNER The sugar part is not an issue. I already only use honey, Turbinado or Coconut sugar. NEVER refined sugar and always organic. But the snacking after dinner? Well, I've gotten back into that bad habit. So it's good that it's included in the challenge this week.

That was my week. How did y'all do?

Summer Sizzle- Week 7 Update; Week 8 Deets

It's time for the Summer Sizzle update for the end of Week 7 and the beginning of Week 8 and, no, I don't have any idea how the time is going by so quickly.

But I'm glad it is because summer is NOT my favorite season. It's just too dang HOT. And HUMID. And MISERABLE.

So speed on by summer and PLEASE let us have a very chilly fall and cold winter! At least down here in coastal SC where fall and winter passed us by last time around.

I know. And I'll stop fussing about the weather as soon as it gets cool. :)

This last week has been CAH-RAZY around here. Self inflicted crazy. I've decided to paint some bookshelves which led to deciding to rearrange some things which led to deciding to get rid of a whole bunch of things which led to...y'all know how this goes. You start with one little project and the next thing you know---BAM! All hell breaks loose and you're left with total freaking CHAOS!

But there is light at the end of the tunnel.

So- food has been good and healthy. Mostly vegan; some vegetarian; a smidge of meat once or twice. As always, all organic/natural/non-processed/grass fed/wild caught/free range/etc. And I'm averaging about 100 oz of water every day. It's too hot not to drink the hell out of some spring water.

Still no calorie counting. And no change in the scale. Which is fine by me. Well, as long as it's NOT a gain. LOL

Exercise is as follows:

7 days/week: walk/run Strider and then walk Tucker (that's two walks usually for a total of 3 miles)
3 days/week: Sprint 8 (on the days I don't walk with walking buddy)
3 days/week: third walk with walking buddy. (on the days I don't do Sprint 8)
While sitting at the computer I'm either on the exercise ball engaging the core OR on a chair using the 8 lb hand weights while reading blogs--or other important work. 

And that's it. I plan to get back into C25k training as soon as the weather cools down. I HATE doing anything in this OPPRESSIVE heat. Especially running.

This week's challenge was to commit to and sign up for a 5k. I did NOT do this because we can't sign up for the Turkey Day Run until the fall.

Week 8 - (begin July 22) - EMBRACE A FITNESS FEAR...I am having trouble with this one because I'm not sure what fitness fear I have. Other than never getting fit and being overweight until the day I die. I'll pretty much try anything that interests me.

That's it for me- hope y'all have a great week!

It Takes Big Balls To Do That

Most of y'all are familiar with how brilliant some of my ideas are. I've had another. Two, in fact. And they turned out to be just as brilliant as my past brain storms.

The exercise ball already in my possession seemed perfect for my first particular plan. 'Seemed' being the key word there. The lovelies had all been sitting on it without any trouble so, why shouldn't I be able to? Because I'm taller and much heavier than the lovelies, that's why. So when I sat on the ball, my knees came to my ears. This is NOT a comfortable position. Though it did get a rousing roar of laughter from said lovelies.

Armed with determination and my debit card, I headed out for Wal-Mart. Surely they made exercise balls for tall people. They do.

I could hardly wait to get home and pump that thing up so I could start engaging my core immediately. I pumped (and pumped and pumped and pumped) until the ball was just the right size and took into the study where I threw the desk chair to the side and carefully placed my new seat in its spot.

As soon as I sat down I could feel my core engaging! "I must have music," I thought to myself. So I plugged in my iPod whereupon I began ball grooving to the music. For a couple of hours. Those hours went by so fast what with the music and all--seriously, it's way big fun to move around on that ball to the beat of the music. But I needed to get up and move about and do something other than work intensively on the computer (i.e. read blogs).

Lesson number 1 when using an exercise ball as a chair: it's not just your core that engages. Apparently your entire body engages---a fact that does not become apparent until one tries to stand up from said exercise ball. Thus, my legs were wobbly and my back was so sore I could hardly move. Or sit. Or lie down.

OUCH!

No worries...once I got my legs back, I sat on the desk chair and decided that, when I was sitting on the desk chair instead of the exercise ball (which I stayed off of for two days) I would use my 8 lb hand weights and lift while reading blogs doing important work on the internet.

The only problem was that my arms were so sore from all the lifting of the hand weights that I could hardly type. So, if you're have not been getting comments from me, it's not because I wasn't reading. It was due to the fact that I couldn't really move my arms which meant that my fingers couldn't get to the keyboard.

Did I stop using the exercise ball and hand weights? Nope. I did take a break---I had to, I couldn't move. But I'm back. And it's better.

And there's nothing quite as fun as ball grooving to your iPod!

Summer Sizzle- Week 6 Update; Week 7 Deets

It's time for the Summer Sizzle update for the end of Week 6 and the beginning of Week 7-

Anyone else HOT out there? And, by HOT, I mean sweating buckets upon buckets every single day even when not exercising? Yep. Me too.

On to the update-

• I tried the Sprint 8 three days. It's fine- but too soon to tell how it's going to affect any fitness/weight loss so I will continue until I figure that out.
• I'm still walking/running 7 days/week every week- even in the heat/humidity and even when it rains. I walk Strider, come back to get Tucker and then walk him. After the dogs it's ME time- I walk/run another 2 or 3 miles- except on the Sprint 8 days. I average about 5 miles/day.
• Still drinking the hell out of some water every day. It can't be helped. Did I mention it's HOT outside?
• Still not counting calories but still keeping food intake healthy only (except for those darned dark chocolate edamame that jumped into my cart at Trader Joe's. Again.). 
• Still juicing daily.
• Was successful with this week's challenge of eating vegetarian. 
• I lost 1 pound.

Week 7 - (begin July 15) - COMMIT TO AND SIGN UP FOR A 5K
Ok this one will be easy on the commitment part and difficult on the sign up. I plan to run (maybe walk) a 5k on Thanksgiving Day in Charleston--the Charleston Turkey Day Run and Gobble Wobble. We can't sign up until the fall. Besides, just signing up for one doesn't do one thing for making me commit to actually DOING it. So, I'll just continue training and sign up when we're allowed to do so. 

And there you have it. Short and sweet!

Hope everyone had a great week and has an even better one coming up! 

Summer Sizzle- Week 5 Update; Week 6 Deets

It's time for the Summer Sizzle update for the end of Week 5 and the beginning of Week 6-

The heat is still ON but I am SLOWLY acclimating myself to it. I've even been running a little! WooHoo!

The exercise is going well. I walk Strider (mostly it's a run) and then come back and take Tucker (still a pretty fast clip but not a run) AND, starting this week, I am adding Sprint 8 on my own 3 times/week.

What is Sprint 8? It's simple. After a 3 minute warm-up, you just push yourself at maximum effort for 20-30 seconds and then rest for 90 seconds. You then repeat this cycle 8 times.

Why am I going to try Sprint 8?

• It can be done with any exercise- with or without equipment. 
• It doesn't last an hour so it saves time and the sprint part is only for 4 minutes
• You only have to do it 2 or 3 times/week; any more than that can do more harm than good

Basically, it's short and sweet.Well, I'm not so sure about the sweet part. But it IS short.

Here's a video of Dr. Mercola doing Sprint 8 on an exercise bike. I'm going to be running during my intense part and walking during the rest part.

The food is going well also. I'm not counting any calories I'm just eating healthy. My recipes are from the Gerson recipe book and/or from the RAW recipes I get from various blogs (you can find them listed on the page marked Health and Fitness Sites on the tabs at the top of my blog). I am also juicing every day and making my green smoothies as well.

Our challenge for last week was to lose 2 pounds. I lost 3.5. AND I didn't hold back on July 4th. Of course, we did have mostly healthy foods. Everything was selected and prepared carefully. All meats were grass fed/free range/certified organic/etc. All sides and the dessert was organic and prepared without gluten and with organic ingredients.

This week's challenge is:  VEGETARIAN WEEK. This is not going to be a problem since I'm already doing it. Of course, you just never know until it's over.

Recap: I did lose 3.5 pounds last week but that's not THE thing. THE thing is that I am feeling better and I do NOT attribute this to the lost poundage. I attribute it to the healthy diet which has led to an increase in exercise intensity- I am running in this OPPRESSIVE HEAT! :)

Weight loss has become the proverbial icing on the cake. Getting fit is the goal!

Hope y'all had a great week and have an even better one this week! If last week sucked, don't let that stop you! Get up and get moving!


Don't forget: I have TWO giveaways going on right now! One for 250 FREE business cards from UPrinting and one for 3 bottles of flavored liquid Stevia from NuNaturals! Just click the buttons at the top of my sidebar to enter!!! Good luck!

Summer Sizzle- Week 4 Update; Week 5 Deets

It's time for the Summer Sizzle update for the end of Week 3 and the beginning of Week 4-

It's been a crazy week! Stripping and painting furniture, the garden and then there's the OPPRESSIVE HEAT that made it's appearance on Friday and has failed to leave. UGH.


The bad news (besides the OPPRESSIVE HEAT) is that I only checked in on myfitnesspal.com a couple of times.


The good news is- I lost another pound.


The bad news is---there is OPPRESSIVE HEAT and my running self is not acclimating to it.


The good news is- my speed walking self has acclimated to it.


The bottom line is:

• I felt quite liberated not checking in to myfitnesspal.com every single day.
• I ate only healthy foods with the exception of those dang dark chocolate covered edamame they sell at Trader Joe's.
• I'm not running right now but my walking is SPEEDY QUICK and  I get at least 3 to 5 miles in every single day!
• I did drink the weekly challenge water.
• I did lose another pound.

I did track my exercise via my GPS on my phone----

• Monday: forgot to track but I'm thinking it was about 50 minutes
• Tuesday: walked 56 minutes; burned 624 calories
• Wednesday: Walked 54; burned 591 calories
• Thursday: walked 69 minutes; burned 755 calories
• Friday: walked 39; burned 427 calories
• Saturday: walked 31 minutes; burned 339 calories
• Sunday: walked 31 minutes; burned 339 calories

The weekends are not about exercise around here- they are my recovery days. And I plan to keep them that way.

My focus now is NOT on tracking. While it works well for many (and it did for me about 2 years ago) it has now become a tool for making me obsess about my weight. This is not healthy. I've decided to obsess on the things that make life grand instead of that which holds me back and makes me feel bad about myself and my life. That is not what this journey is supposed to be about. At all.

One thing that this journey is about is learning more and more about myself and so I count this lesson learned as a blessing. Sometimes we just have to change things up to keep it fresh and keep it from being a downer.

I do enjoy tracking my walking (and running when the OPPRESSIVE HEAT lets up AND when I lose another 50 pounds or so) because I like trying to beat my time.

I'm not really disappointed that I'm not running right now. It's all good. For those who are not 130 pounds overweight I'm sure running is not that big a deal. For a 54 year old who is 130 pounds overweight, it's frustrating as hell when you factor in the OPPRESSIVE HEAT. I'm not quitting. I'm postponing. I still plan on being able to run that 5k. It's not until November. 

I'm not suggesting that anyone else stop tracking- I'm saying that I have to keep finding what works for me and implement it which sometimes mean stopping something else. The main thing is that I keep going!

Week 5 - (begin July 1) - LOSE 2 lbs THIS WEEK (and post pics/measurements if doing so)
Yep, holiday and all - this is the goal.
Don't question it - just do it. The reason this is the goal this week is to help us remember that the 4th of July doesn't give us free license to abandon all our diet and fitness goals. Yes, it's a holiday - but it's not a holiday meant to celebrate how many hot dogs and hamburgers our bodies can consume. This week will hopefully redirect us a bit - knowing the goal is a 2 pound loss, maybe we can steer clear of old habits of overindulgence during the holiday and make good on our promise to ourselves for better health ALL 365 days of the year!

I'm not as concerned about the 4th as I would be if this was Christmas...or Thanksgiving- because the food I have planned for the 4th is on my Gerson/RAW daily plan for July! Of course, time will tell, eh? :)

Thanks, y'all, for putting up with my constantly changing attempts at losing this weight and getting healthyhealthyhealthy. I am feeling fitter- I can do so much more than I could last year. It's all working, in it's own time. But I do so appreciate all of y'all sticking around with me! Your support and encouragement means more than you will ever know!

Also, I won a book from Cindy at For One Another and it arrived last week. AMAZING. WONDERUL. THOUGHT PROVOKING. LIFE CHANGING. All of those words describe this book. I definitely recommend reading the book whether you have weight to lose or not. And no, I'm not getting anything for mentioning this. It's just a really good read-- My Big Bottom Blessing by Teasi Cannon. Get it. Read it. It's great!

OH! I almost forgot- you can see my healthy recipe HERE!

OH AGAIN! Don't forget to check out my giveaway! Just click the button at the top of my sidebar!

Have a fantastic week y'all! Happy 4th!

Summer Sizzle- Week 3 Update; Week 4 Deets

It's time for the Summer Sizzle update for the end of Week 3 and the beginning of Week 4-

More like the summer fizzle stay the same. Again.

Except for 2 lbs that are MIA- and I am NOT going to be looking for them. And the 1/2 inch from my neck, the 1/2 inch from my waist and the 2 inches from my hips. Won't be looking for those either. They can just STAY GONE. Good riddance!

I did a little better with my calories but forgot to track ON TIME a couple of days----

The missing calories for Monday totaled 1671. Today's isn't on there for obvious reasons.
 
The exercise is about to get serious this week. I never made it over to the senior center to join but, in my defense, I was rather occupied with a HUGE project that involved stripping down and painting an entire bedroom suit so...

BFF is going over to the center with me tomorrow- we hope anyway. I may have mentioned that she's sadistic ruthless a personal trainer. I am AND am not looking forward to this. All that to say- I will be late on last week's weekly challenge. Sorry y'all.

The challenge for this week: Week 4 - (begin June 24) - 100 oz OF WATER AND SHARE A FAVORITE HEALTHY RECIPE---Well, considering our humidity is around a gazillion percent now and our temps in the 90s, the water shouldn't be an issue at all. Sheesh. I'll be sharing healthy recipes on Tuesday and Thursday!

 That's it for me- I can't wait to see how the rest of you sizzlers did this week! Keep on keepin' on ladies! 

Garden Goodness

I'm trying a few Gerson recipes before my July 1 experiment begins just to...just because...well, because I'm jumping the gun. As usual.

I tried the Zucchini and Potato Bake last week. It was delicious! I served broccoli burgers with it- not a Gerson recipe but so good! I had to more than double the recipes to feed the gang!

The veggies were not from my garden but they were all local and organic-

Once the veggies are prepared, it's time to layer--

The broccoli burgers were a cinch-- just process--

then form patties and bake--

Viola!

Now, from my backyard garden---GREEN TOMATOES--

from which I prepared---

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES!

A family favorite around here! And yes, it is a movie. But in the south, it's also a scrumptious side dish! I served these with string beans (from the garden) and potatoes, and grilled flounder fillets AND totally forgot to take a picture of the meal! For those of you who count calories, as far as I can tell, one friend green tomato had about 74 calories in it. Well worth it too! And I'm not telling you how many I ate. Sigh.

I don't have the recipe for the fried green tomatoes because it's one of those recipes that I just do- I don't follow a written recipe.

However, here are the recipes for the casserole and the burgers!

Zucchini and Potato Bake (2 servings)
(this recipe came from Healing the Gerson Way)

1 lb zucchini
1 lb potatoes
2 medium onions
2 cloves garlic
10 oz yogurt (I didn't use the yogurt because I thought I had plain but it was vanilla..oops)

Finely slice zucchini, potatoes and onions. Place alternate layers of each in casserole dish, adding a sprinkling of crushed garlic between layers. Cook in oven at 350 degrees for about an hour and a half. Add second garlic clove to yogurt. When dish is cooked, spread yogurt on top.


Broccoli Burgers (makes 4 burgers)
(this recipe came from One Green Planet)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup dry couscous (I used brown rice because I forgot to buy couscous)
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups broccoli florets
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion (I used a vidalia onion)
2 tsp ground cumin (Ick...I skipped this ingredient)
1- 15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 TBS sesame tahini (I didn't use this because do you know how much tahini sauce cost??????)
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs (don't like panko, used my gluten free bread crumbs)

There is Tahini Dressing for the burger, which I didn't make, but here's that part:

1/3 cup sesame tahini
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup plus 1 TBS fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3/4 tsp sea salt


Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
• In a small pot, bring the water and couscous to a boil. (I skipped these 3 steps because I just made some brown rice and used that)
• Remove from heat immediately and allow the couscous to sit in the pot for 10 minutes to soak up the water.
• Steam the broccoli in a steamer for 5-7 minutes
• In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add in the onion and scallions, stirring occasionally for 3-5 minutes until the onion softens.
• Remove the onions from the heat and stir in the cumin.
• Place couscous, broccoli, onion mix, chickpeas and sesame tahini in a food processor and combine.
• Pour the mixture into a bowl and stir in the bread crumbs.
• Form it into patties and place the patties on a cookie sheet--I sprayed a little organic olive oil on the pan.
• Bake for 50 minutes, turning the patties over halfway through. You’ll know they are done when the tops begin to brown.
• To make the tahini sauce, place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until combined, for about 30 seconds.
• Top your burgers with the sauce and anything else you like on a burger and ENJOY!

I have discovered a website called Calorie Count that is good for determining the caloric value of recipes. Using the site, the zucchini/potato bake has about 241 calories per serving and the burgers have about 161 WITHOUT the sauce.

What's cooking in your kitchen?

Summer Sizzle- Week 2 Update; Week 3 Deets

It's time for the Summer Sizzle update for the end of Week 2 and the beginning of Week 3-

More like the summer fizzle stay the same.

I'm over it people. It's time for a drastic change. I think I've come up with it, but that's for tomorrow's post.

I'm staying under myfitnesspal's recommended daily calories. But I'm not staying at 1200. O, hell no. And I have no idea why it won't put 6/11 up there- the total that day was 1726. Today's is missing for obvious reasons.

I didn't have any trouble with the 7 hours of exercise- that was a cinch. Though, for the most part, it was just walking and/or running.

And except for today where I missed it by 15 minutes--- oh well...

Next week's weekly challenge is to try a new fitness activity or exercise equipment. I hope to do that via joining the senior center (you can read about that HERE) and/or a new DVD I just purchased- The Biggest Loser- cardio max.

I didn't stick to the menu that I planned last week for two reasons- a couple of those recipes were ridiculous with the prep time being all day long and part of the night AND, I didn't want to. Stubborn much? Oh yeah. Definitely.

Anyway, there's a big change coming soon. Stay tuned.

I'll leave you with this clip from The Cosby Show- love me some Bill Cosby! Now, you can watch the whole thing, but the best part begins at 6:45- where Cliff talks about his Father's Day gifts over the years and then about how mothers get better gifts because they are better at promoting themselves! Enjoy!

Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there!

Sizzle Summer Slim Down: Update- Week 1/Goals- Week 2

 Week 1 is a done deal. Our focus was to be on getting back into the habit (or getting into it for the first time) of tracking our food intake. This is not a problem for me- it's one of the few things that I can/will/do, do.

But the scale didn't move one iota.

I think it was due to too many of these:

Followed by too little of this:

Which didn't burn enough of these:

The caloric intake was under what myfitnesspal.com recommends for me. It was also under the 1500 that I was going to set for myself. But now I'm thinking that I have to go back to the 1200 daily calories if I expect to lose any weight at all.

The exercise has to change also (That day with no exercise? It was raining like crazy and not one time did I think to do the Shred--my brilliance astounds me at times.). It's going to have to go like this:

• walk either Tucker or Strider
• walk whichever dog didn't go the first time out (Tucker doesn't enjoy walking with Strider)
• go back out for a training run
• 30 Day Shred, level 2 OR Tae Bo OR Yoga Booty Ballet (will probs mix it up)
• Get myself over to the senior center and join (inner debate to come)

Yes. It's going to be a huge pain in the rear.
Yes. I have to do it anyway.
No. I've not lost my mind.

But I've also not lost any weight. And that sucks. Completely. Totally. Without a doubt. It sucks.

Water intake was fantastic! Wish that was all it took to get the job done!

 So this week we are supposed to focus on exercise. We are to try to get in 6 hours for the week. I'm hoping this won't be a problem since I have to change what I'm doing so drastically.

Also this week, I am going to try a little menu planning. I'm going to try a few new RAW recipes. Here's the menu for this week:

MONDAY: Zucchini spaghetti (gluten free)

TUESDAY: Sweet n’ Creamy Tomato Soup (RAW) and RAW Fajitas

WEDNESDAY: Portobello Mushroom Burger (Vegetarian/gluten free)

THURSDAY: Spinach and Raw Mushroom Quiche

FRIDAY: RAW Tacos

SATURDAY: Baked Broccoli Burgers (Vegetarian and gluten free)

I'm setting up a page tab for a list of all the participants in case anyone would like to visit and throw some much needed encouragement their way- there's no doubt in my mind that any and all encouragement is more than welcome and greatly appreciated!

Have a great week y'all!