Resisting Temptation

So I am proud to say I made it to the gym 2 times so far this week.

That is a big deal to me since I have to wake up at 4 a. m. for work and have to drive an hr. there and back!

I can be pretty tired some days!

But I have a goal body in mind.

and I want it!

Keeping my eye on the prize as they say!

However, on day three of my "challenge" is already making me have cravings!

Things that I normally do not eat or crave, but I think since I know now that I CAN'T have certain foods, all of a sudden I want them....BAD!

Working at a power plant in the middle of NO WHERE means that food source isn't easy.

If I don't bring enough "clean" food then I just don't eat.

Well about once a week one of our vendors is oh so kind to bring us two full boxes of fresh Einstein bagels and multiple flavors of their creamy fluffy delicious cream cheese.

As I was sitting in my office I could smell the wonderful bagels being toasted in the kitchen and all I could think was "well I'm going to the gym tonight, it's okay if I have JUST one"

Contemplating about committing a challenge sin I decided to venture out on some research.

IF I did decide to cave in, what would I have to do on top of my normal routine work out to burn off that ONE bagel.

In my research I found this FABULOUS site

The Lean Body Bride

How much to burn it off?-30 minutes on the elliptical at a moderate pace!!

(The site also shows how much you would have to work out to burn off many other "snacks")

Now, that is ON TOP of my normal workout. The 30 mins is just for one bagel. Not my dream body, not to tone, not to slim down...for a bagel.

I am happy to report that I resisted the devil of food temptation and kept my paws off and enjoyed my honey's left over steamed asparagus for my breakfast :)

hey...you try and make eggs and sausage at 4 a.m.! lol

I have to be honest, knowing I resisted felt SO much better than that bagel could have ever tasted!

Day 2! Grilled Chicken with a Mediterranean flair!

Today is the start of DAY 2 of my challenge!

And so far NO cheating : )

Last night Matthew made my Kale Chicken and Cumin recipe (can be found Here) and I have to say his blew mine out of the water!

So happy he's the cook so I don't have to.

However, I do HAVE to cook Sunday nights, ugh!

So I am going to share what I made Sunday because I am pretty proud of it!

Grilled Chicken with a Mediterranean flair! 

What you will need

1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes

16-18 large Kalamata olives, pitted and halved

3 Tbs capers, rinsed

Olive oil

boneless, skinless chicken breast

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 475℉.

Toss tomatoes, olives, capers, and 2 tsp of olive oil in a zip lock bag.

Season chicken breasts on both sides with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Heat a large  skillet over high heat.  Once hot, add 2 tsp olive oil and sear chicken on both sides.

Turn heat to medium-high and add another 2 tsp of olive oil (should be hot but not smoking) and continue to cook until deep golden brown (about 4 minutes).

Use tongs to flip chicken, then add tomato mixture to skillet.

Transfer chicken and mixture to an oven pan and roast chicken until cooked through and tomatoes have softened, about 15-18 minutes.

Transfer to plates and spoon tomato mixture over top to serve.

Matt made the veggies

He roasted zucchinni,  olives,  capers and peppers in olive oil and salt and pepper

The veggies were SO good and pair with the chicken fabulously!

Enjoy!

: )

My Challenge begins today!

Alright, time to mark my calendar.

I am OFFICIALLY making a verbal and written (yes I am signing a contract) commitment to my self.

I am super excited about this.

For the next two months I am 100% Paleo and a gym babe 4 days a week.

4 days a week might not seem like much but I got two big animals that need exercise themselves if I still want to call myself a barrel racer.

I took before pics but a little embarrassed to post. If I get awesome after results I will have no problem showing off my success!

As of this morning I weight 122 lbs. at  5 ft. nothing, I was told I should be 100 lbs. >.< WHAT?!

Realistically, I know that will never happen. My goal weight is to be 115 lbs. by April 25th.

I am done dreaming of the body I want and I am done feeling sorry for myself and wishing my tummy was smaller.

Well, wishing and dreaming isn't going to give me the results, it's DOING!

 I am excited but nervous because I have the world's largest sweet tooth!

I will post recipes and weight loss (maaaybe ; ) ) along the way!

Wish me luck.

xo

It's not rocket science

Only 5 days left before I have to give myself (with the help of Matt) 100% dedication.

We are signing a contract and all...

Will post our day one for details, meals, progress and probably mainly complaining that I miss food that I never ate too much of to begin with (i will just be complaining about it because I can't have it, typical woman).

Wash rack open for business!

With the weather warming up quickly I realized, MY HORSES ARE FILTHY!

We decided to build me a wash rack since last time I created a muddy mess in the yard.

Here are pics of our hard work, before and afters, love them!

Like my outfit? Yoga pants and cowgirl boots  : )

Had to redo it a few times thanks to puppy paws.

I want to add a little comedy to this blog by pointing out Lil' Bill in some of these pics (Billy is my famous goat, well, famous among my friends)

My friend Jen just LOVES this goat.

She wants him to have his own T.V. show.

Not going to lie, he is the center point of our entertainment most of the times

So, you will notice in the picture below, Matt had to, ONCE AGAIN, reassemble Billy's house

You can see he is sun bathing. House is together, where it's supposed to be.

Now in this picture, which was taken 10 mins after the one above, Billy has relocated AND the roof of this house is now ajar.

Billy is again sunbathing.

In the next and final picture you will see that Billy's one house has now become two bottoms.

Billy is sunbathing.

Before/After

I'm talking about my goats house.

The white part is now his boat while the grey is his bed.

My vet always tells me that goats are the most pointless animal.

Did you smile while reading this post?

Not so pointless then : )

 Next project is........GRASS!

Have a FAB Monday!

xo

Violets are blue, roses are...bacon?

Late yes,  I know...

I never know what to get my significant other for Valentines Day.

I feel like a "man's gift" is hard around this particular holiday.

Us ladies have, jewelry, flowers, teddy bears and I could go on and on.

Well, I can't really get a man roses.

However, I CAN get him bacon!

Bacon + Roses = Man bouquet!

Genius!

Could not get easier.

Roll the strips to give a "rose" like look.

I put the fat side on the bottom and the meat side on top.

Use tooth picks to hold the bacon in its curl and this will also create a stand for the bacon to stay up.

I ended up putting the bacon on a rack with the sheet underneath to catch the grease.

I bought a cheap faux rose bouquet from Michael's (make sure its the kind that have a green stick thing in the middle).

Cook bacon at 400 degrees for 30 mins

Once done, pull out the tooth picks and place on the emptied out rose buds.

Vuala!

A fun way to say I love you!

I cannot believe it's not hummus!

I was SO sad when I discovered chick peas are NOT Paleo. WHAT?!

They are considered a legume.

Legumes are similar to grains.

They weren’t consumed by the paleo hunter-gatherer because they needed to be cooked in order to be edible.

Legumes also have similar traits to grains in their make-up; they contain phytates (phytic acid) which inhibit nutrient absorption and cause inflammation.

Luckily, there is a substitute....ZUCCHINI!

Weird, I know, but this recipe has been a great way for me to curb that hummus craving

Ingredients

2 medium zucchini, peeled and chopped

½ cup tahini

⅓ cup lemon juice

⅓ cup olive oil

3 garlic cloves

1½ teaspoons cumin

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Combine all ingredients in the base of a food processor, and process until smooth.

Serve with crisp raw veggies, such as carrots, celery sticks, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, or cucumber slices, for dipping.

*I found tahini at Vons in the section where all the kosher food is; just a tip because it took me awhile to find it. It has a peanut butter type texture it is not a spice. It's a paste made from ground up sesame seeds*

Enjoy!

xo

P.S. honey has a sinus infection : ( I will post his favorite PALEO soup packed with sinus infection fighting herbs!