Gratitude is the new attitude

Health- we always take if for granted until we no longer have it.

Clean eating- day 2

My breakfast this morning.

Now I just have to get used to drinking my coffee black. All that sugar and creamer add ups to 10-20 extra grams of sugar, which is not good. My other alternative is usually green tea. I try to squeeze on some type of caffeine ervyday to jump start my metabolism.

What do your clean breakfasts consist of?

Clean eating starts today!

After Thanksgiving's binge, I felt somewhat relieved getting it out of the way. Even though I still have a few more holiday parties to attend this month, I'm making it a point to start eating cleaner and healthier...like as in now. It is the last month of 2012 after all, so might as well live it out right.

Admittedly, this sudden urge of motivation came upon me today as it was spent watching hours of "before & after" weight loss videos on youtube. Seeing these women overcome their struggles and achieve their goal weight is so uplifting. I just want to give them all a big hug!

Holiday binging has begun

This may not be good, especially for the simple fact that I will not hold back. These are the times I like to enjoy with loved ones, live in the moment, and indulge in the feast.

Fall is here (and I just started bikram yoga)

Fall season is here, and I'm just loving all the beautiful colors and cooler weather. I wish it were longer.

I took on a new daily routine- bikram yoga. It is said that one session can burn up to 1,000 calories, so I decided to give it a try (well, and with other reasons and benefits in mind.) My friends and I signed up for an unlimited month of classes and we're going to stick to it for 30 days. We're using each other as motivational coaches. It's working. We started Monday night straight after work. We were sweating our butts off and enjoyed every 90 minutes of it.

Towards the end, we were feeling like we couldn't push ourselves any further, but then we made it through and felt fully accomplished. It was a wonderful first time experience for our body, mind, and soul.

Weekend binge

I treat myself to whatever I crave on the weekends. All week is steady and strict eating, then Saturday and Sundays are my "fun" days. In time, I'll eventually wean off Sundays and stick to just Saturday binges. 

I've been on and off again with the "Myfitnesspal" app. The main reason being- I eat the same thing everyday. It gets boring and repetitive recording the same meals. I pretty much know what 1200 calories a day looks like.

I measured myself today, and the results are pretty much the same. Not that I'm disappointed, but just a little surprised that my healthier eating habits haven't effected my numbers.

Starting tomorrow, no more white carbs. I'm promising myself that much at least. I read somewhere that fruits don't help contribute to weight loss as well. Well, let's put that to the test. Fruit and white carbs are black listed for now during the week. This is definitely a challenge. Let's hope this works.

Mini sandwiches

Lately I've been packing these small sandwiches as a mid-day snack. Normally I don't slather the bread with butter, but today I was feeling a little bold.

Filling up on water

When it comes to drinking water, I've heard different tips from every which where.  

1. To help lose weight, drink at least half your body weight in ounces.
2. Drink a warm or room temperature glass right when you wake up and right before you go to bed.
3. Avoid drinking ice cold water as it's harder to drink more at a time (in which I totally agree with.)
4. Drink 1 liter of water in the morning, 1 in the afternoon, and 1 more spread out between the hours of 5-8pm.
5. Drink water half an hour before you eat and half an hour after. 

I've been trying to incorporate all of the above into my daily routine. So far it's been good and I have been pretty consistent with my new water schedule.

Enjoyed my last "all out weekend"

So little chips, so many fat grams. 

Some days I eat better than others. This whole weekend was classified as the "others." It started on Thursday. I was c-r-a-v-i-n-g Velveeta's macaroni and cheese and just had to have that for dinner. Not to mention that earlier that afternoon I indulged in some Cheetos at work. My taste buds must of been in need of some faux cheese.

Friday was filled with carbs galore. A co-worker brought in bagels for breakfast and then there was cake for another office birthday. Lunch was just a couple of fruits. I was saving room for dinner which was 2 rushi rolls, Vegas and spicy salmon. Oh, I don't hold back on the soy sauce either.

Saturday was my resting day. I pretty much just lounged around the house making it a Sex and the City marathon. Man, what I would give to have Sarah Jessica Parker's body. I went to the gym earlier that morning followed by a thick protein shake. Come lunch time I was so hungry I had a plate full of brown rice mixed with multiple side dishes. Dinner was a lazy one- ramyun noodles. Then an hour later I was feeling in need for a treat. Ice cream sandwiches, so delicious AND addicting. And now it's the last day of my weekend, Sunday. Breakfast was skipped due to sleeping in. I had buffalo wings with a side of carrot sticks and butter rice for lunch. For dinner it was spicy tofu soup with a small side of white rice. Of course I was craving a dessert AGAIN. This time it was a piece of white vanilla cake.

Tomorrow is a new start. I'm excited. Oh, and a new beginning of my quasitarian diet begins. 

Taking my vitamins

I've been taking my fish oils for quite some time now. However, I just recently started adding my b-complex pills. I take them every morning with my hot tea. You could call it part of my daily breakfast.

Day 1- Yoga

It's raining outside and the storm makes all the better for a  relaxing evening. I got home late from work and was actually pretty motivated to workout. I was thrilled to see my Rodney Lee DVD come through the mail. Yoga For Beginners is the title and it was perfect for a night like tonight.

Dinner was leftovers from an India wedding we attended. I so love spicy curry. I skipped out on the white rice though.

I stepped in the scale...

I can't believe it. I stepped on the scale today to find the few pounds I worked off are now back on. Maybe it's my new muscle weight. Maybe not. Actually, yeah. I'm sure it's not. I haven't been consistent with my strength training in months.

Big sigh. I keep telling myself that I'm going to work hard at this, but I always find some really good excuse to talk me out of it. I mean, Sex and the City just can't wait any longer from a day's worth of hard work. 

Tomorrow. I promise. I will start on my new fit and healthy body transformation.

Tired of egg whites for breakfast

Eating egg whites just doesn't seem to get me full. I'm trying not to eat more than half a cup per serving but most of the time I wind up hungry an hour or two later. I need a new satisfying breakfast routine.


I might just look into "protein pancakes." Sounds interesting and filling.

Vegetable day

Breakfast: cherry tomatoes sprinkled with pepper.


Drink: a juiced veggie drink


Lunch: (pictured) cucumbers, bean sprouts and 1 scoop of white rice. So much for my "no white carb" challenge. I'll start over tomorrow.


Dinner: Kale and spinach salad topped with cilantro dressing.

Weekend Grill

Meat tastes so good cooked on the grill.


Maybe I can do this "no-carb" thing for a week.  Serena said she tried it and in time her stomach didn't look bloated or stuck out as much. She started to see more definition in her muscles and felt lighter.


I've already cut out all of the sugary white carbs easily, so now I need to challenge myself on sticking strictly to protein and vegetables. I'm going to say I can do it...easily. Let's hope I don't get cranky on the way.

Mean green juicing machine

I juice just about everyday. I haven't in a while though since I fell off my healthy eating and workout routine. I went to Trader Joe's and stocked up on some greens for my breakfast juice. I pretty much stick to the same ol same ol: kale, spinach, green apple and lots of carrots.

Happy hour with the girls

Wine and cheese. This was my dinner with the girls. It's nice to catch up every now and then and just talk about good times. I cherish moments like these.

Internal thoughts- recovering from my weakness

Gosh. When will I ever stay focused and dedicated to my daily workout routine? I could come up with a million excuses, but that's all they really are, excuses. I somehow find the time to watch Youtube, my regular tv shows, catch up on my book trilogies, meet up with friends for happy hour, but can not find 20-30 minutes out of my day to squeeze cardio in.


It's already summer and the pressure is on.  All these sexy bikinis, Victoria's Secret catalogs popping up in my mailbox, women with 3 kids walking through the mall with better bodies than me!


I need to get this body into shape. I need to start feeling "sexy" again. I need to feel empowered and in control with myself. Discipline has not been enforced for quite some time now so my body took the initiative by doing so and added some more blub on my thighs and stomach. *sigh*


Whenever I sit down on my bed naked I stop and think to myself, "If I were strolling around the beach would I find this body attractive? No...not so much." I try to be real and harsh with myself, but the reality of it all is that I'm just flat out lazy. After working 9-5 and getting home by 6 after traffic all I want to do is rest. I don't feel like working out when I can just sit there, eat a nice plate of whatever I cooked that night, and watch The Office. But I know I need to get out of this mode. I think it's the evil sugar speaking to me. It's breaking me down and making me weak. Did I mention we had another birthday to celebrate at work this week? Yep, you know what that means. Sugary Pillsbury cake time with extra frosting on top. Man, did it taste good. I had like 3 pieces.....then a salad for lunch. Why the salad? Don't know. Guess I was trying to cover up my guilt with spinach leaves thinking that would do actually do something.


Okay. For sure this time I'm going to get up and going with my fitness routine starting Monday. I browsed through some motivational fitness pictures on Pinterest so I think I'm good now. Fighting!

Hummus for breakfast

multi grain bread

chili flavored hummus

fresh radish

a dash of salt

spinach egg

I love breakfast time.