Fitness Challenge 2.0 - Weeks 2 and 3

Yep, still trying to get back into post-fitness-challenge shape. Hows it going? Well, I'm working out 6 days a week, so I'm tired and sore, but have I lost any weight? NO. No, I haven't. Awesome huh?

It's the carbs. Damn those carbs.

I need to get it together! I KNOW exactly what I need to do, but for some reason I'm not letting myself. It's so frustrating!! I'm a pain in the ass, I tell ya. (funny aside: I just spelled "frustrating" wrong and the first suggestion my spell check gave me was "frosting". Seems fitting.)

So, I've wasted 3 weeks. I now have 3 weeks to make it up.

Bah.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I've never really *loved* banana bread. I've always eaten it, sure, but it's never quite been something I crave. Then again, I don't really care for bananas anyway.  However, Zach loves bananas so we always seem to have a few on hand after the bunch goes brown.  I usually just make your standard run-of-the-mill banana bread and call it a day.  We typically eat a couple slices then toss it.

Well, it was treat day at work Wednesday and I didn't have a whole lot on hand to make, except for a few 'naners. So, off to one of my new favorite places to find recipes, The Tasty Kitchen. TONS of options.  I also knew I had a few chocolate chips on hand, so I wondered if there were any chocolate chip banana breads out there.... BOY WERE THERE!  I pretty much picked this one because it A) looked easy, B) I had most the stuff and C) Hmm... Sour Cream? That might be interesting.

It was awesome! Everyone loved it and I have had to really resist eating the entire second loaf myself... heh.  I'm pretty sure I'll definitely be craving this again soon!

 *Sorry for the single poor-quality image. I kinda forgot to take a picture when we had a whole loaf... and when it was light out. Live and learn.

So, thank you, brittgarrett, this was delish! 

CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD

½ cups Butter, Room Temperature
1-¼ cup Sugar
2 whole Eggs
½ cups Sour Cream
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Mashed Ripe Bananas (usually Equals 2 Bananas)
1-¾ cup Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 pinch Salt
¾ cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Beat together until blended the butter, sugar, eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and mashed ripe bananas.

Stir in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips.

Pour batter into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake for 40-50 minutes (you will want to keep an eye on it, as ovens vary). Cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removal.

Pupperoni Summer

The pups have been having quite the summer! Zach's been off school and home during the day so they've gotten lots of playing time in. Now that he's back in school it's going to be a tough transition for all of us, but hopefully we can make due with lots of chew bones, playtime outside and maybe even some walks if I'm brave.

A couple weeks ago I got Ted a new toy! A Jolly Ball! The thing is about the size of my head and has a handle on it so he can tote it around. Ted thinks it is the best. toy. ever.   He loves it!  It's pretty hilarious watching him run around with it. It's hard to capture motion with my little camera, but we are thinking of upgrading pretty soon, so watch out for even MORE dog pictures! I know you are excited!

oh blogger, your formatting tool is second to none.  ARG!  But look how cute these faces are!?

Ted loves posin' for the camera. Missy, not so much.

After a tough play session in this summer heat, a dudes got to rest.  For some size perspective, that is a Queen Size bed...

Hope you are having a fun summer!!!

Week 1 Update : Fitness Challenge 2.0

So, I'm one week into my self-proclaimed fitness challenge.  So far, so good!  The first week wasn't quite as hard as I had thought it would be.  Now, don't get me wrong, I'm following my diet pretty closely, but not QUITE as strict.  That being said, I did eat really well Sunday through Thursday. I ate mostly eggs, chicken, lean turkey meat, low carb bread and tortillas, fruit and some jello.

Friday through Sunday I was a little more lax and I wish I wouldn't have been. I didn't really go OVERBOARD (well except for the cookie incident last night), but did let myself have some pizza on Friday and ice cream on Saturday. I'm not sure what's up this summer, but I cannot get enough ice cream!!  Don't get me wrong, I love ice cream, but I usually don't CRAVE it like I have this summer (and no, not pregnant, nice try). I'm going to blame the extra hot temperatures outside. At least I've stopped buying cartons of the stuff, so I don't have it at home anymore. I think the occasional ice cream trip is a summer requirement, so I'm trying not to feel guilty about it.

Working out has been going great!!  There's really nothing new to my routine there. Just trying to push myself a little harder each time I'm at the gym.  I am looking forward to some cooler temperatures so I can start running outside again though.

So that's week one!  I didn't weigh myself the first week because I always get frustrated when I don't see immediate results. So I'm waiting until week two.

Healthy Thoughts!

Sugar = Bad

I will update on my Fitness Challenge 2.0 progress tomorrow. Right now I can barely even function well enough to write this post, but I'm doing so to prove a point.

Sugar is the devil.  I've been cutting wayyyyy back on my sugar intake the past week. Until tonight. When I devoured a few too many pink and white frosted animal crackers (you know, the ones in the bag with the sprinkles...yeah). Then I had 3 pieces of chocolate and a rice krispie treat.

WHAT WAS I THINKING?!

I feel like death. 

So, yeah. The challenge is going well, I just need to mental note how I feel right now so I don't do THAT again.

G'nite folks.

Fill in the Blank Friday! Foodstuffs!

Of course the theme for Fill in the Blank Friday the day after I announce my Fitness Challenge 2.0 would be about food...

1. Today for breakfast I ate Frosted Flakes. They were on sale a couple weeks ago for super cheap and I hadn't had them in a very long time, so I got a box. Yeah, that's one kids cereal that should stay a kids cereal. I did not find them tasty at all (and we all know I love sugar), but it was all I had. Usually I eat oatmeal at my desk at work, but I was starving after my morning run and couldn't wait.

2. My go to/never fail recipe is cheesy chicken burritos! Yum, now I want to make them! And my "famous" frosted sugar cookies (that recipe is a secret!)

3. Something I eat that other people think is weird is not much. Me? Eat weird food? Yeah, nice try. The strangest thing that I can think of right now is how I eat McDonalds cheeseburgers. I eat them almost all the way normally and then when it's a few bites left, I eat the bottom part of the bun, then the top part of the bun and then the burger. I've done this for as long as I can remember and even when I try to tell myself "don't do that, it's weird" I still do it. I can't help myself. Oh, and I also open up the burger and use the ketchup and muster inside to dip a few fries in. I don't like cold mustard or ketchup (which I guess is also strange), so this is a perfect solution. Ok. Enough about McDonalds. Ha!

4. My worst cooking disaster ever was when I tried to cook chicken in a skillet on the stove. I covered the chicken with this dry rub stuff, well I'm an idiot and it all burned off before the chicken could cook. The whole house was full of smoke and smelled like burnt grossness for what seems like weeks. To this day, I refuse to cook whole pieces of chicken on the stove. I have to cut it in to bite size pieces. I pretty much hate cooking chicken on anything other than the grill.

5. If I could only eat one flavor of ice cream the rest of my life it would be chocolate ice cream with chunks of brownie. That was a hard decision.

6. One food I hate and avoid at all costs is onions. Everyone knows that. They are evil little bastards.

7. What is your favorite meal? Breakfast, lunch, or dinner? Breakfast!!! Oh man, I would eat it all the time. Sweet pastries, yummy eggs, salty bacon, crunchy toast, crispy potatoes! What is there not to love?! I eat breakfast for dinner all the time!

Alright! Time for lunch!

Fitness Challenge 2.0

That's right everyone, I'm doing it again!  Except, this time I have to do it on my own. No magazine covers, no personal trainer, no pressure of all of KC watching, no nothin. Just me, my meal plan, the gym and sheer willpower.

I'm starting on Sunday and will go for 6 weeks. I hope to do everything the same as I did last time and get the same sort of results.  I've still been doing the same workouts since last fall, but my diet has slipped.  So, farewell sugar and carbs, it's been fun. 

I have gone back and re-read all my fitness challenge posts and emails I sent back and forth with my trainer and the journalist, and I need to get back in that frame of mind. The first week is the hardest, so once I get past that, I should be good.

Wish me luck! I'll be sure to post weekly updates!