Well… I’ll be honest. There is not a lot to say about how week 2 went because I wasn’t really committed this week. It was a very stressful week with a lot going on. Here’s what progress I did have, though…

Exercise
I didn’t hit my goal of 6.5mi for the treadmill this week and only worked out two days. On Tuesday, I jogged/walked 1.5mi on the treadmill for about a half-hour. On Wednesday, I went to the gym with my cousin and participated in a full hour-long step class at the gym. It was the first step class that I had ever taken, so I didn’t know a lot of the moves and really didn’t keep up with it, but I did what I could and I was still dripping with sweat and beat by the end of the class. Would I do step again? Probably not, but I was happy that I gave it a try. I was looking forward to going to a spinning or Zumba class at the end of this week, but other things came up that had me busy and my cousin wasn’t feeling well anyway.

I am going to make it a point to print out free guest passes for local gyms so I can give them a try a few days next week and perhaps decide which one I might want to be a member of. I’m also going to make a conscious effort to get back into a treadmill routine for Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday of next week.

Diet
Aside from yesterday and today, which were the only two days that I really “splurged”, I really didn’t overdo it too much this week. Admittedly, I wasn’t counting or watching every single calorie that I consumed, but I still tried to eat healthy – everything in moderation.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of NMEDA. All opinions are 100% mine.

Most of us don’t know what it is like to have a disability. I got a tiny glimpse into what it might be like to have one when I had surgery in December. Walking 15ft from the couch to the kitchen was a struggle as was doing other physical tasks, and there were times where I simply couldn’t move because it was a painful struggle and I had to resort to asking for assistance. Fortunately, I am now recovered from the surgery and my struggle only lasted brief amount of time, but there are others out there who cannot say the same thing.

It is natural that disabilities have different effects on different people because no two people are created exactly alike. If you are a disabled person and require special equiptment to be mobile, why settle for something generic, sold through the internet or a catalog, when you can have personalized service and something that will suit your exact needs?

This is where NMEDA can help.

NMEDA is a non-profit trade association who has a goal to educate consumers on how to buy products from a NMEDA qualified dealer. NMEDA does not sell anything directly; the participating members of NMEDA are the ones who sell the handicap vans and vehicle modifications for people with disabilities. These members are required to adhere to the safety standards of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as well as NMEDA’s Quality Assurance Program (QAP), the only nationally recognized accreditation program for the Adaptive Mobility Equipment Industry.

There are certified NMEDA dealers nationwide and you can find out if there is one near you by going to their website and typing in your zipcode in the box on the home page under “Find a dealer nearest you.” There are about 5-6 dealers in a 50 mile radius from me, including one that is just 10 miles away.

Today is Women’s Equality Day, a day which commemorates the signing of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920 and recognizes the continued struggles women face. Even after the passing of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which gave women the right to vote (Women’s Suffrage), there were still some U.S. states that refused to favor the amendment as late as 1984. Women all over the world still struggle to be recognized and treated as equals to this day.

If you are a blogger who is looking to spread awareness about this event and other events, feel free to click on the above picture to visit Bloggersunite.org, sign up as a participant, and post about this on your blog.

If you are not a blogger, there are still ways for you to spread awareness! It might be as simple as telling your family and friends about the historical significance of this day, or reminding people of the importance of voting and encouraging them to vote in upcoming elections. You could also volunteer your time at a local poll during an election, donate money to help out women’s causes, or volunteer at an event relating to women’s causes or at a local women’s shelter. See below for some resources about these topics.

Learn About Women in History

History.com – The Fight for Women’s Suffrage -Information about the fight for Women’s Suffrage in the U.S.

The National Women’s History Project – Founded in 1980 and aims to “recognize and celebrate the diverse and historic accomplishments of women.”

Womenshistorymonth.org – Women’s History Month is celebrated in March.

Get Involved with Women’s Issues

USA.gov – Information about how to volunteer your time during an election.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure – Volunteer or donate and spread breast cancer awareness.

Sheltersforwomen.org – Resources for temporary housing for women in need.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Hampton Hotels. All opinions are 100% mine.

I don’t think I’ve asked recently, but how is everyone’s summer going? Take any good vacations? Personally, I haven’t taken a long, 4 night or more vacation in ages, mainly because of money and other issues like work or other commitments, but I love day trips, 2-3 day trips, and weekend trips! I took a few day trips to the beach this summer, but my last weekend trip where we stayed two nights or more was to Atlantic City a few months ago. Steve and I might be looking to go back sometime in September for a weekend stay, or maybe we’ll go to D.C.; I haven’t been there in almost a year and it is a great place to walk around with something different to see and do every time.

For those like me who like to take little trips here and there, you should be excited to know that the Hampton Inn hotel chain is offering a new contest called the Hampton Chain of Friends Sweepstakes! With this contest, there is no purchase necessary and the grand prize is big: You can win an entire hotel for a weekend (100 rooms for 2 nights)! WOW! That would be enough rooms for your friends, your family, your neighbors, your family friends… basically everyone you know! 100 runner-up prizes are also being given away – weekend stays given away daily for the winner and three of their friends – so there is a good chance to win something.

The contest is open to residents of the 50 US, DC, Canada (excluding Quebec), UK, and Mexico. Hurry up and enter because the contest ends on 9/4/2010!! Official rules and the entry form can be found on the Hampton Inn website.

I’m now into week 2 of my diet. While I have made some changes last week, I find that it is very tempting to fall back into old habits. I’m definitely monitoring what and when I eat, and still trying to keep everything in moderation… but it is more difficult than I remember it being!!

Sunday

Brunch: Coffee w/ half-and-half, homemade potato pancakes w/ sour cream
Snack: Handful of butter toffee cashews, diet pepsi
Dinner: Cheese stuffed baby peppers w/ sour cream sauce; potato pancakes; iced tea cocktail (1.5oz Makers Mark in iced black tea sweetened with cane sugar and lemon)
Dessert: Homemade rice pudding made with 1% milk and half-and-half
Miscellaneous: 1 bottle of diet green tea

Monday

Breakfast: Coffee w/ half-and-half, yogurt
Snack: 24 pretzels (120 calories)
Lunch: Veggie “chicken” patty w/ ketchup (no bread), green salad w/ oil and vinegar, roasted veggies
Snack: 100 calorie pack of shortbread cookies, iced tea
Dinner: Homemade rice and beans, bottle of water
Dessert: Pear cobbler with frozen vanilla-almond yogurt

As you can see… this past weekend there were some bumps in the road, but today I have been trying to get back on track with my diet and exercise. I went on the treadmill for a half-hour this morning and walked/jogged 1.5 miles (6 laps) at a rate of 2.6-3.5mph with an incline of 3-4. My goal for the week is still 6.5 miles and I am going to try to work out tomorrow, Thursday, Friday, and maybe Saturday morning to fulfill it. I was also asked if I wanted to go to a couple of workout classes this week, so we’ll see how that goes; if I do go to them, I will probably still walk, but at a slower pace than I have been.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Boost Mobile. All opinions are 100% mine.

Cell phones. Nearly everyone has and uses them nowadays to be in touch with family and friends, but “smart phones” like those made by RIM Blackberry also have a strong place in the business world as a way of keeping in contact with clients and bosses. Considering all of these uses for cellphones – calling, texting, using the web, posting updates on Facebook and Twitter… – it is important to get a plan that is customized to suit your specific needs.

A lot of people are considering contract-free cell phone plans as a flexible alternative to traditional cell phone plans that might have penalties for cancelling before your contract is up. Who wants to deal with that, especially if the provider turns out to be unreliable? A provider like Boost Mobile is easy to use, with no strings attached and no contracts. The Re-Boost program can be used to easily manage what you want to spend each month and exactly what kind of features you want to have on your cell phone? Not only that, but there are even flexible ways to pay for your bill, including an automatic payment system that you can set up to draw a certain amount of money each month towards your bill. If you are unable to make a payment because of an emergency, Boost Mobile even allows an authorized friend or family member to make your payment for you.

Paying your bill and worrying about how much you are spending shouldn’t be the hard part when it comes to having a cell phone. With Boost Mobile, relax and let choosing between great phones like the Blackberry Curve 8330 and the Motorola Debut i856 should be the only difficulty. ;)

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Back to let everyone know how my diet and workout is going. Needless to say, I enjoyed myself this weekend, but still tried to have everything in moderation as much as possible.

Friday

Breakfast: Hot tea w/ Equal sweetener; yogurt
Lunch: Green salad w/ tomatoes and O&V dressing; Lean Cuisine butternut squash ravioli; bottle of water
Dinner: Grilled veggies marinated in rosemary, garlic, S&P, and oil; scoop of orzo salad; Morningstar BBQ “riblet”; bottle of water
Misc. Snacks & Beverages: 2 cups of hot tea w/ sweetener; 1 cup iced tea made with cane sugar; slice of Tuscan garlic bread with 2 tbsp Seasons chipotle oil

Workout for 29 minutes and 53 seconds. Walked and jogged 1.5mi (6 laps) at a rate of 2.6-3.2mph with an incline percentage grade of 3-4.

Saturday

Breakfast: Iced coffee w/ skim milk, a splash of half-and-half, and 2 Spenda sweeteners; low-fat raspberry muffin from Starbucks
Lunch: Baked brie appetizer (wedge of brie wrapped in puff pastry, with raspberry coulis and a side of fruit salad); Asian spinach salad (spinach salad with peanuts, sesame dressing, shredded carrots, shredded broccoli hearts); 2 LIT’s from restaurant at the beach
Dinner: Garden salad w/ O&V; slice of Tuscan garlic bread with 2 tbsp Seasons chipotle oil; bottle of water
Misc. Snacks & Beverages: 1 bottle diet 7-Up; 1 bottle of water

No workout on treadmill, but walked a lot today at the beach and at the mall!

Sunday marked the beginning of week 2, so I will talk about Sunday and Monday in tomorrow’s update.

Week 1 Recap

August 15 to August 21

Sunday (August 15) was the last day of Musikfest and nothing was formally recorded. I did do a lot of walking at Musikfest, including a lot of hills in Bethlehem, but I bet most of it was cancelled out by the couple of beers that I had… The “official” start of my diet was on Monday and I started recording everything I ate, all of the time and miles spent on the treadmill, and miscellaneous notes.

Diet… This week, I incorporated a lot more salads with raw fruits and vegetables into my diet and tried to eat at home more. I only had one bottle of soda and a few glasses of tea sweetened with cane sugar all week; most of my liquids came from bottled water and hot tea. I ate out at restaurants only twice and limited alcohol to 3 drinks (Thursday and Saturday). My snacking habits at random points of the day, specifically in between or after meals, were more controlled or curbed entirely.

Exercise… From Monday to Saturday, I worked out on the treadmill 4 days (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday) and had a total of 5.5 miles in approximately 112 minutes with an average speed of 2.6 – 3.2mph and a percentage incline grade of 3-4. I also tried to get a lot more walking in this week at the beach, at stores, and while running errands.

Three goals for week two include putting in 6.5 miles on the treadmill (a 1 mile increase from last week); planning meals for the rest of the week and next week;

No pictures today because I was out most of the day yesterday.

Breakfast: Black currant black tea with Equal sweetener and yogurt

Lunch: One slice of veggie meatloaf, one scoop of mashed potatoes, and a big salad

I went out to eat for dinner to an Italian place last night. I can’t tell you how much I really wanted to get the penne vodka, baked ziti, or eggplant rollatini, but I went with shrimp scampi over linguini; a lighter option when compared to heavy cream sauces and heavy baked pasta, cheese, and sauce goodness. I also had a salad with dressing on the side, two slices of bread, and an iced tea with Splenda sweetener. Normally, I would have ate more than two slices of bread and more of the pasta, but I ended up leaving most of the bread and pasta behind. After dinner, I did have one cocktail – a glass of white sangria wine with a splash of peach schnapps, topped with club soda and two strawberries – but I stopped at one and intentionally added the club soda to make it more like a spritzer.

While on the subject of beverages, I should mention that aside from the cocktail yesterday , I have not had any other alcohol since Musikfest ended this past Sunday and I also cut back considerably on caffeine. I haven’t had any soda since last week, diet or otherwise, and I have been trying to alternate between coffee and tea for breakfast during the morning rather than automatically drinking coffee. The other day at the store, I bought some more tea; one was a caffeine free raspberry peach herbal tea and one was a Tazo tea sampler pack that had a mix of caffeinated and non-caffeinated, so I will be sure to let everyone know how I liked them.

I didn’t exercise yesterday, but I went shopping in three fairly large stores and made it a point to walk around more. I also have been parking further away from the front entrance of stores, an easy way to sneak more walking into my day when shopping and running errands. So far, I put in 4 miles total distance and 84 minutes total time for this week. Not bad for only three days so far this week and only counting the time and miles put in on the treadmill, not walking done during the day at other places.

With those changes, I already lost 5lbs so far this week. I know that is bad to weigh-in daily, but I have done so for this past week and saw a steady decrease, most of it due to a decrease in bloating and – sorry, for sounding gross… – waste and water weight being expelled. I can already feel a change in the way some of my shorts and shirts are fitting, and hopefully at this rate I will be into my fall jeans in no time.

To round out the week, I have set a goal to put in another 3 miles, split between today and Sunday, to bring my weekly total to 7 miles on the treadmill. Tomorrow, I might end up taking another break since I am going to the beach and I will do a lot of walking there; specifically, a lot of walking on the sand, which is a great workout compared to walking on a flat or slightly inclined surface.

More pictures today!! Yay, pictures! :D

I realize that some people like to have intense work outs to get into shape, feel better, or look great in a swimsuit during the summer. Well, I’m not taking as intense of an approach because I don’t want to quickly burn myself out or get bored. I want to try and sustain working out regularly over a period of time because I have a reputation for starting a workout routine, keeping a food and workout log, and overall kicking ass on the treadmill for about a month or two… but then stopping the routine altogether when I got busy with school and the fall season in general. While I do have short and long term goals set for myself, I hope that these gradual changes in diet and exercise will do something for me over a period of time.

Aside from what I mentioned a few days ago, I realized that there were two additional motivators for why I am cutting back and exercising more:

1. In a few weeks, around mid-to-late September, there is going to be a noticeable chill in the air. Since I’ve gained weight since last fall, that means that my fall clothes aren’t exactly fitting right now. :( Losing weight and maybe some inches will make them fit better again, and I will also be able to go shopping for some new clothes too. :D
2. Halloween is also coming up in a few months!!! Anyone who knows me or reads regularly should already know that I love Halloween and have worked at a halloween store for the past 3 seasons (2007-2009, and hopefully this year too!) Losing weight means that I might be able to fit into some of the sexy new Leg Avenue Halloween outfits, if we get any in, and look better in the costumes that I already have. One of my favourites that I wore last year was the Mushroom Alice, but I’m very fond of their witch and vampire costumes.

With that said, about yesterday…

Coffee and yogurt for breakfast again; a brief workout before lunch, walked/jogged 1mi (4 laps) in 18 minutes and 50 seconds at a rate of 2.6-3.4mph and a % grade of 4 (incline on treadmill); and black bean soup and green salad again for lunch yesterday.

There was some extra soup, as planned, so I put it into containers to freeze. Leftover soup is great to freeze and have another time, and there were three pints left (or one quart and one pint, as pictured here… but same difference.)

After that, I wanted to make something, but I didn’t know what. When I opened my freezer to put the containers in, I saw the frozen ripe bananas and got an idea. I once saw a Youtube video for a vegan frozen “ice cream” made just out of bananas and wanted to try it. I also had some chocolate soy milk and hazelnut milk that I wanted to try to use up, too, so I figured I would make some kind of chocolate hazelnut banana “ice cream.”

5 or 6 frozen bananas were peeled, coarsely chopped, and put into the food processor.

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A combo of chocolate soy milk and hazelnut milk were put into this Solo plastic cup. I half-filled it with the soy milk and topped it off with the nut milk, so there was about 6-8oz total.

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At this point, I put in half of the milk mixture and processed it and it reached a thick, frozen consistency like soft serve ice cream.

A little more of the milk mixture was added along with 3tsp of Nutella and a dash of vanilla to round out the flavors. Adding the Nutella made it not vegan because it is made with skim milk. Oh well. I’m sure the Nutella could be substituted for a vegan chocolate or 100% cocoa powder (which I might have used if I had it on hand, but I ran out), or even a raw chocolate product and a homemade uncooked nut milk. Since I don’t strictly follow either diet, I’m sticking with Nutella. :D

The mixture was processed again, spread into a container, and put in the freezer to chill and harden. Here, I used an oval cake pan because it was the best thing I had on hand at the time. (I threw out all – yes, all – of my saved plastic take-out containers the other day because they were cluttering the cabinets and getting on my nerves. I need to get a set of new food storage containers soon, like the Rubbermaid containers with the lids that lock onto the bottom for easy and neat storage.)

I tried a little bit and was pleasantly surprised with the thick, ice cream-like texture that the frozen bananas gave the mixture. It tasted a lot like frozen pureed bananas, though, which isn’t a bad thing but I personally think that I should have added more chocolate. As mentioned, I probably would have added cocoa powder, or maybe some mini chocolate chips, but I didn’t have any at the time. Oh well. I would consider making this again since it is most likely lower in fat than regular ice cream, and a good source of protein, potassium, and calcium. I might even try blending this up into a shake later on. That could be pretty good…

While I am on the topic of desserts, I was reminded of a book I purchased on sale at Williams Sonoma a few years ago…

Perfect Light Desserts: “Fabulous cakes, cookies, pies, and more made with real butter, sugar, flour and eggs. All under 300 calories per generous serving” by Nick Malgieri and David Joachim

Nutrition information is provided after every recipe. All of the recipes look fabulous and really ARE under 300 calories per serving!! If you know me, you know I have a big sweet tooth. I love the fact that REAL ingredients are used in all of these recipes, and some of them have slight modifications, like using buttermilk – a highly underrated and underused ingredient – instead of regular milk, yogurt and light sour cream. I actually tried the recipe on the front cover, the raspberry tart, but I didn’t follow it exactly so I can’t say whether or not the recipe was good. I might try to make it again, though, and some of the other ones, like the Raspberry Mousse Cake (p. 60), and post about it here.

Yesterday I said that there will be pictures in today’s post and I’m keeping my promise not to disappoint. You can click for larger pictures, I just put the smaller ones in here to take up less space. :D

For breakfast: Coffee with fat free creamer and one container of Yoplait YoPlus Yogurt with probiotics. I love this yogurt because it comes in yummy flavors like blueberry pomegranate and cherry. Even the fat free kind is thick and rich, not thin and watery like some fat free yogurts tend to be.

After breakfast, I had the urge to use my food processor for something. I don’t know why, but it was just an insatiable urge to food process- haha. So I went to work and made a chopped salad that I ended up eating for lunch.

These were some of the veggies that I had on hand that I put into the food processor: One carrot, coarsely chopped; one stalk of celery, coarsely chopped; one small jalapeño, halved with seeds and ribs removed; one piece of cucumber about 2in in length, halved with seeds removed and coarsely chopped; and half of a red bell pepper, coarsely chopped with seeds and ribs removed.

The jalapeño came right from my garden and I harvested them along with some cayennes a week or two ago. I like to freeze them in a ziptop bag, labeled with the date of course. They keep for a while and I take them out in the fall and winter to add to chilis and soups. I run them under some hot water to soften them up before trying to slice into them.

Once the veggies were chopped to the right consistency, I transferred them to a bowl and stirred in some chopped chives (also from my garden), sliced scallions, and sliced baby heirloom tomatoes.

Look at how gorgeous these tomatoes are! I got them from Wegmans and I think they were locally grown…

To serve the salad for lunch, I put a few heaping spoonfuls over a bed of torn red leaf lettuce and baby arugula, added some sea salt and coarse pepper, and about 2tbsp of Seasons olive oil and vinegar. I also couldn’t forget about my black bean soup, which was finally ready after cooking 3-4 hours the night before, so I had a 6oz serving of that with some fat free sour cream and more scallions.

Yum!

While I had the food processor out, I figured I could start on dinner. Why not, right?

I decided to make a vegetarian meatloaf. I didn’t use a recipe, I just basically made it up as I went. Chopped another carrot, rib of celery, and the rest of the bell pepper in the food processor; added the veggies to some chopped onions and garlic that I had leftover from making the black bean soup; and added some spices like sage and parsley.

I made the vegetarian mushroom gravy using mushroom stems that were saved and frozen. They were boiled in about a cup of water and when the water had gotten all of the mushroom “essence” out of the stems, I strained the mushrooms out and added a vegetable bouillon cube, more water, fresh sage and rosemary from my garden, a smashed clove of garlic, and salt and pepper. The rosemary, sage, and garlic were taken out when they had given up their flavor; additional sage and rosemary was added in with some pepper as a finishing touch. Wheat flour was used to slightly thicken the gravy.

The potatoes were diced and boiled along with some rosemary and a smashed glove of garlic, just for a bit of flavor. When done, I drained them and smashed them with three heaping tablespoons of fat free sour cream, salt and pepper, and chopped fresh chives. No butter was added, but they still turned out creamy and delicious.

After this was made, I went downstairs and worked out on the treadmill for a total of 38 minutes and 15 seconds, 1.75 miles total (7 laps), and at an average rate of 2.6-3.0mph. This was an 11 minute and a 3 lap increase from yesterday :D

Later on, Steve and I went to the movies with my parents and we saw “The Other Guys”, a stupid/slapstick comedy made made from the producers of “Step Brothers” (one of my favourite movies; I laugh my ass off every time I see it.) I thought “The Other Guys” was good, but I think parts of it could have been funnier than they were. :( They saw “Salt”, which I also wanted to see, but they said that the acrobatics and stunts were too unbelievable.

Oh… and I had some popcorn at the movies, too. We were running late to pick Steve up and I didn’t have time to pack a healthier snack, aside from the bottle of sparkling flavored water that I put in my bag. ;) I didn’t really even want anything at the concession stand, but the popcorn smelled so good and – to top it off – it was only a dollar at the movie theater with a coupon I got from being a Regal Rewards member. I ended up splitting the small bag with my mom, and of course she wanted butter on it. I put some in a little plastic tray for myself and I gave the rest of what was in the bag to my mom. It was satisfying, but not too much.

I ended up having a vegan veggie burger on a slice of rye with mustard for dinner, and a cup of vanilla-almond frozen yogurt with a lot of fresh sliced strawberries for dessert. I’ll save the meatloaf for tonight.

Calorie total for yesterday is estimated to be 200 for breakfast, 400 for lunch, 500 for popcorn at the movies (since it had butter on it), 250 for dinner, and 150 for dessert which should put the total at around 1450 calories. :D