Apple Cinnamon detox water follow up

So I mentioned the other day that I had decided to try this flavored water as an experiment. The apples and cinnamon flavor the water without adding any calories (who knows how that works? Magic?) and give it a little extra something to boost metabolism. Some people go all out on this detox and only drink this for a week. As in, they don't eat anything. I couldn't even last through a whole day. But I have been drinking at least 84 oz a day this week. My personal opinion is that it tastes better when you are not starving yourself.

I can't say that I'm sure I feel more energized than usual since I have been drinking my water this way. I feel pretty energized after my workout every morning. But I have lost 3 lbs in the last four days, and I'm going to say this has helped with that. I may not have eaten more than I should have for the last 2 weeks, but a lot of what I did eat was loaded with sugar. My body needed to detox and I think the apple cinnamon detox water helped that process along a little better that plain water might have. I don't keep it on ice like the recipe says to (seriously? How did I make it here from our last apartment without my ice cube trays?) but I do keep it in the fridge so it's colder than what I normally drink from the faucet. Colder water also makes your metabolism work harder.

The apples and cinnamon keep for a week as long as you put new water in the pitcher every 24 hours, so I'm going to keep on drinking my water this way until the week is up. There are some who feel the need to flavor their water so that drinking enough isn't as much of a burden. I'm not one of those people. Not that I don't need help drinking enough water, but I actually prefer it plain. I could see myself doing this for a week out of every month though, because the idea that it's giving my body a little health kick makes me more motivated to do other healthy things.

Throw away the cake

I can't believe it's been a whole month since I blogged. Let's say this month has been... ok. As far as weight loss goes, it looks pretty normal. I started at 193, and ended at 186. 7 lbs is a pretty solid weight loss for a month. Why was it just ok then? Because looking back at what I ate does not make me proud. There were a lot of parties this month, and being with my friends and family has been a much needed boost for my spirit. But I didn't do what I should have to stop myself from eating SO. MUCH. SUGAR. Holy cow, how could I possibly have lost 7 lbs? But more importantly, how much better can I do next month?

Last week was my daughter's 2nd birthday. She LOVES butterflies. At least the idea of them, I don't think she's ever seen a real one. Anyway, I was feeling crafty, so I made her a little cake in the shape of a butterfly. It was seriously adorable. I used box cake and can icing (which I think it disgusting on its own) so it wasn't anything too fancy, but I was proud of my messy decorating job. And there were cupcakes too because I made one layer of chocolate and one layer of funfetti so there were extras of both cake mixes. Then I invited a few people over for pizza and cake on her birthday, and suddenly realized that "few" was actually more than 20. So I made mint sugar cookies in the shape of butterflies. No icing needed, these sugar cookies are that good. The party was a success. And there was so much cake left over. And unfortunately I discovered that the canned icing wasn't as gross when it was on the cake, and I really quite liked it. I should have done it as soon as everyone left, but I waited two days before I threw away the rest of the cake. When cake is always there, right in front of you whether you are hungry or not, way too easy to just grab a bite, you eat more than you should. Not as much as I would have a year ago, but more than I should. I did feel pretty proud of myself for throwing out almost a whole butterfly wing, even though it really made me sad to put my creation in the trash.

That's just the worst of it. There were also two baby showers, a Nauvoo party complete with a whole batch of rolo cookies, cousin's dinner with home made cinnamon rolls, General Conference donuts, and an extended family party at the Pizza Pie Cafe. I felt really awful Saturday night, and decided I better try to detox. I found a recipe for apple cinnamon detox water on this blog. I figured, I like apples and cinnamon, I'll try it out. Yesterday I mostly only drank this and didn't eat until dinner. I wasn't planning on eating dinner, but I was starving. And by the end of the day I was kind of sick of the taste. I think the idea of this 0 calorie drink is a good one, but I prefer normal water. The apples and cinnamon are supposed to last like a week in the fridge if you keep refilling the pitcher, so maybe I'll try it again today. But not on an empty stomach.

Pancakes

Pancakes are like the ultimate comfort food for me. Maybe because they were the first thing I ever learned to cook. We had pancakes for dinner many Sunday nights when I was growing up and I was often in charge. I could gobble up 5 or 6 of them in no time. Soaking in syrup with cheesy eggs and sausage on the side. Yum yum. But not healthy. Not even a little bit.

Lucky for me pancakes are not one of those foods that can't ever be made healthy. A Pinterest search for healthy pancakes turns up some very promising results. 

The one I tried tonight used oats for a base. I couldn't find the source but luckily the recipe was on the photo.

1/2 cup oats

2 eggs

1 banana

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Blend oats to powder in a blender then add other ingredients. Cook on heated griddle sprayed with cooking spray. 

I couldn't resist adding a few chocolate chips. And I did eat them with syrup this time but I think they would have been amazing with a little vanilla Greek yogurt. Also they are officially toddler approved so that's definitely a plus.

Sunday best

Here I am today after church! I just ate my last dessert until Easter. Though I might make a social exception here or there. I haven't lost a single pound this month which is extremely vexing but I can see that my body is still changing. I just need to kick up my resolve a little. Winter is hard but it's almost over.

Pre-pregnancy jeans!

Saturday it was a little warmer than most February days, and I decided to get out my more springy wardrobe. The one I haven't really worn since before baby #1. I mostly got them out for extra motivation, but I was surprised to find out how close I am to being able to wear most of them! And for an extra bonus, my favorite size 12 pair of jeans fit! I was so excited that I wore them all day. There were some other size 12 pants that don't quite fit yet, but these are the smallest jeans I have! That's definitely a big success step for me. To know that I get to buy a whole new pair of jeans when I go down another size is great motivation. My goal is to wear my favorite spring dress for Easter. That's another 8 weeks of hard work ahead!

I've mentioned before that one of my greatest weaknesses when it comes to healthy eating is my love for baking. I'll never be able to give it up, but I've been trying hard to find healthier baking recipes. I found a winner this morning on this blog. Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Muffins. I had to do with plain greek yogurt since I didn't have vanilla. I did add a little vanilla extract but I don't know that it made much of a difference. These were so moist and delicious and my toddler loved them. My husband hasn't tried them yet but I'm pretty sure he will give his approval.

I really need to work on sharing pictures here. I'm sorry I've been a little MIA lately. My husband bought me an ipod touch so that I don't have to pull out my ancient laptop very often. I like most everything about it, but writing a blog post is not very convenient. But sharing pictures is super easy. Or it would be if my husband would set up the icloud so that I could get pictures off his phone.

Favorite Lunch: Creamy Chicken Salad Wrap

I just wanted to check in really quick and share one of my favorite healthy lunches.

Creamy Chicken Salad Wrap

4oz diced chicken breast (I cook a bunch in the crock pot and use it daily til it's gone)
1/4 c cottage cheese
diced cucumbers
1 tbsp ranch seasoning (so like 1/2 the packet)

Mix it all together and serve on a whole wheat tortilla with a slice of provolone if you want. I don't really like cottage cheese by itself (or with fruit... yuck) but with ranch it's great!

The recipe in the Curves book says I can eat it on two slices of wheat bread, but I like it way better as a wrap. Also, I think I'm going to throw in some chopped onion next time.

Jillian Michaels

As I mentioned in my last post, Curves has teamed up with Jillian Michaels starting this year. So as I'm going around the circuit, Jillian is up on the big screen and I follow her moves between machines. It's definitely a lot more intense than jogging in place on a recovery board, which is what I usually do. Suddenly the machines are my recovery from Jillian. My Curves coach said the idea is to work at about 50% of my normal pace on the machines on the days I'm doing the Jillian workout.

Over the last week I have completed 3 full Jillian workouts. My heart rate is definitely through the roof, just like she wants it to be. And I really feel like I've accomplished something when I'm done. I thought I felt like that at the end of all my workouts last year. This is a whole new level of accomplishment. My whole body feels it, but it's getting used to the workload already. I'm not nearly as sore as I was last week. We'll see if I can say that tomorrow though, as today is Monday and I had a whole weekend to recover.

Lots of the ladies I work out with were worried that they would hate this, because it's Jillian Michaels. Yes, she has a very strong, intense, in your face personality. But you know, I wonder if she's like that all the time. I've only ever seen her on the job. I'm a little afraid of her but she is exactly what I need. I have been impressed to see pretty much everyone at Curves at least giving her workout a try, even though the average age for the 7am group is probably 60. I would love to know when the "moms" work out. Maybe I'm more special than I think I am.

As far as the results go, I lost 3 lbs last week! I'm down to 196.5, and feel like I'm off to a great start for the new year.