Day NINE of Mudderling Training- Chocolate Banana Smoothie and Fettucine Alfredo

I weighed myself today and the scale read "210.5" pounds. Every little drop, no matter how small, is a victory and elicits a small scream in me. Over the weekend I was discouraged. I felt I'd been trying very hard to keep my portions small and stay away from "bad" foods and it seemed it was in vain. I feel a lot better that I'm back to exercising this week. Truthfully, on my off days I am supposed to be doing some kind of cardio, but I haven't been doing that, and since the circuit training is 3 days a week, I rested on Saturday and Sunday (even though I didn't really because I'm a busybody and was bustling 'round the house). Sometimes I think it's me but when I start off my circuit training the push-ups and jumping jacks get a little easier every time. Yesterday I did six push-ups (on my knees of course). That was incredible. I was really surprised. It was still difficult to get through the rest of the workout. So many times I was doubled over and breathless. But when I finish, I'm so glad.

Today I want to take a walk so I can start doing my cardio on my off days. I will aim for 30 minutes to an hour. It's so hot outside and hard to breathe, that I don't know if I would be able to do a full hour. I will start with 30 and go from there.

On the food side of things, I'm still packing our lunches and it really helps to have things pre-packed and pre-portioned. That way I can't overeat and I go back to whatever it is I'm doing, work, house stuff, etc. Yesterday for dinner we had quesadillas, another dinner idea from 100 Days of Real Food. You take the leftover pork carnitas and spread some pork and a little shredded pepper jack cheese on three tortillas. Fold the tortillas with the filling in half, spray each side with olive oil cooking spray, and cook each side for 2-3 minutes on medium heat until the tortilla is golden brown and crispy. We each had three and ate them with a side of sliced baby bell peppers. It was really good. Simple and very satisfying. (There's no picture because we scarfed them down before I could take a picture :-p)

Sunday I made a big pot of fettuccine. It was also on the free meal plan I got from 100 Days of Real Food. I followed the recipe, but made a few tweaks. One, I double the sauce recipe and that was just enough for 13 oz of pasta. Probably not as healthy, but I love my fettucine alfredo saucy. I will be eating that for lunch the rest of this week. I also added an 8 oz carton of sliced mushrooms to the sauce and then poured that over the pasta. It probably would have worked better to heat the noodles in the sauce. I am sure the starches from the pasta would have thickened the sauce. Oh well. :-p

It's thick--like a Wendy's frosty!! 

This morning I am proud to say I had a no-grain breakfast. Don't get me wrong, I love me my grains, but sometimes they are my go-to so whenever I branch out, I'm proud lol. I originally had wanted to make my FAVORITE peanut butter smoothie that I got from a TurboJam recipe plan, but then realized I had no peanut butter (no idea how that happened!). So then I thought, let's do a chocolate banana smoothie..with frozen bananas!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you are familiar with What's For Dinner Lite, the app, then you know that you can look up recipes on your phone and have one ready to go in mere minutes. I looked up a smoothie recipe and found one to try. It turned out pretty well. I'll add the recipe here, as well as my fav pb/banana smoothie recipe. With both, use frozen bananas. You could even portion out the things you need for the smoothies, freeze in ice cube trays and muffin tins, and then throw into plastic bags to make freezer smoothie pacs. How cool is that!

Chocolate-Banana Smoothie
Serves 2
2 bananas, frozen
2 T cocoa powder
1/2 cup skim milk
3/4 cup vanilla yogurt
2 T honey (or extra to taste)

Blend all ingredients in food processor or blender until smooth. If you have any lumps of banans that just won't blend, drizzle a little more milk into your blender or fp until all is smooth. Yum!

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
Serves 2
2 bananas, frozen
4 T peanut butter
2 cups skim milk

Blend until smooth. Thick and scrumptious!!!

DAY FOUR of MUDDERLING TRAINING-Updated with Pictures

Funny how I'm getting back to blogging now that I am trying something new--the Tough Mudder Run. Do I want to be a Tough Mudder? Heck yes. Is this going to be hard? OF COURSE!!

So here's the deal. I thought I was signing up for a cutesy, fun 5K where they throw mud at you. Oh, please. This baby has obstacle courses that challenge you mentally, physically, and emotionally. I signed up to volunteer a double shift in October, and I will be able to do the run the next day for $20 which is a freakin' good deal.

As scared as I am of this tough mudder run, I'm geeked. I am doing my Mudderling training right now, and I figure, with the adoption of a new workout routine, I may as well clean up my eating. I have been riding a roller coaster with my health and weight and I'm going to give discipline another try. While I train physically, I am giving healthier eating a try. I have been using a meal plan from 100 Days of Real Food, an awesome blog discussing healthy, real food eating (no unprocessed foods at ALL). Here's a picture of our dinner from yesterday, pork carnitas tacos with pico de gallo, corn on the cob, and avocado.

We had mangoes for dessert and I loved every bite of it. The recipes I found are easily adaptable. You can totally swap this for that to make the recipes more your taste. That's what I did for this recipe and some of the others I found.

So, back to the Tough Mudder Run...Today is day four of my mudderling training. Basically a mudderling is someone who isn't in very good shape. Tough Mudder has a bootcamp you can do based on your current physical fitness. The Mudderling training has a 5 minute warm-up followed by three 10-minute circuits that alternate strength and cardio exercises, all designed to prepare you for the obstacles you will face during your tough mud run. You end with a very brief cool-down, and that is it. I have done the training twice. On your in-between days you are supposed to do some cardio. I haven't had the strength, quite literally, to do cardio on my off days, but my goal is to start cardio next week or the week after.

A few things I've learned since starting the training, and yes, I've learned some things just since MONDAY--
1- A minute is a lot longer than you think. And two minutes, torture. ( each exercise you do is timed. No reps or sets are given. You just complete as many of the exercise as you can in one-two minutes)
2- I get as red as a beet during this workout. I am at my wit's end by the end of each one or two- minute exercise segment.
3- It takes time--to prep my meals, to prep my snacks, to do my training...and I'm not very patient. Also, I can gain three pounds overnight, but to lose one takes several days...grrr....

Update later! I'll post a post-workout pic and share some of the recipes I've been making!

Recipe: Pork Carnitas Tacos with Pico de Gallo- Serves 2-4



Pork Carnitas recipe from 100 Days of Real Food
Modifications: We used regular corn tortillas for this. You can use 4-5 lbs of pork butt or shoulder, just double the seasonings. I only use a sprinkle of salt, and the meat still tasted wonderful. No need to double the length of time the meat slow cooks for. When you shred the meat, use one-quarter/half of the recipe for tacos, and then save the other half/three-quarters to make tamales or quesadillas. You can freeze or refrigerate (2 days) the extra meat in an airtight container or gallon-size plastic bag until you need to use it.  I will be making tamales with the leftover shredded meat. We used one-quarter of the meat and made 6 tacos with it, but you can easily make 8 tacos with it, which can serve 2-4 people. Pico de Gallo recipe and Tip below.

Tip: Grill the tortillas so they are nice and firm with a little crunch. Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Heat three tortillas at a time, turning frequently until golden-brown marks appear on the tortillas. We served the tacos with corn on the cob and mangoes. 

Pico de Gallo:
Yields 1 1/2 cups
2 firm tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup chopped onion
handful of cilantro leaves, chopped
juice of half a lime
dash salt and pepper

~Mix all ingredients. Let sit in fridge at least 15 minutes for flavors to meld. Serve atop pork carnitas tacos.