Back On Track!

The hubs is home! Which of course makes me smile. I got to hear all about his time in Vegas, and can't wait for my trip there this weekend!

Tonight I made a delicious dinner of Salmon with Greek Yogurt Dill Sauce and mushrooms. The recipe was from Fitness magazine and was super easy to make. My one recommendation is that you find low fat plain yogurt. I opted for Greek yogurt because my Ralphs only carried plain yogurt in a monstrous container and I only needed six ounces. The Greek yogurt had 20 grams of fat! But split between the four of us it came out to two points each.

Here's the recipe if you are interested:

Cold-Fighting Recipe: Salmon with Yogurt-Dill Sauce and Spinach
Ingredients:
4 ounces salmon
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup sliced white button mushrooms
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 cups baby spinach
2 tablespoons plain low-fat yogurt
1 teaspoon dried dill
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup sunflower seeds, shelled

DirectionsPreheat broiler. Broil salmon until flaky and opaque, about 9 minutes. Saute garlic and mushrooms in olive oil. Add spinach; remove from heat when spinach is wilted. Mix yogurt, dill, salt ,and pepper. Place salmon on spinach; top with sauce and sunflower seeds.

That recipe makes one serving. I quadrupled it. If you quadruple it, only double or triple the dill, it's pretty overpowering.

I also did cardio for an hour today: 40 minutes of interval training on the elliptical and twenty minutes walking on the treadmill. I earned 6 more food points for my hard work!

Points for the day:

Low Fat Greek Vanilla Yogurt - 3 points
Multigrain Cheerios - 2 points
1/2 cup milk - 1 point
String Cheese - 2 points
2 TBS Hummus - 2 points
7 Baby Carrots - 0 points
Salmon Dinner - 12 points (because of the high fat plain yogurt and salmon is 9 points)
One glass white wine - 4 points (yum)
Skinny Cow desert - 2 points (double yum)

Grand Total: 28 (I didn't use all of my exercise points, but I used most)

Also, I'm going to make the hubs hide my scale. I'm getting a little crazy over it. It's completely uneccessary for me to weigh myself each morning, but I do anyway, and then I get frustrated.

Up to 2.8lbs...REALLY?!

Boo! I weigh in every Saturday at the Weight Watchers in Irvine. I've been struggling, as I've previously mentioned, and had only lost a total of .4 lbs in four weeks, and not from lack of following program. The weight just doesn't want to come off. I was hoping that my scale at home was wrong and I would be down a couple of pounds because the amount of working out I do should finally start kicking in. Well, I was wrong. I GAINED 2.8 LBS!?! What a crock! My leader Jan and I talked it out. She told me for the amount of working out I'm doing she doesn't think I'm eating enough. She told me to add 2 points a day regardless of if I exercise and to be sure that I eat at least half of my exercise points (points you gain back for the level of intensity of your workout). I checked the exercise point scale and for my hip-hop class alone I should be eating 8 more points a day. So maybe I'm not eating enough each day....

Yesterday was my free day so I didn't count points. And I will tell you, in detail, how I spent my freedom :)

Multigrain Cheerios (1 cup) - 2 points
Non-fat Milk (1/2 cup) - 1 point
Regal Movie Theater Popcorn (1/4 of a large tub) - 9 points *that's depressing*
Reeses Pieces (3/4 of a box) - 4 points
Golden Spoon (1 mini serving) - 1 point
Cheesecake Bites Topping (mini serving) - 3 points
Three Miller Lights (spread out over 5 hours) - 6 points
Chicken Taquito (1 serving) - 4 points
Chicken Chimichanga (1/2 a chimichanga) - 3 points
In-N-Out Cheeseburger - 11 points
In-N-Out Fries (1/4 of a box) - 4 points
In-N-Out Chocolate Shake (1/2 a shake) - 8 points *I didn't even like it*

Total of 56 points yesterday.

Now before you get all upset with me for eating so poorly, let's see if I even used all my free 35 points. 23 points is my daily points allowance. That means I ate 33 extra points. Technically, that means I can have two more points extra during the week. So back off. And, from those handy dandy calculations above, I've learned that I will never, ever, ever be tempted to have an In-N-Out Chocolate Shake again. Because, let's be real, that thing is not very good and definitely not worth 16 points if I drank the whole thing. And I've learned that if I get movie theater popcorn to get it un-buttered. I didn't add butter to it yesterday, but it still tasted a little buttery.

Yesterday I didn't have a chance to work out (and I don't feel guilty about it), but I did go bowling with Michelle, Cam and Liz, so maybe I burned off that Golden Spoon.

Also, if any of you like scary movies, "The Crazies" is fantastic. I see one scary movie a year, my choice, and I always try to pick a movie that looks like there is more to it than just gore. "The Crazies" had a storyline to it and was more implied violence than actually showing anything...aside from maybe one scene.

Back to the grind tomorrow. I'll be in San Diego for work, and will be bringing lunch into an account. What should I bring? I'll make a decision tonight, and will make a healthy choice for myself. Looking forward to the hubby getting home tonight, he's been in Vegas for a bachelor party all weekend and I miss his face. Everyone wish him luck as he starts his Fire Academy this week for the San Diego County Fire Authority. Yay!

Cardioholic on the Loose

Hello and welcome to my first posting! A little about myself for those of you who don't know me. My name's Erin and I've been on the quest for a "banging" body for most of my life (blame the fashion mags). That's me in the pictures above, and an especially lovely shot from last weekend at my friend Hanna's bachelorette party. Growing up, it was easy. With six hours of dance classes a week I could eat whatever I wanted and not have to worry about gaining an ounce. I know, I know, the plight of a 16 year old. However, once I hit college, things changed. I was no longer dancing four hours a week and the Pita Pit didn't help my waistline. So, since December 2003 I have been on several diets. The one that seems to work best for me is Weight Watchers. In 2004 I lost 10 pounds. In 2006 I lost 15 pounds, but since then I've put the weight back on and have not been able to get back down to where I want to be.

Here are my stats:

Height:5'10

Age: 28

Current Weight: 160lbs

Basal Metabolic Rate (according to Discovery Health): 1540.2 calories

According to my height to weight ratio, an ideal weight is 153lbs for a moderate frame, and my BMI is 23. I would like to be about 145lbs. Anything lower than that I have a hard time maintaining, and while I'm tall, I have a small frame, so according to the chart I should be able to accomodate that weight.

I won't do any crazy diets. Just calorie counting and exercise. I currently exercise 3-5 times a week, with cardio and weight lifting. Tuesdays and Thursdays I take a hip-hop class for an hour, and I'll typically have a cardio only day on the weekend at our home gym on the elliptical.

So, I guess check in here to see how I'm doing in my quest to feel good in a bikini by Memorial Day!