Working Girl Cooks!

Trying to lose weight is definitely not all fun and games or easy as pie (no pun intended). I have been on a roll lately, with tons of motivation but I can already tell that it is fading fast. I had a hard day yesterday and I am not sure how I am going to keep this up for the next four weeks and 8 pounds! I need motivation and I need it fast!

Sunday was our lazy day. TDH and I never really plan much on Sundays and use it as a day to catch up on sleep, clean the house, and just relax. TDH really needs days like this, and just lazing around the house in his underwear is one of his favorite pastimes. Me, on the other hand, let’s just say it has gotten easier over the years but I still get restless. I am just not one to relax. I do not know how to do it, I need to keep my mind and hands busy at all times. This past Sunday was an exceptionally lazy day. TDH has not been feeling very well this week and waking up early on Saturday to run into work and then spending the day in the sun really wore him out. We slept in and after doing some light cleaning, TDH just wanted to relax and play some computer games. It was beautiful outside again and I just could not stand the thought of being cooped up inside while the sun was shining so brightly outside, so I tried to come up with things to do on my own. I sunbathed by our Jacuzzi and finished reading my book, I took a walk, I wrote in my blog, I thought about going to the gym or going for a run outside but I just did not have the energy or motivation, so that never happened.

Having a slow day like on Sunday is hard for me when I am trying to lose weight because when I am bored I eat! I did alright on Sunday. The key on Sunday was my breakfast. I had a hearty breakfast shortly after getting out of bed consisting of a whole wheat english muffin with my eggplant tomato spread and two eggs and a coffee mug full of grapes. A few hours later I snacked on carrots with hummus and I was able to tide myself over for dinner. Distracting myself by reading my book and taking a walk outside really helped curb my cravings as well. 

To enjoy beautiful weather TDH and I decided to add a special touch to dinner by grilling and eating outside on our small little porch. We took our chairs outside and made makeshift tables and I made a broccoli pesto with some whole wheat pasta while TDH marinated and grilled chicken. Sitting outside and enjoying the weather with a glass of chilled white wine really made the meal phenomenal. My broccoli pesto was an experiment that I think turned out amazing! TDH was not as impressed but for being a very healthy version of your usual olive oil and cheese laden pesto, I loved it! It is definitely a dish where you can play around with the flavors! You can use other vegetables for the base, or skip the nuts and add a thicker and creamier cheese like Ricotta! Yum! I have included my recipe below.

Yesterday was the hardest day I have had so far and it really had nothing to do with my mission to lose weight at all. I have discovered some advice that I am sure we have all heard before that I kind of just shrugged off but am realizing is completely true: It is much harder to focus on reaching a goal when you are going through a major life change! My contract at my most recent job ended last week, something I am not in the least bit sad about, but now I am faced with the question of what am I going to do next? I desperately want to start my own life coaching business, but is now the time? Or should I just get another job so that I have a steady income until the economy bounces back? If I do decide to start my own coaching business where do I start? I have never worked for myself before! Should I get back into personal training? Should I try to get a part time job being a life coach at a gym or somewhere else? Where do I even find a job like that and am I qualified enough to get hired?

These are the questions that bombarded me and completely stressed me out yesterday. As a result, all I wanted to do was turn to food. My old urges to binge came back strong and after having a few too many grapes for my afternoon snack I was able to distract myself but it was a close one! Images of chocolate cake and donuts swirled around in my head. I turned to TDH for motivation to stay strong and was finally able to convince myself to throw on some running shoes and just get outside. Going for a short run eased the urge to binge but I was just not motivated to eat healthy or stick to my weight loss “plan” for the rest of the day so I decided to take a small break from my diet. Yesterday was the Men’s NCAA basketball championship game so TDH and I celebrated by grilling some homemade pizza and watching the game. I used my all-time favorite pizza dough recipe from Peter Reinhart’s book A Bread Baker’s Apprentice but used a 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour and 2 cups bread flour mixture. For the topping I borrowed a recipe from Tastefully Done and infused some olive oil with garlic, sage, and some red chili pepper flakes and spread this on the freshly grilled crust. I topped it with a bit of cheese and then tossed some spring greens with some olive oil and lemon for a simple vinaigrette. This went on top of the pizza and I finished it off with some freshly grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. It was really good, although I went a little heavy on the olive oil. I am learning that a little olive oil really does go a long way. The pizza was good but I ate too much of it and after a few too many pieces of chocolate for dessert, I went to bed feeling pretty disappointed in myself.

If I am going to keep up with this weight loss for the next four weeks I need some motivation. So tomorrows post will be focused on how to keep up your motivation while trying to lose weight.