Weight and Measurements...

154.6 weight

Smallest part of my midsection - 32 in
Hips right below my butt - 39 in
Hips around the largest part of my butt - 40.5 in
Hips at the top of my butt - 40.5 in
Waist at my belly button - 36 in
Ribcage right below my bust - 31 in
Bust around the largest part - 40.5 in
Chest around my armpits - 39in
Neck - 13in
Left Bicep - 13.5in
Right Bicep - 13.5in
Left thigh at the largest part - 25.5in
Right thigh at the largest part - 24.5in
Ankles - 7.5in
Wrists - 6 in

This is the largest I've ever been. My weight has fluctuated up to 146.6, but this is the largest I've ever been. Including when I delivered Eliana. Something has got to give.

Thinking about the content of my shakes...

I'm thinking about the contents and benefits of my breakfast shakes. I've got about 6 variations that I'd like to try in the near future... All of them consist of the same base:

Kale / Spinach (good for your blood, lymph system, and pancreas)
Quinoa (good for your intestines)
Greek Yogurt (also good for your intestines)
Banana (good for your blood and intestines)

Added to this base is what changes the flavor to create the 6 variations...

Lemon juice (good for your gallbladder and liver)
Blueberries (good for your kidneys)

Sweet potato (good for your gallbladder)
Flax (good for your kidneys and liver)
Cinnamon (for flavor - but also good a good anti-inflammatory)

Strawberry (good for your kidneys)
Apple (good for your gallbladder and kidneys)
Flax (good for your kidneys and liver)

Lemon juice (good for your gallbladder and liver)
Green Tea (good for your liver - prevents the absorption of iron if not used with lemon juice or milk)
Apple (good for your gallbladder and kidneys)
Ginger (good for your blood)

Citrus fruit (good for your liver)
Apple (good for your gallbladder and kidneys)
Coconut (for flavor and fats)

Apple (good for your gallbladder and kidneys)
Flax (good for your kidneys and liver)
Almond butter (for flavor and fats)
Cocoa powder (for flavor and fiber)

Shake, shake, shake!

Today's shake is a bit higher in fat (due to the coconut milk) and sugar (I'm thinking thanks to the yogurt, strawberries, and banana) as well as calories, but it is good!!

Coconut Milk (1C)
Frozen Strawberries (8)
Quinoa (1/2 C)
Spinach (1 C)
Banana (1)
Fage Strawberry Greek Yogurt (1)

Yummy!! Perhaps my favorite tasting yet!

535 Calories
9 g fat
9 g fiber
40 g sugar
27 g protein

I'd consider making this without the yogurt just to see what it's like in the future. I don't think it would change the taste, but it would shave 120 calories and 16 grams sugar off. Of course, it would also cut out 13 g protein, so I'd have to think about that, too.

Anywho... yummy shake! Excellent breakfast! Since I've been eating these shakes for breakfast, I've had little to no snacking in the afternoons. Woohoo!

Today's Shake...

I made a chocolate shake today. I'm not really a chocolate person, but this is pretty good. Not the light milk chocolate of my SlimFast shakes, but a dark chocolate flavor... Here's what it's got in it.

* 1/2 C Quinoa
* 1 T Cocoa Powder
* 1 Banana
* 1 C Spinach
* 1/2 C Milk
* 5 oz plain Greek Yogurt

And here's the nutrition information for my shake...

425 Calories
4.5 g Fat
8 g Fiber
30 g Sugar
28 g Protein

The cocoa powder makes it a nice dark brown color instead of the green from the spinach. =D

Breakfast Shake

I was perusing some things I found on pinterest last night and was inspired by a blog I found called Rabbit Food For My Bunny Teeth. Specifically, I was inspired by her breakfast shake concoctions. So this morning I am drinking a breakfast shake with what little we have in the house. I've been home from TX for almost a week and haven't made it to Costco yet. Nor have I unpacked, but that's a different story...

So today I am enjoying a shake that has in it...
* approx 3/4 C. quinoa
* Fage Greek Yogurt
* about 8 frozen strawberries
* 1/2 T honey
* 1/2 C skim milk

It's pretty darn good!! Even better is how the nutrition information calculates out...

415 calories
3 g fat
6 g fiber
40 g sugar (okay, so high here)
25 g protein

We'll see how it holds me over for the day. =D

Oh, stink! I just noticed the time... I need to get ready for church or we'll be late!

Walking

As per the dietician's recommendaion, I am walking right now. =D I was going through some material on my computer and realized that I could do it sitting at the table, or I could do it walking on the treadmill. So I picked the treadmill. Yay for good decisions!

I have also been tracking my food using the nutrition sheets she provided, and they have been very helpful. Yesterday I did not do so well, but I gave myself grace and freedom instead of beating myself up and today I have been able to pick up and do well without feeling the guilt of "messing up" yesterday. How wonderful freedom is!

So far my week looks something like...

Tuesday - food was good, exercised 75 minutes
Wednesday - food was good, exercised 15 minutes
Thursday - food was good, exercised no minutes?
Friday - food was not so good, exercised 30 minutes
Today - so far food is good, and I've exercised 45 minutes.

I believe the goal is to exercise a total of 2.5 hours each week (or roughly 30 minutes 5x a week), so I am right where I should be there, and my food has been good, too. Hooray!

Shiny New Road Bike!

I haven't ridden a bike by myself in years. I tried a couple years ago and failed. Miserably. We have a tandem, so I ride that with Leif, but I don't have to do much other than pedal. It's great for family outings, but if I want to ride by myself or with Eliana, well, I'm out of luck. 

As I'm working toward my goal of running a 5K in June, I have another goal in mind for further down the road: to do my first triathlon. In order to do that, though, I need to be able to ride a bike. In order to ride a bike, I kind of need one. 

So... we went to REI looking for a bike for me. After test riding a few, here's what we settled on...

It's a Scott Contessa road bike. I was really impressed with how comfortable on it I was, even though I shouldn't be. That is, I am surprised I could even ride the "comfort" bikes that were designed for stability, much less this one that is designed for speed. It's a good bike. And we got an AMAZING deal on it, so even better! I really like it. I even rode it home from the store!

I can now ride Eliana to school in the mornings and pick her up, instead of having Leif ride with her. I can also run errands over to Rosauers, etc. on the bike instead of in the car. I'm excited!

What I'm even more excited about is that I got 6 miles of riding in today and that was AFTER a day of skiing! That qualifies as EXERCISE... AND family time!! 

I stepped out of my comfort zone today, and it feels great! I decided not to be scared while skiing, and even  went down a blue run. =D LOL! Once upon a time a blue run was not unusual, but that was before I had Eliana! I am excited to get back into skiing, even if today was my last day of the season. I stepped out of my comfort zone and test rode bikes, something I was especially afraid to do. But, as I tell Eliana, the best way to get over being afraid of something is to do it. So I did it. And I found a bike I really like, and I rode it 3 miles home! And I'm not scared of bike riding any more. Woohoo!