Clark's Creek

Hey guys!!  It's been a little while and honestly you probably won't hear from me for another 7-8 days or so!  Why?!  Because I am going to the Dominican Republic to celebrate a good friends wedding and have some downtime.  Oh yea, and eat!  Did I mention eat?!  I thought I would write one last post to hold you guys over.  And just a heads up...when I get back it is so on!!



So, Saturday morning Jon and I decided to take the dogs and go hiking.  We googled and figured Clark's Creek would be the best place to go because there would be beautiful waterfalls etc.  We packed up a backpack, slipped on tennis shoes (not hiking boots because we aren't hardcore), and took off around 9:30.  That is the last time anyone would see or hear from me until 6pm.  If this is starting to read like a horror story, then I'm making the point I'm trying to make.

We got to Clark's Creek and set off on our journey.  Now, let me just fill you in on what I expected out of the day.  Every Thanksgiving Jon's family goes to a state park.  There are plenty of "trails."  Most are paved or at the least gravel.  This is what I was assuming we would be doing.  My thoughts were that we would be done around 2 and home by 3:30 and then I could get a run in.  When we set off there was a gravel path.  When there were steeper downhills, there were also a set of wooden steps to go down if you chose to.  At this point I was thinking, "Well, this will be a nice day.  It's a little steeper than I imagined, but there are stairs."  We got about 1/4 of a mile in and there was a nice little sign that read something like this..."Primitive Trail.  This trail is for experienced hikers.  Must be in excellent physical health.  2.6 miles.  Will take 3-5 hours to complete."  The sign then points that you drop down a little into a small creek and follow the path that way.  There are white reflective markers every so often so that you know you are going the right way.  The sign should have read something like this, "Primitive Trail.  Enter at your own risk.  Death is imminent.  Your cell phones will not work.  You will get lost and at the very least break your leg." 

Jon asked if I wanted to do that one.  Our dog, Cooper, is a bit anxious and not too fond of other people so I figured why not.  It would be better because there would be less people.  I looked at Jon and said something like, "3-5 hours?  That's bullshit.  2.6 miles doesn't take 3-5 hours.  Even walking we can do this in like 2."  Now, keep in mind this is my first actual hike and the sign says experienced hikers, but I assumed they just meant we don't want really old people doing this because they may break a hip or something. 

So we are off to a good start.  I'm feeling adventurous.  Everybody is happy.  There are some uphills that kind of suck, but I wasn't super worried about it.  I just figured I would get a little more exercise than I had originally expected.  About a half a mile in we get to a point where I pretty much have to go straight down about 10 feet.  There are tree roots and very small places full of mud to put your feet (It was very rainy the previous week).  The mud on this trail was like stepping on a tile floor full of dish soap and water.  I made it safely, but barely and started kind of thinking, "Oh shit.  This may not be what I thought it was going to be. "  We even had to pick Judge up and put her on the ground because she looked at us like, "You guys are assholes and I'm not doing this shit."  But then again we were like a quarter of the way done right?  WRONG.  SO VERY WRONG.  Jon and I later came to the conclusion that the mapping was aerial and therefore did not take into account the up or downhills.  Like you may walk a quarter of a mile uphill, but from an aerial view it only appears to be a few yards. 

To make a VERY long story short, here are some of the highlights:
-I fell twice.  Once I was walking downhill and hit a slick of mud and slid down.  The second time I was pretty much just standing there and fell on my ass.
-We got full of mud.  There was one point I took a step and I sunk almost to my knee. 
-We got lost once.  There was a white reflector on a tree across a creek.  We went there and then continued on up a HUGE hill.  When we got to the top Jon said there was no way that was the correct way to go because it would be really difficult to get down the other side.  There were no white reflectors in sight.  I pretty much slid back down on my butt as to not break an ankle. 
-Towards the end EVERYONE had enough.  The dogs were so exhausted.  We were so exhausted.  We had run out of water. 

You guys may think I am a pansy, but I feel like I'm a pretty tough girl.  This was like running warrior dash.  Except like three times in a row.  Anyone else ever done this?!  Am I crazy?  I'm pretty sure it was 6-7 miles.  I am still sore.  Although, we did  get to see some pretty amazing views.  I wouldn't trade the day for anything else, but I don't think you will catch me back there anytime soon either. 

This picture appears to be only like a five foot drop, but it was probably closer to twenty.

Playlist

This is my current playlist top 30.  I am always adding and deleting songs, but this is current.  I don't just use this for running.  This is also for spin or anything else I may be doing.  Sometimes just dancing around the house.  (That burns calories too, right?!)  If you don't have spotify...get it.  I don't buy ANY music now, unless I really feel the need to support the artist.  My guess is that they get a kickback from spotify.  We pay the 9.99 a month to have it on our phones too.  I listen at work, in the car, at the gym, while running, while cooking.  You name it.  You can download playlists so you don't need the internets to listen.  It's totally worth the 10 bucks we pay each month.  End spotify plug (they should pay me).

Warning:  Excessive Katy Perry on this playlist. 

1.  Part of me-Katy Perry
2.  Teenage Dream-Katy Perry
3.  All of the Lights-Kanye
4.  My Homies Still-Lil Wayne and Big Sean
5.  Disparate Youth-Santigold
6.  Feel so close-Calvin Harris
7.  Blunt Blowin-Lil Wayne
8.  Electric Feel-MGMT
9.  Stronger-Kanye
10.  Roar-Katy Perry
11.  Let Me Go-Maverick Sabre
12.  Hollaback Girl-Gwen Stefani
13.  Timber-Ke$ha and Pitbull
14.  Drink You Away-Justin Timberlake
15.  Give It To You-Robin Thicke and Kendrick Lamar
16.  Move Your Feet-Junior Senior
17.  Right Thurr-Chingy
18.  Little Red Corvette-Prince
19.  Lonely Boy-The Black Keys
20.  Pickup Truck-Kings of Leon
21.  Birthday-Katy Perry
22.  Dark Horse-Katy Perry (sorry yall...)
23.  Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe-Kendrick Lamar
24.  Happy-Pharell Williams
25.  She Wants to Move-N.E.R.D.
26.  Rock That Body-Black Eyed Peas
27.  DARE-Gorillaz
28.  Pump It-Black Eyed Peas
29.  Out of My Mind-B.o.B and Minaj
30.  Midnight City-M83

For the runners

So I "liked" the rock 'n' roll marathon series on facebook.  Yes, I am thinking of doing another half.  No, I'm not that crazy.  When I told Jon he said, "You said the first one was the worse experience of your whole entire life."  Maybe I was a bit dramatic.  I always get that itch around this time.  It's because winter is on it's way out and there is nothing I love more than running in the 100 degree dead heat of July (I am not even being sarcastic here).  I really do love running on Louisiana's hottest days.  There is just something about finally finishing and getting to go inside where you can lay on the floor of the living room with the fan on high while you sweat for another hour and drink REHYDRATE (Advocare shoutout!!  That shit is the bomb!  Mango Pineapple!).  I started running again a few weeks ago.  I noticed the Rock n roll half is going to be in New Orleans on January 25.  That's my goal.  But wait...there's more.  My goal isn't to finish without dying this time!!  I want to beat my time from the one I did last year (shouldn't be hard.  It was pretty shitty).  I am shocked that I am running at all.  When I was in middle school I can remember dreading P.E.  I was an athletic kid, but I sure did HATE running.  That 1/4 mile warm-up jog KILLED me.  I can distinctly remember getting to the side of the track with no coaches there and walking, but pumping my arms like I was jogging so the coaches wouldn't yell at me. 

Also, a little side note.  I was talking to some people about marathons the other day and we were talking about the Louisiana and how it is a qualifier for Boston.  I was wondering why people come from other states to run here.  Apparently, we have some of the best weather and flattest roads.  Who knew?!?!  Then, I got a little sad because I realized that I can't even say, "Maybe I would have a better time somewhere else, where race conditions are better."  Crap.

If you are not a runner and you want to be I highly recommend the couch to 5k program.  It is an 8 week program that starts out slow.  I ALWAYS start out with this program when I haven't been running for a few weeks.  It insures that I won't hurt myself and my knees don't want to give out.  I'm doing this right now as a warm up.  When I finish this I will start on the couch to 10k which is 14 weeks of training.  Slow and steady people.  THEN...Hal Higdon's intermediate (am I being over zealous?) half marathon program which is 12 weeks.  This is 34 weeks total of training and the half is in about 48 weeks.  This gives me PLENTY of time to train if I keep up my running all year.  This also helps me to meet my 365 miles this year goal.  I haven't forgotten!!  So, to all my runners...or want to be runner...or if you are like me very slow joggers out there, this one is for you!!

I also plan to post a playlist later this week as well as put together a list of places to run in BR and pville (with the help of some facebook buddies) with the mileage of each. 

 

Word Tom Fleming.  Word

 

 

 

 

There are a lot of people who, literally CANNOT run.  I am not one of those people.

 

Yea...

 

 

Is it bad that I thought if I run a another half that is only 337 M&M's and that's really not THAT many.  I mean, I think I could do it.  The M&M's, not the half.

 

This one just made me laugh out loud.

 

And last, but certainly not least...

 

 

 

Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas

THESE WERE AMAZEBALLS!!!

I got the recipe from another blogger Emily Bites!  Go check her out.  She has tons of recipes and the weight watchers points and nutritional values are already figured out for you. 

Buffalo Chicken EnchiladasSource: Emily Bites Original

Ingredients:
4 oz Buffalo Wing sauce (I used 6 oz.)
12 oz canned tomato sauce  (I used 10 oz.)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 t chili powder
½ t ground cumin
¼ t sugar
2 t extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I put frozen breasts in a crockpot)
3 oz reduced fat cheddar cheese, shredded
¼ cup diced celery (I could have done without the celery)
6 Tablespoons light Blue cheese dressing, divided (I used the 1t in the chicken mixture, but did not put this on top.  It would have been too much for me.  Not huge on that much blue cheese)
10 (6 inch) corn tortillas (I used Mission Extra Thin Yellow Corn Tortillas)
2 scallions, sliced (green parts only)


Directions:
1.    Pre-heat the oven to 425. Lightly mist a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

2.    In a medium bowl, mix together the wing sauce, tomato sauce, garlic, chili powder, cumin and sugar until thoroughly combined and set aside.

3.    In a large skillet or sauté pan, bring the oil to medium heat. Add the chopped onions and cook for a couple minutes until they start to soften and become fragrant. At this point the recipe calls for you to cook and shred the chicken.  I put a few chicken breast in a crockpot yesterday morning with about 1/4 cup of water and cooked on low all day.  It's super easy to shred that way and takes out the step of cooking the chicken.  I added the shredded chicken to the onions after they were cooked. 


4.    Transfer the shredded chicken and onions to a large mixing bowl. Add ½ cup of the sauce from the pan to the chicken along with the shredded cheese, diced celery and a tablespoon of the blue cheese dressing. Mix everything in the bowl together until well combined.

5.    Microwave the tortillas for 30-60 seconds on high until warm and soft. Spread 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture onto a tortilla and tightly roll it up ( I had the perfect amount). Place the rolled tortilla seam side down in the prepared baking dish and repeat with the remaining tortillas. Bake in the oven for 8 minutes until tortillas are slightly crispy.

6.    Reduce the heat to 400 and pour the remainder of the sauce evenly over the tops of the enchiladas. Place back in the oven for an additional 18-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle a half a tablespoon of blue cheese dressing over the top of each enchilada (I did not do this part.  Even with just ONE teaspoon of blue cheese dressing in the chicken mixture you still tasted it.) Sprinkle the sliced scallions over the top of the entire dish and serve.

Yields 5 servings.  Each serving is 2 enchiladas WW P+: 8 per serving
Nutrition Information per (2 enchilada) serving from myfitnesspal.com: 314 calories, 27 g carbs, 11 g fat, 30 g protein, 4 g fiber

Things I want...Fitness edition

I don't know if it is just me, but a cool fitness gadget will get me every single time.  Here are some that I am eyeing right now!  What's on your wish list??


1.  Aria Wi-Fi Smart Scale ($129.95): This scale tracks your weight, body fat percentage, and BMI, painting a picture of your long-term progress. It wirelessly syncs your stats with online graph and mobile tools that help you stay motivated and on track. It also syncs with my Fit Bit one!  It is so frustrating when the scale won't move.  It would be awesome if the scale could tell me more than just my weight.

Note:  I would also always like it to say 122.5lbs on it as well.  Thanks!



2.  Wii Fit ($99.99 for a new Wii Fit Plus, but I think you can get the original on Amazon for closer to $50):  Yes, they have been out for awhile, but I have also wanted one for awhile.  Jon and I can sit and play Wii for hours.  I think this would be a great way to incorporate some activity.



3.  Spin Shoes (depends on which ones you get):  I've been going to spin class quite a bit and I am MEGA jealous of all the people who have the cycle shoes that snap into the bike.  I'll have some eventually.



4. GoKey ($14.99):  It's a bracelet that holds your key!!  Genius.  A lot of us have been there.  Tie your key to your shoe laces.  Shoe comes untied.  Key gone forever.  Or...you could be like my sister and bury yours before a race, only to not be able to find it after.  They have some cooler looking ones as well, but the GoKey gets the job done for a lot less than some of the fancier, more expensive ones.




5. Treadmill Desk ($500):  Yea, this one is probably not so feasible, but it would be pretty legit if my boss would hook me up with a treadmill desk.




I may want these things, but I'm also honest with myself.  You can lose weight and be healthy with or without all of these things.  These things just may make it a little more fun!!

My first spin class

I hope you all enjoyed the guest blogger yesterday.  I sure did!  Hopefully she will do another one at the end of her 24 day challenge with results.



So....I taught my first spin class Monday afternoon.  There was only one person there...and it was me...but that is neither here nor there.  I went to the gym Monday after work with the intention of running.  I wasn't feeling well last week and have been very tired, so I decided to forgo my 5:15am spin class.  I got to the gym as the 4:30pm spin class was letting out and I started to think.  I had pinned a spin bike workout on pinterest that had been re-pinned over 500 times.  I was planning on using it for running, but I figured I would go ahead and try it.  This is the pin:

 

 

 

I asked the manager at the gym (Fusion) if I could go and use a spin bike by myself.  She said sure and even told me how to use the sound system plug for my phone so I could play music over the stereo.  I was super excited.  The spin room at our gym is upstairs and away from everyone.  I had the whole room to myself.  There are even fans and light dimmers so I could dim the light.  It was so badass guys.  So I started warming up to a little Katy Perry.  I was a little worried that I wouldn't be motivated to workout for very long without an instructor, but I must say, I kicked my ass!!!  I just pretended like I was teaching a class.  I even varied up some of the instructions above to make it a little more difficult.  I think I may really go ahead and get certified because I had a blast.  The only thing stopping me is that it is about 300 bucks to get certified and I'm not sure if I am quite ready yet.  I am thinking maybe by this summer?!?  Hopefully in no time I will be teaching classes like this:

 

SO WHO'S IN?!?!

Guest Blogger

We have a guest blogger in the house!!  My sister wrote a post for my blog and it is pretty awesome so keep reading!

It's something of a miracle that I'm even here and alive to write this blog post for all of you. My name is Kristyn - also known as Kaitlyn's older, bitchier sister - and I am an addict. Drugs of choice: fattening foods and Diet (ironic, I know) Coke. The miracle lies in the fact that it is day eight of my Advocare 24-Day Challenge ... therefore eight days since my last Diet Coke, slice of pizza, hamburger, piece of cake, plate of spaghetti, slice of white Bunny bread, flour tortilla, serving of cheese....well, you get the picture.

Now that I've had that moment of delicious nostalgia, let me say this. I'm okay. No, really, I'm not just saying that. I'm actually okay. Believe me when I say that no one is more surprised at that fact than I am.

Some history and background: my weight was not something I struggled with growing up. I was scrawny as a kid and even when my "curves" filled out as a teen, I stayed thin. I ate what I wanted, when I wanted and never saw above a 110 on the scale. I was fortunate. I didn't belong to a gym, but did lots of physical activity with colorguard in high school. In college, I gained a little weight, but stayed around 120/125 despite the constant (and I do mean CONSTANT) bar hopping and binge drinking. It wasn't until near the end of college when I settled down with my now husband and decided to get married that I started having issues with my weight. And because it hadn't ever been anything I had to think about I had no idea how to handle it. I took diet pills to lose weight before my wedding and lost enough to look okay (but not as thin as I once was) and within the first year of marriage, I gained all of it back plus some. Not long after, I got pregnant with my first child who is now almost seven years old. When she was 15 months old, we tried for a second and final child and had several instances of miscarriage until we sought the help of a specialist. Through this entire time I never did lose the weight I'd gained. I lost my pregnancy weight very easily (I hadn't gained much), but stayed as overweight as I was prior to pregnancy. Enter fertility drugs. Weight gain is a given there. Lucky for us, it worked quickly so the damage was minimal. We conceived twins who are now three and a half. After their birth I lost the pregnancy weight (again, easily). When the twins were two, I opted to have a breast reduction and tummy tuck to try and fix some of the damage caused by carrying and delivering two six-pound babies. To read about that adventure, feel free to click HERE. In any event. I was happy with the way I looked post-surgery, despite the number on the scale being considered "overweight". Since my surgery, I've gained over 20 lbs.

Though it may seem odd to say that an "overweight" scale number was good with me, it was. I was talking with a good friend the other night about this. We agreed that everyone has a number in their head that is their ideal weight. By ideal weight, I don't mean 110 pounds - obviously that's my "ideal" weight, but we don't live in magical fantasy-land where everyone has a puppy and a trust fund. 110 might be obtainable for me, but it certainly isn't maintainable. What I mean is that everyone has a number in mind where they feel good about their body and the way it looks. A number that they can achieve and maintain without killing themselves and sacrificing any sort of life. Remember that chick that posted her picture on the internet with all her children saying "what's your excuse?"? Yeah, screw her. There was a response by another blogger listing all her excuses and citing things like "I want to be able to enjoy popcorn with my kids on movie night". And that's the crux of it. Easily maintainable. Where I can still enjoy my life and indulge when appropriate and not be a slave to my weight. Work-life balance? Try weight-life balance. (ooooh....trademark pending on that term, folks).

So anyway, my "ideal" number is probably considered high by most. That's because despite my fat-assedness, I carry weight well. Differently than a lot of people. Everyone gains and loses and carries it differently. 150 on you might look obese where 150 on me might look awesome. You might gain only in your hips and butt where I might gain a little all over. Etc, etc, etc.

I gain/lose all over. It's a blessing....and a curse. A blessing because I don't really look like I weigh as much as I do. A curse because I've lost eight pounds in the last week and you.can't.tell.at.all. GRRR! Eight freaking pounds!!!!! Like, almost ten. That's a lot! And in a week? It should be very noticeable! But it isn't.

The me from nine days ago would've said "Screw it, I'm ordering a pizza." But I'm not, because that just means I have to keep going so I can actually lose enough for people to be able to telllllllll I haven't been eating junk. I mean, I really need y'all to be able to look at me and say, "She clearly doesn't eat pizza, like, at all." I want to look HUNGRY for crying out loud. Not necessarily healthy, hungry.

But seriously, I can't say enough about the Advocare Challenge. We are eating healthy and results are plentiful. (I'm using the term "we" loosely since I came back from my run yesterday and saw my husband who is also doing the challenge drinking a beer (totes not allowed) claiming he "forgot" that he wasn't supposed to have it. Lies! Considering that since we started this I haven't stopped thinking about the beer I can't have. The asshole.)

I just had to be ready to do it. I wanted to lose weight a few months or years ago. But I wasn't ready. If I'd tried this back then, I'd have failed and wasted the money I spent on it. Something must have clicked this time around because I really am truly okay. Don't get me wrong, there are times when I'd sell a kidney for a slice of pizza and that's no doubt going to be the first meal I have on day 25, but I've been able to ignore the urge and continue. I don't plan to give up Diet Coke on a permanent basis - I love it as if it were my fourth child - but I do plan to cut way back on it. And I feel like when I get to my magic number I'll be able to maintain it by eating right most of the time and indulging on a much more limited basis, because this clean-eating thing really isn't that bad. I won't say it's great, because despite the fact that I feel good eating this way I also wish I was still 16-year-old me who could eat crap all the time and never pay the price. But I'm not 16 anymore. Far from it. And there is a price. I know because I'm paying it now.  

So that's my story. It probably wasn't crazy enlightening to anyone, but I hope it was a different perspective on some of this. I have my own blog that has pretty much no theme or direction other than me being snarky and, well, let's face it, mean at times (yeah, I'm the mean sister). I haven't written a lot as of late, but I keep promising myself I'll get back to it. This was fun....maybe I will.

Biggest Loser?

I don't personally watch The Biggest Loser, but I saw some internet explosions over the finale last night, so I figured I would google it and see what the fuss was about.  Rachel, the winner lost 58.2% of her body weight!  That is definitely something to be proud of, but is it healthy when your starting weight is 260?  That puts her current weight at 105.  When next to her "before" hologram she even remarked, "You are sooo gross."  I know she worked hard to get where she is and everyone is always going to have an opinion, whether it be too fat or too skinny, but I must say she did not look like a picture of health.  I had to think that if I had children who watched the show with me, I would not want that to be the "goal" they had in mind.  I also googled her height, because as we know this is important.  I came up with either 5'5" or 5'4".  At 5'4" for a SMALL frame the range is 114-127.  In my opinion, you should not be able to win the show if you are out of the "healthy range."  So what does everyone else think??  I am really curious about this.  Here are some pictures...

The Struggle

Struggle struggle struggle.  It's all I seem to do these days when it comes to weight loss.  I know I am struggling when I don't feel like writing on here.  I know I have lost some motivation.  Between my birthday and Jon's birthday, there has definitely been a lot of "celebration eating."  I have been thinking a lot about why it is such a struggle and what I have come up with is that I have become a pro at maintenance.  I'm really good at it, and it's easy to keep doing what you are good at.

It has been 5 years since I lost the weight I lost.  I have maintained that loss (give or take 3 to 4 pounds) for the past 5 years.  Through a serious relationship, moving in together, getting engaged, and getting married.  Actually, reading that back I am pretty proud.  It would be easy to get comfortable and gain 15 to 20 pounds of "happy weight," but I worked/work my ass off to make sure that did not/does not happen.  To maintain the weight that I lost all I pretty much have to do is eat the way I know I am supposed to be eating to lose weight (a weight watchers type mentality) Monday-Thursday and then Friday until I get off of work.  From 5pm on Friday until midnight on Sunday I can have a free for all eat fest.  I will maintain my weight.  This is why things like holidays and snowmageddons are so hard.  I have been in a 5 year work routine that includes me eating correctly.  It is HARD to break this routine.  I am ready to break this routine to lose the rest of the weight.  I am trying to view it as a tough few months that if I work really hard I can go back to easy peasy maintenance. 

If only we could all quit our jobs and go live on the biggest loser ranch for 6 months to lose what we wanted to lose.  Shit, I could probably lose the 30 pounds I want to lose in 3 months on the ranch.  That way life wouldn't get in the way.  There are no birthday parties on the biggest loser rance.  And if there are you simply get rice cakes, not birthday cakes.  

I really need to make sure I am getting and staying motivated for the weekends.  I need to shock my body into weight loss mode.  I am thinking about changing things around some.  Maybe grocery shopping on Friday afternoons would help.  I usually shop on Sundays and stock up for the week.  Come Friday night there isn't much left in the house, so we end up going out.  I am hoping to tweak some things for this upcoming weekend.  I will let yall know how that goes! 

Also, hoping to have my sister write a post for the blog later this week.  She is doing the 24 day challenge right now and I think she may be able to shed a little light on the "less optimistic" side of weight loss.  Definitely be looking out for that one!