Finding Johanna

So... I have not been to the gym in two days which is NOTHING compared to my old routine which was like NEVER go to the gym. I know I need to be going at least 4-5 times a week but does working hard count as working out? I have been working all day in my bathroom and cleaning the house and I know this is burning calories because I am sweating. Should I feel bad that I have been working hard all day and I am tired and sweaty and the thought of getting more tired and sweaty sounds NOT fun? OR am I making excuses? My husband isn't home yet and I have to start making dinner in about 20 minutes. EXCUSE? SOOO I did some research on the amount of calories burned doing all the things I did today. FIND IT HERE Shopping - 156 calories Cleaned for 2 hours hard effort (sweating it up with no breaks!) - 400 calories Painting - 306 calories Watering Flowers - 30 calories That means I have burned around 1,000 calories working on my house and sweating - should I feel good about this?...

I am going to be uploading more food posts as I find more and more awesome inspiration on some good healthy recipes that are more than just a salad or Lean Cuisine!!! Tonight I made Chicken and Eggplant Marinara and it was AWESOME I started out by sauteing half an onion and four boneless skinless chicken thighs in about a tsp. of olive oil and salt and pepper While I was cooking that I sliced one eggplant and put it on a baking sheet and sprayed it with non stick olive oil spray and seasoned it with salt and pepper. I baked them for about 15 min at 350. Once the chicken is browned (doesn't need to be totally cooked you will be baking it) I poured in a jar of the best low calorie marinara EVER. Its only 50 calories for 1/2 a cup. Place the chicken in a baking dish Top it with the eggplant Pour the sauce and onions from the skillet you took the chicken out of on top and then put it in the 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes. In the last 5 minutes I to...

I was giving advice to a fellow friend and recent weight loss blogger Diary of a Biggest Loser Reject and as my advice was coming out so clearly and made perfect sense I realized I don't ALWAYS heed my own advice. You can't be disappointed by not meeting a specific goal- goals are great to have because they keep us motivated but don't let not reaching one demotivate you or make you feel like you didn't do your best! Always look at the progress you made not the progress NOT made. You have a long journey and even if it goes really slow you are making the journey the right way and creating new habits to last you for your lifetime. This is going to be a long journey and it is going to take me a VERY long time and I know that. I see all these stories about people losing 80 pounds in 5 months or something crazy and I think I WANT THAT but is it realistic for me? NOPE And if you ever lived in Texas you know that construction here takes YEARS to be completed hah...

UPDATE MyFitnessPal - Free Weight Loss Tools Yeah thats right! Now I didn't exercise today or yesterday really (I did like 6 minutes from an online video thing but I don't think that counts at all...) so I shall not be talking about working out but instead about my favorite FOOD! OK here are some things I got on my recent shopping quest for new and delicious healthy foods. Coconut oil! It is showing up everywhere in healthy recipes and baking etc. Its a healthier oil option and of course I love the taste of coconut. The connection between coconut oil and weight loss is interesting. Farmers in America discovered this early last century when they tried to fatten their cattle by feeding them coconut oil. Instead of gaining weight, their cattle lost weight! UM EVERYONE go out right now and find the unsweetened almond milk it is only 40 calories for an entire cup and it is AWESOME on cereal. Also Soy Slender chocolate milk a whole cup for 70 calories. A cup of ...

Today lets talk about what I LOVE about my body - 10 things My legs... they aren't what they used to be. I used to get compliments on them in college especially when I wore high heels. I guess its from years of dancing but my calves are pretty ripped - my goal is to get them SUPER cut. haha My eyes! I love how they are "asian" haha at least that is what everyone always says. They are very cat like I suppose and I love the color. I would say my eyes are my most favorite thing. My cheekbones. Chris says its the Native American in me which may be true but I love that I have high pronounced cheekbones. If I was thinner I am sure they would be even better. There is a goal! HAHAH besides my sense of humor my TEETH. I have never had braces and I am lucky to have some straight teeth. I also love that they are white. I think that someones teeth can really change how you view them so I was blessed with some pretty ones. Ok I know this photo is AWKWARD hahaha ...

Yesterday I was really down on myself about where I was with my weight loss. I was beating myself up over how little progress I have made and not reaching my goals quickly enough. I decided this kind of thought was not going to help me keep going it was the kind of thought that leads me to quitting. CHANGE OF VIEW - look at the huge amount of progress you have made since the beginning of the journey not the amount you haven't made or how much you still have to go. SO here is that nasty photo from January 1st when I decided that this was the time to lose and a photo I took of myself yesterday when I got home from the gym. Maybe the number on my scale isn't as low as I had hoped it would be by July because hello I am halfway through the year and DANG in 6 months I should have lost 60 pounds, at least this was the plan.... But positive thought for a second silly lady - I look so much better than I did 6 months ago regardless of how "little" of my goal I have met...

Saw this on Pinterest and it really made me think about this whole thing differently. Why in the world would I allow myself to give up when I literally think about my weight constantly everyday. How can you ignore something that is this important to you? How can I let myself live in a way that doesn't make me happy? I want to try to get pregnant in 2-3 months and I really want to weigh a lot less when carrying a baby. This past week both myself and my husband have been busy visiting with family and working on our house and didn't go to the gym ONCE for a whole week!!! AGH I was still watching my food - minus the birthday cake and pie I had... and also I could have gone to the gym if I had made myself. I remembered this pin from a month or so ago. If I can spend an hour on Facebook and Pinterest and then tell myself I am too busy to go to the gym I am obviously LYING to myself. So again if I think about this everyday and its this important what is holding me back? ...

I am really proud of myself this week I have been making sure that I pushed myself and really worked hard. Writing my exercise routine out has proved very helpful for me. Having it written out gives me a specific goal and then I can't just give up and not feel up to doing more or increasing speed etc. I have been doing a walking/jogging circuit training kind of routine I found with prevention magazine called "The Speed Ladder" So far I love it!!! It is a challenging exercise routine that features intervals that get increasingly harder but shorter, followed by brief recovery periods. It makes the time on the treadmill go by so much faster and it seriously gets me sweating and my heart rate up! You can find it HERE After cardio I do legs or arms depending on the day. On arm days I do overheard triceps, bicep curls, chest press, tricep kickbacks, and then shoulder press. I do each one 12 times and then repeat the cycle 2 more times for a total of 3 sets. On...