High

So last night after my workout, still potentially high on endorphins, I decided to walk to the park and meet up with Mr Furious and the girls. I say high on endorphins, because I decided to go to the park in my exercise clothes. I decided to do this on purpose. I even climbed onto the toilet to check myself out in the medicine cabinet before I left to confirm that "yes, yes, I do look like a post-workout bad ass" and decided all my peeps in the hood needed to see this for themselves. The whole way around the block I was quite impressed with my own self and thinking "oh I wish Marc & Marj (neighbors) were eating by their window so they could behold my transformation from postpartum frump to elite fitness bad ass.." Then I meet up with Family Furious. And the reason Mr. Furious and I are married becomes evident when I explain to him what a goddamn bad ass I am, he of course agrees, and offers that passersby will be thinking to themselves ..."ohhh she just got back from a run!" Exactly! So I thought I'd describe my bad ass ensemble to you all: 11 year old blue lycra blend capris, grey nursing sports bra... cause nothing says "bad ass" like a nursing sports bra... and a black maternity t-shirt. Yes I said it... MATERNITY! So since I'm not pregnant that means the amble front hangs down in the front. Oh and there were some cobwebby things on my left hand shoulder, I knew they were there.. they were there when I was working out the day before.. and I just left it. Now if that doesn't say "Future Olympian" I don't know what does!

2... It's the Magic Number

Okay so I have barely lost any weight this week... we all knew that was going to happen. And so I feel I should cheer you all up with this little Mrs Furious weight loss stat: I may be down only 0.2 pounds since last week but get this people... I am down another freaking 2" off my waist!!! That's right I am fast approaching normal waist circumference! I can actually zip and button all my size 6 pants. Slight muffin top, yes, but ZIP and BUTTON! Even my slim fit jeans! So all is well. I am resigned to the fact, and anticipated it all along, that reaching 118 may take a while longer. But we all need goals. Dreams even. Lofty weight loss dreams...

OY VEY!

Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful summer day here in Ann Arbor. So instead of heading downstairs to the treadmill and my nightly Tivo-fest I thought I'd mix it up and go for a bike ride. Even better I'd take Kid Furious so we could have some quality time. Well keep in mind I was pregs last summer so that means it had been nearly 2 years since I rode my bike... and 2 years since I rode it with 40+ lbs of lead strapped into a bike seat suspended over my rear wheel. Also keep in mind that the child seat has a weight limit of 40 lbs... which might be a safety warning due to the actual engineering of said child seat or it might be a safety warning of a more cardiovascular nature! Okay so I head down the driveway cautiously so as not to wipe out on all the goddamn hickory nuts all over the place and embarrass myself in front of Mr. "I commute to work" Furious. Then I tackle my first hill thinking "my god... I thought I was reasonably fit.. I'm going to die and it has only been 3 minutes!!!" But I made it, over hill and dale for 30 minutes. My legs were jelly by the time we got home. And despite stretching for 20 minutes afterward and then doing a half hour of pilates I still felt like I had been hit by a truck this morning... and then run over a few more times before it was through with me!

Blah, Blah, blah....

So I made the menu, did my shopping, at 2 stores, because I am: anal, picky, brand loyal, and organics obsessed. This of course means that it takes me a couple hours (with 4 year old and 6 month old in tow) to do my essential shopping. I think that is a big part of my resistance to meal planning, etc. Honestly I usually do whatever I can to postpone going. Which often means a little more takeout and "miracles from my pantry" style meals. This usually allows me to shop every week and a half, instead of every week... with Mr. Furious heading out on midnight runs for milk & bread :)
And truth be told I HATE to shop. I mean it. I don't like to shop for groceries, I don't like to shop for shoes, I don't like to shop period. It kills me that as a "stay at home mom" shopping is part of my job description. I know you are all rolling your eyes in disbelief... but it is true. There is a reason all my clothes are from Target.... it is a one stop shop... sponges? check. Kid Furious's meds? check. New spring skirt? check. Frappuccino? check. Huge cart so whiny 4 year old doesn't have to walk? check. What more could I ever want?
Okay, okay, back to the matters at hand. Despite my shopping phobia I am being won over by the meal planning. It is such a huge relief to start my day knowing what I'm making and being able to prep earlier in the day when I get a chance... which is rare since I spend literally 4 hours a day wearing Baby Furious in a sling and bouncing on an exercise ball! Baby wearing pretty much negates my ability to clean or organize during the day! Thank god I can still type ;) So I will give it an honest go. I'm also going to plan a weekly treat to have on hand. I'm looking for something in the 120 calorie range(or 120 for half)... it needs to be rich and sickening. Send me your suggestions. I need to mix it up... 3 straight weeks of cookie dough has gotten old.

Proof

For anyone who wonders when I have time to do all this blogging... I'm *multitasking* marsupial style!

This Week The Plan

Alright I sucked it up and made a menu...

Monday: Shrimp & Orzo w/ Fresh Tomato Sauce
Tuesday: Leftover Pulled Pork & Coleslaw (and no the root beer pulled pork is not better)
Wednesday: Flank Steak, Potatoes & Corn on the Cob (clear Furious household favorite)
Thusday: Frittata & Salad
Friday: Take-out
Saturday: Chicken Fajitas
Sunday: Sliced Flank Steak w/ thai cucumber salad & store bought spring rolls


And my first ever readers poll:

Should I make more Chocolate Cookie Dough?

I finished 'em off tonight. Do I make more and stick with what has been working? Or has it been a big coincidence anyway?

Recipe of the Day

Carrot Salad

4 medium carrots, peeled
2 small apples (I used pink lady), peeled and cored
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 T honey
1/3 c mayo (I used lite)
1/3 c raisins
1/3 c hot water

In food processor with shredding attachment, shred carrots and apples. In serving bowl whisk mayo, honey, and lemon juice. In separate bowl soak raisins in hot water for a few minutes (3-5 not 20!). Drain raisins and add with the carrots and apples to serving bowl. Toss to coat (I use my hands). This is not heavily dressed so do not be alarmed, there is just enough to coat.

4 servings... 165 each

The Week... In Review

Okay here's how it all went down. I did in fact cook all my scheduled meals, with one deviation... okay two... I made peanut noodles with the steak and salad on Thursday... Steak and salad just didn't seem that filling. Friday I just couldn't get worked up to cook so we had take out and then I pulled it together and made the salmon on Saturday and I am currently slow cooking the pulled pork as I write this. In root beer... I'll let you all know how that turns out. So did it save me money? I'm not sure but it was probably one of the least stressful cooking weeks I've had in a long time, and I didn't end up throwing stuff out that I didn't get around to using. I'm kind of stuck now trying to think of a new menu for this coming week... I can't just repeat, can I?
I also have been kicking ass on the cleaning. Yes I know most of you probably already do things like wipe off your stove, but we Furious' tend to be a wee bit lazy... So after my massive pantry overhaul and floor cleaning.. I vacuumed on Friday (I know shocking! I even vacuumed the stairs!) I cleaned the stove, bathroom and stainless appliances. I've also been trying to keep things picked up as I go. And Yes it is easier but it does take some getting used to. I mean my natural tendency is to see something on the floor and think "I'll get it later" Unfortunately that is everyone is the Furious household's natural tendency so our floors, counters, tables can become quite cluttered. I do think maybe there is something to feeling more in control of my body and that freeing up more psychic energy that I can devote to organizing my environment. We'll see. It is hard to stick to stuff if I don't have the whole family on board. Being organized is great, but if in so doing you become homicidal than maybe it isn't worth it....
So over all a pretty good week. I have accepted that fact that in order to get stuff done I have to actually do it. Sounds a lot like dieting ;)

I've updated my "Weight loss Story" at the bottom of the page. I'm getting more traffic than I had anticipated, and realize that you might not all know how this all began. The new version is quite long winded.... but thorough!

The Evidence

While Family Furious enjoys our "white trash" pool...







Mrs. Furious is indoors tackling "Project Organization 2007" mission: paperwork

Recipe of the Day

Guacamole

2 ripe avocados
1/2 c snipped cilantro (how many ways can I use cilantro this week?)
1 t chopped garlic (Yes I use the jarred kind)
2 lemon wedges squeezed
4 generous shakes salt (a wee bit less than 1/4 t)


Score avocados and scoop into serving bowl. With fork mash avocado with salt, garlic, and cilantro. Squeeze in lemon juice and combine. That's it. Delish.

4 servings at 145 calories each

Recipe of the Day

Peanut Noodles

6 oz long pasta
1/2 cup thinly sliced (julienned) red bell pepper, then cut strips into thirds lengthwise
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion
1/4 cup snipped cilantro
1 carrot shaved into long strips with a vegetable peeler, then cut strips in half lengthwise

sauce:
1/4 c natural peanut butter (go ahead and use what you have already)
2 T soy sauce
1.5 T rice wine vinegar
1 T sesame oil (toasted or dark)
1.5 t sugar
1.5 t honey
2 T chicken stock (hot water could be used in place)

Boil and drain pasta. Meanwhile whisk sauce ingredients together, add more chicken stock to thin to desired consistency (kind of like yogurt), some peanut butters may need to be thinned out more than others. Rinse pasta under cool water and drain thoroughly. Mix pasta, vegetables and sauce together in serving bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 6 side dish portions 200 calories each

Double this recipe for entree portions

FYI... I mixed my leftover salad fixings into the noodles and the avocado and tomato(seeded and thinly sliced) were fantastic additions to this.

Nuff Said

124 people 124!


I don't even know how this is happening.... Someone remind me of this when I plateau next week and am crying like a baby.

How Do I Love Thee...

Well my bionic scale arrived today. Kid Furious and I immediately opened that baby up and weighed in! Not only is it sleek and beautiful, in a modern sort of way, it measures every aspect of your physical being...and it practically shouts "You're a Bad Ass!" when you step on it. I am in love.
I'm also kind of in love with myself... I lost another pound and now weigh in at 125. Nothing says bad ass like losing a half a pound a day! It is hard to believe that it was not even 3 weeks ago that I was stuck at 131, feeling frustrated and forelorn. 20 days later I am 6 pounds lighter, have lost 2" from my waist and am down nearly 2% body fat. I couldn't be feeling more empowered! And I owe it all to GUM... well that and my longer, harder workouts ;) Seriously though, I do have a sweet tooth and eat when I am bored and not hungry. Having a piece of gum when I'm feeling like I might need another cookie dough ball in the afternoon, and then another piece right after dinner, has definitely helped satisfy my sweet tooth and obsessive need for a "finisher" without blowing my calorie limit. I'm also hitting the sheets a little earlier and that has cut out one of my nighttime snacks. At this point I usually eat a dessert as a preemptive measure (so I won't wake up hungry... its been known to happen) and not because I'm hungry for it. I also don't want to go to low on the calories as I am still a nursin' momma and don't want to lose any faster than I am. Can you believe I just wrote that?!? Who would have thought things would change so quickly?

So here are my current stats as taken from my new scale...

weight: 125 lb
body fat: 29.2% (healthy range)
body water: 49.0% (healthy range)
muscle mass: 84.0 lb
bone mass: 4.6 lb
metabolic rate: 2030 calories
metabolic age: 27.... so there Dr. Oz!
visceral fat rating: 3 (1-12 is good)
physique rating: 5 (standard body fat & muscle mass)

33.8

That's my REAL AGE which would be great if I weren't actually 31.2! What the hell!?! I got sucked into another online quiz, thinking this will prove what a bad ass I am and was SHOCKED that I am older than my true age. Now I don't know my cholesterol so it appears they hold that against you, and I did have the obvious stress factors... a new baby and managing Kid Furious's Epilepsy but that is it. Get this they actually marked my exercise level against me saying it was too high! Well that is a first for me I can assure you.
On a positive note, for those of you who don't scour this page daily, I have officially lost all of my pregnancy weight. Which is a considerable feat considering that I did pack on 52 pounds! Also since posting about the body fat analysis I have actually lost 2" from my waist! Sadly that didn't affect my body fat % very much.... when oh when will my beloved new scale arrive?

Recipe of the Day

I posted this a couple of weeks ago on my old site. It is fantastic and I urge you to make it. Despite needing three pie pans it really is so simple! And totally kid friendly!

Cornflake Crusted Tilapia

1 lb Tilapia filets (4-6)
2.5 c cornflakes, crunched up
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c flour
2T spice rub*
2T oil


preheat oven to 400 baking time 10 mins

Coat the bottom of a large rimmed baking sheet with the oil, spread to coat evenly and set aside. Line up three pie pans or shallow bowls or plates. Place the flour and spice rub in one and whisk together. Beat one egg in the 2nd pie pan. Pour the crunched up Cornflakes in the third (I just crunch them with my hands). Dip each filet, one at a time, in the flour turning to coat evenly, the egg mixture and then the cornflakes. Place them on the oiled baking sheet. Bake for 5 mins, turn over and finish baking for an additional 5 minutes.

each filet is 200 calories

*Israeli Spice Rub (care of Racheal Ray)
1 1/2 tablespoons (1 1/2 palmfuls) sweet paprika
1 1/2 tablespoons (1 1/2 palmfuls) ground cumin
1 teaspoon (1/3 palmful) dried oregano
1 teaspoon (1/3 palmful) ground coriander
1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (medium to hot in spice level)
1 1/2 teaspoons (1/2 palmful), coarse kosher salt

Note: I omitted the red pepper flakes for this recipe!

This Week... the plan

Okay I am on an organizational kick, that god willing, will actually stick this time ;)
Sometime last week I stumbled upon The Fly Lady who is kind of an organizational guru for crazy people. At first you are blown away by the cheesy graphics and subtle, but disturbing, references to a higher power. Then you are blown away by the fact that these women are talking about you . I thought I was the only, read: special, person out there whose perfectionism got in the way of maintaining an organized home. What? You have thousands of members who all fall into this same category? This is not because I am a genius? Everyone else thinks that they are crippled by their own genius too? Anyway, it was like they were speaking directly to me. They email you little challenges through out the day, and truth be told I haven't actually done any yet.. well I did do one I couldn't resist it was such a light bulb moment.... "when you are on your way to another room, look around you first and see if there is anything you can pick up and take with you" Say what?!? Ingenious! I immediately saw a Putty poop bag (unused!) Mr. Furious had left on the dining room table, I was heading to the bathroom, which took me right by the bag holder in the closet, I couldn't believe it.... it was so easy , effortless even! The whole Fly Lady mentality, slogan really, is "Progress not Perfection in 2007". Well I'm on board... kind of. So far I am still in the obsessive read everything and think about it phase. I haven't really started "daily" cleaning, but my god... BEHOLD my cupboards! It has worked for something at least. And it is free!
So instead of just going shopping I actually made a list and a menu plan. This means that this week will be short on new recipes, since I am trying out a new concept of actually making something more than once! Fly Lady assures me this will save me time and money!
Here's my menu:
Monday: Flank Steak, yukon gold potatoes & corn on the cob
Tuesday: Cornflake crusted Tilapia, cesar orzo salad
Wednesday: Chicken Fajitas
Thursday: Salad w/ flank steak
Friday: Ginger Salmon w/ stir fried peppers, pea pods & asparagus
Weekend: pulled pork

BEHOLD!

I wish I had taken "Before" photos so that you could all bask in the glory of this tremendous transformation. I actually cleaned out 6 bags of trash from my pantry last night. And that is after I scrubbed (on my knees people!) all the floors... well downstairs anyway...

Magic Cookie Dough

I have lost another half a pound! This is some sort of magic weight loss cookie dough!! On the days without cookie dough in the freezer I ate 1815, 1865, and 1843 calories respectively. The days with cookie dough are all in the 1600-1700s! I don't know if it is the butter that makes these more filling, or the fact that they just kind of make you sick (you know in the good way) so you don't need to eat anything else for awhile or what. Either way I'm keeping these babies stocked up.


Here's the recipe again:

The Essential Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie (or dough as the case may be)

Baking temp: 375 Baking time: 10 min

3/4 c unsalted butter
2/3 c dark brown sugar
2/3 c granulated sugar (white)
2 T light corn syrup
1 T vinegar (cider or white)
2 large eggs
1 T vanilla extract
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
2 & 1/4 c unbleached all-purpose flour
3 c semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

In a medium mixing bowl cream together the butter and the sugars, corn syrup, and vinegar, then beat in the eggs. Beat in the vanilla, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir in (by hand) the flour and the chocolate chips.

Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies for ten minutes, until they're set; the centers may still look a bit underdone. Remove them from the oven, and transfer to a rack to cool.*

about 4 dozen cookies, 120 calories each

Recipe taken from "The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion"

* I let them rest on the sheets for 5 min before transferring them to the racks, they are pretty fragile while still hot!
Also I measured (most of the dough!) onto ungreased baking sheet, no need to leave room between scoops, and froze them solid (about 30 min) and then just popped them off the sheet into a freezer bag. Normal people could then bake them up fresh whenever they want one or two, I of course just eat them right out of the bag!

51!

As of today I have lost 51 lbs! I am only 1 pound over my pre-pregnancy weight. Sure the 1st 20 came off on their own but I have worked hard for the remaining 31. I am totally proud of myself and completely motivated to keep this going until I reach my ideal weight and body fat %.
And I did order that crazy scale ... that thing can even track your bone density! It'll be like Christmas morning every morning! "What gift do you have for me today Mr. Scale.... more bone? less fat? more water?"

Recipe of the Day

Chicken Fajitas

1 pound chicken breast, cut in strips
3 onions sliced in wedges
3 bell peppers sliced into 1/2" wide strips
1.5 T oil

Fajita seasoning*:
2 t chili powder
1.5 t cumin
1 t dried oregano
1/2 t powdered garlic
1/2 t salt
1/4 t powdered onion
1/4 t ground black pepper
(you'll have some spice mix leftover I just put these amounts for easier measuring)

*I triple these amounts and keep it in an old spice jar with a shake top ready to go. It is great seasoning for black beans too!

Season chicken with fajita seasoning (about 2 teaspoons * approx since I shake it on!)
Heat oil in skillet (cast iron is best). Over Medium-high flame add chicken and sear on all sides. Remove chicken to a plate to rest. Add onions and peppers with additional seasoning (about 2 more teaspoons) and saute until onions are soft and peppers are tender. Return chicken to pan and heat through.
Serve with tortillas and fixings.

4 big portions of chicken w. peppers & onions 230 each