Kicking it Up a Notch

There’s nothing like getting measured for a bridesmaid’s (ahem, matron of honor) dress to make you feel really bad about yourself. Why these traditional dress designers (e.g., not J.Crew or Ann Taylor where you get to order a size that is akin to what you normally wear) have to have sizes that run small, I’ll never know. But it really sucks to be told you need to order a dress that is two or even three sizes bigger than what you wear regularly. I know size is nothing but a number and all that, but it really is demoralizing.

But it also serves as just the motivation I need to get in shape! When I last spoke about my battle with the dreaded Newlywed Nine, I was starting to get on a better workout routine. Doing that was easier said than done given my crazy travel schedule. However, last week (my first back with no travel) I worked out three days and did a long walk (almost 4 miles total) with Jason another day. But this week, I’m kicking it up a notch and have started alternating cardio (either the treadmill at the gym or one of my DVDs—Turbo Jam and 30 Day Shred are my go-tos) and targeted toning. 

To help with this, I recently bought Denise Austin’s Hit the Spot Target Toners DVD. It includes 10 five-minute workouts each targeting a specific muscle group. You can do all 10 for a 50 minute, total body workout or you can create your own shorter combo. Today, I did my own routine of arms, shoulders, hips, and butt.  Denise can be kind of annoying with her super peppy “you can do it” attitude but the workouts are so short that they go by really quickly and it’s hard to get bored. We’ll see what kind of results I get.

Hopefully this goal of doing something every day (even if it is just 20 minutes of toning) and incorporating some weight/strength based exercises will help kick-start my metabolism and keep me on track!

What helps get you motivated to stay healthy?

Battling the Newlywed Nine

When Jason and I got married last fall I was in decent shape. Not the best shape of my life, but certainly not the worst. I was eating pretty healthy, working out 4-5 times a week and feeling pretty good about myself. Unfortunately, once the wedding was over I fell off the wagon to a certain degree and have experienced some newlywed weight gain.  This is not terribly unusual, from what I can tell. According to research, individuals in long-term relationships are more likely to gain weight than their single counterparts. This can be for a variety of reasons—complacency, eating more (when cooking for two or eating out more often than when you were solo), staying in instead of going out, etc.  The biggest issue for me, I think, is that I have completely lost my exercise routine (which even more recent research has shown is critical to preventing weight gain in women as we age).  And early on in our marriage I was so excited about cooking for my new husband on a regular basis I tended to go overboard, making more luxurious dishes and desserts than were necessary. So my goals for the second half of our year as newlyweds are to 1) get back into a good workout routine, 2) incorporate more vegetarian/salad based meals into our diets,  and 3) eat smaller portion sizes (because Jason and I should not be eating the same amount of food!) Hopefully by putting it out there, you all will help keep me accountable—if you see too many decadent dishes on this blog, feel free to call me out!

To help get things started on the right foot, I decided to make a big salad for dinner last night. This particular salad happens to be a family favorite. It includes roasted beets (which we happen to eat a lot of around here despite that fact that apparently the public does not), pecans, and goat cheese (which tends to be lower in fat and calories than cow’s milk cheese).  To round it out, I added some left over roast chicken from last night’s dinner and a quick mustard/white balsamic vinaigrette. Healthy and delicious!

 Served with crescent rolls because you gotta have a little bit of carbs (plus they're Jason's favorites!)

Roasted Beet Salad with Pecans and Goat Cheese

Ingredients:
3 golden or red beets or combination thereof (I used golden this time because they don’t bleed as much as the red beets do)
Salad greens
2 oz goat cheese, crumbled
¼ cup of chopped pecans (more or less depending on your own taste, can also use walnuts or pine nuts)
3 cups of salad greens (we used baby romaine)
1/3 cup of shredded roast chicken (optional)
2 Teaspoons of Dijon mustard
1 TBL white balsamic vinegar
3 TBL olive oil
Salt and pepper

1.To roast your beets, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wrap each beet individually with aluminum foil and place on rimmed baking sheet. Roast until beets are tender, about 45 minutes. Open aluminum foil and let beets cool until able to handle. Rub the beet between the aluminum foil to remove skins. Cut into chunks.
2.Place salad greens in large serving bowl. Add beets, pecans, crumbled goat cheese, and chicken if using.
3.Make dressing by whisking vinegar and mustard together. Slowly stream in olive oil and whisk until emulsified. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4.Toss dressing (as much as you like) with salad and serve.