Ashleigh's Slice of Life

Not My Best Day

Ashleigh — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 23:45:15 +0000

Thursday. The day it all starts to go south for me. Every time I try to get back on the weight loss wagon I do so well Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Somewhere along the way on Thursday is when it all starts to go down hill.

The day started out well. I had Mexican Egg Muffins, a bagel thin a clementine for bfast, almonds and edamame for a snack and then I headed to the gym on my lunch. I so didn’t want to go. I was stressed and super grumpy but I went anyway. I did 15 on the stairs and 17 on the bike. I was pissed because I forgot my HRM but I figured 32 mins of cardio is better than nothing.

Next up I had some fried rice that I made with rice (duh), beans, onions, peppers and egg whites. Then the 3 pm snackies hit. Right now I am trying to only have chocolate once a day. I think that’s pretty reasonable. Around 3 I opened a chocolatey treat from a friend, then I hid it from myself, and then I ate half of it. It’s from Taiwan so I really have no idea what it was but delicious. I was still snacky so I decided to go to the kitchen and have a chocolate coffee and my yogurt and then have the rest of my Taiwan treat!

I got home and it just got worse. I tried distracting myself with a book but it didn’t work for so long.

Into my belly went: triscuits, cheese, tortilla chips, a hard cider that I drank in 1 minute flat, nachos (w. baked chips, cheese, salsa, spinach and corn), a dinner roll, a pumpkin beer, a chocolate and a skinny cow candy bar. WOOPS!

I absolutely think it could have been so much worse. I was trying to convince the BF to go out to eat even though we are on our final day of a week long eat in challenge, and luckily he said no. But I am still kind of pissed and need to learn to not overeat like that for no reason at all. I am trying to figure out the reasons that lead to overeating and I think today it was…not enough for lunch, a stressful few days at work, and not having many groceries at home. So next time I know!

What do you do to stop yourself from over eating for no reason?

Tomorrow it’s the beginning of the weekend which means a dinner out with the BF. I have got to stay on track!!

Guess Who’s Back?

Ashleigh — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 23:30:23 +0000

Oh hey! Anyone there? I totally bailed on my blog for the last month and a half. Not much to say besides I just wasn’t really feeling it anymore. I wasn’t;t sure what I wanted to talk about and I’m still not 100% sure. I’m a girl. I change my mind a lot.

I was going to blog last night. I made a delish and healthy din and I was so excited to share, but then I realized my photos were gross so I didn’t. I made a homemade veggie burger for one with beans, oats, onions and peppers and it was pretty good for something thrown together last minute. I was proud of myself if I do say so myself.

Anyway, starting yesterday I am once again trying to lose weight. I really don’t want to live my life gaining and losing the same 15 LBS, but alas it’s been my life for the past 2 years. 2 year(ish) ago I lost 50 lbs and I am so PROUD of myself that I have kept it off, but I’m starting to creep towards a number I don’t like and I want to stop and lose 20 lbs. 20 lbs lost will still have me 10 above the highest for BMI but that’s ok with me. I was only 5 lbs away from this goal in March and I liked the way it felt so I want to be back there. My clothes fit better. I looked better. I was healthier.

I gained those 15 lbs back by eating and drinking too much and it’s about time for it to stop. I have kept a pretty consistent workout schedule during this time.. maybe a little less but I never stopped working out completely, and then it hit me. The key (FOR ME) is the EATING. So I am starting to track on sparkpeople for now and hoping that it will all click for me this time around.

Yesterday and today were both good days. I stayed within my calorie, carbs, fat and protein range and had 2 good workouts including a weights session today. I ate healthy foods like eggs, fruits, veggies, beans, Greek yogurt. But here I sit 730 PM just finished a delicious salad with avocado, corn on the cob and a dinner roll and all I want to do is keep eating and down a few pumpkin beers. What’s a girl to do?? Hopefully The Biggest Loser will distract me in 30 mins!!!!

So if I still have some readers, thanks for sticking around. My blog will probably be more weight loss adventures and less recipes but I’d love if you’d stay!

Decisions, Decisions

Ashleigh — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 15:00:12 +0000

I can’t make a decision to save my life! I am the most indecisive person ever! As I mentioned in my post about getting more exercise, I bought a buywithme for a new to me gym, the Boston Sports Club. They have them in NYC and DC so some of you may be familiar with them. There are two very close to my work and one only 5 minutes from my apartment. They offer many classes including zumba, spin and weight lifting classes.

The only downside is that it’s $74 per month. I am no stranger to paying $$ for a gym, at one point I was paying $92 per month, but I was hoping that with moving out of the city I would be able to pay less. My initial plan was to workout at the BSC for 30 days and then get a free trial at another gym in the town I live in. I haven’t been to that gym yet but their website says they offer classes and I have heard that it’s only $20 per month.

I have realized how awesome it is to be able to work out on your lunch break though! You don’t have to wake up early and when you get home from work you don’t have to worry about working out. I can get a solid 45 minute workout while watching MTV. My goal is to get 5 days a week in and since I work 5 days a week it’s so easy to just walk over on my lunch break. I have to decide to today (of course!) because they are running at 24 hour no enrollment fee sale. The fee is usually $150. What’s a girl to do?! If you belong to BSC do you like it? Any complaints?

Join The Party!

Ashleigh — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 02:09:17 +0000

Thanks for the great comments on my last post! I think a lot of people feel the same way about lacking motivation in the summer and I hope everyone who committed to the 7 days are doing well. On top of getting my activity in I have been tracking my food and making sure that I eat enough protein to keep my energy up.

About a month ago the people at Gardein contacted me to see if I was interested in participating in their Gardein party to eat meat free one day a week. For every one who signs up for the challenge Gardein donates a meal to charity. You can sign up for the challenge here: http://t.co/7jzVLli

I only eat seafood so I knew eating meat free one day a week wouldn’t be too hard for me. However whenever I try to eat more protein like I am right now I rely a little more on seafood than usual so I was happy that Gardein also offered to send me some coupons to try some of their meat free products. Tonight I was going to sauté up some shrimp but decided to try out a Gardein product instead.

Santa fe good stuff is veggie chicken stuffed with beans and corn. You can microwave it in two minutes and it comes with a sauce that I topped mine with. It has 150 calories and 18 grams of protein.

I ate mine with some bean dip and carrots. This was definitely a smaller dinner since I didn’t get home until 8, but I have been trying to eat smaller meals more often so I don’t get too hungry and overeat. It usually works best for me. Between the fake chicken, cottage cheese, peanut butter and a veggie burger I got over 70 grams of protein today. Pretty impressive for me! I didn’t love this meal because it tasted too much like I imagine real meat would taste like, but I am excited to try some of their other products.

Will you join the Gardein challenge and commit to one meatless day a week? Be sure to like Gardein on facebook too!

A Week Of Activity

Ashleigh — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:15:44 +0000

About a month ago I started a spreadsheet to keep track of my quickly diminishing workouts.

7/11/2011	7/12/2011	7/13/2011	7/14/2011	7/15/2011	7/16/2011	7/17/2011
30 minute run	20 min elliptical		3 miles run		5 mile race
	15 min strength
7/18/2011	7/19/2011	7/20/2011	7/21/2011	7/22/2011	7/23/2011	7/24/2011
2 miles walk	3.5 miles run		3 miles run	1 mile walk	3 miles walk/ run

7/25/2011	7/26/2011	7/27/2011	7/28/2011	7/29/2011	7/30/2011	7/31/2011
	1 hr zumba	3 miles run	6 mile bike		5 mile run	MOVE
	.5 mile run
8/1/2011	8/2/2011	8/3/2011	8/4/2011	8/5/2011	8/6/2011	8/7/2011
	2 mile run		3.5 mile run		5 mile run/walk

8/8/2011	8/9/2011	8/10/2011	8/11/2011	8/12/2011	8/13/2011	8/14/2011
2.5 miles run/walk

I alluded to it in my last post, but this summer, I don’t want to workout! I have been forcing it and although my workout schedule has been decent it’s not as active as I like to be and my clothes are starting to get a bit (um very!) tight. I am also DREADING my workouts because as you can see they have been mostly run/walking. Running and walking are the easiest things to do because they don’t require a gym and you can do it wherever you are so it’s what I have been doing a lot of this summer. However I am getting so bored with it. On 7/16 I ran a 5 mile race in 56 minutes. This past weekend I ran 5 miles in an hour in 10 minutes, I am getting slower because I am just not in the mood anymore! Luckily I bought a Buywithme for Boston Sports Club for a month and I am going to redeem it tonight. My goal this week is to do something active every.single.day. I miss zumba, spin, kickboxing and I’m hoping to get back into them and get my fitness back up to where it was. Anyone with me?!

Greek Quinoa Salad

Ashleigh — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 01:53:02 +0000

I won’t lie…I haven’t been coming up with many good recipes this summer. I’ve been making a lot of easy things like salsa and salad but I haven’t come up with much, until tonight! Edited to add: I totally forgot that I got the inspiration for this dish from The Fitnessista.

Greek Quinoa Salad (Makes 2 servings)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup quinoa

1/2 red pepper, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

2 Persian cucumbers, chopped

1 cup chickpeas

1 can diced olives

1/4 cup Greek dressing

1/2 cup feta cheese

Directions:

Cook quinoa per the directions on the box. Chop vegetables and add them to a medium sized bowl. Once quinoa is done, add to the bowl and mix in olives, chickpeas, dressing and top with feta cheese. Refrigerate one hour. I served mine over spinach and I’m excited for leftovers tomorrow!

In other news I have been so unmotivated to work out. It’s Wednesday night and so far I’ve only gotten a 20 minute jog in this week. I am hoping my motivation comes back ASAP. Any tips? I think the issue is I just moved Sunday and I don’t belong to a gym or no any running routes yet. I probably just need a few days off and I’ll be back to normal.

Like quinoa? Here are some other recipes by me.

Chopped Quinoa Salad

Caprese Quinoa Sala

Quinoa Stir Fry

Fiber One Brownie Giveaway

Ashleigh — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 15:34:18 +0000

Recently I was given the opportunity from MyBlogSpark to try out Fiber One’s new 90 calorie brownies. I used to really like Fiber One cereal and I love chocolate so I figured why not?! They come in two flavors Chocolate Fudge and Chocolate Peanut Butter and have 5 grams of fiber each. Now, I eat a ton of fruits and vegetables so I have no trouble getting my fiber in, but having a treat that also adds in fiber is a bonus because fiber is supposed to help keep you full longer. The brownies are pretty small, I mean hello they are only 90 calories, but they taste pretty good. Picture below is next to my nano and is the PB brownie.

The chocolate fudge has chocolate chips and a dark chocolate drizzle. The chocolate PB has peanut butter chips and a PB drizzle. My favorite part was the chips inside. I have been enjoying these as my after dinner dessert. I usually eat them plain but they also taste pretty good warmed up and covered in banana soft serve! For me, I almost always want something sweet after I eat dinner and I have enjoyed eating these because they taste good and have only 90 calories. At the end of the day I usually can fit a 90 calorie brownie in and it satisfies my sweet tooth.

Want to try some? It’s your lucky day! You can win a Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownie Prize Pack filled with the Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies, the Chocolate Fudge Brownies, a jump rope, a Fiber One Water Bottle, a Fiber One gym bag, a Fiber One container (perfect for transporting hummus!), a Fiber One bracelet, and a headband.

You have 3 ways to enter. Please leave a separate comment for each entry. I will only count entries if you have left a comment. Giveaway ends 8/3/11 at 9 am.

1.Leave me a comment letting me know when you would eat these brownies. After dinner like me? As an afternoon pick me up? Let me know!

2.Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giving away using saying “ Hey @ashleighsslice is giving away FiberOne Brownies http://bit.ly/oYcHQx #myblogspark “

3.And because 3 is my favorite number and I don’t have an FB fan page, just leave me another comment telling me something fun you’ve done this summer.

Disclosure: General Mills provided me with the free product, information, and gift pack through MyBlogSpark.

Update: The luck number was 13 and the winner has been contacted.

Easy Summer Salsa

Ashleigh — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:28:00 +0000

So I promised a salsa recipe a while ago and here it is!

I have been making this multiple times a week since summer started. It’s so easy and so good.

All you need is

1/2 pint grape tomatoes

1/2 jalapeno

1/2 of a green pepper

1/2 of a small onion

1 ear of corn

Start by husking your corn and cooking it in some boiling water. While the corn is cooking chop your vegetables. I used a food processor to make mine, so I just chop them a little so they can fit in. If you are not using a food processor the salsa probably isn’t going to be the easiest thing in the world. Once you stuff everything into the food processor pulse it until you’ve reached your desired choppiness. Take corn out of water and cut kernels off the ear. Move the salsa to a bowl and add corn. DELICIOUS AND SO EASY!

This picture doesn’t have corn in it because this particular night I didn’t have any. I only have a mini food processor which is why I used half of everything, eat it all with some pepper jack Tostitos then make another batch the next day!

Go make this now!

Oh Monday!

Ashleigh — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 14:56:00 +0000

After a fun filled weekend, I did NOT want Monday to come! Sunday night I was exhausted and went to bed at 930… after 8.5 hours I still did not want to get up so I ended up skipping my morning workout. Not sure what’s been up with me lately but I am becoming SO lazy, and making so many excuses to skip my workouts. That needs to change ASAP! I always feel great after a morning workout and I pretty much will always come up with an excuse to skip an evening one. When I got home from work I knew there was no way I was going for a run. Lucky for me I was able to convince the bf to go for a nice long walk before dinner.

We walked around the reservoir near Cleveland Circle and then walked to Whole Foods. It was HOT but nice to get outside and spend time together being active. I love the top picture with the geese! Mike took it with his cell phone.. not bad for a celly pic!

We’re only in town for a few days before we head out on vacation again so I had to go to the grocery store for a few things. I love being so close to a grocery store.

Love me some summer produce, I just wish it wasn’t so expensive!

For dinner I had a taco salad

Just some butter lettuce, green peppers, tempeh with taco seasoning, mexican cheese and salsa. I have been craving salads for dinner all summer.

To round out my Monday night I had chocolate peanut butter banana soft serve but the picture sucks so I will spare you! I have been living off banana soft serve all summer. Such an easy and healthier option than the regular ice cream I want to consume every day!

Perfect Summer Weekend

Ashleigh — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 23:42:20 +0000

I absolutely LOVE summer. Sure, it’s super hot out right now and actually kind of nasty, but I’d still rather be hot than cold any day of the week. This past weekend I had such a perfect summer weekend and I wish every weekend could be as much fun!

Friday I was lucky enough to have a summer Friday where I got out at 2pm. The BF and I made the trip to Yarmouth, ME just in time to watch the Clam Festival parade. It was fun, long as usual but fun to share it with my bf! We didn’t stick around for the whole thing because we wanted to eat some clams!

We got friend clams, fried ship and sweet potatoes fries. #healthy. Honestly none of it was very good either but when in Rome! After the fest we headed to my friends house and hung out for a while before heading home to go to bed early.

After 8 hours of sleep I woke up at 6 am to get ready for my race. I have mentioned about my stomach troubles before and of course I had issues all morning Saturday. It sucks, but I get myself SO worked up for these races… I have no idea why, I do them for fun not to stress myself out.

Anyway, it was a great race! It went all though my hometown and I ran it with my friend that I’ve had the longest in my life. We finished in about 56 minutes and only stopped for 2 quick walking breaks. I was very proud of us!

After the race, I headed to Naples to spend some time with my family relaxing on the beach, floating in the lake, BBQing and having some drinks! It was gorgeous out and I had a lot of fun splashing around with my family and friends.

I also got to meet my brothers new puppy, Bruin. He is cute, right?!

Sunday I woke up early to head back to Boston to meet up with some lovely ladies at The OtherSide. I got their delicious sangria and a greek salad. The salad was ok, but I have had much better food there. Their vegan BLT is amazing! Tiffany was visiting from out of state and it was great to meet her and some other local bloggers.

Me, Erin, Caitie, Tiffany, Steph. Thanks to Tiffany for the picture!

Overall last weekend was my idea of the perfect weekend! What’s your idea of a perfect weekend?