Heart don't fail me now, Courage don't desert me...

Well, today I took the first step.  I joined Weight Watchers and had my first weigh-in.  My first meeting will be tomorrow, and I'm feeling pretty empowered. 

Just made a delicious low-cal dessert for tonight's wine and movie night with B, C, and D.

Angel food cake with lite cool-whip, fresh strawberries, and blueberries.  Yum :o)

A Vernacular Spectacular

It is my personal opinion that the world at large is in serious need of a vocabulary lesson.  Words like skinny, thin, fat, and chunky have no business describing anyone in either a positive or a negative light.

Lets review, shall we?

I for sure do not want to be defined by any of these words.  And so, readers (if you're out there), I challenge you to compile, share, and utilize a set of new and better adjectives for defining yourself and others.  Perhaps we can change the world's obsession with "skinny" and "fat."

Here are some adjectives that I hope to utilize about myself in the very near future:

I leave you with song lyrics from My Fair Lady...."Words, Words, Words....I'm so sick of words.  I get words all day through...first from him and now from you.  Is that all you blighters can do?"

Celebrate we will, cause life is short but sweet for certain...

Today is my Mom's 51st birthday, and in celebration, I decided to cook her an amazing meal because food is absolutely the way to her heart.  The late, great Julie Child once said "You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces - just good food, from fresh ingredients."

Today's menu consisted of a spinach and mango salad with homemade mango vinaigrette, grilled chicken breast in a citrus marinade with a side dish of Israeli couscous with asparagus, sugar snap peas, and peas in a lemon garlic sauce.  For dessert, red velvet cupcakes with vanilla cream icing (Magnolia Bakery's recipe).

As promised, here are photos :o) (Recipes will come when I figure out how to put a recipe tab in this blog)

Might as well JUMP...

This morning I awoke with my usual desire to work out.  However, on Sundays, my gym opens late and I have to be on the road down to Cherry Hill soon (more about this in a minute).  I therefore turned to the lovely and fantastic  Jamie Eason for a quick home workout.  I did her amazing plyometrics routine which only took 20 minutes, but got my heart rate up, my muscles burning, and broke a mean sweat (routine to follow).

If you are unfamiliar with the term PLYOMETRICS, the term literally breaks down to plyo (plus) and metrics (movement).  It is a form of exercises that utilizes fast, explosive movements to strengthen muscles both concentrically and eccentrically.  There really is no better form of strength training (assuming your joints and cardiovascular system can handle it!).  I try to incorporate plyometrics into my workouts at least 3 times a week, and I always enjoy treating higher level patients (particularly young athletes) who can begin to utilize plyometrics in their recovery process.

Jamie Eason's Plyo Card Routine:  
Jamie instructs you to use a deck of cards for this workout!  You flip 3 cards at a time, add up the values, and that's how many reps you perform.  Leave the jokers in and depending on your fitness level, they can be valued at either 1 or 11.  I couldn't find cards this morning, so Jamie instructs you to use sets of 15 reps if you don't have cards.  Here is the workout:

• 2 sets of 15 JUMP SQUATS
• 2 sets of 15 JUMPING JACKS
• 2 sets of 15 ALTERNATING JUMP LUNGES
• 2 sets of 15 HIGH KNEES
• 2 sets of 15 MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS
• 2 sets of 15 RUNNING BUTT KICKS
• 2 sets of 15 WIDE PUSH UPS
• 2 sets of 15 JUMPING JACKS
• 2 sets of 15 BICYCLE CRUNCHES

Jamie is even so kind as to include a video clip of the exercises (love her!):  Plyo Card Routine - Video

Now that I worked up a nice sweat, I am more than deserving of this morning's smoothie:

• 1 cup Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
• 4 frozen strawberries
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
• 2 tablespoons flax seeds (ground)
• 1/2 scoop of protein

Clean Smoothie on top of the Clean Cookbook :o)

I'm off to Cherry Hill to cook a birthday dinner for my mom.  Recipes and photos tomorrow!

Blueberry Mornings

Today is going to be oppressively hot, so I thought what better way to start the day than with a delicious smoothie. Have I mentioned before that the Magic Bullet blender is my best friend in the world? On average, I have 2 smoothies a day. The first is usually a fruity/proteiny blend and the second is ALWAYS a green smoothie of some kind.

This morning's deliciousness consisted of 1 cup of Blue Diamond's Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk (a new obsession of mine), 4 frozen strawberries, 1/2 cup of blueberries, and a small banana. It was pure, clean, perfection. I drank it alongside one of the banana muffins I made yesterday, another clean food (recipe below).

I hope you're all staying cool today!

Eat-Clean Banana Muffins

RECIPE:

2/3 cup Agave Nectar

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup egg substitute

3 ripe bananas

1 teaspoon almond milk

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners

Cream the Agave Nectar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the egg substitute

In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the almond milk and cinnamon. 

In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. 

Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears.

Pour batter into prepared muffin tins and bake 15-20 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

ENJOY 

Oh, Hey...

Well, here we are. About 4 months since my last post, and I am sad to say that yet another weight loss quest has failed. Quite miserably in fact. Not only did I fail to lose weight, but I have GAINED weight since I last posted. Now, to my credit, I did manage to graduate first in my class as well as study for/take/pass my licensing exam, so I am now writing to you as Dr. Arielle Brettler, PT, DPT.

However, in my quest for academic and clinical domination, my eating and exercise habits fell in the dust. I have spent the last 10 weeks sitting on my butt 8 hours a day and studying until I passed out. All the while consuming large amounts of coffee and lots of Panera salads.

As you may remember, back in January, I said that I was giving it one last shot. By "it," I mean weight loss on my own. And I am sticking to my word. I start working on August 9th, and part of my first paycheck will go to a new membership at Weight Watchers. I have tried Weight Watchers in the past with mediocre success (and subsequent failure/weight gain), but this time I am going to go to weekly meetings. This seems to be how many of my friends were able to shed their unwanted pounds, and so I think it's time I give it a shot.

I will once again chronicle my trials and tribulations in hopes that I can help or encourage others who may be struggling with the same issue. I plan to continue my dedication to adequate nutrition which I think many people on Weight Watchers tend to neglect. Since the system is based on points, I think people just tend to eat whatever they want as long as it's within points range as opposed to really taking nutritional principles into account. I will also of course continue to keep up my exercise habits. I absolutely adore working out, and that love will only get stronger now that I will finally have a regular schedule. My plan as of now is to hit the gym before work 2 days a week, and after work 3 days a week, as well as 1 weekend day each week. 6 days a week will likely give my metabolism the boost it needs to keep burning.

Part of me is a little sad that I have been unable to do this on my own, but the other part of me is happy that I have both recognized and accepted that I can't do this on my own, and that I will not let anything get in the way of me and my health.

I will update as much as I can with news on my progress, recipes, and exercise tips

-A