I’m Back, Baby!

August 28, 2011

(Ok, so I was never really gone.)

Over the past few weeks I’ve been bummed. Major bummed. Between having to wear the boot to my crazy inner ear infections and vertigo on top of a more hectic schedule, I was plumb worn out. The couple of weeks or so I really noticed lazy habits coming back to surface. I grabbed convenience foods, ate out more, didn’t prepare nearly the number of meals I had been, wasn’t getting enough protein, starting to gravitate towards sweets, etc. My spark was fading fast.

I unplugged for most of the weekend to see the sun and figure out where to go from here. Those of you on my Facebook page gave me a major self-confidence boost when I posted this picture from Friday:

Friday after lunch with my friend Amber. Kiyonna top, Calvin Klein Jeans, Alesya bag

Friday evening, I sent in an order for some local meat for me to pick up at the Sunday farmers market. Small, but proactive step!

Saturday, my lovely friend Amber took me out on her boat at a local lake. I desperately needed the sun and a smile on my face. Thankfully, this little jaunt accomplished both:

Not the most flattering of photos, but I was so darn happy, I don't care.

Hubs and I went to sleep at the cracking hour of 9:30pm on Saturday! Today (Sunday) we headed out to grab breakfast and hit up the farmers market so I could pick up the meat I ordered, as well as lots of peaches, okra, tomatoes and onions.

I mapped out my plan for the week, made a grocery list of everything else I needed, and went to the grocery (a task I’m known to HATE). Then, I tried to plan ahead by preparing some foods in advance of the week as my friend Alan does.

chicken with EVOO, and under the skin is onions, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper (I don't eat the skin)

egg cups: eggs, tomatoes, onions, basil, salt, pepper

sweet potato hash: grated sweet potato, grated apple, chopped sweet onion, sea salt, cinnamon

I also chopped up a watermelon and cantaloupe for grab-and-go snacking if I needed. I had a few more things I wanted to prepare, but a) I’m the laziest cook ever and was cooked-out; b) I was too busy eating a crap-ton of watermelon to remember what I was supposed to be doing.

Tomorrow morning I head to the orthopedist to get the all-clear to be officially boot-free. I have zero pain whatsoever, and am ready to get it crack-a-lackin with my workouts. The inner ears are still giving me a little bit of vertigo, but I feel 100 times better than I did a week ago.

I’ve got 3 workouts on the calendar this week with Jim and Molly of J&M Strength and Conditioning and will make sure to walk or swim at least 2 other days during the week. I really want my ears to clear up so I feel better about getting back in the water (with earplugs, of course). Last week, I did 1 of Jim and Molly’s sessions, and my legs hurt for 2 days afterwards! I think a combo of it being a different type of workout than I’m used to plus having been on my rear for 6 weeks made it worse. Aye, it hurt!

So, meals and workouts planned for the week. Hooray!

Do you pre-plan for the week ahead? Any tips on how I can keep myself this organized?

  • http://biglifelittleblog.blogspot.com Emily

    That outfit from Friday is so fricken cute! 

  • http://theravegan.wordpress.com/ The RA Vegan

    So proud of you for prepping AND for taking care of yourself!
    I did some cooking prep today too.  I made a rice pilaf with quinoa, prunes, and pistachios.  I cooked some grain, made a dessert hummus, cooked some edamame, and cut up a watermelon.  Enough to help me have healthy lunch choices this week.
    And I agree that you looked stellar on Friday.  Have a great week!

    Jen

  • Adrienne

    love it! you look great!!

  • K T

    You look absolutely fantastic in that Friday outfit!  Glad you’re feeling better, too. :)

  • Myla

    I’m one of those people who can find a dish I like and eat it twice a day, every day for a week and not get tired of it.  So at the beginning of the week I’ll make a huge dish like a big pot of gumbo (I use spicy hot V8 as the base for some extra vegetable servings) or Eggplant Lasagna (using eggplant slices instead of pasta).  The crockpot is also a lifesaver for busy days.
    Also, I wanted to say that your second photo of you  on the boat is beautiful.  You say that it’s not flattering, but you are smiling, looking straight into the camera and look perfectly relaxed.  If you were looking away, frowning and hiding under a ridiculous cover-up, that would be unflattering.  Confidence is sexy!

  • http://runsqrlrun.com Sarah @ Run Sqrl, Run

    I find that my best food weeks are the weeks that I sit down on a Sunday and plan out the weekly menu for all of my meals. I track it all in a simple spreadsheet that I print to PDF and keep on my Google docs so I always have access to it.  It also helps me plan my grocery shopping for the week!  I <3 Excel for everything. :)

  • http://onehealthychange.blogspot.com/ ML

    Welcome back. Just think of everything as a little bump in the road, and you look too cute on Friday!
    I do pre-plan for the week and then head to the grocery store. I take each day and figure out what I’m doing (meetings, social time, exercise, etc.) and plan around that. I usually make all my lunches on Sunday which saves time in the morning. For dinners, I try to look a day ahead to make sure I take stuff out of the freezer. And since I’m single, and most recipes are for 4 servings, I get a few days worth of leftovers!
    Not sure if this helps, but this is my process. Now if only i could stick to my meal calendars when Thurs/Fri roll around…

  • LHA

    You. Look. Beautiful.  (In both pictures, I might add.)  Bravo!

  • http://tobakett.blogspot.com Kett

    I try to plan ahead but it’s hard….i just try to keep a lot of fruits, veggies, and low cal crispy things (like popchips….I am SOOOOOOO glad you introduced those to me…they are so tasty!) and just pack a lot of that stuff for lunch. I’ve also found in a pinch Healthy Choice makes some really nice steamer bowls, though they are kinda high in sodium, they are pretty low calorie and have a lot of veggies in it. Much better than fast food or the dreaded ‘wheel of death’ vending machine at work. When the boyfriend and I were still living together I used to do bento boxes for each of us every day and that worked wonders because you have to be so meticulous about portion size and it makes you put a lot of thought to what you are eating. But when it’s just me, I just don’t have the motivation to do bento as much…since it is a lot of prep.

    We have a nice little farmers market a few blocks from my house and I got these muskmelons that are HUGE (like, soccer ball on steriods huge) that are just amazing. I’m growing my own watermelon this year and so far it’s about the size of a baseball…..I’m hoping it grows up soon because I’m anxious for some fresh grown watermelon. I also came across a guy selling corn who was advertising free samples, and I asked for one, expecting a little portion cup with the corn and butter in it. Nope, this guy handed me a whole raw cob of corn, and I looked at it puzzled for a moment, and he prompted me to just try it. So I did, although before I bit it felt weirded out because I’ve never heard of eating raw corn. Oh my goodness, it was like candy. If I hadn’t seen him grab it off the pile and husk it I would have sworn he cheated and soaked it in sugar water. Apparently it’s a new blend of corn called Ecstasy but its awesome, plus I’m happy because I have been avoiding corn because I always slather it in butter or soak it in sugar water to sweeten it up. Not sure if you are a corn fan but it’s really tasty raw, and not too hard to cut off the cob to put in a bowl. White corn is really tasty too.

    I did see some orange cauliflower but I chickened out of trying it because it was HUGE, which would have been a major waste if I didn’t like it…..if i see it again I have to try it, could make some very colorful faux potatoes.

  • http://www.sashalosesit.com Sasha

    I used to plan, then I had kids :) .

    I realize this is slightly off topic, but I just have to say: when I saw your headline I thought his was going to be a breakthrough at the scales (something I could use myself). But I think it’s awesome that being “back” is about what you’re doing and how you’re feeling, not about numbers on the scale. You go girl!

  • Tara Kieninger

    Glad you found your mojo again.  I started WW on Friday since I’ve been doing pretty awful trying to lose weight on my own.  So far I’m staying really motivated and I pre-prepped a ton of veggies and fruit so they are ready to grab and go.  Now I just need to make a dinner menu and do a little pre-cooking like you.  Thanks for the motivation!

  • http://loserjenn.wordpress.com/ Jenn

    I pre-plan a menu for every week. Honestly, it’s mostly because it’s such a struggle to deal with my husband as he thinks anything remotely healthy tastes bad. I keep it in a spreadsheet and type shorthand versions of recipes in below the day that I need to cook. My husband is 2nd shift so I’m frequently cooking meals for the next day instead of the current one. My grocery list goes below that and it’s organized by area of the store to make shopping quick and easy. I print the menu and recipes on one page and stick it on the front of my refrigerator so we always know what the plan is and what needs to be cooked. My breakfast is pretty much always the same and I pick a snack and stick with it for at least the whole week because it just makes life easier. The next week I just type over top of the previous week. I also keep a list of dishes we’ve liked so I can easily go through and pick some when I’m stumped. Um, yeah, you’re probably not as much of a control freak about it as I am but I could share the spreadsheet if you wanted. :)

  • http://www.FitandFreeEmily.com Emily

    I think you and I must be on the same cosmic wave-length. I too have found a little bit of extra pep today! I think you did an AWESOME job at prepping.

    I love chopping up a ton of veggies – whatever you like – and throwing them in the fridge. It makes life so much easier. I can toss them in with some pasta, in a skillet with chicken for a quick stir-fry, with eggs for an omelet .. you get the picture ;)

    I fall in and out of being organized (don’t we all, lol) but I find that writing everything out really helps. I have a “weekly menu” board on the fridge. Even if I don’t stick to it to a T, I at least have an idea of what I should be eating that week.

    Keep up the amazing work, Em! xoxo!

  • http://twitter.com/LisaEirene Lisa Eirene

    Glad you are feeling better!

    I pre-plan my weeks most definitely. It’s the best way to stay on track. I use Google Calenders to plan my workouts.

  • http://franklyfatso.blogspot.com Jenny

    You look great, I love your shirt! I actually cooked ahead of time for the first time this week and I felt so prepared this morning. Normally I’m rushing around to throw a salad together in the morning and then starving by the afternoon because I didn’t throw any carbs into the mix. Now I can just grab and go and I’m full until my snack. Prepping is the key!

  • Laurie

    Love being on boats, must have been a blast.
    I, too, could do without the whole cooking thing, but did it today (and yesterday). All your foods look very good.

  • Laurie

    Love being on boats, must have been a blast.
    I, too, could do without the whole cooking thing, but did it today (and yesterday). All your foods look very good.

  • Gwen

    Vavavoom!  Love that top!

    Also, I like the egg cup pre-cook idea, can’t wait to try it out!

  • Samantha

    I love your blog Emily!! Why are egg cups?? They look fabulous! Recipe or links pretty please :) ?
    Thanks! SAM
    http://www.samswlsjourney.blogspot.com

    • http://www.skinnyemmie.com Emily Sandford

      hi Samantha! For the egg cups, I just whisked together whatever omlette ingredients I had on hand and poured them into a liberally-olive-oiled muffin tin and baked at 350 until set (about 20 minutes). You can throw in ham, sausage, bacon, etc and then add lots of veggies like spinach, tomato, onions, green onions, etc. This looks like an awesome recipe: http://everydaypaleo.com/2010/03/24/egg-cupcakes/

  • walter

    your most welcome baby..

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