Week 2 Weigh-In: Down 1.2 lbs

The scale says I'm down 1.2 lbs for my second week on The Plan. I was expecting a bit more and my goal is 1.5 lbs per week on average. But 4 out of 7 days I was in the "B" range... I'm now down 4 lbs total.

What went well

- I stayed on the plan

- I got my 3 workouts in and they were good ones!

- My alcohol consumption is very low

- I had a setback and a stressful situation, yet I stayed on plan (and not resort to fattening comfort food or lots of drink!)

What needs improvement

- Reduce carbs by 10%-ish. Focus on more fruits and veggies and less on carbs

- Watch my portion size for nuts & dried fruit (I think I went overboard a bit one or two days)

- Get a full 8 hours of sleep each night

Red Kidney Bean, Spinach and Brown Rice Soup

I love trying new recipes! This is a light, vegetarian soup with kidney beans and fresh spinach. Some veggie soups seem like they are missing an ingredient. This one is filling and great for winter. 

(Click image to enlarge)

Instead of chicken broth, I used veggie broth. Also, I added celery, doubled the garlic and added red pepper flakes. Next time, I might even try shitake mushrooms! Oh, after cooking the base soup, I did not add the spinach at the end. Instead, I added it the next day, right as I put the soup in the microwave.

Update: Talking with coworkers about this soup recipe, I've decided that I'm going to make more soups like this. From begging to end, the preparation took 1 hour (with 5 minutes of chopping.) It tasted better, cost less and had a hell of a lot less sodium than canned soup. Plus, if I make it, I don't have to worry about hidden bacon (which happened to me last weekend!)

Post Work-Out Dinner

Still going strong on my plan! After a tough workout (30 min cardio, 20 min upper body weights,) I was starving and my body was starving for protein!

Brown rice, Adzuki beans, green beans and a Trader Joe's organic veggie burger. Hit the spot!

The organic Adzuki beans were grown right here in Ohio by Shagbark Seed & Mill. Preparing them was easy! Per the directions on the back of the bag, I soaked the entire bad of smallish red beans overnight. Then I cooked in water for about 2 hours until they were somewhat soft (then gave time to continue cooking while cooling.) I added salt at the very end.

Reheating the beans, I add Sriracha hot chili sauce and salt and pepper. Really yummy and healthy!

Full Day of Moving / Grove City Witch Project / 7,000+ Fuel Points

So, as mentioned today I shopped then built an extensive set of IKEA shelves-by hand with a screwdriver and ratchet! It was unseasonably warm and I was motivated! After lunch, I manually moved the entire contents of my storage area from one unit to another about 200 feet away with a dolly.

Although tired, (after moving 13+ hours!) I was surprised when I got home how many Nike Fuel Points I had earned. My daily goal is 3,000. And it said I burned 2,630 calories! Yeah, my target food consumption is 1,600 per day.

I'm happy that I got off my ass and did this manual work which I've been putting off for some time. In general, in 2013, I'm getting my shit in gear and it feels great!

Hearty Breakfast

I'm going to be doing a fair amount of manual labor today putting up shelving, so I needed a hearty breakfast: homemade black beans, microwaved carrots and eggs (1 full egg, 2 egg whites.) 8 pts.

10 Day Streak

I got this Nike+ Fuel band right before the new year. New Year's Day was pretty rough and I didn't make my 3,000 fuel point goal. I'm excited that I have made the goal every day since then. For 10 consecutive days.  I was rewarded with a video celebrating my 10 day streak:

Resistance.

So a woman in the area is moving on to a new assignment. To celebrate, the department got gourmet cupcakes. This was what was being offered to me:

This is what I actually ate:

I was proud of myself for resisting.