Little Changes = Big Differences.. and a Progress Photo as of Sun 8/4/13

2 weeks and some days later, i have to say the change in my diet has made a big difference in my energy and sleeping habits...!!!

Here's an updated shot, taken earlier this morning. :)

This is without me flexing -- as you can see, i've lost a significant amount of water weight, which i like to call "fluff" haha .. it's basically all the weight that seems to retain when i eat like shit .. You know, high sodium, high sugar type foods that don't process fast enough so they hang out and add extra weight (or cause you to gain weight faster).

I weigh in at about 172 now, give or take. That's at least 5 lbs in significant weight loss -- which can be a struggle for some people! 5 lbs in 2 weeks ain't bad at all if you ask me. Especially since i haven't worked out all that often, haha. WOMP WOMP. 

That being said, these are the changes i've made so far .. the baby steps i've taken to get back into the groove. :)

• Portion Control --> i limit my portions more than i used to. for the past 1-2 years, i haven't scarfed my face; i learned my lesson on that. I did eat less and limited myself because almost 2 years ago, that was my biggest problem: gluttony. within the past year, it's more like WHAT i ate that made me gain weight. i stopped eating healthier and had too high of a sugar intake with my daily coffee as well as just eating out a lot. I cook at home a lot but most of it was for my mom and when i'm not at home (which was pretty often for a few months) i ate like shit since i was always on the go. I never made time to meal prep or take food with me to work and it caused me to just kind of eat either whatever was around or order lunch at the nearby restaurants/fast food places. Speaking of ...
• Cooking at home more --> i went back to this! I remembered that cooking at home allowed me to control myself and what i eat. Since i have my mom on a pretty strict diet, i decided to make it even stricter and avoid cheat days, limiting both of us to 1 cheat day a week, which usually falls on a weekend day. My dad eats like shit most of the time and wasn't completely on board with the whole healthy-eating kick. Things were much easier when he was on a 90-day detox because he was all for eating healthy. Then he went back to fried foods and heavy filipino food, which doesn't help me OR my mom. FYI: my Mom's diet is a diabetic/CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease) diet, so she has to stay away from A LOT of things that technically i can eat too. This makes her diet super hard to deal with, but it makes my life easier when i cook. I limit both of us to easier meals now, nothing extravagant. I've been able to make healthier versions of her favorite things that she can't have anymore, so that helps all 3 of us out in the house. My dad doesn't have a choice but to eat what i cook now, or he'll have to fend for himself, haha. Sorry, Dad! ;)
• "Good" snacking --> in conjunction with cooking at home and controlling what i eat, it also helped me make sure that the snacks in my house were GOOD snacks. i.e.: PB & Fruit, Almonds, Hummus & Veggie Tortilla Chips, etc. I no longer keep things like French Onion dip in the house, haha. Or my favorite Cheddar chips from Ruffles or Lay's -- wah. I have a deep, undying love for CHIPS in general, so i stick to healthier versions now: Pita, Veggie or Tortilla only allowed. Anything else, i stay away from. No one in my house eats chips that much except me and if they do, they'll eat what's there or none at all. hah. easy peasy.
• 1200 calorie intake daily --> if any of you know about that MyFitnessPal app, it's amazeballs. I used to use it last year and somehow just stopped. i dunno, i got tired of recording my meals, haha. and a lot of what i ate wasn't on there anyway. I now see that as a bad thing. haha. So now i record everything i eat -- the past 2 weeks i've seen that a lot of my sugar intake came from the White Mocha in my coffee -- son of a beez. They make SugarFree MOCHA but not White Mocha. WAH!! I'll get to that later ... A lot of my fatty intake came from snacking, hence the choice to keep good snacks in the house. And a lot of my higher calorie intake came from eating bigger Lunches or Dinners because i failed to eat breakfast and got super hungry or just didn't eat properly throughout the day and ate more later in the day. So that being said ..
• 3 solid, portioned and small meals a day - healthy snacking in between. --> I eat breakfast now, even if it's something small. My hours at work change all the time so if i work later in the day, i make it a point to have a protein-filled breakfast that will give me energy. If i work early and have zero time in the morning, i have made it a point to have something quick to eat in the morning on my way to work (i.e.: Mini Egg Frittatas or Natural PB on Wheat Bread) so that i don't starve to death at work before lunchtime. I have also made it a point to have good snacks in between meals to help with my hypoglycemia. My sugar intake in my coffee generally has kept me going in the morning and i failed to notice that even tho it kept my blood sugar up, it also added extra unwanted sugar into my diet, leading to that little stomach pudge in addition to a sodium-filled diet when i ate out so much. bad bad combination, lol. I'll get more into depth on this stuff later ...
• NO MORE SODA. -- My man looooove soda. like, he drinks at least 2 cans a meal every day and a few in between if he's thirsty enough. It's practically all he drinks, especially if he can't find some kind of juice. So when i'm with him and we're at my house, i make it a point for him to drink more water because not only do i need to drink more water also, but i've avoided keeping soda in the house other than Pepsi for my Dad on days when he craves it. I either drink coffee, water or some kind of iced tea or low-sugared juice. Other than that, i've limited myself on any carbonated drinks unless it's Ginger Ale. Let me tell you what a HUGE difference it made for me!!! I don't feel bloated anymore and i actually feel lighter. And i pee more because of all the water and tea intake, so i feel more ... cleansed..? :) lol.
• Stairs and Walking -- i run around a lot at work so personally, i feel like i get a good amount of exercise at work that equals at least 60 minutes of walking at a leisurely pace. I also take the stairs again at work now -- i got lazy at some point and started taking the elevator from the 5th floor employee parking lot. Now i force myself to take the stairs both going down and going up at the end of the day. So be it. My legs will thank me for it later. ;) Plus it kind of wakes me up a bit and gives me a quick jolt of energy after a long and tiring day. :)
• Zumba! -- i have Zumba on my Wii and i forgot how much i love it. I've made it a point to do Zumba at least 2x a week when my puppies are having their morning playtime and given that i don't have work too early in the morning. 20-30 mins of Zumba has actually increased my feel-good factor! with a lifestyle like mine, i need a quick way to workout on work days when i can't go for a good run in the park with my puppies. Zumba is my key to staying active so i don't get lazy again ...

These little changes have made a huge difference for me. Now that my puppy has officially gotten all of his shots, i can take him and Keilani (my 5 year old Rotti) out for a run and not have to worry about him getting sick from anything. I've been waiting on that!! ;)

Stay Thick!
xoxo, Thick Chick

UPDATE :: July 2013 + future plans

Well well .. it's been more than a year since i posted anything up on here ... a lot has happened .. if any of you are loyal to my YouTube channel (LoveBLENDnBeauty), you know that i've been through a whirlwind of sh*t since last May 2012. As far as my personal health goes, it fluctuated on and off. I lost weight, gained weight, maintained weight, you name it. I was more focused on taking care of my mom more than anything after she was hospitalized in December 2012.

In June 2012, i got into a new relationship (still with him! hehe) -- we all know that people gain "happy weight" and i'm not even going to deny it, haha. I sure did gain a happy weight of at least 10-15 lbs -- which came and went over the past year. I think as of right now, I can definitely say that i've just maintaining where i've been, although i personally feel that i gained most of the weight back in my arms, slightly through my hips and that little lower pudge on my tummy. Hate it, hate it, hate it. You'll be hearing from me within the next week on what i'm gonna do about it because i'm feeling all kinds of sluggish these days.

I find myself being a little bit more lazy, out of sorts sometimes and just overall careless with my diet. After my mom was hospitalized 7 months ago and again in January 2012 a month after her first time, i just needed to take more control over things. I basically eat what she eats, but i have more than just one day of cheating now. ALL BAD. I still kept up with portion control, but it's what i'm eating that's effin me up.

Here's a current picture, taken today, just to be as updated as possible for you guys.

I'm embarrassed to show this, but this comes with the territory and of course, i have to be honest with you guys, lol.

As you can see, i have a significant amount of back fat, a slight pudge building around my lower abdomen. BLEGH.

This is what my stomach area looks like when it's flexing -- which is actually a good thing .. it means there's a good amount of muscle there, just a ton of pudge hanging around it. LOL. And in my experience and with knowing my body and how it reacts -- that pudge will be gone in less than 1-2 months of exercise and proper dieting again.

So here's where i'm at weight wise. Last time i weighed myself was June 27, 2013. I don't weigh myself often, but i weighed in at 177 and currently, I'm between a size 11-13. Last year, at my lowest weight, i was 165 and almost a size 9. I was super happy to be in single digits and no lie, it didn't take me much to get there. If you remember my last few blogs, all i did was a moderate work out 4-5x a week. These "workouts" consisted of 30 min cardio at the gym, followed with a Crunches circuit and light weights. For diet, i just switched out bad stuff for healthier alternatives and focused on portion control because my problem at the time was eating too much and i couldn't let go of fried food and snacks.

As of February-March 2012, i got super busy at work and workouts were less frequent -- mostly consisting of a run with my dog at the park and less time at the gym to focus on circuit training or weight lifting. As of April/May 2012, i was around 165 lbs, 20 lbs down from where i started in December 2011, where i was about 185 or so. I was almost a size 9 and that made me happy. And i could fit Mediums again! For a few months, all i did was play the maintain game. But late Summer to early Fall and then Holiday hit and my diet was screwed, haha.

So here we are -- gained almost 10+ lbs back. Most of it shows in my arms and my belly - hence the belly pictures. I think i'll show my arm pictures because you'll see a dramatic difference in both areas because that's where i gain most of it, aside from my thighs. Overall, I'm okay, but i just feel sluggish again. As for my diet .. it's so-so. It definitely needs to change again. I need more fresh veggies back in my diet, i need to start eating breakfast so i don't overdo it during lunch or dinner. I need to work out again because honestly, i just don't anymore. LOL. My workout consists of running around at work and taking the 5 flights of stairs back up to my car.

So here's my plan .. gonna work out at least 3x a week, even if it's a jog around the neighborhood with my dogs. I also have Zumba on my Wii, so anytime i can't make it out of the house or have work earlier in the day and i just need a quick workout, that's what i'll be doing.

As for diet, i'm gonna go back to eating fresher ingredients again. I was doing good not eating any fast food so i'm gonna cut that out again because Animal Style Fries just happen to get the best of me once in awhile. I realized that i need to drink more water. I also realized that i skip breakfast way too often and end up eating more at lunch and dinner because i'm starvin' Marvin by midday. I also need to stop with the chips. Goddamn chips. If there was one snack i couldn't get rid of, it was chips. I can still eat them .. i'll just need a healthier alternative. So i'm gonna have to revamp my snack stash again. Snacks are totally fine for you, in fact, i encourage them to keep your metabolism up. It's just matter of choosing the right ones. Gonna have to switch out that French Onion Dip for Hummus. :) lmao.

I'm gonna have to start off slow again .. small changes .. gotta get back into the groove. My main goal is just to get my energy up again because i'm feeling sluggish lately. As for "weight loss", i just need to tone back up and shave off some fat here and there and i'll be happy. My weight goal is to be back at 165, possibly even shave off more if i could. Knowing my body, the weight will do it's own work. I'm more concerned with how i actually feel and in turn, that goes with how i feel when i look at myself.

I hope all of you have been doing great and for those of you on any kind of fitness journey, i hope it's going well!

Stay Thick!
xoxo, Thick Chick

Mini Egg Frittata Muffins -- a healthier version!

So i finally decided to post something!! haha .. I know a lot of you were asking for an update on this blog -- it's been what, like a year?! Good lawd.

Anyway, i come bearing gifts. :) Some of you asked me for a recipe for this a long time ago and i never got a chance to post it! It's for these wonderful little egg muffins that are great for those of you on-the-go and for those of you who are looking for healthier recipes for your weight loss journey. These were lifesavers for me at some point .. and still are, i just haven't made them as often as i should, haha. Nevertheless, they're great and so easy to "customize" to your taste buds .. you can definitely get fancy here! I made one with tomato, basil and mozzarella cheese and it was amazeballs ... so don't be afraid to get creative here! This recipe is super basic, you can change any of the "filling" and do whatever you like, so long as you cook them properly and you have your egg base.

Mini Egg Frittata Muffins

What You'll Need:

• Vegetable(s) of your choice
• Meat of your choice
• Garlic, finely minced
• Onions, finely chopped
• EVOO
• Seasonings of your choice
• Cooking Spray
• Liquid Egg Substitute (i.e.: Egg Beaters)
• shredded cheese (optional)

Side Note(s):

• Vegetables and meat are totally up to you. i love using some kind of turkey sausage or kielbasa, personally. It adds a lot of great flavor from the natural juices in the spices that leak out when you're sauteing it. Spinach, Kale, Broccoli, or any kind of green veggie or bell peppers would be great combos to Ham, Bacon, Pancetta or Sausage. This specific recipe's combo is Zucchini and Crumbled Italian Turkey Sausage.
• As for seasonings, this is where you can get creative. Personally, my powerhouse is Salt & Pepper, Garlic Salt, Crushed Red Pepper (if i'm feeling fancy) and Paprika. But because this is supposed to be a healthier no-salt version (for my Mom's Diabetic and CKD diet), i used Ms. Dash's Garlic & Herb seasoning. Throw in some fresh herbs like parsley, basil, thyme, whatever you want, just to spruce it up!
• You are more than welcome to use Egg White substitute, it comes out just as great! Just add about maybe 3-5 mins of additional cooking time and don't expect them to be too fluffy ;) You can also use real eggs, just add 5 extra mins to the cooking time. :)

What To Do:

• Spray your muffin pan with your cooking spray and preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
• Heat up a saute pan with about 1 tbsp EVOO on Medium High heat. Saute your Onions and Garlic first until soft and/or aromatic.
• Add in your meat of choice just to warm it through. If you're using raw meat, wait until it's cooked at least halfway through before adding in your veggies.
• Add your veggies of choice, saute for at least 5-7 minutes. If you're using a veggie that requires a lot of cooking time, cook them al dente because they'll have an extra few mins in the oven to get softer. That way they don't get overcooked.

•  Add about 1/4 cup of your mixture to each "hole" :)

• Add your egg substitute to each cup until 3/4 of the way full, or a little more .. if you want extra fluffy muffins. :) Sprinkle some cheese if you'd like .. i used Soy Cheddar Cheese (it melts great and tastes great).

• Pop your muffins in the oven for 8-10 mins or until they puff up like so .. 

And voila!!

I like to store them in a tupperware after they've cooled down and i would say the serving size would be 2 muffins. These are prefect for a quick breakfast with some tea or coffee if you're always on the go, like me.

Love these little things ..

ENJOY!!

Stay Thick!
xoxo, Thick Chick