Juices. And foods. (Obviously)

Mmmm. Tastes so good.

This week, in an effort to jumpstart some healthier eating and weight loss, I'm doing a psuedo-cleanse. It's "psuedo" because when I realized I didn't have a single week without work lunches or dinner plans in the foreseeable future, I decided to do a cleanse that involved juices combined with eating 1 sensible meal a day. #MakingItWork  This time around I'm trying a new brand for my juicing, Kaeng Raeng which I learned about through Lauren Conrad's blog. Kaeng Raeng is WAY cheaper than fresh juices, largely because it's powders (all the nutrition is HERE) which you blend into smoothies using fresh fruit, water, ice and/or non-dairy milk. If you're sticking to just cleansing (as opposed to my "psudeo" style) Kaeng Raeng also "allows" raw fruits, veggies and nuts in addition to your 3 smoothies. It's definitely the most friendly cleanse I've ever tried and because you make your own smoothies, you can dump in however much fresh fruit/water/almond milk it takes to enjoy the taste! I've only used strawberries, bananas and water so far and these shakes ain't too shabby. Just sayin'.

So now that I've talked about my 66.666% fruit and powder diet, I thought I'd also share some of the recipes I've been salivating over for the 33.333% of my day that I'm enjoying solid foods. Also, here's hoping that unlike last night's dinner out, tonight I manage to have the willpower to say no to wine!!

Chicken Pasta with Spinach and Artichoke. Pin it HERE, full recipe HERE.

I freaking love spaghetti squash and I LOVE making spaghetti squash "boats" stuffed with tasty ingredients. Click HERE for 9 stuffed squash recipes or Pin it HERE.

Quinoa Quesadillas with black beans and sweet potato. Yum. Pin it HERE, full recipe HERE.

Avocado Pasta. Tastes creamy, but is actually healthy? I'm in!! Pin it HERE, full recipe HERE.

Weighing In...

Hmm...

Because we have a little trust-tree here and honesty is always the best policy, I thought I'd talk today about a current personal struggle... Recently, I have been struggling with my weight. 

As frequent readers of the blog know, I try to prioritize a healthy lifestyle while nevertheless enjoying the "finer things" (like cheese... and carbs... and vodka). Unfortunately, for the past few months, my ability to practice mindful eating seems to have evaporated and the number on the scale is (way) up. I see the change in my face and in the way my clothing fits and it's something I think about every time I look in the mirror. And though I've enjoyed every bite of the decisions that got me here (cookies anyone?), my predisposition for being overweight, a noticeably slowing metabolism (helllooo 30!) and how generally lousy I'm feeling mean I've got to address this. But how? 

Maybe because work has been so consuming or because I've been traveling more than ever (or because nachos taste so damn good), self-control and discipline have been really difficult to muster lately. I feel stuck and lacking in confidence and I don't like it one bit! And though I don't have a solution right now, or even anything peppy to say about this "weighty" situation (never too bummed for a good pun) I thought it was important to say out loud. Maybe for accountability, maybe so other ladies out there feeling the same way know they aren't alone... I'm not sure. But that's where I'm at and I'm hoping to find the motivation to make a change really soon. 

Pesky Pounds Challenge - Update 1(ish)

That sounds about right.

Hey there friends and welcome to the first update of Seek to be Merry's Pesky Pounds Challenge. As a reminder, over the next several weeks, I am going to share tips for weight loss, factoids to encourage healthier living and recipes focused on cutting out the naughty stuff while also disclosing how much weight I've lost since the week prior (and I'm calling all STBM readers to turn this into a community event and do the same in the comments section below!).

Full disclosure: It's actually been two weeks since I issued this challenge so I'm a whole week overdue to share my weight loss number. Between travelling, snow storms, the Olympics and Valentine's day, a Pesky Pounds post slipped my mind... What did not get forgotten however was my weigh-in and after 2 whole weeks of effort I have lost (drum roll please....) NOTHING. Zero pounds. Now keep in mind, I haven't gained so much as an ounce either (which is somewhat praiseworthy given the weekend eat-a-thons I've been participating in) but considering I'm 1 week from a half marathon and I have been "trying", I thought for sure I'd be doing better. So what can we do now..?

Keep at it!!! My experience in the past two weeks has taught me that I'm going to have to do more than maintain my status quo if I want to lose weight. Even if I'm "good" 80% of the time, I need to say no when indulgences arise because that 20% is a doozy (2am box of mac cheese anyone?!) How much have you lost these past two weeks? Have you learned anything in the process?

And speaking of learning...

* Do you know about Hungry Girl!? Hungry Girl is one of my most favorite resources for healthy recipes and one of the few daily emails I don't mind filling my inbox. 

* Listen to or read this interesting post on 2-day mini fasts and how they can aid with weight loss. Would you ever consider it?

* THIS is a very dedicated trainer (he gained weight to better empathize with clients!)

* In pop culture weight loss news, this season's Biggest Loser winner (I don't watch, but the news was hard to miss, even making the cover or my Us Weekly this week) lost over 150 pounds during the competition and at the reveal looked "too thin" according to many. Read THIS and decide for yourself if she went too far.

* Lastly, the key to a good workout is often a great soundtrack. Click HERE for 12 Pandora stations sure to get your heart pumping!

Healthy Habit of the Month

Learning to love my fruits and veggies

Recently my bffs over at Weight Watchers shared a new way of thinking about eating right. When their researchers discovered that we are straight up hard-wired to crave junky foods (read about the brain scan research HERE) they deduced that we cannot rely on willpower alone because our brains are programmed to be like "gimme the pizza dammit" and no amount of willpower can control that sort of Jedi mind control. Apparently, in addition to a strong resolve to eat better, we've got to build habits and environments which help us defeat these chemical reactions. Sounds exhausting right?

Well, since everyone I know is looking for ways to be healthier and look skinnier (<-- let's call it what it is people) I thought perhaps together we could attempt to integrate one new healthy habit into our lives each month.* One small change we'll test out together and see how it feels. Ready?! Here goes:

Healthy Habit of the Month #1: Add a fruit or veggie to every meal.
Maybe this isn't a change for you. Maybe you're all "ohmygod how unhealthy is this girl that she isn't eating a fruit/veg at every meal?" Well, I'm not, so I'm gonna try it, the theory being that 1) fruits and veggies are super healthy 2) if you round out every meal with fruit/veg, you'll get and stay satisfied for longer. So if you usually have yogurt for breakfast, add a banana. If lunch is soup and a half sandwich, add some baby carrots or an apple... you get the idea. I'm really curious to see how I do with this challenge since I'm definitely NOT a huge fan of fruits and veggies... I am, however, a fan of feeling full, so maybe, just maybe, it can work. Good luck!

*Note: Sometimes the healthy habit will be Weight Watchers suggested, other times I'm gonna think it up myself. It's like I'm paying your WW membership for you. You're welcome:)

Where the curvy girls at!?

curves for days

Last night, as I sat contemplating the loss of those pesky extra pounds I brought home from Europe, I joked that maybe instead of trying to lose weight, I should usher in a new era of the feminine form, or rather, bring back a version of the female body we used to admire. "I want to look like those sculptures we saw everywhere. I think I'm just gonna embrace some soft curves and round edges... those babes looked smokin!" Dr. H laughed and ever the ass-man, seemed pleased with my plan, but he commented that to fill out like those ladies, I'd probably need to gain at least 20 or 40 pounds.

"Yes, my thighs touch.
You got a problem with that!?"

What happened? How did we get from nude babes with bellies and soft hips to size zero? Apparently I was born in the wrong century... I mean, if Aphrodite, Goddess of Love could have a little pooch under her belly button, why can't I!?

a little something to squeeze was
apparently how she wanted love to be

I'm not in a place to dissect the evolution of the female form, nor do I care to comment on the fashion industry and its use of emaciated models (I just did?) but I would like to remind all my lady friends out there that curvy and soft is beautiful. So beautiful that Europe has whole sculpture gardens full of it (I know, I was there). Maybe this isn't considered the "ideal" female form any longer, but it's still a form of beauty and I say if you got it, flaunt it (maybe the key is to be naked more?!) Somebody get me a second serving of pasta please.

work those curves girl