Baked Autumn Harvest Oatmeal

Every morning I rely on my breakfast staple of choice: a warm bowl of oatmeal! Oatmeal is an incredible breakfast option this whole grain option has a high fiber content that will keep you full for hours and prevent a mid-morning snack attack!  When most of my clients think about oatmeal, the thought of sugar-laden packets of instant oatmeal immediately come to mind.  I resort to a big tub of plain oats and flavor my oatmeal with seasonal favorites, such as the pumpkin that I used in this recipe in order to provide a rich and hearty flavor that doesn’t resort on sugar! 

                I add a few non-traditional items, including ground flax seed meal, wheat germ, and bee pollen, to my morning bowl of oatmeal.  Flax seeds are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, are high in both soluble and insoluble fiber, and contain many antioxidants.  Due to their hard coating, flax seeds must be consumed in ground form in order to obtain their many health benefits.  If you are having trouble “going number two”, add a tablespoon or two to your oatmeal and I am sure that your intestinal regularity will improve!  Try flaxseeds in a small dosage first and gradually build your way up, making sure you have a bathroom readily available just in case!  Nutritionally, wheat germ is a power house and is fortified with many vitamins and minerals, including vitamin E, folic acid, zinc, magnesium, and essential omega-3 fatty acids.  Vitamin E is a great antioxidant that helps improve your skin and has many anti-aging properties.  Wheat germ also improves your overall metabolism by allowing our body to balance our hormones, especially during times of stress (such as lifting weights).  Bee pollen contains nearly every nutrient required by the human body and is rich in protein (18 amino acids), vitamins, and minerals.  Bee pollen also exhibits antibacterial and anti-vital properties.  It also contains many important enzymes such as Phenylalanine (an appetite suppressant) and Lecitin (dissolves fat in the body).  Since many of the enzymes found in bee pollen work best at cooler temperatures, it is best to sprinkle them on top of your oatmeal.

“Baked” Autumn Harvest Oatmeal

-          1/3 cup oatmeal prepared with water

-          1 tbsp ground flax seed meal

-          1 tbsp wheat germ

-          1 tsp bee pollen

-          1 egg white

-          ½  tbsp natural almond butter

-          1 tbsp organic raisins

-          2 tbsps organic pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

-          Cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice (to taste)

-          ½ packet Truvia (to taste)

Measure out your oatmeal, flaxseed, and wheat germ and place them in a microwave-safe bowl.  Add one egg white to the mixture, along with your raisins, pumpkin, and spices.  Cook for 2 minutes and 30 seconds until oatmeal has a “baked” texture (it will look like a small cake in your bowl).  Sprinkle bee pollen and Truvia on top of the oatmeal.  I also drizzle 1/2 tbsp natural almond butter that I have melted in a small container its own to the top of my oatmeal.   

Find Your Motivation

 

Your motivation must absolutely 100% come from a place deep within yourself!  You cannot start your fitness journey solely for someone else.  You cannot do it because your boyfriend told you that he likes a toned woman with tight glutes.  You cannot do it because your best friend told you to put down the cupcakes and stop feeling sorry for yourself!  Your mother can nag you all she wants to about you no longer fitting into your jeans like you used to.  But regardless of our motivations for change, if your motivations revolve around anyone other than yourself, it is not going to work in the long run!  You can easily set yourself up on a roller coaster of emotions and moods if you rely on other people to provide a constant supply of motivation and support for your own fitness journey.  You are responsible for yourself and for your happiness.  No one else in this world will invest as much into yourself as you are capable of doing in order to be successful. 

Today, ask yourself the true reason why you would like to start a successful fitness journey.  If your motivation involves trying to live up to the expectations of others, I encourage you to dig deeper and discover in which areas in your life are lacking.  Do you feel like you fit in your own skin?  Are you happy with who you are?  Uncover your true intentions for why this change is necessary in your life and what you are genuinely going to put forth 100% of your effort to accomplish.  Successful people know what they want to achieve in this world for themselves and have a clear understanding of what drives them to change!

Worth the Pain...

Somewhere along mile 17 of the Walt Disney Marathon, my quads started screaming.  This was my second time running the race, so I expected to be hurting but not this soon.  Just. Keep. Going. I'll be fine.  That's what I kept telling myself. 

You end up having many conversations with yourself during that 26.2 miles- mostly about pain.  Even the slightest twinge prompts thoughts like "Is this normal? Should I stop?  Why am I doing this?" But rather than fear the pain, I decided to just accept it.  Other runners along the course inspired me.  The back of their Tshirts had great inspirational messages.  I thought about my family, friends, my clients, my boyfriend, my coaches....all of them cheering me on silently in the back of my head.  I saw the smiles of the on lookers and their encouraging signs as I passed by.  When Im having a tough workout and am tempted to ease up, I tell myself that it's going to hurt no matter what, whether I go all out now or hold back.  So I might as well give it everything Ive got!  I'll feel stronger and more accomplished afterward. 

Dont hold back! Fight Fight Fight! I powered through the thigh cramping and ecstatically I crossed the finish line.  I finished a half marathon in San Franscico with a time of three hours and twelve minutes in October 2008.  This time, I finished the full marathon in just under five hours...four hours and forty-six minutes.  It was truly one of the most satisfying steps Ive ever taken, probably because I knew that the mental strength and perseverance it takes to overcome physical pain during a race or intense workout is the same fortitude that will propel me through any of life's tough challenges.  Isnt that what we're all training our minds and bodies for?

Oh for the love of carbs!

One thing that I havent mentioned yet, is that I work 60 hours or more per week.  Other than spending time at the gym training clients, I also hold a full time typical office position job as a Human Resources Assistant at a nursing home.  Though a personal trainer is most certain a profession and something that I consider a career, most people do not take this position seriously, which really bothers me.  The thought of sitting at a desk all day does not enthrall me and I cannot imagine living this type of life in the long run.  However, I incorporate my love of training into my office job as well. 

Even after waking up this morning at 445am and training clients bright and early at the gym, I headed to the office...in my gym clothes!  Its one thing to push my clients in a gym setting.  Its an entirely different story to bring a fun way of exercising to the elderly who are bound to wheelchairs.  Fitness comes in many forms at every age and its a beautiful thing.  It brings the same joy to anyone who experiences a great workout.  The disco music was on and the arms were swinging away!  It was fantastic.  I am so happy inside when I noticed one resident who scooted in so fast because he was late and didnt want to miss any of the workout after his rehab session was finished for the morning.  That was the highlight of my morning. 

Everyone is so supportive of my marathon endeavor this weekend in Walt Disney World for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training.  Today is my last day of work at the nursing home and the gym before I leave bright and early in the morning.  The eat-clean journey will continue there as well, and I have a lot of grocery shopping and packing to do tonight.  Gotta bring my vacation staples: portable blender, instant oatmeal, protein powder, bars, almonds, peanut butter, rice cakes, and fruit!  I am most certainly going to be prepared.  I am thinking about even toting around a container of whole wheat pasta with me as my pre-carb meal before the race.  I am slowly adding carbohydrates into my diet today (in the form of apple cinnamon rice cakes) in order to prepare.  I cannot wait to go and meet some fun people and challenge myself with both the marathon and the diet.  It should be interesting and quite frankly, Im nervous as hell! 

In terms of eating today...same old protein shake, oats, and egg whites for breakfast.  I made a salty chocolate caramel baked oatmeal today with oats, chocolate protein, sf caramel syrup, and a little bit of sea salt sprinkled on top!  Freaking bombtastic!  As for my snacks (Im sure you already guessed)...protein pancakes x2!  Lunch was another salad with 3oz lean turkey, goat cheese, craisins, and light balsamic dressing!  AND I ADDED CARBS!  YAY for rice cakes :)  Apple cinnamon rice cakes are fantastic! :)       

 

I can tell that it's the New Year!

There is nothing more rewarding in life than pushing youself to the absolute extreme and reaping the fabulous rewards of a job well done.  When you are mentally and phsysically pushing youself beyond your limits, there is nothing better than proving yourself wrong.  I remember being so shy and timid in all walks of life.  I was always so concerned with what everyone else was thinking and my self-esteem was not at its best.  It is the greatest feeling when you do not think you can do something and then you prove yourself wrong.  I always do this in the weight room, and this is why my self-esteem and confidence is so much better than it used to be.  That is exactly how my lift was...

I am still doing a carb-cycle and am on a pretty low carb diet in comparison to the load I just finished.  I consumed about 50gms of carbs prior to getting to the gym at 4pm to train my clients and being up since 6am.  I was pretty tired and relying on caffeine to get me through the day!  Thank God for Oxyelite! :)  For breakfast I had 1/3 of a cup of oats with pumpkin pie filling, cloves, cinnamon, and Truvia.  As for the protein...5 egg whites!  Both of my snacks were low-carb protein pancakes with sugar free syrup!  Lunch: a spinach salad with 3oz turkey, 2 tbsp of hummus, 2 tbsp salsa, 1 slice of ff cheese, and a little bit of hot sauce.  I was going hardcore without the dressing that I would normally put on there.  I snacked on some almonds before I had to teach class at night at the gym.  Those 100 calorie packs are amazing!  I cannot decide which flavor I like better, the dark chocolate or the cinnamon!  So good!  They are such a great convenient snack to have and it always conquers my craving for sweet foods! 

Before I even began teaching, I was already pretty sluggish but I felt great having the opportunity to influence the lives of others in a group fitness setting.  Besides my usual participants, it was great to see new faces due to the increase of gym memberships we have had since the first of the year.  My class was almost double what it usually is for Stability Ball and there were even more people there for Chisel.  I love teaching when the room is bumpin and packed!  No matter how tired I am, the amount of energy that I can feel is enough to pump me up for a great workout!  I love interacting with people and making the workout fun!  There is nothing better than that!  Chisel was a scorther and I was really feeling it throughout the class- the music, the sweat, the burn! There is nothing like it! 

Once class was over, I hit the weights for leg day!  I figured that I mine as well do it up now before they cannot recover in time for my marathon this weekend.  At this point, I had just taught for an hour and a half and was on so little carbs.  I grabbed my straps, wrapped the bar, and deadlifted my face off...135lbs for three sets of ten on the bench.  Overlooking the rest of the gym way up there when it was packed and not giving a hoot about being up there, that was a great way to start my workout.  On to the Smith machine!  Bring it baby!  Lunges with my ultimate personal best lunge weight in that bad boy!  180lbs for three sets of ten each leg.  Finish her with extensions and seated hamstring curls!  They were wiped out clean!  OuCH!

There is nothing like having a trainer who supports you and what you believe in 100%.  Patrick went out and bought me eggs for a low carb dinner at his place when I finished up at the gym.  4 egg whites and 1.5oz of turkey with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese for dinner!  Yummy! I got home at almost 1130pm and rather than just go to sleep, I prepared three meals for the next day and packed up my gym clothes.  Just another day in the life.  Thats how this story goes.  No excuses.  When you want something you just have to do it, end of story!  With all the homemade cookie bars and a fridge full of food already cooked, I know I could have just grabbed anything that I wanted to eat and not have gone through the hassle of cooking again.  That would be too easy.  I am determined to do this for me, and for you!  Another batch of protein pancakes with a half tbsp of natural peanut butter finished off my day...and that was that! 

1386 calories, 178g protein, 70g carb, and 34g fat


Surround yourself with people who make you happy.  People who will make you laugh, who help you when you're in need.  People who would never take advantge of you.  People who genuinely care.  They are the ones worth keeping in your life.  Everyone else is just passing through.

Does Food Really Make Me Miserable?

I am already well aware that my relationship is a little bit off when it comes to food. I think about it all day long: what to eat, what not to eat, when I can eat, how much I can eat, how I can get exactly what I want to eat, and if I should eat at all.  Sometimes I eat a lot of food...more than I think any normal person can possibly fit in their belly.  Sometimes I hide food under my bed, in the trunk of my car, in my desk drawer.  I dont want my family, friends, or boyfriend, to know what I really eat or how much of it sometimes.  I am pretty sure I can consume an entire box of cereal, a pint of ice cream, a jar of peanut butter, and then hide the containers deep in the trash so that no one will know it was me who finished them off.  I will only do this when I am alone because I cant stand the thought of someone wathing me do something as shamefull as this.  It has gotten as bad as to making excuses to not hang out with people so that I could go home or drive around on the hunt for food by myself.  I have tried to make myself throw up after a really big binge before or fasted to make up for it and promised myself to never do it again. 

I know that I am eating for psychological reasons, rather than from hunger.  This emotional attachment to food and my food obsession has caused enough pain and problems in my life, and quite frankly, I deserve better.  I am ready to start and this is the year I am going to conquer it.  I watched an amazing documentary last night called "The Secret" and it was absolutely mind-blowing.  Rather than focusing on the negatives when it comes to what I want, I have to focus on what I do want.  My positive energy will allow the universe to let what I want to happen occur.  If I think I am healthy and I am not a binge eater, rather than focusing on my "problem" and the negative influences it has on my life, I will begin to feel healthy and normal about food even though the problem is not completely gone.  It is all about visualization.  I cannot wait to put this practice into life for everything.  My thoughs will attract everything into my life that I am wanting and hoping for, if only I truly believe that it will come true. 

With every meal, every lift, every action I take, I visualize being a successful figure athelete and inspiring trainer.  I ate completely clean again and stayed away from as many artificial sweeteners as possible.  I was running late, so my breakfast was a typical bowl of oats and a scoop of protein powder.  I added a little bit of natural peanut butter for satiety because I knew I would not be able to munch on things between clients at the gym.  As soon as I got to the nursing home and sat down at my desk, I enjoyed a batch of homemade protein pancakes (and again later before I left work as a snack).  I had a fantastic lunch- a bun-less hamburger salad.  I used lean ground turkey (3oz), sf ketchup, mustard, and a pickle cut up on field greens.  Since it was a low carb day, I didnt have any rice cakes or other sources of carbs with my lunch.  In between training clients and orienting a new trainer, I munched on a pack of 100 calorie dark chocolate cocoa dusted almonds as a sweet treat!  Patrick suprised me and lifted with me after work.  Lifting with him is not just about getting bigger muscles in my off season, but making me a better person.  He asks me about my meal plan, how I think I look, if I am hungry.  We laugh when I fall off the bar doing pull ups.  We yell at each other to "Work" and "Squeeze" and "Do one more rep".  I close my eyes and visualize my muscles working.  I see myself in a figure suit with all of my hard work on display for the world to see.  I repeat the his words and the words of my bodybuilding heros in my head..."I lift things up, I put them down".  I sike myself up with music.  I get in the game and I go hard.  Thats what beast mode is all about. 

Once I got home from the gym it was almost nine pm and a quick dinner was being called for.  Shrimp, goat cheese, and light balsamic on field greens seemed great to me.  Night time is always the hardest for me and all I wanted was something sweet.  Gotta love sugar free jello with light Reddi-whip for that!  That is always good in a pinch.  I knew i would be up for a couple more hours watching that movie, so I prepared a little dish of low carb "ice cream" with Greek yogurt, almond milk, and a half scoop of protein in the blender.  It was great to not feel quilty eating that in my bed other than bowls of cereal or cookies that I have hidden under my pillow.  I am ready for this, I can feel it. 

A New Year...

I am dedicating this next year to every young woman who has ever hated her body and felt out of control about food.  Keep moving forward and you can live a life thats happy, healthy, and free!

Here is the simple truth....I struggle with dieting, starving, and bingeing in secret.  For the lasy five years I thought that I had a willpower problem  and I kept my eating disorder to myself.  Binge eating is more common than any other eating disorder like anorexia or bulimia, but it is talked about the least.  That is part of the reason why I am so excited to share this journey with you and share how I truly feel about food, exercise, and living a healthy life.  My binge eating disorder started as a teen and I am in the process of triumphing over my binge eating problem.  I hope over this year my story inspires you and gives you hope that recovery from binge eating is possible.  The obsession with weight in this country is only making this worse, rather than better.  Eating disorders of all kinds are on the rise and affecting girls of younger and younger ages.  It is a horrible world to be trapped in- despising your body and struggling with issues with food.  I am caught in an out of control cycle of bingeing and dieting, and I am sharing my journey with you.  This is my beginning of a life free from body hate and food obsession.

I love to eat, I always have, and always will.  I am a member of the Clean Plate Club.  I will chow down every last bit of whatever is put in front of me and usually can ask for more.  There is nothing wrong with cleaning your plate...but food went from something fun, yummy, and nourishing, to something that made me absolutely miserable.  Bingeing distracted me from my fear, hurt, anger and I found myself sneaking around the house in the middle of the night, creating crazy food concoctions.  I hid the evidence wrappers deep in the garbage cans.  I would go to numerous drive thrus in one night, browse through the isles at supermarkets, and hide in bathrooms...eating whatever I could get my hands on.  I would wake up the next morning with puffy eyes, heartburn.  I felt so guilty, fat, and disgusted with myself. 

As much as I hated what I was doing with food, I just could not stop.  I wished someone could tell me why I could not stop eating so much.  Though I have never been what most people would consider "fat", I hated the constant cycle of growing out of my jeans size by size as the pounds went on.  I always thought I was fat...and that meant disgusting, ugly, and weak.  My life became a cycle of out of control bingeing, guilt, dieting, and total self-hate that lasted for years.  I thought about food, weight, and my body constantly.  What should I eat?  What shouldnt I eat?  When can I eat again?  How can I sneak this food into my room so my family will not see?  Why am I so fat and ugly?  Why can't I just STOP EATING?!?!  I felt like I was going insane.  I didn't know it at the time, but for five years I have had an eating disorder.  I was not just a pig or a freak, but a binge eater. 

Here is me beating my disorder...This is not just about what I put in my mouth.  It is about living a healthy lifestyle and being honest with myself, as well as you.  It is a great feeling to be taking control of my life and being honest about my feelings with food, my workouts, and being healthy. 

This morning, I woke up in Patrick's bed after our New Year's celebration last night and of course, the first thing I thought about was food!  I got completed naked and stepped on Patrick's scale.  I have seen a number that I havent seen in a very very long time (138.75lbs).  When I competed in April and was 104lbs on stage, I think about gaining over 30lbs and it makes me so disappointed in myself.  This negative attitude only keeps me in the shadow of my eating disorder.  After showering and taking a fat burner (OxyElite Pro), I made a healthy breakfast of five egg whites and 1/3 cup of oats with cinnamon and a little bit of sugar free maple syrup.  I think half of my problem is I replace all of my sugars with artificial garbage like Splenda and Equal....and that makes my cravings even worse.  Patrick was eating some sugary cereal but he commented on how great my breakfast was and I felt great starting my morning on the right foot!  Too bad I didnt have my flaxseeds!

Before hitting the gym to do a chest workout with him, I got a call from my director at Best Fitness and he told me that I was doing a television interview at the gym today about new year's resolutions and sticking to them.  The topic was DONUT...Do One New Unique Thing!  I really liked this idea and I met with the reporter for a few minutes after my workout.  I was so excited to be starting the new year out this way and having a chance to reach out to so many people.  Patrick was so supportive and nice about watching me in this interview and I am so lucky to have him!  He even ended up in the video too with me training him on the TRX.  We started the new year as movie stars!  Rock on!  Before the interview, Patrick and I trained chest!  That kid really beats me up.  I could not believe I was throwing up 45lbs dumbbells for chest press for 12-15 reps a piece.  I knew all of the carbs I have been eating during the holidays were good for something!  The workout was amazing and I left feeling exhausted.  I made a great post workout shake with 1/2 of a banana, almond milk, water, ice, and 1 scoop of chocolate peanut butter protein.  I also had a rice cake with sugar free peach jelly before running back to the gym for the interview. 

After the interview, Patrick wanted to cook up some seafood for dinner and we chose fresh Alaskan salmon from Wegmans along with a side salad.  I snacked on some almonds before we starting cooking so that I would not be starving.  We had a great time cooking together and the dinner was fantastic.  We coated the salmon with crushed walnuts and cinnamon before pan searing them.  The salads had goat cheese, craisins, walnuts, and light balsamic dressing.  Talk about a great healthy dinner! 

As soon as I got home, I was craving something sweet so I had a cocopop with sf jelly on it, along with some Arctic Chill ice cream.  Arctic Chill is a great substitution for ice cream when I want something clean.  It is made out of whey protein and all natural ingredients.  With only 37 calories in a half cup serving, you cant go wrong!  The vanilla maple flavor was pretty decent and I topped it with two strawberries.  Im just about to go to bed and I need to make some protein pancakes!  They are my favorite recipe of all time and so easy to make!  Two egg whites, 2 tbsp cottage cheese, and 1 scoop of protein!  Maybe I will top it with a little bit of peanut butter too :)

I cannot wait to share my clean eating experiences with you this year!  I can do this!

Daily Totals: 1294 calories, 114g protein, 95g carbs, 46g fat