20 Pounds!

20 Pounds!

So I know my hubby is so private about it, but since I am so proud of and amazed by him I have to share it... He has lost 20 pounds since starting at the gym last month and being a little more health-conscious of what he eats! If you guys see him often, maybe you won't notice the difference very much, but if you really pay attention or you haven't seen him for a while then you can definitely see his face has slimmed down. I've noticed a happier guy with a little more energy than in past years. He is also fighting the cravings to eat bad foods late at night and really any bad foods at all! I know that I have slipped a few times with the chocolates and all and even though Daniel is tempted to join me, he just says no. It's very inspiring... I want to be more like him.

So I finally got a gym pass as a gift from Daniel. (Thanks, boo!) If you know me well, you know I've been wanting this since like.. ever!

I try to take pictures of every meal just to keep a record somehow, but I never upload the photos immediately. I like to upload them all together at the end of a week or so like I have been doing. I just feel it's more convenient.

Greek Yogurt. I've been loving this stuff. I bought the Fage All Natural Nonfat Greek Strained Yogurt in a 35.5 oz tub for about $8. I didn't taste great alone and I ended up putting a lot of fruit and cinnamon and honey in it to make it taste better. But I went through it pretty quickly and for $8, it seems a little pricey for us. Then I ran into another kind of Greek yogurt at WinCo called Zoi. It was also 35 oz but only $2.99! Ya, it was a little hard to believe so I turned the container around and compared it to the Fage...

Fage- serving size 1 cup, 130 calories, 9g sugar, 23g protein. Woah, nice!
Zoi- serving size 1 cup, 220 calories, 23g sugar, 11g protein. Big difference.

Also, the Zoi is vanilla flavored and it just tastes like dessert! I love it, but it's not the healthier choice and like any dessert I just eat it tooooo fast! Zoi is way too much sugar and way not enough protein to justify eating it! Maybe I will save it as a health(ier) option than cookies and ice cream and chocolate for dessert.... IIIFFF we have dessert :)

Another good dessert I've tried is pink chocolate drizzled popcorn. It is the SmartPop popcorn which is a pretty common indulgence for any diet cuz it's so low cal and it conquers those cravings. And I added just a little chocolate over the top of it so I could get my chocolate fix. The amount of chocolate I drizzle only adds about 50 calories for the entire bag of popcorn so I just don't feel so bad about it. I am planning on making them for favors for Ariana's second birthday party!



Oh ya, I am planning a menu for her party that is totally health-conscious. I know a lot of my family and the people around me that I care about and support on their journeys to living healthier will be at the party and I don't want to kill their diet efforts that day. I know personally that birthday party food just tempts me so bad and I nearly always succumb to all the cupcakes and pizza and ice cream and just feel awful after. And I would feel awful to do that to the people I love. So I am making every effort to serve healthy, colorful, yummy, and also some vegetarian options at her party. And I will do everything in my power to not use styrofoam, paper plates, paper cups, or any other unnecessary waste to add to the growing landfills around us. Guess who will be doing dishes for the rest of the day afterwards?! Lol... I will do whatever I can to make even the smallest difference if I can.

Enough with the HFCS and gelatin! Now THIS is what I call a fruit snack! And my daughter loves it… Score! And look at those colors – eat your rainbow, guys…

We love this pilaf rice. It’s super cheap, super easy to make, super tasty, and a good carb and grain to add to a meal. It’s 89 cents for a box which feeds all three of us for one meal. I served it here with some steamed fresh broccoli (Ariana and Daniel’s favorite vegetable AND half as expensive as the pre-packaged stuff) and boneless skinless chicken breast with the “savory” herbs and spices from the spice rack that Holly gave me two Christmases ago :) And instead of regular water, I added some fresh lemon and strawberry slices to make some sort of a strawberry lemonade flavor for a change. Ariana liked scooping out the strawberries. Aaaand some tea candles for a pre-Valentine's Day romantic feel :)

Today we had a nice lunch when Daddy came home from work. We had a fresh garden salad with capers and light balsamic vinaigrette and unsalted croutons (the special ingredient to make Daniel eat more salad hehehe…) I steamed some fresh carrots and sautéed tilapia in onions, capers, and an olive oil/balsamic vinegar/teriyaki sauce. Daniel doesn’t usually like onions so I try to find clever ways to sneak them in like chopping them up really small, adding them to a sauce, or sautéing them several minutes in the pan before adding the fish/meat to take the edge off the strong taste. I just love cooking with them and the flavor they give, even though Ariana laughs at me when I use goggles to cut them up :/

Diet and Exercise - Duh!

It's not a mystery... Diet and exercise are the keys to losing weight, looking great, getting healthy, and feeling energized! Take care of your bodies! You've only got one to last you your whole life.

We have been making an effort to get healthier (as always.) We never paid close attention to counting calories, etc., but now we are because it really hit us hard to see the calories burn so slowly on the gym equipment. It's like, I just ate a bowl of ice cream that I probably could have done without. That's easily 300 calories (with my mama bear portions) and that's equivalent to an hour on the bike or 30 min on the elliptical. Uhh, so not worth it! And say I have a 100-150 calorie snack right now. I can have 11 doritos or a huge bowl of watermelon. Which do I prefer? What is better for me? And what will make me full until the next meal time? I just always want to eat a lot... Maybe that's just me haha! So I eat good sized portions of low calorie fruits and veggies. And the sweet tooth gets conquered - YES!

We have also been thinking about our time. Time is a very valuable thing to us right now. Time is ticking and our daughter is growing up. We are maturing as a young family and don't wanna miss a beat together. Daniel, Ariana, and I spend as much time together as possible so to overeat means more time at the gym and less time with family. Very quickly it becomes not worth it to make poor food choices. Poor food choices get in the way of family time, stress-free living, and reaching our goals. And when it comes to reaching our goals, the sooner the better, right?!

And currently we both have gym memberships to 24 hour fitness. We have been going almost every day, with the exception of 1 or 2 rest days a week. I will usually take a turbo kick box or zumba class and then elliptical til I burn 300 calories and use some other machines while Daniel watches Ariana at home or walks around Lakewood mall right there (love the location!) Then it's my turn with the baby and Daniel hits the gym hard. I am so happy that we are taking turns to each have our own time with the baby and that we are both getting the opportunity to exercise regularly. What a perfect way this has been working out! I know that using our time this way is going to be beneficial for all of us in the long run so even though I do miss the one-on-one time with Daniel, this is worth it. I love the support I get from him and I return it back to him as well. And as an added perk, sometimes the Abuelitos watch Ariana and we can work out together! (Seeing my hubby lifting weights... HOTTT! And motivating! Hahahah) Sooo I am going on my 3rd week and Daniel is going on month 2! So far so good. I love it! This is a new lifestyle that I am SO ready for!!!

These have been some of our meals lately.......

Greek yogurt! So I know I'm a little late on this discovery, but whatever, I love it. I like it with cinnamon and grapes or with a little honey and bananas! Delish! Super high in protein (great to rebuild after a workout) and super low in calories (which is always good.) And of course, the fruits are some added vitamins and color to my bowl!

I cook our breakfast eggs with one yolk and the rest egg whites.

Lentil soup left over from dinner last night with a little bit of cheese.

And lots of fruits, lots of veggies, lots of GREEN! Thank goodness broccoli is my hubs and baby's FAV veggie!




Tilaaapia! Gotta love it. No need to force anyone to eat it, it's already a hit!



Carbs! Great about an hour before the workout. They help me get through and not crash. I feel sustained with energy. (Reminds me of Coach Shan telling us to eat pasta for dinner the night before a meet! I guess she knew what she was talking about!) And I tried this new thing I saw on Pinterest. Spaghetti THROUGH sausages when they're raw, and then cook them like regular. Crazy, huh? Apparently the whole world has already seen this, but I just did so I tried it and got a great response from the crowd :)





^Look at those eyes :)


Happy eating and exercising everyone! Hit us up! We love work out buddies :)