Breakfast... Then and Now

I am sure we can all think of our favorite breakfast foods.  You know the sweet, sticky, sometimes salty deliciousness that is oh so comforting, but just a total carb overload.  I don't love breakfast.  I think it is alright.  I know it is one of the most important meals of the day, so I always eat breakfast, but in a general sense if I have the option to indulge in breakfast foods or lunch foods I will choose the latter everytime.
Having said that I have a small obsession with one particular breakfast item.  It is a soft, warm, giant sticky caramel roll.  It is sent from heaven above.  It comes from a little shop in St. Cloud, MN called Mom's cinnamon rolls.  I used to them too often.  Now I only eat them at Christmas.  I woke up yesterday morning and all I could think of was this caramel roll.  Luckily I live over an hour from Mom's cinnamon rolls, so eating one wasn't an option.

Caramel roll goodness.

So, what did I do?  I made a sensible veggie omelet and accompanied it with some cherries and some peanut butter toast. It was just what I needed to start my day.  It had fruits, veggies, protein and a little carbohydrates.  

My delicious breakfast without the guilt!

My fiance the omelet maker :)

I then went to Zumba at Lifetime Fitness and proceeded to get my butt kicked in a very good way.  Proof is in the sweaty picture seen below.  I now live right by two Lifetime Fitness gyms so I have double the amount of group fitness classes to attend!  I went yesterday morning to Zumba with a new teacher Kristen who was so good.  She let some of the participants teach the class too, which was really fun.

It turns out it is hard to take a picture of yourself on your phone.  So sweaty and gross.  It feels good!

Happy Monday!  Tomorrow's post is all about lunches! :)

Also something to look forward to is my 100th post later this week which will feature a prize giveaway!

Winter Wonderland

Welcome to Winter in Minnesota 

 The view outside my house

 So much snow on the trees, my favorite!

I already tried to leave my house once to make it to the 10:15 Soul Grooves class and was NOT successful, but I really want to make it to 12:15 Zumba, so I am going to give it another go soon. 

Veteran's Day

Today I have the day off because it is Veteran's day.  I feel so thankful to have the freedoms that I have because of the veterans who have served and who continue to serve our country.  I know many people I work with are just happy to have the day off, but it is important to take a moment to be thankful for the reason that we have the day off of work.  So, thank you to all of the current and former soldiers who have served this country so that I could be safe and enjoy my freedom!

I spent the morning relaxing a bit and not cramming too much into my schedule.  I have woken up every day this week at 5 am to work out and I took this morning off to sleep in.  I actually slept until about 9:30 which is pretty late for me. 

I am going to clean my apartment, do some laundry, go to the grocery to get some new produce, cook dinner and go to Zumba!  I love this class and I don't always make it because it is at 4:30 and I work until 4:30 most days, but since I am off I will be able to make it to Zumba in time.

I think I am going to add some new items to my blog to spice things up and make sure that I am blogging regularly.  I am thinking of doing a Must-Have Monday which will include all things healthy related that I love and want to share with everyone.  I am going to also add Fashion Friday's because I love clothes and shopping and I think it is fun to talk about something else besides healthy eating and exercise.  Hope everyone will like the new topics.  I am still going to do Saturday Sessions because I think it is important to set goals every week to keep yourself interested and motivated during this journey.

It won't always be easy...

So, today I tried Zumba for the first time and I loved it!  I went right after work and felt amazing after I worked out.  I came home after work and thought about what to make for dinner.  I have been craving pasta all week, so I figured I would make a pomodoro pasta using the delicious tomatoes that I bought at the store the other day.  I also had about 2 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken leftover and some asparagus that I needed to use up.  I made a pasta dish incorporating all of these ingredients as well as garlic and onion.  I used whole grain spaghetti and portioned my noodles out to about 3/4 cup and topped it with about a cup of the sauce mixture (entire recipe is found in the new recipes tab at the top of the blog).

Delicious chicken and veggies simmering.

Hello portion control! It's nice to meet you, my name is Shannon lets be friends forever!

This was my plate.  Holy moly that is a lot of food.  More than I was planning on eating AND more than I did eat!  It was awesome to eat until I was full and not over-indulge. I saved almost half of it for lunch.

Okay, so you're probably wondering why this post is titled what it is if my day seemed so great right?  Well it was great, don't get me wrong, but I made this meal because it was healthy and because I was craving pasta and because I wanted to try and make something that both Ron and I could enjoy.  WELL, let's just say that my boyfriend is NOT a fan of this meal.  He hated the noodles and thought it was too much tomato.  So, what happens when he says this?  I start bawling like a total freak show.  He has been home for all of five minutes and I am now crying.  He looks at me and is like, "it's okay, I like it, i'll eat it, it's great."  I try to explain in between blubbering that it is not that he doesn't like it, it is just that this is HARD.  It is hard to tell my friends that I don't want to go get pizza for lunch today and sit at my desk alone and eat.  It is hard to come home from a long day at work and try to figure out a healthy option to make for yourself for dinner that your significant other can enjoy.  Ron is amazing and he told me that I was doing a great job and to keep going along and that he will try ANYTHING that I make.  He also said that he will always keep an open mind and that he supports what I am doing 100% and is open to the changes that I am making and willing to try and make some of them with me. 

So, not this isn't always easy, but so far it has been worth it.  I feel some of the changes already and am anticipating the ones that will come.  I know somedays I will not always be cheery about my commitment to eat healthy and some days I will want to just cry and that is okay.  It is okay so long as I keep going and that is what I am going to do. 

Gym Buddy

Good morning!  I am happy to announce that I have a new gym buddy!  It is my sister Claire and she is also trying to lose a little weight (not quite as much as me) and she invited me to a workout class last night.  We have done a couple of the classes before, but had never tried this class which is called the MIXX.  We were a little nervous walking in and when we got there the class had already started and it was packed and looked intense.  We both weren't sure that we were at that level yet, but were still determined to get a good exercise in, so we headed over to the machines and decided to workout on the ellipticals. 

Claire had never worked out on an elliptical before so I gave her the run down and we were on our way!  I recently had a personal training session and the guy I worked with said it is important to switch up your work outs for optimal weight loss.  He suggested working out on the elliptical or treadmill for 10-15 minutes, follwed by arm machines for 10 minutes, another 10-15 minutes of cardio of your choice, followed by abdominal machines.  Then you add another 10-15 minutes cardio and finish with the leg machines, crunches and push-ups.  It is a great work out and you leave feeling like you really accomplished something and the part that I love is that you get 45 minutes of cardio in without standing there and staring the clock down hoping for the time to end.

So, we have made a plan to work out together about 3 times a week and then to do our own thing when we have time or together if our schedules align.  We are going to do a mix of Zumba, Soul Grooves and Hip-Hop as well as the aboved work-out regimine sprinkled in there.  She is also taking a Spin class, but I am not sure that I am ready for that yet.  I will tackle this working out at least 4 days a week challenege and see how it goes!