Alexngabby's Blog

new diet

alexngabby — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 17:36:56 +0000

It has been a little while since I’ve been on here. I’ve been a little busy with the kiddos.

I started a new diet this morning. Right now I weigh 137.5 lbs, and with the help of my new diet…I plan to be down to 120 lbs in about 8 weeks. With this diet, I am trying to eat 1400 calories/day and exercise. The medical part of the diet includes prescription weight loss medication and herbal supplements. I take a combination vitmain b12/b6 shot every week too. Bryan started this diet 2 weeks ago and is already down 10 lbs, so I’m pretty impressed. Now, before anyone gets all judgmental and on their soapbox about my choice to use diet supplementation to help, let me explain.

For two years, my body has been used to being pregnant. When you are pregnant, your body is kind of in survival mode, and holds on to every single thing you ingest to keep some fuel stored up for the growing baby. When you are pregnant, you also burn up to 60% more energy. Now that I’m not pregnant, I am trying to retrain my body to only store the necessities to keep me going. I am not growing a baby right now, so I don’t need the extra calories that my body is used to holding on to. Does this make sense yet? I noticed that my body has hit a plateau of 137.5 lbs. I have been sitting there for the past 4 weeks…I know this because I have had 4 doctor appts in the last 4 weeks for various reasons, and at each weighing I have seen the same number. I know that 137.5 is not heavy, and I am not suggesting that I am overweight by any means. I just personally don’t feel comfortable where I am. I am super-excited about getting the last of this baby weight off, and about getting rid of the flabby belly that comes with babies.

Another really cool thing I found this morning is a library of workouts on my cable ON DEMAND. It’s pretty awesome. I think I have a year worth of living room workouts on here, and I am loving it! This morning, I did pilates, hip hop, and abs. Yay for me A side effect of my diet medicine is insane energy, which is a blessing for me…because chasing 2 little ones all day kicks my butt. I have my “before” pictues that I took yesterday, but I’m not posting them. I’ll post them together with my after pictures that I take in 8 weeks.

Well, that’s all for now I’ll be sure to keep up more regularly

What’s making my brain dance this week

alexngabby — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 05:14:01 +0000

So, I love music…all kinds of music. In my car disc changer right now, I have Britney, Journey, The Eagles, Credence Clearwater Revival, U2, and a mix of rap. Clearly, I am an eclectic listener…but having typed that, I am starting to think maybe I should have grown up 25 or 30 years ago Anyhow, I think that music is one of the strongest and easiest ways to effect your mood. Usually, I listen to the country radio station because I especially love country, but this week I have expanded to the hip hop station. Making this switch has put me in a more productive mood, I promise. My relationship with country is like a rollercoaster. On one single car ride, I can be happy, crying sad, and ready to beat the sh*t out of a man’s truck with a baseball bat. That’s a lot of emotions to feel in 20 minutes. With this new station, I just want to dance…there aren’t any tears, I don’t hate my man…I’m just happy, choreographing dance routines in my head or rehearsing old dances from the Marshall Dance Team days. It’s happy music, regardless of the lyrics. Take the words out and the bass is much more energizing than a steel guitar.

With my newfound desire to work my butt off and be in bikini shape by the time we go to the beach for summer vacay, I decided yesterday that I need a killer playlist that will keep me motivated to work hard. I’m going to try to stay fresh with the playlist…and update it regularly. Keep in mind though that fresh to me isn’t the newest music…just what’s making my brain dance at the time

Here’s what has me moving this week.

1. Thunderstruck by AC/DC…this brings me back to my senior season dancing at Marshall during the pregame for football games when the team would run out. I will always feel like my true home is shaking pom pons on the sidelines. I guess that is why I still have the dream of being an NFL cheerleader.

2. Womanizer by Britney…this song has an awesome fast walking tempo…and since I’m not at running level yet, it is perfect for me to walk to while pushing the kiddos.

3. Please don’t stop the music by Rhianna…this song has a great tempo too…and I pretty much love anything Rhianna puts out.

4. Red High Heels by Kellie Pickler…this song doesn’t have the best walking tempo, but I have always been fierce on high heels, even when I was 8 months pregnant…and I am a firm believer that every woman needs to have the attitude of the song!

5. See You Again by Miley…this song has a great beat, and I love me some Miley Cyrus…that’s right, I’m not afraid to say it!

6. Let’s Go by Lil’ Jon…because I need some “get crunk” music at this point.

7. Seperate Ways by Journey…this song is just plain awesome because it is by Journey

8. Crazy train by Ozzy…this song makes me think of Tom Brady…and he provides plenty of motivation! haha

9. Right Round by Flo Rida…this is one of those songs that makes me break out in “brain dance”

10. Poker Face by Lady Gaga…this chick is FIERCE…i am lovin her right now.

11. I Want It All by Queen…well I do want it all…so this song is appropriate

12. Peace With Inches…a speech from Any Given Sunday…this speech puts pep in my step, for sure!

13. Beautiful by Christina Aguilera…I put this song at the end to remind me that even though I’m not at the place I want to be right now with my body, I am getting there and I am a strong woman, a great mother, a loving wife…and that makes me beautiful, no matter what!

swimming

alexngabby — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 18:13:46 +0000

Living in Arizona, the land of outdoor pools, I realize how important pool safety is. Now that Alex is walking and is tall enough to reach door handles and open doors, it is especially important that I talk about pool safety. Did you know that 1 out of every 4 drownings are a child under the age of 14, and that for every single death by drowning, another 4 have to receive emergency care to save them? I found that on the CDC’s website. http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Water-Safety/waterinjuries-factsheet.htm Check it out. This is a serious issue to me, and it should be to all of you too…even if you don’t have a pool at your home. You never know when your kid might be somewhere with a pool…and if you aren’t there, then who is watching him or her? Anyway, enough with the preaching…now to the fun stuff

Alex had his first swimming lesson yesterday. He worked with his grandma last summer and even went under water with her, but this was his first time swimming with other babies. Let me tell you, he DID NOT like it! He fussed with me for the first 15 minutes of the class, and while he did what he was supposed to do, he gave me the “evil amanda stare” that only he and I know how to give. Aside from his fussing, he was so cute!!! I am so proud of how well he did, and I know that with 2 or 3 more weeks under his swimming trunks, he will be just like Nemo…but with 2 good fins. I have to run, Gabby is crying.

What we had for dinner

alexngabby — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 02:33:17 +0000

Since I am at home all the time, I like to hang out in the kitchen and cook yummy meals for the family. Now that we are on a health kick though, I spend more time than normal online looking for new recipes to try. I recently discovered that Whole Foods (a great grocery store!!!) has a website that offers bunches of recipes, so being the newfound health nut that I am, I decided to give some a try. Tonight we had chicken taquitos, and I was pretty impressed. I love pretty much anything that involves chicken, onions, and cilantro…so this was bound to be a home run meal before I even began preparing it. The thing I think I like most about the chicken taquitos is that they are healthy, and the thing I like most about the website is that it gives the nutritional information. That being said, here is the recipe for chicken taquitos from the whole foods website. I changed up mine a little bit because I love spicy food (I had to add lots of pepper)…and i forgot to put the cheese in (dummy me!) Hope you enjoy it!

Serves 4

This baked version of taquitos is healthier and less mess in the kitchen than the traditional fried ones. The flavorful chicken filling makes great tacos as well. Serve with salsa, sour cream and guacamole. Leftover chicken or a rotisserie chicken is perfect for the filling.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil, more for brushing tortillas
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 cups shredded cooked chicken meat
2 cups low-sodium, gluten-free chicken broth
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1 cup crumbled queso fresco or shredded Monterey jack or cheddar

Method

Preheat oven to 425°F and oil a baking sheet. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add onion and cook until starting to soften and turn translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, paprika and salt. Stir to combine and cook 2 to 3 minutes longer, until fragrant. Take from heat and stir in cilantro and chicken. Set aside.

Bring chicken broth to a simmer in a skillet or pot wide enough to hold tortillas. When broth simmers, dip tortillas briefly, one at a time, just to soften, 1 to 2 seconds. Lay tortilla on a work surface and spread 2 or 3 tablespoons chicken mixture over bottom third. Top with a tablespoon of cheese and roll up. Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Spray or brush tortillas lightly with oil and bake until crisp and lightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Per serving (About 3 taquitos/376g-wt.): 450 calories (150 from fat), 17g total fat, 5g saturated fat, 33g protein, 44g total carbohydrate (6g dietary fiber, 3g sugar), 85mg cholesterol, 540mg sodium

My First Blog

alexngabby — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:46:33 +0000

So, here it is…a bored mom’s attempt in blogging. I don’t have anything insightful to blog about, but since my conversations are limited to interactions with a 13 month old and a 7 week old for most of the day, I think this will be a nice way to share my thoughts, even if it is just with my keyboard.
My mother-in-law went to a dental convention last week (she is a hygienist), and came back determined to turn our family into a bunch of health food lovers. Now this is a great idea, but let me just say right now that I love my chocolate, sugar, and white bread!!! But, since I am a new mother and I need to shed that 20 lbs of pregnancy weight, I am trying to give in to her healthy ideals.
I guess my blog will be the journal of my daily attempt to better my life, my husband’s life, and my children’s lives. So, get ready for my healthy recipes (no fun), my exercise adventures (even less fun), and my family’s activities throughout the day/week. I’m looking forward to wasting my time a little more usefully by writing this, and hopefully you will get a nice picture of what life is like for the Lindsays.