Soooooo...a new chapter in my weightloss journey begins.

Well, as you may have heard, I have been living outside of my home city for a little over a year now. The same is true for my conscience. We have both been living in Houston, though this is not where we permanently reside. As the time has come for us to each return to our respective cities, I will be continuing my weight loss journey alone...or rather supported from afar.

I am a bit apprehensive about this, though there are some points that I am excited about. Of course my major fear is that I will slip back into my old eating habits. It is still a daily struggle for me to make wise food choices and work out. Though I have been way more self-motivated in the coming months, it has still be with his constant support that I have persevered. My major challenges will be eating well amongst teammates who may not be as concerned about good health as I am, as well as exercising regularly given that I will be working longer hours.

Thus far, I have signed up to join LA Fitness. The particular location that I joined doesn't open until October 1st. Until then I will be supplementing my workout by utilizing my 2 cardio exercise tapes (I am thinking about getting a 3rd belly dancing tape) as well as walking regularly to take advantage of the great summer weather. I will also be continuing my regular yoga practice for strength training. I have even found a great website, www.yogatoday.com, that provides free daily yoga workouts.

The one thing that I am looking forward to is cooking. Since I have been travelling for work, then I have continued to eat out daily. However, now that I will be eating on my own dime, then I am really looking forward to preparing some tasty, healthy meals for myself. Given my hours, I realize that I won't be able to cook every night, esp. if I want to find time to work out. However, I hope to make a home cooked meal at least twice a week (Mon - Fri) and then also on Sat & Sun. In order to commemorate the rejuvenation of my cooking journey, below are three recipes that I can't wait to use. I am always wanting to take an afternoon/early evening snack with me to work. This is cheaper and healthier than buying something out of a vending machine. However making something would be even better. I saw these three recipes on the Food Network's Good Eats. The can also be found on the show's website here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ea/episode/0,,FOOD_9956_38665,00.html.

Brown Rice Crispy Bar:
3 ounces puffed brown rice, approximately 6 cups 3 tablespoons flax seed oil, plus extra for the pan 1 tablespoon orange blossom honey 7 ounces mini marshmallows, approximately 4 cups 3 ounces toasted slivered almonds, approximately 3/4 cup 1 1/2 ounces coarsely chopped dried cranberries, approximately 1/3 cup 1 1/2 ounces coarsely chopped dried cherries, approximately 1/3 cup 1-ounce dried blueberries, approximately 1/3 cup

Lightly coat the inside of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch metal pan with oil and set aside. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Spread the brown puffed rice evenly on a sheet pan. Toast in the oven for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. While the rice is toasting, prepare the marshmallow mixture. Place the oil, honey, and marshmallows in a large mixing bowl set over a pot of gently simmering water. Stir until the marshmallows are melted, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Once the marshmallows are melted, quickly add the toasted brown rice, almonds, and fruit and stir to combine. Coat your hands or a spatula with oil and spread the mixture evenly into the pan. Once the mixture has cooled completely, cut into squares and store in an airtight container for 1 to 2 days.

Granola Bar:
8 ounces old-fashioned rolled oats, approximately 2 cups 1 1/2 ounces raw sunflower seeds, approximately 1/2 cup 3 ounces sliced almonds, approximately 1 cup 1 1/2 ounces wheat germ, approximately 1/2 cup 6 ounces honey, approximately 1/2 cup 1 3/4 ounces dark brown sugar, approximately 1/4 cup packed 1-ounce unsalted butter, plus extra for pan 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 6 1/2 ounces chopped dried fruit, any combination of apricots, cherries or blueberries

Butter a 9 by 9-inch glass baking dish and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, and wheat germ onto a half-sheet pan. Place in the oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, extract and salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved. Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees F. Immediately add the oat mixture to the liquid mixture, add the dried fruit, and stir to combine. Turn mixture out into the prepared baking dish and press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Protein Bar:
4 ounces soy protein powder, approximately 1 cup 2 1/4 ounces oat bran, approximately 1/2 cup 2 3/4 ounces whole-wheat flour, approximately 1/2 cup 3/4-ounce wheat germ, approximately 1/4 cup 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 3 ounces raisins, approximately 1/2 cup 2 1/2 ounces dried cherries, approximately 1/2 cup 3 ounces dried blueberries, approximately 1/2 cup 2 1/2 ounces dried apricots, approximately 1/2 cup 1 (12.3-ounce) package soft silken tofu 1/2 cup unfiltered apple juice 4 ounces dark brown sugar, approximately 1/2 cup packed 2 large whole eggs, beaten 2/3 cup natural peanut butter Canola oil, for pan

Line the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with parchment paper and lightly coat with canola oil. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, combine the protein powder, oat bran, wheat flour, wheat germ, and salt. Set aside. Coarsely chop the raisins, dried cherries, blueberries and apricots and place in a small bowl and set aside. In a third mixing bowl, whisk the tofu until smooth. Add the apple juice, brown sugar, eggs, and peanut butter, 1 at a time, and whisk to combine after each addition. Add this to the protein powder mixture and stir well to combine. Fold in the dried fruit. Spread evenly in the prepared baking dish and bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 205 degrees F. Remove from the oven and cool completely before cutting into squares. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Don't those sound Yum?! I know its kinda easing my way into cooking, but I gotta start some where. I think that I'll try posting one new recipe per week. We'll see.

Anyway, I'm still weighing in at 170 lbs. My eating was atrocious last week (I was at a convention), but I exercised 5 days. I am not sure how this week will go as there are a lot of good bye celebrations to come. However, I am going to do my best to get in a couple of workouts, and I am focused on starting out strong back at home. Everyone wish me luck and success as I push through this next chapter.

Let's talk about the exercising that didn't happen. I only got in 3 workouts last week (those that I listed below). I wasn't really planning to work out Thursday and Friday since I had a big test on Saturday morning. I wanted to get as prepared for it as possible. However, I did think that I would squeeze in at least a 45 min yoga session on Saturday afternoon. Well my day went like this. Exam from 7:30 - 12:30; Lunch & errands from 1 - 3:30; Taking down two-strand twists from 4 - 10. Good Lord! I know that I had a lot of work ahead of me with taking down the twists, but I had no idea that it would take the time that it took. When I stopped on Saturday night, I wasn't even done...I could simply go no farther. So needless to say working out on Sat was a wash. I was kinda miffed b/c I wanted to go to Yoga and Pilates on Sunday morning. However, I of course needed to finish taking my hair down instead. That took me until about 1 pm...cool, right? WRONG. I thought that I had thoroughly detangle my roots, which I had, but I didn't account for all of the shed hair that was still hanging out amongst the strands. Let me tell you. As soon as water hit my hair I had knots and tangles like you wouldn't believe. I mean there was hair coming out by the handful. It took me another 2 hours to be able to comb through the masses. As I stood looking at the huge pile of lost hair in the sink...suffice it to say I was a bit emotionally exhausted. I copped out and took up residence on the couch for the rest of the day.

So now we are in a new week and attempting to get a fresh start. I am going to head to yoga tonight and plan for workouts Mon, Tues, Thurs, and Sat. Also, I plan to hit the grocery store on Tues, so that should be great to revitalize my diet. I need to get fresh fruit, 100 calorie packs, and yogurt. I think that I'm going to try and weigh in at the gym this week, so I'll let you guys know what's going on.

Soooo...one week later, and I am finally settled back into my diet and exercise routine...sort of. I didn't have too much trouble getting back on my proper eating plan. Mostly it was the exercising that I was struggling with. I tell ya, no matter how long you have been working out, it is hard as hell to get back into the swing of things after a break. It was weird b/c my body felt so icky when I wasn't exercising. I felt like the pounds were piling back on, and I didn't care for that. However, I still lacked the motivation to hop onto the elliptical machine. Luckily, Saturday felt like a good day for a fresh start. I walked 3 miles at a local track near my house. Then on Sunday I did a 30 min cardio workout video, and yesterday I took a 1 hour yoga class. I am so sore that I can barely walk right now. It hurts so good!

Now, I qualified my original statement with "kinda" b/c I am also trying to study for a big test that I am taking this Saturday. I really wanted to go hard this week and study each night for 3 - 4 hours. However, doing that definitely cuts out exercising. Yesterday I ran 3 errands before yoga, and then picked up dinner after yoga. By the time that I came home, showered and ate it was 10:30, and I was exhausted. No studying went down. Today I am planning to get in a 30 min work out video at home, and then study for the remainder of the evening. That's pretty good. I wanted to get to another yoga class tomorrow, but with the timing...I just don't think its gonna happen. At least it's only for one week, though. No real complaints here.

Let's talk about body image, losing weight, and how much is too much. I recently told my conscience that I was gonna participate in an online picture weight loss challenge. You post pics of yourself each week for 12 weeks wearing the same clothes to document your weight loss. My goal was gonna be 20lbs, bringing me down to 150lbs. When I said this, he looked genuinely confused as to where I was going to find another 20 lbs of fat to lose. I mean...of course we don't want to sacrifice too much more of the booty...so where else is there? Honestly, I'm not sure what my goal weight/size is anymore. On the one hand, I can definitely see my weight loss in my face, arms, torso, and some parts of my legs. On the other hand, I'm not definitely a pants size smaller. Most of my current pairs of pants are too big, but when I go to the store it isn't a guarantee that I can get into a size 12 (one size smaller than my previous size). It's weird...like clearly I have lost weight, but sometimes I still feel big.

I think that I have two abstract goals. #1 I'd like to thin out and tone up my thighs and my stomach. All other areas..I'm good w/just focusing on toning. #2 I don't ever want to be at 190lbs+ ever again. This means that should I ever have kids (God willing) and gain the requisite 20 - 30lbs, then I want to top out at around 180lbs. This would keep me near to a healthy weight for my height and at a do-able weight for getting back into shape. Of course for that to happen, I'd have to be starting out around 150 - 160lbs. *le sigh* I don't know. I definitely don't want to be focused on weight loss forever. I'd much rather get to a place where I can just work on maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle. I guess I am just going to stick with my plan to work out a min of 4 times per week and eat right. If that means that I lose more weight, then so be it. If not, then I am fine with that as well. If I opt to step my game up a bit in order to better accomplish my 1st goal, then I'll do that as well.