friday.

breakfast: 8 oz vanilla soy chai tea (tons of protein, all natural ingredients, no dairy)
lunch: (office lunch @ a brazillian place, i tried my best) 1/2 c white rice, 1/2 c pinto beans, steamed veggies (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower), fruit salad & half a roll.
dinner: zupa's create your own salad - mixed greens, avocado, strawberries, grapes, mandarin oranges, crushed cashews & 1 tbsp poppy seed dressing.
snacks: 2 gummy jets & a ritz cracker (basically picking off miles food)

today was cheat day, but i still try to be pretty good. i could have done better at lunch (white rice & bread) but i figure i'll be okay. my weight loss has been going up and down (gained 1.5 lb out of nowhere the other day) and then woke up today losing about .5 of it. frustrating...just have to try even harder.

thursday.

breakfast: 1/2 grapefruit w/stevia (sun crystals)
lunch: cooked broccoli with lemon & pepper
dinner: 1/2 c black beans 1/2 c corn, 2 tortilla chips, 1 tbsp vegan sour cream
snacks: cherries (morning), sundried tomato hummus with almond nut chips (afternoon) 4 oz. of bolthouse vanilla chai tea

wednesday.

breakfast: strawberries & orange juice

lunch: tropical spinach salad (spinach, mangoes, pineapple, coconut & almonds) with poppyseed dressing

dinner: brown rice, black bean burrito from mountain west burrito (with pico, vegan sour cream & whole wheat tortilla)

i felt so full today. i can't go there unless i immediately box half of the burrito up, otherwise I over eat. it's just so good. before i went to bed i weighed myself and it was 2 lbs more than i was that morning. i felt disgusting and only did half of my work out because i was so full and sluggish. tomorrow will be recovery day.

tuesday.

breakfast: banana
lunch: 1/2 cup brown rice, 1.5 cup broccoli & 2 tbsp peanut sauce
dinner: amy's chili with vegan sour cream & 2 tortilla chips (crushed up)
snacks: about 4 oz. of the bolthouse chai tea & 5 strawberries

monday.

food log:

breakfast: banana, coffee with stevia & soy milk

lunch: bolthouse vanilla chai soy drink (this was because i was too busy at work to leave on time for nu cafe, they close at 2am)

dinner: amy's medium chili (the organic one is vegan & gluten free), with sour "cream" and 2 tortilla chips.

snacks: 10 cherries, almond nut chips with hummus.

i also did day 2 of 30 day shred.

sunday.

sunday food log:
breakfast: banana & drip coffee w/soy milk & stevia
lunch: 2 veggie hot dogs w/jdawgs sauce (yum!) no bun. also had about 2 bites of baked beans (bad me, prob gluten & meat) also a strawberry & a couple raspberries.
dinner: we had fathers day dinner at my grandmas & it's literally impossible for her to cook within my dietary needs, I had a salad (romaine & avocado)w/ garlic dressing (vegan & gluten free) & 2 bites of a roll (naughty again) but I held out on red velvet cake that looked AMAZING. so i felt pretty good.
snacks: low sodium v8 juice

after yesterday's frustrating gain, I was super happy to wake up to a 1.2 lb loss. I only have 8 lbs to go (i'm half way to my goal) & I'm only at the 2 week mark. I still have over a month to try and get to where I want to be! feels so great to say that. but I'm going to keep trying to get down, maybe I can get to 105 before the trip! we'll see how it goes.

I'm starting 30 day shred tonight. this should be interesting...my work is going to have to get used to my hair being up a lot, because there's no way I can start doing it every day! I imagine lots of mornings of showering & wearing a wet bun for time sake.

saturday.

breakfast: orange juice.
lunch: almond nut chips, sun dried tomato hummus.
dinner: honey nut chex with vanilla soy milk.
snacks: cherries & orange juice.

I ate like crap today. I honestly didn't feel good after cheating yesterday, my body didn't like it. I got on the scale today & had gained back .4 lb...so frustrating. cheating isn't worth it.

also, I had a sick child all day (100.6 fever, non stop cough) & tried to figure out fathers day, so I didn't really give myself time to prep meals or plan.

today is over. tomorrow is a new day.

friday.

breakfast: orange juice & a small peach.
lunch: vegan boca burger with a whole wheat bun, mustard, ketchup & pickles. i got steamed broccoli instead of fries (altho, i did sneak 2 or 3 fries) we go out every friday at my office, and today was red robin. i think I made really great choices, even on cheat day.
dinner: cafe rio! i got a pork enchilada with no cheese & with mild sauce & rice & black beans.
no snacks yet, I probably won't have any today since my meals were big.

I definitely "cheated" but I still think I did pretty good. according to my calculations (red robin & cafe rio websites) i was still around 1000-1100 calories for the day, so can't complain about that!

thursday.

food log:

breakfast: orange juice & 8 raspberries
lunch: mediterrean salad which included: 1.5 c spinach, & topped with a bit of artichokes, olives, cucumbers & tomatoes. I opted out of feta cheese, & the dressing, and got oil & lemon juice.
dinner: avocado (mashed with lime & pepper), one small corn tortilla.
snacks: carrot sticks

I'm at just over 550 calories for the day, which is ridiculous, so I am going to have about 1/4 c of my dairy/gluten free ice cream. it's purely decadent cookie dough, & I'll let you know how it tastes. excited to try it!!

wednesday

the last two days I've felt a little too full, I'm really not eating a lot of calories, so I'm not sure what's up. I guess I'll make my portions even smaller & try to eat more throughout the day.

breakfast: orange juice & banana
lunch: 1.5 c broccoli with lime juice & 5 sweet potato fries (baked)
dinner: 1 c vegan/gluten free chili with 1 tbsp vegan sour cream & 2 crushed tortilla chips
snacks: more rainier cherries.

I plan to do some exploratory shopping this weekend, I like all the food I've been eating but, I do need to add some things so I don't get bored & tempted to eat something thats not on my "okay" list!

tuesday.

i'm trying to do this daily, but i don't have "narrative" every day. so here goes:

breakfast: orange juice & banana

lunch: 1/4 c brown rice, 1.5 c brocoli & 2 tbsp thai peanut sauce

dinner: burrito from mountain west burrito

snacks: soy nuts, rainier cherries (so good)

when i weighed myself today, i was disappointed to see that i hadn't lost any weight since monday. every other day had been pretty steady. hoping for a happier scale moment tomorrow.

monday.

food:
breakfast: orange juice (8 oz), banana
lunch: 1/4 c brown rice, 1 c broccoli, 2 tbsp of coconut curry sauce
dinner: 1/2 a piece of whole wheat pita bread, 2tbsp of sun dried tomato hummus
snacks: 8 raspberries & some cherries

I got a headache today which made today kinda crappy. I'm thinking about eating a bite (just a bite!) of the dairy free ice cream I got...I'm so curious. I picked cookie dough. yum.

exercise: yesterday we hiked 2.5 miles in rock canyon, so I was slightly sore & the previously mentioned headache took the wind out of my sails. maybe tomorrow.

sunday.

quick food update for yesterday:

breakfast: strawberries & orange juice
lunch: 1/2 c refried beans (no fat, vegetarian) and 1/2 c corn (lunch was kind of an afterthought, so yeah, not a great meal.)
dinner: 1 c amy's black bean chili w/ 2 tortilla chips crushed on top
snacks: grapes

once again, never hungry, felt great. this has been much easier than i expected. i do think about things that i "want to eat on cheat day" but so far i haven't had any real temptation...even the buttery, syrupy pancakes i made for jonny & miles yesterday.

saturday.

food log for saturday:

breakfast: orange juice (8 oz) and 5 strawberries
lunch: about a cup of steamed broccoli with fresh lemon juice & pepper
dinner: (my first non raw!!) a veggie burrito from mountain west burrito which includes:
appx. 1/2 cup brown rice
appx. 1/2 cup black beans
a few tbsp pico de gallo
a few tbsp of vegan sour cream (remember no dairy)
a whole wheat tortilla
all of mountain west burritos ingredients are organic & locally grown (even down to the suckers they give miles) so I feel pretty good eating there, and will be going often I'm sure.
snacks: a couple grapes & pistachios

all and all, I was full all day & never felt hungry. I guess that it's all about finding filling foods that are low in calories & eating as much as you want. plus LOTS of water, if you're drinking 64 oz of water a day, it's nearly impossible to feel hungry.

now that I'm not trying to do only fruits & veggies, my calorie intake will most likely go up, but I'm hoping to still stick to fresh foods a lot.

food log.

so i just finished up my 3 days of lemonade only. i didn't cheat once. even when miles asked for gummy worms out of the candy bins @ winco. even when my sister had a bag of chex mix (my favorite) open and facing me. not even when husband made super yum smelling chicken teriyaki.

today my plan of attack is:
breakfast: orange juice & strawberries

lunch: spinach salad with mango, pineapple, coconut, & almonds. it comes with poppyseed dressing but last monday i used canola oil (just a pinch) and squeezed lemon & it was heavenly.

dinner: broccoli with lemon juice & an avocado.

snacks: i didn't plan ahead (!!) so i don't have plans for snacks today. if i get desperate, i'll run to the store and grab some cashews or something. i'll just continue to drink as much water as possible. last monday i had about 70 oz.

down 4 lbs so far in 5 days. i'm 1/4 of my way to my july 30th goal!

food.

so...cancun?

my body is so not ready for this, but I'll be heading there July 30th for a week.

in preparation (& after reading "skinny bitch") I've decided to do a detox & alter my eating habits a bit. it's so hard to stay on super restrictive diets, so I'm going to make it pretty relaxed, just "better choices" and use more portion control.

first: my detox is one my doctor, who practices integrative medicine, suggested to me last spring.
it goes like this:
2 days completely raw, fruits, veggies, & nuts.
3 days of "the master cleanse" diet if you're not sure what that is, google it, but it's basically drinking only lemonade & using salt water to flush your system.
2 days of raw again to ease out.

second: my doctor also suggested cutting out gluten & milk last spring. that is nearly impossible, so I've decided to cut out dairy, refined sugar & refined carbs except for 1 day a week. I'll still eat gluten (wheat products) in moderation, but only whole grains. I'll also eat vegetarian as much as possible, but I do that normally any way.

I normally wouldnt document this kinda stuff on my blog but one of the tips is to share what youre doing, because it makes you somewhat accountable, and you never know who you could inspire!

I've also been trying to do some physical activity, and found a pretty relaxed schedule, ive been basically sedimentary for the last 5 months on medicine, so I needed to start slowly, it only requires 4 days a week & about 40 mins per exercise.
day 1: run or walk for 1 mile
day 3: run or walk vigorously for 30 mins, as far as you can go
day 5: bike on a real or stationary bike for 45 mins
day 6: do speed intervals, run as fast as you can for 400m, 200m, and 100m. do this twice

easy right?

I'll update with my progress regularly...so far I'm on day 2 of the lemonade & have lost 3.5 lbs since I started the detox! the weight loss really isn't the major benefit of the cleanse though, it feels so good to get your stomach empty, and reset your eating habits.

WISH ME LUCK!!

hair.

my hair & i have always had a love/hate relationship...mostly hate.

i have always wanted fine hair that would just go from wet to set without any fuss.

never.going.to.happen.

so i knew i had to buy this when i saw it:

i know *exactly* where it's going to hang.

birds!

of course, i always love the google vanity logos,
but this one was super cute.
apparently it's John James Audubon's birthday.
he was (according to wikipedia) a French-American, ornithologist, naturalist, hunter, & painter.

well thank you mr. audubon, for making my google beautiful today.

sad day.

today is a SAD day in the holt household.

jasper, our great dane, has been placed with a new family.

it hurts my heart to even think about it, so i'm going to keep it short

when we got jasper, our circumstances were vastly different than they are now, i was only working 3 days a week, jonny's work was 3 mins from our house so he was easily able to spend time with him during his lunch break. but, with us moving and me going to work full time, leaving him in his kennel for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, just tore us up. jonny tried for months to leave work for lunch, make the 20 minute drive home, spend 15 mins with him, and then drive back to work, this was obviously not a long term solution.

we talked with our breeder about our concerns, and came to the conclusion that we would keep trying to make it work, but after another month, we decided we needed to actively try to find a better option for him. last night our breeder emailed us and let us know that a family he has worked with previously and who has one of jaspers brothers, would love to take him. once we made sure they were suitable, we worked out the details, and they picked him up today with their 4 kids. they were all so excited, so it made me feel a little better, but i seriously was having such a hard time all day. he's such a great dog, but, i know he'll be happy at his new home.

i wish we would have known the twists and turns life would take and how they would effect our decision to get a dog, but i feel we gave jasper a loving home for nearly a year and we were lucky to have him in our lives.

sunshine.

i say this every year. utah is teasing us, yet again.

the sunny days followed by cloud cover and snow. 70 degrees one day, a suddenly bitterly cold 35 the next.

(remember when 35 was warm?)

so to give myself some sort of consistency, i'm looking for sunshine through objects.

here's some i love.

jewelry box from west elm

sandals from gap

leather purse from banana republic

rice bowl from west elm

beautiful.

this woman, is gorgeous
(& a gap model)
i want her hair.


also the color of that cardigan is amazing.

working away

i would LOVE to tell you all about all the amazing things that are going on in my totally fun life.

but it's mostly just a bunch of work, work, work.

i like my job, enjoy my co workers, and love the environment, but it doesn't make up for a social life.

today is so beautiful outside, i'm excited for spring, warmth, and being outside.

this winter has been hard on me, and i'm ready for it to be OVER.

love on the brain.

do i want an adorable valentines gift? yes, please.

click here for details

click here for details

"i never want...

...to hear you have no clothes, ever again!"

yesterdays office arranging led to today's closet arranging, which i've been doing for the last 3 hours. it felt good, and so i am documenting it. feel free to laugh at me, but i want to remember what it looked like.

for a friday.

if i could live out my days in one peaceful beautiful place

i imagine it would look something like this:

or maybe this:

i can't wait to spend time in the mountains with all three of my boys this year.

crossing my fingers for a wy or mt trip.

photography by michael nager

long lost love.

i really hate that i lose my interest in blogging so fast.

i'm coming back! and no, this is not a resolution, so i won't change my mind/forget about it in 2 weeks!

(hopefully)

for now, enjoy these photos of christmas with the holts!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=260718&id=507077290&l=688e497c30