Monday, August 27, 2012

Wrapping up Insanity

So I finished Insanity (63 days). I didn't take any measurements until week 3, so I'm not sure how much change actually happened, but here are the details:

Day 21 (inches) Day 63 (inches)
Neck 13 Neck 12.5
Waist 28.5 Waist 27.5
Hips 37 Hips 37
L thigh 21.5 L thigh 20.5
R thigh 21.5 R thigh 20.75
Wrist 5.5 Wrist 5.5
Forearm 8.5 Forearm 8.75

My butt/hips remain mysteriously immune to Insanity.

My fit test results:
Fit test 1 Fit test 2 Fit test 3 Fit test 4 Fit test 5
Day 1 Day 15 Day 36 Day 50 Day 63
Swith kicks ? 52/104 57.5/115 61/122 65/130
Power jacks 40 47 53 55 57
Power knees 80 110 114 120 124
Power jumps 30 35 38 41 52
Globe jumps 7 9 10 10 10
Suicide jumps 12 15 16 16 17
Push-up jacks 21 28 34 39 42
Low plank oblique 55 64 68 65 68

Switch kicks are supposed to be 2 kicks = 1 rep, but a lot of people count each kick, so I listed both.

And here are the before and afters:


The first column is day 1, the second column is the end of month 1, the final column is the last day of Insanity.  I can see a pretty big difference from column one to column two. Not so much from column two to three. I see slight changes, but I'm happy with the results. I didn't really do so well with the nutrition aspect. Most days I did just fine, but then there would be the inevitable day where I ate a ton of crap and whatnot so I'm not surprised I don't have dramatic changes like some of the people who use Insanity. I'm getting about diet and nutrition. I never buy junk and I stopped drinking soda years ago. The main problem is if I want to go out with my husband or our families invite us over for dinner--they do not cook nearly as healthy, quite the reverse. Oh well, life is a balancing act I suppose.

As far as my exercise routine, I'm going to repeat the recovery week. I have p90x coming from a friend supposedly. Hopefully it will get here before next Monday. If not, I'll just start Insanity over again until it does get here. I just don't want to burn myself out on the program.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Chicken-broccoli-cheese wrap

Soooo, this one isn't really healthy unless you only count calories (which you shouldn't as you will see by the nutrition info).

You will need 1 low-fat package of crescent rolls, 1 can cream of broccoli (10.5 oz), 1/2 cup italian cheese mix, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, 3 chicken tenderloins (about 6 oz), and any spice you like to add to the mix.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Cook the chicken and shred it (some people prefer cubing, but I like mine in smaller pieces). In a bowl combine the cream of broccoli, cheeses, and chicken; set aside. Spray a cookie sheet with Pam (or whatever non-stick spray you use) and arrange the crescent rolls so that they form one large rectangle (they usually come rolled up in a rectangle already). Press the seams together. Along the two longest sides of the rectangle, cut about 1 inch slices, 1 inch apart. Spread your chicken/broccoli/cheese mix down the center then fold the 1 inch strips over it, alternating left to right, like a braid.

At this point you can stick it in the over or you can make a glaze. I like to use 1 egg, some onion flakes, and some cayenne pepper. Whisk is all up then brush over the braided strips. Bake for 20 minutes, take it out and sprinkle some cheese on the top. Bake for another 5-10 minutes.

Nutrition info:

Total (serves 4)CalsTotal fatSat fatTrans fatSodium
1 package crescent rolls7204g2g0g250mg
1 10.5 oz. canream of broccoli2253.5g1g0g750mg
1/2 cup Italian cheese1606g3.5g0g190mg
1/2 cup cheddar cheese2209g5g0g180mg
3 chicken tenderloins (about 6 oz.)165.5g0g0g60mg
Per serving372.517.875g8.875g0g1176.25mg
Total149071.5g35.5g0g4705mg

As you can see, calorie-wise, the meal isn't too bad for you. Fat wise overall it isn't terrible (saturated fat is high though) and the sodium is fairly up there as well. Max fat for a 2000 calorie diet is 65g, max sat fat <20,  and sodium is 2400. If you plan your breakfast and lunch accordingly, you could eat this without much fear of the scale. It is a very heavy meal and will leave you satiated, so no worries about late night hunger!

Monday, August 6, 2012

Chicken Stuffed Green Peppers

In my quest for deliciousness without fat, I stumbled across stuffed peppers. Unfortunately, ground beef is not exactly calorie or waist-line friendly. So I decided to come up with a healthy version of my own. It's got over 20g of protein per pepper with less than 10g of fat. For the Chicken and Rice Stuffed Peppers you will need the following:
  • 4 oz chicken breast
  • 2 bell peppers
  • Just for 1 Cheesey rice & broccoli (can be found in the frozen vegetable aisle at most grocery stores)
  • 1/3 cup Shredded cheddar
  • 1/3 cup mozzarella
  • 1/4 cup onion
  • Dash of cayenne pepper
So, set your over to 375 degrees farenheit. Wash your veggies, cut off the tops of the pepper (set them aside for now), and remove the membranes. Now, grill or boil your chicken. While that is going, chop up your onion and pepper tops and saute them over medium heat (I don't use oil myself as I have non-stick pans) and sprinkle them with cayenne pepper (or whatver spice you desire really). Once they're sauteed to your preference, remove them from the heat and set them aside.

Steam/microwave your Just for 1 frozen broccoli and rice for 45 seconds (just to loosen it up a bit, not to completely heat it). Set this aside as well and check on your chicken. If it is done, set it aside to cool. Mix all of the other ingredients (pepper tops, onion, cheeses, and broccoli and rice) into a bowl.

Once the chicken is completely cooked and has cooled, shred it or cut it into small pieces. Then add it to the bowl as well; stir thouroughly. You should now have something that resembles this:
stuffed peppers
Delicious noms-to-be.
Now, scoop spoonfuls of the mix into your peppers and pack it tightly. It will looks like a lot, but I promise it'll be fine. This process may take a bit as you near the top of the peppers. Once they are completely packed, place them in or on an over-safe tray. Now you should have this:
stuffed peppers prepped
OoOoOh pretty colors.
Now pop them in the over for 20 minutes. You can spend this time salivating over the delicious aroma coming from your oven (I spent mine prepping and grilling a steak and baking some bread for the hubs as he requires a freakish amount of calories). After the 20 minutes has gone by, take the peppers out of the over and sprinkle the tops with a shredded cheese of yoru preference (I just used some mozzarella). Cook them for another 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted. You should now have some awesome stuffed peppers (and a steak and bread if you eat all the food):
stuffed peppers done
Aaaaaand just for fun this is one sliced open:
delicious stuffed pepper
Nutrition info time!
Recipe yields 2
Cals Tot fat Sat Fat Trans Sodium Protein
4 oz chicken breast 100 1.5 0 0 250 24
2 green pepper 60 0.6 0.2 0 8 2
Just for 1 Cheese rice & broc 60 2.5 1.5 0 290 1
1/3 cup Shredded cheddar 110 9 5 0 180 7
1/3 cup moz 80 6 3.5 0 190 7
1/4 cup onion 16 0.05 0.025 0 9 0.5
Total 426 19.65 10.225 0 927 41.5
Total per serving 213 9.825 5.1125 0 463.5 20.75
So there you have it, a low calorie stuffed pepper full of deliciousness!