It is almost over. The work week that is! I am feeling worn out I tell you...What do you do when you feel tired you may ask? Well, I MOVE. I know that sounds like the opposite of what you FEEL like doing but I tell you what, moving around can energize you and make you feel 100 times better. Try it next time.
Last night after a VERY tiresome day at work I walked with K for 45 minutes, relaxed a bit ate some dinner and then had a private yoga session. AKA, me teaching myself in my bedroom. Yesterday was GORGEOUS and when we were walking I didn't want to stop. I don't know what I would do without my little (yes, she is shrinking) Karen. Best friends are what makes the world go round. This weekend is going to be pretty low key as the next two weeks will be hella crazy. That is right...I just said hella! Never used that word before.
Let's get to it, shall we? This morning I woke up and jumped out of bed. I have no idea why but lately I have been passing out at 11:00 and waking up on the hour every hour starting at 3:00 a.m. This has happened to me almost every night this week. I blame the munchies. I have to admit...I have been eating right before bed AND I have even found myself snacking when I wake up and cant get to sleep. If there is one thing that makes me not sleep well it is food in my belly. I know that seems weird to some of you but for some reason I cant sleep if I have eaten within 3 hours of my bedtime. I think that my stomach just cant digest food while I am sleep. hmmmm. Something to think about. Last night I said "enough tummy, you are not hungry and I am not feeding you until the morning." It was 10:30 p.m. and it was just that. I wasn't hungry but I think because I had munched this whole week at about that time my stomach said "Give me a snack..." Nope, what I knew I REALLY wanted was SLEEP. So I didn't give in and I went to bed. Something that REALLY helped me was this: 
That's right! I purchased a memory foam mattress topper. I was delighted to see it on my door step and couldn't wait to check it out. That with the most cozy comforter and I felt like I was sleeping at the Ritz Carton (best night sleep I ever had). I was expecting it to be much thicker but it really was perfect. My tired body needs something with a lot of cushion. With me sitting all day at work or working out like a mad women, lets just say a comfy, cozy bed is a must. Most guys would say "I like a firm mattress." You know what I say? "Well, I am so glad that you know what you like but I sleep ALONE and I am single so I get what I want." Just so you know....No dude will ever come between me and my bed. Nope. I have slept on some firm mattresses (even ply wood with a futon on top) and I will never do it again. If I ever did get married or had a boyfriend that couldn't deal, I would just get one of those sleep number bed and that way I would be able to have my side as cushy as I wanted.
Sorry for the rant, I'm just sayin...
What is Heather eating these days for breakfast? Well, this morning I had a slice of quinoa bread with banana and pb2. MMMMMM, so darn good.
Here she is before getting dressed with the nanner and PB. Ahhhh, I love a warm breakfast bread. I will admit, this is my "real" breakfast but often I am eating a hand full of cashews, almonds or walnuts as I walk out the door in the mornings. Here is a tip:
Here she is before getting dressed with the nanner and PB. Ahhhh, I love a warm breakfast bread. I will admit, this is my "real" breakfast but often I am eating a hand full of cashews, almonds or walnuts as I walk out the door in the mornings. Here is a tip:As soon as you wake, eat something. I mean it. I try to eat a little something (I know that it can be hard to eat right after waking) but really, just have a bite of something. This is a great way to get that metabolism going first thing. Often, I get to work and start doing my tasks and before I know it, it is 10:00 a.m. and I haven't eaten. Well, I am always saved if I stick by my tip because if I eat a hand full of nuts at 8:00 a.m. then by 10:00 it is perfect. I always try to eat every 2 to three hours if at all possible. See, if I waited until 10:00 a.m. I am dont more damage than good. Just by eating a tiny bit I am getting that furnace inside me going. Burn baby burn!
After a few hours I had this as my pre work out snack. I power walked with my fave co worker, Shelly for a hour. This beauty helped me keep up with her....Man, that lady can walk! 
That is a terrific combo. The creamy cottage cheese (fat free obvi) and the burst of sweetness from the pom seeds and you have a wonderful snack. In the back ground you can see the cup of joe that I drank in 5 minutes and the sliced banana I had left over from breakfast. Sneaky little guys. They did not get eaten.
Lunch consisted of a simple baked chicken salad. Easy as can be.
In the mix: Baked chicken, romain, avocado, onion and chick peas. After getting this in the dish I put a glob of fat free cottage cheese on top. I spared you that picture.
In the mix: Baked chicken, romain, avocado, onion and chick peas. After getting this in the dish I put a glob of fat free cottage cheese on top. I spared you that picture. This is what I ate during the work day. I have to say, I have been trying my best to cut down on my food lately to get a few pounds that Thanksgiving has out on me. I knew that I couldn't up my workouts because I am already as active as a person can be plus I don't have the time. I successfully lost the 4 pounds that I gained and I did so in just two weeks! How? I decided that I needed to keep my 6 meals spaced out through out the day and I love the foods that I eat. So, I decided that instead of taking foods out of my diet or cutting one of my "meals" out. I would just cut a few in half. I decided on eating only a half a chicken breast a day instead of a whole one, cut my dinner in half and only added tofu and veggies to my soups and instead of eating at 3:00 and coming right home and eating yet another snack, I am opting to walk as soon as I get home. I find that when I get home from a stressful day at work I head straight to the fridge. In stead, I am walking the stress away and not feeding it. These very small changes worked! If you want to loose a few extra pounds during the holiday season start out small. Sometimes that is all you need. Hey, if you don't have to add another sweaty workout or cut your food, then I say go with what works. Usually it does take a little while for your hard work to show (I got results fast because it really wasn't that much weight and the stricter you are the faster the results.) So be patient and stick with it. It will come.
When I got home I walked (as stated before) and then decided that I would relax. Showered, pj'ed and hungry I knew that dinner was to be had. This is the soup of the day! 
This soup is SO comforting. I added broccoli soup to kale, onion, celery, tofu and a tiny bit of sweet potato and indian rice. Go ahead...get closer!
This soup is SO comforting. I added broccoli soup to kale, onion, celery, tofu and a tiny bit of sweet potato and indian rice. Go ahead...get closer!
This was just what I needed on a cold night. It filled me up and I was satisfied. I think that soup is my new favorite meal now! Salads and fruit to me is a summer thing (even though I still try to get in at least a salad and two servings of fruit a day). When it is cold out I basically just try to make a hot salad!
I got into bed, checked e-mails and decided to watch a National Geographic documentary on Mecca. So very interesting. I love documentaries more than anything. I love learning.
Do you remember about my confession? I am snacking late at night and even find myself eating when I wake and cant get back to sleep. I have been getting some questions as to what I have been eating and as stated above, I didn't last night and don't plan on continuing this bad habit but this is what I would maybe eat during the night. 
Trail mix is the culprit. Now I dont wanna hear it. "Heather, you are beating yourself up over trail mix??!??" Well, times this by 3 and then you have yourself about 400 extra calories of nuts and dried fruit. Not good, and certainly not going to get me to maintain my weight. I am not going there anymore. I got some absolutely AMAZING products in the mail from a company called Tierra Farms. I told myself that I would open one container and when it was finished I would open the next. Well, that went out the window after only two days. I have dipped into all of them... :/
Trail mix is the culprit. Now I dont wanna hear it. "Heather, you are beating yourself up over trail mix??!??" Well, times this by 3 and then you have yourself about 400 extra calories of nuts and dried fruit. Not good, and certainly not going to get me to maintain my weight. I am not going there anymore. I got some absolutely AMAZING products in the mail from a company called Tierra Farms. I told myself that I would open one container and when it was finished I would open the next. Well, that went out the window after only two days. I have dipped into all of them... :/I am posting the review tomorrow morning on them all so get ready for a LONG post and a lot of info. This is going to be one of the longest and best reviews I have done to date!
My question for you today is:
Do you snack at night? Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night when you cant sleep and go for something? If so what?
I hope that your day goes well. I will see you tomorrow bright and early!!! I am glad that I was able to catch you up on ME and not just a review (even though I LOVE doing them and I know you love reading them;)
-Heather
