Tag: weight loss

Some meals and a quick workout

SweetHanrahan1 Comment

Hi friends!  Can you believe it’s already almost FALL?!?!  I am more of a “glass is half empty” type of gal so this just makes me sad because it means that winter is right around the corner…

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Aaaanyway, since my life has been somewhat boring uneventful, I thought I would share today’s sweaty little workout and some pictures of the food I’ve been eating.  This is really exciting stuff people, I know.  But hey, you can’t say I didn’t warn you that this post would be a complete waste of time.

So yea, let’s get to it!

Today’s workout:

20 minutes on the elliptical followed by this circuit…

Bicep curl + wall sit x 15 (I used 12 lb dumbbells)
45 second plank
Kettleball swings x 15 (I used 20 lb KB)
Alt. standing side crunch x 30 (20 lb KB)*
30 second plank jacks + 30 second mountain climbers

Repeat circuit 3x (for a total of 4 rounds)

*Here is a visual of the standing side crunches

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(source)

I’ve been dropping the ball when it comes to using my fancy-dancy camera but here’s a look-see at the pictures I did manage to take over the last couple of weeks.  [Side note: it’s pretty pathetic that the ONLY pictures I’ve taken involve food but nobody is perfect]

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Smoked salmon and cream cheese frittata (recipe HERE) with watermelon salad and roasted sweet potatoes

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Eggs scrambled with avocado, onions and red pepper.  Topped with hot sauce and served with a side of banana + pineapple

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Brown sugar coated salmon (baked) served with a loaded sweet potato and roasted broccoli

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This lunch was nothing special but it was healthy, easy and filling –> grilled chicken with spinach, wheat berries and sweet potatoes

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Salad topped with figs, goat cheese, walnuts, sweet potato (ermahgerd, someone likes sweet potatoes!), balsamic vinegar and olive oil

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Grilled chicken wrap with spinach, wheat berries, tomatoes, avocado and honey mustard

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Homemade pizza + strawberry salad

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Peach crisp from Run Eat Repeat (best served with a side of Light Cool Whip ;))

That’s all I’ve got folks!

Anyone have any vacations coming up (or anything that is exciting, in general)?

-I’m a bored little person over here so I don’t have anything coming up, waaah!

A couple of workouts and summer is almost over

SweetHanrahanLeave a comment

It’s Friday, bitches!

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My week has gone by somewhat slowly but at the very least, I did manage to get in a couple of really good workouts that I thought I would share with you…

Abs & butt workout

Warm Up:

20 minutes on the elliptical

3 rounds of 15 reps for each move:

Dead lifts, bridges, outer thigh with resistance band, inner thigh with resistance band, plank back kick

 Then I did the Blonde Ponytail’s 5 moves for a solid core workout.  It is good if you don’t feel like busting ass at the gym…not too crazy but still a good little sweat sesh.

This next little workout got me a little sore all over which was nice!!!

I started with about 15 minutes on the elliptical, followed by…

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I don’t know about you guys, but I am getting really depressed about the fact that the end summer is quickly approaching us.  What really gets my panties in a twist is the kind of summer we’ve had here in Chicago…a CHILLY one, what is up with that??!?!?  If I had anything to say about it, I would request that the summers be so hot that my nips are literally sweating off!

So, I thought I would share a couple of pictures of this past summer to help us all focus on the present and not worry about the impending winter fall temperatures.

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Me and my little Otis hanging out by the lakefront on one of the few days that it was warm enough to warrant a bikini.

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It was also the weekend where all my in-laws (+the significant others) were in town.

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On a nice toasty day, we went to go check out the gay pride parade and I stumbled upon this fellow with these killer shoes!

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Enjoy sunglasses while you still can, folks!!!

On the bright side, we can all enjoy a nice cold beer no matter what season it is, am I right?!?!?!

Anyone have last minute summer plans?

I like food…a lot

SweetHanrahan3 Comments

‘Sup homies?  It’s almost the weekend, baby!

Per usual, I’ve got a lot going on (who doesn’t, right?).  So, I thought I would make this short and sweet by sharing some of my recent meals with y’all.  Everything is fairly easy to prepare, delicious and healthy!  So let’s get to it, shall we?

I lost a bet to my husband not long ago so I had to make him breakfast and do the dishes.  I decided to make veggie-packed eggs and The Lean Green Bean’s French Toast Oat Muffins (I used blueberries and walnuts in the recipe and topped it with light agave syrup)…

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SALADS:

Spinach, garbanzos, red pepper, red onion, basil, walnuts, olive oil (you can add goat cheese, if your little heart desires it)…

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Spinach, dates, slivered almonds, strawberries, olive oil, balsamic vinegar…

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Spinach, dates (again, yes!), pistachios, apples, red onion, apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, olive oil…

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This one is a crowd pleaser, promise: Cobb Salad with Spinach (I prefer romaine but I work with what I’ve got people!), hard-boiled egg, chicken (cooked the night before for ease in the morning), red onion, cucumber, tomato and the same dressing mix as the previous salad: dijon mustard, olive oil, apple cider vinegar…

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Dinners:

Loaded sweet potato equipped with: grilled chicken, jalepenos, cilantro, scallions, corn, avocado (I added some salsa after I snapped the picture)…

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My husband found THIS salmon burger recipe and let me tell you!  This thing is the SHIT!  I also made a watermelon salad on the side…

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Let’s talk about the watermelon salad for a minute.  I mixed up some watermelon, goat cheese, tomato, basil, arugula and balsamic vinegar.  Try it, you’ll thank me in the morning…

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Roasted chicken with sweet potatoes and shredded brussels sprouts (I just shred the sprouts, add some olive oil and dried cranberries into a teflon pan and cook until the sprouts are ready)…

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And finally, I made Kath’s Slow Cooker Pineapple Chicken, oh my goodness, SO good!…

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If anyone makes one of these concoctions, let me know how it turns out!!!

Any recipes you wish to share?

A cleanse, some good workouts and my favorite processed foods

SweetHanrahan1 Comment

Happy Friday ya’ll!

I’ve been a little MIA for several reasons.  First, I did this cleanse on Monday & Tuesday so I had ZERO energy to do anything. The cleanse isn’t too bad in the fact that a) you eat actual food and you eat really clean and 2) you can bank on losing 3-4 pounds.  As long as you continue to eat healthy after the cleanse is over, you can plan on keeping the weight off, too (in fact, I’ve lost another pound since!).  However, I do have one suggestion: DO IT WITH SOMEONE ELSE!!!  Because that thing is NOT easy peasy.  I did it with my step-sister, Melissa and it was nice that we were able to bitch to each other during the 2 days.

I’ve also got like 800 million people that are coming to visit Chicago over the next 2 weeks so I’ve been trying to get my life together in preparation for that.

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Lately, when it comes to my workouts, I’ve been feeling a little apathetic.  I did complete the following workout that I thought I would share:

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I found the “Supine Oblique Ball Twist” from Shape Magazine and it looks like this:

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Because of said apathetic feeling, I figured it was time to lean on someone else to come up with my workouts for me.  SO, this week I started The Blonde Ponytail’s 4 week Summer Shape Up Plan.  I did Day 3 yesterday and it would GOOD.  In fact, my husband (who is ridiculously fit) agreed that it was a great workout.

I don’t plan on following it to a tee but I am going to plan on doing at least 3 of the workouts a week.  You can find week 1 HERE.  I highly recommend trying this out!

Moving right along to my take on processed foods…  I consider myself to be someone who eats really clean most of the time.  However, I do think that in today’s world, it can be really difficult what with busy lives and all the shit that is out there (hello, just take a look at the list of ingredients on most, if not all, foods that are in the middle aisles of the grocery store).  Often, it is just a lot easier to eat the garbage than to take the extra time to make your own “clean” version of something.  With that being said, there are also other things that are just simply guilty pleasures and I thought I would share with you some of mine.

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LAUGHING COW CHEESE IS PROCESSED?!?!?  Yep.  Do you know what the hell “sodium citrate” looks like?  Me neither.  But you know what?  It’s delicious.  And I don’t care.

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As much as I would love to brag about making my own alfredo sauce, I am much too lazy for that.  Especially on the weeknights.  So with this one, I choose not to look at the list of ingredients.  #sorryimnotsorry

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I put this crap in my coffee every. single. morning.  I have tried so hard to use almond milk but I just can’t.  I love this stuff to the death.  I don’t even want to think about what “mono and diglycerides” are.

Speaking of coffee, another guilty pleasure?

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SKINNY VANILLA LATTE!!!!  OK, this DEFINITELY has a bunch of garbage in it.  I see those baristas pumping sugary shit in that cup.  But you know what? I DON’T CARE!!! Bwahahaha!

So next time you find yourself eating or drinking processed food, don’t worry, most other people do it too!

I hope you guys have a fabulous weekend!

Do you have any processed foods that you just can’t live without?