Jump Start

Today is the day.

The day I get back on the wagon.

I’ve said it about a dozen times (and may say it a dozen more) but each time I jump right back off. So today is the day I really do it.

Are you with me?!!

Back to lighter breakfasts.  As much as I love oatmeal and toast with almond butter…and as much as there is nothing wrong nutritionally with those choices…I find they actually set me off on the wrong foot for the day.  Carbs make me want more carbs. 

So, organic fat free lemon yogurt it is.  With blueberries and walnuts.

Coffee was sipped with vanilla soy milk instead of the light cream and brown sugar I’ve taken to recently.

Lunch was on the run so I stirred the leftover roasted beets with the leftover ancient grains salad.  So delicious.

That portion was very small though so I grabbed a handful of multigrain Wheat Thins and an ounce of light cheddar to nosh in the car.

After my afternoon meeting (hello financial planner…I missed you! but my budget did not! ha!) I sipped on some green juice and snacked on red grapes.

And realized I was low on water….glug glug glug…rewarded with the last lonely PB cookie.  Can’t expect me to kick ALL of the treats in one day!

A lot of this new found motivation was provided by last month’s issue of Self magazine.  I picked it up from my stack of unread magazine’s and the Jillian Michael’s article about the Jump Start Diet caught my attention.

Now anyone that has been reading for some time knows I don’t subscribe to the idea of any sort of diet…but I do believe in a good, healthy kick in the pants.  As I read through the 73 meal and snack ideas it struck me that almost all of them sounded like something I would enjoy eating.  Usually these magazine “diet” plans sound like they taste like cardboard.  I like the idea that she is focusing on foods that rev metabolism and nutrients that fuel fat burn.

In conjunction with the powerful meal plans they’ve outlined a “get slim” workout involving various cardio programs and a short practice of yoga-inspired toning exercises.  For me it was appealing as these are things I’m interested in but have been getting bored trying to figure out on my own.

The program is all outlined on the Self website as well if you don’t have a copy of the magazine.  I haven’t spent a lot of time looking around the site yet, but when I signed up I had the option to receive daily tips on all kinds of things and it looks like there are places to chat with other folks giving the program a go.

My brain just grabbed onto the whole thing and I thought that this would be perfect to jump start ME!  I am not naive enough to think I will follow it exactly…in fact, I don’t want to.  But it’s an excellent guideline for fitting healthier choices and workout motivation into my lifestyle.  (FYI:  it probably sounds like I’ve been asked to write about this but I haven’t…I’m just getting it all out there to help motivate myself and see if I can share some of my enthusiasm.)

After catching up on more post-crash recovery work I took myself to the gym to give Jillian’s workout a try.  Holy shiz.  I’d say she’s onto something. ha.  I did one set of the toning moves (6 moves, held for 15 seconds each) and made a really concerted effort to complete cardio workout #1.  I did have to modify it to a more beginner timeline, but I was sweating like crazy and my heart was beating harder than it has in a long time.  Win.

For dinner I made one of her suggested recipes.  Make this.  It was crazy easy, very tasty, filling and totally light and nutritious.

Italian Halibut Stew (a la Jillian Michaels via Self magazine)

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• 1 chopped garlic clove
• 1 tsp fresh chopped parsley
• 1 tsp fresh chopped oregano
• 1 cup chopped tomato
• 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• 5 oz skinless halibut in bite size pieces

Directions:

1. Sautee onion and garlic in olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add herbs, cook 1 minute more.
2. Add tomato and chicken broth, heat until simmering.
3. Add spinach and halibut, simmer until fish is cooked, less than 10 minutes.

This came together very quickly.  I found that I could chop the next set of ingredients while the previous ones were cooking away.  The only addition I made was fresh cracked pepper…but it would take well to pretty much any yummy herb I think.

She recommends serving with a whole wheat roll so I made a piece of Squirrelly toast and used a mere smidge of real butter. 

I particularly love that this huge serving is for one person!!  And according to the nutritional information from the recipe this clocks in at only 400 calories! (400 calories, 14 g fat (2 g saturated), 34 g carbs, 7 g fiber, 38 g protein)

Dinner was very late so the goal is to go to bed tonight with no additional snacking.  This is my greatest struggle…but I can do it right?!!