Day 81 - OUCHIE!!!!!

Ok, I'm only posting because everything hurts like crazy right now. Apparently my most awesome workout ever comes with a price.

For those of you who are self-destructive, I'm taking a page out of your book the last few days.

Nicole has great workout = pigs out on Indian food, doesn't drink any water, and stays up too late.

Yikes.

However, I am somewhat setting myself up for success this weekend. We will be headed to the beautiful Jersey shore where I have made a very healthy and Zone happy menu. Unfortunately, I'm sure I'll be surrounded by chips, sandwiches, and basically every delicious carb known to man that I will have to be good about. I did also bring workout clothes and shoes for both days.

We are taking pictures of ourselves in a bikini next week as both our coach and the master coach are putting together customized nutrition plans for us to take pictures as we progress. I'm really excited about this because I'm already starting to see more definition in my arms and stomach even without major nutrition changes. This will give a good plan to be more focused on these items and see quicker change.

Depending on how brave I am...we'll see if these pictures get posted. I might be that ballsy.

However, I'll let you in on a little secret. Most smart people would try to watch their diet for the first few days before taking the pictures so that they look a little better. My twisted mind tells me to have at it and go for the glory and eat everything in sight so that the pictures look the worst that they could....and then I'll have a better before and after pic. Does that make sense to anyone else?

In more sobering news, I found out that a few of my cousins have been having health problems lately related to their heart and circulatory system...and at a young age. This makes me want to be more serious and really stick to a plan that includes anerobic workouts, strength training, some aerobic workouts (sorry Andrea), and a strong nutrition foundation.

Day 80 - Awesome workout!

This week has been going pretty well so far....I've kept the food intake fairly in-check and Zone friendly.....my only lapse was Tria on Tuesday with Stephen, but I'm allowed to have fun every once in awhile :) The bad news is that I've been craving Indian food lately.....so at some point, I'm going to cave and have some...and let's be realistic....I can give up the naan, but not basmati rice!

Anyways, enough about how I'm food obsessed.

Workout yesterday was AWESOME.

Squats:
45 lbs x 5 reps x 1 set
65 lbs x 5 reps x 1 set
85 lbs x 3 reps x 1 set
105 lbs x 5 reps x 3 sets

Presses:
45 lbs x 5 reps x 1 set
52 lbs x 3 reps x 1 set
52 lbs x 5 reps x 2 sets

Situps:
15 lbs on chest x 10 sit-ups x 3 sets

Pullups:
5 really GOOD negatives...and 1 where I almost jerked my arms out of their sockets...oops.

Met-Con:
100 m walk with either 45 lb bar held above head or 60 lb carry at waist + 5 burpees x 3 sets
Completed in 5:08

Day 77 - Detox :)

Last week, I was on-point for eating every day! The weekend was a bit more free-flowing, but in general, it was a great week. A ton of phenomenal recipes were tried and will be posted later.

This week's plan - DETOX!

In keeping with the theme, as delicious as wine is, last week was a bit much as far as wine was concerned because my friends want to have a glass or two every day of the week. So, there will be no wine tonight, Weds, or Thurs. We will be headed off to the shore this weekend and that's always a challenge...but we'll see how it goes.

Either way, I have a ton of amazing fresh fruit and vegetables in the fridge for consumption this week. Let's go, antioxidants!!!!!

Workouts for this week are TBD as Andrea is out of time and I am swamped with "being a good friend" duties over the next few days. Plus a delicious date with Steve at Tria tomorrow!

Day 71 - Not bad...

no workout....bad Nicole.

Breakfast: none
Lunch: Turkey wrap & some potato chips
Snack: 1 chocolate kiss
Dinner: Antipasto salad, 1 cup of fruit salad, spiced apple wine with Sera

My problem is that too many people want to drink wine with me on a daily basis. That's what I'm blaming it on...for sure!

Day 70 - Back in the groove

Food:
Breakfast: none
Lunch: Turkey & cheese rollups, sugar free jello cup
Snack: One Milky-Way mini and 4 potato chips
Dinner: Creamy Dijon Salmon & Mango salad, glass of red wine

We won't talk about yesterday....let's just say it was ugly. Very ugly.

Recipe: Creamy Dijon Salmon

Easy, but tastes very complex and difficult to make. A fantastic dish for having company over.

Creamy Dijon Salmon
2 salmon fillets (6-8 oz each)
3 tbps dijon mustard
3 tbps light sour cream
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp dried dillweed
8 crackers (whole wheat Ritz or regular Ritz), crumbled

Preheat the oven to 400. Place rinsed salmon on a baking sheet covered in tin foil. In a small bowl, mix the mustard, sour cream, honey, and dill. Spread the mixture over the fish. Place the crumbled crackers over top of the mustard mixture. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until done. If a crispier finish on the crackers is desired, broil for 2-3 minutes at end (but watch to make sure crackers don't overbrown).

Recipe: Mango Salad with Mint-Mustard Vinaigrette

Sounds super weird...I promise, it's amazing! Qamara wants me to make this every day and she HATES mango...but this is ridiculous.

Mango Salad with Mint-Mustard Vinaigrette
1 mango, chopped
1 bag red/green butter lettuce mixture
1/3 cup chopped macadamia nuts (roasted & salted)
1/4 cup cheese (any or a mixture of crumbled feta, goat cheese, or shaved parmesan)
1/4 cup chopped scallion

Dressing
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp honey
Dash of kosher salt

To make the dressing, add the olive oil & mint in a blender. Puree lightly, then add rest of ingredients. Pulse lightly to mix. **NOTE - this makes double the dressing needed for this salad, so you can save some for another night or just to serve over lettuce as the dressing is incredibly flavorful.

Add all salad ingredients in bowl and toss well. Add 3 or so spoonfuls of dressing to salad and mix. Leaves should be lightly coated.

If you wanted to make this an entree salad, adding a skewer of grilled shrimp or a filet of fish would be perfect over top.

Day 69 - At the beach!

Weekends are definitely the hardest part....particularly SUMMER weekends!!!!!

Here's the report....some good, some bad.....

Day 67 (Friday)
No workout
Lunch: Gazpacho & cornbread
Dinner: Shrimp tempura sushi (2 pieces), Hamachi sushi (4 pieces), 1 spare rib, 1 shrimp tempura (now for the bad.....1 lychee martini, 1 jade blossom martini, 1 glass of riesling)
Now for the WORST part.....1 lamb gyro from the street.....oops.

Day 68 (Saturday)
Started off great with a workout...
0.25 mi sprint + 10 swings 25 lb x 4 rounds
Also did 20 push presses with 30 lbs

Food....worst day ever.....
Breakfast: 1/2 bacon, egg & cheese wrap
Lunch: Beer, beer, and more beer.....and some Yankee Stadium nachos
Dinner: Shrimp tempura roll (3 pieces), tuna/yellowtail roll (4 pieces), 1.5 pieces of cornbread (baby size), 3 bites of clam chowder, 2 bay scallops, and 5 french fries
Snack: Melonball cocktails.....courtesy of Aunt Diane. At least I vetoed the ice cream that everyone else got!

Let's see if today is any better...but we're at the beach, so don't count on it.

Day 67 - You win some, you lose some

For Day 66:

Food:
Breakfast: none
Lunch: Gazpacho soup, chicken saltimbocca
Snack: Chocolate cupcake (bad Nicole!), 1/2 cup peanuts
Dinner: Date night with Kyle.....2 glasses of white wine, 1/4 piece of cornbread, 2 fried green tomatoes, mixed salad with ranch dressing, a few bites of grits, crab cakes, fried chicken, and chocolate cake

Rest day per coach

Recipe: Chicken Saltimbocca

This is an excellent recipe to impress guests but quick to prepare on an average weeknight. Very healthy and delicious. The sauce is amazing......I may make a double batch next time.

Chicken Saltimbocca

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (small pieces or large breasts cut in half)
Fresh sage leaves
Flour (for dredging)
4 slices prosciutto
Olive oil
1 tbsp butter
8 oz sliced mushrooms
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup Marsala wine
3 tbsp water
1/3 cup light sour cream
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 375. Lay the chicken on a piece of wax paper and season with kosher salt & ground pepper. Lay 2 sage leaves across the chicken breast and then wrap a piece of prosciutto around each breast. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with 1 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tbsp of butter until melted. While skillet is heating, place flour on plate or dredging bowl and dredge chicken with flour until lightly covered. Place the chicken in the skillet with the prosciutto seam side down and cook for 3 min, then flip and cook for another 3 min. Prosciutto should be lightly browned. Place chicken into roasting pan and finish in oven, cooking for approximately another 10 min.

While chicken is cooking, prepare the sauce. Turn skillet heat to high and add mushrooms, garlic, and a touch more olive oil if necessary. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring well. Add Marsala wine and 4 sage leaves; cook until liquid is almost gone. Remove from heat and add water, sour cream, and parsley. Mix together and season with salt/pepper.

Place the mushroom mixture on a large serving plate and top with chicken pieces.

In my opinion, I'm going to double the water/sour cream/parsley for next time to get a bit more juice for the chicken. It had amazing flavor!

Recipe: Chicken & Strawberry Salad

Whether you make this as a recipe or make just the dressing to spice up a salad, do not miss this one!

Chicken & Strawberry Salad

Tomato Balsamic Vinaigrette
2 roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tbsp minced shallot
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
Dash of salt & pepper

Salad
1 bag of baby spinach (6 oz)
1 rotisserie chicken - the breast meat only, chopped into bite-size pieces
1 heaping cup sliced strawberries
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

NOTE: You will have double the salad dressing you need for this recipe with the amounts above. We saved it and will be eating delicious salads all week with the rest of the dressing. You can make less if you want to, but you're already going to the trouble of making a small amount!

To create the dressing, mix all ingredients together EXCEPT the olive oil in a blender until they are a smooth puree. While the blender is running on low, drizzle in the olive oil to create an emulsion. This will last for 5-7 days (must be refrigerated).

Mix the spinach with 1/2 cup of the vinaigrette.

Dinner party preparation: Spoon spinach onto individual salad plates and top with walnuts, chicken, strawberries, and feta. Drizzle with a bit more of the dressing for color.

Weeknight preparation: Mix chicken, feta, walnuts, and strawberries into spinach and toss well.

Serve immediately!

Day 65 - GREAT Day!

I worked out with my trainer today...and although I was tired and still sore from Monday, I still had a pretty good time.

Workout:
Squats
45 lbs x 5 reps x 2 sets
65 lbs x 5 reps x 1 set
75 lbs x 2 reps x 1 set
Work set: 95 lbs x 5 reps x 3 sets

Presses
45 lbs x 5 reps x 1 set
Work set: 50 lbs x 3 reps x 5 sets

Sit ups with weight (on the ab mat)
10 lbs x 10 sit ups x 2 sets
5 lbs x 10 sit ups x 1 set

Metabolic Conditioning
In 10 minutes, do ten 120 ft sprints carrying a 25 lb sandbag

Rockin' awesome. And yes, I am not writing these correctly due to the fact that most people who look at this blog have absolutely no idea what the proper notation means....

Food
Breakfast: none...oops
Lunch: Half a Saladworks salad
Dinner: 1 chicken breast wrapped in prosciutto (amazing recipe!), watermelon & arugula salad, 1 or 2 glasses of red wine....

Day 64 - Oops, forgot my lunch...

It's amazing what a small error can do to your day! Like a naughty schoolchild, I forgot my lunch today. And Kyle had the car so I couldn't leave the office to get something....so I made do with what was in the office...a very, very bad plan.

Let's start with the good news. I did a workout this morning and it was pretty good.

10 clean & press with 25 lb sandbag
10 swings with 25 lb dumbbell

Most rounds you can do in 10 minutes....

I did 5 rounds in 9:15....so not terrible.

Food...not so great...

Breakfast = none
Lunch = 2 oreo cookies, 2 chips ahoy cookies, a handful of swedish fish, and a soft Philly pretzel
Dinner = fresh gazpacho soup, chicken strawberry salad (recipe to come later), and a glass of white wine
Snack = salted peanuts package & can of chicken noodle soup (campbells)

Day 63 - And it starts over...

Well, summer came and that means beers, brats, and a whole lot of suntanning. Not exactly the best things for getting in shape. SO, we are back in the saddle....yet again. Yikes.

Today was an excellent day.

Workout - I trained with my coach and I upped my weights on everything even though I took a week off last week.

Squats:
45 lbs x 5 reps x 2 rounds
55 lbs x 5 reps x 1 round
65 lbs x 5 reps x 1 round
75 lbs x 5 reps x 1 round
Work Set: 90 lbs x 5 reps x 3 rounds

Presses:
45 lbs x 5 reps x 2 rounds
Work Set: 50 lbs x 5 reps x 1 round, 50 lbs x 3 reps x 1 round, 50 lbs x 4 reps x 1 round

Metabolic Conditioning:
Swings: 25 lbs x 30 swings x 1 round then 20 lbs x 30 swings x 2 rounds
200 m dash carrying 25 lb sandbag x 3 rounds
Time was ????

Food Today
1 slice thin-crust broccoli pizza
1 slice thin-crust cheese pizza
1 chicken breast
7 macadamia nuts