I blog at http://becgetshealthy.wordpress.com/. And I post things that inspire me here.
This is my journey to get healthy, be well, keep it real, laugh too much, love too hard, live large and achieve total awesomeness.
This Friday Night
This is my bffl.
God, I love this woman. We have been friends for 20 years. In girl speak, that means sometimes we’ve been closerthanthis and other times we didn’t talk. But, I love her like no other, and always have. Even when things were shitty, even when we had stupid fights about stupid things. She’s my bffl, that’s how we do.
Friday nights in the summer mean dinner with me and her and our two sons, who are the same age, and already little bffls in their own right.
Consequently, I LOVE Friday nights in the summer.
It means good food.
That is Baked Feta with Kale Pesto. If you like, I will totally give you the recipe (that I sort of followed), but I’m going to have to insist that you make me some because OH MY GOD OMNOMNOM.
Pizza! Organic Whole Wheat Crust, garlic scape pesto, asparagus, roma tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. YUM.
It means shitty booze, that is fully the same thing we were drinking in high school.
Go. Get some. It’s ridiculous good in that way that only crappy wine coolers can be.
It means hours spent sitting next to each other at one of our houses, talking and laughing and fangirling and sometimes crying and just fucking BEING.
And it makes me whole.
I was feeling particularly celebratory yesterday. My daughter graduated eight grade. I’m the parent of a high school freshman. My son made it through a tough year at school. I ran a sub 15:00 minute mile this week. And as of weigh in yesterday morning, all of the ugly weight gain is gone, plus another pound. That puts me down 29.8 pounds since I joined Weight Watchers this year, and down 60.2 pounds since January 2011.
THAT’S A LOT TO CELEBRATE. And she’s the best person to celebrate with.
Jen has seen me at my absolute worst and loved me anyway. She has sent me ‘come to jesus’ emails when I really, truly needed them. She has supported every effort of mine, no matter how ridiculous they might have seemed to the rest of the world.
Last night, Jen said that of all the different incarnations of me she’s known (and as someone who has felt the need to constantly reinvent herself, I can assure you, there have been plenty), she likes this one the best because it is the real me.
She gets me. And there is no better feeling in the world than being gotten.
I get her right back, too. I love her in all her flaily, fangirly glory. I love that she’s loud. I love that her personality is as big as the whole world. I love that she’s not perfect, that is is admittedly full of flaws, as am I, but that she like who she is anyway.
She’s my bffl.
If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.
<3 Bec
Post with 2 notes
14:53
I had to resist the urge to add ‘Mother__cker!’ in the title of this post. But please know that in my head, I totally said it.
Here’s why.
This was me when I saw that.
Okay, reality. THIS was me when I saw it.
I teared up. Literally.
Since I started running back in January, being able to run a sub 15:00 mile has been my goal. I had to look back at DailyMile to check, but my first day of C25K, on 1/29/12 was a lot different.
And that wasn’t my highest pace. It has been as high as 19:00 over the past five months. And the next time I run, it probably won’t be under 15:00. It might be, but if it isn’t, it won’t matter. Because I did it.
I set a goal and I achieved it. THAT FEELS AMAZING.
What next? I have no idea. I’ve got three 5Ks over the next six weeks, each of which I’m looking forward to for a different reason, including THIS.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EERSfHiqT8&w=560&h=315]
I’m so FLIPPING excited about this day. It looks like a blast, and I get to have some of my favorite girls with me: Jen, my bffl, Lisa, my favorite blonde, Sara, my running partner and Katie, my kick ass Zumba instructor and inspiration. It’s going to be an amazing day.
And even though she won’t be running next to me, my Meri will be there too, because she is the person who inspired me to start all of this crazy, so she’s always kind of with me. Which rocks, because she rocks.
After that, I’ll be training for the Diva Dash, and then getting ready to potentially do a triathalon next year.
Who am I??
That’s how it feels these days. I mean, I’m the same person, but I feel so very, very different. In the best possible way. And sometimes, it’s hard to remember how I felt six months ago.
But I think that’s just life, right?
<3 Bec
P.S. Since I promised foodie deliciousness, this is my lunch for today.
Quinoa salad with rainbow carrots, roasted fennel, lemon and dill. YUM.
Post reblogged from Life, Liberty and the pursuit of healthiness with 19 notes
Reblog if you are a Weight Watchers user!
I need to see more of you superfab people on my dash :)
Source: bettershape-betterself
Post with 2 notes
Veggies
So, in an effort to blog more, because I like it, I think we’re going to start talking about food a whole hell of a lot around these parts.
Do you mind? I thought not.
So, this week, I got my first home delivery of local, organic produce. This ROCKED. Having it delivered, even to my MIL’s house, because the company doesn’t have my town on their route yet, was incredibly convenient. And, I got THIS.
Gorgeous, right? So much yum.
Strawberries, peaches, plums, apples, bananas, cucumber, asian greens, lettuce, kale, broccoli, roma tomatoes, rainbow carrots and garlic scapes. Garlic scapes? WHAT THE HELL IS A GARLIC SCAPE?
Those are garlic scapes. According to the interwebs, when bulbs of garlic grow underground, these are the curly stems that grow above ground. They look sort of like scallions, but they are really sturdy. And the smell… it’s this gorgeous, mellow garlic scent.
But, I’d never used them before and wasn’t really sure what to do with them. The internet seemed to favor making a pesto, and really, who am I to argue?
I don’t really ‘recipe’ much, but I’ll do my best to guesstimate, k?
Spinach Garlic Scape Pesto
1 bunch of garlic scapes. (I don’t know if bunches come in different sizes. God, I suck at this. But really, it’s pesto. It’s pretty hard to fuck up. )
1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts, toasted
Basil (about 10 leaves)
Spinach (3 large handfuls, probably 3-4 cups)
Juice of two small lemons
Pulse in food processor for a minute and then turn the food processor on high. Stream in olive oil until the consistency is ‘right’. (That’s personal preference. I prefer more of a paste, therefore, less oil.)
Add in parmesan cheese and pulse a few more times.
That’s it. You can eat it raw if you want (I don’t normally with regular garlic pesto, but with the scapes, it was mild enough). Or cook it on the stove top for a few minutes, just to take the edge off.
Then, do whatever the hell you want with it. Put it on pasta. Put it on bread. Put it on a spoon and shove it in your mouth. IT’S PESTO, IT HAS A MILLION USES.
I love the color. Also, I take terrible pictures. But whatever.
Now, to use the rest of my haul. I have an epic salad planned around the rainbow carrots. And there are some apple ‘nachos’ in my very near future. I’m thinking the kale might wind up in the kale pesto with baked feta for dinner with bffl on Friday night (which, hello, I could not be more excited about. She’s not only my bffl, she loves food as much as I do and we will talk about it endlessly. And probably laugh until our sides hurt).
My life? It’s so damn good right now.
<3 Bec
Photo reblogged from Shrinking Slowly. with 12 notes
This is originally from Kath Eats Real Food and it is, by far, one of my favorite breakfasts. You can top it with anything. I use almond milk instead of soy, and ground flax instead of Chia Seeds, and today I topped it with Almond Butter and a few chocolate chips. YUM.
Whipped Banana Oatmeal
- 1/3 cup old fashioned oats
- 1/3 cup 1% or skim or soy milk
- 1/2 cup water (I like my oats a bit liquidy – cut back to 1/3 a cup if you don’t)
- 1/2 a banana, sliced
- 1 tbsp chia seeds (they give the best fluffy texture!)
- Pinch of kosher salt
- Vanilla, stirred in at end
For two servings, we start by combining rolled oats, water, and milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Slice a banana into VERY thin pieces, leaving just a few bigger chunks. Walk away for a few minutes while the oatmeal heats. Once it begins to steam or bubble, stir vigorously at times to “whip” the banana into the oats. The oats will take about 5 minutes on medium heat from start to finish to fully absorb the liquid. They’re done when they reach your desired consistency! Then I stir in vanilla (and often pumpkin or cottage cheese) and portion into bowls. Add any toppings you like, such as almond or peanut butter dollops, nuts, granola, coconut, crumbled granola bars, or trail mix – with dark chocolate chips! Or check out all the combos listed below.
The whipped method produces a really creamy bowl of oats. The bananas basically disappear, so there are no chunks. Since banana is an emulsifier of sorts, this method suspends the oats into a thick, creamy consistency and the whole bowl is sweeter because the banana’s sweetness permeates throughout.
Photo reblogged from Your God is a Two Door Elevator. with 20 notes
GPOY.
Seriously, though. I was having one of those moments last night where I was just pissed at myself for past crimes committed against my body. I know, I know. Let it go. And I did. But still, having to accept that no matter how hard I work, some parts of my body just aren’t ever going to be what I want them to be without intervention… it’s HARD.
Like, my upper arms. I’ve got some serious ‘old lady teacher arm’ going on. And the fact is, it’s never going to go all the way away.
BUT…
I didn’t start this journey so I could invite people to the gun show. I did it to save my life and make myself healthy. And no, my upper arms won’t ever be perfect.
IT’S OKAY.
Today, I woke up and chose to look at how much better I look and feel, instead of dwelling on the parts of my body I might not be able to change. I decided not to look at how far I have left to go…
and instead, I’m focusing on how far I’ve come.
<3 Bec
Photo reblogged from KV Knows Her Fun with 41 notes
Want. In my mouth. Now.
Cheesy Cauliflower Tater Tots.
When I first saw this I thought it had to be WW friendly (cauliflower!) but when I read the rest of the recipe and saw heavy cream and butter I was skeptical.
But I plugged everything into the recipe builder, taking into account the serving size (recipe makes about 50 tots, 10 tots per serving) it comes out to 3 points. I can live with a 3 point side dish! I’d just be sure to skip the pan frying step. If they taste good baked, there’s no need to add the extra oil (and points!)
Post with 3 notes
Progress Pics
So, I’ve wanted to do before and after (and during) pictures, but I didn’t take them at the beginning. There aren’t a lot of pictures of me, mostly because at my heaviest, I avoided the camera like the plague. I’m still not jumping to get my picture taken, but it’s getting easier.
And really, the difference is more noticeable than I realized.
This was June 2011. Not my absolute heaviest, I was down about 15 pounds from my absolute highest at this point.
The adorable one in nurses’ whites is my sister. So the relationship I have with this photo is totally love hate. Love, because she’s my baby sister and she graduated nursing school and I was so happy to share it with her. Hate because I’m about 370 pounds and feeling pretty fucking miserable in my own skin. And that was 15 pounds down!
Fast forward to end of March 2012, down another 30 pounds, so just over 50 pounds lower than my heaviest.
I don’t think I realized that there was a visible difference until I put them two of them together.
Crazy. But crazy good.
I think this week I’m going to take some pictures so I can really start keeping visual track of the progress I’m making. That way, on the days my jeans aren’t my best friend, I’ll be able to look back and see how far I’ve come :)
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