I know, it has been a while, almost 9 months since my last post! Did I fall off the wagon? Oh I sure did. In my last post, I had joined a challenge group for 21 day fix. That didn't work. We tried going to the gym. That didn't work.... A lot of things didn't work, and a lot of excuses happened. We went to Mexico for our Honeymoon in October, then it was Thanksgiving, and then Christmas, then New Years, then my birthday... And here I am once again feeling sad and guilty and not very happy about my weight and uncomfortable in my own skin. A lot of my friends might say "But you seem so happy and confident?". I try my hardest to not let things get me down, I really do, but this is my struggle.
A trip to the doctor at the end of January sparked a little bit of this reboot revelation. Now, while I was not diagnosed with diabetes or told that I have a dysfunctional liver, I was told that I should err on the side of caution and watch my sugar and carbohydrate intake. She also told me to be aware of my alcohol intake and try to avoid taking too much ibuprofen (Neither of which I thought I did a lot of anyway). So I bought some whole grain bread and called it a day. Then I started thinking of other things... Things that have always been in the back of my mind. Tony and I want to have kids soon, and obviously to get pregnant you need to be healthy. After pregnancy, the baby will get older and start walking and running and I will have to chase the peanut around the house. I get tired now chasing the dog around the house.. so... I need to get in shape to be able to chase a dog AND a toddler. Toddlers get older and follow the example their parent's set for them. Do I want my kid thinking it's okay to eat out all the time and that it's okay to make unhealthy choices? Of course not. Furthermore, do I want my kid seeing me struggling with my weight and confidence, or battle issues like diabetes, or heart diesase, or even worse not be around because I had a heart attack and died? Alright, that's morbid and extreme, but really... do I? Nope.
Fast forward to my "Revelation moment". Honestly, it happened really early just this past Thursday morning. Tony had just returned around 5am from driving my brother in law to the airport (Hi Thomas, you probably won't read this), and while he went back to sleep I was awake and started to scroll through social media. I landed on the Instagram page of GraciesJourney. She looked familiar, and when I was eventually linked to her YouTube page and I vaguely remembered watching her "Transformation" story months earlier. After seeing that she started at over 200 lbs and lost over 90 pounds over the last two years, I asked myself "Why can't that be me?" This was a familiar question I asked myself whenever I see people's before and after posts. Then, I really asked myself..."Why CAN'T that be ME?!" The one thing that Gracie said that really got to me was that she'd tried over and over and things would never stick. She'd go two weeks and then get lazy and give up. As, I watch her I'm thinking "YES, that is totally me!" She said that sometimes something just needs to click in you. She said that what people need to understand is that you cant just go on a diet, you have to make it a lifestyle. That inspired me. 30 minutes later, I rolled out of bed and got into my workout gear. I ripped open the Cize DVD set I had just purchased the week before that I was supposed to start on Monday but was too "busy" to do, and got to it!
I am hoping that was my "Click" moment. As I am writing, I am wrapping up Day 2 of my rebooted journey. I started a new Instagram account MotivateMandz devoted to my journey. Please feel free to follow me and help me stay motivated! Someone told me once that there is something about sharing your progress that can help to motivate you (Thanks Bill!). I know that some people think it's annoying and don't get it, but I fully believe you should do what works for you. Forget the haters and keep on keeping on!
Right now, my routine consists of working out in the morning, even though I am not a morning person! I just know me, and by the time I get home from work the last thing I want to do is work out. I am currently doing Shaun T's Cize Dance Workout and trying to utilize MyFitnessPal again to help me keep track of my calories. I am not cutting out any foods out of my diet completely because I know that depriving myself will likely cause me to relapse. Instead, I am trying to find substitutes in recipes to cubs my cravings and keep me satisfied!! See below for the delicious flourless brownies we made tonight-- Until next time...
xoxo Mandie
Garbanzo Bean Brownies -- Gluten Free!!
As we were eating dinner tonight, I was pushing the black beans around in my salad and told Tony that I heard you can make brownies with black beans. He made a face and said that it sounded gross. I told him that I heard they were really good and fudgy, and challenged me to make them. Well, we didn't have another can of black beans in the pantry, but we did have Garbanzo beans so I went on Pinterest and searched "Garbanzo Bean Brownies". I stumbled about this post from The Roasted Root, made sure I had all the ingredients and preheated my oven.
These brownies are absolutely delicious! As expected, they are rich, moist and fudgy, and totally don't taste like garbanzo beans! At 83 calories a brownie, I can have 2 with a glass of almond milk and not feel an ounce of guilt!
Here we are all ready to go
I've got my pan all lined and ready
Melt that chocolate!
Blend it all up!
Add in that chocolate and blend it into a thick batter
Get in the pan
It's getting hot in herre
Impatiently wait for them to cool
Enjoy!
Garbanzo Bean Brownies
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
For a fluffier brownie, use 1 whole egg and 3 egg whites instead of 2 whole eggs.
I originally found this recipe on: http://www.theroastedroot.net/garbanzo-bean-brownies/
This recipe is adapted from I’m So Hungree http://imsohungree.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/gluten-free-chickpea-brownies.html?showComment=1353452348925
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