MAY!!!

Ok so to those who have done the HCG diet and have succeeded I say kudos, congrats because this diet is difficult to maintain. I made it to my fifth day and decided that it was not worth the lack of energy that I was dealing with. I was taking vitamins and following the diet exactly but I think there are many factors that I did not think about going into this diet. First I walk around a lot at work which means I do burn some calories and on this 500 calorie diet I think I was burning too many and that is why I was so tired to the point that after the work day all I wanted to do was sleep. Second, in my opinion this program is for people with a lot of fat to loose and because this diet requires that you do not have breakfast it practically kills your metabolism. I do have to say that I love getting anything from GNC because I was able to return the HCG and get a full refund. I am still taking the women’s multivitamin that I bought from GNC because I like it and I have more energy and I feel more awake during the day when I take it.

I am still aiming for a healthier lifestyle so on Monday I took the dog on a walk and used an app on my phone called JogTracker. JogTracker uses my phones GPS and maps to get my location and accurately map out my route and give me the distance that I am going. It also gives me time and if I have my headphones in with music playing this app keeps me updated every few minutes of my distance and my time. Better than trying to check my phone while running! So when I took this walk I used the app to plan my route I will be taking. Also since I have not been active since I tried p90x at the beginning of the year I think that a brisk walk may warm up my muscles. I found the right route which was 1.2 miles and walked it again with the dog Tuesday and Wednesday. Yesterday I decided to take the leap of faith and do a light jog to see how I would do. For not remembering the last time I ran a mile I think I did well, and I did better than I thought I would do. 13 minutes for that mile is not great but I am happy with myself in that I pushed to finish and did not let myself walk at all during the run.

On the diet aspect of healthy living I have decided not to follow some crazy diet and just try to make healthier choices and to try and avoid fast food and sugary drinks. I have also picked out low fat or fat free choices when grocery shopping. I also follow @TaralynnsTweets who gives great healthy living advice. I found her blog on Pinterest and I find it amazing. Take a look: http://undressedskeleton.tumblr.com/. I am super busy in the morning and I am also not a morning gal so making time to get ready AND eat breakfast does not always work out and this leads to not eating breakfast which is a big no no! So I came up with a genius idea to premix oatmeal in a sandwich bag to take to work and since we have a coffee machine that I can get hot water from it works out! I took ½ cup 1 minute oatmeal, 1 tsp brown sugar, dash of salt, desired amount of raisins and craisins. I put all this in a sandwich bag and all I had to take to work was a disposable paper bowl and a plastic spoon.

On the weekend I like to make up pancakes on my little flat grill and I throw some mixed frozen fruit on the grill with the pancakes and this makes for a wholesome breakfast and I did put some syrup on the cakes but I wish I hadn’t since the juices from the fruit were enough I didn’t even need the syrup. Another quick breakfast idea for on the go is a nice smoothie. I used the frozen fruit and mix it in my Ninja with milk, orange juice, and protein mix. I use the protein mix for energy and to fill me up a little more than the smoothie alone would.

A sort of update on the military side of things: My uncle Rob (he is the greatest) got in touch with an air guard recruiter who funny enough happens to work part time as a salesman at the dealership I work. He was telling me of an amazing opportunity to get into the air guard as a commissioned officer which I did not think I was possible without a degree. Turns out that this is possible for only certain fields which are religion, medical, and legal. The only catch that I had found through research so far is that I must get my degree before gaining the rank of O-3 or Captain.  The job is also located in Fairbanks which I thought would be difficult because I would have to travel, good news about that is that the air guard will put me on a plane to and from Fairbanks on drill weekends and the air guard will pay for my hotel and food on the weekend that I have to go. Sounds compelling. My recruiter does not yet know if this job is still available but I really hope so. He is on leave now so I have to be patient but I am positive.

The spring semester is finally coming to a close and I have all my finals this weekend and some end of the semester project due. Which means I will be locked away this weekend. L Good news is that I will be free for the summer after this weekend! So excited!

All this bad food in my house!! AHHHHH!!!!

I hate grocery shopping... period. I feel I do not have self control to say no to deliciously bad foods like Totinos pizzas, bacon, and cookie dough ice cream. I think Dieting is the most difficult thing I have ever done. Zeke is not really all in for a "diet" and so I told him at the grocery store to get what he wants but only enough for him because I wont be eating it. Of course he picks out all the very yummy, fattening, bad for you foods that I cannot have, and what I cannot have I want most of all.

I have tried a very, very low fat diet while doing the P90x workout but with low fat and low calories I did not have the energy to complete the workouts. I think if I would have stuck with it I would have liked the results and I think if anyone is hard core enough the P90x workout is awesome and I hope to try it again only when I find the right diet to combine with it. I am currently trying the HGC diet because I keep hearing these "miracle stories" about it, including a co-worker who lost 25lbs in two weeks! I know I'm not "fat" but I am not in shape, skinny, or where I want to be. I currently weigh the more than I ever have in my life and this is discouraging to my self-esteem. I am only on day 5 of the HCG diet and it is the most difficult thing I have ever done. I think without the daily vitamins I am taking I would not get past day 3.

Here is what the HCG diet is all about:
Phase 1(2 days): Gorging phase- while taking HCG before lunch and before dinner (so 2x daily) eat EVERYTHING! Sounds crazy but this is supposed to build fat. But I already have fat, is this not why I am doing this in the first place? Well you need calories and fat to burn so that way it is not a shock to your body going into phase 2.

Phase 2 (no more than 3 weeks, stop at desired weight): 500 calories a day-
Breakfast- tea, coffee, water, mineral water. No sugar except for Stevia. Only one tablespoon of milk allowed in 24hrs.
Lunch- 100 grams of chicken breast, grass fed beef, shrimp, white fish, lobster, or crab. All visible meat to be removed. Weighed raw. 1 Melba toast. 2 cups vegetables spinach, chicory, beet greens, green salad, tomatoes, celery, fennel, onions, red radishes, cucumbers, asparagus, cabbage ONLY. 1 apple, orange, or handful of strawberries. Melba toast or apple can be snacks instead of with the meal.
Dinner- same as lunch, advised different meat and veggie.

Light exercise to no exercise. This is a very low calorie diet and the HCG is used to trick your brain to use fat stored in your body to gain extra calories for daily activities instead of muscle. Do Not exceed 3 weeks. When desired weight is reached or 3 weeks have passed slowly add more calories to diet, first 1,000 then 1,500, then 2,000. If more weight loss is desired take 3 week break than start diet again.

This is intense! And again I am only on day 5, or day 3 of 500 calories. When I purchased HCG at GNC I was advised to purchase a daily multivitamin because of the lack of energy and essential vitamins and nutrients from the diet. I purchased a months supply of multivitamin packs that consist of 7 different pills including a caffeine pill. Besides this pack I take everyday I include vitamin D because although the winter is almost done in Alaska we were without sun for a few months and therefore it is not uncommon to not get enough vitamin D. This alone can give me some energy, unless I am active at work, which I am. My job is a somewhat outside job and I walk a lot. when burning 1/4 at least of my daily calorie intake you can imagine how tired I feel. It is not the meals, its not hunger, it is the lack of energy that is getting to me. In fact I do not get hungry at all on this diet! Sometimes I feel full by the time I eat half my veggies. I also have, just in case, appetite control but I have not had to use them. This is a tough diet and I have already told myself that if I do not see results by the end of week one I will try something else. I have, as of last night, lost 3 pounds. My goal is to reach my desired weight then start a higher calorie diet and start an exercise routine to tone and get back into shape. I am not looking to loose a ton of weight and I know I will probably gain it back in muscle and that is what I want.

I have already done some digging on my next diet and I have found the blog to use. http://undressedskeleton.tumblr.com/. There are so many healthy, low fat recipes on this blog that look so delicious I think this one will be easier to maintain. I also hope to get Zeke into the diet as well. My current motivation is a lean body, healthy lifestyle, and increase energy.

I know I do not blog a lot and since I started spring classes it has been increasingly difficult to blog. I do believe however, that I have a new blogging adventure in searching and sharing healthy living tips and recipes. I want to be able to look back at this blog and see what I have accomplished and use it as motivation to continue.

I eat a lot out of boredom and that is how you gain weight so my first tip:

Eat with your non-dominant hand only! This odd motion will stop bored eating.
OR
Do something that requires both hands or gets you moving when you find yourself looking for an unhealthy snack. Like household chores, crafts, walking the dog, reorganize the closet, yard work, etc. 

Water is your friend, first step to healthier living is to eliminate sugary drinks!

Explanation for Facebook Status

This is the worst week for sleep that I have ever had! It is only Tuesday! Sunday evening Zeke decides to stay up in the bed and look at craigslist on the laptop. Normally this would not bother me except he was using the clicker thing instead of double tapping the pad… I just drifted into sleep and started to dream when my dream is interrupted by an occasional “click……click….click, click.” Too bad I am too nice all I said was “honey, we have to work early in the morning.” Nope. He couldn’t sleep so he had to keep me up with him! He is so lucky that I have just been too much of a zombie to be angry.

Last night was even worse! Apparently I have had this huge cavity that hasn’t bothered me at all until last night. The dentist was amazed last month that I had not said anything about it and told me I had to come in ASAP to get it fixed or it would really bother me. I guess he was right…duh. Listen to your dentist. Anyway, last night felt like a tiny person was inside my mouth stabbing the inside of my tooth with a knife, over, and over again. I tried everything. First I flossed like crazy, then I brushed my teeth and rinsed with mouth wash three times and nothing seemed to work. From what I could see using my makeup mirror I did not have anything jammed up inside of the cavity. When my alarm went off I just hit snooze and Zeke was trying to get me up and was saying I was going to be late. I told him that I did not care and I only wanted to lie in bed since I could not sleep. I also told him why I was up all night and he said “weird, I had a dream about pulling teeth..” He does not remember whose tooth it was but I also think this was weird and I blame him for my tooth pain, in a loving way of course.

Holy Crap! I need a Time-Turner!

So a couple of weeks ago I joined Pinterest.com and had a goal to make some new, fun recipes and share them in a blog post. Then I spent all my time working, studying, and watching True Blood and now I am hooked on Greys Anatomy (thanks Cari). Next time she bothers me about blogging I am going to blame it on her for telling me about this show.

Not much ha happened and at the same time so much has! I do not know where to begin. Some top secret stuff, family stuff, future stuff, and just about crazy stuff.

Anchorage is about to beat the record for most snowfall ever! Who would have though the year I move here I would witness a record? Also Zeke is kinda mad at me, he doesn't like the snow. Everyone here is baffled by all the snow this year and oddly enough in this part of Alaska people are surprised and do not know what to do with the snow. How do you live in Alaska and not know what to do with snow?

So a girl named Smantha Koenig who works at a coffee hut in Anchorage was abducted a month ago by an armed man and APD still does not have any leads. In New York this kind of stuff would happen all the time and it is sad that it does not become big news. There are people with reward fliers taped to their car windows. Although the whole thing is super scary it comforts me that her family has so much support, including donations to help raise the reward money for her safe return. This has scared everyone and with the talks of putting strict federal laws on gun ownership or gun purchasing I have purchased a handgun. I am so happy Alaska is a open carry state, because nothing says don't mess with this girl with a gun strapped to her hip.

School is expensive, especially when it is coming out of my pocket! These school bills are making me seriously think about alternatives to paying for school such as the military. I work with a national guard recruiter and there are some interesting benefits school wise that I could take advantage of. Another possible option however would be the air guard only because I could use credits toward my major from the technical school, which is not available in the national guard. All of this is still a thought and I haven't put much action into it yet.

If Obama continues to try to crush the military it may not work out at all. Hopefully his propositions of eliminating the commissaries and hiking up Tricare will not pass but those are some benefits that are the military's strong points in recruitments. Our military may be dwindling when we need it the most. Possibly soon in Syria?

Anyway I hope to post some Nikki approved recipes this weekend. I am sure Cari will remind me :).

I dedicate this post to Cari.

PS on this princess challenge, my favorite was the little mermaid then I changed my mind in early childhood to princess Aurora from the sleeping beauty. Ha!

Transformation into a true Alaskan

So since my last post the days got shorter to a point on some days we wouldn't see the sun until 10:30-11ish am and it would disappear again around 3-4ish pm. Now we are slowly getting our sun back, just a few more minutes of sunlight each day. Although it is below zero and we are only half way through winter having more sun everyday gives Alaskans hope that spring and summer are just around the corner.

I hate the heat and I was partial to freezing cold weather until I moved here. I believe I am transforming into a true Alaskan and I know this because just a few weeks ago it was 25 degrees outside and I was sweating. It felt hot compared to our usual ten below lately. I don't mind the cold if it is zero or 15 below zero as long as there is no wind.  I refuse to go outside if it is windy. I can handle the still cold but when it is blowing in my face and I get that cold stinging I'm done. We have gotten a lot of snow lately but for the past week and a half it has been nothing but clear skies. I have also learned that up here if the sun is shining and there are no clouds in the winter time then it is not a good thing, it means that it will be a lot colder then when the clouds are around to keep some heat in. But even if it is colder it is nice this time of year to see the bright sun.

This Christmas was awesome. My family flew up from Idaho to spend the holiday with us. I also met my first niece Ina Romea and I was in baby heaven. I was nervous at first because it was the moment of truth for Zeke to see how he was with a five month old but he passed with flying colors. He was so cute with her and took every chance to hold her and play with her. My sister produced the most beautiful baby girl in the world I swear.

Now I am a full time student and a hold a full time job. I really don't know how people do it when they are doing this and raising children. I am already having a hard time as it is. I am just lucky that this semester all my classes are online, my mistake was thinking it would be easy. It is far from easy. I have four classes but since they are all online each week there is a certain amount of homework, reading, and quizzes due by the end of the week. Sounds simple because I have a whole week, but when a full time job and an hour commute one way is factored in it makes it a balancing challenge. I think after a few weeks I will get into a groove and be ok. My main concern now is remembering which class  is which when I am looking at due dates, lolz. On that note I have some homework to do that is due by tonight. Wish me luck!

Winter is here already!

I have to slap myself on the hand for not keeping up with my blog and I have been reminded repeatedly by a certain friend of mine. You know who you are.

Things have been crazy lately. I recently received a promotion and I am very happy and busy with my new work. I feel like I am making a big difference for a corporation as well as growing my connections here in Alaska. I also love how with my work I can put a creative signature spin on some things. It is an all over different job with a lot of responsibility which is perfect for me. I finally feel happy to go to work since I left my wonderful job in Brooklyn, New York. (I still miss the job and the people I worked with in Brooklyn) I do keep in contact with them and apparently I have left a big impression which was my goal so not to have a big ego but I feel accomplished that they have yet to find someone who did all the work I did. The first month working at my new position here it was difficult and different in that I had to prove myself unlike in Brooklyn my employer saw my potential from the start. My current employer has very high expectations and I have slaved to meet them. Just in the past two weeks I believe that I have earned a little respect and have proved how dedicated and hard working I am.

With things going so well I had to think a lot about my future and where I truly want to be at for the rest of my life, career wise. I have decided that I will continue schooling and go to the University of Alaska Anchorage for Nursing. I have wanted to go to this University since I was in middle school and it is amazing I finally have the opportunity to go. I also cannot express how much I miss the University of Idaho and its breathtaking campus and the amazing professors that I was under during my enrolment there. The people I have talked to so far at the University of Alaska are just as amazing and helpful and the campus itself is beautiful. I figure that by the time I graduate I will know if I want to stay in the business I am currently in or to go on the nursing route. If I haven’t gone anywhere here by then at least I will not be stuck at a dead end and have the schooling I need to go into a different career. I am just the type of person who likes a backup plan.

So it is officially wintertime. It was pretty crazy that New York City (where that I have just moved from) had a crazy snowstorm where the snow stuck and there were blackouts a full day before Anchorage Alaska did! I thought that was pretty amazing, and I guess so did everyone else because having snow in October in NYC is some sort of record and hasn’t happened in a very long time. Anyway I’m not sure if the snow in NYC is still around but I know the snow is still here. Yesterday it was beautiful and fun since it was fresh and fluffy but today it is hard and crunchy. I like the powder fresh snow so yesterday I was super happy and excited and found every reason to go outside during work (which was not too hard since a lot of my work has to deal with what is outside on the lot). I think today I am going to stay inside. It is windy and the snow is no fun today. Expecting more Friday!

The first snow fell overnight and on Sunday morning I was getting ready to take the puppy out and I had opened the door and screamed. Zeke was on the couch and looked at me and I said “THERE IS SNOW OUTSIDE!!” The puppy Zeek loves the snow so he ran out on his 50ft leash and went nuts. He was jumping and throwing up the snow with his paws. He was also eating it and rolling around in it. When the neighbor dog came outside he ran and played with him for a half hour. Rossi is the sweetest Boxer I have ever met and when he came out he was dressed up in a camo doggie jacket and had little booties which I thought was the cutest thing. Next time they play I will have to take pictures and put them up. Sunday I was unprepared.

My very good friend Cari who writes the blog: One Shoe Can Change Your Life, and I have talked a lot about recipes and have shared a few. She has already posted delicious recipes on her blog and I have decided that I need to get on the ball and post mine. I have a few ideas of some easy quick recipes that I have just come up with myself as well as recipes Cari has sent me that I have yet to try out. So be on the lookout. I plan to post something this weekend but I have yet to go grocery shopping…. My house is running out of food!

It’s a warm day here in Alaska, high of 30! Monday morning it was 16! I love the cold ;p

Hiking and New Crib

Zeke and I found a new hobbie here in Alaska. In the Anchorage area there are over 50 hiking trails. Everything from one mile to 25 miles one way! So far we have hiked about 13 miles on various trails. Our first trail  was the Albert Loop trail, located in Eagle River. It is about 3 miles long but after about a mile and a half the trail was flooded from the river. Zeek had a blast in the flooded trail and we tried to go around it but it was impossible since we did not have the proper gear. Hiking shoes alone was not going to help us, so we turned around and walked back. Unfortunatly at the beginning of this trail when I pulled out my camera to take a picture it died. So I do not have pictures of that trail. The next trail we took was an all day hike for about 6 miles on the Lower Eagle River Trail. This hike was beautiful with sights of the river, forest, wildlife, wildflowers, and creeks.

starting the trail

horse shoe tracks

wolfsbane, a popular wildflower in Alaska

Creek

abandoned chevy truck

tree grew threw the window

black bear track

end of the trail

waterfall off the trail

power lines over trail

Zeke wanted to touch it

That was on a Saturday and Sunday was also a beautiful day so we decided to take another hike. We were told to do the Thunderbird Falls trail since it is simple and the falls are a sight to see for anyone living or visiting the anchorage area. So I Googled the driving directions to the trail and we headed out. We start up the trail and it is imediatly uphill and after the first half a mile we are thinking that we are possibly just climbing a mountain. about 3 miles into it, when we see the incredible view of the inlet and the highway we realize that there is no way this is the right trail. The Thunderbird falls trail is only a mile long and is almost no incline on it. Since we figured we went as far as we did we decide to keep going to see how far this trail will go. We seem to ge to the top and into this field and the trail sort of dissapears and the is nothing but tall grass and a few bedding areas for moose or bear. So we turn around and go back down. I thought going up was hard. Going down was worse since we were already so tired from going up. Before we headed down I checked my gps and we were 2 miles from the car so about 3 miles of trail back down since it is not a straight shot to the car. This trail was ment more for snowmobilers in the wintertime and is not used in the summer as often.

moose tracks

Before it gets too cold we plan to find the real Thunderbird falls hike which we think is not far from where we live. We also would like to do the Peters Creek trail which is also nearby and Flat Top which is the tourist hike here but its a good hike. I have lots planned for next summer and little hikes for the winter. The things that we see, the views we encounter are what makes this place the one place I have wanted to be my whole life.

We are moved in to our new apartment in Peter's Creek. About an hour away from Anchorage but it was the only place that did not have a breed restriction on Zeek. It a lovely, quiet place and our apartment is very spacious and nice. We were lucky enough that the previous tennent did not want his funiture and asked us if he wanted it before he just threw it out. It is all in very good shape he just didn't have the time to sell it. Our first completely furnished apartment, all we are missing is a TV. My aunt was even generous enough to give us her bed since she was getting a new one. So now I have a cal king bed too!!! I will never give it up.

living room

kitchen

hallway to bedroom