"Is it January yet?!?!"

There I was, five days before Christmas weekend with a long list of things that needed to get done and a lovely case of Bronchitis. I’m pretty sure between the stress I bring upon myself and the nasty little germs my daughter brings home from school, my body crashed, for the second time this month. Talk about absolute horrible timing. Going into the week before Christmas I had full intention of working out every day and giving it all I had to offset the damage that was to occur over Christmas weekend. However, thanks to symptoms of shortness of breath and coughing fits that accompanies Bronchitis, I had no choice but to layoff exercising. Ugh!!! This was definitely my bodies way of saying “Chill out and relax”. So I did, and before I knew it, Christmas was here. Other than the minor stress of realizing on Christmas Eve, at 10:00 PM, that the Art Easel Santa and the elves were to put together for Zaina to wake up to on Christmas morning was missing pieces (Thanks a lot Toys R Us!), Christmas weekend was great. Instead of reaching for cookies out of stress, I reached for them because they just tasted way too good. Needless to say Christmas came and went and left me with 5 lbs of unwanted weight. 5 LBS!!!!!!!!! How does that happen!?!?!?! Oh that’s right, a whole week of no exercise, way too much consumed sugar and very much needed alcoholic beverages. I think it’s safe to say that I have my work cut out for me this week. I started my week of redemption off with Zumba on Monday night. It was the first workout in 8 days and it felt SO GOOD, mentally that is. Physically, I was huffing and puffing and trying to keep up, praying for the clock to strike 9 so it could be over.  One of the hardest things to do is get back into a workout routine after you have taken some time off. Your endurance goes down a bit and in my case this week, my body was recovering from being sick and dealing with an over consumption of toxic food. But, I got over the hump and am now back into the swing of my normal eating and exercise routine. Being out of it for a week really did make me realize how wonderful a healthy lifestyle makes us feel. With another holiday celebration around the corner, I just can’t help but ask, “Is it January, yet”?!? 

FITNESS TIP: Exercise helps boost brainpower. It increases energy levels and serotonin in the brain. Aim for at least 30 minutes, 5 to 6 times a week. Finding the time for exercise will be something you will thank yourself for later. 

HEALTHY RECIPE: A very hearty main dish soup I like to make in the winter. Enjoy! Courtesy of www.skinnytaste.com

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Ingredients:

1/4 cup flour (to make gluten-free use 2 tbsp cornstarch instead)

2 cups water 

4 cups fat free milk

1 large celery stalk, chopped

1/2 medium chopped onion

8 oz sliced baby portabella mushrooms 

2 chicken bouillons

fresh ground pepper

pinch of thyme

10 oz frozen classic mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, green beans, corn)

2 potatoes, peeled and cubed small

16 oz cooked chicken breast, diced small

Salt

 Directions:

Create a slurry by combining 1/2 cup of the cold water with flour in a medium bowl and   whisk until well blended. Set aside. Pour remaining water and milk into a large pot and slowly bring to a boil.  Add celery, onion, mushrooms, chicken bullion, thyme, fresh pepper, frozen vegetables and return to a boil.  Partially cover and simmer on low until vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove lid, add potatoes and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add chicken, and slowly whisk in slurry, stirring well as you add. Cook another 2-3 minutes, until soup thickens, adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve. Serves 6

Nutrition Facts:

Serving Size: 1 bowl (1-1/2 cups) •Weight Watchers Points+: 6 pts
Calories: 253.8 • Fat: 1.8 g • Protein: 27.7 g • Carbs: 31.9 g • Fiber: 3.4 g

The Dreaded Plateau

Ahhh, the plateau, how I love to hate it! For those of you that have been on the weight loss roller coaster, you know exactly what I am talking about. You lose a good amount of weight, you’re feeling great, getting closer to those goals and then BAM….the pounds stop rolling off!  And not only do the pounds stop rolling off but you are being so good. Working out harder and stronger and eating super healthy. So what gives!?!?!?

I have been through a few plateaus since I started my weight loss journey. When I hit 165, then again at 154 lbs….142 lbs and now again at 137 lbs! Each time I get super frustrated…you think I’d be used to it by now but every time I still think, “Why, why, can’t I just get past that stupid number!” Sometimes when I’m really upset about it I think there is an evil force out there that doesn’t want me to be thin. But then I bring myself back to reality and reevaluate the situation at hand.  Plateaus are a funny little way of letting you know it’s time to change something if you want to continue to lose weight. It could be a simple change in your diet or a change in your exercise routine. However, sometimes simple isn’t always simple to do. If you are anything like me, you get comfortable with the way things are. I like that I have 29 WW Points Plus everyday plus the 49 Weeklies I get too, but with one of my plateaus I decided to stop using my weeklies, and what do you know, I got over the hump. It’s so hard to give up those weeklies though because of social events or the random night of the week when I don’t feel like cooking and we order pizza. Same happens with the workout routine. You get comfortable with your schedule and don’t want to change it. It’s so easy to get discouraged when you plateau and in turn you just want to give up. Don’t let yourself! You have to take a step back and look at the big picture. Look at what you have accomplished so far, even 5 lbs is a great accomplishment! Another thing I like to do is keep track of my measurements as well as my weight on the scale. Measurements speak louder than the scale sometimes.  Though the scale doesn’t budge much these days my measurements do and that helps me get past the disappointment with the scale. Muscles do weigh more than fat so I always make sure to take that into account.

I have heard a few times from a few different people, “Well maybe this is your bodies way of saying you don’t need to lose any more weight.” I have to say though, I don’t really believe that. What I do believe is that if you are eating healthy and keeping your portions down, the trick is to add something to your workout routine that is going to enable you to burn more calories throughout the day when it is at rest. In comes Strength Training/Resistance Training. And in comes my problem. I know I have to do it and I do once in a while but I have a confession to make… I am a cardio addict. I love cardio; I loathe squats, lunges and crunches. I know exactly what I need to do to lose the last 12 lbs and I will make that change. In all honesty, probably not until after the holidays though. I suppose it will be my New Year’s Resolution along with starting my studies to become certified in Group Fitness.

So, even though I will never welcome the plateau with open arms, well I take that back, I will when I meet my  ultimate goal, but in the mean time instead of letting the plateau get me down anymore I will focus on the positives of my weight loss and I WILL MAKE A CHANGE. Here’s to the many squats and lunges I see in my near future!

Today I’m leaving you with a playlist I love to listen to when I’m on my elliptical:

1.       Best Thing I Never Had-Beyonce

2.       Young, Wild & Free-Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa (Featuring Bruno Mars)

3.       Night of Your Life-David Guetta (Feat. Jennifer Hudson)

4.       We Found Love-Rihanna (Feat. Calvin Harris)

5.       In the Dark-Dev

6.       Yeah 3X-Chris Brown

7.       Papi-Jennifer Lopez

8.       T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)-will.i.am (Feat. Mick Jagger and Jennifer Lopez)

9.       Sexy and I Know It-LMFAO

10.   Good Feeling-Flo Rida

11.   Mr. Saxobeat (Radio Edit)-Alexandra Stan

12.   You Make Me Feel…Cobra Starship (Feat. Sabi)

13.   Shake Senora-Pitbull (Feat. T-Pain & Sean Paul)

14.   Super Bass-Nicki Minaj

15.   Without You-David Guetta) (Feat. Usher)

16.   Farewell-Rihanna

Embracing My Culture

So for those of you that don’t know, I am 100%, no doubt about it, Middle Eastern. My parents were born in Syria so that makes me 1^st generation Arab-American. Before I go on, let’s get a couple things out of the way. No, my family does not own a party store, nor do they own a gas station. I know, shocking, right?!?! And that high-pitched vocal sound you hear Arab women shouting out at weddings and other celebrations, no, that is not the national anthem of our country or our mating call either for that matter.

I was always a little different than my friends. As a kid my lunches were PB and J spread onto pita bread. My parents unlike those of my friends had “Foreigner accents”.  We had the biggest garden in the neighborhood and when I mean biggest, I’m talking the size of most backyards in new subdivisions these days! I even entered Kindergarten speaking “Arblish”, half Arabic and half English to the teacher and other kids. I was 1 of 2 Arabs in my school and it would stay that way all through high school. Needless to say, I tried so hard to be as American as I could. I just didn’t want to be the different one. It was bad enough being the overweight one. However, I would eventually come to embrace my culture.

Let’s talk about weight and food and how being Arab falls into that mix. There is one thing that is for certain….my Mom is the best Middle Eastern food cook ever!!!!! Her food is seriously so good. And not only is her food awesome, but all my Aunts make to die for Arab food too! Ever heard the phrase “Food is Love”? Well that is like the motto for the Arab world! You show your love through food by making these huge amazing meals with at least 6 dishes to choose from and then invite everybody over. I love it! I think it is absolutely wonderful and it means a lot when you know somebody has worked so hard to provide this beautiful meal for you. However, here is the problem….restraining from eating everything and eating a lot of it. How do you do that when everything tastes so good and you have loving Mothers, Aunts and Grandmother’s saying “Please, eat more, I made all this food”? But the meal doesn’t end there….in comes the array of desserts, fruits and nuts. It’s hard to stay thin when you are surrounded by yummy meals prepared with love. We almost always go to my parent’s house on Sundays for the Arab Feast and it has been a hard, long, road learning that I don’t have to eat everything and a lot of it. Middle Eastern food is typically pretty healthy so that’s a bonus but not when you are on your third helping!

It wasn’t until I met my husband (who is American) that I realized how cool it was to be Middle Eastern. He loved that I was different, that I had the curves of a belly dancer and that I spoke Arabic. Simply by him loving me for who I am, I learned to be proud of the fact that I am Syrian! I hope that the love for my culture will rub off on our daughter and that she will be proud to be half Syrian. Her first taste of solid food was hummus and go figure, she loves my Mom’s cooking more than mine! We are teaching her Arabic and how to belly dance. It’s so fun!

So even though I have 64 less lbs of hummus, falafel and fattoush on my body, I still have my curves and I couldn’t be happier.

Well of course I’m going to give you a Middle Eastern recipe. Here is how I make my hummus. Some make it differently but it’s all on how you like it. Lemony? Add more lemon. Garlicky? Add more garlic.

Hummus

Ingredients:

1 can chick peas

¼ cup liquid from the can of chick peas

3 TBS fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 ½ TBS Tahini (can be found in the International foods aisle at most grocery stores)

2 cloves garlic, crushed

½ tsp salt

2 TBS olive oil

Directions:

1.       Drain chick peas from can. Set aside ¼ cup liquid.

2.       Add chick peas, the liquid and remaining ingredients in a food processor and blend until thoroughly mixed and smooth.

3.       Eat right away or store in the fridge until ready to be served.

My favorite way to eat hummus is with pita bread of course, but because it’s not always the healthiest to eat too much bread I love to dip veggies in my hummus. Sweet peppers, carrots, cucumbers, you name it! I’m sorry I don’t have nutrition facts for this recipe but I do know an appropriate serving size for hummus is 2 TBS and it really is healthy. Enjoy!