Finding Inspiration

Finding inspiration can be tricky business.  Sometimes it's all around you and it feels impossible to keep up with all the opportunities.  Other times you have to dig deep, use discipline  and work through even if you feel less than inspired.  The other tricky bit with inspiration is that you can find it sometimes quite unexpectedly.

I've been working with my Serious Weight Loss Clinic since November of 2012.  I have a few long timers who have come back to the clinic over and over again and we've all formed a strong relationship.  Our relationship is based on respect, honesty, and time working towards the same goals.  We've had disappointments, successes, tears, and cheers.  Leading this group of women has been an honor for me.

One of my ladies came to me feeling quite poorly about herself, though everyone around her saw her inner strength and determination.  During the class she struggled to look at herself in the mirror, eat on track, and to find a sustainable balance between eating and exercise.  Overcoming multiple struggles, difficulties, and a low self image she has emerged a changed woman.

Every day to session she has worn dark, over sized clothing that as much hid her as covered her.  Often in the beginning she wouldn't make eye contact with me.  When I would see her outside of the class, her eyes would be downcast, and she hurried along as though she was avoiding being seen, hiding in plain sight.  The woman today, I almost don't recognize when I think of how she came to me.

Now she comes to session early, gives feedback, support, shares struggles and solutions with her classmates.  She shares recipes, resources, and laughs out loud. She makes eye contact with every person.  At the beginning of our time together she would apologized for having poor form or made an excuse if she made a choreography mis-step.  Not so today.  Today she just laughs and says "at least I'm moving right."  She encourages her classmates when one lags behind.  She accepts correction on form and adjusts immediately attempting to perfect her form and get the most from her workout.

She is an inspiration to me, she inspires me to develop new workouts, to give of myself, and to trust the process.  Nothing inspired me more then her last day in session with us.  Instead of the over sized men's t-shirt and baggy shorts, she wore a tank top.  She wore a tight hot pink tank that is a specialized workout garment.  She has given herself over to her new body and her new self identity.  She is investing in clothing to wear to the gym.  Her clothing investment isn't in dark drab easily to overlook colors.  She's wearing HOT pink, LOOK AT ME pink, she is walking in with her head held high and ready to participate in whatever the gym has.  Nothing could have inspired me more than that hot pink tank top.

Congratulations on your new confidence, on your new lifestyle, and your dedication to you!  It's been an honor to work with you.  You will continue to inspire me from now until forever.  Healthy lifestyle is medicine.  We get better when we live healthier.  I'm terribly sad to see you graduate, but I'm incredibly grateful for our time together.

With love,
Jen

Buffalo Chicken Salad

I recently subscribed to Eating Well Magazine.  Much to my surprise and delight my husband found a recipe that he was willing to try.  He thought it looked so good, he decided to make it himself for us to share at dinner. 

It was a hit!  I loved it and so did he.  It’s easy breezy to make, can be done in less than 30 minutes and meets our calorie goals for dinner.  I think this one is going to be part of his regular rotation.  I hope you enjoy it at your table as well.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup crumbled reduced-fat blue cheese plus 1/4 cup, divided
• 6 tablespoons buttermilk
• 4 teaspoons red-wine vinegar, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons hot sauce, such as Frank’s Red Hot
• 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 3 large carrots, chopped
• 3 large stalks celery, chopped
• 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped

PREPARATION

1. Combine 1/2 cup blue cheese in a small bowl with buttermilk, 2 teaspoons vinegar and 1/8 teaspoon pepper; mix well, mashing slightly with a fork. Set aside.
2. Place chicken in another bowl; sprinkle with flour and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper and toss until coated.
3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until very hot. Add the chicken and cook, turning occasionally, until just cooked through, 6 to 7 minutes. Stir in hot sauce and the remaining 2 teaspoons vinegar and cook, stirring often, until the chicken is coated, about 1 minute.
4. Combine lettuce, carrots, celery and cucumber in a large bowl; add the reserved dressing and toss to coat. Divide the salad among 4 plates and top each with an equal portion of chicken and 1 tablespoon each of the reserved blue cheese.

NUTRITION

Per serving: 291 calories; 11 g fat ( 4 g sat , 4 g mono ); 75 mg cholesterol; 15 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 32 g protein; 5 g fiber; 607 mg sodium; 832 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin A (350% daily value), Folate (44% dv), Vitamin C (25% dv), Potassium (24% dv).

Carbohydrate Servings: 1

Exchanges: 2 vegetable, 2 1/2 lean meat, 1 medium-fat meat, 1/2 fat

SMART Goals!

We all have goals or something we are working towards.  I'll bet a few of us even made resolutions this past January and as we cruise into the end of February I wonder how many of us are still on track.  It's very tempting to make vague future goals such as; I'm going to lose weight, or I'm going to get into shape.  However, it's very hard to figure out how to get started achieving those goals or knowing when you've reached them.  Often people (myself included) get discouraged and will quit.

Here's a quick trick about making goals you can reach!  SMART goal setting is a very popular strategy.   Here's how I use the strategy.

SMART Goals=

S specific; answer who/what/when/why questions to get clarity on what you want to do
M measurable; Ask yourself, how will I know when this goal is accomplished?
A attainable; Identify if this goal is attainable for your current lifestyle and circumstance.
R realistic; Given your current situation are you willing and able to do what needs to be done?
T timely; What is your time line for this goal?  Is it a short or long term goal?  If it's a long term goal what are some short term goals you can meet along the way?

For example; my goal is to lose weight.  Let's use the SMART Goal method to improve my chances of sticking to it!

Is my goal to lose weight specific so that I know exactly what I'm working towards?  Well, not really.  Let's make the goal a bit more specific:  "I want to lose 10 pounds."

Is the goal measurable?  Well now that I've rewritten it, I can measure my loss in pounds so YES it is measurable!

Is my goal to lose ten pounds attainable.  Here's where some soul searching comes in.  I know that before I got married and moved to Germany I weighed 10 pounds less, and I managed to maintain that weight for quite a while.  I think losing 10 pounds is pretty attainable, so I'll say YES!

Is my goal realistic to my current lifestyle?  Well it is hard to lose weight when you travel as much as I do.  I've also been trying to lose this 10 pounds unsuccessfully for quite some time.  However, I am trying to eat right, exercise at least 5 times a week, and my husband is also trying to drop some pounds.  I think that this goal is relevant and realistic to my current lifestyle and family needs.  YES!

Is my goal timely?  Well, no I never did say how long I think it will take to lose these 10 pounds, just that I wanted to lose them.  I have a photo shoot scheduled at the end of April with my husband to celebrate our 2 year anniversary.  I think my goal will be "I want to lose 10 pounds by the end of April."  

After walking my goal through the SMART model it's changed from a vague "I want to lose weight" to "I want to lose 10 pounds by the end of April!"  Now that I have a specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely goal I can start figuring out how to meet that goal!

Try it with your goals to see if you can use the SMART strategy to further develop your goals.  It can be any type of goal!  Try it with professional, parenting, and relationship goals.  You'll be one step closer to becoming the person you are becoming.

Cheers,
Jen Cherry

Where to find recipes?

I often share recipes that I find with my clients and friends, especially when I find something extra delicious.  It's always a double treat to find something that's easy to make and pleases the whole family.  Once you start looking, you realize there are a LOT of options out there.  

Here are some of the sites I use regularly to find new, delicious, and healthy food for my family.  Please remember that I support a healthy whole balanced lifestyle and do not restrict anything from my meals.  I even eat processed food at times, because let's face it, life sometimes happen.  

Please check out my Pinterest 'Good enough to eat' to see what I'm playing with in my kitchen.

www.skinnytaste.com A free blog offering recipes for low fat low calorie foods complete with nutritional information.

www.cookinglight.com A free site that also has a paper magazine you can purchase a subscription too that offers healthy cooking recipes complete with nutrition information.  The site will allow you to search recipes by diet restrictions ie. Vegetarian, diabetic, etc.

http://www.thegraciouspantry.com A free blog that discusses clean eating and offers family friendly recipes.  

New Favorite Breakfast!

I think we are all aware by now the advantages of eating breakfast.  I know that it jump starts my metabolism.  I also know that not eating breakfast comes with a whole list of reasons why not eating is a poor choice.  That being said, I've never been much of a breakfast eater.  I'd rather just have a few cups of coffee in the morning and ease into my day.

But sometimes what you want, isn't what you need so I have a few go to breakfasts that I make.  Unfortunately, the repetition can get very very boring.  For a long time I ate a whole grain waffle with peanut butter and an apple.  Then I had a thin bagel with cheese and turkey.  I also had a year long run with hard boiled eggs, avocado, and whole grain bread.  They were always pretty good choices health wise, but eventually I'd get bored and starting hitting the fast food places on my way to work.  It didn't take long to gain back any pounds I'd dutifully lost.

This past winter I've rediscovered oatmeal and thanks to Pinterest I've been able to eat oatmeal imagined a million different ways.  In fact, according to Blogger here, breakfast is what I blog about the most!  So I'm totally on board with eating breakfast these days, even if it's still not my favorite meal.

Here is my new favorite oatmeal recipe.  I often change up the jam to change the flavor, but love the creamy goodness!

Raspberry Cheesecake Oatmeal 

From EatingWell Magazine. (makes one serving)

Ingredients 

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup water, unsweetened almond milk, or skim milk
1/2 mashed medium banana
Splash of vanilla
2 tablespoons cream cheese (softened for 5 second in microwave)
1 teaspoon powdered sugar (more or less to taste)
Squeeze of lemon juice (optional)
1 tablespoon raspberry preserves

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine oats, water or milk, banana, and vanilla and pour into nonstick sprayed baking dish.
2. Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, and lemon juice. Put into plastic bag, snip off one end and squeeze into two horizontal lines on top of oatmeal. Put raspberry preserves in another plastic bag and squeeze two horizontal lines in between the cream cheese.
3. Drag knife up and down through lines to create a swirl. Bake for 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Healthy Sweet and Sour Pork

I found a recipe for Healthy Sweet and Sour Pork and make a few changes to clean it up a bit and make it even lower calorie, but still just as delicious!  It was a winner in my house last night served over short grain brown rice!  

All the veggies were available in the commissary, but you can easily sub in whatever is fresh or whatever you might have laying around the house.  I encourage you to switch up the protein and the veg to keep this bright and lively.  I was satisfied after just one serving thanks to all the beautiful colors the veggies added.  Pork is an overlooked but awesome protein choice and it's just as lean as chicken breast. 

Sweet and Sour Pork
makes 4 servings

Ingredients
1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into thin strips
2 1/2 T balsamic vinegar
kosher salt
2 t low sodium soy sauce
1 T cornstarch
1 T Truvia
2 T vegetable oil
3 T organic ketchup
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots thinly sliced
1 red pepper thinly sliced
3 scallions, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 cups snow peas, cut in half

Directions
Toss the pork with 1/2 T vinegar and a pinch of salt in a bowl.  Mix the remaining 2 T vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch, ketchup, trivia, 1/3 cup water, and 1/2 t salt in another bowl.

Heat 1 T oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat.  Add the pork and slowly stir until it turns mostly opaque, about 2 minutes.  Remove the pork with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate,  Discard the oil and wipe out the skillet.

Heat the remaining 1 T oil in the skillet, then stir-fry the garlic with a pinch of truvia and a pinch of salt, 15 seconds.  Add the red peppers, carrots and scallions and stir-fry until crisp-tender, 2 minutes.  (add a little water if the garlic starts to stick to the skillet.)  Add the pork, snow peas, and soy sauce mixture; stir until the pork is cooked through and the sauce is thickened, about 3 minutes.

Enjoy!

No more sNOw!

I want to preface this blog by saying:  I grew up in Wyoming where we still have glaciers.  I know cold.  I know bone aching cold.  I don't like it.  It's one of the reasons I moved to Tucson Az after I graduated from college.  It's also why I moved to the Caribbean when I was 30.  I don't like cold.

(Jackson Hole Wyoming)

Living in Germany has been a challenge for my poor bones, my arthritic knees, and my sunny disposition.  It's dark here, it's cloudy here, and it's rainy and windy here.  A lot!  Recently though we've gotten snow.  Beautiful big piles of snow.  My dog, loves the snow.  Loves to run, dash, play, and roll in the snow.  I don't really mind the snow: so long as I'm curled up on the sofa under a blanket drinking a hot toddy.  In truth, I do enjoy outdoor activities that you can do in the snow: skiing, sledding, winter treks, and whatnot.  I do not enjoy driving in the snow, trying to park in the snow, scraping the ice off my car, or loading a ton of boot camp equipment in and out of the car in the snow. YUK!

A huge part of me wishes I could be a super cheery aerobics girl and shout about how wonderful it all is and wow, how many calories I burnt shoveling snow.  But guess what, I hate shoveling snow.

I sound like a grouch don't I?

Well, I am a grouch sometimes.  I don't always feel like getting up early and going to workout, or spin, or be positive.  Sometimes, a lot of times, I want to grouch and grump and feel sorry for myself.  I want to whine about missing the sunshine and remember good things like having a barbecue in February  or laying out by the pool in December.  I want to stick out my lip, stomp my feet, and feel sorry for myself.

And sometimes I do.

Then I talk myself out of it.  I look at myself in the mirror and say "Self, you have every reason not to.  You have every reason to give up, stop trying, and let yourself be comfortable.  Most people do just that.  You are not most people.  You are working on yourself.  You are a work in progress.  Get up, get out, leave your stinky whiny feeling sorry for yourself thoughts and move forward.  Don't let the old unhappy Jen win this.  Be strong, have faith in yourself, and lift something heavy."

You know what, usually it works.  Today, I did a hard hour in the gym.  It was just me, the weights, and a Glee soundtrack.  I worked back and biceps.  I lifted heavier then I did last week, and I liked the sweat running down the small of my back.  Maybe it was Rachel and Finn singing goofy upbeat love songs, maybe it was seeing those 2.5 pound plates on the barbell row.

Whatever it was.  It fed the strong confident part of me.  I'm closer to my goals now then I was a few hours ago.  I'm proud of me.

Take that snow!