blacKandi Fitness

…and the title of this daily post says it all. Ainflo left town yesterday after nine whole days and I am so happy she’s gone because she is totally a nightmare. Just plain ole’ evil. I am used to my belly staying flat, especially when I haven’t eat in hours or when I get up in the morning. I even feel light, but for the past few days and ever today I feel heavy and I am heavy. I am up two solid pounds and I believe it’s water weight related. I have been eating clean all week and I’ve been coming close to my maximum caloric intake each day AND I am consistent, working hard doing my fitness routines. But alas, I have yet to get it back to my goal weight of 173 or even 172 where I feel my best.

I totally want out of the 170s altogether and I think I’m going through what I went through back in December so I think I need to start taking my blood pressure readings more often. For the entire month of December I was gainging weight like crazy and it was because of my high blood pressure reaching another all time high, later I learned. I’m thinking this is what is happening again and I’m not quite sure how to stop this. If I move up to 176 then I’ll know there is a problem for sure and I’m going to schedule a doctor appointment.

This morning I ate a cup of my home made chicken and veggie soup (very good, low fat and nutritious), a protein shake without fruit this time and drank water – as I have been all week with the exeception of a few cups of 1% milk. For snack, I had 20 red grapes and a piece of Babybel low fat cheese. I drank about two cups of water all day and my belly is full and I mean it’s sticking out and not to mention I think I may have gas from that milk I put into my protein shake (sorry for the overshare ha!)…I shouldn’t have had more milk this morning because I had sugar-free chocolate milk last night for snack. Gosh!

Anyway, I feel good overall and I’m going to watch myself more closely this weekend (like I already do) to see if something changes. I’ve been eating good and clean all week so I can’t blame my nutrition, I’ve been working out all week so I can’t blame my fitness program so it has to be the effects of Ainflo and the fact that I am retaining water again. I feel heavy and wide for some reason. When I look in the mirror it’s not so bad except that my tummy is poking out somewhat. I really hate that…grrrrrr!

I’m not going to cry about this so I’ll end it here with my Homemade Chicken, Veggie & Red Bean Soup Recipe called bK’s Homemade Chicken, Veggie and Red Bean Soup. Ha!

RECIPES

bK’s Homemade Chicken, Veggie and Red Bean Soup

5 oz of grilled or boiled chicken (must be marinated – shredded or diced into small chunks)
10 cups of low sodium/fat chicken broth
5 cups of water
2 TBSP of olive oil
1 cup of red beans (or any beans you like)
2 TBSP of thyme
1 TBSP of parsely
1 TBSP of black pepper
8 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1 onion (diced – sauteed a little)
4 celery hearts (diced)
2 cups of froxen mixed veggies
10 cups of spinach (shredded)

Throw all ingredients into a pot except for the mixed veggies and boil for 1.5 hours on high heat. Add in the frozen mixed veggies and boil for another 15 mins and it’s all done.

Servings…can feed a lot of people. Ha!

Cool down and add one cup of soup into sandwich size zip loc bags and freeze to eat for the rest of this week and next week.

bK’s “In A Hurry” Protein Shake

1 scoop of protein powder
1 cup of low fat or skim milk
1/2 cup of very cold water
1 tsp of wheat germ
1 tsp of ground flaxseed
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of sugar-free vanilla (optional – I don’t use it)

Throw all ingredients into your blender and set it to mix for one minute and it’s all done.

Serves 1.

bK’s Frozen Fruity Protein Shake

2 frozen strawberries
2 frozen slices of peach
2 frozen chunks of pineapple
1/2 cup of low fat or skim milk
1/4 of very cold water
1 tsp of wheat germ
1 tsp of ground flaxseed
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of Agave Nectar (optional)
1 tsp of sugar-free vanilla (optional – I don’t use it)
1 scoop of vanilla protein powder

Throw all ingredients into your blender and set it to mix for one and half minutes or until all fruit has turned into liquid…set longer to turn into a smoothie.

Serves 1.

Have a healthy day!