Wednesday, May 21, 2014

The Evolution of Dee & Updates!

Hello my friends! Let me just start off my saying how much I love you all for sticking with me through this journey and watching me change physically and mentally and supporting me through everything. I have gotten an overwhelming amount of support from my friends and family that keep me going day to day. It absolutely warms my heart to hear my peers talk about how proud they are of me and how much of an inspiration I am. I never really stop and really think about all that I have accomplished and I get reminded every time someone says something about how good I look or how proud they are of me. I don't want to sound braggy or like I am bragging because I am the last person that likes a lot of attention on themselves but I just wanted to share how blessed I am and actually how proud I am of myself for sticking to something for the first time and following through with losing weight!

Anyway you may be asking what is this "Evolution of Dee" that you saw in the title? Well I haven't posted an updated picture of me in a long time, actually I don't think I have posted a full length picture of myself besides my before pictures! Late one night I couldn't sleep so I decided to try my best to make a picture collage of pictures of me throughout this journey and so you can see how much my body has changed while losing weight. It's so crazy to look at myself in the beginning of this journey and to now look at myself today because I can't even recognize myself in that first picture. I have people all the time pass by me and then stop and turn around and do a double take because they didn't recognize who I was! So enough of the rambling here is the "Evolution of Dee" up until this point, I still have awhile more to go (;


AH this is so crazy! I am so excited to continue on this journey and to hopefully have more professional pictures of me coming soon, sorry about the iPhone pics! Thank you to everyone who has been there to support me and this blog because this was honestly the best decision I have ever made and it is never too late to change your life. I NEVER thought that I could lose this amount of weight ever and I surprised myself and and now know that the quote "You can accomplish anything you set your mind to" is completely true. There is no one or nothing stopping you but yourself, and you are capable of accomplishing anything your heart desires. I hope I can inspire some of you to do the same or to do something else you have always been wanting to do! I love all of you so much and thank you again for everything! I hope you guys aren't sick of me yet, because I am going to keep improving and keep posting on my blog and it can only go up from here! 

Updated Weight & Inches

Starting weight: 260 lbs
Current weight: 170 lbs

Starting pant size: 18
Current pant size: 6

Starting chest measurement (band on my bra): 46 inches
Current chest measurement: 36 inches

So that is 90 pounds gone, 6 pant sizes down, and 10 inches lost around my upper body...I haven't measured anything else but that is crazy, and AMAZING! Ah I still can't believe it! I hope you all enjoyed this updated post and I will back to share some of my favorite summer lemonade recipes, love you all!

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Healthy Chocolate Brownie Recipe

Yes ladies and gents you heard it right. A healthy version of one of my favorite desserts, Chocolate Brownies! I am constantly searching for healthier versions of my favorite desserts because lets me honest here, I would rather eat sweets for breakfast lunch and dinner..thanks mom for my sweet tooth. I hope you all enjoy this recipe and I am so excited to share it with you all because they are that good! It also doesn't hurt that these babies are only 130 calories each! WHAT?!


Ingredients:

- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg white
- 1 cup PB2 (powdered peanut butter)
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp water
- 1/2 cup raw honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips
- Cooking spray 
- 9 x 9 baking pan








What to do:

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F
2. Beat your one large egg and egg white in a small bowl with a whisk and set aside.
3. Grab a large bowl and combine your next 4 ingredients and stir well.
4. Add in your egg mixture and stir well.
5. Add in your next 3 ingredients and stir well.
6. Fold in your chocolate chips with a spatula.
7. Spray your pan and pour brownie mixture into your pan.

Cook for 30 minutes, or until a clean knife is inserted and comes out clean.







These are SO GOOD and they have the perfect texture, and that well known "soft spongy" feeling that my mom and I know all too well (hehe). 30 minutes was the perfect time for them to cook, and I don't know if you can see but the chocolate chips were the perfect added ingredients that made the brownies that much richer. As you can see from the ingredients, there is no processed sugar and instead of regular all purpose flour I used the PB2 which is commonly used as a peanut butter substitute because it is way more healthy than regular peanut butter. It comes in a powder form and all you have to do is add equal parts water to the powdered peanut butter and it turns into peanut butter and tastes exactly like the regular version! The coca powder in this recipe makes it have the rich chocolate taste and the raw honey gives it the sweetness it needs along with the chocolate chips. Also there is no oil used in this recipe which cuts out a lot of your unhealthy fats.


Above is the link to where I found this recipe including the nutrition facts! I hope you guys try this amazing flour less brownie recipe that I now love and will be making over and over. 

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Trader Joe's Healthy Foods Haul

Hello everyone, I hope you all are enjoying this Spring season so far, I know where I live we have been having gorgeous weather! Today I decided to switch things up a bit grocery shopping wise since I usually go to H-E-B when I go grocery shopping. I have seen a lot of girls on other blogs talk about how much they love and how many yummy healthy foods they found at Trader Joe's and I had been there once or twice in the past, but didn't know they had a lot of healthier alternatives. I went today, and I got so many things that I absolutely fell in love with that are super healthy for you that you wouldn't think would be because they taste so good!



They have such a good selection of ready made salads so I decided to pick up this Harvest Salad with Grilled Chicken, Green Beans, Corn, Hard Boiled Egg, & White Cheddar Cheese on top of a Spring Lettuce Mix with a Creamy Dijon Dressing. I love any kind of salad and so I like to stock up on these for when I need to bring my lunch to work with me on the go. The key to keeping this a low calorie meal if you are focused on calories is to only eat half of the salad and make sure to not use the entire packet of dressing. Also you can cut calories even more by taking the cheese off of the salad if it is on top and not mixed in. 


Nutrition Facts for Salad

As you can see it tells you the serving size is 1/2 of the container, so only 200 calories including dressing is amazing! You are getting your protein from the grilled chicken and the hard boiled egg. 

The next thing I picked up was another salad, this one being a little different than a normal salad but still super good! The Vegetable & Grain Country Salad on a bed of Shredded Cabbage. It has chickpeas, Cherry Tomatoes, Cucumber, Roasted Red Bell Peppers, Balsamic Vinegar, Olive Oil, Fresh Dill, Cumin, & Salt and Pepper. Basically a salad packed full of Vitamins and fresh ingredients that you will not feel guilty about eating! 


The Nutrition Facts for 1/2 of the package



I picked up this amazing twist on one of my all time favorite dips, Spinach Dip! I cannot indulge in Spinach Dip as often as I would like to unfortunately because of how unhealthy it is, but I found this delicious healthier version at Trader Joe's that tastes exactly if not better than the cold version of Spinach Dip.


  It is made with Greek yogurt as the base which gives it the creamy texture and adds extra protein. It is also made with spinach of course and kale which sounds like it might taste nasty, because to be honest I am not that big of a fan of Kale but you cannot taste it at all! It also has 50 % less fat than regular spinach dip and 50 % less calories than regular spinach dip! HECK YES! 

The Nutrition Facts: 
Serving size for 2 Tbsp


I am always looking to snack on something quick and easy when I don't have time to cut up an apple or make a yogurt parfait etc so I was so excited when I read about these "Inner Peas" baked green bean snack and I was immediately interested because I love green beans and I was pleasantly surprised at how much these tasted exactly like a potato chip! They were delicious and have the same salty taste like a normal potato chip and they are baked not fried so they are way healthier for you. I am so glad I found these and am hooked. 

(if you couldn't tell I love them, the bag was opened as soon as I got in the car...hehe)

Nutrition Facts:
Serving size for 1 oz or 22 pieces

I next picked up this one Luna Bar in the "Chocolate Peppermint Stick" flavor and wow these are delicious! I am not a big protein bar person, I made a post about the only "bar" that I eat but I wanted something low in calorie and low in sugar that I could have during the work day to hold me over for dinner and these are perfect! I am in love with anything minty or peppermint and it had chocolate so I was sold and it is so good!



The Nutrition Facts for 1 bar

I saw another blogger rave about these and I tried other brands from H-E-B and thought they were disgusting and I even tried fresh Mango and did not like it at all. I kept hearing people rave about the Trader Joe frozen mango's and so I went for it and I couldn't believe that I liked them. I still have to get used to them and the taste but they are such a good alternative to a sugary unhealthy desert like ice cream etc. These are perfect for a late night snack because they are super sweet and although they have a high sugar content, it is a good source of sugar so don't be discouraged when you see the sugar. 


 I did not get the nutrition facts, but they are basically nothing to eat because the main and only ingredient is "Mango" which is super important that you make sure to get frozen fruit that the only ingredient is the actual fruit so you are not adding extra preservatives and added sugars etc.

I picked up some basic Organic Broccoli Slaw because this can be the base of a lot of different meals. My dad and I are huge Asian food lovers so I was thinking about making some sort of stir fry with this as well as some grilled shrimp and veggies, YUM!


Nutrition Facts: 
Serving Size for 1-1/4 cups


To go along with the broccoli slaw, and the stir fry dinner idea, I picked up the Trader Joe's Asian Style Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette which I thought would be delicious on top of the slaw, veggies and shrimp! As well as on top of a lot of different things!


Nutrition Facts for Serving Size of 2 Tbsp


Last but not least, I picked up one of my favorite things to make for dinner, Salmon Burgers! These are just the Trader Joe's Premium Salmon Burgers. I like to eat these without a bun but add grilled onions, bell peppers, lettuce with some ketchup and mustard with a side of fruit and you have a healthy delicious dinner. These are such a good way to add protein in your diet with a whopping 15 grams of protein per patty!



Nutrition Facts for 1 patty:



That is all I picked up today from Trader Joe's but am definitely going to be going back! It is such a different experience grocery shopping which can sometimes be stressful with screaming babies, loud noises etc. This is such a calm experience and they have a lot of really interesting foods there so if you have a Trader Joe's near you make sure to check it out and make sure to check some of these foods out and let me know how you like them! Sorry for the picture quality, I was so excited to share these items with you that I picked up today I just decided to do a quick post for you all! I hope you all enjoyed this post and I will be back with some exciting new posts about my style and some of my recent outfits that I have been wearing recently. 







Wednesday, April 23, 2014

My Fitness Routine!


Hello everyone I am so excited to finally be sharing my fitness routine with you all! This has been long overdue and I was hesitant to post it at first because I am no fitness expert by any means. Then I thought about it and I realized none of us are perfect and one of the most important parts of this journey of becoming a healthier person and losing weight is exercise. This is my routine when I am ready for a hard workout which is most likely two nights a week and on the other nights I do something more relaxed. I tried to explain each move in detail as  best as I could so bare with me and ENJOY!



When I first started working out, I would mainly power walk/jog throughout my neighborhood and that was it. I loved going late evening and it was the one time out of my day where I could put my headphones on and clear my head. Well as you could guess, that got very boring for me and I was not motivated to work out knowing that I would just be walking then jogging, walking then jogging etc. I started to look on Pinterest which you guys already know I am constantly on already, for fun, not time consuming exercises that I could do myself at my house. There was so many, but I found that I loved that I still follow through with today. I have added and taken away certain moves but I love working out at home now. 


Step One



First thing first, STRETCH! This is probably the most important step when working out. 

- I start with a wide stance and reach down and touch each foot. Right then left or vise verse. This stretches out the back of your legs and your hamstrings. Make sure to keep your knees straight, this will create a deeper stretch but if you have to bend your knees then do so, because you don't want to pull a muscle. 
 
- Next, sit down on the ground and pull one leg in towards your while stretching the opposite leg out to the side and make sure to point your toes. Follow by bending down over your stretched out leg and try to hold onto your shoe. This will definitely take some practice, again you do not want to pull a muscle. Just like the first one keep your leg straight and try not to bend your knee. This will stretch the inner thigh and back of the leg. 

- Repeat step two, but with the opposite leg. A good technique I like to use each time I use this step is to try and touch my nose to my knee. As you can see by the picture I have finally mastered that, but that will take a lot of practice.

- Step three is to sit up very straight and bring your legs together and flex your toes towards you. Bring your arms up high above your head and keep your back as straight as you can while bending over your legs and grabbing your shoes. This also like all of the other steps will take some time and patience to be able to grab your shoes, but I have very short legs so this did come easier for me. Also just like the other stretches, keep your legs straight and try your hardest not the bend your knees. 
(I do not have a picture of the next step, but all I do after this is stand up and roll my head around in circular motions stopping at each shoulder and pulling my neck towards my shoulder and stretching out my neck to loosen everything up!) 

Step 2


LUNGES! I love love lunges but at the same time hate them because of how much pain I am in after, but the good kind of pain! 


- Start with your feet shoulder width apart and place your hands on your hips for better balance. 
- Start with whichever leg you would like to first and take a large step forward and while you step forward bring your opposite leg down like you are going to kneel down.
- Making sure not to touch your knee to the ground but just above the ground. 
- It is very important to keep your back straight and to try your hardest to keep your knee from not going over your foot. 
- This deep lunge is going to stretch the muscle on the top of your leg along with your calves. - - - After each lunge, step back into the first position. Repeat 10 reps for each leg totaling to 20 reps all together.

Step 3


I call these the "Kick Back's" (original I know). I love doing these because they really tighten your tummy and I can feel them in my calves as well. 


- Begin by laying down your yoga mat or in my case a towel because I have yet to purchase a mat (I NEED ONE). 
- Next get into position one, where you are on your knees and you have a flat back. Keep your hands flat on the towel shoulder width apart.
- Begin with whichever leg first and kick your leg back behind you while at the same time kicking up. 
- While you kick back, tighten your ab muscles and keep your calves and leg muscles tight as well while pointing your toe. 
- After you kick back, bring your leg back into position one.
- Do 20 reps for each leg, totaling 40 reps all together.
With this move it is very important to keep all of your muscles tight as well as keeping your back straight.


Step 4


This is not the most flattering picture of me, but working out isn't pretty! Anyway, these are amazing for working out your abs! 


- Begin by laying on your back and slightly bending your knees while keeping your feet flat on the ground. As well as placing your hands behind your head and putting them flat on the ground on either side of your head.
- Bring one leg up towards your face while bending it. Bring the other leg up as well but keep the opposite leg stretched out with a pointed toe. While you bring your bended leg up towards your head, bring your upper body to meet your leg and touch the opposite elbow to your bended leg. I don't know how well I explained that but hopefully you can understand by the picture (I'm sorry!)
- After you finish step 2, keep your legs up and continue to switch between each leg and elbow.
- Do 20 reps total, not per leg.


Step 5


This move is also another Ab move which is extremely hard, but also works those pesky love handles. 

- Begin by getting into push up position.
- Bend the left leg and bring it forward to touch the left arm while keeping your left leg horizontal to your body which you can see I tried my best to do but it is so hard to keep the leg from pointing down! 
- After step 2, bring your leg back into position 1
- Do 10 reps per leg, totaling 20 reps all together

Step 6


This move is one of the hardest moves I have ever done...as you can see in the third picture! My mom was kindly taking these for me and she got the perfect candid shot of exactly how hard these are hehe! 

- Begin by kneeling on the ground and keeping your arms by your side and back straight.
- Slowly start to bring your upper body back while keeping your body extremely still and not bending any part of your body!
- Keep going until your cannot go any further but make sure to not touch your butt to your shoes. 
- While going back, bring your arms in front of you but keep them outstretched in front you and try not to bring them past your shoulders which I kind of did but shhh (;
- After you do this, slowly come back up and repeat for 10 reps but I honestly don't get past 3! 
While doing this move, you are working your tummy muscles along with your quads. Make sure to keep these muscles extremely tight and squeeze them together super tight because with one down you will seriously feel the burn!

Step 7


This is by far one of my favorite exercise ab workouts to do because I can manage to finish all of the reps and I feel the most accomplished after doing them because I can literally feel my abs getting tighter and tighter. 

- Begin by laying on your back and putting your arms by your side flat on the ground.
- Start with your legs vertical and straight up in the air. 
- Tighten your quads, calves, well all of your leg muscles and all of your stomach muscles while slowly bringing your legs down while keeping them tightly together.
- While bringing your legs down back to the ground keep your toes pointed and bring them down to almost meet the ground but do not let your feet touch the ground. 
- Bring your legs back up towards position one by using only your tummy muscles to help bring them up. This is the most important part because this is when you will seriously feel this move work wonders. 
- Keep repeating for 20 reps


Step 8


I do not know what it is about arm workouts, but I despise them..I never know what arm workouts to do and after five minutes of doing some sort of arm workout I am already bored and want to move onto the legs or abs. BUT, my arms are the one thing on my body that I seriously need help on. They were always larger because of my weight, but ever since I lost a lot of weight I have so much extra skin now that is extremely unattractive and annoying when shopping...): Everyone has their one insecurity on their body right?! Well mine is my arms. So even though I hate working them out, I know that I have to and so I do a quick simple arm workout that I know everyone reading this will either know how to do or has done it before.


- Begin with whichever weight dumbbells you plan on using! I use 5 lbs because I am a beginner, but if you choose to use a higher weight more props to you!
- Make sure your legs are shoulder width apart and your arms are by your side, holding the dumbbells.
- Start with one arm and bring your arm up horizontal to your shoulders and keep the dumbbell turned on it's side. You can see I went a little above my shoulder, but that is okay.
- Bring your arm back down to position one and then repeat with the other arm.
- I do not have a picture but after you do 10 reps on each arm, bring both of your arms up horizontal to your shoulders and then bring them back down. Do 10 reps of these as well.
- So that is 10 reps for left arm, 10 reps for right arm, and 10 reps with both arms, totaling 30 reps all together.
This move will work your triceps and biceps and help tighten them up.


Step 9 



This move has five steps to it but it is awesome for working all of your arm muscles along with your shoulders, and your upper back.

-Holding your dumbbells to your side and standing shoulder width apart, start by turning your dumbbells and arms outward so that the dumbbells are sideways and your inner arms are pointing out. 
- Bring the bottom half of your arm, below the elbow, up to your shoulders making sure you keep your upper arm close to your sides and not moving them.
- After that, bring your dumbbells up above your shoulders and then simply push your arms above your head keeping your dumbbells sideways and your arms facing outwards.
- Do this set 10 times total


Step 10


This step really works your biceps and triceps as well as your back and shoulders. 

- Begin with legs and feet together and your dumbbells behind your head in position one.
- Bring your arms up above your head and then bring them back down to position one.
- Do 20 reps of this move

Step 11


Those good ole' SQUATS! Squats are well known everywhere for toning your booty along with your quads and leg muscles. These are defiantly very difficult but these are one of those moves that you will really see a difference in your body. Your booty will tighten and be lifted, your legs will be more toned and tightened and since you squeeze your tummy muscles while doing each squat, you will see your tummy start to tighten. These are just a miracle exercise step!

- Begin with your feet a little wider than shoulder width and make sure you keep your feet planted on the ground and not to move them up when doing each rep.
- Straighten your back and hold your arms in front of you and keep your hands together that in the picture.
- Simply squat like you are going to sit in a low to the ground chair. Stick your booty our while keeping your back straight and squeezing all of the muscles mentioned above and you will start to feel the burn.
- What is important when doing these is to keep your feet planted on the ground, keep your back flat, keep your head straight up, and try your hardest not to bend forward and make sure your knees do not go past your shoes. If you bend forward and your knees go over your shoes, your legs will not get the full benefits from the move.
- Repeat this for 10-15 reps or for however long you can go!


After I finish all of these steps, I like to either go on a long relaxing walk/jog and if I am too tired to go on a walk, then I will do one last simple ab exercise that to me, puts the cherry on top of the entire workout. I don't have a picture, but I just do 20 sit ups! I usually am by myself when working out so I usually go into my game room and put my feet underneath my bookcase because there is a gap, and do as many sit ups as I can which is usually 20 because I cannot do more than that! 

I hope you guys enjoyed taking a closer look into my fitness routine! I definitely do not do this routine every single day if I did I would be way too exhausted! I usually do this two to three times a week and I usually do it at night time when I have eaten everything for the day because I will be burning off some unwanted calories from earlier that day (; 

And of course I am human and sometimes I just really am not feeling this intense thorough workout, so some days instead of doing this routine I will just go on a long walk/jog and that's it! It is okay to not do an intense workout every time you exercise, just as long as you are up and moving your body. It is always good to get 30 minutes a day of some sort of movement or exercise! I am also no exercise expert so I am sorry if I did not know some of the correct muscles, or I mentioned the wrong ones (hehe). In the future I am sure my routine will change so I will make sure to keep you guys updated!

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Grilled Chicken & Brown Rice Lettuce Wrap Recipe

I have a delicious and healthy recipe to share with you all today! Last night I knew that I wanted to get creative in the kitchen and had seen similar recipes to this one online but I wanted to create my own. With just a few simple ingredients, you can make this same recipe or you can use mine as a starting point and put whatever you heart desires on top! 



What you need:

- Romaine Lettuce hearts (2)
- Tyson Grilled & Ready frozen chicken strips
- Bag of frozen brown rice
- 1 clove of garlic (minced)
- 1/4 cup diced purple onion
- 1/2 of a green bell pepper diced
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Pam non stick spray


What to do:

1) Place your frozen bag of rice in the microwave
2) Spray your skillet w/ non stick spray and start to cook your chicken strips
3) While your chicken is cooking, dice and mince your veggies
4) After chicken is done, place in a separate bowl
5) Drizzle small amount of EVOO in your skillet and saute your veggies
6) Take your leaves of lettuce and quickly rinse them in cold water and pat down dry
7) Layer your ingredients, rice then chicken and then veggies on top
8) You can either roll them up or just dive in!

These are extremely messy because the lettuce isn't that sturdy so what I just ended up doing is pinching the sides in and eating that way. Just make sure to grab a fork and a napkin because there will be a lot of fallout! You could even drizzle some low sodium soy sauce on top which would add some delicious flavor, but I opted for no sauce to keep the calories and sodium down. These are so good and I am definitely going to be making these all the time for lunch and dinner! You could even put all of the ingredients that I listed into a pita pocket if you do not like the idea of the lettuce leaves. I hope you guys try these out and enjoy them as much as I did!

As always,

Stay Beautiful 

Monday, March 31, 2014

Healthy Balsamic Chicken Pita Pocket Recipe!

Hello everyone! I am finally posting a new recipe! I found this delicious recipe for these 'Chicken Pita Sandwich's' from Laura in the Kitchen. They are full of super yummy and fresh ingredients and the fun part about it is you can completely customize yours! These would be awesome for lunches if you are going to school, work etc. Just make sure to keep the inside ingredients separate from your pita pocket so it doesn't get soggy. I hope you guys like these and try them out yourself, and if you do post them on Instagram and use the hash tag - #deepitapocket so I can find them easily, Enjoy!


What you will need:

6 6-inch Pita Pockets
1 lb of Cooked Rotisserie Chicken
3 Tbsp of Marinated Sun Dried Tomatoes, chopped (I forgot these!)
1 Clove of Garlic, minced
2 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 cups of Spring Mix Lettuce
¼ of Red Onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp of Balsamic Vinegar

Dijon mustard to taste
Dried Basil to taste
Salt and Pepper, to taste

*If you visit her site, she mentioned a couple of ingredients that aren't listed above and that is just because I preferred mine without those*


How to make them:

1) In a bowl, add the chicken, sun dried tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, olives, red onion and salt and pepper, toss together to mix well. 

2) To serve, place 2 slices of tomatoes in one half of the pita pocket, add about half a cup of the spring mix and a couple spoonfuls of the chicken mixture. 

Serve immediately! 



 Mince and chop up onion and garlic
 Add in your chicken 
 Didn't get a picture of the olive oil and Balsamic Vinegar
but add that in after your chicken and mix all together - 
then add in your seasonings to taste
 Take your pita bread and cut it in half
 Add in your greens, I used Spring Mix
 Spread a layer of the Dijon Mustard on one side of the
bread, then add in lettuce

Add in your chicken mixture and you are done! 
I served mine with two 'cuties' or little mini oranges!
(I could seriously eat 100 of these...!)

I cannot begin to explain how good these were! They were so fresh and the dijon mustard adding a tangy flavor to it that went perfectly with the balsamic vinegar. I could seriously eat these any time of the day, because it was not heavy at all and filled me up perfectly. I cannot wait to see if anyone tries this recipe out, and make sure to take a picture and post it on Instagram with the hash tag #deepitapocket so I can see what you added to your pita pocket!