This is so true

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MARATHON!!!

This is a picture of me at mile 14 and still doing good. The marathon was AWESOME!!! I absolutly loved it and plan on doing it AT LEAST one every year, and many half marathons each year. Training for the marathon was just so time consuming with little ones. My sister-in-law and I started out really good and kept a 12 minute mile pace and it felt like I could go forever. We wanted to be conservative since it was our first and just make sure we could actually make it the whole way. Then right after the picture above (at mile 14) I just took off to an average of a 10:50 minute pace. Then at mile 20 or so I was still feeling like I had so much energy I sped up to about a 10:30 minute pace.  I really didn't get tired until about mile 23 or 24.  I couldn't believe it. At the end I was still feeling really good. Then at the last mile I just ran as fast as I could. The whole time I was trying so hard not to cry. I kept thinking save it for the end, you haven't made it all the way yet. It was such an emotional and positive experience. I just kept thinking I can't believe I am doing this. This is crazy and even more, I am loving it!!! I am so thankful that I have a body that was able to carry me the whole way through.  I am so blessed!  At the end I completely broke down when I saw my husband.  I could see how proud he was of me and that I had finished.  The whole time I had one goal, to make it under 5 hours.  I didn't make my goal at the 5K last week and I was so disappointed in my self.  Mostly because I KNEW I could have done better.  I was NOT going to let that happen again.  I wasn't going to give in or give up at all.  When I crossed the finish line the time was 5 hrs 1 min.  Surprisingly I was not disappointed in myself at all.  I couldn't believe what I had just done and all I had accomplished. Then my husband told me what my real time was from the text updates he received.  I had done it in 4:59:11.  I made my goal!  There was a difference in my start time because we started at the back of the group at the starting line and it took some time to get to the start after the gun went off.  I know this may seem silly but it was so significant to me.  Over all it was wonderful.  I feel now like I have a hobby in life.  I have something that I love to do that is just for me.  Time that I can take away for myself.  I have always been searching for that thing in my life.  I hope you understand what I'm talking about.  Something outside of work, school, kids, life, or anything that is just for you.  I thought it had always been dancing or reading, but I found out that it is running and working out.  I love it and race day is just the icing on top that makes all the training worth it.  I would definitely recommend doing a marathon to everyone.  YOU DO NOT HAVE TO RUN THE WHOLE WAY!! I was really impressed with how so many people were run/walking. They would run for a few minutes and then walk for a few minutes. It is not as serious as it sounds, and you can do it at your own pace.  It is just an amazing accomplishment and experience. I defiantly don't regret it, if anything I am now addicted!!

Here are some more photos: http://www.zazoosh.com/photos/664033522

And my race results: http://milliseconds.com/participants/detail/806936487

What worked for me wont work for you

You know your body better than anyone, even a doctor or a nutritional specialist. I haven't shared a lot of how I lost weight. I need to get better at that, but it's mostly because I did what I knew I could do. I have done tons of different "diet plans" and always ended up never losing weight or gaining all of it and more back. It wasn't until I sat down and researched a lot of different plans did I come up with something that would work for me. One example of doing what works for you is not eating before bed.  For me that was not going to work. When the kids go to bed I love to sit down relax and eat. So that was one rule I do not follow but for you that may be something that will work. It doesn't mean it's not a good idea, it just wasn't going to work for me. I just picked and chose from all the different advice that I learned. I thought it was better to have a healthy meal for dinner than making sure I didn't eat anything a few hours before I go to bed. Come up with an eating and a workout plan that will work for you and that YOU KNOW you can follow. That is going to be the best way for you to reach your goal. For me my main goal has always been putting the best food into my body. Good luck and start setting some goals!!-0[[[[[[[[

Cooking dinner for the whole family!

I don't know about you but I have a husband that LOVES a diet full of meat and potatoes, and no vegetables (he is from Wyoming and they love their meat). And unfortunately that is just not very good for you. I know a lot of wives have to deal with the situation. It's hard to find something we both like to eat. I grew up on apples and popcorn, vegetables, and rice. Here are some tips we have learned over the years to cook something healthy for dinner that we both like. First off we made the compromise to eat whole wheat pasta and bread. He doesn't like brown rice so if I cook rice with our meal I will cook one serving of brown and white rice. I try to cook things that can be turned into a healthier version. For example Chicken Parmesan is normally breaded and fried at a restaurant, we love it. So instead I just cook it in the oven and pour tomatoes sauce over it. When I cook his favorite spaghetti, I cook him noodles and steam me some vegetables and I pour the sauce over them. I personally love to pour the spaghetti sauce over spagethhi squash. It is so yummy and looks just like spaghetti noodles if you scoop it out with a fork. Sometime I will have to cook two separate meals for us and sometimes I will splurge and have some meat and potatoes with him. It's all about portion control.  If I splurge I will just eat less of it because it's higher in calories per ounce. Really it's all about finding a compromise and making a plan that will work for the both of you. Most of the time it takes a lot of compromise and time. It has taken us 6 years to get to where we are now. So it won't happen over night, so don't get discourage. Just cook a dinner for the  family and have a salad as a side and just eat the salad and not the main dish. Normally healthier meals are fast and include less work. It's because the ingredients are normally fresh and not cooked long. It doesn't take much time to cut up lettuce and some vegetables!!!

One Recipe ALL for Bread, Scones, Pizza Crust, Rolls, and Breadsticks

This recipe I got from my sister-in-law who is an AMAZING cook. I'm not sure where she got it from, but my favorite part is the base recipe is the same for Bread, Scones, Pizza Crust, Rolls, and Bread sticks, the toppings and cooking times are just different. I also double the recipe and freeze one batch for later, great time saver!

Recipe

1 Package Active Dry Yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1 1/2 Cup Warm Water
2 Tbs Olive Oil
1 1/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour (up to 1 1/2)
2 T Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2- 2 Cups White Flour

In a small bowl dissolve yeast in water, add oil. In a medium bowl combine whole wheat flour, salt, and sugar. Stir in yeast mixture. Add white flour, and knead until soft dough forms. Cover and let rise until double in size. Punch down and

Pizza Crust- Let rise while preparing ingredients. Makes 2 pizza add toppings and cook at 425 degrees

Scones- Form scones and fry in oil. Of course this is unhealthy but yummy

Rolls- Form rolls and let rise again for at least 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes

Healthy Version of Sweet and Sour Chicken/Pork

I LOVE Chinese food, as for the calories and fat not so much. Every time we go to a Chinese restaurant I always get the Sweet and Sour Pork, I am not normally a creature of habit but I love this! So I found a healthy version on food network.com. Enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 boneless chicken breasts, sliced into strips
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped red pepper
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch, mixed with 4 teaspoons water
• 1 cup canned pineapple chunks, drained with 1/2 cup reserved juice
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper

Directions

In a large non-stick skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Season chicken strips and add to pan. Brown chicken and remove to plate. Add red and green peppers and cook for 1 minute. Stir in pineapple chunks, juice, sugar, vinegar and chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer until sauce begins to reduce. Stir in cornstarch mixture and bring liquid to a simmer. Stir in chicken strips and cook for 5 minutes. Serve over rice.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sweet-and-sour-chicken-recipe/index.html

Sweet and Sour Pork

Ingredients

• 1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• 3 tablespoons sugar, plus a pinch
• 3 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 3 scallions, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 cups snow peas, cut in half

Directions

Toss the pork with 1/2 tablespoon vinegar and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar, the soy sauce, cornstarch, ketchup, 3 tablespoons sugar, 1/3 cup water and 1/2 teaspoon salt in another bowl.

Heat 2 tablespoons peanut oil in a large skillet or wok 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 tablespoon peanut oil in the skillet, then stir-fry the garlic with a pinch each of salt and sugar, 15 seconds. Add the 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.

Per serving: Calories 348; Fat 15 g (Saturated 3 g); Cholesterol 74 mg; Sodium 674 mg; Carbohydrate 27 g; Fiber 4 g; Protein 28 g

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/sweet-and-sour-pork-recipe/index.html

Hannah's Turkey Stuffed Peppers- Biggest Loser Recipe!!!

HANNAH'S TURKEY STUFFED PEPPERS

Ingredients
Olive oil spray
1/2 cup minced onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1.25 pounds of extra-lean ground turkey
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup low-sodium tomato sauce
1 cup fat-free low-sodium chicken broth, divided
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
3 large sweet red bell peppers, washed
1/4 cup reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese 

Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet with olive oil cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Add onion and garlic to the pan. Sauté about 2 minutes, or until softened. Add extra-lean ground turkey to the pan. Season to taste with salt, then add garlic powder and ground cumin. Break meat apart and cook over medium heat for 14-16 minutes, until well done, 165°F as measured by a meat thermometer. Add 1/4 cup of tomato sauce and 1/2 cup chicken broth to the pan. Reduce heat and simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes. Add chopped fresh cilantro or parsley to the turkey mixture. There will be about 2 cups of turkey mixture. 

Cut bell peppers in half lengthwise and remove seeds and stem. Put in baking dish and spoon about 1/3 cup of the turkey mixture into each pepper half. Place all stuffed peppers on a baking dish and pour the rest of the chicken broth in the bottom of the pan. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. When done, sprinkle with cheese before serving. 

Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories 140
Fat calories 20
Total fat 2.5 grams
Saturated fat .5 grams
Cholesterol 35 milligrams
Sodium 150 milligrams
Total carbohydrates 10 grams
Fiber 2 grams
Sugars 5 grams 

http://www.nbc.com/the-biggest-loser/exclusives/nutrition/contestant-recipes/hannahs-turkey-stuffed-peppers/