Don't call this a commitment.

Apparently, I have big issues with commitment. Even for 30 days, I couldn't keep up my promise to you all. I'll take most of the blame on that, but I do have to say that not having a good support system at home played a major factor.

If any of you have read this blog, you know my husband is not a cheerleader in any way, shape or form. I don't resent him for it, it's just the way he is. But I can say that hearing the beleaguered sign when I said I had to do my Pilates before we watched a movie or netflix streaming got to me. Yeah, I know it sucks to have to do stuff. Tell me about it, buster, but damn, a little help? (Just for clarification, we have one tv in the house and the only open spot to stretch is in the living room. Where the tv is. So, if I'm working out with a DVD, he's stuck staring at me.) At first, I didn't let it get to me. I did it for the first five days no matter what the armchair huffer had to say. Then, dinner started getting on the table late, then clean up. Then I had to wait at least 30 minutes after eating to do the Pilates. (Core muscle workout + recently eaten dinner = yuck. Just sayin'.) It got harder and harder to tear myself away from whatever I was doing to just get it done. My heart wasn't in it, and he knew it. He could talk me out of it in a second. I should've been stronger, but the fact was, I wasn't. I wanted to spend time with him, too. And it felt like I was cutting that short in our evenings, too.

A-searching, I went. I had to find something that I could incorporate into our nightly tv watching while the kid was asleep, but wouldn't take away from the time we had together. (And  for those of you about to suggest we do Pilates together, the man is about as limber as a piece of hardwood and about as open to it, too.) I remembered my awesome recumbent exercise bike that I had at the beginning of this weight loss journey. We had given it away when we moved to a smaller place. There was wasn't a good spot for it where the little one wouldn't break his face on it. A friend needed it, so I reluctantly gave it away to a good home.

Well, now the kid isn't too small and can handle himself pretty well in, around, and on objects. There's a space in the living room it would fit into. I could watch tv and still work out. It was quiet enough not to wake the kid, either.

So, guess who's back at my house, with her new spot in the living room?

That's right. And it's the same one! My friend gave it back to me! (Thanks Jill!) Now there's no excuses. In fact, I spent an hour on it last night while we watched a movie. There is nothing easier than exercising while you're lost in a good story. It just flew right on by. (Highly recommend watching Crazyheart, too, if you haven't seen it.) And pretty soon, I'd racked up about 500 calories burned.

I won't call this another commitment, but I will call this a step in the right direction.

And the winner is.....

The winner is commenter number 4.... Lola!! Yay!

Lola, email me at fatville [at] gmail.com and send me your email address and name. My sponsor, csnstores.com will be contacting you on how to claim your prize. 

And thus concludes the very first Leaving Fatville giveaway, ever. Ta-daaaaa!



So tell me readers, did you like the whole giveaway idea? Was it too specific? If I were to keep doing them, what would you prefer to see as prizes?

Recipe: Garlic Chile Shrimp w/ Veggies & Rice

As a request, I'm going to start adding some of the yummy recipes that I've adapted over the past year. This one comes care of Publix Apron Meals and I'll post the nutritional info for each component at the end.

Garlic Chile Shrimp (Makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup ginger salad dressing
1 tablespoon roasted garlic
2 tablespoons orange marmalade
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon chile pepper blend paste
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 pound shrimp
1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder

1. Combine dressing, garlic, marmalade, soy sauce, and chili spice paste in medium saucepan. Allow sauce to simmer on low until ready to serve (up to 20 minutes), stirring occasionally. Sauce should be hot and flavors well blended. Set aside and keep warm.
2. Drizzle oil over shrimp; sprinkle with spice powder and let stand 5 minutes to marinate.
3. Saute shrimp on med-high for 2 minutes or just until shrimp are pink.
4. Set aside and keep warm.

Guess what? The hard part is over! The rest is mircowave cookin' and assembly!

While the shrimp is cooking, prepare the rice. I usually do instant brown rice in the microwave, but boil-a-bag rice is just as easy. Make two cups. Set aside and keep warm once it is done.

Next, take a package of Birds Eye Steamfresh's Broccoli, Carrots and Sugar Snap Peas and let it steam for about 3 minutes. The package says 4, but you want it a little underdone. Open and put into the pan on medium heat. Add the shrimp and garlic chile sauce and stir for 1 to 2 minutes until well mixed.

Place 1/2 cup brown rice into a bowl, top with shrimp/veggie mixture and serve!

Garlic Chile Shrimp W/ Veggies & Brown Rice Nutrition Info

Calories: 344 per serving, Fat: 11.8g, Sat. Fat: 1 g, Carbohydrates: 38.9g, Sodium: 826mg, Fiber: 3.8g, Sugars: 2.5g, Protein: 18.3g

*Disclaimer, the nutritional info is my best guess estimation. 

Pilates/Yoga 30 Day Challenge Update...

Remember when I said I was starting my challenge on the 8th?

Yeah.... about that.

Sooooooooooo, starting TODAY, is the 30 Day Pilates Challenge.  Ahem. For real this time. Really.

Before you think I'm a complete slacker, I really did start on the 8th. I got all set up in the living room, put in Jillian Michaels' Yoga Meltdown and started the warm up. I thought to myself, this is a little fast for yoga, but maybe she's just trying to get through the warm-up stage. Then it got faster. There were lunges. In yoga. There are no lunges in yoga. Warrior pose, yes. Lunges, not so much. Two lunges in I wrenched my knee. The DVD was promptly removed the dvd from the player. Yoga does not go fast, Ms. Jillian Michaels, you hear me? Not. Fast.

So, in went the Pilates DVD instead. It was only 30 minutes, which was a good length of time for ADD Exercise people like me. There were some tough moves in there, but my body felt like Jell-O by the time I was done. I really enjoyed it! Then, the weekend happened. There is nothing like chasing after a toddler for 5 hours to wipe you out for the day.

I got all ambitious on Twitter and agreed to another 30 day challenge, 25 pushups a night with these fine folks: @sclark1013 @ashleighsslice @266NeverAgain For those brave enough: join the push up challenge!

No more excuses! It starts again tonight! 30 days straight of Pilates! (And push ups!)

What are you challenging yourself with this week? Month? Year?

Win a Total Body Balance Ball Kit!

I'm proud to announce my very first giveaway! It's so exciting! The kind folks at csnstores.com sell just about anything you can find. From dutch ovens to fitness equipment, you can find something to help you lead a healthy lifestyle.

If you saw the previous post, you saw that I'm challenging myself for 30 days to one exercise. So, in honor of my 30 day yoga/pilates challenge, I'm giving away this awesome kit.

Now there's no excuse not to join me in doing yoga and pilates! It's got everything to get you started with a balance ball workout. Should you decide to do the challenge with me, I'll link up your progress on the challenge with mine on the blog. 

There's two ways to enter: 

1. Leave a comment about your own 30 (or 15, or 10, or whatever) day commitment.

2. Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment with your twitter name telling me you did. 

The comments will be open until Sept. 17th. On Sept 18th, I'll select a winner! Yay! Be sure to be logged in with a username and email address to leave a comment. Anonymous users obviously won't be eligible. You have to comment on the Leaving Fatville blog. Do not go to the Facebook page for CSN, it will not be eligible to win and violates the rules for Facebook.

Good luck!

Can I tell you a secret?

Okay. Is it okay if I'm honest with you guys? Yes. Good. Whew.

Here it is. The nasty, horrible, ugly truth.

Ready?

I. Hate. Exercise.

I really really really hate it. I hate sweating. I hate feeling flushed, out of breath and generally tired/sore. It's just not something I enjoy. I do enjoy exercise that doesn't feel like exercise. I loved gymnastics as a kid. I love yoga and weight lifting. I know I am not a runner.Too much boob, not enough leg... it's just never appealed to me. I also know that without much motivation, I'm going to sleep in instead of get up and do something I don't like. But I don't know what I like that can be applied to real life. (Read that as: too cheap to join a gym and must be done while family or toddler is sleeping at the ass crack of dawn.)

Here's the solution. I'm going to try 30 Day Challenges. Call me the Morgan Suprlock of exercise. I'm going to try one exercise regimen for 30 days straight and see if I like it. If I don't, I'll move on to the next one. I'll track my measurements and my weight and my general progression. If I hate it, I'll be honest about that too. (And of course, I'm always open to suggestions.)

First up on the 30 Day Exercise Challenge is yoga/pilates. Yes, I know they aren't interchangeable. But I get bored easily, and I think I'd like to see some variety. The yoga DVD will be Jillian Michaels' Yoga Meltdown. The Pilates DVD is BodyTrends Basic Mat-work for Beginners. Thankfully, I have all the equipment from my previous forays into the world o' yoga. 

So, now it begins. 30 Day Challenge starts tomorrow with the Pilates DVD. Are there any other brave souls out there willing to jump off the bridge with me? Commit to doing an exercise for 30 days straight?

Thanks and Some Fun Stuff!

Thank you all of you who left comments on my crazy mother post. It's nice to know I'm not suffering alone and those words of encouragement meant more than you can know. I've decided to let her be out there in BFE (she lives in the country for a reason) and do what I need to do on my terms. I think it's safer for all involved. And no more long car trips with her!

Now! On to the fun stuff!

Exciting things are happening here at Leaving Fatville. The first is being featured on HealthyLivingBlogs.com! You can see my post here on what health means to me. (Many thanks to HLB for letting me participate.) They are already moving on to their next topic, which is “What do you wish someone would have told you in your first week of blogging?”  For more information on joining Healthy Living Blogs, click here.

The second is I will be doing my very first giveaway this Wednesday! I'm super excited that the folks at csnstores.com have given me this opportunity. So, make sure to check back on Wednesday for more details and enter to win! And if you watch for it on Twitter, I'll be sure to post on there, too.