Tuesday, May 29, 2012

"Your dreams come true when you act to turn them into realities."

Well I had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend! I had a great 4-day weekend with some great friends and new people! I think I did pretty well eating wise...but I am sure a few of those beers I had should have probably been avoided. I am not going to beat myself up over it. I am a 23 year old girl and love going out with my friends. I am starting to get a little sad because of very best friend Kyle is about to leave me. He will be going to law school and luckily not too far from me! It is nice to have him here with me so I will miss him a little bit. I have also enjoyed meeting all this friends that work with him. They are all very sweet people.
Kyle and I on Saturday Night

Julianna, Me, and Vann. Some of Kyle's work friends!

Well I shall move on now. I had a conversation with my roommate the other night about our dreams, goals, and ambitions in life. We both have huge dreams and like I said "it may not be tomorrow or 5 years from now, but one day our time will come." I totally believe that and I found this quote (the title of my blog post) and I felt that it's so true! I think sometimes we, I included, sit around and wait for things to happen. As nice as it would be for that to happen it doesn't. I know trying to find some amazing PR job isn't going to happen overnight. It is hard to swallow my pride and realize that but I do. I will keep sending my resume until they finally give me the job. I have this awesome characteristic that is "I don't give up until I get what I want." It is so true! I really don't. Tell me no once, I will try again. Tell me no five times, I will try again. 

Sometimes I realize that I could try a little bit harder every now and then whether it is working out harder, eating just a little better, or getting a job. I'm not perfect and I do not know anyone who is. We all have flaws and I know mine and not ashamed to admit them. I try to work on them as much as possible. I mean just look at the past 3 months of my life. I am down 29.8 pounds, cut out fast foods, cut back on sodas (about 2-3 a week), I work out, I am on my own, eating healthy, and growing up. I never in a million years thought I would be able to stick to a diet this long. I usually last about 2-3 weeks then I would cave in and run to Chick-Fil-A, McDonald's, or Zaxby's.

As I sit here looking like a tomato (that's what I get for laying by the pool with no sunscreen), I have a challenge for everyone, including myself, to write down your dreams on a piece of paper whatever they may be. Keep it with you and look at it once a week and think to yourself, have you done anything to get closer to achieving your goal? After a while if you say no, no, no...you may just be like ok you know what I keep saying no and I am ready to say YES! Here's mine for you to see! 
Well I hope everyone has a great/short week! Enjoy your life because you have one chance! Everyone has a purpose on this earth and congratulations to the people who have found it and good luck to the rest of us as we find ours!




Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Chicken Teriyaki over Onions and Mushrooms

Well I had such an amazing response yesterday. I couldn't believe it! I am so thankful! I made an awesome dinner tonight and I just couldn't wait to share it with everyone! I just kind of came up with it while I was at the store and ohhhh btw I have become addicted to coupons! I saved $27 at the store! (Bill went from $105 to $78) I found some WW coupons for Smart Ones! I discovered today that you can buy healthy on a budget. Obviously I am on one since I am jobless right now.  But anyways tips on that will be on the way. Here is a picture of my meal. I made parmesan zucchini and brown rice along with the meal! I probably should have taken better pictures but we were hungry and ready to eat!


Chicken Teriyaki w/Mushrooms and Onions
WW+= 8 Points
Serving: 2 
Fat: 3.2g, Carbs 26.5g, Fiber 1.3g, Protein 53.7

-4 thin boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets
-1/2 Cup of Lawry's Teriyaki Marinate
-1 Cup of Onion
-1 Cup Mushroom
-Salt/Pepper
-2 tbsp of Olive Oil

Instructions:
1. Marinate chicken in a bag with Lawry's Teriyaki for about 30 minutes and throw in a little salt and pepper for about 35 minutes
2. Saute Onions and Mushrooms with Olive Oil and Salt/Pepper, I thinly sliced both and cooked them together
3. Set aside onions and mushrooms
4. Grill Chicken in Skillet until cooked through 
5. Serve chicken over onions and mushrooms. If you would like you can slice the chicken before placing over veggie mix. 

This meal was so yummy! I found the zucchini recipe from Pinterest. (Click here for recipe.) and I used Uncle Ben's Brown Rice. One of those 90 second bags. 


Hope you like it! I know you will! Hope everyone is having a wonderful week. Now onto watching my guilty pleasure shows and spending some quality time with my roomie. 


Yours Truly,

Kelly 




Monday, May 21, 2012

Gotta Keep Your Head Up

Well I survived my first week in Nashville. I knew I would. I love this city so much. It has been amazing so far. I lost 3.6 pounds this week! Yay! I am now at 27.8 pound loss! I couldn't be happier! I worked really hard this past week or at least I think so. I went hard at the gym and ate pretty well.

I haven't written about this yet but I figured I should so that I will do it because everyone who reads this will expect me to... I have decided that once I lose 35 pounds I am going to quit smoking. Many of you may not know this about me but yes I smoke. I am not proud of it and it's an awful/expensive habit to have. I feel with my changes I am making in my life something needs to go and is holding me back from being completely successful. I have smoked since high school... and I am ready to be done with it for good. I am hoping and praying I will be able to succeed with this goal. I know it won't be easy but I am going to try my hardest.

The job search continues. I had an interview today and think it went pretty well. I wish I could find an awesome PR job here in Nashville but until I meet the right person, that is going on the back burner. I am pretty sure I have sent my resume 50 times to each PR firm here in the city and there is probably an office memo floating around each office about me (ATTN: This girl REALLY loves PR and has applied to work here 50+ times).

Well I got to have lunch today with my best friend Kyle. I feel like I mention him in every post. (Hope you feel special Kyle) I got to meet two of his intern friends and they were super nice and they told me they read my blog. I thought it was pretty cool! I love hearing that! Here is a shoutout for you Vann and Julianna!

So I am still on weight watchers but it doesn't feel like it. I guess maybe because I am not doing the meetings anymore I am doing it all online. I am thinking about starting meetings again. I just feel like I am holding myself accountable going to meetings and weighing in.

I talked to my friend Mary Allison who is also doing WW and she has lost 40+ pounds! How amazing is that?! I go to her for advice because she has been so successful and wondered what her normal workout routine was like. She introduced me to the Nike Training Club App. Wow that is the most amazing workout app ever. I hope you are all pulling your smart phones out and downloading it. That was an intense workout. It kicked my booty.

Well I have a recipe I made up. I am a pasta girl. I love/live for pasta! It is probably my favorite food. I eat a lot of whole wheat pasta and it's delicious. So while I was still at home I kind of played around with a few things and ended up with "Feta/Spinach Chicken w/Spaghetti." So I put the recipe in my recipe builder on WW online and it comes to about 12 points a serving. It fills you up so that's not too bad if you think about it. Here goes the recipe...


Feta/Spinach Chicken w/Spaghetti
Servings: 3
WW+= 11 Points per serving
Fat: 8.2, Carbs: 26.8, Fiber: 3.6, Protein: 69.5

3 Grilled Chicken Breast
2 Cups of Spinach
2 Cups Prego's Heart Smart Traditional Sauce
3 Cups Cooked Wheat Pasta (I used Whole Wheat Penne)
6 oz of Fat-Free Feta Cheese
Salt/Pepper
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic

1. Boil Water and cook pasta
2. While pasta is cooking saute your spinach with a little salt, pepper, oil, and garlic.
3. Set both aside after they are done cooking.
4. Cut chicken breast in half (you don't have to but I did) and grill them in a skillet until cooked.
5. Once your chicken is cooked spray a baking dish with non stick olive oil and place the chicken in the dish.
6. Scoop Spinach on your chicken and then sprinkle the feta cheese over
7. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or so. I baked it so the feta could settle on the spinach.
8. I heated up the sauce while the chicken was cooking, you can either it in the microwave or on the stove. ( I had some spinach left over and put some in the sauce for fun)
9. Then serve chicken over the spaghetti if you'd like or serve it side to side.
Before I put it in the oven
(It looks like about 5 cups of pasta but I swear it is only 1 cup)


It was super yummy and I really want to make it again. Very delicious! Well that is all I have for right now. Hopefully I will get to post later this week! I want to do a post of my favorite things to eat while on a diet. What do you think? Or if you have any recipes you would like me to try and make healthier let me know! I would be happy to take on the challenge!






Wednesday, May 16, 2012

"Feels Like Home To Me"

Ok I know I know! It has been a while since I posted on my blog! My roommate Zach told me to go to my room and write on my blog, and others have been asking as well.

I am in Nashville! Yay! I am just too excited! I love it so much! Well this past week I stayed at the same weight. Ehhhh... I am not going to lie to you all. I want you to see me do my best and worst. I am not going to sugar coat anything.

I was awful on my diet last week. I did not keep up with my points at all and did not workout at all. I am not proud of myself at all. But I stayed so busy trying to get everything packed and moved over to my roommates house so the movers could move both of our things at once. I am aware I have no excuse. I could have done well on my diet but I did not. I am sorry if I let anyone down but it happens...not every week will be your best.

Now I am almost settled into my apartment...My furniture for my room isn't getting delivered until Friday. So my room doesn't feel like my own just yet because I can't really decorate my room until I have my furniture set up. But everything else in the apartment is coming along great! The one thing that sucks is that I have spent entirely too much money since I have been here! Dear god...how I miss living at home right now. So tomorrow I am starting the journey of finding a job of some kind. Hopefully this week-next week I will have interviews and/or a job. Keep your fingers crossed and say some prayers for me.

I am trying to figure out how to keep eating healthy on a budget. Let's be real...it seems like it cost more to eat healthy than running to McDonald's and only spending $5 on a meal. Oh the joys of a diet. I do know that COUPONS are my new friend.

Well Tuesday night I invited our friend Kyle over for a home cooked meal. I made this delicious meal courtesy of skinnytaste.com. I made Cheesy Jalapeno Popper Baked Stuff Chicken and it was so yummy! I cannot believe it was a healthy meal! It was only 9 points for 2 chickens. I made it with a side of cilantro/lime rice and zucchini. Yummmmmmm!!!

I have been working out in my gym at my apartment complex and staying on top of it. My body is killing me though. So sore. But no pain...no gain!!

I hopefully will try and blog some more. I am working on a new recipe post. So be on the lookout for it! It will not disappoint! 

Thank you everyone for the continue support and blessings. I truly take every message to heart and it makes me work harder and harder! I would love for you to continue because I need it more than ever right now. 


Tuesday, May 8, 2012

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm"


Well I cannot believe this new chapter I am about to embark on! It's crazy I never thought about living in Nashville. I mean I liked Nashville but never thought of it as somewhere I would want to live. Now look at me! I am a Nashville junkie! I love everything about it! (Don't worry though my next stop will be NYC!) I am very content with a couple of years in Nashville.

Well I am starting week 12 of my diet and I have lost 24.2 pounds! So awesome! I cannot believe it! I feel a lot better but I just don't see any changes yet. People tell me they can but I guess since I look at myself in the mirror 24/7 I don't see anything. Here's a picture of before I started my diet and a picture of me now.




Well I am sad to say that I am canceling my curves fitness this week. One of the reasons is that I simply cannot budget it into my expenses just yet with moving and having to pay for necessities. I feel as though curves was very expensive and to be honest I just was not getting anything out of it lately. It was a great program to start off with but I need to be pushed harder and I didn't feel that was happening at curves....and to top it all off the "trainers" at the curves I was going to always had fast food in their office visible from the stretching room. It was very helpful starting me off. I would not have been able to handle a real gym. But now I am! I am ready to be pushed to the max!

So hopefully I will find a routine I like in the gym at my apartment and luckily the people we have met in our complex are very healthy and active! They even have Zumba classes three times a week in the clubhouse!

Also, you may notice that the majority of my blog entries are quotes. Well I found this quote and I firmly believe in it. It got me thinking about my weight-loss journey and how in order to continue losing I must always treat each week like it is my first week. You know the first week of diets are always the best because you are so pumped! You must keep that up and stay enthusiastic!

I shall be posting tomorrow with a recipe from my dinner tonight! It was so yummy! Stay on the lookout!

Oh last week I treated myself to a little gift..why because I am proud of that 21 pounds I lost! I said I would buy something TORY BURCH and I got these two phone cases!! Love them!!




Tuesday, May 1, 2012

"Don't Let The Fear Of Striking Out, Keep You From Playing The Game"

Hello Everyone! I hope you are all doing well. I know it has been a while since my last post but I have had an emotional roller coaster lately. Let's see where should I begin...

First, As you may notice I changed the name of my blog to Kelly's Journey. Seemed more fitting for right now. I may change it again who knows. I just finished my new logo! I am trying to figure out how to work with images on blogger so bare with me until I have this all figured out.

My grandfather, (my dad's dad) passed away last Thursday. He lived in Sharon, TN (close to Martin, TN). I was more upset than I thought I would have been. It had been 6-7 years the last time I saw my grandparents on my dad's side. Unfortunately Paw-Paw was sick with Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer. It hit him fast. I only wish I got to visit him before he passed. I know he would have loved to see his grandchildren again. I have never really been close to my dad's side of the family. It has just been a hard road the past couple of years and that is all I will say about that right now. But I do know my grandpa is looking down on us from heaven.

Well on a more positive note... I have lost 21.6 pounds! I am extremely proud of myself! I know it may not seem like a lot in 10 weeks but I would rather lose slowly and steadily than fast. Because if you lose weight fast you will gain it back and it just becomes a vicious cycle. Why be a yo-yo dieter your whole life, when you can make a lifestyle change and be happy/healthy?

I have realized a lot about myself over the past couple of weeks. I never thought I would be able to do this. I was so unhappy with myself. I am just so proud of what I have accomplished this far. I can only imagine what the future holds for me! I am ready to take the world on!

So as you know I am moving to Nashville very very soon. I needed to save up some money so I am doing WW online right now for the month. It is about $15 a month. So far so good. I do miss my monday meetings. Those women were amazing and a great support system. Luckily I still have my friends and family to support me! Once I get settled in Nashville, I want to check out the meetings there. If anyone knows of a good one in Nashville, let me know! Oh, and my uncle even signed up for WW! I am so happy he is making this change as well! He has been doing great so far! Congrats Uncle Mike!

Now I need your help! I want to start putting more recipes on my blog. I want to take your favorite dishes and turn them around to make them healthy!

Maybe if I get enough help, there might be a little giveaway! Start thinking and let me know!!