Today I met with my personal trainer for the first time. I have discovered that I have a problem with motivation and accountability when it comes to fitness. I researched several different personal training options, including the sessions offered through my local gym, and ended up choosing to go with a private gym for training.

The sessions are pricey so I’ve chosen to meet with the personal trainer one time per week and then she will provide me with a workout plan for the coming week and hold me accountable when we meet again. She was awesome and I think that her training style will be a good fit for me.

Today was just the basics - we met, took the lovely measurements including body fat and then tested my heart rate, strength, flexibility and balance. I was stronger than she thought and my flexibility and balance are fine.

I am glad that I finally took this step. I thought I could do it on my own but evidently I just need a little push. I’m hoping to have the time to continue to chronicle my journey here on this blog.

Photo by kzulo

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If you have a recipe that you’d like to submit, drop me a comment!

So today’s source of information comes from the That’s Fit blog. One of today’s post is titled “Dig yourself out of the diet pits” and here’s an excerpt:

Why is it that the American diet has taken such a nosedive, steering us swiftly into a health crisis characterized by more diabetes, more heart disease, more cancer? Our life expectancies are down, our health costs are up, and we’re fatter than ever.

It is a great post and ends with one of the most motivational, and compact, statements I’ve seen to date. Definitely check it out.

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Oatmeal Waffles

Makes 6 waffles

2 cups rolled oats

2 cups water

1 banana

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla

cooking spray

fresh fruit or maple syrup for serving

Preheat waffle iron to med-high

Combine oats, water, banana, salt, maple syrup, and vanilla in a blender.  Blend on high speed until completely smooth.

Lightly spray waffle iron w/cooking spray.  Pour in enough batter to just barely reach edges and cook until golden brown (5-10 mins).

Note:  The batter should be pourable.  If it becomes to thick as it stands, add a bit more water to achieve desired consistency.

Serve w/fresh fruit, spreadable fruit, or syrup.

Per Waffle:

130 calories

5g protein

25g carbs

2g fat

3g fiber

90mg sodium

14% calories from protein

74% calories from carbs

12% calories from fat

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Raspberry-Glazed Rosemary Chicken

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a small bowl, stir together crushed rosemary, sage, and oregano.
3. Rub one side of each chicken breast with herb mixture. Place chicken herb-side up in a baking dish, and pour broth over the chicken.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.
5. Place raspberry preserves in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat for 20 to 30 seconds to soften. Stir in honey mustard and rosemary.
6. Spread about 1 tablespoon of preserve mixture over each breast. Bake 10 minutes more.

NUTRITION INFORMATION
Servings Per Recipe: 8

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 240
Total Fat: 1.6g
Cholesterol: 68mg
Sodium: 85mg
Total Carbs: 28.1g
    Dietary Fiber: 0.2g
Protein: 27.5g

The original recipe can be found here:  Raspberry-Glazed Rosemary Chicken

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However, seeing the scale move downwards has helped to motivate me. I will work out this week. I will eat well this week. I will make wise choices this week.

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Ingredients
1 cup white flour
3 tablespoons white sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 tablespoons margarine
3/4 cup water
1 egg or 2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries

Directions

1. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together into medium mixing bowl.
2. Melt 2 1/2 Tbsp margarine in frying pan until melted; Be sure to tip the pan side to side to coat/grease all over.
3. Pour melted margarine in a small bowl, add water and egg (if you want to add egg); Mix well.
4. Mix blueberries with dry ingredients, just before adding the liquids.
5. Stir liquid mixture into the dry ingredients until it is thoroughly moistened; It is OK if this batter is lumpy.
6. Cook the pancakes over medium-high heat on the stove-top (or 375F on electric frying pans); Cook pancakes until the tops are bubbly and the bottoms browned; Turn the pancakes over to cook other side (Approxiamtely four minutes per side).
7. Serve hot with margarine, honey, brown sugar or maple syrup.
8. Actual cooking time will depend on the size of the pan you are using; I have a small frying pan, so I have to do these individually; My mom has a griddle large enough to cook them all at once.

Now these might not be the ideal pancake for weight loss, but this is still a recipe I wanted to share knowing how difficult it is to find good egg-free breakfast alternatives.

The original recipe can be found here: Blueberry Pancakces, Milk-Free, Egg-Free

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How Not To Fall Into Weight Loss Scam at MunFitnessBlog.com - Quoted from the post:

According to the statistic in year 2004, about 4.8 million consumers in the US were the victims of weight loss scams. In fact, this amount of victims are more than the foreign lottery scam. Therefore, it is good that you know what the common weight loss scams are out there so that you will not fall into any of them.

How To Manage Cravings While You Diet at Battling Obesity -  The author lists several ideas manage cravings while you are on a weight loss plan.  These ideas include:  avoiding the temptation to skip meals, keeping healthy snacks on-hand, drinking lots of water and understanding that moderation is key.

Green Your Diet - 30 Ways, 30 Days by Eco Women - Much media attention is being paid towards become more Earth-friendly, aka green.  I think that it is fantastic that people are now starting to step up and take notice, we only have on Earth after all.  Jennifer at Eco Women has a fantastic post that lists 30 ways to green your diet in 30 days.  A couple of my favorites include eat like your grandmother and shop at a local farmer’s market, co-op or CSA.  Thank you Jennifer for such a fantastic post!

These are just three of the many fantastic fitness-related blog posts that have shown up in the last 24 hours in my email inbox.  If you have a favorite post that isn’t listed here, please comment and let me know the link.

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I’ve decided to start a recipe of the day feature here at Thin By 35.  I’ll be browsing the web for the best in nutritious recipes and posting them here to share with you.  Today’s recipe is Banana Bread courtesy of Dr. Andrew Weil.

Ingredients

1. Heat the oven to 350° F. Lightly oil a loaf pan. 2. Mash the bananas and mix with the honey, canola oil and vanilla extract.

3. Stir together the whole-wheat pastry flour, baking soda and salt. Add the nuts.

4. Blend the two mixtures and spoon into a lightly oiled loaf pan. Bake for 40 minutes, or until center is set.
Serves 12

Nutrients Per Serving

The original recipe can be found here:  Banana Bread at AskDrWeil.com

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The goal is for the city to lose 1 million pounds. The effort was in response to the city’s continued inclusion on lists of the nation’s fattest cities.

I think that the Mayor’s idea is fantastic, what better way to lose weight than to do it with tens of thousands of your closest friends? All joking aside, this is a great plan and it has garnered national media attention. Obesity, and even more so childhood obesity, has reached truly epidemic proportions in the United States. The children of the United States, for the first time in decades, have a shorter life expectancy than their parents mostly due to obesity.

It is time for everyone to get on this weight loss and get healthy bandwagon. The entire country’s future is truly at stake. I love to read, a new book I’ve found is called Eat This Not That: Thousands of Simple Food Swaps That Can Save You 10, 20, 30 Pounds-or More! I highly recommend this book as there are some pretty simple to implement steps in there that will make a huge difference on your efforts to lose weight. Staying on a diet for life is not only unrealistic, it doesn’t usually work. Making lifestyle changes is truly the only way to get that weight off, and keep it off. Using some of the ideas from the book will help you with your new life!

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