Fitness Friday: My Week in Goals

I had an okay week this week. Since I started blogging about fitness and health and deciding to make changes (4 weeks I believe), I've done really well. I would say this week I would give myself a B-/C+. I'm hoping to jump right back on the wagon and get back to being more active and eating right. My weight constantly fluctuates, so depending on the date and time, I've lost either 1 to 6 pounds which makes it really frustrating to really know how well my plan is working for me. I really want to kick it up a notch this upcoming week. Below is my inspiration for the week, food/recipes, etc. For me fitness means an overall health and well-being. Its going to be a long process, but I'm taking it one step at a time!  Be sure to link up your fitness/health/weight loss/inspirational posts to the widget at the bottom!

I actually made my own sweet potato fries! I'm not a patient or precise person and cooking is a creative outlet for me, so they're far from perfect looking, but they turned out yummy. I sliced a yam into fry looking pieces, tossed in a bag with 2 tablespoons of olive oil along with ginger, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spices and then baked them in the oven.

Admiring flowers on a beautiful day at the farmer's market. Every Friday from May-October there is a farmer's market a block away from my house and I've vowed to make use of it. They have bands playing and a lot of people just out enjoying the day and the park.

Positives

• Went home for lunch instead of eating out
• Walked to work instead of driving 
• I had slipped up a couple days this week, but I still made better fast food choices such as ordering a meal with chicken and no cheese, dressings or toppings
• I've been using up fresh produce which is a huge change for me. I've been throwing out less and less and using all of what I've bought. 
• I went to the farmer's market and focused more on buying local and buying as close to the "source" as possible
• I went to Barnes &  Noble and bought Bob Harper's Jumpstart to Fitness and ordered a Paleo cookbook. I've read Harper's book and did some of the Jumpstart exercises (and was sore for 2 days!)
• I incorporated some new items into my diet such as ginger and chia seeds. I will list below the health benefits of ginger and chia seeds. I found these in my local supermarket. I also purchased some raw almonds and am planning on making my own almond milk!
  
  
  Instead of ordering pizza, I made my own! I bought some crusts from the food co-op and topped with  pizza sauce I bought from the farmer's market. I then added tomatoes, garlic, chicken slices, green pepper, paneer (Indian fried cheese), onions, mushrooms, pepper, and drizzled olive oil over top. This satisfied my craving for pizza while still creating a healthy meal.
  
  This was just the most perfect color avocado when I opened this up. Yes, the pit looks huge because of the way I cut it. But the color inside was so gorgeous and without any blemishes, I just had to admire it! 

Goals

• Try some new recipes from emeals.com
• Drink more water, eliminate all sodas 
• Fish oil at every meal. I'm about at 1/3 of this goal right now
• Increase workout frequency and intensity 
• Don't grocery shop while hungry! 
• For the last stretch of my dietbet (see our dietbet here), I'm going to do a vegan cleanse for three days. 
• You can join a game on dietbet and contribute $ to the pot and those that have lost 4% of their weight in 28 days get to split the pot. Our buy in was only $5 so it was affordable to all. 

Butternut squash over spinach with feta cheese, walnuts & assorted spices

I'm excited to go the farmer's market again today. I had bought local honey and homemade pizza sauce from a farmer and of course sampled some cheese and pancakes. :)

Health benefits of Chia Seeds

• I ate these in my yogurt and found them at my local grocery store by the organic food. 
• The chia seeds are “super” because, like a superfruit, they deliver the maximum amount of nutrients with minimum calories
• From Dr. Oz's website
• Soluble Fiber, protein & calcium
• Helps keep you hydrated
• Good for digestion 
• Good for endurance 
• Omega fatty acids, Antioxidants
• ounce for ounce, chia seeds have more omega-3 fatty acids than salmon which is perfect if you're not a fish lover like me!

I'm really trying to get out and enjoy the beauty in life and everything around me, like these gorgeous flowers from the farmer market.

Health benefits of Ginger

• I sprinkle this over salads, on pizzas or with pasta, but I absolutely love the taste and smell of ginger
• Helps achy muscles, perfect for when you're working out (fish oil also helps you to recover quicker)
• Helps relieve cramps
• Good for motion sickness
• Great scent and flavor without adding calories
• Possible anti-cancer benefits for ovarian and colorectal cancer
• Immune boosting

What are your goals, successes and even failures for this week? Lets keep each other motivated and accountable!