Week Three: Egg Whites- More Exciting than Where's Waldo

Screw Waldo, I'm Finding Me Some Egg Whites! 

Week Three: 3 Pound Weight Loss (12 Pounds in Total)

Current Weight/Situation: 172.2

This was an exciting week for me! I started a new job as the Tasting Room Manager at Mannina Cellars. I think I will recruit my old buddy, Thumper (see picture above) to be our new mascot! If he couldn't sell wine with his cuteness, I don't know what could! This will be an exciting adventure for me. With a Bachelor Degree  that exposed me too all aspects of the wine industry, traveling around the world to wine regions, and being under appreciated in other tasting rooms, I feel this will be rewarding- getting to run the show. I also feel that this week will be even more exciting. How can that be, you ask? Friday is my 24th birthday. I am heading down to Pullman to have a Cougar-style birthday bash. I am already prepared to have this be a "splurge" weekend. I just have to jump right back into my routine when I get home. However, we all know that calories don't count on our big day. For that, I am very grateful! 

I am feeling happy. It is a great feeling. I am proud of myself for not slipping up and pushing myself both physically and mentally to get to my goal. I have decided that by August, I want to reach my goal weight and have my student loans paid off. I am saying that out loud, so there for, I have to do it. I am in a better mental state than I have been in a long time. I am slowly but surely pushing those Negative Nancy thoughts out of my head and being more encouraging to myself. I am still early enough in the game that it is easy to slip up. For example, I swear when I look in the mirror sometimes the below picture is what I see.

What I see in the mirror

 What I must remember is, the above picture is something fabricated in photobooth. The below picture is what is really there. It is hard to remember that when my eyes tend to work like one of those, evil distorting mirrors at the carnival (word from the wise, avoid those at all costs).  I suppose if all else fails, jump in the shower and start belting, Christina Aguilera's song 'Beautiful' at the top of your lungs. It is  seemingly therapeutic in a very cheesy and Katie-ish.

What is really there

Before and After Requests

Alright my friends! I have had many many requests for some more 'before and after' pictures. However, I am sorry to say you will have to wait until the 3rd Monday in February (the 20th). That is the dealio! If you don't believe me, re-read my frist blog! However, to satisfy your thirst to witness change... I have for your entertainment, the reasons why it is important to keep up with your eyebrows. As much as I enjoyed being lazy and sporting the 'bushman eyebrow look" it was time to do something about it. 

Bush-Man 'before'

 I mean, really! I looked unhealthy and kinda homeless in that up close and personal picture of my version of the Eugine Levy's brows. 

Normal Human-girl 'after'

Well, friends, I do believe you will think twice about what you ask for from now on. If you email and ask me- you shall receive. Ready or not! ;-) 

This Week's Goals:

My Previous Success with Yoga

*Try Yoga
*Try not to gain too much weight during my birthday celebration(s)
*Unpack (ok, ok, I know I am just being lazy now...grumble grumble)
*Cook 2 new recipes this week
*Bounce back into a workout routine after taking 2 days off this weekend
*Start advertising Mannina Cellars (COME SEE ME STARTING PRESIDENTS DAY WEEKEND! I WILL BE OPEN FRIDAY-SATURDAY 12-7pm AND SUNDAY 12-5pm)

The Workout Routine Queen:

Dear Body Pump at Gold's Gym,
You are hard and I feel like I am going to die in your class. Your triceps pushups were created by satan. Could your lunge section be any longer? Oh, and the jumpy thing when we lunge and jump up and do the knee kick thingy...pure evil. With all that being said, I love you. I feel myself getting stronger. I have a knew source of inspiration around me in that class. All the ladies with beautifully sculpted bodies keep me motivated (and saying a lot of bitter, jealous, cussing in my head.) I hope I can be true friends with you one day. For now, thank you for kicking my ass a couple times a week. 
Love (hopefully) Always,
Katie 

 I have continued to add classes to my routine. I am so competitive that I work the hardest when I am surrounded by others that are ahead of me in their workout journey. My favorite cardio class is, as I have said before, Zumba. The problem with this class is I am rocking out, shaking my booty and shimming like there is no tomorrow. I feel good, energized, sexy even. Then, something catches my eye and I look up at the mirror and realize I look like irish jig dancer with two left feet trying to do the salsa. In other words, the below is what I saw.

 People keep asking how I plan to keep the weight off after I loose it. That is easy. I am not LOOSING weight. I am geting RID of it. I do not what to FIND it again. haha! I thought the below was a fun fact and a great visual of trading fat for muscle. 

As promised, I have continued my gym circuit (from last week, the elliptical rotating between high and moderate resistance. Re-read last week if you have questions, or shoot me an email) and added to it. After my 10 minute warm up and 10 minutes of resistance switch ups, I break for 3 sets of ten crunches (I prefer to do this on a big ball for more range of motion). Then I go 10 more minutes of resistance switch ups on the elliptical and break for 3 sets of 10 push ups (I go back and forth between my toes and knees due to me being a weak mofo). I continue with this for 40-60 minutes adding things like lunges (boo, hiss, roar!) jumping jacks, jump rope, etc. Before March, I will make my Motivated Mood Music dedicated to great tunes for this circuit! It is all about the music to keep you going!

FEB AB FEBRUARY: My progress is going well! I have done my FAF every day. I even added a day. Yesterday, for each point scored by New York, I did a push up (and started over each time. They scored 3, I did three. They scored a touch down and made the kick, I did 10, etc) and did crunches every time New England scored. Not quite as exciting as making a drinking game out of it...but much healthier. 

Motivated Mood Music: 

My Life in a Nutshell Edition

You know those songs that sound like you wrote them because they are so relatable to your existence? That is what these songs are for me. I have so many, I am sure before August, I will do My Life in a Nutshell part 2, 3, 4 heehee. 

American Honey- Lady Antebellum 

F%$*ing Perfect- Pink

Growing Her Wings- Lauren Alaina

A Place in this World- Taylor Swift

Concrete Bed- Nada Surf

Driftwood- Travis

No Reins- Rascal Flatts

Right to be Wrong- Joss Stone

Little Miss- Sugarland

Take Me or Leave Me- Rent 

Almost There- Princess and the Frog

Bang Bang Bang- Christina Perri

Wildflower- Janedear Girls

Crazy Dreams- Carrie Underwood

Go the Distance- Hercules 

Guilty (SERIOUSLY GUILTY- don't judge) Pleasure of the Week: Who Says- Selena Gomez

Queen of the Week: Somebody to Love 

Featured Fantastic Food Friend: 

Egg Whites

While exercise is obviously a big part of getting a lean and toned body, decreasing your body fat percentage with a healthy diet is the other prime factor. I’ve discovered that egg whites nutrition provides a wealth of excellent weight loss nutrients including zero cholesterol, zero fat, and lean protein. With all the nutrients that we can find in this glorious food, perhaps the egg really did come before the chicken! This discovery of one of my new favorite go to health foods is more exciting than finding Waldo AND Wendy in the expanded poster version of Where's Waldo. 

No Cholesterol

An egg is full of cholesterol, Mayo Clinic says, with a single, large egg weighing in with nearly as much cholesterol recommended in your full day's diet. The full 213 mg of an egg's cholesterol, however, is all in the yolk. Eat only the egg white and you're instantly removing the eggs' notoriously detrimental element. People with no health problems should eat no more than 300 mg of cholesterol per day, while those suffering from conditions such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease should eat no more than 200 mg of cholesterol per day.

High Protein

Egg whites are one of the top sources of protein, Mayo Clinic notes, ranking up there with lean meat, poultry and fish. More than half of a full egg's 6 g of protein, in fact, comes from the white, Self Nutrition Data says. A single egg white offers 4 g of protein without the yolk's fat and other detriments. You'll get no fat, in fact, unless you fry up the egg in greasy oil or butter. Opting for low-fat protein sources as a regular part of your diet can also reduce your risk of heart disease, Mayo Clinic adds.

Low Calories

An egg is not a high calorie food to begin with, packing only about 71 calories for a single large egg, Self Nutrition Data says. Cut out the yolk and you immediately cut out about 55 of those calories, leaving you with a mere 16 for just the egg white. Rather than cooking up a three egg omelet, try one with a single egg supplemented with two egg whites. The three-egg omelet automatically weighs in at 213 calories for just the eggs, without taking any additional ingredients into account. An omelet made with a single egg and two egg whites, by comparison, weighs in at 103 calories.

Other

Egg white also give you a few other benefits, Self Nutrition Data notes. An egg white has absolutely no fat, compared to the yolk's 5 g of fat, 2 g of which are saturated fat. The amount of saturated fat in the yolk fulfills about 8 percent of your daily recommended dose. A single egg white also offers 1.3 mcg of folate, 6.6 mcg of selenium, 2.3 mg of calcium, 3.6 mg of magnesium, and 4.9 mg of phosphorus.

For more information go to: www.livestrong.com 

How Is This Food Going to Help you Loose Weight?

There’s a reason that egg white drinks and mixes are pushed into our faces at every grocery store and nutrition supplier and it’s because they’re really darn healthy. Eggs are rated up there as good sources of protein right alongside lean meats, fish, and poultry. And not only are the whites a good source of protein but a good source of Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium Phosphorous, Copper, Zinc, and Iron.

However, Yolks Still Provide Plenty Of Strong Nutrients

If it wasn’t for the fat and cholesterol, yolks might be recommended more often than just the whites but even though they’re not as healthy, they still contain nutrients and minerals that are not in the rest of the egg. Many nutritionists suggest having 2 whole eggs and 2 egg whites to balance out your fat and cholesterol intake while getting some important nutrients from the yolks. 

Pretty Body- Pretty Skin

I didn’t know this before, but there are actually such things as an egg white facial. Not only are egg whites great for a healthy diet, but they’re also considered a remedy to tighten skin. These unique facial masks are a popular solution for tightening and lifting skin, while reducing pores and decreasing the consistency of breakouts.

Try Incorporating Them in Your Food!

There’s been a growing trend to eat foods that are very low in calories, and for me, egg whites are what I choose. And the reason that egg whites are commonly associated with weight loss is because of how easy they are to integrate into a long-term diet solution. For example, if you scramble them up with fried vegetables you have an extremely simple and healthy meal that can be whipped up in only minutes. Try incorporating more foods like this into your diet and you can see a major decrease in your weight very soon.

For more information go to: http://eggwhitenutritionfacts.net/egg-whites-nutrition/

The Kitchen Counter With Katie: 

A Typical Day with My Friend, Egg Whites

Breakfast:

Denver (never tasted so good) Omelet

Servings: 2 Serving size:  1 omelet

WHAT YOU NEED: 2 teaspoons reduce-calorie margarine, divided 1 cup  chopped onion 1/2 cup coarsely chopped red bell pepper 1/2 cup   coarsely chopped green bell pepper 1/3 cup   low-salt reduced-fat ham, diced 6 ounces  Egg Whites  1/4 teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS Preheat nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and bell peppers; sauté for 7 minutes or until tender. Add diced ham, and sauté 1 minute. Remove from heat; set onion mixture aside. Combine the egg whites, and salt in a medium bowl; stir well with a wire whisk. Preheat nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add 1/2 cup of onion mixture, spread over bottom of skillet. Pour half of egg mixture into skillet, and top with 1/2 cup onion mixture (do not stir).  Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook for 10 minutes or until the center is set.  Loosen the omelet with a spatula, and fold in half. Slide omelet onto an individual plate; set aside, and keep warm. Repeat the procedure with remaining, onion mixture, and egg mixture.

Lunch:

Perfecto Tex-Mex Frittata

Serving size: 2

WHAT YOU NEED: 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions 3 tablespoons canned chopped green chilies 1 teaspoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 6 ounces Egg Whites, lightly beaten 1 (15-ounce) can no salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained cooking spray 3 garlic cloves, minced 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Monterey jack cheese with jalapeno peppers 2 tablespoons fat-free greek yogurt 2 tablespoons salsa 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

INSTRUCTIONS Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl; stir well.  Set aside. Coat a 10-inch nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium heat until hot.  Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Stir in bean mixture; spread evenly in bottom of skillet.  Cook over medium-low heat 5 minutes or until almost set. Wrap handle of skillet with foil; place skillet in oven, and bake at 450 degrees for 5 minutes or until set. Sprinkle with cheese; bake an additional minute or until cheese melts.  Top each serving with sour cream and salsa; sprinkle with cilantro.

Dinner:

Malibu Light Egg Whites & Spinach Salad

WHAT YOU NEED: 1/2 cup onions, finely chopped 1/2 cup tomatoes, finely chopped 1 cup Your Favorite veggies 2 cups spinach 1 cup Kale few almonds, cashews, raisins  1/3 cup Egg Whites salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS In a bowl mix all the ingredients except egg and mix well. Cook the egg whites. Cut the egg white into small pieces and mix it with the other ingredients. Now add salt and pepper for taste and toss the salad. If you want you can add ranch, make it with greek yogurt and a ranch packet.  This takes a maximum of 10 min to prepare and makes 2 servings.  There is no limit to how many veggies you can put in this! The more the better! Snack: One of my all time favorite snacks is hardboiled eggs. Luckily for me, I absolute HATE the hardboiled yolk. I think it tastes like eggy side walk chalk. I usually end up throwing it away. I could eat hardboiled egg whites every day. One thing I love to do with it is fill it with hummus (kinda like a healthy deviled egg).

Super Bowl Recap:

I made 4 dips out of non fat greek yogurt for both the fruit and veggie platters. I made zucchini (healthy) fries (baked in non fat feta and coconut). The main course was shredded chicken in butter lettuce wraps with fresh herbs and low fat/calorie sauces to go on top.  If you'd like an of the recipes, let me know. I will send them to you with pictures and all!

Oh and WAHOOOO Giants! 

When I get bored, I get creative. People say not to play with your food. I disagree! I think this is a sign I need to be somewhere tropical!

Chubby Cuisine Challenge: 

Beer Bread Edition 

Dear McGlinns,

Your beer bread is legendary and magical. It is my ultimate food weakness. Question for you, why would you serve this with a healthy salad? Is it simply to tempt me and push my limits of my sanity? Is it to see if I would break down and cry watching my dad eat my lumpy, beer-filled goodness? I would like you to know I was stronger than that, but not by much! I would recommend sending a healthier side dish for those people you do not want to mopping in your restaurant. 

Thanks But No Thanks,

Katie 

In honor of my birthday, and my love of bunnies and good beer, the below is one of my favorite "funnies"! Enjoy!

Have A Hoppy Week! Let me know if you have any question, comments, or suggestions!