Recovering from Sickness with Paleo Jambalaya and a Golden ACE

Let me tell you, being sick is no bueno. Everyone knows this. But being sick when you are trying to be healthy is even harder on your mind, body and soul.

I was hit with whatever crud is going around on Tuesday and only emerged on Saturday sounding and looking somewhat like normal. Which was quite interesting since I had to be in a fancy gown Saturday evening for an awards gala. I was nominated and selected as the 2014 Tallahassee Network of Young Professionals Golden ACE in the Government Relations & Law category. I was honored to have been nominated and proud to win the award.

 

 

Earlier that morning was the Springtime Tallahassee 10k which I was registered to run, but due to bad weather and not wanting to get sick again, I opted not to run Saturday. Instead I made up the 6.2 mi on Sunday morning. After being sick all week, eating very little and not working out at all, that was one of the hardest and must unhappy runs I have done to date. I ended up walking the last 1.5 mi due to pain in my knee, and barely being able to breathe. But I completed it.

I decided there was no better way to clear my head than with a spicy jambalaya, paleo-ified. I've been searching for some good crockpot recipes and came across this one from www.lifeasaplate.com and modified it as I usually do. With windows open, and some serious shuffle of my iTunes going, I started prepping my crockpot wonder of the day. It was quick and came out delicious! Just be prepared to serve it to a lot of people or have leftovers forever.

Ingredients:
4 c chicken stock
4 bell peppers chopped (any colors)
1 sweet onion chopped
2 (14.5 oz) cans of organic diced tomatoes (include liquid)
2-3 cloves garlic chopped
2 bay leafs
1 lb shrimp raw, tailless and deveined
1-2 chicken breasts diced (1 large or two small)
1 package spicy Andouille sausage (can sub with kielbasa sausage)
1 head of cauliflower
1/4 cup (or more) of hot sauce
2 Tbps paprika
1 Tbps salt
1 Tbps garlic powder
1 Tbps black pepper
1 Tbps onion powder
1-2 Tbps cayenne pepper or chili powder
1 Tbps dried oregano
1 Tbps dried thyme

Instructions:

1. put chopped peppers, onion, garlic, chicken, seasonings, hot sauce and bay leaves in crockpot with tomatoes and chicken stock. Let cook for 5.5 hours.
2. Add in sausage and let cook for 10 more min. Add in shrimp and cook for 20 more min.
3. Steam cauliflower rice and serve jambalaya over rice in a bowl.

This was exactly what I needed tonight and I'm so ready to get back to working, and more importantly, working out tomorrow. I don't think I've ever looked more forward to a Monday before!

What's in a blog name?

I've gotten lots of questions about why I chose to name my blog "From Fat to Fabulous". Believe me when I tell you it's not because I was fat and now I'm not. The name has to do with a state of mind. Let me explain.

As women, especially as young women, we are constantly bombarded with messages of beauty. We see it in magazine articles, advertisements in print and on TV, and especially in the products that are geared for women. They all tell us we are not thin enough, not good enough unless we buy this, eat this, wear that. Nowhere are we encouraged for being the smart, successful, amazing and beautiful women we are.

 

 

This blog and especially my journey to get healthy and stay fit isn't about losing weight or inches. It isn't about dropping dress sizes. Its about the transformation I went through and will continue to go through to understand that I am fabulous no matter the shape or size that I am.

To me, fabulous comes from gaining back my confidence that I lost a long time ago. It's smiling instead of crying when I look in the mirror. Fabulous is being able to finish a half marathon, row 9,000 meters in 45 min, do pushups like a champ and concur the bosu. It's feeling better physically and mentally based on the food choices I make. And most importantly, fabulous is in the encouragement I give others who see the journey I'm making and, in turn, are working to become fabulous too.

That is what fat to fabulous means.

The Gate River Run 15k

What a fun weekend we had in Jacksonville with the Badass Babes and friends! Finishing my second 15k with a PR of 1:34 including concurring the Green Monster bridge made me proud. And the race bling is sweet too. I'm just sad that I'm having some knee issues but I hope I can work to resolve them soon. Next race is two weeks away! 

 

This weekend was exactly what I needed: fun with friends, a great run with a new PR, and time to decompress from a hectic couple weeks of work. Tammie and I set off for Jax on Friday afternoon, way behind schedule. We picked up all the packets at the expo, spent way too much on new race gear and picked up a little something special for our race planner Mitzi. Then we headed to meet the rest of the Badass babes for dinner - which didn't quite go as planned.

Saturday morning we headed to the Everbank field to get ready for the race. Shannon headed to the speedy race corral, Mitzi and I headed to the middle of the pack, and Crystal, Tammie, Amy and JT headed to the third corral - as Crystal calls it, the "caboose" and as JT refers to it, the "turtle corral".

I have never been so excited to see real bathrooms in our waiting area! We may make this race a repeater just for this reason alone. Mitzi and I decided to have a little fun with the camera while we waited for the race to start, and ran into a whole bunch of Tallahassee people in the meantime, including Badass Babes, Betsy and Sarah.

The cannon thundered and Betsy, Mitzi and the rest of our wave took off out of Everbank Field, past the Maxwell Coffee plant, around downtown and over the Main Street bridge. We headed into the neighborhoods but with the packed crowd of runners and the narrow streets I lost Mitzi and Betsy and had to finish the run alone. Thankfully 15,000 runners, some awesome Jacksonville residents with encouraging signs, popsicles, and yes even grilled sausages and beer kept me occupied. We finally rounded the corner of the last neighborhood and hit the onramp for the dreaded Green Monster, a mile long bridge that felt almost as high to climb! It also happens to be the last 1.5 miles of the race.

Finally the crest of the bridge was met and all that stood between me and a medal was my extremely tight right IT band in my knee, and a downhill run to the finish. I picked up some speed and made it across the finish line to rehydrate and wait for the rest of our crew. There were many accomplishments in our group including Shannon's Top 10% finish, several PRs and Mitzi's ability to put a fear of bridges behind (below?) her.

Race bling acquired we got out of there for a fun afternoon of shopping, and relaxing, followed by a great dinner and some adult beverages at Fionn McCool's, an Irish bar at The Landing. It was exactly what we needed after a long week, and a tough race.

It was a wonderful weekend and I am reminded again how thankful I am to have met such amazing and wonderful women who inspire and encourage me, and who help me learn and grow every day. Can't wait for the next Badass race weekend! 

It's all about the food

Yes, working out is a huge way I've lost the "huge" about me. But it's the food that really counts in seeing the pounds, and more importantly, the inches drop. During my first round of Tabata bootcamp I paid more attention to the workouts than the food. I lost 11 pounds in that 8 week period. But the second round I made a decision to focus on both the working out AND the eating, and boy did it make a difference.  To date I've dropped 38-40 lbs since starting my healthy journey last summer.

I choose to eat clean, mostly a paleo-esc diet of giving up wheat and dairy in favor of meals that are filled with protein, fruits and veggies.  But where paleo and I differ is I include potatoes and rice into some of my meals. I choose to eat as limited amount of processed foods as I can. If it comes in a box or with a label I tend not to put it in my shopping cart.

That was very difficult in the beginning with my extremely busy lifestyle and very picky taste buds. But, I have come to love my crockpot (this time around - I hated it years ago because everything was a bland, mushy mess). I make a conscious effort to ensure I have a homemade, healthy breakfast every morning, I eat leftovers for lunch of meals I made in the weekend or evenings before, and a super awesome dinner, fresh or leftover, at night. And when I do need to rely on a snack or a meal out, I try to stick as close to clean eating as possible, by knowing every ingredient that goes into my mouth. Yes its time consuming, and yes it can be expensive. But I think my body, my increased sleep, and my mind are worth it. I plan to share some of my awesome recipes as I discover them, and please, PLEASE share yours as well!

For example, one of my favorite meals is beef and broccoli. But getting it from a Chinese Food restaurant can be dangerous. So I crock pot my own.

Ingredients:

2 lbs of grassfed beef roast
1 large head of organic broccoli
1-2 cans of water chestnuts
1/2ish bottle of gluten free teriyaki marinade (should cover the meat)
2 Tbs ground ginger
2 Tbs garlic
1 Tbs chili powder

Cut the meat into smaller chunks and put in crock pot. Add seasoning. Pour in teriyaki sauce until it about covers the meat. Stir everything to make sure meat has good coverage of sauce and all spices are mixed in the teriyaki sauce. Cover, low 5-6 hours depending on preference of meat temperature and doneness.

Prior to serving, steam up broccoli florets and add to crockpot. Also add water chestnuts. Serve over rice. Enjoy!  

The Donna - 13.1 miles of strength and encouragement

February 23rd, 2014 was another day of accomplishments in my life: I completed my first ever half marathon in 2:38. Here's what I posted on Facebook: "So proud to finish the Donna Half Marathon with Crystal Kelly and Mitzi Woods - two amazing women who pushed through a PR today. Thank you to Allison Carter for encouraging me throughout my journey and especially at mile 9. And to the best trainer Shannon Colavecchio for the support and encouragement, especially as she ran me in that last mile when I was ready to quit. But I didn't. I'm so excited for my accomplishment today."

I couldn't believe it. Me, a half marathon finisher. But there I was, albeit hurting, with a medal around my neck. Mitzi and Crystal will attest that I was so scared of jinxing myself that I wouldn't touch anything with a 13.1 or finisher on it for fear of actually not finishing the race. But I did. Let me back up.

On Friday Mitzi, Crystal and myself set out for Jacksonville, Starbucks in hand, to hit the Donna Expo and pick up our packets. We met the race founder, Donna Deegan, a four-time breast cancer survivor (pictured below).

We picked up our race day packets, visited the vendors, signed these amazing message boards which would be found along the beach on race day, and took a ton of pictures (obvi!).  

We spent the day reflecting on what was to come, and had a great time shopping and having dinner with badass babe Sarah who had just moved to Jacksonville. The next day was more of the same with the rest of the badass crew - Shannon and Allison - heading to Jacksonville. Dinner with the girls that night was fun, FULL of sharing (ok I admit, probably too much sharing), and preparing for race day the next morning.

4:30 am came too early Sunday morning after a restless night of anticipation and worry that I wouldn't finish. Had I trained right? Had I trained enough? Would my body give out after 9 miles, 10 miles? Would I let myself down and those around me? I fought the self doubt and the nerves the next morning as Crystal and I waited in our corral for the race to start. By the time the race started I was a ball of energy and nerves, and I cried the first of many times as we crossed the start line.

I cried when I saw a woman running next to me who had a survivor bib on. I cried when I saw a man running in front of me who was running for his wife, who lost her battle with breast cancer. I cried when I hit the beach - the half way point in the race, and I cried again when I left the beach and felt my knee give a little twinge of pain. And I burst into tears when at mile 11 I thought I couldn't go any further due to a nasty blister on my left foot and my IT band pulling something terrible in my knee. But then wouldn't you know it? Sarah Bareilles "Brave" came on, and I knew I could make it up that last hill, over the bridge and across the finish line. And with Allison cheering me on via text (yes via text - I needed it!), Shannon running me in the last mile of the race, and Mitzi waiting across the finish line, I completed my first half marathon. And damn did it feel good. 

To the badass babes - I can't thank you enough for all that you do on a daily basis. You make my life more enjoyable; you laugh with me, you cry with me, you encourage me to do better, be better, live better, and I humbly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. 

  

Running the Hot Chocolate 15k

Can you say FREEEZZZZIIIINNNGGG? That's what it was on January 27th, 2014 when I ran the first 15k of my life: The Hot Chocolate 15k in Atlanta, GA with some amazing ladies - and finished in a pretty decent time of 1:38.

Here's what I posted later that morning after I had showered and regained some of the feeling in my frozen limbs: "First race of 2014 finished. I'm not going to lie, I cried crossing that finish line. Thank you everyone who sent encouraging messages before and after the race - they meant so much to me! There were several times (in the 27 degree weather) I questioned why on earth I was running the 15k. But your encouragement, the encouragement of the badass babes who were running it with me, the great signs along the course (including two of my favorites "Where is everyone going?" and "hurry! They are running out of chocolate!") the three guys for a half mile between miles 4 and 5 who were jumping in the race, encouraging the runners on like we were the Tour de France, and finally the 20k other runners fueled me to my first finish line ever, and the first of 2014. On to the half marathon in Feb!"

These were the ladies who braved the bitter cold (ok for Florida girls, 27 degrees was bitter), the 4:30 am wake up call, the nearly 2 hours sitting in a warm suburban before race time, and crossed the finish line. Some of these ladies, like myself, had never finished 9.3 miles, and especially not on a hilly course like the one we faced in Atlanta. It was a proud day, one I would never forget, and made me think that I could run my first half marathon in four short weeks.   

My journey began - July 29, 2013

On July 29, 2013 I posted this to Facebook: "today is day 1 of an 8 week boot camp challenge. So be prepared to either cheer me on or hide my feed for the next 8 weeks because I will be one of those people who posts about my workouts and progress. You have been warned."

I was excited and yet EXTREEMLY nervous and apprehensive about the journey I was beginning. I was always someone who worked out so that I could eat and drink what I wanted. But after I hit age 30, a busy life and putting others needs before my own began to take a toll on my body. The clothes in my closet slowly began to fit a little less comfortable and then not at all. Sure I exercised, I tried to eat healthy, but it slowly added up. By 34 I was over weight, out of shape, and completely and utterly unhappy with what I had done to myself. And I needed a change.

July 29th, 2013 I started an 8 week program called Tabata Bootcamp, taught by Shannon Colavecchio. The program was high intensity interval training three days a week, plus 6 minutes of homework everyday, and proper nutritional eating - and being held accountable for all of it. I was so discouraged that first day when I stepped on the scale and saw 215 lbs. And it sickened me to see my stats: 40 inch waist and 50 inch hip. The first week was tough and I questioned whether I would be able to stick with it, both mentally and physically. I wanted to give up. I especially wanted to give up two weeks later when we weighed in again, and I saw one pound, one measly, stinking little pound had been dropped in the hardest two weeks of my life to date. But I didn't. I found encouragement from my awesome trainer. I found encouragement from two amazing women - Mitzi and Allison who pushed me to do better, be better. I found encouragement from those in the class who were fighting the same battles. I found encouragement from my friends on facebook who privately and publicly sent me messages to keep going. And I slowly found encouragement from within myself. And so I kept going.

On August 27th, 2013 I posted this on Facebook: "Its Day 30 of my 60 day bootcamp challenge. I'm losing pounds and inches, back to running with enjoyment and stronger in both mind and body. Can't wait to see what Day 60 brings!"

On September 30th, 2013 I posted this: "Day 64: 8 weeks of bootcamp is in the bag. As a result, 11 lbs and 7 inches overall are gone in just 8 weeks. I'm stronger both physically and mentally, can run further and faster, and I have muscles in places I didn't know could exist. It's been a great experience and thank you all for rooting me on. I start a new 8 week bootcamp Oct. 14th and I can't wait to see what my results will be at the end of that 8 weeks as well!"

And on January 13th, 2014 I weighed in and cried, when I saw I was down 30 lbs and more than 13 inches over all. but more importantly, I had found the confidence in myself that I knew was buried deep down. 

On July 29, 2013 I began a journey - a journey to regain a life that makes me happy. I hope you'll stay with me on this journey - one step at a time.