Favorite Breakfast - Easy Crockpot Oats

I'm all about easy food prep.  I don't even have kids yet, and I'm always looking for shortcuts to save time because I work 10-11 hour shifts at work and workout everyday.  I stumbled upon my variation of crockpot oats after trying other recipes and using trial and error.  Here's my perfect recipe, which is very versatile because you can stir-in whatever you want the next morning when you are heating them up.

Easy Crockpot Oats (yields 4 servings)

1 cup whole rolled oats (80g)
1/2 cup steel cut oats (80g)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered stevia or more depending on taste
6.5 cups water*

Measure out your oats (I use a digital scale) and place in a crockpot.  Add your cinnamon and stevia and mix.  Add water and vanilla extract and stir.  Set to cook 8 hours on low overnight.  Bam!  Wake up to a yummy breakfast!

 * Notes on the water - this may vary depending on your crockpot and how you like your oats.  I was using a crockpot that seamed to scorch my oats, so I started adding more water at night, then finally I got a new crockpot that cooked more evenly and has a warm function, so it switches to warm after 8 hours.  This was perfect for me, as I have no more scorched oats.  If your crockpot scorches your oats, then you will need to add more water.  On the other hand, if your oats look too "soupy" in the morning, don't fear.  As the oats cool, they will get thicker, and when you refrigerate them and reheat them I promise they are not soupy at all.

I portion these out into 4 containers in the morning and pop them in the fridge.

Nutrition facts: per serving - Calories 154, Fat 3g, Carbs 28g, Fiber 4.3g, Protein 5g

Reheating instructions (after being refrigerated): add a little bit of water (1-2 tbsp.) and pop the container in the microwave for about 90 seconds.  Stir, then eat.

Stir-in options after reheating: walnuts, pecans, strawberries, blueberries, banana, raisins, pumpkin puree, applesauce.  Don't get bored with your oats, play around with the stir-ins and spices, like try pumpkin pie or apple pie spice :)

Week 3 Workout Plan

This week, I continue with week 3 of Insanity and week 3 of Jamie Eason's Live Fit Trainer.

Sunday: off
Monday: Insanity Fit Test & Leg Day
Tuesday: Insanity Plyometric Cardio Circuit & Back/Biceps Day
Wednesday: Insanity Pure Cardio & Chest/Triceps Day
Thursday: Insanity Cardio Recovery & Leg Day
Friday: Insanity Cardio Power & Resistance & Shoulders Day
Saturday: Insanity Plyometric Cardio Circuit, no weights

I'm not really following Jamie Eason's nutrition plan, but a mix of my own clean-eating/flexible eating plan.

Have a good week of training :)

Week 2 Summary, IIFYM, and Protein Pancakes

I read nonstop on the internet.  There's such a wealth of health and fitness advice and theories out there, it's crazy.  The thing I realize is that it doesn't matter what advice or "diet" you chose to follow, you can get great results using different approaches as long as you are committed to it and consistent.  As long are you are being physically active, burning calories, lifting weights, and following a nutrition plan that's balanced and creates a calorie deficit, you will succeed.  Key words being committed and consistent, as in not cheating.

The latest thing I stumbled upon on Twitter was this concept called IIFYM (If it fits your macros), or flexible eating.  Basically, as long as you are hitting your goals on calories, carbs, protein, and fat, then it doesn't really matter what you are eating.  This is totally against the concept of clean-eating, which limits you to lean proteins, veggies, sweet potatoes, brown rice, etc....basically the chicken and broccoli diet lots of people in the fitness and bodybuilding industry live by.  The problem with clean eating is it can become boring and bland and is so restrictive that it's hard to stick to.  It can even create an unhealthy obsession with food, which can lead to an eating disorder.  This is kind of what has happened to me.  It led me to develop a binge eating disorder because I was restricting myself so much and wouldn't allow myself to eat "bad" foods.  Then I would just eat everything in site, feel horrible about it, and the cycle just continues.

I like this IIFYM idea because it allows you to eliminate the idea of "bad" foods.  I can eat somewhat clean still - oats and egg whites, chicken and spinach salad, sweet potatoes, etc, but if I want to have a slice of pizza for dinner, then I can eat it without getting depressed about it.  You still count it and log it, and as long as your are hitting your caloric goals for the day it's ok.  I think this is a great concept for me to follow so I don't feel deprived and want to binge. 

I also decided that I need to increase my caloric intake to reach my weightloss goals.  Eating 1200 calories per day is awful and definitely sets you up to binge.  Based on my activity level and goals, I should be eating around 1600 calories per day for weight loss.  This should keep my body out of starve mode and help facilitate fat burning.

I lost 1 pound last week.  I had 2 days where I ended up bingeing, so that definitely hurt me.  This week I start with a new outlook on what I can eat and my daily calories, so we will see what happens.  Also, the Jamie Eason program gets tougher this week.  Bring on the muscle!

Now, on to the pancakes!

Pumpkin Protein Pancakes

 

1/3 cup oat flour*

1/4 cup vanilla whey protein powder (my brand has 80 cal & 18g protein per serving listed on container)

1/2 tsp baking soda or powder

1/4 cup almond milk, unsweetened (not pictured)

1/4 cup pumpkin puree, canned (not canned pumpkin pie filling)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or more to taste)

1 egg white

stevia to taste

 

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and fry in a pan using cooking spray.  Yields 3 pancakes. 

 

Nutrition facts for whole recipe: Calories 285, fat 4.5g, carbs 33g, fiber 7g, protein 30g

 

I topped it with strawberries and Kroger Carbmaster Vanilla Yogurt :)  If you want even more pumpkin flavor, top with Kroger Carbmaster Pumpkin Pie Yogurt.

 

* Notes - you can use different flours, although I haven't tried yet.  Note it will change the calorie, carb, and protein content



 



The more you workout, the hungrier you get

The last couple of days have been pretty good for me, except yesterday my appetite was ravenous and I found it hard to not think about food ALL DAY LONG.  It's part of my obsession with food I guess.  Some days I don't think about food at all and have no problem sticking to the food plan I have made for that day, and then sometimes I am just thinking about food all day.  It's crazy and I don't understand why it happens, but it does. 

Anyways, Tuesday was W2D2 of Insanity and it was Pure Cardio for the workout.  I nailed that workout pretty good and then went to work.  Nutrition was on spot with oats and a protein drink for breakfast, big spinach salad with chicken for lunch, steamed veggies and more chicken breast for dinner.  My snacks consisted of egg whites, Laughing Cow Light cheese, Greek yogurt, almonds, and a kashi bar.  I did so good on Tuesday and was super proud of myself.

Then yesterday was a different story.  Insanity was Plyometric Cardio Circuit, which is a tough workout.  Lots of leg work in the form of squats and floor sprints, and then lots of pushups.  I was pretty worn out but had to go to the gym for my weight-lifting.  I was dreading it because I thought I would be too tired, but surprisingly I crushed it.  It was chest day and I nailed my pushups, I guess because I was all warmed up from Insanity.  The day started off great nutrition wise, then I was ravenously hungry all day.  I was panicking in my mind, then it all came apart in the evening.  Needless to say, I did not meet my caloric goal yesterday!

Jamie Eason's Live Fit Trainer Week 2 Chest/Tricep Day:
Wide push-ups  3x12
Dumbbell bench press  3x12x15
Flat bench chest flye  3x12x10
Narrow pushups  3x12
Overhead tricep dumbbell extension  3x12x10
Triceps pushdown  3x12x60

I'm reading lots of Fighter Diet.  I'm obsessed with Pauline Nordin.  I got the Fighter Diet Concept e-book and it's great.  Just gotta keep pounding the concepts into my brain so they override my desire to stray from my diet and set myself back. 

I also got fitness model Kelsey Byers' book Eat Clean and Follow Your Dreams today.  Her story is pretty amazing, and I can't wait to read about her journey.

I made steamed cabbage today and my house is all stinky.  Trying to air it out.  My husband always complains when I steam veggies because then the whole house stinks, lol.  I wish I could come up with a solution to that, other than opening all the doors and windows and lighting candles, lol.

insanity Round 2 W2D1 and some food prep

I had a great day off today. Usually I struggle with eating on days off because I get bored and have access to so much food in the house, but today was a breeze. 

I started off with a healthy breakfast of crockpot oats with strawberries, egg whites, and tomatoes.

Then, I did my Insanity workout. Having completed Insanity once already, the second round is still tough but you don't have that awkwardness of not knowing how to do the moves. The second time around, you nail the moves with good form.  I'm on week 2, day 1 and the workout was Cardio Power and Resistance. I like this workout a lot because it has power jumps in it and that's a great move, but difficult. It also has moving push-ups. Any workout with explosive jumping and push-ups is a great total body workout.  I burned 344 calories says my Polar heart rate monitor. 

I had lunch of a sandwich made with Ezekiel bread, turkey, and fat free cheese, and some steamed zucchini.  Afterwards, a trip to the grocery store.  Dinner was shrimp, steamed cauliflower and carrots. Then I prepped food for the next few days.

So far so good :)

 

 

Spinning my wheels no longer

Do you know what the most frustrating thing is about trying to lose weight?  Working out relentlessly for months and months and months and not getting any results.

Here's a newsflash:  You are eating too much!!

But I'm always eating right, packing my lunch, dinner, snacks, getting under 1500 calories per day.  Or am I?  Turns out I can last about 2-3 days at a time of eating clean, sometimes 4 days if I try really hard, then I lose it and eat everything I can get my hands on.  Happens 2-3 days per week.  I have no clue how many calories I'm consuming, but probably almost double what I'm supposed to be eating.  So, to everyone around me it looks like I'm eating healthy and am a fitness guru, but in the privacy of my own demise, I'm cheating myself. 

What gives??

I did some research and learned that what I'm doing is called binge eating, and I have all the hallmarks of binge eating disorder.  What??  Me??  Only people with problems have eating disorders, I don't have problems.  I'm as normal as they come.  But, if I don't have a problem or eating disorder, then why can't I stop?  The proof is in the pudding I'm eating at 11pm (but it's sugar free, fat free, so that makes it ok, right?).  Oh wait, it's only ok if you just eat one.  I find myself over and over again eating for no reason and I can't stop myself.  When it happens, it's like I zone out and nothing I eat in any amount is satisfying, I just keep shoveling it in.

I read a book about binge eating.  In the book, it talks about several reasons you might binge eat, and one of those reasons is restricting yourself through constant dieting.  That restriction causes you to eventually break down and eat no-no foods.  During the binge, it says to be in the moment and ask yourself why you are eating, is it helping you feel better?  You need to find another outlet to let your emotions out, and food is not the right outlet because it just makes you feel worse.

Well, I'm done feeling bad about myself.  I'm done doing programs like Insanity, weight-lifting programs, half marathon training, and still being fat.  I work out more than any skinny person out there, but it's my fault I overeat and ruin all my hard work.

I read all these fitness magazines and things online, and it says to not be hard on yourself and that if you slip up today, just start fresh tomorrow.  Problem is, I'm always starting over tomorrow.  Truth is, I need to be hard on myself.  I need to hold myself accountable.  I starting following Pauline Nordin, creator of Fighter Diet, on Facebook, and I'm in love with her approach to fitness.  Not necessarily the big muscles she has, but her no-nonsense, hard-working attitude.  She tells you what you need to hear and doesn't sugar coat anything.  Her FB page is a big dose of reality and reminds you that you have to have dedication in not just working out, but also diet, if you want to reach your goals.

Anyways, today is the day that I really challenge myself to stick to clean eating.  I've made a hybrid workout plan, including Insanity and Jamie Eason's Live Fit Trainer.  These two programs are phenomenal, and I've completed each one separately.  I got decent results considering my diet was not under control, so I know if my nutrition is consistent I will get amazing results from combining these two programs.  I have to keep my focus, I can't get weak and breakdown at work and eat chocolate.  I have to be strong late at night when I'm home watching tv and want to binge.  I owe it to myself to see the results I work so hard for.  I deserve the results.