Excited about Cardio

Hi friends!

I am in particularly good mood because today was the last workout from Phase 1 from Jamie Eason’s LiveFit Trainer program. Now I will have two days off and then CARDIO TIME. I am so super excited! Finally I was dreaming about it!

I couldn’t post more often because I am busy with school and now finals are about start, so I will have to do those before anything else. When I am done with them I can post more often and tell you all about my LiveFit journey. So far I love it!

I think I have to create my own sign like ”WIAW” (What I ate Wednesday) and do something like ”WIAAW” (What I ate all week”)! It sounds silly, isn’t it?

So what I have been eating? Well I had a couple of slip ups down along the line but as Jamie say, don’t punish yourself, just move on! Start fresh the very next meal! I made a few of her recipes to try to see if they taste good. I have to be honest and say that at some point you just grow tired of egg whites and oatmeal in the morning.

Frosted Coconut Protein Cupcakes

Frosted Coconut Protein Cupcakes

This is a brand new recipe from Jamie that she posted on www.bodybuilding.com a couple of days ago. The cupcakes were good. Mines were a little bit on the dry side but I had to substitute some of the ingredients, and maybe that is why they didn’t turn out perfect. They were tasty though. Approved! Thanks Jamie!

I also made her Monster Meatloaf. I used chicken breast that I ground up myself in my food processor.

Monster Meatloaf

Other random stuff that I ate and enjoyed during the week:

WIAAW (What I Ate All Week)

Questions of the night:

Do you like doing cardio when you work out?

What is your favorite cardio exercise?

Good Night!

xoxoxo Dobie

Day 17 and Lemon Protein Bars

Hello Everyone! How are you?

I can’t believe it’s been a week since my last post. In case you are wondering, yes, I am still doing Jamie Eason’s LiveFit Trainer. Today was day 17- Chest and Triceps. My poor triceps are like little jello shots now! I feel like it was a lot of sets for the triceps and not that many sets for the chest. But I trust Jamie and I know this is there for a reason. So just stick with it.

I really enjoy this exercise program. As I said in my previous posts, It is easy to follow and you do get a couple of days off for your body to rest and recharge.

As far as my diet goes, I am still eating mostly her recipes and a few of my creations that are ugly enough to break my phone camera. I have most of them in my Instagram account. If you are really curious how egg whites and oatmeal look like just look for my Cleaneatstotherescue on Instagram and Facebook and Twitter.

Today I made Jamie’s Lemon Protein Bars because I had a huge lemon cake craving! Why, you would ask, right? Well, a few days ago I went to The Cheesecake Factory restaurant for lunch with my mother-in-law and I had a little taste of their

Lemoncello Cream Torte™

Layers of Vanilla Cake and Lemon Mascarpone Cream Topped with Streusel and Served with Strawberries and Whipped Cream.

Lemoncello Cream Torte

It was just glorious! It was to die for! It was the best lemon cake ever! I loved it, but I couldn’t have a piece for myself since I want to slim down, right? So I had 2 forkfuls of it. This was enough for me to fall in love with this cake. Highly recommended!  I had their Carlton Salad. It was pretty good actually because I ate almost the whole thing!

I am trying not to go to restaurants and coffee shops, because it is really hard to find something that fits my macros right now! I stick to salads with oil and vinegar, grilled chicken, baked tilapia and my coffee cake fix I get from Jamie’s recipes.

So here is my version of Jamie Eason’s Lemon Protein Bars:

Lemon Protein Bars

These little gems are packed with lemon flavor thanks to Crystal Light Pure with Stevia. I really like them. The taste reminds me of the lemon pound cake that they sell in Starbucks sans the glaze. Ha!

I paired two of them with 1/2 cup of cottage cheese for my last meal of the day! I know, I know, No Carbs after 19:00! But only two of them won’t break the bank! I think they relieved my Lemon Cake craving and kicked it to the side. Again, Thanks Jamie! I love you!

All of this good stuff you can find on www.bodybuilding.com .

Questions of the night:

What’s your favorite dessert? How often do you eat it?

What is your favorite part of the body to exercise?

xoxoxoxo Dobie 

 

Take a break

How is everybody doing?

I am doing good, too! Thank you.

Part of my feeling good mood is the fact that I had my two days off from JE’s LiveFit Trainer couple of days ago. I really rested my muscles and mind. My stiff body really appreciates all I do to make it healthier, but it also thanks Jamie that it gets to rest too.

My muscles are so weak, so not used to all this load bearing. But on the other side, I feel good and energized like never before. I don’t feel hungry and I can’t wait for Phase 1 to finish so I can incorporate some cardiovascular exercises. I actually very much enjoy running intervals or the elliptical machine. It just gives me so much more oxygen in my body and mind!

Even though I took a little time off I still ate according to the guidelines in the trainer program and make sure I drink plenty of water.

Now I am back in business with the next week of training! Today while I was doing the exercises I realized that I simply hate some moves and like other ones. I happen to hate all the moves that I can’t do at all or do them but with bad posture. Since posture is so important and crucial to prevent injuries, I just hate it when I can’t do it flawlessly. Example: Pushups. I do them on my knees. My upper body is so weak that there is no chance of being able to bring down and back up this huge load. My shoulders are screaming hopelessly: ”Nooooo, how can you eat like a pig for 7 years and now you want me to do this for you! Get lost!”. But this is not going discourage me to still do them! I will, even if it is going to look stupid, even if I huff and puff, even if it takes me forever, I will teach my body to perform.

Now some pictures of all clean food I ate these past few days:

Pumpkin Blueberries Pancakes

Vanilla Blueberry Pancakes

Grilled Chicken with Veggies

Greek Yogurt and Cucumber Salad

Some of my staple foods now

I am trying to keep it clean and simple. So far not too much variety but eventually I will find more healthy foods that I like. I am obsessed with finding way to eat clean and still not feel deprived. I think that this is possible. It just needs a little preparation and organization. Right now I don’t have a food preparation day like most of you probably do, but every time I make something where I can double the batch I do it. It saves me time and I always have something good in the fridge to pack up for work the next morning.

Questions of the night:

Do you have an exercise that you just hate, or love to do?

Do you have a food preparation day, what do you do?

XOXO Dobie

Jamie Eason’s LiveFit Trainer Phase 1- Day 3

Hi, everyone!

Today was my third day on this program. Not too shabby. I kind of like it. The food is plenty and it is keeping me super satisfied. The exercise part is not a rocket science. Just the perfect combo for me.

I have a problem eating healthy when I visit my parents-in-law. We always have a huge table spread with all the goodies you can imagine. At the end of the feast, we always finish with some desert like cheesecake or chocolate with hazelnuts. (In the word of Nicki Minaj- ”Super Yum”! Like” Super Bass”! I have the song stuck in my head even though I haven’t heard it for a long time!  )

Well today was a new day for me! We visited like always but the food I ate was nothing like it before. It was clean and yummy and I didn’t feel bad or overstuffed. I had a rotisserie chicken, tomatoes and cucumbers salad, and canellini beans. My husband and I went shopping to get the lunch and I opted for the rotisserie chicken. I picked the veggies for the salad and all I needed was a healthy carb option, but didn’t think of it until we were actually paying. So I just ran to the nearest ”carb aisle” and  grabbed a can of canellini beans. I had no idea what am I supposed to do with them. When we arrived at my parents-in-law’s house, I already had a recipe for the beans, ready in my head.

I just drained and rinsed them under running water and mixed them with Lyutenitsa. Ha! I got you, didn’t I???

Lutenitsa is a very special Bulgarian ”ketchup”! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyutenitsa

Lyutenitsa

It was delicious and interesting to incorporate in my diet. Of course I didn’t take a picture. But I will make it again soon. For sure. I will show you guys.

In the morning I had breakfast with a side of homework that I didn’t do until the day of my school!

Yep! This red spot in the middle of my egg whites is Lyutenitsa!! Just like ketchup, the calories and all, but way more delicious! You can all guess the ingredients of my breakfast! If not text me! Haha!

For dinner after school I had this:

Baked Tilapia with Cucumber Dill Yogurt Sauce. You are not crazy, yes you see brown rice too. But I didn’t eat it. No carbs after 19:00! It was ok without them the yogurt sauce was good enough.

Cucumber Dill Yogurt Sauce

1 cup plain greek yogurt

1/2 or 1 smaller fresh cucumber, grated or chopped in small pieces

1 tbsp  dry dill

1 tbsp garlic powder

pinch of salt

Grate the cucumber in a plastic container or a bowl. Put the yogurt and all other ingredients in the bowl too. Stir well and enjoy.

The workout: Legs/ Calves

I am sure I will really feel it tomorrow!

Last but not least!!! I want to thank you to Lisa! She is the first person that liked my Facebook Page : https://www.facebook.com/CleanEatsToTheRescue?ref=hl#!/CleanEatsToTheRescue

I also have Instagram : look for me @ cleaneatstotherescue

My Tweeter account is: https://twitter.com/CleanEatsToTheR

My Pinterest account is: https://pinterest.com/CleanEatsRescue/

Have a good night!

xoxo Dobie

Jamie Eason’s LiveFit Trainer Phase 1- Day 2

Hello, there!

It looks like writing blog posts is harder than following this program. I am on day 2 of the first phase of JE’s LFT program and I feel like million bucks. Seriously, just because I have sugar (blood glucose) problem, it seems like little extra protein foods and less carbs and simple sugars are doing wonders for me. I know I am just in the beginning of it, so there will be a lot of room for complaints! We will see, I will let you know how I feel real talk!  :)

I would say that her recipes and some (minimal) creativity from me is what helps me to not feel hungry and miserable. For breakfast in the morning I am really trying my hardest to eat those 5 egg whites! OMG! I hate egg whites! And they have to be 5!!! Well, I found out that if I make 5, I always have a little bit left. I can’t eat them all. Remember I have a serving of starch (oats) with some mixed berries. I love oatmeal. I have to make sure I have some space in my tummy for it too.

Yesterday for breakfast I had 4 egg whites with some peppers and mushrooms. For my starch I had 1/2 cup of oatmeal with mixed berries and some almond milk (no sugar). All sugar addicts be aware this is a really low sugar program! You may not like it. Haha!

Egg whites+Veggies+Ketchup+Hot sauce+Oatmeal+Berries+Almond milk

For my second meal I had 4 of JE’s Pumpkin Protein Bars (I have a lot more of these babies left) along with my coffee with some almond milk and stevia. It felt like some gourmet coffee shop kind of snack, but way cheaper and healthier.

Since I worked a night shift I took pictures of the food that I took with me in my cooler. I am still not very comfortable snapping pictures of my food in front of my coworkers. They know I am nuts but still…!

Nothing  too fancy here. I had some baked tilapia with herbed brown rice and some fresh veggies (cucumbers and tomatoes). The second container was filled with JE’s meat muffins, same brown rice, same veggies. The third one was 1/2 cup of cottage cheese. This was quite a lot of food, but I checked the calorie value of all that you supposed to eat and it happened to be around 1200 calories. Isn’t this amazing how much you can actually eat, but because it is clean food, it doesn’t weigh your numbers down!

There are a few people who went through this program already and they also have their own blogs and Facebook accounts, so I think I have to check them out again to get some inspiration. I have to include more variety in my food. I am so excited to try new recipes. I will be posting them too, as I am making them, to show you that it is not that hard. It just needs a little bit of pre-planning.

As far as the exercise part goes, it is really not that hard to do. I am going to have to switch to a little heavier weights.

Let’s move on to Day 3, shall we?!!

See you all next post!

xoxo Dobie

Jamie Eason’s LiveFit Trainer Phase 1- Day 1

Hello, Everyone!

Yesterday I made Jamie Eason’s Pumpkin Protein Bars and I got inspired to do her program too. I know, right! It sounds so brave, no? ….Well why not? I will try! There is no shame in trying, right? So today was the first day and I did my best with the meal plan and the free weights.

I regret that I couldn’t take a picture of my breakfast and lunch. I completely forgot to do it! Then I thought to myself, how am I supposed to write about it and put it in my blog without pictures? Anyway, my breakfast was 4 egg whites, scrambled, with 2 T of low-sugar ketchup and 1 of Jamie’s Pumpkin Protein Bars. I also had a cup of coffee with 1 packet of stevia. (I already miss my coffee creamer! I saw salted caramel coffee creamer in the store! Yum!

For my mid-morning snack I had 3 Pumpkin Protein Bars. Honestly they are so good!Thanks, Jamie!

Fo lunch I had a house side salad without croutons and cheese. I used a little bit of low-fat ranch dressing and 1/2 packet of Herb and Garlic Tuna. I love fish!

Then after work I had to stop to the grocery store for some more veggies and spices to be able to follow the program for the next few days. When I got home I made her Turkey Meatloaf Muffins ( I used chiken) and I baked some tilapia.

Now for before bed snack I made myself 1/2 cup cottage cheese 2% + 1/2 scoop protein powder. It tastes good because the protein powder is very good and it really smells like vanilla, no joke!

 

 

 

 

Cottage cheese + Protein Powder + Almond Milk

Let’s move on to the fun part. Exercise!

The first day of the program was Chest and Triceps. Man, oh man this few reps woke up my atrophied muscles. I started with 5 lbs. dumbbell but it was too light for my chest, but kind of heavy for my triceps. My arms are so weak it is not even funny! :( For the more complicated moves and equipment I will be going to the gym and I hope that all the men in the free weights area are not going to laugh too hard seeing me lifting weights.

 

 

 

 

 

Phase 1– Day 1. Chest/ Triceps

 

 

 

 

 

Now I will try to drink some more water and go to bed. It was a really nice day and I am grateful for it.

Questions of the night:

Did you try Jamie Eason’s LiveFit Trainer before? What did you think of it?

What is your favorite clean recipe?

 

Have a good night!  xoxoxoxo Dobie

 

 

 

 

 

 

No better day than a Day Off

Hello!

Today is my day off from work, but not from school. Oh well…there is no such thing like complete happiness, right?

Anyway, today was good day! (We should be grateful for all the things and people that we already have in our lives. Maybe then we would realize how many good things we have, and we can feel happier.) 

My morning started off by me worrying about some super ripe (almost dead) bananas that I had. I know, this is pretty lame, but I don’t like wasting food. So I decided to find a recipe of a banana protein bread, something healthy, but in the same time good tasting.

Success! I found Little B’s recipe for a Pumpkin Banana Protein Bread! I should say this was a double winner, because I had already open a can of pumpkin. So let me show you the ingredients and how it looked!

Before

Still before

After

With bananas, greek yogurt and cinnamon

Pumpkin Banana Protein Bread

Ingredients:

1/3 cup oats

1 cup oat flour

2 scoops protein powder

1/8 cup truvia

1 tsp cinnamon

1 ripe banana

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 whole egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 350F. Mix everything in a big bowl until well combined. Grease a bread pan. Pour the mixture in it. Smooth it out. Bake for about 25 min or until done. (Time in the oven may vary.)

***The whole loaf of bread has about 733 cal.***

I used MyFitnessPal app to calculate the calories and the amount of macronutrients.  So just cut it up in how many pieces you want, according to your preference and caloric needs. (Example: If you cut it in 8 pieces, this would give you less than 100 cal for one piece).

(Keep in mind I calculated the calories for the whole bread!)

My lunch was a no fun zone. I had Lean Cuisine Shrimp Alfredo and Broccoli Pasta. I didn’t like the shrimps! They were raw it looks like, I am not sure! But they were so gross. I ate only the pasta and the broccoli. I think that it is important to listen to our bodies and taste buds, they are talking to us all the time. Sometimes we just ignore them, for the sake of our ”membership” of the ”Clean plate group”. ;)

Lets talk about Dinner! Omg…It was a good one.

Before school I stopped at Seven Eleven for a cup of coffee. I saw their Egg Salad sandwiches and a food craving was immediately born. I wanted it so bad but the ingredients list was so long that they probably need more paper to fit them all in. I decided that I will be good and wait until I get home and make me Egg Salad. I almost couldn’t concentrate on my test, thinking about how amazing would taste like with all the clean ingredients possible that I have on hand. And it did!

Dobie’s Clean Egg Salad

Ta-da!

Almost too pretty to eat!

Ingredients:

3 whole eggs, hard-boiled

3 egg whites, hard-boiled

1/4 fat-free cottage cheese

1/3 greek yogurt

3 tablespoons dill pickles relish (no sugar added)

1/4 cup red onion, chopped

2 tsp spicy brown mustard, or any other kind

1/2 tbsp onion powder

1/2 tbsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

pinch of salt     Delish!

Again I calculated the calories and macronutrints using MyFitnessPal app.

***The whole egg salad ended up being about 416 calories.***

So just divide it up in how many portions you want, according to your preference and caloric needs. (Example: If you divide it in 4 portions, this would give you a little over 100 calories for one portion).

Questions:

How are your food cravings born?

Do you enjoy ”cleaning up” a old-time favorite recipes?

Have a good night all! See you soon!

I will figure it out!

Hello, Everyone!

Since I started the blog the other day I am still trying  to figure it out. Keep in mind this is so new to me! I was trying to change the appearance of the blog and make a little more reader friendly! I am sure that I will get better at it eventually one day it will be like second nature to me, just like it is to some of you. I am really inspired by so many bloggers out there that I can hold myself now. Instead of studying for my test tomorrow, I am customizing my blog.

I was also trying for two days to snap  pictures of all my meals and snack, and workouts to share with you, but this is also kind of hard. I eat my breakfast and lunch at work and I don’t want my coworkers to look at me all funny.

Anyway, I was able to take pictures of some of my meals.

I didn’t have a lot of time to eat my breakfast, because we are short-staffed at work, so I had to work without a meal break. I like it when I am busy. It makes my workday go by fast.

Unappetizing quick breakfast

My morning meal included 2 scrambled eggs, 1 T low-sugar ketchup, 2 chocolate chip waffles, coffee with a splash of cream. (I put this napkin between the waffles, because I didn’t want them to become soggy.)

Mid-morning snack was a perfectly ripe banana. I love bananas.

I ate one banana. The ripeness was just right, like these babies here.

 

Lunch

My lunch today was pretty filling and tasty. I just love tuna. My salad included a few romaine lettuce leaves, 1/2 pouch of sweet and spicy tuna, some red onions, 2 T salsa and 1 T hommus. It was nicely dressed by the salsa and the hommus, so I didn’t have to add any salad dressing.

Now I want to share that usually I have a problem eating dinner! I know…really some of you will be surprised and say that I am crazy. But I really don’t have any appetite for dinner. Every day is a struggle. I am telling myself that I have to eat something 2-3 hours before I go to bed. Even if it is something small like a little bit or cottage cheese and some fruit. Of course this is my go-to ”dinner” when I don’t feel like eating a real dinner.

Time to go and study some more for my test.

Thanks to all of you that are going to spend some time reading this one day.

Questions of the day:

1. Share with me your go-to meals, when the time is just not enough to prepare, sit and take time to fully enjoy the food?

2. How ripe do you like your bananas?

3. What is your favorite meal of the day?

See you soon!

Hi there! :)

Hi Everyone!

My name is Dobromira Marintchev. You can call me Dobie.

I am 27 years old girl with serious passion for healthy living and delicious food!

I was born and raised in the beautiful country of Bulgaria. I moved to USA about 7 years ago.

I decided to create this blog to be able to share my personal journey back to health, through clean foods and exercise. I am still walking this huge distance between having pre-diabetes (insulin resistance) and a state of good health.

Probably about 3 years ago I was diagnosed with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome).

I had very high glucose levels and high insulin in my body. In 5 short years I went from 140lbs to 185lbs (and size 14 pants)! :-/ I felt so tired all the time, moody and depressed! No fun!

I am reading a lot about healthy foods, exercise and all kinds of health information!

I discovered the book of Tosca Reno, called The Eat Clean Diet! This made me realize that you don’t have to eat and drink diet foods to lose some weight. The beauty and abundance of all the tasty whole foods helped me lose about 5lbs in just 2 weeks! I wasn’t starving, and I felt so light in the same time. Of course instead of sticking to it, I started my old habits of binge eating and no exercise, and I ended up again in the 180’s.

I decided to go back to it! Especially after seeing so many inspiring stories online, I know that I can do it. I want to change my lifestyle, because of my medical condition, which is going to progress into full blown Type2 Diabetes, if I don’t at least try to stop it or slow it down!

Wish me luck!

I wish luck to all other people with the same health issues. Let’s do it together!!!