When Life Happens...

My last post was posted a month before I started a new job and grad school in 2014. It had been a long journey trying to finish grad school, get acclimated to a new job while fighting major depression. I started to gain some of the weight back but towards the end of 2015, I was slowly getting back into the swing of things with eating right and working out.

The end of 2015 I reconnected with someone I went to school with (middle and high school) and we started dating the beginning of 2016. My spirits were high and I was falling in love. He moved in, we got pregnant, I completed my degree, we got married and a month later our baby was born. *throws confetti*

I was in the midst of getting back into working out and eating right when I found out I was pregnant. I was sick all the time and had zero energy; all I did was eat and sleep. Needless to say, I was feeling pretty bad when I got to my first prenatal visit and I was 20lbs heavier. The doctor told me that she only wanted me to gain 10lbs throughout my whole pregnancy. I was put on a strict diet, told to walk 30 mins a day and didn't do any of it. So instead of gaining 10lbs, I gained close to 50lbs. I delivered a healthy baby girl, lost 20 of the 50lbs I gained thanks to my postpartum depression and still, I am starting over again. 

This blog will take on a different tone than before, I will post information that I want people to arm themselves with ex; preparing for maternity leave, taking care of self and a whole family. I will be chronicling my journey not only back to running but back to the healthy lifestyle and body I once had. This is going to be a bumpy ride so buckle up and let's go. 

Please Support?! #teamrileigh

My daughter is competing in the Little Miss Ivy Pageant sponsored by Omicron Gamma Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Please support my daughter in bringing home the crown! #teamrileigh

Spring is near and the the winter blues are over.  Join Team Rileigh in a virtual run where you can earn some bling.
Here is how it works.

1. Go to http://www.active.com/anywhere-md/running/distance-running-races/spring-bling-virtual-race-2014 and register for the run.  The registration fee is $35.00.  Registration ends on March 29, 2014.

2. Run a 5k (3.1 miles) anywhere you want between Tuesday, April 1st, 2014 thru Saturday, May 10th, 2014.

3. After you run your 5k take a picture of yourself and upload it to https://www.facebook.com/RunningIs?ref=hl.

4.  You will recieve your medal in the mail.

Please pass this along to your family and friends. All proceeds of this race will go to Team Rileigh in her quest to win the Little Miss Ivy Pageant sponsored by Omicron Gamma Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

Not in running or walking an just want to give then visit Rileigh's gofundme.com page and leave a donation. The first 11 people to donate $5 will be mailed a raffle ticket that will give them chances to win up to $250. Those purchasing raffle tickets please no anonymous donations. :-)

http://www.gofundme.com/7q63nk

Thanks in advance for your support of Rileigh.

Semi Rant: We Gotta Problem!

I have heard over and over again the first step to solving or dealing with a problem (I mean addiction)  is admitting that you indeed have a problem....well I have a problem that I have been struggling with for years and it just hit me last night. I am addicted to refined sugar. I am addicted to cookies, cupcake, cakes, pies ice cream and everything that is made of refined sugar. I have had a long standing rule it can't be in my house or else I will eat it.

Over this past school year I noticed that my daughter's teacher always signs her up to bring cupcakes. Being the considerate mother that I am, I always try to make sure I buy just enough cupcakes for her whole class and I let the teach know if there are any left over then please don't send it home. Don't care what you do with it, just don't send it back to my house. Every time, never fails the damn left over cupcakes come back to my home via my child (so disrespectful) *slow blink*.

Normally, it is one or two cupcakes that will come back but this past school party they had she sent back nine cupcakes. Granted these cupcakes were huge and nothing I would ordinarily purchase for children, hell I wouldn't purchase them for a party if I were to throw one. The purchasing of these cupcakes was a; my daughter decided to tell me at the last minute she was assigned to get cupcakes for the Valentine's Day party at school, we were facing the largest snow storm of the year that evening, I did not know if she was going to have school Friday so I wanted to be prepared and I was not going to be caught up in the stores with people preparing for the storm type purchase.

So when I got to Costco I happened upon these monsters...

As you can see these aren't your everyday, regular sized cupcakes. These are we let the new guy bake on his first day and he used the wrong pan so we mine as well ice them and sell them cupcakes. I have nine of these...count one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, NINE of these jokers sitting in my kitchen whispering my name because I am addicted to anything and everything sweet. Lord help me....

When I am faced with a problem I start thinking about prevention for the future and I figured from here on out, I would let my daughter's teachers know not to assign her to bring cupcakes or candy for any event they have. Is that petty? Nope, nope nooo it's survial for my waist line, good for my body and my sanity. 

I have to kind of look at it this way, would I ask a person who struggles with alcohol to go to the liquor store and purchase wine for my gathering? No, I wouldn't. Would that person be petty to ask me not to request that of them? Nope. Soooo yeah I am pretty set on letting them I will send juice boxes and yogurt but I won't be sending cupcakes or candy. 

What would you do?

Ok thanks for following along with my ranting and ramblings. I will have and announcement within the next day or two so keep a look out. Please and blessings to you all. 

Preparing to Conquer My Bike Riding Fear...

I had mentioned in my last video that I experienced an incident which kept me from getting on or  even thinking about a bike for the last 25 years. As I relayed the story in the video I began to feel silly about the whole thing but despite my feeling silly the fear and apprehension I feel about getting back on a bike is real.

I stated in the video that I am going to try to take you all on this biking adventure with me... but I am so rethinking that. I don't want to be caught on camera, crying possibly acting a fool over riding a dang bike. :-/

Have any of you had any embarrassing or semi traumatic childhood accidents that you have gotten over? How did you get past it? I am thinking in my head that if I don't think about it and just do it that I will be ok... check out the video and share your experiences.

Long Awaited Waist Cincher Review!

First off HAPPY NEW YEAR! I finally got around to doing the waist cincher review but there were a few things you all may want to know that I forgot to mention in the video...

Do not, do not, do not exercise in this waist cincher. I have heard/seen waist cinchers that you can work out in but I can't speak on them because I have not used one. The waist cincher can be rather restrictive and it could prevent you from breathing properly during a work out which could put you on the floor (faint and fall out). It does not matter it you fall out all cute like the thing is not to fall out at all. Also working out in the waist cincher can cause it to stretch out of shape and it will no longer be snug around your body which can defeat the purse of what it is meant to do.

I know I may sound like a broken record but I have to say it; nothing replaces eating healthy and regular exercise. Work that 80/20!

Kitchen Creations: Baked Oatmeal (The Remix)

My sorority sister had posted this recipe on Facebook a few days ago and I figured I would give it a try. I had to make some tweaks to it because I can't have cow's milk, I had no butter so I used margarine instead, but this was the results of my first attempt. It was tasty but it really was not what I expected. I found the finished product to be a little dry. 

In my strive for perfection I had to redo this recipe So here it is (links to original recipes are annotated below).

Side Note: In the original recipes berries, whole milk and nuts were used (one of the recipes used steel cut oats). If you want to add those back in feel free to do so.

2 cups (200 grams) rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

2-3 sliced apples 

2 1/8 cups (475 ml) almond milk

1/3 cup (80 ml) maple syrup

1 large egg

2 tablespoons maple syrup (set aside)

4 tablespoons (45 grams) unsalted butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375°F with a rack in the top third of the oven. 

In a bowl mix together the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. (This part can be done the night before, if you like, to make things easier in the morning). 

In another bowl, whisk together the almond milk, maple syrup, egg, and vanilla. Pour the mixture in the bowl containing the oats, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Mix together and set aside.

In an 8-inch square baking dish, line the bottom of your dish with the sliced apples, lay the 4 tablespoons of butter across the apples, sprinkle with cinnamon and drizzle with the 2 tablespoons of maple syrup (picture upper left corner). 

Take the oatmeal mixture that you set aside and pour it over the apples (picture upper right corner).  Gently give the baking dish a couple of taps on the countertop to make sure the liquid moves down through the oats. 

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the top is golden and the oat mixture has set. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool for a few minutes. You can eat this for breakfast or you can put some cool whip topping on it and eat it as dessert.

Yield: about 6 servings

1 serving is 277 calories (based on the recipe posted here)

If you use a serving of whipped topping then that  is an extra 25 calories.

Enjoy! Let me know what different things you have done with this recipe!

original recipes; alexandra's kitchen and orangette

Waist Training! The Reality of It!

Ok Folks! There is no quick fix!