RECIPE: Tortilla-Free Quesadilla

Okaa I know the recipe title sounds weird. It's not really a quesadilla without the tortilla. I agree, but the other day I was hungry coming home from a long day of work and I was dying for a quesadilla. I had bought low carb tortillas and have enjoyed using them so far but in the back of my mind I was thinking, "Is it worth an extra 7 carbs for a tortilla?" Not to mention the added calories.

I said no it wasn't and went on to experiment.

The final results? Delicious!


It was so easy to do.

• Add seasoning of choice to raw chicken breast*
  
• Cook the chicken in a skillet with oil
• When the chicken is fully cooked, remove it from the pan and place it on a plate. Top the chicken with 1/4 cup Kraft Mexican Shredded Cheese and microwave for 30 seconds
• Enjoy with 1/2 Hass avocado, 1 tablespoon of sour cream and of course Tapatio hot sauce.
• I cut off a bite of chicken and scooped up some avocado and sour cream and dipped it in the hot sauce for maximum flavor.
  

*Side note: Seasoning is optional but my favorite is Mrs. Dash's Fiesta seasoning. I also chose a thin sliced chicken breast (4oz) instead of a full sized chicken breast (8oz) so choose whichever you'd prefer!

Calories: 375
Net Carbs: 2g
Fat: 24g
Protein: 33g

This was an easy and inexpensive meal that I know I'll be cooking again and again. I was full by the end of it and was so proud that there were few carbs involved.

Thoughts on Cheating

I fully believe in a cheat meal once in awhile. I'm not saying cheat everyday, that's going to take away from any progress you make. A planned cheat meal can give you something to look forward to and make avoiding those other cravings much easier. Enjoying a food that you just can't live without or a food that you consider to be forbidden can actually keep you from overindulging in junk food in the long run.

BE CAREFUL though! Know your triggers and know when to stop!

There are days where I'll have one small cheat, feel guilty about it because it wasn't a planned cheat or something that wasn't worth cheating for and I give up for the rest of the day and end up binging. This isn't going to create a healthy relationship with food nor a healthy relationship with yourself.

Eventually you won't even want the junk foods that you've been craving. I find that I no longer crave pasta or breads or even most sweets!

Something I've decided to do is create a calendar of planned cheat days and a list of foods that are WORTH cheating for and foods that AREN'T.

Worth It Cheats!

• Houlihan's Spinach and Artichoke Dip
  
• Fancy Cocktails
• Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Biscuits
• Girl Scout Cookies
  
• Fancy Starbucks Coffee
  
• Cranberry Orange Scone from Caribou/Starbucks
  
• Nonna's Soups and Desserts
  

I'm sure I can add to this list as I think about it more haha.

Not Worth It Cheats!

• Eating random fries or chips at work
• Pizza
• Candy
• Chinese Food
  
• Chips
  
• Nachos
  
• Cake
  

Some upcoming events I plan on cheating for is on Friday I'm celebrating my 23rd birthday with my friends. I know I'll be drinking. I don't know exactly what yet. I'll aim for harder liquor with diet pop or light beer, but my friends may want to buy me drinks or shots and I really just want to enjoy the time with them.

Sunday Nik and I are going out to dinner so I plan on saving my cheat for Houlihan's Spinach Dip and keeping the rest of my meal keto friendly.

March 13-16 Nik and I along with two friends are going to Lake Geneva, WI for his spring break. I don't know exactly where we will be eating out but our cabin has a kitchen so we only plan to eat out for 3-4 meals. The rest we plan to cook. I plan to stay fairly strict and picking Worth It Cheats. I'm not going to let a mini vacation be an excuse for a 3 day binge. I also plan on bringing my running gear and if I won't be hitting the gym with my strength training I'll be going for runs in the mornings.

Having all this to look forward to makes it so much easier to pass up on the food I have small cravings for.

I can't wait to reach my goal!

Wins, loses, and booze

Yesterday was my rest day. It felt weird to not go to the gym but I think my body appreciated the rest.

I tend to go very hard in my workout routine and I push myself which feels great at the end of the day but in reality I burn out quickly and then don't work out for a few weeks. I'm confident that with some rest periods in between workouts I'll be in a steady habit of going to the gym in no time.

Ahhh yesterday. Yesterday was an okaa day. I did great all day until I went over to my boyfriend's house. He got dinner from Wendy's and I has gotten a chicken sandwich. I wasn't even hungry because I had eaten a filling burger party an hour before hand. I ate almost all of it and I have no real reason why. I'm disappointed.

Also last night we has light beer when we wet out drinking. I had about 4 miller lights which added another 12.8 carbs.

We really shouldn't drink any alcohol if we are trying to lose weight but I'm 23 and it's just part of my lifestyle to h e a few drinks on the weekends or out with a girlfriend for our girl nights.

It's about drinking SMART. Your body metabolizes alcohol before it will burn other forms of energy like glucose or fat. So drinking won't necessarily throw you off your diet but it will likely slow your progress by a day.

There's always the option of light beer. But the carbs will add up if you're not careful. Miller light has 3.2 carbs per 12oz and Michelob Ultra has 3 carbs per 12oz.

A carb free option would be a hard liquor with a diet mixer: Bacardi and diet, vodka and soda water, etc. Be careful with tonic because there's sugar in tonic water. Luckily, some establishments carry diet tonic.

Wine is free of carbs. I personally prefer wine over a hard liquor and diet mixer.

Keto in a Pinch

So I was running late today and didn't get to make my daily breakfast. Usually I'll scramble a few eggs with butter and accompany that with thick sliced bacon and sometimes a few berries.

My boyfriend says I have a "hard on" for breakfast because I insist I eat it everyday, even on our getaways.

Eating breakfast really sets the tone for my day. A filling and healthy breakfast keeps my energy levels high, my mood is stable, and I am more motivated to eat well throughout the day.

So today I didn't get my fancy breakfast but I did get creative on the go at my local 7-11 gas station.

Coffee: usually I use heavy cream because of the high fat and 0 carb content but my gas station doesn't carry that so I chose 3 TBL flavor free half and half and used a few pumps of sugar free hazelnut.

Fat: 3g Carb: 1.8g Protein: 1.3g

Almonds! High in good for your heart fat and they keep you full for ages. I always go for the salted roasted kind.

Fat: 24g Carb: 3g Protein: 9g

String Cheese: Very easy to eat while driving or walking. Extremely cheap to buy as well. I always go for the mozzarella kind but there are other great cheeses out there. Most has stations have both mozzarella and cheddar.

Fat: 6g Carb: 1g Protein: 7g

So there you have it. A quick breakfast that kept me full for 4 hours. Yes that's right, 4 hours.

It's easy to feel discouraged when you didn't pack that perfect lunch or you left it at home but use your resources and get creative to stay on track!

Workout Routine

After my "Skinny Jeans" workout last night I felt great - and exhausted. After my lifting routine I did some interval running.

That, coupled with my diet and 10 glasses of water, I lost some water weight. I'm at 135.4. That made me happy. Now that I've lost water weight I can start losing fat.

My workout routine goes as follows:

Day 1: Strength training and cardio either elliptical or running

Day 2: HIIT

Day 3: Strength training and cardio

Day 4: REST

And repeat. That way I'm strength training 3 days a week, doing HIIT twice a week and a full day of rest to recover.

I'm hoping that I can stick to this program. If its too intense I can always rework it but it's important to me that I workout 5 days a week right now.

I'm determined to reach my goal! When I do I'm buying a Victorias Secret bathing suit aaaahhh!!

I also realized my macros weren't quite on track. I was goaling at more protein than fat but I should be at 65% fat, 35% protein, and 5% carbs. I'm glad I noticed this yesterday. Instead of 1TBL of butter on my broccoli I used 2. I hope this correction boosts my progress.

Today

I am 137.4 lbs and 4'11".

I'm unhealthy and I'm overweight.

This is not who I am. I don't want to be insecure and embarrassed any longer. I want my true personality to shine through.

My goal is to become fit. Not skinny but fit. Being skinny doesn't mean I'm healthy or fit. I want to be strong. I want to have muscle tone. I want a body I'm proud of and anxious to show off!

My plan is to change my lifestyle. I will make date nights at the gym instead of in front of my computer. I will make my body a priority.

First thing to change is my eating habits. I am a carb addict. It's my comfort. Bread, pasta, fries, anything and everything breaded and fried.

What's a carb addict to do? I'm cutting them out of my life, that's what! Basically eliminating all sugar from my diet.

The lifestyle is known as Keto - short for ketosis. Instead of your body relying on simple sugars for energy your body uses your fat stores. Your body WANTS to run on fats and proteins. Carbohydrates and sugars make your energy levels fluctuate while a body running in ketosis has little energy fluctuation.

I can provide more information on ketosis later. On to the startup pics!