victoria elizabeth weight loss

Day One

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OK, I was quasi-successful yesterday.

I managed to stay under 1,750 calories for the day – which sounds high, but I’m awake/functioning 20-21 hours per day with my two jobs, so it’s actually a decent caloric goal – but at least 300 of those calories came from Reese’s Peanut Butter cups before bed. I was only going to have one… but one turned into a handful.

Still… it was a mostly good day. I hit the gym (75 minutes elliptical = 800 calories burned!), got a few walks in (about 45 minutes in total), and I ate a high-protein diet for the majority of the day.

For those of you that use MyFitnessPal, you can see my full diary under the username: toricatjr. Look me up!

Hope everyone’s having a great Tuesday so far — let’s make it great!

Bon appetite, my friends!

~ Tori

Trying to Get Back on the Wagon

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Man… it has been a rough few weeks when it comes to my health/fitness.

My weight has continued to go up, week over week, and my sweets-cravings are through the roof. I am a STRESS eater and I’ve been under a lot of stress lately. Candy has become my best friend …and the worst enemy of my waistline.

I’ve promised myself I won’t weigh-in until Friday, but I can tell you the scale and I did NOT have a pleasant interaction this morning. I worked out 5x last week, but I also indulged in tons of cookies and salty snacks – more than I could cancel out with even the most intense workout.

I’m hoping that one week of rigid discipline will get me back on track, so I’m going to post my calories/meal plan on here for accountability and to try to keep myself on track.

Here’s my food plan for the day:

2am: Quest Cookies and Cream Protein Bar (180 calories)

5:30am: Two OIKOS Plain, Fat Free Greek Yogurt Cups (160 calories)

9am: 100 Calorie BetterOats Oatmeal and 1 cup Blueberries (170 calories)

12pm: 2 cups raw spinach, 3 oz Oscar Mayer Rotisserie Chicken, 1 cup sliced carrot chips, Spicy Guacamole (224 calories)

3pm: Sugar Free Chocolate Muscle Milk (100 calories)

5:30pm: Natural Almonds Snack Pack (100 calories)

8pm: Grilled Chicken Breast and Stir-Fried Veggies (approx 280 calories)

By eating every few hours, I anticipate never feeling “out of control” with my hunger and I’m hoping to quell sweets cravings by snacking on fruit (blueberries) and chocolate protein shakes.

If I can stick to this diet all day (I’m good so far — as of my 9am meal), I will allow myself a 90-calorie Chocolate Pear Squeeze Treat (sooooo good). If I hit the gym (as planned) and do at least 30 minutes of cardio, I’ll swap out the Chocolate Pear Squeeze Treat for one of the 150-calorie Paleo Brownies I made last week. 🙂

It’s all about compromise, preparation, and holding myself accountable this week. Wish me luck!

Bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori

 

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Throwback Thursday 8/21 #tbt

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Another Thursday means it’s time for another throwback!

And this time we are throwing it all the way back to the wee days… Baby Tori!

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OK, not quite baby, but close enough. I’d have to confirm with my mom, but my guess is that I’m between 5-6 here. I hit a growth spurt at 7, so I definitely think this was before then, but I had already started to chub up a bit by now.

Look how happy I am! So, perhaps not all fat is bad… I was adorable with the baby chunk. Ha!

Bon appetit, my friends!

– Tori

Healthy Baking

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After a discouraging weigh-in this morning, I decided I needed to wage war against my constant, nagging, inescapable desire for sweets …by baking my own healthy alternative!

I use a Paleo Recipe app called FAST PALEO, which has an amazing collection of dairy and non-dairy Paleo recipes that are quick and easy to make. The best part? You can actually search for recipes based on what you have at home to work with for ingredients!

After an exhaustive 13 hour day between two jobs (mind you, that was with leaving the second job three hours early), I didn’t feel like stopping at the grocery store. I knew I had eggs, coconut flour, cocoa powder, and avocado at home – and I’ve heard avocado is GREAT in Paleo baking – so I tested my luck and did an ingredients search.

Voila: 23 different dessert recipes popped up, most using just those ingredients or one or two more. I settled for this one:

DARK FUDGEY PALEO BROWNIES

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I’m normally bad about adhering to recipes, but I stuck to this one pretty closely: only difference was that I had cocoa powder instead of baking chocolate.

I doubled the ingredients list because I wanted to make sure I had extras to freeze:

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I used two 12-count cupcake pans, which needed only 16-18 minutes to cook at 350 degrees.

Because I used cocoa powder and not baker’s chocolate, I’ll admit that my finished product was more cake-like than FUDGEY, but it was overall delicious and the perfect portion size. If I were to make this exact same recipe again, I would ADD A CUP OF UNSWEETENED APPLESAUCE (or mashed ripe banana) to make it a tiny bit sweeter and more moist.

Here’s my finished product:

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I plan to eat them slightly warmed with a little spoonful of coconut ice cream or some mashed raspberries. To the tune of 150 calories, they pack more then I wanted for a snack, but they’re so full of protein (eggs and sunbutter) plus healthy fats (coconut oil and avocado) that the pros outweigh the cons.

The app is totally free, so if you’re a Paleo dieter like me or just looking for some grain-free/gluten-free alternatives, I definitely suggest checking it out!

Bon appetit, my friends!!

– Tori

All Over the Place

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Man, the last few weeks have been a whirlwind.

Working 18-20 hour days is draining, not to mention a lot of personal stress going on. Lots and lots of personal stress.

My weight is off-the-charts, back up to 129 (up six pounds!) from stress-eating, minimal gym visits, and candy-munching.

I’m really trying to take back control this week, and I’ve upped my commitments on the GymPact app for more veggies and workouts to help me stay on track.

Hoping things calm down and de-stress a bit before I wake up and I’m back in a size 22. 😦

Hopeful, but tired —

– Tori

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Throwback Thursday 8/14 #tbt

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Whew!

I haven’t been posting on here as regularly as I’d like, but I was able to go through some old photos while cleaning this weekend and wanted to share a TBT picture.

Check this doozy out:

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Yikes! This was the summer before senior year, probably May 2001.

Look how baggy I wore my jeans in an effort to hide my weight! My face is so full, it’s hard for me to recognize myself in this picture.

I’ve worked for over a decade to put this version of myself behind me, but it’s nice to look now and then to see how far I’ve come!

Bon appetit, my friends!

– Tori

Quick and Easy Avocado Dip!

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In an effort to keep my eating clean this week, I sliced up a bunch of fresh veggies to take as snacks while at work. Since munching on veggies alone can get a bit boring, I decided to whip up the following dip (totally made up on the fly) to make my meals a little more exciting.

Check this out:

  • Two whole avocados, peeled and cut into cubes.
  • One 5.3 oz container of fat free, plain Greek Yogurt.
  • Two stalks of fresh green onions, minced small.
  • One jalapeno, diced small.
  • Two tbsp of garlic powder.
  • One tbsp of chili powder.
  • One tbsp diced cilantro.
  • The juice of 1/2 a lime.

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I literally blended this in a food processor for less than 30 seconds and, VOILA! A slightly lower fat version of our favorite guacamole! The Greek yogurt adds a protein punch and the chili powder and jalapeno give it a little spice!

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I might try to make a bigger batch of this next time (if you keep the pit inside the Tupperware, it can hold for over a week in the fridge!] and I might spice it up by blending in a little Ranch seasoning!

 

An Ounce of Prevention …

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You know the old saying:

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Well, I’ve been prone to eating BAD food the last few weeks, mainly because I haven’t prepared myself for the constant hunger that comes with working (and being awake) more than 21 hours per day.

Snacking has become a survival technique, and when healthy food isn’t easily available, I’ve been grabbing anything I can get my hands on.

To prevent this in the new week, I’ve done some proactive grocery shopping:

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Ignore the trashy magazines: I swear, I don’t buy them! 🙂

Already cut up fruit salad, healthy meal replacement bars, fresh fruit, and other easy to chop/prepare snacks!

I’m going to slice up the zucchini and squash and eat them with little 100 calorie packs of spicy guacamole. Hoping to cancel out the two pounds I gained last week with a strong, healthy, and well-planned week three of this new, hectic life!

Wish me luck!

Bon appetit,
– Tori

Food Porn and BARGAIN Price!

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OK, it’s official:

The best place to eat when on a diet AND a budget is Jason’s Deli!

Check out all of this food:

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I got ALL of this for under $10!

To-Go salad comes with as many “extras” containers as you’d like: I got cottage cheese, fruit salad, corn salsa, and trail mix!

The base salad bar price is $7.49 and you can fill the container as full as you’d like! Add a small soup for just 99 cents and, even with tax, it still didn’t touch $10.

I could’ve had a free ice cream cone, as well, but my hands were too full from all of this. This will be at least two meals for me, if not three. Regardless of what type of diet you’re on, you have to try the to-go salad bar from Jason’s!

Bon appetit, my friends!

– Tori