Week 5 & 6 of 10 - Christmas Treats and Feeling Defeat

I started out this 10 weeks of me getting back in shape and numbering the weeks in my blog posts in hopes that I'd be sharing actual results with you.  Not so much.  And I'm accepting it for a little while here.  I've been feeling a little blah (had some coughing fits today and I've been really lethargic).  I'm trying to eat well, but it seems like when the sun goes down, I go free-for-all.  I eat well all day and then I get home, where the rest of my food lives, and I just gorge myself.

It also hasn't helped my fitness or my ability to do anything other than crawl under the covers with the abundance of cold weather...

I haven't gotten to run in almost 2 weeks and, unfortunately, I haven't done any other kinds of workouts either.  I'm so tired.  I feel just huge and bloated and unmotivated.

I decided to take a step back and look at my body outside of food and exercise.  I've been having terrible breakouts.  Today I woke up with a crazy PMS headache.  Where I used to be able to count on my period for a quick couple-pound weight loss, now it's resulting in weight gains that I can't get rid of--I just feel so abnormal.  Went to the gyno to get my birth control pill changed.  I'm looking forward to starting it up and seeing if it will help my body feel better.  Maybe then I can get motivated again.

Another plan I have to get motivated is a Christmas present that I bought for myself.  On Monday, I should be picking up my Jawbone UP24.  It's one of those fitness/sleep tracker bracelets that I've been in the market for for a while now.  It was between the new Jawbone and the FitBit Force.  I decided to go with the Jawbone mainly because it looks more like a bracelet (so I don't have to hear "what's that around your wrist?" at work) and I liked the way the app looked and the data it seemed to give.

Jawbone also syncs up with my MyFitnessPal.  Which reminds me...  I really shouldn't get myself down about gaining 10 pounds.  I've accepted it.  I even made sure my gains are reflected in MFP and over the past weekend, I met the one-year of logging in milestone.  Even when I went camping up in the middle of nowhere Northern New Hampshire over the summer, I still made sure to log in every day.

I just need to hold on.  I'll get there.  Just need to keep a positive attitude, keep moving, and keep trying to eat right.


Speaking of eating right...  I just got finished making a bunch of Christmas treats for my coworkers.  So here's some recipes for some sugary, fatty goodness!

Apologies that I forgot to take pictures of my Cookies and Creme White Chocolate Bark.  But here's the recipe...

18 Peppermint Oreos (or your favorite flavor)
1 package of white chocolate chips

Prepare Oreos by breaking into smaller pieces.  Hold aside 1/2 cup of Oreo pieces for the top of the bark.

In a double boiler, melt white chocolate chips until smooth.  Remove from heat and mix in Oreo pieces.  The peppermint Oreos have red filling, so the red made the white chocolate red also.

Pour into a 9x9 pan lined with aluminum foil.  Spread evenly.  Top with reserved Oreo pieces and press in gently to secure.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  Store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Next up, I made a Cake Batter Chocolate Bark.  For that I used...

1 large package of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 package of white chocolate chips
1/4 cup yellow cake mix
colored sprinkles

In a double boiler, melt semi-sweet chocolate until smooth.  Remove from heat and mix in 1/3 of your colored sprinkles.  Pour into a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil.  Place in refrigerator for 15 minutes, then begin preparing the top layer.

In a double boiler, melt white chocolate chips and yellow cake mix together until smooth.  Remove from heat and add another 1/3 of the sprinkles.  Pour on top of existing semi-sweet chocolate.  Spread as evenly as possible.  Top with the final 1/3 of the sprinkles, pressing in gently to secure.  Refrigerate for at least another 30 minutes.  Store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

These were 13-year old girl approved...









The last bark I made was a Trail Mix Chocolate Bark.  Of course you could put anything you like in it... but I chose to use:

1 large package of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup peanuts
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup pretzel pieces

Prepare pretzels by breaking into small pieces.  Combine pretzel pieces, peanuts, and cranberries into a bowl.  Set aside.

In a double boiler, melt semi-sweet chocolate until smooth.  Remove from heat and mix in 2/3 of the combined mix ins, reserving 1/3 for the top.  Mix well and pour into a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil.  Spread evenly.  Top with remaining mix ins and press gently to secure.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  Store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.


Have you had enough sugar?  No?  Well, that's good... I have one more...

Of course I got a lot of these ideas off of Pinterest but this one is by far my favorite.  I'm not sure about you, but I love Rice Krispies treats... and I HATE MAKING RICE KRISPIES TREATS!!!  They are messy and sticky and I can never manage to NOT touch them so I get marshmallow goop all congealed on the ends of my fingers.

These are Lumps of Coal Rice Krispies Treats that are a melding of a few recipes I found on Pinterest.  I chose to use:

1/4 cup butter (half of a stick)
10.5 oz bag of mini marshmallows
black food coloring (not gel)
5 cups rice cereal
18 Oreo cookies, cream removed and turned to powder in the food processor

In a non-stick pot (trust me, it makes it easier), melt butter under medium-low to low heat.  Once nearly melted, add mini marshmallows and the cream from your Oreos.  Melt down and add in black food coloring.  When color that you want is achieved, add crumbled Oreos and combine well.  Lastly, remove from heat and add rice cereal.

And mix.

And mix.

And you might need to put the heat back on it so you can actually get it all mixed in.

And mix.

Once all combined, drop in odd shapes onto a parchment paper covered cookie sheet.  Let cool.  These look fantastic and it was fun, though challenging to get them off of the spoon onto the parchment.  I'd recommend using a silicone spatula to mix everything.  It won't damage your pot and it can withstand the heat.

Luckily all of these tasty treats are for my coworkers, so I didn't actually eat any.  I do have the ingredients to make a Oreo Cheesecake Brownie to take over to the handsome gentleman's house for Christmas Eve...  I'll probably end up eating plenty of that.


I'm technically in the middle of Week 6... so I might postpone blog posting again until after Christmas.  I've got some extra days off, so hopefully I'll be able to stay on track and get more active.  I'm sitting here exhausted with a huge headache...

There were a couple of observations I've made over the last two weeks that I wanted to share.  I've been eating a lot more salads... and I wanted everyone to see what a "serving" of croutons looks like...

Depressing.  I know.

Then there's the things that make me happy and keep me going through the day.  I've been mixing my protein shakes in iced coffee... and chasing that with my normal iced tea...

I'd rather drink this than eat candy...

I know my change is coming soon.