Food for FUEL, not entertainment

For the past two days, I have been eating as food-for-fuel, rather than entertainment. Using the "LOSE IT!" app on my Verizon Wireless Android phone, I've been given a daily calorie budget of 1,420 calories. I also take pictures of my meals and upload them to the NFL Cheerleader Audition Training Facebook Group Page to stay accountable & focused.with the other girls. 

So, what exactly does 1400 calories look like? I'm going to show you! 

Breakfast: CARBmaster yogurt (60 cal) Better Oats Oatmeal with flax-seed (160 cal) & Green Tea with Pomegranate (0 cal) 

TOTAL=220 calories

Lunch: 1 cup spinach salad (5 cal) 1/2 cut up red bell pepper (23 cal) extra small cut up apple (53 cal) 2 tbsp Trader Joe's slivered almonds (78 cal) 1/2 oz goat cheese (40 cal) 2 tbsp Honey Dijon dressing (70 cal) 2 oz Chicken Breast (62 cal) 

TOTAL=331 calories

Mid Afternoon Snack: White Chocolate Think Thin protein bar (230 calories)

ZERO SUGAR & GLUTEN FREE! (Yes, it still tastes good)

Dinner: 1 cup chicken chili (220 cal) with 1/2 oz goat cheese (40 cal)

TOTAL=260 calories

I made sure I consumed 2 liters of water (0 cal) 

I also had a tablespoon of Justin's Creamy Natural Almond Butter after dinner (95 calories) as well as a cup of nonfat milk before bed (90 cal) 

TOTAL=185 calories

Bringing my total calories of the day to 1,226!! Not only did I not feel hungry or tired throughout the day, but I was also 194 calories under my daily budget.

I did a lot of working out the past few days as well as keeping up with my teaching schedule: (highlighted are workouts -outside of teaching-)

THURSDAY- Walked around with Apollo for 30 minutes running errands on foot, walked 2.5 miles to the studio, taught Kids Hip Hop ages 9-12 for an hour, & then walked another 1/2 mile to another studio to TAKE a Barre Fitness class.

FRIDAY- Taught a Barre Fitness class, caught the last 40 minutes of a Zumba class (I was late from the time it took to drive from one studio to another...) took a Body Pump (strength training with weights) class, then am going to teach another Barre Fitness class this evening.

So far, I'm feeling really great! I was afraid that monitoring my calorie intake would make me sluggish & irritable. Luckily, this is not the case :) Monitoring my water intake is probably the most difficult thus far...I'm not much of a water drinker unless I work out.

NOTE: Having to go to the bathroom so much is a total hassle >:-(

I hope you enjoyed my informative blog on what my daily calorie budget looks like as well as my workouts outside of my teaching schedule! :)

WEEK 1: NFL Cheerleader audition training

I am so blessed to have started rehearsing with such great women that all have common goals! 

*Get Fit

*Eat healthy, nutritious food for fuel (not entertainment)

*Dance daily

...AAAAAANNNNNNDDDDDDD...

*Make the 2012-2013 Seattle Sea Gals team!

My first meeting was this past Saturday with a former Sea Gal (we'll call her "Miss Q") to talk about my look and play around with makeup. She wanted to highlight my green eyes, so she used purple/plum shadows on my eyes. She also used an airbrush system for my foundation. SUCH a cool experience to have your makeup airbrushed on! She also used false lashes to help accentuate my eyes...I've been wearing those for dance competitions since I was 10 years old!

For my first practice, I met with Miss Q and the other girls at the Kirkland Dance Center on Sunday at 11:00am and we worked on a kick-line routine, reminding me of how exhausting kicking is!! Feedback from the other girls was that my kicks were really strong. This came as sort of a surprise to me seeing as how I haven't "high-kicked" in a routine since last year's auditions. I was only able to stay for half of the rehearsal time since I had to instruct a Barre Fitness class at 12:00pm. 

For Monday's rehearsal, we worked on the kick-line routine as well as across-the-floor routines including turns, kicks, and looking sexy-sassy ;) We also did a routine to "Drop It Low" by Kat DeLuna which was more in my comfort zone :)

 I'm meeting with Miss Q next week to come up with a fitness/nutrition plan for me as well as getting my first personalized spray-tan of the season! 

It's really difficult to get out of a normal, comfort-zone routine, but I'm looking forward to the challenge!!

Christine's stuffed peppers :)

So, in yesterday's blog I mentioned making stuffed peppers for a healthy, tasty dinner...Chase likes them, so they're guy-friendly too!! Here's some photos:

Fresh, boiled bell peppers

Stuffing mixture: brown rice, lean ground hamburger, chopped onions/tomatoes/garlic

The stuffed peppers before being cooked 

The final product with some cheese sprinkled on top!

State of mind, expectations, & company for a few days

Soooo, I've been awake since Chase's alarm went off at 7:55am this morning (despite attempting to go back to sleep after he left.) I got a LOT done this morning/afternoon such as cleaning the kitchen & living room, finished the laundry, took the trash out, & returned emails. 


One of the emails I had to send involved me looking back at some photos I took from last years Sea Gal auditions- from what I wore to pre-audition workshops, to my full makeup'd face for finals, to my photo for actually making it to the finals that was used on the Sea Gals website.

It got me thinking what a great state of mind I was in during that two week process. My skin was clear, I had the perfect tan, I was in GREAT shape, my hair was beautiful, & my makeup rocked. Which has made me think: If everything was so great, why didn't I make the cut for the team?! 

I don't have a concrete answer from the Coach or the other judges, but what I've been thinking the past few weeks is that I EXPECTED to make the team from the very first audition. Not because I thought I was better than everyone else that auditioned, but because I had SO MANY PEOPLE telling me I was going to make it & that I was a "shoo-in" for the team because of my dance experience & confident attitude. Now, I don't blame people for telling me what they did...it was their opinion & they were sharing it with me as such.

This year I am blessed with an opportunity to work with other girls that all have a similar goal, being coached by a former Sea Gal in fitness, makeup, & all aspects of performance. I am 7 lbs heavier than I was at my audition weight. I don't think losing that will be difficult, but I would really love to be down 10-15 lbs by mid-April for this years auditions. 

It's hard for me to get an actual workout while I teach my fitness classes because my body is already so used to the routines & workouts, so Chase has offered to workout with me at our apartment's fitness facility & to only suggest fast food options 1x/week for dinner. Last night, he made Chicken Tagine, which is chicken, tomatoes, onions, fresh cilantro, & lime juice all cooked together IN a Tagine :) It's soooo good and a really healthy idea for lunch or dinner. 

I'm thinking about walking to the grocery store (yes, it's still snowing here!) for some more ingredients to make stuffed peppers. We're going to be having company for a few days...one of Chase's co-workers lives on a sailboat and needs a warmer place to stay while this awful weather is going on. We have a spare bedroom & a queen sized air mattress that isn't being used. I'm glad we have the means to help someone that needs it. Hopefully Apollo doesn't invade his space too much!

Apollo's- Apollo sized bed :)

Today, Mr. Apollo received an AWESOME belated Christmas present from his Aunt Gina over in Afghanistan :) It's a personalized Apollo-sized bed!! He's been lounging on it ever since I took it out of the box.

Being sick over the weekend doesn't mean all news is bad news

As some of you know, I have been sick the past few days with what I thought was the 24 hour flu...but hasn't exactly subsided in 24 hours. I'm feeling 90%, but I still have a headache & a cough :-(  Apollo has also been a little under the weather since having been to the vet & being prescribed 10 Cephalexin pills per day for his infection :-( It's making his tummy feel sick, just like mama.

Besides being on the mend this weekend, I received a text from one of the friends I made at the Seattle Sea Gal & Bombshell auditions. She was offered an amazing opportunity that will help her in the upcoming Sea Gal auditions this coming April/May. (She shall remain nameless unless permission to use her name is given)
She asked if I would be interested in the same opportunity to help me in the upcoming Sea Gal auditions. I (of course) jumped at the chance and am just now waiting for more details :) 


So though this weekend was full of coughing, headaches, &body aches, I had a bit of exciting news :)

Me before last year's Sea Gal audition

Did you bake YOUR boyfriend a pie on his birthday?!

Sooooo, yesterday was Chase's birthday and I decided that I was going to be even more domestic and bake him a pie :) He has told me in the past that he's a big fan of Rhubarb, so (despite the fact that Rhubarb isn't in season!) I chose that for the filling. I ended up driving around to 4 different stores looking for fresh Rhubarb: Safeway, Trader Joes, PCC, and finally QFC where they had it frozen, but not fresh :-( I decided to take my chances because I didn't have a whole lot time to bake the pie before I had to leave to teach, then off to lunch with Chase during his break. I bought pre-made pie shells, mixed 1 cup of sugar & 6 tablespoons of flour, dusted it on the bottom shell, added the thawed Rhubarb, then put the rest of the sugar/flour mixture in with the Rhubarb, covered & folded the top pie shell. (See below)

 It baked while I got ready, & the timer went off right 5 minutes before I was supposed to walk out the door. Since the pie was extremely hot, I grabbed the IA HAWKEYE hot potato bag Chase's mom gave us for Christmas to put it in. I taught my class & then met Chase at his work & presented him with the pie :) I was honestly really worried that it was going to taste not as great because of the frozen Rhubarb, but according to both of our taste buds (& keep in mind, I'm NOT a Rhubarb fan) it tasted GREAT!!!!!! 

I can now add "Pie Baker" to my life job description ;)