Amazing Fall Smoothie Recipe

Hello everyone! My name is Caitlyn. Katie and I decided to do some blog collaboration. Like her, I am a member of Weight Watchers. I love cooking and have been adapting some recipes to fit my new lifestyle a little better.

One of my favorite new discoveries is an adaptation of a smoothie I found on Pinterest, the Pumpkin Pie Smoothie. The original recipe calls for greek yogurt and since I try not to eat a lot of dairy I changed it a little bit.

Here's what you need:

• 1/2 a banana
• 1/3 cup pure pumpkin (canned)
• 1 cup soy/almond/hazelnut milk (preferably vanilla)
• 5 ice cubes
• 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

 Put all ingredients into a blender and enjoy! The best thing about this recipe is it's only 1-3 points depending on what kind of milk you use. I used original almond milk and added a few teaspoons of vanilla and it ended up being only one point!

This is just a preview of some other healthy recipes you can find on my blog, GeekChic: The Blog. I'll also be posting recipes here every now and then!

Until next time,

Caitlyn

GOOAAALLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In honor of making maintenance this morning, I'm making a before and after post!

before, 2009 (I was actually at a pretty good weight here for me)

after, 2012

before, 2011

after, 2012

before, new years eve 2009

2012!

 

 2010

 2011

Race picture progression! 34 min, 30 min, 29 min!

Finding bathing suit befores are quite impossible.

In the middle, and after...there is about a twelve pound difference here.

I can't believe I made it! When I started this in January 155 seemed so far away, and now I'm sitting at 149, 40 pounds lost! I want to walk around with a t-shirt that says "I lost 40 pounds! If I can do it, anyone can!" Because I was one lazy Pansy before I started the couch to 5K program. Now I work out 5 days a week, I'm training for a half marathon, I go to yoga classes and I bought pita chips, hummus and dried fruit for my road trip! Hahahaha, that's so weird.

I'm excited to continue on though! I know that I'm only going to get stronger and leaner, even if the number doesn't change. Hopefully I'll fit WW meetings into my schedule soon so I can get to lifetime, I'm tired of paying them!

 Weight Watchers, Couch to 5K, Team in Training, bananas, splenda (yeah I still use splenda, suck it), zucchini, Subway, I love you all! You changed my life. Forever! 

I would post a big happy smiley picture here but I just got home from a 4.5 mile run and I'm look rough! Thank you for all of your support :).

July Already?!?

I can't believe another month has gone by. That means it's time for me to recap June... and well, I'm a little ashamed at myself! Although I haven't been very bad when it comes to eating healthy and exercising I really didn't do anything I wanted to last month. 

June goals:

1. Lose 5 pounds (I've already lost 3 this month). I sort of did this one. I've lost 5.8lbs since May 30th, as of this morning but it's technically July, not June.
2. Join a fitness class (Yoga, Bootcamp, or Zumba). Nope.
   
3. Work on posture and core strength.
4. Do sprints. Did this once...
   
5. Drink my weight in water every day by ounces (literally, 150+ ounces of water a day). Not even close. Although I have been a little better by doing at leas 64 ounces the past week or so.

Now for measurements. I like to do my measurements once a month but now that I'm so close to maintenance I'm not expecting to see those drastic numbers I did when I first started. I lost an inch and a half off each thigh in the first month! But I have heard other girls lose up to two sizes after reaching maintenance. I feel like the last 10 pounds have made such a huge visual difference, but on top of that I feel like a much better runner.

Waist: -.5 in

Hips: -.5 in

Bust: -.5 in

Arms: 0.0

Thighs: -.5 in

So weird! I had the same amount of loss all over (with the exception of my arms). I'm definitely happy with it!

So now for July goals!

1. Reach maintenance!
2. Go to Yoga. 
3. Drink more water! It's so hot outside.
4. Run my furthest distance (over 5 miles).
5. Finish my TNT letters and emails.
6. Start going to WW meetings so I can get lifetime.
7. Core strength, core strength, core strength.

I'm looking forward to this month! Camping comes in a few weeks, I should reach maintenance soon, I'm going to my first yoga class today, I'm running better than ever and TNT looks to have an amazing month! Remember to donate! I need to get a lot more money by August. Just for some motivation one of the girls in our group mentioned this at our group training session this weekend: 

Every 4 minutes someone is diagnosed with blood cancer, so while we're out there running for 45 minutes 11 people have their lives changed.

Milestones

I was a little afraid to talk about this on here because when I weighed in on Wednesday morning I thought it might be a fluke. And so far I've been correct, but I've decided to write anyway (I've also been pretty sore which I've read somewhere could mean I'm retaining more water than usual).

As of 9AM Wednesday morning I have lost 25 pounds on Weight Watchers! 

Wait... huh? WHAT?! I've lost 25 pounds?! It certainly doesn't feel that way. And as much as I brag about myself and the success I've had so far, I don't honestly feel like I've done that much. Yes, I am amazed every time I go out and run 3 miles, and I am able to push myself harder during work out, but other than that and the way my pants fit, I don't feel that different. Why is that? People freak out when they lose 5 pounds, and I've lost that PLUS 20 more. All I can think about is that I have a long way to go. And I don't mean LIKE OMG I'M SO FAT! I HAVE SO MUCH MORE WEIGHT TO LOSE! OMG! I mean that I have a long ways to go before I feel accomplished. 

I've had a few people ask me how much more I'm going to lose and I don't really have an answer. There is a goal that I have on the Weight Watchers site, but it's just a number. What I want to reach is so much more. I want to finish a half marathon... and who knows maybe finish a WHOLE marathon one day. I want to be able to do push ups. I want to be strong. I don't care if I never weigh under 160 pounds. I'm happy at the weight I am, I'm just not happy with the level of fitness that I'm at. I have so much more that I want to do, and that's what I mean when I say I have a long ways to go.

A lot of people on WW seem to think celebrating milestones is important, and in WW land they give you stars for percentages lost and some other increments. Well last month I ran a 5K when I didn't think I could, this weekend I will run a 5K with CONFIDENCE! Hoping to improve my time, not just run the whole thing without stopping. That's a milestone. I'll celebrate that. Today I decided to join the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training to train for a half marathon (and raise $1,250!) this summer (the race is in November). That's a milestone. For a late night snack I had an apple and peanut butter instead of ice cream. That's a milestone, let's celebrate that!

So next time you see me and notice I've lost weight (or have read this), don't say "When are you going to stop?", ask me why I started.

The weight is just a number. The size of my pants is just a number. 

13.1 miles is soooo much more than a number.

Why have I been successful?

Starting Weight: 189 Current weight: 167

I've used the Weight Watchers program a few times to lose weight, but nothing seemed to stick. To be honest I don't think I ever really tried that hard. This time, for some reason, it's been much different! The past 3 months haven't just been about losing weight, it's been about becoming a part of a community and changing all of my habits. 

So what have I done different this time to make it stick?

I joined this group on the Weight Watchers website for people in their 20s. Seriously, this small act changed everything. It turned the idea of losing 30 pounds from a challenge into a completely possible (easy even) task. The people (mostly girls) on this group were invaluable! For one thing, many of them had already had success on the plan and were sharing their tips and stories, but two they were all so supportive of each other. They know so much, and were sharing all of that information. If it weren't this group I'm sure I would have given up.

Couch to 5k. I can't say that is was all the program that got me into running. It had a lot to do with my determination. C25K really got me moving. I needed some sort of regimen (I still do!) for my week and I got exactly that. It was hard. It was really hard, actually. The fist time I got up on that track I was just running a minute, walk a minute and a half, but I got so out of breathe and pushed so hard that I started getting tunnel vision and almost blacked out! I really took my time with the program. If I didn't feel comfortable moving to the next week, I didn't. Simple as that. In my eyes, I was doing it. I didn't care how fast or slow I completed the program. In the end I didn't really finish it. I got to the point where I was running 27 minutes without stopping and I took it from there on my own. The program I was using there are a bunch out there) focused on running for a certain time, I switched it up and started focusing on distance. I didn't see the shame in walking if I needed to. In the end I ran the 5k I'd signed up for and I did it without walking, and under 35 minutes! Definitely a PR for me ;). 

Another thing that has made or break my success is simply following the plan. I follow it as close as I possibly can. I calculate the points for everything, I hardly ever guess. I bought a heart rate monitor so that I know exactly how much credit I should be getting for the activity I'm doing. I eat all of my points allotted for the day, but I don't just eat anything that has low point values. I eat fruits and veggies (but only in the allotted amounts), I drink LOTS of water, I try (try being the key word) to get my daily oils in, I get my calcium in and then when I have room at the end of the day I have dessert. I'm human! I like sweets. Sometimes that sweet stuff is ice cream, sometimes it's fruit and yogurt, and sometimes I resist the urge. I've tried my hardest to make this a lifestyle change and so I don't limit myself. If I did, I would resent the plan and not follow it. When I do go off plan, I always count and track, even if I go into the negative.

I also did a lot of research. Every body is different and responds differently to weight loss, but in the end it comes down to caloric in take. You eat too many and don't burn any of it off then you'll gain weight, if you work out you might need to eat more so your body doesn't hold on to that fat for dear life, so on and so forth. You've got to find what works best for you! So far I think I've found what works for me and I'm not slowing down any time soon!

Getting Started...

How exactly do you make a good first post? There's obviously no right or wrong answer because it's different for everyone. But for me I think I'll just tell you a little bit about me...

I'm 24 years old and I live with my parents. I thought by the time I was 24 I'd have it all figured out, but let me tell you, I most certainly do not! I went to the Savannah College of Art and Design and graduated with a BFA in Sound Design in August of 2010 but had some quarter life crisis and decided not to really pursue a job in the area I had originally thought I would.

Some how I ended up in Northern Indiana to be a nanny for a family with 2 children and a sick mother. Well the mom recuperated and now I'm back in Savannah where I grew up... unemployed.

So now I'm back where I started! I don't want to be a nanny again but I'm not sure what else to do. I've been applying for all sorts of jobs because I have office assistant, fundraising and a little event planning experience. Hopefully something will come to light soon, but until then I'm focusing on getting healthy!

I joined Weight Watchers in January of 2012 weighing in at 189. It's definitely not the highest I've weighed but that's where it all started this time. I've done this program before but I've never really committed. This time I've made it a life change. I'm not going back to the girl I was!

I kick-started my weight loss with the Couch to 5K program. I reached that HUGE goal of mine on March 9th! I was never a runner, even though I was a pretty active athlete until I graduated high school. In the beginning running a minute was a HUGE challenge. Now I run a mile comfortably under 10 minutes! That's bananas. Next, is training for a 10K and hoping to start training for a half this June and then actually run the Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon in November.

That's my story! Tomorrow I have an early morning 3 mile (my long run for week 1 of training) run with my friend, Victoria from over @ Victoria Runs and some kitchen spring cleaning. I'm forcing my mom to empty out the panty and refrigerator. It's gotten out of hand! I swear there are 3 half full bottles of Worcestershire sauce... that's unnecessary.