Kale Chips

Has anyone heard a ridiculous amount about kale? Apparently its the new super food - much like quinoa was a while back. Anyone researched why kale is a super food? Check out these stats:

The downside to kale? The taste. It's a very bitter tasting cabbage. Like any good Irish girl, I love corned beef and cabbage, but this isn't the kind beof cabbage you can stew in a crockpot.

I've heard a ton about kale chips and thought I'd give it a try. How hard could it be? I found this recipe online: DIY Kale Chips! Plus, a Whopping 10 Flavor Options and it sounded perfect. I didn't have anything for any of their flavors so I assembled what I thought would be tasty:

Then I cut it the way the recipe said and cut just enough to fill a cookie sheet:

I stuck it all in a bag per the directions, shook it around, put it back on the cookie sheet, salted it and baked for 25 minutes at 300 degrees. (My oven cooks fast.) They smelled incredible while baking. I pulled them out and dumped them onto a plate.

The results? Very mixed. First of all, not salty enough. When I want chips, I want salty. Second, they got nice and crispy, but shriveled up quite a bit. Make more than you think you want. Thirdly, they tasted really bitter, almost burnt. That means I either burnt it, which is totally possible, or kale is gross. Jury is still out. I'll be doing this once again but cooking it for less time. I'll report back and hopefully I'll be happily munching salty kale chips.

First of the Month Photos: May

So this is a little embarrassing. Pictures of me! Yeah, I'm out of shape, but won't it be great to look back on these photos when I have abs? This is me, at 196 pounds and a size 14.  Ugh, these are terrible. 

But while we're on the subject of abs: that's my end goal. Now, I don't have any ambition of maintaining abs for the rest of my life, but I've always been heavy, and for once damnit, I want abs!

Measurement Monday: April 28th, 2014

I realize it isn't actually Monday, but the measurements were taken Monday. That's the same thing, right?

Anyway, measurement Monday is going to hopefully become a weekly post. I believe measurements are every bit as important as webeight - more so when your are trying to lose weight. When we say we want to lose weight or drop a few pounds, what we really mean is a size. We want to fit back into our jeans or wear a smaller dress size. We don't want to lose weight if it doesn't affect our physical size. Ever seen this picture?

This is why I both weigh AND measure myself. Now, I try to only measure myself once a week, and I try to be thorough (measurements in inches):
Abdomen: 43.5
Waist: 34.5
Bust: 42.5
Chest: 37.5
Hip: 46.25
Left Arm: 14.25
Left Forearm: 10.75
Left Calf: 16.5
Left Thigh: 28.25
Right Arm: 14.25
Right Forearm: 11
Right Calf: 16.5
Right Thigh: 28
Shoulders: 45.5
Neck: 15
Current Weight: 196 pounds

Proof that I know the weight loss struggle. I'm not just a few pounds overweight. I'm only 5'3". I'm 50-60 pounds over weight. I realize that to some people it may not seem like much, afterall, many Americans are easily 100+ pounds overweight, but this isn't a competition. This is only a way to commiserate. This isn't a lonely struggle, and this isn't a fitness model lecturing average and overweight individuals. This is me working on myself public ally, hopefully as an inspiration- plus as the About section says, this lifestyle change is something I'm passionate about and I want to share my enthusiasm!

Next Monday I will be posting the difference in measurements. Due to a hernia, I'm currently not able to exercise, so my goal is to simply lose 2 total inches. I know it isn't a big goal, but it feels like a good goal for a week. It'd be great to drop a pound as well, but I won't hold my breath.

If you're like me, the temptation to measure more frequently may be overwhelming. I only measure my waist and abdomen in between Mondays, but I never record it, and I try my best to not let it get me down.

App recommendation: Lift

If you can't tell, that's a little frog on top. The whole thing is covered in frogs. I feel silly writing in my froggy diary at the gym while men nearby bench press twice my body weight. If ycan't tell, that's a little frog on top. The whole thing is covered in frogs. I feel silly writing in my froggy diary at the gym while men nearby bench press twice my body weight. t tell, that's a little frog on top. The whole thing is covered in frogs. I feel silly writing in my froggy diary at the gym while men nearby bench press twice my body weight. I really wanted to find  an easy to use app to record which lifts I'm doing, how many reps, and the weight. Here's what I'm currently using:

If you can't tell, that's a little frog on top. The whole thing is covered in frogs. I feel silly writing in my froggy diary at the gym while men nearby bench press twice my body weight.

So I thought Lift by Lift Worldwide was the answer. It wasn't, of course. Nothing is ever easy when it comes to technology. Why am I recommending it? Because it's a great app, of course! Lift is basically a goal achieving app. The publisher's description reads: Lift breaks your goals down into simple habitra and routines, then prompts and encourages you to take regular steps towards healthy life change.

There are all kinds of neat goals you can work to achieve. I currently have one goal I'm working on and one goal lined up for next month.

It's easy to use, which is the best part. Want to check in with a goal? Just select it then tap the checkmark. All done!

The reason I think this is such a great app is because it makes lifestyle changes small and manageable. As a girl who drank a two liter of soda every two days, giving up soda was a big deal. I've been 11 days soda free now. Sure, it doesn't seem like a big deal, but to me, that little green check and the note that says I've hit that check for 11 days is my pat on the back.

Book Recommendation: New Rules of Lifting for Women

Has anyone heard of this book? ThethisNew Rules of Lifting is great. I used to be the girl that jogged on the treadmill for 10 minutes (and I use the term jog loosely) then hit the circuit machines, blaze through them doing one set of 15 reps, and be out the door in under an hour including stretching. I thought I was doing the right thing to lose weight. I lifted weights and did cardio, what else was I supposed to do?

Various fitness articles throughout the internet had taught me that the more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism is, and therefore the more calories you burn at rest. That is some pretty solid logic in my mind. Every week when I went to the gym, I was able to up my weight on a couple of the machines. I thought I was making progress. Yet when I went to use that muscle, I didn't feel stronger. Pushing a heavy grocery cart didn't get easier, holding back my dogs on a walk never felt like less effort, and running never became any less miserable.

Fed up, I read The New Rules of Lifting for Women by Lou Schuler and Cassandra Forsythe. What's great about this book? It got me out of the deprivation mind set. Eat less, lose weight makes sense, but NRoLfW walks through how eating fewer calories slows down your metabolism in the long run. This was mind blowing to me. You mean I can eat if I'm hungry? Hallelujah! I am a girl that is always hungry. I don't do "dieting".

The other reason I think NRoLfW is such an excellent starter book is because it really made me comfortable with the weight room. I was always so nervous walking into the weight room surrounded by all these buff guys. I had no clue what kind of exercises I was even supposed to do with free weights. Another reason I has enjoyed the machines-they came with directions!

Through this book I figured out a basic weight lifting routine and a great starting point. This book has a bunch of great illustrations on different exercises, as well as a basic workout. I didn't follow the workout and can't attest to its effectiveness, but it certainly looks like a nice starting point and has adaptions for different fitness levels.

Interested? The book can be purchased through the offical website as well as through your app store, in most book stores, and ebay.

No Excuses? What?

Anyone new to this blog might want to know what its about. Seems like a fair request. So what is this blog about? Fitness, lifestyle changes, and the quest for healthy comfort food.

How did this start? Well, in January of 2014, as most Americans, I made the resolution to get healthy and change my life. Unlike most Americans, I fully intended to keep it for the rest of my life. This wasn't just some vague resolution of "get healthy" or "lose weight". Nope, this is the change I'm making for the rest of my life.

With that in mind, I began to research. The more I learned, the more excited I became. I wanted to tell everyone all that I had learned!.. But no one was interested. Then the more I acted on my new knowledge, the more changes I began to see in my body, and again I wanted to tell everyone!.. But my goodness there are some things nobody who isn't changing their life wants to hear. For those of us going through a change to a healthy lifestyle, every small, albeit often gross, change is exciting. It should be reveled in, and celebrated, but not everyone wants to hear it.

Ditch the Excuses is where that all comes together. I will be sharing useful apps, books, recipes, workout plans, transformation photos and personal goals and accomplishments. Hopefully readers will stay motivated, share their experiences and their own suggestions.