Secret Messages From My Doctor

We had a late night in the Sieb household. So, I picked up some Chinese for J and I to share after my hair appointment tonight.

By the way, I love the cut! I desperately needed a fresh look before my baby shower this weekend and upcoming Vegas vacation! 

Anyway, Justin left the fortune cookie for me (or he simply forgot it on the counter and I got to it first). Let's pretend he was being super cute and saved the cookie for his pregnant wife.

I don't know about you, but I am very superstitious about how to eat a fortune cookie. I need to eat the entire cookie - every last bite - and have it swallowed before I can read the fortune. If I take a sneak peek or don't the cookie down in my belly, the fortune won't come true!

Here is what my fortune said: 

Save the cookies. Really? 

If that doesn't make you regret dinner, I don't know what will..haha! 

Thankfully, I was already half way out the door for a family stroll around the neighborhood. 

Could this be a secret message from my doctor? 

Perhaps. 

Either way, it made me laugh. 

Much love, 

Ashley 

Making Healthy Snacks Fun

If you come to one of Cooper's birthday parties, you can expect to have some healthy treats like this spread out.

Much love,
Ashley

Bacon Problems

Told the husband I wanted BLTs for dinner.

This was his response:

"I hate your obsession with bacon.  I hate cooking bacon and how it makes the entire first floor smell like bacon for days."  

Sorry I'm not sorry.

Oh, and this:

Bacon Baby for Halloween.
Cooper will love me for this, right?

Much love,

Ashley 

Afternoon Delight

I am in heaven right now...

 

Eating this amazing Greek yogurt + closing my eyes and pretending I am eating real Key Lime Pie on the beach.

Much love,
Ashley

Breakfast for Dinner

Yes!!!! I am in heaven!

Much love,
Ashley

The Result of a 1,160 Calorie Black Bean Burger

I kept my word and created a meal plan for the week.

I was even more inspired to create my meal plan after I had a 1,160 calorie BLACK BEAN BURGER! I'm serious, you guys. TGIF's black bean burger (without a side) has 1,160 calories.

I nearly signed up for a full marathon on the SPOT. 

And sodium? Let's not talk about how the burger had 2,350+ milligrams of sodium!

Not to mention, I instantly had buyers regret...I could have ordered a bacon cheeseburger and had less calories.

That's jacked. I felt so betrayed!

So anyway, meal planning (and stalking calories BEFORE I order) will hopefully help me keep my calories, diet, and emotional eating on track!

Monday:

Breakfast- Special K

Lunch- Jimmy Johns #6 veggie sandwich (no mayo!!) and leftover couscous

Dinner- sausage and potatoes

Snacks- fiber bar, fresh fruit, cottage cheese

Tuesday:

Breakfast- Special K

Lunch- sausage and potatoes

Dinner-turkey meatloaf, cauliflower mashed potatoes andgreen beans (I am making this ALL on my own via my Year of New plans! Wish me luck!!)

Snacks- fiber bar, cottage cheese, carrots with hummus

Wednesday:

Breakfast- Special K

Lunch- turkey meatloaf and leftover veggies

Dinner- ranch pork chops and steamed broccoli and salad

Snacks- fiber bar, veggies with hummus  

Thursday:

Breakfast- Special K

Lunch- pork chops and salad

Dinner- shrimp enchiladas

Snacks- fiber bar and veggies with hummus

Friday: 

Breakfast- Special K

Lunch-out

Dinner- whole wheat pasta with olive oil and grilledchicken, asparagus, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese

Snacks- cottage cheese, fruit and fiber bar

I'll let you know how everything goes...

Message me on Facebook, tweet me @AshleySieb, or email me ambedwell@gmail.com if you have any ideas or recipes for next week! A special thank you to those who've already sent me their meal planning ideas and recipes. 

Much love,
Ashley

Ashley's 30 Day Boot Camp

I've gained back all of my weight. Are you sick of me telling you that yet? I know, I'm sick of writing it too. It's complicated. I'm in a horrible relationship. And I'm sure you know about it...maybe you have a similar problem.

The root of my problem is my relationship with food.  I just don't know my limits. I have a hard time with portion control. And I want to eat during every single emotion I ever feel.

You're right, this is not me...mainly because this would be a plate of cheese instead of a plate of donuts.
But the message remains the same: I have a food addiction.

I ask you guys to be there for me.

To support me.

To encourage me to make wise decisions.

To talk me about of the large pizza with extra pepperoni.

To sway me from the bacon cheeseburger.

To convince me that sour cream, ranch dressing, and cheese do not make everything better.

But I have a hard time listening. Or I become a closet eater, which means I shovel food in my face when no one is looking.

And to be honest with you, I'm completely terrified of getting pregnant and reaching 300 lbs.

300 lbs.

That means I'd be beyond qualified for The Biggest Loser.

Today I weighed about 232 lbs.

Not my highest (241).

And far from my lowest (199).

I'm sure it's a combination of bloating + holiday weight gain + vacation snacks and drinks + holiday drinking.  But today, I realized my problem.

I try to give up everything all at once. 

No cheese. No mayo. No bacon. No burgers. No fried food. No ranch dressing.

I completely wipe it out of my diet for a week or so.

Kick major butt.

Drop the lbs quickly.

Then, I fall off the wagon.

I add a strip of bacon on my egg sandwich.

I ask for cheese on my burrito bowl at Qdoba.

And then the wagon runs me over.  Then the wagon backs up and runs over me again. The next thing you know, I'm back where I started writing a blog like this or this.

Promising you that next time will be different.

Explaining that this time I have the answer.

Saying that my attitude is different.

Informing you that I'm inspired for change.

And then you read something like this or the blog post today.

You are quickly reminded that I'm human.  And I make mistakes. But I make the mistakes often and have a hard time learning from them.

So, I've put together a 30 Day challenge...inspired by my friend Ann Semon's blog.

I'm not trying to eliminate every single horrible food from my diet. And I'm not making an outrageous claim to workout every single day twice. Instead, I've developed a plan. For the next 30 days, I'll do the following in my version of a Boot Camp.

• Avoid alcohol. No exceptions.
• Do cardio 3-4 times a week for at least 30 minutes each time.
• Do strength training twice a week for at least 20 minutes each time.
• Do 150 abs every single day (sets of 25 each method).
• Do 15 push-ups each day.
• No mayo. This sneaky condiment can easily add 100-300 calories to your sandwich depending on how much gets piled on!
• No fried food. No exceptions.
• Eat fruit for breakfast 4-5 days a week.
• I'm allowed 3 cheat meals a week. The cheat meal can include anything except booze, mayo, or fried food.

If I cheat or miss a workout, I have to do 30 burpees. 

Don't know what burpees are? Click here to watch this video. Basically, they suck and make me want to vomit. But breaking rules at Boot Camp has consequences.

So today marks Day 1. I'll document all of my food intake and exercise in MyFitnessPal, which is an app that is available for you to download and use too (free)! My username is ashleysieb.  Sign-up and add me as a friend! 

My 30 Day Boot Camp will end on Sunday, February 3.

By that point, my hope is everything I've done will become a habit. And I can start a new program to inspire new fitness routines. I'm sure there are better exercises or goals I could add. I'm certainly open to your ideas and suggestions for the next 30 days. But for now, this is my plan. And you're welcome to join me. 

I'm not doing this for a resolution (you can read my focus for 2013 here and here). I'm doing this so I can live a long and healthy life with my family. And as one of my best friend's Ashley wrote in her recent blog post, I need to do this for me.

Not a number on the scale.

Or a certain dress size.

Or vacation destintation.

I am doing this for me.

P.S. Bachelor workouts start on Monday. I hope you join me!!  I'll post the workouts on my blog every Monday!

Much love,
Ashley

Power Breakfast!

Are you ready to become super jealous of my breakfast?

Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and a cutie / tangerine. I washed my bowl of fresh fruit down with a glass of grapefruit juice!

All for 186 calories :)

So.Good.

My previous breakfast options included:

• Americano + Spinach and Feta Wrap: 293 calories
• Egg McMuffin + hashbrown: 450 calories

I am making giant strides my friends.

Also, I didn't have a food meltdown today.

Giant.

Strides.

Much love,

Ashley

My Biggest Loser Moment

I've gained some weight.

Let's say...10 lbs.

I'm sitting around 207 right now (on a good morning).

Why?

A few reasons actually...

• Personal training! I love my personal training sessions with Dustin. I'm challenging my body in ways I NEVER knew were possible. I'm turning into that person who grunts and screams at the gym...not sure if I am proud or embarrassed of that fact, but I'll tell you what...it means I'm pushing myself HARD!

• Cheese. When I eat cheese (dairy), I bloat and gain weight. I have a lactose sensitivity, but cheese is truly my favorite food. I can't resist it...and it makes everything better. Oh cheese.
• Marathon training. Most people gain weight during marathon training. Why? Because the food addicts like me say, "Ohhhh I just ran 5 miles on a Tuesday night- clearly this calls for a jumbo margarita and Mexican food!" Wrong, wrong, and wrong...I'm working on trying to re-fuel my body with healthier foods after those long runs. One step at a time...

Yesterday afternoon, Dustin was training Kaila (his wife and my best friend) and me at the same time. It was a blast having a friend there with me ...to share in the pain!

Dustin handed me TWO 20 lb weights.

"What am I doing to do with both of these?!" I asked.

I can barely lift the bench press bar by it-self...

"We are going to do squats down to the end of the parking lot and back," Dustin said.

I died.

"NO WAY!" Kaila and I said at the same time.

"Just kidding, just walk with them to the end of the parking lot and back," Dustin said.

Seems simple enough. I can handle walking right?

But that 40 extra lbs was straining on my body!

My shoulders hurt.

My back hurt.

My thighs hurt.

And then it hit me...

"You guys, I just realized that carrying this weight...40 lbs...is the amount of weight that I've lost," I said. "It's crazy to think my body was carrying about this much extra weight."

Now sure, I've gained a few lbs since my 40 lb weight loss victory...but I'm convinced some of that is muscle!

"That was pretty deep, Ash!" Kaila said. "But amazing to think about..."

We finally made our way back to the building...I was exhausted...ready to drop the 40 lbs that was holding me down.

"Okay- great job! Do it again!"Dustin said.

"AHHHH!" We moaned, but we did it again.

In fact, I finished by running the last half.

And I almost cried...thinking about how far I've come...and when I dropped those 40 lbs on the weight bench...it was a reminder that I've truly dropped those lbs. And I'll do EVERYTHING in my power to make sure they do not come back.

That's why I love having Dustin as my personal trainer.

He pushes me harder than I have EVER physically and mentally pushed myself.

Now, if only I could only get my stress eating, emotional eating, food is my enemy-thing under control.

One step at a time...

Much love,
Ashley

You Need a Vacation: Night 2

How I Almost Ruined Our Vacation

I drank enough water before bed to wake up feeling pretty good. We had a free breakfast pass (again, thank you Hilton Honors Gold status), so that was an amazing way to start my day.

Then it was off to the gym, which was surprisingly nice! 

I wasn't in the running mood. Sometimes I feel like I could run for miles and miles, and other days I can't even run for more than 4 minutes. Unfortunately, I was the ladder.

So, I decided to do circuit training. Quick intervals of cardio broken up by sets of abs, squats and arm exercises.

And it wouldn't be a complete workout if I didn't take a picture of myself in the mirror.

But it wasn't long before I did the MOST AWFUL thing ever at the gym.

I WEIGHED MYSELF!

Number one, Aunt Flow is getting ready to visit so I am instantly 5+ lbs heavier!

Number two, I had drank all night.

Number three, I ate all day / night.

Weighing myself was a really bad idea. Did I mention that yet?

And when the scale said 229 lbs, I almost puked. 10 lbs.

Really? How does that even happen?

THANKFULLY Justin later weighed himself to confirm the scale was 5 lbs heavier than our scale at home.

Either way, I was so pissed off to see that number. And it showed when I came back to the room.

"What's wrong you?" Justin asked. He could sense something was wrong.

"I did something stupid," I said.

He was probably thinking I made out with the bell boy (joking) or spent a shit ton of money at the Macy's down the road (not joking, I really wanted to do that).

"I weighed myself," I admitted. I told him the dreadful number that I do not want to repeat outloud.

"Ashley, this happens every single month," Justin said. "You get ready to start your period and then you blow up! Okay that sounded really shitty, but you know what I'm saying. I put my arms around you at The Arch and it was a literally like I was squeezing a swollen uterus. You literally gain 5 to 10 lbs and are bloated for a few days!"

(See ladies, he can be a "guy" sometimes. He is not "cute" all of the time, but I truly appreciate his honesty so much!!)

"You're right," I said, still a little disappointed about the number...

"So you just have to prepare yourself for that and don't give up," Justin said. "Because in a week or so, you'll be back to your regular weight. But you can't freak out. You can't eat like shit and give up and think everything you're doing is worthless. Because you're doing great. Your hitting your goals. Just don't give up."

And with that mini pep talk, we headed off to the zoo. Penguins and elephants were certain to perk me up!

Projectile Penguins


 I was overly excited to see the penguins at the zoo. They are my absolute favorite. Next to the meerkats.

Shy Guy hiding behind the pimp cave (one penguin found a penny and brought it over to another penguin, who was hiding this cave. Thus, the pimp cave was established).

 It was morning time and apparently penguins are not morning folks. One penguin, who we will call Milo, came out of a cave and stretched his flippers in the air. Then he shook us little booty.

Justin pretended to read his mind and said, "Good morningggggg everyone!"

Then we watched as a few other penguins creeped out from the cave.

I was distracted by the booty shaking penguin, when Justin said, "Well hey - look at this little guy! I wonder what he is....OMGGG!"

Just then I looked over and saw a penguin bend over and project green poop all over the pimp cave, which Shy Guy was hiding behind. Like 10 year old boys, we couldn't stop laughing.

The pooping penguin, who we will call Otis, looked over at us and said, "I don't give a damn" and then walked back into his cave.

Otis was never seen again. But we talked about him and his splashing poop attack on Shy Guy once every 30 minutes until Sunday night.

We went on to see other beautiful animals, all of which reminded me of Bandit, and then we went to lunch at Fitz's.

Homemade Root Beer!

The food was pretty good! I settled on a turkey burger (no cheese) and seafood gumbo instead of fries. That was my attempt at eating healthy.

Next up, we went back to the hotel to take a nap and watch cable TV.

No vacation is complete without a mid-afternoon nap.

Sucking Heads off Crawfish

We woke up from the nap, well Justin woke up- I spent the afternoon watching murder mysteries (bad idea, I am still having problems sleeping).

Then we had our free drink from the bar (Red Bull and Vodka to kick off our night) before walking to  Broadway Oyster Bar.

"We are completely boring for doing the same thing two nights in a row," I said.

"No we aren't," Justin said. "If it ain't broken, don't fix it." 

Word. Broadway Oyster Bar is in my top 3 list of favorite restaurants ever!!

We ate oysters ( again) and decided to be brave and order a bucket of steamed crawfish!!

Eating crawfish was a true adventure. I was extremely nervous one of them would still be alive...and when I  reached into the bucket, it would pinch off my finger. Thankfully, that never happened.

The biggest crawdad in the bucket and he was all mine!

Sucking the juice out of the head.
Eating crawfish isn't exactly an attractive event.
I wouldn't do this on a first date.
Okay, you're right - I probably would.

You only live once, so why not eat some bottom dwellers?

After dinner, we went back to the hotel to change. I switched into my Gucci sweater (obviously) and we were off the Cigar Bar again.

Livin' better now, Gucci sweater now!

"I am so lucky to have a sexy wife who smokes cigars and tries to drink Jameson on the rocks," Justin said. "But you don't have to impress me anymore. I'll drink the rest of that if you want to."

I pretended to be hardcore. But I didn't know how to keep the cigar going and quickly traded my Jameson on the rocks for Justin's beer.

We went to another bar to finish watching the basketball game, which resulted in eating hummus and pita bread and calamari, which was drenched in ranch dressing.

I NEVER thought I would see the day when I did not want to eat ranch dressing on something, but let it be known that ranch dressing and squid DO NOT go well together. Don't try this at home kids...

Heading Home

St. Louis was the perfect weekend trip. I loved the buildings (except for The Arch pods!!!), the drinks, the FOOD (obviously), and most importantly the pooping penguin.

Until next time, St. Louis...

 Much love,
Ashley