Coffee Cake Confessional

Hey everyone!

Things have been great around here!  My kids are off from school this week and even though they aren't in school all day or full time it's still been a long week.  I had been going to the gym or exercising at least 2-4 times a week and sadly this week I have yet to do any real cardio aside from walking around the neighborhood chasing my kids on their bikes.  Hey, still counts somehow.  At least that's what I'm tellin' myself.  I'm heading to the gym tomorrow morning for sure - get my spinning class fix!  Really, I may be addicted.

As you can see from the name of the post I have a confession.  And also, I've been eating coffee cake.
Delicious coffee cake.

Yep.
Mmmmm.

Sorry.  Thinking of yummy cake.  We'll get to that in a minute. But first, the confession.

A few weeks ago I did a Week Long Fuel Cycle on my Trim Healthy Mama diet.  After the third Deep S day I had reached an all time low weight of 158.4.  Sadly, the pounds creeped back up and I was back up to 159.6.  This morning my scale was 160 and was even a little higher a few days ago.

Before you start thinking "Wow, what a bummer" or "Aww, that stinks!" I shall stop you there.  I'm actually really okay with this number.  I recently shared my update on where I am in my journey on this diet - losing 9 pounds since starting.

Then, last week I found a notepad and my tape measure in my bathroom drawer with some numbers on it.  Right before or maybe shortly after starting THM in December I had written down my measurements - bust, waist, belly, hips and thigh. So I thought, hmmm maybe I should re-measure.

Well I'm glad I did.  Turns out I lost 13 inches!  No wonder I look like I may have lost more than "only" 9 pounds! (At least that's what I've been told)

I couldn't believe it when I added up and calculated all the measurements.  I added it up four times to make sure it was accurate with a calculator.  Yes, I used a calculator.  No judgement!  I'm terrible at math.  Any math.  But, I can tell you I certainly don't need a calculator to tell me that Trim Healthy Mama is working.  Nine pounds and thirteen inches - GONE.

Buh-bye.

That is why I'm okay with being up a pound on the scale.  I'm learning to focus on the non-scale victories which are just as, if not more important than what the scale says.  I feel great, I've lost a bunch of fat, my clothes fit better, I'm more toned, I look better and I'm literally shrinking.  I slipped on a pair of true pre-pregnancy jeans the other day and wore them for the first time in 5-6 years. Considering I never thought I'd be 160 pounds again - EVER, I am so thrilled with where I am physically and emotionally right now.

Okay - enough confession time.  On to the Coffee Cake.

This is not my recipe. It belongs to the lovely Rohnda Sue.  She has a recipe for this coffee cake that is just beyond delicious.  I had seen it a few weeks back and came across it again on Facebook and decided to make her single serving version.  I was craving some sort of baked-yummy-good-muffin-type-thing that wasn't chocolate.  I've been eating chocolate for quite some time now and just craved something else.

So, I made it. Oh.My.Gosh.  With a few substitutions based on what I had on-hand, it was so delicious I almost ate it all before I could snap a picture.

Aside from the horrid scratches on my plates - just look at it!

Glorious coffee cake muffin

It was so crazy good.  The directions were easy to follow and I made a few tweaks.
First, I doubled this recipe to make this large muffin.  Second, I used almonds for the topping instead of other nuts - walnuts or pecans would be delightful.
Third, I used vanilla extract and caramel extract.
Lastly, since I doubled the recipe I only used one TBSP of the coconut flour and substituted the ground flax instead since coconut flour is highly absorbent of liquids in recipes and I like a fluffier texture. I find coconut flour to be very dense in recipes.

So yummy!

Then, today I got greedy.  I thought I'd make myself another muffin for a snack.  Then I sadly thought to myself, but what happens when it's gone?  Should I make two so I have another for later another day?

So, I made the large version.  A whole 8x8 cake of coffee cake gloriousness.  Yes. It's a word.
Again, I used less coconut flour and more ground flax meal and the almonds on top. However, this time, to go with my almond flour and almond topping I used almond extract instead of the caramel.

The full cake version I made today

Yowza.  Take a peek....it's okay if you drool. I am.  I literally just made this cake and haven't had it yet which is killin' me!  But my house smells fantastic right now!

Again, this is not my recipe - it's by the amazing Rohnda Sue and her single serving recipe is on her Facebook page.

~Carly

Motivate Me Monday - 4/6/2014

Happy Monday! 

For the last few weeks I feel I've finally made a true commitment to be more active and to make exercise a priority. That's something I've struggles with before. My husband and I joined a gym again and we've both been going and I love it! I've been taking spinning classes for a few weeks now and I'm hooked. I incorporate it now into my weekly exercise mixed in with running and weights and occasionally the elliptical machine.  So, I'm absolutely finding the following is true - my legs, butt and abs are slowly but surely coming back!

Did you exercise today? If not, do something. Anything. You will feel better afterwards. I promise.

~Carly

THM Fuel Cycle Experience & Recap

As you may know, I've been successfully implementing a diet and lifestyle plan called Trim Healthy Mama for the last three months now. I am loving this way of eating! However, after losing some initial weight I plateaued a bit. Fortunately, since THM is so thorough the authors give you a way to really shake up your metabolism with something called "The One Week Fuel Cycle." It's recommended for those who have stubborn weight and for those who have been following the plan for at least three months.

Well, that sounded like me so I decided after being true to the plan if I wasn't seeing results "free styling" - meaning just doing my own combination of on plan foods - then I would try it. 

I started Monday, March 17th and here's my experience:

Deep S day 1

Starting weight 159.6

Breakfast: scrambled eggs in coconut oil, sausage and coffee with a little cream

Lunch: large salad with romaine, spinach, celery, cucumbers and green peppers with deli chicken on top with extra virgin olive oil. Water and then a Fizzy GGMS

Snack: Chocolate cake in a mug and coffee

Dinner: baked salmon with butter on top with sautéed spinach and artichokes in coconut oil and some steamed cauliflower with a tiny sprinkle of cheese. Water to drink.

Dessert: Skinny chocolate
Exercise: 50 Minute Spinning Class and a 20 minute walk on the treadmill prior to class

Day one dinner - salmon, sauteed spinach and artichokes
and some cauliflower with a smidge of cheese.

Deep S day 2

Weight: 158.8 

Breakfast: same as day before

Lunch: left over Salmon with huge green salad with olive oil.
Snack: Chocolate Cake in a mug 

Dinner: Hamburger with roasted red peppers and a side salad and water to drink.

Dessert: Skinny Chocolate
Exercise: None

Deep S day 3
Weight: 158.6
Breakfast: same as days 1 and 2
Lunch: Thin Mint Protein Shake and left over hamburger and salad
Dinner: Veggie omelette and bacon
Exercise: Running 3 miles

Fuel Pull day 4
Weight: 158.4
Breakfast: Coffee with swirl of cream and Cottage Berry Whip
Lunch: Low carb wrap with deli chicken and veggies and cucumbers sliced on the side
Snack: Wasa crackers, celery and Laughing Cow wedge cheese
Dinner: FP Pizza and salad
Exercise: None

Fuel Pull day 5
Weight: 159.6
Breakfast: Coffee with swirl of cream, egg white scrambled and Fage 0% greek yogurt with polaner fruit swirled in
Lunch: Same wrap as day 4 with Fizzy GGMS
Snack: Big Boy Smoothie
Dinner: Buffalo Chicken Salad (made without any flour breading) and a blob of blue cheese dressing to keep fat grams in check for Fuel Pull
Exercise: Walking 3 miles brisk pace

Note: Typical Fuel Cycle calls for 2 full days of E eating.  I found early on that I am carb sensitive and chose to not do completely full E days.  This is NOT recommended in the book - it is what I chose to do for my own personal preference.

E day 6
No weigh in
Breakfast: Coffee with swirl of cream, old fashioned oatmeal with cinnamon, 1/3 of a banana sliced, sprinkle of chia seeds
Snack: Cashews
Lunch: Tossed salad with grilled chicken, fresh mozzarella balls and balsamic vinaigrette
Dinner: Trim Healthy Mama pancakes with greek yogurt and polaner fruit spread
Exercise: None

E day 7
Weight 159.6
Breakfast: Coffee, scrambled eggs in coconut oil and bacon
Lunch: Quinoa, sweet potato and black bean chili
Snack: Cake in a mug
Dinner: Low carb taco wrap
Exercise: None

So, there you have it - my first Fuel Cycle Week that I completed.  I felt really great on my Deep S days - I think I've been relying too much on Heavy S rather than true S meals.  I felt very hungry on my first Fuel Pull day and think I over did eating the low carb items - I wouldn't recommend doing a wrap, wasa and pita on the same day after doing Deep S.  Then as I mentioned, due to some pre-planned events, I chose not to do full E days but did choose wise carbs to refuel my body after this week of the Fuel Cycle.

I'm now back to free styling and feel I've learned a TON from this week.  It is recommended to do another week of Fuel Cycle or even three total weeks but I feel that Deep S is now my "trick" to get my body back into a true weight loss mode short-term and adding in E meals as a breakfast or lunch is best for me and keeping snacks as Fuel Pull also.

Today, I weighed in and the scale was 158.2 so I'm down to a new lowest weight ever!  Over the weekend I also tried on some clothes I've had tucked away and I'm still losing inches too because things are fitting again.  So thrilled and thankful for Trim Healthy Mama!

Have you tried a Fuel Cycle?  If so, what was your experience?
~Carly