December 3 2012

Moderately being a Couch Pot

Sometimes, I feel like being a couch potato. Whenever I choose to be one, I always feel so lazy after a certain period of time and end up canceling my couch potato plans. I am definitely in a couch potato stage right now (minus the popcorn…for now at least!) I am definitely in favor of taking a couch potato break every once in a while just as long as I’m active for the majority of the day.

Today, I thought a lot about focus. As Americans, we are constnatly focusing on getting thin. Perhaps this over obsession with being skinny is our biggest problem. Why is it that people in different countries seem to have less of a problem with obesity? When we over focus on something, it is difficult to do the action the right way. Case in point- if I’m constantly thinking about losing 5 pounds, I will not be forever successful. This sounds strange, but in the past, I spent time over thinking weight and found that I would lose the weight but I would eventually pile it all back on because I got so burnt out trying to follow so many different strict rules.

"Can't eat this" "Gotta do that".... — “Can’t eat this” “Gotta do that”….

So after thinking about nutrition and health focus, I decided that for me, it’s most important to eat healthy and refuse to obsess over not eating too much of a dessert. If I want something sweet, I should go ahead and indulge. Then, I move on and continue with my day. The second we stop thinking about something we want, it seems to happen. So, I’m applying this theory to my health and fitness plan. I’m in it for the long run, not the lost 5 pounds in a month plan.

This weekend, I went to Lynchburg to visit with my boyfriend. He’s a great influence on me because he eats healthfully but eats to live, instead of lives to eat. We went out to dinner to Neighbor’s Place on Friday and it was very good!

We had a coupon for a free dessert so we indulged, to say the least!

For dinner, we both got chicken avocado wraps without mayo (Lee, my boyfriend got the sandwich with mayo) with french fries on the side. I can’t tell you the last time I’ve had french fries but man are they good! Definitely something best in moderation. 😉

After dinner, we went to the movie theatre to see Lincoln. It was a very well done movie although I had a difficult time staying away through the 2.5 hour long movie since it was so late! Surprise, surprise! 🙂

On Saturday, Lee and I hit the shopping malls to get a start on our holiday shopping. (Lee is not a shopper so when he asked if I wanted to go, I of course jumped on the opportunity!) We went to the J Crew outlet, Bed Bath and Beyond, and the local shopping mall. All of that walking and shopping counts as a cardio workout, right? 😉

In between our shopping ~~workout~~ adventures, we got to grab lunch with Lee’s parents at one of our favorite restaurantes, Market at Main. I was thinking about ordering a salad to be a bit healthier but since the group was all getting sandwiches, I decided to follow suite. I got a turkey and cheddar panini with sweet potato fries and it was delicious as always! (Yikes for fries twice in one weekend, but it’s all about moderation, right?)

Sweet potato fries (baked not fried) are a good healthy treat (Source)

Later in the afternoon, we did some more shopping and stopped at the grocery store to pick up some ingredients for our dinner. (We like to stay in at least one night to cook a good meal since we are both new in the kitchen and enjoy learning recipes.) Lee picked our recipe, Shrimp with tomatos, basil, and garlic from his Food Network cook book.

This was an easy meal to put together and healthy at that.

ingredients — garlic, lemon, and tomato with basil

A little white wine for the beginner cooks!

We tossed the shrimp over angel hair and topped with a squeezed lemon.

I definitely think this recipe would be great for couples or anyone new to cooking. It can be eaten over any type of pasta, in a salad, or just with a slice of bread on the side.

What's not to love about grape tomatos and basil? — What’s not to love about grape tomatos and basil?

On Sunday, we got up for a lazy day and had a fried egg, fruit, and a piece of wheat toast with strawberry jam. Later that day, I made my way back to Charlottesville and felt ready for a nice workout. I was craving something sweet all day but worked to stay busy to ward off that evil feeling. (Music always helps as well as doing activities around your house.) When I got home, I did about 20 minutes of yoga moves followed by a 45 minute run outside with my roommate. (Running outside is by far the best workout for me and I definitely need to do it more often!) After my workout, I came home, showered, and put on my couch potato pants. 😉 It was time for dinner.

I may have had a few bites of my popcorn while cooking up dinner ;) — I may have had a few bites of my popcorn while cooking up dinner 😉

I had some spring and spinach greens in the refrigerator so I made a salad for dinner. I topped by salad with goat cheese, dates, pear dressing, and tuna on the side.