RHOK'n Recipe - Healthier Chicken Salad Sammy

Hello, friends! 
Are you enjoying this wonderful weather we've been having? I enjoy summer for about one month so this has been heavenly to me! Fall really is my favorite time of year, until spring and then I love spring. Ha! But, I never say I love summer. There are things I like about summer, but the heat is never one of them. 
On Facebook recently, I shared my recipe for chicken salad. It's become one of my favorites and I've managed to make it healthy. Lots of my friends have now made it and they like it as well. Lucky for you that I forgot I was scheduled to post tonight so you are getting the recipe.

You see, I have to be up at 4:40 in the morning to meet my running buddies at 5:30 so that means I don't have a lot of time to write a beautifully written elaborate post. What? Who am I a kidding?! I haven't written one like that in a long time. LOL! Thank you for reading anyway. I'd share my sammy with you, if you were here. 

Healthier Chicken Salad

• 1 can chunk chicken or boiled chicken, shredded
• 2 Tbsp. fat-free or 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 C. plain Greek yogurt
• salt & pepper, to taste
• red grapes, halved
• 1 celery stalk, sliced
• 1 small can pineapple tidbits, drained
• 1 green onion, sliced 
• handful pecans or almonds

Mix everything together and serve on thin-sliced bagels, flat bread or with crackers. You can change this up to include anything you like in your chicken salad. 

I'm getting closer to my Weight Watcher goal. We lowered my goal weight so I have a little more to lose than what I originally had thought. I'm about 9 pounds away instead of 5. That's okay, I'll get there. I lost a little more last week. All this running I've been doing is what keeps pushing me along with the weight loss. I had to go shopping for new jeans because all of mine are now too loose and not very flattering. Yippee! 

What is your favorite season? Doesn't it seem like we just started back to school and already Fall Break is right around the corner? All the holidays will be here before we know it. 


~Mrs. Albright Procrastinator extraordinaire and ..... 

Run, Mrs. Albright, Run!

A few weeks ago I shared that I've recently taken up running. Okay, I use that term loosely. I hardly see myself as a "runner", but my training group leader keeps insisting that I AM a RUNNER! Who knew I had it in me?! 

After completing an Ease into 5K program on my iPhone, my sweet friend Shea (who just also happens to be the director at my local YMCA) talked me into joining the training team there. What really didn't compute with me is that it was a training for a half-marathon. I'm going to be real with you here... When I say that I didn't know how many miles a half-marathon is, I'm not kidding. And even after I learned how many miles, I still had no clue how many hours that might take. LORD HAVE MERCY ON MY SOUL AND MY BODY! What have I gotten myself in to?! I am now registered for the Route 66! Gulp!  Well, happily, I can report to you that I've almost made it through 5 weeks of training and I still haven't died. BUT!! I'm no where near ready for a 13.1 mile run. As a matter of fact, my farthest distance so far is 5 miles. Tomorrow we will go 6 miles. I'm already getting a little stressed and anxious about it. How can I do 6 when 5 seemed almost too much? However, I have no doubt that I'll be able to do. I continually shock myself when I do just a little bit more or a little bit better than the time before. SHOCK, I tell ya. My mind seems to be my worst enemy. My shins are a close second.  I'd like to share with you how we train. It's because of this training philosophy that I'm able to do this and even remotely think of myself as a "runner."  I've always thought to be a runner meant you couldn't walk - at all. 

Our training is based on the run/walk method by Jeff Galloway. I'm learning to love that man. My leader encouraged our group to buy a book by him. She said it really didn't matter which one because they are all good. I bought the book called Running: Getting Started. It was a very easy read and made SO MUCH SENSE!  Run/walk means you do interval training. You run for a certain time and then walk for a certain time. Beginners generally start out at a 1:1 (run a minute, walk a minute, run a minute, walk a minute, etc.) Those in our group that have been running for a long time are running 4:1.  I've learned a few very important bits of information from him and one that really surprised me.  1. You shouldn't run with a long stride. It should be a short stride and more of a shuffle. It's important not to "pound" the pavement too hard. When you run with too long of a stride or too fast, you can do damage to your shins. Sadly, I learned this the hard way. I should have read this book BEFORE my first run with the group. My first two times out with them I ran way too fast and too hard (4:1). My shins have paid for those two runs ever since. I now have to ice my shins after my runs, take Naproxen and wear compression sleeves on my legs. I also have slowed my running way down to a 2:1. I did do a 3:1 interval on our Wednesday run but that proved to even be painful on my shins. Boo! My mind and most of my body can move up to a faster interval but these dang shins are refusing to comply. 

This is a picture of me wearing shorts to run in for the first time along with my lovely compression sleeves. 2. Stretching isn't necessary for running. WHAT?! Yes, you heard me right. When my shins started hurting and I posted about having to take a few days off from running on my Facebook page, I got all kinds of feedback from my friends. And all of them said I needed to be stretching before and after my runs and that's probably why my shins were hurting. Of course that made perfect sense to me so I started stretching. I also did everything else that was suggested - ice cups, compression sleeves (I personally recommend these as they let your leg "breathe" and not get wet with sweat), getting a massage, anti-inflammatory medication,  and rest. It's good to know my shins weren't hurting from not stretching and more because I pushed myself way too hard before I was ready.   Jeff Galloway talks about stretching in the following short video. 
3. You can burn more fat by interval training and then on your "off" days, walking at least 30 minutes. I'm a believer in this now. The week I incorporated this I weighed in at Weight Watchers and had lost 4 pounds!! The past two weeks, however, I haven't tracked my food like I should and I've not lost any more. This running business makes a person hungry!  I also learned something else new this week from an article sharing running tips. Chocolate milk is an excellent recovery drink. The perfect mix of carbs, protein and sugar.Who knew?! Apparently lots of sports moms, that's who! Mrs. Montgomery informed me her boys' coaches have them drink it after practices and games. I've happily started drinking a glass of chocolate milk about 30 minutes after I run. No need to buy those expensive recovery drinks. 

I hope I've inspired a few of you to give running a try. For those of you who consider yourselves a runner, did I share anything you didn't already know? Have you read any books by Jeff Galloway? If not, I'd highly recommend that you pick one up. I'm going to pick up his book on running and weight loss and the one on training for a half marathon. I need and want all the help I can get.

Do you know what I really, really love? I love that runners everywhere are genuinely supported of each other. It's like I belong to some sort of cool club where everyone is nice. Want to join my club? If I can do this, most anyone else can as well.

Priss shared this one on my Facebook wall and it made me LAUGH OUT LOUD! 

I'd like to give a special shout out of thanks to a few people who have been extremely helpful and encouraging to me while I'm learning to run: Jonni, Jen, Tracy, Dana, Shelly, Michele, Shea, Jennifer P, Jennifer K, Nicole, and countless others who "like" and comment on my run posts on Facebook. You all encourage and bless me in ways you'll never know. Mwah! 

~Mrs. Albright  I'm a runner and.... 

Inspiration

Source: google.co.uk via Dawn's Diversions on Pinterest

What inspires you? Who inspires you? Or do you tend to be the one who inspires others?  I am blessed to have such crazy talented, driven friends. I'm also blessed with wonderfully inspiring women in my family. I draw strength and inspiration from the women in my life. They are strong and they are beautiful. Here's just a glimpse of what I"m talking about....

It's the same women who encourage me along my life's journeys. I know, without a doubt, they love me and want to see me do well in life. They have been especially encouraging to me on my weight loss journey. I've been working hard since the beginning of May to be a healthier, happier person. I've taken up running and joined Weight Watchers. The combination of the fitness, "dieting" and encouragement have helped me continue to reach new goals. Not only have my closest friends encouraged me, but countless other friends on Facebook have as well. It means so much to me that they take time out to send me an encouraging comment or congratulate me when I lose another pound or run an extra minute.  Yesterday was my 13th weigh in at WW. I'm happy with how well the program works, especially when I work the program!  I am less than 10 pounds away from my Weight Watcher's goal weight. I can't wait to call myself a "Lifetime Member" and stop having to pay out monthly! Ha! 

I also find a lot of inspiration from Pinterest. I love seeing the pictures with the inspirational quotes. I also love finding healthy recipes and reading personal stories of people reaching their goals. Yes, those inspire me. If you're so inclined, you can follow my boards here. 

Source: facebook.com via Dawn's Diversions on Pinterest

I will even go out on a limb and say, I sometimes inspire myself. What?!? Yes. You see, I have never NEVER been a runner. Matter of fact, I have never wanted to run. But, out of nowhere one morning, I decided to download an Ease into 5k app and start running. Every time I run one minute longer than the last time, I amaze myself. It drives me to do more. So I guess, in a way, it's inspiration.
 

                              Source: waterwatereverywhere.net via Dawn's Diversions on

Pinterest

I've been told that sharing my journey on Facebook has been encouraging to others. That makes me feel good and feel like it's more than just about me. I'd like to encourage you to put yourself out there and be real with people about your struggles and goals. I've found Facebook (my friends that live in Facebook) to be one of the best accountability partners I've ever had. I can't thank them enough, but I can take the time to encourage them. 

~Mrs. Albright Reaching my goals one pound and one more minute at a time, like..... 

Still Watching My Weight

Mrs. Albright here again. It's that time once more that I share with you my journey with getting healthier. Let me just say, it's a day-by-day process. I had a couple of days over the weekend that I just threw caution to the wind, so to speak, and ate and drank what I wanted. Did you know 3 margaritas is about 30 points? That's one point more than I get for my daily points. Ouch! Thank goodness for those extra weekly points AND activity points. 

I'll admit, it's pretty easy to become obsessed with the points on the Weight Watchers Points Plus. I tend to have a bit of an obsessive personality anyway. I'm sure I'm driving a few (or more) folks a little crazy on my Facebook page, and maybe even in person, with all my counting of points. However, I have heard from a few people that my posts have been encouraging to them to become healthier. I love that! I like posting about it because, to me, it helps me stay accountable when I put myself so out there. I mean, wouldn't it be embarassing to run into people, in person, and not look a little better? 
Last week I did really, really well at my Weight Watchers' weigh-in. I lost 4.4 pounds for a total of 16.2 pounds lost. Whoop! It made up for my gain the week before. I am seriously fighting my blood pressure medication. That is the only explanation for the gain the week before as I stayed under my points and had a lot of activity points. My Facebook friends told me to try eating more. What you say?! Yes, they told me I wasn't eating enough calories. I thought, what the heck! I ate more and I lost more. Whoop (again)! I'm all about eating a little more. I'm very close to hitting my 20% mark. I just need to lose 4 more pounds. I'm crossing my fingers that when I weigh in tomorrow I will have lost at least 1-2 pounds. I weighed at home tonight and I'm not sure it's going to happen. I'm hoping I sleep off a pound or three tonight. =) 

I want to share with you a very easy and healthy recipe. I've made it twice in one week. LOVE IT! I grew up eating cucumbers and onions in vinegar. My grandmother had it on the table and many of meals. She had a huge garden and we always had fresh veggies. I miss her and her garden. Anyway, I hadn't ever made this myself until this week. I saw a recipe on Pinterest and decided to give it a try. The first time it was good, but the second time it was even better. The recipe I used first called for a 1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar and a 1/2 cup of sugar. It also called for fresh parsley. Although none of it went to waste, I was pretty sure I would like it better without the parsley and with less sugar. 

2 large cucumbers - cubed

1 pint grape tomatoes - sliced in half

1/4 of a red onion - sliced

1/4 -1/2 cup rice vinegar ( I ran out of rice vinegar at 1/4 c. so I used apple cider vinegar to finish.) 

2-3 packets of Truvia

Combine all the ingredients and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Oh, my! It's so delicious! 

I mentioned in my previous posts that I have been doing an Ease into 5K. I'm still doing it, but I'm behind by a week and a half. I think I'm having a mental block as I know this next run is supposed to be 20 minutes without walking. HELLO! I'm skeered! But since I've missed over a week, I am going to re-run week 6 days 1 and 2 before I throw myself into the 20 minute run. Because I'm a wimp when it comes to 100+ degrees, I have been running on a treadmill. I sort of like running on the treadmill - in the air-conditioning. 

Even though I haven't ran in a week in a half, I have still been exercising. I've done lots of interval type workouts and some Pilates. I even did a class where I nicknamed the instructor, El Diablo. Oh. My. Gosh. My abs and gluts have hurt for three days. 

Do you hate crunches as much as I do? If so, here's a great exercise you can do with a stability ball that will really target those abs and help strengthen your lower back. If you really want to take it up a notch, while in this position, roll that ball out in front of you and then roll it back. Wowsers! How do I know it works? I just did this in Pilates and my abs are telling me it works! 

Have a new healthy recipe or weight-loss tip you'd like to share? What about a favorite website you use for recipes or motivation? If I burned calories "pinning" healthy recipes and exercise motivation, I would have lost enough weight by now to be a Weight Watchers' Lifetime Member by now. Feel free to follow my Pinterest boards - Dawn's Diversions.  


~Mrs. AlbrightWhittling my waist a pound at a time, like a.... 

Points of Life

No, I'm not talking about anything philosophical. I'm talking about Weight Watchers and their Points Plus Program that my life seems to be revolving around. I'm obsessed with points. Here a point, there a point, everywhere a point, point. I'm counting points in my head.

Weight Watchers and those who are faithful to the program keep telling me I'll get the hang of it and it won't be that hard to stick to the points system without feeling like you're missing out on the tasty food. I'd really like to call B.S. It's not easy and I keep thinking there's no way I can do this the rest of my life. Does that mean I've failed already? Lord, I hope not. I've still got 20 more pounds to lose. 
Before it sounds like I'm totally dissing the program, I have to tell you,  I've already lost 10 pounds in less than three weeks. The program works. What makes it really work for me is having to weigh in each week at the meetings. With great certainty, I can tell you that I wouldn't be doing this well if I were just using the Weight Watchers e-Tools/app and not weighing in. I need that accountability. Plus, I'm pretty competitive, so it's important to me that the numbers on that scale go down each week instead of staying the same or heaven, help me, go up! 
As I told you last week, I'm also doing an Ease into 5K program. I'm on my fourth week with it and so far I haven't given up, hurt myself or died. I have noticed the past few days my knees feeling stiff if I go to kneel on them or sit on the floor. I wonder what's up with that?! 

This summer I'm going to be cooking a lot of Weight Watchers recipes or recipes that are healthy. I'm planning on sharing those recipes and their points values with you. 
This week I'm sharing what I've made for breakfast a couple of times. It's an omelet made with Egg Beaters Egg Whites. I used three servings of the egg whites and then added fresh spinach, green onions, fat-free mozzarella cheese, and halved grape tomatoes. I seasoned with a little salt and pepper. It's quite tasty. Would really be good with a few slices of bacon. Oops! See! I just know I won't be able to give up bacon forever. Yes, yes, I know, I can eat it and count the points. But, I'm stingy with my points. What if I use them all by noon and then have to starve the rest of the day?! 

I have started a board on Pinterest called, wait for it..... Weight Watchers! (Original, huh?!) I'll be pinning recipes I try and/or want to try to my board. Feel free to follow it, if you're on Pinterest. I love Pinterest for recipes of all kinds. 

If for some reason you can't afford Weight Watchers or don't care to attend meetings, I've found another app that does everything the Weight Watchers app and Weight Watchers food scanner does. It's called Ultimate Value Diary. I believe it's $1.99. Even if you are on Weight Watchers, it's a great app because it combines the diary along with the scanner. It's an all-in-one! 

So, what happens if you go over your daily points? Well, with the Points Plus system, you also get 49 weekly points that you can use throughout the week. What about if you go over your daily points and you run out of your weekly points? Well, if you exercise through the week you earn activity points. Those can be used for food as well. But, you see, I am on a mission to lose 20 pounds by July 4 so I don't want to touch my weekly points. And, if you don't use your activity points those will just help burn more calories - there's no way I'm going to use my activity points! May I borrow some of yours?! ;) 

Have you tried Weight Watchers? Have any good, healthy recipes that you've figured the point values for? I've learned this is much easier to do with friends and accountability.


~Mrs. AlbrightCrunching the numbers, like.... 

Doing the Impossible

Can you think, right off the top of you head, what seems impossible for you to do? I certainly can. Running is at the top of the list for me. I have never been a runner. Even when I played basketball in school, I hated the running part. It hurts for me to run. I also feel like I could be breathing fire as I gasp for air!

But.

(You knew there was going to be a but, didn't you?!)

Almost a month ago I decided I was going to go for a walk. I started putting on my tennis shoes and got a wild hair to search the app store for a couch to 5K app. What?! I hate running. I've always hated it. Why on earth would I download an app for it? Before I knew it, my FIVE year-old-daughter and I headed out the door.

As my phone "dinged" that it was time to run for 30 seconds, I started running. My daughter was running with me. She was keeping up with me. She was passing me. What the heck?! Each time my phone signaled for me to run she would run faster than me. At one point she hollered, "Why are you going so slow?" Honesty is the best policy, right? As I was gasping for air I replied, "Baby, it hurts when mommy's fat bounces!" Yes, we both laughed. You know what I'm talking about, don't you?

I wanted to share with you what app I'm using. It's called Ease into 5K. I used a free app for two weeks before purchasing this one. I really like this one. Here's what it looks like.

I really, really, really like week 1. Hey, I'm being honest. I finished week 1. I think I'd be okay with repeating week 1 over and over. But, my curiosity got the best of me and I went on to week 2. I'm still alive.

 

Can I also just say that the warm up and warm down are still my favorite?!   

But, my favoritest (I know that's not a word) part is sharing my run on Facebook. No, it's not to brag. Heck, what do I have to brag about? I just admitted that my fat hurts when it bounces. I hope no one thinks I share it because I'm bragging. That's the farthest from the truth. I share it because it is making me accountable AND because I get the most sincere encouragement for my hard work from some of the best friends in the world.

I came across this while I was searching Pinterest. It made me laugh because it's those two things that make me think I can't do this. My mind STILL keeps telling me I can't do this. I'm still not certain I can ever run more than a minute and a half at a time. Time will tell. What will happen if I can't? Am I a failure? No. I already am doing more than I thought I could.

This interval training is good, no, GREAT for the heart. I have high blood pressure and high triglycerides and my doctor told me I had to restrict carbs and exercise 30 minutes a day. See? There is a reason to my madness. I want to feel good again and not be on blood pressure medication or worry about having a heart attack or stroke.

I've not only started this thing people call running, I've also started Weight Watchers. I've been at it a little over a week. I did really well my first week by losing 8 pounds. I contribute that loss to staying under my daily points AND running/walking. I feel encouraged and motivated to press on. I've set a goal of a 20 pound weight loss by July 4. I'm almost half way there already. I. CAN. DO. THIS.

I've had numerous people (and by people, I mean runners) ask me if I've signed up for a 5K yet or if I'm planning on it. YIKES! I never thought about actually running a race when I downloaded that little app. My answer to them is always, "I don't know." It scares me. Again, it's my mind telling me I won't ever be able to run more than 2 minutes at a time. I'm just not ready to sign up for a race yet. I hope I will be some day.

My husband and girls got me some pretty high dollar new running shoes and ear buds for Mother's Day. I guess I can't quit now. Eek! I'm scared. Did I already say that?

Are you a runner? If so, I'd love to hear about any hurdles you've overcome or tips you could share with a newbie. If you aren't a runner, would you want to take this journey with me? When I say, "If I can do it, ANYONE can do it," I'm not kidding. There's never been a bigger anti-runner than me. Just take a look-see at the text between my brother and I on Saturday...

  

~Mrs. Albright

Defying the voice in my head, like a.....