New tattoo!

Today I went and got a new tattoo! It was semi spontaneous and impulsive.  I say that because I have been thinking about getting a new tattoo for a long time.  However, deciding what I wanted was near impossible.  Their are plenty that I would like to get.  One being a huge rib piece, but that is going to be expensive and I am sure I won't get it done for quite sometime.  Then I was thinking about smaller tattoos I would like. 

Last night I happened across a saying, 'I refuse to sink' and I thought wow this is so me. This quote is perfect for my life.  I refuse to quit, I refuse to lose, I refuse to go back to where I was.  I will not fail, I refuse to sink.  All night I was thinking about this and decided I was going to get it as a tattoo.  Then I kept thinking about it and decided I couldn't wait so I got it today.  Anyway here is the finished product:

I love the nautical feel to the saying so I thought an anchor would go nicely.  Plus, anchors symbolize hope and I am completely hopeful for my future. :]  Not only does this tattoo symbolize not going back as far as my weight loss it also reminds me that I can do anything I put my mind too.  I refuse to sink, EVER.  I will always have my head above water.  Whether I am barley treading water or doing laps I will always succeed.  I am in love with my new tattoo and am so thankful that Micah (the tattoo artist) captured what I wanted perfectly.

Happy Memorial Day weekend all. I hope you all refuse to sink and kick ass with everything you are doing.

Over 10,000 views!

Ahhh, this week I hit over 10,000 views on my blog! :] Thank you to all those of you who read my blog regularly.  Now that school is over for the summer I am going to try to post at least 2 blogs a week! Let me know if there are any topics you would like me to write about.

Thanks again for reading! Now for some motivational quotes!

 

Confessions from my inner self

It is one of those days, well I often have these days.  The days where no matter what anyone says me I still see myself as the old me.  I look in the mirror and often see the less fit, unhappy me.  The scale tells me one thing but when I look in the mirror my mind tells me another thing.  It is absolutely exasperating.  I have come so far and I know I look and feel a million times better than I did 3 years ago.  I am finally healthy, however I think my brain is still trying to play catch up with my physical transformation.

I know it takes a while to finally feel comfortable in your own skin after losing so much weight.  Even after almost a year of maintaining my weight I am still a little uncomfortable.  Perhaps I just haven't found a way to love myself completely yet.  I have always had a hard time with that, assuming it would become easier as I lost the weight.  Figuring that would solve everything. It solved some things, it has made me healthier and a little happier.  However, I am still struggling with loving myself completely. It is hard, but it will come.  I am lovable, completely worth love and have found love with my fiance.  Just need to find that love within myself.

Accepting the fact that I have transformed should be easy but it's not.  Everyone always says how great I look, but then I get some comments such as 'you are wasting away' or 'I hope you aren't trying to lose anymore weight'.  These are the comments where I want to scream I have been 235lbs before, I am at a comfortable 121ish and pretty damn happy.  I am not wasting away.  I am not too skinny, if anything my mind still plays those tricks on me, making me see myself as fat. BUT I am not fat anymore.  I AM HEALTHY.  No I am not wasting away, no I am not trying to lose more weight.  I am trying to gain muscle, I am trying to stay fit.  I will never go back to the old me.  Those kind of comments do not help me, they make me second guess myself.  I do not like that.

This whole inner struggle with my brain is tiring.  My struggle with peoples comments sometimes is tiring. I cannot wait for the day where my brain is FINALLY in line with my physical transformation.  I cannot wait to see the new happy, healthy, beautiful me completely.  Slowly but surely I will get there.  As of now I just have to look back at old pictures and remind myself that the old me is long gone.  The new healthy me is here to stay and I am never, ever going back.

I just want to be at peace someday.  Not focused so much on my appearance, but rather focused on my happiness.  Hopefully, someday I will fully realize how far I have come.  Someday I will.  I just know it. Someday I will finally love myself completely, then I will be at peace.

Vegetarian Taco filling

I love, love, love taco salads! They are probably one of my most favorite things to eat.  I tend to skip the taco shells and just load up on the veggies.  Here is an easy recipe for a completely satisfying taco filling.  I like to add peppers and onions to Quorn beef-style grounds.  It adds to the flavor and helps bulk up the serving size without adding too many calories.

Vegetarian Taco Filling

Ingredients:

• 1 medium size red bell pepper
• 2 medium size green bell peppers
• 1 medium size brown onion
• 1 package Quorn beef-style grounds
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 tbs chopped garlic

Directions:

1. Chop up the peppers and onion.
2. In a pan cook oil and garlic on medium heat for 1 minute.
3. Add chopped peppers and onions, while stirring cook for 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
4. Add Quorn beef-style grounds to the pan as well as a splash of water.  Stir until heated all the way through.
5. Add taco seasoning and 1/4 cup water.  Stir and let simmer for 2 minutes.

*Yields 4 serving (~1 cup each). ~15g protein and 155 calories.  

I usually serve it on a bed of lettuce with a bit of sour cream, Mexican cheese, salsa and fresh tomatoes! If you want to amp up the protein you can always add black beans to your salad.

Happy eating!

Magic Bullet

Ahhh I finally got a magic bullet! I have been wanting one for a while now but just couldn't get myself to spend the money.  In the end I didn't have to spend it anyway because I was given a brand new one for free! It was my lucky day.

I can't wait to start looking up new recipes and using it.  So far I have only made smoothies in it.  It has already proven to be easier to use than our big blender.  It makes less dishes since you drink out of the cup you made the smoothie in and it is super fast.  Hopefully in the near future I will use it for more than just smoothies.

Do any of you have a magic bullet? If so what do you make with it?!