A Little Bit about Me

  Last year New Years came and went nothing new nothing special. When I was young I had this internal motto of "live without regret" I explain later why this was a soooo very stupid.

  In 2006 I found out that my mom had been diagnosed with 3rd stage cancer. It wasn't long after that I started to balloon from 123 lbs to 140, 150 , 160 within a matter of months. By the end of that year I had grown to a  hefty 215 lbs and lost all of my self esteem. Eventually I lost both my parents within a year of each other and spiraled into what I call the "Great Depression"  

  It is very surreal l to go from a happy, healthy well balanced person to someone who hates the very air they breath. I hated living and going outside because I felt as if people stared and wondered why I couldn't control myself. The truth of it was that I had become a food addict with bad habits plain and simple.

 I decided shortley after that if I was going to be fat I was going to love myself no matter what ( big lie) and be the best big person I could be. (another lie) Because I had that live with no regrets moto I just kinda gave up and ended up sabotaging myself. I told myself I did'nt regret gaining weight and I didn't care what the world thought.  

 Like all addicts  I tried to loose occasionally but relapsed quickly. I felt helpless and wondered if I could ever be strong enough to change my life.  That January 4th ( I didn't want to do the cliche January 1 thing lol) I just got online and started looking at diets. I finally picked Weight Watchers online and signed up for 3 months. I thought if I could at least lose 10 to 20 pounds I would be happy.

 The first week  of my diet I lost 5 lbs and that was all the motivation I needed !  Losing that initial 5 kept me motivated to keep going every week and eventually after 11 months of diet and exercise I lost 67 lbs !!!!!  I have more work to do but I am really happy with what I have accomplished so far. 

 

Holiday Hunger

    The Holidays are here again and I feel hungry all the time. It is a bummer too I have lost 67lbs during this past year and I know for sure what NOT to eat. The stores are filled with mass goodies everywhere and I often find myself pressed up against the bakery counters window shopping " lol.
I ask myself all the time how can I enjoy the holidays without eating the goodies ! I guess the answer is to find the healthiest comfort food recipes possible. Thanks goodness we now have Pinterest for that.

  Here is fun recipe I found and tried and it was Amazing !

Black Bean and Butternut Squash Burritos

Yield: 4 burritos or 3.5 cups of filling
Ingredients:

• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, cubed, & roasted
• 1/2 cup uncooked short grain brown rice (yields: 1.5 cups cooked)
• 1-2 tsp olive oil
• 1 cup chopped sweet onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• 2 tsp ground cumin, or to taste
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
• One 15-oz can black beans (about 1.5-2 cups cooked), drained and rinsed
• 3/4 cup Daiya cheese
• 4 tortilla wraps (large or x-large)
• Toppings of choice: (avocado, salsa, vegan sour cream, spinach/lettuce, cilantro, etc)

1. Preheat oven to 425F and line a large glass dish with tinfoil. Drizzle olive oil on squash and give a shake of salt and pepper. Coat with hands. Roast chopped butternut squash for 45 mins. or until tender.
2. Cook brown rice
3. In a large skillet over medium-low heat, add oil, onion, and minced garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Now add in salt and seasonings and stir well.

4.  Add chopped red pepper, black beans, and cooked rice and saute for another 10 mins. on low.
5. When b’nut squash is tender remove from oven and cool slightly. Add 1.5 cups of the cooked butternut squash to the skillet and stir well. You can mash the squash with a fork if some pieces are too large. Add Daiya cheese and heat another couple minutes.
6. Add bean filling to tortilla along with desired toppings. Wrap and serve. Leftover filling can be reheated the next day for lunch in a wrap or as a salad topper.

Race Recap: 5K

Long Beach Turkey Trot 5K

Finishing time 31:01

For this race I chose to wear my favorite turkey trotting creation.
It was so much to wear.
Turkey trot tutus are available all year round at my site.
Get your turkey trot tutu ordered today!

Turkey Trot tutu

Hope you are running your Turkey Trot in a Race Junkie Thanksgiving inspired tutu.

Giveaway Time!!!

*winner has been chosen*

Time for another Race Junkie Giveaway !!! I am looking for 2 people that have already purchased a race junkie tutu and would allow me to use a photo on them in the tutu in a listing to help customers to better see what they look like on. The giveaway is a solid colored tutu in the color of your choice :) Email your photo to racejunkie007@gmail.com to be entered.