healthy – Certified Princess Accountant

Posted on July 5, 2020July 6, 2020 by Karissa

A New Month Already? Julying

Happy second half of 2020! We’ve had a hell of a year so far, but there’s still time to turn it around.

Disney opens at the end of the week, and while I am excited, that’s not the subject of today’s post (I am signed up for one of the Cast Member preview days, so I will talk more after going to that). Today is all about that lovely goal I have about getting healthy. Woohoo!

Quick recap: I am an accountant and therefore sit around all day and do not exercise very often. I am also prone to stress snack on chips and chocolate. All bad habits combined led to a 30 pound gain since I got married in October 2016. I was doing good this past year- I started going to Orange Theory this past October and was taking daily walks on my lunch breaks. Oh, and I kept my desk at standing (LOVE my standing desk at the office) until the afternoon, which also helped a lot (scoliosis back pain, so fun). Then quarantine and working from home (indefinitely still at this point) happened and everything just kind of stopped.

In the beginning of May, I did my very first 5K for one of my favorite organizations: Bert’s Big Adventure out of Atlanta. It was a virtual race, so I was able to complete it by running around my neighborhood. I did not train for it, and according to MapMyRun, I did a total of 5.14KM in 57 minutes. Not too shabby for my first race.

You would think that would have made me want to get moving more, especially with the Wine and Dine 10K not yet cancelled, but I still did not get into a routine when it came to fitness.

In Flordia, Orange Theory opened right before Memorial Day. I did start back the week after it opened – OTF and the grocery store are basically the only places I go now. The first few classes were terrible as my body had ditched all the gains from the past 6 months. It was very discouraging, but enlightening to what all I had gained, then lost. I started making sure I took walks more regularly after that- and because B.B.A. announced another virtual race for the 4th of July. This time we could get shirts!

Y’all, my time on Saturday was 51 minutes. Things are working.

Second 5K- this time my husband joined the fun!

The best part is the scale is starting to trend down! I am so excited, but I do have a feeling that it is not just because of the increased activity. A couple of weeks ago, I began to really count the calories I ate – I bought a food scale and everything. Staying home all day decreases my calories burned, so I incorporated a very loose intermittent fasting schedule as well (16:8 for those who follow IF). My morning is hot tea and water; I try not to eat anything until noon. It’s working as long as I stick with it.

With all of that being said- what are some good healthy snacks? I know fruits and vegetables, of course, but what about non-traditional snacks? Especially for someone who loves sweet and salty things. Let me know some of your favorite recipes for me to try!

Posted on April 27, 2020April 27, 2020 by Karissa

Goals Check In

Hello everyone! We are still in self-isolation/quarantine land, and I have barely been outside my home in over a month. The worst traffic I have seen is my cat cleaning his junk in the middle of the walk way. As such, most of my health goals have been replaced by excuses.

I started out really well with morning runs and such, but then the Cast Member 5K at Disney Springs was officially cancelled and I just kind of lost the motivation. And that motivation has been extremely difficult to get back. I haven’t worked out in two weeks. It’s bad.

I did sign up for a virtual 5K that is taking place May 2nd. Bert’s Big Adventure from Atlanta is hosting it. All money raised is going to the charity which takes children and their families to Disney World among other things. Most of the children have some kind of serious illness or superpower, and I have been a big supporter for more than a decade. It’s awesome. Go check them out. The race is $15 for a runner and $5 for each additional runner you register.

I also purchased an elliptical that has yet to ship. I am hoping it will come soon, but COVID is putting a delay on a lot of purchases.

The other big problem my health goals are facing is the fact that I can snack all day long with no judgment thanks to working from home. The snacks plus the lack of movement (I am averaging less than half of the usual steps a day I got in the office) means I am definitely consuming more calories than what I am burning.

But, this is a new week leading into a new month. I am going to get back on track and complete that 5K. I will be ready to get back to the gym and the theme parks when they finally reopen. And as soon as that elliptical gets delivered, I will be adding it to my morning or afternoon routine to the point where I am doing some kind of cardio at least 4x a week.

And I will continue to be honest to myself and to you guys when it comes to the ups and downs of this. Health is hard, and you have to be able to acknowledge the issues to get there.

Posted on March 15, 2020March 12, 2020 by Karissa · 1 Comment

Creating Health Goals

So, being an accountant means that I basically sit on my rump 40-50 hours a week (including commute time). Then there is Netflix and other non-active activities to engage in when I’m home. This has led to being at a state of health that I do not like. I have tried combating it with spur of the moment diets, halfhearted home gym work outs, and even a personal trainer. Nothing has really stuck. 2020 is the year I change that.

In October, I started going to OrangeTheory Fitness. I go twice a week as my work schedule allows, and I really enjoy it. OTF is an hour long HIIT group class that utilizes the row machine, treadmill, and weight floor in order to improve muscle and cardio. The coaches are super supportive so far, and I feel like I can modify as needed, depending on what my body tells me. You also earn “splatpoints” which is a great pull on my competitive side and makes me push harder.

On the food side of things, I am working on snacking less and eating more veges and fruits. This is a huge challenge, and it’s where I am the weakest. I am using MyFitnessPal to keep track of calories and macros, but I know I am not doing enough in this area to really get me where I want to be.

Now that the setup is complete, I give you my health goals for 2020:

Lose an overall 10-15 pounds
Move to a jogger from a power walker
Complete my first 5K with a time under 50 minutes (which, I actually have signed up for one at the end of April)- I currently have a 16.5ish minute mile.
Complete my first 10K with a time around 1 hour 45 minute (the original plan was only to do the 5K, but I managed to snag spots for the Wine and Dine 10K in EPCOT in November!)
Cook with more fresh veggies
Less SUPER processed foods for meals (I love my Chef Boyarde ravioli in a pinch, but I will not be unrealistic and say all processed foods. I’m still human)

I have dedicated a page in the back of my planner to keeping track of my progress when it comes to OTF. Every month I update/ choose new parameters for myself. Basically, as my fitness gets better, my speed on the treadmill and weights on the floor increase. I know it’s not always going to be a linear thing- it is very import to listen to what your body tells you. One day I be able to jog a few minutes, the next power walking may be a struggle. The progress is in the long game.

To everyone in their own health and fitness journey: may we all suffer together and support each other. This is a team sport, y’all.

Posted on February 17, 2020February 17, 2020 by Karissa

Goals for 2020

So we are six weeks into 2020, but I am still trying to figure out what my main goals for the year are. I am trying to have at least one for what I believe to be the important parts of my life. As soon as I share them, you guys can help hold me accountable. But, here are the couple I have so far:

My reading goal for the year is 50 books. That’s a little less than a book a week, and I think I can pull it off. Heck, I have 12 done already which will be good if I get into a reading slump later in the year.

Health goals are going to be non-scale based. I think that is part of the reason why I have such a hard time with it- numbers get into my head. I want to complete a 5k by the end of the year and move from power walking to jogging on the treads at my Orange Theory class. I just started jogging on the all outs without inclines, and man, that makes me super winded. Cardio is not my thing, y’all.

I want to finish writing my NaNoWriMo 2019 novel before NaNoWriMo 2020 starts. My plot decided to not follow my outline so I have been stuck with how to get things going again.

Make the most out of my annual passes. I am paying for Universal and SeaWorld, and I don’t want that money to be wasted. I don’t see it happening because I just love theme parks and roller coasters, but my life isn’t 24/7 Disney (it basically is, but we keep getting blocked out thanks to Star Wars).

Career wise I don’t have any specific goals yet. Last year was huge for my job, so I feel like this year will be honing my knowledge on skills I need for industry accounting. The change from public was a welcome one, but a lot of my every day smarts are not used here as they were tax related. It’s a different brain and I am enjoying it very much.

I plan on keeping you updated on these goals and more as they come up. I also plan on bragging about all the fun theme park stuff I get up to, so if you have any questions about Orlando theme parks, let me know and I will do my best to answer!

Posted on September 19, 2018September 19, 2018 by Karissa

Healthy Microwave Apple Pie

This is basically my favorite healthy snack: apple pie in the microwave. It’s super easy. All you need is an apple (I prefer granny smith, but use your favorite variety) and cinnamon.

Step one: Slice the apple. You can also cut the slices into smaller cubes if you wish.

Step two: Cover slices with as much cinnamon as you like (some people add a itty bitty bit of sugar, but I like just cinnamon)

Step three: microwave for about 45 seconds

Step four: enjoy your healthy apple pie!

Bonus: no extra carbs.

It is so yummy and refreshing and My Fitness Pal gave it less than 100 calories for the snack. If you like apples, you will love this!

Posted on July 9, 2018July 10, 2018 by Karissa · 1 Comment

Easy Peasy Healthy Breakfast Muffins

One of my favorite breakfasts is egg-white muffins. You can make them anyway you want, but I find them to be a much healthier alternative to power bars and cereals. According to My Fitness Pal, one muffin using the ingredients listed is about 70 calories, give or take. I do not use exact measurements on this, so if that bugs you, I am really sorry.

I use the following ingredients:

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A small thing of egg whites
Jimmy Dean crumbled turkey sausage
Green pepper, chopped
Onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
A little bit of cheese

The actual making of the muffins is easy:

Preheat oven to 350
Grease your muffin pan
While oven is preheating, chop your veggies
Put a pinch-ish of each dry ingredient into muffin pan
Add salt and pepper
Add just enough of egg whites to each tin to make ingredients float (you may need to redistribute with a spoon at the end to get things more even)
Stir each muffin a tad with a spoon to mix up ingredients and to make muffin fluffier
The pan should look like this:
Bake for 20 minutes
Enjoy!

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I end up making containers of two muffins and storing them in the fridge. My husband and I then can grab them and throw them into our lunch boxes to eat when we get to work. I warm up a container for a minute, then let it sit for another minute so I don’t burn my mouth.

Feel free to change up the ingredients to make the muffins just the way you like them. My husband likes to add sriracha to his after they are done cooking, but we have not tried adding the sauce to the actual muffin yet. Let me know how your experiments turn out!