The blog has moved....

We apologize for the inconvenience, but we have move to the following blog..........thechefit.blogspot.com

Thank You

My Thoughts on Then and Now Pictures

The "then" picture is hard for me to look at. I never felt I was that big or that out of shape. I can't really say what that was due to, I watch the shows where the person is crying and spilling their feelings saying that they saw themselves in an old photo and knew that they had to do something about it. The problem for me is that I see myself as that big guy now. My thoughts, feeling, and attitude is that of my past person. I can't seem to shake it, it doesn't matter how many people say how much I've changed. I feel now the way I should have felt then. I look at the way I ate or my overall activity level and I'm a ashamed. What kept me from getting bigger is that fact that I did play a little soccer and softball. In the past I could eat an entire large pizza or a big bag of chips with no problem. I'm not much of a person who eats sweets, but I know I can go hard on salty foods, I still can. When I eat pizza I want to eat the entire thing because that is what I use to do, I don't think it will fit, but in my head I want to finish it. 

I don't think that I've gone about it the wrong way changing my lifestyle. Instead of cutting things out completely I tried to cut down on them, instead of going out to eat I try to find a way of making it myself. I think I've become somewhat of a decent cook, at least I can tolerate my food. There is one of the reasons why I don't really give out any tips. Everyone one is different, and have different goals and different motivations. I just try and want to put out there what I do and maybe some people can see it's not that difficult and want to do the same.

When I look at the "now" picture, I don't believe what I see. I'm not trying to toot my horn or anything like that, what I mean is that I don't feel like the person I see. I know all the hard work it took me to get to where I'm at now and I think that is what makes me feel bad about how I let myself go then. I've kept one outfit of what I use to wear and every once in a while I'll try it on and tell myself I don't ever want to go back there. I want to keep at it and transform my body as far as I can and as healthy as possible. 

Thank you for reading this, what I wrote is one of the toughest things for me to put out there to everyone. I'm opening myself up for you, hopefully you can appreciate that.

Quick Then and Now Picture

This is just a quick Then and Now Picture.

In my future posts I can try to explain how I feel about each picture. I just felt like I wanted to get something up as quick as possible.

This Picture is from February 2010, right before I started my Journey.

This Picture is from March 2012.

I tried to use a similar pose

Monthly Running Update

I wasn't able to get in a Weekly Running Update so I'll just wrap up the month.


For the month of February I was able to get in about 129.5 miles. In the month of January I got in a little over 130 miles and that brings my total for the year to about 260 miles. I haven't lost any weight this year which is my overall goal. I've actually gained about 3-4 pounds since the year started. Hopefully you've read the previous posts and have seen that I have started a dumbbell circuit 3-4 times a week. Overall I've noticed some good muscle growth and tone and I think the weight gain is due to that(at least that's what I'm hoping)


I'm going on my third year of a challenge that I set for myself. It started 2 years ago when I first started running. I told myself I was going to log at least 2 miles walk/jogged/run everyday with no exception. The days part of it is usually anywhere from 45 to 50 days. Sounds relatively easy, but you would be surprised with how many excuses you can come up with to tell yourself that you're busy. Last year I moved up to doing a 5K everyday which is 3.10 miles. This goal was a little ambitious because I don't think my fitness and my lifestyle was there to do it so I ended up walking a lot of the time, but I did complete it. This year I've moved up to doing 4 miles a day, as of today I've completed 8 days in a row and I feel really good. I've actually been averaging almost 6 miles per day so far. I was trying to recruit some of my friends to try it with me, but only one took the bait. This year for the challenge, I think that I am ready. I've changed the way I eat and the way that I fuel my body and that has helped. I also feel like the weights have helped strengthen my core which I can feel the difference on my speed training runs. Overall for the past 6 months I feel like I've lived the healthiest I think that I've ever been. I've started a hash tag on Twitter #CheFit.


Follow me @Cheechnuts on Twitter.


If you have any questions please feel free to leave it in the comment section.

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

What you will need:

I was challenged by a friend of mine who is vegetarian to come up with a soup, here it is......

Vegetable Oil

Package of frozen "Stir Fry" vegetable mix(I wanted to find something quick and easy first)

Minced Garlic

3 Tablespoons Cumin

28oz can of Crushed Tomatoes

4 small cans of Chopped Green Chiles

64oz of Vegetable Broth

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

1 can of Corn

Tortilla Chips(optional)

Shredded Cheddar Cheese(optional)

Avocado(optional)

I like a lot of veggies so I added an extra package of the frozen vegetables and 4 cans total of corn

Make It:

In a large pot, stir in the frozen vegetables, cumin, and garlic into the hot oil until the vegetables are tender. Mix in the chopped chiles and tomatoes. Pour in broth, corn, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. 

Serve and Enjoy

My Vegetables

All items mixed in

Simmering

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup ready to be Enjoyed

Feel free to play around with the ingredients and make it your own

Shrimp Pasta

What you will need:

**** I have to start this out by saying this isn't the healthiest thing I've ever made

*Linguine

Deveined peeled Shrimp

4oz Cream Cheese Spread(I used more and it came out way to creamy for my taste)

2 Chopped Tomatoes

Spinach

*I used wheat linguine(personal preference)

**I didn't put amounts on the other items because it's all up to you how much of any certain item you want to put. This dish is easy enough to play with different amounts of any ingredient you like more.

Make It:

Cook the Pasta

in a large skillet add the shrimp, tomatoes, and cream cheese. Cook and stir until the the cream cheese has melted and the shrimp are done.

Drain the pasta, place in a large bowl. Add the spinach and shrimp mixture, mix lightly

My Shrimp

My Chopped Tomatoes

Cooking the Pasta

Shrimp Pasta ready to be Enjoyed

Feel free to play around with the ingredients and make it your own

Green Eggs and Ham

What you will need:

1 Tablespoon White Vinegar

*Eggs 

2 Tablespoons of prepared Pesto (I made my own)

2 Tablespoons Greek Yogurt

**Thin slices of Prosciutto 

*Whole Wheat English Muffins

Slices of jarred Roasted Red Peppers to taste

Cheese(optional)

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

*Depends on how many sandwiches you want to make

**You can use Ham or Cooked Canadian Bacon  

Make It:

Poach the eggs. In a small bowl, mix together the pesto and yogurt until smooth and combined. Toast the English muffins.

Assemble your sandwich. Put the prosciutto, red peppers, and eggs on the muffin halves. Add salt, pepper, and pesto mixture.

***I put my sandwiches in the oven for a little while to melt the cheese

My items for Homemade Pesto

Toasting Pine nuts

Poached Eggs with Roasted Peppers

Green Eggs and Ham ready to be Enjoyed

Feel free to play around with the ingredients and make it your own