Flying High at Aerial Acrobat Entertainment

By: Finance Foodie

Feeling bored of our usual gym routine of never ending treadmills and free weights, the Mister and I decided to try something a little different for our daily workout. So last Thursday night, we ditched the Big Apple and crossed the river to Jersey City for a beginners trapeze class with Guinevere DiPiazza, owner of Aerial Acrobat Entertainment .

Shape Up Series: Taste Testing Tacos + More at Anna's Taqueria Boston

By: Finance Foodie

First off, so sorry for the delayed Shape Up Series post this week -- Team Finance Foodie thought meeting the VS Angels was more important than my weight loss update .  Anyways, some happy and sad news to report....

Happy: I've lost all 10 holiday pounds and hit my GOAL WEIGHT!

Sad: No more Shape Up series (at least for this year!)

Shape Up Series: A Cooking Demo from Chef Thomas Frost and Chris Chafe of the Fairmont Southampton in Bermuda!

By: Finance Foodie

One of the questions I get the most is, “Finance Foodie, given you weakness for Papa John’s pizza and the fact that you’re constantly dining out, how are you not 500 pounds?”

Well, in another life, I was probably that 500 pounder because I can eat a lot (in fact, I won second place in a pie eating contest in college)! However, I am also pretty disciplined (ex-the holidays) about exercise and nutrition because I hope to live a long and healthy life. Yes, I often eat a number of large multi-course dinners at restaurants in any given week, but I also balance that out by eating lighter fare and hitting the gym the rest of the time -- MODERATION IS THE KEY! Although I might never be supermodel skinny, I’m pretty sure I’ll never be dangerously obese either -- and that’s A-OK in my book!

Speaking of multi-course meals, I was invited to not only sample one but also learn how to cook one last weekend for the 15th Annual Fairmont Copley's Celebrity Chef Culinary Program. Offered by the Boston Center for Adult Education (BCAE), this class was led by the "The Odd Couple-ish" duo Chef Thomas Frost and Chris Chafe of the Fairmont Southampton in Bermuda.

Shape Up Series: Taste Testing the New McDonald’s Chipotle BBQ Bacon Angus Third Pounder

By: Finance Foodie

This week in my Shape Up series, I taste tested the new McDonald’s Chipotle BBQ Bacon Angus Third Pounder. “What? That can’t possibly be weight loss friendly!” you say. Correct and incorrect – yes this massive 800 calorie burger is almost ½ of the recommended daily caloric intake, BUT as I have always said – everything can and should be eaten in moderation! As a food lover, I am a firm believer that no food is “off-limits”. In fact, after much trial and error, I find the more I try to “restrict” certain items from my diet, the more I “fall off the wagon” (aka the disastrous Papa John’s incident).

Shape Up Series: Eating Well While Eating (Take) Out!

By: Finance Foodie

Last week, delivery.com, an online nationwide delivery service that delivers everything from food to flowers, asked me if I wanted to test drive their ordering system for lunch. To be honest, I was a bit nervous about taking on this task, as I was afraid that eating takeout everyday would my hinder my Shape Up series weight goal, especially coming off a rocking awesome weight loss week. However, I do find packing my lunch everyday annoying and I was assured that there would be healthy options, so I obliged and got ready for a week of lunch sent straight to my door! Was I able to eat well, keep the willpower in check, and lose weight? Let’s find out!

Shape Up Series: Tuna Sandwich Snackers

By: Finance Foodie

And I' m back!...Back on track that is! Stemming from the disastrous week previous (and the extra pressure of looking my best for the upcoming Mercedes Benz Fashion Week), I was uber motivated to eat well and exercise this week, despite it being busy season at work and added stress over attending grad school next fall. Two pats on the back, this is one for the record books!! And the results you ask?...

Shape Up Series: Taste Testing Panera Bread's Low Fat Smoothies

By: Finance Foodie

This past week, my willpower was tested harder than an engineer at MIT. And unfortunately, I failed with flying colors. ARGH!! From greasy sandwiches to Italian dessert trays that turned up everyday in the kitchen at work, my willpower could not resist but to indulge! Alas, I paid dearly, for led to a STEP BACK on my goal weight loss. Let's go to my (sad) recap....

Shape Up Series: Low Fat Apple Cinnamon Crisp

By: Finance Foodie

Thanks to my Shape Up Series, I've been on a serious cooking trek for lunch and dinner (Specific definition of cooking for me: anything that utilizes a large piece of kitchen equipment. Let's be clear, I'm no Julia Child here with all day to spend basting chickens). Therefore, I decided it was only natural to expand this new found usage of my kitchen to make healthy breakfast items. While browsing though the General Mills site, I found a lovely looking recipe for a hearty Apple Cinnamon Crisp using Cheerios. I've never been much of a plain cereal and milk kind of gal, so I was uber happy to take this recipe for a spin!

Shape Up Series: Taste Testing McDonald’s Fruit and Maple Oatmeal

By: Finance Foodie

It’s Monday! And you know what that means – it’s time for my weekly weigh in! Now, I’ve gotten a few comments/criticisms about this Shape Up series on how short term diets are not the key to long term weight loss. Therefore, I feel the need to re-address the purpose of these posts: First, the 10 lbs I gain over the holidays is something that happens almost every year (bad on my part, but pretty much unavoidable with all the delicious homemade food at home), so this Shape Up is what I do EVERY WINTER so I can get back to 130lbs, the weight I keep during other ~300 days of the year. I've been 130lbs for about 5 years now and it’s the weight I feel most comfortable at (where I can eat healthy most of the time, but still indulge once in a while). Furthermore, even after I lose my 10lbs, I still plan to use/eat all the tips, recipes, and food options I've posted -- and I encourage you to do the same!

This is what 130 lbs looks like!

Shape Up Series: Savory + Sweet Duo Pizza!

By: Finance Foodie

No weigh-in for this post as it's only Day 3 of my week (here is a sneak preview: I am on track! Yay!). However, I could not wait to share a new recipe I invented in response to my disastrous pizza craving addressed in my last post. No more Papa John's induced over indulgences -- this easy to make, semi-homemade pizza is not only delicious, but it's also packed with stomach-filling whole grains, protein, and fruits (which makes me less likely to overeat)! Plus it's an entree and dessert all rolled into one -- super fun!!!

Shape Up Series: A Souper Hearty Low-Cal Lunch

By: Finance Foodie

So another week has gone by, and it's time to check up on my New Year, New You Shape Up Series progress (be sure to check out week 1 and week 2 results/tips if you just started reading)! Before I go any further, I have to confess -- I had a "fall off the wagon moment" this week :( I ATE AN ENTIRE LARGE PAPA JOHN'S PIZZA IN TWO DAYS. That's right, 8 large slices of bacon and mushroom plus garlic butter sauce in 48 hours. Maybe it's because as a kid, the only time I'd ever got to eat it was at my American friends' birthday parties, but pizza has always been and will be my ultimate comfort food.

Anyways, I thought I could resist the temptation and eat one slice per day, but obviously, I ended up inhaling that baby like the world was ending tomorrow. Bummer!!! Luckily, I mostly exercised and ate right the rest on the other days, which helped offset the pizza indulgence.

The yummy but oh-so-bad for you pizza

Shape Up Series: Cinnamon Buns (of Steel) Smoothie!

By: Finance Foodie

In the first part of the Finance Foodie Shape Up Series, I talked about the exercise plan I was going to take on to help me lose the leftover holiday p(f)udge. Here is what happened, one week later!

Shape Up Series: Getting Fit and Healthy for 2011

By: Finance Foodie

Happy New Year folks! Can you believe that it's already 2011??? Wow 2010 sure did fly by fast!

....BUT with the start of the new year comes... you got it...the start of new resolutions. Like every year past, my biggest problem has always been weight gain over the Christmas break, also known as the "Holiday 15".  Something about getting together with the family + yummy Southern large portioned meals + suburban life in Texas (i.e. watching movies and driving everywhere) always leaves me happy but much heavier upon my return to the North.

Chikin' & Waffles -- a Southern tradition!