Chicken Stir-Fry

One of our favorite meals is Chicken Stir-fri. We make a lot at a time so that we can portion it out in different containers and heat it up for lunch. I put a lot of meat in it because my husband and I lift weights. This way we can get more protien. Not to mention I can't drink most protein powers because I am lactose intolerant.

Brown Rice (2 cups water for every cup of rice = 2 cups rice)

2.5 lbs Chicken breast tenderloins (I use frozen chicken)

2 bags of frozen stir-fri veggies (choose whichever is your favorite)

Your choice of sauce (We like Teriyaki)

The first thing I do is cook the rice. It takes about 45 minutes to cook brown rice plus the time to boil the water, so I start the rice well in advance. Cut the chicken into cubes and put in hot pan. Once the chicken turns white on the outside I add a little sauce. Once it is cooked, drain off the excess liquid. You can add the veggies to the chicken but the pan gets too full so I cook it serperatly and add it together in the end. Cook veggies until they are thowed. Add sauce to taste.

Servings: 1/2 cup cooked rice

1.5 cups stir-fri

Cal: 285g

Fat: 1.5 g

Carbs: 40 g

Protein: 26 g

(Options: For low carbs you could omit the rice, add choppes nuts for a little extra crunch)

Obstacles Or Excuses

So I have had many obstacles in my journey to reaching my goals: not having enough money to pay for good foods, the gym doesn't have the right hours for me to workout, I don't know what foods to make, I don't know what workouts to do, I don't know how to lift, etc. They seemed like pretty legitimate reasons for why I hadn't had success. That is until I started thinking of the other obstacles I have had: that is what my friends wanted to eat so I ate it, its a special occasion so its okay, they offered to give me something so how could I say no.

I began to realize that even if I label something as an obstacle doesn't actually make it one. What I viewed as obstacles were actually excuses, and not very good ones. For starters, buying fresh foods doesn't cost a whole lot more as long as you don't get the junk food. You might want it in the moment but at the end of the day, it doesn't help you meet your goals. Nobody needs soda, or candy or even that afternoon latte. Cutting out those extras saves you a lot of money.  

Now for making it to the gym. There is always time. Even if you have to get up at 5 am you can do it. Something to remember: if you do the same things over and over again, you will never accomplish anything beyond what you have. This means that you need to go beyond what you have done in order to reach your goals. You will need to make changes. Something that helped me was changing my frame of mind. I was always thinking in terms of what I can't have. Once I realized the foods I "couldn't have" were foods that I actually just didn't want to eat, saying no became a whole lot easier. Focus on what you will gain rather than what you will be losing. 

I am not going to go over every excuse I have had but you get the picture. The majority of the time, what you see as an obstacle is really an excuse. At least this is true for me. My brother-in-law posted the picture above awhile back and it really hit me just how many poor excuses I was actually making. The only thing holding me back is myself. I am learning to change my frame of mind and I am now starting to seeing solid results. 

New Workout Shoes

Got some new Reebok ZigNano's. So far I really like them. They provide the extra cushion I need for my knees and has provided great stability as I lift. Great cross training shoe!