{big bites on a budget}

(January 28, 2013)

Today I decided to keep track of exactly how much I spend on {healthy} food for the day. I want to show you that you can also eat healthy on a budget! I had a {delicious} breakfast that consisted of blackberries, a banana, and pineapple! This fresh fruit was 247 calories and only cost $2.14!

For lunch I bought a Stouffer's brand stuffed pepper and an orange for a total of 295 calories and a $3.08 cost. I added some {snacks} to my day consisting of Pringles Honey Butter Crackers (I ate half a serving which is 1/6 of the bag for a cost of $0.33 per serving) and a string cheese. My snacks were {only} 145 calories for the day!

For dinner I bought a footlong "Spicy Italian" sandwich from Subway but saved half of it for the next day, making my serving only $3.11 for a 6 inch sandwich and 410 calories!
My entire day only cost me $9.00 and was 1167 calories, putting me right in that 1200 calorie range I need to be in!

I hope this helps you make {healthy} choices too!

<3,
 Karen 

{third weigh-in}

(January 26, 2013)

We are {so} sorry for the blog post going up so late tonight. It has been a crazy day for all three of us. But as promised, here is our weigh-in. Please be {kind}.

A quick summary!

{Karen} maintained her weight this week.
"I'm disappointed that I didn't lose any weight this week, but I know it's because I wasn't as disciplined as I should have been."

{Megan} gained this week, but is relating it to her cycle.
"I'm really frustrated that I haven't been losing any weight. I know there are other health issues at work here, but I'm still displeased with this week."

{Yvonne} lost half a pound this week! We're all so happy that she's doing well on Weight Watchers!
"As much as I like to see the numbers drop fast on the scale, I'm happy with my weigh-in this week. As long as I'm making progress, a little or a lot, I know I will reach my goal."

That's so true, sis! You are {inspiring}!

We have some really great blogs coming up, so we hope you'll stay tuned! Meg will be speaking out about living with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), as well.

We really hope that you are enjoying our blog so far. We'd like to emphasize that we know our weights are up and down and that the point is to show everyone that it is not an easy journey, but it's a journey that has to be taken. We need to take control of our bodies; of our health.

Leave us a comment below; we try to answer them all! And as always, we would {LOVE} to hear from you, your advice, encouragement, or about your own journey. <3 Stay strong, friends!

<3,
Megan, Yvonne, & Karen

{what's for breakfast?}

Everybody always talks about how important it is to eat breakfast. It's true! But let's first talk about {water} in the morning. I always drink a glass of water when I first wake up because it helps rehydrate my organs after being asleep all night, gets my body going, and keeps me from eating a high calorie breakfast. 

photography by {meg}

It's still {so} important to eat breakfast though! Breakfast helps with stabilizing our {moods}, concentration, and keeps your body from thinking it's starving after having already not eaten all night long. So we decided to tell you our favorite breakfast meals that are {{HEALTHY}} and easy for girls on the go! (And for boys too!) <3

{Karen} likes to eat oatmeal and strawberries on a morning that she needs to get out of the house quickly. This high fiber meal only takes about 5 minutes to prepare and ranges from 100-200 calories. Yummers! On a day where she has more time, she likes to prepare an egg sauteed with some fresh bell peppers!

{Megan} Likes an egg with fresh fruit in the morning for a low-carb breakfast! She also has a weak spot for coffee, so you will almost always find that alongside her breakfast plate. This breakfast is about 200 calories.

{Yvonne} loves to have a piece of toast with a smear of peanut butter & banana in the morning. It's her healthy breakfast of choice and is only between 200-300 calories.

What are some of our favorite things to eat in the morning? Leave us a comment and let us know! We would love to try new things :)

<3,

meg, yvonne, & karen

{second weigh-in}

(January 19, 2013)

Another week has come and gone and we all made it through our first official week of our commitment to healthy eating. Today is {Saturday} and that means our second weigh-in and we are sharing it with you!

We have all had an extremely busy week, but made sure to really try and make healthy choices. Yvonne shared a tip with us last week about {healthy} quick dinners! Be sure to check out her post {my slice of pizza.} Karen has been drinking more water and fruit, and Megan has been bringing raw {veggies} with hummus as a snack on her long days.

If you're just joining our {community} here is a re-cap of how we've done this week.

{Karen} lost 2.4 pounds this week!
     "This week went really well as far as the choices I made, and I'm really happy with the result of my weigh-in!"

{Yvonne} lost 3.8 pounds this week!
      "I feel great about my weigh-in this week! I don't expect to lose this much every week but very nice to see progress for making smart choices throughout the week!"

{Megan} maintained her weight this week.
      "I made really healthy choices this week and began my exercise program, however I had two off days where I was over calories and it shows because I didn't lose weight this week. It only gives me more motivation to do better next week and buckle down during those tough moments!"


We all did {so good} making healthier choices this week and would {absolutely} love if you left us an encouraging comment or question below!

<3,
meg, karen, & yvonne

{my slice of pizza}

(January 15, 2013)

As a mom of a two year old and three month old, I don't always have time to make extravagant dinners. In fact, sometimes it's a challenge just to make a peanut butter & jelly sandwich while in the midst of potty-training and nursing. So, although I do make an effort these days to make healthy dinners that aren't always boxed, I am still always on the lookout for something quick and easy that I can throw in the oven on a busy day. While walking the aisles of my grocery store today, I found this Kashi pizza that looked tasty and wouldn't blow my diet. For 1/3 (yes, a third!) of this pizza is only 290 calories, 9 grams of fat, and 7 Weight Watcher points. It only needs to cook for 8 minutes, which is a plus! It was actually {really} good! Even my two year old liked it. A nice quick meal! And the fact that is a {pizza} made me forget for a minute that I was on a diet. Good luck to all you mommy's out there!
<3,
Yvonne

P.S. Leave me a comment if you have any healthy & quick mommy meals!

{easy peasy black bean burger}

(January 13, 2013)

Have you ever had one of those days where you're {so tired} but you still want to cook a nutritious dinner with minimal effort? That was my friday night. I came home after a very long day and had the urge to make something fast (which generally denotes unhealthy), so I started thinking about my options. I decided to make a {delicious} black bean burger! I thought I'd share the recipe with you so that next time you need a quick healthy meal you will have this on hand!

This is one of the easiest recipes I have ever made <3

Vegetarian Black Bean Burgers
Serving Size: 4 burgers
Calories per serving: 125-150

What I used:

1 15oz can of seasoned {black beans}
1/8 cup of finely chopped {cilantro}
3 tbsp of {pineapple juice} (lemon or lime would be great!)
1/4 cup of {breadcrumbs}


You can use whatever you want in this recipe. If you have unseasoned black beans add some salt, pepper, garlic powder, etc. I didn't have much on hand, but I would also recommend a clove of minced garlic, some chopped green onions, etc. Make them {yummy} to you. Season to taste.

Mash the black beans with a fork or spoon (spoon worked better for me!) with two tbsp of water.

 Once mashed add your seasoning, juice, and breadcrumbs and mix well!

Once the breadcrumbs are mixed in, the beans should not be sticky! I scooped up and made "hamburger" patties with my hands. Place in nonstick pan or spray with nonstick spray.

Cook for about 3 minutes on each side or until brown. That's it! I served mine with fresh romaine lettuce (instead of a bun), and tomatoes.

I also made brussels sprouts (which are chopped in half, tossed with light olive oil, salt & pepper, and baked at 425 F for 25 minutes)

See what I mean? {Easy peasy!} I hope you enjoy! If you have your own version of this meal or a {quick recipe}, comment below and let us know! You can also check us out on facebook if you haven't already! Or send us a tweet!

The girls have {SO MUCH} to say about our new {exercise plans!} Our next blog will be dedicated to fitness <3 We hope you all had a {lovely} weekend and that Monday will be low-stress for you!

{first weigh-in}

(January 12, 2013)

Happy {Saturday} from all of us girls here at The Fitness Sisters! Today was the day we dread all week long: weigh-in day. It's also the day we {work} for all week long and that keeps us accountable. Putting our weight up for everyone to see is not an easy task, but we do it to show our progress and hopefully inspire others who are similarly trying to get healthier and slim down <3 So here is our first official weigh-in on this blog; be kind!

While this is the {first} weigh in we've posted here on Fitness Sisters, we have weighed in for our video blog (which will be posted in about a week and tracks our daily process via videos from us girls!)  We would like to give you a recap of how our months started.
(We have also provided our measurements! {brave!})

Weighing in at 153.4 {Karen} has lost one pound this week, putting her right at her expectations.

Measurements- 

Waist 38 1/4 in, {Hips 42 in}, 

Bust 38 3/4in, {Chest 33 1/2 in}, 

Thigh 25 in, {Calf 14 1/2 in}, Bicep 13 1/4in.

At 217.6 {Yvonne} is down exactly two pounds for the week and is doing amazing!

Measurements- 

Waist 44 in, {Hips 46 in}, 

Bust 49, {Chest 36}, 

Thigh 26 in, {Calf 17 in}, Bicep 13 1/2in.

With this weeks weight of 248.6 {Megan} is down 1.4 lbs for the week, slightly shy of her goal of two per week, but still good progress!

Measurements- 

Waist 43, {Hips 50 in}, 

Bust 44, {Chest 40}, 

Thigh 28 1/2 in, {Calf 18 3/4 in}, Bicep 16 in.

We are all satisfied with our weigh-ins this week, but after having talked we've decided to really make {exercise} a priority this week and see how our results differ!

We would {{love}} it if you left us a comment below or sent us an email to let us know what you think, or just give some encouraging words! <3 Have a beautiful weekend and check back in tomorrow for another delicious {vegetarian} recipe created by Meg.

<3,
meg, yvonne, & karen