VEGAS

Hey y'all! Sorry it has taken me so long to write this post! As it turns out, adjusting to the real world after 4 days of vacation in Vegas isn't the easiest thing in the world! 

I should start off by saying that this weekend was absolutely blissful. I've never had so much fun in my life! So many new experiences that I will definitely never forget. But I guess the only place to start is the beginning!

In true Abby Kraft fashion, I took pictures of EVERYTHING I ate this weekend. But I obviously ate a lot (like, A LOT) so I'll only post pictures of the truly spectacular meals :) I should also mention that I threw my diet out the window this weekend. On purpose. You only celebrate your 21st birthday once, and I didn't want to hold back! I'm so glad I didn't.

Our first night at Vegas we left the Bellagio to head to the Venetian for our first meal at Valentino (whew, that's a mouthful). Just looking at the menu my little foodie heart was in heaven! I texted my sweet foodie friend Hilary to help me decide what to get and gave her these options: 

almond crusted halibut filet with champagne sauce

lobster ravioli

fork tender lamb ossobuco braised in red wine sauce with gnocci

sauteed veal scaloppine with polenta and chardonnay cream sauce

Can't go wrong, right?! I decided on the veal and BOY am I glad I did. It was without question the best meal I have ever eaten in my life.

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. So beautiful and even more delicious. I tried to postpone scarfing it down, but I couldn't help myself. It was too good.

Mom got beet and cheese ravioli in a sage and butter sautee with pear and walnut glaze. Yum-my!

We both finished our meals quickly- CLEAN PLATE CLUB! 

So delish. When we were finished, we ordered coffee (of course) and our sweet waiter brought out mom's dessert plate decorated for my birthday! 

Three chocolate mouse with coffee ice cream! Delicious and beautiful :) We had such a great experience at Valentino! We saw Blue Man Group at the Venetian later that evening, and they were INCREDIBLE! We saw them in Chicago when I was younger, and they didn't disappoint!

The next morning was my birthday and I had an absolutely heavenly breakfast in bed! We looked at the menu and immediately I spotted crab benedict, which is my favorite meal of all time! Seriously! I get it at the Triangle in Charleston and at DiPrato's for brunch in Columbia. I couldn't say no to my favorite breakfast food on my birthday!

That little red thing was some kind of tomato/ guacamole concoction that melted in my mouth! I absolutely hate tomatoes, but mom tried hers and made me eat it, SO YUMMY! I want to go back to the Bellagio and eat their room service food all the time... seriously.

Mom got some cinnamon sugar beignets that I initially turned down because I thought they wouldn't sit well on my stomach (hardy har har). Wellll, they didn't really, but I couldn't stop eating them! They were 291746108 calorie bites of goodness. New Orleans aint got nothin on the Bellagio!

My favorite meal, coffee, and a mimosa?! Happiest birthday girl EVER!

For my birthday dinner we went to a restaurant in the Bellagio called Sensi. SPEAKING of foodie heaven. The description for this restaurant that the Bellagio offers is worth posting just because I can't explain it as well:

Sensi is committed to serving sustainably grown and naturally raised products. Sensi offers a greater purpose to dining involving all five senses. The food and presentation from the four kitchens constantly evolves to produce innovative culinary creations. The kitchen takes center-stage while four complementary cuisines: Italian, Asian, American Grill and seafood specialties take leading roles. Quality, purity and freshness prevail in every creation. Enjoy this truly unique style of dining complete with an impressive wine list and striking carved stone, waterfalls and mirrored chrome.

Definitely couldn't say no to a concept like that! When we walked in, all of the kitchens had glass windows so you could see everything they were doing! What a brilliant idea! 

It was at Sensi that I bought my first (legal) glass of wine! Couldn't have picked a better place or a better Pinot to do so with :)

Our bread plate was no typical bread plate:

They gave us naan, regular bread, and an assortment of sauces! I could have eaten the naan all day, but I wanted to save some stomach room for the steak I knew was coming! 

It looks small, but I can assure you it wasn't. Mom got duck potstickers with foie gras... Judging by the amount of time it took her to consume them, they were delicious.

By the time our check was supposed to come around, we were somewhat anxious to leave and get to The Bank to go clubbing (yep, I went clubbing with my mom. It was awesome), but they actually brought me out a dessert dish for my birthday! It was a beautiful ice sculpture with sorbet inside!

It was tres yummy! 

After a LONG night of clubbing (and I mean long), we woke up earlier than the hung over birthday girl would have liked to go fly in a helicopter into the grand canyon. I mean, no big deal right? 

IT WAS AMAZING. Despite the nasty hangover, it was the coolest experience of my life. If you ever have an opportunity to do anything like that, TAKE IT. Truly life changing. 

We flew over the Hoover Dam, the Colorado River, and Lake Mead into the canyon. Yep, you heard me. We flew into the canyon. They even had champagne for us at the bottom (I wanted absolutely nothing to do with that. MORE WATER PLEASE)!

Is Ames not adorable? And awesome? My mom is cooler than yours, just sayin! 

After this amazing grand canyon adventure, hung over little AK needed some food and to sleep off the night before. But of course the USC/UGA game was on, so I had to stay up and watch. Priorities! Go cocks! We ordered room service and I had been craving a burger like nobody's business for oh... three months?! Like I mentioned earlier, the Bellagio room service does NOT disappoint. I got a cheeseburger and some cheesecake with fruit on top... Easily the best cheeseburger AND the best cheesecake I've ever consumed. I ate every last bite, and still don't feel bad about it.

Absolutely heavenly.

By the time "dinner" rolled around, I was still stuffed from my meal earlier! I had been wanting to go to this piano bar on the outskirts of the casino downtown, and I'm so happy we did!

This fancy shmancy place didn't seem to be too fond of us (perhaps because I was wearing jeans and cowboy boots. Roll tide) but we were quite fond of them! 

They brought us out a cute little mini plate to "wet our appetites". It was awesome, until some drunk Euro guy came and stole our popcorn. I'm not kidding. I WANT THAT BACK, DRUNK GUY!

Pinot, a piano bar, and people watching? What could be better??

Since I wasn't very hungry, we decided I should try caviar for the first time! They brought us a salmon and caviar plate, and with some trepidation I tried it!

It was actually pretty yummy! Mom pointed out that it tasted similar to a bagel and lox, which I love, so that made it a little easier to swallow. (tehehe)

The first thing Patty McFatty Abigail spotted on the menu was strawberries and chocolate, which is definitely one of my favorite desserts.

Simply divine! I want to go back and listen to the amazing pianist and drink some more wine! I could definitely do that every day.

Apparently mom says I need to marry rich if I plan to indulge with that kind of lifestyle forever. I'm working on it! However, I was just as pleased with the airport $9 breakfast I had the next day, so maybe I'm not THAT high maintenance ;)

We had a VERY early flight from Vegas the next morning (we had to get up at 4:30...omg), so the first thing we got when we went through security was STARBUCKS. We sat and waited at the terminal and mom decided to go get some breakfast. She came back with the most beautiful thing an exhausted, hung over 21 year old could ever see... Cinnabon.

AIUHFAPIWEFGBALJHGAEF. So good. Also, you might notice that my coffee cup says "happy". I'm not sure if the barista misheard my name, or just loved my surly disposition at 5 am. Either way, delirious Amy and Abby laughed for an inordinate amount of time at this.

We had a PERFECT trip to Vegas and I can't thank Ames enough for putting it all together and spending her.. um.. 25th? birthday with me! And thank you to my sweet daddy for funding it and not having to deal with his drunk, overindulgent daughter all weekend :) I love my life and you both to the moon and back! I am so blessed!

Just for good measure... our view from our room at the Bellagio.

Unreal.

ALL THAT BEING SAID, it is now Thursday and I still feel like crap. I've worked out for the last 2 days (hot power yoga on Tuesday... talk about a detox) and have been eating right, but I still can't get all that fattening food and alcohol out of my system! I don't regret any of my decisions, but it just goes to show you how quickly it takes to put your body back to feeling the way it did before you started eating right! Everything in moderation! If you deserve it, go eat a piece of cheesecake. Just don't eat a cheeseburger, cheesecake, cinnamon beignets, veal, steak, ice cream, cinnabon, etc. etc. all in the same weekend :) 

I truly can't thank y'all enough for the sweet birthday wishes and for following my blog! It means so much to me that people care about what I do and how I am living my life through food and exercise! Every time I see that I have a new view on my page, it absolutely makes my day. Y'all are the best! 

Xo- Abigail

My Progress

Today was my last day of boot camp and I was not happy about it! I got super emotional last night thinking about saying goodbye to all the sweet girls who have been there with me from the beginning. 

It is crazy to me how friendships can form so fast! These women (and Double A, who clearly hates pictures..) have been such an incredible support group for me over the last couple months, and have been SO encouraging. If I was struggling through a workout, all I needed to hear was "you're doing great, Abby- keep it up" and I always did. I can't thank Operation Boot Camp enough for providing me with such great support and encouragement!

Aside from the sappy stuff, just the numbers are absolutely incredible. On the first day of boot camp I was overweight, ate like crap, and was very very out of shape. Our first PT test was ROUGH. I walked for a majority of the mile, and my time was 15:43. Today I ran the entire mile (for the first time) and my time was 11:35. Just that is so amazing to me! I have asthma and have always struggled with running. The fact that in two months I could go from hardly being able to run for two minutes (seriously) to completing a mile run in 11:35 blows my mind! 

Push Ups

Day 1: 5 regular, 17 facilitated (on knees)

Day 30: 10 regular, 13 facilitated

Day 60: 20 regular, 10 facilitated

Sit Ups

Day 1: 17

Day 30: 22

Day 60: 25

Tricep Dips

Day 1: 12 regular, 25 facilitated (knees in)

Day 30: 25 regular, 12 facilitated

Day 60: 30 regular, 12 facilitated

Is that not amazing?! I'm so lucky to have had this incredible opportunity to change my life for the better! The changes in my body have been so noticeable and pretty astonishing if you ask me! I feel like a NutriSystem commercial! Hahaha!

So, so wonderful! I still have a good way to go, but OBC started me on this incredible journey and I plan on finishing it! My goal is to be able to run the Charleston Bridge run in April, but don't tell my dad ;). 

Thank y'all SO much for your support and encouragement over the last two months! The absolute best compliment I've received is that I inspired someone to kick start their own fitness goals, and I've heard that quite a few times now! If just one person can be inspired my progress so far, I have succeeded!

Make a change. You deserve the best for yourself.

XO- Abigail

Branching Out!

I've been trying (as promised) to branch out a little food wise. For the last- oh, I dunno- 21 years? I've been eating pretty much the same thing every day. I switch it up every couple months, but I usually get in a routine and eat all the same foods all the time! Being so busy this semester has actually forced me to not do this, because I'm not at home as often as I used to be.

Like I mentioned in my post Adventures as of Late, I was pretty nervous about spending so much time on campus and having to eat school food. I didn't spend much time on campus last year (EXCEPT FOR CLASSES WHICH I ATTENDED EVERY ONE OF, MOMMY) so I didn't know that there were so many healthy options on campus! Today was another crazy day for me (on campus 9-6) so I actually ate two USC meals today. I had lunch at Colloquium Cafe again and branched out a little more! I did get the chicken ceasar salad with no dressing again, but somewhat begrudgingly. According to their menu, you can order half a chicken breast as a side item! But according to the lovely women working behind the counter, you cannot. So I got the chicken ceasar salad to get some protein and a small cup of corn chowder.

I realize that corn chowder looks pretty disgusting, but it was super yummy! I have never really been a big soup eater, except when I'm sick (which ironically I am now) but I loved it! I could definitely get used to eating it more often!

Now this morning I'll admit I was having a ridiculous craving. You remember that peanut butter cookie Luna bar I talked about in Back on the Grind?! I can't stop thinking about it. Literally. After Zumba this morning I took like a 30 second shower (quite a feat for me) so I could rush to campus and try and find one. I knew I'd seen some in the Russell House somewhere, so I was on a mission. Turns out, the Russell House carries EVERY SINGLE KIND OF LUNA BAR EXCEPT FOR THE ONE I WANTED. -.- Grr. I will have one tomorrow! So I bought a new one to have as my afternoon snack- the Luna protein chocolate peanut butter bar! 

It tasted like candy! Pretty darn yummy. I love being able to eat chocolate for under 200 calories :)

Like I said, today has been a whirlwind! After I got out of class at 5:15 I had a meeting with SGTV. Check out their website- so legit! I can't wait to get more involved! Anywayyy, I was in RuHo still at like 6:30 so I decided to see what they had to eat downstairs. They actually had a lot more healthy options than I anticipated! Some oven roasted potatoes caught my eye (one of my favorite foods!) so I ended up getting cajun catfish, potatoes, and a sauteed zucchini dish! For cafeteria food, it was soo good! I wish I had time to cook for myself, but when food like that is available to me there's no reason not to take advantage of it! 

Doesn't that look awesome?! I love zucchini too, so it was the perfect meal for me! 

I'm continually proud of myself for trying new things in all aspects of my life! I joined the Mountaineering and Whitewater club at school and am starting to work with the PR team for SGTV as well as Relay for Life again! I love being so involved and busy!

Friday marks the last day of boot camp, so y'all will have to keep me accountable and make sure I work out every day even when it's over! It's SO easy (painfully, dreadfully, horrifically easy) to slip back into old bad habits! I just have to keep reminding myself that I have made a permanent lifestyle change and I am simply not that chunky fourth grade girl who HATED to run the mile in gym class anymore! Nor am I the girl who takes shit from guys or tries to make other people happy before myself. That may sound bad, but I have made myself the number one priority in my life and it's liberating. Now making others happy is just a bonus, whereas before it was a necessity. Little adjustments make big changes! 

For exampleee, this may not seem like a big thing to you but I am noticing little changes in my body. All of the fitblogs I follow on tumblr, etc. talk about little things like their hipbones being visible, flat tummies, etc. But something that one of them mentioned several months back has stuck with me. HealthierEveryDay said that with her weight loss she had noticed an indent in her hand that hadn't been there before. I FOUND MINE! 

I acknowledge that it might be slightly ridiculous to be so excited about an indent in my hand, but it's something that is easier for me to notice than the big weight loss goals (like loss of inches). Since I look at myself in the mirror every day, it's easy to not see how drastically my body has really changed. But this is a big stepping stone for me, I'm so excited! Next... flat tummy :)

I hope I am showing y'all that it is 100% possible to do anything you set your mind to. A friend told me yesterday that he admired that I decided to do this and I DID it. I pride myself on that! There is a Fort Minor song that says: 

It's just ten percent luck
Twenty percent skill
Fifteen percent concentrated power of will
Five percent pleasure
Fifty percent pain
And a hundred percent reason to remember the name

While I do love that song, I think it's about 90% willpower! All you have to do is decide to do something and you can. Pushing through mental barriers is far more difficult than pushing through physical ones. Make a positive change. Everyone has room for improvement.

XO- Abigail