A New Challenge

I took a hiatus from the blog for a while. I started a new job, I was swamped and exhausted and just needed some time to reassess things.

But I'm back and excited to start something new! I have partnered up with a dear friend of mine to help her build her Beach Body empire. I am not a Beach Body coach, but I am working as her "assistant" to run challenges and spread the word about the awesome effects of beach body workouts.  I love it because it helps keep me motivated and accountable and I get to do my favorite thing, motivate and inspire others!

Monday we start a Piyo Challenge. For those of you who don't know what Piyo is here is a quick breakdown.

Piyo is a mix of Pilates (Pi) and Yoga (yo). It is a low impact way to help shape and define your body.   The program is great for anyone with an injury, or anyone who is just getting into fitness. It can also be a great way to define after an extended period of weight loss.

Your program includes the workouts, the eating guide, and a measuring tape to help you keep track of your progress. You can purchase the pack here  this link is the challenge pack that also includes Shakeology which is a big part of the Beach Body approach. I personally don't drink it because I'm always on a budget and I feel like my basic muscle milk is sufficient (I don't drink lots of protein shakes at all because I prefer eating food) but you may find you love it! Try it and find out. 

If you want to join us for the challenge there is still time. You can order the pack through Beach Body on demand and stream it all straight through you TV. No waiting on shipping. 

If you want to join our challenge comment on the post and I will reach out! 

Loving Yourself

Today I was thinking about the reasons we choose to lose weight. I think for many people the desire is to be thin, to be perceived as attractive, by themselves, by their peers. To be beautiful by whatever standards they are measuring themselves. The world tends to be a harsh judge and the motivation to lose many times comes more from self loathing, than from a desire to be healthy and strong.

I think for me it is a mix of both. It is almost impossible to ignore the world. To ignore the images around you, and not feel inadequate. My weight loss journey certainly did not begin as a desire to be healthy, and honestly it still isn't. Am I proud that my resting heart rate is 45? Hell yeah! Am I proud that I can run, and lift weights? Heck yes! I am thrilled with the strength I have gained, and the progress I have made regarding my health. I have two beautiful children that I want to see grow, and I hope to be a kick ass healthy grandma one day.

But that is not why I do this. This is just plain old honesty. I do this to feel good about myself. I do this to feel beautiful. I wish I could say it was about strength and health. That certainly sounds more inspiring.

Because this is my motivation it is difficult not have bad days, days where I beat myself up over 100 extra calories. Days where I feel guilt for not working out, days where I look in the mirror and feel deflated, and unsatisfied with my progress. Some of this is due to my goal driven personality. I tend to have an all or nothing style. I jump in with both feet and have high expectation of myself.

Despite all of this I am a very confident person. I feel good about who I am. I feel pretty proud of what I see in the mirror. I know I can do better. I know I am capable of so much more. I just need to make it happen. My disappointment in myself comes from the knowledge that I didn't do my best. I didn't give it my all. I have come to accept my stretch marks. I have come to accept a little sagging skin. It is what it is.

I am sharing this with you to say it's ok. It's ok to say I do this to feel beautiful. Just be careful. Your worth, my worth, is not tied to our weight. Your value is not based on a number on the scale, or your pants size.

You are beautiful, you are strong, You are capable of more than you know. I guess what I am saying is, don't wait until you are the "perfect" size to love yourself. Love who you are now. Loving yourself doesn't have to mean accepting the weight you are now. Loving yourself, can simply mean loving who you are in spite of your perceived flaws. Loving your smile, your laugh, your personality, your talents, your gifts. We should always be striving for growth and change. Strive to change the things you don't like, but love yourself through the change.

A Week of Workouts

I had a request for the workouts that i do at the gym. I figured I would blog it in case there was more interest. I don't want my body to get bored, or get used to the workouts I do, so I try to keep my body guessing.

Sunday: Rest day

Monday: 

Tuesday: 

Wednesday: 

Thursday: 

Friday: 

Today's workout (Friday) is listed as circuit training but more specifically it is Autumns Calabrese's 21 Day Fix Total Body Cardio. I will do this workout at home. On Wednesday you can see I also listed circuit training, I make myself cheat sheets to use at the gm of the 21 day fix workout routines. That day was Dirty 30. 

Saturday is yet to e determined, but I will probably be at the gym running intervals. I found this great new challenging routine on Pinterest.  

Speed     Incline      Duration

4mph        5%            5 min

6mph        2%            3min

7mph        2%            1min

3mph        10%          1min

Repeat 3 or 4 times 

I loved this one because it really worked my gluteus, and my hamstrings.

I get bored pretty easily with the same routine. I like things for a short period of time then find I need something new to stay motivated. I switch it up between floor routines and machines.

Whole Wheat Protein Waffles

It is a challenge in my house to get my daughter to eat healthy food. Breakfast is the worst. She has recently been eating whole wheat Ego's with peanut butter, which is better than frosted flakes in my opinion, but still not the nutrition she really needs. So I researched a way to make protein waffles. I headed to Whole Foods and picked up some organic protein powder.

Because this is something I am feeding to my kids I was very careful to buy an organic protein power and not your basic muscle powder form the supplement store. *Please do your own research on what is safe and recommended for children. What I am ok feeding my children, may not be what you are ok feeding yours, and I am NOT and expert on nutrition.* 

I looked up a good recipe online and found this one from Blissfully Domestic  

My husband and I tried them out this morning, delicious! 272 calories per waffle (makes 4 large Belgian style waffles) with 19 grams of protein per waffle. I didn't separate the eggs like she said I just mixed them in whole. I also used almond milk instead of skim because that's all we had in the house. They were delicious and filling! Best part? I can make more and freeze them and have them ready to go every morning. 

Dirty 30 Cheat Sheet

Today's gym cheat sheet... Dirty 30 workout from the 21 Day Fix

Warm Up: 2 times through
Run in place 1 minute
Jumping jacks 1 minute
Windmills 30 seconds forward 30 seconds backwards
Side stretch 30 seconds right 30 seconds left
Toe touches 1 minute alternating sides


Workout:  Each set is done two times, 1 minute per workout. 15 second rest between sets.

Set 1
Side Lunge with weights
Renegade Row (weights in hand in plank position, raise and lower the weight alternating sides)

Set 2
Sumo Row
Chest Fly Raise

Set 3 
Squat Lat Raise
Tricep Kick Back

Set 4 
Side bend with weights
Side Plank Raise ( Get in a side plank and lift and lower your leg 30 seconds right then turn over 30 seconds left)

Morning Smoothie

Smoothies and Cardio

I am falling in love with smoothies. This morning I had a peach, strawberry one. It made way more smoothie than I anticipated so I shared with my husband, which meant less nutrients for me... I need to switch up some portions next time so I can add more protien. Here  is what my smoothie contained

These amounts were doubled in the entire smoothie, I only listed my half. This is such a yummy easy way to get your fruits, veggies, and protein in.

Todays workout will be 21 Day Fix Cardio at the gym. I actually quickly scrolled through the video to write down the work out because I could not find it anywhere online which is super irritating so I am going to list it here for you if you are like me and can't be home to do a workout video, or you simply don't own the 21 day Fix and would like to really challenge yourself ftoday. It kicks your ass.

All workouts begin with the same warm up:

1 minute run in place
1 minute jumping jacks
30 second pinwheels forward
30 second pinwheels backwards
1 minute toe touches
30 second side reach right
30 second side reach right

Repeat this warm up section 2 times.

Workout:
Do each workout for 1 minute the entire workout should take 25 minutes.

Round 1
Cross Jacks
High Knees
Cross Jacks
High Knees

Round 2
Skater Jumps
Mountain Climbers
Skater Jumps
Mountain Climbers

Round 3
Reverse Lunge
Burpee
Reverse Lunge
Burpee

Round 4 
Lateral Squat Walk
Oblique Knees
Lateral Squat Walk
Oblique Knees

Bonus Round
Down Ups (Plank)

Preparation: Video Post

Wrap it in lettuce!

When I started trying to lose weight I tried the Paleo diet. A friend of mine loved it and had such great success I figured it would be perfect for me! I tried for like 3 weeks and gave up. I needed my carbs. However the diet did give me a few habits that have stuck, one of those being ditching the bun. I cut out carbs where I can, not because I think they are evil or because I am gluten free, but simply because they are loaded with extra calories I don't need. It is amazing how many calories you can cut by getting rid of a bun, a taco shell, bread etc. I serve all hamburgers in our home bunless. I got a little resistance from the kids at first but they are used to it now. Last night I wrapped them in lettuce to give the kids a "bun" and it worked pretty well.

A few weeks back I tested out Lettuce Tacos on my kids and they loved them! I was so shocked, but they totally eat them every time. No more corn shells at this house!
And you can make a totally amazing sandwich without bread. The average piece of bread is between 80-110 calories sometimes more. two pieces and you already have 200 calories in you lunch and it's just useless carbs, sugar that will make you feel moody and crash. ( I love bread despite these qualities, I still eat it, I just eat WAY less of it.)
So wrap your sandwich in lettuce. 0 calories and you snuck in a veggie :)

*Another tip, dressings and mayo add more unnecessary calories. Try switching them out for avocado. Healthy fat and helps make the burger/sandwich less dry. *

It's Your Choice

I have been thinking about this post for a little while now, and I think it is super important. Aside from our excuses, what really gets in the way of us losing weight? What keeps us from succeeding and reaching our goals?

It's that bullsh$@& story we keep telling ourselves. It's that idea that we have of who we are and what we can accomplish. We all have an idea of who we are. This can act as a road block moving forward. We get stuck in story that we have created. We have decided that we can't. We simply aren't that kind of person.

Prior to losing weight I had many attempts and fails. Each time I would tell myself I can't do this. I am not this person. I am not active, I am not a health nut. I had defined myself as lazy, unmotivated, incapable. I saw pictures of fit women and I thought "well they are clearly everything I am not."

The truth all along was that I had the power to choose. I was the one who built those walls that defined me and I had the power at any moment to tear them down. That's the greatest part! You have the power within yourself to wake up and decide to be different. You don't have to keep living that same old story. You can be someone new! It's amazing really when you think about it.

Every day is a new opportunity to stop telling yourself you can't and decide you are the kind of person who CAN. Think about who you want to be and why, and then simply decide to be it! We all have stumbling blocks and change is not perfect, it takes time, and you will have set backs. But you can keep reminding yourself that this is not who you are anymore.

If you lacked motivation you would not get up everyday and do what you had to do. You would not be mom, you would not cook, or clean, or help kids with school work. You would not meet friends, or read books, or take showers. Simply getting up every day and living requires motivation, so see you have that trait!! You are capable, you succeed at things every single day. You are worth it. You are amazing, you are kind, you are beautiful. You are the author of this story. It is YOUR life, you decide who you are and who you are not. You have the power over you.

Break the walls, shatter the misconceptions and redefine yourself. It's a new day :)

Trying New Foods

This week we are trying several new foods in an attempt to add more fruits and veggies to our diet and get rid of as many carbs as possible.

Monday night was Spaghetti with Zoodles (Zucchini noodles). Huge hit with my husband, my son tolerated them Lexie had to be force fed.... They will be a staple so hopefully the kids get used to it!

6-8 zucchini noodled
Spaghetti sauce of your choice
16 meatballs

That's it! Super easy.

*Image from Google Search*

The kids do love dessert but we are trying to establish healthier habits there as well. For dessert we had Greek God Vanilla Honey Yogurt with pecans. My son LOVED it, my daughter not so much... 

Tuesday morning I tried my hand at flour less banana pancakes. Hit with everyone except my little girl.

*Image from Eugines Kitchen* 

Tuesday evening 93/7 hamburger patties with cauliflower rice I love the cauliflower rice, seriously I may never eat regular rice again. I mixed in some butter and salt... delicious! 

*Image from Google Search*

Dessert apple slices with peanut butter and chocolate chips! We skipped the granola and nuts. 

*Image from Google search*

Wednesday Morning Tuesday night I prepare eggs in muffin tins for the week. It's can be challenging when we have to get up so early to make something healthy, so this preparation makes breakfast simple. Just bag them up and re heat in the morning. I added a 10 oz glass of Naked Green Machine smoothie. 

9 eggs

1 cup spinach

1/2 cup diced bell peppers

1/2 Turkey Sausage link

*Image from Google Search*

Wednesday  Turkey Burgers (no bun) with Cucumber salad

Tomatoes diced

Cucumbers diced

Light Italian Dressing

Fresh Parsley (optional) 

*Image from Google Search*

Thursday meatballs and broccoli 

Friday My husband and I usually go out. Last two Friday's we had ModMarket roasted chicken, rosemary sweet potato mash, and arugala salad. 

Do it for the "Damn you got hot!"

Looking back at old pictures... the transformation is pretty insane. It's taken years to get here, to find the dedication and the motivation. It also takes effort, hard work, and continued motivation to stay here, but it has been so worth it. If you know someone struggling with their weight, or someone making the journey to a healthier happier them that might appreciate the blog please share it! This is possible, you can do this. It won't happen over night, it will take sweat and maybe some tears (sometimes I still cry and whine), but you CAN do it.

2005- 2014

2008- 2014

Salad, your new best friend

My favorite salads

Berry Bacon Goat Cheese

2-4 slices of bacon
1-2 cups of mixed greens
1/4 cup of goat cheese
1/4 cup strawberries
1/4 cup blueberries
2 TBS sliced almonds
2 TBS light raspberry vinaigrette

Shrimp Avocado no salad Salad

1/2 cup salad shrimp

1/3 cup chopped orange bell pepper

1/3 cup cucumber diced

1/3 cup sliced baby tomatoes

1/4 cup avocado

2 TBS light Italian dressing

Beef Brisket Chipotle Salad

1/2 cup beef brisket

1-2 cups spinach

1/3 cup sliced mushrooms

1/3 cup baby tomatoes

2 TBS Chipotle Ranch dressing

"What's Your Excuse?"

A few months back this woman and her image (pictured above) were circulating all over Facebook. Mothers everywhere were freaking out and getting angry and lashing out at her… why? They were offended. Offended that another women out there would point out that they were making excuses for their unhealthy diet, and the extra weight they were carrying around. The dirty honest truth is moms saw this as a personal attack on their inability to get their shit together and make these kinds of results happen for themselves.

If we were all being honest with ourselves we would say she is right. We makes a million excuses. We do it all the time. Whether they are legit or not. Her goal was to inspire, and probably to make people upset, ruffle some feathers. Why? Because that moment when you get angry is the moment you make a change. You either get mad at her whine and complain and bash her for being "judgmental" or you get mad at yourself because you realize you are your own worst enemy. You are your problem, you are your road block, and you ARE making excuses. We get offended by this image because we recognize the truth in it. It forces us to take a good hard look at ourselves and face some unhappy demons we have avidly tried to avoid.

What's my excuse? Well how much time do you have? I joke, but seriously I could give you a room full of excuses. I am tried, I work, I have kids, I like good food, I have a birthday, wedding, party, event. The list changes based on the day and my mood.

YOU make excuses, I make excuses, we all do it all the time. Getting angry with women like her is not going to make you any happier, it's not going to make you any healthier, or any thinner, or any stronger. It's also not going to make her fat, unhealthy, or out of shape. So what's the point really?

My goal to reach my target body shape weight etc. has been a hard road. It hasn't been easy, and sometimes it hasn't been fun. Some days I hate it so much I want to quit, some days I try to convince myself I don't care that much, some days I whine like a two-year-old and throw a fit (seriously ask my husband). This is hard. It is not easy, it will probably never be easy. You may have to think about it every day and make a conscious effort your whole life. That's the hard truth. But it is worth it. It really is.

So throw out all of your excuses. Just do it. Toss them all and make up your mind to make a change. You will be so happy you did.

Day 6- 21 Day Fix *An Honest Review*

Ok day 6, it's becoming more automatic. I don't miss the cheese as much as I thought I would, but avocados... that's a whole other story. Sweets too, that's a hard one. Some friends recommended date roles, which are in fact pretty tasty and can satisfy a sweet tooth. Finding out they were considered a yellow (carb) was pretty disappointing, I was so hoping they were a fruit since my goal is only two yellows a day.

I increased my calories a bit and I am feeling much better. I think that is something important to note with this diet, because you are eating within a bracket it is entirely possible that you are eating towards the low end of your goal. If this is the case you may feel tired, weak, faint etc. Be careful with your body. This "diet" is designed to have you eating at a deficit and then working out creating an even greater deficit. For those of us in the lowest bracket 1200-1499 calories it is very easy to net less than 1,000 calories a day after a workout. That is not healthy! Be careful and if you feel hungry or tired or run down you need to add a red (protein)  and some greens. I use myfitness pal in conjunction with this plan and so I am tracking my caloires. I do this mostly because I have been doing so for over a year now and it's a habit. But I am so glad I was because it very clearly showed me I was not eating enough.  The last thing you want to do is hurt your body or starve yourself.

The whole idea of this program is to help you understand portions, understand how much of each kind of food you should be eating, and to shock your body into making fast changes. I think the premise of the program is awesome and helpful for people struggling with weight loss. I also think there should be some careful considerations. The plan promises up to 15lbs in 21 days. Any nutritionist will tell you that is not really a healthy amount to lose in such a short amount of time. You should technically not lose more than 10lbs a month.

With that in mind if you start to feel terrible on ANY diet plan take a careful look at your calories. Don't try to take short cuts, this is meant to help you make a lifestyle change. It needs to be sustainable or you will gain it all right back. Healthy changes, that's what you are striving for.

I have learned a lot about what my body needs vs. what my brain wants. I have learned that I am capable of more than I realized. I feel good. I feel healthy. I don't feel bogged down by fatty crappy foods. I feel thin, I don't ever feel bloated and gross. I enjoy the challenge. Truthfully I do whine a lot, but I stick to it. Sometimes we all need to push our limits and push through the "pain."

After a lifetime of making terrible food choices it is difficult to make such drastic changes, and not just in the way you eat but the way you think. I feel some days like I miss donuts, I mean geez it's a food! How can I "miss" a food? Training your mind to think of food as fuel for a healthy body is a challenge.  Training your mind not to think of food as a reward or a celebration or a way to be happy is HARD. That's why we do this 21 day fix. To push our limits, to retrain our brain.

My coach asked today to give 3 feeling words to describe why we are doing this... my words? To feel sexy, confident in anything and strong. I want to add one more, proud. I want to be proud of myself. What are your words?

A Day in the life of a 21 Day Fixer

My daily goal is 3 greens, 4 reds, 2 purples, 2 yellows, 1 blue, 1 orange, and 2 tsp. 1200-1499 calories

The day starts with 1 Green and 1 Red- Spinach Mushroom omelet (no cheese) 

Snack around 9:30am or 10:00  1 Red and 1 Blue- Greek yogurt with pecans 

Lunch is 1 Yellow, 1 Green, and 1 Red- Brisket, couscous, and broccoli

 11/2  purple- A peach for snack

Dinner is 1 Green 1 Yellow and 1 Red 1 tsp-  Turkey meatballs, spinach and mushrooms sautéed in olive oil and brown and wild rice mix.

After dinner snack 1 Purple and 2 tsp- 1/2 an apple and 2 tsp of organic peanut butter.

(not pictured 1 Red- 1/2 cup pulled pork for snack)  

**Total of 1622 Calories- my daily goal is 1488. However the last two days I netted under 1000 calories a day so going a bit over my limit today seemed reasonable. I had been feeling weak like I was going to  pass out today so I decided I needed to eat more. I also had two cups of coffee today with 2 individual creamers in each. Creamers are technically not "allowed" in the 21 day fix**

My workout today