Back in the SUN and my favorite things party

Happy Wednesday!  Today was our first track workout of the season!  It was a beautiful crisp morning.  As I went to sleep last night with the windows open and the blankets kicked off I said…I love summer!!  Here it is:

I snapped a couple shots!  For some reason everyone had on purple today!  Look at my cute friends.  I love this picture!

I’ve been stickin’ to the program with my nutrition and exercise!  I feel so much better when I’m ON.  I had a conversation with my brother in law the other day that fueled my fire a little bit.  As we discussed, he commented that my body doesn’t change with all my working out AND then he teased me about eating 3000 calories a day and how much Backer’s cake I consume.  Hmm…is all I can say (:  I can ALWAYS change my body to exactly what I want!  How disciplined do you want to be?  And I’m not talking starving.  I’ll be ON for awhile now!

Anyway, last night I went to a FAVORITE THINGS party.  Talk about my favorite thing!  So much fun!  About 17 people were there.  We all brought 5 gifts of something that was our favorite.  I brought GAP dream lotion and a LUNA bar.

Then we put 5 slips of our name in a bag.  We each came home with 5 different favorite things of everyone’s.  I’m doing this for sure with my sisters when they come to town.  And of course it was a pot luck dinner!  I made a healthy chicken salad and rolls.  Here are my girls posing by some of the gifts too!

Well!  I’m off to check my list of to do’s for the day and make french toast for my kidlets.  Lots of good things!  Have a happy and sunny day!  Be back Friday or Saturday (:

Clean eating and working out 6 days a week!

Words I want to live by!  Jan 1 my friends and I are starting a weight training schedule.  We’re going to follow Jamie Eason’s Live Fit program.  It’s a great progressive program that takes 12 weeks.  It’s divided in 3 phases.  We are doing phase 2 and 3 because my friend’s have a trip coming up in 8 weeks.  Before I lay out my week of exercise and food, I have a few words of advice.  I’m not a doctor, but these are TRIED and TRUE tips from an exercise fanatic and health eating nut!

#1  EVERYTHING IS WHAT YOU EAT!!!!!!!!!!!

#2  YOU WILL NOT LOSE WEIGHT BY RUNNING ALONE.

#3  LIFTING WEIGHTS IS THE SECOND MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IN WEIGHT LOSS.

#4  DRINK A TON OF WATER.

#5  NEVER GIVE UP!  CONSISTENCY IS KEY!

So, if you remember those 5 things you should be well on your way to achieving the rockin’ bod you want!

Exercise has NEVER been my downfall.  I love it!  I do however NEED variety.  Variety will help you lose weight faster too.  You need to trick your body and constantly keep it guessing.  If you do the same thing over and over again YOU WILL plateau and get VERY frustrated.  Find 3-4 different exercise options!  Here are my top 5 favorites in no particular order:

• Running
• Boot Camp classes
• Weight Lifting
• Body Combat or any Les Mills classes
• Zumba

This is what my week of exercise will look like starting December 31st (I know that’s a little weird, but I have a thing for starting my goals on Mondays!)  My diet will not start until January 1st however (:

MONDAY:  6 mile RUN with my friends, Live Fit Day 29 BACK workout

TUESDAY: Live Fit Day 30 CHEST & ABS workout, 30 minute sprints on the treadmill

WEDNESDAY: My full body boot camp class and LEGS Live Fit Day 31

THURSDAY:  (This is my crazy day!  I like too many things)  6 mile RUN, Body Combat, Arms and Abs Day 32

FRIDAY: Shoulders Day 33, LONG RUN 8-10 miles

SATURDAY: LEGS Day 34

SUNDAY: Rest or a nice walk

Doesn’t that sound like so much fun!  This program is not just for chicks either, my husband loves the workouts and is constantly sore from them.  FYI-He has lost 70 pounds or more in the last 2 years from DIET, EXERCISE, and MOI!  Just kidding about the last one.  He did it all himself!  They will KICK YOUR BUTT!

Diet.  This is the hard part.  That is why I give myself 3 days a month to eat whatever I want.  Keep at it and it will become a habit, I promise!  Eating healthy does not come naturally for me.  I have to prepare, plan ahead, and consciously think about what I eat each day.  Get creative and try new recipes to keep it fun.  Here is a typical day of healthy eating for me.

Meal 1: Banana, peanut butter, chocolate protein powder, and spinach smoothie

Meal 2: Muscle milk

Meal 3: HUGE salad with chicken, cottage cheese, nuts, or beans for protein

Meal 4: Protein ZONE bar and an apple

Meal 5: Chicken or fish, veges, brown rice or quinoa, salad

Meal 6: Cottage cheese or greek yogurt with blueberries or blackberries (optional meal)

Drink a big glass of water with every meal.  Stay away from bread or pasta, sorry!

I hope this helps everyone!  Much like the quote to BE YOUR BEST SELF, you should also LOVE WHO YOU ARE!!!

Choose Choice food *  Tomorrow I will be going to Cheesecake Factory so that won’t be a problem (:

Work Inspire Train Keep it up!

WILL POWER

O.K.   Everyone knows that going on vacation takes major WILL POWER to eat healthy!  I’m hear to say I survived a few days of total junk food around me (not to mention my favorite junk foods) and didn’t eat any of it!  If you know me, you know that TAFFY is one of my favorites!  So, Rob and my brother both brought a GIANT bag of taffy!  Smores are also a big PLUS in my book and the kids had plenty of those and MORE.  I’m liking how I feel after a WEEK of eating CLEAN and LOW SUGAR a lot more than eating sugar.  Imagine that?!  I made sure I brought plenty of fruits, veges, protein bars, and protein shakes and I drank a TON of water!!!!  Here are a few pics from the trip.

A HOT and flies everywhere hike!

Super comfy after 2 hikes!

I shouldn’t be smiling here. This was a TOUGH hike with a 3 yr. old on my shoulders!

Me and my cutie William!

We had a great time!  It’s nice to get away from “real” life and enjoy the great outdoors.  Super calming and invigorating to me!  I am ALWAYS up for a trip!  ANYWHERE!!  I did miss a few workouts.  We did about 4 miles of hikes.  We got home today and Rob and I worked LEGS.  Always a KILLER!  

Here is the food for the day:

4 whole wheat pancakes, eggs, hash browns, 1 bacon, 1 sausage, OJ

Protein spinach shake

1/4 of grilled cheese

Protein shake

2 healthy cookies

Vege, ham, cheese omelet with 1 egg and 2 egg whites, cottage cheese with blueberries

One other thing that helps with the CRAVINGS is to have a HEALTHY alternative.  I found this GREAT “cookie” recipe on pinterest!  Check it out!!

No flour, no oil, no white sugar. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites

Check out the recipe HERE!!!

 

I want to lose 5 lbs.

Maintaining my weight has always been important to me.  I have never had a major weight problem.  I have however been pregnant 5 times and had to work to lose the last 10-20 POUNDS with many of my pregnancies.  For the majority of people (me included) this is not easy!!  I am a very DETERMINED and MOTIVATED individual.  Now that I am DONE having children I have a long-term goal to keep my weight within 5-7 lbs. of my desired weight.  I don’t have a problem throwing numbers out there.  I am 5’7″ and  I really like to weigh 130 or a little under.  My body would rather stay around 132-133.  Therefore, I am eternally trying to lose 5 lbs.  I don’t mind this challenge in life.  It is FUN? for me to try new diets and eating plans and of course EXERCISE to my hearts content.  As much as I love exercise, I know that the biggest influence for a healthy weight is….WHAT YOU PUT IN YOUR MOUTH!!  I have read with slight variations the ratio that exercise, nutrition, and genetics have on health.  Here is a great blog I found at carolinescott.org.   People have asked me what CLEAN eating is.  Once again I refer you to Tosca Reno.  Excellent website.  Here are some basic CLEAN eating tips!

Simple “Do’s and Don’ts” of Healthy Eating

What To Do

• Eat more-5 to 6 small meals a day.
• Eat breakfast everyday, within an hour of waking up.
• Eat a combo of lean protein and complex carbohydrates at each meal.
• Eat enough (2 to 3 servings) of healthy fats everyday.
• Stay hydrated (about 8 glasses of water a day).
• Keep clean, healthy foods close by and on hand at all times!
• Depend on fruits and veggies for vitamins and minerals.
• Try doing most of your shopping on the outside aisles of the grocery store…this is where the clean whole foods are mostly located.

What To Avoid

• Avoid highly processed foods.
• Avoid white flour and sugar.
• Avoid foods containing unnecessary preservatives, additives and chemicals.
• Avoid artificial sweeteners and sugars.
• Avoid artificial foods in general!
• Avoid saturated and trans fats.
• Avoid sugar loaded beverages like soda and high sugar juices.
• Limit alcohol intake.
• Step away from the “super-size” menu!

 

I have seen this chart at 70% nutrition, 20% training, and 10% genetics as well.  It’s hard to believe that nutrition plays that big a role.  I believe it 100%.  I have trained and worked out like crazy and the only time I see real results is when I’m eating CLEAN!  By results I mean: pounds lost, clothes looser, mood up, body tight with more muscle definition, more energy and endurance during exercise and throughout the day.  I am far happier when I’m making smart and healthy eating choices.

I don’t have too many pics. of me when I was pregnant.  Here is one about 3 months after having a baby and one of me at the Bahamas 2 years after baby #4.  Next post will be how to stay motivated and determined to keep losing weight!!  Hang in there!

Me, 3 months postpartum

I miss the SUN!!!