THIS is brilliant, just absolutely brilliant and it comes to us from the mouth of SNL comedian, Leslie Jones.
What are your thoughts?
What are your thoughts?
Day 44: Hump Day Decisions
Yeah, well, my eating wasn't spot on - at all. I'm going to have to learn to beat my once-a-month cravings. But I did end with a salad today that was delicious! Salad always tastes better when someone else makes it... why is that?
I started to think "I really don't want to do this" during Lower Body Fix and then countered it with "Welp, if you're going to take that attitude, you have to work harder." It was super effective and I'm proud of how hard I did end up working.
Spent some time under the big blue sky during work which was much needed and a quick reminder of how small we all are. Oh! And I planted some succulents today that I picked up from one of our students. Overall, I'd rate it a 6/10 day.
Day 43: Some Vitamin D
When you live in a small town you have to fight for every tanning bed you can get your butt into. In this case, we have ONE tanning bed in the entire town of 6,500 people. So I'm taking lunch breaks to get some rays to help with my psoriasis more than anything else. Two sessions in and it's already made a huge difference!
Food was mostly protein all day so I ended with dinner being loaded with veggies and ate grapes for dessert. Only 1 yellow container today - I'm trying to find some balance after the last few days being carb heavy.
Did Upper Body Fix and 10 Minute Abs with the 21 Day Fix and loved it (needed it!) I'm starting to really get comfortable exercising without a shirt on. Just a sports bra. Getting comfortable in this body as it is along this journey is a goal of mine and going sans shirt certainly helps me appreciate all that my body is doing!
Day 42: Getting Back on Track
This last weekend I ate a lot of salty foods and I can definitely feel it. I'm carrying around extra water weight that simply doesn't need to be there if I make wise eating decisions.
Chocolate, strawberry shakeo for breakfast; shrimp tacos for lunch; rice and beans for snack; steamed broccoli and carrots, chicken sausage and kale for dinner; plain Greek yogurt with a banana for dessert.
I'm getting to the point where I don't think about whether or not I WANT to push play and just push it. If I stop to think about it I'll start creating excuses and I'm not in the market for that! So I powered through the Full Body Cardio and 10 Minute Abs without second thought. It's just what we do now when we get home from work, right brain? I call that a victory!
Murphy and a calf are pictured, too, because that's what life is like here in Wyoming. Love logs and cattle.
Today was busy at work loading boxes of books into the car to donate to the library, doing spring cleaning, and getting some snack sacks put together for students who go hungry while waiting for services to kick in. Overall, it was a great day and loaded with extra exercise!
Day 41: Kitty Yoga
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! We slept in and caught up on some much needed sleep. Then took off for our favorite restaurant in Nebraska (The Mixing Bowl) where I indulged in some biscuits and gravy. I only ate until I was no longer hungry (another victory - wooh!) then the hubs ate the rest. I had a blended green ice tea as well.
We walked off brunch by taking the dogs on a walk up the hill and made it home before the storm hit. Lots of thunder and lightning.
Green berry shakeo for dinner as well as a veggie patty. I'm chugging water, too, because I know I've eaten some fairly salty foods this weekend.
Snuggled on the couch watching Gladiator and then ended the night with 30 minutes of yoga with the 21 Day Fix. Hubbins joined me and was grateful because his back and shoulders had been bothering him. Bubba also joined me so I had to make some modifications around his big fat body as he laid on my mat in various places throughout... Until he settled for sleeping on my stomach during savasana (corpse position.) Silly boy.
Day 40: Road Trippin'
I started the day with the Dirty 30 and 10 Minute Abs. Powered through even though I was exhausted. Glad I finished. Still love 10 Minute Abs and how much of a difference it is making in my core!
We headed out of Torrington to Laramie and went apartment shopping for me in preparation for relocating for school. I'm excited to say we definitely found the perfect place for me.
We ate lunch at my favorite restaurant in Wyoming, Sweet Melissa's Cafe, a vegan/vegetarian restaurant that will make your mouth water! I had some veggies and artichoke dip, carrot and ginger soup, and a lentil and walnut burger with pineapple and my side was (my favorite dish) their Gorgonzola Leek Mac n' Cheese. I'm proud of myself for stopping eating when I was no longer hungry rather than gorging myself like I used to do. Took more than half of it home and ended up eating it for dinner. We shared a slice of carrot cake and I'm happy to say that all I needed was a few bites to be satisfied. It was delicious though so I had to work at stopping myself. It was the first sugar I have eaten in over 4 weeks!
Then we headed from Laramie to Fort Collins, Colorado to go shopping. Check out the bottom right photo. I swear to Jeebus, Wyoming doesn't want us to go to Costco... ever. We persevered, though, and I'm glad we did/ The snow only lasted at the summit. Costco was a success for stocking up our freezer with black bean burgers, frozen fruit, and veggies.
Overall, it was a wonderful day!
Day 39: The Thunder Rolls
Took my math final today so school is done for Spring semester! BOOM! So happy to be done! I'm halfway through my math requirements for my geology major. I see calculus one and two on the horizon.
Tacos for lunch? Are you surprised? Chocolate, strawberry, mint shakeo for breakfast; shrimp tacos for lunch; rice and beans for snack; and still undecided about dinner. A big salad sounds amazing.
Time to relax and snuggle the pups!
Day 38: The Angry Workout
Ugh. See the center photo on the left? That's my pissed off face. That's my, I'm done with this crap, face. Marriage - humph - it ain't for the faint of heart that's for sure. 30 minutes later and a small talk and all that frustration went away. Smiles for the rest of the day! Also note the bottom right photo and that wicked shoulder muscle! *insert tongue rolling growl here*
Food was good - Green berry shakeo with melon and mango for breakfast; chicken salad pita with kale and pico de gallo for lunch; chicken dipped in mustard for snack; grapes for snack; Brussels sprouts, broccoli, Greek yogurt, avocado, and pico de gallo for dinner.
Not time for math homework.
Day 37: After Workout Kisses
Well, Murphy could care less, but Izzie was on kiss patrol when I finished my workout. It's the best kind of reward!
Had to take the Lower Body down a notch for myself today because I seem to have strained my left calf muscle. It's really tight and sensitive. I'll work on stretching it out over the next few days. Capped the workout off with 10 Minute Abs and even had a moment in the beginning where I thought it was too easy... Oh boy did that change real fast. It's nice to know, though, that I'm getting stronger in my core to the point the exercises are getting easier.
Food was good. Chocolate, strawberry, mint shakeo for breakfast; shrimp tacos for lunch; rice and beans for snack; farm fresh eggs, organic chicken, kale, and salsa for dinner. A pear with cinnamon sprinkled on top for dessert!
It was a good day overall and I'm feeling good. Feel strong and so good in my clothes! Can't wait to go shopping soon!
Day 36: Getting Stronger
Food was simple today. Green berry shakeo with mango and strawberries for breakfast; Chinese food which included hout and sour soup and yellow shrimp curry for lunch; and another round of delicious chicken tacos for dinner! I'll probably have some grapes for dessert.
It was a good day overall and I'm looking forward to starting the 21 Day Fix again and seeing how much progress I make.
Shredded Chicken Mini Tacos
When dinner is this good you have to make it two nights in a row!
Equals: 1 yellow, 1 red, 1 green, 1 blue!
Ingredients:
Shredded chickenPico de Gallo salsa
3 inch corn tortillas
Baby kale/leafy greens
Plain Greek yogurt
Goat Cheese
Directions
- Heat up tortillas in pan with oil. Set off to the side.
- Heat up chicken and pico de gallo in the pan until warm.
- Spread Greek yogurt on tortillas.
- Add leafy greens and then chicken.
- Top with goat cheese.
Enjoy!
21 Day Fix - COMPLETE!
Today marks my official last day on my first go-round of the 21 Day Fix and I thought it would be a great idea to write out my observations, reactions, results, and overall conclusion about this three week experience. So here we go!
Reaction:
I'm a believer! It's not that I wasn't ever not a believer, it's just that now that I've done it to the best of my current ability and am seeing the results of what just three weeks of change can do, I'm blown away.
I'm honestly amazed at how much progress was made in just three weeks when I compare it to how hard, unorganized, and without direction I exercised last year. Previously, it took four months to get anywhere near where I am now.
I can't wait to see what happens in the next three weeks!
Observations:
I have been able to pinpoint where I store a lot of my fat. When I told people I was making food changes and exercising more I typically get this scoff and then some sort of comment accusing me of not needing to lose weight because I look fine. Which is true, my body carries my weight in different places and it's not noticeable when I'm wearing jeans and a t-shirt or my work clothes. But believe me, I have the tummy pudge, the double butt, the arm flaps, the armpit butt. I know it's there, trust me.
So flash forward three weeks later and I'm truly able to see where I've slimmed down and toned up. Places like my feet, ankles, knees, side thighs, back, arms, elbows, and wrists are all places where my fat hides (other than the obvious gut region). Also, apparently, my boobs. Yeah... those bad boys are shrinking and shrinking fast, damnit.
Those are some amazing non-scale victories that I'm focusing most of my attention on. I can visibly see the difference in my arms and legs. And I can feel the muscle that has been developed all over my body these last three weeks. When I fold my arms across my chest I can feel the muscles in my arms. When I put my hands on my hips I feel muscle in my back and core. It's wonderful! And when my husband goes to pinch my legs he is met with muscle instead of chub... that was a fun discovery one day!
New Goals:
The new go-round starts tomorrow and I have I a few things I want to work on specifically this time:
- Challenging myself with heavier weights
- Better water intake. I'm good, but not consistently so.
- Portion control while out at restaurants
- 10 Minute Abs every night (except Sunday's)
- Take better progress picks!
- Go tanning
My Message To You:
If you've been contemplating changing your lifestyle to meet some fitness and health goals that you have, stop waiting and go do it! I don't care what program you go through or if you use one at all, just get up, get moving, and get healthy! We all have to start somewhere, so get going!
If you're looking for a program to follow, I highly recommend BeachBody's 21 Day Fix coupled with Shakeology. It took all the guess-work out of it for me and was so well-organized that the only way you can fail is if you stop trying.
Results:
Starting Weight: 156.1 lbs
Ending Weight: 150.6 lbs
Weight Lost: 5.5 lbs
Starting Inches: 176.75
Ending Inches: 171
Inches Lost: 5.75
Non-scale Victories:
- I feel stronger!
- I can see my leg muscles through my jeans.
- My work pants don't fit anymore, they're too loose!
- My stomach doesn't touch the inside of my shirts anymore.
- My fingers are noticeably slim.
- I don't need as much food as I thought I did.
- I'm not craving sugar anymore! (This one is HUGE!)
Reaction:
I'm a believer! It's not that I wasn't ever not a believer, it's just that now that I've done it to the best of my current ability and am seeing the results of what just three weeks of change can do, I'm blown away.
I'm honestly amazed at how much progress was made in just three weeks when I compare it to how hard, unorganized, and without direction I exercised last year. Previously, it took four months to get anywhere near where I am now.
I can't wait to see what happens in the next three weeks!
Observations:
I have been able to pinpoint where I store a lot of my fat. When I told people I was making food changes and exercising more I typically get this scoff and then some sort of comment accusing me of not needing to lose weight because I look fine. Which is true, my body carries my weight in different places and it's not noticeable when I'm wearing jeans and a t-shirt or my work clothes. But believe me, I have the tummy pudge, the double butt, the arm flaps, the armpit butt. I know it's there, trust me.
So flash forward three weeks later and I'm truly able to see where I've slimmed down and toned up. Places like my feet, ankles, knees, side thighs, back, arms, elbows, and wrists are all places where my fat hides (other than the obvious gut region). Also, apparently, my boobs. Yeah... those bad boys are shrinking and shrinking fast, damnit.
Those are some amazing non-scale victories that I'm focusing most of my attention on. I can visibly see the difference in my arms and legs. And I can feel the muscle that has been developed all over my body these last three weeks. When I fold my arms across my chest I can feel the muscles in my arms. When I put my hands on my hips I feel muscle in my back and core. It's wonderful! And when my husband goes to pinch my legs he is met with muscle instead of chub... that was a fun discovery one day!
New Goals:
The new go-round starts tomorrow and I have I a few things I want to work on specifically this time:
- Challenging myself with heavier weights
- Better water intake. I'm good, but not consistently so.
- Portion control while out at restaurants
- 10 Minute Abs every night (except Sunday's)
- Take better progress picks!
- Go tanning
My Message To You:
If you've been contemplating changing your lifestyle to meet some fitness and health goals that you have, stop waiting and go do it! I don't care what program you go through or if you use one at all, just get up, get moving, and get healthy! We all have to start somewhere, so get going!
If you're looking for a program to follow, I highly recommend BeachBody's 21 Day Fix coupled with Shakeology. It took all the guess-work out of it for me and was so well-organized that the only way you can fail is if you stop trying.
Results:
Starting Weight: 156.1 lbs
Ending Weight: 150.6 lbs
Weight Lost: 5.5 lbs
Starting Inches: 176.75
Ending Inches: 171
Inches Lost: 5.75
Non-scale Victories:
- I feel stronger!
- I can see my leg muscles through my jeans.
- My work pants don't fit anymore, they're too loose!
- My stomach doesn't touch the inside of my shirts anymore.
- My fingers are noticeably slim.
- I don't need as much food as I thought I did.
- I'm not craving sugar anymore! (This one is HUGE!)
Day 35: Day 21 of Day 21
Today marks the end of three weeks kicking butt with BeachBody. Tomorrow begins a new 21 days!! I'll post about my results on the blog, so we'll get to that later.
Today was a good day in the exercise department. I was able to stick through the rounds of Full Body Cardio Fix and even survived the "surrenders" for the first time without stopping!
Chocolate, strawberry, mint shakeo for breakfast; chicken salad with avocado pita for lunch; grapes and veggies (Brussels sprouts and broccoli) for snacks; and the most bomb dinner I've had in a while! Shredded chicken mini tacos! (Pictured bottom right.) Oh geeze. These things were delicious and super simple. I cooked a whole chicken yesterday and shredded the meat for meals this week so the hard part is over. 3 inch corn tortillas, Greek yogurt (replacing sour cream), lettuce/spinach/leafy greens, chicken mixed with pica de gallo. Oh my mercy! Sooooooooo gooooood!
The dogs got their walk and now I'm sitting down to knock out a little math homework before bedtime.
How was your day?
Day 34: Recovery
It took me the better half of a day to snap out of yesterday's let down. I'm not sure why I go so wrapped up about it, but I think it has something to do with not having control and a large bit to do with having cabin fever in this little town.
We had brunch at our favorite restaurant in the area (35 miles away) called The Mixing Bowl where I had poached eggs and some sort of veggie chili with a bit of hashbrowns. I didn't eat all that was pictured, but rather stopped when I was no longer hungry. (win!)
We took the pups for a walk once we got home making them much happier and lifting my mood quite a bit.
Shakeo and math homework followed and then some veggies (broccoli and Brussels sprouts) for dinner with a veggie patty.
I finished the day with Yoga with the 21 Day Fix and had to make some adjustments for my furry yoga partner, Bub.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow and starting the week strong with a healthy attitude. Oh yeah, I have a whole chicken in the crock pot that, once cooked, I'll shred it for use throughout the week. Can you say "chicken enchiladas?!"
We had brunch at our favorite restaurant in the area (35 miles away) called The Mixing Bowl where I had poached eggs and some sort of veggie chili with a bit of hashbrowns. I didn't eat all that was pictured, but rather stopped when I was no longer hungry. (win!)
We took the pups for a walk once we got home making them much happier and lifting my mood quite a bit.
Shakeo and math homework followed and then some veggies (broccoli and Brussels sprouts) for dinner with a veggie patty.
I finished the day with Yoga with the 21 Day Fix and had to make some adjustments for my furry yoga partner, Bub.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow and starting the week strong with a healthy attitude. Oh yeah, I have a whole chicken in the crock pot that, once cooked, I'll shred it for use throughout the week. Can you say "chicken enchiladas?!"
