Happy New Year! Here are the T25 Results!

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Hey Friends!  I took a little vacation for Christmas and New Years...I hope you don't mind.  Did lots of fun stuff, like sleep in, play with friends and family, eat good food and enjoy the spirit of the season.  I hope you all did stuff like that too :-)

I got a new toy for my birthday last month, and for Christmas I got some sticky vinyl to use in it, so I made some stuff for our home.

But the big news is that I had a couple of KILLER catch-up days, and completed my goal of finishing T25 before the New Year.  Done :-)

Are you ready for the pictures?

And here's the "total transformation journey", whatever you want to call it.

To be perfectly honest, by the end of T25 I had stayed pretty much the same since 21 Day Fix.  Maybe lost a little tone, but my measurements were all about the same.  And since I really did eat whatever I wanted over Christmas Break, I'm definitely counting this as a win.

But now that's over, and I've started Insanity Max 30, WHICH I am loving.  No joke.  I'm done being injured and doing modifiers (except for my wrist, but I'm making it work harder) and it is kicking my butt.  AND I LIKE IT.

4 days into it and I'm already making progress. :-D

So.  What are your New Years Resolutions?

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!  If you think about it, Thanksgiving is really the pinnacle of Fall. Everything else is just kinda downhill.  You know what I'm talking about, don't pretend you don't.  Yes, Christmas is very exciting, and the anticipation and build-up for that day is palpable and exciting, but Christmas has always been anti-climactic (?) for me, probably because there's a certain expectation of gifts.  Maybe I need to grow up and get over it :-)

So, back to Thanksgiving.  I've always had a sizable family representation here in Utah, but now the majority has shifted, or maybe evened out between my maternal family and paternal family.  This year we'll be gathering with my dad's side of the family, where there will also be lots of little kids present for my girlies to play with, just like on my mom's side.  But what's exciting about this is that they're "newer" friends.  Works for me, just as long as I get to enjoy PIE.  Speaking of which...

...this is what I did today.  I'm in charge of contributing rolls tomorrow.  Yeah, I needed to make sure they were "done."  That's why there's a roll by the pies with a bite taken out of it.... :-)  I also volunteered to bring some pie, because I like to bake.  Also, I can count on somebody else to bring the pumpkin, pecan, and some fruit kind of pie.  But nobody else makes buttermilk pie.  And this stuff is GOOD.  Pair it with a good vanilla ice cream, say...Blue Bell, and you're making magic.  *drool*

Moving on.  Remember how I've been complaining about having a nasty cough clenching its fist around my lungs and suffocating me?  Yeah, turns out that the girls had bronchitis and I had a sinus infection to boot.  Soooooo after three weeks of that we're finally medicated and on the mend.  But first we had to go down to St. George for the weekend to infect our favorite family/friends--who apparently already had it last week.  But we all had lots of fun nonetheless.  And now you get to look at our memories :-)

This was taken at The Fractured Prune.  Have you heard of it?  Their donuts are AMAZING.  Miss {C} ate more than her fair share, and she's not normally one for getting her hands all sticky.

Naturally we did some shopping, and I always feel like it's a win when I remember to buy things for Brandon too :-)

And this picture just made me laugh.  She sat there for at least 10 minutes. just cleaning her feet with a wipe while we were driving home.  Weirdo.

Well, now that I'm on a few decongestants, ibuprofen, and antibiotics, I decided to hit the workouts a little harder.  And by that I mean still taking it easy on the cardio, so my respiratory system doesn't fail, and adding more weight training, because I enjoy it.

Bad news:  Because we were taking a vacation, and my birthday was yesterday, and tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I've been letting my vigilant eating habits slide....I'm basically back to where I was before I did 21 Day Fix.  But it's not too bad.  I thought I still looked decent for my birthday dinner with Brandon and the girls.

Guess who's 27?  THIS girl!

And you know, it wouldn't be a REAL birthday if we didn't indulge in cake, right?  We hit Sweet Tooth Fairy and picked up an Oreo Cream cupcake, an Apple Pie, Sweet Potato Pie, and Pumpkin Pie cupcake as well.  You know, 'tis the season :-)  They were pretty good, but my favorite is still the Strawberry Shortcake.  MMMMMMM.

Resolution:  I will be enjoying tomorrow and the rest of the weekend guilt-free.  Monday I start my week-long clean eating group, and I am gonna get back in the saddle.  And I know all of you are gonna fill your plates to overflowing, because that's the way to show gratitude, right?  Waste not and such ;-)  So, if you're feeling yucky come Monday, hit me up on Facebook, and I'll plug you into my group.  There is also a prize...so...yeah :-)

Accountability

K friends.  I have deemed Thursdays my "report what you've been eating so you stay accountable" day.  Ideally I would also be sharing a kid-friendly healthy recipe that I had tried during the week and had success with....However, I am not that cool yet.  Working up to that.  Also, me and the hubs are going to dinner at the resort with my in-laws tonight while Brandon's sister watches the younguns.  A date!  I can't remember the last time we went on a date....But I'm pretty excited for whatever meal I'm gonna have :-)  So I've been very good with my food today in order to accommodate what I'll ingest later.  I took my thin mint Shakeology to work this morning for breakfast, where I also shared half a clementine with Miss {C}.  Lunch consisted of half a grapefruit, a bowl of spinach and tomato salad with Olive Garden Italian Dressing and whole wheat toast with half an avocado.  Very filling.

I may have also cleaned up the left over clementine slices off the girls' plates.  Maybe.

I have definitely gone to town on our Costco bag of these this week.  SOOOOO good!  Our bag last week...meh.  Not so much.  But this week's bag has been DELICIOUS.

I've done well with breakfast and lunch this week, as well as snacks; but dinners have accommodated the children mostly in not-so-healthy ways.  Last night we had grilled cheese and tuna sandwiches with apples and baby carrots.  Kinda healthy?  Then we had an outing and stopped by Sonic on the way home.  I tried one of Brandon's "peppers and cheddar" fried jalapeno poppers.  Those were REALLY good.  MMMMMM.  And I also finished off the girls' blue raspberry slushy.  Not my finest ending.  Today will probably not be much better.  Oh well.  I'm "maintaining" right now anyways ;-)

Finally, exciting-ish news:  I got my prize for hitting Success Club in September.  (Success Club is basically me helping a certain number of people each month).  This shirt fits better than the Insanity and 21 Day Fix shirt.  Funny.  But I like it!

I'm excited to try P90 next year, after Christmas spending is over and I've earned/saved some more monies.  P90 is supposed to be amazing!

That is it for this entry!  I'll see ya Saturday, if I'm a good girl.

Blogging, Round 2.

So, I'm a rookie.  I was so excited to start this blog, and I had a plan, at least for 3 weeks.  Then that project was over and I was all...*crickets*...what do I write now?  So, I've come up with a plan, and maybe I can be better with my time management so that I can stick to it.  :-D  hopefully.

I've been doing T25 for the last 3 weeks, and I like the workouts.  Since I've started, my right wrist still hasn't healed, I rolled or tweaked my ankle in soccer, and I've had a disgusting cough.  Soooooo...I've been doing the modifiers.  Still get a little sweaty and raise my heart rate without ending up like a smoker dying from emphysema.  Winning! Kind of.

Just to show that I do still workout, here's a video from Tuesday; Miss {C} was more than willing to do the exercises with me, or without.  Just as long as I didn't get in her way :-)

 

I haven't been eating as well as I was during 21 Day Fix, but I've managed to maintain my weight alright.  I've visited the gym a couple of times, mostly for the weight machines and so the girlies could play with the kids a little more, as if they don't do that enough :-)

But yeah, food.  Costco has had the bagged avocados and clementines in stock for awhile, but we started buying them last week when they FINALLY looked to be the right ripeness for Brandon and me.  Which means that I've been eating lots of avocados and clementines  :-) Yummy.

Avocado, eggs and toast

Avocado with mesquite chicken and pepperjack on a pita "panini"

Thursday, if I'm remembering right, was the beginning of much cooler weather for us here in Utah, which means SOUP.  So, I got out a bag of white beans to soak/cook for my roommate's famous white chicken chile.  Mmmmmm.  Too bad I burned the first batch because I decided to workout while that was going on.  Whoops.  So, here's bag #2

and the finished product :-) 'licious

For the full recipe, check it out here

I have also been drinking my DELICIOUS chocolate Shakeology.  I'm pretty sure chocolate is just the flavor for me, because I can run to it when the chocolate cravings hit.  My favorite "recipes" have been chocolate with Girl Scout Thin Mint coffee creamer and chocolate with PB2 and a banana.  Yummers!

Along the topic of Shakeology, I've decided to more fully investigate the ingredients, so I can be more aware of how I'm responding to them and know more fully what it is that I love so much ;-)  

First ingredient I investigated? Ashwagandha.  It's fun to say.  Say it out loud, like an French person whispering sweet nothings in your ear: AshwagAHHHHNdha.

Moving on.  This is one of those ingredients that ups the awesomeness of whatever you pair it with, you know, within a reasonable range of whatever...you know what I mean.  Don't pair it with something to kill yourself.  Just like with anything else.

Ahem.  So--ashwagandha is supposed to help reduce stress and anxiety, boost your immune system, help you focus and other good stuff like that.  

The other good things I'm copying from here:

• Improves learning, memory, and reaction time
• Helps reduce brain-cell degeneration
• Stabilizes blood sugar

and

• Helps lower cholesterol

Who isn't interested in those benefits?  And that's just ONE of over 70 superfood ingredients.  (P.S. this information was also corroborated with webmd.com and general information on Wikipedia).  I know that in the 3 months I've been drinking Shakeology, I have definitely been more focused.  I've been able to make a game plan for different projects and not completely overwhelm myself.  I'm taking baby steps to do awesome things, and I'm making progress.  Also, I'm a little excited for my next check-up.  The last time I went to the doctor, my cholesterol was high.  I'm interested to see how it looks now that I'm eating healthier....Pretty awesome, huh?  Stay tuned next week for information on the next mystery ingredient ;-)

And just for fun: a story.  With pictures.

Tuesday, is that right?  Tuesday the new Halo for Xbox One came out and it has all the Halo games, some big whoop that my cute husband and my brothers-in-law were excited for.  That means that I went through all of our still packed boxes from moving, everything thrown into our little storage closet, and random suitcases posing as storage containers that are buried in the girls' walk in closet, looking for all of Brandon's Xbox 360 paraphernalia to sell back to GameStop so that he could have the new Halo game.  That was a successful endeavor, but here's the real treasure:

 

3rd grade me

and (I think) 5th grade me.

Laugh it up folks.  You're welcome.

ANNNNND We're Back!

Did ya miss me?  After finishing 21 Day Fix, I took a leave from my clean-eating for the weekend, and celebrated what I had accomplished by indulging in a hamburger, pizza, eggnog, candy and other deliciousness :-)  'Twas magnificent.

Now, I have started T25 and am back on the clean-eating wagon!  And I have a gift for you :-)  But first, you have to hear about the new program.  Bwahahaha!  Ok, I'm finished.

These are from my workout this morning: Ab Intervals.  That is quite the workout!  I had to stop and rest a couple times.  So far Alpha Speed 1.0 has been my favorite workout, because it has the cardio, heart rate building exercises throughout the 25 minutes, but it's also broken up with a stretch here and there.  My kinda workout :-)

(Sorry if the pictures make you dizzy or cross-eyed.  I've been playing with my photo enhancing apps, just for funsies.)

AND NOW.......the gift.

It's cooling off here in Utah, and that means SOUP WEATHER.  I'll tell you a secret, shhhh! *I'm not a very good cook.  Like, at all.*  The only thing that I can make decently is soup.  And I found this recipe for quick chicken noodle soup that is healthy and delicious and everything that you want on a cool, crisp fall night to warm your soul.  Salivating yet?

Here's the batch I made.  I didn't have egg noodles, so I used regular rotini pasta.  Also, I like to add a can of diced tomatoes with green chiles to give it a little kick :-)

Here you go!  Courtesy of preventionrd.com 

Let me know how you like it!

21 Day Fix Results...And NOW; to start T25!

Yes, I made you wait even a little bit longer than I usually do :-)  Here are the pics and the numbers:

These are my "after" pics from Insanity, which also doubled as my "before" pics for 21 Day Fix

These are my "after" pics for 21 Day Fix which I took this morning.  Measuring in at 6.4 lbs and 6.25" lost!  Woot woot!

AND THIS is my TOTAL BODY TRANSFORMATION!!!!! (said like an announcer at a monster truck rally. And yes, I have been to one of those. I have resided in "hick" nation...so, yeah. ;-)

Yes, you read that right.  26.8 lbs and 24" off!  In LESS than 3 months! C'mon now, the proof is in the pudding.  Who wants in on this action?  I have another challenge group starting up Nov 10th.  If you seriously, desperately want to make a lifestyle change, let me know.  I would LOVE to be your coach and cheerleader!  

If you want more details about how to join my challenge group, you can comment below, friend me on Facebook (Brooke Palmer), or email me at healthforthebusymom@gmail.com. (I am on Instagram and Twitter, but the previous 3 mediums are the best way to reach me.)

So, "now what?" you ask?  T25 baby!  Here's to toning up more, and not losing control during the holidays!  Keep me an honest woman y'all ;-)

I'll see ya in a few days!  I'm taking a vacay!

Day 21: Yoga Fix and NOT eating a bunch of junk food

"It came!  It finally came!" Name that movie (A).  Those are my feelings right now.  And it's not because I didn't enjoy it, because I really did.  But by the end of it, I'm just really impatient about getting my final results and moving on to something new and different. "New is always better." Name that show (B).  So, today is the last day of documenting 21 Day Fix, and TOMORROW I will post my official loss stats.  Super exciting!  K, pictures:

Triangle pose.  Suddenly I'm insecure about the length of my legs in proportion to the rest of my body. Hmmm.

Something pose I don't remember.  That old ballet muscle memory came in handy today.

Today was the start of Fall Break for {E}, and I didn't have work today, so we didn't need to go ANYWHERE today!  I about peed my pants I was so excited :-)  So, naturally, we all stayed in our pjs and watched Halloween movies and ate popcorn all day.  I had a bowl of plain popcorn, but then {C} insisted that she share her buttered and salted popcorn with me.  So I ate a bit of that too, more than I should have.

Also, this week has been the perfect storm (meaning I'm unprepared). We ran out of pretty much all of our kid-friendly-shut-up-and-eat meals.  You know the ones, chicken nuggets, peanut butter sandwiches, hot dogs, you know, that kinda stuff.  So, Brandon and I made an executive decision: Brandon will bring home dinner for the kids.  So, Brandon came home with a pepperoni pizza from Papa Murphys, AND...

...barbecue.  Jerk.  I grew up in Texas.  Barbecue is part of my pedigree.  I asked my Grandpa to cook a brisket for our wedding luncheon.  And he did.  We love barbecue in this household.  I did NOT resist.  BUT, I did restrain myself.  Portion control people: it saves lives.  The brisket was pretty good, the ribs and shredded pork weren't my favorite, but the smoked chicken wings were AMAZING.  Yum.  Also, I did eat the carrot and celery sticks.  Moving on.

Tomorrow I start T25.  Pretty pumped to get going on that :-)  I've even got it all written on my calendar.  There is something about checking off everything after it's done that I just love :-)

So, I'm just gonna leave you hanging a little longer, and pictures and everything will be up tomorrow!  See ya then!

(A) Toy Story

(B) How I Met Your Mother

Day 20: Dirty 30 AND Pilates Fix + Running

Tomorrow is the day folks! Tomorrow is the last day of all of this :-)  And when I say "all of this," I just mean of 21 Day Fix.  I will be starting T25 on Friday, and then my posting will happen every 2-3 days, so you won't be bothered by me QUITE as often ;-)

I figure you pretty much know how these workouts go and what my complaints about them are by now, so here's the picture journal:

Dirty 30 Plank Renegade Rows

Pilates Low Plank Hold ({C} assisted)

After Brandon got home, {E} wanted to go the gym daycare (because I didn't work today) and play with friends, so we headed to the gym and dropped the girls off.  Brandon went to the weights and I ran 3 miles.  And once again, that was fun :-)

Foodies: Meal 2--chicken breast and yams (meh)

And, of course, my Shakeology :-)

Day 2 of the 3 Day Quick Fix is over.  And the only thing that really motivated me to do it all over today was that I lost 1.4 lbs yesterday.  Yeah.  So, I'll go one more day, and on Friday, I'll have the big reveal!  I know you don't want to miss THAT, so stay tuned!  Tomorrow I've got Yoga Fix and...that's it :-)  Goodnight!

Day 19: Cardio Fix AND Upper Fix + The start of something...well, something.

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!  I've almost made it to the end, and now I've hit the home stretch!  To celebrate, I started the 3 Day Quick Fix meal plan, to put a little "oomph" towards my final results :-)  (I'm smiling now, we'll see if I'm still alive in two more days.)

First, the workouts:

Cardio Fix oblique knee pulls

Upper Fix rows and lateral raises

And the post wouldn't be complete without a picture of me and at least one of my helpers :-)

Now for the strict meal plan:  

This is what I ate today, and what I'll eat the next two days.  The coconut oil is the only fat I'm allowed, and the only seasonings are spices, or lemon/lime juice. NO SALT.  I worked tonight, so I substituted a couple of my proteins with a protein shake and a protein bar.  It's almost 10 pm now, and I still need one more meal.  I haven't starved at all, its just kind of "blah" food for me.  I haven't steamed any of my veggies, like it says to, I've just eaten raw cucumbers and carrots so far. 

Another confession:  I did bake some chicken in the oven, seasoned with garlic powder and pepper, and I planned to have some of that after work.  But when I got home, Brandon had purchased a rotisserie chicken, so I cheated a little and had that instead :-)  (Shhh! Don't tell Autumn!)  There was definitely salt on the skin, and some yummy juices around there as well, but I mostly pulled my white meat from the inside and didn't get a lot of the skin.  I feel, for that reason, that it wasn't TOO BAD of a substitution.

And that is all for tonight :-)  I plan to have some more chicken for my last meal, with some spinach and a little lemon juice.  And I'll see you tomorrow for Dirty 30 AND Pilates Fix!