Holidays Without the Weight Gain?

WARNING: Long, AWESOME post.

So, I did something kinda awesome. I finished the WHOLE ENTIRE P90X3 program.

Yeah. That's 90 days of hard core workouts. Nailed it. Well, sorta.

I didn't follow the nutrition plan as strictly as I probably should have, cuz you know, there was cake occasionally, or pumpkin waffles...*drool*

Anyways, that's where my Shakeology comes in, like a superhero I might add. See, this stuff is like magic. It reduces my sweet tooth cravings (which are heavy duty), gives me all the nutrients I SHOULD be getting from vegetables,  and keeps me full for about 3 hours (thus preventing unnecessary snacking, like me driving to Einstein's multiple times a day). And it tastes FANTASTIC. *score*

And now for the results: I can do twice as many pull-ups as I could when I first started, I can curl 20# dumbbells (for a little while), and I can do lots of funky push-ups. I feel pretty cool. AND I maintained my weight the whole 90 days, through anniversary celebrations, birthdays, family get-togethers, and kids leaving their pop tarts lying around the house. Winning.

SO WHAT? I'll tell you: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years are gonna crash down on us all WITHIN the next 90 days. What's your plan? Would you maybe like a safety net so you don't gain an extra 15-20 lbs? You COULD even lose weight through the holidays...just sayin.

I've got a support group for other sweet tooth mommas like me that starts October 19th. Wanna know more? Just comment and I'll give you all the info, cuz we're friends, and I like you!

-Brooke

Love

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I've found my life calling.

And it's been one of those journeys where I knew the destination beforehand, but it has taken me SOOOO LONG to see the scope and the HOW.

Backstory:  I always knew that, when it came down to it, I just wanted to stay home and be a mom. And I hate to say "just" like that, but what I mean is "that's all I wanted."  I wanted to stay home and focus my energy on building my family and making it the best that I could.  Which is hard stuff, 7 years, 7 months, and 3 weeks into it.  And it will be hard LOOOONNNNNG after this, as well.

Back to the present:  I work at a gym daycare, which I've mentioned before.  I've been there for 2 years, 7 months, and 2 weeks.  And I have worked at 5 different locations throughout Utah and Salt Lake County.  Thassss lossa kiddos.  Wanna know what I have loved best about this job?  It isn't that I get a free gym pass, or that Brandon gets a free gym pass, or even that my shifts are at MOST 5 hours.

What I love best is the kids.

That also, incidentally, is the hardest part of the job.  But that's not what I'm focusing on. These children have taught me so much about love, and trust, and well-children.  And that's beyond the degree in Behavioral Science and Family Studies.  I have learned to love, and hug, and trust, and smile, and wipe away tears, and be that constant for them.  I love when new families come in, and they have a scared child that doesn't want Mom or Dad to leave.  I get to step in and be the constant for them while the parent is away.  And I build trust with them.  And they hold my hand while we walk to find a toy that they will like, or go get a picture to color.  And by the end of the 90 minutes, I've made a new, true friend. I feel like, in these moments, I get a glimpse of how the Savior loves and sees them.

For most of my adult life, this approach has not translated to other adults. :-/  I kinda figured, "They're old enough to make their own choices and deal with whatever happens. They can suck it up and take it just like everybody else."

And then I started coaching.  Initially, I saw a great opportunity to supplement our income and even take over so that Brandon could go back to school or focus on getting his dream job.  I still see that, but at first that was all I was focused on.  Me.  It's amazing that I've even been able to convince people to let me be their coach.  Don't get me wrong, I had every intention of being an honest coach, with integrity and determination to help others, and have done my best to do that.  But my heart wasn't all the way in it.  I was focused on the money.

And now, 1 year later, almost exactly, I am FINALLY starting to get it right.  It has taken me AN ENTIRE YEAR to get my brain and my focus in the right place, to change my heart and shift my focus, so that what I am offering comes from a place of love.

The workouts, the Shakeology, the challenge groups, the entire format WORKS.  It worked before I started coaching and it will work after I'm dead and gone.  But what has changed and made the difference in my success has been me.  I've gone through the refiner's fire, and survived.  My challengers have stayed with me and had such PHENOMENAL success, and now they are as dear to me as the children I work with everyday.  I honestly, truly, love them, and am invested in their success.

And THAT was the epiphany.  My calling in life is to LOVE OTHERS.  And coaching is a way for me to expand and share that love with everyone.

****Life changing moment complete****

Confessions

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This is gonna be a bunch of word vomit and such, so...you've been warned.

I have dreams.  Dreams that I can just ALMOST touch.  They light a fire in me, and I feel a drive to do everything I can to reach them.

That looks pretty low key, emotionless and lame when I type it out.  But it's true.  And here's the other truth: I feel like I've been given an entire shop's worth of tools to get there, and I don't know how to use the hammer.

I have been frustrated.  I found something that changed my life.  I love it, and I AM NOT going back to a life without it.  Logically, I would want to share that with the people I love, with my friends, with anyone that I think it would help. Right?

But there's another problem.  I'm afraid.  I get myself all hyped up to do awesome things, to work hard to reach my goals, to get my energy on the same level as the things I desire, and then I freeze. "Nobody wants to hear this from me.  If I bring up the subject that I have something that could help someone, that person will hate me.  Ugh, I'm so annoying, I should just leave them alone."

I'm doing all the leg work, and getting all my ducks in a row.  All the details are perfect, but I'm just spinning my wheels.

Has that happened to anyone else?  What did you do to move past it?

I've been listening to a book, "You Are A Badass," by Jen Sincero.  FANTASTIC advice, but she's got a bit of a potty mouth (now you know).  But the point of this book is that every single person has the potential to not only be AMAZE-BALLS, but we each have the power to manifest, create, or attract the life we want.  Sounds like a fairy tale, right?  But even BEYOND that, she says that we each have the RESPONSIBILITY to reach our potential, so that we can bless the world, the charities we support, every person we meet--whomever, with our talents and awesomeness.

And I like that.  I want that.  And she's not just spitting in the wind.  She's speaking truth.  Even if you don't believe in God, or the power of "The Universe," fate, or destiny, I know that when I surround myself with uplifting and inspiring people and media, I can FEEL that I have elevated myself, and I put out way more good karma, or energy, or whatever you want to call it.

I'm a religious person, and growing up the basic equation was "do good things"--> "get blessings".  And that's still true, but now I'm way more intentional about it.  I have a specific life that I want, and a way that I know that I can be of service to others.  And that is what I visualize.  Why shouldn't I approach Heavenly Father and say, "This is what I want; this is how I can serve you.  May I please have this?"

There's a concept in this scripture that I like: "And as surely as Christ liveth he spake these words unto our fathers, saying: Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you." Moroni 7:26.  If I have a righteous desire, and I have faith that God will give it to me, He will.

That's powerful stuff.

So back to my issues.  I suppose the underlying problem here is that my fear is bigger than my faith.  And that's something I'm working on.  But I want to say to my friends and family that I've approached, I am sorry if I come off as awkward and sales-y.  That is not my intention AT ALL.  If you say no, that doesn't hurt my feelings :-)  I just want to share something that has blessed my life with you; even if I'm awkward and nerdy and painful to watch while I do that.  I love you ;-)

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?

Camu Camu

It's Saturday, and you know what that means!  Today's Shakeology superfood is Camu Camu.  It's kinda fun to say :-)  Did you ever watch Jungle 2 Jungle, that Tim Allen movie that came out in the late 90's?  Anywho, there's a line in there, something like "Lipo Lipo, so nice they named it twice."  

Same with Camu Camu I'm guessing :-)

So, I looked here and here to see what awesomeness Camu Camu brings to the Shakeology party, and it turns out that it's a fantastic source of antioxidants, potassium, amino acids, and Vitamin C.  In fact, the Camu Camu fruit has 50 times more Vitamin C than oranges.  Whaddup!?  Crazy.  Because of all the goodies in this superfood, it has been shown to balance brain chemistry, decrease mood swings, is great as an anti-inflammatory supplement, and has anti-viral properties as well (all you old farts like me who had chicken pox growing up are gonna want somma this.)  The anti-viral properties in Camu Camu are shown to reduce flare ups in cold sores, herpes, the common cold, and shingles--that thing all us chicken pox veterans are candidates for.   Another noteworthy benefit: because it has so much Vitamin C, it helps decrease depression and anxiety as well.  How many of us are stressed out about everything?  I know I get that way sometimes.  Well, some people who have taken camu camu supplements for an extended period of time have reported that they "require less synthetic anti-depressant medications." reference

In fact, I know an amazing woman, who told her story about dealing with depression, and how drinking Shakeology daily, and I suspect the camu camu played a part in this, helped her lower her anti-depressant medication dosages.  And to be completely honest, this lady's story is what prompted me to become a Beachbody coach.  I took a leap of faith, and signed up without having my own experience with Shakeology to support me.  But I've been drinking it 4 months now, and I KNOW that my body is healthier.  I can FEEL it.  Take care of your body and fuel it right, and weight-loss will be a by-product of getting healthier.  Truth.  Anywho, here is her video: 

And just for accountability purposes, I have been doing my workouts :-)

Nailed it.

See ya Tuesday, folks!  I hope your weekend is fantastic!

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.

Why the Gym Didn't Work For Me

I don't know how many of you readers on the other side of the interwebs know this, I think I've mentioned it before, but aside from being a Beachbody coach, I work part-time at a gym daycare.  I've been doing that almost 2 years now, and it's a really great job for someone like me who has small kids (I can bring them with me) and wants a little extra spending money.  The shifts are only 3-4 hours, for me anyway, and it's been a great way for my girlies to learn social skills :-D Also, I get a free gym membership.  Score!

And let's be real, that was the #2 reason I wanted that job in the first place.  Cuz who doesn't want a FREE gym membership?  That's the dream right?  (The #1 reason was I wanted money and not have to pay for daycare or work graveyard shifts.)

BUT there was a downside to having the gym be my solution for health AND fitness.  The gym provides the equipment, and the personal trainers, and the gym rats that I HOPED I'd look like some day.  But, I didn't have anyone keeping track of my efforts and I wasn't paying for a personal trainer to call me everyday, so I would go home and eat whatever I wanted, because I EARNED IT!

And I did earn it.  I'd run ~3 miles on the treadmill, do 20 minutes of weight lifting, I'd go to the classes, and I'd burn between 600-700 calories for the hour.  Not that shabby.  But because I thought I COULDN'T eat through those burned calories, I GAINED 15 lbs over the course of a couple of months. Ew gross.

That's why I'm so happy my cousin invited me to her challenge group!  It provided the things I was missing.  Sure the workouts were great, but I could handle that on my own.  What I was missing was clean eating, which I could also do a week at a time, and ACCOUNTABILITY.  I found those things in that group, and it was FANTASTIC to be working out and working to eat healthier WITH OTHER PEOPLE.  We were a team, and we supported each other and were held accountable.  No, we didn't get kicked out if we screwed up and ate a couple cookies for no reason.  Everyone empathized and then said, "yeah, I understand.  But REMEMBER WHY you want to change." We all had our reasons why we wanted to change, and that was another way we all bonded.  We didn't have to know each others' reasons, but we knew we had each examined ourselves and thought deeply about why we wanted to lose weight/eat healthier/get stronger.  Those "whys" propelled us when the going got tough.  Now, I love going to the gym, but it didn't give me these things.

And I'm not saying that you can't find these resources on your own to ensure your success.  I'm just saying it's nice and convenient, and all bundled into one simple package :-)  And THAT was what I NEEDED to be successful.  What do YOU NEED?

Have a Happy Weekend!

So, I've decided I want to put a little bit of good karma out in the universe with this post, and share with you some things that have made me happy recently.

First of all, I found these on facebook the last couple of days.  And isn't it wonderful how a little chuckle about something silly can brighten your day?

Secondly, I stumbled across this blog post written by my childhood friend and next door neighbor.  It is beautiful and uplifting, and it made me feel a little bit special that I could remember some of the memories that she shared.  Thanks for writing this, Miranda :-)

Thirdly, Beachbody.  And I don't say this solely because of my "transformation" that I've kept you all apprised of.  I'm a little ashamed of it, but Beachbody has helped form me into a better person in several facets: intellectually, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  I say that I'm ashamed because I should have been the person that I am now before I encountered Beachbody because of my religious beliefs.  But that is in the past, and I'm progressing now, despite the reasons and motivations.  

You want to know what is amazing about Beachbody?  Yes, they have great workouts, and yes, they have an incredible product with Shakeology.  But what makes them OUTSTANDING as a company to work with is that they emphasize personal development.  I have been a coach barely over 2 months, and because I've been improving my mind daily, I have been happier, driven to succeed, hopeful, more patient and understanding, and a host of other things that I probably haven't noticed or acknowledged yet.

And it's pretty great that I can get all my fruits and veggies in one meal and have it taste like a thin mint.  Just sayin :-)

And this man.  He just makes the world perfect and wonderful.

Don't tell him I wrote this, because he would just say, "Oh, shut up."  But he is the most generous person I know.  He is understanding and compassionate.  He stands up for what he believes in without regard to who may disagree.  He is a wonderful father to our beautiful girls, and he treats all three of us like princesses.  He is a gentleman and my best friend.  I'm so happy I get to keep him forever.  And that's all I'll say cuz I'm getting all teary-eyed thinking about how wonderful he is.

Now these girls, they make me laugh EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.  They also make me want to pull my hair out every day, but when it's your kids, the cute things outweigh the trying things in value like 10:1.  Like today, {E} came up to {C} after {C's} nap and said, "{C}, wanna go to the chocolate factory and be a flawless girl?"  I love that she combined her Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Phineas and Ferb references,  Or when we went on an outing tonight, and {C} talked non-stop about her pretty, colored, plastic bracelets.  She was so excited about getting to wear them out.  She must have felt so pretty.

These are the things that have made me happy, along with my daily scripture study, which has helped me keep an eternal perspective, and helped me find the patience I need to nurture my children when they need to be nurtured and set an example for them when they need to be reminded of how to behave.

I hope this weekend brings time for you to spend with your loved ones doing things that make you happy.  Take time to soak in the moment and enjoy it for what it is.  I love ya!  Have a happy weekend!

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!

Day 18: Pilates Fix + 10 Minute Fix for Abs AND Total Body Cardio Fix

Today's post is a quick one, solely for accountability :-)  Lucky you!

Pilates Fix is done, I have pictures to prove it.

I like the 10 Minute Fix for Abs workout, maybe not the best idea to do it right after pilates, though.

I did both those workouts back to back after I finished my first shift at work.  Second shift of work ended at 8:00 pm, and I did Total Body Cardio Fix after I put the kiddos to bed.  No pictures from that workout, you'll just have to take my word that it took place.

Food consumption was alright, but only because I've been running around like a crazy person all day, and didn't really have time to sit down and eat a lot ;-/

Tomorrow is Cardio Fix and Upper Fix.  ALSO, I am starting the 3 Day Quick Fix, with my much stricter meal plan.  Wahoo :-)

And now, goodnight to you all, from me and {C}!

Day 17: Lower Fix and...Indoor Soccer :-)

Hola!  Yesterday was fantastic!  For the most part.  It started off wonderful with my workout, and then we had plans to meet with Brandon's family and do some going out and about.  First, the workout:

Once again, I did the exercises cautiously, so as not to aggravate my knee.  But I thought this picture turned out pretty good.  Sometimes I think I'm not going as low as the people in the video, but sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised at how well I actually do the exercises.  You should try it sometime.  If you think you aren't doing something the right way, take a picture or record yourself doing the "something" and actually SEE how you're doing.  It gives you an unbiased perspective.

Now for going out and about.  My husband recruits for one of the ski resorts here in the Salt Lake area, and we went up for their Oktoberfest celebration, and also to ride the tram up to the top of Hidden Peak.  It was a fun outing for the little ones and we got some good pictures :-)  This is officially the beginning of the holiday season, where every weekend, it feels, there is a family get-together "to-do" to attend.  (Brandon and I both have lots of family within a 30 mile radius, so it gets pretty busy for us.)

So, we thought we might try to take some family pictures while we were up here, like some fancy ones, but...they're doing construction at the top of the mountain, apparently they're putting a restaurant up there, and they had this awesome gravel pit that the kids were immediately drawn to.  EVERYONE got dirty, whether you played in the pit or not.  Also, it was chillier than we were expecting all the way up there, so Brandon was the only one still showing off his sweater by the time we got there :-)  But the view was gorgeous!

After we came down the mountain, we walked around Oktoberfest.  We don't drink, and also, we had kids with us, so we passed on all the ale options and found the Belgian waffle stand.  This is the "Ultimate" option, complete with nutella, vanilla ice cream, strawberries, and whipped cream.  The girls and I made short work of it, while being entertained by some German folk bands.  We had a lot of fun :-)

Later that day, we went down the valley for our weekly soccer game, which again, we lost.  But it's so much fun to just play :-)  I was scheduled to do 10 minute Ab Fix for my second workout yesterday, but once we got home, we had a damaged finger crisis to deal with (pics to come) and I just didn't buckle down to do it.  I'll tack it on to tomorrow's workouts...somehow.

We also did our weekly grocery shopping, and, like I said: it's the holiday season.  And I'm in trouble.

Moderation in all things, right?  I drank the top quarter of it last night, and I'm planning to have a little bit more tonight.  Baby steps.  For me, that's portion control.  I may not be able to say "no" all the time.  But when I can't say "no," I CAN say "when!"  :-)

Tomorrow: Pilates Fix + 10 minute Ab Fix AND Total Body Cardio Fix.  Also laundry and two shifts of work.  I'll get it all in.  Right?