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.

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?

Day 16: Upper Fix and Cardio Fix

Be proud of me!  I woke up early enough this morning to get my workout in before work...at 9:00.  But this rarely happens, so I'm happy about it :-)  Progress report: I felt stronger doing my modified push-ups today (win!) and maybe I'm being a little braggy, but I am DEFINITELY loving the definition in my arms!

That was workout #1.  Workout #2 happened approximately 6 hours later after work and lunch had been digested.

I still think these lateral squat thingies are the hardest part of Cardio Fix. And between my gun show up there and my squating here, I feel a little beasty :-/

And  now for food. Meh.  I'm hitting another "I need chocolate to cope with my craziness" phase :-/  There may be extenuating circumstances surrounding that, but those specific imperfections of mine don't need to be dug through right now :-)

I had a simple, light salad for lunch, and for our Friday night family activity, we went to the mall and stopped by Godiva.  This piece of heaven is a "hazelnut something or other truffle maybe of deliciousness."  Mmmm.  (right about now you should hear Homer Simpson drooling.)

Tomorrow: Lower Fix, 10 minute Ab Fix, and a soccer game :-)

Day 11: Pilates Fix--Round 2

Yesterday was actually the day I did the workout, since Sunday is my rest day, but once again, we didn't get home until late, and I didn't want to worry over posting.  Saturdays we usually make the trek down to Utah County and visit all the fam.  There is also, usually, a soccer game involved, but yesterday our game was scheduled for 6:10 pm, which happened to be during the Priesthood Session of Conference, and since our team is made up of only Brandon's family, half of them thought it would be better for them to attend their church meeting.  So we forfeited.

It's ok though, because instead of tiring myself out at soccer, I got to have a nice, semi-relaxing evening with my female in-laws :-)  (The "semi-relaxing" is because there were also younger females running around the house screaming, so, yeah.)

And here's the confession:  I partook of not healthy food.  (gasp!)  Also, I am feeling pretty good about it, and I'll tell you why.  When I started this "getting healthy" journey, I had no intention whatsoever of giving up deserts and hamburgers and delicious food altogether.  The end goal of this whatchamacallit is to yes, lose weight, get healthy, tone/firm up, but also to enjoy and participate in family gatherings/functions.  The holiday season is coming up, and that's the time when I tend to pack on my extra 10-15 lbs of winter weight.  There is SO MUCH yummy food floating around the holidays, and it is ridiculous to expect that I'm not gonna eat any of it.  That wouldn't make for a happy holiday anyways.  Rounding back around to my point: the good news about me indulging last night/today is that I've been able to CONTROL IT.  The major progress being made here is that I'm not gorging myself on deserts, and turkey and gravy, potatoes with extra butter and soft, warm rolls.  (drooling yet?)  Yes, I'm eating the good food, but in the last two months I've developed a relationship with my body where I LISTEN to it when it says "You're satisfied.  Don't eat another helping."  I've removed daily sugar highs long enough to know that THIS PARTICULAR TREAT is not going to taste as good as I think it will, and I know that I WON'T FEEL GOOD if I eat it.  And I can make a logical, conscious decision about it and stick to it.  For the most part.

And THAT, my friendlies, is progress :-)

As for the pilates workout, it was still a workout :-)  I'm still having the hardest time with the side/mat glute exercises.  You know, the ones where you lie on your side and then do the leg lifts, and "stir the pot/mixing bowl?"  Yeah, those ones.  They are killer.  So, that part was hard still, and then it didn't help that {C} kept trying to sit on me during my low plank hold.  Stinker.  Other than that, I felt like I did well with everything else.  Definitely still loving that these workouts are only 30 MINUTES!  It is so wonderful, it just goes by so quickly :-)

And I am now, officially, half-way through this program!  And a happy note to end on: I got my Insanity T-shirt Friday!  If you do a Beachbody workout the whole way through, you can go on their website, upload your before/after pictures, tell them a little bit about how you liked the program, and then they will send you a FREE T-SHIRT.  Score.

Day 5: Cardio Fix

Boy is that the truth!  Ok, yes, I do remember that I said that Sunday would be my rest day.  And it is.  I was just super busy yesterday socializing (SUPRISE! Yes, I do have a life) that I was too exhausted to write an engaging post when I came home.

So, yesterday was Cardio Fix.  I am just loving each new workout!  I never feel EXHAUSTED by the end of it, but I am TOTALLY FEELING IT for the rest of the day.  How does she do that?!  Anyway, it was a great workout, and surprisingly, I think the thing I had the hardest time with was the lateral squat walk thingies.  You know the one where you squat down, and then take two steps to the side in that position, and then two steps back?  Yeah, that one.

So, that was such a great workout, and then...we had TWO soccer games yesterday.  And we were lucky that there were some people hanging out at the facility that wanted to sub, because we only had enough people to play on the field without forfeiting.

So, Brandon and I were both exhausted by the end of the day, and TODAY we are both moving around like people twice our ages, no offense to people those ages :-)

And that is how yesterday went.

Tomorrow: Dirty 30.  To be honest, I really don't know what to expect out of this workout.  :-/