Friday, February 19, 2016

Just for Fun Friday


This week, my "Just for Fun" task was Menu Planning!!

I kid you not!  

I love my planner (mine is like the discbound binder set as the featured image of this post), organizing my calendar, using agendas, etc...  I'm not always the most organized person, but I love to sit down and take the time to lay everything out.

I used my day off this week to plan a menu, which is what I normally do for the week -- but this time, I planned a whole month's worth of meals.  This included grocery lists for every two weeks and the ability to switch things around if needed. 

The idea for monthly menu planning came in when I stumbled across a random blog post talking about how planning more "big picture" saves money in the long run.  Short term meal planning (like just for today or just for the next few days) leads to more grocery store runs and then more "that looks good" purchasing.  

This also plays into weight loss.  If there's a plan in place, then it's easier to stay "on plan".  If there's no plan in place, it's sometimes easy to fall into the whole take-out or order-in for meals phase -- which I've long tried to avoid.

What did you do just for fun today or this week?  
Do you menu/meal plan with your family?  
How do you stay on plan for weight loss?

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Thirsty Thursday

Starting my day out right with some HYDRATION!!  Focused in on water and limiting my caffeine intake today.  Instead of my trusty cup of coffee, my sidekick this morning is a lightly sweetened chai tea.

Alongside my tea, is my trusty water cup looking like I'll need a refill soon.  I keep this by my bedside most nights so I can sip right before bed and as soon as I wake up.  

Random Story:  I'm a side/stomach sleeper so I'm always smooshing my face into the pillow.  Upside, I sleep hella good!  Downside, I get pillow marks in my face AND I drool a hella lot... (*gross*).  This just means I wake up most days with a mouth like the Sahara.


My Workout Of the Day!

  • 10 - Overhead Presses with two 15 lb dumbbells
  • 5 - Burpees
  • 10 - Bicep Curls with 15lb dumbbell
  • 5 - Burpees
  • 10 - Pushups
  • 5 - Burpees
Complete 5 rounds taking as little rest as possible in between.


What are you drinking today?  
What kind of sleeper are you?  
If you try this workout, let me know what you think!  



Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Wednesday's Workout

Todays' Workout

Five Rounds with as little rest as possible in between.

  • 10 - Ground to Overheads with 25 lbs
  • 12 - Jumping Toe Touch Squats
  • 10 - Thrusters with 25 lbs
  • 12 - Jumping lunges
  • 10 - Sumo high pulls with 25 lbs
  • 12 - Side Ab Crunches (12 on each side)

Dinner tonight-- FIRE CHICKEN!

Pre - workout snack -- Powerballs!  Made with PB, Oatmeal, Honey, Nuts, and love!!
Dinner (post workout) -- FIRE CHICKEN with Cheese and Rice.  

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

So Many Burpees...


Training - Workout #1

  • 10 overhead presses (with two 15-lb dumbbells)
  • 5 burpees
  • 10 bicep curls (with two 15-lb dumbbells)
  • 5 burpees
  • 10 pushups
  • 5 burpees
Repeat all exercises for 5 rounds taking as little rest as possible between each round.

How'd it go?

This workout was actually a lot of fun!!  But it was SO MANY BURPEES!  5 rounds, with 15 in each round, makes 75 completed!!!  In one workout!
I completed it last night and ended up feeling beat!  This morning, I can feel my efforts in my shoulders and upper back - which is always a nice reminder that you've made a dent in your workout goals!
I tried to push through the burpees as fast as possible because they are my least favorite... especially weighted Burpees!   Since these were done without weights for the first time in weeks, it was fun to see how much easier they were to complete!

What's next?

Today's workout:  Five Rounds with as little rest as possible between each round
  • 10 - Ground to Overheads (25lb plate or dumbbell)
  • 12 - Jumping toe touch squats
  • 10 - thrusters (25 lb plate or dumbbell)
  • 12 - Jumping Lunges
  • 10 - Sumo High Pulls
  • 10 - Side Ab Crunches (10 on each side)

Wish me luck!



Monday, February 15, 2016

Monday's Munchies!

What am I eating today

I decided to start off this week with "Monday's Munchies" to fill you in on what I'll be munching on today!  I'll walk you through what's planned and include recipes so you can try them and let me know what you thought!

Breakfast -- Powerballs & Coffee!


Some people call these PowerBalls, others call them Energy Bites or Granola Bar Bites -- but whatever you call them, they're super yummy!  I had two of these bad boys today with coffee (I make mine in a french press and then add stevia and fat free half & half).
Powerballs -- Makes around 14 balls
  • 1 cup Oatmeal (I used instant but you can use rolled oats instead)

  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter (any nut butter will do)
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1 tbsp slivered almonds (any crushed or sliced nuts)
  • 1 tbsp shredded coconut ( you can use toasted or untoasted)
Mix everything well until you have a workable mixture that sticks together well.  Roll in to bite sized balls.  If you have  crumbly mixture add more honey -- to help with mixing I warmed my peanut butter a bit.
Optional Add ins -- any kind of chopped dried fruit, nuts, seeds, protein powder, etc...

Lunch - leftovers

Nothing really exciting here -- We have a fridge full of leftovers (fajitas, steak/potatoes, Seaweed Soup, etc...) so the plan is to eat some of this up!  :D

Dinner - Salisbury Steak w/ Mashed Potatoes & Salad

This is one of my husband's favorite meals from his childhood.  His mom always made it for him and she taught me how -- and showed me how!  Now I'm going to make it for him all by myself (wish me luck!)
As a family, we tend to take recipes like this and tweak them to fit our supplies.  For instance, if we are out of breadcrumbs - we'll use oatmeal or crushed crackers instead.  If we're out of fresh mushrooms, we'll used canned -- etc...  So if you see an ingredient that doesn't fit with your diet/tastes, tweak it!

Today's Snacks!

For snacks today, we have a few options and depending on how hungry we feel after working out etc... we'll utilize one or more of these options.
  • Honeydew Melon
  • Fresh Pineapple
  • Triscuits and Cheese
  • Greek Yogurt & Honey
  • Baby Carrots & PB
  • Salsa & Guacamole w/ Tortilla Chips


What are you eating today?  
Do you have any favorite meal time munchies that are you go to?  
What's your favorite childhood meal?  



Sunday, February 14, 2016

And I'm Back!!!

Nothing like a long break to make you miss me!!  Right??

Okay - so in reality, it's been like a slippery slope of (1) being lazy, (2) playing catch up, and (3) having nothing to write about.

Here's a quick summary of what's been happening:

Weight Loss

Definitely stalled... Ever since Christmas break, I've been disconnected from my body.  The stress of traveling and then coming back to reality (times one million) really has me in my head too much.  
The silver lining is that I learn more and more about myself and my weaknesses.  I have several that directly affect my weight loss plans.
A short list of my weaknesses:
  1. I'm a quick thinker -- this is one of those great interview answers where my weakness is really a strength... but it has it's disadvantages.  I'm make quick decisions and don't always give myself the chance to really think through the consequences.  With food, it's a snag and chomp situation.  Many times I'm swallowed before I've even realized the huge caloric bomb that was just ingested was not even worth it.  This also means that I make quick decisions like skipping workouts or not running and don't revisit the decision making process to really hash out if it's all aligned with my life goals.
  2. I'm a creature with emotions -- I feel happy, I feel sad, and every other feeling that can be felt.  With these feelings comes desires to celebrate, or pamper, or wallow -- mostly with food.  This does not help when it comes to eating well and exercising.   
  3. I'm stubborn -- digging my heals in doesn't help with weakness number 1 -- I end up sticking to my quickly made decisions even if, after time, I start to doubt the decision.  Instead of admitting I made the wrong decision (even just to myself), I rationalize why it was really the right decision even though it was terrible.  Does anyone else do this??
  4. I don't always like "winging it" -- Especially when I'm feeling especially stressed or emotional, I need a plan like Linus needs his Blanket.  If I don't have a plan on those days or in those moments, I lose it a bit inside.  When I'm feeling insecure about my size, I feel like I need a food plan.  When I'm feeling weak and out of shape, I need a plan for training and working out.  Sadly, I don't always find that the prepackaged plans that are out there (and can be easily found with research) suit my tastes and needs, so I spend hours trying to craft my own -- or cobble together a new creature like the Frankenstein's Monster of health plans.

Like any good planner that's identified weaknesses, I've created a small list of goals that will help address these weaknesses...
Weight Loss Goals:
  • Reconnect with Body!
  • Workout!  
  • Eat well!

Training

In brief, my training has changed.   
Running in the cold wasn't happening for me -- so I've had to adjust my goal race dates as well as my running goals.  
For 2016, my goal is still to run a full marathon.
This will just take place in the Fall (November)  instead of in the Spring (Mar/Apr) -- So I will also complete a 5k or two and possibly and 10K and/or Half Marathon (since it will be in my training schedule).
Lately, I've been doing some weight training/crossfit.  I'm blessed with a great support system which includes a pseudo trainer friend of mine.  This means I get workouts for FREE designed for me, that I can complete at home or at my work's gym.  The workouts are in blocks of 3 days with a rest day and then another 3 days followed by a rest day. 
Training Goals:
  • Weight Train: 3 days on, 1 rest day, 3 days on, 1 rest day, etc...
  • Start training for Full Marathon - March 1
  • Incorporate Stretching/yoga: This is will also help with weight loss goal of reconnecting with body



What are your weight loss goals?  
What are your weight loss weaknesses?  
What are your 2016 fitness/running goals?