Friday Weigh In

I was nervous all week for today's weigh in. Not becuase I hadn't been making healthy choices, but becuase I had a very good weigh in last week and in the past my second week is usually a gain or maybe .5 lb. I was happy to see that the healthy choices I have been making showed up on the scale!

90 Day Challenge

Tomorrow marks 2 weeks/14 days on my 90 day challenge. The 90 day challenge is a motivation tool that utilized Visalus Body By Vi protein powder. For the past 14 days I have been replacing two of my regular meals with a protein smoothie. The first week was interesting...I couldn't figure out what ingredients I liked in my smoothies and I had troubles figuring out how and when to make/bring a smoothie to work for lunch. I finally broke down and brought a blender to work with me and it has been awesome.

Today I brought frozen strawberries and banana with me, poured in a cup of pineapple juice, my protein and blended. It seriously tastes like something you would buy at the mall. The consistency is perfect! Definitely a new favorite.

Tomorrow morning I weigh in to see where I am at! See you then!

A bit of heaven

So yesterday was a bit of what I refer to as crazy! It started when I dropped the toddler off at daycare and her joyful giggle turned to a sudden whine as I lifted her over the classroom gate. As I pulled out of my parking spot I could see her through the window in full tantrum mode. WHY! I can't explain the heart wrench that sits in my stomach for the rest of the day. I did all I could to keep myself from pulling a U-turn and calling in sick.
Work quickly had my mind elsewhere though. A very influential and kind man around our campus passed away yesterday morning. It created a quiet but very busy sort of atmosphere for the day. Add on top of that urgent meetings and I couldn't tell you where my day went. I office in a small building with about 20 other people. We are on a large University campus but across the street from the main "quad" area. Our building is great most of the time, but because we are limited on space our kitchen and conference room are one in the same. Typically this is not an issue at all, but when urgent meetings come up and last all day...and you placed your lunch in the fridge...it kind of stinks!
I was hoping that if I went over to the gym for a workout that the conference room would be open by the time I got back...SO WRONG. Luckily I had a small packet of peanut butter and a whole wheat english muffin in my bag for emergencies. It tasted amazing after a 2 mile run!
We had our traditional Monday evening dinner at the local pub with my sister and her family. In the past I would typically order fajitas or a burger in fries. I knew that I wanted to get something that would fill me up but healthy. I ended up picking a flat bread pizza with fresh tomatoes, basil and goat cheese. AMAZING.
I finished up the night cooking up some protein cookies that my friend Jen (Mom to the Max) posted a few weeks ago. I am literally in heaven...these little bits of oatmeal, peanut butter, vanilla goodness are to die for! Seriously, give them a try. I rolled mine into about 40 balls and put them in the fridge for an easy grab when I am craving something sweet! Trust me you will thank me later!

Keeping busy

Weekends around our house are usually either jamb packed with projects and errands or we find ourselves searching for something to keep us busy. As the weekend approached last week I realized that besides the normal chores we didn't have much going on. I wanted to have some tentative plans so that we didn't find ourselves sitting around which typically leaves me wandering in to the kitchen to nibble.
After a great week of eating and exercise I wanted to make sure I stayed on track. So Saturday morning we got up and out of the house by 8:30! I took a fruit smoothie with me for breakfast and off we went to the local community center. It turns out we have a little gymnast on our hands.

Sorry, I can't get my picture to rotate...serves me right for blogging on the PC when I should have done this last night on the Mac!
We spent a good portion of Saturday at the apple orchard. They had so many fun activities for the Toddler including a little train ride, tractor push rides and goats. We had a blast and it was so nice to enjoy the warm weather (almost 30 degrees colder today)! 
I decided to grill some chicken Saturday night and after a little miss-hap (almost blew up the propane tank..no biggie, really) we enjoyed a very peaceful dinner out on the deck. Oh, and for those of you who enjoy beer can chicken, might I suggest using a tray underneath the chicken to catch the drippings...I found out the hard way that they can very easily start a fire. And a big thanks to the hubby who acted VERY quickly with the box of baking soda. I like to keep things interesting!
My sis and I spent Sunday morning working on her wedding plans. I am very excited to be part of her wedding but getting a plan and date has been a beast! I think it is horrible that people try to make someone else's wedding about themselves. Regardless of when or where she finally ties the knot, I will make sure it is amazing!
Sunday afternoon flew by, luckily the toddler took a ROCKSTAR nap and I was able to get this done

That is chicken and veggie lasagna, turkey-loaf with egg noodles, sweet potatoes and in the far corner the crock pot was doing its thing full of baked potato soup! YUM...I have easy to grab meals for the week. I am taking each day as it comes and hopefully I will see the reward on Friday.
Happy Monday!

Friday Weigh In...

There it is...no making this up. I'm not sure I have ever been so open and honest about a subject that literally scares the HELL out of me. Here are this weeks stats:

Starting Weight: 156

Current Weight: 151.4
Total Loss: 4.6 lb.

Work outs were a bit challenging this week, I got a wonderful run in on Monday but decided to take Tuesday off to stretch my calf muscles. Wednesday I managed to get over to the gym for about 30 minutes of cardio. I tried out the stair climber as well as the 'glider' similar to an elliptical machine. The campus gym offers TRX classes which is a form of strength training I became a little OBSESSED with while training with Megan. Classes start next week and run twice a week for an hour each session. I am planning to head over to sign up this morning.

Yesterday was a pretty lame day as far as eating goes. Here is what it looked like:

Protein smoothie: (100 calorie coffee drink, 1/2 banana, 2 scoops protein and a cup of ice). Somewhere between breakfast and lunch I enjoyed some homemade banana bread, I had already devoured it before I thought to snap a picture!

 Lunch was leftover turkey and mushrooms with egg noodles...a favorite and SO easy to make.

 I brought an apple and peanut butter to enjoy after my workout but just as I was packing up my stuff to head out the bossman stopped me with one of those 'urgent' projects! I decided to ditch the PB and just enjoy the apple.

 Dinner was on the go! My sister had conferences at school so the Hubs and I headed over to her place to help with my niece. They enjoyed meatloaf and mac&cheese while I sipped on a tropical Green tea smoothie (8 oz green tea, 2 scoops protein, 1.5 cups tropical fruit mix).

I have always had a weakness for late night snacking and I am not going to lie and say that the pantry wasn't calling my name as we waited for the toddler to settle down for the night. I drank my water, brushed my teeth and headed to bed early rather then tempting myself.

The plan

So as I am getting more into a regular routine as a full-time working mama I knew that it was time to get back into eating well and working out on a regular basis.
I looked at several options as I went back to work. I tried working out in the mornings with a new trainer at my local gym...I AM NOT A MORNING PERSON! Major kudos to all those who can wake up an extra 1.5 hours early to get it done and out of the way. I thought about going to the gym after picking the toddler up from daycare...to be honest I can only take the separation tantrum once a day (this may be a nice option as she gets a bit older and understands time a bit better)! So this leaves me with....??? A lunch workout! I have an amazing new gym facility just across campus from my office and the best part is, it's FREE! Yes Please, Thank You Very Much!
So I joined the campus gym last week and began my lunch workout routine this week. It felt great. I have a solid 30-40 minutes to get cardio in and still shower off and get back to my office for a quick meal. Since I would be using the majority of my lunch hour to workout I also needed to get better at packing a brown pink bag lunch. I prepped a weeks worth of lunches and snacks on Sunday and have been making delicious protein smoothies for a quick breakfast on the go.
Dinner is still a bit of an issue. I hate having to make two separate meals (healthy option for me, kid/hub friendly for the family). I have instead replaced my dinner with a protein smoothie which seems like a nice option that doesn't create a lot more work or should I say dishes!
As for the blog. I am keeping myself accountable. Tracking what I shovel into my pie hole as well as putting my weight and progress right out there for my friends and family to see. Those that know me well certainly know that this is HUGE!

Welcome

Well, you made it to the blog! Most likely I sent you a link or maybe you were just lucky enough to find me on your own. I wanted to share my thoughts and journey with some of the people in my life that I feel will keep me motivated and more importantly accountable!
So where to start...I think a year ago is the best place for me to start without writing a chapter book (that would be fun though). Most of you know that a year ago I up and quit my job of 11+ years...some of you know the reasons or at least partially. More or less I wanted a chance to spend some quality time with my daughter and learn a little bit about who I was and what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Did I figure that out? HELL NO...I have a toddler!
I left my job on a Friday and that very next Monday I drove over to the local Golds Gym and signed my life away...I'm not going to lie, I am NOT a gym person. Regardless I needed to start somewhere and this was my answer. I went back in the following Wednesday for my evaluation with a guy who I like to call Colt (I can't remember his real name but it was something unique and this reminds me of 3 Ninjas so I am going with it). I decided that since I couldn't tell you the difference between a lunge and a squat that I would sign up to have a personal trainer twice a week...this is serious business. This is when I was introduced to Megan (that is her real name, and she doesn't need a ninja name because she is just that awesome)...Megan put up stuck with me for the next several months while I developed a 'fondness' for fitness.
Going to the gym became part of our routine and I took it for granted. I had an opportunity to really kick butt, but mentally I wasn't quite there. I noticed the changes in my health and body though and by the end really began to LOVE my work outs.
Then an opportunity to rejoin the working world came up and it was something I REALLY wanted! I went from wearing yoga pants and sports bras to skirts and heels in the matter of a few weeks. The timing was perfect because Megan broke up with me received a promotion and was no longer able to kick my butt anymore, so here we are. I am back at work full-time and trying to remain motivated and healthy.