Showing posts with label fit mom challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fit mom challenge. Show all posts
Sunday, March 27, 2016
Clean Mac and cheese
So I love pasta, cheese and all things macaroni. I tried this recipe and it was a WIN!
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Day 9, Tuesday week 2
So cardio. 30-45 minutes of steady state or HIIT. Woof. Up on the elliptical I go. Feeling good. Pressing through that second mile. Onto the third with relative ease. As I approached 45, I was too close to 4 miles to give up. So I pushed it out to 50 minutes and get me to 4 miles. I'm not a runner. But this was amazing for me. If I can do this, I can basically do anything.
Weekend edition
Saturday was pretty easy. Shakes for breakfast and lunch, 2x HIIT workout in the morning, good hydration. We had a plan for moms night out with wine club and daddy daycare. They got takeout and I drove to Asheboro!
Taking into account budget, physical limitations and three of us doing a challenge that limits sugar, dairy, white carbs, wine and coffee. Our fearless leader Emily was undaunted and put together a fun night! We had a chair yoga session, which was unique. Great stretch and relaxation. After that we had a ten minute massage of our choice. I opted for the back and hips, with a lot of strength and stretch and alignment. It. Was. Super.
We had tea and snacks and fellowship and left feeling more relaxed. We headed to dinner at SomethingDifferent where we found great and prompt service. Emily knows the owner well and be brought over a delicious dessert. Well I couldn't be rude yeah? So I had a few bites. Nbd. We sat around chatting a bit and it's so fun to have people on this team with me.
Day 8: Monday, week 2
There's something about a Monday, right? Fresh start. New chance to succeed. This Monday was really different than last, because I felt so much more prepared. I spent a ton of time in the kitchen this weekend so it was no accident!
Monday was leg day, week 2 so a different set of workouts. Watched my videos, made my notes, got to work! Again frustrated by the limits of our work out space and machines, just steady making notes to give feedback. It's another area of campus that really needs the upgrade but there is a long, long list.
Monday's workout focused a lot on hamstrings, which maybe I've neglected altogether ever? That's what it felt like. WOW. But great workout. Exhausting and empowering.
Making strides in my midday snacking and have been a beast at skipping the post dinner snack. That's def my biggest hurdle. Mind over matter!
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Day 5: Friday
I will admit, Friday was a challenge in a different way. I am SO ready to be over with my period and doing this challenge in a different mindset with different chemical balance in my body and hormones I hate to "blame it" on that but truly it makes a difference in how I feel, what I want to eat and my motivation to be successful. I did wake up feeling pretty great after my cleanse day, which I think I missed the last challenge. I just seemed to wake up feeling starving instead of refreshed. This time I had energy, I had positive feelings and I wasn't dying to eat.
It started off fine, my usual morning routine. I met a friend for a visit in the morning at the MOST delicious smelling pastry shop. Everything was carbs/fat/flaky goodness so I resisted for the most part. After being there about an hour, I really needed a snack and didn't want to go off the rails, so I got a spinach/bacon/mozzarella croissant and split it. I figure the challenge for me this time is to reset and get back on track, so I've been less rigid with the program. In hindsight, next week needs to be much more rigid. But it was delicious!
I got to work kind of in a funk, just because there is much to do and little time in which to do it. I would have rather spent half the day at the gym. There's something freeing about it, and I hate sitting at a desk staring at projects some days. But this weekend I plan to do some work from home to put me in a good, caught up place so I feel less overwhelmed at work. This was the part of the day I really, really just decided I wanted a ham sandwich. I didn't want to drink my lunch today, I wanted something not super terrible for me but something I could chew. I pretty much was just feeling sorry for myself and trying to do some emotional eating.
I run my day pretty close to the chest on time, so I'm essentially always rushing somewhere because I left myself JUST enough time to get there. This day I had a presentation just across the way at the Academy, and went to the cafe with just enough time to eat. I ordered my sandwich, mentally vowed to eat only half of it and waited. And waited. And waited. And then it was time to go do my presentation, so I got my money back and left. It was a disappointment for sure, but I had a job to do.
After my presentation, I was really conflicted about what to do next. Should I go try again to get my sandwich? Should I go back up to my office with the pretense of drinking my shake to go to the gym, knowing that once I get up there I probably won't get to leave to actually GO to the gym? Do I just go to the gym? Well wait I can't do that, I haven't eaten lunch and I know my workout will fail early on an empty stomach. I kind of just sat in my car for a few minutes.
I looked around and realized I had an empty, clean shaker cup in my car thanks to my visit with my friend who returned it that morning. I had left it in her car WEEKS ago and we finally met up so I had it on me (the one I planned to use that day was upstairs at my desk). My lunch bag was upstairs with my shakes and supplements; but look at that, my purse was in the car and it had one shake. Last hurdle, water. I had exactly 8 oz in my water bottle! Okay fine, universe. I mixed up my shake and headed to the gym. With 11% battery on my phone for a workout I hadn't studied yet. JUST DO IT.
I spent a few minutes letting my food digest and then watched my videos for the exercises. I started to get really excited because I knew how to do most of them and was excited about the opportunity to do some new ones. Turned on my music and got to work. I had a rare tank top in my bag, I rarely work out in shorts or tank tops (body image, working on it) but it was serendipitous that I had a shirt that shows off my arms on a day I'm working only upper body! I got to see the progress for myself in how far I've come, but also by the end of the workout how much I had worked those muscles! My gym time has come to be really therapeutic and I love to see my progress.
I went back to work for the end of the day with a renewed faith in myself, in the program, and a TON of energy. I may not have hit all the goals for the day, but I finished strong and loved my workout. I took that momentum and registered for Camp Gorgo this summer, a fitness camp run by many of the coaches I'm working with. I'm nervous to step out of my comfort zone, but I'm excited about the possibility of new friends, new experiences, learning new things...and a weekend away. In July. In Kentucky lol.
I got home from work and my plan was eat leftovers or go out to eat. We ended up watching some basketball before we left, so I was pretty hungry when we finally sat down. I knew I wanted chicken, no matter where we went. I needed a big giant piece of a white meat protein! We went to a steakhouse so I had some pretty good options. I ended up getting a mesquite grilled chicken with sweet potato and salad. I'm proud to say I resisted the delicious-smelling-but-carby-drenched-in-butter yeast rolls and skipped the in-shell peanuts on the table. I had a small salad but went light on the dressing; my chicken came with rice AND sweet potato so I ate some of the rice, a bite or two of the potato and ALL my chicken. My family devoured a banana creme pie but I skipped it, and it was gone so quickly I didn't have time to think about it! Ha!
I mostly felt good about my day, and tried not to dwell on the negative. I'm hoping for a successful weekend and a big prep day Sunday so I feel more successful starting the week off.
It started off fine, my usual morning routine. I met a friend for a visit in the morning at the MOST delicious smelling pastry shop. Everything was carbs/fat/flaky goodness so I resisted for the most part. After being there about an hour, I really needed a snack and didn't want to go off the rails, so I got a spinach/bacon/mozzarella croissant and split it. I figure the challenge for me this time is to reset and get back on track, so I've been less rigid with the program. In hindsight, next week needs to be much more rigid. But it was delicious!
I got to work kind of in a funk, just because there is much to do and little time in which to do it. I would have rather spent half the day at the gym. There's something freeing about it, and I hate sitting at a desk staring at projects some days. But this weekend I plan to do some work from home to put me in a good, caught up place so I feel less overwhelmed at work. This was the part of the day I really, really just decided I wanted a ham sandwich. I didn't want to drink my lunch today, I wanted something not super terrible for me but something I could chew. I pretty much was just feeling sorry for myself and trying to do some emotional eating.
I run my day pretty close to the chest on time, so I'm essentially always rushing somewhere because I left myself JUST enough time to get there. This day I had a presentation just across the way at the Academy, and went to the cafe with just enough time to eat. I ordered my sandwich, mentally vowed to eat only half of it and waited. And waited. And waited. And then it was time to go do my presentation, so I got my money back and left. It was a disappointment for sure, but I had a job to do.
After my presentation, I was really conflicted about what to do next. Should I go try again to get my sandwich? Should I go back up to my office with the pretense of drinking my shake to go to the gym, knowing that once I get up there I probably won't get to leave to actually GO to the gym? Do I just go to the gym? Well wait I can't do that, I haven't eaten lunch and I know my workout will fail early on an empty stomach. I kind of just sat in my car for a few minutes.
I looked around and realized I had an empty, clean shaker cup in my car thanks to my visit with my friend who returned it that morning. I had left it in her car WEEKS ago and we finally met up so I had it on me (the one I planned to use that day was upstairs at my desk). My lunch bag was upstairs with my shakes and supplements; but look at that, my purse was in the car and it had one shake. Last hurdle, water. I had exactly 8 oz in my water bottle! Okay fine, universe. I mixed up my shake and headed to the gym. With 11% battery on my phone for a workout I hadn't studied yet. JUST DO IT.
I spent a few minutes letting my food digest and then watched my videos for the exercises. I started to get really excited because I knew how to do most of them and was excited about the opportunity to do some new ones. Turned on my music and got to work. I had a rare tank top in my bag, I rarely work out in shorts or tank tops (body image, working on it) but it was serendipitous that I had a shirt that shows off my arms on a day I'm working only upper body! I got to see the progress for myself in how far I've come, but also by the end of the workout how much I had worked those muscles! My gym time has come to be really therapeutic and I love to see my progress.
I went back to work for the end of the day with a renewed faith in myself, in the program, and a TON of energy. I may not have hit all the goals for the day, but I finished strong and loved my workout. I took that momentum and registered for Camp Gorgo this summer, a fitness camp run by many of the coaches I'm working with. I'm nervous to step out of my comfort zone, but I'm excited about the possibility of new friends, new experiences, learning new things...and a weekend away. In July. In Kentucky lol.
I got home from work and my plan was eat leftovers or go out to eat. We ended up watching some basketball before we left, so I was pretty hungry when we finally sat down. I knew I wanted chicken, no matter where we went. I needed a big giant piece of a white meat protein! We went to a steakhouse so I had some pretty good options. I ended up getting a mesquite grilled chicken with sweet potato and salad. I'm proud to say I resisted the delicious-smelling-but-carby-drenched-in-butter yeast rolls and skipped the in-shell peanuts on the table. I had a small salad but went light on the dressing; my chicken came with rice AND sweet potato so I ate some of the rice, a bite or two of the potato and ALL my chicken. My family devoured a banana creme pie but I skipped it, and it was gone so quickly I didn't have time to think about it! Ha!
I mostly felt good about my day, and tried not to dwell on the negative. I'm hoping for a successful weekend and a big prep day Sunday so I feel more successful starting the week off.
Day 4: Cleanse day
Ah, the dreaded cleanse day. Last time around, I was only partially successful at cleanse days so I was determined to do better this time. Armed with a little bit of the science surrounding it, I really wanted to do this for my body.
I started off early, with cleanse for life and Ionix supreme. I took my accelerator and really thought between ionix and CFL, I would be fine. And then it hit me again: the overwhelming urge to vomit. GEEZ. I have to figure out what to do about this supplement! It didn't affect me this way AT ALL ONE TIME last time. But I am not giving up.
So as I'm driving the stretch from dropping Lila off to work, about 30 minutes, I am trying to hold back the feeling to vomit by sheer will. I DON'T want to throw up; it hurts, it's messy, and I've gotten an hour into this cleanse day and I don't want to vomit pure money. So I had a few decisions to make: eat and bust my cleanse day before it really starts; throw up and start over; throw up and throw in the towel.
I opted for 2-3 almonds, and my apple. Small portions of food (50 cal or less) are approved for cleanse day, just not enough to really stimulate digestion. But digestion was what I needed to get over this hump and move forward. I also hate to eat an apple without cutting it but when you're driving and about to yak, you make a choice! So I ate the apple, drank water and kept saying, "You are not going to be sick. You are not going to be sick." It worked! By the time I got to work I was feeling much better.
This day was good because I was busy all around, so I didn't have a lot of time to just think about food. I had a college fair at 10am, which was going to bump a little into my next cleanse serving but not so much that I needed to make it while I was there. I drank TONS of water whilst there and it wasn't really hard to avoid the snacks they had out for us. It was all processed, all sugar and calories and sodium, and all in bags. So at least it wasn't delicious smelling pizza or something. I finished up right at 12 and raced back to make my next serving.
The next two hours were work, water, and wafers. When I got super hungry feeling or just needed to chew, I popped in an Isa Snack. My first time friends are NOT fans of them, but I have learned to appreciate their worth when it's the only thing I get to eat on cleanse day! Around 2:30 I left the office because I had scheduled a haircut! Finally! I never get haircuts because I'm terrible at making time for myself AND spending money but I did it and it coincided perfectly with this challenge and my first cleanse day. So I had a little pampering in my day :-)
I got home and realized the blessing and the curse of having dinner in the crock pot of cleanse day: I don't have to stand over the stove and cook food I won't be eating, but dang did it smell delicious! I felt prepared and slightly empowered, as I made the red skin mashed potatoes that looked wonderful. I didn't even taste them, because I have no willpower and that would have turned into full blown dinner. My family ate, I sat with them and drank my CFL and as an added bonus, the NCAA tournament started on my cleanse day which was a surefire way to keep me busy and my mind off food for four hours until bed time. I like to go to bed early on cleanse days to get them over with, but UNC was playing at 720 and I wasn't going to miss it.
I ended up falling asleep on the couch before the end of the second half but watched most of it and felt successful on my first cleanse day of the challenge!
I started off early, with cleanse for life and Ionix supreme. I took my accelerator and really thought between ionix and CFL, I would be fine. And then it hit me again: the overwhelming urge to vomit. GEEZ. I have to figure out what to do about this supplement! It didn't affect me this way AT ALL ONE TIME last time. But I am not giving up.
So as I'm driving the stretch from dropping Lila off to work, about 30 minutes, I am trying to hold back the feeling to vomit by sheer will. I DON'T want to throw up; it hurts, it's messy, and I've gotten an hour into this cleanse day and I don't want to vomit pure money. So I had a few decisions to make: eat and bust my cleanse day before it really starts; throw up and start over; throw up and throw in the towel.
I opted for 2-3 almonds, and my apple. Small portions of food (50 cal or less) are approved for cleanse day, just not enough to really stimulate digestion. But digestion was what I needed to get over this hump and move forward. I also hate to eat an apple without cutting it but when you're driving and about to yak, you make a choice! So I ate the apple, drank water and kept saying, "You are not going to be sick. You are not going to be sick." It worked! By the time I got to work I was feeling much better.
This day was good because I was busy all around, so I didn't have a lot of time to just think about food. I had a college fair at 10am, which was going to bump a little into my next cleanse serving but not so much that I needed to make it while I was there. I drank TONS of water whilst there and it wasn't really hard to avoid the snacks they had out for us. It was all processed, all sugar and calories and sodium, and all in bags. So at least it wasn't delicious smelling pizza or something. I finished up right at 12 and raced back to make my next serving.
The next two hours were work, water, and wafers. When I got super hungry feeling or just needed to chew, I popped in an Isa Snack. My first time friends are NOT fans of them, but I have learned to appreciate their worth when it's the only thing I get to eat on cleanse day! Around 2:30 I left the office because I had scheduled a haircut! Finally! I never get haircuts because I'm terrible at making time for myself AND spending money but I did it and it coincided perfectly with this challenge and my first cleanse day. So I had a little pampering in my day :-)
I got home and realized the blessing and the curse of having dinner in the crock pot of cleanse day: I don't have to stand over the stove and cook food I won't be eating, but dang did it smell delicious! I felt prepared and slightly empowered, as I made the red skin mashed potatoes that looked wonderful. I didn't even taste them, because I have no willpower and that would have turned into full blown dinner. My family ate, I sat with them and drank my CFL and as an added bonus, the NCAA tournament started on my cleanse day which was a surefire way to keep me busy and my mind off food for four hours until bed time. I like to go to bed early on cleanse days to get them over with, but UNC was playing at 720 and I wasn't going to miss it.
I ended up falling asleep on the couch before the end of the second half but watched most of it and felt successful on my first cleanse day of the challenge!
Monday, March 14, 2016
Fit Mom Challenge: Day 1
So I'm really excited to be doing this challenge with some of my good friends: Carol, Sarah, Mary Hilliard, Lisa and Emily!
I'll admit yesterday was a stressful day for me and I almost decided to quit before I started. What? Why would I choose to fail?
1. I worked until 11pm.
2. I haven't studied the workout plan
3. I don't have a shake day plan
4. I know I'm going to be tired.
Turns out, what I needed was to fail first mentally to succeed mentally!
1. That's an unusual work time for me; it's one day. Not a consistent schedule.
2. Once I sat down and focused, it took me TEN minutes to read over today's workout, watch the videos and make my notes. I can do ALL of those exercises!
3. Duh, I have all the products. Literally everything I need. So I fired up the Keurig for hot water at 630, mixed in my ionix supreme, drank it, filled up my water bottle and shaker cup, and walked out the door. The REASON I use these products is for their convenience for an on-the-go mom! Tossed my shake packs in my bag so I have a few at work, I keep almonds at my desk now and grabbed my orange. Today is a weird day in that we have an event at work and lunch is provided; I'll bring my shake with me and eat the salad that I know will be offered.
4. Of course I'm going to be tired. I got 5 hours of sleep. But I'll feel much better about what kind of tired I am when I get to bed tonight because I will have done great things for my body.
I also listened to the Periscope I missed last night while on the way to work this morning. Love the positivity and the support I'm surrounded by in doing this challenge! I love our group texts! I am so excited to see what I can accomplish and what I can help my friends accomplish.
I'll admit yesterday was a stressful day for me and I almost decided to quit before I started. What? Why would I choose to fail?
1. I worked until 11pm.
2. I haven't studied the workout plan
3. I don't have a shake day plan
4. I know I'm going to be tired.
Turns out, what I needed was to fail first mentally to succeed mentally!
1. That's an unusual work time for me; it's one day. Not a consistent schedule.
2. Once I sat down and focused, it took me TEN minutes to read over today's workout, watch the videos and make my notes. I can do ALL of those exercises!
3. Duh, I have all the products. Literally everything I need. So I fired up the Keurig for hot water at 630, mixed in my ionix supreme, drank it, filled up my water bottle and shaker cup, and walked out the door. The REASON I use these products is for their convenience for an on-the-go mom! Tossed my shake packs in my bag so I have a few at work, I keep almonds at my desk now and grabbed my orange. Today is a weird day in that we have an event at work and lunch is provided; I'll bring my shake with me and eat the salad that I know will be offered.
4. Of course I'm going to be tired. I got 5 hours of sleep. But I'll feel much better about what kind of tired I am when I get to bed tonight because I will have done great things for my body.
I also listened to the Periscope I missed last night while on the way to work this morning. Love the positivity and the support I'm surrounded by in doing this challenge! I love our group texts! I am so excited to see what I can accomplish and what I can help my friends accomplish.
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
The Fit Mom Challenge is BACK!
I'm so excited that we're doing this challenge again!
In January I decided to actively start selling Isagenix because it's a product and company I believe in, and has helped me be successful, not only weight loss but general better health and fitness. I figured, I paid that associate fee when I did the first challenge and that allowed me a year of access to my own personal website, why not use it? So I jumped on board with Val's team and there are 5-6 of us that are working together to grow our business.
A huge selling point for me to use the products and introduce people to them was my results from the first challenge I did last spring. So when Val & friends decided to host the Fit Mom Challenge again, I knew I would be successful in getting some friends sign up for it with me!
As of right now I have to friends/former co-workers that are joining me, along with two members of my wine club and one mom-of-wine-club. I can't wait to see how different this experience is when I'm one of the support folks cheering people on! I had a tremendous amount of support when I did this, and can't wait to help cheer my team on.
My products are already here and I can't wait to get started!
Last time I did the challenge I spent the week before as sort of "the last supper" and ate a bunch of stuff so I wouldn't feel like I was missing out on things during the 30 days. I have such a different approach this time, because I know how much my health and wellness revolve around my mental game. So I'm actively making good choices this week and trying to hit some of my targets (water consumption, 4 days of gym time) before I even get started.
Emily, Lisa, Mary Hilliard, Sarah, Carol...let's do this!!
In January I decided to actively start selling Isagenix because it's a product and company I believe in, and has helped me be successful, not only weight loss but general better health and fitness. I figured, I paid that associate fee when I did the first challenge and that allowed me a year of access to my own personal website, why not use it? So I jumped on board with Val's team and there are 5-6 of us that are working together to grow our business.
A huge selling point for me to use the products and introduce people to them was my results from the first challenge I did last spring. So when Val & friends decided to host the Fit Mom Challenge again, I knew I would be successful in getting some friends sign up for it with me!
As of right now I have to friends/former co-workers that are joining me, along with two members of my wine club and one mom-of-wine-club. I can't wait to see how different this experience is when I'm one of the support folks cheering people on! I had a tremendous amount of support when I did this, and can't wait to help cheer my team on.
My products are already here and I can't wait to get started!
Last time I did the challenge I spent the week before as sort of "the last supper" and ate a bunch of stuff so I wouldn't feel like I was missing out on things during the 30 days. I have such a different approach this time, because I know how much my health and wellness revolve around my mental game. So I'm actively making good choices this week and trying to hit some of my targets (water consumption, 4 days of gym time) before I even get started.
Emily, Lisa, Mary Hilliard, Sarah, Carol...let's do this!!
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