It's working!!....with a few tweaks

I decided to measure myself today after the first two weeks are over and I've lost 4 inches off of my body!!  I was super excited to see changes like that in such a short period of time.  I will weigh myself tomorrow and check body fat but after losing the inches I am feeling so ready to get back into my workouts tomorrow!  I did make a few tweaks though to the program to fit me.  I know it says NO cardio for 4 weeks but I learned something serious about myself after last week.  I NEED cardio...seriously need it.  It's my biggest form of stress relief and after over a week of no cardio I started breaking out in stress hives.  After a few days of cardio they are gone and I'm feeling much better!  It's something that helps me get through the days with the kiddos and keeps me level headed...so it stays :).  The rest of the program I am loving!!  SO excited to see what the next 10 weeks brings :)

Day 9

I'm falling asleep as I write this so I'll keep it short ;).  I'm dragging on day 9.  I think my body is withdrawing from all of the sugar and crap in it.  I'm proud of myself though and stuck to clean eating and completed my workout...and no diet pepsi!! :)  Hoping for some more energy tomorrow and counting down the days until I can do CARDIO!  Agh :) 

Dinner tonight was spaghetti and was supposed to be clean meatballs....I was so tired and lazy so I just cooked the ground turkey and put it in the sauce...but here is the recipe for the meatballs...

http://www.blogilates.com/recipe-index/super-healthy-ultra-clean-meatball-recipe

Day 8...

Today I followed the plan exactly as written.  I felt like I ate SO much!!  I decided to set my alarm for every 2.5 hours so I could actually remember to eat.  I made it through the day eating as the plan was written.  Two things were tough.  One...no more diet pepsi.  I've tried in the past giving it up but always go back to it.  I know it's awful for me but I always start drinking it again.  I did make it through the day only drinking water.  I had a slight headache all day but hoping that tomorrow is a bit easier.  Secondly...peanut butter.  It was a very tough thing to give up Jiff peanut butter but I made the switch to natural peanut butter.  It will take some getting used to for sure but it wasn't entirely bad.  It was still VERY strange to not do cardio.  I don't think I will ever get used to that.  I will be thrilled when the next three weeks have ended and I can start running again. 

For dinner I made coconut shrimp and brown rice.  The shrimp turned out really well...the rice...ugh.  I need to find a better way to prepare brown rice so it has more flavor.  If anyone has any suggestions...HELP please! 

Coconut Shrimp
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/12/skinny-coconut-shrimp.html

Jamie Eason's Livefit Program

I stumbled across Jamie Eason's livefit program about two weeks ago on pinterest.  It seemed like a great program that encouraged healthy eating and exercise....best of all it was FREE!! :)  I scoured the internet like I always do in search of as much info as I could find on it.  All of the reviews I found were very positive and the result photos were impressive!!   So I started thinking about whether I should try this out or not.  Two things were making me very nervous.  First, the program is made up of 12 weeks.  The first 4 weeks you are not supposed to do ANY cardio.  Now as most of you know I do cardio 6 days a week...the idea of not doing any for 4 weeks was messing with my head.  Secondly, you are not supposed to count any calories.  Again I think I've been doing some kind of calorie counting for so long that it makes me uncomfortable to not do it.  So (of course) I decided I would start this and tweak a few things...do it my own way...because of course Im an expert and still need to follow someone elses program :)

 

So week 1 went by and I followed the workout plan, counting calories and of course doing cardio.  I realized I wasn't feeling any different than I normally do.  So I pulled the laptop back out and started up some more research.  I came across a fantastic group page on facebook that consists of everyone following this program.  They gave me some great advice and encouraged me to stick to the program as written.  I even found a friend who has completed the program and that was even more encouraging!  SO tomorrow begins week two.   I will not do cardio for the next three weeks, I will not count calories and I will eat clean.  I am really pulling myself out of my comfort zone to do this but isn't that what we all need now and then...a little time outside of our comfort zone?  I'm going to try to document most of what I do and eat in the hopes that it will help someone else along their journey.  It may not all be pretty but it will be the truth.

Energy Bites

Here is the recipe for the energy bites I made yesterday!  I found a bunch of recipes on pinterest (0f course:) but this one was my favorite.  Here is the link that I used :)  http://www.chef-in-training.com/2012/01/no-bake-energy-bites/

The recipe was quick and easy!!  I have a feeling I will be making these weekly.  I just had one after a workout and it was perfect!

No Bake Energy Bites

1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips...I used dark choc
1 tsp vanilla

Mix everything together until it is all blended.  It says to put it in the refrigerator for 30 mins before rolling into balls but it still seemed to need a little more time so I left them in for an hour and then rolled them into balls.   It made 18 balls and I figured them out to be 153 calories a piece.  Perfect for after a workout!! :)

New year, new resolutions....

I decided this year that I was not going to make any new years resolutions.  Instead I made a list of 17 things that I wanted to complete this year.  Some things are bigger than others but I believe that they each will help me to become the person I want to be.  I didn't want to focus on something that I should stop doing...and focus on things that I want to start doing.  One of the things on my list is to create time to blog more.  It's something that I love to do and never make the time for myself to do it.  So today I started to get things organized for the month of January and got us all back on a routine.  I LOVE the holidays but don't love what it does for our routines.  It's funny how well the kids do on routine but once we are off of it they have SUCH a hard time getting back into it.  Here's hoping it's a quick transition back :).   I was able to get our January menu done though.  Enjoy :)

January
2013
Dinner Menu	01/13

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
		1	2	3	4	5
		Spaghetti and Meatballs	Slow Cooker Pulled Pork	Buffalo Chicken Burgers	Chicken Quesadillas	Steak and potatoes
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Penne & Chicken Tenderloins with Spiced Tomato Sauce	Healthy Italian Meatloaf	Skinny Chicken Enchiladas	Chipotle Chicken Croquettes with Spicy Mustard Sauce	Loaded Baked Sweet Potato	Sloppy Joes	Skinny Coconut Shrimp
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
BBQ chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans	Penne Vodka	Baked Parmesan and Herb Chicken	Crock Pot Pork Chops and Applesauce	Fish Tacos	BLT with Avocado	Stuffed Pepper Soup
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
Skinny Chicken Tikka Masala	Turkey Tenderloin and mashed potatoes	Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos	Lemon-Rosemary Chicken	Steak and potatoes	Naked Skinny Turkey Burger	Order out pizza
27	28	29	30	31
Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup	Santa Fe Turkey Stuffed Peppers	Linguini and Shrimp Fra Diavolo	Buffalo Turkey Burgers with Blue Cheese Broccoli Slaw	Chicken Rollatini with Spinach alla Parmigiana