meal planning Archives -

It’s another unsexy Tuesday!

08|17|2016

So, I was supposed to start Country Heat yesterday but I realized it meant having rest days on Sundays. I like having my rest days on Mondays or Fridays….So, I opted to wait and officially start today and have Mondays off! I have video calls and extra training for my coach stuff, so Mondays gets kinda busy 🙂 And, I have plenty of time for a half hour workout on Sundays 🙂

I did start the nutrition plan yesterday! And, it’s the same as the 21 Day Fix plan, so that’s really nice ‘cuz I’m very used to it! I just needed to use the little calculator in the Country Heat nutrition guide to figure out if I’m a Plan A, B, C or D and I figure out how many containers I can have a day and I’m good to go! I’m a Plan B and will soon move to the top end of Plan A. And, I love that I’m familiar with the foods lists! The best options are at the top of the list for each color-coded container. And, I definitely have my faves and my go-to’s! So, honestly, the hardest and unsexiest part for me is to just get back in the habit of actually tracking each and every little thing I eat. And, I’m also going to be journaling how I FEEL each day to recognize when things may be getting tough. Overall, I eat well during the week ~ I estimate 80/20….80% clean and 20% not-so-clean lol. But, it’s the bites of this and the tastes of that have clearly added up! And, my weekends haven’t been 80/20 for a while now 🙁 Plus, I’ve been enjoying a few adult beverages during the week and on weekends for the summer and time to cut that back for 30 days! Not only are they empty calories but my food choices are bad when I enjoy them lol! I haven’t decided for sure but I may give myself 1 or 2 treat meals and/or drinks in these 30 days. Part of me NEEDS and CRAVES just sticking to the program 100%….’cuz honestly it’s really not that hard and I KNOW it’s not that hard. But, the other part of me just feels like if I am TOO GOOD and don’t allow myself any treats at all (the plan totally allows for some treats….it’s just honestly where I can sometimes take that 😉 that I may set myself up for failure. So, this time around, I’m not deciding upfront. I’m just gonna do the best I can and see how the month plays out!

Day 1 was really good! I wasn’t tempted by all the chips and candy I saw at work today (ha, yes, I know…it’s only day 1)! My nutrition was #onpoint! I LOVED my workout! It was Country Swing and it was about a half hour and it flew by! I forgot to turn off my workout session right away but right around 300 calories for a half hour workout! I’ll take it! And, I was at 8140 for steps when I started and finished with 12,084!!! WAHOO! It really made me miss the certification class! AND, it really made me excited to practice practice practice and start group classes!! I think part of the reason I’m SO excited for this program is to bring it to more people! I’ve missed group fitness SO much!

So, here’s goes nothing! More of the unsexy things I will do in the name of achieving my health & fitness goals…..weight, measurements and before pics!

And, pics are never easy….BUT sharing them helps me stay accountable.

Measurements are also never easy to share….and unsexy…yes, very boring….to take. Blah blah blah. But, again, sharing them helps me stay accountable AND helps motivate me to kick. some. butt.

I would say I’m starting over but that’s not really how I look at this. Yes, I’m at one of the highest weights I’ve been….but I also feel the strongest I’ve ever felt. And, I honestly never gave up….I just lost some of my inspiration and determination ~ I made excuses ~ I got complacent ~ I let life get to me ~ and got a little too comfortable in my fun summer life. I’m over it now, tho. It was fun and it was hard at the same time. And, now I must get back to work.

And, as I’ve shared before, I’ve been working out all this time ~ definitely not to the intensity I would have liked with my foot and some other issues BUT my workouts are still not where I struggle. My eating and my relationship with food is where I struggle. But, where there is a struggle, there is also strength in overcoming. Time to overcome again.

So, YES, I’m very happy with my day 1! I’ll be straight up that the first 5 days of anything new are pretty tough for me. Day 1 always seems the easiest ~ days 2 thru 5 hard ~ and then I kinda settle in. I have to focus on all the wonderful food I will have vs. the things I’m choosing not to right now. And, I’m going to focus hard on my results….and more importantly WHY I want to achieve what I do (blog post coming about that)! If you keep the inspiration as to WHY you’re going after something, it’s a lot easier to….go after something lol.

I would love it if you follow and support me as I go over these next 30 days! I’m going to be going live daily from my health & fitness page on Facebook daily for extra accountability (you can click here and LIKE my page to get notifications when I go live 🙂 And, I’m starting more giveaways and fun things this month, so stay tuned there AND here!). I’m going to be doing weekly weigh-ins, pics and measurements! And, I kicked off a new private coaching group with 6 awesome ladies and I’m already looking to them for inspiration….because they help me more than they even know!

I have some BIG year-end goals to hit and I’m excited about some new things I’m going for in 2017 and will be sharing later! 40 lbs. gone by the end of the year ~ and honestly, if the scale doesn’t cooperate, that’s totally fine….let’s say a size 6 then….I’m in a 10-12…closer to 12 right now 🙂 So, that will work. Thanks for checking in and STAY TUNED 🙂

And, your bonus tonight is something that just happened and was SO cute I just had to share it! B and I were walking home tonight and I told her to say goodbye to her little friend, Sophie. Sophie was already on her bike headed home, so B yelled, “Bye Sophie ~ I love you!” Sophie yelled back, “Love you, too ~ see ya tomorrow!” How cute is that?!? #icanteven #littlegirlsaretoocute #buthandfuls #thatsSophieinthebackground 🙂

Bringing Unsexy Back

07|20|2016

Ok, so this is gonna start out kinda random…..

but I feel sorry for Tuesdays.

Monday gets a bad rap but is also #motivationmonday so there’s that. Wednesday is hump day and wine day. Thursday is one day closer to Friday. Friday is….well FriYAY. Saturday….well, seriously probably the best day of the week for most, so enuf said. Sunday is…well, for me anyway…..a relatively and usually restful and peaceful day and a day to be inspired, spend more time with God and be hopeful and get ready to kick butt in a new week ahead.

BUT, TUESDAY?!? What does Tuesday have on the other days? Hmmmmm, I can’t really think of much that stand outs that people talk about. Well, maybe #transformationtuesday but apparently that’s not as powerful a thing for most people lol. (My hubby for one…he would have no idea what transformation Tuesday even means.)

So, I decided I wanted to spice up our Tuesday with a new series, #unsexytuesday. (Ha, it’s got quite the ring to it, right?!?! Yeah, not so much….so if anyone comes up with a better hashtag I can use, drop me a comment!!! lol) Why?!? ‘Cuz EVERY day matters! Every day you choose to do the unsexy matters….stay with me here 😉

I have the #realtalk series ~ and I have more “series” in the works…and really the unsexy series will be QUITE similar to REAL TALK….’cuz….well….the title speaks for itself.

What’s the unsexy? According to Google, it partially means “not exciting.” So, the unsexy in the context of this new series I wanna write about is about doing the things you don’t really wanna to do in order to achieve all your goals and finding a way to let go of the things that don’t serve you any longer, if they ever did.

For example, the sexy for me would be eating popcorn with real butter followed by a few cupcakes, while watching Nashville or the Bachelor on Hulu. Sexy for me would be reading Gone Girl. UNSEXY for me is eating turkey sweet potato burgers and a strawberry broccoli salad leftover from last night, while listening to a podcast on becoming a better leader. UNSEXY for me would be reading 15 Laws of Invaluable Growth by John Maxwell. Now, obviously the UNSEXY things are not terrible at all. And, honestly, the more I do the unsexy, the more comfort and peace I find!

So, yes, It’s about doing the mundane, seemingly unimportant things day-in-&-day-out that lead to big things. Things like losing 50 lbs. You don’t do it overnight. You make mundane, unsexy choices like eating turkey burgers and broccoli every day for days and days and days in order to do it (okay not EVERY day but you get my point). Things like saving $5000 dollars. You don’t do it overnight ~ unless you’re really wealthy OR win the lottery or something. You make mundane, unsexy choices every day to not spend beyond your means for days and days and days in order to do it. Things like going back to school for a degree. You don’t do it overnight. You make mundane, unsexy choices to study and research and learn for days and days and days in order to do it. Things like working for that promotion at work. You don’t get it overnight. You get it by doing a series of mundance, unsexy things for other people for days and days and days in order to get it. Bottom line: The unsexy things are the things that make you uncomfortable at first but that result in big rewards and start to become second-nature.

I first talked about my unsexy over a year ago. I’m gonna go off for a little bit here but I’ll bring you back 🙂 You can read about it HERE. And, I’ve thought a LOT about it since. One of the funnest (I always wonder if I should use a word like funnest…it’s not really a word and I’m supposed to be a writer….but that’s my writing style…using things I like to make into words “‘cuz” they fit my personality “lol”) things about blogging is to look back to something I wrote a year ago. To remember how I felt at the time. To look at how much B has grown. To remind myself of how far I’ve come.

The post was over a year ago (seriously, just go read it and then come back). It was the beginning of a really hard year for me. It was a year that I seriously wish I could just have a time machine and travel back and do just about EVERYTHING differently.

But, while life is about second chances, life is also about letting go and forgiveness and learning to move on from mistakes and guilt and weakness and loss. It’s taken me months to really believe this but there are things that happen in our lives and choices we make that will forever change us and those around us. But, the silver lining is, often the hardest things we go through, whether we choose them or not, are what mold us into stronger versions of ourselves.

My unsexy truth is that I often ~~forgot about~~ chose not to DO the unsexy things this past year to honor my goals and my dreams and the people who are most important to me….not ironically, the very things I talked about in that post. And, believe me it makes me cry. My counselor has told me on more than one occasion that I’m pretty hard on myself. I’m hard on myself to a fault and it often paralyzes me, so I have to work really hard at overcoming. If you can guess where this is going, I was pretty hard on myself last year. And, when I do that, I retreat. I withdraw from everyone, especially those closest to me. I make poor decisions. I lose some of my Faith. I stop doing some of the things I really enjoy. There was a lot of everything. Pain. Regret. Loss. Sadness. Depression. Self-doubt. Guilt. Food starting to become a coping mechanism again. Spending starting to become a coping mechanism again. I got lost in periods of instant gratification….in failed attempts to feel better. And, then the guilt would just snowball. And, after having come so far the year before, it was so confusing to me what was happening. How was it seemingly so easy to start self-sabotaging myself again??…and in some instances to extremes. To say I’m not proud of this time in my life is a drastic understatement. And, yet, while I somewhat recognized it, I didn’t know how to fully change it. Now, don’t get me wrong…there were bright moments and a lot of wonderful memories and periods of time when I rocked my goals and was present and I am so blessed for the family and friends I have who try their best to understand and be there for me even when I’m not there for them…..there is always a silver lining to the struggle and I’m trying my best to right the wrongs. But, I was perpetually taking 2 steps forward and 3 back. Until, finally, I knew I had to make a decision to keep going down the path I was OR I could get back track. Because you know what? I was SERIOUSLY uncomfortable most of the time. I was happy and inspired when I was writing and I look back at blog posts and I KNOW I was confident behind them because reading them even now I know my words were heart-felt and true! But, my passion and inspiration would quickly fade and I would lose sight of it all.

So, while doing the unsexy is uncomfortable, my self-sabotage was a heck of a lot MORE uncomfortable.

This quote maybe only relates to weight BUT you can turn it into anything in life ~ you choose your hard every dang day.

And, so, I decided to start choosing unsexy again instead of self-sabotage for my comfort level and I took action to move on and move forward.

I know I will fall back sometimes…..that’s just a little thing we call life.

But, if I fall down 7 times, I will get up 8.

I’m choosing my hard. And, I’m choosing it every. dang. day. ‘cuz that’s what it takes to stay in the game.

What’s my new unsexy focus you ask?!? My first 5 things….

1. I started meal planning again! I had told myself I didn’t enjoy it AND I didn’t like to cook….but that wasn’t true! And, these past few weeks of being back in that game, I remember that I DO like it! It’s like a game to meal plan ~ I actually like to have my week figured out ~ and while I don’t like to take a TON of time in the kitchen, I do enjoy cooking! I had even TOTALLY let B’s nutrition slide. I wanna let her be a kid and not be too limiting to her for fear of her turning that into what I did and start HIDING food. We have so many fears for our kids….my behaviors with food being carried down to her is one of my biggest. It may seem trivial to you but for something that has consumed so much of my life, I know I want no part of that for her life.

2. I started a fitness and nutrition journal! I had been journaling BUT I hadn’t really been talking to myself about my health & fitness goals, how I was feeling every day, how I was actually going to accomplish everything I set out to! I’ve barely started this and I’m wondering to myself WHY oh WHY wasn’t I doing this since day 1 as a coach?!? I HIGHLY recommend getting a fitness journal or if nothing else, use an online tracker to track your workouts and your nutrition! Something like MyFitnessPal (my fave!)

3. I told my coach about my goals and I committed to 3….ha, yes, 3….different challenge groups ~ 2 that I’m hosting and 1 I’m just sitting back and participating in like a new challenger! I need lots of accountability and inspiration to keep this momentum going and these are my go-to places for both. (If you’ve read the 10X Rule, I’m all about 10 x’ing what I do.)

4. I downloaded a new 60-day devotional on my Kindle. My last devotional was A Confident Heart ~ so so good! Highly recommend! And, my new one is a Lysa Terkeurst Made to Crave one. I LOVE her and her books and everything Proverbs31!

5. And, I took new before pics. I just took some a few weeks ago and shared but to be straight up, I had a tank top on to try to hide. I’m not interested in hiding or retreating anymore.

And, today was day 24 of PiYo, so I’m almost halfway thru this round of PiYo! It’s going really well! I will say I miss running and my weights and REALLY miss Hammer & Chisel right now but I committed to this program, so I’m gonna see it through. And, I was going to try fit some interval running in a few times a week but my foot just isn’t ready. (btw is anyone singing a little JT in their head right now?!?)

I challenge you to really think about the unsexy things you can do to start knocking out your goals 1 by 1 ~ IF you’re not already of course! You DO have the POWER. You can take your POWER back. Today is all that matters.

And, your bonus for the day 🙂 I love Proverbs31 & the First5 app! Check it out if you’re looking for daily inspiration 🙂
AND, remember, the only time you should look back is to see how far you’ve come and have the confidence to keep moving forward.

Faith In Motion

06|30|2016

I remember sitting in a Subway restaurant with my sister, Kristi, years ago when she asked me a question that stopped me in my tracks.

Yes, it was years ago….but I remember it like it was just yesterday.

It was totally casual ~ we were munching on sub sandwiches and catching up after not seeing each other for a while, when out the blue she asked, “Can I ask you a question? How is your Faith?”

I was honestly speechless….and uncomfortable.

I had no idea what to say to her. I had no idea what my answer was.

The truth is, I’m not sure at that time in my life Faith was even important to me. And, to this day, I can’t remember how I responded and that makes me very sad.

I was still going through a time where I questioned how a God that is supposed to love and protect us could allow such tragedy and loss in our lives.

I was feeling alone and helpless, and I’m certain at the time I hadn’t prayed in a long, long time.

Kristi is a lot younger than me. And, I remember thinking at the time, this girl is smart. To be so sure of her own Faith at her age really touched something in me. And, there she was, challenging me and honestly asking me one of the hardest questions I’ve ever been asked.

As I sat there trying to find my words, I remember feeling this overwhelming sense of sadness….like who was I and who was God and could I find Him again? And, then it was as if her question opened up my heart and to this day when I think of that moment, I’m overcome by His spirit.

It would be years later that I found New Hope church and finally felt like I as home. It would be years later when I decided I wanted to be a Christian writer. And, it would be years later when I finally arrived to a time when I can answer that question comfortably and with hope and complete God-confidence.

I always believed in God and that there was a Higher Power. But, I didn’t always believe I deserved or trusted His Grace.

Though the road has been long, I think of that question almost daily, “How is your Faith?” and I finally feel like I’m finding my peace and my place.

So, something hit me at the end of service last Sunday, and I thought about Kristi and that day yet again and I decided I wanted to do something I haven’t done yet and start Faith-based private coaching groups! I want to inspire others and ask the hard questions! I want people who are lost to maybe be able to find themselves again. At the end of every service, the lead Pastor will say, “We don’t just leave the Church….we go and BE the Church.” I want to do for others what my sister has done for me. Because of her Faith and her love and her belief in me, she pushed me to keep finding my way and to find Him again. I’m finding the strength to forgive and maybe more importantly the strength to ask for forgiveness and Grace. I have so many people to say to “Because of you, I didn’t give up.” I want to be that light for others.

For most of my life, I had no self-confidence. I felt weak and as I’ve said in other posts, I’ve battled depression and hopelessness. But, what I found was that the one thing I was really missing was right in front of me….around me….always with me. It was Him. I have spent far too many years looking for something to make me feel better. I can tell you there’s nothing magical about those dang cupcakes I talk about all the time. But, there IS something magical about Faith.

If you are out there struggling with your weight or with food or depression AND if you are the believing kind, I would love to connect and invite you to my newest group ~ FAITH IN MOTION. We will be reading the book Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst. This is an AMAZING faith-based book about why we are made to crave what we do and how we can change and grow our relationship with God to overcome. I have so many people to thank and stories to share about how Hope has changed my life. And, as I start the process of writing my book, compiling stories of Hope, Faith, strength, Grace and life warms my heart and makes me even more passionate about taking the LEAP OF FAITH to write.

If you’ve been following me, you know one of the reasons I’m so passionate about what I do is to be the example I want to be for my daughter. She’s the epitome of my “Because of YOU, I didn’t give up!” Brooklyn’s favorite books right now were a gift from my dad called “My Bible Friends.” They are books filled with stories from the Bible written for kids and they are amazing. I grew up with these books. I even had them on cassette tapes and listened to them over and over. And, the books always remind me of course my dad, but also of Kristi and my step-mom. Those of you reading this who know them know they are three of the most faithful and gracious people you could ever meet and I would not be the person I am without their love and support. And, I want to be sure to instill in Brooklyn what they did for me. I am watching her grow and sit by me in church and want to stand in the aisle during music and it is all amazing to me. We witnessed baptisms in church a few months ago and she was so curious and I told her that I was going to do that some day soon and she asked if she could too. I want to do my best to make sure she never loses her Faith like I did.

And, I honestly have found my way back by surrounding myself with positive, full-of-faith, like-minded people and hosting groups just like this have change my world as I know it! The people I’ve met and connected and bonded with have become my light. I want to keep paying it forward and keep finding new ways to change the world. I’m reminded of a saying on the marquee in Nashville last summer at our Coach Summit ~ “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” ~ Margaret Mead

INDEED.

As coaches, we are far from perfect. But, we do have a passion for health and fitness and believe that God wants us to move and honor our bodies!

If you would like more details on this new Faith in Motion movement, you can fill out the app below or email me at fitstrongpink@gmail.com to learn more! AND, anyone who joins TODAY, June 30th, 2016, with the requirements and the commitment to themselves, will get a $25 Scheels gift card and this tank top!! *Must not be a coach or be working with another coach.*

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Meal planning & days 87 through 82

05|3|2016

I’m under 90 days til the competition!! What am I up to this week? I know you’ve been just dying to find out!! lol

Meal planning for starters! Yesterday after church I hit Walmart (yeah, I hate Walmart BUT I know I can find everything there I need and so many things are less expensive (like yellow sunburst tomatoes!!) so I had to suck it up.

It honestly took me a long time to get into meal planning. And, I’m still not 100% ON every week but WOW when I do, I can tell you it saves me money, it saves me time, it saves me stress and it helps me hit my nutrition goals! I call that a win-win-win-win!

Some weeks I make my own ‘cuz I eat really simple most of the time but this week I was looking for something new and good, so I went to the Teambeachbody Blog…which ROCKS btw….and found this gem! And, guess what?! It was specifically for Hammer&Chisel. So, yes, I had to try it. (disclaimer….this is NOT my pic ~ my presentation NEVER would look like this! It would be a hot mess of messy containers and utensils and quinoa all over the kitchen! And, believe me it was!)

Note to self: BE SURE TO CHECK PRICES CLOSER ON BERRIES. You can’t see them but I bought blueberries and they were almost $7 a container!!!! And, they are NOT big containers. Pretty sure I ate up anything I saved by going to Walmart with that mistake lol. I may try stock up on frozen berries if I do these again. I LOVE fresh berries but hot dang sometimes they are just too expensive.

These parfaits are TOTALLY going on my go-to list! Soooo delish! Don’t like greek yogurt? It’s an acquired taste but now I don’t even like regular yogurt. I like it best by buying it plain and adding in my own vanilla extract and a little raw honey. I would suggest not buying the pre-flavored stuff ~ just added things in there that aren’t really necessary and this easy fix tastes so much better IMO!

My egg cups. Yeah, not pretty. But delish.

So, yes, I’m only 1 day in and things are soooooo good! The quinoa and greek yogurt and berry parfaits?!? #yesplease Well, everything I’ve tried so far actually! #yesplease #ummmmyummmm #LYPyummo

What’s the white stuff you ask? Cotija cheese! How have I never tried this before? Soooo good!

What’s the saying? Fail to plan, plan to fail?

I am NOT failing this week! I had a tragic Nutella incident last night and let’s just say one of us didn’t survive.

So, tell me. Do you meal plan and prep? If not…..tell me WHY! 🙂

And, my workouts!

I work out Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday & Sunday every week! I have 6 Hammer&Chisel workouts, 2 to 3 HIIT cardio sessions that I use TurboFire for or hit the pavement outside for interval running AND of course if you know me squats almost daily. AND, Fridays completely a rest day. I don’t even do my squats on Fridays!!!

Monday ~ Chisel Agility (love this workout!)
Tuesday ~ Hammer Power (SO hard but SO good!) & HIIT/interval
Wednesday ~ Total Body Chisel (this workout rocks, too!)
Thursday ~ Hammer Power (SO hard but SO good!) & HIIT/interval
Friday ~ REST DAY
Saturday ~ Chisel Balance (my nemesis) & ISO Speed Hammer (shortest of all the H&C workouts coming in at 24 minutes ~ it feels like a rest day when this one comes up in the rotation! But, it’s no joke! (double up to catch up….somehow got behind a workout last week)
Sunday ~ Chisel Endurance (again LOVE this workout!) & HIIT/interval

I’ll post later this week or next week on the interval run that I’m addicted to these days!

Have a great week everyone!!!