Death By Food

This weekend was fantastic, I got to meet my newest nephew, see a large portion of my family, reconnect with college friends, see my old roommate and make some new friends! This weekend was also the end of 2 weeks of clean eating. I lost a total of 4lbs so far, but the biggest thing is I can see a difference in my muscle definition and my digestive system. This is a good sign we are on the right track to where we want to be! Justin and I were REALLY looking forward to our cheat meal over the weekend, but he doesn't really experience cravings for things like I do, so I think I was a little more excited than he was. My mouth was salivating just thinking about eating bread!
Let me tell you, I didn't expect what happened next. It turned out to be the worst weekend for my body. Almost immediately I could tell my stomach was upset, I just assumed it would go away...did it? No way, as the weekend progressed the more bloated and sick I began to feel. It wasn't that feeling of "oh I'm going to get sick" it was a distinct feeling my body was telling me to STOP giving it processed foods and sugar. By the end of memorial day we began the trek home late at night so Dakota would sleep the whole way home, and Justin and I couldn't help but say..."I cannot wait to eat clean again."
It was truly amazing to see how my body began to react to the food I was putting in it. My face started to show some blemishes and my digestive system was trying to kill me slowly from the inside out. As delicious as the food tasted, I can honestly say I do NOT want to eat anything for dinner besides Chicken and veggies. I did not take a picture this morning, to give my body time to detox a little bit today and rid itself from that bloated feeling, but I will be taking one this week to properly document the positive changed my body is making.

Proper nutrition is Key in what fitness goal you have, you have the power to mold yourself into exactly what you want it to be. The question is will you? Don't let anyone/anything turn you off your path!

I did not try any new recipes this week, #1 we just got back from our weekend trip, #2 we just loved our spaghetti squash Pad Thai so much we really wanted it again!

Happy Tuesday all!

Overcoming Obstacles

Week 1 is done! I would be lying if I told you all my cravings are gone...because they are definitely not! I have not weighed myself this week yet and I don't plan on it either. I can tell differences without the scale, for instance, I noticed more muscle definition while working out (finally!), I am no longer bloated, and I feel better throughout the day. Those are fantastic non-scale victories.

Today I worked out my legs and let me tell you I have a love hate relationship with leg day...not only because it challenges me with weights, but because I have such bad knees I need to get through it mentally rather than physically. I have arthritis in my left knee (yes arthritis at 25) as well as what is known as "chondromalacia" this is just a big word for..my knee-cap doesn't want to track my knee joint correctly. According to the orthopedist and my Physical Therapist, all I can do for it is rehab it, but I am not actually injuring it even though I feel pain. Both of these conditions combined leaves me with excessive pain and a nice excuse not to get my workout in or to not push myself as hard as I should. I decided I don't need anymore excuses, I encouraged myself with all the reasons why I was working out in the first place as the pain would zing through my knee telling me to stop, but I press onward. What is the point you ask? We all have obstacles we face everyday, some take more time to move than others and some we are allowing to be our way out...our "excuse" to not finish what we started. Everyone's obstacle is different and overwhelming to each individual. Find what motivates you and push forward, think of all the reasons you CAN do it rather than all the reasons you can't. I have those reasons too, I'm tired, the house is a wreck, I have no help, I need to cook dinner, I have a screaming child at my feet wanting me to hold her, I have friendships to maintain, I need to spend time with my family..etc. The list can go on forever. All of these things are apart of life. We cannot simply put a pause on life so we can achieve our goals. Your goal may be school related, fitness related, family related or anything really! It doesn't matter what your goal is, take the necessary steps when needed to achieve those goals. Every second of every day matters. Every decision you make forms your future, think about the decisions your making and take a step in the right direction to move toward the future you want and don't blame anyone else for your shortcomings. Its taken me a year to lose the baby weight from Dakota and I am still working on that, but that was my choice. I chose to convince myself that it was "too hard" as I ate pizza and drank wine (side note these are OK with moderation) while complaining that I wasn't comfortable in my own skin. It doesn't work that way.

I am a big believer in finding someone to be in your corner. My husband is my biggest advocate. He supports me in everything I do. When I tell him I am heavier than I want to be, he just tells me I'm beautiful, but he will help me to whatever it is I would like to do. When I told him I want to start eating better his response was, "well lets do this together then, I will eat what you eat and I'll be on your butt so if you wanna do this lets do it right." It IS hard when your spouse/partner does not see your goals as important, but that shouldn't stop you. Find a group or a friend who DOES support and encourage you every step of the way and if you don't have one. You let me know! I will be that person for you, because you CAN achieve anything you want.

This week I decided to try a new Recipe...Its called Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai and boy was it yummy! Its hard to portion size when something tastes so good, but not impossible :) You'll find the recipe in the recipe section.

Before I go I will share with you a few other things that happened during my first week of clean eating. On day 2 I was already tempted with cookies, wine, lemonade and bread! All of the wonderful things I love. On day 3 someone brought little baby cupcakes into the office and of course what I wanted to say was.."they are only baby cupcakes, 1 isn't going to derail me!" Let me tell you on both those days I said no. For me 1 will derail me because this is not only a physical challenge, but its a mental one. I chose not to give in and I felt so proud of myself. This was SUCH a small victory, but for me it was monumental! Other happenings? My sister turned 17, one of my best friends had her little boy Jase and I gained another nephew this week Mr. Logan Parker Murrell!! My heart is full.

So many wonderful things happen around us everyday, make the most of your day, fill it with love, honesty, and hard work for we do not know what day will be our last.

Mother's Day Food Prep & Monday Domination

Well...Good morning Monday! I hope all you mothers had a wonderful mothers day! I know I did. Not only did my little nugget pick out flowers for me, but I was so productive I'm still feeling accomplished all the way into Monday and ready to dominate! So, here is what my Sunday looked like, because Justin and I are on Day 1 of greatness.

After church, grocery shopping and lunch we didn't get home until about 2pm, at this point I felt like the day was pretty much over already and slightly stressing about the mountain of clothes and food prep I needed to do, but happy because we got to spend so much time together which is rare during August-November. So, I put Dakota down for a nap and got straight to work. My awesome hubby helped me fold our clean laundry that FINALLY after 3 weeks has found its home again, not to mention at this point I am 2 weeks behind in washing little boo's cloth diapers and if you have ever had 2 week old peepee diapers...its like death festering in a small plastic bucket. It is now 4:30pm because lets face it...that is a LOT of laundry! I know I need to food prep for the week, which is increasingly looking daunting and Dakotas has now woken up. *insert hubby to the rescue* Justin took Dakota with him to the store (because surprise...I forgot something) where she proceeded to work her charm on all the strangers with her high pitched "hi" and pageant wave. Here is what I made this week, perfectly portioned out for 2 adults lunches and dinners.
Taco Salad
Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti and Beef
Fajitas
Snacks- Fresh Strawberries, Cottage cheese, almonds, Greek Yogurt (Justin eats these), Protein bars

I actually stopped there because what I thought would be just 3 dinners ended up making so much food that I was able to use it for 10 lunches and dinner all week! If you take a look at the Recipe page you will see how I made these and my grocery list this week. I also prepped our snacks so there would be NO question about what to eat when it comes time. I actually finished prepping and kitchen clean up in about 2.5 hours, which is TOTALLY worth the fact that I don't have to cook at all this week. Just relish in that thought. We are so busy, that we really don't mind eating a few of the same meals twice a week because not cooking outweighs eating the same meal! Now...don't get me wrong..I only have 1 child and she isn't picky yet, so things are different when you have more.

I got up at 4:45am this morning to get my workout in! Now before you say, "THATS TOO EARLY!" let me tell you some benefits I have experienced from an early lift session
1. I am able to get my workout in before Dakota and Justin wake up and with my pre-workout its jolts me to action...this means I can spend the rest of my time after work with my family.
2. I figured what is 1 more hour of sleep REALLY going to do for me? I went to bed at 9:30pm(which is typical for me), I still got over 7 hours of sleep last night, so my body doesn't NEED it I just want it.
3. My metabolism is revved up for the day and I tend to make better eating decisions because I feel better.
4. I actually get to spend more time with Dakota and Justin in the morning as well because I'm done and home by 6:30am and showered in 10 minutes. We all get to eat breakfast together and I even get some extra snuggles with Dakota while we watch the cat in the hat.

If you check out the "workouts" page you will see my workouts for this week. They are planned, just like our food so the thinking is completely taken out! I don't post the weight I use unless I've made some huge personal accomplishment because you should strive for the weight that works for you. Justin and I took pictures of ourselves last night, we plan on taking pictures when we are done and sharing before and after pics. I highly recommend doing this, because some changes may not come in the form of "weight loss", but more so of how you look and how your clothes fit.

I apologize for this lengthy post, but I will leave you with my starting weight for this challenge because weight is relative to your body type so don't ever compare your weight to someone else's because there is no other human being in the world who does EXACTLY what you do and is made up the EXACT same way so embrace who God made YOU to be and tackle this Monday!
Set yourself up for success 1 step at a time
My Weight: 148.4

The Start of Something New!

I don't normally post about my life, or really anything personal at all, but my passion is to help others in any way I can to achieve their own personal goals and that's what I plan to do! I am what you would classify as a "Fitness Professional" I have a 4 year degree and multiple certifications in various areas to back it up; however that does not mean I am not constantly learning new things and making sure I am up to date with the latest fitness trends!

My goal is to share with you my personal journey as I maneuver through life as a Football wife, new mom, a career woman as I work on my own personal health and fitness while trying to keep God and my family first. I want to be able to answer as many questions as I can with as much knowledge and honesty as possible! I am not a fitness competitor, I'm just your standard athletic girl who played sports her whole like and has never really experienced being overweight at all until I had my first child. Although this was new for me, I have been struggling with self image for as long as I can remember! Us woman are so bad at putting ourselves down as well as others to make ourselves feel better! Well...Not any more. I'm just a regular girl who had a baby and had trouble losing weight like most woman do, but it IS possible. I went through a roller-coaster of emotions during my daughters first year of life (mostly towards myself and what I thought I should look like). I think I'll hold off on that for another time though.

Starting next week my husband and I will be starting a new journey in our health and fitness by cutting out all refined sugars, alcohol, wheat, dairy, flour of any kind and any processed foods, while not giving ourselves a cheat day until memorial day! AHH!! Wish us luck!!! During this journey I will be posting Recipes that I will be using, my daily food schedule, daily workouts and the struggles I know I will be facing! No, I am not planning on eating Paleo during this period and let me tell you why, although I love Paleo and all its benefits, Paleo eating offers a substitute for almost everything I crave! Muffins, Reese PB cups, Cinnamon Rolls, cookies and even Cupcakes! My goal is not to satisfy my sweet tooth with a substitute. I need to wean myself off and take back control of my own health. Needless to say this may be the hardest thing I have ever done. I don't know how all my fitness competitor friends do it!

Until next time, smile at a stranger today, you never know how it will impact their day!