One Healthy Month: Month 7 Goals

This morning I’m sitting in my CPR/AED/First-Aid certification class. Honestly, I’m such a nerd for being excited…but I AM SO EXCITED! Once I pass this and get certified my next step is my health coach certification. So that makes today a good day! 😉

Before we get to month 7’s goals…let’s take a quick look at Month 6.

Month 6 Fitness Goals:

• 2 rest days a week. I definitely did this. I might have taken more than just 2 a week a few times.
• Be in bed by 11:00PM. Honestly, April was a crappy month. I never like April…it’s so weird. It was a long month and there were a few nights that I didn’t sleep a single hour. So I definitely did not accomplish this at all.
• Write down a time that I’ve been proud of myself for something health related. I didn’t necessarily do this…but I did something else. I’ll try to share with y’all soon!
• Set aside 10 minutes each morning for “quiet time”. I always make this a goal and it doesn’t happen. I don’t know why. If someone has an hour, let a girl know!!!

One Healthy Month

May 9th – June 5th

So with this month I decided to do something a little different. I decided that I wanted to have a healthy month. Everyone has their own version of “healthy” so a healthy month to me might look different than a healthy month for you.

Like I said above, April was just a really crappy month for me for a lot of reasons. One of those reasons being that I felt as though I was sick for the majority of the month. And the only way to make that different is to change some things. First thing, I am playing around with my diet.

Physically/Mentally:

1. Follow the Low-Fodmap Diet. Honestly I am running out of things to try to get my bloating and digestion problems under control. I once went to a gastroenterologist who told me I had IBS but we shrugged it off because she said “this is what we say when there’s nothing else” I’ve been researching IBS again and based on what I have found some of the foods align with what I feel like is making me sick…so I am giving it a try for a month.
2. A month of clean eating. I have not been good about this at all this month and that could be playing into how I am feeling. Hopefully this will confirm or deny for me but it’s a lot like going Paleo and all of that stuff. I have high hopes this month!
3. Straight to my Bible in the AM. Look, I WILL get this down. Even tomorrow I have an alarm set for before my CPR class.

Socially/Emotionally:

1. Send 1 people a random (kind) text each day. I’m happier when I can make other people happy and who wouldn’t love a thoughtful text in the morning?? That’s 30 different people that will receive a kind text from me. I’ve already planned out who with each day.
2. Delete social media apps off my phone. Yup, I told you I was making changes. This is a huge thing for me because y’all I spend way too much time during my day scrolling through Instagram, Snapchat, etc. My Fitness Pal is probably controlling my life a little more than it should. I’m not taking it out completely, I’m just planning to keep the apps on my iPad and can scroll through and see what happened at the end of the day. It can be my “wind down” time.
3. Spend time with 1 girl friend each week. My friends are coming home and I am so excited…so I want to spend time with AT LEAST one of them each week 🙂

Professionally:

1. Sign up for my health coach cert test. Whoop!!! After today I will be able to!
2. Figure out job. While I am growing my business, I need to have an income, so this month my goal is to decide what that will be.
3. Begin work on my health coach website. It’s time to start planning! Eek!

That’s a healthy month to me…being productive, being social while spending time with my favorite people, and working on myself.Think I can do it?! 😉

Health Goals: Month 6

I decided this month that I wanted to change my fitness goals to be my health goals. These goals don’t always have to do with fitness, working out, exercising, etc. Sometimes they’re geared towards my mental and emotional health too. And because I want to continue working at making myself the healthiest version of me, it was just fitting that I changed them.

So these pictures were taken (about) a year apart.

Pink sports bra was March 29, 2015 and blue sports bra was March 12, 2016.

Am I exactly where I want to be? Nope.
Are these the most amazing “transformation pictures” I have ever seen? Nope.
Was I hoping to have more muscle tone? Yep.
But have I improved? Yep.

The thing is…I haven’t been as strict on myself as I should be. I’ve binged, I’ve eaten containers of ice-cream, I’ve skipped workouts, etc. But instead of being upset about that, I’m accepting that those are choices I have made and I need to thank my body for what it has done for me in the past year.

While I decided on March 6, 2015 that I wanted to start incorporating fitness and exercise back into my life, I wasn’t serious about it. I didn’t consistently workout and I didn’t start watching my food intake. So it’s taken me extra long to see improvement. And because of that, I have gotten frustrated. But look, this is why it’s a health “journey”!

I started getting serious about it in November when I began my search for a gym.

I’ve lost inches. And some weight actually. And started feeling better. That’s what it’s all been about for me…feeling better, feeling confident, and being happy again. (Although my second pics don’t look like that. Don’t judge it was early in the AM ;))

I’m really working at these fitness goals so that I can hopefully see more progress within the next couple months. I’d love to get stronger and tone up some more. There’s only going up from here, right??

A look back at month 5 Fitness Goals:

For 3.9.16-4.9.16 I planned to…

• Finish up the sugar detox. Read about it here.
• Research IBS. I’ve got along of good pins recently. Follow me on Pinterest to see. I’m still debating whether or not i’m going to alter my diet for it, so we will see.
• Test out essential oils. I have been Pinteresting all kinds of information about essentials oils. I bought some yesterday, and I will be reviewing them soon!!
• ENJOY Spring Break. 🙂 Read about it all right here.

 

Month 6 Fitness Goals:

4.10.16-5.10.16

• 2 rest days a week. It’s funny because I used to have to make goals TO workout and now i’m making a goal NOT TO workout. Y’all, I have this thing where I start feeling really really guilty if I don’t work out. But my body is getting so tired. I can feel it. I spoke with a personal trainer and she said I really need to take 2 rest days a week.
• Be in bed by 11:00PM. I still think this is probably a late time, but being the night owl I am, I am going to start here. I have been exhausted, fatigued, tired, etc. etc. etc. lately. And with getting up at the time I do and doing everything during the day, I need to get more sleep. So this month, i’m really working at accomplishing this.
• Write down a time that I’ve been proud of myself for something health related. I need to start appreciating myself more.
• Set aside 10 minutes each morning for “quiet time”. No electronics, no nothing. I’m going to start small with 10 minutes and try to work up…I have got to be better about this.

WOOOHOOOO! Let’s do this month 6!

Okay. So tell me what you know. Anything health and fitness related? Anything non-related? How was your weekend? It feels like it’s been a while!! Let’s talk!

Oh, and for posts on month’s passed…

Month 1 Fitness Goals
Month 2 Fitness Goals
Month 3 Fitness Goals
Month 4 Fitness Goals
Month 5 Fitness Goals

Almond Butter Banana Waffles

Ah, good morning!

I’m sharing a super simple, super nutritious, and super delicious waffle recipe with you today. Believe me, you’ll be begging for more before you’re even done.

These waffles have LESS carbs, MORE protein, and the same amount of fat as a serving of eggo waffles!! WITHOUT the sugar either (they have 6g)!

Ingredients (makes 1 waffle):

1 ripe banana
1 egg white (3 tbsp)
1/2 tbsp almond butter + more for serving
1/2 tbsp chia seeds
1/2 tbsp cinnamon (I personally like a lot)
1 tsp vanilla extract (if not on Paleo, Whole30, Sugar Free diet)

Method:

Mash your banana with a whisk. Mix in the egg white, chia seeds, cinnamon, and vanilla.

Once mixed, add in your almond butter.

Grease your waffle iron and spread the mixture. Cook as you normally would. I personally like mine on a darker setting. It takes a little longer for these ingredients to form together as there isn’t any flour.

Serve with melted almond butter and sliced bananas. Serve with syrup. Serve with jam. Regardless of how you serve it, you’ll love it.

The best part is…if you want, you can double, triple, or quadruple the recipe to make ahead and then store in your freezer. Wake up, toast a waffle, spread some almond butter on top, and breakfast is on the table in seconds!

Nutrition (per 1 serving):

223 calories
6g fat
27g net carbs
9g protein

I love that while you’re still getting carbs from the banana and chia seeds, they are low glycemic. Which is why we like those ingredients! Plus check out all the health benefits of chia seeds that I linked to above.

I’ve never known a single waffle to have 9g of protein…i’m all about it.

These waffles are high in fiber with 8g. Me oh my.

You’ll think you’re cheating with this recipe, but you’re really not. Make the waffles and let me know how they turn out!

Fitness Goals: Month 4 Complete

So right now, i’m 16 weeks into my real fitness goals. My oh my! I say real because I’ve been writing down some fitness related goals in my monthly goals for a year now. I remember March 6, 2015 being the day that I started to be active again. I tried my first Kayla Itsines’ workout and I WAS SO SORE. It ended up being a long battle with myself all of Spring and Summer because I did not like what I was doing. I figured out home workouts were not for me.

I truly got serious about it in November when I started trying out gyms to get a membership. It has been challenging, but so fun at the same time. I’m never going back! It’s my lifestyle now.

As you may recall, last month I took a little blogging time out. I kind of put a halt to everything for close to 2 weeks. And everything included my fitness goals, which means there’s really not much to report this month.

Month 4 Fitness Goals:

My goals for 2.8.16-3.8.16 were broken down by weeks.

• Week 1 of Month 4 – No sugar and stay under macros every day this week.
• Week 2 of Month 4 – No sugar and meal plan for the week. Have the day already pre-planned. This will be a lot of work, but I think very much worth it.
• Week 3 of Month 4 – No sugar and no eating within 2 hours of a meal.
• Week 4 of Month 4 – Don’t do anything. Don’t track food on My Fitness Pal, eat sugar if you want, don’t meal plan. Just relax and enjoy life this week.

Like I said, I really didn’t follow any of these except for my no sugar rule and that was even at the end of the month. I was really just trying to get by. Now that I look back at these though, I attempted all of them subconsciously…minus the “don’t do anything”. I did enjoy that time off of blogging that I mentioned earlier, so that should count for something!! 😉

Month 5 Fitness Goals:

3.9.16-4.9.16

Ummmm, how crazy is it that it’s going to be APRIL when this month is done? Like 1/3 of 2016 will be over. WHAT?!

This month i’m going to…

• Finish up the sugar detox. Don’t worry, yes I will blog about it!
• Research IBS. Sooooooo I don’t know if I shared before, but (one of the many) gastroenterologists I went to actually diagnosed me with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. We never really thought anything of it/believed her because she said it was just something they diagnose people with when there is nothing else. But this month I decided i’m going to take it serious, do my research, and possibly test out what doctors recommend for something with IBS.
• Test out essential oils. I have seen excessive talk and research about essential oils floating around. And everyone has been raving about them. This is the one thing on my Christmas list that I did not get, so I think this month I want to maybe get one or two and try ’em. Let me know your thoughts if you’ve used them before!
  PS…follow me on Pinterest to see all the info i’ve been pinning about IBS & Oils lately.
• ENJOY Spring Break. T-minus 2 days until i’m headed north for spring break. Bring. It. On. I’m ready to enjoy the week off and get out of my routine. It’s good to take a break and boy am I ready for one right about now!

^^Haha!

Okay. So tell me what you know.

Essential Oils?

IBS?

Fitness Goals?

Is it going to be JoJo or Lauren? < Been on my mind allllll week!

Let’s just talk!

Fitness Goals: Month 3 Complete

I can’t believe that it’s been 3 months that I’ve been writing fitness goals and working out as much as I have. It’s a good thing. And now it’s become part of my day. Surely you’ve seen this on Pinterest:

And it’s true. I have definitely seen changes. Am I exactly where I want to be? Nope, but that’s the fun part because I still have something i’m working for.

So like I said in my month 2 completed goals, this year instead of my monthly goals, i’m doing fitness goals because it’s something I decided I really wanted to focus on this year.

Month 3 Fitness Goals:

These were my fitness goals from 1.7.16 – 2.7.16.

• Follow the physical goals on my 2016 bucket list. My physical goals for my bucket list in 2016 are:

*Be able to look at myself in the mirror and be proud of what I see. Yeah…
*Get my group exercise certification. I’m still contemplating this one.
*Work out 5 times/week no matter what is going on. I actually went to a health consultation offered at my gym and when I explained what I was doing/what my workout and food plans are she said I really needed to take 2 rest days. So, i’ll have to change this to 4 (maybe 5) days. 🙂
*Finally get a gym membership. DONE!

• Stay under macros 5 days a week. Over the month, I was under macros 14 days, but I was over at least one of my macros 18 days. This is something i’m really working on, but I don’t know if i’m becoming too obsessed with it or what. If you have experience with this let me know!
• Research/find out what’s causing me to be bloated. I researched this and found a lot of information. Be looking out for a blog post about bloating soon. And I will be asking for you all’s opinions!!
• Cut sweets out 1 day a week. I started the 21 day detox last Monday. Update: I have sucked at these 21 days. So I might be starting it over because it’s pretty pathetic how bad I’ve been about this.

One thing I’ve really learned this past month is…

Going to the gym has become part of my routine now. I have a hard time NOT going. I’m so happy I’ve gotten to this point in my fitness life. 🙂

Month 4 Fitness Goals:

My goals for 2.8.16-3.8.16.

I decided to break this month down to separate goals every week. I’m hoping that this will help me complete everything!

• Week 1 of Month 4 – No sugar and stay under macros every day this week.
• Week 2 of Month 4 – No sugar and meal plan for the week. Have the day already pre-planned. This will be a lot of work, but I think very much worth it.
• Week 3 of Month 4 – No sugar and no eating within 2 hours of a meal.
• Week 4 of Month 4 – Don’t do anything. Don’t track food on My Fitness Pal, eat sugar if you want, don’t meal plan. Just relax and enjoy life this week.

Let’s do it to it!

My Fitness Routine

Morning, y’all!

Today’s post is one that I was actually surprised I hadn’t written before. I searched my own blog for this post and realized I had never made one…say what???

Update: I found a post that I did on my spring workout routine last year. It’s funny how we forget out own posts 🙂

Incorporating fitness into my daily routine is something that comes naturally to me. It doesn’t come naturally to everyone and I totally understand that. But it always has for me.

Growing up, I was always involved in sports.

I’m pretty sure the first sport I ever played was t-ball.
In elementary, I played lots of soccer, I tried out gymnastics, I took dance classes (but that didn’t last long), I took golf and tennis lessons, and was on the swim team.
In middle school, I went from volleyball season, to track and field season, to soccer season.
In high school, I started off the year in volleyball and ended the year in softball. I joined a dodgeball team with some friends as well. And of course, I was always in attendance at baseball games (even though I didn’t play).
I took a martial arts class once too…that was FUN!

I mean, my life has always revolved around sports and some form of exercising. When I went to college and no longer played sports I found myself really missing it. I missed the competition, the goofing around at practices with friends, the being hard on myself to do better…but mostly just being active. I really missed being active.

Middle school started my days of running with being on the track team, but college is where I began really working on my running and enjoying it. Lately, I haven’t enjoyed it as much. It started feeling more like a chore to me than anything else so I stopped.

So that’s when I started to try various forms of exercise over the past 4 years…

…I ran on the treadmill…

…I ran outside…

…I started attending yoga class at Lululemon on Sunday mornings…

…I tried workout videos…

…I’ve tried following along with Kayla Itsines’ workouts…

…I tried just going to lift weights…

…and I lost interest in all of these things.

Back in November when I started my Fitness Goals, I decided to do something different exercise-wise.

I decided I wanted to join a gym. I used to go to Emily‘s gym with her and attend group exercise classes there and really loved it. I’m sure it’s the teammate in me (after playing all those team sports) and being surrounded by like-minded people looking to achieve the same goals as me. I just loved every part of it! So November is when I began testing gyms out to get serious about joining. I started with a couple of yoga studios. And I found one that I really really liked. However, it was all yoga classes. While I love yoga, I didn’t want to limit myself by that being the only form of exercise I could do. So I started trying out different gyms, you know the normal 24 Hour Fitness, Lifetime, etc. And i’ve finally found one.

Now, group exercise is it for me. It’s my preferred form of exercise. Maybe that’ll change, maybe it won’t. We’ll see since i’m difficult to satisfy 🙂

What does a normal week look like for me?

Well, I try to attend one yoga class, one strength training class, one HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), and then the rest I usually hit are cardio classes. I do take 1 day as a rest day and sometimes depending on what’s going on for the week i’ll take 2 rest days.

Monday‘s have really brought me to get up at 8AM for BodyCombat. I love this class. I mentioned it before, but it’s a martial arts mixture with Muay Thai, Boxing, and Kickboxing.

Tuesday‘s  have found their way to become my rest days because of classes, but now that i’ve changed my schedule I can fix it by fitting a class in my school schedule.

Wednesday is another cardio day where i’m going to a TurboKick (kickboxing has become one of my favorite hobbies lately) or Insanity. Or that’s my strength training day with BodyPump.

Thursday is usually dance day. I’ve been to a couple CIZE dance classes and a U-JAM class.

Friday has been another rest day or else i’ll go to Pop Pilates.

Saturday is my HIIT. This class will surely work you and I would totally recommend you trying to incorporate some HIIT into your exercise regimen. It will boost your metabolism as well as increase your after burn rate (calories you burn while just sitting around).

Sunday is either my TurboKick class or a yoga class at Lululemon.

Really it depends on what is going on that day. I love these classes for so many reasons but also the fact that I go in, I do what the teacher says, and i’m out in an hour. That’s it. That’s all. Then i’m healthy. Haha well, that and of course the foods I put into my body…but that’s another post for a different day. 😉

So you want to incorporate regular exercise into your daily routine? Here are some of my tips.

Find YOUR time.

Sometimes finding a time to workout is hard. I usually keep my gym’s group X schedule open in my safari to refer to when i’m looking at tomorrow. I like to figure out my schedule of things I HAVE to do and then i’ll decide whether or not I can hit the gym in the morning or the afternoon. Which is often times why you’ll find me there first thing in the morning. I get ‘er done and get going with my day! Some days it doesn’t always fit into what I have going on and i’ve been known to stress about that. That leads me to…

Don’t let it consume you.

Now that i’ve found a gym I like, classes I like, instructors I like…I have a hard time NOT going (more on that later). But do I want the gym to run my life and keep me from enjoying my family and friends? No. In fact, I sacrificed my Monday class yesterday to spend time with my dad at Starbucks. Did it stress me out a little bit? Sure did. But when my dad’s not here one day for me to get a coffee with am I going to still be mad about missing that workout class one Monday morning? Absolutely not.

Try different things.

Like the different types of exercising I previously mentioned, I had to find out what suited me the best and what I enjoyed the best. And you should too. It’s not so much of a “workout” when you’re enjoying what you’re doing. Just like a job. It’s not a job if you’re enjoying what you’re doing. No matter what it is!

Test different gyms, classes, and teachers.

There’s one teacher that I absolutely enjoy!! Therefore, I want to continue going back to her class. Finding a teacher that you look at and say “yeah, i’d want to look like her” is so much more motivating too. You feel like since she’s looking like this after teaching these class I ought to at some point! As for testing different gyms, there were some that I just did not like one bit. How much would I have regretted getting a membership before trying it out???

Eat when your body needs it.

I think there is a lot of confusion with this. Personally, I usually don’t eat before I go to morning workout classes. I get up and go, which is what i’ve always done since my morning volleyball practice days. There’s nothing to prove that a fasting workout is bad for your body, or eating before a workout is good for your body. This is a personal preference. So make sure you do what your body needs! All day for that matter…don’t eat when you’re not hungry. Don’t starve yourself when you are hungry. Find a healthy balance! I know i’m still working on this too.

Drink yo water.

You’re getting tired of hearing that now, aren’t you? There is so much research around this topic that if I received a dollar for every article saying how important water was, I wouldn’t have to work the rest of my life 😉 Find a cute water bottle and carry it with you! Do not leave your house without one!!!

Trust the process.

One day you will thank yourself for waking up early and hitting the gym…or squeezing in a workout class before plans out with friends that night. One reason I love working out is that it just makes me feel so much better about myself too. Am I exactly where I want to be in my fitness journey right now? No…but I am getting there and trusting that the process will get me there. Just don’t give up!!! Trust me, I have multiple times and it just makes it even more difficult for me.

So that’s me and my fitness routine. What does yours look like? What would you tell people who want to start incorporating a fitness routine into their schedule?

Fitness Goals: Month 2 Complete

You might have seen my 2016 bucket list in my introduction post on Tuesday. Well, at the end of that post I broke my 2016 bucket list up into what I think are the 4 most important categories…Physical, Mental, Spiritual, Social.

(And apparently someone else agrees!)

You also probably know that in 2015 I kept up with monthly goals, but i’m not doing that this year. This year, i’m continuing my fitness goals in place of monthly goals.

Because like I said in my 2016 bucket list, this year i’m focusing on fitness. In 12 months, when my phone is showing January 1, 2017…I want to be able to check these 4 fitness-related goals off my list.

*Be able to look at myself in the mirror and be proud of what I see.
*Get my group exercise certification. I’m still contemplating this one to be honest, it’s been on my mind a lot lately, but i’m not sure if i’m wanting to put in the time and work for it yet.
*Work out 5 times/week no matter what is going on. I think this goal and healthy eating will help my fitness goals and i’ll be able to take progress pictures. Hopefully, then i’ll achieve physical goal #1 above.
*Finally get a gym membership. For the past couple months i’ve been testing out gyms across our area to see which one fits me the best. I think I have found one, so I need to sign up!

Month 2 Fitness Goals:

These were my fitness goals for 12.6.15-1.6.16.

• No eating within an hour of a meal. I cut down on this A LOT, but I feel like there’s still room for improvement.
• No QuestBars or Larabars more than 2 days in a row. At the beginning of this month, this goal was very hard. But now…I think I burned myself out on them. I don’t crave them as much as I used to, in fact I almost feel sick when I look at Larabars now. I’m still into QuestBars, but usually as dessert at night….heat them up for about 12 seconds and they get gooey. Next to a class of milk or water and YUM!
• Continue working out 5 days a week. Around the Holidays, when the gym was closing there was about 3 days in a row I didn’t go. Other than that, i’ve been very proud of how often i’ve been hitting the gym.
• Be in bed by 11:00. Nope, I always make getting to bed early a goal and it’s so hard for me. It’s on my bucket list this year so maybe i’ll be able to at some point.

Month 3 Fitness Goals:

Month 3 will be my goals from 1.7.16 – 2.7.16. I cannot believe it will be February by the time these goals are done. So crazy!

• Follow the physical goals on my 2016 bucket list. Just look above, I want to work towards those goals so this month I want to do things that will help that. 🙂
• Stay under macros 5 days a week. I’ve been using the My Fitness Pal app to track for the most part what i’m eating. It shows the macros of everything i’m eating when I log it and my goal is to stay under in the Fat, Carbohydrates, and Sugar (yes I know that’s a carb but the app measures it and I still don’t want to go over) categories. I never go over on protein haha so I don’t have to worry about that one!
• Research/find out what’s causing me to be bloated. I thought I had this figured out for a while but lately it’s been a problem again so this month I want to research what could be causing that!
• Cut sweets out 1 day a week. Listen, I have something sweet every single day of the week…whatever it is. I wonder what would happen if just one day of the seven days in a week I didn’t have a piece of chocolate, or ice-cream, or whatever??

I truly do feel as though how i’m feeling physically affects the rest of my life. I don’t know if that’s good or bad but the only way to fix that…is to do something about it. I’m hoping with my fitness goals this year it will make things a little easier on me/for me and in turn make me a happier person.

Thursday Favorites: Christmas On The Mind Edition

Well, tomorrow i’ll be elsewhere (come back to find out where!) so today i’m posting my Friday Thursday FAVORITES.

…with Erika, Narci, and Andrea of course.

And actually that brings me to number 1 today. A couple of weeks ago when Erika guest blogged for me on her love of online shopping, I didn’t really understand fully what she was talking about. I’d online shopped before, but not that much. After I ordered one thing in the mail this Christmas season, I just kept ordering because I AM OBSESSED WITH online shopping now. I mean, it’s my FAVORITE. This is me on Christmas morning last year and I can only imagine what this year will be like since I hardly had to go anywhere!! Which may or may not have meant more shopping and more gifts 😉

Speaking of deliveries and going places, I put this little gift together last night. I actually found this on Pinterest so I can’t take credit for it. After looking at it, I decided it was perfect and had to do one for our mail carrier. For $3.50, you can easily make their day. It’s not anything huge, but it’s something to let them know we are thinking about them during the holidays too. Making people feel special is one of my FAVORITES.

And speaking of the holidays…this week we attempted our Christmas card picture. The brothers hate, hate, haaaaattteee taking these pictures. Me, any pictures are my FAVORITE so it doesn’t bother me and Morgan doesn’t care either way. This is usually a huge ordeal because the brothers don’t cooperate and it takes hours, so finally my mom just started snapping pictures…

…she obviously has a gift for the flattering pictures…

…but we ended up with one that nobody hated so we called it a winner, and were done no more than 5 minutes later!

Merry Christmas from the Middletons!

Speaking of Christmas, I went out with my mom and aunt last night to do some shopping and they take a sweet forever just to go through the aisles of the dollar store. So when we finally made it to Target I was about to keel over, naturally I hopped in the cart like the mature adult that I am.

Notice the fuzzy socks, leggings, and house shoes. #FAVORITE #it’smyuniform

Month 2 Fitness Goals: Week 2 Update

Having goals is one of my very FAVORITE way to keep me accountable. Now, how did I do this week you ask?

• No eating within an hour of a meal. I did surprisingly well with this goal. I think part of the time I was conscious about it, but most of the time I was just listening to my body so if I wasn’t super hungry I didn’t eat. I’ve really found how much listening to your body makes a difference.
• No QuestBars or Larabars more than 2 days in a row.  I actually did this one!! I think without even realizing it though. Although some days I did have one and a half, and some days I had some dark chocolate bark things or others in place. But at least i’m cutting back on these!
• Continue working out 5 days a week. Yep, check! I’ve worked out every day except for yesterday this week. And I probably would have had I not talked myself into taking a break…it’s so needed!
• Be in bed by 11:00. Nope. In fact, i’m finishing typing this up at 1:00AM. You guys, I told you this was going to be a real deal for me! My uncle even called me out on it when he saw I had texted him late the other night…oops.

Whew! And now this time next week it will be Christmas Eve…can you even believe that?! Ahhhh, I hope the rest of my online shopping arrives by then or things could get #awkward around here 😉

Have a great day!

Friday Favorites: Thanksgiving Tradition + Fitness Goals Update

I mean, honestly. Can you believe that it’s already the SECOND Friday of DECEMBER?!

As usual, i’m linking up with Erika, Andrea, and Narci for Friday Favorites. It’s Friday Favorites…Thanksgiving in December style?

I forgot to include this in my Thanksgiving post, but i’m probably going to have to go back and add it. A couple years ago I cam up with a fun Thanksgiving tradition. Don’t get me wrong, I love the food that the Holiday brings, but I love the Holiday for just what it stands for. A couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, everyone draws one name (secretly) of another person in the family. For the person that you draw, you have to write them a letter of why you’re thankful for them and then we get that person a little gift. Nothing big, just a little gift.

This year, Morgan had me…and she did awesome. This was my gift from my sissy and she picked it to personally match my office (from a year ago) because she knows how much I love my yellow and grey together.

This year, we started another tradition. Mom came up with the idea of everyone writing something about each other, then crumbling up the paper and sticking it in their glass. After dinner and gift exchange, the person to our right read each note and you had to guess who it was.

I saved my little papers from everyone to tape to my home “desk”…so I can look at it when I need to smile 🙂

Dad said: Molly’s perseverance
Mom said: Focused on health and fitness
Morgan said: I’m thankful your worms (inside joke, she’s referring to my health issues) didn’t kill you and you started cooking more for all of us.
Rick said: I’m thankful you let me pick on you and still be nice to me.
Ryan said: I love your room because you share it with me.

Well, since mom mentioned health and fitness above, i’m going to roll with that.

Month 2 Fitness Goals: Week 1 Update

Wow this week pretty much got away from me and I didn’t even remember that I had fitness goals that I was working on!

• No eating within an hour of a meal. I started keeping a food journal if I didn’t already mention that, and as i’m looking back on it now i’m seeing that there was only 1 day that I didn’t stick to this goal.
• No QuestBars or Larabars more than 2 days in a row. Boo. I didn’t accomplish this goal this week. Sometimes a bite of one of these bars just sounds sooooooo good. Every day. Sigh.
• Continue working out 5 days a week. Yep, check! I’ve worked out every day except for Monday this week.
• Be in bed by 11:00. Oh, yeah. Well like I said this week snuck away from me. I feel like i’m trying to fit a lot of things/accomplish a lot in a short amount of time, so there were a couple nights I was still up and about after 11:00.

Yesterday morning I was running some errands and stopped at Starbucks to pick up a gift card. I have cut back SO MUCH this fall on my coffee intake, which is probably a good thing. In the last month and a half i’ve only had 8 cups of coffee. And usually when I do I get an Americano with soy or a Blonde Roast Misto with coconut milk.

But yesterday I decided I deserved a 1 pump iced mocha with soy. It was the best. Give in to your cravings every once in a while…it’s good for the soul!

Online Bible Study is starting on SUNDAY!!!!!! Wahoo!

Those of you signed up: You should be receiving an e-mail from me today.

Those of you not signed up: You will get a glimpse of what it’s going to be like. If nothing else, just pray for all of us joining in on this journey together. And I hope you’ll consider be part of it next time. 🙂

Annddd last thing today, if you’ve missed any other posts on the blog this week, check them out.

Monday: Month 2 Fitness Goals
Tuesday: Show and Tell: Christmas Decorations
Wednesday: December Goals (A recap of 2015 goals and everything accomplished.)
Thursday: Guest Blogger! Lauren talked about why she loves traveling, and we can too.

Aaaahh, enjoy your second weekend of December!

Friday Favorites: Black Friday Edition

Oh boy! It’s the day after Thanksgiving. We’re all stuffed into our food comas, don’t want to get out of our PJs, and may or may not be debating that Black Friday shopping.

This year, we decided to forgo the crowds. In high school my mom and I would have a blast with Black Friday shopping. The real Black Friday shopping where we’d wake up at 4:00am to get in line at 5:00am. But now it’s just not fun anymore with the stores opening Thanksgiving night.

So i’ll just shop from my office this morning. Let’s get to favorites black friday style! Link-up with Erika, Andrea, and Narci today!

Are you ready for this? Starting November 24th through Monday, November 30th, ALL Stella & Dot sale items will be reduced by an additional 25% off! Prices will be available as marked and this sale will end at 11:59pm PST on 11/30.

This is the perfect opportunity to load up on pretty pieces to add some flare to your wardrobe this holiday season. Speaking of the holidays, Stella & Dot sales item also make for perfect gifts!

Don’t forget Dot Dollars too! For every $50 you spend, you’ll get $25 Dot Dollars to use towards your next purchase!! These are some of my favorite pieces that they offer.

The engrave-able necklace comes in silver and gold and is a nice gift to personalize, which is also why I like the engrave-able bracelet! I’ve seen names, dates, nicknames, whatever you like. These pieces are classy but also personal.

Blue Sentiment Stone Drops (they are part of the sale page and are at a great price!)

I have this cross necklace that I kinda refuse to take off. I love it so! I’ve wanted one forever and finally got it.

And honestly their entire bracelets page has me HOOKED. From the fabric ones…

…to the elephant wishing bracelet…

…and the arrow bracelet. I can’t get enough of them.

These studs need to be in your jewelry box by the end of Christmas. I mean, get a pair for you and the girls in your life!!

I haven’t even gotten a chance to peruse Old Navy’s site because ON and Targ are my go-to clothing stores. But I did have a chance to look through Target’s site. AND OH BOY!

I mean 40% off all clothing for the whole family? Pinch me!

I found the festive, Christmas leggings that I wore on Christmas Eve last year for $12.00 that’s right! I pair of festive, cozy, comfy, leggings for 12 bucks. I KNOW.

I’m pretty positive that by now y’all know I am obsessed with my chambray shirt. If I had to pick a favorite thing in my closet, this piece of clothing would be it. I wear it ALL. THE. TIME. (Even in the picture above haha!)

Click here to shop all the deals for women’s clothing and accessories! You really just need to see for yourself!

This is going to be me today. The two of us in HR are taking shifts, i’m working this morning, while she’s taking the afternoon. So as soon as I get there, I’m going to grab myself an Americano or a Blonde Roast Misto, turn on my Christmas Radio Pandora, and shop shop shop for Christmas. It’s pay day (PTL) and i’ve got things to do! It may not be in my pjs but jeans will have to do this morning 😉

Before we go here’s a semi-pathetic Fitness Goals update  for week 3!

1. No eating after 8:00 p.m. I did this only twice this week, I think??? It usually just depends on the day and when I eat, but i’ve definitely been trying to be more conscious about it!
2. Meal prep every Sunday for the week ahead following the 21 day fix plan. I still have not meal prepped or followed the 21 day fix food portions. I’m honestly not sure why, but I think I might just save this goal for next time.
3. Eat 5 small meals without snacking in between those. I think this week I was more often eating less meals and eating until I was full. The thing that stuck out to me this week was that I really just tried listening to my body whenever I could. It’s been so much better!
4. Work-out 5 days a week. Working out more than that. Check!
5. Cut down on the carbs. I cut down on the protein bars and shakes. I think carbs have still been about the same as usual though.

Those of you who signed up for the online Bible study should have received an e-mail from me this week. If you did not and would still like to join we’re trying to get this moving, so please e-mail me ASAP!!!!!

colorsoflifeblog@gmail.com

And that’s it for this Friday. Good luck braving the crowds today. Or working. Or whatever you’re doing. Have a great Holiday weekend!

**This post contains affiliate links, which just means that clicking on a link may result in a small compensation for the blog author. Thank you all so much for reading and supporting my blog! XOXO**

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! It’s time to talk favorites this morning with Erika, Andrea, and Narci.

 

Monday morning I announced that I wanted to host an online Bible study for us blogger friends to participate in. Comment on that post or this one if you’d like to join in. This next week I am going to contact everyone to get it rollin’…it’s going to be my favorite part of the week!

Yesterday morning I asked y’all what type of posts you would like for me to publish. I know sometimes I find articles online and they sound boring and not interesting at all. I don’t want this blog to be boring or uninteresting to you. So tell me what you want to read from me because your questions are my favorite!

The other day I was out shopping (not even for me, it was for Christmas) and I stumbled upon a store I knew carried simplified planners. They’ve never had them in stock when I went in to look at one but I figured what the heck i’ll give it a try! Lo and behold this puppy was the only one in the store….and 70% off…and nothing was wrong with it!!!!! I about died and couldn’t pay for it fast enough. I’m officially all set for 2016 and this is definitely my favorite gift to myself 😉

I made my faaaavvvvvoritteee peanut butter cup protein pie last night and had to practice some serious self control as I wanted to drown myself in the entire thing. If you haven’t made it, DO IT! You can thank me later! And I promise you will 😉 It’s better than my non-foodie-blogger-pics make it look.

This girl is coming home tonight! Whoop! She hasn’t been here since August so i’m sure she’s excited to sleep in her own bed. And we’re excited to see her. I love Thanksgiving for bringing family together. It’s my favorite holiday (remember I switched from 4th of July haha)! Not to mention my school has all week off so HOLLA SLEEP!

Fitness Goals Update – Week 2!

1. No eating after 8:00 p.m. I did this every day last week, but this week I only did 3 times! Wahoo! Maybe next week i’ll cut it down to once? I still have issues with this one. Am I hungry because it’s been 4 hours since dinner and I need some fuel? Or am I hungry because I know it’s been 4 hours and I feel like I need something?? I don’t know!!!
2. Meal prep every Sunday for the week ahead following the 21 day fix plan. I still had a lot of leftovers to eat, so I didn’t make anything new on Sunday. This weekend I will! And i’ve definitely been failing at the 21 day fix food groups.
3. Eat 5 small meals without snacking in between those. This week I just ate when I was hungry but tried to be conscious of when it was. Some days I know I ate more than I should have in one sitting, but I just felt like I couldn’t fill up.
4. Work-out 5 days a week. Working out more than that. Check!
5. Cut down on the carbs. From looking in my food journal i’ve noticed lots of larabars or quest bars and lots of my protein shakes. Those add up in carbs along with others that i’m already eating. Less protein bars/protein powder this week!

I’ve realized that last night and the night before I have been feeling very bloated and uncomfortable..usually a norm for me but not lately so this was weird. This week I want to figure out if it’s because i’m eating too much, or the protein powder I used in the peanut butter pie, or what. I just wish I had this fitness thing down already. I feel like i’ve been working on it so long (not just the past two weeks) and it’s not exactly what i’m wanting.

But it’s a new week, so here’s to that. Do something great this weekend! 🙂

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday the 13th!

Today’s just another Friday Favorites with Erika, Andrea, and Narci.

Bloglovin’

I’ve said it once before, and i’ll say it again. Bloglovin’ is the BEST. I mean seriously, it lets me know when all of my friends (you all) post so I can keep track of everyone and know whose post i’ve read, and make sure to comment on everyone’s post. Because y’all know comments are my favorite! Follow me so I can follow you back 🙂

NYC

So…me and four of my favorite girls as seen on Meet My Peeps could possibly be going to NYC in January around my birthday. IT’S NOT FOR SURE!!!!! But I wanted to ask those of you who have been…

1. Where do we stay?
2. What do we do?
3. Where do we eat?
4. What airport do we fly into?
5. Do we take a taxi everywhere or get a rental car??

LIKE HELP!

“It’s tradition”

Ry asked me a couple weeks ago if I was going to the volleyball game because my alma mater made it to playoffs. Which YAY. And I asked if he wanted someone to go with him and he said yes, so after class last Thursday we met up with mom and went to the game! This past Tuesday night they played again and when he asked me if we could go again he said “Yeah you are, it’s tradition!” He is just like me and it’s my favorite because that totally sounds like something I would do or say. I love that he thought something as simple as meeting me after class to go watch the volleyball game together is a tradition that we just had to do again. 🙂 #reasonsilovelivingathomestill

This time we stopped for dog food Taco Bell beforehand. Ohhhhh man do I miss my favorite Doritos Locos tacos that I used to get for lunch like, every day in high school.

And that healthy, delicious, non-processed food above leads me to my fourth favorite this week…

an UPDATE from week 1 of my new fitness goals 🙂

1. No eating after 8:00 p.m. So the point of this goal was to get me to not eat after 8 when I had already eaten dinner and was just sitting around, likely eating out of boredom. However…I failed at this one this weekend. There were times that I ate dinner around 6-7ish and then went out for the night. By the time it was close to 3ish and I got hungry. I tried to make sure it was relatively healthy stuff. I just tried listening to my body. Working on this one!
2. Meal prep every Sunday for the week ahead following the 21 day fix plan. I did not meal prep this week, but I had a lot of leftover food in my fridge from recipes i’ve already made that i’ve been able to eat off of. One is Shay’s Chicken and Spinach Enchilada Soup. YUM.
3. Eat 5 small meals without snacking in between those. Right now i’m keeping a journal from 11/5-12/5 of what exactly i’m eating and when. Looking through it, it looks like i’m eating close to 2.5-3 hours. Sometimes i’m not hungry in that amount of time and sometimes i’m hungry before. Like I said, i’m just listening to my body. This is probably the most important thing anyways!
   
   This is my mock burrito bowl from Saturday night’s dinner. Shred some lettuce, brown up some beef, toss some tomatoes, beans, cheese, whatever you normally put on your Chipotle and put it in a bowl. Done. Dinner is served. And dinner is good.
4. Work-out 5 days a week. And also looking in my journal, i’ve seen that since last week I worked out every day but 1. There was another day that I got bored during my work-out and stopped. But other than that, i’ve been doing something for at least 30 minutes/day! Also, I thought now would be a good time to sign up for a free week of yoga at a studio near me because I knew I wanted to try hot yoga from Lindsay’s post. IT’S SO AWESOME. More to come on that! 😉
5. Cut down on the carbs. I could probably do better with this goal too. It looks like I haven’t had more than one serving of carbs a day, which is really good! Although for carbs (since i’ve got my gluten free bread) i’ve taken a slice, put avocado on top, scrambled egg whites on top of that with some salsa and breakfast is served! I’m all over this.
   

I like seeing this update because it shows me what to work on this upcoming week. Now I know because I forced myself to go through and notice what i’m doing right and what I can still improve on! Bring it on!

I think i’m just going to keep it short and sweet with those favorites from this week.

Throw your hands in the air if you’re happy it’s Friday! Hope everyone has a fun fall weekend!