Weeks 9 and 10

The past few weeks have been difficult for me because of the family birthday parties, and other social events that we have gone to. I don't know what it is about being around family and friends, but it seems my diet and fitness go out the window.

For the fourth of July I took off work on Friday, so I ended up having a 4 day weekend. I decided that I would start getting serious with my running and bicycling for my 1/2 marathon and century ride in September.

Workout

I feel like I have started over because now I feel like I can hardly run 4 miles. I am not sure if it's because of the heat, or just because I haven't don't a descent workout in a week. As you can see on my Endomondo tracker above I have been working out quite a bit the past few days. My goal is to continue this routine and hopefully be able to keep my goal of running the 1/2 marathon in 2 hours.
This week TJ and I are running in the Bastille Days 5K (this is our first 5K of the season).. I just hope it's not super hot. I'm hoping to get in some spin classes and running outside this week assuming the weather cooperates.

Food

Food has been the hardest of the whole thing. I have struggled while at parties and of course getting back from vacation because we had no food. This weekend I have prepared some zucchini and summer squash pasta sauce, which we had for dinner tonight with spaghetti and chicken sausage. I couldn't even tell there was squash and zucchini in the sauce. TJ even ate it!

I also made what I call "Power Pancakes" for my breakfasts for the week (http://deliciouslyella.com/vegan-banana-pancakes-gluten-free-dairy-free-sugar-free/).


The reason I call them "Power Pancakes" is because every time I have one for breakfast I have an excellent workout and record time (for me). These are packed with nutrients and protein, which I believe is the reason I have such good workouts after eating one of these. If you put protein powder in them they make you even fuller. 

I had some kale from my Organic Coop that I participate in with my Mother, so I took that and made some kale chips with garlic and basil seasoning. This makes for a good snack. (http://deliciouslyella.com/kale-chips/).


I'm hoping to have a good week and stick to my diet and workouts. I have been slacking on logging to myfitnesspal, but will be starting up again tomorrow morning. 

Week 7 and 8

For week 7 I was up north with my Husband's family enjoying the great outdoors four wheeling, fishing, and sitting around the campfire. Unfortunately what that means is 2 - 3 unhealthy meals where I ate more than I should have. Plus dessert.

I don't know what it is about up north and campfires, but I can't resist having a good ole S'more (or 2).

I did manage to get up the day after we arrived and run for 60 minutes, so I felt very accomplished that day. That was, however, the only day I woke up and worked out. The other days we went four wheeling into town, fished, and played outdoor games with my 7 year old nephews and my dogs. I purposefully did not weigh myself when I got home the following Friday because I knew we would be leaving for vacation the next Monday to go to New York.

New York was great, but again there is so much good food to try. The nice thing about New York is you have to walk everywhere if you don't want to pay an arm and a leg for a taxi. I didn't have a pedometer, but looking at my phone I walked at least 4 miles every day. I also did run/walk and lift weights the day after I arrived.

Here is one temptation I had to give in to.... They were too good to pass up, luckily I only got one small one.
 

 

Oh.. and don't forget this (read the label). Probably the best piece of chocolate ever.

 

 

 

I had a great time wandering around the city by myself while my husband worked :) I would love to go back someday to do more.

 

Here are some more photos I will share with you of my trip. The tough part now is getting back into my routine.

 

 

It was getting ready to storm pretty bad.

 

 I'm holding up the statue with my thumb... don't pay attention to my face, it was really hard to line it up while taking a picture of myself haha..

 

Time Square.. so awesome!



Week 6 - Day 3 & 4

Well, Week 6 is coming to an end and I'm hoping I can lose some weight. I am planning to weigh myself in the morning since I will be out of town next week. I will then weigh again when I get back. Hopefully the number will either go down or stay the same. I really don't want to gain any more weight. Tonight I went grocery shopping and spent about $100 on fruits and veggies. I made a big fruit salad, homemade hummus, fruit dip, and veggies for the hummus. I also made my banana blueberry muffins using protein powder and flaxseed.. so pretty healthy. The only thing I really need to watch is the alcohol, and I NEED to workout. Since I will be out of town I may not have time to post on my blog, but I will be sure to let you know how I did when I get back.

Food

For Wednesday and Thursday this week I did fairly good on food.. dinner I still managed to have pretzels and nuttela, but I suppose it could be worse. I've had no treats at work, and have done a lot of walking at work.

Workout

Yesterday I made it to my weight lifting class and also did 1.5 miles of sprints. I managed to start running at 7 mph and got up to 8.5mph. I was super proud of myself, this is a record for me. Then after that I managed to make it through my power lifting class.

This morning I was dragging and didn't make it to my spin class. Of course I was planning on running tonight, but the rain got in my way and I had to finish packing and preparing for my trip.

My goal for up north is to get outside and run every day, but of course that all depends on the weather. If it does rain then I am going to do my ab challenge and some cardio circuit inside. Hopefully TJ will join me.

Week 6 - Day 1 & 2

This week has been rough. I've had to get a lot accomplished with TJ being out of town and planning for our vacation up north. I've done pretty well with my food and workout so far. I went grocery shopping tonight and picked up ingredients to make roasted red pepper hummus and fruit dip. Thursday I will be getting some fruit and veggies to cut up to bring with us. I'm looking forward to a break off work for a while.

Food

Monday and today I did pretty good on food. For dinner tonight I decided to have nutella and pretzel crisps instead of actual food. Probably not the smartest choice, but it was so easy to grab. I made my banana blueberry muffins that I am going to bring to work tomorrow. I really just wanted to use my new stove and I had a few bananas I needed to get rid of.

Workout

Yesterday I made it to spin class in the morning and had a great workout. Today I couldn't get up, and I was super busy tonight preparing for vacation.. so we will say today was a 'rest' day. I am looking forward to my weight lifting class tomorrow though.

Week 5 - Day 7

Today was a pretty good day. I went to a wedding expo in Brookfield with my friend who is getting married in two years (she is an early planner). We then went to Coopers Nest to use a gift certificate I received for a free wine tasting for four.

Food

Today I did OK eating. For breakfast I had one of my vegan blueberry/banana pancakes with strawberries. After the Wedding expo we went wine tasting at Coopers Nest. I ended up buying a bottle of German wine that is similar to Riesling, and I joined their wine club. So I will be getting one bottle of wine every month! YAY.. Then for lunch I had chicken and broccoli stir fry. Not the best option, but it could have been worse. I also forgot to mention at the wedding expo there was some cake and ice cream that I tasted.

Workout

I ran five miles this morning in 43:37, which is an average of 8:43 per mile. This is record time for me, so I was thrilled. My new running shoes were also a big help. I didn't have any pains after my run and I felt great. Hopefully I can keep this up until the 1/2 marathon in September.

Week 5 - Day 6

Today was a long day, but I was able to get a lot of done... Except for working out. Today my parents came over and helped me with a surprise I have done for my husband. He is out of town so I decided to remodel our kitchen island (hopefully he doesn't read this before he gets home). I will post pictures tomorrow when it's completely done. It looks really good, and I did it for under $100.

Food

Today I did so-so with food. I made the vegan blueberry/banana pancakes this morning and they were actually really good and extremely filling. I made more so I could have breakfast for a few more days. I went out for mexican with my parents for lunch and of course had chips and guacamole. For my actual meal I had about 3 bites of a chicken burrito and some refried beans and mexican rice. I could definitely done better, but considering I was working all day and shopping for shoes with my parents I feel I deserved it.

 

Workout

Today my workout consisted of painting and helping remodel my kitchen island. I also did a lot of walking at Rogans, and Fleet Feet in Brookfield. In the process I bought some new Kinvara 4 shoes and insoles.

Take a look!

These are so light and comfortable, I can't wait to run in them tomorrow. Hopefully it doesn't rain!
I also bought a recovery stick (that's what I call it anyways). This is only sold at Fleet Feet, and oh my goodness does it feel good. To use it you roll it over your sore muscles and it works out the knots that exist. I plan to sit every night and do this while I watch my shows. The pain feels so good and helps loosen my muscles to get me ready to run.

Week 5 - Days 2 - 4

This week has been so busy I haven't been able to get on the computer to post. I have done pretty good working out this week and so-so on my eating.

Food

I have eaten really good for breakfast and lunch. Dinners have been rough because I just have not felt like cooking. On Monday I did make banana blueberry muffins which turned out awesome, so that's what I ate for breakfast most of the week.

We bought a new stove back in April, but it had to be special ordered because we needed white, so on Wednesday it was finally delivered. I have not cooked on it yet, but plan to tomorrow morning. My parents are coming up to spend the day with me so I told them I would make them breakfast. I have decided to make Vegan Banana/Blueberry Pancakes. I found a recipe on another blog (http://deliciouslyella.com/vegan-banana-pancakes-gluten-free-dairy-free-sugar-free/).

They just look so good I couldn't pass it up!

Workout

This week I made it to the gym every day except on Wednesday. I have been trying really hard to get up every day, but some days I just can't pull myself out of bed. This morning was that way, but then I thought about everything I had to do tonight and that made me realize that I wasn't going to have time to workout after work... so I pulled myself out of bed and made it to the gym for running and my weight lifting class. Luckily we did not use those slider discs, instead we did an intense ab workout that is going to kill me tomorrow.

It's all worth it though, I am getting stronger and faster at running and bicycling. I am also shrinking, which is the ultimate goal. My pants are fitting better, and I can tell my stomach is getting flatter. This weekend is going to be a test for me. My parents are coming tomorrow, and then on Sunday I am going to a Wedding Expo in Brookfield with one of my best friends and our moms. This means there is going to be cake tasting, and I also have a wine and chocolate tasting coupon that I would like to use.

Needless to say I need to stick to my workouts this weekend.