Blue Jean Baby

This weekend was - in a word - FAN-F*#$ING-TABULOUS.  So grab your coffee, lean back, kick your feet up, and listen.  Because I wanna tell you aaaaalllll about it.

Size FOUR. 

First up - didn't workout once.  Sorry...didn't mean to make you spit out your coffee in shock.  But it's true!  Normally, not a reason for fantabulousness.  And I should rectify that statement by saying I had no formal workout.  I did, however, walk my lil' butt off.  Literally.  As Hubby and I perused the Gettysburg Outlets, I walked that lil' butt right into a pair of size four jeans.  I never thought these hips or quads would see the day!  But I was walking right out of the 6's I had on, so I figured I'd make the attempt.  Left the store with spankin' new skinny jeans AND trousers.  BOTH 4's.  And all this after a month of that nasty scale not budging.  So once again, I am proven RIGHT.  Screw the scale!  Use the jeans!

And now I'm extra energized for my back-to-back workouts today (Insanity and an easy run).  My legs feel strong, my lungs feel ready, and my enthusiasm is obnoxiously high.  Sometimes, I need a break to remind me just how much I love what I do.

Mine at last!

Second - Hubby surprised me with a chinup bar AND Selectech dumbbells!!!! Now, of course we left on our mini-vacay before I had the chance to use either piece of equipment.  And of course nothing in my training currently necessitates either piece of equipment.  But I cannot keep my sweaty paws off of 'em so I see a lifting session in my very near future (translation: Babe's naptime).  I've been dreaming lustily of this since I helped Hubby carry the weights inside on Friday.  Today, my dreams reach fruition.  *blissfulsigh*

LOVE!

Third - I discovered our favorite restaurant in Gettysburg (Gettysburg Eddie's) has added a vegetarian menu!  I was not relegated to pale lettuce leaves and lemon water!  Instead, I feasted on portabella, roasted red peppers, and an incredibly vibrant salad.  My drool is making the keyboard kind of slippery...My only regret nutrition-wise while we were out and about?  Nary a blender in sight so no Shakeology for TWO DAYS!  And I forgot to take my vitamins along, so I was feeling mildly sluggish by the time we returned to the M&M Estate last evening.  Today, however, all is good and back on track.  Shakeology has been consumed and Mama is on the verge of a workout.  Things are back to healthy!

Last (but not nearly least) - I handed out copies of my book to my sisters and my mom.  Autographed and everything!  There's something about a book that just feels good in my soul.  Those are my words and my ideas between those covers...and that's my name on the front cover.  My bucket list would be shorter if I wasn't constantly adding new goals to replace those accomplished.

It's good for your FitLife AND your soul.

Great weekend.  But it's over...and now we're movin' into a new week, a new school year, and a new challenge group.  Just because I've had an awesome three days, don't expect me to slow down and become a slug.  I've got plenty of awesome to keep going.

Challenge Completed!

Well, here we are.  The 30-Day FitPhotoChallenge is complete.  And I have the photographic evidence to prove it.

Day 24: Workout Music

Day 24 was Workout Music.  Now, this is just the top of my favorite running playlist, but of course it contains a handful of my favorites.  You can add these to your "I Got Fitness And I Know It" playlist if you so desire.  Thank me later.

I got a tad sidetracked for a number of days, then cheated on my catchup by lumping three days into one photo (and one glorious fitness shopping spree! Weeeeee!).  The photos needed were: TryingSomethingNew, Fitness Shoes, and Addicted.  I am quite obviously an Insanity junkie, so that one was impossibly easy. 

Days 25-27

The shoes...well, I was in quite desperate need of some new crosstrainers (for Insanity...it's all one big cyclical thing here, folks), so Hubby and I schlepped the kids over to Aardvark and grabbed another pair.  I'm sticking with the Asics Gel TR 170's, just switching up my colors (oooh!aaaah! Coral!).  Unless they come out with a newer and cushier version, this is my shoe.  I'm on my third pair and the love has yet to fade. 

As for TryingSomethingNew...well, I got TWO in one photo.  I snagged my new vegetarian cookbooks (recipes and cooking are coming along slowly, but pretty well, despite what my children may tell you) and I've been trying new dishes every day.  But what I am amazingly excited about is my new Polar heart rate monitor!!!!!  I fully realize that only the deepest of fitness crazies will understand my unbridled enthusiasm at tracking my heart rate and thereby calories burned...but that doesn't even begin to dampen said enthusiasm.  I LOVE MY MONITOR.  I may need to print up a tshirt or maybe a bumper sticker.  Everyone else hearts their dogs, their kids, their spouse...I heart my monitor.  It kept me pushing and I felt an immense satisfaction seeing my effort there on my wrist in readable text.  I highly recommend strapping one on.  (MON-IT-OR.  Strap on a monitor.  Perverts.)



Day 28: Protein

So then we had Day 28: Protein.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy.  I get my jolt of protein every morning whilst enjoying my delicious Shakeology.  Plugplugplug, advertiseadvertiseadvertise.  But for reals, yo.  Git summa dis.

Day 29: Love/Hate.  I both love my newfound healthy diet - it makes me feel and look fantabulous - but I hate cooking.  I try to find the joy of cooking, but it does not seem to be my area of expertise.  I have no fluidity in the kitchen.  BUT - I can muddle through with it knowing the vast rewards I'll be reaping.  And until I can afford my very own Vitamix, I'll just keep chopping and blending my fit lil' heart out.



Day 29: Love/Hate

Now, then...Day 30.  I did it!  I made it through the entire 30 days of the FitPhotoChallenge! Woohoo!  And I'm stronger, leaner, tougher, healthier, FITTER.  Look at me!  That body is the body of an Insanity-doin', vegetarian-eatin', fitness-gear-usin' MACHINE. 

Day 30: 30 Days Later

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: you don't have to hate!  Don't be jealous!  JOIN ME!  Tomorrow, over at the Facebook SweatItOut, we are beginning the AugustAbsChallenge, a new move for every day of the month.  I may have kicked alcohol to the curb, but you'd better believe I'll be bustin' a six pack by August 30. 

...or show it off with sports bras and compression shorts...

Loading My Plate

This is what's on my plate (almost literally) for the weekend:

Insanity workouts.
Vegetarian shopping (with added chicken and fish for Hubby and the babe).
Closet organization (which has little to do with my FitLife, but is quite high on my priority list right now).
Date with the Werewolf (at the very top of the list).

So, yes...some of these are obvious pieces to my FitLife journey, others maybe not so obvious.  I'm guessing I don't need to explain Insanity whatsoever.  But I'm also guessing a few of you may be curious as to how exactly that is going.  Um...AWESOME.  (In my head, I hear an old cheer we used to use: "A-W-E! S-O-M-E! Awesome! Awesome! Awesome, are WE!" Good.  Now you hear it too.)  I didn't take an extra break until I hit minute 34, and it was because my shoulders gave out, not my lungs.  Upper body has always been my toughest area to tackle, but I'm soldiering right through.  Next week, the goal is 35 minutes.  It WILL happen.

And I promised I would explain further my wading in the vegetarian pool.  I've been wrestling with it on an emotional level for quite some time, but what finally tipped the scales was a picture that caught my eye on Pinterest.  It caught my eye because it was a photo of my favorite, dreamiest Beatle, Sir Paul.  And the quote got me.  So, enough with the meat.  I have gone this route before, but fell off the meatless wagon.  Something tells me this time, it'll stick.  I'd bet my boots the support this time around will be a thousandfold of what existed before.  So thanks in advance to my meatless pals. 

Closet organization really does fit in, I swear!  My mind is clearer when my spaces are uncluttered.  The closet is the first in a long line of "re-do's" around the M&M Estate.  Partially because I simply am done with the every-morning frustration of sorting through clothing to find something that fits (this time, because it's all gotten too big! Woot!).  Partially because I tend to do my workouts earlier in the day when I don my sports bras and shorts first thing, which in turn leads to a generally more productive day.  See?  Told you there was logic and connection.  You really ought to believe me when I say stuff.

The date with the Werewolf? you ask.  Where does that fit?  It's good for Mama's mental health, for one.  There is no one else on the planet that can make me laugh like that boy can, nor is there an easier-goin' creature in this household.  He is an easy person to be around, and I have come to appreciate easy people.  And for two, he's shopping with me to gather those vegetarian foodstuffs.  I always view grocery trips with kiddos as lessons in nutrition and money.  So we'll have some good convo on both topics and he will (I hope) come away with a greater understanding of our shifting diet and how to best budget our cash flow at Wegmans.

That's what's on my plate today.  What are you filling yours with?

Who Needs a Door, Anyway?

Are you prepared for a little honesty?  Because I am about to drop a BOMB on you folks.

I am human.  I know, right? Pick your jaw up off that floor though and listen. Because here comes another bomb: I eat junk food, too.

There, it's out, I said it! I'm gonna be totally straight with you.  Those Hershey bars I bought so we could make s'mores?  Gone.  Every.  Last.  One.  Did we make s'mores?  No.  Which means between now and replenishing the supply, I must once again gain control over Midnight Miller, Raider of the Freezer and Pillager of the Snack Basket.  I have no true excuse.  Yes, my appetite is in overdrive with Insanity, but we have plenty of healthy options in the house.  Matter of fact, pretty much every other option in the house is healthy.  I just chose to zero in on the ONE thing I should not be chowing down on. 

Now, a friend recently asked me to blog about what I eat and where my recipes come from.  So there's my admission of chocolate above (damn you, Milton Hershey!).  But a typical day would look more like this:

Breakfast: Shakeology (today was Tropical Strawberry, almond milk, frozen blackberries and frozen mango) and black coffee.  (I really did attempt to leave coffee behind and replace it solely with green tea. I've accepted that I am just not gonna do that long term.)

Snack: Clif/Luna/P90X bars...My current favorites are Clif Peanut Butter Crunch and Luna Chocolate Peppermint Stick and Coconut Something-or-other.  They are easy, they pack a protein punch, and they taste good.  That's my kinda food, right there.  Also, I usually add in a piece of fruit for extra sweetness.

Lunch: leftovers or a hodgepodge salad comprised of various leftovers.  Typically, Hubby will grill all chicken and steak at the beginning of the week so that during the week, we have only to dump it onto a plate or into a salad and presto! Meals take five minutes to make.  That's my kinda cookin', right there.  My goal is to include as many colors as I can with the veggies on hand, plus eggs, meat, or feta for some protein.  Dressing is typically a balsamic vinaigrette or a classic italian.  We have done away with the "light" or "lowfat" dressings because they're just silly and full of stuff we don't want.

Snack: fresh fruits and either nuts, cottage cheese, or yogurt.  This is likely to change in the near future, as is much of the diet listed above.  For various reasons that I'll lay out in another blog, I am heading the vegetarian route and will go back to much less dairy (my body just felt better when I wasn't sucking down milk, yogurt, and cheese at every meal).  But the fruits will stay!  

Dinner: white meat (chicken, fish, or pork) most days; steak once a week or less.  Nearly always with fresh or frozen veggies and a bowl of fruit on the table to pick from. 

What do I drink besides Shakeology and coffee?  Water.  The occasional soda when we're out to eat, although this is less and less common.  We don't keep soda or sugary drinks in the fridge, and I'm not much of a beer drinker, though Hubby keeps that stocked for his own sanity.  In the past, I was a huge milk drinker, but I gradually lessened my intake and, as previously mentioned, feel better for it. 

As for my recipes, I get them everywhere.  Jillian Michaels' Making The Cut has incredible meals all laid out, every one of them tasty.  I am a Pinterest addict and an avid collector of any and all women's fitness magazines.  I pick and choose, but will every now and then follow a specific meal plan, as I just did for Insanity.  Turns out, I am sick of meat, and that plan calls for quite a bit of it.  So this Friday, my first errand is mapped out to Barnes&Noble to pick up a copy of The Eat Clean Diet Vegetarian Cookbook by Tosca Reno.  I see this as the next step in my fitness and food journey.  Stay posted to see how I do with this one...

Coincidentally, our refrigerator door FELL OFF this morning.  So we will be chowing down on all things fresh today.  It's rigged to hang in there, but we don't know for how long.  I joked on Facebook that we may as well remove the shelving and dive in face first...after my workout, I just may do that.  Insanity makes Mama one hungry bear.

If you really want to see what I eat and how I work out every single day, my profile on myfitnesspal.com is totally public.  Find me and friend me (Miller343).  Having more eyes gives me more motivation to practice what I yell, scream, and preach. 

For now, though, I must go.  It is time for pinning and coffee.