Fitness Friday Week 3 Review

I can't believe it has already been 3 weeks since I started this challenge for myself! I am happy to report that I worked out 5 out of 7 days last week.  My goal is 6 of 7, but I think 5 of 7 is still pretty good.  I am finding that I like using Jillian Michael's dvd the most.  The 10 minute trainers are good, but I feel like Jillian has a more challenging workout.  P90X is also good, but just longer.  Still it is nice to have them all just to give myself some variety.  I also had a goal to eat dessert only twice this week, which I succeeded in doing!  Physically, I notice a difference in my general energy level and ability to keep up with the workout videos.  I really like feeling like I am finally back in the groove of working out.  It is still hard to get motivated sometimes, but blogging about it really helps!  To anyone who is trying to get motivated to start working out again, go ahead and go for it!  I realized that, no matter when I decided to start, I would always feel like I was too busy or too tired to do it.  Therefore, there is no ideal time to start.  I just had to choose it and follow through.  Easier said than done, I know.  I can honestly say though, that this blog has been SUCH a help in finding motivation.  I want to be able to say that I met my goal each week!  I have the same goals for next week: working out 6 of 7 days and eating desserts two times or fewer.  I am also adding: eat more fruits and veggies throughout the day.  I have been noticing that I eat a lot of carbohydrates.  Though they are mostly healthy carbs, I think the proportion of them that I eat compared to other food groups is not ideal.  So, I figure filling myself up with more fruits and veggies will help decrease my carb intake.

Boston Getaway!

I was so blessed to get to visit my friends from college, Jenna and Emily, this past week.  Jenna lives in Boston, and Emily made the trip up from Texas.  I spent four wonderful days getting up when I wanted to, taking a shower and getting DRESSED for the day, sight-seeing in the beautiful city of Boston, and visiting with my sweet friends.  It was Ryan's spring break, so he stayed home with the girls.  I honestly thought he would be dying for me to come home and help him by the end of it, but he actually loved getting to spend all that time with the girls.  When I came home, he told me he was ready for me to get a full-time job so he could stay home with them!  Ha!  The girls really bonded with him a lot, and were asking for him constantly the following week when they would get up and he wasn't there.  I really missed my girls and husband, but it was wonderful to have a little vacation!  So thankful to Jenna for having me!

Of COURSE we had to visit the cupcake shop near Jenna's house!

Me and Jenna with her dog Elsa

Jenna and Emily with Elsa

Late Fitness Friday update! Week 2

I just got back into town yesterday from an AMAZING trip to Boston to visit two of my college friends, so this update is a little behind.  I plan to post again soon about my trip!  So, my second week of my fitness challenge was somewhat of a success, somewhat of a failure.  I did not work out during the first few days of the week (unless you count cleaning) because I felt like I had a lot to do to get ready to leave Ryan and the girls for 5 days.  We stocked the freezer with meals, did lots of errands, etc.  Though I was busy, I do NOT think this was a good excuse to not workout.  I could have found some time here or there, but just didn't choose to.  You win some, you lose some.  Anyway, the second part of the week was spent walking the streets of Boston, so I count walking all day as a pretty good workout!  Probably the most fun workout I could imagine too.  Eating was so so.  I made a goal to eat desserts only 2 times during that week.  I definitely ate more than that, but I made really good choices about the other food I ate, so I have to celebrate that too.  Now that I am not on vacation anymore, I will get back on my original goal for desserts only twice a week.  I am feeling a little lethargic today and haven't yet worked out, so I better find some motivation and get going!

Fitness Friday- Week 1 in review

Well, it turns out that posting my fitness goals on my blog provided just the motivation I was needing to follow through!  I wanted to work out 6 days this week, and I did 5!  I don't think I would have worked out that much if I hadn't been thinking about wanting to post about my success at the end of the week.  Most days I used my workout videos, and one day I actually did some running outside.   As far as eating habits, my goal was to make healthy choices.  While I wouldn't say I made the healthiest choices every time, I was definitely more aware of what I was eating.  I am thinking I might have to make a real concrete goal if I want to succeed in this area.  Not a rule prohibiting myself from eating any one particular food, but just encouraging me towards moderation in that area.  This week, I want to focus on desserts.  I want to only eat desserts 2 days this week at most.  Wish me luck :)

Fitness Challenge

I have always been hesitant about whether I would want to post my fitness goals on a blog because if, for some reason, I wasn't able to attain them, I would feel silly for posting them in the first place.  On the flip side, though, posting them could really help motivate me to not be lazy and make it happen.  So, after weighing the pros and cons, I have decided to go for it!  I don't really have any kind of weight loss goals with specific numbers attached to them.  My goals, which may be too general I guess, are to exercise in some form 6 out of 7 days a week and to make healthy choices in regards to eating.  Since I am at home a lot with the girls, most of my working out will be done using workout videos.  I have Jillian Michael's 30-day shred, the P90X series, and 10 minute trainer (a series of workouts also done my Tony Horton of P90X).  I also enjoy running outside, so since the weather will be getting nicer, I hope to do some running from time to time when Ryan is home to stay with the girls.  Tonight I completed 3 of the 10 minute trainer workouts tonight (totaling 30 minutes), and I plan to do the other 2 segments tomorrow.  For me, the keys to being successful in working out are variety and just making time for it.  I really like the 10 minute trainer workouts because I can fit a 10 minute segment in at different times throughout the day if the girls are keeping me extra busy.  I prefer to do it all in one chunk of time, but being a mom doesn't always make that possible.  And for whatever reason, Sally just HATES when I do workout videos.  She can only stand it for about 10 minutes before she starts hanging all over me and crying LOUDLY and UNCEASINGLY until I pick her up or stop altogether and play with her.  Sophie will usually join in and copy what I am doing, which is cute.   As far as my goal in regards to eating, I feel like I generally make good choices about what I eat.  My downfall is definitely sweets, so it may be hard to resist that craving.   I do feel that indulging in foods you really enjoy from time to time is acceptable.  I just don't need to eat those foods every day.  Since this goal is somewhat broad and general, it may be harder to measure.  I just don't want to start making rules for myself about what I will or won't eat.  That never works for long and just makes me feel guilty anyway.  I guess I'll see how this first week goes and take it from there.  My plan is to post every Friday about how the week went.  To borrow from a blog I read whose author is doing something similar, I am going to call it Fitness Friday!  Check in next week to see how it is going :)

Freezer Meal Swap

I am part of a group at a local church called Mom's carelink, and one of the opportunities I was able to take advantage of there is participating in a freezer meal swap!  I think this is a great idea, and any group of people could do it.  There were five women in my group who each prepared 4 identical meals to give away (plus one for their own family if they wished).  Yesterday we met and swapped meals, going home with 4 different meals to stock our freezer with!  It was also a great way to get to know these women a little better and let our kids play together.  The meal I chose to make was a slow cooker chicken and dumplings.  It was very cost effective, healthy, and delicious!  The meals I came home with were: ham and potato casserole, mini meatloafs, chicken spaghetti, and a ham and bean soup.  If I were to do this again, I think I would not choose a slow cooker recipe because each meal took 4-5 hours to complete, so it really dragged out the cooking process (although it was easy once I got it going).  Other suggestions for freezer recipes that are not casseroles (just to change it up) are: burritos, stromboli or calzones, pizza, or even breakfast items like pancakes and sausage, muffins, french toast, frozen chopped fruit, etc.  I am looking forward to the period of time over the next week or so with no planning meals, cooking, or major cleanup!

Happy Birthday Ryan!

The sound is not timed correctly, which is frustrating, but still cute!