The End of 21 Day Fix is Near!!!

I'm heading into the final weekend of the 21 Day Fix program!!! This may be the shortest workout
program I've ever heard of, but it is definitely not the easiest! You have to work harder in so many ways to get the results FAST! You can't skip any workouts or deviate from the meal plan much or else you just won't see results.

I know I haven't been perfect, I've eaten a cookie or two... And then there was those donuts... Gaaahhh! BUT I'm still working hard, I haven't missed a workout and this week I chose to do the doubles program where you do two workouts a day. It hasn't been easy, but nothing in life is! If you want results you have to work for them.

I'll be glad when the intensity of this program is done, but that doesn't mean I won't return to it in the future. I LOVE that all the workouts are 30 minutes, but that you can get a lot of work done in that little bit of time. The meal plan really isn't bad at all, just doesn't allow for many cheats or real treats during the 21 days. Overall I'm glad I revisited this program and worked harder to get through it to the best of my ability. I will definitely post before and after photos and stats come Sunday or Monday after I complete it, in case you are interested in knowing how I really did.

See you then!

Some Yummy Kale Recipes

Before this summer, my options for vegetables were limited... I really didn't care for them very much, and honestly now that I know more about the different food groups I realize that the sweet potatoes, corn and potatoes that were often my go to veggies, really aren't the veggies my body needs. So, in an effort to eat better I've tried, and liked, several new veggies like Asparagus, Brussels Sprouts and
Cauliflower.

As I wrap up my final week of 21 Day Fix I decided I needed to discover something new to eat for veggies, as I am starting to get tired of my limited selection. So, this week when I was at the fruit and veggie stand I noticed Kale, which I've heard is super good for you. So, I picked some up, having NO idea what I would do with it. Yesterday I tried out a couple recipes that were pretty good and thought I would share them with you all :-)

Bacon, Kale and Cheese Omelette

2 Eggs,

2 Slices of Bacon (I used Turkey Bacon)

Kale

1/8 Cup Cheese (your choice)

Cook bacon in a small fry pan and set aside to chop up, but leave the grease. Wash, dry and break Kale into small pieces. Saute in bacon grease for 3-4 minutes until tender and then set aside. Clean out pan and coat with olive oil. Place two scrambled eggs in the pan and cook on one side. After flipping it over add bacon, kale and your choice of cheese. Finish cooking and enjoy!

Kale Chips

Kale

Olive Oil

Garlic Salt

Preheat oven to 275. Wash, dry and break kale into small pieces, discarding the ribs. Spread out pieces on a baking sheet. Using an oil mister lightly spray kale with olive oil. Sprinkle garlic salt on top. Place in the oven for 20 minutes, flipping half way through, and cooking until crisp. Enjoy this healthy alternative to chips as a snack or with a meal.

Do you have an favorite kale recipes that I should try out?? Leave the recipe or a link in the comments if you do, as I'm always looking for new things to try :-) 

Don't Beat Yourself Up Over It! Jump Back In! (And Other Lessons I Learned Eating A Donut)

I'll start right off today admitting I didn't do so well yesterday :-/ Yes, I completed my workout! BUT... I also ate 2 donut holes, a whole donut and a cookie... Oops! That wasn't on the eating plan!!

Looking back over my day, I can easily identify the problem, too bad I didn't see it before the sugar craving set in! First I I didn't eat breakfast, then for lunch I only had my Shakeology. For dinner I had some yummy chicken and zucchini fries... Sounds good, right?? So, what's the problem? I didn't eat enough! I didn't have my breakfast, I didn't have my fruits, I didn't have all my veggies... So, all that added up left me hungry!

When I'm hungry I don't usually crave healthy options, but instead sugar, chocolate and all things yummy! So, when I felt the need to eat something a little while after dinner I ate all the things I could see, which was donuts and a cookie. Thankfully in the big scheme of things I only had one cookie, and out of the 7 dozen donuts I only had 2 holes and one donut!

So, with all that being said, I'm not giving up! It's a small set back in my diet, but overall I feel like I'm doing well considering this is the most restrictive eating plan I've ever followed!

 I tell you all of this because I know many of you have ended up where I did yesterday, hungry and desperate for the foods you crave. Sometimes it's easy to say no and stick with your goals but other days it's not so easy. Don't beat yourself up over it though! Don't quit or give up! Don't think that it's a complete fail! Tomorrow is a new day, a new opportunity to make healthy choices and work towards your goal and you better believe that's exactly what I'm doing!!

I will leave you today with the Zucchini Fries recipe :-)

Baked Parmesan Zucchini Fries

2 Medium Zucchini

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1/4 teaspoon of dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon of dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon of dried basil

1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder

Olive Oil

Preheat the oven to 350. Prepare zucchini by washing, cut in half and then cut the halves lengthwise into quarters. Place on a non stick pan. I placed my olive oil in my oil spritzer and sprayed the zucchini but you can also drizzle it on. 

Mix the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle on top of the zucchini. I found that a lot of it fell to the sides, so I just took each piece of zucchini and dipped it into the excess to really coat each piece.

Place in the over and bake on 350 for about 15 minutes, or until tender. Then broil for an additional 3-4 minutes, until crispy and brown. Enjoy!

PS I'm not saying donuts or cookies are evil and never to be consumed :-) They just aren't on the particular eating plan I'm trying to follow, and I'm really trying to work on moderation!!!

And So Week 2 Begins!

Week two day one is done! That means I'm 1/3 of the way to completing this program! It also means I only have to do Total Body Cardio Fix one more time!!! And that makes me most excited, as I think it's the hardest workout of all 7 of them.

 Yesterday I was creative with my meals again, and didn't really follow my meal plan. Instead I just kept track of what containers I had used and what I had left. For lunch I had a tasty salad with chicken. Dinner included seasoned steak, zucchini fries and a small baked potato. One thing I didn't do well was actually eating all of my containers, and I did eat a small homemade granola bar :-/ I was making them for the hubby, as he is gone for 3 days for training for his new job, and I just couldn't resist!!!

Otherwise the day was uneventful... I'm on a stretch of working 10 nights in a row and am excited that once I'm done this stretch of working I will only have 4 days left of this workout program! And I'm excited that Thanksgiving is AFTER I've completed 21 Day Fix and so it's something else to look forward too and focus on when I'm craving something right now.

If you've ever done a really strict workout and meal plan before what helped you get through it? What did you do to stay focused and on track and not give into skipping a day or eating food not on your list?? Leave a comment below to share your helpful tips and tricks!

PS I wore my PiYo shirt for my workout today, and I think it was confused about why I was doing 21 Day Fix :-) I shall remedy that problem when I complete this workout program and get my 21 Day Fix shirt!

First Week of 21 Day Fix, DONE!

If you are just reading this blog you may want to look back over the last couple days, as I have been blogging about my experience about completing the workout program 21 Day Fix.

I just finished up my first weekend of the 21 Day Fix. It's definitely harder to stay on track during the weekend, but overall my planning seemed to pay off!

I was gone to an over-night retreat with our youth group girls Fri-Sat, and packed all my meals and snacks to bring with me. That was a good thing as they had Chocolate Chip Pie with Ice Cream and Hot Fudge! I managed to resist the urge to eat them and instead had some fruit, which was pretty good! Fruit is becoming my new desert, along with Shakeology.

Throughout the weekend it was so HARD to keep from eating every sweet I saw! I don't know why it was so much harder than the rest of the week, but it was! I'll admit I stole a couple of candy corn and switched out a few of my containers for a small slice of homemade pizza, but overall I resisted, even though in the moment it was not fun!

Having the freedom of switching around what my meals were, as long as I stuck with the containers and right portions, is so HELPFUL! I like having the meal plan to give me ideas of what to have and not have to think about it if I don't want, but sometimes when it comes time to eat don't want what's on the list.

I'm finally not feeling so sore! I can walk up and down the stairs without having to clutch the railing for fear that my legs would give out and I might come crashing down! The massage my awesome husband gave me on Saturday may have helped with this a bit ;-)

One week of this workout is officially done and only 14 days to go! (I even have the hubby reminding me how many days left, in order to encourage me to stick with it.)

In A Rut... Day 4

So, Day 4 out of 21 is about to come to a close as I write this.

My workout this morning was Pilates, which wasn't easy but a good recovery day as I am still SORE!

This morning I was craving a good breakfast so I rearranged my menu plan for the day to include an egg, turkey bacon, whole grain waffle and cooked strawberries on top. It was DELICIOUS and totally helped with my sweet cravings.

I ate the rest of my planned meals, slightly altered, and nothing too exciting. Tonight however  I was dying for something sweet... So badly that I ate 1 pumpkin candy corn.... Yes, I went there :-/ Good things is I was really able to eat just one, so that's progress!

To help with this craving I decided to switch up my Shakeology to help get me through the rest of the night, so I prepared this:

Chocolate Minty Shakeology

1 Scoop Chocolate Shakeology

4oz. Water

5 Ice Cubes

2-3 Drops Peppermint Extract

Place Shakeology and water in the blender, blend about 30 seconds. Add ice cubes and peppermint and blend until smooth. Enjoy this perfect holiday treat!

And that was about my day, nothing too exciting, but not too bad either!

Frozen Peanut Butter Chocolate Shakeology

Yesterday, when I had to endure being around others eating yumminess that I couldn't have I decided to create a sweet treat for dessert. I was limited on my options, as the only thing on my meal plan I
hadn't yet eaten was my Shakeology and peanut butter, so I created this delicious dessert!

Frozen Peanut Butter Chocolate Shakeology

1 Scoop Chocolate Shakeology

2 Teaspoons of Peanut Butter

4 Ounces Water

6-8 Ice Cubes

Place water and Shakeology in the blender, and blend for 30 seconds. Add Peanut Butter and blend for another 30 seconds. Finally add ice and blend until smooth. Place in a bowl or cup and put in the freezer for about 1 hour, or until frozen to your liking. Take out and enjoy this no guilt sweet treat!

And I Thought I Was Sore Yesterday...

Day 3 out of 21!

So, on Tuesday I was lamenting about how sore I was... I blamed it on the week of rest I took after running my half-marathon, and doing different exercises now that running isn't monopolizing my workout time. Those are both probably factors, but I think I'm also just really pushing myself and giving it my all.

Anyway, I woke up yesterday with a whole lotta sore going on. Those additional 3 lbs on my weights made a huge difference! Honestly I didn't want to workout... I just wanted to catch up on sleep, as I was done nights for the week, and curl up in a ball and feel sorry for myself that I didn't get to eat any of the yumminess at a work party. I mean, come on, I had to bake chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin muffins and I didn't get to eat any of them! That is just torture for this gurl!

But you know what?? I didn't climb into bed with a box of tissues. Instead I put on my shoes, headed down to the basement and gave my leg workout my all! So much so they felt like JELL-O, just like my arms did the day before. Then I made the dinner I had on the menu, a taco salad :-)

Do you know why I was able to do this?? Because I have a 'why,' a reason that keeps me motivated when I feel like throwing in the towel. I don't do this just for the fun of it. Who am I kidding? Not much of this is fun right now... But I do it because I want to lead my groups by example! I have 7 women who chose to join me on this journey this month, and when I encourage them to push themselves, to give it their all when they want to give up, I don't want to be a hypocrite! I feel so honored that they would allow me to support them, and I don't want to fail them.

My other reason is to prove to myself that I can do it. When I did PiYo I didn't follow the eating plan 100%. I did eat much better than I ever had before, but I had my fair share of treats. I struggle so much with having self-control and sticking with things I start, and I want to grow in those areas! So that means sometimes having to watch others eat lots of yummy things while I munch on some carrots or grapes. It means going down to the basement when I'm not sure I'll be able to climb back up the stairs at the end :-) But really, at the end of the day this program is only 21 days, and it's really not that bad! The areas I will grow in by sticking with this will help in the big picture of living a healthy and active lifestyle.

So, I will keep pressing on for the next 18 days and lay my heart, soul and sweat on the basement floor!

Day 2 of 21 Day Fix

Day two I woke up a little sore, I can tell I haven't been working out at this intensity outside of running for a bit, as I am feeling it. I kind of like being sore though, as to me it is testament that I pushed hard, hard enough to be uncomfortable now.

I completed upper body fix, which means weights. I had decided before starting this round that I would purchase 8 lb. weights because I only had 3 lb. and 5 lb. and I didn't feel like I was pushing myself enough. It's crazy how much more challenging increasing your heavy weight by only 3 lbs is! By the end my arms were JELLO :-)

I felt like my meals were yummier today, and you can check that out for yourself in the photo on the side. I made the creamy dressing that is in the 21 Day Fix recipes, and it's pretty yummy! I think I'll have that on my taco salad tonight.

It was a little harder to refrain from sweets and treats all day. I think one reason is I am coming off of a sugar high from the Halloween candy I consumed this past weekend, but also I was in several situations where I was surrounded by others eating sweets and then at work last night I had to make chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin muffins for a party... It's hard to bake things and not try them out! And on top of that I had to smell chili and buffalo chicken dip cooking all night!

Once again though, I love that this is only 21 days! When I was getting tired during my workout out I reminded myself that I only have to do this workout 3 times, so push it! When I wanted to eat those cookies and muffins I reminded myself it's only a little over 19 days left. I've got this! I can do this! I'm not giving up yet!

Day 1 of 21 Day Fix

Day one is in the books! :-)

For a first day it really wasn't bad... I think a lot of it had to do with all the planning I put into it.

Sunday night when I came into work I had my Shakeology with me to drink for breakfast along with my orange. The hubby was gracious enough to prepare my lunch and dinner and I got one of my two snacks in.

I love that this program really focuses on nutrition, as that is something I really need work on still. It comes with all these cute little containers that represent different food groups are are the appropriate portion, which makes it really simple and I don't have to worry about second guessing myself or trying to figure out what a portion size is in each food group. Below each photo I wrote what that meal was made of in regards to the containers that come with the 21 Day Fix.

The first workout is BRUTAL! At least I think it is for a first workout... But, I love that it's only 30 minutes, and you only repeat each exercise twice... So, if I think I'm going to die I just start counting my reps to see how many I can do in the minute, and then move on.

The moment I was most proud of: walking by Halloween candy and thinking, "hmm... which one do I want to have? WAIT, I'm eating healthy!" I was so glad I actually remembered in my groggy state that I can live without junk food for 21 Days.

The moment that was the hardest: my knee hurt during some of the exercises, so I made sure to ice it tonight and will again tomorrow.

Looking forward to nailing day 2!

Restart of the 21 Day Fix

It's a little past midnight, which makes today the official start of the 21 Day Fix. Ok, so I tried to  start twice before, once back in September and then again in October, but I honestly was not as dedicated as I am this time around.

So, what's different??

 I created meal plans - I know exactly what I can eat and have a 7 day meal plan that I can do three times. I have it color coded and posted on the fridge.

I went grocery shopping - After putting together my meal plan I created a grocery list and went and got everything I'll need.

I have a 'gym' - When my husband and I first moved to Grandma's house I would change my workout location daily. I used the porch, my bedroom, the living room and the basement. This time around I created a set place to workout in and made it fun with chalk messages to myself :-)

I set a good start date - I planned to start this round with my current Challenge Group, as the group is 21 days long and it's a great way for me to be accountable to them.

 I told people - I have been talking about completing the 21 Day Fix in November for several weeks now. I have told my Challenge Group, my Facebook friends, my husband and other friends in person. I have also planned to write daily about it on here, to keep myself focused and working towards my goals.

So, what's the same?

 My schedule - I still work full-time doing overnights, which can be hard to figure out when to workout. I also work for 3 hours in the afternoon 5 days a week. So, my schedule isn't any lighter, but I am bound determined to make it work!

 I live in Candy Land - I still live in a house with a Grandma that loves to have candy, cookies and desserts on hand for the family. I have my meal plan this time though, with 3 meals and two snacks to keep me full and fueled throughout the day.

Some of my biggest hurdles from before still exist, but my mindset is different and this time I have a plan! I am ready to do this thing right, and get my t-shirt to prove it ;-)