- 5 days of good workouts
- I zipped up 2 skirts that I couldn't zip up a month ago ( I love using clothes as a success measure rather than the scale)
- Down another pound (168)
- 10 treats (I know it's not my 7 treats goal, but the 10 this week was easy)
- 5 days of 4-5 fruits and veggies
And I took a selfie!
Maybe someone should remind me to smile next time I take one. :) I'm still wearing my maternity jeans, but I'm feeling more and more like myself again.
So I promised a detailed list of some of my goals so I can explain how I am able to accomplish them and hopefully give you some ideas as well.
Tuesday
I had a handful (1 cup) of fresh raspberries and blueberries on a bowl of instant oatmeal with a piece of toast. (I used to have 2 pieces of toast with my oatmeal, but decided I only need one)
I went for a 3-mile walk with a good friend. We caught up and got our kids outside, and exercised all at the same time! I have a double jogging stroller, but if I'm walking, one of my older kids can sit on the front of it and Voila! Room for three (or technically four- it has been done). I just won't run with them like that since they're not buckled in the front.
I had a favorite mid-morning snack of banana and peanut butter (I get a spoonful of peanut butter (1 Tablespoon- half a serving, so I know how much I eat)
Salad for lunch- Salads are my new favorite way to get veggies. I used to get the bagged kits at the store, but you eat it too often and you get sick of it. So I started having my own "salad bar" on stash. I start with the organic Spring mix from Costco. It's huge and only $3.50. Then I'll have a bunch of toppings: Costco rotisserie chicken, craisins, bell peppers, apples, pears, grapes, strawberries, blueberries, etc. Then top it off with some feta or bleu cheese and have a few really good salad dressings to choose from. I love having a variety of different things. I love taco salad too when we have taco leftovers like black beans, salsa, and greek yogurt. (These are easily 2-3 servings of veggies/ fruit)
Then I had some broccoli soup for dinner. We make it with our Vitamix. It's creamy, but only has broccoli, potatoes, almonds, some onion and chicken stock. I LOVE it! It's by far my favorite thing to make with our blender.
I enjoyed a Magnum bar for my daily treat.
(P.S. This is NOT a food log. I ate other foods as well, I'm just giving examples of how I got in my fruits and veggies, what I did for exercise and what I ate for my treats).
Wednesday
I had a banana for a snack and a salad for lunch. I didn't get quite as many in that day. But you know what, I don't stress about it and most days I do get it in.
However, this was an awesome workout day because not only did I do a 3-mile run, I had some friends come over and do a BodyPump class with me. I need to go back to teach at the gym next month and need the practice. It's always more fun to workout with friends!
I had a serving of leftover Cadbury mini eggs from Easter as my treat. I still have some left, aren't you proud of me????
Thursday
I got up and ran 3 miles again. It was tough because I really didn't want to, but knew that once I got up early (6:00 am) and did it, I wouldn't regret it.
I had oatmeal with berries for breakfast again. But this time they were berries from the community garden I help out with. They were amazing. It's so great to eat fresh foods and enjoy the natural taste of them without adding sugars, sweeteners, butter, etc.
I had a banana for a snack, salad for lunch, and mixture of corn and bell peppers for dinner.
Some people have asked me if starchy vegetables count as a vegetable serving. Of course they are vegetables, but I wouldn't consider potatoes a vegetable serving unless it's a sweet potato. There is more color in a sweet potato, so that means there are more nutrients. Corn is fine, but not as nutritious as broccoli or green leafy veggies. The more color, the better.
I made chocolate chip cheesecake cookie bars for dessert because we had friends over. This was a 2 serving treat day because I had a serving of dough in addition to the dessert later on. I was quality control so I needed to taste test it... believe me though, in the past I would have had 2-3 servings of dough... it's all about being a little better each week.
Friday
This was a no-workout day. I had made the goal for 5 days this week and I chose this rainy morning to get up and make my kids pancakes instead. But my pancakes are full of frozen blueberries and topped with applesauce, raspberries, and a sliced banana with some drizzled syrup. (I used to eat pancakes with my syrup. I've come a long way). People usually think the applesauce is a weird topping, but it's a great, healthy way to use less syrup and keep your pancakes from tasting dry. I also have tried to stay away from the chocolate peanut butter. It's another favorite pancake topping, but adds a lot of extra calories to an already hefty meal.
I enjoyed some leftover broccoli soup with a grilled cheese for lunch.
This was again, a 2-treat day. I had a little piece of leftover cookie bar, then went to fro yo with some friends that night.
Saturday
Since I had made the 5-day workout goal, I got up and did a workout class in my backyard. I was about 20 minutes late to my daughter's friend's birthday party, but I figured it was a good sacrifice for a good workout.
I had pancakes again, loaded with my fruit toppings (keep in mind, this is not 3-4 raspberries, but a huge handful with 1/2 cup of applesauce- just because it's a lot of fruit doesn't mean it's a serving. You need to measure to be sure.)
I had a huge salad when I got home from the party to help out with the Chuck E Cheese pizza lunch, and watermelon chunks for a snack. I always find that if I cut up the entire melon when I first buy it, it is much easier to eat.
I had a 1/2 cookie bar (they're almost gone, but I'm making them last!!!) and split a
chocolate milkshake at Habit Burger with Ryan. I LOVE their shakes and it's really hard not to eat it all myself, but half was enough.
Sunday
Finished off my pancakes with all the toppings, threw in an apple to eat at church while I fed Molly, then Ryan grilled some squash for dinner. It's amazing! He chops it up and sprinkles powdered garlic, salt, and pepper, drizzles some olive oil and grills it on our charcoal BBQ. It's sooo good. I steamed up some broccoli too.
Sunday is always my rest day from exercise. Even our bodies need a day off to recover.
I made a really good chocolate pudding cake for dessert because we had friends over again. It was pretty darn good, but I did without the ice cream on top. I try not to layer treats if I can help it. Besides, I had already had enough batter when making it to possibly constitute another serving...
Monday
I got up at 6:15 to run 3 miles this morning. It's starting to feel good again. When I came home to stretch, my knee started hurting again. NOOOOOO! I hope it doesn't stick around. I don't know what else to do. It hurts to squat, lunge, etc. No bueno.
Berries on my oatmeal for breakfast and an apple for a snack at the zoo with my kids. I grabbed a quick salad before I left (I was so close to make a PB and J to take with me, but knew that the salad would get me more servings.
Then I had some mixed veggies and watermelon with my dinner.
I had half a cookie bar for dessert. The homemade baked goods are my favorite, but also my weakness. As long as I only eat a small half piece, I can have some, enjoy it, and make it last.
I won't do this log every week, but thought it would be good to hopefully give you some ideas of fitting in some more fruits and veggies. I made the goal to do 3 sets of 20 push-ups every time I run too, which helps as well. I went to bed much earlier this week (close to 11:00, but not always).
Spiritual Moment
I had some great insights while reading my Book of Mormon this past week. I was studying in Mosiah 26 in the first verse when I had some thoughts.
"Now it came to pass that there were many of the rising generation that could not understand the words of king Benjamin, being little children at the time he spake unto his people; and they did not believe the tradition of their fathers."
I thought about how King Benjamin's speech in Mosiah 2-4 is one of my favorite scripture passages, but that because the 'rising generation' had been too little to understand it, they were falling away from the church. My first thought was "What about their parents? Didn't they teach them?" It's not the children's fault if they don't believe something they heard when they were little, they need to review with their parents. The parents should be teaching them.
While all this is true, I put aside my judgmental ways as I kept reading and realized that some of the worst examples of these "Prodigal sons" were King Benjamin's own grandsons and the Prophet Alma's son. I'm pretty sure that they would have been taught his words many times.
I have shared with people many times about my fears of teenagers. I am busy with my little kids, but they love me. I'm not so sure I will feel that love so strongly in about 12-15 years when they're in high school and I'm trying to guide their choices. The wonderful thing is, they have agency. I can't force them to make good choices. Just like the Prophet Alma did, he fasted and prayed for his son. He must have felt so helpless, but knew that all he could do was pray for his son and love him, the Lord answered his prayers and helped Alma the Younger, his son, change his life around.
I love my kids and I want them to always make good choices. But I can't make them choose correctly, and they probably won't. I can have faith that they will remember what Ryan and I taught them.
My Goals:
My new goal this week is to wake up between 6:00 and 6:30 (before my kids) and either read scriptures or go for a run (depending on my knee of course). If I don't read in the morning, I will read when my kids go to bed before I do anything else (tv, laptop stuff, etc). I was able to do both this morning and it was awesome! I haven't been able to keep up on my Old Testament reading, so I think this goal will solve that problem. Then of course I have the 10:30- 11:00 pm lights out goal that accompanies the 6:00 am goal.
I again am working toward 5 workout days, 7 treats this week, and 5 fruits and veggies. Along with my 5 workout days, I want to make 2 of those include 20 or more minutes of weight training. I need to get these muscles back in shape!
No comments:
Post a Comment