WEEK 10: Swimerella

Oh my!  It is so HOT outside!  We Californians are so spoiled =)... I wouldn't have it any other way!  I only ran once this week... It is far too hot for me to put on a pair of black paints and run my BUTT off, and I'm not about to put on a pair of tight running shorts! Forget that! I will do the world a favor and save those shorts for those Soccer girls on the track! I am so happy that we have a neighborhood pool.  I swam for cardio and lifted weights in my air-conditioned home. It was so fun working out with Eden.  I put her on my shoulders and  did squats and lunges- actually I used her as a weight for several exercises!!!  She LOVED it.  Here is a picture I took of Edie Peedie that I took, and a video Andrew decided to take of me... what a stinker, lol!

I was lazy on food this week, so I invested in some Lean Cuisines!  I know, I am bad.  I need to go shopping for some more fresh produce!  I LOVE spinach. There are so many things you can do with it, its crazy! It's on my grocery list!

On a more serious note.  I have been feeling pretty unmotivated and worn out these last couple of weeks.  Sometimes I just felt like "taking a break."  I will do a hardcore workout one day, and the next I will want to do the bare minimum. I find it is easy to take a break from the hard-corness of it all, but it is pretty darn hard to get back on the horse!  I am so close to a number (my weight) that I want to see SOOO badly, but I sabotage myself by not doing what I really need to. What is up with that?

I need to prioritize all over again.  I need to constantly remind myself how important it is for me to get in shape.  This may come as a surprise to some of you, but Andrew and I want try for another baby at the end of the year or the beginning of next year. However, I want to be in shape before taking up another journey like that.  I want to get my body back so badly, and I need to WOMAN up and just do it.  I don't want to be the only fat one in our family!  If all else fails, I will just take the family out to McDonalds and donuts twice a week to fatten them up... JUST KIDDING... It would definatly be In n' Out Burger!  Anyways!  I am going to eat some awesome grub!  Here is a picture of what we are having tonight... I did good ;).

Teriyaki Chicken, Veggies and Brown Rice!

WEEK 9: Exercise Your Right to Get to Know Your Daddy!

Another great week.  A busy one though! I ran a full 4 miles without stopping for the first time in my life! Andrew and I have made it a point to take at least one day off a week and dedicate it to ourselves and Eden.  I cannot express enough how awesome it has been having that family time!  I have such a wonderful family.

God is so great!  Speaking of God... I thought I would speak a little bit about His grace and mercy today.  I was having a chat with someone, and we were talking about how easy it is to feel as though we have fallen away from God.  Truth is, once God has you (that is when you truly dedicate your life to Him) He will NEVER abandon you. As humans, we are prone to sin.  We will never be able to stop sinning completely, until we leave our earthly bodies and go to live with Him in paradise. 

God knew this, and He also knew that there was only one way for us to be saved from what we really deserved.  God loves us so much, that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to take our place. Jesus died on a cross for YOUR and my sins, and three days later He rose from the dead, just as He said He would.  

Here is the awesome thing.  He didn't just die for your past sins.  He died for your past, present, and future sins!  What great news! Which brings me back to my point... It is easy to feel distant from God when you have sin in your life.  Even after you have stopped, guilt can give you the illusion that God doesn't look at you the same way He did when you first asked Him to be your Lord and Savior.  That is a lie that Satan wants you to believe.  

There is NOTHING you can do to stop God from loving you.  There is no sin too big that Christ's blood cannot cover.  If you believe that Jesus is the ONLY way and accept His gift of eternal life, than you are saved. The only thing your sin can do is stop you from having a deeper relationship with Him, and that is if you let it.  Don't minimize what Jesus has done.  When you fall (sin), say your sorry, get back up, dust yourself off and praise God for His forgiveness!  He is always faithful to forgive. Instead of allowing sin separate you from Christ, use it as a tool to come closer to Him. He has already forgiven you the moment you accepted Him into your life.  Trust in Him.  He has got you in the palm of His hand. 

Delicious Gluten Free Low Fat Banana Brownies

These were AWESOME!  What a treat ;) 

Ingredients 

2 egg whites

1/2 cup of apple sauce

1/2 cup of agave syrup

1/2 cup of semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup of coco powder

1 1/2 cup of gluten free flour

1/2 of a banana

Directions

Mix egg whites, apple sauce, agave syrup and melted chocolate all together.
Mash banana and add to the mix.
In separate bowl mix coco powder and gluten free flour.
Then, mix all ingredients together. Mix well.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until inserted fork comes out clean.
Take out and let cool.
Enjoy your yummies!!!!!

WEEK 8: Lucha Libre!

I have to start off this post with something that made me laugh inside.  I was running yesterday and I put on a shirt that I thought would do fine.  No joke, 45 seconds into my run it had already ridden up past my bellybutton.  I had a mental image of what I looked like, and I immediately thought of Nacho Libre!  For those of you that have not seen that HILARIOUS movie, here is a picture of the famous NachooOOOOooooo!

Yep.  Just imagine that guy with blond, long hair and a pony-tail running, without the mask of course.  That was me.  I was wearing capries and everything! Soooo...50 seconds into my run I made a U-turn and changed my shirt into something that did not make me look like, well, Nacho.  

Okay, on that note.  It was a fantastic week. I will start off by saying I did have 2 1/2 bread sticks at Eden's dedication lunch, but other than that I was a true flubber blaster! I worked out pretty darn hard, even threw a 5K in the mix.  I am even dreaming of crazy workouts!  Last night I dreamed that I was in my brother's (Ryan's) jiu jistsu class, and he was making us do all sorts of crazy exercises Needless to say it was a nightmare.  I was wearing a gee with nothing under it so I was constantly making sure I was "decent," and they had to put me off to the side because there was no way in H E double hockey sticks that I would be able to catch up!  But back to reality...  My eating has been great (besides the bread sticks), and I have been drinking tons of water!  I watched another TLS webinar and learned that you can actually gain weight from artificial sweeteners, which stinks because I LOVE my sugar free candy! I also love Splenda.  Oh well, life goes on! 

There is some good news!  I can have grains again!  Not gluten, GRAINS.  In other words, buttery bread sticks are out of the question.  But I love that I can have a bit of brown rich or oatmeal once in a while!

 I took off 2 lbs this week.  Not my best as far as weight loss, but at least it wasn't from lack of trying.

Here is a picture of me and Eden rocking out our workout.  I have to admit,  I am a bit hotter than Nacho ;).

WEEK 7: 6 Steps Forward 1 Step Backwards

I was so bad this week!!!  Oh dear. Hear it comes... confession time.  I am not going to lie, IT WAS A BLAST!  First bad day was at my sister-in-law and brother-in-law's going away party.  I was a tiny bit naughty there.  But not nearly as bad as I was with Andrew the next day, and Easter Sunday at my parents house, all I can say is SHOW ME THE CALORIES!  Good news is, I have not stopped working out.  But I  still gained 1 and 1/2 lbs! Just goes to show you, you really cannot out exercise a bad diet.

Needless to say,  I am back on my eating program.  You know what that means. Spinach, egg-whites, spinach, protein powder, and did I mention spinach?  No, I have more than just that.  In fact, I just learned that I haven't been eating ENOUGH calories on my diet.  It is so nice having a TLS coach!  I was reminded that my body can actually go into starvation mode when not getting the calories it needs.  When that happens my body will start to grab and store whatever calories I put into my body, which can sometimes cause weight GAIN. As one of my supervisors (Glorivette) used to say when she didn't like something, SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! And...no thank you.  This time when I went shopping I bought a few extra things to bump up the healthy fats, like organic peanut butter, Swiss cheese, and dare I say 2% cottage cheese?  You know me, always livin' life on the edge.

Oh! Oh!  I learned a new exercise!  Thank you Jillian Micheals!  Grab a deck of cards and assign a different workout to every suit (Clubs, Hearts...etc.).  The number that comes up is the number of reps you do.  Jack, Queen and King all equal 10 reps, while the Aces give you a 1 minute break.  Don't stop until you get through the whole deck! This is what Andrew and I did...