Love the Fit Life!

Tempeh and some yummmmmmmy soups!

2012-02-07T21:18:00.001-05:00

Salad from dinner past 2 nights, romaine, carrot, Annie's Woodstock Dressing, and tempeh. My first time ever making tempeh, I got the organic flax tempeh, first night I diced it and sauteed it in rice vinegar and tamari, so dang delicious!!! And then tonight I diced it, tossed with olive oil, Mrs. Dash, sea salt and toasted sesame oil, then I broiled it in the toaster oven, also very yummy. I will definitely get tempeh again!

salad w/ broiled tempeh

salad with sauteed tempeh

Most days for lunch I've been having some homemade soup, previous batches where tomato based veggie, split yellow pea, so I've been brainstorming on what kind to make next. I noticed I had some red lentils in the cabinet so I wanted to make something using those. And this is what I came up with, coconut curried red lentil soup. Slap.yo.momma!!! I just had a couple spoonfuls but I cannot wait to have a whole bowl for lunch!! I'll get a recipe posted here soon!

And boy is he stretching out!!! My little snuggle bunny, love, love, love!!

Oh! And I ran for the first time in ages this past Monday, it was cold!! I sucked wind as expected but really didn't struggle as badly as I thought I would. I ran the trail at work, looking forward to hitting it up again tomorrow. Feeling GREAT!!!! So blessed!

mobilemania

2012-02-04T21:00:00.001-05:00

Trying out the mobile app for blogger on android. Hope everyone is enjoying the rainy weekend!
Great night for more yellow split pea soup and persimmons! Also had a kale and romaine salad with tahini dressing.

Friiiiiday!!!

2012-02-03T21:08:00.000-05:00

I don't know why I'm acting like I'm excited about FRIDAY!! I gotta work all weekend, bleh.

Anyhow. Just playing catch up with some pics and eats from the week. I need to play catch up with some exercising too, my daily mile widget over there is looking pretty darn sad!

Some salads from the week, these two are about the same; romaine, carrots, orange bell pepper, cucumber, avocado, raisins, sprouts, baked bbq rubbed tofu, and veganaise for dressing.

Here was an experimental dinner I tried one night, sliced sweet potato sauteed slightly in coconut creme, garlic powder, and sea salt with some spinach. This tasted pretty good but I have a slight cold and I just didn't have much of an appetite but I did have about half of this bowl.

The rest of the pics are from today, I went into work for a couple hours to take care of some things for this weekend and then it was off to the circus!!! I went with my doodle with her class on their field trip to The Greatest Show on Earth!

We had a great time, it was so much fun just watching her so engaged with the show and so excited about every single thing going on! Such a joy to experience!

Had my mid-morning green smoothie on the way to the circus, this had spinach, kale, strawberries, cara cara orange, ground flax, unsweetened coconut flakes, Barleymax, and ginger.

After the circus my doodle went back with her class to school and I had a little time before I had to pick her up at school to get some lunch since I was starving!! I went by Earthfare and got a salad from the salad bar, this pic was the salad already half consumed while waiting in the car rider line. I also picked up a banana bread Larabar and some Kelp granules. I am loving the Kelp granules!! A great way to add salty taste but low sodium and touting all the benefits of sea veggies! Score!

My doodle with her favorite circus animal.

This was dinner tonight, some yellow split pea soup and carrot raisin salad with unsweetened shredded coconut. I made the soup earlier in the week, I've had it for lunch most days, it is so good! This batch had yellow split peas, lima beans, onions, carrots, and kale. I sprinkled some Kelp granules on it tonight and it really hit the spot!

Love being a mommy! I'm so blessed!!!!

Hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!!!

January's over already?!?

2012-01-31T21:36:00.001-05:00

Where did the month go?

Hope everyone is having a good week so far, I've got guard drill coming up this weekend so this will be a loooooong week!!! But got some pics to share so here goes...

Finally got to sit down on Saturday morning and watch the documentary, Forks Over Knives, I would definitely recommend watching this! I will be watching it again for sure! Afterwards I was ready to refresh with a huge green smoothie!!

Then I got my juice on! Kale, cucumber, carrots, and apple. Yummy goodness!

I always strain my juice with a clean paint strainer bag since the hurom leaves a lot of pulp.

Enjoying some juice on the road.

Some more veggie soup! I've had this soup for lunch for eight days! haha! It was so good!

Monday night salad, romaine, cucumber, beets, tofu and sprouts with veganaise for dressing. Delish!

My first time cooking tofu and I looooooove it!!! I prepped a block of extra firm tofu, sliced into 8 pieces, marinated in a bbq rub and baked in the oven. So yummm!!! I've been enjoying on my salads at night and enjoyed some right out of the oven too!!

Tofulicious!!

BBQ rubbbed baked tofu

Here's a treat I made when I was making a batch of homemade corn tortillas. Took a warm tortilla spread it with coconut creme and sprinkled with shredded coconut. Reminded me of something I've had in the Philippines!

Tonight's salad; romaine, cucumber, orange bell pepper, carrot, tofu, raisins, sprouts, and veganaise for dressing.

Here's a pic from work, the rubble is the shop I used to work in, we moved into a new building last year, this month they demolished our old hangar, it was an old aircraft hanger full of asbestos, lol.

Bye bye Bldg 22, you will be missed!

Have a GREAT week!!!!!!

some more of this and that...

2012-01-27T20:35:00.003-05:00

Finally uploaded some pics off of my phone to share. Hope everyone's having a GREAT week!!!

Had this yummy salad tonight. Romaine, kale, cucumber, carrot, and roasted broccoli, tossed in a yummy creamy dressing of avocado mixed with veganaise, so delish!!!!!

This was my salad from dinner last night, kale massaged with tahini, roasted beets, carrots, sprouts, coconut vinegar, nutritional yeast, curry powder, and sea salt.

While we were having repairs done on our van me and girls went over to Showmar's for dinner. I had a greek salad with no feta and a whole wheat pita that I shared with the lil' guy.

Here is a pic of the greens of off the beets I bought earlier in the week, I juiced these with some carrot, celery and lemon and have been drinking that every morning. I love the contrast of the veins and the leaves. I think its just so neat that beets are really good for you, especially for your blood and the plant looks like veins and the rich pigment of the beets, I just get so excited when I see that color!!

This is some of the veggie soup that I made while I was out of work with a sick little one earlier this week, I made an absolute gi-nor-mous pot of soup and have been having it for lunch everyday! This had black beans, lima beans, corn, okra, tomatoes, spinach, and various spices. Here I am having it with some hot sauce and homemade corn tortillas. By the way, homemade corn tortillas are the BEST! Super easy to make too!!

Picked this flavor Larabar up, the ingredients: cashews, dates. That's it! So simple and yummy! I am going to try to make some of these soon...

Here's my lil' rabbit helping me make carrot juice, she calls the pulp that comes out 'slime'. She loves eating the carrot 'slime' the best!

And the lil' guy!!! Growing too fast....

Hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!

some of this and some of that...

2012-01-25T23:24:00.002-05:00

Trying to get into a blog more often routine, I'm getting there, feeling really FAB too. Here's a quick post on some this and that and some pics I've been meaning to post. Enjoy!

Really love spending time with my bundles of joy, I love love love being a Mommy!!

The life of the party!

The fashionista.

He melts my heart.

I've been making time to bust out my Hurom and get my juice on!! I've had several people from work and church talk to me about the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, I haven't seen it myself but all the juice talk has got me motivated. I hope to see it soon!

Green juice!!!!!!

I don't like to waste my pulp, here I made some batches of veggie pulp crackers in my oven. For the sweeter crackers I use mostly carrot and fruit pulps.

Making veggie pulp crackers.

Carrot cinnamon raisin chia seed crackers, before.

The finished product, yumm!

Makes a great snack with cashew or coconut butter, mmmmmmm...

Of course I've been enjoying a ton of green smoothies, I have at least one per day, usually for breakfast or a mid-morning snack. I stumbled upon this great video on youtube for helping you have some green smoothie success. And I am currently using a flippin' $13 blender since my old faithful crapped out on me again, I sent it to the blender cemetery, but surprisingly the $13 wally world blender is doing pretty dang good. The video suggests using a 'pretty' glass for your smoothie, lol. But I love my Marshmallow fluff container!! I use it when I'm drinking my smoothies at home and toss the smoothie in a reusable bottle for the road.

Huge GREEN smoothie in my marshmallow fluff container!

I haven't had a massaged kale salad in a while, I'm always seeing a ton of them here, so finally I made a huge one for dinner. This had kale massaged in olive oil, beets, carrots, yellow bell pepper, avocado, coconut vinegar, and sea salt. It was so good!!!

Massaged kale confetti salad!

And to make sure I can have a green smoothie in the morning without running interference on getting my crew ready and out the door, I save some prep time and assemble the smoothie ingredients the night before, put it in the fridge, and all I need to do in the morning is put it on the blender base and let er rip! Plus my smoothie will be nice and chilly, can't wait to have it!!! This particular one has spinach, blueberries, strawberries, banana, pumpkin puree, stevia, pumpkin pie spice and water.

Green smoothie ready for blending in the morning!

That's about all for now!!! Time to go work on what I need more of.... SLEEP!!!

Notes to self...

2012-01-18T22:57:00.002-05:00

Just signed up for Thrive in 30 and wanted to jot my notes down somewhere, 'ah-a!' I've still gots me blog!

These are taken directly from the Introductory Lesson you receive when you sign up for Thrive in 30. The notes in italics are my own for myself working through my food woes.

Examine your current diet. Write a list of all the things you eat that you think might be taking away from your energy or aren’t supporting your health and fitness goals.

Emotional eating, bojangles, lack of exercise, excuses, sweet tea, lunch with coworkers, restaurants, kids leftovers, kids candy, food as reward, not enough sleep at night, procrastination... Oh I just noticed it said all the things you EAT. Oh well, the other stuff doesn't support my health and fitness goals...

Again the following is straight from Thrive in 30...

The following five habits are the tools that will make it easier to get the most from this program—they’ll help you succeed if you develop and follow them consistently:

Eat throughout the day—eating several small meals helps maintain energy levels, eases digestive strain and spreads nutrients to sustain you all day (several small meals not several LARGE meals!)

Drink a nutritious smoothie each day—you’ll get whole food nutrition that’s easy on your digestive system and provides lasting energy (green smoothies are the best, I've had one for breakfast almost everyday this year!)

Eat a big green salad every day—these are a staple when eating to thrive (you’ll learn why over the next 30 days) (I try to make my lunch and/or dinner a huge salad)

Eat a raw energy bar every day—they’re an easy way to pack nutrition into a convenient, easy to carry form (these are super easy to make at home and way cheaper, need to make time to do this soon)

Eat a substantial, balanced afternoon snack—you’ll get the nutrition you need so you won’t be famished when it comes to your evening meal (I do pretty good with this, sometimes I have problems with wanting to snack in the car on the way home)

Close to home...

2011-11-30T22:31:00.001-05:00

Today was an interesting day to say the least.

Isn't it always the case that when you decide to be more conscious about your eating habits that temptation shows up full force!! I walk into work this morning and someone bought biscuits! The nerve! But it was ok, my mind was set on better things, plus I had already had a green smoothie for breakfast! So no biscuit for me, victory!!

I had all my meals and snacks packed and planned for the day when I got a phone call from my children's school that they had received a legitimate bomb threat and they were evacuating the school. My heart immediately dropped, I just got my things and left work immediately to get my kids. I was just picturing confusion and fear in my daughters but thankfully when I arrived to pick them up from the evacuation location they weren't aware as to what was going on and they were safe. Thank you God so much for keeping them safe. The emotions for me were overwhelming just waiting in line to pick them up, so many scenarios played through my mind and I am just so grateful that everything turned out ok and nothing was found at the school. It just put some things into perspective to me on what's really important. I was just so happy to hold their hands and smell their hair, being a mommy is one of the best things I have ever experienced.

Here we go again...

2011-11-29T20:45:00.001-05:00

This is a long post, but a needed post. Right now my blog is going to be my tool to get through some struggles in my life at the moment, maybe by sharing I can help someone out, but I can't keep avoiding the issues, so here goes... Bleh, ok. I am struggling once again with emotional eating.

I really think its best I just completely eliminate my trigger foods, although I don't think that it's the foods that 'trigger' my binges or hidden eating, but the food choices that I make are extremely processed, full of sugar, fat, etc and I totally believe that these are extremely addictive foods. And when you are dealing with an addiction, having these foods 'in moderation' doesn't help in breaking free from a food addiction.

Food Addiction?!! Sounds crazy, huh? Believe me, its real. It's a shameful practice of mine, I know this because most of my 'binge' eating I try to hide. It's always worse when I am alone, I can literally eat myself sick, like stopping for a large cajun filet biscuit combo with seasoned fries and a large sweet tea on the way home and then having a snack when I get home, then dinner, then a nighttime snack, misery... Then I'll have a headache and hmmm, eat some more. I really hate it, I try to make light of it and laugh about it but it is a real struggle. I am tired of the ups and downs of my weight struggles.

Or my food journal for today, are you really ready to hear this? My first time ever sharing such shocking, disgusting news about myself, but how am I ever going to cope with this unless I acknowledge the reality of who I am and where I am RIGHT NOW.

3 oreo double stuff golden cookies on the way to take kids to day care...
drop kids off at day care, running late for work, as usual so I say to myself, "heck I am already running late, might as well get some fast food." (and if I weren't running late, then it would be, "heck I have time to stop for bojangles") So I stop at McD's get a pork and gravy biscuit combo with a large sweet tea and 2 extra hash browns (heiffer!!). Get to work brew some coffee have a large cup with non dairy creamer and I use a buttload of creamer, then at breaktime, I have a slice of eggnog poundcake that I made the night before. For lunch I made some sauteed mixed veggies with hominy, not a totally bad choice but I oversalted it but still devoured it and had someone pick up a large sweet tea from McD's (liquid crack!) Then at afternoon break I had more coffee and another slice of pound cake and a slice of rum cake, 3 pieces of cake and it's not even 3pm?!?! Excessive. I did manage to get half a gallon of water down today. Then before dinner I was catching up on some blog reading and read this post from No Meat Athlete. It was the straw that broke the camels back for me, and there were a massive pile of straws on this camels back!! So for dinner I had a HUGE green smoothie made with grapefruit, half a banana, frozen blueberries, ground flax, stevia, ginger, and water. It was GREAT, I am pretty sure my cells were yelling, THANK YOU!!!

Green smoothie revival :-)

I have prayed and prayed for God to change me, for direction in my life and my struggles, I mean I KNOW how to eat right, I KNOW that exercise is a necessity but I continue on in my moping self pity bullcrap. Why is it so hard?!?! (I'll answer this later in this post) I pray like God's going to wave some magic wand and I'll be back to 'normal' But this isn't how my God works, he's been dropping hints and they've been adding up and God I see what you're trying to tell me. I know God is going to deliver me but not from this struggle, THROUGH this struggle and I hope that while overcoming my struggles I can motivate, inspire, uplift someone struggling through theirs, no one is alone in their struggles. What a struggle...

But I know I am not alone, I know a lot of people out there struggle with food and emotional eating, it is a real and serious problem, its why Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst is doing so well, I have read it and can totally relate and I will read and re-read it again because I will always need motivation to continue moving in the right direction and to grow stronger to turn from temptation. I also know God is going to use this to help me help others, every time I read scripture or work on my Bible study I always relate what I read to emotional eating, health, taking care of my body, etc. The Bible really is the best self-help book out there! Who else would know the best way to help us than the One who made us!?

A couple 'a-ha' (straws on camel's back) moments for me:

"You need to be moving if you want God to show you which way to go." -Joyce Meyer

To me this is God saying, "Irene, you know which direction to start, get moving and I'll show you what next...." He's only dropped a bagillion hints and reassurances!

"It's not all gum drops and lollypops." -Sermon notes from Harvest Cove Community Church

This is basically saying, no one said it would be easy, but you know what? It's going to be worth the effort. This makes me think of one of my favorite scriptures,

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11

Looking forward to my harvest...

Now I know that my referencing God throughout my struggle may be uncomfortable to some, it may even be a turn off, but at the end of the day I am here to do His will and what He desires, not anyone else's. Even being public about my faith has been a struggle for me since becoming a Christian 3 years ago, but I don't like having 'church' life and then 'other' life, it really should be all in the same. I just didn't want to be coined 'religious' because I myself don't like 'religious' people and I'm not about to be like that, I am learning more that it's not about religion but about a relationship with my Creator. I used to struggle with what I have always been known for, for being a liberal, for going against the grain, for being a non-conformist, etc. But the more I realize it, by following Jesus, I am being a non-conformist, I am going against the grain. Don't get me wrong, I am not like these folks. I still love the same people in my life, I am not here to judge anyone for any reason, just wanting to get more comfortable in my own skin.

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2

So check back and struggle through this with me, that's what Loving the Fit Life! is all about cause He's not done with me yet....

Friiiiidaaaay!!

2011-11-18T23:40:00.001-05:00

So glad it's Friday! Catching up on some bloggin, reading and writing and sippin' on some Teecinno.

Pretty basic past couple of days, worked out both mornings 30 mins on the elliptical and then about 20 minutes of full body weights. Muscles are feeling it and I'm loving it.

I did have this treat yesterday after my workout, something you've got to try. Inspired by Jenn at peanutbutterrunner.com her legendary overnight oats! I made mine with flax milk and frozen blueberries. Then when I ate them I added some sliced banana and I made them in an almost empty dark chocolate almond spread jar, stellar!!

Lunch's have been huge salads similar to this one.

Dinner's been kind of random, tonight I had over roasted broccoli (hands down the best way to cook broccoli!) and some FiberOne Honey Clusters cereal, really good cereal!

Nothing else too exciting going on, glad its the weekend, hoping to get a lot done around the homefront before the invasion next week!!

Light switch is ON!!!

2011-11-16T20:14:00.001-05:00

So thankful to be out of my slump! I don't know WHY IN THE HECK I do this to myself time and time again. I've been struggling with this most of my adult life, the on again off again diet and exercise routine. I guess I could have blogged about my struggle but I really don't like to read negative blogs so I don't want to post them either, but it is life I guess. I have a bagillion and one excuses but I feel completely different about my outlook. A change that's really only possible through HIM!!! To God be the glory!! I am so blessed!

Some eats from the week...

Taco Salad, always yummy!

This was a delicious salad with romaine, carrots, cucumber, oven roasted broccoli and mushrooms. Dressed with lemon juice, tahini, cayenne pepper, and sea salt. Soooo good!!!

Super delish salad.

Simple but delicious and light snack, thinly sliced mini cucumber drizzled w/ fresh lemon juice and sprinkled with sea salt, so good!

Finally got my butt back into the gym today, a good interval elliptical session and some weight training. Really looking to amp the intensity soon with some different workouts, oh sweat how I've missed you!!

And of course, my sleeping sweetie, loved more than he could ever know...

A beautiful sunset at work, not a bad gig.

Great to be back in the saddle again, looking forward to a happy and healthy holiday season!!

LOVE the Fit Life!!!

"For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11, ESV

Updates, long overdue!

2011-09-17T21:31:00.001-04:00

I have been an absolute slacker!!! Bleh!!

My lil' guy turned 1 this past week!!!

I haven't worked out a single minute this week. I've been eating like a contestant from the Biggest Loser before they got to the ranch and boy does it show. Why in the hell do I always go through this vicious cycle?!?! #$#@%$#%$#!@!!! Alright, alright... that's better. I'll be back real soon, really.

I was excited today to get to check out Freshly's September Spectacular. They are also on Facebook, here. The shop is super-cool on it's own but the Spectacular events are awesome! You'll find live music, local vendors, cupcakes!, and lots more! I scored some cool items for the kids and myself.

Salted Caramel cupcake from Cupcake Delirium, insane delish!

Amaya's skull hand hairclip.

Maddox's new skull cap.

Soap, smells wonderful, can't wait to use it!

The next date for a weekend spectacular at Freshly's is October 15th! Definitely worth checking out!!!

Kombucha, I love thee!

2011-09-06T21:59:00.001-04:00

Ever had a kombucha?? I will say it is an acquired taste, but I love them!

I got into drinking kombucha when I saw them in the organic section of my local Food Lion, unfortunately they don't carry them anymore. So when I get a chance to go to Healthy Home Market I like to stock up. I wish I could afford to drink a kombucha daily, but they are a bit pricey, even at HHM at $3.19 a bottle...

KeVita coconut flavor, delish!

GT's Synergy Strawberry Serenity, good but not a favorite.

GT's Synergy Passionberry Bliss, yum!

To health!

A learning process...

2011-09-04T22:58:00.001-04:00

So remember the BIG NEWS?! Well, I'm going to change some things...

My goal for November 12th will now be the Amica Insurance Half-Marathon. My training hasn't been 100% or even 80% on track for marathon and I do NOT want to injure myself by doing too much mileage too soon. I have contemplated this for some time, especially after missing 4 long runs in a row! I am still planning on running a full and hopefully before my big 3-0 in March, so I'm on the lookout for some races. I will also still be training with USAFit North Charlotte, but I will be moving to the half-marathon group. And that's as long as the runs don't conflict with family, the girls are both playing soccer this fall and I don't want to miss any games! But with the shorter distances, I feel very confident in being able to get the runs done on my own if I need to, unlike the 15+ mile runs with marathon training, they just seemed to daunting to do by myself so I threw up the white flag...

Part of me felt defeated and down about not doing the full right now. And yea, I did feel defeated and turned to some emotional eating, bleh, but what is that helping?! But I've got to listen to my body, respect the training and not do anything stupid. Besides, a half marathon is nothing to snuff about! You gotta crawl before you can walk, right? Let's do this!!

So stay tuned for half training! Here is the running schedule for the week of 9/5:

Mon. 09/05	Tue. 09/06	Wed. 09/07	Thu. 09/08	Fri. 09/09	Sat. 09/10
40min/e	OFF	10x60/60	35/tempo	OFF	7 miles

I am also starting this week an exercise program from Nerd Fitness. I really love this site!! I am going to be doing a program from the Rebel Fitness Guide. I am really excited about this program!! It is broken down into levels, you start at Rookie and keep busting your tail to "level up", from Rookie to Renegade, it's like a video game, too cool!!

And it's got to be one of the most in depth, descriptive, guaranteed to work programs I've seen. All the workouts are really well described and also accompanied by a video of each exercise so there is no confusion!! Plus there is a 100% money back guarantee, if I don't like the results after 30 days, I can get a refund, so I am going to pour my heart into this for the next 30 days, complete with weigh-ins, measurements and pictures, so stay tuned!!!!

This will be my Rebel Fitness workout schedule for the week.

Level 1-Rookie
• Monday – Workout A
• Tuesday – 30 minutes of exercise
• Wednesday – Workout B
• Thursday – 30 minutes of exercise
• Friday – Workout A
• Saturday – Fun exercise

Of course I will be 'fusing' the two schedules together and mixing up some days to get it in well suited with my schedule, I am excited!!!

And I find I do better with staying on track with food by posting the daily food journals, I will do my best to get those posted but during the week is soooo busy!!

Roller Coaster Irene!

2011-08-29T22:10:00.000-04:00

Emotional eating, I hate you. There are times you just consume me. Bleh!!!!!

I am dead to that!!!!

Moving on....

I am going to be settling into a blogging schedule here soon, daily while school is in session is just too much with everything else going on so I am shooting for a M,W,F schedule with a weekend recap post as well.

Weekend re-cap... Warrior Dash, So much FUN!!! Can't wait to do this again!!

Goals for the week:

Read my Bible daily and Pray! He comes First!!

Log 20 running miles this week.

Continue with daily body weight exercises; push-ups, sit-ups, squats, lunges, etc.

Clean up the diet and plan ahead!

I'll leave it at that for now.

Night Folks!!

Hurricane Irene!

2011-08-23T22:09:00.000-04:00

Everyone ready for Hurricane Irene!?!

I hope it doesn't do too much damage, I REALLY hope it doesn't cancel the Warrior Dash for this weekend!

I have been pretty good sticking to plan this past week, resulting in a 5.5 lb weight loss at weigh in! So glad to be out of my funk!!

I've been eating pretty much the same thing everyday, stick to what you know!!

Breakfast has been 2 eggs, ezekiel bread w/ almond butter and fruit.

Mid-morning snack (9:30am) greek yogurt with blueberries, ground flax and almond butter

Lunch has usually been salad, today I had Nana's Soulfood! Baked chicken w/o skin, white meat, doused in hot sauce, collard greens, pintos and cornbread w/ unsweet tea. Stopped eating when I was full, sounds like a no brainer.

Afternoon snack is typically a LA lites bar.

Dinner is another huge salad, tonight it was romaine mixed with a spring green mix, cucumber, celery, bell pepper, tomatoes, salmon, peanuts and homemade dressing (tahini, shoyu, rice vinegar, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, toasted sesame oil and water-DELISH!!)

After dinner I had a LA lites bar and some hot tea.

A great budget find, Aldi's has greek yogurt, they have plain, blueberry and strawberry. I always use plain so I can't say how the flavored ones are but the plain is fantastic and it's just 89 cents!!

Good night folks! I am exhausted!!!!!

Kindergarten here we come!

2011-08-19T21:51:00.000-04:00

It's been such a busy week, next week both my girls will be going to school each day so it'll be busier! Bring it on!! I've been a lunch packing, get 'em out the door and get to work on time machine this week!

My sweet lil' Amaya started kindergarten today!! My baby girl is getting so big! Here are some highlights of the big morning!

Striped socks and dragon shoes, love that girl!

With big sister in front of school.

Headed to class.

Amaya found her spot at the table.

Showing off her classroom.

Me and my baby girl.

Happy she can swing herself.

Her teacher's are great, I know she will have a GREAT year! I teared up a little bit but held it together, so bittersweet watching your kids grow up!! I love being a mommy!

Eat to live, don't live to eat.

2011-08-19T21:45:00.000-04:00

Food journal Thurs/Friday.

Thursday
Upon rising: green tea with tart cherry juice, apple cider vinegar, honey and scoop of Amazing Grass SuperFood.

Sit-ups, (40, 40) Push-ups (20,20) Lunges (20 per side)

Breakfast; Trader Joe's veggie sausage, ezekiel sesame bread w/ mustard. Apple.

Ran 3 miles when I got to work (love that job perk!)

Post run I had a LA lites bar.

AM snackage, Greek yogurt with peach and dark chocolate almond butter.

Lunch at Showmar's. The guys at work twisted my arm, never guess what I had, Greek salad w. gyro!

Had another LA lites bar on the way home.

Dinner was the salad that I had packed for lunch, romaine, celery, veggie marsala burger (Trader Joe's), bojita olives, sunflower seeds, dulse flakes, apple cider vinegar and pesto dressing.

Friday

Breakfast, 2 fried eggs, ezekiel bread with chunky almond butter. Nectarine.

After my daughter's first day of kindergarten send off/orientation I headed to work and had greek yogurt with blueberries, ground flax seeds, and almond butter.

It's hard to get out of going to lunch on Friday's, the gang decided on Jersey Mike's. I had a mini roast beef and provolone sub Mike's Way with pickles added, baked lays and unsweet tea.

Did a quick elliptical workout this afternoon, 20 minutes.

Post workout I had a LA lites bar and some celery sticks.

Dinner was the salad I had packed for lunch, lol. Romaine, celery, cucumber, green bell pepper, grape tomatoes, chickpeas, homemade honey mustard dressing. (Herbed mustard, honey, tahini, water)

After dinner I had a LA lites bar and I also tried Orange Dreamsicle Green SuperFood mixed in unsweetened vanilla almond milk, it was really yummy!! I gave some to Maddox too, he loved it!

Group run in the morning, I've missed the past 2, need to get some zzzz's!

Somebody's Birthday!

2011-08-17T23:17:00.000-04:00

My big girl turned 7 today, I've been a mommy for 7 years! Time flies!! She is getting so big! I am so proud to be her mommy, she is such a joy!!!

My beautiful baby girl...

Birthday girl with her daddy and favorite brother :-)

Singing happy birthday to her in class.

On to the food journal/workouts for the day...

AM, water, apple cider vinegar.

Sit-ups (40, 30), Push-ups. (20, 20) (reps)

Breakfast; Trader Joe's veggie sausage on 1 slice of Ezekiel sesame bread with mustard. 2 clementines.

Fantastic run at work this morning, the weather was perfect and I felt like I could have run forever! I didn't time myself or track distance, but I think I ran 45-50 minutes, probably getting in 4.5 miles. But it was such a great refreshing run!

Post run I had a chocolate mint LA lites bar.

AM snackage; greek yogurt with a diced peach and a spoonful of dark chocolate almond spread.

Lunch was the same style salad as yesterday...

Then I left work early to take cupcakes to my daughter's class, I had time to stop at Healthy Home Market to grab a couple of items.

Tried this new brand of Kombucha called Kevita, it's made with coconut, and it was incredible! Loved it! The only other Kombucha I've tried has been the GT's brand and they have great flavors as well.

There was a lady there giving out free sample of this new product from the same folks that make Honest Teas. This product is Honest CocoaNova, let me tell you it is soooo delish! I tried the Mint Cacao and the Cherry Cacao, both very good. The mint is sort of like a thin mint in flavor and the cherry reminds me of cordial cherries, just not as overly sweet. If you are a fan of iced coffee then I think you'll really enjoy this product. I bought a bottle each of the Mint and Cherry. They also had a Mocha Cacao that I did not try but I'm sure its good too!

I picked up a couple different items to try on my long runs for fuel; Coconut date rolls and gluten free raspberry fig bars. I'll report back Saturday to let you all know how they worked out.

I also got some stuff in the supplement aisle. Amazing Grass Orange Dreamsicle Green SuperFood powder and 3 different single serve packets of Vega Shake & Go Smoothie.

I am excited to try these smoothies. Reviews on the flavors will come soon, I will most likely use these for pre or post workout or as a quick snack. (Just 100 cals per pouch!)

I did try the Amazing Grass Orange Dreamsicle tonight, one scoop mixed in about 10 oz of cold water. I will say this is the best tasting Amazing Grass powder I've ever tried! Before I had used berry SuperFood, organic wheat grass, and original SuperFood. Most times I mix my green powder into my smoothies so I wasn't always too concerned with the stand alone taste but I always like to try them on their own with water anyway. The orange dreamsicle flavor really is the best one I've tried, it mixed a lot better than the others also, not as gritty, looking forward to enjoying this again!

So back to my eats for the day...

Had a honey nougat LA lites bar this afternoon.

Dinner was for the bday girl at Showmar's. I had my favorite Greek salad w/ gyro and a pita. Unsweet tea. Yum, yum, yum.... I think this salad and pho are my most favorite out to eat meals... I hope to get some pho soon...

Long day, bedtime!

Second place is the first loser...

2011-08-16T22:07:00.000-04:00

Okay, 8 weeks left in this current weight loss challenge. And my total weight loss for the first 4 weeks? 2 pounds! ~~Unacceptable!!~~ So I'm dealing with it... I don't like to lose and right now I am not in first place. It's on like Donkey Kong...

So what's the plan? Get back on the plan!! I am going to follow as much as possible the LA weight loss meal plan that I am currently on with the additional food for nursing moms. Today was great!! 56 days to go!!

Breakfast: Trader Joe's veggie sausage patty (delish!!) on 1 slice of sesame Ezekiel bread with mustard and a grapefruit.

AM snack: greek yogurt with diced peaches drizzled with toasted sesame oil (sounds weird but it was really good)

Lunch: Romaine salad with shredded pork bbq (leftovers from weekend cookout), tomatoes, bell pepper, creamy jalapeno dressing (someone's 100 cal pack from Wendy's). Piece of sesame ezekiel bread with MaraNatha Dark Chocolate Almond spread (insane).

Super quick afternoon workout on elliptical and some weights. Ran to the gym from shop. Post workout I had a honey nougat LA lites bar.

Dinner was a blended salad sipped on while making dinner, lunches for next day, laundry, cleaning kitchen, reading stories, feeding baby, and on and on...

Blended romaine, tomatoes, celery, orange bell pepper, nutritional yeast, chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, sea salt, hot sauce, splash of pepperoncini juice, black pepper and water. I really like this stuff, if it seems off-putting drinking something like this, try to serve it as a soup. But it reminds me somewhat of a loaded Virgin Mary, good stuff. I also had a couple veggie pulp flax crackers.

Post dinner I had a chocolate mint LA lites bar, yumm! And a bedtime hot tea.

And some family time!! Life is good!!

First day of school.

First graders do more housework.

2 days til' kindergarten little one...

I. love. spaghetti.

Night folks!!!

I am still alive...

2011-08-13T09:39:00.000-04:00

image credit

Sorry for the slackness around these parts....

Updates on a couple things...

Weight loss contest number 2 is underway, it has sucked so far, I am not with it at all! Hmmmm, perhaps coz I have not been blogging my daily eats!! So that's coming back! Be ready!!

Marathon training, it too has been hit and miss, last week was great, drill weekend made it harder to get my long run in, so I didn't *gasp* and this weekend is busy also, but I am going to get my mileage in, I am not giving up on this goal!!!

My husband got on me this morning for slacking this week, he never does that, it was kind of a slap in the face that I definitely needed!! I didn't even know what to say, I guess I should say thank you when I see him again...

Life in general, my kiddos go back to school next week, we had open house last night, my they are growing up too fast, sniffle, sniffle. Baby is back in day care, he's not too crazy about that but it is what it is!

Got a lot to do this weekend!! I'll be back soon!

Still here!

2011-08-06T06:38:00.000-04:00

I've been trying to 'unplug' more and get some things situated around the homefront as we prepare for operation back to school. I am going to try and settle into a blog schedule also, just bear with me.

This week has been pretty good, I've got guard drill this weekend so I'm on my own for my long run, just 8 miles this weekend so I think I'll survive.

I'll catch ya'll up with a week in review post on Sunday.

Have a GREAT weekend!

The view on my weekly runs.

Workout schedule plan, week of 8/1!

2011-07-31T21:58:00.000-04:00

I can't believe tomorrow will be August already!

104 days until the Thunder Road marathon!!!

Workout schedule for the week:

Running:

Orange

7:00

11 MILES

OFF

25/e

20/e

35/hill

30/tempo

OFF

7:00

8 MILES

Monday: Run 25 minutes/easy
Tuesday: Run 20 minutes/easy
Wednesday: Run 35 minutes/hill repeats
Thursday: Run 30 minutes/tempo
Friday: Off
Saturday: Run 8 miles

Strength Traning, full body, at least 2 days, shooting for 3, MWF.
Lots more stretching this week and foam rolling.
Core work and body weight exercises daily.

Looking forward to a STRONG week!!!!

To GOD be the Glory!!! I am so thankful for my blessed life!

Eleven miles didn't kill me!

2011-07-30T22:21:00.001-04:00

Couple days of eats/activity on this one...

Friday

Celery/carrot/apple/tart cherry juice with ACV.

2 mile run.

Green smoothie.

Lunch, PHO!! Love.

Watermelon. Love.

Roasted seaweed snack.

Dinner at Showmar's, had my favorite large Greek salad w/ gyro. Delish!

Saturday

The lil' guy had another rough night so I didn't go in to run early with the running group, had an option today to start at 6am instead of 7am to get 4 miles in and then run 7 miles at 7am to get the 11. But I got as many zzzz's as possible and got there at 7am, I was the ONLY one in my pace group that did not come in early, thankfully after running with the group my coach paced with me to get my 11 in and she runs a pretty good clip! My legs, hamstrings especially, were really tight/sore from the ~~hell~~ hill repeats on Wednesday. But I made it and felt so elated to accomplish that distance!! I ran with my handheld h20 and some sample GU chomps, peach tea flavor. They were ok, not crazy about the taste, I was all out toward the end of the run and really could have used some more fuel! I am going to try some dried fruit for my next long run.

On the way to my run I had some dates and vitamin water.

Post run I had a citrus flavored Recoverite.

Went to Trader Joe's after my run, shock. Had some watermelon on the way home.

I love, love Trader Joe's and I am so glad my running group meets there weekly. I have guard drill next weekend so I won't make to the group run so this shopping trip was definitely a stock up run!

Baby bell peppers, baby potatoes, grape tomatoes, dried mango, prunes, sunflower seeds.

Water, tart cherry juice, coconut water, almond milk, sea salt, CLA, pasta sauce, pizza sauce.

Ciabatta bread, brownie mix, taco seasoning, bananas. The essentials.

Lunch was leftover chicken pasta on salad with romaine, grape tomatoes, red pepper hummus, dulse flakes, bojita olives, dried cranberries, sea salt, and nutritional yeast.

Followed by 2 vanilla sandwich cookies.

This afternoon I got into my dried mango, my daughter and I love this stuff, like a natural fruit roll up type snack...

We went to meet my mom for dinner at El Amigo's in Kannapolis. I had the mixed seafood fajitas. Sooo much food! I have a ton of leftovers! It was delish! No pics though, too busy feeding myself and the lil' guy!

Also went by the value village Thrift shop, picked up a couple shirts and a book, the kids scored Hungry, Hungry Hippos!

Snapped these pics in the store...

Remember this craze?

Would have like to see the original owner of this shirt...

All tuckered out.

Night folks!

Thursday food journal. 7/28

2011-07-28T22:09:00.001-04:00

It's been flippin' hot out there! Hope everyone is staying hydrated!

Started the day out with some fresh juice (celery, carrot, apple) mixed with tart cherry juice and apple cider vingar. I've been having this the past couple mornings...

Then on the way to work I had a big green smoothie made with banana, blueberries, oatmeal, sunflower seeds, dulse flakes, cinnamon, Amazing Grass SuperGREEN powder, ground flax seeds, unsweetened almond milk, and spinach. To save myself time in the mornings I have been making these the night before. It really makes them thicken up when I do that and I personally don't like the super-thick texture, so I'll chug about half of it and then fill my cup back up with water to thin it out, shake it up and chug again. Most mornings this green smoothie serves as my post workout nourishment and it carries me right until lunch.

This morning I did nosh on an apple.

For lunch I had repurposed leftovers. This was soooo good. I really love being so experimental with salads. This was some of my chicken with noodles on a bed of romaine and spinach with bojita olives, dulse flakes, nutritional yeast and hummus. If you are pissed about cutting portion sizes of stuff like pasta, rice, etc... ( FYI a proper portion of pasta/rice would be one cup.) try adding it to a salad, it's so good! I also had a nectarine with lunch and a cup of hot green tea.

Afternoon snackage post workout was a LA lites bar and some raw carrots and celery.

Dinner was another salad similar to the one at lunch. This one had chicken pasta on top of a bed of romaine and spinach with fresh diced tomato, bojita olives, dried cranberries, curry powder, sea salt, nutritional yeast, and roasted red peppers. Soooo good!!!!

I also had another LA lites bar for a night snack...

I didn't run this morning, I got to work later than usual, slept in a little bit since I was up most of the night with a feverish teething baby. I kept debating my run all day I was pretty tired from lack of sleep. In the end I didn't run. I did get in a quick full body weight workout this afternoon at the gym. I may squeeze in a couple miles tomorrow.

Busy week!

2011-07-28T07:50:00.000-04:00

It's been a busy week!!

Most of my eats have been leftovers hashed into new creations.

Lunches

Harvest grains w/ sauteed onions and chickpeas.

Appears again with fresh tomatoes.

And once again mixed in salad.

Dinner

Made a big batch of crock pot chicken, new recipe from the Hot Mama's group.

Served it with whole grain spaghetti noodles, parmesan cheese, and fresh basil.

Workouts this week have been GREAT and I've not missed any.

Monday easy run 40 minutes

Tuesday easy run 20 minutes

Wednesday hills, 35 minutes-this was TOUGH!! Find a decent hill, one that take about 30 seconds or more to run up and run up it as fast as you can, jog back down, catch your breath and do it again, ran this hill 10 times. What a workout!!

Today is a 35 min tempo run

Friday rest day/x-train

Saturday 11 mile group run

Sunday rest day/x-train

I need to carve out some time to get some weight training in and start incorperating some ab/core work into my days as well.

Laters!

Weekend wrap-up.

2011-07-25T23:00:00.001-04:00

I gotta get back to my daily bloggin' I've got so much to get caught up on!!

Some highlights of the weekend festivities...

Friday

Made this on Thursday evening and had it on Friday, so yummy. Onions sauteed in coconut oil, added chickpeas, curry powder, chili powder, coconut creme, and a couscous blend from Trader Joe's. Delish!

We also grilled out on Friday at work, T-bone steaks, it was really good, I grilled them. But wasn't the best meal to have before my long run on Saturday. Whoops. And the new addiction at work, our shop ping pong table, I SUCK at ping pong. Big time. But I am determined to get better!!

Then fun time Friday night with my Amaya and Maddox. We got some grub and then went to play putt-putt. We had a great time! Amaya got 2 hole-in-ones!

Love that girl!

Saturday

9.5 miles with my marathon training group! It was sooo friggin' muggy, bleh. And it didn't kill me!! But I know it would have been easier had I adhered to my weekly training and nutrition a bit better. Shame on me. Next week will be much mo' bettah. Immediately post run I had a Hammer Recoverite Strawberry sample, pretty good. It's crucial to refuel within 30 minutes of a workout, this stuff makes it easy. It's pretty pricey, I hope to invest in some soon.

I had to go into work for a few hours after my run but you know I couldn't pass up a Trader Joe's shopping trip! I grabbed a couple salads for lunch...

I liked this one best.

And some tart cherry juice. I've read some about the benefits of tart cherry juice for muscle recovery, I sipped on about 8 oz throughout the day. Trader Joe's has got the best price I've seen on it anywhere.

Sunday was a much needed rest day and pizza pig out for lunch, snort. You'd think I was just about to start a weight loss contest or something, sheesh... Why do I do crap like that? Anyhow. Also went with my mom and Jenavive to see Monte Carlo, it was a cute movie. Then we had sushi at eeZ Fusion in Birkdale Village, delish!

Looking forward to a GREAT week!!

Upcoming races and contest.

2011-07-21T20:36:00.000-04:00

So I'll be partaking in another Hot Momma's weight loss contest in 3 days. Starts July 25th at 6pm at the Lake Norman Gymnastics Academy. We've got room for more competitors! Bring it on!!! It's really a great support group and motivation to shed some extra baggage. I am still not at my ideal weight so I am looking forward to having the contest as motivation for staying on plan. If you are interested contact Kim Freel, she's heading the contest. She is amazing!

So for the time I've had between contests, ummmm. I have been a little lax for sure. I am looking forward to getting back into a routine, I've been enjoying the lax, I've gained some lbs, then lost some, now about even but ready to see the scale drop a bit more.

Marathon training is going pretty good. During the week I haven't been 100% on my training plan. Got a 9-miler coming up this weekend! ~~Yikes!~~ I'm stoked! I have been feeling good, its been rough some days running in the heat but I know I'll be better for it!!

I have a couple races coming up in addition to the Thunder Road. Here's the scoop:

8/28: Warrior Dash, soooo excited!!!

9/17: Hit the Brixx 10k in Charlotte. (Also a 5k option)

9/24: Riverbound Race Series, Trail Half-Marathon.

10/08: LungStrong 15k (Also a 5k option)

11/12: Thunder Road Marathon (Half Marathon and 5k options)

Let me know if you're running in any of these events!! Would love to see ya there!

Wow!! Quite a schedule I've got ahead of me! Time to get RELENTLESS!!!

Like this necklace? Today is the last day you can register to WIN it here at Running Moose!

I'll be getting back to more normal posts here soon...

Take care!

Need some lunch inspiration?

2011-07-19T22:26:00.000-04:00

I know I haven't blogged in forever, but I'm hanging in there!

Here is a quick post on a something other than a sandwich lunch idea.

Trader Joe's Masala burger.

Pack on a bed of spinach and a Pacific cashew carrot ginger soup.

Crumble burger, pour soup over spinach/burger, microwave 3-4 minutes to heat through and wilt spinach.

Add a generous dollop of hummus, sprinkle with chili powder and cumin. Enjoy!

Check out The 7-day Doubt Diet

2011-07-17T08:04:00.001-04:00

Check out The 7-day Doubt Diet

I am on day 4, this is a GREAT daily devotional and something I definitely needed in my life right now. I felt like Renee wrote these directly to me! I encourage you to check it out, there are some great points and they really help you think, put things in perspective and draw closer to GOD.

Hope you enjoy!

Tuesday's Gone with the Wind...

2011-07-12T22:06:00.000-04:00

Green tea.

Green smoothie, same a yesterday, still yummy as ever, love my green smoothies!

Snacked on a granny smith apple and a LA lites bar.

Lunch was a super yummy sandwich. A Trader Joe's Vegetable Masala burger on a pretzel roll with romaine, pickle and hummus. Served with carrot sticks and dried plums and those ugly apricots.

Yummy sammich.

Carrots, looks like an eye, good for your eyes, God is so clever!

Blenheim variety unsulphured dried apricots, aren't they gross looking? They taste GREAT! haha!

2 kiwifruits. Green tea.

LA lites bar, more carrots.

Dinner at Untouchables, salad, wings, pizza. A bit much huh?

Well over a gallon of water today, soooo HOT!

No structured workout, grrrr. Got some push-ups in (100).

Just another Manic Monday!

2011-07-11T21:43:00.000-04:00

Not really a manic day, pretty good for first day back after vacation. Wish I could say the same about my baby boy, he had a rough day today with out momma! :-(

Got up early to get the girls ready and off to camp at Uplands Reach this morning, they surprisingly did great getting up so early, hope they can keep it up all week!

I had some green tea this morning and then a green smoothie, a good classic. Banana, spinach, Amazing Grass SUPERFood, ground flax meal, Udo's oil, and unsweeetened vanilla almond milk. The almond milk makes it have a nice and creamy flavor/consistency, I mmmm'd through this one, delish!!

AM snackage, almonds, granny smith apple, LA lites bar.

Lunch, grape tomatoes, Amy's burrito.

Dried apricots, some yummy ones from Trader Joe's. Unsulphured too, they look like they are gross but they are really good, tart and sweet, reminds me of the Incan berries I got obsessed over but waaaaay cheaper.

Got my 35 minute run in on the treadmill today, too hot outside this afternoon.

Post run had a LA lites bar and a bunch of celery, it was a really good batch, I can't stand when I get some funky tasting celery.

Dinner was a huge salad with romaine, carrots, hummus, sauteed kale, bacon bits (everything is better with bacon right?) and bojita olives. Wheat crackers.

Sipped on some hot tea afterwards, a nice chamomile blend.

While my tea was steeping I got in some time with my foam roller. It felt great on my back, my calves were pretty tender and I've definitely got some knotty spots along my IT band. I found this article on foam rolling, makes me feel like I'm doing something good for using it! Definitely something worth the investment!

Then had my probiotic supplement I am giving a shot. I've just had it a couple of night now, will update on if I can tell of any benefits!

BAAAACK to normal...

2011-07-10T23:10:00.000-04:00

Ah the eve of going back to work after vacation... sigh.

It's been a great week. Vacation was great, the family had a blast at Sea World, I was slack on eating and working out, gained 5 lbs and only ran twice, life goes on! I got my first case of sea sickness and just enjoyed time with my awesome family!

I had a GREAT 6 mile run on Saturday with my pace group. I was so worried it would suck big time being I hadn't run all week and my diet really took a nose-dive but it was a great run. I am also really enjoying running without my ipod. I can focus more on my breathing and carry on some cool conversations with my running group...."So what did everyone have for breakfast?..."

Today was a totally-needed rest day. I am sooo tired.

Workout plan for 7/11-7/17.

Monday-Run 35 minutes, easy. Foam roll.
Tuesday-Full body weights, cross train.
Wednesday-Run 50 minutes, hills. Foam roll.
Thursday-Run 40 minutes tempo, full body weights.
Friday-cross train.
Saturday-Group run, 7 miles. Foam roll.
Sunday-REST!

'Rough' Food plan.
Daily, green smoothie breakfast, sandwich lunch, huge salad dinner. Snacks-fruit, nuts, LA lites or Lara bar. Lots of h20, 1-2 cups of green tea. Apple cider vinegar 'health drink' in mornings and probiotics supplement before bed.

Florida fun! Lots of pics!

2011-07-05T21:32:00.000-04:00

We are having such a GREAT time on vacation, got to take the girls and Isaiah to Sea World today, more on that later... Here's an update on the past couple of days....

Sunday we went to my in-law's church and then back home for some fresh fish and salad. Delish.

Then naps for most of the crew and we went out for dinner at a bbq joint called Dustin's. I had a New York strip steak with fried okra, bread and the salad bar. I haven't had a steak in a while so this was pretty tasty.

love these munchkins...

Then we headed to the park. This is a really neat area. The playground is a huge wooden castle structure with lots for the kids to do. And it's right on the intercoastal waterway where people are fishing from the docks and all kinds of neat stuff. The weather was great, I enjoyed watching the kiddos play, walking with Maddox and playing speedminton with my hubby. Life is good!

Jenavive at playground sign.

One of the neatest playgrounds!

Maddox along for the ride.

Jenavive pushing Amaya.

Me and my boy.

Love these kids.

What's not to love?

Isaiah pushing his dad on the tire swing.

One of my lil' monkeys.

This is a pretty long post so I'll be back later for more vacation updates to include running on the beach, Sea World, and fishing!

Family in Florida

2011-07-03T14:39:00.000-04:00

So we're in Florida vacationing and visiting with family. We'll be here until Thursday so lot's in store for the next couple of days.

All the kiddies did wonderful on the ride down. It took about 8 1/2 hours to get here with gas stops, bathroom stops, and a lunch stop.

The girls in the back.

Maddox along for the ride.

Tuckered out just past Jacksonville.

Sweet Amaya.

We traveled down on my hubby's birthday so we had to have some ice cream cake after dinner!

Saturday morning I had my ACV cocktail and a spoonful of coconut creme before I headed out to get my 4 mile training run in. The run really sucked physically, it was pretty muggy and my workouts have been on the slack side this week so I paid dearly but I got it done. It was nice when my run got to the intercoastal waterway. Took a break to take a couple pics.

Intercoastal waterway.

A tree growing around a tree, pretty cool!

After my run I had a cashew butter, black cherry fruit spread, and mashed banana sandwich. Soooo good!! Cashew butter is so deliciously decadent!!

Delish!!

Then we headed to the beach for a lil' sun and surf, I have some more pics on my other camera but haven't uploaded them yet, the following were taken with my cell phone.

Grandma, Jen, and Maddox hanging out in the shade.

Sunshine girl.

No workout on Sunday, I will try to get some core work done later. Monday I'll post my workouts for the week.

So, the BIG news!

2011-07-01T22:18:00.001-04:00

So sorry to keep dragging the 'big news' out, I've been contemplating taking on this challenge for some time and have had a fear of committing to it publicly. But I've decided I am going to take on...

Charlotte's Thunder Road Marathon!!!! YIKES!!!! Part of me is suuuuupppper pysched! And part of me is like oh %$#$, what am I getting myself into?!?!?!!!! Especially considering I haven't even tackled a half yet, but I am feeling game for the big race so let's do it!!!

I will be training with USA Fit North Charlotte out of the Run For Your Life University Store. I don't think I would mentally be able to take this on by myself so I am glad I found this group. The last two Saturday's they held evaluation runs to place folks into the correct pace group. I stayed pretty consistent with my times. I will be on team ORANGE! This is the 9-10 minute mile group. I'll miss the first group run tomorrow since I'm in Florida, but even better I'll get to do my run on the beach!!

Keep checking back for how training is going! I am going to be incorporating a ton of injury prevention exercise with my cross-training and weight training! It's time to take it to another level!!

HMWLC day 90 food journal and FINAL weigh in!

2011-06-30T23:12:00.000-04:00

Last day of the contest!! I am ready for a break , next contest starts July 25th! I plan on losing (a bit more weight that is) during the break! But I've been writing my food down today!

new food tracking journal :-)

Got up today, had my ACV cocktail (water, honey, apple cider vinegar). Then had a GREEN smoothie with collards, banana, blueberries, Udo's oil, ground flax seeds, Amazing Grass SuperGREENS powder, plain Greek yogurt and water. Also had a small handful of raw sunflower seeds.

Training class this morning so no run when I got to work. At break I had a mango cut up sprinkled with sea salt and chili powder, yummy! Best with a not super ripe mango and the ataulfo variety is what I had.

Lunch at Showmar's, had a yummy Greek salad with gyro and a pita, unsweet tea.

Piece of hard candy.

Did a light full body weight workout at gym this afternoon.

After weigh-in, there was a champagne toast. And then I had a caramel LA lites bar.

I took the girls to Dilworth coffee for ice cream after their gymnastics, I had a iced coffee. This was their first gymnastics class, they did GREAT! It was so cute watching them and they were so excited!

Then a late dinner of salmon and baby potatoes. And a little debbie caramel bar, who bought those?!?

Recap of weigh in, I was up this week, not sure the exact amount, just under a pound. Final weight loss 28.6 lbs, 14.1% of my total body weight. When I find my stat card I'll update you on my inches lost. So I won the contest, nice to have a little cash prize before our trip to Florida!

Oh and Maddox has fallen asleep on his own the past 2 nights, not to say it's been easy hearing him ~~scream~~ cry for a few minutes, but he eventually gets it and gives in and goes to sleep! YAY!

Will update everyone tomorrow on some big news! Nothing gossipy for those wondering, this is love the FIT life after all!!

Got to finish packing! Long road trip (with four kids!) to Florida in the morning and I am driving the first leg!

hmwlc day 89, a really bad day. bleh.

2011-06-29T22:35:00.001-04:00

image credit

So emotional eating has definitely taken over. Yes it is real and something I struggle with. I have done pretty good for the duration of this contest but today was not good at all. (hello Bojangles?!?) I know I'll get through it as I have in the past, I just hate when I give food power like that over me. I haven't been dealing too well with some stress here lately. Especially my schedule being off and that's mainly due to Maddox's schedule being off since he's been out of daycare with my hubby being off in the summers. Maddox went from taking 3 bottles a day while I am at work to just taking 1 bottle, which means he's hungrier at night and up more often. He has also been 'held' to sleep waaaay too much and most nights I end up having to lay with him to get him to fall asleep, which he will take forever and I usually end up falling asleep as well, not getting anything prepped food wise the night before and also not getting to set my alarm clock and on and on. I have tried to let him cry it out but it's so hard listening to your baby cry! Especially when I know he likes to nurse to calm down and go to sleep. Makes for an extremely exhausted Mommy, which affects my workout performance, work performance and overall mood. And unfortunately today, I turned to food. I hate to sound like I am complaining because I really don't like to be negative and can't stand blogs that come across as whiny. But I just wanted to get this out there and get over it!

I won't go into detail for today. Tomorrow is final weigh in!! Then the group takes a 3 week break and will resume again late July, which I am glad, I definitely need that accountability!

See you guys tomorrow and thanks for bearing with me!

Monday, Tuesday, HMWLC days 87, 88.

2011-06-28T20:59:00.000-04:00

I am just going to post a couple of highlights from the past couple of days.

Monday

Woke up too late to blend a green smoothie, grrr. honestly I can't remember what I had, back to writing it down again, when I don't remember and don't write it down I start to veer off track.

Lunch was brown rice medley, lima beans, mini heirloom tomatoes, and a can of chunk light tuna. Also had 2 clementines.

I had the entire gym to myself this afternoon, it's a shame not more people use these great facilities on base. Especially when we get 3 hours per week on the clock to work out, most people would loooove that!

Ended up doing an interval workout on the elliptical. My accessory muscles were a little sore from yesterday's trail run.

Dinner was baked salmon, mini heirloom tomatoes, and roasted baby potatoes on a bed of massaged kale.

salmon, pre-bake.

baby potatoes pre roast

Delicious!

Tuesday

Went for a run this morning when I got to work, it was already hot and muggy and I wasn't mentally psyched for a run, made it 2.2 miles and called it quits. Bleh.

Post run I had 2 scoops of my newest green powder. Amazing Grass GREENSuperFood. Not bad on it's own, a little gritty perhaps, but will mostly be a smoothie addition for me. Or in this case a quick way to get some GREENS!

Lunch at Nana's. Wasn't planned, but I didn't feel like eating the Amy's burrito I packed. I had baked chicken, collards, pinto beans and cornbread. They always give us complimentary dessert, I took it back and gave it away to a co-worker.

Noshed on some of these RiceWork chips, they are insanely addictive, I really shouldn't buy them as it's somewhat of a challenge for me to exercise self control with them.

Dinner was leftover salmon, potatoes, and pickles. And heck no, I'm not pregnant.

Amaya wanted her dinner featured as well, one scrambled egg, 2 pieces of non cured turkey bacon, and pickles. She also had some grapes. On her cow plate.

I am in a mental funk, hoping to get back on track tomorrow, night folks!!

HMWLC day 86 food journal.

2011-06-28T06:50:00.000-04:00

Sunday!

Got up had a slice of Cinnamon Chip bread toasted with coconut creme. ACV cocktail.

Headed out to the White Water Center to meet the Run for Your Life Trail Club. Great turn out, ran 4.1 miles. Love those trails!

I'm in the yellow, with the bad posture, lol.

After the run had a green smoothie with collards, banana, 2 clementines, udo's oil, ground flax seeds, and coconut milk.

Had coffee with creamer at church.

After church had a turkey sandwich with lettuce, mustard and cheese. And some roasted plantain chips.

Headed to my mom's to go swimming with the kids at her apartment's pool. It got overcast when we got there so no sunburns. Maddox really enjoyed the water.

pool snacks.

Of course Mom had us dinner, I had a greek salad and some pork menudo.

Later on I had a LA lites bar.

I'll try to catch up Monday's eats with today's later on, gotta head to work!

HMWLC day 85 food journal, workout, SATURDAY!!

2011-06-25T21:48:00.000-04:00

I really have GOT to get up earlier, I guess I LIKE rushing in the mornings, lol. I've been that way as long as I can remember! Oh well.

Anyhow, got up this morning, changed, poured a to-go cup of So Delicious Coconut milk, grabbed some prunes and hit the road to head to Run for Your Life on Mallard Creek Church Rd. for a 7 a.m. group run. Ran 3 miles, 29:45. Pretty consistent pace throughout.

Afterwards went to Trader Joe's and picked up a couple items. Couldn't resist, I mean, it's RIGHT there! Got some organic romaine hearts, tomatoes, roasted seaweed snack, uncured turkey bacon, mini potatoes, clementines, an acai drink, and some dark chocolate.

Then I popped in next door to the Great Harvest Bread Company and was planning on picking up a loaf of Dakota as featured on Peanut Butter Runner, but the loaves were just about to go into the oven and weren't ready, so instead I got a massive loaf of Cinnamon Chip.

When I got home I had a couple slices of Cinnamon chip bread, a piece and a half of turkey bacon and a green smoothie (collards, banana, apple, blueberries, clementines, wheat grass powder, Udo's oil, ground flax seeds, acai drink, water).

Ended up napping with the little guy when he went down for his morning nap, wished he would have slept longer, :-)

Late lunch, a large BLT salad, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, and bacon bits. With a mustard/mayo dressing. And some wheat crackers. Delish.

Dinner-massaged kale salad, why haven't I had one of these in a while? It was GREAT!! I made it with massaged kale (massaged with olive oil and sea salt), tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, brown rice medley and lima beans. It was delicious!!

Had some prunes and a LA lites bar.

Some random ab work and weight work throughout the day.

Trail run in the morning before church! Nights folks!

4 Cross-Training Activities for Runners | Active.com

2011-06-24T21:08:00.000-04:00

I am a huge advocate for cross-training!! I just can't imagine running exclusively. Cross-training gives your muscles a break from the stress of running and helps strengthen the muscles you use for running. I really enjoy exercising, sometimes it's a struggle to convince myself to get a workout done but I have never walked away after a run or a workout and regretted it!

4 Cross-Training Activities for Runners | Active.com

HMWLC day 84, FRIDAY!!

2011-06-24T20:54:00.000-04:00

Another boring picture-less post, sheesh. I have noooo clue where my cell phone is, I am scatterbrained, but good grief.

Got a late start out the door this morning, instead of my ACV cocktail I just had a swig of ACV with a Vitamin Water Zero chaser, lol.

Green smoothie; collards, banana, blueberries, Udo's oil, ground flax seeds, cinnamon, So Delicious Coconut milk.

Apple, pretzel sticks, pecans.

Lunch @ Vietnam Grille, pho w/ flank steak and brisket. Soooo good!! And a coconut drink for dessert. I love love love pho!!!

Apple pie lara bar.

LA lites bar.

Pretzel Sticks.

Dinner; salad with organic green leaf lettuce, lima beans, brown rice medley, roasted potatoes, Annie's Woodstock Dressing, and snap pea crisps.

Dried prunes.

No workout today, have a group run tomorrow and another group trail run Sunday morning. Gonna get a full body weight workout in tomorrow as well!

HMWLC day 82 and 83, food journal/workouts/weigh in!

2011-06-23T20:26:00.000-04:00

First off sorry for no pics, I take my pics with my phone and my phone is m.i.a. bleh!

Day 82/Wednesday

ACV cocktail, spoon of Vivapura coconut creme

Nice easy jog of 3.5 miles around neighborhood

Green smoothie; collards, banana, veg juice (celery, collard stems, apple, carrot, juiced the night before), wheat grass powder, ground flax, Udo's 3-6-9 oil, cinnamon and water.

AM snackage, a little heavier than usual, had a dentist appt @10:15 am. Knew I would have numb jaw for a while so I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to be ravenous!! I had a fruit/nut/granola cereal. One of my favorite combos. One diced apple, small handful of dried cranberries, small handful of raw sunflower seeds, crushed oats/honey granola bar, cinnamon, and unsweetened Almond Breeze vanilla almond milk. So delish!!! I got the inspiration here.

5 honey wheat pretzel sticks, almonds, veggie juice that I juiced last night.

Apple Pie Lara Bar.

Later in the afternoon, 3:30 pm, I had a Dr. McDougalls Tortilla Soup, my fav!! Doused with a couple splashed of Frank's Red Hot.

Early dinner, vacation bible school all this week for kiddos and I'm starting to help with Pre-K class for Children's Church on Wednesday nights.

Salad with grilled teriyaki chicken, brown rice medley, lima beans, Annie's woodstock dressing, and pretzel sticks.

After church I had half of a Vitamin Water Zero, 2 mini pretzels and 3 grapes.

Thursday, Day 83 and Weigh in!!

ACV cocktail and 2 pieces of light wheat toast topped with Vivapura coconut creme and cherry preserves.

Then I went back to bed, lol. Not planned but Maddox was up and pissed last night, it was hard to get him to go back to sleep!! I was absolutely exhausted!! I deciced I would go into work a little later, take Jen to get her stitches removed and go ahead and get some extra zzzzz's.

Woke up, green smoothie, collards, banana, blueberries, cinnamon, ground flax, wheat grass powder,
Udo's oil, and almond milk.

Lunch, grilled chicken club from chic-fil-a, just the sandwich no combo. Peanut butter chocolate chip Lara bar.

Very small handful of honey roasted peanuts, who put those on the break table?!?! haha

Afternoon workout, ran about 1.5 miles on the track and trail on base and then 20 minutes of intervals on the elliptical.

Dinner, after weight loss meeting. Same as last night. Salad w/ romaine, teriyaki chicken, brown rice medley, lima beans, Annie's woodstock dressing, sprinkled with nutritional yeast and Mrs. Dash.

Two dried plums, from Trader Joe's my absolute favorite dried plums, they are preservative free and have the best texture!!

Gonna have a honey nougat LA light bar in a bit.

And of course, weigh in!!!!

Down 2 more lbs, that's 30 lbs since March 30!!!!! So stoked!! One more weigh in next week! Loving the FIT life!!

HMWLC day 81 food journal.

2011-06-21T20:40:00.000-04:00

ACV cocktail.

Granola bar and carrot juice.

AM snackage-banana and some raw almonds.

Lunch @ Salsarita's. Shrimp salad.

Afternoon snackage, apple pie LARA bar, apple, almonds. (not all at once)

Quick green smoothie when I got home, collards, mango, wheat grass powder, Udo's 3-6-9 oil, ground flax seed.

Dinner; salad with romaine, brown rice medley from Trader Joe's (brown rice, black barley, and Daikon radish seeds), lima beans, bojita olives, Annie's Woodstock Dressing, bacon bits, roasted peanuts, and some pretzel sticks on the side. Delish!!!!!!

Juiced some celery, collard stems, carrots and apples for drinking the next couple of days.

No workout today, woke up too late to run and used the heat as an excuse this afternoon. Bleh. Lots of foam rolling and stretching today, soreness is starting to set in from full body weight workout yesterday!

HMWLC day 79 and 80 food/fitness journals

2011-06-20T23:05:00.000-04:00

Sunday

Happy Father's Day!!

Went out for a run after having an ACV cocktail and a spoon of Vivapura's Lucuma-Vanilla Coconut Creme (yumm)

Ran a 5k distance in the neighborhood in 25:43. An unbelievable pace for me! I am still in shock! I am feeling fantastic!!!!

After my run I had a Trader Joe's banana chocolate chunk protein muffin and a glass so So Delicious coconut milk.

After church I had a green smoothie. Don't remember all the ingredients but about the 'usual'

Had late lunch/early dinner at my brother's house for father's day. Chicken Adobo, rice, broccoli, and pork loin, I didn't care for the pork loin but everything else was great!

On the way home I had some Trader Joe's roasted seaweed snack, so yumm.

I know I had something else late but I really don't remember what it was, maybe a LA lites bar and a salad. My brain is tired, lol.

Monday

Half a banana and half a honey-oat granola bar.

Workout, 30 minutes of intervals on the elliptical and then half a mile sprint around track, split times 1:44 and 1:47. Cookin' it!

Post workout, other half of banana and granola bar.

Apple, Trader Joe's banana chocolate chunk protein muffin.

Lunch was a mini heirloom tomato salad (tomatoes, Himalayan sea salt, pepper) and an Amy's rice and bean burrito.

After lunch I had the privilege of paying respect to a Fallen Marine, Cpl. Nicholas O'Brian from Gaston County, NC. He was killed by an IED in Afghanistan on June 9, 2011, today his remains where brought home. The proccesion went by our base and many of us went out to salute him and pay respects. It was a very moving experience.

Back to my eats...

LA lites bar.

Another protein muffin on the ride home.

Dinner-salad w/ romaine, tomato, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted peanuts, bacon bits, Annie's Woodstock dressing (my fav!)

Workout-full body weight workout. About the same as the one from last week, including having to stop and nurse Maddox, lol. But got it done!!

Post workout I had a concoction of a coconut LA lites bar chopped up and blended with So Delicious Coconut milk, a spoon of Vivapura Lucuma-Vanilla Coconut Creme, Udo's 3-6-9 oil, and a scoop of Amazing Grass Raw Wheat Grass powder. It turned out pretty darn good!!

And finally bedtime!!

HMWLC day 78

2011-06-20T07:03:00.000-04:00

I've been trying to finish this post for 3 days! Saturday recap. Sunday and Monday will recap tonight!

Breakfast pre-run; toast with coconut creme and cashew butter.

Got to run with a group this morning, a pace run, nice a steady 3-miler at 29:02.

Post run I got to go shoppin' at TRADER JOES!! I love that place!! I haven't been in forever so I enjoyed stocking up!

On the way home I noshed on some Trader Joe's roasted seaweed snack, I ate the whole package, it was so good! Nice and crispy and seaweedy, haha! I remember a friend of mine in high school introducing me to this treat, she had a snack pack of some nori sheets, I had never tried sea veggies at that point, they can be kind of fishy tasting I guess but I like it!

I stopped at Chic-fil-a to get the hubs some chickin mini's and gahhh-ly, I couldn't resist and I indulged! Had a chicken egg and cheese bagel combo with hash browns and a sweet tea. It was so good!

Got home and unloaded all my goodies.

Greek yogurt, veggie sausage patties and carrot juice.

Love Trader Joe's!

Looking to incorporate more whole grains.

For lunch I had some mini heirloom tomatoes and cold chicken tenders. I love cold fried chicken, good grief.

And a banana chocolate chunk protein muffin.

My oldest daughter bumped her head pretty good on the nightstand this afternoon, we got to take a trip to urgent care (had a green smoothie before we left and snacked on honey pretzel sticks on the way) and she got 3 stitches! She was amazing at the doctor's so proud of her!!

Made for a late dinner. I just had a deliciously decadent cheesecake caramel apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate at Northlake Mall.

yummy!!

HMWLC day 77 food journal!

2011-06-17T22:09:00.001-04:00

Overslept this morning, bleh, that'll throw ya off!!

Breakfast was a GREEN smoothie; collards, peaches, banana, wheat grass powder, Udo's 3-6-9 oil, ground flax seeds, sea salt and water to thin.

AM snackage, oats and honey granola bar.

Lunch at Vietnam Grille. Pho!! And a coconut drink for dessert, delish!!

Ran a quick mile and a half on base.

LA lites bar on the way home.

Dinner at Mayflower, unexpectedly, we got a last minute call to go into Concord and pick our van up from the shop.

I had salad w/ ranch and some broiled tilapia. It was ok, but I should have had the salmon.

LA lites bar.

So ready for bed.

Love snugglin' with my baby boy.

BIG NEWS coming soon!!!!

HMWLC day 76 food journal and weigh in!

2011-06-16T21:49:00.000-04:00

Maddox and myself didn't sleep too well last night so I didn't get up early for a run. Decided my body could better use some extra zzzzz's. I am in no hurry for Maddox to grow up but I am looking forward to when he sleeps through the night!

Had my ACV cocktail this morning. Then blended up a GREEN smoothie with collards, banana, frozen peaches, greek yogurt, Udo's 3-6-9 oil, ground flax seeds, and wheat grass powder, water to thin.

AM snackage-peach and pecans.

Lunch at Pinky's Westside Grill. I had the Tahini Salad, it was AWESOME!!! It consists of four traditional falafel cakes on a bed of mixed greens, topped with red onion, cucumber, feta cheese, tomato, pepperoncini's and toasted sesame seeds – served with a zesty tahini dressing, soooo yummy! I only used about half of the dressing but it was soooooo delish!! Will definitely get this again!!

I had about half of an LA lites bar this afternoon and then had the other half after I ran. Got about 2 miles in running around base.

Dinner was a delish salad. I love salad! Romaine, cucumber, tomatoes, fresh diced peach, blackberries (from my bushes outside!), bacon bits, and cherry vinaigrette (apple cider vineger, udo's oil, sea salt, polamer's black cherry fruit spread) Handful of dried mulberries.

LA lites bar.

Weigh in, 172.8 lbs. Down 27.2!!

HMWLC day 75 food journal, SORE!

2011-06-15T21:10:00.000-04:00

Phone dead and left at work so no pics, sorry!

Getting pretty sore from whole body workout yesterday!! yea!

ACV cocktail this morning followed by a toasted piece of Nature's Own double fiber bread with cashew butter and black cherry Polamer's spread, yumm!!

Workout when I got to work, 20 minutes running on track/trail and 25 minute intervals on elliptical.

Post workout; green smoothie-collards, greek yogurt, frozen peaches, banana, Udo's 3-6-9 oil, ground flax seeds, wheat grass powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, himalayan sea salt, cayenne pepper, and water to thin.

AM snackage-peach and pecans.

Lunch at Salsarita's. Grilled shrimp salad, no shell. Romaine, shrimp, salsa, guacamole, black beans, guacamole, onions, cilantro.

Ride home snackage, LA lites bar.

Dinner at Off the Grill in Concord. Blackened chicken salad w. ranch dressing. Not too bad. Saw they had homemade peanut butter pie on the menu, just had to, shared it w/ the husband, yummm!!

Gonna spend some time on the foam roller this evening to try to work out these sore muscles!

HMWLC day 74 food journal, love a.m. runs!!

2011-06-14T22:10:00.000-04:00

Got up about 5:30am, nursed Maddox, had my ACV cocktail and was out running at 5:50 a.m! I ran all the streets in the hood, 25 minutes, 2.7 miles! Great pace for me!!!

Post run I had a big ol' GREEN smoothie!! Collards, banana, half a mango, greek yogurt, udo's oil, ground flax seeds, wheat grass powder, ginger powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, and water.

AM snackage at work (9:30am) other half of mango and some pecans.

Lunch at Showmar's had my usual, Large Greek Salad w/ gyro and a pita, unsweet tea. I love that salad.

LA lites bar.

Total body weight workout @ home.

I decided to follow a total body workout featured on Peanut Butter Runner with a couple small changes. For the most part I did 3 sets of each exercise with 12-20 reps using my 8 lb dumbbells, 15 lb dumbbells, and 10 lb kettlebell. It took about an hour to go through all of these with Maddox demanding a nursing break about halfway through, haha. Great, great workout though!!

Right after my workout I had a yummy peach!

Dinner was a salad with romaine, cucumber, tomatoes, hummus, artichoke hearts, curry powder, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, and udo's oil. Also had 2 hard boiled eggs.

Late snackage, LA lites bar.

HMWLC day 73 food journal

2011-06-13T22:31:00.000-04:00

image credit.

Tired today.

Had my ACV cocktail when I woke up. Then had a yoplait Greek yogurt key lime flavor with a crumbled graham cracker on top.

Attempted to run when I got to work. So not there mentally, did NOT feel like running, ugh! I stopped at 15 minutes. Went inside the gym and finished up my workout with 25 minutes of intervals on the elliptical. I hate went I am having a mental funk!!

Post workout had a 'quickie' green smoothie. Almond milk, water, chocolate spiru-tein, 2 scoops wheat grass powder.

AM snackage: A peach (yumm) and pecans.

Lunch was spinach and broccoli topped with Amy's light and lean pasta and veggies and a can of water packed tuna. A banana and pecans.

Left work early to go w. the husband and take lil' guy for his 9 month check up! Had a LA lites on the way to the pediatrician. My sweet boy is long and lanky, haha. 15lbs 13oz and 28". He's not even on a growth curve for his weight and he's at the 60 percentile for his height, but he's healthy, so who cares about growth curves...

Apple pie lara bar.

Dinner: Salad w/ grilled chicken, hummus, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, curry powder, nutritional yeast, cumin, sea salt, and olive oil.

LA lites bar.

Bedtime.

HMWLC day 72 food journal, Sunday, family and shopping!

2011-06-13T18:32:00.000-04:00

I love weekends.

Sunday mornings before we head to church are pretty laid back. My husband likes to sleep as late as humanly possible and the kiddos and I are always up pretty early. Usually cartoons for the kids and mommy's making breakfast.

This particular morning Maddox woke up at 6:30 to nurse and the ladies were up shortly thereafter at 7am (that's sleeping in for them!!). I asked the girls if they wanted to go for a walk. They were excited and had their shoes on within minutes. I went ahead and knocked out the dishes and got the gang loaded up, the girls in the double jogger and Maddox in the front carrier. What a workout with this load!!!

It was a wonderful morning for a walk. I love the smell of the dew and flowers. Nice and sunny too, we got our vitamin D!!

We walked for about 40 minutes, towards the end Jenavive wanted to walk so Maddox got to ride a bit and my back got some relief from carrying him. These kids are the best!! They loved the walk so as long as the weather is nice I think we've got us a new Sunday morning tradition!

Before our walk I had ACV, honey and water.

After our walk I had a purple power smoothie! Blueberries, peaches, collards, wheat grass powder, udo's oil, cinnamon, and water. Delish!

LA lites bar.

Light snack, hummus, pita chips and a spoonful of raw cashew butter.

Late lunch at Mayflower seafood. My mom works here and we were eating right when she was getting off of work so we could drop the girls off to stay with her for a couple of days. I had a salad w/ ranch dressing, some blooming onion, grilled salmon and a baked sweet potato. So much food! It was good though!

It was 9pm before I ate again, I wasn't super hungry but wanted to eat something so I wouldn't be starving in the middle of the night. I had a big blended salad with collards, cucumber, grape tomatoes, pepperoncinis, bojita olives, nutritional yeast, curry powder, cumin, chili powder and sea salt. Water to blend. Delish!! The collards where strong but it was good.

Backing up, got to do a lil' shopping this afternoon after we dropped off the girls. Went by Marshall's and scored a Manny Pacquiao shirt (yay!!!), some new workout shorts, and green tea.

Then went by the grocery to stock up on a couple items and got some bonus items too.

peaches!!!

some new yogurt to try

snacks, love riceworks chips!! the nuts and crackers are new to me...

a clearance score

Also got some collards, cucumber, tomatoes, almond and coconut milk, and some stuff my hubby picked out.

Great weekend!

HMWLC day 71 food journal

2011-06-11T21:59:00.000-04:00

Pre run: unsweetened applesauce with one granola bar crumpled on top, a spoon of cashew butter and sprinkle of cinnamon. Apple cider vinegar in water with honey and tablespoon of Udo's 3-6-9 blend.

Post run: other granola bar in pack. Green smoothie; collards, strawberries, blueberries, Spiru-tein cookies and creme flavor, ground flax, wheat grass powder and water. Spoonful of Coconut Creme, divine, yumm!

LA lites bar.

Took the kids to Touch a Truck at the Energy Explorium. They really had a great time. Had some peach frozen yogurt.

Late lunch at Lancaster's BBQ. Had a BBQ plate with yellow slaw and fried okra, unsweet tea and hushpuppies.

Silpada jewelry party at a friend's house, had some watermelon there.

Dinner: Blended salad; collards, half a large cucumber, half a yellow bell pepper, an avocado, nutritional yeast, cumin, chili powder, sea salt, and water. Hummus with other half of yellow bell pepper and pita chips.

LA lites bar.

Snacked on some white mulberries today too. They are pretty good, sweet, kind of like medjool dates in flavor. I miss my Incan berries though.

Great run today, 6.1 miles in 1:00:09, 9:52 avg pace. Felt great, awesome scenery, got out before it was too hot. Feeling AWESOME! Tracked my run using my phone and the RunStar app. Mile times were as follows:

Mile 1: 10:12
Mile 2: 20:05
Mile 3: 30:21
Mile 4: 40:22
Mile 5: 49:35
Mile 6: 59:35

As you can see I had better mile times on the latter half of my run, I am really feeling confident in increasing my mileage as well as my speed this year. Rock it!

nice returning home from a run to this...

HMWLC day 70 food journal, FRIDAY!!

2011-06-10T21:43:00.000-04:00

I love REAL Fridays! (Fridays not before a drill weekend)

growing boy!

My Maddox has been up more at nights, bleh, he's not up as in awake and wanting to play but he's been hungry. I am still nursing so at least I don't have to get up and make bottles but man it sure would be nice to have some uninterrupted sleep!! One of these days! Not complaining!! Moving on...

Woke up a lil' later than I had planned, trying to catch up on zzzzz's.

Had a green juice this morning and some white mulberries on the way into work. Also had some iced green tea.

green juice, gives me super powers!

Ran intervals this morning on the trail when I got to work, it was a GREAT run!! I felt really good. But good grief it was muggy! Sweat baby sweat!

Post run I had a green smoothie; spinach, banana, strawberries, wheat grass powder, ground flax seeds, and water.

Lunch at Showmar's, had my usual, large Greek salad w/ gyro and a pita. Unsweet tea, yumm, yumm, yummm. I was starving too.

Got to see this on the way to lunch...

Ride home snackage, LA lites double chocolate bar. Almost out of these, I don't think I'll get more, I may get some of the honey nougat flavor since I like those the most. I am looking to eat something with a shorter more natural ingredient list. I have a ton of LARA bars in my pantry that I scored an amazing deal on so they'll be my snack bars when the LA bars run out...

Dinner; salad. Romaine, hummus, sauteed onions and celery, sun dried bojita olives, and orange bell pepper. 2 hard boiled eggs. Delish!!

LA lites bar.

I'm out of lemons and limes for my water so today I decided to flavor my water with some herbal tea. I had this at work, it's nice for a flavor switch up from time to time. I like to steep this in cold water. I am not big on hot tea.

I also did 200 push ups today and 100 sit ups. Rock it.

HMWLC day 69 food journal and weigh in!

2011-06-09T21:26:00.000-04:00

Upon rising, green juice (celery, cucumber, carrots, green apple). Half a banana. Apple cider vinegar w/ honey and water.

30 minutes of intervals on elliptical.

Post workout, green smoothie: spinach, banana, strawberries, wheat germ, ground flax, udo's 3-6-9 oil, wheat grass powder, and green juice from earlier.

LA lites bar.

Lunch @ Nana's soulfood. Baked chicken white meat no skin, collards, fried okra, 1/4 cornbread square, and unsweet tea.

Afternoon coffee, I think out of boredom. Drank half a cup.

Lots of green tea today.

Dinner: salad w/ romaine, sauteed spinach and broccoli, red bojita olives, and hummus. Yumm!! These olives are GREAT!! Not super salty like most traditional olives and the texture is different from what you would expect, actually almost 'meaty' in texture, very delish!! (fyi-there isn't a link for the red bojita olives anymore on vivapura the link above will take you to the regular bojita olives)

LA lites bar.

Got 200 push ups in today.

Weigh in!! I missed last week and I stress ate way too much the last 2 weeks so I am very glad to still have a loss this week. Just down like half a pound I think, but I'll take it! Just 3 more weigh in's to go!!! Crunch time!!!

Smile!

HMWLC day 68.

2011-06-09T21:13:00.000-04:00

I have got to try to write this crap down, lol, its hard to remember!! I need more sleep!! Baby's been keeping me sleepy!

Wednesday
Upon rising, apple cider vinegar w/ honey and water. handful of white mulberries. And I think I had something else, but good grief I can't remember.

ran intervals on trail at work

post run, green smoothie; banana, strawberries, ground flax, wheat germ, udo's 3-6-9 oil, amazing grass wheat grass powder.

la lites bar. apple.

lunch, salad. romaine, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, soy nuts, tuna, and Annie's woodstock dressing.

Got in another workout this afternoon, 20 min on elliptical and half a mile run on track. Also did 230 push ups and 100 sit ups today. Rock it.

LA lites bar.

Dinner, blended salad. Cucumber, collards, tomatoes, sea salt, lemon juice, celery juice, nutritional yeast, pepper, chili powder, curry powder, cumin. Pretty good, I just drink it like a green smoothie, I know, you're probably grossed out, but I like it. One hard boiled egg.

Post dinner snackage. Celery and super-dee-duper-yummy-decadence in the form of cashew butter. So flippin' good. I looooove this cashew butter, so creamy and delicious. Mmmm! This is a treat coz' the crap is expensive, I caught a discount promotion on vivapura and decided to try a bunch of goodies (coconut creme, incan berries, mulberries, red bojita olives cashew butter, tahini) good stuff.

I also had some prep time tonight and made: a big batch of green juice for the next couple of days, roasted red pepper hummus, and veggie pulp crackers. Had to sample the crackers w/ hummus. Good stuff.

HMWLC day 66 and 67.

2011-06-07T19:27:00.000-04:00

I was off yesterday taking care of a sick lil' boy, he's had a bad cough and fever and was not resting well, made for a sleepy mommy. A sleepy mommy sucks at eating properly. Bleh. But here are some food highlights from yesterday.

My new OBSESSION!! I ordered these gems from vivapura. I have since found them cheaper from Nativa's Naturals via amazon and will be stocking up. These are Incan berries (aka goldenberry, gooseberry) and they are WONDERFUL!! If you like tart/sour candies (hello sour patch kids?!?!) you will LOVE these!! I can't seem to get enough!!! They remind of tamarind candy. They are so good!!

Lunch yesterday was sauteed veggies and hash browns, odd combo but good!

Dinner, grilled chicken and grilled summer squash, yummm!!

No workout, plenty of rest and snugglin' with this lil guy.

Tuesday

Getting back to myself!!

Breakfast: Green smoothie, banana, strawberries, spinach, wheat germ, Udo's 3-6-9 oil, ground flax, water, Amazing Grass Wheat Grass powder.

AM snackage, LA lites bar, apple.

Lunch, grilled chicken, squash, avocado, tomatoes.

Preworkout Handful of Ann's House Soy Energy Blend.

Postworkout, LA lites bar.

Dinner, haven't had it yet, I'm thinking a blended salad.

Workout today: 200 push ups, 1 mile run on dreadmill, 20 minutes on elliptical intervals, half mile fast run on track.

Night folks!!!

playing catch up!! days 62, 63, 64, and 65, phew!

2011-06-05T20:49:00.000-04:00

I have been focusing on getting some zzzzz's at night instead of taking the extra 30-40 minutes to post. Hoping to structure my days a bit better going forward as I don't like getting far behind on my blogging!!

I haven't written down all my eats so i can't remember them all! Another thing I need to work on!! A busy week and poor planning and having drill this weekend have definitely led to not so good nutritional decisions. But those decisions are in the past, time to move on!!

Thursday and Friday mornings I did get a run in during the A.M. hours!! Thank goodness! I love running in the mornings in the summer!! The only thing that sucks is still sweating like mad after taking a shower and putting my hot uniform on, bleh!! It seems to take forever to finally cool off!! I worked out for 30 minutes following the intervals for this week, run 13 minutes/walk 2 minutes, repeat 2x. I didn't track my mileage just got out there and did it, running on a combo of trails and track and looooving my new running shoes.

I missed weigh in on Thursday, I didn't get home from base until the meeting was almost over, so hoping despite of some eating "uh-oh's" to put up some big numbers on next Thursday!

HMWLC day 60 and 61, HOT!!

2011-06-01T20:19:00.001-04:00

It has been so HOT!! I've been trying to keep cool but sometimes my job calls me to be outside and the heat really wears on you!! Even working on the shop is HOT!! No air conditioning there!! Thank goodness the break room has good AC!

Tuesday

Breakfast: green juice and something else I think but I really can't remember!!

coffee w/ creamer

la lites bar, mango

lunch: grilled chicken/pork salad w/ guacamole and tomato.

LA lites bar.

Dinner: sauteed veggies and veggie pulp-flax crackers w/ hummus

No cardio workout today, I did 220 pushups and 60 situps.

Wednesday

breakfast: veggie scramble, extra veggies from last night scrambled with 2 eggs and 2 slices of munster cheese and put in a flat out light wrap. yumm!!

coffee w/ creamer

green juice

am snackage, extra veggie scramble w/ hot sauce and an apple

Got my teeth cleaned and then had lunch at Jason's Deli, got the salad bar, yumm!! I had mixed greens topped with cauliflower, broccoli, mushrooms, grape tomatoes, peas, bean salad, israeli couscous salad (couscous, cucumber, tomato, cilantro), roasted nut/snack mix topping, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sea salt, cracked pepper and 2 hb eggs, could not eat all of this goodness and had to save room for dessert!

Followed by dessert of chocolate pudding and apples with a crumbled graham cracker (not pictured) on top.

LA lites bar.

Dinner , avocado tuna salad on romaine with sauteed veggies.

The heat and crap going on last minute kept me from my afternoon exercising at work. I attempted to stay after work to workout and I ran on the treadmill for 5 minutes, half a mile, wasn't feeling it. I did 40 push ups today, sore from the 200 yesterday!! Moving to a.m. workouts effective tomorrow!!!

One thing I can say that I've been doing good at is keeping my eating clean despite not getting my workouts in. Usually I would stress due to not getting to workout and then stress eat! But I have just kept telling myself, its not worth it!! Don't get me wrong I do eat indulgent from time to time, but I like to plan my splurges so when the urge hits to want to derail on a 'non-splurge' day like today I kick my will-power into high gear!!! I feel GREAT!!

HMWLC day 59 food journal and race results!

2011-05-30T22:14:00.000-04:00

First a thank you to all who have served and sacrificed for our freedom. God Bless.

Started out today with some cantaloupe and water on the road on the way to the Go the Extra Mile 5k. I woke up later than I had planned and didn't want too much heavy fare on my tummy. The race went well, pretty hilly but I love those hills! I ran in a 29:06, I think this is a PR for me, but I really can't remember, lol. It pretty close to the a 5k time I had in Oct 2009. This was my first road race since having Maddox. I am pretty pleased with my time and looking to get faster and fitter!!!

After the race I had a green smoothie that I mixed at home and packed in a cooler bag. It was strawberries, spinach, almond milk, ground flax seeds, wheat germ, Udo's oil, Blueberries and Cream Spiru-tein. I also had a piece of bread and lots of water.

Did a lot of shopping today with my hubby and lil' man. Had an LA lites bar while shopping.

Maddox's new hat!

Met my brother for lunch at Pho Hoa and had some pho! My husband's first time having pho, he liked it and I was really impressed by his chop stick skills!

Then I had a coconut bubble tea, yummmm!!

Dinner was leftovers from Saturday's cookout, a cheeseburger with tomato, mayo, mustard, and pickle. Rice w/ veggies and some chips.

My body's ready for some clean eats after this weekend's splurging. I did a lot of juicing today and have meals ready to go for tomorrow!

HMWLC day 56, 57, and 58.

2011-05-29T14:41:00.000-04:00

Took a bit of a blogging break! Just been so busy and blogging took the back seat for a few days.

Not going to blog the details of the eats for the past three days. i have been definitely taking it easy. I haven't gotten a run in since last WEDNESDAY! what the crap?!?!?! I am planning on getting an easy run in this evening and then I have a 5k in the morning, then Tuesday I'll start some new intervals.

I did get some new running shoes!! Yay!! I went to Run for Your Life on Park Rd. in Charlotte. I have been meaning to go get professionally fitted for shoes for quite some time. I got off of work early on Friday so I had some time to finally get that done! Fitologist Ben helped me out in the store, great customer service. First he watched me run w/o any shoes on and then measured my feet. I over-pronate slightly, which is pretty normal, but instead of going with a neutral shoe he decided to go with a stability shoe to help correct that pronation some. I also have a wide foot and have been wearing my running shoes a half size too small, may explain the soreness in my toes after I run!! After trying on several pairs of shoes and watching me run in them, we decided to go with the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11 in a wide 'D' width, size 9.5. The stability aspect of the shoe is going to take some getting used to but I am really satisfied with these shoes so far and the great thing is if within 30 days I'm not really pleased I can take them back to try something else. How awesome is that!?

Here are some hi-lights of eats the past couple of days...

Lunch on Friday at Nana's. Veggie plate with collards, black-eyed peas, curry rice and crab pasta, didn't eat it all, can't be going too nuts. At least not that meal, :-)

Dinner Friday night, homemade pizza on a Flat-out light wrap with tomato sauce, zucchini, orange bell pepper, turkey pepperoni, green olives and mozarella cheese and a Honest Tea.

Saturday was an indulgent day.

Stopped at LKN donuts, these are so good, and I am not a huge donut fan. My hubby had a strawberry and chocolate peanut donut and I had a maple glaze and a trail mix donut.

Hubby's strawberry donut M.I.A.

Cookout later on, we had so much food!! I was 'manning' the grill. Here are some barbecue kabobs. Good stuff!

Maddox enjoying some corn on the cob!

Workouts: I did get a workout in Friday evening, I did about half of Bob Harper's Cardio Conditioning DVD, this was pretty tough, makes me feel like a wuss, I did the DVD until Maddox woke up, my glutes are sore today from it, I hope to do some more of these this summer.

It's quiet on the homefront, my girls are on their way to Florida to spend about a week with their grandparents, I'm going to miss them for sure but going to try to get a lot of things done around the house too!

HMWLC day 55 food journal and Weigh in!!

2011-05-26T23:06:00.001-04:00

Day off of work today, my oldest daughter had her kindergarten graduation! No workout today, lack of planning and my baby was really not himself today, really clingy and off schedule with all the festivities. Whatever will be will be!!

Breakfast-green juice, 2 hard boiled eggs.

LA lites bar

Finger foods at graduation reception. Fruit (melon, pineapple), carrots, cucumber, ranch dip, 2 cheese cubes.

nap, yay!

late lunch at showmar's (graduate's choice) thankfully all showmar's have the same menu, so you know I had my usual, large greek salad with gyro and a pita. yummmy!!

wasn't really hungry for dinner b/c of a late lunch so i popped into the grocery store on the way to Bible study and got some greek yogurt w/ granola crunch, sugar snap peas, grape tomatoes, pita chips and hummus. Also noshed on some veggie pulp flax crackers, loving these!

LA lites bar.

Lots of water today as usual!

AND weigh in!!!! Down 4 lbs this week!! That brings me to 25lbs down in 7 weeks!!! Better than diet pills! I'm telling you all you've got to do is make a decision! If you truly commit to your goals and stick to your plan, get over the slip ups because they will happen, you will succeed!! This brings me already to my goal weight loss for the contest and there are still 5 weigh-in's to go!

HMWLC day 54 food journal!

2011-05-25T23:17:00.000-04:00

Breakfast, on the fly, I need to stop being so friendly with my snooze button. Quickie Green Smoothie, packet of Spiru-tein Double Fudge Crunch, ground flax meal, wheat germ, scoop of wheat grass powder, and almond milk. It was pretty good, a little thicker than I prefer but the taste was pretty yummy!

LA lites bar, celery sticks, peanut butter.

Lunch @ Showmar's, my usual, large greek salad w/ gyro and a pita, unsweet tea.

Preworkout: Wise popcorn, lol, a little limited on choices here.

Post workout, LA lites bar.

Dinner; leftover spaghetti, yumm. Forgot to take picture.

Dessert: Greek yogurt with blackberries, kiwi and Udo's Oil.

I also made a big batch of green juice for the next couple days so I drank the extra that didn't get put into the jars. And then I made a big batch of veggie pulp flax cracker and noshed on some of those, what a GREAT batch. Will post recipe soon, promise. I am loving these!!

Workout today was an interval run outside this afternoon, HOT! But I did it! Yay!

Weigh in tomorrow!

HMWLC day 53 food journal

2011-05-24T21:37:00.000-04:00

Upon Rising: Apple cider vinegar mixed with water and Amazing Grass Organic Wheat Grass powder. Chug, chug, chug. I am not a big fan of the Amazing Grass Wheat Grass, I just don't like the texture, it mixes and is still grainy, I prefer Barleymax hands down, for both taste and texture, I need to order some! I will be using the Amazing Grass in smoothies going forward... I may try to mix it in juice.

Breakfast-smoothie; banana, strawberries, spinach, ground flax, wheat germ, strawberry-banana spiru-tein powder.

LA lites bar. Veggie-pulp flax cracker.

Lunch: Amy's brown rice, black eyed pea and veggie bowl on top of a romaine salad with Frank's Red Hot Sauce, and crunched up wavy corn chips. Yummy!!

Pre Workout: red pear and almonds

Post workout: la lites bar, veggie pulp crackers, the last of them, time to make a new batch!

Went by the produce stand and picked up some juicing items and honey. This is sourwood honey, it's raw. unfiltered and it's YUMMY!! I made an Apple Cider Vinegar health drink using this honey (1 tsp honey, 2 tsp ACV, and water) So refreshing! I love this!

Dinner: 2 diced tomatoes w/ sea salt and pepper, pouch of tuna.

Snack: red pear diced with dollop of greek yogurt, cinnamon, ginger, and tablespoon of Udo's oil.

Workout today was a circuit style workout. Starting with a 5 minute run on the treadmill and then various weight exercises, rowing, and ab exercises, finished with running 2 laps around the track. Good workout!