Day 3 of challenge 4/20

Alright...my before pictures for this round are worse than my after pictures for the last round, unfortunately. My inbetween week was absolutely horrible all the way around. I was tired, busy, emotional, sleepy and everything all over again all the time. Ate and drank whatever the heck I wanted and didn't work out at all. We were packing, moving, painting and all the while still working. I didn't even weigh myself because I knew I wouldn't like what I saw. I should soon, though, just to see how much progress I make this round.

It's been going good so far, but it's only the start of day 3, haha. Week 3 last round was the hardest for me, so I'm going to do my best to keep my goals in mind and not lose focus. 

My workout yesterday was easier than expected. I think the move kept my muscles working last week. I'm probably still a couple months away from doing a real push up, but I can definitely feel progress in my arms and core. Getting there! 

So my newest Pinterest discovery has me beyond excited! No mess, quick and easy overnight crockpot oats, IN mason jars, ready to go, with no mess left behind. Yeah, I know.

You can check it out here! I seriously love how easy it is, and I never would've thought to put almond butter on my oatmeal! It's sooo yummy, and warm, and comforting. Do yourself a favor and try them.

I've been getting up earlier now that Ninja doesn't work at home anymore and has to get up early to get ready and leave. Even though I make his lunches the night before, I feel like he'll forget part of it in the fridge or something, so I wake up to make sure has everything. Although I've been dead tired from everything, it has actually felt really good getting up earlier. It's something I've been needing to get into the habit of for a long time. My biggest issue now will most likely be trying to actually be productive in the mornings instead of chillin or just laying in bed on my phone. That'll be my goal for next week.

Ooh! I finally tried roasting veggies (after all this time) and I love them! Will be having lots more veggies now! *thumbs up for fiber* :) :P ok...that is all.

Lato guys!

Back in the Ring

That is seriously how it feels, like this new me is in a boxing ring with the old me and there are an endless amount of rounds. My last blog entry was me being knocked out, but I'm back in the game!

I finished my 3/16 challenge, and even with my skipped workouts and few cheat meals, I actually saw results in my after pictures. That was my biggest fear, not seeing any change in the pictures, but I did! So now I'm determined to really hit it hard this next round, especially because this is the last challenge before summer. It would be so nice to actually wear a bathing suit without feeling horrible or constantly trying to cover up. I'll always wear board shorts, but wearing a bikini top without a tank top would be nice.

The next challenge starts on Monday, which just happens to work out perfectly, since we're moving this week and officially on Saturday. So we'll be in our new place for start of this round. I am especially excited about this because of light.

You read that right. Light. Let me explain. Our current house, has THE worst lighting ever, and the walls are all dark, so it was bringing me down. I know it sounds weird, but it was really affecting me. Our new place has light walls, and great lighting. I already know that will help quite a bit.

I also gained some new #fitsisters! I am super excited about this, because it just gives me more determination to really stick to this and keep going! Man...this is the time, seriously, to freakin DO this. I don't want to start 2016 feeling disappointed that I let this time go by and not even trying. I'm gonna do this! I'm doing this! 

Okay, done with my self hype. It felt good. :-P

Well, here are my before and afters:

Catch up

As in...this will be a catch up for you since I haven't posted in awhile. 

I've been in a major funk lately. I've had some so not fit girl foods, and skipped about 4 workouts. Not in a row, though. I don't know what it is. Maybe hormones. All I know is I hate it. I don't want to slip back into apathy. I tend to have unrealistic expectations for myself, so when those aren't met in a short amount of time, I get discouraged and frustrated. Trying to find something to spark my motivation again has been difficult. I thought maybe some nice Nikes, since I've never had nice tennis shoes, (yes, tennis shoes), but I only workout inside on carpet and don't really need shoes. 

We're moving in less than 2 weeks, which is whole different stressful story, but we'll be super close to some friends of ours and they said we could borrow their dogs anytime we wanted. So, I've decided to get up before work, and take them on a long walk. Something active, but not a real "workout". That means I will actually need some nice shoes! 

Here's the deal, though: I just typed that all excitedly, and the feeling passed a second later. Eh. I'm just not excited anymore about it. I've been trying really really hard to push through this, and I am to an extent. Eating healthy again and working out, mostly because of routine and because I don't want to lose momentum for when I'm actually motivated again.

What motivates YOU, my 2 readers? Seriously, I wanna know.

I think it's that by the time I get home from work, I don't feel like making dinner, letting it digest enough, and then go workout, then shower, dry my hair, etc. I'm tired of the same thing every single day. What do I doooo?

Haha, I sat down to write this and totally planned on being super positive, and then this is what comes out. The truth will set you free! Haha...dunno where that came from. It was super dramatic in my head, too.

Stats:

SW:195

CW:177

GW: Happy.

Holy Buns, Batman!

I found this dvd I stole from my mom forever ago. I never had actually seen it yet, though. All it said was, Zumba, Thighs, Buns and Abs. Sweet! I've been needing to mix up my cardio. So I pop this sucker in and half of the video is wasted on translating for English and Spanish. Seriously took up so much time. Not everything needs to be explained. Once I see you start doing something, I'll follow. 

Anyways! Here I am waiting for them to pick it up and actually start moving. I never even stood. I also have NEVER felt my butt be as sore as it has been the past 2 days. The thing is, I've done squats, but never really felt anything. I figure I'm still doing them wrong, but there's something so uncomfortable feeling about doing them, that I never pushed it.

Let me explain. I just recently went to the chiropractor, which was a year overdue. My left leg has been significantly longer than my right for awhile now. So, anytime I would do squats, elbow knees, or mountain climbers, it was just uncomfortable, but not unbearable. I would still rather do the other two instead of squats, though. Mostly because I can never feel it doing anything and I was never really sore from it. 

Back to this lying "Zumba" video. I'm addicted, but also sad. Sad because it's so flippin hard!! But how can you reject what you actually feel working?? So that has been my butt kicker lately. Hehe...see what I did there? Oh man. That was bad. I need coffee.

I keep going back and forth on whether I can actually see progress. I definitely feel better, I would just like to see it more. Maybe it's time for more Skinny Tea of some sort to help lessen any bloating.

Oh! I haven't taken Phentermine for the last 4 days! I stopped so that I could relieve the constipation, but I do still have a months supply. I'm panning on using it over the next couple months and then be done. That makes me happy :)

I finally got a Ninja Master Prep that I'm super excited about because I can finally make some healthy ice cream just in time for Spring and Summer! I'll also be using it to make my Fit Girl Fraps, holla! 

In the same Amazon box, I got some Natural Calm, too, which I tried at my moms while we visited. It helps with a lot of different things, so I'm really excited to use it regularly now.

I think that's all for now.

My stats:

SW:195

CW:178

GW:Happy and Healthy

LOL. I was going to post a picture of what I'm most proud of, which is that you can totally see the muscles in my arms. Well, I tried taking a picture, and you can totally NOT tell that I have muscles in my arms, hahaha. I laugh because I have to. They're there, my camera just can't see them!

Like a Beast

I don't know what it is, but I've been feeling super positive about all of this for the past couple days. I keep telling Ninja how excited I am to see my 4 week progress because I KNOW I'm going to stick to this, like it's not even a question, and that of course I'm going to like seeing results so I'm just gonna keep doing the challenge and that after a few months I could actually wear a sun dress that shows my arms this summer! Whaaaaat! <insert hands over mouth monkey emoji here>

So here I am all on this positivity high making dinner that I just was NOT feelin. Ate most of it begrudgingly, but even then it was light. So come 9:30pm tonight, both Ninja and I are hungry for a snack, which in my mind is a juicy flippin burger from Main Street. Oh man. Well, we're about to go somewhere for a snack and I told him he could choose the place and that I'd just pick the healthiest thing on the menu. He chooses Jack in the Crack. Of course. So I see they have this chicken pita thing that I was going to order, but then Ninja orders egg rolls. (MY egg rolls!!) So I decided I wanted nothing. I didn't want to order anything if I couldn't have what I wanted. Well he ended up with an extra egg roll which I claimed. Yes, I know. We get home. I go into the kitchen and make myself half a pita with turkey meat, lettuce and mozzarella cheese. Didn't even go near his food. I was so proud of myself!

Fast forward to post digestion, and I start my workout which is all cardio today. Did my cardio, added in some squats and push ups, AND, I did the WHOLE Pilates alphabet for the first time ever. 

Like. A. Beast.

Vacation

We're on the plane right now, so I'll publish this when I remember tomorrow. Our little trip was nice. Most definitely too short. We didn't get to spend nearly as much time with friends as we had hoped. Ninja was in a funk at the start of the trip and I was in a funk toward the end. Either way, the time with my mom was so needed. I really really miss her. I won't get to see her until she visits in July, so the wait is gonna be hard. 

We got to build a little table for her front porch. She wanted something to put her coffee on when she sits out in the morning. It was a fun little project. My niece helped me paint it. She's my moms little helper.

We didn't go overboard on food, well, Ninja did a bit, haha. I tried not to overindulge, and it worked. :)

I enjoyed whatever we ate, but I limited a lot. Took my before pictures yesterday for the 3/16 Fit Girls challenge. I even bought workout shorts specifically for them, but now I have something that I can work toward wearing for a jog in public. Some day. :)

I don't feel crazy excited or motivated, though. I'm sure it's because I have so many other feelings taking priority right now. Hoping that changes as soon as we get back into routine at home. I'm sure it will. 

I need to work at taking more food pictures during the challenge and putting forth effort to make them look pretty. So that's my little personal challenge, too. I also haven't made my goal heart yet. Maybe I can do it at work tomorrow. I keep wanting to buy jeans or a dress or something to work toward getting into, but I also don't want to aim toward conforming to a specific piece of clothing. Not sure if that makes any sense. I'd rather get to a point where I'm proud of my progress, and then reward myself and go out and buy something that fits me in that moment. Otherwise, I feel like I'd be disappointed if I do a couple rounds of the challenge and still not see the progress I envisioned at the moment of purchasing said clothing. So I shall decide on my reward when the time comes! I'll just call it my surprise. :)

I'm glad so many of my friends are trying to be health/fitness conscious too. It helps a ton. 

Well, I guess that's all for now.

Trudging On

I haven't worked out for the past 2 days because Ninja (hubby) and I have been gaming late.

So I for sure have to tomorrow, since it'll be day 3.

Finally tried out the Cauliflower Alfredo sauce and it's most definitely yummy!

It's so much more creamy than I expected. Ninja loved it, too! I added the Parmesan cheese for flavor.

What's nice is one batch is enough for dinner and leftovers. You can find the link at the bottom.

Today was my last day on my SkinnyMint Teatox. Sadness. I'm really gonna have to up my 

fiber intake. I'm definitely going to look into another one, though. I love never feeling bloated.

Ninja and I leave for California on Wednesday. I'll have to take my before pictures while on vacation, which will hopefully keep my mind on staying on track! I'm so excited to see my family and friends. We just need to not celebrate all of the excitement with food and drinks. Just some of the excitement. ;-)

Anyways, that is all for now! 

Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce recipe: click here!

Before Pictures

Sorry it took so long! I ended up posting them on Instagram that day and totally forgot about posting them here.

First off, I cheated a bit. I wore high waisted pants, so the pictures are a bit deceiving. I also flexed for the arm picture and didn't think that I probably shouldn't have. Well, I should've taken pictures of them both ways. Either way, I'm taking more "before" pictures next week for the new Fit Girl Challenge. 

I went out for drinks after work yesterday, and had 2 drinks. The first drink made my head hurt a bit, and someone had a strong perfume on, so I had a full on headache. It was one of those outings, though, where I didn't really know everyone that well. I've been trying to be more social, but it's been hard for some reason. 

I hate to think of myself this way, but I've developed some sort of separation/social anxiety. It has happened a few times since being here. I'll get excited for a party or outing and get all dressed up, but then walking toward the door of destination, I get super anxious and have a strong desire to go home. But, I force myself to go in, make small talk, smile, and then it happens. I get super emotional and nervous and have to leave or I'll start crying. I have no idea why. Yesterday, I didn't have hubby with me, so I stuck it out but wanted to leave so bad. I left before the second stop. I had a few blocks to walk to my car, and it's like I couldn't get there fast enough. I was trying not to cry. Called my guy and as I'm trying to talk, it was there, welling up in my throat. Drove home as fast and safely as possible, crying. I get home, change and just lay in bed. Hubby comes in and the tears come again. He was what I needed. Not sure what's going on there, but I hope it gets better.

Finally calmed down aaaand neither of us had eaten dinner, but I still had a headache and he doesn't cook. So...yes...I had a cheat meal. Went to Jack in the Box and I got egg rolls and cheesecake. 

Not gonna lie, it was divine in all of its crunchy glory. I love their egg rolls. So needless to say, I didn't work out either. 

Woke up today, weighed myself and it read 180.8. I got off really quick and looked at the scale suspiciously, like it had done something wrong. I shouldn't be surprised, though. When I'm doing well, have a random cheat meal, I usually still lose, even if just a few ounces. This does wonders for my sanity. I do have to realize my limitations. That only happens when it's ONE cheat meal, not a whole weekend.

Was back at it today, and just finished my workout about a half hour ago. It went really well. I've been doing the Pilates alphabet after my workout, before my stretching. I got the furthest I've ever been today. I got to R!! If you haven't done it before, do yourself a favor and try it out. Click here to check it out. 

Ok! 

Stats:

SW:195

CW:180.8

GW:140

Picture time. :-S

Blogging helps.

Alright, I've had my doubts about blogging. Especially since there's MAYBE 2 people that actually read it, but!, I was on my way home yesterday from work, totally tired, and did NOT feel like cooking. I wanted junk. I was trying to justify driving through somewhere just this once, and do you know what I thought of? How if I did that, I'd have to write about it in my blog. Not only did I not want to let down my 2 readers, but I didn't want this to be another fitness and health journal that I end up looking back at and ripping the pages out, feeling disappointed.

I seriously love the Fit Girl online community. It's so awesome to see that so many other girls are going through it, too. The pain, the gain, the food, the victories, it's all so encouraging. I came across one particular fit girls page who inspired me. She posted her "before" pictures, but you could tell it was very difficult for her to do. The reason she said she could post them, was because she KNEW she was going to get better. I love that, it was so empowering to see someone post pictures of what they are insecure about. Why can't I do that? Uhh...because I'm scared! The thought horrifies me. But wait, I CAN do it...I was just choosing not to. I was letting my fear overcome me. I don't want to be that person. Thank you @fitgirl.jiiittt!

So to go along with that, I will be posting some current "before" pictures, as soon as I buy some workout shorts. I suppose I could do my workout pants, you just don't see the progress as clearly. Hmm... I'll do both, because I KNOW there will be progress, however big or small, due to trying my best. 

Pictures to come later today :-D :-( :-S :-/ :-)

Now that's more like it!

I'm finally starting to feel better. Still coughing and blowing my nose but not nearly as much and I'm not as stuffy.

I did like I said and got back on track yesterday. Ate good, and oh my gosh I worked out!! It was pathetic, though. I did my warm up song, did my circuit training as best I could, and could only do 1 song of cardio before I cooled down with stretching. I was done for. My poor muscles had just dwindled down and my lungs felt like they were doing their job for 3 people at once. I felt pretty crummy afterward, but it was nice to hear husband talking me up. 

Definitely helps me to want to keep going, yet again.

I need to get back into food. Being creative with veggies and such. Well, I have 1 week before we visit the fam bam. I'm determined to do well this week, with food and my workouts. 

Alright! My stats:

SW:195

CW:183.2

GW:140

More like one more fat girl

Bleeggghhhfkndknwknjfeijef!

This cold TOTALLY screwed me up. My Phentermine hasn't even worked since I've been sick so I've just been eating like a cow. Doesn't help that I've also come upon that time of the month. Haven't been able to work out either because this cough has taken over my lungs. I'm so bummed, guys. 

I just want to feel better and get back on the wagon.

I'm "planning" to start again today, so we'll see if my will power is stronger than Miss Flow and Sir Douche Cold. I just hate thinking that all of my trying was for nothing. Sadness.

Okay, so I wrote all of that ^ last night and saved as a draft so I could publish it this morning.
I do feel a bit more positive today. Well, more motivated anyway. I weighed myself this morning, which was rough. I know it's not super accurate, just because I'm right in the middle of my period. Aaaanyways.

Here are my stats:
SW: 195
CW: 185.2
GW: 140

There were no survivors.

I dropped my family and friends off at the airport today. Gladly there were no tears this time, being that we're going to visit them in 3 weeks. It's always easier to say see you later rather than goodbye. We had a great and interesting weekend. When we had picked them up on Friday, we informed them that we had been fighting off a cold, and they informed us that 3 of them were also sick. Great start. 

Well, while the hubs was actually getting over his cold, the cold was just ascending upon me, like a dark cloud waiting to consume my being. I am seriously sick, guys. My nose is sore from blowing so hard and constantly. My throat feels like I swallowed a blender. So not ideal.

To make matters worse, a few of us had constipation issues. It's about to get to some nitty gritty, so feel free to skip to the next paragraph if you don't think you can handle it. Alright, so normally I have this issue to a certain extent since I take Phentermine, but my Teatox has been helping. I haven't had my tea for the past 3 days, though. :( So! After some alcohol, we had the genius idea to use a suppository. Not a terrible idea. But there were 3 of us...and we took it at the same time. Now, I don't know if I mentioned this, but I have 1 bathroom. Yeah. Good times. Since I was hosting, I couldn't keep them from the bathroom, so hubby ended up rushing me to our nearest grocery store. I'm sure he was proud to be my husband that night.

Now, you would think being sick would keep my food and alcohol intake low...well, you would be mistaken. I didn't by any means binge, but I ate way more than I should've. But wow, did I enjoy it! Now the problem is, I semi expected this. I did not however, expect this crazy cold. I thought it would be like everyone else's, light and quick. Nope. So, now I'm not really sure when I can work out. Which sucks big time. But what I can do, is eat clean and healthy again. I'm getting back on the fitness train as soon as I feel up to it. I won't be weighing myself until then. 

I will be leaving you with a picture of my motivation. 

3 new sports bras! Yay!

Semi Impending Doom

So I've been crazy busy the last few days cleaning the house and doing laundry and getting our rooms ready so with that came being really tired and having no time to work out. I hadn't worked out for 2 days and here I was going on 3. (Side note:I've been fighting off a cold for a week.) Well, last night, even after tons of cleaning and laundry and making dinner, I got my butt to work out at 11pm. I always keep that rule in mind: Never go 3 days without working out. Wellll let me tell ya why, even after not working out for 2 days, last night was ROUGH. Here I thought I was doing so well with my thigh/butt muscle gain...ha! I felt it, guys...pretty bad. But! I did it, finished, and felt great after.

Now, here is why there may be impending doom upon me: my family is coming to visit this weekend. My mom, sister, aunt, and 2 friends are flying in this evening and I'm not sure how well I will fare.

Hubby eats to live, he doesn't enjoy it like I do, so I don't get to enjoy my food WITH someone. But my family, we love it, together. Not to mention my mom is the Yoda of cooking. Yeah, I went there.

Now here's the deal, I could take my Phentermine, and I most likely won't over indulge. I just haven't decided if I want to or not. Plus! We already have reservations at the BEST place for brunch. Seriously, I mentioned the name of this restaurant at a party and the first thing someone said, "that bacon, though." Yeah. That bacon. It's got this red pepper honey glaze stickiness and is to die for. Did I mention this place is a buffet? 😔 Impending doom.

I'm not even sure if I'll be able to work out while they're here, either. Hopefully we do something active, like go for a bike ride or go ride horses. I'm really gonna do my best, guys. Really. I'll let you know how it goes. I don't want to lose sight of the big picture. I want to feel great and look how I feel! I can do that. I can.

Onto another subject! Brownies!...oh wait, that's still food. Well I mean, look at the name of my blog. Geez. So, ahem! Brownies! Hubby had a sweet tooth a couple nights ago, and I had been wanting to try out these black bean brownies, so I suggested brownies. Made them, and LOVED them, as did he. I was super surprised. He normally doesn't like anything that tastes "healthy". That's how yummy these were. They definitely don't taste or feel like normal brownies, but they're more fudgey. Mmm, and only 115 calories per serving. Holla! 

Click here for the recipe!

In closing, don't give up on brownies, just make better ones. ;)

Something for all of us to remember:

Skinny Mint Teatox

I started a 28 day teatox from SkinnyMint about 2 weeks ago.  You drink the Morning Boost every morning and the Night Time Cleanse every other night. I really like it so far. The morning tea is a bit more fruity and floral, and the night time is definitely more herbal tasting with a bit of a kick. The night time I've been drinking right before bed and I don't really feel the effects until the next day around 11-12. It's really gentle, no stomach cramps or anything. I really like it since Phentermine constipates me. It is a bit pricey, so I probably won't do another one for a few months. But I'm definitely going to have to up my fiber intake until then. 

I can't really see a huge energy boost in the mornings, but definitely more than I would normally have. What I love most is that I haven't felt bloated AT ALL since drinking it.

For someone looking for something like this, I would recommend it, but I'm sure there are plenty of great teatoxes out there with similar results.

23 Years of Fat

I turned 23 today. I feel my age, which I know is young, except for when I work out. When I work out, I feel like a 93 year old lifelong smoker trying to run up a 90 degree angled hill. I texted my husband when I got to work about this realization. I've never in my life been "thin". I can't believe I've never lived a day in my life as a healthy, fit and in shape person. Even though this is super depressing, it seriously just fueled my determination. 

I've been following the Fit Girls Guide for the past couple weeks which is pretty much clean and healthy eating while working out 6 days a week. I was doing well except for this past weekend when I ate "normally". I gained what I had lost :(  but then lost again :) which is why hubby tells me to stop weighing myself every day.  I can definitely see progress in my muscle gain, especially in my arms. Hubby says he can feel my muscles in my back and sides, too. It's nice not feeling like death EVERY time I workout. Honestly, I can handle working out, it's the food part that is SO incredibly hard for me. I love food. We have a love/hate relationship. Also a very abusive relationship...for both of us. So this is definitely a daily struggle, but not as bad as it could be. I'm taking Phentermine to help with my appetite and cravings. 

So my stats:

Starting weight: 195

Current Weight: 181

Goal Weight: Healthy (around 140 would be nice)

Maybe I'll post pictures someday...when my progress is significantly evident, haha.