Victories- on and off the scale

So, this week, I decided I really needed to get back on track. Since I joined the gym and did boot camp, I haven't stayed working out or eating well for more than 2 weeks. I'd start and then something would happen: I went to Colorado for a weekend, ate like shit, and then came back and ate the same way! I keep falling off the bandwagon!

Then I keep seeing people who have lost massive amounts of weight, in the 100s you know, and I'm like, if they can do it so can I!

But it is hard. So anyway, I premade my dinners for this week (skinny taco chicken chili) and ate light at work (since I've been at work everyday during lunch, I ate grilled shrimp skewers or a cup of lobster bisque) and my snacks have mostly been light as well. But if you know me, you know snacking is my downfall, so it wasn't the best of the best (check out my diary on myfitnesspal, you'll see!) and although I could've done better overall, I lost 3 lbs this week. Not bad right? Although that's not much from what I have weighed, I haven't actually been 143 since early 2013. So here I am..a year later.. 

Besides my better eating habits, I went to the gym 2x. I need to make it more often! And if anyone that reads this goes to good life fitness and wants to be my gym/boot camp buddy, let me know!!!!

So anyway, one more thing. I also had a non scale victory yesterday. My son decided he didn't want the same dinner we'd been having for the last 3 days and asked for Mac and cheese. Fine, but I didn't want to make a big pot for just him, cause it'd go to waste. So after boot camp yesterday, I stopped by KFC which has small sides of Mac and cheese, perfect for my little man. I was so tempted to get the mashed potato bowl or a Pepsi, but decided that I had food and water at home! Um, yay!! ;)

Xo,

C

#transformationtuesday

So, I never partake in the hashtag madness. Ok, not never, but mostly never. I never do #wcw #mcm and definitely not #transformationtuesday. But, I decided, I would today. I am not by any means where I want to be. But I am really proud of where I came from. Like I've said before, my heaviest was in 2012 when I weighed 162 lbs at my heaviest. I'm only 5' so that's a lot of weight to be carrying around. After a lot of stress, some better eating, and becoming a lot more active, I lost 16 lbs and I've kept it off. Sure, 16 lbs isn't that much and it isn't even where I want to be, but I'm proud that I accomplished something I never thought I could do. So here's my #transformationtuesday picture, and here's to the next 16 lbs ;)

Me in the yellow dress is my 21st birthday in 2012, the picture on the right is of me in November of 2013.

Today: food!!

I've found this whole weight-loss, healthier eating journey to be VERY hard. I looove me some hot cheetos and Wild Cherry Pepsi is my weakness. Actually, margaritas are my weakness. Whatever, I have a lot of weaknesses. None of these items are on my "to-eat" list lately, which is great. I don't remember the last time I had hot cheetos!

The biggest struggle I have is breakfast. As long as I can remember, breakfast has been more of a brunch on the weekends for me. I've always been "too busy" in the morning to make breakfast. Lately, I've decided that's one of my biggest goals, get something in the morning. And I've done pretty well, I haven't gotten breakfast in every day, but the majority, I do!

A lot of day it's eggs and toast or cereal or oatmeal or a breakfast bar, pretty bland and boring, but it's something right? Well today has been by far my fav! I had seen a picture on pinterest of toast with smashed avacado and a sunny side up egg on it. Looked yummy! I don't actually keep eggs on hand (I use Egg Beaters all natural egg whites for my scrambled eggs in the morning) so I couldn't do it exactly like the picture, but I did come up with something super tasty!

I scrambled my egg whites, put a small amount of Hormel Real Bacon Bits in the mix, and added a little bit of Kraft Mexican Four-Cheese to top it off. I toasted a piece of bread and spread on spicy guacamole mix by Wholly Guacamole (you could definitely just mash up a half or more of an avocado and add salt & pepper). Then, I added the scrambled eggs to the top and seriously, yum! Super filling, what a great way to start my morning!

This great breakfast was a solid 242 calories, awesome! :) I'm definitely fueled for the rest of the day!


What's your favorite breakfast? Share here!

XO,
C*

Asking for good vibes this way!

My stomach is in knots and my head hurts. I need some good vibes this way! I don't want to let the details out for the whole world to see, yet, in case it doesn't all go like I want it to. So please excuse my vagueness and just think a good quote at me, or say a small prayer of hope for me, I would really appreciate it!

Thanks so much to all of the people who support & uplift me, I truly appreciate it.

xo
C*

Goals, goals, goals.

I've been talking about my goals and what not, so I decided I'd let you all know exactly what I'm aiming for!
Long Term Goal:
1. First & foremost, I'm always striving to be a better mother. I definitely do my best every day, but my best isn't always what I'm looking for. I strive to be more hands on and give my son more 1 on 1 time every day!
2. Get a routine & stick to it! Eat better, sleep better, be better.
3. Be a better & more passionate daughter, sister, & partner.
Short term goals:
1. This has been a goal for awhile, but I need to get there. I want to be in the 120s again and love my body! (aiming for mid April)
2. I want to be better in school, be more involved in my classes. (every week until May!)
3. Eat breakfast every morning (get this down for 21 days. Then it becomes habit)
4. Be able to do a pullup in boot camp class! (Be strong enough and brave enough to!)(aim for beginning of April)
5. Make it to the gym at least 4x a week. (bonus: go on a Saturday or Sunday!) (every week starting this week!)

Someone once told me to make goals that have some sort of obtainable time limit. Then you push for it so it gets done by that time. I have these goals and I really want to stick to them!

Yay!

OMG. I just got back from boot camp and shit, I got my ass kicked!! The weather is beautifuuuul out so we ran outside.... A lot. Hello, shin splints! But it was great to get outside and sweat.

This week, I promised myself to get back on the grind. So, getting plenty of sleep, waking up early, eating breakfast, and making it to the gym at least 4x this week is my start. I've also started using myfitnesspal again. If I'm tracking my calories, that helps me keep my eating in check. 

How do you keep yourself accountable? Do you give yourself prizes if you meet your goals? Stickers, high fives? Let me know! 

Also, share your favorite workouts with me! I love new workouts! 

Xo

C

No excuses.

I kind of hate that. I have many reasons why I don't work out, make it to the gym, do a homework assignment, or drink pop instead of water. I just don't want to sometimes, or other times life just gets in the way. I have a three year old, so doing things I had planned on doing, don't always get done. And I don't want to look at that as an excuse. Using my child as a reason to NOT do something rubs me the wrong way. I hang out with him, play with him, read to him, or just cuddle with him instead of working out, doing homework, or even going to work sometimes (sorry!), and I'd definitely rather be spending time with him instead of doing other things when I can.
But at the same time, I want to show my child that I do like to do "mommy" things like being responsible, healthy, and happy. So yes, I do make time to work out, I do make time to do homework, and I do make time to hang out with other people. Is it always easy? No, I have a lot on my plate. But every one does, that's just life.

Now that I got that off my chest, here's the real reason for my post.
I needed something quick to do during my 1 hour break from research/paper writing for my crim class. A quick workout sounded great! Although I am a member of a great gym (good life fitness, check them out!) I didn't want to trek out in the cold, with my three year old. Too much work for this stressed out mama! So I explored pinterest instead and found this "No excuses workout". Perfect!

Although it wasn't a long workout, and it wasn't even THAT hard, I was sweating by the end of it and it was 20 minutes well spent! So if you have 20 minutes RIGHT NOW to put in to something you might later put off, DO IT! Got research to do for a class? Take 20 minutes to start. Need to get a workout in? You've got 20 minutes. Haven't talked to your parents in a week? YOU'VE GOT 20 MINUTES! I know you spend 20 minutes or more doing other things that help you procrastinate (Chicago PD, holla!) but just take a break and do something you know you should be doing. You'll feel better, trust me!

P.S. I just recently bought this heart rate monitor watch! It's amazing. Tracks your heart rate, calories burned, and duration of your workout! It's really nice when you're working out and want to how many calories your burning! Get it here!

Weight loss is a bitch.

I've told myself that I need to lose 20 lbs forever. In high school I was tiny, size 0-2. After having Cole, I gained about 45 lbs during my pregnancy and lost a lot of it while breast feeding him during the first year. But as soon as I stopped, the weight came flooding back. I got to my heaviest ever at 162 (ugh, I'm embarrassed about that) and felt like a huge slob! So, at that point, I told myself I needed to lose 40+ lbs and I got overwhelmed. That's a lot. And I didn't educate myself on great ways to lose weight (like portion control, healthier eating habits, and exercise) so I freaked out and became unhealthy. I got in to a habit of limiting my calories so much that I was hungry all of the time and then I'd give in to all of my craving at the same time. So, the weight never came off.

It wasn't until I got happier and healthier, I got results. 

But now I'm here. 22, 145 lbs, and stuck in a rut. I'm a mother and a student and I have a job, that a lot of times I make excuses of why it's ok that I ordered pizza twice this week, or why I didn't make it to the gym at all this week. Indulging in cravings or skipping the gym every once in awhile is not all bad. We all need a break! But if you have a goal, if you want to be healthier, lose weight, gain muscle, get an A+ on your paper, get that promotion, you can't quit when it gets too challenging, too tiresome, or it seems like you'll never reach your goal. Keep going! Cause the time is going to pass anyway, might as well spend it doing something that will benefit you! 

And that's where I'm stuck. Sometimes lounging on the couch watching One Tree Hill, eating ice cream sounds better than getting my butt kicked at boot camp (ok, it always sounds better!!) but I feel much better getting an hour work out in and then lounging with the tv. 

So, let's get together and empower each other, let's reach our goals together. It can be anything!: health/fitness, school, work, as a parent, anything!

Leave me a comment and let me know what you'll be working on for the month of March! 

Xo,

C