savoring breakfast

Last year I found a beautiful piece of ceramic on Etsy to eat my oatmeal in for breakfast.  I liked it so much, I bought a second one and leave it at work.  On Tuesdays, a chef in the cafe makes steel cut oat "stirfry" and adds in the mix-ins of choice.  It's a yummy way to start the day for only $1.99.  It's actually so much food that I split it between two days.

Today my oats include:  blueberries, peaches, raspberries, walnuts & cinnamon.  Yum!!

Third week of skipping my usual muffin for breakfast, with only breaking down ONCE since the start of this DietBet challenge.  See, normally I would have something at 7 am and another something at 9:30 am, both carb-related and probably not the healthiest choices.  Feeling like I've conquered the need to get more than one "breakfast" from the cafe, and saving money in the process.

it comes down to choices

Finally made it back into the gym today over my lunch hour - biked 5 miles and added a few machines for a total of 50 minutes exercise.

Healthy choices for lunch, but I really, REALLY want a candy bar right about now.  What is it with me and wanting a sweet after a meal?! I mean, really.

I opted for this instead...  and it tastes good.  And is obviously a much healthier choice than the 280 calories and 100 pennies I would have spent on a Snickers bar from the vending machine.

yeah me.

it's the little things.

dietbet challenge

Tomorrow starts the challenge!  Today I weighed in and adjust my MFP weight and begin tracking food again.  No more junk.

I started a post on the DB website to get my Day 1 thoughts in order. Not sure if I'll keep up with posting in so many locations for 28 days, but maybe that will help me stay accountable.  Guess I'll see how it goes and how busy this month will be.

Ready...  set...  go!  Excited to be taking this month (my birthday is in two weeks) to get back to me. Some bad eating habits crept back in this year and I cannot wait to kick them to the curb.  They say it takes 21 days to start a new habit.  I'm ready!

Kids are back in school and it's time to focus on packing better lunches for myself while I pack theirs. I even started today with a protein packed smoothie for breakfast instead of my normal muffin.

I actually stopped weighing myself daily this summer so it wasn't a whole lot of fun to step on the scale this morning for the weigh-in photo.  I also started boot camp last month and know that muscle gain is part of the reason my scale is up...  so I am hoping that with my eating habits back in check and the continued exercise, I can meet my 4% loss for this challenge.

Interestingly enough, my goal weight for this challenge is slightly more than what I weighed last summer, before the creep began! The hard part is going back in to MFP and admitting the weight gain.
Oh well, here we go...
Carpe Diem!

Just joined another challenge that also starts tomorrow - why not!  Double-down against myself and really make these habits and weight loss stick!

I can.

5 stations today:

• 3 rounds of high intensity, 3 of secondary movement. Each station.
• 75 attempts to get it right, keep moving and push to the last rep. 

Don't stop.
Don't lose your lunch.

3 more sessions and I'm on my own again.


I can and I will. 

only slightly overheated on this humid day!

fitbit & fit body boot camp

While it may seem like I've fallen off the face of the earth once again, it's only in blogLand that I cannot keep up with life.

Since completing a work competition, I've been wearing my "awarded" FitBit religiously!  Received it sometime toward the end of May and it has helped spirit my mood into walking a few more {thousand} steps a day - as well as tracking my {interrupted} sleep every night.

I've also purchased a 15-day pass to Fit Body Boot Camp. Two friends also joined me in this quest and we've been having a grand time challenging one another (and our aching, creaking bodies) to yet one more day!

Thirty minutes of some intensive training and my body is ready to head home after a long day and put my feet up!

It has been fun.  Yes, exercise can be fun.  I've now seen enough familiar faces to know that this type of exercise works. They've shown proof with their before/after photos.

Will I continue with this 15-day pass is finished?  Probably not in this formal setting due to the cost of the program.  I will, however, have gleaned enough knowledge to continue working these types of exercises into my daily routine.  Mixed with yoga and cardio, I think I'm on my way to finally reaching my weight loss goal.  If I'm being totally honest with myself, it probably won't happen by my birthday, as I had hoped, but at least halfway there is attainable!

Biggest downfall?  Still trying to cut the SUGAR cravings and intake.

 It's not a torture chamber.  Honest.  It feels good.  It does a body good.  The mind too!

This week will be sessions 8 and 9 out of the total package.  I will finish up the 15 before the kids go back to school in August, and will establish a new routine then.

Always busy, but never too busy to exercise!

35 miles

Not bad if I do say so myself!  A total of 35 miles on the stationary bike and weight training 3x this week. Tomorrow is yoga for 90 minutes at the Hindu Temple.  Still waiting on my FitBit to arrive.  I'd be curious to see how it tracks my day for me, including sleep.  I've had a bit of an anxious week and haven't slept well.

Friday

I biked every day this week.

snowstorm - ghost town in the gym today!

Now if only it would stop snowing, so maybe I could get OUTSIDE and get some exercise too!

just be

i love this quote by Steve Maraboli

“There is nothing more rare, 

nor more beautiful, 

than a woman being herself; 

comfortable in her perfect imperfection. 

To me, that is the true essence of beauty.”

three years ago today,

I gave LIFE for the final time

to a beautiful baby boy

today,

I honor him and his family

for the JOY they have

unknowingly

given me

by allowing me

to be a part of their story

and for all of the imperfections

that now adorn my well-loved & journeyed body

I shout,

"Amen, job well done!"