Today We're Getting Real Honest about Fitness & Weight {Real Talk}

How many times have y'all seen a headline like the one above? How many times have you written one yourself? I took a cursory look through my blog [using the Weight tagline] and I personally have around 20 or so posts dealing with my body image and fitness level. Some are recounting HIGHS [Whole30, the Spartan and BODYPUMP] while other posts detail how unhappy I feel in my skin and how much I wish I could change my body.

Honest truth and reason for this post… I'm the heaviest I've EVER been in my life and right now I am trying to figure out how to shed the extra 9 pounds I picked up while gallivanting through Europe and moving to a new state. My discipline was nothing while in Europe [more on that later] and I also struggled with eating healthy while at my parent's home and even here in Tennessee. I'm not happy for multiple reasons; my clothes don't' fit right, I'm out of shape, it's bathing suit season at the lake and I just feel blah.

I know what I need to do to get back to where I was before I left. I, like many people, just wish it was a bit easier. Le Husband and I ate our way through Europe and I can honestly say I only regret four meals/snacks over the entire trip. I drank two Cokes I really didn't need [nor did I enjoy], the pomme frites in Paris/Versailles were a lil over the top and a nutella breakfast muffin was a complete disappointment while in the Milan trains station. Other than those few blahs, everything else we ate was delicious and PART of our journey. We ate and drank what we wanted because we knew food was such an important part of the cultural experience. A bazillion delicious croissants while in France, lots of pasta and pizza in Italy and of course, all the gelato EVERYWHERE. Don't get me wrong, I'm not upset about the delicious food I indulged in, I wouldn't change anything about our trip. We worked out when we could [thank you TRX and cruise gym] and we walked close to 200 miles seeing all the sights. It is what is and I'm okay with they why, just not the what.

Originally I anticipating a quick jump back into healthy eating when we finally made it home. However, our first two nights home were spent eating out with dear friends and the food at each place was amazingly delicious, just not healthy in the least. Le Husband left to visit his family a few days after we arrived home so I figured 'hey, I can just do meals for one, no big deal'.  But then all the texts and calls came pouring in and suddenly I was eating out four days a week for dinner, plus buying meals for lunch because I hadn't been to the store to buy my normal healthy meals. And then of COURSE there was all the celebratory cake and drinks at work.

Home life was not any easier, mostly because I let myself get lazy and just ate what my parent's ate. Not that they eat poorly or unhealthy, they just eat differently than I do now and I know what works for my body and I failed to prep or plan. The same situation has happened down here in Tennessee. Le Husband and I are trying to mold into my aunt and uncle's routine but it's not quite ours so things food wise are still off. We've had delicious cookout meals, fish tacos, and fajitas but all of the meals have been accompanied by a glass of wine, margaritas or extra food stuff we normally never have in the house. I mean how do you say no to homemade peach cobbler after you helped slice the peaches?

But today marks the spark of change. Today I'm documenting my next fitness journey. I've taken measurements, stood on the scale [barf] and began planning my attack. It is not going to be easy, it is not going to be fun and it is not something I'm honestly looking forward to doing. I will start saying no to things I know won't help me reach my goal and start revamping my workout routine. Now that I'm teaching BODYPUMP twice a week [give or take] I need to invest in my strength training so I can lead by example. My first class back from the trip was a huge wake up call and now that I have the tools at my disposal it's time to start taking action.

My new routine will consist of running, strength training, swimming [in a pool or the lake] and of course a lil bit of water skiing, too. If I get my act together I'll document my work outs to share [if that's of any interest to anyone] or just to have for myself. I'm also currently studying for my AFAA license so I think tracking food and workouts will be helpful if I ever want to take the next step in training.

Props to you if you've made it through the whole post, I know it was quite wordy and honestly it a was mostly for me to put out in this public forum for accountability. Hopefully by the fourth of July I'll have some results to share and I'll be feeling better about myself.

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Smile, it's almost Friday. Have a wonderful day, friends! < 3

Pork Overload {Recipe Files} & Whole24 {Round Three}

One of the tough things about Whole30 [in my opinion] is the lack of CRUNCHY foods. You aren't allowed to fry anything so even though meals are super tasty [ Salmon w/citrus salsa, Spaghetti Squash, Zucchini Poppers] they are all pretty soft. My palate was craving some crunch and after perusing recipes I came across the two below. BOTH are super easy and really jazz up food in my opinion.

Porkitos aka Prosciutto Crisps: 
I found this recipe via Nom Nom Paleo and it is super simple. I'm talking you need five things simple: prosciutto, tin foil, cookie sheet, wire rack and your oven. Full disclosure, Whole30 prosciutto is NOT cheap, but understand these cracklins can be used in multiple different ways and don't contain those nasty sulfates in regular prosciutto.

Nom Nom has great step by step instructions, but here is the quick and dirty. Preheat oven to 350. Spread out prosciutto pieces on a tin foil covered cookie sheet [to keep clean up to minimum and to keep prosciutto from sticking]. Place sheet in oven for 10 -15 minutes and watch your crisps the last few minutes so they don't burn.

When they are done, remove from oven and place pieces on a wire rack to cool. They will crisp while cooling so don't fret if they still feel soft when you move them from the pan.

Once they cool, place in an airtight container in the fridge to keep fresh. I added pieces to my salads, deli roll ups, eggs, and sometimes just snacked on a piece when I wanted something crunchy. Easy, tasty and functional, YUM!

Bacon Wrapped Dates

What You Need
Dates [preferably pitted]
Whole30 compliant bacon [tough to find but is available at Whole Foods]
Backing Sheet
Tin Foil

Make sure you buy the pitted dates, otherwise you'll have to slice into each one to remove the pit [totally the pits, hah]

Cut your bacon in half [or thirds depending on how many dates you are wrapping] then wrap your date with a piece of bacon.

Place on cookie sheet [on tin foil to make clean up easier] and bake at 350 for 10 - 20 minutes. You want the bacon to be a bit crispy but you don't want to overcook the dates.

When the dates are done, remove the pan from the oven and then remove the dates from the pan. Place them on a paper toweled plate to get rid of the excess fat. Note: These are on more one the DONE side because I HAAAAAAAAATE soft bacon, seriously grosses me out. Many other versions are a lot less crisp so make sure you don't over cook them.

Plate up to serve a party or place in air tight container to store in the fridge. I will have one or two a day for an extra special treat while eating Whole30. The sweetness from the date and the smokiness from the bacon is perfect to curb any form of sweet or crunchy craving. If you REALLY want to up the ante - and aren't eating Whole30 - stuff the dates with a lil goat or manchego cheese for a deliciously gooey center.

Whole24 aka almost Whole30 part three. 

Yup, part three y'all. Well, kind of. I skipped the last three day because we were in Orlando for kickball and I was meeting THE GIRLS for a HH. Ain't nobody got time for Whole30 on a blate, right?

After a super diligent winter and spring I really let my diet and fitness routine go over the summer. All the weight I lost doing my previous Whole30s was right back on my hips because I was indulging in whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I'm talking Starbucks for breakfast, Chipotle for lunch and Z burger or pizza for dinner. Yeah, it was bad and I paid for it in my bathing suit and in my energy. I knew something had to change and really wanted to get back on track before the holidays. I like to indulge in homemade treats and a few extra glasses of champs during celebratory times and KNEW I would feel like doodoo come January if I didn't get everything in check. 

I CONFESS, this was not a complete Whole30. I only ate a Whole30 diet for 24 days so I did miss out on the extra six days of benefits. I also did NOT follow the true Whole30 template. There were snacks -- healthy ones -- and I did not adhere to the portion aspect. I simply ate ONLY foods allowed on the Whole30 program [which you can find *here*] and tried to limit my complex carbs as much as possible.

This round fluctuated between being the easiest of the attempts and the hardest. Easy in the fact I knew what was coming, I was comfortable with the program and I had a list of foods I enjoyed. Hard in the fact I was doing Whole30 while Le Husband was just counting his macros and I also weighed myself everyday. Watching Le Husband eat whipped cream, homemade pasta noodles and Pollo Rico rice was NOT fun at all, but I stuck to my guns and didn't cheat which made me feel awesome at the end. Checking my weight everyday was awesome in the beginning because I lost four pounds almost immediately, but after week two my weight pretty much plateaued which was TOUGH when I was eating so clean. There was a point during the last week where I turned to Le Husband and said "If this wasn't the last week, I would quite just now because this is so frustrating". I totally understand why they don't let you weight yourself until the end of the Whole30 program, it would be SUPER discouraging the first time to watch numbers fluctuation so much. 

Here are my Round Three results:

I honestly thought my weight was going to drop more because of everything I packed on, however this round I was still lifting heavy and doing BODYPUMP classes and training so I leaned up more than lost weight. Two inches of my stomach was awesome and almost two off my dorito was even better. Le Husband even told me he noticed my dorito last week so that was great to hear as well. FYI: We call the dorito the spot where your body starts to triangle down to your waist, kind of like a Dorito chip. Basically it is two inches above the belly button if you want a point on the body to measure.

Overall this program helped me reset and get me closer to where I want to be health and body wise. I am ADAMANT about continuing Whole30esque [90% -10%] until Thanksgiving and then will only indulge in homemade treats and a few drinks splurges here and there. Whole30 is work, good work, but still work so I don't want to go off the train like I did this summer. I already gained two+ pounds back after my eating bonanza in Orlando so it's back on the healthy train until Thanksgiving. I'm slowly wrapping my head around not getting to my goal 'weight' because of my muscle, so now my goal is to stay lean and keep these abs as long as possible. #babyabsshowingupfinally #pleasedontleaveme

These are me flexing, my abs do NOT look like this just standing. #iwish

Have you tried Whole30 yet? If so, what did you think? Are you interested in trying Whole30? I personally think everyone [except prego mamas and vegetarians] should try it once, just to TRULY understand their body. I've had quite a few people ask me about my experience and I have NO problem chatting via email about my thoughts. You can check out my previous Whole30s *here* and *here*!

linking up here here here here here and here today 

Goodbye...Hello

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Goodbye, Vegas trip.

Goodbye, month of chill weekends. You were good to us and I'm recharged and ready for the next month of crazy.

Goodbye, days above 60 degrees, I will miss your warmth.

Goodbye, bike rides into the city. Time to put Babs into storage until springtime.

Goodbye, getting home when the sun is still out. #bootodrivinghomeinthedark

Goodbye, superfluous five pounds of fat on my body.

Goodbye, mornings without jackets or scarves.

Goodbye, easy month at work. The holiday frenzy is right around the corner.

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Hello, last kickball tournament of 2015. Please be good to us, pretty please.

Hello, FLORIDA BLATE! So excited for tonight!

Hello, daylight savings time. Thank you for bringing an extra hour of sleep.

Hello, possible OSU game.

Hello, fittastic body. It is SOOOO good to see you again.

Hello, cold mornings where I can see my breath.

Hello, vacation time!

Hello, Thanksgiving with Le Husbands family. I am beyond ready to cuddle my two nephews and bask in family time. I am so blessed to have such an incredible extended family and always look forward to our time back in Ohio.

Hello, turkey, rolls, stuffing, cranberries, potatoes wine, chocolate pie, indulgent treats, football games, after dinner naps, homemade gifts and family time.

Hello, heaters, over-sized sweatshirts, heavy comforters, jackets, mittens and hats.

Hello, BODYPUMP teaching opportunities.

Hello, start of the holiday season. Nine Fridays until Christmas, who is excited?!?!?!

Crack, Crack, Cracklin Chicken {Whole30 Week 3} {Recipe Files}

Hello, ladies! Thanks so much for your sweet compliments yesterday, y'all are the best. I'm loving my hair and am excited to be so close to ending my Whole30 journey. While there have been some ehh moments the food and recipes I've found have all been pretty phenomenal. So far my favorite has to be Nom Nom Paleo's Cracklin Chicken. I like a lot of her recipes, but this one is amazing. The best part is the crunchy cracklins, something many of our recipes have been lacking. Don't get me wrong, Whole30 is delicious, but a lot of the foods are soft. The delicious crunch is my FAVORITE part of this recipe.

Michelle does such an amazing job with her explanation of this recipe, so I'm going to have y'all follow her directions instead of mine. No, it's not a cop out, I just think it's best to leave something this great in the hands of the true artist. I'll just let my pictures do the talking this week. You can get Michelle's recipe *here*!

What you'll need to create Cracklin chicken.

I highly suggest you get a splatter cover, this dish can get kind of messy.

Pure cracklin goodness.

Don't forget to let your chicken rest five minutes, it gets the cracklins even tastier.

Voila, a delectabley crunchy and healthy chicken dinner. ENJOY!

Since this is our last full week of Whole30 I really want to try some new recipes. I'm looking at this one, this one and hopefully this one as well. Fingers crossed for a fun week of cooking!

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Whole30 Week 3 Thoughts
I'm choosing to document my journey daily so I have something to look back on at the end of the program. I didn't just do this program for Lent nor did I just do it as a diet. I really wanted to try and test my willpower and see what happens when I actually stick to something for 30 days. Feel free to skip if it's too much text, I totally understand. 

Day 15 Monday: HALF WAY THERE!!! Oh my goodness, I'm so excited to start the downhill in this program! SOOOOO stinking excited! Last night was rough meal prepping, but I got up off my tired hiney and did it and I'm reaping the rewards of a good meal day. Slept well last night, not fabulous but pretty well so I'll take it. I honestly wasn't as exhausted as I expected to be with the loss of sleep, so cheers to Whole30, again. I mean, I was a bit tired but nothing insane. We had a delicious slow cooker pork shank tonight and it was perfect for a couple that wanted to chill out after a long weekend. Cheers to halfway!

Day 16 Tuesday: Today was pretty good. I wasn't too munchy which was awesome. I messed up on my dressing though, so my awesome salad didn't taste quite right. I was able to eat most of it and had some leftover pork shank for added protein. I'm finding that when I'm hungry or munchy, carrots and baby tomatoes are my go tos. Honestly, I feel 100% better after I eat a handful or so which is great. Hooray for instant mood booster. For my work out I went to Sports Conditioning and was scared I was gonna fail so hard, since I hadn't been there in months. But, I actually did pretty well and I attribute a lot of that too good fuel in my body. I'm making Cracklin Chicken tonight and am super hopeful it turns out well. I need some crunch!

Day 17 Wednesday: I slept well last night, but didn't get to bed until 1130pm because we had so much going on at home. I made cracklin chicken and it was amazingly delicious. For rizzle, everyone needs to try this chicken. And get a splatter cover because it's a bit messy. We paired it with yummy roasted veggies and green beans, but were both still hungry after eating two thighs. Next time, we will need to make four each unless we have heartier sides. Anyway, today I woke up tired and with a headache, which is how I used to wake up when I went to bed super late. I had tons of energy last night to pack stuff up, to throw stuff out and to prep food for the week so I expected to feel great this morning. Yeah, no dice. It kept up until I ate part of my lunch which was a salad, grapefruit and carrots. Once I started eating I felt better, but it was weird because I ate NO'TMEAL for breakfast so I wasn't 'hangry'. I was hoping my lunchtime yoga class would help but then a meeting went long, boo, no yoga. I packed snacks for after work because I had a haircut and then planned on ballet but haircut went too long. So it was back home to make more cracklin chicken for dinner and for lunch Thursday.

Day 18 Travel Day: Note to self - cracklins don't stay crispy the next day. Eat all cracklins day of and just pack the chicken pieces for dinner. My lunch work out was again thwarted by rude work complications, bah. I'm eating awesome but my workouts have been sooo sporadic recently. I feel pretty decent today, nothing bad but nothing special either. Since I'm flying out tonight for Cincy, I've done major food prep so I don't give in to anything bad at the airport. The smells are usually what do it to me. I have carrots, blueberries, a salad, almonds and my special treat, bacon wrapped dates. BRING IT ON!

Day 19 Friday: Holy cow was I tired. We didn't get home until 130am and I passed until 7am when the dog woke me up. WOW, I slept hard and it was amazing. I've missed the hard sleep, it's so refreshing when I wake up fully rested. Today was a fun day of nothing, if that makes sense. Drinking black coffee still sucks [especially when it's not the kind I like, but I'm not going to complain to my MIL] but breakfast was pretty yummy. Eggs, mushrooms, peppers, onions with a side of avocado, delicious and nutritious, yum. Le Husband annoyed me when I tried to find an almond milk creamer at the store, he said "Suck it up, you only have 11 more days." so not WHAT I wanted to hear if you catch my drift. Dinner was a great fish meal with yummy veggies, but I was still hungry at bedtime.

Day 20 Wedding Day: Oh what a wonderful day of celebration. But, a horrible day for Whole30. Who wants to go to a wedding and not drink or eat cupcakes? NO ONE [sorry pregnant mamas]! We started the day with a big, late breakfast that was really good and filled me up. However, I wasn't smart and didn't plan for right after the wedding and was starving during cocktail hour. Sadly all of the munchies were non compliant so it was just black coffee [again] for me. The wine and cocktails looked so yummy and even though the coffee was good [thank the coffee gods] it wasn't the same. LUCKILY for us the dinner was a buffet with veggies, potatoes [in evvo hallelujah] and prime rib. You best believe I loaded my plate up first go round and was the only girl that went back for seconds. I'm gonna be honest, there were a few mellow moments during the reception, because I felt like I was missing part of the celebration. It was only magnified by the fact Le Husband wasn't having an issue, AT ALL! Trust me, I wasn't trying to be a debbie downer, but I did want someone to commiserate with about missing a cupcake. That was only 5% of the evening though, the rest was awesome. And, guess who won't have a hangover tomorrow :)!

Day 21 Sunday: Slept well again and enjoyed not feeling like poop from alcohol. We did a big breakfast with Le Husband's brother's family and it was yummy, but again, I felt like I missed out a bit. They made beignets, hash brown casserole [his mom made me a plain potato] and had cheese omlettes. I really just wanted one bite of a beignet, that's it, but I held my ground and didn't cave. We packed up, made some snacks and left for the airport to fly home. We weren't able to get up during the flight due to turbulence, so I was super thankful for my water and almonds in my bag. Something weird happened on our way home though [besides HORRIFIC traffic and a delay at Pollo Rico] I had some kind of allergic reaction to the almonds. I'm thinking that I ate too many, without anything else in my system, so my body wasn't happy with me. It made it hard to eat my chicken dinner, but I was able to get some nutrition. My lack of food contributed to my accidental nap at 8pm instead of meal prepping like I should have done. But, I'll be fine with a salad from Whole Foods when I go shopping at work tomorrow. Only one more SUNDAY LEFT, woohoo!

End of the week thoughts: This was an up and down week, but overall a good one. I'm actually see small changes in my physical body which is very encouraging. We aren't allowed to weigh or measure ourselves till the end, but if I'm seeing  difference I know something good is happening.

Sending you some LUCK TODAY!!! Happy St. Paddy's!

Linking up *here*, *here*, *here* and *here*.

NO'TMEAL & ZUCCHINI POPPERS {Whole30 Week2} {Recipe Files}

Hey there, ladies, how are you doing today? Feeling a lil more back on track after losing that hour on Sunday? Monday morning was a bit rougher than normal at first, but by the time I left for work I felt fine. I honestly 100% attribute that to my Whole30 program. I'm in no way trying to be preachy, beacuse let's face it, I haven't compeleted Whole30 yet, but I can tell a huge difference in my energy levels.

Monday marked our HALFWAY point and y'all, I'm stoked. I do so much better going down that mountain than up the mountain [lil soccer conditioning terminology, ha]. So far things are still going well and I'm feeling pretyt good overall. I had a couple off days this week, which wasn't fun but they are all in the past and I'm still trucking along with the program.

We had a snow day last week and I decided to switch up my normal smoothie with a big bowl of No'tmeal. I love oatmeal and cream of wheat, which unfortunately are on the no no list, so this was a great substitute for that particular craving. I used *this* recipe and it was super quick and uncomplicated which I loved. We didn't have any almond meal in the pantry, so I just used our Ninja to pulverize almonds which worked nicely. If you're looking to switch up your breakfast routine, I highly suggest trying this recipe.

Last week I also made these delicious zucchini poppers. Basically they are small meatballs with zucchini and taste super fantastic. I will be making a batch of these every week, for lunches or just to snack on when I'm munchy. Heck, I'll probably bring them as an appetizer to my next party, they are that tasty.

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I know I don't have any pictures of recipes I've tried, but last week was kind of busy trying to prep everything, I kind of forgot to take pictures. Don't worry, I'll have a few for you in the next few weeks. Whole30 recipes are actually incredibly delicious and I'm excited to share more with y'all.

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Whole30 Week 2 Thoughts
I'm choosing to document my journey daily so I have something to look back on at the end of the program. I didn't just do this program for Lent nor did I just do it as a diet. I really wanted to try and test my willpower and see what happens when I actually stick to something for 30 days. Feel free to skip if it's too much text, I totally understand. 

Day 8 [Monday]: My coworker called me skinny!!! She literally told me I looked tiny :). I don't feel any different in my clothing, but I'll take it. Last night I had soooo much energy I didn't go to bed until after midnight and then woke up at my normal time today. BUUUT, guess what, there wasn't the normal headache and tired feeling I normally get when I'm tired. I think I'm sleeping better, too which is awesome. We had a mix up for dinner tonight, so we made sliders and they turned out really well. I think I've figured out how to make sweet potato chips without burning them, woohoo!

Day 9: So maybe I finally experienced the extra energy the timeline talks about. Last night I was up super late again but had tons of energy. I'm finally moving everything I had stored at another apartment and I kept the energy much later than I expected. A fellow blogger told me about http://www.rantsfrommommyland.com/ this morning and I'm super stoked! She is a a few days ahead of me in the program, but has a lot of great recipes. I plan on trying the zucchini poppers tonight to prep for tomorrow.

Day 10: Slept really well last night and tried almond milk in my coffee today. It was alright, but nothing super awesome. I'll probably switch back and forth depending on my mood. I forgot the banana and peanut butter in my morning smoothie and was actually hungry before noon. The zucchini poppers were awesome, I will definitely be making these every week. Today was the first day in awhile that I had a semi-craving, not sure exactly what it was, but I knew I didn't just want a clean dinner. But, that's what we ate and I felt good at ballet. I"ll probably be working from home tomorrow, so I'm hoping to try another recipe or two.

Day 11: Snowy work from home day today and it finally gave me a chance to make this NO'TMEAL. Super easy, really tasty and a great substitute for oatmeal or cream of wheat on a snowy morning. I wasn't too snacky today, but kept wanting a cup of hot cocoa. I stayed strong and ate clean though. My plan was to prep for this weekend with more zucchini poppers but wasn't able to get to the store like I hoped. We also don't have ghee [don't know where to buy it] so I couldn't make my crackling chicken, but I'm looking forward to it this weekend. I was really nappy today, not sure what that's about, good mood through out the day.

Day 12: Woke up tired for the first time since starting this challenge and it was no fun. Maybe I'm in the normal 7-8 tired I want a nap days. I had my smoothie this morning when I tried to drive to work [which did not happen, turned around because it was scary] but was still pretty munchy at 11am so I made eggs and bacon [yummy!]. I also made bacon for my bacon wrapped dates and they turned out pretty well. Sweet and salty which can be a great snack. After work today we headed down to Lynchburg and man was the diner for dinner a bit of a bust. It was hard ordering clean when I'll could smell was nachos and bread, but we stuck to the program. Hopefully it will help me sleep better.

Day 13: WOW, today was kind of all over the place. We slept in but I didn't sleep well last night which bummed me out. And honestly, frustrated me. I didn't cheat so I don't understand where the good sleep has gone. I made a huge mistake today because I tried to IF with Le Husband and that meant no food until 1pm, yeah, woof not a good idea. Our breakfast sucked which was a shame, I had high hopes for the diner we went too, but again we were let down. Thank goodness I had packed clean snacks, they were my life saver. I wish I could have drank hot cocoa at the night game, the stadium coffee was pretty bad. The dinner we bought the team was pretty good, though. The cold made me less hungry than normal, but I ate everything [including a few pieces of hidden cheese by accident, DRAT]. I'm so glad today is over food wise, it sucked.

Day 14: Bah, daylight savings time was not my friend this morning. But, I'll be honest, I probably would have felt twice as awful if I had drank three things of hot cocoa and alcohol last night. Glad my willpower is serving me well. I'm a bit burned out of black coffee, but need the caffeine in the morning. I'll have to check out coconut cream or almond milk again, I need a new taste. We went to IHOP for breakfast today and it was a huge test. I didn't crave or need a pancake, but I know one would have tasted good. We both got awesome omelets and finally felt satisfied at breakfast. Le Husband was asked to stay for part of the Sunday game so we left a bit later than planned. There was a stop at Wegmans on the way home and we both got a salad to snack on. It was the first time I ate something I didn't want to eat. I really wanted a piece of pizza or sushi, but I knew the salad was what would make me feel better and it did. Food is a choice and I'm finding out more and more that sometimes the quick 'easy' meal isn't the best and that whole foods are the way to go. Food prep tonight STUNK, I just wanted to sleep, but I did what I needed to do for Monday, go me!

Linking up *here*, *here*, *here* and *here*.

A Whole 30 WOOOOOOOORLD {Recipe Files}

Hello, ladies! I have a confession to make to y'all. Last week I started the Whole30 program without telling anyone. EEEK! Yeah, I know, shame on me being a blogger. But, I wanted to try it out to see if it was something I could actually accomplish before I let the world in on my new goal. I've been intrigued by Whole30 for awhile, yet wasn't sure it was something I could complete without failing. After a week though, I've found that even though it's hard it's worth it and something that I am 100% going to ride to the end.

What is Whole30 you ask? The easiest way to describe Whole30 is a short term nutritional reset. Not quite a detox or a diet, but a lifestyle change for 30 days.

While on Whole30 you are not allowed to eat the following foods:

• "Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, coconut sugar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc. Read your labels, because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize.
• Do not consume alcohol in any form, not even for cooking. (And it should go without saying, but no tobacco products of any sort, either.)
• Do not eat grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, millet, bulgur, sorghum, amaranth, buckwheat, sprouted grains and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa. This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch and so on. Again, read your labels.
• Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds (black, red, pinto, navy, white, kidney, lima, fava, etc.), peas, chickpeas, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter, either. This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin). Do not eat dairy. This includes cow, goat or sheep’s milk products such as cream, cheese (hard or soft), kefir, yogurt (even Greek), and sour cream… with the exception of clarified butter or ghee. (See below for details.)
• Do not consume carrageenan, MSG or sulfites. If these ingredients appear in any form on the label of your processed food or beverage, it’s out for the Whole30.
• Do not try to re-create baked goods, junk foods, or treats* with “approved” ingredients. Continuing to eat your old, unhealthy foods made with Whole30 ingredients is totally missing the point, and will tank your results faster than you can say “Paleo Pop-Tarts.” Remember, these are the same foods that got you into health-trouble in the first place—and a pancake is still a pancake, regardless of the ingredients." {source}

Woof, that's a lot of things Do NOT EAT, right? But honestly, it's not that hard if you plan for it. The hardest part for me is the no dairy and no alcohol. I like some cream in my coffee and a glass of wine to celebrate a special occasion. But, besides that, I've been having a great time finding fun recipes to try to keep things fresh and keep my eats clean. Even though I'm not on Instagram, I found the Official Whole30 Insta page and immediately bookmarked it because the recipes looked so amazing.

I've been LOVING this salad recipe, that I jazz up with a lil chicken or tuna for added protein. I also am inhaling this avocado-citrus dressing [I've cut the orange/lemon portions in half]. I'll put it on veggies, wraps and it was a life saver at the bachelorrette party. I didn't feel as deprived because I was actually able to snack on veggies during the festivities.

Special treats are kind of off limits, so it was a bit of a trial to find something delicious to sip while everyone sipped wine on Saturday. I haphazardly threw things together and was quite happy with my creation. I happily have I dubbed this drink the "Not Prego Fake Wineo" ;)!

It's super simple, I promise. You'll need sparkling water [or if you want a Ginger Ale or Sprite if you drink soda], cut strawberries and minced mint. Pour yourself a hearty class oh drink and then add lots of strawberries [they taste best when slightly frozen] and mint. Stir and enjoy!

This is the sparkling water I used. I normally don't like sparkling water, but with the extras it tasted pretty good.

Let me know if you try it out. If you're drinking white wine, I highly suggest freezing grapes and using them as ice. I served frozen grapes on Saturday and everyone loved them. Frozen grapes are my go to in the summer, tasty and does the cooling job well.

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I'm choosing to document my journey daily so I have something to look back on at the end of the program. I didn't just do this program for Lent nor did I just do it as a diet. I really wanted to try and test my willpower and see what happens when I actually stick to something for 30 days. Feel free to skip if it's too much text, I totally understand. 

Day 1: Today we start Whole30. It was my idea and I am honestly a bit surprised Le Husband jumped on it with me so quickly. I think it mostly has to do with his injury and inability to workout as much as we normally do. There are a TON of food on the DO NOT EAT list and I'm a bit worried I'll be able to get through the 30 days. I know I'm going to miss dairy the most, especially with my coffee, but I'm gonna give it a go. Nothing seems to be making a difference food wise in my body, so this is kind of my hail Mary. Hopefully this documentation will help me when I look back for progress.

Day 2: Ugh, black coffee. I miss my organic creamer. Breakfast and lunch today weren't too bad and I don't really have a headache. I am a lil more munchy though. I don't think I packed enough veggies/fruits to snack on, so I'll have to pick it up tomorrow. There are a bunch of prep recipes I plan to make tonight, so fingers crossed they taste good. I'm following Whole30 on instagram [well lurking since I don't have Insta] and found some tasty meals. Here's hoping I don't get burnt out.

Day 3: The new recipes I created last night were really good today. I'm still waking up tired, so I'm waiting for this amazing NEW ENERGY everyone talks about with this meal plan. I forgot part of my snack and so I had to improvise with just tuna, not what I wanted at all, but I ate everything. Le Husband created a new meal for us, with sausage, marinara and eggplant and I tried zoodles for the first time. Had a bit of a oops, but will definitely be incorporating them more in the future.

Day 4: Work from home day and golly is it hard to stick to just Whole30. I get so snacky when I work from home and I really want a cup of hot cocoa. I guess I could try with almond milk and tea, but can't have cocoa, sad face. We have Sportyspice's bday dinner tonight and who knows how that will go down. My family gives me a hard time about my meal choices sometimes and I hope we can get through the night without the standard food argument.

Day 5: WOOHOO, we've made it to Friday. Last night went okay, but I was starving after dinner. My family has become a bit touchy with Le Husband and my choice of diet and while it's frustrating, I try to balance attending family events and keeping everyone happy as best I can. Tonight should be fun though, we are going to Top Golf for Sportyspice's bday which will be a good time I'm sure. It's gonna be cold and I kind of wish I could look forward to a hot cocoa while golfing, but no such luck. Work was a bit crazy tonight and I really wanted a glass of wine and pizza for dinner, but stuck to our plan of fish and veggies. Le Husband and I both gave it the side eye, because we wanted something heartier, but we ate it and I honestly felt good about it once we arrived at Top Golf.

Day 6: Today was kind of all over the place, diet wise. I didn't really eat ANYTHING until 2pm because I was soooooo busy getting everything together. I'm getting used to plain black coffee, but sometimes I really just want to add a lil cream. Only 24 more days, woohoo! I have to admit that I'm REALLY proud of myself today. I hosted a bachelorrette party and didn't eat ANYTHING that wasn't on my diet. Did I mention it was a WINE & PAINT party? And that dinner was at my favorite Spanish tapas restaurant that also serves some amazing sangria? Yeah, talk about a test of willpower. I wanted to bump starting Whole30 to next week because of today, but Le Husband said no. And honestly, I'm glad he did. I've never said NO for a special occasion and it was great to see that I could enjoy myself without indulging. #thankyoulentfortheextrawillpower

Day 7: Woof, today I was exhausted and cranky. Makes sense since I didn't eat much at all yesterday and worked my lil tail off. It was a busy, icy morning and I just wanted to curl up with nachos and hot cocoa, not together of course. But, I ate my eggs for lunch and then spent an hour prepping for the week. I have to say as annoying as prep is, Whole30 has made me realize I really can MAKE the time to eat healthy. In the past I'd just say forget it and forge around in the morning or eat out for lunch. On Whole30 I can't cheat, so I have to force myself to prep which helps out in the long run. I had a late soccer game tonight, too and even though I've been out for four weeks with trips, I felt pretty good. Must be all that healthy food.

Linking up *here*, *here*, *here* and *here*.

The Weekend My Body Let Me Down and I Turned Into A Popscicle

Good morning and happy Monday to you. My weekend was a whirlwind, but I was also finally able to catch up on sleep, which was amazing. Now I'm refreshed and ready to ROCK out the week. #getafterit!

This weekend I ::

:: Painted my nails for the first time in forever.

:: Woke up early on Saturday morning for Turkey trot at my dad's work.

:: Wore six layers, because it was freeeeezing.

:: Played kickball on the National mall from 1 - 5pm

:: Froze my hiney off when the sun went down.

:: Warmed up with homemade chili and hot cocoa.

:: Slept for 12 hours Saturday night. #exhasted

:: Lazed around Sunday morning.

:: Began working on our Christmas cards. #lovethemsoexcited!

:: Teared up watching our wedding video. We hired a good friend of ours, who basically worked for free, so we waited a bit longer than normal for our wedding videos. But, it was sooo worth the wait, we have six different segments, the whole wedding, all of the dances and extras. I'm hoping to figure out how I can share it with y'all because it is amazing!

:: Rejoiced when every other team in the NFC EAST lost this weekend. I know the Cowboys had a bye, but that means they didn't lose. WOOOHOO! #sevenandthree

:: Enjoyed all of my new Sephora products from their killer sale. #yaymakeup

:: Played in my indoor soccer game, despite being sore. #hoorayforsubs.

:: Squealed when Home Alone came on TBS Sunday night. YES, I know it's before Thanksgiving, but I give this movie a pass because it's one of my all time favorites. I like to keep the holidays separate, however I can't turn the channel when Kevin's cute face appears. #thisisitdontgetscared

:: Caught up on reading then went to bed early.

How was your weekend?

Linking up with these beautiful ladies < 3

Monthly Motivation #2

Morning ladies, how are you doing? I hope the week is treating you well. Today I'm recapping my September goals for the second Monthly Motivation linkup. Join Lynn, Carolyn and myself and use this linkup to hold yourself accountable for all those fitness and healthy eating goals. Let's get this check in started.

Fitness

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+Three sets of eight pull-ups or two sets of fingertip pull-ups.
I conquered both, WOOHOO!  I struggled the first two weeks in September, but the last three attempts at pull-ups I've either done fingertip or regular. It's still going to be awhile before I can do the six sets all the way through, but slowly, I'll get there. 

+Comfortably squat 135 pounds.
WINNER WINNER, I'm squatting 145 now, whoop whoop. Going from 35s on each side, to 45s is still a big jump and I think I'll always have a deep respect for plates, but I'm no longer 'scared'. It's kind of cool keeping one plate on while lifting with Le Husband. Makes me feel a like a lil bad ass.

+Complete two a days at least twice a week.
I rocked out two a days, four times a week, every week but one, WOOHOO! I've started craving my lunchtime workout and it's been a great switch up from just regular lifting. I started just doing cardio three days a week and yoga one day, but now I'll do a yoga class twice a week, body pump once a week and then a cardio session. Yoga has really helped my sore muscles and so far I've been feeling great.

October GOALS
+Four sets of pullups, unassisted.
+Dead lift 135
+Yoga three times a week.

Food

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+Consistently track my macros [I'm so bad at this].

UGH! I did so well for two weeks and then it all went down hill. :(! Planning is tough and it's the first thing to go when things get stressful. I was starting to see some success on the scale, but then things got derailed. UGH! UGH! UGH! Anyone have any tips?

+Stay on track on the weekends.

We did better this month than we have done in the past, but still I wasn't clean and good on the weekends. There were some Menchie's runs and bad snacking. I know living life happy is important, but consuming Oreos or Goldfish just because isn't worth not getting to my goal. Time to buckle down.

+Try two new healthy recipes.

Le Husband and I tried two new recipes, I loved one [which I still need to share] and he created a very tasty and healthy pico de gallo for salads and to top our tacos. I know pico isn't NEW in concept, but it wasn't something we have used int eh past, so I'm counting it :). 

October GOALS 
+Consistently track macros
+Stay on track on weekends
+NO CHEATING at lunchtime at work.

 

Fingers crossed I can stay on track this month. What are your goals for October?  Tells us below in the linkup!

Monthly Motivation #1 {Recipe Files}

Today's the day, our wonderful link up day.

This linkup was created to help keep us on track and accountable for our fitness or health goals for the month. Here you can share your goals, struggles, plans for fitness and health or just share some new recipes you love or want to try. Whatever you wanna share, do it today :)!

Below are my monthly goals for September:
[I've highlighted the two I'm really trying to focus on]

Fitness:

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+Three sets of eight pull-ups or two sets of fingertip pull-ups.

+Comfortably squat 135 pounds.

+Complete two a days at least twice a week.
I've been steadily lifting since January with Le Husband and have become significantly stronger, which shows when I flex. However, my weight and the inches haven't changed and that's frustrating me to no end. I want my arm muscles to show when I'm not flexing, instead of just looking big and I want to lose inches off of my stomach. In order to achieve these goals, I'm going to need to up my cardio, as I'm almost solely lifting with Le Husband. There is a gym right near my work and I'm going to go at lunch time just to do 20-30 minutes of cardio 2-4x a week. I did it last week and loved it, so hopefully I can stay on the wagon all through September.

Food:

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+Consistently track my macros [I'm so bad at this].

+Stay on track on the weekends.

+Try two new healthy recipes.
 I've tried to track my macros this year and have failed, miserably both times, purely because I just didn't think it worked. However, it DOES work, you just have to track, measure and prep your food, which isn't as hard as it sounds. My Fitness Pal is awesome [be my friend here] and really helps track my portions along with my protein, carb and fat intake. I've been really diligent the past two weeks and I really want to see what a month of tracking can do for my body. My biggest struggle is finding the time to prep, if I don't take the time at the beginning of the week I usually fall of the wagon a day or two later. I know I won't see progress if I keep slipping up, so I'm going to try really hard to be diligent, all month.

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Today, I also want to share one of my new favorite, healthy recipes, that I just kind of made up. I didn't boil my eggs one morning but knew I needed something for breakfast, so I threw this together on a whim. It's extremely filling and has a pretty awesome macro break down too.

Recipe

[ Protein: 20g; Carbs: 9g; Fat: 11g]

1 cup Fage Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon chia seeds

1 teaspoon honey

A few shakes of cinnamon

Step one: Put everything together, in a bowl, mix up and wait about twenty minutes before eating. You want the chia seeds to get plump [crunchy chia seeds are no fun] so you can make this the night before or at home and then eat it at work. Feel free to add in other mixin's if you prefer, fruits would taste delicious. 

I can't wait to read everyone's motivational posts.

Linkup with us below!

FitSpiration

Staying in shape is tough. 

It's a daily [and sometimes hourly] commitment, that can all too easily be broken due to life, injury and random circumstances.

So today I'm sharing some FITSPIRATION to help keep you motivated!

YOU GOT THIS LADIES!

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This is my ultimate, if ever possible goal. Her arms are amazing!

Help me be accountable friends! :)

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