I never have time anymore....

I never have time to blog anymore. Well, rarely. Work is crazy....been staying on top of my workouts...eating is sometimes a struggle... and it's FOOTBALL season. My absolute favorite time of the year, next to summers off. :)

I have still been rotating running days and weight/workout DVDs. Yesterday, I busted out 3.3 miles on the treadmill, did an ab workout and arms all before the LSU game at 2:30! It felt great. This morning, I wanted to try something different. I saw this workout in the October issue of Fitness magazine. It's a circuit workout with everything from running to burpees, weights and lunges... it was great. I went through it 3 times and I burned 595 calories! Score!

 

 

 

The key to success for me is to not let myself get bored with workouts and feel blah! I have to change it up and make things different constantly to keep myself going. This is a workout I will add into my rotation and do again though! The burn felt good and I was sweating my ass off! 

 

I also tried a new dish. I found this recipe on pinterest and I kinda changed it up in my own way.

 

I bought one of those sweet potatoes from Kroger that you can cook in the plastic and are fast. I cooked it in the microwave for about 5 minutes, took it out and peeled the skin and cut it into small pieces.  

I put it in a pot with a can of Simple Truth Tri Blend beans, a little Tony's, and some sun dried tomatoes. Let that all cook for about 10 minutes. I put it on a carb balance tortilla. It was delicious. A healthy version of a bean burrito with protein and a little spice. YUM! All for under 200 calories for sure.

 

Have a great week ladies :)

 

 

Life Lately....

 

I have been up since 4 am.... tossing and turning in bed... finally I decided to give up and get up. That's why I am getting the chance to write a blog post for the first time in over a week :(

 

Last spring, we got a new boss at my school. Let's just say I feel like the woman in the picture. I feel like all I do is WORK... she definitely does not understand the work/life balance and I think work is her life, day in and out, weekends and everything... it is who she is! I find that sad... I am not that person. I love my job as a teacher, but I do not plan to make it WHO I AM. There is so much more to life. I have so many other things on my plate- my family being #1, along with time for my faith, friends, and fun! It's so important to have a balance and I am hoping that eventually my boss will learn to chill out and relax before we all quit. I have already been job hunting and reconsidering my direction in life. How did you know you were meant to do what you are doing? Have you had a boss like that?

 

On top of all that, my friend and I have been working on a business idea. We have been looking into opening an online boutique. We both love to shop and think it would be a fun new adventure for us and possibly, one day, a great source of income. So, be looking for more to come on that.

 

In the fitness and food world- I have lost 5 lbs since we weighed in at work on September 2 for our biggest loser contest. That's 5 lbs in 18 days. I can live with that. I will admit the stress has gotten to me several times and I haven't eaten :( I have still been alternating running days and my DVD workouts. I did Bob Harper's Body Sculpt kettle bell workout the other day and the past two days it has been torture to walk and def a challenge to sit on the toilet. If you haven't tried it out, do it! It burns so good! lol

 

 

Days that shape our life....

Today, my kids (students, I call them my kids) heard on the announcements about 9-11 and they all had questions.... some of them had seen it on the news that morning or heard their parents talking about it, but they were all confused as to what it was. They are only 7, so they weren't alive when that horrible day happened. I thought about what I should do or if I should even mention it, then I decided I definitely should. That day changed our world, our every day life, and the lives of all those that were lost. We talked, I answered questions, we watched a short, approved video on 9-11 and that was it. They all seemed to understand and wanted to know- why did they bad guys do that? I told them that we weren't sure, but someday they would understand more. I did the best I could given that they are young and vulnerable and scared.

I remember that day- I woke up to frantic phone calls from one of my best friends and my mom. They were panicked and freakin out. I was groggy and had no idea why they were screaming at me "TURN ON THE TV" and then I did... all I could do, like most, was stare in disbelief... then start dialing my friend who lived in New York... it was a day before I heard she was ok with all the chaos going on. I went on to college that day, I was in my first year at a local community college with all my friends. We stood in the lobby at the college and watched the TV... it was as if everything was frozen in time and it didn't matter about class or the store or financial aide or anything.

That day changed our lives, it was a day that helped shape the lives of those who were old enough to experience it and understand what was going on. It showed us that it CAN happen to us. It showed us that the world is not a fair place, innocent people are killed every day, and just because we live in the greatest country in the world- we are not protected from it all.

Today, I am thankful I live here. I am happy to be a citizen of the USA. I am happy to be able to have the freedoms that so many others don't. Today, I know God blessed us all, each and every one of us. Just because some people exercise their free will to the max and go down the wrong paths, it does not change what we know in our hearts to be right and today we should pray for those who were affected, those who lost their lives, and those who are still out there protecting us from more horrific events like that from happening.

GOD BLESS AMERICA! WE WILL NEVER FORGET!

I think I am breaking up again....

I think it is time to break up with the scale again. I have been working hard and it still hasn't moved. Granted, I have been on my period this past week (sorry, TMI) and I know that is probably why, but still! I am not going to let it dictate my mood and what I do that day. I was reading Mama Laughlin's blog yesterday and what she said is so true! I look at the scale and it tells me how I am going to feel about myself, what I am going to eat, and I am tired of it! So, I think I will put it away and wait a while to weigh myself and just focus on being healthy and working out again. The scale tends to stress me out, so maybe it will help me relax and lose some weight finally!

Here is what I have been doing lately:
Every other day, I run on the treadmill- I am still using my "run to lose weight" app and I am up to the point where I only walk about 10 minutes of 45, which is to warm up and cool down. My runs average abut 3-3.5 miles. On running days I work my arms and abs also.

On the other days, I alternate workout videos: Insanity, TurboFire, Jillian Michaels, Bob Harper Kettlebell workouts...I have a lot of videos :) On those days I try and do a good leg workout, although I am bored with some of mine, so I searched pinterest yesterday and found some new ones. Do you have a favorite leg workout you can share? I want to FEEL the PAIN! lol


So, here's to a great week of working out and making good choices.... :)

Just keep going....

I can't tell you how many times I just want to quit. My mom and I joke all the time while working out (I work out at her house/my gym because she has a treadmill, bike, weight bench and all that.) So, as we are sweating it out together, we turn to each other and say "maybe we should just quit! be fat and eat EVERYTHING we want". That comes out of our mouth quite often, but we DON'T quit. We know why we keep going.

 

We want to be healthy. Diabetes and heart disease run in our family. Both of my mom's parents died at a young age. She doesn't want to repeat that and neither do I.

We want to look good, who doesnt?

We know it is the best way to live life. It makes us feel better physically and mentally. Sweat is our drug.

 

So, I did a pretty good job last year of losing some weight and maintaining. This summer after vacation, I feel off the "I care" train. I hopped back on about a month or so ago and really have been trying. The scale hasn't been budging much, but I am not going to stop. I know it will move. I know I am going to get there and this time I am more motivated than I have ever been. I AM going to get where I want to be, come hell or high water. So, when you feel like giving up- DON'T... when you think you have gone back too far, you HAVEN'T... when you are tired, DO IT ANYWAYS... we will get there! :)

Weekend update and weight loss contest!

This weekend was fun! I enjoyed dinner with a friend Friday night. Saturday, I watched the LSU game (football season- oh yea!). Sunday and Monday I hung out around the pool. I felt like since going back to work I was fading. I need my tan. I had a few drinks over the weekend but I was very good! They had skinny girl products at BWW so that was awesome!

Me and the friends watching the game :) 

I have been doing great eating and keeping things within moderation. I'm still stuck around 169 though, but I'm ok with that. My body usually does that when i get back to diet/exercise (stubborn far i guess!) and lately I've been having some bloating and stuff so my body feels a little outta wack right now. All will be well soon. 

So... I am encouraging all the people at work to join the biggest loser weight loss contest I created. Weigh in day was today and everyone put in $10. 8 people signed up, so I am happy! We go Til Christmas break and the team with the highest percentage weight loss wins the pot! I am so going to beat everyone! (I hope!) Tomorrow I find out who is on my team! I am so excited and this kinda thing makes it fun and gets everyone else motivated. Score! Stayed tuned for more details!

Do you do contests with people you know?