6 Ways to Start your Day out Right

I have always loved to sleep. I love my bed and when I was a young kid, I used to pray and thank my Heavenly Father for my bed. As I got older and moved out on my own, I realized how important it was to have a regular bedtime and get plenty of sleep. I realized how much better my day was when I had a good nights sleep. And in the last few years, and four kids later, I am realizing how important it is to wake up early too and Start your day right. 

1. Wake up the same time each day

For me this means waking up each day at 5 am. Yep, each day! 7 days a week I get up at 5 am. I have 4 little kids and I need to get up before they do to be able to have a productive day.

2. Personal Development - ME TIME

I get up at 5 so I can have some alone time. I write in my journal, about a positive experience I had the day before. I read from my scriptures 10-15 minutes and Pray.  I read an additional personal development book. For me this sets my mood for the rest of the day.

3. Work-out (Get Sweaty)

I work-out each morning for 30 minutes. Being fit and working out is so important to me, because I need to be able to keep up with my kids and set a healthy example for my kids. By the time I get to working out there are many mornings when I have an audience of little people watching and some mornings they get down with me and workout. Some mornings it is hard to want to do this, so I have accountability groups, that I participate in to help me keep going and stay motivated.

4. Shower and get ready for the day

If I get this out of the way after my workout, I feel so much better. Getting ready for the day, before I have to start the daily routine with my kids, makes everything less rushed and I can focus my time on them.

5. Healthy Breakfast

Breakfast is a very important part of our day. I make sure my kids have a healthy meal, before heading off to school and we can talk about our day. I love my mornings with my kids!

6. Regular bed time

Like I said in the beginning, I love to sleep. Having a regular bed time is setting yourself up for a successful day the following day. Having little kids has made me realize how important it is in my life to have a regular schedule and that having a routine makes my life go more smoothly. 

Have a Happy day!

Personal Victory

Today I had a huge personal victory. About 6 1/2 years ago I decided to become a runner. I ran about 3-5 days a week and really enjoyed running and the alone time I had out there just me and my music and the pavement. I occasionally trained for different races but never really pushed myself to improve my time. I never considered myself a "runner".  In July of this last year, 2014, I stopped running because I was having lower back pain and thought it was a result of only running and not working on strengthening my core and the rest of my body. Over the course of the next few months I did a few different programs, 21 Day Fix, P90X3 and 2 weeks ago, I started Insanity Max 30. I have missed running but was afraid to run again because I thought it would hurt my back again.
This morning, I decided to go for a run. My last run was at the end of July. I ran 3 miles and my average pace was 11:16. Today on my run I ran just under 3 miles and my average pace was 8:11!! I improved my average pace by 3 minutes!! I could hardly believe that I could improve so drastically without running regularly.  Victories in your journey to fitness, big or small need to be celebrated! Today is a huge victory for me and I can't wait to see where my journey takes me!

Why Shakeology!?!

Shakeology has been and a huge tool in helping me in my weight-loss fitness journey. I drank green smoothies for a couple years. You know, the smoothies, full of delicious blended fruits and veges. I would blend my spinach and fruit and other things and take them everywhere. My friends used to make fun of me and my sludge-y drink that was browning in my mason jar. Sometimes they were delicious, sometimes not so delicious. I was always looking for healthy superfoods to add to my smoothies to get the healthiest drink possible. But some of those things are so expensive. I was so excited to find Shakeology because it had all these amazing ingredients I had read about that had amazing health benefits and it was all packaged in a drink that costs around $4.  And it was delicious. I am hooked. The benefits are amazing. More energy, healthy foods, more regularity, feel great. Now some people are not too excited about paying around $4 per drink, but let's be honest, most of those people are perfectly fine spending that kind of money on a drink from Starbucks! And this is way healthier than a drink from Starbucks. I am officially a Shakeology addict and proud of it!

Check out some of these great recipes for Shakeology that are not only shakes, but also delicious "treats".

Also, here are some links to other sites where you can find some treats

Vanilla Almond Energy Balls from Beachbody Blog

No Bake Shakeology Cookies from Spark Recipes

And these are my favorite Shakeology Breakfast bars from Autumn Calabrese

Hope you Enjoy!

Finding Someone to Inspire You

This is my friend Shelby. Over the years that I have known her, she has become an inspiration, a coach and my friend...in that order. Shelby and I have known each other for about 12 years. When my husband and I were dating, she was a friend of his and we didn't really know each other very well. We became friends on Facebook and I started paying attention to her life and following her journey. She had a great husband and two great kids, but somewhere along the way, like a lot of moms, taking care of her fitness and health needs got pushed to the side.  After gaining about 50 lbs she decided that she need to make some changes in her life and take time for herself.  She started eating healthier and making changes in her diet. She found Insanity, a workout that takes no equipment, and that you can do at home.  After a year of working hard and making changes she lost that 50 lbs and changed her life. All along this journey, I watched her and saw what she was doing. I remember her posting about a workout she did at the playground while her kids were playing. She was finding ways to incorporate these healthy changes into her everyday life.
She probably had no idea how closely I was following her life and checking out what she was doing these last few years. She has quietly been inspiring me for years by her good example.  By sharing her life and her journey to fitness. When I was ready to make healthy changes in my life I knew that she was someone who could help me reach my goals. And along my journey these past months she has become one of my biggest cheerleaders who has helped me reach goals and lifts me up when I am discouraged. I know that because of this journey together I have a friend for life.

Thank you Shelby!

Over-Night Oatmeal

I am a BIG fan of Pinterest! I was on there the other night and realized that I have 64 boards! That is a result of many nights of late night nursing, I have recovered somewhat from my Pinterest addiction. However, there are some amazing things you can find there. 

One of our favorite breakfasts is oatmeal. It is easy, it is healthy (depending on what you put in it) and makes you feel warm on cold winter days. I am a HUGE fan. We have recently been introduced to over-night oatmeal and crock-pot oatmeal (which I will share on a later post). This is a simple fun way for the kids to make their own breakfast and make it the night before so the mornings can go a little more smoothly.  We have a basic recipe we follow and then do a lot of our own add-ins and creations to make them our own. It is super quick and sometimes delicious and sometimes not, depending on the concoction made. Hope you enjoy!

Basic Recipe:

1/4-1/2 cup Old Fashioned Oats
1/2 cup milk, we use coconut, you can use any kind, cow, almond, soy, etc.
2 tsp ground flaxseed
2 tsp Chia seeds
1 tsp honey (we have also used agave and stevia and sometimes plain old sugar)

Combine all these ingredients in a seal-able container. We like Mason jars and their plastic lids, because we have an abundance of them. And stir or shake it up.
Then, put lid on and place in fridge overnight and enjoy in the morning!

Favorite recipes
Chunky Monkey
1/2 a mashed banana
1 TBS cocoa powder or chocolate or carob chips
1 TBS PB2

Berries and cream (or Peaches and Cream)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup yogurt, we use greek plain
1/2 cup berries, frozen or fresh

Raspberries and Dark Chocolate
1/2 cup Raspberries, fresh or frozen
Chocolate or carob chips to taste

Almond Joy (my favorite)
1 TBS cocoa powder or chocolate chips
1/2 TBS raw coconut flakes
1 TBS slivered almonds

Good old Brown Sugar and Cinnamon

My Progression

Today I took after pictures and before pictures.  These pictures marked the end of my P90X3 journey and the beginning of my Insanity Max 30 journey.  These pictures show my beginning on Sept 12, 2014 when I was starting the 21 day fix program. I learned so much from that program, the thing I am most thankful for is that I learned how to eat. I learned what the correct portions were and the right foods to eat to fuel my body and give it the nutrition it needs to be healthy. Shakeology helped me to overcome my unhealthy cravings. Shakeology is a delicious protein drink that is full of dense nutrition that helps you overcome those cravings.  I did 5 weeks of 21 Day fix and then started P90X3, starting Oct 13. I stuck with the meal plan in 21 Day Fix. P90X3 is a 90 day program, 7 days a week. It was tough and with the Holidays it was tough to stick with the eating plan, because of all the treats and parties, but I did not miss a day of working out. I love the 7 days a week workout plan because I was in such a routine of waking up at 5:30 am and getting my workout done before the kids were awake and it kept me consistent. Yesterday I finished my P90X3 and this morning I woke up and started my Insanity Max 30. It was a butt kicker. It is designed to push you to your max until you can't go any further. I thought that I would be doing pretty good, having done P90X3 for 90 days prior.  I started the workout full force and at 6 minutes and 38 seconds I was done. I had to take a break because I was going all out. It was brutal, but I can't wait until tomorrow!

On September 12, 2014 I started at 165 lbs

Today on January 5, 2015 I am at 148 lbs.

I have lost almost 16 inches.

On this journey the last few months, I am not as concerned with the scale. The scale is a good indicator on where I am at, but the best indicator is how I feel, how my clothes fit and how I am doing mentally. Those are my indicators.

Remember Your Why

I have been feeling a little discouraged lately. The holidays are over, I did not stick to my eating plan like I should have and although I did not gain any weight over the holidays, I only lost about a pound.

And then today, I saw this quote and reminded myself why I began this journey to fitness in the first place. Earlier this year, my mom had, what the doctors called a stroke, that was brought on by high blood pressure. I love my family dearly, but have learned bad health habits from them while growing up. Food has always been a stress reliever for me and I have always gone to food when I want to feel better or want to feel happy. In September when I started the 21 day fix, I was so excited to be learning how to eat the right foods, the right portions and healthy habits. I recognized that I was feeling better, had more energy and was losing the extra weight I was carrying around. I loved how I was feeling and the results I was getting and was so excited to share it with others. 

Then the holidays came...I have a huge responsibility right now with my church that takes a lot of time and energy. I also have 4 little kids at home, a husband, a part-time job and a house to take care of, not to mention my new Beachbody business I was trying to start. The stress of everything piling up on me was huge and I started slipping back into my snacking habits with the kids.  But then really great thing happened. I started feeling tired and I was getting headaches and I was sluggish with my workouts. And then a few days, it hit me why I was feeling this way. I was not eating like I had just learned how to eat. I was feeling this way because I was not fueling my body the way I had learned. The slip ups I was making were not huge, but my husband would bring home donuts or the neighbors would drop off holiday treats and I would have one. Or I would have Goldfish crackers with my kids during their afternoon snack. I say this is a good thing, because I needed that little realization  to kick me back into the good habits I had developed. I needed a couple steps back to remember how good it feels to eat healthy. And I remembered why I started this journey to begin with. To make me and my family healthy and happy.  So don't get discouraged if you have to take a few steps back as long as you correct your course and take the steps forward again.