If you need some inspiration today..

Watch this video. More ShayCarl, but I just can't get over it.

So much goodness.

{WIAW} New Foods

Hello There! It's officially Wednesday, so here I am to bring you this week's edition of What I Ate Wednesday. As you all may know by now, WIAW is a celebration of recent eats! This week, I would like to celebrate a few new foods. Because I am participating in Lindsay's Foodie Pen Pals program this month, I was able to try a few wonderful new foods! And I have to say.. I love every single thing I've tried so far. Anyhow, these are foods that I ate Tuesday, and I'm presenting them to you this Wednesday!



Breakfast-

White Chocolate Oatmeal sent to me by my Foodie Penpal (more on that next week), Leftover pineapple from a smoothie I made yesterday, and string cheese. It was sort of a thrown together breakfast because I woke up really late and needed to get my day started! lol

Snack-

I made Pioneer Woman Pico de Gallo! and it was yummy! I made enough to share with my neighbor, and I think she really appreciated that. :)

Lunch-

Sandwich made with a chocolate hazelnut butter (also from my foodie penpal) and pico de gallo with baked Tostito scoops. another lazy meal just thrown together. lol

Dinner-

andddd I totally failed with dinner picture-taking. haha but here's the aftermath! Beef and bean enchiladas. Delicious :)

I also had a ridiculous amount of ice water. lol Tuesday's eats were definitely lazy. But sometimes you just have to be lazy.

If you would like to participate in What I Ate Wednesday, click the button above to visit Peas and Crayons. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you all participate in WIAW.

So tell me, what interesting NEW foods have you tried lately?

Motivation?

So the past few weeks have been incredibly difficult for me. My husband left for MOS school on February 23rd. He's training to change his MOS to Security Forces. So he's been in Virginia for close to a month now, and in that time... I have just not been myself. I've lost friends, neglected sleep, neglected the gym, and I just haven't been taking care of myself.. I was completely unmotivated. I WANTED to be motivated.. and some days I'd even have a little spark of drive to go to the gym and get back into the swing of things.. But it wasn't sticking. Well I woke up yesterday morning feeling extra guilty about the way things have been. So i pulled out the yogurt, said adios to Toaster Strudels, and said a big Hello to Jillian Michael's 30-day shred (although I would have liked to tell her a little something else.. lol). Yesterday, I managed to get through all of Level 1 and I thought my heart was going to stop. lol my legs were jelly, i couldn't breathe, and I just wanted to take a hot bath. But it felt good to be proud of something again. :) Proud that I made it through the entire first level when the first few times I attempted it, I stopped after like the first 8 minutes. lol Then today, I did it again and got through Level 1 with a little less difficulty. I was exhausted, heart pounding, but I didn't think I would die! lol So that's a plus.

I think what sparked my motivation back up is Shay Carl. I know, I know. I'm a nerdy YouTuber. lol but really. If you don't know who Shay Carl is, he is a YouTubing dad who is probably one of the most inspirational people I know of. Using YouTube videos as a tool, he started his own production company, became completely debt free, and just recently lost over 100 pounds in a weight loss video competition. A year ago, this guy was nearly 300 pounds and would get winded playing with his kids. Yesterday morning, he ran a freaking MARATHON! Unbelievable, truly amazing. He is the kind of person I want to be. Someone who sticks to goals, reaches them, inspires, and knows that his life is on the right track. So because I want to be just like Shay Carl, I'm back at it! Workout out, eating better, and taking care of myself. :) I'm down a total of 7 pounds since I started this whole thing. I still have a LONG way to go.. but at least I'm doing it..

and I'm going to continue to blog it all! Don't worry ;) Here's a few things you can look forward to--

-more thoughts on 30-day shred

-Shakeology?

-Foodie pen pals

and perhaps a few other nifty things :)

Thank you to all my readers, for caring enough to read what I have to say. And thank you to those bloggers who I can't seem to get enough of that always keep me motivated and wanting to do more. :)

[FIRST] What I Ate Wednesday

Have any of you ever been over to Peas and Crayons? It's becoming one of my favorite blogs to visit. :) Well on P&C they do a cute little thing called What I Ate Wednesday! You post a blog on Wednesdays with pictures of a day's worth of eats! It's popular with this community to take pictures of Monday or Tuesday's meals and post them on Wednesday. So here are my Tuesday eats on What I Ate Wednesday.

Delicious! Now today is Ash Wednesday. I am giving up red meat (looking to give up all meat, but we'll see), and an hour a day of technology! Have a wonderful Wednesday!

What are you giving up for Lent this year?

Lost chihuahua and setting weekly goals.

So today is going to be 2 days of blogs in one. Friday was mega hectic, so I didn't get to post about my weigh in. and on Sundays I want to start making goals for the week so I can track more progress than just a number on a scale. So today is gonna be long, but good :)

Okay, so pretend it's Friday. YAYY! Get ready for the weekend. (haha, just kidding. Tomorrow is Monday.)

I weighed in and lost 1 pound. I decided on this blog I was gonna be honest. As painful as it is to be honest sometimes.. especially about such a sensitive topic.. I can't go through this journey lying to myself and to you guys. So let me go ahead and tell you, I was pissed that I only lost a pound. I wasn't surprised, but I was mad. I chowed down on Valentine's Day. I ate bread sticks, candy, creamy pasta with chicken, shrimp, and bacon, we had a large appetizer.. I ate way too much. And I woke up Wednesday morning feeling so guilty.. so I hit the gym. I was there an hour, and barely went 2 1/2 miles. I didn't push myself the way I wanted to because my feet were killing me. So I said okay, i'll go to Zumba tomorrow. So Thursday afternoon (after sitting around the house all day) I went to Zumba. And I barely made it through the class. My feet were still killing me! I have a high arch, and don't have arch support (I know, I know.. I need to fix that) and I have a history of getting stress fractures in my feet because of the lack of support. Friday, I didn't go to the gym because I wanted to rest my feet. Saturday, I was a little hungover.. so I spent the day sitting around. and Today, I did 35 minutes of Pilates. So basically, I haven't been pushing myself the way I know I can.. I've been resting too much. I WANT to do better. and I will. I just need to do it. So after being all sad about only losing a pound, I remembered that since I started this weight loss journey, I've lost 5 pounds. So I decided to check my handy dandy list and check what 5 pounds relates to:

I lost a chihuahua! Hollaaa! lol So I guess only losing 5 pounds isn't so bad. I don't have to carry around a little ankle biter anymore ;)

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Okay, so now it's Sunday. :)

I decided to set some weekly goals so that I can track my progress. This journey isn't just to a smaller me.. it's to an all-around BETTER me. I want to be healthy, smaller, fit, happy. So I'll just make a few goals each week to get me there!

This week's goals:

-drink at least 100 oz of water a day

-spend time with my husband and puppy each day

-find something that will make me smile or laugh each day

-take 80,000 steps a week.

So next Sunday I'll post again and let you know how many oz of water I drank each day, how much time I spent with my husband and puppy, what I found to make me smile/laugh, and how many steps I took that week. :)

I'm looking forward to gauging my progress with these goals! I'll see you all later this week.

How was your weekend? Do you have any weekly goals?

Dancing Queen and Olive Garden

Happy Day After Valentine's Day! :) Did everyone have a wonderful Valentine's Day with your loved ones? I have to say, this is the first year I didn't go crazy on the chocolate treats. My wonderful husband DID wake me up with a small heart-shaped box of Ferrero Rocher.. and as badly as I wanted to eat the whole box yesterday, I'm rationing them :) lol BUUUUUT, I did indulge last night. More on that in a minute.

First, I want to tell you about my very first Zumba class! Never heard of Zumba? It's like this:

^^this was my favorite song we did yesterday!

(Have you all taken a Zumba class? If not, look for one in your area RIGHT NOW! I had a blast!)

LOL! This picture cracked me up before, but now that I've actually taken a class, and I know how true it is.. I just can't stop giggling! Okay, I have a few things to say about my Zumba class, and I'll use numbers so I don't get all confused :)

1. STRETCH! Okay, this should be obvious.. But I'm a dumb-dumb and didn't stretch before. See, here's the thing. I have irrational fears and an s-ton of insecurities. I didn't want to stretch in front of everyone because I didn't want to look silly.. I didn't want people to laugh, point, and stare. I'm telling ya, I'm irrational.. but somehow I thought me stretching would result in ridicule. So when I got to the gym, I stood by the wall, Facebooking until everyone started to gather on the floor and class started. And I am REALLY paying for it today. My legs and knees are so tight. I am sore and stiff all over. No fun. lol I'll know better next time!
2. I am so glad there weren't mirrors in that room. I KNOW I looked silly. The best part, was for a moment there I was thinking "Daaaaaamn girl, you can dance!" And then.. I started paying attention to how my booty shaking looked and realized No.. No I can't. haha But it's not about skill! It's about getting out, doing something different, and having FUN! And yeah, I had fun!
3. DRINK LOTS OF WATER - If you're like me, and just getting back into the fitness game.. Don't be scared to fall out and take a breather and drink water when you need to. No one knows your limits better than you. However, that being said.. TRY to keep going. If you can do another 10 seconds, do them. And see if you can bump it up to 20 before falling out. See if you can make it the whole song without stopping. But between songs, DRINK WATER! Everyone in that room yesterday was sweating up a storm. I know I was! And you have GOT to stay hydrated. Being hydrated in the key to healthy living. :)
4. HAVE FUN! Don't go in to it with a poor attitude or dreading working out. Think of it as just getting out and dancing with some friends! Don't look at the clock or worry about how much time has gone by. Just enjoy it :)

Like I said, I loved Zumba yesterday, and I hope you all try it out soon. Or maybe if dancing isn't your thing, find another class to try out. I think it's important to make a schedule when it comes to working out and getting fit. What better way to adhere to a schedule than to take classes??

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Alright, so after I had a blast at Zumba. I quickly showered and got ready to go to OLIVE GARDEN! I decided that last night would be this week's cheat meal. What better meal to splurge on than Valentine's Dinner??! And boy.. did I splurge.. We got an appetizer, I got a chicken and shrimp carbonara with a creamy parmesan sauce. holy jeebus, it was delicious. and chock full of calories. I don't know how many, seeing as I didn't even dare to look at the calories when picking it (It's a cheat/splurge meal!!) but I can only imagine. Delicious as it was, I knew I'd have to work my tooshie off the next few days if I want to have a decent weigh-in on Friday. (Crossing my fingers!)

I hopped on the scale this morning before going to the gym, hoping it'd motivate me. and it did.. I am +.6lbs since Friday. Now.. seeing as how I KNOW I've lost weight this week, and I KNOW I gained a whole lot last night... I'm disappointed I didn't see the scale before my Olive Garden indulgence. lol I know I would have been pleased to see a low number. But maybe I would have been even more heartbroken to see it this morning if I knew my pre-Olive Garden weight. lol I'm just hoping I can bring it down before Friday.. And in an effort to achieve that good weigh-in.. I'll be attending another Zumba class tomorrow :)

How did you spend your Valentine's Day? Did you indulge or stick to healthy eating?

No Excuses!

I am notorious for making excuses. Until recently, I always had a reason why I couldn't work out or eat better. I didn't want to waste my time dieting if I couldn't work out. I couldn't go to the gym. I don't have the time. My bike chain is rusted. I don't want to walk alone. I don't have a dog to walk with me. I don't have a stroller to push around. I don't have a treadmill. There's not enough room to use my kinect or workout DVDs.

But what I've learned is.. there are no excuses.

If you have 20 minutes to spare, you have time to work out. And if you don't have 20 minutes to spare.. set your alarm 20 minutes earlier. YOU HAVE TIME! You don't even have to hit the gym. Here are a few of my favorite at-home workouts which involve calisthenics. Calisthenics are exercises designed to promote muscular tone using your own body weight. You don't need machines, you don't need weights. You just need yourself.

^^ This is my favorite one!!^^

So let's try to make less excuses and more progress!

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So anyway, it's Monday and the start of a new week! Is everyone feeling refreshed? Motivated? I'm ready to tackle a new week! I know this one will be wonderful for a few reasons.

• I got my thumb-lock wrist weights by Reebok in the mail today. I can't wait to try them out at the gym tomorrow :)
• I am attending my very first Zumba class tomorrow! FINALLY I'll be for sure going. :) I'll make sure and post about it Wednesday.
• Also, tomorrow is Valentine's Day and I actually get to spend it with my husband! We've been apart the last 3 years on Valentine's Day!
• We're getting our marriage tattoo tomorrow!
• I am looking in to taking an Aqua Zumba class! (more on this later in the week)
• I'll be participating in "What I Ate Wednesday" (more on this Wednesday!)
• It's my last full week with my husband before he goes to MOS school for a while!

And that's all I can remember right now. :) I might also post about my favorite "fitness items" as well as post a fun survey! It's gonna be a fun week, and I can't wait to share it with you all!

How do you plan to make this week better than last?