Day 22

Lunch: Tom made a delicious scrambled egg, sausage dish with peppers and tomatoes :)

It was Lynsey's birthday, so we went to Applebee's for dinner. This was a Weight Watcher's
meal: Lemon Parmesan Shrimp, and under 550 calories. I'm sure the amount of sodium is less than ideal, but it was pretty good! 

Ok so I've been trying to avoid alcohol because it's pretty much empty calories and tons of carbs. But... it was my sister's birthday and I decided to get a wildberry mojito. I love the fresh taste of mint with fruit. So good, but so bad :/ 

Weekend: Day 20/21

Seriously my new favorite thing to eat. Like ever. Soooooo freaking yummy! I love black currant. And then add dark chocolate? Oh goodness! It also had almonds! So in moderation, this is probably a fairly decent sweet fix! (Dark chocolate is high in antioxidants and is healthier than milk chocolate. I'm sold!)

Tropical coconut Vi shake
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 chopped mango
2 chopped strawberries
2 scoops Body by Vi

I had to pick up my new computer in Rapid City today and since I had a lot of errands to run, I didn't have time to make a shake. For a "healthy" alternative to fast food, I got a Spinach Feta wrap from Starbucks. 240 cals, 10g fat, 29g carbs, 13g protein. Pretty delicious :)

Day 19: Body By Vi Challenge

Lift: Resistance band warm-up

Bench (hit 95% of my max! Not too shabby for taking a month off from lifting)

Inverted Rows

Shoulder pulls

Push-up rows

Pull ups

Abs

Today I decided that I'm going to get my life back. I've made a conscious effort to change my diet and nutrition, and I've started lifting seriously again. After almost 3 weeks, I'm starting to notice small changes. This made me realize that I do in fact have it within me to change. Although I've started eating healthier, I still find it difficult to eat the right balance of protein and carbs. I have both Shakeology and ViSalus along with whey protein. I decided today that I'm going to replace 2 of my main meals a day with protein shakes (high protein, low carbs) and intensify my workouts. Hopefully this will be enough to propel me in the right direction.

The picture doesn't do this justice (and it makes it look huge!!) but this is asparagus soup from Green Bean with an almond-raspberry iced latte. I should have gotten a cup of soup instead of a bowl because it was way too much, but it was delicious! 

Day 18: motivation

Passion fruit tea with blueberries! 

Day 17

This basically sums up my entire day:
I spilled my breakfast shake all over the counter and had to re-make the entire thing.
I got a poor grade on an assignment for Biometry.
I found out that in the next 4 class periods, we have 2 assignments and 2 tests for Biometry (seriously, puke).
I ate pizza for lunch and felt sick the whole rest of the day.
My computer crashed and I lost documents, pictures, and my assignment that is due for tomorrow, worth 40% of my grade.
I got an email from my online course prof that I submitted my homework an hour late (in different time zones) Fail.
My poor puppy got sick from her rabies/dystemper shots and threw up in the middle of the night.

A bad day really is motivation to SFW!

Get it girl

Tanning is my way of relaxing after an intense workout, and it's my 5 minutes every few days that I get to myself. Using this as a progress pic - hopefully in a month, I'll be able to see slight changes for the better :)

Lift: 
Warm-up: stirrup exercises, foam roll
Squat 7x5x3 (3 sets)
Lunges with kettlebell weights (x3)
Leg press calf raises (20x15x10)
100x ham-glute raises
abs

Had a great lift tonight! (It won't let me rotate this silly picture, but I burned 417 calories! I love my heart-rate monitor. It's nice to know what my heart-rate is during different exercises.) 

Post workout drink: creatine and amino acids

Day 16

Small meal: "Fried rice" made with quinoa, 1 egg (scrambled), red/yellow peppers, edamame, and mushrooms then for taste, I added a little bit of sea salt, pepper, and garlic. 

Bananas, mango, watermelon, and a hiding sweet potato: I love having healthy food around :)

Coconut fudge: I don't know how healthy this is. I wanted to make Hawaiian Haupia, but all of the recipes I found used a large amount of cornstarch. I found this recipe on Pinterest, and decided to try it out.

1/4 cup coconut oil
 1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
Pinch of salt
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp coconut sugar

Melt coconut oil over low heat and mix in remaining ingredients. Use plastic wrap to line a freezer-safe dish. Pour mixture into dish and freeze (~1 hour depending on thickness). I cut up strawberries to eat with it as well.*

*This was absolutely delicious, but it was very sweet. I didn't think the small amount of honey and coconut sugar would make that much of a difference, but if I were to make this again, I'd lower the amount. Also, make sure it is consumed straight from the freezer or that it is kept below a temperature of 76 degrees. Since coconut oil has a low melting point, it literally melts in your mouth (but will also melt long before it reaches your mouth if left out.)

Breakfast: Apple-cinnamon Oatmeal pancakes!
I kind of made this recipe up as I went along, and it was pretty good!

Pancakes: 1/2 c oatmeal
1/4 cup liq. egg whites
3 tbsp milk
1 tbsp whole wheat flour (for thickness)
1 tsp cinnamon

I mixed the oatmeal with a little bit of water and cooked it first before adding the remaining ingredients.  Once mixed well, I cooked them like pancakes on a skillet.

Apple topping: 1 honeycrisp apple, sliced and cubed
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp water

I placed the apples and the cinnamon in a microwave-safe bowl and cooked for 1 minute, and then mixed with the remaining ingredients in a blender until I had a thick consistency topping.

Never Give Up

I hope no one's offended by a model in underwear, but I saw this and thought it was so inspiring. To be fit means to be happy, healthy, and full of life. And I freaking love her hair. And body. And tone. Me want :) Gym-motivation!

Monday, Week 3

To start off a new Monday, I wanted to share this video that my sister found. I think Jenna Marbles is hilarious anyway, but her depiction of "your inner fat kid" is pretty awesome. This is how I felt the past few months, so I wanted to share. Enjoy! (Click the link below)

*Viewing discretion: a few explicative words 
Junk Food Confessions

Snack: These are whole wheat all-natural fig bars and I freaking love them. If I need a snack that's going to hold me over for a little while, these are perfect. 

Small meal: lean turkey burger (3g fat, 0g carbs, 28g protein) with mushrooms and a small side salad with sun-dried tomatoes 

Dinner: my mom made homemade enchiladas and how can you say no? I didn't put any sour cream  on it, and they were fairly small but I did put a little cinnamon on my rice. 

Breakfast: Half of a small mango and 2 large strawberries,
cut-up and mixed with 3 tbsp of plain nonfat Greek yogurt



I had a horrible migraine today as well as a photo shoot, so although it's not a very good excuse, I didn't get a work out in :( And then I found this picture, and it made me feel even guiltier. Will have to use this as motivation to work harder tomorrow :)

It's a Lifestyle

Lift: Deadlift (w/o bands) for a warm-up 2x10

Deadlift (w/ resistance bands) 3 sets of 7x5x3 increasing weight up to 120% of my max

Incline bench 3x15

Face-pulls and back extensions

Step-up lunges with kettlebells 3x20

Push-up abs with sliding rope/sandbag 3x10

Weekend #2

Turkey burger (30g protein, 0g carbs, 5g fat = 160 total calories) with edamame and avocado

Chicken-strawberry salad (bleu cheese, pecans, spring mix salad, with rasp. vinaigrette)

Mashed sweet potato with a little cinnamon, honey, and 1 tsp vanilla. 

Honeycrisp apple with yogurt dip (cinnamon, honey, plain yogurt)

Ginger-Mango Lassi

1 cup chopped mango (I also added blackberries)
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tbsp coconut sugar (or honey)
1/4 c water
Crushed ice
1 tsp ginger*

Mix together in a blender and serve! I added the ginger per the recipe, and although I love ginger, I think 1 tsp was still too much. It was a very strong, almost over-powering flavor and if I make this again, I won't add ginger :)

April 12: food and fitness

Lift:
Squat (80% x6, 60% x12, 40% x25) 2x
Ham-glute raises 2x15
Hip flexor extensions with band 2x10
Bench press
Bent over rows (to help my back)
abs

Breakfast: stove-top cooked oatmeal with ground flaxseed, cinnamon, coconut sugar, and a tiny bit of milk 

Mid-morning snack: some of my Hawaiian mango-banana bread! I warmed it up and drizzled cinnamon on top and it was absolutely delicious!

Lunch: Garlic Pepper "Shrimp"
Tom made us a delicious mid-afternoon lunch! When I asked him what he called it, he replied "garlic pepper shrimp," even though it was made with crab meat and tilapia. He's such a goof. We ran out of brown rice, so he made a mixture of white and brown rice for the filler and then cooked tilapia filets and crab meat with minced onion, garlic, and pepper and added a few "secret" ingredients. I'll have to get the exact recipe from him later :)

Post-workout: Since we had a later lunch (~3pm) we didn't have much for dinner. After our lift, I made a protein shake with water, strawberry whey protein, 2 strawberries, blueberries, and a few blackberries. I added a little bit of pomegranate juice for extra flavor.
*I usually make my protein shakes with milk or soy milk because it tastes better and it increases the calories/nutritional value, but since we were out of both, I added water with a little juice for better flavor. 

April 11

Breakfast on-the-go: Starfruit and Blackberries :)

Lunch: eggs with a mix of avocados and peppers and a little sea s&p

Snack/small meal: this is one of the most delicious things I have ever made!
Healthy homemade ice cream:

2 frozen bananas (very ripe)
2 tbsp peanut butter (can use PB2 for fewer calories/less fat)
1/4 c milk or soy milk
1 tbsp cocoa powder (or chocolate PB2)
*can add whey protein or Body by Vi for extra protein/nutrition

Mix in a blender with ice and it's ready to go! This photo is the exact consistency straight from the blender. It was so creamy and smooth! It wasn't as sweet as regular ice cream (I probably could have added agave nectar or coconut sugar for extra flavor) but it was the perfect snack/small meal! It made 2 large servings, so I froze half for my husband for later. I think next time we go grocery shopping, I'm going to buy some of the cheap ripe bananas and freeze them right away so I can make more of this when I need a quick sweet snack (with a decent amount of protein). 

Snack/small meal: Muesli! An Australian breakfast dish.
Typically you soak steel cut oats in apple juice over night, and then combine with yogurt, fruit, nuts, honey, and cinnamon. I used orange juice (because that's all we had). It was very sweet and I'm definitely going to try apple juice next time :)

Workout: 40 minute basketball game
Dinner: we made homemade pizza with a whole wheat crust (but I forgot to take a picture :/)

Work for it every day

April 10: Lunch and dinner recipes

Lunch: I didn't want to take the time to prepare a fancy lunch (I'm having too much fun playing with Bailey in the snow lol) so I made a quick protein shake:

1/4 c plain Greek yogurt
1/2 c spring mix greens and spinach
1/2 c milk
4 chopped strawberries
1 scoop whey protein (strawberry flavor)
Add ice and blend. 

Dinner: Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes

1 medium sweet potato chopped
Diced onion
Sea salt and pepper
Minced garlic
1/2 c cooked quinoa
1/4 c whole wheat bread crumbs
Fresh cilantro
Chopped basil
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Heat skillet on medium heat with olive oil and cook sweet potatoes for 10-12 minutes. Mix remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Mash the cooked sweet potatoes with a fork and add to dry mixture. Add beaten egg and use hands to form equally-sized patties. Cook in skillet with olive oil for additional 3-4 minutes until golden brown on each side.

Top with blackberry salsa:

Fresh blackberries
Diced onion
Diced jalapeno
Chopped cilantro
1 tsp lime juice
Sea salt and pepper

Combine ingredients to taste.

April 10: Hawaiian Mango-Banana Bread

Snow day #2!!
I've never had 2 snow days in a row in my life, so I was pretty excited when I woke up to an email saying my campus was closed. Since Bailey wakes up around 7am every morning, I decided to get up and feed her and then get creative with breakfast. I was looking through a few of my honeymoon photos last night and was reminded of a mango banana bread that we got in Maui. It was one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten. That memory inspired my breakfast creativity:

Hawaiian Mango-Banana Bread

1) Cut a whole mango into tiny pieces. 

2) Mix 2 cups of whole wheat flour with 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1 tsp cinnamon.
Instead of using refined sugar, I added 1/4 cup organic coconut palm sugar (shown below). 

3) Add 2 eggs, 1 mashed banana, 1/4 c chia seed gel (or oil), and 1/4 cup milk  

4) Combine mixture with mango chunks and pour into a greased bread pan.
Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes. 

Final product! Yummm!

Since I was feeling very tropical on this very snowy day, I ground up Hawaiian coffee beans
that we got on our Honeymoon and made a delicious pot of Mokka Peaberry coffee.