What I Ate Wednesday +week in review of workouts

Finally feeling like I am back on track with my fitness 100%. For me fitness encompasses good nutrition and exercise. I sucked at the nutrition part these last couple years. My sweet tooth gets the better of me and I often give in and that really prohibits my results. But, these last few weeks I have really listened to my body and am doing so much better. Plus, I am feeling more energetic over all and am feeling more confident in my own skin and that is always what matters most!

So, my workouts this last week have looked like this:

I restarted Insanity so that is the schedule I am following. I didn't do the fit test so I had an extra rest day, plus I slightly injured my knee so I took another rest day...but it is feeling drained and 100% better so this week it's on!

Last Wednesday: Cardio recovery and a bike ride
Thursday: Short bike ride, and rest. My knee was killing me.
Friday: Pure Cardio, plus a walk, and a bike ride
Saturday: Resting the knee, took a nice walk all around downtown enjoying the sun and shopping ;)
Sunday: Rest...stretching and foam rolling
Monday: Cardio power and resistance, walk through the park
Tuesday: Pure Cardio
Wednesday: Plyometric cardio circuit, 1 mile run

I've really enjoyed my workouts, but I forget how much protein I need to get me through! So I've really picked up my game and have been making sure to have lots of my good fats, tons of veggies, and lots of lean protein like chicken and tuna.

So, here are the meals I ate Monday....

Morning coffee but of course! Since it was a cloudy Monday I decided I needed some extra sparkle in my life so I whipped out my Union Jack Mug ;) I also had a banana and water as my morning "snack"

My post workout breakfast. Scrambled eggs with avocado, tomato, leeks, and onion and a steam sweet potato with peanut butter...I actually wasn't hungry for hours after this.

3:30 snack, not pictured was a healthy no bake cookie...these are so great make with natural pb, local honey, coconut oil, gf oats, and raw cacao powder and a cup of vanilla tea

Dinner was so great. The kiddo and I inhaled it. We still have just a little leftover...not much though.

Green beans, one small potato, one medium sweet potato, eggplant, onion, garlic, and yellow pepper. I simmered it in some tomato puree. I used up all the veggies I had hanging around in the fridge and freezer. It was ridiculously delicious. 

Now, to put in a random meal from Tuesday: DESSERT!

These are olliebollen...well, the one on the left is; the one on the right started with a K, I can't remember the name but it is the olliebollen but stuffed with cream! They are so amazing and apparently only come out here in the Netherlands at Christmas time (although I hear there is a cart of them at Wailabi World year round)...but, we got these treats because here in the Netherlands Tuesday was Sint Maarten....this is a holiday similar to Halloween, but the children make lanterns and sing songs as they go door to door. We went to the Vondelpark to watch the parade they do where the local children can join in with their lanterns. It was quite adorable. So, since the kiddo didn't get to do any trick or treating on our way home we stopped by a cart and picked these up. We cut them into thirds so we all got a little taste. Trust me...it was more than enough, but they are really good! They are almost like a fried pancake. A favorite treat for sure!

That's it for What I Ate Wednesday...what have you eaten lately?

Week in Review of Workouts +WIAW

Wow, I am still trucking along in my P90X2/PiYo Journey. My ultimate goal is abs by my 34th birthday mid-November! So, in the spirit of my January goals I am working hard at finishing up X2!

This is how I ended week  4 and started week 5:

Thursday: PiYo Drench...I then started total body, skipped through a bunch of stuff and then gave up. I was exhausted. Sometimes ya just have to listen to your body. I then went on a really long bike ride...'twas awesome, but I was so tired!

Friday: X2 Yoga and Strength...because I had listened to my body on Thursday I was able to do all the exercises...I was tired by the end though!

Saturday: X2 Balance and power and PiYo Sweat...these two are an amazing combo and I love doing them together! I felt amazing afterword. Later in the day we took a really long walk downtown to a delicious place to eat.

Sunday: Rest, rest, rest. We wound up doing quite a bit of walking since the teenager had cheerleading, but that was fairly relaxing...we did wind up leaving early though because she felt awful.

Monday: X2 Core (I loathe this one so it was good make sure I completed it), and PiYo Sweat...I felt so zapped after this...of course it could have also had something to do with the mile walk for groceries earlier in the morning and then the 15 km bike ride for hair dye and face wash. haha The bike ride was amazing though, I live in a beautiful country!

Tuesday: 5km bike ride (had a parent event at the teenager's school), Plyocide, and PiYo Sculpt

Today: Will be another 5km bike ride for my book club meeting plus PiYo Core and X2 total body...Normally this is a partial rest day and I just do PiYo but I am switching that out due to Thursday's schedule...it is busy and the PiYo DVD is nearly an hour and I think I won't have the patience for two hours...just keepin' it real! ;)

Now for the goodies! 

It is nearly crunch time. I have to be really careful about what I put in my mouth and have to make sure it is only good stuff from here on out! I only have a little over two months until my next birthday and I really want to see some ab definition by that date. I am seeing a huge improvement, but know I can see more!

I haven't been very good about remembering to document a full day! So, here a bits and pieces of different days!  

Black bean burgers and broccoli meatballs...so good!

This is a homeamde maple caramel latte....it was so good! I will post a recipe soon.

The kiddo's cheer team celebrated their 5 year anniversary this Sunday.

This was my post workout snack....half apple elderberry juice, half superberries juice, and two slices of lemon squeezed in...delicious!

Well, that is all I have for this week...will have to be better about taking pictures this upcoming week....I think too it will help keep me more accountable of what I'm putting in my mouth...I need to put that nutella spoon down! I have an  issue this last week and a half with the nutella addiction! haha

What have you not been able to stop eating this last week?!

Werkin' on my fitness...

Well, well, well, halfway through the week! Hard to believe it is that time already! My little pumpkin will be home before I know it!



This week I've been gobbling up lots of delicious food...here is a selection from yesterday:

Breakfast was a sad event. I had to eat alone since the kiddo is off at camp. Luckily I got to talk to her but I was still sad to have coffee and brekkie all by myself. *sniff*sniff*

Post-workout wound up keeping me full for a VERY long time.

Chocolate shakeology make with one cup of almond milk, a banana, 4 dates, and 4 ice cubes.

I am almost out, may have to have some friends that are moving here bring along a few bags for me lol

Lunch was this interesting sandwich I put together with some leftovers. I was supposed to make chili with it but I really wanted BBQ flavor so I made something similar to chipped beef sandwich.

Just leftover browned ground beef, add some bbq sauce, warm up, put on baguette with gouda, melt, add onion and lettuce!

I had a tiny spoonful of nutella for post-lunch dessert.

Yes, I know you are thinking wtf, post lunch dessert?! It works for me. If I don't allow myself something small after lunch I feel deprived and the rest of my diet will go to hell in a handbasket quicker than you can say fried chicken. So, having the little spoonful keeps me sane.

Afternoon Pick-Me-Up. Yup, afternoon coffee and a book.



Dinner was supposed to be this great little recipe I found on pinterest. But, two things happened 1) I apparently was on a bbq kick and really wanted bbq'd chicken legs and 2) I didn't want potatoes but wanted mac and cheese instead. I guess I needed a taste of home!

Dessert...yup I have dessert too lol Nothing huge, but it keeps my goals on track. Today's wasn't bad since I had the nutella earlier ;)

Just a small glass of Apple-Elderberry juice. This is fresh and delicious. Yum!

Workouts

Last week I did amazing at keeping up with my doubles. I hit every double, every day! I always feel so good when that happens. This week is starting off ok. Tuesday was better than Monday...

Last Thursday....X2 total body and Piyo Lower
Friday...X2 Yoga and Piyo Sweat
Saturday...X2 Balance and Power and Piyo Strength

Sunday...Day off...foam rolling and stretching and lots of walking.
Monday....X2 Core (I did this halfheartedly..I am not a fan of this workout lol) and Piyo Sweat-I gave 120%
Tuesday....Plyocide and Hard core on the floor....both were excellent workouts. Exhausting, but excellent.

Wednesday(Today)....Piyo buns...X2 is a rest day but I am going to go downtown and do a walking tour with my Nikon...it is beautiful and sunny, can't wait to explore a bit.

I am seeing huge changes since starting X2 and Piyo. I am also being really mindful of what I am putting into my body. Sticking to my meal plans and adding in "desserts" where they work for me and my body. I think my goal of seeing my abs again by my birthday in mid-November will definitely be happening!

So, share with me, what was your favorite thing you ate this last week?

Mostly my week in review of workouts, but a little WIAW

So, this last week I've been pretty busy with school starting back up and job hunting. So, I've been not so great at the taking pictures of what I ate thing...but, ya know, I managed to pull a few things out of my photos.

First though I want to talk about my workouts. Things have been going amazing so far! I am on week three of a P90X2/PIYO doubles schedule I made up for myself. It is wicked intense and I had to seriously up my protein, but it is really paying off. I am seeing sooooooooo many changes! I can do one full pull up many times throughout the day. This is super exciting for me. My goal is by my birthday I want to be able to do five consecutive pull ups (along with seeing my abs).



Wednesday: X2 Recovery and Mobility and PIYO Core
Thursday: X2 total body and upper body
Friday: X2 Yoga
Saturday: X2 Balance and Power, Core
Sunday: Complete rest
Monday: X2 Core and Piyo Upper....I half assed the core I'll be honest. I wasn't feeling well and toward the end I just felt like I couldn't do any more so I skipped through 2-3 exercises. *sigh*
Tuesday: Plyocide and Piyo Buns...excellent day...totally made up for yesterday and now my lower abs are on fire.
Today: Piyo core and a bike ride. I will try and fit in the recovery and mobility DVD if I can't though I will at least foam roll at some point.

After this week I am convinced I love breakfast. It is my favorite meal because that is what I have the most pictures of....

Mmmm coffee!!!

I have a high schooler now. For the first day I made this amazing french toast casserole...recipe will be coming soon!

Mmmm...banana's, blueberries, and peanut butter...breakfast of champions!

I actually fixed this for the kiddo for lunch a few days ago...the wrap was sweet potato hash, half an apple and some cherry tomatoes.

This was from when we went back to school shopping. It was a delicious lunch to keep us fueled for the insane day that laid ahead of us.

So, that is pretty much it for this week's What I Ate Wednesday! Hopefully next week will be full of more fun, interesting eats! 

P.S. Check out the rest of the party over at Peas and Crayons!

I'm baaaaaaaaaack! WIAW +my week in workouts!

Well Hello! It has been about three weeks, maybe four since the last time I posted! Here's why:

S-U-M-M-E-R!!! 

Here in Holland my daughter only gets a 6 week summer holiday. I wanted to take that time and truly enjoy it with her and to enjoy the lovely weather we had. I say had because I am convinced all vestiges of summer are gone...we are well into fall-like weather. I do have a ton of posts to come though about all the fun and exciting things we did during our summer holiday. Most people left Amsterdam to vacation other places, but we had so much to see around here we decided to stick around and explore the city. It truly is a gorgeous place to live!

Anyway, I haven't done one of these for quite some time so thought, since today is the first day of school I would take some of the free time I now have and show y'all what I've been eating and what I've been doing for workouts!

Some things I had for breakfast this week:

That cinnamon toast reminds me of a donut. I put a good helping of butter on it, sprinkle it liberally with cinnamon sugar then put it in the oven just until the butter is melted so the bread isn't really toasted, it is gooey and amazing.

Sweet potato apple hash & I threw in some shredded carrot ;)

Examples of lunches:

This was lunch yesterday, 8/19...bbq chicken pizza made on a tortilla...it was delicious!

This was "lunch" last Tuesday when we went back to school shopping. This was at the "largest Starbucks in Europe". It is in an area of town called Rembrandtplein-where there is a giant sculpture recreating the Nights Watch-it is always packed with expats and travels, hardly ever locals.

Dinners:

Homemade chicken nuggets, black bean burgers, and some pumpkin soup, and cranberry juice which may or may not have been spiked with the Ciroc my husband brought me home from his visit to the states ;)

This was one I made while hubby was in London last week as it is one he would NOT have been a fan of! haha it was whole wheat ravioli stuffed with spinach that was cooked in a little tomato puree and some cherry tomato and purple onion! Served with an amazing salad of course!

Snacks/Desserts:

Dessert a few nights ago: Shakeology date smoothie with a little whipped cream ;)

Delicious cinnamon latte.

Shakeology bowl! It makes sooooooo much! 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup almond milk, scoop of shakeology, 1/2 banana, tablespoon of chia seeds...blend together and top with other half of the banana and a generous spoonful of peanut butter!

Week in Workout

A few weeks ago, back in June or July sometime I watched that video that went viral of that girl on American Ninja Warrior that absolutely kicked butt on that obstacle course, this inspired me to really get my upper body strength up and really get back to being serious about my health. This really started back in May/June, but I have kicked my workouts in to high gear since then. I started running again and then just last week I started P90X2 & PiYo. I am doing doubles each day. I chose these two because I knew they would both work the areas I am weakest in: upper arms and core.

Seriously, I am not sure how long it has been since I worked my transverse abdominal muscles but it must have been a while and I think it is why I was getting such a bad "pooch" in my lower belly. I will say after taking up running again and doing these my abdominal muscles have pulled in a bunch and I can pull myself up 2/3 of the way on our pull up bar!

So, without further ado, this has been my schedule:

Last Thursday 8/14: X2 Total Body, ab ripper, and PiYo lower

So much DNA removal! hahaa

Friday 8/15: X2 Yoga...Skipped PiYo Upper

I woke up so sore Friday morning and I modified all the pull ups in Total body...I could hardly move my upper body...Yoga was painful, but helpful and I modified just about everything. I couldn't imagine doing upper so I skipped it.

Saturday 8/16: X2 Balance and Power and PiYo Drench

This is what it came down to lol I had to put down a towel so I wasn't sliding around on the mat!

Sunday 8/17: Rest day...it was so glorious I literally laid around all day, didn't get out of my PJs and made some easy Taco's for dinner.

Monday: 8/18: X2 Core and PiYo Sweat

Was finally feeling human again and could do an arm hand on my pull up bar.

Tuesday 8/19: Plyocide and Lower Body

Today, Wednesday 8/20: X2 Recovery and Mobility and PiYo Core. I may or may not do recovery & mobility. I like the basis of it with foam rolling and stuff but it doesn't have enough flexibility work for me so I think I will do my own stretching routine where i can really work my splits, and my standing splits. I am also working on my scorpion and a few other more difficult flexibility poses. 

Well, I think that about sums it up for this week! I am so excited for the end of this month, I am determined to be able to do at least one full pull up by August 31st! What have been some of your goals this month?!

What I Ate Wednesday +my week in review of workouts!

This last week I was a horrendous picture taker...I think that is because alot of my stuff was the same this week...and my workouts were off since we were moving and I was a little more tired so I had more rest days. This past weekend we ate out quite and bit and I've been making a point to not be on my phone when we are out so I sort of forgot to take photos! I will be better this week....but I do have a few photos to share:

Starting off with the awesome stuff! ;) These are Stroopwafel's . They are an AMAZING Dutch treat. Our very sweet landlords left us a whole tinful of them and we've been slowly enjoying them. The teenager & I split this one as they are VERY sweet. They are two very thing waffles sandwiched around caramel! Oh yeah, amazing. We still have to make it down to the famous street market to try the fresh ones!

This is an amazing herbal tea we got to try for the mornings. I don't drink a ton of coffee anymore but wanted something to add to my lemon water...this is FANTASTIC!

My tuna salad for lunch this week (I have had it twice so far & probably again on Friday): Two handfuls of spinach, half can of tuna, some cucumbers, tomato, and green onion, a quarter of an apple, a chopped up pickle, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

This is the breakfast I've had a couple times this last week too: one egg, two egg whites, a large handful of spinach, tomatoes, green onion, and a spelt bagel with mashed avocado! 

Side note: spelt product are really big over here almost every bakery has stuff made with spelt...anyone know why??? (I'm seriously asking because I don't know lol)

Now this past week my "workouts" seem a bit funny since they weren't formal workouts but I burned a ton of calories I think: 

Last Wednesday: 40 min run and Insanity cardio recovery. This almost didn't happen since I was tired and hot but did it anyway and it was fantastic!

Thursday: Was moving all day carrying heavy bags, no workout

Friday: Just took a day off I was tired and just didn't feel like it. I did do some walking to our new home and did some cleaning and packing and walked around downtown for a solid 5 hours in crazy heels.

Saturday: Cleaning all day, went and bought bikes and took a bike ride. Went to our old place to finish getting stuff...realized we didn't have a key for the apartment so hubby & kiddo hung out together while I ran to the tram, ran a mile to our apartment, got the key ran a half mile to the train station, missed the train, sprinted to the bus that almost left me then ran a quarter mile to where hubby & kiddo were hanging out. Then walked around all evening downtown and ate dinner while people watching before the World Cup game started. We then carried crazy heavy bags (like 50 lbs+) down the stairs together and moved them into our new place.

Sunday: Rest day. Went to a birthday party at a local museum and learned some awesome stuff, walked around for 4 hours+ in crazy heels again and came home and took a few mile bike ride.

Monday: Insanity fit test and tried this "l-stand" and realized I did a plank thing instead of the L-stand...when I did the actual L-stand it was way easier than this: 

Which was crazy hard and really used my inner abs...I'm going to keep doing it. The L-Stand was so much like a hand stand that I didn't find it challenging at all.

Tuesday: 30 minute run and stretching where I found an awesome piece of art I will write about tomorrow.

Yesterday's post run selfie! hehe I loved the reflection happening in the water so couldn't resist taking this one!

So, how was your week? Get your workouts in? Have anything yummy to eat?

Glorious Summer What I Ate Wednesday +week in review of workouts!

I really have to get a better title for my What I Ate Wednesday posts...these are hard though because well, they are what they are! But, I had a *spam* commenter say the titles were "boring" and if a spammer thinks its boring...in my mind there is no doubt it is...so I need to get my creative brain flowing.....so this week I added "Glorious Summer" to the title since we kicked off summer vacation this past week finally....but, I still need to figure out what else to title these...for now though, I will continue to call a spade a spade ;)




I feel like I wasn't a very good journal-er for this week my food photos are really sort of random! ha!

Breakfast one morning: Oatmeal with almond milk, coconut oil, blueberries, chia seeds, blueberries, banana slices, cinnamon, and a tiny bit of vanilla sugar (I made, recipe coming soon it is amazing)

This was a quinoa scramble minus the eggs. We've been using up food because I am too lazy to transport it from one house to the other lol So this has a little bit of everything in it: peppers, onions, mushrooms, quinoa patties I made and had frozen topped with a bit of cheese. It was perfect after a nice 40 minute run & some insanity cardio recovery.

I confess: this is canned pineapple lol It was still delicious & I used the pineapple juice it was packed in to make a delicious drink with pineapple juice, pear juice, and some lemon...it was very yellow. :P

This is probably my most favorite salad ever! I will be posting the recipe soon...but it is so delish!

Hubby worked late one night and the kiddo and I didn't have to be creative so veggie nuggets and sweet potato pieces and onions it was. Easy, fast, and we had leftovers ;)

Finally...we had a great little treat day this past week on Friday. School let out Thursday so we partied hearty on Friday with a day at the beach & some delicious treats!

For me: Mojito...so tasty! For teenager: Coke

We split this tasty little concoction....nachos with salsa and guac and some chicken satay. Satay was a bit much for me I only had one skewer...the teenager devoured them though! 

Finally...some ice cream! No better way to kick off summer than some awesome ice cream and a walk on a bright sunny day along the canals of Amsterdam!

It was a great week and I really stuck to eating clean and healthy a majority of the time! This is good for me because I have been caught in a "cheating rut" for a while now...(btw, a "cheating rut" is where every meal is a cheat meal lol)

Now for my week in workouts! This has been a fantastic week for me. My legs are super sore, but I am more energized and feeling accomplished after my workouts even on days when I wasn't particularly looking forward to the workouts...

Last Wednesday: Ran 30 minutes and stretched...I did my C25K...it truly was an awful run. I was still lethargic after our Paris trip but, I got out there and did it and had a great time! 

Thursday: Insanity Cardio Power & Resistance

Friday: we were at the beach all day and our train coming home was late! We at dinner and I ALMOST didn't work out....but, I started getting mad at myself for not working out so I got up & did it! This is the end result of Insanity Pure Cardio! 

Sweaty & gross but feeling amazing!

Saturday: P90X Stretch and date night since it was raining all day I wasn't up for a run in the freezing rain ;)

Sunday: Got up at 7am and went for a run before everyone got up...did a 40 minute run then came home and did Insanity Cardio Recovery. 

Monday: 20 minute run with the teenager that included two sets of 20 second sprints, then some Insanity Cardio Abs...my abs still ache ;)

Tuesday: Insanity Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Starting today I may have to change my schedule around since it looks like it is supposed to be really rainy the rest of this week and I am not a fan of running in the rain in this colder European climate....but, hopefully it will be nice enough for me to get up and do my 40 minute scheduled run with my cardio recovery...but we will see...may wind up being pure cardio ;)

How about you...if you run do you run in the rain? If you don't run what is your favorite thing to do for exercise?