21 Day Fix Results-Round 1!

On September 1st I started my first round of 21 Day Fix. By now, y'all know I love my Beachbody programmes....I'm not a beachbody coach or anything so this is a totally 100% honest opinion.

As a note...please ignore my messy room. I take these photos first thing in the morning before I even leave the bedroom so they aren't typically the neatest background ;) hehe

This is September 1. I felt fine, and didn't mind where I was at...but, I didn't like how tight my jeans were in my thighs and how my stomach looked over my jeans, it was pooching. Also, I didn't like that my sugar intake had increased while I was struggling to make myself eat vegetables. So, I bought the 21 Day fix extreme for the following reasons:

1) I knew the workouts would be tougher than 21 Day Fix original

2) I liked the portion control and emphasis on getting in veggies

3) I just felt like it was a programme I could be super successful using

Before

After-September 21. I wound up losing inches all over and I could really see that my lower abs pulled up. I have also seen a huge increase in balance. I'm not tripping and falling as much as I had been before this program. Also, my triceps are incredibly tighter. I started noticing a bit of a bat wing but it is completely tight in that area again. My jeans are also quite loose in my thighs, I don't need new jeans yet, but they do finally fit comfortably in that area. Also, my husband has said my thighs are noticeably more shapely and my calves have grown a bit.

This round went so well, I did a refeed week last week, and have restarted the 21 Day Fix today for round two. It was really easy to stay on track last week and there were only 3 times I really went off the meal plan and treated myself and I noticed it was easy to control how much of that bad stuff I ate. Today I jumped right back in and my teenager joined me. She's really looking to increase her veggie intake and cut down on the amount of sweets she's been eating...which as her mother I am happy about that as I'm sure her dentist will be too! ha! So, stay tuned for the end of round two on October 18th. I will post an update but won't be taking a break, I am going to see how many back-to-back round I can fit in before my birthday in November!

Have you done the 21 day fix? How did it go for you?

Menu Plan Monday 2015 #5

So, do y'all realize this week is the last week in January?! Last. That means there are only 11 more months left in this year people. I need to check back over my goals and seriously reassess. Get some balls rolling as the year is just disappearing!

Life Goals

Speaking of disappearing, how is your goal planning going if you do that sort of thing? Last week I set the following goals:

• Last week
• Last week I reevaluated some business goals and instead of playing catch up I set new, more manageable goals. 
• Worked on Dutch 3 times-getting some of the basics. 
• Stuck to my menu 6/7 days, not too shabby...the one day I didn't follow the menu we really needed to use up leftovers!
• This Week
• Continue Dutch try and go for 5 times this week.
• Get Etsy shop designed and live
• Follow menu and go for 7/7
• Start to get some running miles in, despite the cold.

Fitness Goals

• Vertical Plyo +1 mile
• Back to core, 2 miles and relief
• Vertical Plyo and relief
• Speed and agility, 1 mile
• Game day, 1 mile, relief
• Rest/Relief
• X-Trainer (Asylum Vol. 2)

Anyhoodles. We are back at menu planning. I feel like I did great at sticking to my menu last week. I am pretty sure it is all due to the prep. Easy, healthy meals were had and there was no "oh-mi-gosh it is 5pm what do I eat now?!". So, that prep will be happening yet again.

Breakfast

• Apple banana quinoa cups with potatoes x3
• Acai bowls x2
• Apple and spice breakfast lentils
• Leftovers...we have a cheer competition so it will really all depend on the times there.

Lunch

• Me:
• I will prep these ahead then eat them all week changing out the protein and other additions on my salad all week.
• Make a big batch of kale and quinoa minestrone
• Big spinach salad and dressing 
• Kiddo
• PBJ on leftover sweet potato pancakes with chopped fruit and kale x2
• Leftovers x2
• Eat out one day
• Weekend
• Vegan pizza buns and salad
• Sunday will depend, I will try and bring stuff for us but if there will be restaurants nearby the venue we will just eat out.

Dinner

• I'm really going for cleaning out the pantry and freezer here so most of this stuff I already have on hand, grocery trip will be small and easy on the budget!
• Maple baked lentils
• Vegan fried rice  (this will use up any leftovers and any veggies that are about to go bad)
• Stamppot (I've been seeing stuff for this in the grocery store. It is a dutch dish that I will post more about later)
• Lentil-bean tacos with steamed veggies (this dish uses up the triple lentil soup I made two weeks ago and froze and some black beans I've had in the freezer)
• Soup and panini's...we will use up the kale and quinoa minestrone I made for lunches earlier this week
• Roasted red pepper pasta with spinach
• Sunday will be leftovers. Just raid the fridge and pantry and eat whatever, I doubt we will be hungry if we eat while we are out, so going simple here.

Well, that is it for me this week, what do you have going on?

P.S. Join the rest of the party over at Mommy Run Fast, Jill Conyers, and I'm and Organizing Junkie.

What I Ate Wednesday +workout update!

Whew, hump day already!! I know my husband and kiddo are glad the week is half over...can't wait to sail into the weekend! But, this last week I had some delicious eats...here are the highlights:

This was our breakfast Saturday. It was so good. The night before I made croissants, then I took the leftovers and stuffed them with egg, cheese, tomatoes, and onions and put them on our George Foreman grill and grilled them up like Panini's! Everyone agreed they were amazing. On mine I put a smear of laughing cow & mustard too.

This was my post workout lunch one day last week...I made mini caprese pizza's! Just a few thick slices of tomato, put a basil leaf on and sprinkle with cheese. On one I had a leftover bean burger so I put that one there too. I had a few hard boiled egg whites...my dirty little secret: I DESPISE hard boiled egg yolk lol

This was our Saturday dinner. We had some amazing fries, but had them fairly late and weren't super hungry so I just rolled out some croissant dough, mixed some tomato sauce & tomato paste together, seasoned them added cheese and we had an instant quick light dinner! It hit the spot after a long day in the sun doing tons of walking sight seeing around town.

This was post workout just yesterday. Some brown rice with tomatoes sauteed in garlic butter with cheese, and some salad on top! Super filling.

Now on to my workout update! I am still plugging along with my double days...some days are better than others with hitting the doubles here lately. I am really sore everyday. Not a bad sore, definitely a good sore, but sore none the less. I am seeing huge differences all over my body...my hubby said he is too. I don't know if he is just saying that because he knows how sore I am or if he is really seeing them...I am going to trust him, he usually won't lie to me about that ;) haha

Last Thursday: Piyo Drench...today was a rest day from X2

Friday: X2 Yoga...was also supposed to do Piyo Buns, but this workout tends to bother my hips and
I was so sore so I skipped it.

Seeing major changed in my flexibility and balance. I can hold crow for a good 10 seconds and I am getting my legs closer together in wheel! YAY!

Saturday: Rest day but did tons of walking.
Sunday: Piyo Strength and lots of walking

I included this just because I love pictures of my jumping! ha! Plus, the shirt in this picture was really form fitting at one point and really tight and now it is loose! Look at it flying up in my jump! :D

Monday: This started a recovery week for X2. Piyo Drench and foam rolling
Tuesday: X2 Yoga
Today: Piyo Hardcore on the floor and buns. My two least favorite but they need to be done. I am finally seeing major changes in my bum and my stomach is definitely pulling up and getting flatter and I am seeing tons of definition in my obliques so I know they need to keep getting worked so I can continue to see that definition.

I am so glad this is a recovery week. I am taking it easy with the workouts and trying to do just one workout a day, making today my hardest day all week and I may not do the buns one will just depend on my hip.

I have been proud of myself for really cleaning up my eating again. I am feeling so much better and have a ton of energy, but at night I crash and I sleep super hard and have even been waking up naturally before my alarm (which is a big deal with our blackout curtains lol).

So, that sums it up for me! What have you been eating this week?!

What I Ate Wednesday # I need to figure that out ;)

Happy Hump Day Y'all! So, today is bound to be a BUSY one! We have so many appointments and things to get done. So this will be a quick one!

I had a very healthy week last week and this coupled with my workouts I am really starting to see some abs coming back ;) Can't wait to take some 30 day pictures!

Shakeology has been had each and everyday post workout. Apples, cinnamon, pb my favorite tastes like an apple pie snack. A treat from this organic place down the road. Bananas, pb, and dark chocolate because sometimes you just need that. Banana, string cheese, two dates, and pistachios. 

In the top left, frozen watermelon is amazeballs try it if you haven't, egg scramble, and raisin toast, blueberry coffee cake, and vegan coffee, sweet potato leftover breakfast bowl. Tuna salad, eggs and salad. Chicken and cheese crescents with fruit and veggies, steak bites with twice baked potatoes and zucchini, and some lo-mein after a movie on Sunday ;)

Workouts

I've been really good about following my workout schedule this month. I've really stuck to it and added in some things and I am sore in the most amazing way!

Last Tuesday I did a 30 minute run and saw this project called Cartas al Cielo read my post to learn more about it...it is awesome.

Last Wednesday: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Thursday: 50 minute run and Insanity Cardio Abs

Friday: Insanity Cardio Recovery

Saturday: Cardio Power & Resistance...it was awesome:

Sunday: X-Stretch & a 20km bike ride...some in the rain ;)

Monday: 10km bike ride and Cardio Power and Resistance plus this:

Tuesday: 200 burpee's and a 20 minute run to calibrate my heart rate monitor (not easy) and stretching

Today: Will be a half hour run and Insanity cardio recovery and 200 burpees....on top of tons of walking due to meetings we have today and doing the last of the cleaning of our old apartment. It looks to be a very strenuous day so we shall see how all that goes.

I hope everyone has a healthy and fabulous Wednesday!

Cartas Al Cielo

Wow, do I have a post for today! I tell ya I love being a runner because I discovery so many new and interesting things I may not see if it weren't for try to get those miles in during each session. On Tuesday I went out for an easy 30 minute run. I just wasn't feeling it so I told myself when you see something that inspires you stop and take a picture. It will be worth it, it will make the run more fun, and you never know what you will find. Sure enough...I had no idea what I would find.

I crossed the bridge over the canal that divides our neighborhood from this area of Amstel Park and found this:

A very pretty, well maintained little trail. It leads out on to a road that goes throughout the park (I have never seen any vehicles aside from park official ones) and throughout the park there are several graveled areas and little islands of trails. 

So, as I ran and explored I came upon this:

I took one look into this sphere and immediately felt very small. It absolutely took my breath away at how big I realized the world was in that one little moment.

I backed up, looked around the sphere and just enjoyed the view for a moment thinking about why this was here. Who else had been here and felt what I was feeling...a sense of wonder and amazement! Then, I noticed the little slit in the front there and made a mental note to google this when I got home. But, as I continued to run I did not have to wait:

I came across this board that, lucky for me explained the piece of artwork in not only Dutch, but English. I hate being illiterate in Dutch (although my typing skills have gotten tons better from using translate lol), but am glad things like this come in English too so I actually know sometimes what is going on around me! This piece is done by Alicia Framis and is called Cartas Al Cielo, which means "Letters to Heaven".

The way I interpreted this is the thought behind this is it is a sphere that reflects the world around us, capturing the enormity of all we inhabit. Allowing us to reach those that have gone on to their heaven. 

The board basically says the reflection of the sky, which many believe to contain the afterlife, is a place where we can look in moments of hope, desire, or desperation. Many times we look to the sky to talk to those we have lost...so, the thought of this enormity being reflected in a mirrored sphere led the artist to create a postbox to reach those we miss that have gone to the heavens above. When you visit you can slip a letter in to someone you have lost and the thought is they will get your letter delivered in heaven.

I will admit this actually brought tears to my eyes. It is an unselfish piece to share with the world and allow others, especially people like me who love to write letters, a way to "contact" those they have lost and are looking down on us from heaven. 

Such a beautiful piece and I am so glad I live just a block away from it!

Have you ever come across a piece of artwork that just took your breath away?