Transformation Tuesday #3

Good morning everyone!

I'm a little late to blogging this week, but my Sunday ended up being jam packed so I didn't get a chance to write up my posts for the week. I'll catch you up on all that on Thursday, but today is all about Transformation Tuesday!

Over the weekend I finally had an "aha!" moment and realized that I have a sugar addiction and it needs to get kicked to the curb ASAP. Now, I'm not cutting out all sugar, I just can't do that, but I've got to cut out sugary snacks, desserts, and candies. I've been catching myself walking into the pantry and eating candy when I don't even want it. That's got to stop now so Michael and I are going to overhaul our pantry so it's full of healthier foods and no temptations.

I did an arm workout yesterday and it seems I'm already making progress. It was still tough, but my arms aren't aching horribly this morning which is an improvement from last week. My core seems to be weaker than I would like so I'm working hard on getting that stronger. I've had lower back pain a lot and that tends to mean my core is not that strong, time to work on that!

As for my orthorexia, it comes and goes. Some days it's worse than others, but it's always there. I can feel it, but I'm working hard to not let it control me. Michael talks to me about it and helps keep me grounded. I was so confused about how to eat healthy without taking it overboard and Michael calmed me down and came up with a game plan. I don't know where I'd be without that man.

This week:

• Be active every single day
• Lift heavy 3x this week
• Stretch every single day
• Have only 1 cheat meal this week

Join me on Twitter, Facebook, & Instagram with your updates for #TransformationTuesday

All links to my pages are over there 

 Don't forget to tag me in your posts so I can see them!!

Transformation Tuesday #2

Good morning my lovely readers!

It's time for Transformation Tuesday!

Last week I skipped out on TT and really, every other blog day ha! So this week we're going to kick it off...again and keep it going. No excuses this time!

I haven't gone forward but at least I haven't gone backwards. I've noticed with a lot of my clients when I show them an exercise that involves core it's way harder than it used to be. I think some of that has to do with me not working my core enough so that's something I need to get back on.

I've also noticed my cardiovascular strength isn't as good as it was a few weeks ago. I'm attributing some of it to the heat and humidity, it just makes it difficult to do Zumba. But I also think I've been slacking there so time to get back on that!

• Lift weights 3x this week
• Run 3x this week
• Eat fruits and/or veggies at every meal
• If I don't get to lifting, bodyweight workout & pilates at home

Update on my battle with orthorexia:

Michael has been a big help with me on this. He's constantly reminding me that it's not the end of the world if I eat something unhealthy. It comes and goes, somedays and some meals it's more difficult to handle and others I don't even think about it.

I'll check back in next week with an update!

Join me on Twitter, Facebook, & Instagram with your updates for #TransformationTuesday

All links to my pages are over there 

MIMM: Oatmeal Square Recipe

Hey there everyone!

I'm back and I'm here with a super delicious recipe.

If Michael is gone for work I'm notorious for not eating a healthy rounded breakfast, aka. cereal. Obviously it's not a filling breakfast so I end up starving not long afterwards.

Well I finally got smart and food prepped and ended up with this delicious and easy breakfast.

Oatmeal Squares

Makes 4 squares

1 cup water

1 cup almond milk, soy milk, rice milk, or regular milk

1 cup steel-cut oats (I use the partially steamed Bob's Red Mill to cut down on cooking time)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

2 droppers of liquid stevia

Berries

1. Bring water and milk to a boil. Add oatmeal and drop heat down to medium-high, stir occasionally. When the mixture begins to thicken, add the rest of the ingredients and stir constantly. When thickened to your liking take the pot off the heat and let sit for 3-5 minutes.

2. While the oatmeal cools, line a square pan or square tupperware with plastic wrap to make removal of the squares easier.

3. Once the oatmeal has cooled, pour into lined pan and smooth the top. Fold the plastic over to cover the oatmeal and let cool completely. Place in the refrigerator.

I cut the oatmeal into 4 squares, but that may be too many calories for some so you can always cut each square in half so you end up with 8 rectangles! You can eat it cold or you can pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds to a minute. Enjoy!

Have a great week!

 

A Few Steps Back

Hey there everyone!

Got a little overwhelmed here so I haven't been blogging. But today I wanted to talk about something that's been nagging at me for a long while.

I've talked about my battle with orthorexia here

For more information check out that past blog post.

I'd thought I had won the battle. I really worked on rethinking how I ate and treated myself, but it snuck back up on me. I realized it this Sunday when I was out with my parents. I really wanted a milkshake, but the only place we could get one was Dairy Queen. Instantly my brain said, "Oh no, horrible ingredients, not pure. Don't do it." and I just kept insisting to them that I was okay, I didn't need one.

Thankfully my dad didn't listen and stopped anyway. I did get a milkshake...and then felt like crap for eating it later. I beat myself up for eating something "so unhealthy" and not enjoying a treat.

That's not the first time now that I think back on it. Fourth of July Michael and I ate a whole fruit tart that day, yes, a whole one. The next day I joked about how I needed to work off the fruit tart, but in my mind it wasn't a joke. I needed to work off all those calories and rather than brush it off and move on, I fixated on it.

Eating "treats" hasn't been a healthy thing either. When I do allow myself a treat, it turns into a binge...and then I feel horrible about it later.

It's this vicious cycle that never ends. I beat myself up to eat super clean and super healthy, and then binge and feel horrible about it. It's exhausting.

Not only is orthorexia an issue with my nutrition, but also my workouts. I'm not going to lie, I've been lazy about working out, but I haven't been sitting on my butt all day. I've been teaching Zumba, a cardio muscle class, taking Pilates, but none of that counts as "exercise" to my dysfunctional thinking. To my brain, if I'm not weight lifting and running, it's not a workout. Which is total and utter BS.

But I still beat myself up about it. I berate myself for  being "lazy" even though I've been moving.

I'm exhausted of battling myself and I'm exhausted of my brain thinking I'm just not good enough. I'm not good enough to set a goal and reach it, I'm not good enough to stay on track.

I'm just tired of feeling like I'm not good enough.

Now that I've come out and admitted my battle isn't over, I want to take steps to change it. For my Transformation Tuesday posts I'm going to talk about how I'm doing with my orthorexia.

Thanks for listening. And if anything on here sounds like you, I'm always here to talk!

WIAW: Fourth, Fireworks, and Fruit

Hey there everyone!

Happy Wednesday!

I love Wednesday cause it means one day closer to my weekend and sleeping in...except I rarely every sleep in ha! And it also means What I Ate Wednesday with the lovely Jenn & Mia!

So without further adieu, let's start this party!

I figured I would document the Fourth since we had some bomb food that day!

Breakfast:

I learned this great trick to making cottage cheese fluffy & airy, like a mousse. I whip it up in a blender and viola! So for breakfast we had mixed organic berries layered with whipped cottage cheese.

Michael and I went to Costco and found great deals on local organic berries so we bought a bunch...which means we are still eating berries..and yes, we're also freezing them. So. Many. Berries.

  Lunch:

Roasted garlic & other-yummy-stuff chicken sausage in a multigrain hot dog bun with my fav toppings, ketchup, relish, and vegan mayo.

Dinner:

Dinner:

Marinated shrimp & veggie kebobs with grilled corn.

We made some seriously yummy food, and quite pretty

Glutton Indulgence:

So that's a full-size fruit tart made with cream cheese filling, shortbread crust, and berries. I make a bomb fruit tart (homage to my pastry chef training) however, it's gone.

As in gone the same day I made it.

Michael and I ate the entire thing in one day, in 2 sittings might I add.

Do I regret it? Hell no! It was yummy!

Michael and I spent Fourth of July watching a movie and eating popcorn (yes I had room) and listened to the fireworks going off until 3 am. 3. AM! It wasn't even the Fourth anymore...I was about to strangle someone.

I hope you all had a great, and safe, Fourth of July!

Transformation Tuesday Reboot

Good morning everyone!

I'm back!

Now, I know I've already started the whole Transformation Tuesday weekly post on here, but I've been so sporadic about my workouts and clean eating that it's done jack-squat (like my measurement?) to change my body.

So I'm starting over. Michael is on board to not let me be a lazy brat and I'm determined to keep myself accountable.

I want to start from here and I want you to join me!

Michael is doing the weekly update with me (while he's home at least)!

• Lift weights 3x this week
• Run 3x this week
• Eat fruits and/or veggies at every meal

We'll check back in next week with an update!

Join me on Twitter, Facebook, & Instagram with your updates for #TransformationTuesday

All links to my pages are over there 

 Don't forget to tag me in your posts so I can see them!!

Let's Be Real

Happy Monday everyone!

I hope you all had a great Fourth of July and I pray I'm not the only one who lives near idiots people who have been setting off fireworks even though it's not the 4th anymore.

I wanted to write this post as a way of shouting out that I'm not perfect. And holy cow is it scary and hard! 

You know how you see someone's life on the internet, be it Facebook or Instagram and think, damn their life is nice? People constantly put out there the good times in their lives and don't show the bad times. We're all not perfect, we don't have perfect lives.

I'm here to say I'm no different.

And I'm terrified to admit it.

Being a personal trainer I try to strive to workout consistently and eat healthy and just show how hard work pays off. And yet I can't ever seem to stick to any kind of routine and it's just depressing.

I'm constantly frustrated that my body isn't doing what I want it to do and it's because I'm lazy. There. I said it. 

I. Am. Lazy.

And I hate it. I hate that I can convince myself to not go to the gym because "I'm tired" or try to reschedule training with my mom in the morning because "I'm tired." I'm tired of being tired!

I'm also a lousy blogger. No really, I am. I can't seem to stick to any kind of schedule that would mean I consistently blog. I think part of it is that I'm scared. It's hard to blog, and not just finding interesting stuff to blog about, but because you're putting yourself out there for people to read and judge. I'm a huge introvert. If I can just stay home and read books with my cat all day, I'd do it. So blogging is a big step for me. 

Even when I do set aside time in my daily schedule to blog I seem to always come up with the same excuse, "I'm too tired." 

And it needs to stop.

From now one I need to promise myself and my readers to stop being lazy and stop saying, "I'm too tired."

Every day I need to post a photo on Instagram or post on Facebook proving that I've worked out. I need you to keep me accountable. Friday I need to get back with Fit Fridays and keep myself on track. 

Every week I want to aim to post at least 3 times. And I can do it.

I just have to stop letting myself be lazy!

Thanks for listening and don't forget to follow my blog on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin' over on the right!