Recap of Weekly Goals For June 30 - July 6

Good Morning!

 

My day has started off wonderfully, and I hope yours has too!  I woke up to sun streaming through my window, and nothing can beat that!  My girlfriends had mentioned they were all going to hit the college track this morning for a workout, so I decided to participate in that mindset from home! 

 

Since it was so nice out I obviously wanted some outside exercise!  I used the 5 K Runner app on my phone and went out to snoop the neighborhood!  It is so crazy quiet up here all the time!  I hardly ever see anyone on my morning jaunts, and am just really hoping that I don't run into a bear at some point.

 

 

 

My walk/run was successful and I am now at home enjoying some Maple Cinnamon Protein Pancakes topped with coconut manna and pure maple syrup, and a Vega Recovery Accelerator drink in Tropical.

 

 

My friend is hosting brunch for a group of us, so I must go and make myself presentable! 

 

Below is a recap of my goals from last week :)

RECAP OF WEEKLY GOALS FOR JUNE 30 - JULY 6

1. Clean clean clean eating as much as possible - I did decent on this but not full points.  Ate out for dinner one night, had an emergency Amy's pizza, but didn't have junk or fast food!  YAY!
2. Continue with apple cider vinegar nightly with dinner - I missed a couple of these doses and wish I hadn't.  My stomach definitely feels better when I'm drinking it... Good to know!
3. Daily exercise; no calorie burn goals for this week, just to be active in some way every day - Finally a YES!  Something active everyday, even if it was just a quick walk.
4. Be in bed at 9:30 pm ready for sleep on Tues, Wed, and Thurs night... and as early as I can manage for the others- Big fat fail.  But not for lack of trying!  It was just sooo hot.  I figured out the fan/window set up for optimum coolness so by the end of the week things were looking up.
5. Complete at least two chapters of school work - Not two chapters, but 1.  And I enjoyed every second of time I got to spend with my text books :)
6. Mail out my thank you cards - Ummm... I'll do it tomorrow?  Why is it such a big deal to stop at the mail box!?
7. Don't get a sunburn - Woohoo!  Check.  This is usually a huge issue but I've been applying sunscreen daily to avoid any mishaps!

XO - Michelle

A Plan For a Plan

Today marks 42 days until the wedding!!!  I can't believe how fast it has suddenly crept up!  I put together a list of to-do's yesterday, and while it isn't too extensive, I really want to chip away at it so there aren't too many tasks left as we get closer.  I also really want to feel like I look my best!

Stamp from Etsy

How I want to wrap the bouquets

Our wedding arch!!!  Except imagine summer scenery surrounding it :)

While I've been getting consistent exercise, I still don't feel that I've made much of a dent in my goals.  I'm very happy with my overall weight loss, but I can't say I've changed much in the past few months, even though I've been trying harder.  It can be very frustrating and while I don't want to focus on it, the fact remains that I really want to see myself a certain way when I look in the mirror!  I think the key will be to continue believing in the system, believing that I'm doing what's best for my body, and keep on pushing!  I'm hopeful that my body will start responding soon.

The beginning of my summer 2013 goal board, I am still checking in with it!!!

 I'm going to create a schedule for my workouts from now until wedding day, and try to follow it as exactly as possible!  Expect a post on it soon :)

I'll leave you with this awesome Chipotle and Lime Hummus recipe that I tried last week, it is soooo delicious and a fun spin on regular hummus.

Enjoy your Saturday!!!

XO - Michelle

Friday Recipe Find - Clean Eating Chicken Fingers

Friday Recipe Find for this week comes from Little B's Healthy Habits.  Brittany's blog was one of the first that I started following when I decided to change my lifestyle, and this Clean Eating Chicken Fingers recipe was one of the first clean recipes I made, and is still one of my very favorites!  Here is the link to her recipe.


XO - Michelle

Product Love - Amy's No Cheese Pizza

Last night I got home late, by the time group workout and grocery shopping was done it was almost 8 PM!  Even though I had just gone shopping and therefore had lots of food, I had a moment of food related panic... My house was hot, I was tired, the last thing I wanted to do was chop, create, and cook.  That's when I remembered something glorious...  I had an Amy's No Cheese Pizza (THAT'S RIGHT, NO CHEESE!) hidden in the back of my freezer for emergencies such as this!!!

I got it into the oven right away and saved myself from eating a bowl of popcorn or something totally random.  It smelled delicious within minutes of baking and honestly tasted as good as it smelled.  The pizza is topped with marinated organic shiitake mushrooms, roasted red peppers, sweet onions, and artichoke hearts.  The crust is just how I like it, crispy on the edges and soft in the middle.  In 10-12 minutes you have an amazing, cheese-less pizza that is a pretty decent option as a treat for a whole foods eater.  I would not recommend eating this every night, but it's a great emergency or sometimes meal!  It goes for $12.99 at my local Save-On so I only buy when it goes on sale for $9.99, another reason to not eat it too often!

Click here for full ingredients and nutritional values.

Happy Thursday!!!

XO - Michelle

July 3 Group Workout

I have been finalizing wedding cake and cupcake plans with Jenn from JJ's Custom Cakery, and now all I can think of is delicious, glorious cake.  YUM.  I must stay strong and not go to the farmers market this weekend to gorge... (she has a stand there).  Group workout has come at the perfect time!!!

This week our friend Ali is home for a visit, so she was drafted to take a turn being the workout boss.  We used her basement because it's so freaking hot here.  We did a P90X yoga video and holy crap it was really effective!  It was way longer than I normally workout for, and I was really sweaty by the end.  I'm really curious about P90X and Insanity workouts, gotta try them one day...

I finished up this sauna of a day with some grocery shopping!  I must admit I've reverted a bit to my teenage self and have been hiding out inside as much as possible these past few days!  It's just so hot and it makes me feel cranky and sick, time to up the cuke intake!  Today my mom lent me her cooler to get my chicken breasts home without cooking them in the car, I was running low on eats and have been bumming lunches at her house haha.  At least I've been able to keep up with consuming clean food!

My indulgence of the week was dinner out to Pedal and Tap with my girlfriends last night!  I had the delicious Pedal to the Meadow burger and enjoyed my meal and visit so much!  My stomach definitely felt upset and bloated this morning though, so as an apology to it I'm going to try and stay very aware of my food choices and get everything balanced out again... if you know what I'm sayin' ;)

XO - Michelle

Cool As a Cucumber

We are into the thick heat of summer, better late than never.  I crave this time of year, and then when it comes I wonder why.  I'm really not into being overly hot, sticky, and uncomfortable.  I assumed that losing weight would help with this, and it has, but the feeling certainly hasn't alleviated much.

I've always had trouble dealing with the heat, my bod just doesn't seem to like it!  When I was younger I would spend the hot summer days in my parents basement, and only spend time outside before 9 AM and after 5 PM.

Things have gotten better since those days, and I thought I would share with you my top two stay cool tips (as in body temp, not popularity):

1. Hydrate hydrate hydrate.  Duh.  But seriously, with water.  I was just learning about hydration in school, and a lot of the beverages that people drink these days tend to actually further dehydrate their bodies.  If you choose something sweet like juice (I'm talking refined, from the store juice; not juice you made in your juicer), for example, your body will pull extra water from your body to try and dilute the sugar.  So try to stick with water or something like coconut water which has natural electrolytes. 
2. Eat cucumbers!!!  My mom had heard this trick many years ago and urged me to try it out.  Totally works.  I try to incorporate about a 1/2 cucumber into my meals per day and it seriously keeps my body cooler, plus it's delicious!  Try slicing up half a cuke and topping with some rice vinegar and a touch of olive oil.  Perfecto.

Here are a couple of articles that I found on foods that help you to stay cool, I plan on incorporating a lot of them into my summer meals.  Happy eating!!

http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/healthy-drinks/top-30-hydrating-foods

http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/blogs/10-foods-that-will-help-you-keep-cool

XO - Michelle

Weekly Goals for June 30 - July 6

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!

It's beautiful out!  It's my friend Danielle's birthday!  It's an extra day off!  Yahoo!!!!

WEEKLY GOALS FOR JUNE 30 - JULY 6

1. Clean clean clean eating as much as possible
2. Continue with apple cider vinegar nightly with dinner
3. Daily exercise; no calorie burn goals for this week, just to be active in some way every day
4. Be in bed at 9:30 pm ready for sleep on Tues, Wed, and Thurs night... and as early as I can manage for the others
5. Complete at least two chapters of school work
6. Mail out my thank you cards 
7. Don't get a sunburn

XO - Michelle