Fall Into Fun

Fall time...to me it means leaves changing, pumpkins, hay rides, and festivals. Usually by this time my family has already been to a handful of fun events, but this year between my nieces busy social life of birthday parties, my new dating life, and other scheduling conflicts it has been more a challenge to get us all together, but we did it!  This past Sunday, it just happened that all of us were free and we took advantage of the moment and went to a harvest festival a few towns over.

My dad, nieces, and me waiting for the hayride

Well...it definitely wasn't as big as the promotion lead us to believe but we were together. The wind was blowing, but the sun was shining. 

My sister and me on the hayride...could you tell we are sisters?

My dad and brother-in-law hanging out on the hayride

They didn't have the best pumpkins to pick from, but we wandered around the fields and my nieces enjoyed saying ewww at every squished pumpkin. Some of the bushes had prickles on them, Kaitlyn helped me pick them off after. Maybe she will grow up and be a nurse like my sister. 

I'm pretty sure she was saying ewww look at that one!

We could have waited for the tractor to come back and get us from the field, but since we are a family that is healthy together these days we decided to would walk the rest of the way. Now I felt even better about the festival, I got my workout in for the day since I overslept that morning. 

Group shot my mom took from of us walking back

Not much else was really going on at the festival, but don't worry dad and I make any place fun! Oh look a wheelbarrow....

Who needs a festival of events when they had wheelbarrows
Good thing I lost some weight!

So the festival definitely wasn't the best one ever, and will probably not be one we attend next year, but we got to spend some time together walking around and laughing. Luckily they also didn't have much tempting festival food like funnel cake, french fries, and cookies so it didn't make it hard to resist. Since we were all hungry after the wind walking we decided to head over to a local restaurant and have a good dinner with plenty of healthy and delicious options for all of us to enjoy!  

This is called a warming up in the restaurant and excited for food selfie

To Wine or Not to Wine

No I am not talking about the type of whine you hear from me after an arms workout; I am talking about the wine made from grapes. I bet I have your attention now...

Wine makes me happy inside

When I started cleaning up my diet at the beginning of the year, I only wanted to eat and drink foods that I felt would be healthy and have nutritious benefits for my every day life. Alcohol didn't seem to fit into that category so I cut it out. I had a glass of wine on February 1 at a fire department function and didn't even have a sip for months after that.....until recently. 

Let me explain. Lately I have been thinking about maybe adding in a glass sometimes, I admit after a tough week it is nice to unwind with a good glass and relax your crazy week away. So I looked up the nutritional value and found that a 4 oz glass of Barefoot Moscato (I love Moscato) contains 120 calories and 11g of carbs. Hmm would it be worth it to consume my calories and carbs in the form of a drink that had really no big benefit to me drinking it except I enjoy it??

Hmm... I like the way this guy thinkshttp://www.stelladot.com/

And then last weekend happened...I had a date. I was sort of set up by a friend of a friend and for some reason I was nervous. You would think after so many dates, especially with being on match for a few months I wouldn't even be phased, but that night I was feeling my nervousness.  When we got to the restaurant I decided tonight would be a great night to slowly get back into drinking wine. I ordered my drink, very much aware that I hadn't had anything to drink in a while and I didn't want this to go to my head too quick, so I sipped extra slow and enjoyed. It tasted delicious and I admit it helped me to  relax just a little and enjoy the evening. We had fun that night and yes we have seen each other since. 

Ha ha, yup

I was pleased the next morning when the scale stayed the same, I wasn't feeling yucky at all, and I got right back into my workout routine. So here is my thinking, it's okay to have a little indulgence occasionally, as long as it's not something that will make you sick due to an allergy or sensitivity, and the rest of the time you eat and drink healthy and continue to workout. Moderation and balance is the key. 

I have no idea what the future holds with dating and the new guy, but I do know wine is now back in my life!

Mind Over Body For Success

Last week was my first full week back to the gym since the beginning of summer. I started with my new trainer Mark and made some new gym buddies. I loved being back in the gym atmosphere. I switched up my cardio a little to break away from my safe treadmill, have you ever heard of a seated elliptical? I definitely didn't until that day and now I love it. The guy next to me had to show me where all of the adjustments were, but once I got going I was hooked. The biggest change was the new trainer.  My first trainer when I joined the gym started off great and then went down hill, I wasn't sad when he was no longer at the gym, the next trainer was okay but definitely didn't keep me coming back for more (hello summer off). I spoke to the assistant manager before setting my appointment and after talking to her a few minutes she said she knew exactly who I should train with. I went with her gut and set the appointment. I am so happy I did.

I want working out to be a part of my every day life.
If I enjoy the process, I will come back for more

Mark is amazing!! I now workout with him two times a week. The first time we met it was mostly to go over food, my goals and expectations, took all of my measurements and even did my weight and body fat % (yikes). Next was our workout, it was tough, but I enjoyed it. For the first time I was sweating and feeling like I was really working towards my goal of not just weight loss, but overall tone and health. The next workout was arms...um ouch. What I really like about the workouts he teaches, is that I feel confident enough to go in and do it by myself on days I am not training with him. One the biggest reasons I had for getting a trainer was to learn how to do it on my own, without being afraid.

Knowledge is power...
When I am done with my training sessions,
I will know how to continue my workout success and not be afraid

I also love that he not only pushes me, but he encourages as well. He is such a positive influence and has this amazing energy to be around, he somehow even manages to keep me laughing throughout my workout. Last night's workout was legs. Mark pushed me to the point where my legs felt like jello and shaking all over. I was dripping with sweat and at one point was ready to give up. He wouldn't let me, he kept telling me to push myself, to do it for myself, I had it in me and not to give up. At that point, instead of thinking about my jello legs I concentrated on his words. I thought about my body and how I want it to look. I thought about all my hard work and how good it was feeling. I thought about not letting myself down and not letting him down. I could do and I did do it. I finished all my reps and went through the entire workout routine. I was exhausted, sweaty, and shaking, and couldn't have been more proud of myself. I also can not wait to workout with him again next week.

This is exactly how I felt walking this morning!!
At least I was laughing while trying to walk

I realized sometimes it's your mind letting you down, telling you to give up or you can't do something. I believe for the most part if we tell our mind to be quiet for a second, be positive instead of negative, and believe in ourselves you can accomplish anything!!

I'm not done until Mark says I am done,
 and then he tells me to do more

And yes my legs are hurting big time today, but I will still be in the gym this afternoon for my cardio routine telling my head to be quiet I can do it.

Excellent Egg Muffins

As you know, I love eggs! They can be cooked so many different ways, combined with different foods, and so filling. 

I started back at my gym this week, which feels painful and wonderful at the same time, and I wanted to try switching up my pre-workout snacks. I was looking for something full of good protein and fat, not too high in calories, and of course low carb. One of the trainers I was talking to suggested making egg muffins. Egg muffins!  Why didn't I think of that. They are so easy to make and I can stick a couple in a zipblock bag to take with me. Off I went food shopping...

Ingredients: 

(Makes 12 muffins)

10 eggs

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

6-7 Broccoli florets

Salt

Pepper

Cooking Spray

Egg muffin ingredients; eggs, broccoli, cheese...sounds easy, because it is!

** You can use whatever cheese you like, and also add in any type of vegetable. I think next time I am going to try it with bacon added in. YUM! **

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray the muffin tin with the cooking spray. 

Crack all 10 eggs in bowl. I like to crack the eggs first just in case some shells sneak past me I can get them out easier. 

Cracking the eggs and trying to not get any shells slip past me

Mix the eggs up and then it's time to add the 1 cup of cheese (add more or less to your tasting).

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese added to the mixture

Since I am not the most professional or technical I just took a couple of broccoli florets and broke them apart with my fingers, it was quick and easy. Then just add your salt and pepper to taste.

Broccoli adds another level of nutrition and deliciousness

I used a 1/4 cup measuring spoon to make sure each muffin tin received the same amount of the mixture, it also helped me when figuring out the nutritional properties to enter into myfitnesspal. 

By using the measuring cup I knew exactly how much mixture
was going in each tin

Ready for the oven!

I set my timer for 15 minutes and was very excited to see how they turned out. Light and fluffy and delicious!!

Low calories, low carb, highly delicious egg muffins!

I love how easy they are to store!

These are an easy to store and quick to grab and go snack idea

I will definitely be making these again, just as soon I finish this first batch! 

Support from all Over the Globe

Life is crazy, complicated, wonderful, full of joy and lots of surprises, and so many ups and downs. Every day is a new adventure (thank you Debbie for that line). What matters most is how you get through those times, the good and the bad. Some days I wake up and feel like I can conquer the world, other days not so much. But I have the most amazing support team and a lot of them I have never met before...Confused? Let me explain...

Thank you Jack Sparrow for your words of wisdom!

When I first started trying to lose weight my mom told me about this app called Myfitnesspal. It is a free site that lets me track my weight, exercise, calories and other nutritional information that I choose. It even let me customize my goals since I follow more of a low carb diet. I can use it on my computer or on my phone so no matter where I am I can keep track of my daily intake and goals. I was really enjoying the site, and then I discovered the chat boards. People write questions and talk about their experiences, many sounded similar to my feelings. I started becoming "friends" with more and more people. It was neat keeping up with their success and them with mine. 

This app is more than just counting calories
It's a community to help you succeed with your weight loss
and get healthy dreams

Not too long ago one of those not so easy days happened and I was completely frustrated, my usual support team of people I turn to were busy and I didn't even want to bother them with my frustration, so I turned to the site and posted my thoughts and struggle. I didn't expect any replies or answers, but it felt good to vent my frustrations. So imagine my surprise when within minutes I had comments from all over the globe, people who had never met me before or even talk to me on the phone sending me support and encouragement, reminding me why I started my journey for better health and not to give up. It really helped! I was able to take a step back and work through my thoughts and realized I didn't really want the chocolate bar. That was just one time, other times I have asked for suggestions on a fitness tracker, food ideas, and even workout plans. I get just as excited for their success stories and try hard to support and encourage them when they have down days too. It is this really supportive group of people, who come together and have one goal in mind...success! My kind of people! 

Nothing better than going through the
good and the bad with people who believe and never give up!

If you are looking for a good (did I mention free) app/website to track your information I recommend myfitnesspal and I highly recommend you take advantage of the community boards and make friends. These people have nothing to gain by helping you, they just really want to, and you never know who you may help with your story and experiences. 

Thank you to all my friends on myfitnesspal!