Many Thing Friday

High five it's Friday! We have made it to yet another Friday, and I have made it yet another week without blogging at all.

My hand is huge!

What's really on my mind is Grey's Anatomy. I didn't even watch it last night and I still feel like I have PTSD just from reading about it on Facebook. I won't spoil you (although I'm sure someone else on the Internet will) but here's this which will hopefully make us all feel better:

 So, I made a decision this week. I'm going to train for another half marathon. Now, considering I can't even run for 30 minutes straight at this point, that may sound ridiculous. However, the race is not until February 14, 2016. I figure I can get it together by then. Registration, though, is June 1, which is a little bit closer.

Now, one time I registered for a half marathon that was supposed to be in April in December. I had plenty of time to train, but what I didn't count on was that I would be 5 months pregnant in April. I skipped that one. This time I can promise you without a doubt that will not be an issue, so I feel confident registering in June for a February race.

Seriously, I'm super excited about it. I'm going to restart the Couch to 5K program on Monday. I worked it out and if I start half marathon training the weekend before Thanksgiving I should be gone. I got this.

I also decided to start Insanity Max30 as my next Beachbody program. I think it will complement the running nicely. I'll be a crosstraining fool. Plus there's a low impact modifier so I won't have to jump all the time. Jumping a lot and running could be problematic for this poor 41 year old.

Remember that time I met Shaun T and looked at him all creepy?

Shaun and I are going to be BFFs for the next 60 days.

I don't know how many things that was for today, so I'm just going to call it "Many Thing Friday". Here's to a wonderful weekend for all of us!"

Four Things Friday!

Hi five it's finally Friday! I've got several things to tell you about:

1. I was late for work because my daughter's knees hurt when she bends them.

Seriously. She was screaming that she wanted to go to the doctor instead of school.
I can't make this stuff up.

2. I sent my professor the draft of my Chapter 1 of my dissertation. That was surreal. Only ++++ chapters to go, right?

3.  For months I have been stuck in my size 10 jeans. Today I am wearing size 8 jeans. I just can't get over how awesome that feels! Single digits, y'all!

4. I'm a lazy blogger today and don't have many pictures for you, but here's one of me giving you a high five!

Have a great weekend, y'all!

Progress

Source

I've been working out consistently for a few months now, and I'm so excited because I'm finally starting to see some results.

First of all, the scale is consistently moving DOWNWARD.

For a long time it didn't do this. For a long time I was stuck. My eating was not strict enough. My workouts weren't intense enough. But now I'm seeing it go down every time I weigh.

My jeans are loose OUT OF THE DRYER! You know how you dread putting them on when they have been freshly washed/dried? I usually do too. But now they fit. And, as they stretch out throughout the day, they get crazy loose. It may be time to put on the next smaller size soon!

For a long time I dreaded getting dressed because the clothes I wanted to wear were all too tight. Now it's fun again!

I have more energy (and it's not just the coffee). I am stronger to get through my workouts. They are getting easier (or I am getting better).

Mornings with Children...

So, you probably know that I have three children.

She's wearing her zebra pants (see below)

They each have their own unique personalities. My almost 2 year old is pretty delightful. She brings everyone their shoes and then tries to put hers on (in her mind, when it's time to go, you put your shoes on, so she'll often be wearing just shoes and a diaper). My 7 year old does pretty well. I pick out his clothes for him and he sleepily puts them on. But my 4 year old....

My 4 year old is not a morning person. And every morning, there is SOMETHING. She's currently on day 2 of wearing her zebra pants for example, because all her other pants "bother" her. Some days she starts screaming in the car because her underwear "bothers" her.

She doesn't want to wake up in the morning. When I finally get her out of bed she usually goes to the couch and goes back to sleep. I know why this is. She has the most energy at night time. Even if I turn all the lights off, she stays awake talking and even doing this strange leg dancing while laying down. So I realize this is why she's tired in the mornings. I've tried everything to get her to go to sleep earlier, but she just can't seem to turn off her brain.

If someone forgets to give her a kiss and hug, or doesn't give her the right amount (most days one is not enough), she will scream her head off all the way to daycare. One day she was so mad because I wouldn't turn around and take her back to give Daddy a kiss and hug, she unbuckled, stood up and started to THROW things at me while I was driving. (Oh hell no!) That was a particularly bad morning for everyone.

Getting them all to the car in the morning is literally like herding cats. The baby wants to walk the other way. The other two walk slow. Getting them in the car is a huge accomplishment.

When I get to work in the morning, I feel like crying after what I've just been through. It may not seem so bad to you, I have left a few things out. But I just don't know what to do about mornings with my children.

Do you have any tips that have worked for your morning routine? Do you see any way I could improve? I'm all ears...

So, how's that no coffee/vegetarian thing working out for you?

Recently I announced that I was giving up coffee. I also announced I was toying with becoming a vegetarian. You may be wondering how that's going....

First coffee:

It's going like this:

I was feeling tired and having trouble getting going. This weekend, rather than do the cleaning I needed to do, I wanted to do nothing but sleep (this could have to do with all those children I have, but anyway). So, I had some regular coffee. It was amazing how different I felt. I had the energy to clean, do laundry and workout. It changed my mood! So, I decided to go ahead and start drinking  coffee again.

I really don't want to go back to relying on coffee heavily and building up a tolerance again, so I'm still going to try to limit it. I am going to do a 3 day refresh either this weekend or next, and I would like to do it without coffee (black coffee or coffee with stevia is allowed but discouraged). I don't want to have 3 days of misery so I'm not sure what I'll do with the withdrawals. It is suggested to drink green tea, so I may do that.

Now as for giving up meat:

I took the plunge and asked my husband to pick up some tofu and tempeh rather than my traditional ground turkey that I prep for the week. I also am using cottage cheese for one of my proteins, since it counts as a red container (protein) on 21 Day Fix. The tempeh was good, the tofu was, well, tofu-y. The jury's still out on that. I don't want to eat too much soy but I'm not sure what to eat. So it's going to be a process. I am NOT Vegan right now- I might head that way, but right now I am eating eggs and having dairy products.

So, that's the update. How are things with you?

Three things Friday

It's been a quiet week here on the blog, but thank goodness it's finally Friday!

1. I almost dropped my class. So I wrote to my professor and told him I was dropping the class. He wrote back and told me I had a high B and asked that I take the third exam and then decide if I wanted to drop. I agreed, and studied for the exam. I took the exam on Wednesday. Thursday I found out I got the highest grade in the class and set the curve. So, I figured I better stay in the class. Now all I have to do for this class is write a paper, that just so happens to me Chapter 1 of my dissertation. This is scary. And it's due in 19 days!

 

In other academic news, I have a presentation at a conference on April 28. It's about a project that I haven't quite finished yet. So I need to finish the project and prepare a presentation about it sometime before April 28. Just a little more stress.

2. I'm looking for new music for running. If you have a favorite workout song, can you let me know in the comments?

3. I'm thinking about what workouts I'm going to do when I'm finished with this round of 21 Day Fix. I love these workouts but I'm a little burned out. I can't decide, though, between Body Beast and Insanity Max 30.

Pros for Body Beast: I miss lifting and I need to work on pullups.

Cons for Body Beast: They are longer than 30 minutes. I'll have to drag out a lot of equipment.

Pros for Insanity Max 30: They are 30 minutes long. People have gotten amazing results. There is no equipment needed.

Cons for Insanity Max 30: I am really scared of these workouts and not sure I can do them. 

So I guess I'll continue to debate this for the next 2 weeks while I finish this round of 21 day fix...

vs.

So... what do you all think I should do for my next workout program?

MIMM #2: A Marvelous Monday!

Welcome to #MIMM #2. It was a beautiful weekend here in South Texas. Sunday was absolutely gorgeous and perfect for Easter. Here are me and the kids at church:

We had an Easter egg hunt at the house as well. There are still some eggs that haven't been found, so that will be a fun surprise at some point.

I decided to switch back to 21 Day Fix instead of 21 Day Fix Extreme. SInce I did that it meant my first round ended yesterday. I lost about 5 pounds. Haven't taken pictures or done my measurements yet. But today starts Round 2.

Easter was just gorgeous, and I'm ready for a great week1 What's marvelous about your Monday?

Three Things Friday

Hooray, It's FRIDAY! What's your weekend ahead look like?

1. Working out with my daughter.
When I was pregnant with my now 4 year old daughter, I worked out the whole time.

There she is, in my belly.

I did a lot of Turbokick and Turbofire (which had just come out). I remember thinking "One day, this little girl is going to be big enough to workout with me. Well, this was yesterday:

It finally happened. She's now my workout buddy. I got a little emotional.

2. 21 Day Fix is.. extreme. These workouts are really tough. I have to confess, though, I didn't love Pilates Fix Extreme (even though my daughter did it with me). It was the least fun I think I've had working out in a while. So I'm considering subbing Piyo for it the next time it comes around....

More fun than Pilates Fix Extreme

3. Remember how I'm working on that doctorate?

I really am still working on a doctorate. I'm taking two classes this semester. But, in a rare case of me actually knowing and accepting my limits, I've decided to drop one of my classes. I'm feeling a mixture of total relief, and deep anxiety (how can you feel those both at the same time? I'm not sure...) If you've ever dropped a class, can you let me know how you felt? Did you regret it? Or were you happy you did it? In my case, I just don't think my heart is in it, and I've let myself get so behind that I don't think I can catch up.

Source

I hope your weekend is filled with the opposite of anxiety, and that you have a lovely Easter.

Plyo Fix Extreme REVIEW

I started 21 Day Fix Extreme this week, and I thought it might be helpful if I posted a short review of each workout, in case there is anyone out there who, like me, is terrified of it.

The first workout you do in the program is Plyo Fix Extreme. Now, I don't know about you, but the word "Plyo" scares me. I'm not a fan of jumping. Well, this workout has plyos in it. You will jump. Even the modifier jumps. But to tell you the truth, I didn't jump every time. I still feel like I worked super hard.

Some of the moves include:

Squat jumps
Lunge jumps: In a static lunge position, you squat down and then jump. To be honest, I did the squats without jumping most of the time on these.
Burpee tuck jumps. Scary, but I just did burpees. Funny how burpees themselves suddenly seemed easy.

You are told to use light and medium weights. Autumn keeps reaching for her "heavy" weights, but says you can use your light weights. I did most moves with 5 pound weights, except for the moves where I just put the weights down (only a couple lol).

Things I like about this workout:
- I have room to grow. I did my best, and next time I'll do a little more. For a 30 minute workout, it sure works you hard.
- The modifier. Even though I think she could have modified more, I was able to figure out certain modifications that were even easier than the modifier (although I guess I wouldn't call them "easy").
- When it's over. Seriously, I feel great. I feel like I really accomplished something.

I'll be back with more reviews. I hope to review each workout of the program.

Thanks for reading!

Thoughts of an animal loving meat eater...

**Note: Despite today's date, this is not an April Fool's Joke. I am completely serious. **

Lately I've been conflicted. I've been eating a basic bodybuilding style diet (with lots of cheats, hence the reason I am not at my goal weight) for years now. I dabbled in Paleo too here and there, doing a Whole 30 every now and then. But the thing these diets have in common is a lot of meat.

Then I look at my cat, or someone's dog, and I think "What makes this animal different from a cow, chicken or turkey? Why does this animal deserve my love more than other animals?" And I have a moral dilemma.

So I've been wondering if I could do it. If I could slowly make the transition to vegetarian, or even (gasp) vegan?

I've started with research. I haven't changed anything in my diet yet. I'm still following standard 21 Day Fix meal plans (tightening up on those this weekend, by the way, but that's another post).

I guess my next steps are going to be to try to replace meat with non-animal products. I'm not going to cut out dairy immediately... (because OMG I love cheese!) but I will start with the substitutions listed in the 21DayFix guide. I'm also switching to Vegan Chocolate Shakeology, which will not be that big a deal I'm sure. I already drink Shakeology, just now without any animal products (mostly dairy/whey protein)

I'm telling you all this because I plan to document it all here.

Now, there was a time when I was a raw vegan. I felt really healthy, and my skin was amazing. I did it as long as I could, but the biggest problems were 1) food was really expensive and 2) I spent all my time in the kitchen. So this time, I would like to avoid those problems and hopefully be a little more successful. I have considered starting off with the 21 day Ultimate Reset, but that would be more of a crash course/sudden "OK I'M 100% VEGAN NOW!" and not at all gradual, so I may wait until I have transitioned a little more. Plus, on the Reset you're not supposed to workout strenuously, and since I see myself doing either 21 Day Fix or 21 Day Fix Extreme for the foreseeable future, that's me out.

Have any of you successfully transitioned to a vegetarian or vegan diet? Do you have any tips? I would love to hear them...