Day 1 of 30 in the Paleo Challenge

Hello everyone!!! It's Monday! And I'm very glad it is! Scary, right? Anyway, it's so much easier for me to stay on track during the week for my clean eating. My meals are all planned out and I'm not constantly around the temptation of food like I am at home or at family or friends houses. Self control is a big issue sometimes.

This weekend I kind of slipped a little bit, okay maybe more than a little bit. But I was hungry and wasn't drinking my water. It's amazing how something as simple as not drinking water can throw you off that much. I mean don't get me wrong, I know things happen, but I need to stay on track. Never quit. This time I've got this for sure I mean I'm down almost 10 pounds in the past month, I've been staying very good as far as clean eating goes, and I've been drinking water instead of soda. So it's a step in the right direction.

I had a yummy snack over the weekend that I ate twice in one day because it was just that good and I was seriously craving something sweet before I ate my own foot or something. It was a sliced gala apple with peanut butter, oats, and chocolate chips on it YUM.

I didn't work out at all this weekend either. Which was another problem. But I worked out 5 days last week, so I needed a couple of cool down days in between.


Now, that wedding I told you about that I'm the Maid of Honor in in January, well it got moved up to April 9th. So 2 1/2 months away...And I have my size 9 dress that I have to try to fit into in 2 1/2 months. Yes, I know. Yikes!!!!!! So I'm doing the 30 Day Paleo Challenge starting today. So far I've already had my breakfast:

That is 2 scrambled eggs, a cup of baby spinach, and half of a roma tomato. My lunch, I kind of cheated and had my last burrito that I made. But the only thing in there that was bad for this challenge was the tortilla, and I think I'll be okay.

My morning snack today was 1 mini Larabar - Apple pie, and my afternoon snack was another mini Larabar - Cherry Pie!

Delicious!

And for dinner tonight I'm having 5 oz of chicken with 1/2 a white onion caramelized, and another cup of baby spinach. All while drinking plenty of water throughout the day.

I took my day 1 of my Paleo Challenge Pictures this morning. I am still posting my progress pictures next Monday also! One week from today! In 4 days it will mark my one month into my journey!

I'm really hoping that the Paleo Challenge will definitely get my waist quite a bit smaller in the next 30 days so that I can fit into my dress by April. If I make significant progress in these 30 days, and I get very close to my goal of dropping 2 1/2 dress sizes by April 9, I will continue this diet until I reach my final goal of 125 lbs. I have to stay very dedicated to this, and I will. I'm just glad nobody's birthday is coming up soon. Valentines day is, but I haven't been eating sweets anyway. So I should be okay.

My workout today was Jillian Michaels Six Week Six Pack. Holy crap was that intense. I felt like I was going to die. That's probably the point, but still. Apparently I haven't been pushing myself hard enough with my workouts, because they say they get easier, but it's been a month and so far they are still hard!

Tomorrow I get to wake up and do it all over again. This challenge is really going to test my "One Day at a Time" theory. I just have to keep telling myself that every single day. Just one more day, just one more day, just one more day.

I can do this. It's not so bad. I mean it's only 30 days. I am almost done with the first day, so 29 1/4 more days to go.

I hear after 30 days it's not so bad anymore and it becomes easier. So I'm going to test that theory and see if it works. I have tried and failed doing this challenge before, so that's another reason why I'm so nervous.

If you are determined to succeed as much as you're determined to breathe, that's where you win. That's when it happens. Every day there are little changes. One measly little day. Yesterday went by whether you wanted it to or not, and 6 months from now will come whether you want it to or not.

You might as well make the most of the next 6 months and see how far you can go, and see how close to your goal you can become. I'm hoping that I reach my goal within that time if I keep up with my Paleo diet that I am going to be on for at least the next month.

My challenge is up on February 24th.

Feel free to join me in doing this and we'll see how far we go and keep track of each others progress throughout the challenge.

Who's with me??

Tomorrow is leg and butt and yoga day!

It's going to be a great time!

LET'S DO THIS!!!


Comments or questions or concerns???

Leave em for me!

-Beka-

TGIF!!! It's WEIGH DAY!!

Hey everyone!!! It's FRIDAY!!! Omg I'm so excited that it's Friday! Do you have any big plans for the weekend?? I do! I'm going out to Blair to take Reilynn to see her grandparents and cousin, and we're going to attempt to make the cutest little Converse for her!

Aren't they just the CUTEST?! Anyway...down to business! I am very happy to announce that the scale keeps moving down! My weight today?? (drum roll please....) 171!!! That's 9 pounds down since December 29th! You would not believe how shocked I was to see the scale at that weight this morning. (I got off and stepped back on the scale 6 times) It stayed the same every time I stepped back on that scale. I almost cried.

I'm going to get serious here for a minute...

 I had a break down moment the other day when I looked at myself in the mirror before my shower. I hate how I look. I didn't feel like anything was happening. I saw the cellulite. I saw the rolls, and the double chin, and I saw everything that's not as perky or lifted as it should be. I texted Reilynn's dad saying that I was confused and how I can't see a difference at all after I've been doing everything RIGHT! I have been drinking only water, hot tea, and almond milk; I've been eating clean and going to bed on time and getting plenty of sleep; I've been taking a daily vitamin and exercising, but I couldn't see it in my reflection looking back at me. He assured me that I am doing just fine, but it just wasn't enough for me. I need to see it happening.

But it was in that moment I really made my decision. I can either quit and give up, or I could keep going. Why quit? I asked myself. It would only set me back. If I keep going, it can only benefit me. I can only get better. I CAN do this, and I will. It's going to take time. I didn't gain the weight all in one day, and I'm certainly not going to lose it all in one day, but if I quit and give up, there will be no chance of me losing it at all.

I am human. I make mistakes. I fumble and I fall down. But I will pick myself back up and keep going, because I am finally determined to be healthy. In 6 months I will be so far and I will look back on myself now and be so happy I didn't quit. I'm trying my hardest to stay positive and be a great example and positive role model for everyone, especially my kids. Reilynn is too young to know what's going on, but Sunnie isn't. I don't think either of them will ever have the ability to get fat, but still, it's more about the concept of not giving up and finishing something I started. I have little eyes watching me, and you might too.

We're in this together, remember?

Anyway, enough with the serious talk. 

Sunnie had a birthday party at Bounce U last night. It's basically a place where they have huge rooms full of blow up bouncy house type things. It's pretty cool, and he had fun. I was a good girl though and didn't have any of the soda, pizza, or cupcakes! I made a smoothie/shake in my blender bottle and took it with me! I put in a tbsp of chia seeds, a couple of spoonfuls of vanilla greek yogurt, the rest of my almond milk, (I think it was about 6 oz) a little bit of skim milk, about 1/4 cup oats, a mashed up banana, a tbsp of pure maple syrup, and about a tbsp and a half of unsweetened cocoa powder. Shake shake shake! Dinner!! It was just enough sweet to keep me sane last night and very filling. Super yummy.

Lunch of course was my chicken avocado burrito again. I had my hard boiled eggs on hand for a protein packed snack as well as an apple with my PB2 so I could have that for another snack too. 

My Larabars come in on Monday from Amazon, I get them with my Subscribe and Save. Amazon is the bees knees. I'm telling you. If you have $99 a year and money to save, get Amazon Prime. If I need something, I check Amazon first. That way I don't have to try to find time to get to the store with my super busy mom schedule and lug two kids around in the cold. It gets delivered right to your door in 2 days for Prime shipping. I get my diapers and wipes through there, also my laundry detergent and dishwashing detergent, Sunnie's vitamins, and my Larabars. 

Anyway, breakfast was a hardboiled egg and some granola. I'm trying to kind of switch it up every now and again lol today I had a hardboiled egg and my PB2 and 100% whole wheat swirl bread.

And of course I'm drinking my warm lemon water throughout the day, and taking my multivitamin too!

Tonight, Sara and I are doing Zumba!! I'm so excited and can't wait to do it for the first time. Going to the gym is great and I really do love going, but switching it up every now and again is okay too! We are going to start out doing our daily exercise for Friday, and then go right into Zumba and dance away 500 calories. It's a fun way to work out that doesn't require a machine to do it. I'm so ready for this. I wish I could take the rest of the day off of work to go work out. Is that weird? I hope not. Here is our 4 week workout circuit. 

I really have been enjoying working out a lot. It's becoming part of my regular routine. Things are beginning to become easier for me too. I don't get winded walking up the stairs to get to Sara's apartment anymore, I can go faster on the treadmill and elliptical and go further within the 30 minutes we're working out on there. It's helping me sleep better at night, it's putting me in a positive mood most of the time, and when I DO get frustrated, instead of wanting a cigarette, I've found myself wanting to go work it out at the gym.

I have lost 9 pounds and it hasn't even been a month yet. 9 POUNDS!!! One week from today and I will have hit my 1 month mark. 1 week and 3 days and I will post my 1 month progress pictures! I'm not really looking forward to that knowing how I look now. But I'm thinking there will be a difference between my starting pictures and now because of all the workouts I'm doing as well as the fact that I've lost almost 10 pounds already. The scale doesn't lie! haha 

I really didn't think it was possible to eat and lose weight. I really didn't. I thought losing weight meant you had to be hungry all the time. Well if you eat crappy food all day long, you don't get to constantly snack on good things so you are hungry all the time. That's where I was going very very wrong. I wasn't controlling portions and I was eating sugary stuff all day long. I didn't meal prep. I didn't realize healthy food can be delicious too! I enjoy doing all of this like I said a few days ago. 


You know what else is exciting? My mom noticed my weight loss. She and I aren't really close, but my dad mentioned the fact that my mom said something to him about it, yesterday at work. I was shocked, because I haven't even really noticed at all. So go me! haha



ANYWAY....I think I've taken up enough of your time for today.

Keep up the hard work everyone!!

Please feel free to comment and share. Ask any questions you might have. I'm open!

Until Monday!

-Beka-

Week 4!

Happy Tuesday everyone!! It is snowing like crazy outside and it took me 2 hours to get to work today because of the horrible traffic. But no matter, I am here, and I feel GREAT! How is everyone feeling today? Awake? Sleepy? Groggy? Sluggish? I hope you're as awake and happy as I am that the scale just keeps going down! I lost another .8 lbs over the weekend alone and I'm doing my best to stay on track and keep on with this clean eating!!

Something else I started doing today, was actually started last night. I cut up half of a lemon and filled up my blender bottle with water and put the lemon inside and shook it up. I left it in the fridge overnight and this morning when I woke up I drank all 28 oz between 6:30 and 9:00.

Reilynn was still sleeping haha you can see her in the background.

Anyway! Lemon water is definitely not my favorite. Very sour, obviously, but there are so many benefits to drinking lemon water. You can see some of them here.  I drank mine cold, but you can absolutely drink it warm like tea too! Naturally I will be drinking my water as well as hot green tea throughout the day to give my body a little boost.

I had a hard boiled egg and a piece of my wheat bread with the PB2 for breakfast and then for my snack I had a second hard boiled egg. PROTEIN!!!! lol Anyway!! I made my lunches for the rest of the week last night. I made more burritos. 6 more actually. Instead of chicken, I used ground turkey since that's what I had and didn't feel like going to the store again. I boiled eggs for my breakfast and snacks and had turkey, cilantro, avocado, baby spinach leaves, and I put in some shredded mozzarella cheese too. As long as you use a multigrain tortilla, the burrito is about 225 calories. So there you go. Easy lunch that you can freeze. I just made a bunch, that way I have lunch every day for at least the next week, and then once I get paid again next Wednesday, I will have money to go to the store again and stock up and do it all over again!

Over the weekend I made the Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats again, and they turned out a lot better than the first time. My mistake was that I didn't add enough almond milk to them. oops!

Tada! Much better. And they were of course, delicious as always! Then for lunch I made spaghetti squash. Low in calories and carbs, and high in vitamins! Added some spinach to that and a little salt, pepper, evoo, and mozzarella cheese and vuwala easy lunch. And for dinner on Saturday I made myself a smoothie in my blender bottle. 1.5 cups of Vanilla Almond Milk, 1 clementine, half a banana, some pineapple and 1 tbsp of chia seeds! It would have turned out much better in a blender, but it wasn't so bad shaking it up in my blender bottle. I can't wait to get my Nutribullet!

Sunday for breakfast I had something that I've never made before! Baked eggs in avocados!

Oh em gee it was yummy! And it's so good for you too! Lots of protein and good fat from the avocado and they are high in fiber too. I made that again for breakfast yesterday too. It really does keep you full for hours and I had to remind myself to eat my snack at 10:30 to keep my metabolism going! I had left over spaghetti squash for lunch and for dinner at my parents house we had lemon chicken and red potatoes, salad and asparagus. I don't care for asparagus, but I certainly enjoyed the rest of the dinner! I even allowed myself to eat a small bowl of my aunts homemade apple crisp and some ice cream and Monday morning I was still down .8 lbs from Friday morning. Boo yah!!

I've been doing a good job at eating every 2 hours so I'm not starving throughout the day. I was a bad girl and I haven't worked out since Thursday last week, but today I will be getting back on that horse and working out like nobody's business! I know weight loss is 80% diet 20% exercise, so I'm not too worried about it. I know that by eating clean, drinking water all day and getting enough sleep, I am losing weight anyway. The exercise is good too, but it's mainly the diet that you eat that helps you lose weight.

I'm not even a full month into my journey and I've already lost almost 6.5 lbs. :) I'm beyond excited to see what the coming months will bring during this journey. I am 10 days away from my 1 month mark and 13 days away from posting my 1 month progress pictures. I honestly don't think there is much of a difference in the pictures, but that's okay. In a few months you'll really be able to see a difference! If I keep losing as much weight every month that I have in the first month alone, I won't even need a full year to lose all of it. And that's so exciting to me. I told myself if I lost 3 lbs a month I would be happy, but having lost almost 7 lbs already I couldn't be happier! I'm proud of myself for sticking with it this time instead of just quitting. It's so easy to quit. It's so easy to give up. But not this time!!!!

I have actually found a way to do this that is fun. I enjoy planning and making my meals. I enjoy working out because of how I feel afterwards, I enjoy seeing the scale drop and I'm still eating food and not starving all the time. I enjoy having energy. I enjoy encouraging people.


Please feel free to ask any questions or leave any comments!

You can do it!

-Beka-

The End of Week Three!

That's right! Tomorrow marks the end of my week 3! It is day 17 for me out of 367!! (I started before the new year)  I am proud to announce that I am 3 Lbs lighter than last week! My weight last week was 177.8 booooooo!!!! But this morning I weighed myself and I am 174.4!!! This really is paying off! I'm going to the natural food market on my lunch break and picking up some things there. I'm trying to get my son to eat healthier foods too, that way he grows up with a healthy mind and body on top of that. Especially since he is in martial arts and baseball, and now wants to start playing hockey. Healthy fuel for a healthy lifestyle!


Reilynn is now 4 months old! We are so excited! She's growing so fast and getting so big! Her appointment was yesterday and she was 12 lbs 2 oz and 25" long. She can't start solids until she's 13 pounds, so it looks like we're waiting! She's just a puny little thing! haha

I love dressing her up in these cute outfits!

That was this morning :D

Okay last one. They are my whole world and I love them both very much!!! There's just something about a big brother and little sister that you have to see to believe how amazing it is. I have 6 sisters, and no brothers so I didn't get to experience that first hand, but I get to see it with my kids and it makes my heart smile to see this.

Anyway moving along!

I had a delicious breakfast this morning! I made Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats!! They were super delicious! Mine doesn't quite look like the picture though...

Oh well. They were still yummy. I am making this again for my breakfast tomorrow since I still have the rest of a can of pumpkin left!! It's been almost 2 hours since I've eaten them and I'm still full. I also drank 4 cups of water since getting to work at 8 this morning too, so that might have something to do with it, but that's perfectly fine too!

I kind of slipped up last night and ate meatloaf at my friend Sara's house. Had a small enough portion to stay under my calorie goal for the day, but I'm feeling a little sluggish today. It's amazing how just one unclean meal can ruin the whole day the next day. But that's okay. I'm back on the horse today. Yee Haw!

I was going to take a break from working out today, but decided against it. I will be doing some ab workouts when I get home tonight. I have been worried about my legs and arms the past few days, but my abs need some lovin too!! Especially after having Reilynn only 4 months ago. I need to keep working on my abs so my muscles go back to normal faster. Now is the time to tone up those muscles since they are going back to their normal position and the more I work on them, the faster they will contract, and the more toned up they'll be!!

Here is a YouTube video for a 10 minute ab workout. Just in case you wanted to give it a try! And I also have more work outs on my Pinterest as well if you would like to try them.

What a great day that will be!!! To realize that I finally don't have to suck it in anymore. It's a slow process. Oh lord is it slow. I mean it's been almost a month and I honestly don't even really know my starting weight since I used an inaccurate scale the first time I weighed myself, But if I had to guess, I started at 180 lbs. 5 lbs more than I thought I did. but that means I am losing 2 lbs a week like I wanted to...I am now 174.4 instead of 180. I don't really feel like anything is happening, but the number on the scale is going down, so that means that something is happening!! It's only been almost 3 weeks. I will not give up. I keep looking in the mirror to see anything happening, and so far I haven't really noticed anything. It's very discouraging.

I'm frustrated. But this is only the beginning. One day at a time. That's it. One tiny little day.

I am a little over 2 weeks from posting my progress pictures. I am nervous because I really don't think much has changed, but I will have to post them side by side and see what changes to my body there have been. The number on the scale is moving, so that must be a sign that SOMETHING is happening. Even if it's just a little bit of something. In 6 months I will really be able to tell a difference, I mean I'm only 5 months and a week away from that! I'm almost a month into this!!

I only have 350 more days to go. I know I said I would give myself 18 months to lose the weight, but I'm going to set a new goal based on the weight that I've lost in the past month which is 5.6 lbs, to lose all 55 lbs that I want to. I know I said I would be satisfied with a year and a half, but I think that a year will be plenty of time to lose 55 lbs. If I lose at least 5 lbs a month, I will make it in 11 months. Not even a year.

Clean eating is the trick that I've learned. Don't starve yourself. Just eat clean, and train hard.

Remember, drink your water, don't eat those cookies, work out, get some sleep, and be happy!!

One day at a time.

Comments, questions, or concerns?

Feel free to leave them below!

Cheers!

-Beka-

What Day Is It???

What day is it?? HUMP DAAYYYY!!! I'm feeling great today! I already got a morning workout in. Just a small one, but I was up and moving this morning! Some jumping jacks, squats, lunges, a wall sit, and some sit ups! (I broke this in half since I'm not quite there yet on the strength scale lol)

I feel great!! I was up early and we went to the store already today too. My dad gave me a gift card for my birthday so we went shopping! I am very excited about food shopping. I love food. Now I love GOOD food too! I spent a little more than the gift card, but that's okay. I got what I needed :)

Yay! I'm ready to start making my overnight oats now! I also got flax seeds, old fashioned rolled oats, kale, spinach, organic maple syrup, unsweetened cocoa powder, zucchini, bananas, cage free eggs, almond milk, pb2 peanut butter, apples, an onion, avocados, clementines, some Z Bars for Sunnie, and 100% whole wheat bread. I am determined to set myself up for success to lose this weight. So far so good! I am on week 3 of my journey so far and I am feeling so great!! I'm beginning to have much more energy than I did before, I've reduced my intake of processed food by 80%, and I'm drinking lots of water on top of that. I've been getting between 2-3 liters a day on average. I've stopped drinking soda altogether also.

I tried my PB2 powdered peanut butter this morning! You just mix 2 tbsp pb2 with 1 tbsp water and mix until smooth! I put that on my 100% whole wheat swirl bread today! Which means I've only had 5g of sugars! 2 tbsp of PB2 has 45 calories vs 180 from regular peanut butter which has tons of fat, oil and sugars in it. A lot of blah to bring you down.

I'm making Chicken Avocado Burritos for dinner tonight! I will be making enough so that I can take some for lunch tomorrow too. I have all kinds of yummy recipes and workouts on my Pinterest so feel free to take a gander and check that out as well!

My scale comes in today! I bought one for pretty cheap off of Amazon. I think it was like $14.99 or somewhere around there. Although I won't be using it every day (as tempting as that will be) I am still going to weigh myself once a week and see how I'm doing just so I can keep up on the fat loss. Once I start getting closer to my goal weight, I won't be as worried about the number on the scale since I will be gaining muscle at the same time that I'm losing weight. Toning up my body and such. :) I am going to weigh myself on Friday mornings that way I keep it consistent.

I worked out my arms and shoulders yesterday like nobody's business! Lots of dumbbell exercises and push-ups! I'm trying not to use any of the machinery at the gym because I am the machine! I am using my own body weight and the help of some free weights, to do my strength training. I will be working on my abs today as well as my lower back to get those muscles toned and strong!

This is a strange transition for Sunnie too as he is used to eating a ton of processed food also, he loves Doritos and Ramen noodles which neither of those are healthy for you so I don't buy them anymore. His dad does so he eats that when he goes over there, but at our house, we are only eating healthy food that will give you energy and is good food for your body!!

So far my biggest challenge is telling people that I can't eat what they made because it's not something that is good for me. Trying to come up with a nice way to say "uh sorry I can't eat that" without them getting offended is going to be hard. I don't want them to think that I think they eat like crap, but at the same time, I don't want to put bad things into my body! I don't want to eat the high sodium taco seasoning and beef, I would rather eat my chicken and avocados, I don't want spaghetti and meatballs, I want spaghetti squash and broccoli...Any suggestions for that? I know honesty is key, but I don't want to be rude at the same time. I'm trying to make my meals at home now so that I have an excuse to not go anywhere most days, that way I'll have my healthy lunch the next day or 2 also!

Gotta load up on healthy snacks so I'm not scarfing down a bunch of food when I get home, although I have been doing really well with that since I'm drinking so much water! I try to eat a little something every 2 hours that way it keeps my metabolism up throughout the day and my body isn't starving in between my meals!

I will be showing you pictures of my meals also that way you can see how I make them and how delicious they look! haha

Well, until next time guys!

Comments, questions, concerns??

Feel free to leave them below!

Love ya!

-Beka-

I Think I Can!

People ask me once they start seeing me lose weight, what I do, what's my secret?? There really and truly is no secret. It is what it is. It is 70/80% diet 20/30% exercise, and when I say diet, I mean what you eat. Don't restrict yourself from eating or you'll set yourself up for failure. What people don't get a lot of the time, is that you have to go on some crazy fad diet, and I was one of those people too for a long time. The other mistake I made, and I know most people make this one too, is that I expected results overnight. That's impossible. Unless you have all of the fat sucked out of your body and skin tightening surgery all in one, its not gonna happen. It's a slow process. That's what I'm learning too.

The scale was not what I hoped it would be on Friday, but there were a few variables from the last time I weighed myself: a different scale, it was on a hard surface vs the carpet, and in the evening vs the morning. Although I should have weighed myself in the morning, this scale was more accurate. I'm further from my goal weight than I thought. I'm already seeing and feeling small differences. I don't depend on coffee in the morning to wake me up anymore! I'm okay with a cup of tea and my water. My stomach has actually flattened a little bit and I'm not as bloated. I'm eating so much better than I have been in the past. I'm getting all of the vitamins and nutrients that I need throughout the day, its helping me sleep better to not have all sorts of processed food. I still am eating some processed stuff, just not nearly as much as I was a few weeks ago. The time will go by that you are wanting to lose weight whether you do it or not, you choose to put food into your mouth. It's up to you what you put in there.

You can eat healthy and it can still be delicious too!! I've found so many recipes online and mostly on Pinterest. I know I've talked about her before, but her name is Catherine. She has her own blog and Pinterest account too. Rabbit Food For My Bunny Teeth is its name! She lost 80 lbs in 10 months by eating better and exercising. And she weighed more than I do! She has so many tips and recipes, many which I have pinned as well, and helps keep you motivated!


I don't want to use the scale very much during this journey I'm on. It's seriously the devil. Muscle weighs more than fat, and you fluctuate so often with your weight that a scale is not the greatest tool to use. It helps give you an idea of how you're doing every so often, but go by how your clothes fit rather than the number on the scale. It's kind of cliché, but I seriously have an old pair of pants that I used to fit into hanging on my closet doorknob staring at me in my face every day telling me to stay on track and keep going. My bridesmaids dress is hanging on the back of my bedroom door in the bag so I see it every day too reminding me that I need to fit into it in a year and to keep on track too. If that's not enough, on Saturday, I'm going to find a bridesmaids dress for another wedding that I'm in in June! So the more I stay on track, the happier I am going to be.

I'm already not nearly as bloated as I was 2 weeks ago when I started this new lifestyle! I haven't been eating empty carbs or snacking a ton. I've been doing really well keeping myself on track. I'm very impressed with myself. I haven't stuck with something this long....well, ever really, so this is a good sign that I'm not going to give up. I would always get down to about 145 and then rebound and gain all the weight I lost back, well not this time!! This time I'm really going to do it. And I have a commitment to all of you to finish what I started. 3 weeks from today I am posting progress pictures for you all to see. Once a month I will post the pictures, along with my weight. What changes have you made?? Maybe you took the stairs instead of the elevator today! Good for you. Maybe you parked further away from the door so you had to walk farther!

Every little bit counts. Now let's talk recipes!! I've made and tried some yummy ones over the past few days. Thursday I had all natural ground turkey lettuce wraps with my friend Stephanie who's wedding is in a year, well less than a year now! We used butter lettuce for the wraps. Then ground turkey, all natural mozzarella cheese, and diced tomatoes. Yumm!

Friday my son was sick at home from school :( I made him some chicken noodle soup. I had a couple slices of fresh  pineapple and a banana for lunch and I was full!

 Then I made 2 ingredient pancakes for dinner. I made it 5 ingredients though lol along with the banana and eggs, I  added a little cinnamon, a teeny bit of vanilla, and honey. Check out my Pinterest for the recipe. Rebecca Miller SpeedBinder. I made them again for my breakfast on Saturday. The whole batch is 250 calories so seriously pig out on those things!

I then made banana chia seed pudding for a snack. Yum!!! That's on my Pinterest as well.

Saturday night I made this delicious masterpiece!! Spaghetti squash with chicken, broccoli, garlic, and cheese! Can you say aahhhhmazing?! Low carb deliciousness that I indulged myself with. Granted I only had about a cups worth of the whole meal before I was full, but that's okay! Abs are made in the kitchen after all.

 I'm going to start making overnight oats for my breakfast in the morning. They are a yummy way to kick start your day with a boost of energy. And yes I have lots of recipes on my Pinterest for those as well. Eating healthy is delicious and your body will thank you for it. Don't use it as a garbage can...its not one. It's the only body you have, so take care of it. You get more miles out of a car that you take care of regularly don't you? Well its the same concept, but in years. Your body keeps an accurate journal of what you eat regardless of whether you write it down or put it in your journal. You can't fool your body, so why fool your mind? Change your mind first, then your body will change.

I'm excited to get my nutribullet in a month and a half or so!! It's a food processor and a blender! I'm going to use it to make Reilynn's baby food too in a couple of months when she's ready for solids. Then I'll be able to have smoothies too and have tons of delicious meals by doing that. And yes, I have a board on Pinterest for smoothies too! Lol anyway, you got this! Let's do this together!! We do it together, we can't fail! Quitting is not an option at this point. You already made your commitment to getting healthy. So did I. We can definitely do this. Until next time!


Leave any comments or questions that you may have!

-Beka-

Delish Food and Kick Ass Workouts!

Hello everyone! I'm back!!! It's been what? 2 whole days? Eh whatever. Anyway, how has your week gone so far? Are you staying on track? If not, what are you doing to get back to it?

I'm so excited! Sara and I made a seriously delicious dinner last night. And I can't wait to brag about it and tell you how absolutely simple and easy it was!! First a picture of the masterpiece:

Seriously easy as easy can be. 3 chicken breasts cut horizontally and placed in the middle of a coated casserole dish, then 4 medium red potatoes cut up, and green beans or broccoli on the other side, 1/2 a stick of melted butter, or you could substitute olive oil, and half a packet of italian dressing mix on the top. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for an hour and vuwala! Dinner is served! It was enough to feed 6 of us and roughly 300 cals per serving!! The potatoes were a little undercooked though, so I would recommend probably boiling them for 10 minutes before putting them in with the rest of the meal.

We're having roast tonight and we already calculated it and that meal is right around 300 calories as well! I will be taking pics of food and posting them also! Yum yum yum!

This was my breakfast this morning (again lol):

Totes amazing. Trying to get to a point where I eat mainly fruits and veggies for my main sources of food instead of carbs. That is sooooo hard. So is Trying not to eat sugar or processed food. I'm trying to get away from that too. Trying to eat all natural all healthy food.

This was my snack:

Double YUM!!!! Just enough to help me make it through the rest of the day today and not be starving when I get off work at 4;30 and try to eat everything in Sara's kitchen! Especially since she still has Christmas cookies left over!!! Talk about temptation!

But it helps that we're kind of competing in our weight loss, even though she is 30 lbs less than me, that's totally okay. I can lose the weight that I need to, and she and I can both look good together!!

Now lets talk workouts!!!

What do you wear when you workout?? I wear yoga pants/leggings and a t-shirt and a hoodie or sweatshirt to sweat more. Always wearing a good pair of athletic shoes also!! I'm getting more as soon as my taxes come in! New shoes and more yoga pants!! (You can't have too many yoga pants or leggings. seriously)

I'm doing my workouts every day that I'm scheduling them in for myself. I'm sticking to it! Which this is the first time I'm actually sticking to a workout routine and healthy eating for this long....and it's been a week. How sad is that? I've never been able to stick to something this consistently for more than a week and a half. Yikes. But that's okay, I'm doing it now. Things are getting better for me!! It's this whole endurance thing that I really need to work on and I'm getting there. I'm going to finish this week doing 30 minutes on the elliptical and then starting next week I'm going to do 45 minutes instead!

I've been doing strength training as well to make sure I build up my muscle while I'm working off the fat by doing cardio before hand. My legs are definitely sore today!! We did legs yesterday and my booty and legs were definitely burning during that workout! It was awesome. I'm excited to workout my arms, shoulders, chest, and upper back today. I'm going to do more with my arms today than I have been. I don't feel like I've been giving them a hard enough workout. I know I need to start slow, well I think I need to push myself now with my arms and shoulders and chest and back.

Only 3 more days till weigh day!!! I'm so excited to see how I've done this week. I'm really thinking I'm going to be down to the 169 that I'm hoping for.

I have a ton of stuff pinned on my Pinterest. Rebecca Miller SpeedBinder is my name on there. Look me up and follow me!! I have meals, and healthy snacks and desserts on there too, as well as fitness tips and exercises and even my motivation board.

What is the best pair of workout shoes for what you do? I'm looking into Under Armour for workout clothes and shoes. Any tips?

Only 3 weeks till I post my progress pictures!!!

On Saturday I will have completed week #2 in my weight loss journey. Only 50 more to go till the end of the year. Day 6 out of 365. I got this!! :)

One measly day at a time. You got this.


Until next time!!

Comments, concerns, questions? Leave em for me!

-Beka-

Happy New Year!

Good Morning and Happy New Year!! How was everyone's weekend? Did you get to the gym or work out at all?? I did! I kinda cheated yesterday though. I had some birthday cake and goodies at my friend's daughters birthday party! But that's okay, it was my birthday too! But no more! Back on track today!!

I went with my best friend to pick out wedding dresses on Saturday and she found hers! The dress that we fell in love with for her is a sterling Vera Wang strapless bridal gown. Omg it's beautiful!!! I am the maid of honor in the wedding and we found my dress as well as the other bridesmaids dresses. My dress is a prom dress though so I had to buy it on Saturday. Apparently it's prom season and once they're sold out, that's it. So I had to get it. AND because it's a prom dress, they only can alter it to go down 2 sizes. So instead of the size 13 dress, I bought a size 9...talk about motivation!!! I believe in myself enough to know that I will get down to at least a size 9 in a year. That's 2 dress sizes for me. From a 13, to an 11, to a 9. YIKES :) So excited!!!

Anyway! How is your water intake today??? I mean seriously...

I have to tell myself that every single day!!! I hate drinking water. I would much rather have something with some flavor. But plain water is the best thing you can be drinking.

Don't mind my breakfast in there haha I had a slice of 100% whole wheat Pepperidge Farms cinnamon raisin swirl bread and a tbsp of chunky peanut butter. And then the rest of Sunnie's oatmeal that he didn't finish. He's hangin out with me at work today since he doesn't go back to school until tomorrow! We were out of coffee this morning (Yeah...on a Monday)

 I didn't beat myself up over eating a piece of birthday cake and kind of splurging yesterday for one big cheat day! That's okay!! I'm back on the horse today!

I had an avocado and a can of Progresso Chicken Noodle Soup - Light for lunch since I was in a hurry and didn't have any leftovers or time to make anything for lunch this morning. I had some broccoli for a snack, and now I'm drinking my hot green tea.

We aren't sure what we're having for dinner tonight, but that's okay. We'll figure it out. I'm thinking something high protein like eggs and veggies since it's fast and Sunnie has taijutsu tonight.

I weighed myself over the weekend. I'm down to 171.9!!! Saturday I will weigh myself again. I need to get a scale. I don't have one. I used my friend's Wii fit. I'm hoping by Saturday I will be down to 169. I would be happy with that. Even though I'm giving myself 3 lbs a month to lose, if I continue to lose 2 lbs a week, that would be even better. I would definitely be okay with that.

Getting back into the swing of things is difficult!! I don't have time to go work out today, so I will be doing some exercises at home tonight after we get home.

 It's ab day! Gotta tighten up the tummy!! I am also going to try some at home back exercises too to tighten and strengthen my mid and lower back, which will in turn tone it also and I'll have that sexy back :)

What exercises have you found work for you? Any that you can't do yet that you would like to? I would love to be able to do real pushups. I can't do them yet. I do them against the wall for now, and once I get stronger, I will do them on the edge of the bathtub and then finally down to the floor.

Tomorrow is leg and booty day!! I'm excited! Gotta keep up on these workouts to lose that fat and gain the muscle. I CAN DO THIS!!! And so can you.

I'm just a few weeks away from posting my progress pictures. I have to show you that if I can lose this weight, ANYBODY can. I mean seriously. It is just one day at a time. ONE silly day. I mean I'm trying not to focus too much on what I ate the day before, or what I'm eating tomorrow. What are you doing TODAY to work on losing the weight you want to? Maybe you didn't have that soda at lunch that you normally drink, or did you skip the bag of chips with your sandwich? Think about the end result. Is that cookie after lunch REALLY worth it?

Have a competition with someone or even yourself. See if you can go a whole week without drinking any soda, see if you can go a whole week without eating white bread, you might find that after that week, you don't crave that one thing anymore.

Instead of that bag of chips at home while watching TV, eat low butter popcorn. Have a cup of hot tea instead of that soda. Instead of eating out of boredom, get up and move!! Do 100 jumping jacks, do 10 push ups, do 20 crunches instead!


Next time we will talk about work out clothes and such.

As always comments and questions are welcomed!

Until next time!!

-Beka-