Fitness: Yoga beginnings

So I've been doing yoga for a few weeks now. I use this app called Daily Yoga that comes with routines to go through as well as a separate pose library when I don't feel like doing a specific routine. I am not the most flexible person in the world anymore, but it is getting better and I definitely feel good after doing it. I have been doing 30-60 minutes of yoga most days and enjoying that I am breaking a sweat doing something so relaxing and restorative. I'm looking forward to become better at these positions and moving onto more complicated ones - what would be truly amazing to me is if one day I could do a headstand. I've literally never done a single headstand in my entire life. Ever. Z.E.R.O. So maybe yoga will fix that for me.

I'm still doing a low carb diet and have been doing really well (though last night I did cheat for dinner and enjoyed some carby things at a Superbowl party, though not remotely as much as I would have had a few months ago). I've lost 1 pound this week, which isn't a ton, but it's been a busy week and besides doing my yoga at home I haven't been working out at the gym so I'm not burning as many calories as I had been. Planning to return to the gym though and get into the habit of a yoga routine and gym workout each day, with yoga being a 7 days/week goal and the gym 5 days/week. I hope you guys check out this app though if you're interested in starting yoga, because it's the best I've tried so far and has a lot of different options to keep it from getting too stale.

Happy Monday, all!

Confessions can happen at any time...

 July 2013 - Dirty Girl Mud Run

I started going to the gym daily this week and it's been kind of an all new realization for me about how much I need to change my life to get back to how I used to be. When I say 'used to be' I'm talking about my lifestyle in high school and my size in college. I worked out regularly, could bench press 120lbs (not a ton, but a whole lot more than I could today) and squat over 200lbs. I could run a few miles and enjoyed generally being healthy. Now, I miss that life and have been trying to get back to it. I "ran" my first 5k last summer - let's be honest, I basically went on a 3.5 mile hike and got super muddy, but I was proud to complete all of the obstacles on the course. This year I've decided to do the Dirty Girl Mud Run as well as some other 5k's and possibly my first 10k so I'm working on getting my endurance up to be able to truly run these races. 

Going ziplining for the 1st time, January 2013

My confession is to share with all of you that this is not easy (big surprise). I've been doing a low carb diet since October 1st and so far have lost about 25lbs (December was not a part of that). In some ways, I'm used to it and it genuinely doesn't bother me, in others it just sucks. I watch my family eat pasta and bread and pancakes and I basically hate them. I look down at my healthy lchf meal, I have to force myself sometimes to remember why I'm doing this. Why I'm not eating cookies or birthday cake. Why I'm making low carb brownies from scratch instead of scarfing down the Mallowmars I really want. When my alarm goes off at 5:30 in the morning, I don't want to get up. Who wants to get up that early? The sun isn't even up yet! The sun is only just rising as I leave the gym at 7:30! But once I'm in the gym and I'm starting my routine, I'm glad I'm there and taking the steps I have to to become a better version of myself. I set tiny goals for myself inside of my long term goal and look forward to reaching each one (about every 10lbs is a milestone). I tried on a bikini a couple weeks ago and decided that if I lose another 25lbs by summer I'll buy it and embrace wearing a bikini for the first time in 7 years knowing that I'll have made huge progress and that despite still having stretchmarks, and imperfect body, and a 7" scar from having the boys - I'll have lost at least 50lbs in less than a year. 

 Me this morning, January 2014

So all the cravings, the soreness, the blisters, the general annoyance - it's worth it. It isn't fun and I don't always like what I'm doing (read: frequently) - but eventually I'll come to love it and I know it'll be something I'm grateful for doing.

Mentality Monday #7 & Healthy Living Monday

So I decided to merge the two Monday posts today because the quote I picked for today works so well with both posts! I want you all to remember as you begin this new week the beauty that comes from surviving struggle. You're never as proud of yourself for an achievement as you are when you have fought for it. It's what makes watching athletes and artists so amazing - they're doing something you either couldn't do or it would take a lot of pain and effort to be able to do (granted there are some things I will simply never be able to do, but there are a lot that I could do if I worked for it). Embrace your struggle this week and think about what you're working for.

There is no recipe for this fitness Monday post, but I have started my gym routine today of going to the gym every morning at least 5 days a week. It's not the best thing in the world to have to wake up so early (considering I'm really not a morning person) but there's some great things with it too. I get to start my day with fitness and set the tone for the rest of the day, and I also get to have some time alone first thing in the morning. Which - let me tell you - is just awesome. I'm still eating healthy and low carb (yay eggs and bacon!) but the daily exercise will be a big move of improvement to not only losing weight but just returning to the fit person I used to be. And to getting me closer to those 5 and 10k races I want to do this year!

Hope that you all have a wonderful Monday and enjoy the week focusing on the good that will come from the bad in your life. There's always something to be grateful for - you just have to find it.

Healthy Mondays happen on Tuesdays too!

Late Sunday night, while working on finishing touches for my 27 Acts of Kindness Birthday Project, I baked some Almond Flour Brownies for one of my cousins. I found the recipe here at Grain-Free Foodies while looking for a low-carb brownie option, and let me tell you. These are delicious. They're chocolatey with a hint of nuttiness from the almond flour in the recipe and they're chewy and just like perfect brownies. And at only 3.2g net carbs per brownie (the recipe makes 9) - they are sure to improve your day rather than ruin it! I'll be making these regularly from now on to keep my chocolate cravings in check without ruining my carb counts for the day!

Also for any of you who read Almond Flour and think, "Oh - baking from scratch...I don't want to do that...it's so haaaardddd" - well listen. There are only 8 ingredients in this recipe. It's incredibly easy to make, and with baking time around 25 minutes the whole process doesn't take more than 35 minutes to do! Think about that. In the course of one episode of 'How I Met Your Mother' you could have delicious and healthy brownies to eat!

One other quick thing, I started working out again this week for the first time since May (I could give you a list of why I have legitimately been unable to go since then but I won't waste your time or mine) and once my husband gets back here from Cleveland with my key fob to my gym I'll begin going daily very early in the morning - for which I'm super excited! Along with easing back into my workout routine this week, I've been eating low carb (loose goal of staying under 50g net carb a day, but ideal goal is under 25g net carb a day...I average around 30g but have had a couple days of being under 10g!!) and have lost 6.2lbs as of this morning in the last 2 weeks. It's been a great couple weeks (I even behaved yesterday on my birthday and had NO sweets!) and I'm looking forward to the future as well as enjoying all of the new delicious low carb and healthy recipes I'm finding and trying out!

Here's to hoping you all have a healthy day!

Why I'll keep suffering.

I started working to lose weight on October 1st of 2013. It was a long time coming and I'd tried before but stopped and started for various reasons (some of which included baking babies in my tummy). Since I started I've primarily only been dieting because I couldn't make it to the gym with the kids (though I'm changing that this week - hooray!) and doing a primarily low carb/high protein and high fat diet. It's hard sometimes but once I get into the groove it's a lot easier. It definitely sucks some days - especially when my family sits in front of me eating pizza or something - but I'm doing my best to focus on my end goal. And it'll be just fine.

I started out in October weighing 213lbs and my goal is to return to weighing 145lbs (what I weighed in 2007). I have as of yet lost about 26" and 21lbs, having done no dieting for the entire month of December because of personal events. I know I'll make it to my goal this year and I am excited to do it. There is no wavering in my certainty or weariness when I think about the sacrifices required to lose another 50lbs or to continue living my life in a healthy way. I choose this lifestyle because I remember what I once was and want to be that again. I want my children to have a healthy and active mom who can keep up with them, play baseball with them (I'm learning how to hit baseballs, throw, and catch all for them already), and set a good example for them. I want my husband to find me attractive not only because he loves me but because I am physically in the best shape I can be. I want to love the way I look again, and be proud of how I live my life. I have stretchmarks and an 8" long scar on my stomach from my sons - I want to wear a bikini despite them and still be be proud of it. I am no longer ashamed of the marks on my body from becoming a mother and I want to show them off with the self-confidence I had as a 20 year old. These are the reasons I started, and the reasons I'll reach my goal.

With all that said - I'll share with you a recipe I discovered this weekend via Pinterest that is simply delicious. It's a French Toast Egg Puff and just - so - tasty! I've made two already and will probably continue to eat them regularly (...like one a day...). I used Stevia when I made this and a little sugar free syrup and my calculations have the recipe with a net 5.8g carbs. Go and try it out - it's so simple and absolutely perfect to have that tasty dose of sweetness!

I hope you all have a wonderful Monday! Make a healthy choice today!