Before and After face shot!

Came across the picture on the left the other day.  It's funny, when it's me and my day to day, I simply don't think I look that different--until I look at pictures!  (your daily reminder to always take progress pics!!)

On the left I am about 3 weeks post-partum after my third baby.  I weigh about 55 lbs or so more in that picture than I do in the one on the right, taken this past weekend.

Crazy!

Another short cut meal prep!

I love to cook, really I do. With 3 little boys though, well, cooking is not always easy to get done. I found these ready made grilled chicken breasts in the freezer section and they have saved my lunches lately.  All you have to do is microwave them.  I either throw one in a whole grain sandwich thin or wrap, or cut up on top of some spring mix salad. Very easy.

Throw a side of veggies and hummus with it, and it's my favorite lunch!

Another workout!

Man, I'm starting to think HIIT may be my jam.  It is nice to bump that metabolism up while not having to run for an hour.  Wednesday I ran almost 4 miles, so yesterday was technically a non-run day.  I decided to do my HIIT on the treadmill, so I did end up running, and it was fun!  I think I am going to try continuing my 3 runs a week and then do 2-3 days of HIIT followed by weight training.  

Yesterday on the treadmill I did:

5 minute warm up walk (on 4.0)

1:00 run (should be hard and something you can only do for a minute.  I am a slow runner, so I tried 6.5 first, 6.6 second time and then finally landed on 6.7 as the rest of my sprints)

2:00 walk on 4.0

Repeat 10 times.
The beauty of HIIT is shorter workouts.  I think shooting for 20 minutes is good, but I was having fun so I kept going.  For kicks I ran my last minute sprint at a 7.0- I just wanted to see if I could do it.  And I could.  ;-)

Next did weights, with absolutely zero plan going in.  Sometimes that ends in disaster, but yesterday I think it went pretty well.  I'm taking my sore body today as a good sign anyway.

Low Row (pully)   (27.5 lbs) 3 sets of 12 reps
Lat pull down (pully) (27.5 lbs) 3 sets of 12 reps
Body weight low squats     3 sets of 15
Back row with barbell  (40 lb bar)  3 sets of 12
3 40 second planks
modified (on knees) push ups    3 sets of 10

Lots and lots of stretching.

That ended up being over an hour workout after stretching.  I don't usually have quite that much time, but I got to the gym an hour earlier than usual so I wasn't chasing the clock trying to get the little one home for nap.

Workout share!

I have been running a lot, obviously, in preparation for my very first 1/2 marathon.

Did I really just say that?! I still cannot believe this is happening.  It is a week and a half away and I still can't fathom that *I* am about to run a 1/2 marathon.  That is 13.1 miles for those keeping track. 

I run 3 days a week most weeks, and every week have good intentions to do other exercise on a few more days of the week.  And lately, man have those plans gotten interrupted.  Sick kids mostly, that's a common hold up in the life of a mom. 

Anyway, yesterday I actually made it to the gym and it wasn't a run day. I had a loose plan in my head, but mostly I made it up as I went along, and it turned out to be a pretty kick ass workout, so I thought I'd share.  

I started off by doing 20 minutes on a spin bike.  I wanted to try an HIIT (high intensity interval training workout), so it looked like this:

5 minute warm up

15 second all out sprint

45 second recovery

Times 12

Cool down for a few minutes.

That's it.  

I wanted to get some upper body weights in.  I know lower body weights would be great for runners, but this close to race day I didn't want to make my legs sore or anything.  Right before leaving for the gym, a friend posted this video on her Facebook page and I knew I wanted to try it.  

(when you see my weights, keep in mind I haven't lifted in a while, so I didn't want to go too heavy or anything crazy.)

Chest press with just bar (45lbs)

3 sets of 12

The shoulder moves in this video:

awesome shoulders

I only used a 20 lb bar and did 3 sets of 10. My shoulders were burning though.

Biceps curls

30 lb bar, 3 sets of 12

Tricep skull crushers

20 lb bar, 3 sets of 12

Then I moved down to the stretching area, did 

3 30 second planks and some bridges, stretched myself out and done.  

Loved it.  Hopefully after next week I can get into some lifting again.  It really reminded me how much I just love it.

Meal prep tip!

I love to eat brown rice as a healthy carb addition to my meals. What I don't love is making a pot of brown rice every time I want it. My husband is half Asian, so fat chance he'll eat anything but his white sticky rice.  So, brown rice short cut for Lynn it is!

I make a big pot of brown rice in the rice cooker. Nice, because I can get it all in there, hit cook, and then deal with it later when I have time. 

When I'm ready, I scoop it out in 1/2 cup serving sizes and put into ziplock bags.

I close the bags, squeeze all the air out of them, and smush down flat. After flattened, I put all those bags into one giant freezer bag, close it up, and label it. 

Then I pop that sucked into the freezer. When I want a serving of brown rice with my meal, I simply take out one bag, microwave, and enjoy. Delicious every time!

My Running essentials!

I mean, besides the obvious running shoes, I never leave home without my music, my Garmin GPS watch, and water. These things really make my heart sing. 

Sometimes it happens.

Ever find yourself eating your way through the day and suddenly you are diving face first into a bag of m&m's??

No?  Just me?

I have problems with binges. It took me pretty much my whole life to figure this out, but I tend to derail and derail hard when I start to sneak into things. Yesterday was day 2 stuck at home with a 2 and 1 year old, but with stomach bugs. We couldn't go anywhere, I was bored, tired and well, m&m's happened.

Unlike my usual M.O., I actually make a conscience decision to eat more after the first handful. I looked up serving size in My Fitness Pal, I counted out the m&m's, I tracked them and moved on. I didn't eat the whole bag and I didn't start eating other shit just because I had already messed up. 

That my friends, is what I call a success. 

Advocare 24 day challenge- Results!

I am thrilled with my results of the 24 day challenged!  I broke through my dreaded plateau, lost some inches, and the day after it ended, I bought a pair of jeans a size smaller!  That right there I will call a win.

Pounds lost-- 5.5

Total inches lost-- 8

This is another example of why I think taking progress pictures is so important.  5 1/2 pounds doesn't really sound like that much, but when I can look at myself and see a noticeable difference, it is encouraging.  

I started the challenge a complete skeptic, I admit.  I finished it with a changed opinion.  Do I think I could have busted my plateau and started losing again without it? Yes, I actually do.  But to be able to accomplish this in 24 days really just kind of got me going and gave me a much needed confidence boost.  

So did I sign up to do more? Yes, I did.  I decided to continue the MNS daily, along with several other products.  I'm in a good place, may as well keep going!

Advocare 24 Day Challenge- part 2, The food

If I had started to blog at the very beginning of this journey, I'd be able to give better descriptors of my foods each day. I didn't though, so instead you get my daily pictures.

Let it be known, in case it's not obvious, i was not 100% on plan every day. And that is ok. What I have found, over years of fighting this battle, is you need flexibility, no matter what your plan is. So do I eat a protein bar or a shake when I want it? Yes. I did try to save complete treat/cheats for after the challenge, because I did want to honor the commitment that I made, but I did not have wine of brownies or real indulgences like that. 

Ok, so this next day gets fuzzy. I got very sick the afternoon after my run. I thought I needed more carbs, so I pretty much kept eating. Didn't help. You'll see in the next few days I didn't track so well. 

Max Phase- part 1, The Supplements

After the cleanse is over, the last 14 days of the 24 day challenge is called Max Phase. Essentially it is continued clean eating, with supplements. It is recommended you drink their Meal Replace Shake for breakfast, and then pretty much the rest is the same as far as food goes.

As for supplements, my day looks like this: (anything in italics is an optional add-on supplement, not something included in the challenge)

Go here to read more about MNS-C  (I took the appetite control kind, though there are 3 different ones to choose from)

Read more about Catalyst

Before breakfast:

Spark, MNS color packet, 3 catalyst

Breakfast:

MNS shake and  thermoplus

Mid-morning- snack

Before lunch:

MNS color packet, 3 Catalyst

Lunch:

With lunch, the 2 white MNS packets

Mid-afternoon:

Snack and usually a Spark

Dinner: 

With dinner, 2 omegaplex

More about Omegaplex

Bedtime: 

3 Catalyst 

Run!

Like a turtle!  But by damn, RUN!

Last year, probably around March, I decided to give the old couch to 5K yet another go.  And hindsight is 20/20 folks, but I wish I had kept track of my progress.  When I started I struggled to finish a 1 minute run.  3 minutes felt like an eternity.  And the day I turned on my training plan to see that I had to run 20 minutes, consecutively, I may have thrown up a little in my mouth.  I have never been a runner.  I have started this program at least 5 times.  I have completed it once or twice, always to quit running again after finishing a 5K.

This time was different.  I felt a fire people.  It lit up under me and I decided to keep going.  Why continue to tell the world and myself that running just isn't in me? Running just wasn't something I could accomplish?  I was over 200 freaking pounds and I was doing it, and dammit, I wanted to get better.  The day I decided to stop quitting was the day I decided I am worth it. I can do it.  I will do it.  

And then the crazy took over and I signed up for a half-marathon. Ha! I still don't know what got into me, but it is coming up soon.  This month I will run a half marathon.  It is unthinkable really.  

On Christmas morning 2014, I woke up and ran 3 miles.  It was actually a rather difficult 3 miles.  It was 3 miles full of doubt.  I had been injured, gone through PT, gotten the flu, suffered from kidney stones and stent placements and pain in the months prior.  I was feeling defeated. I didn't want to run.  I wanted to quit. 

I wanted to quit.

I wanted to quit.  But I didn't.  I ran.  I told myself I would do it. And I did.

And the funny thing about not quitting?  You actually really do get better.  You get more stamina, more endurance and yes, more fire under your ass.

Until this happened:

I found I love running solo.  In the event I need a companion, I have one readily available.

My first half marathon is in 17 days.  It's no longer IF I finish one, it is WHEN I finish one.  Because I actually now believe it is possible.