Workout Wednesday + 4pt WW Dinner

I have talked a little bit here and there about my struggle with weight loss and my journey to being healthy for the first time in a long time. For nearly three months I have been a 2nd-time member of Weight Watchers, but I don't think I have been taking it serious enough. I haven't been very good about tracking lately...if I know I've been bad, I just won't track it.

That has to stop.

Last week I also was really bad about getting to the gym. The one day that I did go, this is the class my friend and I went to. It has quickly become one of our favorites.


It may look kinda cheesy - just playing around with some drum sticks - but it is actually a really good workout.  I'm usually sore for a day or two afterwards.  Unfortunately Wednesdays are the only day the time works with my schedule - I would love to catch it more often.

In the last few months, I have only lost a few pounds.  I guess the bright side is at least I haven't been gaining weight.  But I really want to work harder and stick to my healthy lifestyle goals and get somewhere with it.  I have already decided that once I hit my next goal I get to purchase a new workout outfit, so that will be my motivation for the next 7 pounds.

********************************************************************************************
I want to share an easy, healthy recipe that I found the other night. This easy Chicken & Broccoli bake comes out to only 4 Weight Watchers points per serving, assuming 4 servings.

Click the photo to go to original recipe - I changed it slightly

Easy Chicken and Broccoli Divan
  2 cups hot cooked broccoli florets
2 cups cooked & cubed chicken breast
1 cup sweet red pepper, cut in large chunks
1/3 cup milk (I use 1%)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1. Arrange broccoli, chicken and red pepper in a casserole dish.
2. Combine can of soup and milk in a small bowl, then pour over chicken and veggies.
3. Sprinkle with cheese, followed by bread crumbs.
4. Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes.

I served this over mashed potatoes, but it can also be served over brown rice or just by itself alongside a salad for an even healthier option.  
   
********************************************************************************************
Make sure you stop by and visit my lovely sponsors this week!  You can read about growing up in Minneapolis on They Call Her Meghan - which she shared yesterday.

If you are interested in doing an ad swap, or purchasing larger ad space, you can take a look at my ad store HERE.

Call me crazy....

...because I am pretty sure that I am. I will explain why in a minute.

Last Friday, as I drove to work, I began to pass a bunch of runners/walkers. They were a part of the Portland to Coast Relay, which is a subgroup of the annual Hood to Coast Relay.

Hood to Coast is a massive event held every year. The relay race includes over 1,000 teams of anywhere from 8-12 and treks along 198 miles - from the top of Mount Hood all the way west to Seaside, Oregon. It starts Friday morning and finishes on Saturday with the biggest beach party on the West Coast. I only know a few people who have participated, but people come from all over the country to take part. There are 36 legs of the race, which means each runner must do at least 3 of them - each one is anywhere from 3 to 8 miles. When you aren't running, you can *try to* sleep in the team vehicles.

So what does that have to do with me being a little crazy? Two things.

1. While passing the runners this morning, I thought to myself, "I should do that next year." Never in my life have I had an urge to run a marathon, a half-marathon, or even a 5k. I am NOT a runner. So where did this come from? I don't know...but it would be something to work towards throughout the next year and would be an amazing accomplishment afterwards.

2. This proposition: Who wants to join my team? ....this is the really crazy part. After I thought about participating in next year's Hood to Coast, I thought, "How awesome would it be to get 11 other bloggers to join me in this?"

My plan was this - if we could get a group of 12 ladies to come together, we could spend the next year encouraging one another in our training, sharing tips and ideas for healthy recipes, and get to know each other personally. Then, at the end of the year, we would be able to meet everyone in person. I know some of you have met other bloggers in person already - but I haven't gone there yet. There are a couple of details I should include.

The cost to enter the race is $1,404, which if you have a full team of 12 works out to $117 per person. This is the rate from the 2013 race, which took place this past weekend. I would imagine the price might increase a bit each year...Also, I already mentioned this is a HUGE event. Participation is based on a lottery system. For example, this year over 2,500 teams entered, but only 1,050 were able to actually participate. This means that even if we get a full team together, there is a chance it may not happen. Registration must be post-marked on ONE DAY and ONE DAY ONLY. So it has to be done on time (this year's registration was due last October). I believe the lottery winners are announced within a couple of weeks....late October or early November. I would think that if our team is not chosen, the fees would get refunded...but I would need to look in to that for sure.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is in and around Portland, Oregon. Obviously, that may mean traveling from all over the U.S. I would be more than willing to open my home to you ladies for a few nights before and after the race - it could be one big slumber party!

Do you think I'm crazy yet? Because I'm still not sure myself....I guess if this actually happens, I must be somewhat sane! I know that there are others of you out there who are working on losing weight or eating better or just getting healthier in general and in better shape. I would love be able to build a small community with you girls over the next year with the goal of participating in this event.

This would be a big commitment - especially if you live outside the northwest. But how amazing would this be? If it is going to happen, we will need to try to pull the team together as soon as possible. I would imagine registration will be sometime in October again. I am going to start scoping out the official website and start watching for information for next year's race. If you are AT ALL interested, even just a "maybe, kinda sounds fun but I don't really know if that's my thing", PLEASE PLEASE send me an email. I would love to talk to you more about it. My email is kaeley *dot* a *dot* mull *at* gmail *dot* com. {YOU CAN ALSO JUST CLICK THE LITTLE ENVELOPE ICON IN THE SIDEBAR I GUESS...}

Just writing this makes me wonder what in the world I am thinking - but I am throwing it out there and I'm not taking it back. So - any takers?!?!?

*********************************************************************************************************************************
I'm not sure how many times I have mentioned it - probably too many - but I LOVE black & white photos.  So - even though I was excited about the above proposal, I had to make sure to link up for Black & White Wednesday, too.  Here are a few more images from Seattle - tomorrow I will share the rest.

Friday Photo Journal

I had every intention of sharing something, anything, here yesterday.  But instead, Tristan and I sat on the couch watching Orange is the New Black all night.  If you haven't watched this Netflix original series, do it - but not around the kids.  There are several bigger names in it (including Jason Biggs of the American Pie movies and Laura Prepon who was on That 70s Show) and the plot is constantly evolving and twisting.  The series is a dramatization based on a real life story.

However, I am back to today and going to link up for Friday Photo Journal...I'm not even sure when the last time I joined in on this one was!

Why am I so obsessed with the clouds?  And everything else that is just so ordinary?  Who knows....I guess I'm just weird like that. 

I'm not sure what this strange-looking plant is that grows outside our house, but I don't hate it!

I got "the look" from Tristan when I was taking these close-ups of his car, but I am used to that.  I was trying to capture the reflection of the sky on the hood....but it didn't turn out as clear as I had hoped.

Now...I have a confession to make.  This morning, when I got on the scale for my weekly weigh-in, I got extremely disappointed with myself.  I am back to where I was two weeks ago - to the 1/10th of a pound.  Granted, last week I had only lost just less than 1/2 a pound, the fact that I gained back that 0.4 pounds was really frustrating.  On he bright side, though, {and I love my Weight Watchers scale for this feature} it looks like I may have replaced a little fat with some muscle.  Even though I gained a tiny bit of weight, the percentage of fat to total body weight went down.  If you didn't already know, muscle weighs more than fat.  So that little bit of gain may not necessarily be a bad thing.

It does prompt me to work harder this week.  Now, I thought I had been pretty good about sticking to the rules this last week.  But, now that I think about it - I definitely had too much garlic bread with that spaghetti and when I work out alone, without going with a friend or attending a class, I don't push myself as hard as I probably should.

So - my goals for this week:

1. No more than 2 sodas - all week:  Granted, all I drink is diet soda, which on Weight Watchers is fine - diet soda does not receive a points value.  However, what is still in diet soda?  Sodium.  So I am going to try to cut out that uneccesary added sodium and limit myself to two sodas this week, as opposed to one or two a day.

2. On at least two days, spend an entire hour at the gym.  My morning workouts, while better than nothing, tend to be a little lazy.  So I am going to push myself a little more instead of just stopping when I start to get tired.

3. Track everything that I eat, even if it means depleting all of my weekly points.  I'm really bad about not always including a little piece of chocolate here or an extra piece of bread there.  I also need to keep better track of the actual serving sizes I am consuming, instead of just guessing.

It may seem a little weird to be setting goals for the next week on a Friday, but Friday is my weigh-in day and the day that my Weight Watchers points start over.  So Friday is my Monday when it comes to weight-loss.  

Well, that's my weekly frustration {or one of them at least}.  What is something you have struggled with this week??

Speaking of the gym...my "workout" station on Pandora has been sending me some pretty sweet throwbacks lately, including this gem - Linking up with Whitney for #backthatazzup Friday!

#NOtivation: Inspiration

For the last few weeks, I have seen other gals linking up for #NOtivation Tuesdays. Well, in my new-found effort to get healthy again, I decided to join in this week and link up with Mallory and Hallie.

Let's be honest - I really struggle with being motivated when it comes to working out and eating healthy.  Countless times I have mentioned how good I am at talking myself out of going to the gym after work or picking up a bag of chips instead of an apple.  One of the things that I try to remind myself is that making good choices when it comes to my health is going to benefit me in the long run.  Another truth: I feel so much better throughout the day when I have a good breakfast, and later in the evening after a good workout.  So why can't I remember those things all the time?!

Two years ago, when I got married, I was in the best shape I had been in a long time.

As I mentioned the other day, since then I have gained some of the weight back that I had lost in anticipation of this day.  These pictures from our wedding are a huge inspiration for me to get back to that place, and even go further.  My face was slimmer, my hips were smaller - I just looked healthier overall.  I can't wait to feel that way again.

Another major inspiration for me is the idea of having kids in the future.  I want to not only be in good shape before getting pregnant, but have a healthy pregnancy and be able to chase our kids around someday.  I don't think it would be fair to them to have a mom who couldn't keep up.  It's also important to show your children how to make healthy choices, not only tell them.  You have to be an example of healthy living.

My husband is usually a good cheerleader.  He lets me know that he is proud of me when I reach little goals that I have for myself and I know that he will always think that I am beautiful.  But I want to be healthy for him as well.  Let's be honest - we want the men in our life to think we are sexy.  Yes, they have promised to love us unconditionally, but wouldn't this be an added bonus?  And I think that one of the sexiest things about a women is when she is confident and feels good about herself.

Finally - my gym partner.  There are definitely days where if she wasn't going to the gym, I wouldn't be there either.  Having accountability is huge for me.  We push each other to go a little bit longer, a little bit harder and a little bit more often :)

However *I'm doing a little happy dance here* yesterday she had to stay late at work and I went to Zumba alone.  I'm pretty proud of myself!  My inspiration to go it alone?  I got to add 4 activity points to my Weight Watchers tracker!

Here's my little word for the year again, popping up in other aspects of life:

INSPIRATION

What is your inspiration when it comes to being motivated to work hard for your health?  Write about it and link up!

Dont Make Me MAD.

 

 I saw this on Pinterest last night and instantly started laughing.  I don't know how many times I have told my husband this: "You don't get to be a jerk and then tell me to calm down when I get mad!"  Lucky for him, I'm not the best shot. Just Kidding!  But seriously, this was perfect.  It even made him laugh.

So - I have a confession to make.  For the last year or so, I have really struggled with my weight.  Almost three years ago, I started Weight Watchers prior to my wedding and during those 7 months lost roughly 30 pounds.  I was pretty proud of myself, but still had about 15 pounds to go to get to my goal weight.  After that, I continued to be signed up for Weight Watchers, but was just maintaining more than anything.

Last spring, after ending my subscription, I went through some personal issues and the stress eliminated my appetite.  I quickly lost 10 pounds *not the healthy way - a girl should eat!!*  However, I was happy to be within a few pounds of my goal weight.  Since I got my life back together, I have pretty much been eating whatever I feel like, whenever it sounds good.  The results - not good.  My confession: I have gained back almost 30 pounds from my lowest point.  That puts me less than 15 pounds away from where I started.  

I am determined not to get back to that point.  So last weekend - I went back to Weight Watchers.  There is something about the tracking and accountability that really helps with my motivation.  For those of you who are here for my pictures, don't worry - this isn't going to warp into a health and fitness blog.  But the additional accountability and encouragement that comes from sharing my goals publicly are appreciated, so I may check in occasionally here.

This girl has a really bad sweet tooth.  Not gonna lie.  So that will be my first battle to conquer.  A friend and I are going to try out a new class at our gym today, though.  Should be fun!!