Wake up, friends! Today is a very exciting day!!!

The Midsummer Shape Up begins today and I'm very excited that so many of you are up for the challenge!

The "rules" are simple: get your body moving EVERY SINGLE DAY for 30 days. The best part is you can do ANYTHING you want - you just need to move. Yoga, running, walking, lifting, swimming, a bike ride with your kids! There are so many options! Take this opportunity to try something new and really push yourself.

I love this challenge because you have do it in conjunction with any fitness program you are on or any other challenges you are taking part in! I'm doing Skinny Meg's challenge with Val - Fab Chick Gets Fit concurrently. No problem!

Why a workout challenge? Because most Americans have sedentary lifestyles. Many of us sit at desks all day, then we come home and sit on the couch. Research has shown that inactivity leads to many of our most common and alarming health problems - high blood pressure, high cholesterol (more LDL, less HDL -the "good" kind), high body fat (obesity). 

I think of exercise as a gateway to other healthier choices. I am more likely to make smarter food choices after I just kicked my butt in the gym. I am happier when I consistently workout - thanks, endorphins! When I'm happier, I stress less. Less stress means I'm more productive, more enjoyable to be around, and more likely to stay on top of my commitments. It's a win, win! Does anyone else feel like this? I never, ever regret a workout but I sure regret the ones I don't do!

Don't read me wrong on this - I'm not saying "go hard" in the gym 7 days a week with no rest. Mix up your intensity, try a variety of activities, and incorporate more lifestyle related movement in your day - take the stairs, walk after dinner, clean your house, etc. 

I highly encourage you to take before/after photos and measurements! (Even if you aren't trying to lose weight) The scale only tells part of the story. Monitor your progress somehow and you may be amazed at the results. I will be posting mine on WIW!

I CANNOT wait to see you all checking in, inspiring your loved ones, and becoming healthier, happier people! Tag me in your posts and use our hashtag #midsummer30for30.

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On another note, we had a great weekend back home in Cincinnati. I really wanted to make sure I made good food choices while I was home so I prepped some meals! (salsa chicken, ground turkey, veggies, and quinoa/brown rice) People kind of poked fun at me for bringing my own food home but oh well...not everyone "understands" this journey or how HARD it is! That's ok. 

We still had a few meals out but it was nice that I was able to indulge purposefully because I made smarter choices earlier in the day. It's all about balance and I did SO MUCH BETTER than weekends home in the past.

On Saturday morning we hit the gym with Nick's parents - I love the rowing machine! I forgot to print off a routine so I just did what I felt like while focusing on the back. 

I set a new goal for myself to be able to do an unassisted pullup. Right now I'm working on the pull up machine but I hope to graduate to a bar and resistance bands soon. Currently I need about 130 lbs to do multiple pull ups - only lifting about 70 lbs of my body weight. Dismal but it's a start!

We found some athletic training tables (I would say manipulation tables) at the gym so I was able to practice a little OMT on my husband - I'm so rusty! His lower back was bothering him a bit so I popped and stretched it using HVLA and soft tissue manipulation -- "A chance to pop is a chance to cure." It's a good feeling knowing I can help someone after only a year of school! Obviously I can't do much but I feel like I've already learned A LOT thanks to my school!

In the evening we headed downtown for the Jason Aldean concert featuring Miranda Lambert, Florida-Georgia Line, & Tyler Farr. Such a good time! You all know I LOVE country music! Now I'm pumped for our next country concert - Luke Bryan - at the end of August in Indy!

The concert was held at Great American Ballpark which was such an improvement to Riverbend where most concerts are held. Regardless, the people watching was prime - one of my favorite activities. Can we talk about the high waisted, butt cheek showing, jean panties girls are wearing these days? Call me old school but I just don't get that trend. I hate sounding judgemental. Stop, Heather.

Our seats were down on the field which was a very, very cool place to be - we're big Cincinnati Reds fans! How awesome is it to stand where our favorite baseball players stand?

Miranda may have been the best part! I just love her and her hair was adorable! I heard she's playing in Indy with my other favorite - Thomas Rhett - but sadly, I have an exam to study for that weekend.

I'm pretty sure my phone was dead by the time Jason Aldean came out but he was also amazing! I forgot how many good songs he and Miranda have.  It was a great night and probably our last planned time in Cincinnati for a while. 

On Sunday morning, we embraced our inner married couple and went to Findlay Market after mass. Findlay Market is an awesome Cincinnati landmark located in Over-the-Rhine & one of the most diverse locations in the city. On weekends they feature a farmer's market in addition to their regular shops and markets. 

We basically did our grocery shopping for the next two weeks - sweet potatoes, tomatoes, peaches, green beans, gold potatoes. YUMMY! We also bought some chicken sausage, bacon, and cottage ham! 

With our new goodies, I'll get my meal planning done for the week - green beans, potatoes, and ham in the crockpot will cover us for a few dinners and lunches this week (with some leftovers from last week). Later in the week we will do a mini shrimp boil with the sausage and potatoes (plus corn) and salad. Next week I'll make a gumbo or jambalya - somehow I'll make it healthier :). We just have to be creative!

Supporting local business and knowing where you food comes from - I love farmer's markets! Can't wait to check out the City Market here in Indy!

Finally, on Sunday evening we hung out with the in-laws for dinner and tried a new place we've never been to (don't remember the name either). I got the zucchini "pasta" dish with tomatoes, onions, peppers, pesto, and grilled chicken! The portion was HUGE so I brought it home to have for lunch today. I would love to make this at home (albeit with less olive oil - it was a little excessive). 

How was your weekend? 

Are you participating in the Midsummer Shape Up? Any suggestions?

Hi all! Yes, this makes two posts in two days. It must be a new record :) Today I'm linking up with OliveToRun and completing this fun running survey! I love these so much so if you ever come across any, send them my way!

#1. Would you rather run in a thunderstorm or a snowstorm? 
A snowstorm, although I'm not a big fan of running in the cold yet. I prefer to snuggle up and watch a movie during a thunderstorm.
#2. Would you rather breathe through your nose or breathe through your mouth?
I'm pretty sure I do both but I prefer through my nose because my mouth gets dry. Breathing through my nose also calms me down and keeps me at the correct pace.

#3. Would you rather do 100 squats or 100 crunches? [Now take a break and go do them. ;)] 
I could do squats for daysssss! Crunches don't do anything for me - I already hate working my abs directly so crunches are usually a no-go for me.

#4. Would you rather have a baked good for dessert or an extra serving of your favorite entree?
Probably another serving of the entree. I certainly love sweets but I'd much rather have something savory, salty, crunchy, etc. I love comfort foods like BBQ, meatloaf, pizza, etc. with yummy sides like mashed potatoes. I could probably live without cake and cookies for the rest of my life.

#5. Would you rather run on a treadmill for an hour or run around the same street block for an hour? 
I'd rather run outside, even if the surroundings are less scenic. I HATE the treadmill. I get so bored and I don't think it mimics true running conditions. I've started only using it for incline walking and sprints during my lifting workouts.

#6. Would you rather have a headache during a run or a side stitch?
Headache - I can fix that with a little OMM. (Well, I could probably work on the side stitch too) but side stitches are by far more painful for me.

#7. Would you rather have a rest day on a work day or a day off? I kind of neutral about this but I end up taking a rest day on weekends when I'm busy or go home for the weekend. I like breaking up going to class & studying with a workout just to get out all the pent up energy. (I try to do this but usually I'm pretty hungry by 5pm).

#8. Would you rather be a race director or a race volunteer? I really enjoy volunteering at races! Before I started running, I volunteered at quite a few races including the (half) marathon I'll be running in May. For cheerleading in high school, we would go downtown for the Flying Pig Marathon to cheer on the runners. I really enjoyed it (and every year after I said I would run it one day)! Now hopefully they will be cheering for me :)

#9. Would you rather spend your money on running gadgets [HRM, GPS watch, Headphones] or running shoes? Running shoes! I do want a GPS eventually but I love running shoes. There are so many crazy colors and styles! Thankfully I can usually find size 13s if I order through zappos or amazon. My favorites are the Ascics Gel Blur!

#10. Would you rather run in a relay or do the run portion of a distance triathlon? I want to do both one day! I think both would be fun because I could do it with friends. So far I haven't really had anyone to run with at some of my races so running with friends would be more motivating and enjoyable!

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Hello everybody! Welcome to Weigh-In Wednesday!

Please go check out my sweet co-hosts & make sure to say hi!

Bailey @ Being Bailey J

Ash @ A Step in the Right Direction

Totally thought today was Tuesday...Labor Day, you're messing with me! I was all excited about having a day off from classes and then I realized we are still doing the same amount of material and work, just in 4 days instead of 5...so there goes that logic. 

I'm writing this like 5 minutes before my first class so I apologize for my lack of pictures and everything. I'll have better posts up later this week. I'm also eating a Poptart because I didn't wake up early enough for breakfast...bring on the guilt. It doesn't even taste good to me...bleh. 

The Weigh In:
Lost 1.5 lbs this week which means I'm 0.5 lbs away from 20 lost! Wahoo...slow and steady, right?

As many of you know, I'm challenging myself (AND all of you!!!) to sweat everyday in Sweatember! The weather is AMAZING and I need to counteract all the stress eating I will likely do as I prepare for my first exam (TWO WEEKS!). In general, I just feel better after I do some physical activity. If I don't, my mushy class brain becomes my mushy study brain and by extension, my gluteus maximus gets mushier too. Gotta move!

So far, so good! This afternoon I get the results of my fitness assessment from last week at my gym and a new fitness plan to follow based on areas I need to improve (ahem...upper body strength). Look forward to a post with my results. Oh Lord. I'll talk more about this weeks sweat sessions on Sunday!

I also want to send a million thank yous to everyone that continues to link up with us every Wednesday! I think it's been about three months already! If you're new, make sure to say hi in the comments section and go introduce yourself to some other bloggers!

How is Sweatember going for you?

Yes! It's finally September which means my favorite time of year is just around the corner! FALL! Football, tailgates, pumpkin-everything, boots and jeans, crisp weather, apple cider - I LOVE everything about it. 

With the start of school and amazing running weather, I thought it would be the perfect time to create a challenge for myself and anyone else who is interested!

The challenge is simple: Make a commitment to SWEAT everyday in September - hence it's actually SWEATember. 

How you sweat is totally up to you. For me that means running, walking, workout videos, and the occasional group fitness class at my gym. I certainly don't have time to go to the gym for two hours every single day (counting the commute/shower) but even a 20 minute walk around campus or 30 minute elliptical session while reviewing notes is better than nothing!

Working on my calendar!

The goal for this challenge is to make exercise/physically activity a mandatory activity in my life just like brushing my teeth, eating breakfast, etc.. It takes 21 days to form a long-term habit. Let's do this!

Share your weekly progress and don't forget to share your daily updates on Twitter, Instagram, etc. with #sweatemberPSM. I'm not going to do a link up like I previously thought but please feel free to share your blog posts in the comments.

If you are a fan of Blogilates, she has a great challenge on her blog for September as well. 

As for today, I went to the gym to run and do the elliptical. I should have done weights but I was late for the strength class and I hate being late. Excuses, excuses! I also forgot my heart rate monitor. Whomp whomp.

I hope you all will join me in this challenge! 

Also tomorrow I'm co-hosting Medical Mondays so get excited for that! 

Red cheeks!

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Welcome!  I can't believe it's already Wednesday again. Life is going by quickly these days...

As always, please go check my co-hosts out!  They rock my socks off!

• Amy @ Write This Down
• Bailey @ Being Bailey J
• Ash @ A Step in the Right Direction

I hope everyone had a better week than the last one.  It felt like many of us were stuck in a rut or having some trouble. 

One way I chose to deal with my rut was to start the Advocare 10 Day Cleanse.  You can read about why here. (No, I'm not being sponsored in any way...I just caved to peer pressure.)

So far, so good!  I'm actually not having that much trouble with "eating clean" (...so why is it so hard all the other days of the year?). I'll definitely have an update for you later today or tomorrow! 

*Update*

Just woke up! So I stayed the same AGAIN this week. I guess I got a little overzealous over the weekend pre-cleanse. A quesadilla was eaten, several boneless wings, and probably 50 other things. Aside from taking the dog for a 20 minutes walk, I don't think I engaged in much physical activity. I was actually up on Monday when I started the cleanse. I'm not sharing exact results until it's all over but the scale is moving!  I don't want to jinx it!  Look for an update tomorrow morning!

The workout portion of this post is less promising. Summer heat has finally hit us here in Cincinnati!  Last night at boot camp, it was just kind of miserable.  It wasn't really that hot but it was muggy.  When you're sweating and the moisture is basically being enveloped on your skin, the cooling mechanisms just don't work. Instead of being tired from pushing myself, I felt grumpy and sticky.  I definitely could've worked harder.

Excuse time. Because of the nature of my work schedule, the only time I can workout is in the afternoon. (aka the hottest part of the day) So i haven't been running in a little over a week.  Not good for someone that has all these races coming up... I either need to suck it up and run in the morning when I get off before I sleep or suck it up and run in the heat. I sure wish I still had my gym membership but I decided to try the power yoga studio instead of purchasing a summer pass. Not a bad decision...but probably not the best value for my paltry salary.

Welcome to Weigh-In Wednesday! 

As always, we are so glad to have you linking up with us!  Please make sure to check out my co-hosts & like, friend, stalk, whatever them as you please

• Amy @ Write This Down
• Bailey @ Being Bailey J
• Ash @ A Step in the Right Direction

I'm not feeling too confident about this week.  I'm predicting staying the same or even gaining a pound or two.  In this post I discussed a little bit why.  I've been unfocused and unmotivated.  I've been lazy, overwhelmed, and not sticking to my commitments.  I let a few good weeks go to my head and I made the choice to go easy on myself. Well, I'm OVER IT.

So when I see a gain later today (after my sleep time, of course), I'll be happy for the kick in the ass.  I have far too much to look forward to in the next few months to lose steam now.  There will be plenty of time for fun along the way but I need to dedicate myself to my goals.  It's crunch time.  

Today I start running & training & sticking to my plans, again.  I don't want to look back a few months from now and wish I would've pushed myself harder. I've spent too much of my life doing just that - it's exhausting and disappointing. 

I hope the tone of this post doesn't seem too negative - I promise this is coming from a place of inspiration (will a little a lot of frustration mixed in).  

I hope you all had better success than me and I can't wait to read how your weeks are going!  

While I'm here, I want to remind you all to make sure you follow me on Bloglovin'!  Google Friend Connect will be gone on July 1st so it would be really sad to lose some of you!  I'm excited to say that I just hit 50 followers today! Thank you a million times!

One last thing before an update later on today.  I have a new button swap option under my "Sponsors" tab.  If you are interested, please go check it out!  All that I ask is that you place my button on your sidebar in exchange. I will do periodic social media shout outs and I am always open to guest posts or anything else you have up your sleeves! 

*Update*

Well I'll be a monkey's uncle...NO GAIN.  If we're getting technical, I had a 0.2 lb loss but that's the different between eating a marshmallow or not...

Wow. Just wow.  This is the part where I let my entire mood be affected by the scale.  I can't do that...Sure, I'm excited that I didn't do more damage than I expected but I'm still disappointed because I know I can do better.  Lesson learned, let's move on!

Eyes on the prize - I have some Dietbets that are wrapping up soon and I need a new dress or two for the wedding and the concert.  

Don't forget to link-up below!  Leave a comment if you're new :)

Hello Pretties!  As I sit here watching The Bachelorette marveling in the spectacular realness of it all, I decided it might be a good idea to create some goals for the month of June.  Life is going by quickly and if I don't write this stuff down, I have no way of keeping myself accountable.  Here goes nothing.

June Fitness Goals:

• Win all three Diet Bets I signed up for.  Why did I do this?  Because if I'm going to lose weight and win some money, I might as well win x3.  
• Complete Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30 with my Weigh-In Wednesday friends! (starting tomorrow)
• Track what I eat every single day.
• Limit alcohol intake to once a week.
• Train for another 5K in July
• Yoga twice a week.

One of my roommates from college is getting married at the end of the month so I want to be down a sizable amount by then - no specific number goals but 10 lbs or more would be preferable. 

I had a pretty productive Monday - I finally went to the grocery and did some meal prep!  My schedule is so packed right now that I don't have much down time and I'm ready to lose it.  I've been wanting to respond to all the sweet comments I got from the Medical Monday link up but this is really the first time I've been able to sit down.  I woke up this afternoon (remember...work all night) to so many thoughtful messages, it completely made my day!

Good news and bad news - tomorrow is my last day of babysitting.  I'm going to miss my little goobers - all four of them - but I'm so ready for a break.  More downtime is necessary so I can really focus on eating clean and getting in quality workouts.  I'm tired and I can't deal with the temptation of cheez-its, fruit snacks, and cookies all the time!

One last thing, tonight I made Jamie Eason's Turkey Meatloaf Muffins!  I can't wait to try them tomorrow for lunch!  Yum yum!

Ignore the yucky pan...I'm sure there's a Pinterest for that!

Jamie Eason's Turkey Meatloaf Muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. ground turkey
• 3 egg whites
• 1 diced onion
• 2 diced celery stalks
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp dry yellow mustard
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp chipotle pepper spice
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp garlic powder

Directions:

Pre heat oven to 375 and spray muffin pay with non-stick spray. Mix all the ingredients in large bowl until combined.  Roll into balls and put in muffin tin. Bake for 40 minutes or until cooked through.

Makes 12 muffins. Each muffin has about 120 calories.  

I didn't follow this recipes exactly.  I used minced garlic instead of garlic powder, an italian herb paste instead of thyme & mustard, and a chili pepper paste instead of chipotle pepper spice.  

Next time, I'm definitely going to try to add some tomatoes or salsa in there...it needs a little something extra.

Das ist alles! Until next time. 

Happy Thursday!  I don't think I would know what day it is unless I was blogging so thank you for keeping me sane, blog world.

I signed up for TWO Diet Bets last night. I was feeling ambitious.  If I'm gonna lose weight, I might as well make some money off of it!  The last time I did one, I got super close to the 4% but didn't end up winning. I need to win so I can put the money towards my massage fund - I want to have a mini relaxation day before school starts.

If anyone is interested, here are the two bets.  I'd love to see some fellow bloggers on there!  Email me or comment here if you decide to participate and we can cheer each other along :)

Do Life Diet Bet
Runtastic Diet Bet with Lunden

I also decided to try something new to keep track of my fitness progress.  I'm using a modified Chalean Extreme fitness test (another thing I bought that I never finished...shopping addict & inconsistent aren't a good combination).  I plan on doing this every two weeks to see my progress.  I need to figure out an easy way to keep track...I think I can record this somehow on MyFitnessPal.

The one mile is self-explanatory.  For pushups, I did traditional "boy" pushups, not modified.  Situps were Crossfit Situps:

For squats, I'm trying to improve my form so I used this video and technique for the test.

For planks, do any plank you feel comfortable with and hold it as long as you can.  (I hate planks) For shoulder press & bicep curls, record the amount of weight you use for each and how many reps to failure.  The goal with these is not to  increase reps but to increase weight overtime.  You should be able to do no more than 10-15 reps at a time to failure, like you couldn't do another rep. Women should lift heavy...you won't bulk up!

For sit and reach, technically you need a box and ruler.  I just used a tape measure and put my feet at 12 inches.  Reaching past your toes is just a bonus.  

Here are my results!  We all have to start somewhere. I can't wait to see the progress.  June 6th will be the next check in.

Finally, in honor of Throwback Thursday and Prom season...My senior prom! 5 years ago. AHH 

 

The awkward prom pose

I need a spray tan...

Quick post here for Wednesday!  

I just weighed in and I was up +0.8 lbs, overall loss 8.2 lbs.  I wasn't surprised since I let things go last week eating wise and I didn't stick to my workouts.  Why? I caught the lazy bug. 

Can we talk about temptation for a bit?  I am a glorified child & adult babysitter  for 60 hours a week (48 with oldies & 12 with kids) which means I'm not home a lot.  First, what is it with elderly people and their desire to keep four types of ice cream, cakes, chips, cookies, and sugar sculptures in their house?  What's worse is they want to offer it to me multiple times a night despite the fact that I've told them I'm trying to eat healthier as I sit and munch on my celery sticks and pretend they are peanut brittle. Let's not even get started on the kids...they eat pretty healthy but they still love fruit snacks, pb&j, and the almighty Cheez-its. Homemade cookies are everywhere but don't mind me...I'm eating my enormous salad.  

Enter these babies: 

Look!  They are even "natural."  No, I didn't give in.  But I did eat some Lay's last night.  I couldn't take it anymore. I was starving at 3 am & that little bit of salt hit the spot.  So much for standing up to those cravings.  

Temptation is a tricky thing. I don't know whether it's better to indulge or to build up my "willpower."  It's something I'm trying to figure out.  Any advice?  How do you deal with temptations and cravings?  I realize these first few days are going to be the hardest - hopefully it will get better.  It's just really hard when you do decide to give in and end up feeling so crappy. Ugh.

Enough of the negative...I'm reenergized & doing MUCH better this week (handful of Lay's aside).  I even did an impromptu workout yesterday just because I had a little extra time to work with than usual.  It felt GREAT to move just because I wanted to instead of because I "had to." I'm super sore today (I really need to do a better job of stretching) but I'm determined to get a run & boot camp in today.

My workout from yesterday:

I started my watch too early - only a 30 min workout

 I did a 15 minute HIIT with Chalene on Turbofire.  In college, a few of my friends and I would do her Turbo Jam workouts in our sorority living room.  It was hilarious!  That's when I decided to buy TF but I never actually completed the whole program...consistency is an issue for me.  I don't really enjoy working out alone so it was kind of depressing to do the workouts in my room everyday. Whomp Whomp.  I also did the Summer Arms with the TIU girlies from their Beach Babe DVD!  

Here's to a better week!