It's time for change.....let the training begin!

It's been a while since I have actually trained for anything but I think it's time to start setting goals and focus on something for me.  As busy as life gets and as stressful as times can be, I feel much better when I'm able to workout and see results in my weight loss journey.  Since I have stopped training I have gain a lot of my old weight back and I'm feeling tired, gross and just out of shape.  I don't have an actual race in mind but I figure this is a good starting point for me, as we get closer to summer and my training progresses I will look at a race to see what races are available to complete a half marathon.  Here is the link for this training plan along with many others interested in running - http://www.halfmarathons.net/half-marathon-training-schedule-for-beginning-runners/

12-Week Half Marathon Training for Beginner Runners

Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
1	off	3 miles	3 miles	3 miles	off	3 miles	4 miles
2	off	3 miles	4 miles	3 miles	off	3 miles	4 miles
3	off	3 miles	4 miles	3 miles	off	3 miles	5 miles
4	off	3 miles	5 miles	3 miles	off	4 miles	6 miles
5	off	4 miles	5 miles	4 miles	off	3 miles	7 miles
6	off	4 miles	4 miles	4 miles	off	4 miles	8 miles
7	off	4 miles	6 miles	4 miles	off	4 miles	9 miles
8	off	4 miles	6 miles	4 miles	off	4 miles	10 miles
9	off	4 miles	6 miles	4 miles	off	3 miles	11 miles
10	off	4 miles	5 miles	4 miles	off	4 miles	12 miles
11	off	4 miles	5 miles	4 miles	off	3 miles	6 miles
12	off	3 miles	5 miles	3 miles	off	2 miles	13.1 miles!

Rest Days

Especially for beginning runners or those who may be experienced at running but training for their first half marathon, it’s important to take two days off from running during the week to allow your joints and muscles adequate time to rest.
I’ve always taken two days off during the week, on Mondays and Fridays, as that allows a day off after your long run as well as a day off after your three mid-week running days.

Water

On your weekend long runs, make sure to bring plenty of water to drink after your run and during your run. It’s important especially when your long runs start reaching distances of seven, eight and nine miles or longer, to have water at the mid-point of your long run as well as at the end.

Sports drinks such as Gatorade or Powerade are fine as well, but you can’t go wrong with water. Also, this will get your body accustomed to what your race conditions will be like, when you’ll be able to have water most likely at every two miles in the race.

Weekly Food Menu - 2.6.17 to 2.12.17

This week I'm going to continue with my clean eating and going to use one of my favorite websites Clean Food Crush.  Rachel's website and blog are amazing, she has a lot of very tasty and easy recipes that focus on clean eating.  Here is her website https://cleanfoodcrush.com/ I will also be posting the links to the recipes I will be making below.  Hope everyone has a very happy and healthy week!

Weekly Food Menu - Week of Feb 6th, 2017

Monday 2/6/17
Breakfast - Banana Nut Bread Overnight Oats - https://cleanfoodcrush.com/banana-bread-oats/
AM Snack - Frozen Chocolate Protein Coffee - https://cleanfoodcrush.com/frozen-chocolate-protein-coffee/
Lunch - Leftovers from the night before or a big salad with lots of veggies with homemade dressing
PM Snack - Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Energy Balls - https://cleanfoodcrush.com/pumpkin-energy-balls/ with fresh fruit or an apple
Dinner - One Pan Sausage Veggie Skillet - https://cleanfoodcrush.com/sausage-veggie-skillet/#more-'

Tuesday 2/7/17
Breakfast - Fiesta Sweet Potato Hash - https://cleanfoodcrush.com/fiesta-sweet-potato-hash/#more-'
AM Snack - Banana Oat Protein Smoothie - CFC Smoothie eBook
Lunch - Leftovers from the night before or a big salad with lots of veggies with homemade dressing
PM Snack -  Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Energy Balls - https://cleanfoodcrush.com/pumpkin-energy-balls/ with fresh fruit or an apple
Dinner - Unstuffed Bell Pepper + Quinoa Skillet - https://cleanfoodcrush.com/unstuffed-peppers-skillet/

Wednesday 2/8/17
Breakfast -Fiesta Sweet Potato Hash - https://cleanfoodcrush.com/fiesta-sweet-potato-hash/#more-'
AM Snack - Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Shake - https://cleanfoodcrush.com/chocolate-pb-shake/#more-'
Lunch - Leftovers from the night before or a big salad with lots of veggies with homemade dressing 
PM Snack - Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Energy Balls - https://cleanfoodcrush.com/pumpkin-energy-balls/ with fresh fruit or an apple
Dinner - FAST One-Pan Taco Skillet - https://cleanfoodcrush.com/fast-taco-skillet/

Thursday 2/9/17
Breakfast - Fiesta Sweet Potato Hash - https://cleanfoodcrush.com/fiesta-sweet-potato-hash/#more-'
AM Snack - White Chocolate Raspberry Protein Smoothie - CFC Smoothie eBook
Lunch - Leftovers from the night before or a big salad with lots of veggies with homemade dressing
PM Snack -  Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Energy Balls - https://cleanfoodcrush.com/pumpkin-energy-balls/ with fresh fruit or an apple
Dinner - Honey Lemon Garlic Salmon - https://cleanfoodcrush.com/honey-lemon-garlic-salmon/ served with Honey Dijon Green Beans https://cleanfoodcrush.com/honey-dijon-green-beans/

Friday 2/10/17
Breakfast - Fiesta Sweet Potato Hash - https://cleanfoodcrush.com/fiesta-sweet-potato-hash/#more-'
AM Snack - Pumpkin Pie Fall Smoothie (made with protein) - CFC Smoothie eBook
Lunch - Leftovers from the night before or a big salad with lots of veggies with homemade dressing
PM Snack - Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Energy Balls - https://cleanfoodcrush.com/pumpkin-energy-balls/ with fresh fruit or an apple
Dinner - Delicious Crock-Pot Chicken "Noodle" Soup - https://cleanfoodcrush.com/crock-pot-chicken-soup/

Saturday 2/11/17
Breakfast - Grain-Free Banana Almond Waffles - https://cleanfoodcrush.com/banana-almond-waffles/
AM Snack - Chocolate Bananas Foster - CFC Smoothie eBook
Lunch - Leftovers from the night before or a big salad with lots of veggies with homemade dressing
PM Snack - Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Energy Balls - https://cleanfoodcrush.com/pumpkin-energy-balls/ with fresh fruit or an apple
Dinner - Yellow Summer Squash "Spaghetti" with Roasted Tomato Sauce -  https://cleanfoodcrush.com/summer-squash-noodles/#more-' I'm going to bake some cod on the side and flake it to mix in with this dish for a little extra protein.

Sunday is a free day to use any leftovers or to celebrate due to special family gatherings or any fun occasion.  Have a HAPPY and HEALTHY week. 

Birthday Celebration

Happy 5th Birthday Sweet Kaitlyn!

Yesterday was our little one's 5th birthday, it was a big day for her.  The night before my older daughter and I were up pretty late decorating the house for the princesses special day.  Her favorite color is purple, so I went to Dollar Tree and picked up a bunch of purple items like a table cloth, balloon holders, Frozen Happy Birthday Banner, Frozen plates and napkins, two small balloons filled with air, princess birthday sash, streamers, bows and wrapping paper.  The whole set up cost under $20 and it came out perfect.
                    

            

We had a low key morning as I knew the rest of the day would be long, plus my little one went to bed rather late so we did some relaxing in the morning.  Then I went and met her for lunch at school with her class so I could spend some quality time with her.  She loved having me tag along for lunch.  It was so special and something I will always remember, it's times like these that remind me of how fast they grown up, which I will never get back.  I enjoy every moment I can with both my girls.  After school both girls arrived home, we left for the airport to pick up my husband as he was out of town on business all week.  It was nice to have him home especially on a special day like today.  My daughters request was pizza at home and opening presents as she had been waiting all day.  So we went and picked up Jet's Pizza, which by the way is amazing.  

When we got home the princess got to finally open her presents, she was so excited with each gift she opened and loved everything she got.  We then ate our pizza as everyone was starving, it was super yummy as usual.  After dinner she wanted to try out her new purple razor scooter she got, we all had to bundle up as it was a cold day here in Texas.  Both girls went and rode around on their scooters for a bit while my husband and I froze but it was so fun to see them laughing and having a good time.  This scooter is way more advanced then her old one so she had a few falls but loved riding around on a big girl scooter.  About 20 mins being in the cold we called it quites as it was freezing and starting to get dark, it was time to bring the fun back into the house so we could all warm up.  The girls decided they wanted to try indoor bowling with her new frozen bowling set, my husband (the pin guy) set up the pins down the hallway so the girls had an ally way to bowl.  I did my first Facebook Live video of the birthday girl bowling, it was hilarious as she was throwing the ball more then rolling it....I think it was a new game called air bowling as our friend Cindy mentioned in one of the comments.  Finally after several tries and hitting daddy she knocked all the pins down and got a strike, it was so fun to watch her and the excitement.  

Then it was time for the surprise purple birthday cake that came out amazing, I bought it Market Street, they were wonderful and very helpful.  I had it specially ordered with her favorite colors to go with the theme of the rest of the purple stuff she had.  Last part of the evening was looking back at old family photo's of Kaitlyn when she was born and as she was growing up, it was very special to see those memories and how much she has changed since being a baby.  Thank you daddy for getting it all set up for us to watch as a family.

Overall it was a wonderful day, she was extremely happy with everything and enjoyed every moment.  We are so thankful to have two amazing girls who we absolutely adorable and love.  Happy 5th Birthday Sweet Baby Kaitlyn!!!!

Clean Eating Do's and Don'ts

I was on Pinterest today and came across this Clean Eating Do's and Dont's list that I thought was worth sharing.  I thought I was pretty good with my clean eating but after looking at this list I have room for improvements for sure.  It's a good reminder for all of us who want to improve our healthy habits.

Resistance Band Circuit for today's workout

I had another full day, since my little does not go to pre-school until the afternoons I was home cleaning, doing laundry and preparing today's dinner.  Then after I dropped her off at school I have a few errands to do so by the time I got home it was already 2pm and I only had 1 hour until my little one was home.  So today I decided to do a quick 30 min circuit using my resistance bands.  It's been a while since I have done it and it kicked my butt, I just turned up the music, sweat a lot and got it done.  Once I was done I felt fantastic, it's been way to long since I have done any training on my body.  I'm not huge into weight lifting but I know it's good for the body, mind and soul. 

Here was my workout.

Exercise:
Warm Up - Jog in place for 30 seconds to 1 min.
Side Lateral Raises - 3 sets 12 reps
Jumping Jacks - 3 sets 20 times
Triceps Dips sets 12 reps
Mountain Climbers (on tile with towels) - 3 sets 10 times each leg
Bicep Curls - 3 sets 12 reps
Squats - 3 sets 12 reps
Shoulder Press Ups - 3 sets 12 reps
Jumping Jacks - 3 sets 12 reps
Abs - 3 sets 12 reps
Side and Back Kicks - 3 sets 6 times on each leg
Rest for 1 minute and then repeat 2 more times.

I used red resistance band when I did this workout.  It took be exactly 30 minutes to complete all 3 rounds and I sweat like crazy.  It was quick and I at least got a workout in for today!

Yesterday's Workout - Running

Woke up feeling exhausted yesterday, didn't get much sleep the night before.  I ended up cleaning all my bathrooms, did some laundry and cleaned my floors.  This is was all done before noon, by the time I dropped my little one off at pre-school I realized how nice it was outside and could not pass up going for a run.  I ran 3.4 miles and I won't lie it was really tough, I was feeling very sore and slow and hot it was a weird run for me as I haven't like that in a while.  I'm really trying to focus on my nutrition and water intake, dehydration is a killer and something I struggle with.  I can really feel it in my workouts when I'm not drinking enough water.  It was about 74 out when I headed out and at first it was so nice and felt great, by the time I got home I was sweating like crazy and felt like I was going to pass out.  This Texas weather is nuts, we will be going back down again for the weekend so that will be nice.  Overall I got it done and that helped me sleep much better last night, I kept telling me self to keep pushing and this will only make me stronger.

This is how I felt after being in the heat yesterday but I never gave up.  Getting Healthy and Happy!

Yesterday's Meals

Well yesterday was a very long but productive day.  I was extremely tried last night and didn't post yesterday's meals.  I actually had a great day with my food choices, I think from cutting back on my sugar explains why I had a horrible headache last night.  My biggest weakness is drinking more water, that would definitely help with the headaches.  Here was yesterday's menu:

Breakfast - Eggs with cheese and two slices of multi gain bread with smashed avocado

AM Snack - Pumpkin Pie Protein Smoothie

Post-Run Chocolate Milk (recovery drink)

Lunch - Baked Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia with roasted cauliflower and Spaghetti squash with eggplant bolognese

PM Snack - Strawberries with 2 no-bake raspberry chocolate balls

Dinner - One-Pot Mexican Beans and Quinoa

Dinner review - I usually prepare my meals ahead of time to make it easier when it's time to cook dinner but yesterday was so crazy that I didn't have time to do my prep.  I did it while I was cooking and I have to say it was not too bad.  The dish came out really good, my little one was not too crazy about it so I added cheese to hers to make it taste better for her.  My older one was not too excited when she found out what I was making but then at dinner after she tried it said it was pretty good.  I thought it was very good, nice and hardy with lots of healthy vegetables in it.  I have plenty of leftovers which I'm good with.  I will be having that for lunch today and dividing the rest up to freeze for next week.  I would rate this 4 out 5 and will keep it to make again.