When reality hits....

So reality just gave me a swift kick in the pants with this one...I have six weeks until race day and this email giving me my number made it feel like it could be tomorrow.  HOLY BOLOGNA!   As excited and motivated as I am, this is scary as all get out. 

I've been doing awesome eating this week and here's another healthy and easy meal! 

4 ounces of tilapia

1/2 c rice pilaf

1T tartar sauce

1/4 c sweet potato

1/2 c green beans

Happy Friday! 

Until tomorrow :) 

C

Seriously Healthy, Seriously Cheap

For me and many other health and fitness bloggers, the idea of spending a crap ton of money to be healthy is a very unrealistic stereotype of healthy living.  Believe me, Bailey, and Katie when we tell you we do it on a college student budget and we really make it work! Here are my meals today and a rough cost.  

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A MILLIONAIRE TO BE HEALTHY! 

Breakfast: 

1 whole wheat bagel thin ($2.69 for pack of 8)

1T light garden vegetable cream cheese ($2.30 for a half pound container)

1c bolthouse smoothie (this one was 2 for $4)

Lunch: 

Buttermilk Ranch marinated chicken breast $2

California Stir Fry veggie steamer $2 for whole bag (I only usually eat half) 

Butternut squash $1.40 (I get small one's cut them in half and portion it into my tupperware)

Strawberry fizzy water ($1.99 for 4 bottles)

Quick dinner before night class: 

1 vanilla activia yogurt ($1.99 for four containers) 

1/2 c blueberries ($2.99 for a large container at Target this week!) 

1/2 c Bailey's home made granola

All of the meals that I make for myself are very cost conscious.  I try to keep my grocery budget to $30 a week. 

I will say that the things I splurge on are protein and supplements.  I can usually make it between 1.5-2 months on one package of isopure protein and quest bars, but I RARELY get out of GNC under $60. 

Since it was a balmy 26 degrees here today I took my run out of the gym. FINALLY! I got in a nice 4.5 mile cruise in and I loved being able to run off the fricken treadmill.  Me and that darn machine have a love-hate relationship.  I love it for the first two miles then I want to poke my eyes out if I have to stare at the wall any longer.  I am praying that it is warm enough to run to SJU on Sunday for my long run. 8 miles here I come! 

Until tomorrow :) 

C

Getting ready for the week

Sorry this didn't get posted earlier, a spontaneous trip to St. John's got in the way.

Today we had a snowday so I spent some time preparing meals for the rest of the week.  I made two marianted chicken breasts and baked them with a squash then portioned them into containers.  This is then much easier for me to just reheat then cook on a school night.  I also got some fresh veggies to steam and add right before I eat.

Here are the finished products, can't wait to have one tomorrow on yet another snow day!

Here was a little inspiration from my tea today: "Dignity and tranquility last forever"

Goodnight!

Until tomorrow,

C

Goals and proof that I survived 7 miles

Hello all,

Here are my goals for the week:
Make time for a good workout 6 out of 7 days this week.
No added sugar to coffee or snacks.
One serving of something sweet (dessert) per day.
At least five servings of veggies a day.
Enjoy time with my amazing mother when she comes up on Saturday for hockey.

My half marathon is only 7 weeks away...oh my god.  I would really like to lose another 8 pounds or so before I attempt succeed in running 13.1 miles.  Trying to lose weight at college is hard and seriously give props to anyone who is trying.  You are constantly surrounded with temptations and reasons to celebrate with very unhealthy food.  I can't stress enough how helpful a food journal is.  At times it totally sucks to have to remember to write everything down, but it is so interesting to look back on a sad or crappy day and see what you ate and understand exactly why you feel that way...you probably ate unhealthy foods.

Here's my journal from yesterday!

I am going to post another blog entry later today with some simple meals that I use to help myself be prepared and ready for a crazy week.

Enjoy your day, hopefully, like me you have a snow day :)

Until later,

C

Good shopping and great workouts!

This morning I got a text from Kim.  Not only my wonderful Aunt, but probably one of the most dedicated readers of this lovely blog.  Today was the day she hit Trader Joes for the first time!  YAY!! 

So she asked for suggestions, here's my list of faves.

Snacky Things: 

Quinoa and Black bean chips

Individual Trail Mix packets

Chewy fiber bars in peanut butter of chocolate chip

Power crunch protein bars in peanut butter chocolate or vanilla

Meal Ideas: 

Mandarin Orange Chicken

Fried Rice

In the poultry department they have marinated chicken strips. They are absolutely delicious on salads or in wraps.  Just throw them on a pan in the oven for like 20 minutes and then they can get thrown in the freezer for an easy meal.  I'd suggest the Sun dried tomato or pesto varieties! 

She shared a picture of her full cart! 

And her first TJ's meal! 

Pesto chicken strips with quinoa an amazingly easy and healthy choice :) 

Today I hit the gym for a nice jaunt on the elliptical then some legs and arms in preparation for my killer 7 mile run tomorrow...afterwards I wasn't feeling crappy dining center food, so I made myself a dorm dinner. 

Banana Chocoalte Protein Shake: 

2 scoops chocolate isopure protein (50 grams of protein)

3/4 c almond milk (unsweetened) 

1 banana

ice

I supplemented my shake with 1/2 c of blueberries and a whole grain sandwich thin toasted with a smear of light vegetable cream cheese.  It was absolutely delicious and it made my workout totally worth it! 

Had to share my post workout snapchat with Bailey....needless to say I am horrified about running 7 miles tomorrow. 

Hopefully you'll hear from me post-run tomorrow! 

C

Surround yourself with good people

As all of you know I love getting mail, at college what else is there to live for? Right?  So today Bails sent me a package with healthy sweets, which happen to be my weakness.  Hopefully she'll share the recipes so I can pass them along to you all!  Her cookies are amazing and she uses all local and natural ingredients, that makes them totally worth it and a "healthy" dessert!

Thanks Bailey! 

Remember, the key to losing or even maintaining weight is....

Until tomorrow :) 

C

Goals!

Here are my goals for the week:
Cut down the number of sweets I have. I've been doing better, but this always proves to be my hardest challenge.
Only two days of coffee this week...I may die.
Workout for at least an hour every single day, no excuses
Keep a smile on and a positive attitude, you never know who will notice.


This weekend was a challenge with some friendship drama, birthday celebrations, and post-winter break get togethers, now it is time to hit the ground running. 53 fricken days until the half marathon. I will finish and I will be doing better than I am right now and I can guarantee you that.

What are your goals for the week?  Do you have them written down?

Until tomorrow!

C

Outdoor Fun!

This weekend was filled with birthday festivities since it was the first weekend back at school!

Friday night me and 25 of my closest friends went out to dinner.  We went to TGI Fridays because I knew that there were things on the menu that I could eat and not ruin my entire day!  I got the crispy green beans (probs not the best choice, but I shared) and the dragon fire chicken (one of the best under 550 calorie meals ever). After dinner we went back to St. Johns and hung out.  It was great to see everyone again and have a chance to catch up.

Last night we all went to St. John's for dinner, rented some skates, and hit the rink!  I am no professional skater, but it was really fun to mess around on the ice with friends.  And you can never pass up an outdoor workout.

All in all it was a healthy and happy weekend!

Until tomorrow :)

C

Get it written down!

As many of you know, I cannot say enough positive things about food logging.  So I am going to encourage all of you to get out a notebook and WRITE IT DOWN!

Tanee, one of the other bloggers I follow is sponsoring a 100 day food logging challenge.
Here's the link! Get on board!
https://www.facebook.com/events/790279237665779/

For me I hate writing down the bad things that I have eaten through out the day, but at the same time it helps me eliminate a lot of CRAP from my diet.

A lot of people have been asking my mom and I how I have done it and what I have really eliminated.  These four things are exactly what I try to avoid, but guess what?  I am human.  I cave and I make mistakes.   This first week back at school has been tough, but hey, I am surviving. And there is always next week to be better. There is no single formula for losing weight because we are all different.  I know for my parents they cut carbs and lost a ton of weight, but for me that just didn't work well.  This "moderation" style diet is the best option for me because I never short myself on food and I can eat almost anything, just in smaller portions.  But understand that what works for one person might not be best for you, so be willing to be flexible and take the extra time to find a program that works for you!

Another thing I wanted to address is illness.  Of course, I got sick on Tuesday, the day I was coming back to school.  I should expect it working in a class full of kindergartners, but it always surprises me when I get sick.  Sickness is your body's way of telling you that something is wrong and you need to listen to it.  As much as it kills me to say this my runs have been short and sweet this week, but I have added some extra yoga and toning to compensate.  Don't run your body down even more by killing it with super intense workouts.  Listen to what it is telling you and respond with healthy diet, lots of sleep and water, and good workouts.  Stay healthy and active while helping your body.

Until tomorrow :)

C

Getting back into the groove....bring it school!

Today was the first day back at school! Let the craziness of class and work begin.
Started my day with work.  It was so great to see the kids again. You forget how fun they are at that age.
A month is definitely too long to be away from work, I missed it so much.

Then I had two classes.  I'm going to get dinner with B and Annie, then off to a night class...joy.  

Eating has been really decent today for the first day back and being surrounded by temptations. I did get a latte this morning, but 130 calories are not going to ruin my day and obviously caffeine is always the answer.

All in all it has been a good day and to end it, I am going to do a little yoga after night class to unwind.

Here's a pic from today.  You can never go wrong with a flannel and a sweater to brave the snow and cold weather!

Until tomorrow

C

Birthday Week Part 2/Goals

So here was the low down for the rest of my crazy birthday week! 

Thursday, I made lettuce wraps for Kim and I for dinner! They were delicious and I think I have officially converted her recipe box to healthy! :) 

Friday I left Sparta at noon and didn't get home until around 4:30.  I was not exactly thrilled to spend that much time in the car, but there was a bad accident right outside of LaCrosse, so that definitely didn't help. 

After I got home I met some friends for dinner at Shanghai Bistro.  What can I say?  A little Pad Thai never hurt anyone....ever! I am so thankful to have such great friends to come and help me celebrate! 

Saturday I went to the Kieth Urban concert with my Mom, Lorie, Jenna, and Annie.  We got to go out for dinner, go to a pre-party, go to the concert, spend the night in a hotel, and go out for breakfast Sunday morning.  It was so much fun and the concert was great!  Kieth played for almost 2 and a half hours, completely unheard of! It was so fun!

It was an amazing week, but I am really glad to be back at school and into a routine. 

Here are my goals for the week: 

Get into a solid running program. 

Cut out treats. 

Eat more fruits and veggies. 

Increase water intake to 150 ounces at least! 

Workout every day, even for half an hour.  Get your butt to the gym. 

Get into a new routine with class, work, and workout. 

Keep this in mind!

 Until tomorrow,

C

Birthday week part one

Well, it has been a busy last few days. Along with the sub zero temps, I've braved the trip to LaCrosse, and got a nice run in! 

Here's my motto for the week. My birthday is on Friday so between birthday dinners, traveling, and desserts, I've got my work cut out for me. This week is my last week at home, so I'm letting myself splurge WAY more than usual. And this slip is okay! I let myself eat bad for one meal a day, that's it. Today that meal was dinner. I'm spending the rest of the week with Mark and Kim so tonight we went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner and of course we had to get ice cream after, it's tradition. I felt like I ate a ton of chips and salsa, but really who doesn't when they're in front of you, the I only ate half of my meal. Yippie! Guess who has lunch for tomorrow. I ordered shrimp and red snapper tacos, so delicious!!

I had to share this dessert from Monday nights birthday dinner with my parents. We went to Lake Elmo Inn and it was super good. This is a white chocolate tort, I could've forgone my dinner to just indulge in this....it was that good.

Monday morning I went to the indoor rec center and got a nice 4 mile run in. My knee still isn't 100% so this run was definitely a good way to end the second week of half marathon training. :)

I promise no more dessert pictures. Tomorrow's back to healthy me! Kim and I are making lettuce wraps, so I'll be sure to share about it!! 

Until tomorrow :)

C

Working out Minnesota Style

So if any of you have read any recent news headlines, you are well aware of the deep freeze happening here in good old MN.  Today's high is -4 with crazy cold wind chills...not the best weather for outdoor workouts or even leaving the house.

It has been hard getting good workouts in since I have been home since I am gym-less and it is sub-arctic here.  Yesterday, Mom and I bundled up and took Croix for a walk...needless to say we had to call Dad to come and pick Croix up so that we could finish our 3 miles.



Croix prefers blankets and heat to anything outside.


We also went shopping at Mall of America. Mom wanted to shop for some new jeans and the Silver store was having a sale so we couldn't say no and we also did four laps around the mall!

Today was even colder than yesterday, so we did what any suitable Minnesotan would do and legitimately walked up and down every single aisle of super Walmart.  Yep, I just admitted to that...we may have gotten some funny looks, but it was totally worth it!

I am very proud of us for not using the excuse of "it's too cold to work out".  We're Minnesotan's.  We CAN do anything.

STAY WARM!

Until tomorrow :)

C

Resolutions

The more I tried to refect on this year the more I was truly amazed with what I've accomplished.
I have become a better person.
I am a runner.
I am healthy.
I am almost to my goal.
I am a better friend and colleague because I am able to be more present and involved in what I'm doing.
I am constantly moving.

My goals for this year:
Reach my goal, 8 more pounds!!
Run a half marathon.
Sign up for a full by 2015.
Not worry about sizes, just how I feel.
Tone up!!

Here are some fun pictures from New Years Eve out on the town with friends.