New Favorite Snack

I am obsessed with this new Jam.  I found it at my local farmers market and it is natural and there is no added sugar! YAY!  

My new favorite snack is a sandwich thin with almond butter and 2 T of this jam.  I am in love. 

I have to force myself to only eat it once a day...if I let myself the entire container would've been gone on Saturday when I bought it.

Check out there website and get some ordered (like yesterday!)

C

Retail Therapy

Yesterday I had a little fun in preparation for my Science Practicum in a couple of weeks. 

I got a few new teacher outfits and I am so excited! 

2 pairs of these sunnies because it's homecoming week and they'll probably come in handy! 

Today was a great day in the right direction! Woot woot! 

4 miles before a friends birthday dinner was a complete success.

Until tomorrow, 

C

Clean Slate

This last week was a doozy.  I have never been so emotionally hurt and discouraged in my entire life.  Mama Laughlin, one my my favorite bloggers, posted this the other day and it perfectly connected to my situation. Check it out here! I never thought the actions of others could effect me so much, so I have committed today to changing my life.  I can no longer be a "mom", friend, inspiration, caregiver, and cleaning lady.  I just can't do it.  

So today's the day I am reclaiming Catherine.  I have so much to look forward to and to accomplish for myself I don't have time to waste energy on people who are not lifting me up.  My circle is about to shift. 

This is what I need to focus on: 

INSPIRING OTHERS

Marathoning

Eating Right

Working Out

Family

Friends

ME! 

I came home last night to decompress and to spend some time away from it all.  

I started my day with a coffee...in my favorite mug

It will be a chipotle salad for lunch and then a shopping trip. 

Stay tuned for a post of all my purchases tomorrow :) 

Keep this in mind today!

 Much love, 

C

Half Way Check In and a New Challenge

This month has been a big adjustment.  School is in full swing, work, practicums, marathon training, clean eating, yep, I am a bit busy, but I thought I'd take a moment to give y'all an update on my goals for the month. 

I am killing it with the clean eating, giving myself an hour of peace, and drinking lots of water every day, but I definitely need to step up my blogging. So today when my Sociology professor was lecturing us using the same overhead transparency (can you say the 1960's called and wants their learning techniques back?) that we have discussed for the last FOUR class periods I made better use of my time and made a list of totally wonderful blog themes for the next few weeks, so stay tuned. 

Weight-
I haven't weighed in since I left for school and I probably won't until I go home for the first time in the middle of October.  I am hoping to see 169.anything on the scale.  If I can do it I am going to treat myself to something grand. The reward is to be determined, so leave me a comment if you have any ideas. 

Sugar-
Over the last week I have noticed that I have been craving sugar again, which totally stinks because I had been kicking some major booty with that up until this point.  I know part of it is watching my roommates eat sugar and simple carbs, but seriously, why can't this be any easier? 

So, I am posing a challenge.  One week with no sweets. NONE. ZIPPO! I am going to document all of my meals and snacks for this week, prepare to have your Instagram feeds blow up.  I will start tomorrow the 17th and go through the 24th. 

If you want to be part of the challenge #csfnosweetschallenge on instagram or twitter! 

Look forward to seeing your sugar free creative creations! 

C

September Goals

I have officially been back to school for a week and my schedule is beginning to worry me....I have two jobs (granite and Discovery), am on a reading council, marathon training, being a 20 year old and having a social life, oh yeah and GOING TO SCHOOL and taking 17 credits!  This girl is officially freaking out. 

I decided to give this week a shot with both jobs and school, but after this I may have to cut back to focus on school. 

My big goals for the month are:

Bails, Katie, and I ran our first half marathon together this weekend! It was really great.  I cut 7 minutes off of my time from three weeks ago. BOSS? I think yes! 

What are your goals for the month?

C

Killer Workout Wednesday

Workout Wednesday is a major trend among health and fitness bloggers and I spent a shizz ton of time in the gym so I figured I'd share what I did today because I am already sore....

1 hour on the elliptical (30 minutes of fat burn and 30 minutes of hill intervals) this got me to over 4 miles and over 600 calories.

Then here's the leg set: (if you have stairs in any part of your home good luck making it to the top after this)
leg press resisted at 165 lbs 13 reps
Box dips (single leg squats) 27.5 lb dumbells 10 reps each side
Between each side of box dips do 10 reps of jump squats from sissy to sumo
leg press resisted at 175 lbs 13 reps
box step ups :45 each side
Weighted squats 20 lb bar 15 reps sumo and sissy x2
175 lb leg press 15 reps
(If you're not dead now you're probably God)
Box dips (single leg squats) 27.5 lb dumbells 10 reps each side
Between each side of box dips do 10 reps of jump squats from sissy to sumo


Core Combo
1:00 plank
:45 side plank each side
15 rainbows (drop hips from one side to the other in a normal plank)
20 ball rolls

75 crunches (switch style every 25)

With the elliptical set this workout took me about an hour and 45 minutes.

I also wanted to share a bit about nutrition.  Not to brag, but I have seriously been killing it since I've been back!

Here are some pics of dinners!

Rice noodle chicken stir fry

 White Chicken Chili and Paleo "corn" bread

Steamed veggies and Trader Joes stuffed flouner

Let me know if you want recipes! 

C

End of Summer Adventures

This last week has been a whirl wind! I finished out work for the summer. 

Had a great dinner with the ladies. Sushi is my new favorite and after sushi we celebrated my 21 days of no sweets with a piece of Turtle Chocolate Cake at Cafe Latte. 

August 1st I challenged myself to go until I left for school with no candy or ice cream.  When I told Sara, Bailey, and Katie about the plan Sara made me a deal that she'd by me my DREAM pair of jeans if I did it!  These are pics of the official no sweets Miss Me Jeans. I am in love. 

To celebrate my return to school Mom got tickets to Kid Rock at the State Fair.  We had a blast and the music was unforgettable. 

I treated myself to my fave Nitro Ice Cream and that was the ONLY thing that I ate at the fair. 

That's pretty amazing feat if you ask me. 

KID ROCK! 

Yesterday I moved back to school.  I can't believe I am a junior. It's pretty crazy being back on campus and getting to see all my friends, but I have started the year off right with some great meal prep and exercise. 

Last night was rice noodle stir fry with veggies and chicken. 

Today I prepped some almond cookies, white chicken chili, paleo corn bread, and sandwiches for the week! 

Nutrition is critical for the next part of my journey.  I have six weeks until the marathon and the runs are getting progressively longer which means I need to put great food in to get great results. 

This weeks menu looks like: 

Breakfast- 

Egg scramble

Sandwich thin with cream cheese

Lunch- 

Stir fry (leftovers) 

Sandwich thin sandwich with turkey, cheese, and mustard

Protein chili with paleo corn bread

Dinner- 

Tortilla pizza
Stuffed flounder and veggies
Salsa chicken or chicken breast and ravioli
Lemon pepper fish with quinoa and veggies
WW spaghetti and meat sauce

Treats-
Almond Cookies
Whipped Cream and Berries

Here's to a fresh start!

C