Well, life is ever so slowly starting to calm down just a bit. Hallelujah!
We’ve had a fun summer, but man, this past month has been busy!
Last weekend, we went up to Oregon for a family reunion with Kev’s family. We had a lot of fun and it was so nice to see everyone. There were about 65 people there, so we spent the days hanging out at a nearby farm. The kids absolutely loved it!
They had fun riding on the farm trains, playing on the swings, bounce house, slip and slide and just running around everywhere. There was also a fun little zipline.
We had a great time and it was so nice and refreshing to be out in the fresh, clean air and feel like we were in the middle of nowhere. Oh, and we brought the dog along with us and he was in HEAVEN!
He loved running in the fields, hunting for critters, digging in the dirt and just being outside. He was the happiest dog ever. I imagine the rest of his life will be a disappointment in comparison. Ha.
It was a great trip and we all played hard. I took this pic of the kiddos as we were driving home…
They were all so tired.
It’s kind of freaking me out how quickly my kids are growing up! I know the days are numbered of having all of my kids together in the minivan. These are definitely tiring, busy, exhausting days, but they are also days that I cherish. I love my little family and I’m so grateful I get to be their momma. <3
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Well, I’m still going strong with my Oxygen Challenge. I tell ya what, it’s been so tough to stick with it this past month though! Traveling and a crazy schedule does not mesh well with tough workouts and a consistently healthy diet! Gah!
I’ve tried not to get discouraged though. I’ve just done my best. I’ve definitely had to miss several workouts and there have been days when I haven’t been able to eat as well as I would like to, but I HAVEN’T QUIT!
I’m just about to start week 7 of my challenge. I’ve definitely seen and felt the results, but they have been slow! Slow, but steady.
I’ve only lost about 3-4 pounds, but I can tell a lot of difference in how I look and how my clothes fit me. I have several things that I wouldn’t have worn 7 weeks ago, that I’m wearing now. Woot!
In the second half of this challenge, the workouts become a little more intense and the diet is a little more low carb. I think that’s just what I need right now! I’m happy I have no travel plans coming up, so I can focus and stick with the challenge better!
I decided to take some progress pictures this week since I’m half way through the challenge. The results are not huge and drastic, but I can see them!
When I started this challenge, I definitely felt a little chubby. I’d been living it up a little bit and not really caring too much about what or how much I ate. Right now, I feel more like my normal self. I’m hoping in these next 6 weeks I’ll finally see some of the results I’ve been striving to get for a very long time now!
It really does all come down to consistency. I live a fairly healthy lifestyle all the time, but I really don’t see results unless I consistently choose to work hard, eat well and take care of my body every single day. I certainly haven’t been perfect throughout this challenge, but I’ve been consistent!
It’s been quite hard to eat well while we’ve been traveling this past month, but here are some of things I’ve done to try to keep myself on track and minimize the damage…
- We’ve had pizza a couple of times. I could chose to not have any of it, but instead I’ve had one or two small pieces (I’d certainly love to have more!) and then I’d have salad and some sort of protein (chicken, turkey, eggs, protein shake) on the side.
- I’ve had a little bit of sugar here and there….small handfuls of trail mix, a few M&Ms, a small bite of a little somethin’, but I’ve steered clear 100% from those sugary foods that I know would cause me to cave and fall off the wagon. I haven’t had ANY cookies, brownies, donuts, cake, etc. at all. Not even a nibble. I’ve learned that when I eat those foods, I just want more and more! It also makes my appetite and cravings go way up! It’s definitely easier for me to just keep them out of my life right now.
- I’ve also not allowed myself to have any chocolate chips, unless they are in a recipe or something. Too often, I’ll reach for a small handful of chocolate chips and then I’ll grab another one later on and then another one. I know the calories really add up, so I’ve just stayed away from them. I’ve been experimenting with a healthy muffin recipe lately though and they have some mini chocolate chips in them…and I’ve eaten them. For some reason, it’s just the handfuls of chocolate chips that I know I can’t handle.
- I really haven’t had much fast food. When we were in California, I had a burger once or twice, but I usually take off one of the buns and then have a salad on the side. I won’t have a burger and a bunch of fries at the same time. I’ll pick one or the other and if I do have fries, I try to make them the sweet potato variety.
- When we were at our family reunion, we just had large meals for the big group. I brought some of my own food in a cooler and ate that for some of the meals (oatmeal, hard boiled eggs, premade protein shake, etc.), but I also had some of the group meals and just did the best I could.
- We had sub sandwiches one time, I took off most of the bread and cheese and just added more veggies to make it a salad.
- We had fried chicken for one meal. I ate that, but just chose a breast piece and didn’t eat any of the skin.
- We had pizza one night, but I didn’t have any. I instead made a meal out of a lot of the leftovers available…I think I made me a salad and some fried chicken again. It wasn’t perfect, but it was certainly better than it could’ve been!
- When I’m home, I try to have things like eggs, homemade protein shakes, salads, chicken, Greek yogurt, veggies and cottage cheese regularly. I used to have my protein pancakes or oatmeal often, but now that I’m going a little more low carb, I haven’t been having them. 🙁
- If I’m hungry and it’s late at night, I’ve just been choosing to go to bed instead of eating. I figure, I can just eat in the morning….and save myself a lot of calories!
- Overall, I’ve just been trying to keep my head in the game! I’ve just been mindful and deliberate about the choices I’ve been making. I haven’t been obsessive or seeking for 100% perfection. I’ve instead been seeking for consistency, commitment and dedication. It really hasn’t been too hard at all!
Since I started lower carb this week, I’ve been having this for breakfast most days….
It’s just a yummy egg wrap that I haven’t made in a long time! I used to make them all the time and forgot how good they were!
I like to saute some peppers and onions in some olive oil and while they’re cooking, I cook up some eggs (one egg + some liquid egg whites) into a “tortilla” in a pan. When the “egg tortilla” is cooked, I’ve been filling it with the onions, peppers and some chicken and then I roll it up. I then top it with salsa, guacamole and some lite sour cream. I’ve been using the little 100 calorie single serving things of Wholly Guacamole, but I just use about 1/3 of the 100 calorie portion at a time.
It’s so good!
Well I think that’s all I have to share today!
Kev has been on a backpacking trip up to King’s Peak (the highest point in Utah) with the Scouts the past several days and he should be home any minute. I’m excited to see him! He didn’t have any reception on his phone at all until he reached the summit! Soooo, he called me yesterday on a video call and it was so nice to talk to him for a few minutes. The views looked amazing and I can’t wait to hear all about it. He told me it was a very tough hike! He said it reminded him a lot of running a marathon. Yikes! His backpack weighed about 50 pounds and it is not any easy hike. He said he’s had a good time though.
Well, I hope y’all enjoy the rest of your weekend! xoxo
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