Great Workouts, Healthy Food + Trying to Stay Away from Sugar

Well, this little cutie started KINDERGARTEN yesterday!

Auuughh!  I really can’t believe he is so big.  He is such a sweetie pie!  This little child of mine is so kind, sweet, soft-spoken and extremely innocent.  Oh, he is just adorable.  I really am not a fan of sending my kindergartners off.  It breaks my heart in two every time.

Here’s a Throw Back Thursday to when this sweet little boy was born….seems like last year…

Look how TINY all of my kids were!?!???!?!  What the…? #wishtheycouldjuststaylittle

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Well, I’ve really been enjoying my workouts lately!  Here’s a breakdown of what I’ve been doing (most of these are specific workouts from my Ultimate Oxygen Challenge)…

• Monday:  MEGA lower body workout with heavy weights!  I’m always so sore after this workout….the kind of sore where you can hardly walk, sit down, move, etc.  It’s been awesome.  Ha.
• Tuesday:  I’ve been going to a cardio/resistance training class at my gym that KILLS me!  I love it and look forward to it each week!  My instructor changes it up each week, but it challenges me SO MUCH every time.
  • After my class, I squeeze in a short chest, shoulders and triceps workout.  I always lift as heavy as possible and my muscles feel obliterated afterward.  I love it.
• Wednesday:  Cardio day!  I usually run around 4ish miles and it’s been perfect.  I also do some abdominal exercises afterward.
• Thursday:  I’ve been doing a plyometric workout and then some weighted leg moves.  I love this workout because it’s fairly quick (about 30 minutes), but it’s very challenging!
• Friday: A wonderful back and biceps workout with some abdominal exercises afterward.  I love working upper body and this workout is great.  Again, I’ve been lifting as heavy as I can!
• Saturday: A short, easy HIIT workout.  I’m probably going to start running on Saturdays again too.  Some friends of ours just asked if Kev and I would like to run a half marathon with them!  Auugh.  It’s sounds like fun, but it scares me too!!
• Sunday:  REST day.  Thank heavens.

Well, that about sums it up!  I’m LOVING my workout plan right now….so much!  I’m seeing results too; they’re very slow and I’m probably the only one who notices them, but they’re there.  Woo hoo.

I can tell I’ve gained some muscle, but I still have quite a few pounds to lose…so the muscle is buried.  Ha ha.  However, next week I start MONTH THREE of my #OxyChallenge and I’m hoping I’ll start to lean out.  I will be doing carb cycling (eating a low carb diet every few days) and will be upping my workouts quite a bit!  I’m excited to get started.

I snapped this picture after I got home from the gym Tuesday night…

I can always tell if I’ve had a good workout because my hair goes all crazy!  Naturally curly hair does not stay pretty when you sweat.  Ha ha.  I figure, if you look beautiful after a workout…you’re not doing it right!! Ha.

This was also a milestone for me because it’s the first time I’ve worn shorts to the gym since before I was pregnant!  My legs and arms always blow up when I’m pregnant and stay that way until I’m done nursing.  I’m slowly starting to deflate just a bit, so I thought I’d wear some shorts!

I’m waiting patiently for my arms to thin out too!  I know I’ve gained a bit of muscle there, but just need to lean out.  It will come…..

I also made myself a yummy protein shake after my workout.  It’s just a basic Chocolate Mint Protein Shake (1 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1 cup water, 1 scoop chocolate protein powder, 1 big spoonful cocoa, 1/8 tsp. stevia (pure stevia, no fillers), a spoonful of chia seeds, a splash of Peppermint extract, 2 big handfuls of Power Greens (chard, spinach and kale) and a bunch of ice!)  It’s been my “go to” shake lately and I love it!

I also had a banana with some peanut butter on the side.  After such a tough workout, I wanted to replenish my carbs too!  FYI, I only ended up eating about half of that peanut butter; probably about a tablespoon total.

I know a lot of people put bananas and/or peanut butter IN their protein shakes, but I would rather EAT them instead of drink them.  Bananas + peanut butter are a fav of mine.  Yum.

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Well, I haven’t lost ANY more weight since my last progress picture (boo hoo), but I snitched a little bit of sugar over the weekend (seriously!??!), so I’m not surprised.  I’ve followed the workout and diet plan of this challenge to a “T” for the most part, but I’ve struggled a bit the past couple weeks.  I’ve still done almost all of my workouts and have eaten well 90% of the time, but I’ve allowed sugar to creep back in a little.

Seriously folks, sugar is my biggest weakness and it halts my progress quicker than anything else!  I’m fine having a little sugar here and there when I’m in “maintenance mode” and not actively trying to lose weight, but when I’m trying to LOSE weight, sugar makes it nearly impossible!  Really, it makes me feel like I’m just spinning my wheels.

Speaking of which, here’s a pic of my sister and I from a couple weeks ago at our parent’s house…

There is sugar everywhere in my life folks and it’s NOT easy!  Man!  I brought that cake on the left for my baby’s birthday, my mom made the other treat I’m holding (Scotcheroos….my fav!) and my sister brought some leftover mint brownies and chocolate chip cookies that she had at her house.  It was insane.

I did really, really well and avoided it for the most part, but I just kept snitching a few crumbs of the Scotcheroos.  Seriously, that’s not a big deal, BUT I’ve struggled with sugar ever since!  Once I start….it’s hard to stop!

But, I’m back ON 100% now for the next 40 days!

On Monday of this week I promised myself that I will NOT have any more sugar from now until the end of this challenge (October 12th.)  I did decide that an occasional protein ball or two after a workout is fine though.  The body processes sugar and carbs so much more effectively during and after exercise, so I think my body will be able to handle it okay.  I also think the occasional protein ball or two will help to satisfy my sweet tooth and keep me “in it” for the long haul.

Sooo, I made a batch of Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip protein balls the other day and I LOVE them!  My kids all love them too.

I’ve also decided that these protein balls are just not photogenic…they always look just like poop.  Ha ha.

I’ve been eating a lot of the same things, for the most part.  When I really clean up the diet, I find it’s much easier to just keep it simple and eat a lot of the same things!

I’ve been eating the same thing for breakfast and lunch 95% of the time, but I’ve been switching up my snacks and of course, making different dinners every night for the fam.

I’ve still been having my warm lemon water, protein oatmeal and a side of scrambled egg whites every morning!

I actually look forward to eating it and don’t think I’ll get tired of it any time soon!

I’ve been having this as a snack a lot lately…

A fresh peach (so good!) topped with lite cottage cheese and a little bit of Cascadian Farm Protein granola.  YUM!

This has been my “go to” lunch most days…

I am IN LOVE with this lunch!  It’s just 1/2 cup leftover brown rice (buried under there) topped with leftover chicken and salad fixin’s.  I also drizzle a little bit of ranch dressing on top.

I sometimes use quinoa instead of brown rice and I switch up the protein to whatever I have leftover in my fridge/freezer (steak, grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken, deli meat, turkey burgers, etc.)  I always have a container of chopped lettuce in the fridge and I usually have various salad toppings chopped up too.

I might just eat this for lunch 90% of the time for the rest of my life.  I LOVE it!

I’ve been making various things for dinner;

Spaghetti (zucchini noodles for me!) with meat sauce and a side salad….

Turkey burgers (no bun for me!) with baked sweet potato fries on the side.  FYI, I usually make my own sweet potato fries using this recipe, but this night I just used some frozen ones I bought at Walmart.  The ingredients were great (no weird things mixed in there!) and it really simplified dinnertime.  Win-win.

Burrito Bowls (oh, how I love this recipe!) with cherries and watermelon on the side…

Steak with salad and peas on the side.  Yum!

I’ve also made a lot of dinners that I haven’t taken pictures of!  Things like tacos (taco salad for me), Hawaiian Haystacks and breakfast for dinner (omelet for me!)  I will also sometimes make dinner for the fam (casseroles, homemade mac and cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, etc.) and I’ll make something else for me (protein shake, leftovers, salad, eggs, etc.)

Now that school is back in session, I’ve been a lot better at making dinner!  Woot.  It sure makes things easier for me because then I have a lot of leftovers to eat for lunch/snacks!

Well, that’s the latest.  I’m really hoping to see some great results this last and final month of the challenge!  I need to dig deep and renew my motivation and commitment.  I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday night!  Tomorrow is the weekend!!! YAY!!!!

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